Marvelous

Today, I marveled. Many times. Some quickly. Some included lingering. I was led to wonder, admire, and be astonished by the following:

1. It started with my morning reading of Scripture. Hebrews 6:18 focused in on the truth that it is impossible for God to lie. It beautifully portrays us as fleeing for refuge and ,further, our result is 'strong encouragement' and having 'hope set before us'. I began my day with the tremendously inspiring reality that my lost and helpless state has been graciously overcome by a loving Savior. His promise to Abraham still rings gloriously true today. I am in awe of God's abundant grace through His promises to me. Promises that He will keep.

2. Then my lovely bride, Sarah, walked by. What a treasured gift she is to me. My love for her grew in those simple moments. Not because of any big activity or reason, but for thousands of little ones. I also marveled at her seemingly effortless ability to do multiple things at once. What would have taken me half an hour or more (plus all the preparation and planning), she flitted through in mere moments. I am in awe of my wife's giftedness and the way she distributes it so freely among many of us.

3. I was amazed at the power of a decision. And a decision acted upon. For the last few days, I had been wasting a bit of time on my commute just listening to the radio. From cultured classical music to base sports talk. Sometimes bluegrass, sometimes Christian pop culture. But as I left today, I decided that I needed to recapture the oppotunity to invest this time. I popped in a CD on fatherhood issues and within minutes was immersed in a exposition of Psalm 78. Much richer.

4. My sin. Three times today (by last count), I threw something onto my desk at work in disgust and frustration. While there were issues and circumstances that preceeded these episodes, I am mindful of the fact that my far-less-than-appropriate response was front and center. Not that my display of selfishness was merely 'less than ideal' or 'not my best moment', but rather it was ugly pride and self-centeredness erupting out from a petty whiner and complainer. The mirror was hard to look at today.

5. Nothing like children to bring reality back to the forefront. Smiling hugs greeted me after a long day. Curious questions gave perspective. And then we had our family reading time before we put them to bed. One of the discussion points in our book hinted at the fact that even parents die someday. Quietly before lights went out, my son asks me to pray for his comfort in the face of that possibility. How could it be that I am privileged to have the responsibility of leading this family? Joyful awe overwhelms me.

Amazing. Fascinating. Enriching. Invigorating. Considerable. Inspiring. Rejuvenating. Quickening. Stimulating.

In a word...marvelous.

My choice for President is...

I'm venturing into new territory on this one. While I have dutifully and joyfully expressed the gift of freedom granted to me by so many over the years by voting at election time, I have never gone too public with my political views. I am not registered with either major party and have voted over the years for what some might consider a wide spectrum of candidates. Of course, others would say that I am pretty limited in the decisions I've made, but I guess that is all relative.

While I still have fifteen months before I cast my vote in our next presidential election, I believe I have made my choice. I will continue to research the candidates and review their agendas and plans on topics ranging from the important to the silly. But I do believe I have my guy (I guess that eliminates one major contender already).

I actually heard about this relative unknown a number of months ago because we share some unique characteristics in our lives. Instantly he had my admiration in the way he has personally dealt with those similar facts. As I continue to learn about him, he continues to impress me. Truth be told, I haven't done a tremendous amount of research yet, and I haven't read all the basics about this gentleman, so I suppose my choice could change before it becomes official. But so far, so good.

I understand that my opinion and this forum of sharing it will not sway many votes at all, if any. But consider this a pre-endorsement for (drum roll, please)...Mike Huckabee.

I first learned about Mr. Huckabee when researching some ideas on (wow...imagine this!) how we can save healthcare money by stressing prevention instead of shelling out bucks for the latest drug that we hope works. As a Type 1 diabetic, some diet and lifestyle changes that I made have resulted in extremely improved overall health including taking less than half the insulin that I used to take (remember...type 1 meaning my pancreas is kaput). In doing some checking on this idea, I found out that this former governor of Arkansas was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, lost 110 pounds, and now runs marathons! That is my kind of guy!

Since then, I have seen snippets of his platform emerge in the form of other brilliant yet all-to-frequently-ignored ideas like fiscal responsibility (don't spend more than you have/earn), accountability (communities accomplishing what they set out to do together), and living out what is most important in life ("my faith doesn't influence my decisions, it drives them").

Of course, this is a personal decision that every eligible voter will have an opportunity to make. Take note of the candidates and prayerfully consider all the issues that God brings to mind. And then make the wise and thoughful decision. We've obviously got some time before next November.

Read more about Mike Huckabee here

Newest Ventures

Well, we're at it again. The desire to move forward in areas that we desire to grow in (and let's be honest, we've got plenty of room to grow!) has led us to a couple of new ventures. One is Squidoo and the other is a 30-day challenge.

Squidoo has one of its newest landing pages with this one . It is one small step for internet use, one giant leap for Bower-kind. Take a visit, buy stuff you see listed, enjoy. That's the routine.

We also have joined these guys in an interesting challenge for the month of August. It appears that we are teamed with individuals from Brooklyn, NY, the United Kingdom, and others to work together to find the key(s) to internet marketing and success. We'll have to let you know how things are going as we progress through the month.

"Why are you doing this?", you ask. It is all for the purpose of glorifying God through creating family entrepreneurial ideas and pursuing them. Goals include bringing me home to work full-time, sharing new-found insights with others to do the same, and to actually make a little money as we learn along the way. Just tonight, my daughter Priscilla poignantly expressed her deep desire for me to be home more often with the family. I can't wait to use these and other ideas to see that prayer answered!

Larry

A Quick Death and a Slow Growth

Recently I had another 'truth of scripture' lesson brought to me front and center. A few peeks around my humble surroundings and some familiar texts coming to mind led me to the somewhat harsh understanding of what God in His mercy reminds us of before our begrudging acceptance of His word on that final day. The fifteenth chapter of John and the thirty-seventh Psalm served me to recognize how growth happens according to God's perfect plan.

A neighbor down the street had finished a tree-cutting project. Their quaint driveway was filled with logs, stumps, and branches seemingly overnight. The battle with the city to remove the results of their labor ensued. But in the midst of it all, a strange but not unexpected thing happened. Death quickly introduced itself. You see, much like Jesus reminds us in John 15:5-6, branches not connected to the vine not only miss out on bearing fruit, but they are simply thrown away. After observing my neighbor's yard for just a couple of days, I can see why. Being apart from the vine, the source of life, not only limits effectiveness, it leads directly and swiftly to death. No source of life, no life. No sustenance and nourishment, no life. No abiding in the Christ-vine, nothing CAN be done. The only result that makes sense is to be "thrown away like a branch", to wither, to be gathered and "thrown into the fire, and burned". Just like tree branches could do nothing apart from the roots, so we can do nothing apart from Christ. The lesson learned was the speed of such death. We can fool ourselves to some degree and for some time, can't we? We say the right things to the right people at the right times, and everybody thinks we're OK. But vine-less living can only lead to death. Within forty-eight hours of being cut off from their life source, my neighbor's branches let it be known that death comes quickly.

The joy of Psalm 37:5-6 brings the truth home on the opposite end of the spectrum. God WILL act. He WILL bring life. He does so in a way that will honor and glorify Himself. And He sometimes invites us into the process as well. A little over a year ago, my son decided to put science on notice and try his hand at an arboresque project. He had heard or read about little acorns becoming mighty oaks and thought he'd give it a shot. A little seedling that had fallen off a silver maple tree at our home was lovingly planted in a simple pot. Water and sun treatments ensued, along with a little prayer and wonder. A move to a bigger pot followed after a while. Then the day came when he recognized that this growing twig needed to spread its wings in our yard. We found a spot in which we desire shade in the coming years and made the transfer. We were all excited to see leaves sprouting and its survival after a wind storm or two. It has been a good lesson to notice that each and every day does not lead to massive growth spurts (at least none that we can see). Many forty-eight hour spans have come and gone with hardly a notice of what is happening just feet from the driveway. But the results are being seen in the long run. First a leaf, then a slight change in the color of the bark, then a small expansion height-wise to the sky. Slow and steady. Like the dawning of the day, it is gradual but noticeable. But we don't often stop to 'notice' it, do we? If you make the commitment of Psalm 37:5 ('commit your way to the Lord'), know that 'He will act'. He is consistent with moments of tremendous growth that He allows us to see, all in an orchestrated effort to glorify Him.

The next verse in Psalm 37 encourages us to wait patiently for God to move. Know that He is moving. And soon the dawning will unveil a noonday sun. But life apart from the vine will bring results much quicker.

Deep Cleaning

There's nothing like a good power tool to teach a man a lesson. And this weekend, I learned one. I had borrowed my father's power washer to clean our deck in preparation for a re-staining project. It started right up, I got to the back-aching task of running it for hours on end, and God was faithful to point to His truth. His grace-filled truth.

The idea of God cleaning us is a common one in scripture. It is found throughout both the Old and New Testaments. It is something that is presented as both a great need that we have as humans, and as a great promise of God to deliver. Let me encourage you to grab a good concordance and walk through the Bible noting all the cleansing that God provides to us through the blood of Christ. His finished work on the cross does more than just gain entrance to heaven. It goes deep into our sinful souls and accomplishes work that we otherwise would be unaware of, let alone desire on our own. Just as planks of wood were most satisfied just doing their thing as a common but stylish adornment to our house, I likewise can find myself just being 'fine' with where I am at and with what I am doing. Soon, however, the hum of the small motor and the blast of the extended sprayer change everything. Suddenly, satisfaction takes a tremendous turn for the better. Deep-rooted dirt disappears. A shine and a finish never enjoyed before allow new appreciation.

So, what does God use in our lives to power wash us? Let's start with these three for now:
1) His Word - Recently, I have been reading through the book of Judges devotionally. Could be a dangerous thing to do, right? Gloriously dangerous, I can attest! I was struck by the following phrase a few days ago: "They did not drop any of their practices or their stubborn ways" (Judges 2:19b). The Lord has been cleansing me of practices and stubborn ways that I was quite used to and rather enjoyed, thank you very much. Was I, too, in need of judges to be raised up to confront me as the Israelites were? Was I, too, growing in corruption as I allowed these evil, and sometimes not evil as much as neutral, things to remain in my path? Have I, too, failed to obey God's voice? This one simple phrase has fed my thinking for days on end, and continues to do so. Thank you, Lord, for cleaning us through your Word. Your kindness indeed leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4).
2) His Church - Very little of what we read in scripture is outside of the context of a group. God always had people together (after Adam was provided a helpmate). I fondly remember a former pastor frequently pointing us to one of the many 'one anothers' in scripture. Doing battle with our greatest enemy, our sin, is likewise best fought together. What a gift God has given us in each other in the setting of the local church! Confess your sins one to another. Encourage one another. Clean away, and share the grace of God that He will reign upon you!
3) Yes, that too. God has also rigged life in that we are to spend the majority of our time with other people in very close proximity. But, believer, that spouse of yours and those little blessings of yours are more than you could ever realize. They are tools in the Master Cleanser's hands to dig deep into those spots that merely spraying water or even scrubbing will not suffice. Marriage, parenthood, and close friendships are the power washing that God often uses to do the job. Tough to remember the next time conflict arises, which it will, but true nonetheless. Thank God for these mirrors that allow us to be seen as we are.

One thing that amazed me during this project is the difference that could be seen when I had to pause when I was half done. The distinct difference between the part of the deck that I had cleaned and the remaining portion was unbelievable. I stopped just for a moment to thank God that the same was true of my life. He is cleaning. He is using His word, His church, and those around me to do deep cleaning. It is not always comfortable to have that done. But, oh the difference! The results! Thank you Lord for your deep cleaning!

Growing in 'hipness'

In this day and age, what I am about to share is really no big deal whatsoever. Especially for many of you here in the blogosphere. But for my family and I, technology newbies that we are, tonight is a momentous event. Allow me to briefly paint a picture.

I have worked on a computer with my line of work for all of my nearly fifteen years with my current employer. It started with some 'home-grown' programs pertaining to our line of work and our interaction with our customers. When the information superhighway came along, it took a few years, but I did indeed use that tool for research and quicker communication. And then I also found Excel. Call me Mr. Spreadsheet. But in the midst of all this, two realities were more than evident. First, while I used some of these tools, I did so only to a minimal, 'just-enough' level. I slowly grew in my understanding of different programs and software and even tackled a few larger projects (I served on the Y2K readiness committee...remember those?), but I was never the first guy you would go to in order to solve a computer problem. That is still basically true. Second, all of my budding computer prowess was relegated to work. We just never quite had the budget, knowledge or initiative to apply technology at home. We did purchase a Dell laptop at one point and were so excited about it. After it was outdated within a few months and we were sheepishly acknowledging that we still were using dial up, that thrill quickly wore off. In fact, with as much Excel as I do at work, I had my home budget on a bunch of graph paper until just last August.

But times, they are a-changing! I am sitting here typing an entry into this new blog. If I wanted to include a funny link, I could figure it out (I hope!). We just put the finishing touches on another DVD that we created. We'll send it in tomorrow to a unique web site for their eventual use. (Proof that there is still plenty of room to grow...haven't figured out how to get the file to work via email). I am switching back and forth to our email account to track other projects that I am trying to finalize tonight. But the coolest thing is that my wife is sitting across the room from me listening to an eBay tele-seminar...from the computer. We recently purchased a year of Skype and are using it right now on the computer as I type this. So, while I am using this big glowing thing (actually not so big...flatscreen, baby!) on the desk to do two or three things, my wife is gaining more technological knowledge which can likewise be applied. No wonder my son got out of bed to investigate what in the world was going on out here. He is seeing the transformation of his parents from techno-awkward to better-than-functional.

Boundless

Often truth grips us through song. It lingers for days on end until we must confront the reality of it and watch God do His work in our hearts to allow us to marvel at His glory all the more. Recently this happened to me while singing a song both at our worship service on a Sunday morning and during my commute later that week via the CD to which I was listening.

One word in particular grabbed my attention. Boundless. It means infinite, vast and unlimited. What comes to mind when you think of things without limit? Wasteful government spending? The number of items on your growing ‘to-do’ list? The stupidity and nerve of the other so-called drivers messing around on the road? What about the joy of watching your children grow in maturity? The pleasure of seeing the good guys finally win? Or maybe it’s the simple mind-bending exercise of contemplating the reach of the cosmos while looking at the stars?

Enter lines five and six of verse one. The song begins with a call to explore God’s grace by way of personal invitation to remember what Christ has done for us at the cross. What exactly happened there? The extremes of boundlessness met.
Where Your boundless love
Conquered my boundless sin

I think it is important, painful though it may be, to contemplate the absolute depravity of our situation as humans. We are indeed boundless in our ability to pursue sin and all of its destructive behavior and outcomes. If you doubt this in any way, just read through the words of Hosea or those of Paul in Romans 7. As you catch yourself identifying with any number of the items mentioned, consider where this thought process leads you. It doesn’t take long for me to go from “Wow, it’s as though this were written about me!” to “Well, at least they don’t know about…”. But my mind can still conceive of an end to this sinful reality. At some point, I console myself by noting that there are SOME things I wouldn’t do. Would I? Sometimes the truth stinks.

But all of this was conquered. This victory was not deserved. It was not possible for me. It was not even something I was looking for or trying to obtain. My limitless appetite for folly, especially the self-directed kind, was all that I knew. But God allowed His love to do battle with my never-ending waywardness. And that love always wins. It is not a love that needs to muster up strength to accomplish its plans and stake its claim. It is a perfect love that ever endures. It has never shown a limit in its power or reach. When one conceives of a way to push to the outer edges of this love, they find that they are still in the center of it. It has no beginning or end, so it always has been and always will be. Somehow it continually finds a way to grow, though it is continually fully mature. In a word, it is boundless.