243 + 5 =

248

That is the number of DVD's we will own after 5:00 today.

Our passion for movie watching is quickly approaching the 250 mark. If someone didn't know anything about us and were to walk through our townhome, they wouldn't have to look very hard to see what we like to do together.

There is something about sitting next to Erin with a bowl of buttered popcorn and a cherry Coke and becoming engrossed in a hollywood production. For 2 hours (unless your Lord of the Rings/King Kong director Peter Jackson then it's almost 4 hours) we get to forget about the daily hardships and realities of life and experience life with a family of 18 or the trials and tribulations of 2 dogs from totally different backgrounds, or whatever Pride and Prejudice is about...you get the picture.

Our DVD player is easily the most active appliance in the house. And tonight, we are going to give it some more exercise.

—b

Tuesday, February 28th, 2006

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sypathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. —Hebrews 4:15-16

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE
God understands. Various temptations, impure thoughts, and just the overall feeling of someone trying to chop us down in order that we fall into sin. God understands. He's been there, done that. But unlike us, He didn't break. So instead of us falling and trying to get back up again on our own, we need to lean into Christ so that He is able to stand us up one more time.

God's DESIRE is Not Our Happiness

I apologize for the lateness of this post. Erin and I didn't get into work until 1:30 and what I had written to "cut and paste" didn't paste very well. (That will teach me to use generic glue. Reminder to self: Always use Elmer's!)

What! How dare He! God's desire isn't to please us! Then why should I worship Him!?
(Yep, I did it. I opened a can of Chum that would scare Jaws.)

"Why did God let me live so long and why did He let this happen?" That heart wrenching question came form Grandma Johnson during a brief moment of clarity.

Grandma Johnson and Grandpa Eidsmoe both have a form of dimensia. Not only is it very frustrating for the both of them (at least when they are "with it"), but also, and dare I say, more so for the ones that love them the most, their sons and daughters.

Episodes of violence, hallucinations, confusion, loss of bodily control, and even not remembering your own kids. Why has this happened to them. (And millions of others I might add.)

No one knows why for sure, and I'm not foolish enough to proclaim that I do, but what very little I do know comes from the Author of life.

NOTE: Before I begin quoting scripture, let me first make a disclaimer. When anyone (especially me ) quotes scripture, make sure you check out the context of the verse. Many people get into trouble when they take a single verse and use it for their own purpose. If you ever catch me doing that, PLEASE call me on it.

1 Timothy 2:4 says: "who DESIRES all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of truth." The knowledge of truth is that Jesus Christ died for our sins and He IS THE ONLY WAY to an everlasting, perfect, pain free life.

So how does that apply to Grandma Johnson, Grandpa Eidsmoe, and our overall happiness? Well, if God's DESIRE, if what He wants most is for us, is to come to Him and to know that Jesus is the only way, God will use us anyway He can to achieve His DESIRE. Our lives are not our own and their might just be a bigger picture we are missing when we focus on our selves and our pain.

Am I saying that God LIKES to see us suffer? In the words of the apostle Paul, "May it never be!" God loves us more than we can possible imagine. He loves us so much that he will use circumstances to draw us closer to Him and to ultimately save the eternal lives of everyone He can.

So how do we apply this timeless principle to this heart wrenching situation?

I don't know.

Grandma and Grandpa are still on this earth for a reason. It's up to us to make the most of the situation. Maybe it's a learning experience for everyone who's going through it? Maybe it's a way to show God's love by putting their needs before our own? Maybe the Holy Spirit can use us to bring someone to Christ because of Grandma and Grandpa's suffering? Maybe we are being called to pray more? Maybe each one of us has a different role to play because of this? And maybe, just maybe, God is smarter than all of us and we need to trust Him?

The point is, I don't know the reason. But God does and that's the important thing. Remember we are instructed to "lean not on our own understanding."

Make sense? Too big of a stretch? I don't think so but like I said before, you keep me accountable by looking up the passages and make sure I'm using them correctly.

In the meantime, I will continue to love Grandma and Grandpa, and although I feel helpless, I will continue to put my faith in our heavenly Father and pray that His will be done.

—b

Monday, February 27th, 2006 / Philemon and Hebrews 1 and 2

GOD'S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY
For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. —Hebrews 2:11

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who died for me, because of me, is perfect, who is God, who knows all of my horrible thoughts and deeds, He is not ashamed to call me His brother.

Whoa! Could I possibly feel anymore humbled.

Verticle (No) Limit

Accountability.
Generally not considered to be a fun word.
Sharing the Gospel.
Generally not considered to be a fun phrase.
I’m going to attempt to achieve both on a daily basis.

C.S. Lewis referred to walking with the Lord as “hills and valleys”. Sometimes your up. Sometimes your down. Right now, I’m climbing a mountain.

Taking advantage of Bella’s 5:00am hunger pains, I have been meeting with our Lord nearly everyday shortly after Bella has a full tummy and an empty bladder. And just like the times in the past when I have religiously (yes, the pun was intended) had a personal “quite time”, I have loved every minute of it.

But it’s funny how quickly we forget. Notice I said “times in the past” referring to my other mountain climbing experiences. This is about my fourth time walking very passionately with the Lord. This time, I am bound and determined to make this Christian hike last the rest of my life.

Am I over zealous?
Possibly.
Am I just riding another temporary high?
Could be.
Will I stumble along the way?
Yes, over and over again.
Is my mission impossible?
No. (And I don’t need Tom Cruise’s help.)

So where am I going with this post? Well, I’m going to put my walk with the Lord on public display. From everyone who checks this blog daily to those who just “window shop” it every now and then will know how my exhausting climb is going.

Why?

Well, for the two reasons I first listed. Accountability and sharing the Gospel. If I know people are reading, or at least scanning my blog, I’m more ought to keep in the Word. Second, reading our heavenly Father’s living word, is great, but it is even better if you share it. (See mom and dad, I’m learning to share...) ;)

So, every weekday (if we still had “free” internet, it would be everyday) I will post what “God’s Message for Me Today” was and “How Does This Apply to My Life?. Basically a verse or two from the scripture I read in the morning and then my simple, uneducated application of it.

Read it if you want. Or you can check back just to see if I’m still “fighting the good fight” every day. I want to take up my cross on a daily basis and this is just another way to do it.

My Objective:
A (near) daily encouragement to you.

Even though Christ has already scaled the mountain for me, I’m bound and determined to show my heavenly Father how much I love Him by meeting Him at the top. So, contact your bookee’s, check out my odds, and place your bets. This kid is gonna climb a never-ending mountain and everyone will see if he succeeds or plummets.

—b

--

Friday, Februay, 23rd, 2006. 2 Timothy chapters 3 and 4.

GOD’S MESSAGE FOR ME TODAY.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” —2 Timothy 4:7

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO MY LIFE?
Looking over his life as an apostle/Christian, Paul can honestly say he took up his cross for Christ. He fought the spiritual battle known as the “Christian walk” with Christ as his leader.

I hope when my time on earth is over, I am able to look back and say the same thing. Not just pockets of following Christ here and there, but taking up my cross on a daily basis.

"Do you believe in miracles?"

"...YES!"
February 22nd, 1980 will forever live as a day to be celebrated. 20 years ago today, a small miracle took place in a hockey arena in Lake Placid, New York.

USA defeats USSR!

U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A! The chant never sounded sweeter. A bunch of college boys, mostly from Minnesota and Boston, defeat the Evil Empire at their own game...Hockey.

I will always remember a family vacation to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Evelyth, Minnesota where a worn out VHS tape relived the miracle over and over again. At the time I didn't grasp why that particular game meant so much. In fact, I don't think I ever really got it until Disney's "Miracle" was released in theaters. Sure I knew how good the Soviet Union was and that we didn't have a snow balls chance in...well...you know, of defeating the giant. But we won. That's great!

But what's the big deal? Right?

What I didn't realize, was what was happening in the world that same time.

• Long lines at gas stations as well as gas shortages
  
• Iranian militants seize US embassy in Teheran and hold US hostages for over a year
• The Soviet Union ivades Afghanistan
• Our overall economy was horrible
• An overheated reactor at the Three Mile Island nuclear facility in Pennsylvania threatens to melt down
• The accidental release of anthrax spores at a Soviet bioweapons facility in Sverdlovsk kills several hundred

Everyone's moral was down. USA was attacked. Not only phyiscally but emotionally. 1979 was not a fun year.

USA versus USSR was more than a hockey game. It was us versus them. Good guys versus bad guys. It had been a hard year and when the game clock ticked down to zero, we had something to cheer about again. We had seen a miracle.

—b

Soup...err...Seat Nazi

"No soup for you!"

The phrase made famous by the award winning Seinfeld episode kept popping up in my media-saturated brain. Only in our case, it would be "no seat for you".

Allow me to start at the beginning. This past Sunday, mom, dad, Erin, and I drove to the Baker's Square on the corner of 35W and 98th street for an "after church breakfast". Leif, Cyri, and college friend Rachael were going to meet us there.

The four of us arrived knowing we would have to wait about 10 minutes for Leif and company to arrive. We were prepared to wait since it was after church so we knew the place would be busy. We put in our name and number of people. Seven people. That's not so bad is it? Apparently it is.

As dad and I rested on the comfy vinal covered bench, Erin and mom stood talking expecting to be seated any moment. People (mainly the entire elderly population of Bloomington) came in after us and were immediately seated. The two very observant Eidsmoe men didn't take notice but Erin and mom were continually snubbed for a coveted seat. This happened for about 10 minutes before Erin said something. We were about to be seated when the morning manager came out of left field and shot us down.

"NO SEAT FOR YOU!" (Ok, so he didn't say it exactly like that but he might as well have.) When asked why...we didn't have our entire party with us. Huh? This is Baker's Square. It's not like they have four different salad forks. We told him we would order without the rest of our party but we were still shot down. (Now I know how Maverick felt when Goose died.) We couldn't do anything about it. After about 5 minutes of useless arguing, we left. (Ok Lord, how can I possibly use this inncident for your glory? I'm still waiting for an answer.)

Anyway, we ended up driving to Baker's Square's arch rival, the evil Perkins. We called Leif and let him know where to meet us. He could tell we weren't happy. Erin was quiet for the majority of the meal and the rest of us scarffed food like we were about to head to Ethiopia. (I think Erin was plotting some eloborate revenge scheme involving mice, fingernails, carpet swatches, and incandescant light bulbs.)

So here we are, Thursday afternoon, and I still can't believe it. Erin got the "Seat Nazi's" supervisor's name and number so I think she'll end up calling. Who knows. All I know is we are leaving the fuhrer alone and don't plan on visiting his camp anytime soon.

—b

Les Miserables (Miserable?)

Les Mis.
A world-renowned production. But will it pass the "guy test"?

Rewind to Saturday the 11th. Location: The Ordway in downtown St. Paul. Right next to the Excel Center (Go Wild!). 2:00 is curtain call. Let the guy test commence.

GUY TEST:
(In honor the Minnesota Wild, we will grade by goals, not points.)

1. +5 Goals for being right next the Excel Center
2. -2 Goals for having to get dressed up
3. -5 Goals for the CD prices being $50 and $60
   
4. -9 Goals for being a musical where every single word is sung
5. +5 Goals for the music. (It was much better than RENT.)
6. +6 Goals for a good redeeming story line
7. -4 Goals for a love story towards the end
8. +5 Goals for the bar owner and his wife (Very funny)
   
9. -2 Goals for confusing names (The only two names I could kinda remember were Jean Claude Van Damn and Corvette)
10. +5 Goals for the war scene
11. +2 Goals for having no ones life safe (The kid gets shot)
12. -6 Goals for being so long (It seemed like 6 hours instead of 3)
13. -3 Goals for the guy behind me for clapping like he has never seen anything better
14. +3 Goals to the guy next to me for wanting the play to hurry up as much as I did

FINAL SCORE: +31/-31=A Tie
SHOOTOUT: +50 Goals because Erin loved it and that's why we went
WINNER: Erin and Les Miserables

—b

What is Love?

What is Love?

I can tell you what it is not:

• An expression you say to your spouse once a year
  
• The "Saturday Night Live" skit of the same name
• A line used at a bar to any girl who'll listen
• An invention of Hallmark

Love is:
"This is how much God loved the world [you]: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life." —John 3:16 (Eugene Peterson's, The Message)

Ok, I realize some of you have already "checked out" of this post since I just had to mention a Bible verse. And some of you have heard this since you were 5. But just stop and think about it for 1 minute.

The creator of life itself, of the world we love to explore, even of the movie and sports stars we worship; this being called God, who doesn't need to give us the time of day, loved us so much that He would want us to live FOREVER with Him.

We who murder each other with words, who think of ourselves and could often care less of Him. We take the blessings he has given us (money, family and friends, work, a home filled with stuff, a spouse), and use it in spite of Him. This God (the creator of everything), WANTS us to live with Him.

Why?

Love.

I'll be honest with you. If I were in His shoes...err..Sandals, or vintage Air Jordan's, or Nike Shox, or whatever he wears, I would let us all [me] rot. Why would I want to spend any time with someone who sins as much as I do? Even when I know it's wrong, I do it anyway.

This brings me to my final question.

Do you love God?

How do you show it? Going to church? Being nice? Not swearing? Listening to Christian radio? Those are all nice but, do you spend time with Him by reading the Bible and applying it your life. The life (yours and my life) that He sent His Son to die for. Do you worship Him when things don't go your way? Do you look to Him when making the everyday decisions in your life?

Love God like he was your best friend. You can tell everything to Him and he always has time for you. Even when things don't go your way, tell Him. Scream at Him. He can take it. Just be sure to bring it to Him. The good and the bad.

Or did you already forget that He loves you, no matter what.

That's what love really means. Now my challenge to you (and me) is to show that kind of love to someone else. To everyone else. (Not very easy is it?) So tonight, when you are out with your husband or wife, girlfriend or boyfriend, remember how much God loves you and do the same.

Happy Valentine's Day!

—b

A Musical Birthday

QUESTION:
What does Jaws, Star Wars, Superman, E.T., Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, and War of the Worlds all have in common?

ANSWER:
Their theme music was composed by the same person. John Williams.

The reason I bring this up is today is John Williams' 74th birthday. He has been my favorite composer/recording artist ever since I heard the music of Star Wars. Since then I have always paid attention to the instrumental score in movies. John Williams happens to be responsible for the majority of my favorites.

Mr. Williams has been conducting film score starting with "Daddy-O" in 1959. Since then, he has done so many great movies and come up with so many recognizable themes for me to list.

One aspect I must always keep tabs on is putting people up on pedestals. I don't know if he is a Christian but I'm guessing not. Even if he was, I shouldn't regard him any higher than anyone else. He puts his pants on one leg at a time like everyone else. (The only difference is when he puts his pants on, he creates gold records.) ;)

Happy 74th Birthday John!
His Filmography and a pretty cool site

—b

Persevering Through Hardships

Wow, I didnt' realize how long it's been since I had last updated this thing. Last night when I called my folks, that was one of the first things my mom said. Erin and I have both been so caught up in deadlines, both work and home, we haven't even thought about the blog.

Erin has been slowly recovering from the vicious bug that has been going around the office. Before completely recovering she was busy painting and making the house "pretty". We had the two couples of our Bible study over on Friday so we stayed up til 1:26 in the morning painting. I had promised I would help get it done when we scheduled to have them over but life happens and I never made time to complete my promise.

I had the flu right before Erin got sick and on the heels of recovering have been doing freelance nearly every night until 10:30 and worked a good 8 hours on Saturday. It has been tiring but the Lord has been gracious enough to recharge my batteries every night. I have also had STEM deadlines as well as a PowerPoint commercial I attempted to get to Faith Baptist by Sunday morning.

Friday, February 3rd, 12:30 pm, I killed George. I totalled our Mercury Topaz. FRUSTRATING!

The night before it had snowed and the next day Bethany's parking lot (STEM is located on the campus of Bethany College of Missions) was slick with no salt or sand laid down. Anyway, I was leaving the parking lot on my way to Burger King when George and I started sliding down a slope. I tried everything I could to regain control: pumping the brakes, cranking the wheel, but to no evail. CRUNCH, right into Bethany's security gate.

Long story short, I told Erin (which was the worst part of the experience), informed both Bethany and our insurance company and drove to a State Farm certified repair shop. They did a relatively quick inspection and without even having to do a complete inspection told us the obvious, George was "totalled". Even though we were able to drive it there and damage that was done was to the drivers side front quarter panel, headlight, bumper, and the hood. Who knows the damage under the hood.

So we are waiting to hear back from the insurance company as to our options. Luckily De (Erin's mom) is an insurance agent so we have a lot of help in that area. Who knows what is going to happen. The only thing we are able to take comfort in is that our heavenly Father will provide. Looking back, the entire incident could have been a lot worse. So in that, I give Him thanks.

That's all for now...oh wait...it looks like my Betta here at my desk is attempting to stay afloat. Umm...now he is upside down on the bottom of his tank. He's trying to stay alive but as soon as I finish this post, I'm going to put him out of his misery by setting him free via the porcelin thrown. R.I.P. Mimi.

(It hasn't been our month.)

—b