Year in Review

Well 2010 is almost over as the clock ticks down to 2011. To say this was an interesting or eventful year would be an understatement. I think it is safe to say that 2010 was one of those years that are so full of action, good and bad, that it just zips by. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was writing a post about 2009. Yet at the same time 2009 feels like a long time ago. I was looking at my “New Year’s Prayer” from last year and it is interesting how God challenged it a bit. He didn’t challenge it in a sense that He didn’t answer it or that He ignored it, but He answered it in the way I didn’t expect but was necessary. I prayed that I would grow closer to God and walk the narrow road, and I guess I didn’t know what I was getting into. Little did I know 2010 would be a year of challenge and joy, joy coming from the victory over the challenge and finding that with God’s help I can overcome anything. As I spend a quiet evening with family and friends cooking arancini (recipe and pictures to follow) I can’t help but think of the path God gave me to get here. I know it is not over, this is only the beginning, but when you pray a simple prayer asking to grow closer to God expect an answer and a journey. While it was a tough year, it was a year that made me stronger in my faith and just what I needed to get back on track.

Got to Love Google Earth Part II

I’m sure many are wondering why I posted three pictures from space on my blog, so here is my answer. Those three images could be seen (with the aid of a very good telescope) right outside my house and were taken from the “Google Earth/Sky” application on my computer. So why am I posting these images, well aside from the fact that they are very cool I can’t help but look at the Google Sky, seeing everything out there, and think how amazing the universe is. All that stuff about planets, nebulas, stars, black holes – it’s really cool for the lack of a better word. It can leave you speechless. Added to that to think that God designed it all, that He drew up the plans and dimensions and thought up the physics behind it, it is astounding. Looking at the world around me I cannot help but look to the heavens also, seeing these pictures I cannot help but notice God’s fingerprints in my life.

Got to Love Google Earth

Engraved in His Hands

As I continue reading through Isaiah, and the rest of the prophets, I cannot help but be amazed at how beautiful the prophets really are. I read the prophets a while ago when I was younger and found them tedious, new to the Bible I wanted the stories I heard in Sunday school as a frame of reference. But now there are tons of verses that jump out to me, and one of them is 49:16. It is God speaking and He says “see I have engraved you on the palms of my hands…” All I can say is “wow imagine that!” Engraved in God’s hands, when I think of the word “engraved” I think of a monument or wall of some sort with lots of names chiseled in. I think of how even though time passes by those people will be remembered forever. And it is the same here with God, our names/lives/memories are engraved in His hands – we cannot and will not be forgotten. Imagine hearing this in Isaiah’s time; Isaiah lived near the end of Israel’s existence, soon the Babylonian empire will conquer Israel, take some captive and kill many more. With the stories of great triumph (Moses, Joshua, King David) on their minds it is hard to remember how much God loves us, and even harder to say that we are engraved in His hands. But God did not forget, because He kept His promise and Jesus came, God Himself landed on our little planet to make things right. Even though life gets out of hand and things go wrong we cannot let this truth slip from our minds, our names are engraved in God’s hands, forget written in a book we are constantly on His mind and He will not forget us and will come through if we hold on to His promise.

Where is my Heart?

Here’s another post that I’ve been meaning to write for a while from my readings of Isaiah. The verse is Isaiah 29:13 “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men.” I found this verse fitting at this time because this is exactly what Jesus came to end – judging our spirituality by how clean our record is instead of where our hearts are at with God. When I think about it, how often am I simply paying lip service to God, instead of giving my heart over to Him? How often do I simply speak “Christanese” but never stop to think about what I am really saying. Recently I’ve been rethinking my devotional time, I used to read a chapter of the Bible and pray every morning and every night, and while that is good I found myself trying to speed things up a bit to “get it over with.” Now I’ve kept a notebook by my bedside, not to write out long passages or posts but a quick note or verse that I find interesting or feel really speaks to me. Life is not supposed to be going through the motions; it is not about following the rules. Instead we should put being right with God as our top priority and let the rules take care of themselves. Listen to the last part of the verse “Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men,” think about it, all the regulations were the Pharisees invention not God’s. Leviticus was never meant to be worship manual but instead a standard of perfection which if we set our hearts on God we can get a glimpse of. Worshiping God is not about saying “Well at the end of the day I did what I was told” it’s about saying “Well today I did my best to put God first in my life and look out at the world in that manner.” This Christmas we must remember what Jesus came here for, not to enforce a law but fulfill it and show us the true meaning of worship.

Let's Go Sox!

Well it is hard to believe that with all the Red Sox have been doing I have written very little in the past couple weeks, but here are my thoughts. The Red Sox offseason this year can be summed up in a few words, “awesome,” “perfect,” and “finally!” Now that the most glaring issue, the bullpen, has been addressed here are my thoughts, predictions, and anecdotes. First off a few thoughts, right now the Red Sox are stacked and probably have their best team in years. With the addition of power hitting Adrian Gonzalez and the speedy Carl Crawford, they have a formidable lineup that can top any pitching thrown at them. Their starting rotation is set (first year in a while that wasn’t a problem) and they finally fixed the leak in the bullpen. Remember the days when Lackey would pitch 7 innings and give up one run only to have the bullpen give up four, well they are over. Basically now the Sox have three closers and a couple long relievers. Now, there was one time when Theo thought getting a closer to act as Pap’s setup man would be a good idea (need we mention “give it up Gagne?”) so to say Jenks will work out is not yet a sure thing. But a well rested Bard and an extremely nervous Papelbon will be good for the team. Added to that Dan Wheeler and a healthy Doubront and you have an airtight, bullpen, or at least one that keeps you in the game. That said, here is my prediction, the Sox will (hopefully) win the Al East title with around 100 wins, the Yankees will be in 2nd and the Rays in either 3rd or 4th place. The Jays and Orioles will probably resume their “cellar dweller” status although the O’s have done a fair amount of retooling this winter. I’ll post a few polls up but for now the question is this: How many games will the Sox win in 2011? 1) 100-105 games, 2) 95-100 games, 3) 90-95 games, 4) 85-90 games? Vote early and vote often.

Tricks We Can't Fall For

I was watching The Godfather the other day and one thing, oddly enough, stirred me to write a blog post with a Biblical message. You see, the main character played by Al Pacino is Michael Corrleone, head of the Corrleone family in New York. He, unlike his father Vito Corrleone, uses violence and bloodshed to get his way. What does Michael do when someone stands in his way; well instead of “making him an offer he can’t refuse” he gets rid of everything that poses competition to him. There is this great scene… well I can’ spoil the movie, it’s a great film go out and rent it some time. Anyway it made me think about Christmas and the gift that we get. One thing I’ve struggled with and worried about is if it is possible to lose this gift we are given. And that is where Michael Corrleone comes in, he reminded me of the devil and how he deceives us. It doesn’t matter if you are new to faith or have been a Christian for years, any step towards God by anybody is a serious threat to the devil. So what does “old Screwtape” (see C.S. Lewis’ The Screwtape letters) he gets us out of the way, he makes us think he is no big deal, then attacks us by saying we are not worthy, we are failures, God will not forgive us. But that is a big fat lie, he knows it, but we don’t always don’t. The devil is not a cartoon character with horns and a tale, he is like Michael Corrleone, he wants us out of the way because we stand in between the world and him. It’s never blatant or obvious, but if we can’t recognize it we will be tricked every time. I don’t mean to go off on one of those war metaphors, they do little good and only make the problem worse by causing some to say “Gosh, this is too much, it can’t be real.” What I mean to say is that we can’t fall for the tricks and doubts that say we are not loved, forgiven, or remembered. There is nothing we can do to make God love us less, although we are sometimes tricked into believing it.