A few months ago, I started reading the blog of Zsuzsanna Anderson, the wife of a pastor of an Independent Baptist church in Arizona.  As I’ve read her posts, I’ve agreed with a lot of her points, I’ve disagreed with some, and I’ve laughed at others.

I found her blog after researching the preacher (who turned out to be her husband) in this video to see if the video was a joke or not.  The video is of a pastor telling his congregation that it is against Scripture for a man to pee while seated.  I’m not making this up.  Watch the video if you don’t believe me.

It turns out that it wasn’t a joke (at least not as far as I can tell), and the church is a real church (Faithful Word Baptist Church in Tempe, AZ).  The church’s web site had a link to Zsuzsanna’s blog, and I subscribed to it, mostly out of curiosity.

Zsuzsanna is an amazing person.  She’s the mother of 4 children; she homeschools the ones old enough for school; she works hard to be thrifty; she supports a husband pastor who works a secular job through the week so he can be financially able to be the church’s pastor; and she still finds time to post all sorts of information that could be useful to her blog readers.

Most of the time when I disagree with her, it’s a matter of opinion: women shouldn’t be police officers; it’s wrong to send your children to any (public, private, or Christian) school because homeschooling is the only way Christian families should educate their children; male gynecologists are all perverts who chose their field to be able to take advantage of women; the 1611 King James Version of the Bible is the only real Bible.  The list could go on, and it does.  But it’s all opinion, and I’m happy to let her have her own.

Then today, I read the following on her blog (from this post):

…a derelict and his girlfriend stopped me in their big SUV outside church to ask if the church offered financial assistance to families, and cursed me out when I told them it only helped people who actually CAME to our church.

There!  What’s wrong with Christians…it’s in that paragraph…did you see it?  Christians today are so full of themselves that we’re not willing to help people who come to a church looking for help.

When we are approached by someone who knows we are Christians, we are given an amazing opportunity to practice obedience to Scripture.  Matthew 25 talks about when Jesus returns, and how he will explain to the righteous ones that the little things they had done for “the least of these” had been done as if they were done to Him.

While there was obviously a physical need in this situation, it is likely that there was also a spiritual need.  When we refuse to help meet a physical need, we ruin any future opportunity to meet a spiritual need.  The people asking for help aren’t immediately concerned with (or may not be aware of) their spiritual needs; they’re focused on the immediate physical need, and anyone who helps meet the physical need has an opportunity to move on to the spiritual need.

Should we give money to any person asking for it?  I don’t think so.  Should we blindly overlook people living a lifestyle that obviously goes against Scripture? No.  There must be some discernment, but turning people away because they are not part of your church is wrong.

It is the responsibility of the local church to help people in need.  The needy people know this, but somehow we Christians can’t wrap our brains around the concept of helping people that don’t dress or act like we do.  We get so wrapped up in stupid stuff that we fail to realize that meeting a physical need opens a door to meeting those spiritual needs.

It’s hard to speculate on what she should have done; she didn’t say what their specific need was.  Maybe she turned them away without asking.  Maybe they needed $20 for gas.  Maybe they needed a meal or a shower.  Maybe they were trying to keep their electricity from being turned off.  Maybe they needed a Savior.  Since they were blindly turned away because they weren’t church members, they didn’t get the help they needed.

I hope they found someone to help them, because even if they get the gas, food, shower, or money for the electricity, they’ll still need a Savior.  And I hope they find Him, but I’m guessing they won’t find Him at Zsuzsanna’s church.

I once heard Walt Wiley share about encouragement.  (Walt works with Winning With Encouragement to do a number of great things.)  He spoke about how Barnabas in the New Testament was such an encourager.  He pointed out that there are 4 ways to be an encourager:

• What you say
• What you do
• What you give
• How you live

(That’s from memory, but I think it’s right.)

Today was a rough day.  Nothing specifically went wrong; I got a lot done, but it was really just a tough day.

The last thing I did today was setup an image on our web site for one of our affiliates.  It’s a basic task, but I got frustrated by it because I wasn’t given much to work with (as far as a logo from the affiliate).  I worked through it, got it to look as good as I could, and sent the reply email that it was online.

I left the office feeling completely exhausted and overwhelmed.  Stuff like that really shouldn’t take the wind out of me like that, but today it did.  Shortly after I left the office, I received a reply from the requester:  “This looks great! Thanks so much.”  That reply really made my day today.  It was a quick reply, but it was just what I needed.

For me, it was a “what you say” moment that made the difference.  Somebody around you today probably could use a kind word (or helping hand, generous gift, or an example of behavior).  Go out of your way to give that encouragement today.  You never know what impact a little bit of encouragement could have.

We need your help.  Chris was actually going to throw this out.  Aaron came to the rescue, preventing what would have been a tragic, tragic loss.

So now that we’ve got it (safely out of Chris’ possession), we feel obligated to do something clever with it.  We need suggestions.  What do you suggest we do with it?  (Whatever we do, I’ll post pictures.)

Friday when I stopped to get gas in Acworth, I saw one of the Google Maps camera cars. Google has been sending cars driving around certain metro areas to give a photographic view to Google Maps users.

It’s a pretty cool feature, and I’ve often wondered about how these cars are setup. This one was a Chevy Cobalt (with California tags). There was a laptop mounted in the front seat (like a police car might have), and the wires went through the back door window on the driver’s side up to the camera equipment on the car roof.

While my gas was pumping (and while the Google guy was still inside), I grabbed my camera and got a few pictures. You can click on any of these for a bigger version.

First, a look at the equipment mounted on the roof.

And then a few shots of the car.

I suppose that maybe this means that street view photos of Acworth are coming soon (though I’m not sure the world is ready for pictures of everything in Acworth).

Once again, I was asked if I wanted to be a part of a book review blog tour. This book that didn’t interest me, but my wife wanted to read it. Here’s her review:

“With Endless Sight” is the third installment in a trilogy called Crossroads of Grace which, rather than being the story of one person or family carried through several books, are based on the common theme of the dangers that fell on single women out in the Wild West. This book in particular dwells on themes of forgiveness and compassion.

Fifteen year old Belinda and her family are leaving their plush business and home in the east and setting off on a journey to Wyoming because their father is secretly trying to save their family from the shame of a ruined reputation due to bankruptcy. The father tries to make the journey as painless as possible by booking them on a stagecoach rather than going in a wagon train. Though the journey starts well many circumstances arise in Belinda’s life that could have left her bitter toward God and all men in general. Her strong faith carries her though some very dark times and she allows God to work through her to bring healing and spiritual life to those around her. There are many who wronged this innocent teenage girl, but she chose to forgive each and every one and leaned on God to carry her through many tragic situations.

When she finally escapes her captors she lands in a brothel where she was protected because of her age and youthful appearance. The three ladies there shower her with affection, but it becomes clear to her that if she stays her beliefs will be compromised to a life of prostitution. Once again she allows God to lead her out of her present circumstances and into much more uncertain ones and once again she is called on to show forgiveness and compassion to those she could have blamed for every unfortunate event she had suffered through.

If you are looking for an answer to why bad things happen to good people, you probably will not find it in this book. However, if you want to know how to respond when bad things happen to good people then this book is a great place to start.

Related Links:
“With Endless Sight” on Amazon.com
Allison Pittman’s web site

Jon over at Stuff Christians Like had an interesting point about talking to people.  Specifically, he was talking about relating to teens, but I think the same principles could be applied no matter who you’re dealing with.

…more than anything, teens react and relate to honesty. Changing your language for them can come off as fake. It makes it feel like you’re studying a group of gorillas and learning how to grunt the way they do as you wear a gorilla suit and pretend you love bananas too.

Jon’s got some good insight on some pretty serious issues, and he’s got a sense of humor that I absolutely love.  If you’re not a regular reader, you should check out his blog.

10 things on my desk right now:

1. My wallet (and cash, amazingly enough).
2. A baseball.
3. My resume (no, I’m not looking for a new gig).
4. Bad stick of laptop RAM.
5. Anti-spam condom Shane brought back from Vegas.  Don’t ask.
6. Dead bugs (from the air vent above…I can’t seem to get rid of all of them).
7. Dilbert post-it notes.
8. Menu for Paisano’s Pizzeria (next door).
9. Brett Butler baseball card
10. Atlanta Braves Mr. Potato Head.

What’s on your desk?

Something needs to be said about Bobby Cox’s capacity as a major league manager. He’s just awful. Atlanta fans have all those years of post season appearances and one World Series championship to show for it.

The Braves TV and radio announcers (don’t get me wrong…I love those guys) go on and on about how great of a manager Bobby Cox is and how he’s definitely going to end up in the Hall of Fame one of these days. The truth is that his job is to win championships. He’s done that once in 17 years as manager. He was a great general manager, but he’s got no place managing on the big league level. And he certainly doesn’t belong in the Hall of Fame.

Saturday night my Dad and I took the kids to see the Braves, and we had the opportunity to see Cox demonstrate his incompetence in the bottom of the 6th inning.

There were 2 outs in the inning, the bases were loaded, the score was tied 2-2, and the pitcher’s spot was coming to the plate. The Braves already had 6 quality innings from the starter Reyes, but somehow, somewhere deep in the abyss that is the “how to manage a baseball team” part of Bobby Cox’s brain, it made sense to let Reyes bat for himself in the 6th.

Reyes, of course, grounded out, ending the 6th inning rally. I was confused. Dad was confused. 40,000 fans at the park were confused. I mean, if it’s the 4th - or even 5th - inning, and you’ve got a tie game with the bases loaded, you can let your pitcher bat. But after he’s thrown 6 quality innings, you’re not going to have him in there much longer anyway. At that point, you’ve got to pinch hit and hope you can get a couple of runs.

I heard the beloved Braves announcers justifying the decision; they said that Reyes’ pitch count was low, that he was so effective, that Cox really just had to send him back out there. I know they’re just standing up for the guy, but really, when your team’s manager does something that stupid, let him stand up for himself.

The bottom line here is that Bobby Cox just can’t manage. Somehow he’s got people believing that he’s wonderful. After all, he did manage those 1990’s teams to all those division titles, right? Those 1990’s Braves teams were incredible. They had 3 future Hall of Famers in the starting rotation. Anybody could have managed those Braves teams and made it to the playoffs. Bobby Cox just happened to be in the right place at the right time.

Cox is long overdue for retirement. He doesn’t seem to have any intentions of retiring, and the organization presents him like he’s a saint, so they can’t fire him. Seriously, you just can’t fire a saint.

I’d like to see another championship in Atlanta, but it won’t come until Cox is watching from his living room where he won’t have the ability to make insane managerial decisions (but he’ll still be an idiot).

My wife and I spent Saturday night in Chattanooga, celebrating 11 years of marriage. On the way back, my wife slept. Yes, it was like 10:00 a.m., but she slept. She’s got this condition that keeps her from staying awake longer than 10 minutes when on an interstate. It’s crazy. I tease her about it, and still we’ve been married 11 years. She’s a patient woman.

Anyway, with the realization that we’re on our way through decade #2, I’ve noticed some “marriage” themes coming out of my iPod lately. Eric Peters singing “These Hands,” Andrew Osenga’s “Dance Away The City,” Andy Gullahorn’s “Give it Time,” and so on.

On the way home through the rain on Sunday, I had one of those moments where I heard a song as if for the first time. I’ve listened to Jeremy Casella’s song “Darkest Night” probably no fewer than 100 times. It’s one of my favorites from the album “Recovery,” and even though I know every word, Sunday morning I heard it for the first time as I listened to Jeremy paint a beautiful picture of marriage:

When you’re all alone and you’re counted out
When you’re swallowed up inside the shadow of a doubt
With your faith worn thin as your sorrows rise
And your forced to find the words to say your last goodbye

Your tears will be my tears
Your tears, love will be my tears
On the darkest night

I’ve never been one to write anything profound.  You regular readers of this blog know what I mean.  Even now, I’m fighting for words to close this post.  How does one become a better writer?  I suppose that’s a question for another day.  For today, see the links below.  Go get some time alone to listen to Jeremy’s music.  Listen to it - really listen to it - and let yourself be captivated by it.  It’ll be the best hour of your day.

Related Links:
Jeremy Casella’s site
Jeremy Casella at virb.com (listen to the songs here)
Review of “Recovery”
Buy “Recovery”

After I participated in Andrew Peterson’s blog tour for “On the Edge of the Dark Sea of Darkness,” the publisher asked if I’d be willing to participate in future reviews.  I figured I would go for it because if the book to be read didn’t appeal to me, my wife (or one of her reading friends) would probably be willing to do a guest review on the blog.  That was the case with Gayle Roper’s new book “Fatal Deduction.”  My friend Heather was kind enough to read it and review it for me.  It sounds like a good one:

This is a well- written book that easily envelops you from the first paragraph.  It is set in the modern day, making it easy to follow and relate to.  Throughout the story you find yourself in the middle of relationships that easily translate into your own relationships: sibling rivalry, single mother raising a daughter, single father raising a daughter, relationships with exes, and more.

A fun twist in the book involves solving crossword puzzles to find clues to the story.  The crosswords are an integral part of the story for the characters, and because you have a chance to complete them, you find yourself becoming one of the characters yourself.  The crosswords are fun but challenging, and the answers are in the back of the book for those of you who just can’t resist a peek!  In all, this is an easy read that is hard to put down. 

Related Links:
Gale Roper’s site
“Fatal Deduction” at Amazon.com
Heather’s Creative Memories site (in case you need scrapbook supplies)