THE SPCSHP //

"The chief biblical analogy for baptism is not the water that washes but the flood that drowns...."

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 22:16:53 -0600

“The chief biblical analogy for baptism is not the water that washes but the flood that drowns. Discipleship is more than turning over a new leaf. It is more fitful and disorderly than gradual moral formation. Nothing less than daily, often painful, lifelong death will do. So Paul seems to know not whether to call what happened to him on the Damascus Road “birth” or “death” - it felt like both at the same time.”

- William Willimon from Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter (via taidochino)

Instructions for Today

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 10:03:23 -0600

If you work in an office at a computer, do the following:

Take of your shoes and socks
Find a pair of scissors
Cut off your slacks at the knees
Remove your tie and untuck your shirt
Find a piece of paper
Write “SEE YOU IN HELL” on the paper
Tape the paper to your computer screen
Storm out of the office
Throw your iPhone in the nearest trash can
Sit on a park bench and find a bird to smile at

50/50: Brothers and Sisters, Lately I have been thinking a whole lot about...

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:33:41 -0600

50/50: Brothers and Sisters, Lately I have been thinking a whole lot about...:

Read this post from a good buddy of mine on what it means to have a solid community of people around you who love and encourage you.

Ben, you may be younger than me, and single, and childless, and basically unemployed, and thereby freewheelin’, but trust me, I’ve learned more from you than you have from me. You are bold, and honest, and fearless, and crushingly humble - remain that way despite the world.

But don’t let it go to your head. You’re still a selfish asshole deep down. Don’t forget what you’re capable of, good and bad.

Keep these posts coming. Every time you state your faith publicly you hammer your stake further into the ground on who you are and what you believe.

bsingleton:

Brothers and Sisters,

Lately I have been thinking a whole lot about community. Much of this has been inspired by a renewed commitment to thanksgiving. He has shown me that one of the biggest blessings in my life is my tremendous network of friends and family. From you, I have learned what love…

It’s been a glorious day. Absolutely magically glorious....

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 17:03:16 -0600

It’s been a glorious day. Absolutely magically glorious. (Taken with instagram)

Me and Fatty P went fishing today and caught these little...

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 21:59:33 -0600

Me and Fatty P went fishing today and caught these little monsters.

"Daddy, I have joy in my heart because I really love love love love love love love New York City."

Tue, 21 Feb 2012 12:58:47 -0600

“Daddy, I have joy in my heart because I really love love love love love love love New York City.”

- Emma

Jesus is alive. He lives in Bermuda. If anyone finds a living...

Sat, 18 Feb 2012 22:16:22 -0600

Jesus is alive. He lives in Bermuda. If anyone finds a living Jesus better than Johnny Barnes, I want to know about it.

Man Weekend. (Taken with instagram)

Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:24:56 -0600

Man Weekend. (Taken with instagram)

Walk in the Promise, by Jeremy Riddle, from Bethel Music’s...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 10:38:07 -0600

Walk in the Promise, by Jeremy Riddle, from Bethel Music’s “The Loft Sessions”

God responds to David’s danger as if he were an angry...

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 07:45:42 -0600

God responds to David’s danger as if he were an angry dragon. (Taken with instagram)

Here's the Trouble, But the Trouble is Liberating.

Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:47:00 -0600

Being a Christian who pursues the Lord as an ongoing theme of life brings with it some difficult obstacles. Pretty quickly, you’ll come to the end of yourself and one of two things will happen:

You’ll stop.
You’ll continue.

Coming to the end of yourself means you’ve extended yourself in your pursuit of God as far as you ever have before. In high school, this point was a lot more obvious, because everything was exaggerated back then. Now its a little harder to pinpoint.

Either way though, you’d do one of those two things. Stop (making whatever connection you had with God more of a “camp high” than the beginning of a real lifetime pursuit). Or continue. Continuing is difficult. Here’s why it’s still difficult for me:

I’m set in my ways. We all are. Whoever you are, whatever you do, you’ve got certain things that you hold onto with a pretty tight grip. It doesn’t matter what these things are, it just matters that they exist, and that we acknowledge them.

We are a boulder. Our lives are a boulder. Inside our boulder is everything. Our families, kids, friends, jobs, health, attitude, interests, etc. That boulder sits there until you move it. You are the only person that can move it.

So here’s where the problem comes in:

A fruitful lifetime of pursuing the Lord means that boulder has to move.

We don’t like moving our boulders. It’s hard. And awkward. And too much trouble. We’re too busy to worry with it. We’ve got other things to do. Dancing with the Stars is on.

But God doesn’t seem to care about my interests nearly as much as I do. No matter what they are, God seems to be constantly drawing me away from all my interests - not because they are unworthy pursuits, but it seems like God just wants to see what he can talk me into giving up, simply for the sake of pursuing him instead.

God doesn’t seem to be nearly as interested in what I’m doing instead of pursuing him, just that there’s something else I’m choosing over him.

So that’s the difficulty.

I have things I want to do, and God wants me to clear my entire schedule for him, pretty much everyday.

I’m not necessarily talking about those things you have to do - like going to work, and feeding your cat - although I wouldn’t put it past God to try to talk you out of those things too.

Either way, I’m learning that as I take each step further away from myself, from pursuing my own interests, I find God to be that much more fulfilling, and exciting, and ravishing. This makes me want to get more and more creative in slashing my schedule and dropping interests and pursuing him even more. You see, it’s not just that God wants you to give things up, its that he knows that you will be happier and more fulfilled in life if you spend more time with him - thinking about him, talking about him, walking around with him.

So as you begin to learn these things, you’ll start to trust God more and more. You’ll start to have no regard for television, or Facebook, or video games - which (let’s be honest) is a good thing.

And pretty soon you’ll be free. Totally free from all those things that used to take up all your time. Then it gets challenging again. Then you have to start fixing other odd things in your life. You’ll start drinking less Cokes. You’ll start setting your alarm clock earlier. You’ll start getting outside more. You’ll stop smoking. You’ll drink less alcohol. You’ll start finding creative ways to get alone - riding your bike, taking a long drive in the country, working in the yard - anything just to get some uninterrupted time with Jesus. Praying. Singing. Writing. Thinking. Talking.

The boulder is moving. Things are changing.

But now that I’ve gotten a taste, and everything else has become some pale in comparison to God, I’m finding that I’m running out of things to give up. So what happens next?

We will see.

I just hope I keep choosing to continue when I hit a wall. That’s the other hard part.

I made this tonight. Using it as my iPhone lock screen. (Taken...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 23:28:00 -0600

I made this tonight. Using it as my iPhone lock screen. (Taken with instagram)

SIX More Books. I'm on a Roll.

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:54:00 -0600

I read a few new books, and I added one at the beginning that I had originally left out.

1. Maus, by Art Spiegelman is a two volume graphic novel (biography) about the author/illustrator’s father’s experience as a Jew in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II. It is incredible. I didn’t originally include it in this list because it is a graphic novel, but the books were amazing and so I am adding it in as the official first book I ever read. I’m counting them as one book.

40: The Natural: The Misunderstood Presidency of Bill Clinton, by Joe Klein. Since I basically work for Bill Clinton as the Clinton School’s chief photographer, and because I see him several times a year, I thought I should learn a little about who he was as a President. This book is very well written and surprisingly (to me) quite entertaining. I couldn’t put it down. Like him or not, Clinton was a game changer.

41. Midnight in the Garden of Good & Evil, by John Berendt. Honestly, this was one of the worst books I’ve ever finished, which isn’t entirely a bad thing. I’ve never finished a bad book. I generally get bored and give up if I’m not wildly entertained, so everything on this list gets my approval and recommendation to anyone out there looking for something to read. It just so happens that this book falls squarely at the end of the list of books I enjoyed the most. I’m surprised I trudged through the end of it at all, actually. It’s slow, and pointless, and has very little action. The main character of the book is undoubtedly the town of Savannah, Georgia, which is interesting, but serves as a poor protagonist. If you like books from/about the south though, you might like this one. I didn’t.

42. Sex on the Moon: The Amazing Story Behind the Most Audacious Heist in History, by Ben Mezrich. Once again, Mezrich serves up a gripping narrative of a smart kid doing something crazy. This book is about a kid who landed a gig at NASA and then proceeded to steal a safe full of moon rocks to try to sell to a buyer in Belgium. Crazy. Couldn’t put it down.

43. Ugly Americans: The True Story of the Ivy League Cowboys Who Raided the Asian Markets for Billions, by Ben Mezrich. Since I was back on a Mezrich kick after Sex on the Moon, I decided to read the only other non-fiction book by him I hadn’t yet read. This one was the worst. Which, again, isn’t all that bad. The story was just a little slow and I got the feeling he was reaching for something to fill the pages with. As I was reading I kept wondering why anyone found this story interesting enough to write a book about. It’s more of a magazine article I think. Regardless, the book was decent. I finished it.

44. We Die Alone: A World War II Epic of Escape and Endurance, by David Howarth. Folks: This is the best book I’ve ever read. Hands down. No contest. Game over. This book chronicles in amazing vivid detail the story of Jan Baalsrud, a Norwegian secret operative fighting for the British army during WWII. Right from the start, Baalsrud’s plans are foiled and he spends the rest of the book on the run from the Nazi’s in northern Norway, trying to make it to the Swedish border before the snow melts. It completely blew my mind. I read it in about 10 hours over two days. If you like true stories of survival, this is the best one ever. Insane.

Anyway, that should bring us up to speed. I’ve now read 44 books in my life. Here, again, is the complete list (with links to Amazon).

All the books I’ve ever read in my life:

#PrayerForTrouble (Taken with instagram)

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 07:40:41 -0600

#PrayerForTrouble (Taken with instagram)

My kids are so cool. I want to be as cool as them. (Taken with...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 18:16:03 -0600

My kids are so cool. I want to be as cool as them. (Taken with instagram)

The Ultimate Campmobile Man Project

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 09:44:00 -0600

So I was talking with my Dad the other day about building out a bed and gear storage in my truck bed for camping and I couldn’t stop thinking about it - so I did it. Here’s what I did:

1. Start // Here’s the truck bed when I got started. Empty and boring.

2. Frame // I built a simple frame that slides easily in and out (in case I ever need to take it out to haul stuff). The sides are 1 x 10s (6 feet long, which is the length of the bed). There are five braces built from 2 x 4s. Four on the top (spaced equally from the ends) and one on the bottom in the back (near the cab) to keep the sides from buckling in at the bottom. I cut the braces long enough so that the whole frame fit in between the wheel wells nicely, and the 1 x 10s rest in the tracks of the bedliner, keeping it all in one place. I screwed this all together with 3 inch deck screws.

3. Deck // The deck is built from two pieces of plywood. The one in the back is 3 feet 6 inches long by 4 feet wide. The sides of the back piece overhang the edges of the wood frame, but rest on the wheel wells, adding extra support and width. Also, in the back two corners, I have some cubby holes to stash stuff in while I’m camping. The front piece of decking is 2 feet 6 inches long by however wide the wood frame is. I didn’t want the front piece to overhang the edges of the wood frame because I didn’t have the added support of the wheel wells and I wanted to save space on each side for my water jug on the left and anything else on the right (shoes, clothes, etc.). I screwed the decking to the frame with 1 and 1/8th inch drywall screws because that’s what I had. Note: I had to add another 2 x 4 brace to the top of the frame where the two plywood pieces came together to screw to and add extra support on the plywood joint.

4. Drawer // After the decking was complete, I built a 4 foot long drawer out of 1/2 inch plywood to hold all my camping gear. I cut the sides and back pieces at 7 inches tall to allow it to slide easily after the plywood bottom was installed. Then I cut the bottom piece at 4 feet long and the width to match the width of the frame, with about a half inch of wiggle room on each side so it would slide easily. Then I cut the front piece to match the size of the end of the frame, all the way to the edges so it looked finished. I screwed the whole thing together with the same 1 and 1/8th inch drywall screws that I used on the decking. After the face of the drawer was installed I drilled two half inch holes and made a rope handle to pull the drawer with. The whole thing slides really nicely on the bedliner without any drawer guides or anything, even full of gear.

5. Carpet // I called a buddy of mine in the construction business and asked him to call some of his carpet suppliers to see if they had a free scrap of commercial grade carpet I could have for free. He called me back 10 minutes later and gave me an address. I picked it up, took it home, vacuumed it, and threw it in the truck. I was going to staple it down but our staple gun only had two staples in it. So I found some old roofing nails in my basement and used those, then I cut the excess off with a razor knife.

6. Lock // Now that I have basically all my camping gear in the truck at all times, I felt like I needed a little extra security. To lock the drawer, I cut a slot out of the top of the face panel on the drawer and put an eye-bolt on a washer in the 2 x 4 on the front of the frame so that the head of the eye-bolt fits into the slot when the drawer is closed, then I slapped a lock on it (see above and below). Obviously, this will not deter the most heinous of criminals, but it will keep an honest man honest.

I should note that so far I’ve spent a grand total of $1.03 on this project. I had all the wood in my basement except the two 1 x 10s, which a buddy of mine picked up for me at Lowe’s and said he had drank more than enough of my beers in the past year to make up for the cost (they would have run me $7 each). The carpet was free. I already had the nails, screws, and rope. I spent 65 cents on the eye-bolt and 30 cents on the washer (plus tax).

The next step is to try to find a 4 inch slab of foam at an upholstery shop to use as a mattress. Hopefully I can talk my wife into sewing a fabric cover for it to finish it all out.

Hike with Papa. (Taken with instagram)

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:55:50 -0600

Hike with Papa. (Taken with instagram)

This guy is awesome.

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:02:00 -0600

This guy is awesome.

These are the guys behind The Van. My wife and I support their...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:56:04 -0600

These are the guys behind The Van. My wife and I support their mission monthly. You should too. Think about that 6 year old kid, man.

This is my new favorite band. #Justice

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 09:57:52 -0600

This is my new favorite band. #Justice