Pastor Randy's Blog

God’s Creative Genius & Snorkeling

As many of you reading this blog already know, we just got back from a vacation in Hawaii.  It was the trip of a lifetime and we got to share it with my parents, my sisters and their families – what a blessing!  They even got my dad back on a plane after swearing off flying for about 20 + years, so you know it was a big trip!!  My parents have been saving/planning this trip for a long, long time and they paid the grandkids’ way, which made it possible for us to go.  And I know what you are thinking and let me answer for them: No, they don’t need to adopt you as a grandchild! haha

While there, I got to do one of my favorite activities in the whole world: snorkeling!  I love snorkeling because it’s like entering another world just below your own.  I love the spiritual parallels as God sometimes allows us to pull back the curtain and see the world that exists without us even knowing that it is there (like Elisha in 2 Kings 6:8-23).

I am going to include a couple of my pictures taken from an underwater camera.  The really expensive ones of those cost $300-400 so we opted for the disposable, $17.99 version instead. LOL  I wish the quality was better, but I love these pics, and I hope you enjoy them too.  It probably means a ton more to me since I took them… then again it also explains why nothing is centered correctly! LOL

Can I mention something that strikes me every time we get to go snorkeling?  God’s creativity is absolutely, over-the-top ridiculous!  If you think about it, in HIStory, there have been so few people who ever have seen the fish and the reefs that He created.  For centuries so few people even knew that they existed because we lacked technology and travel methods for so long (scuba gear, etc was not invented until after the 1900’s according to Wikipedia).  And still, God chose to create not just one or two, but 100’s of different kinds of species of amazingly technicolored fish, sea creatures, and coral reefs.  Shelly describes a reef as, “It is like someone dropped neon paint on the ocean floor.”  If you’ve seen it you know this description is spot-on!  But why would He do that?

If I may be so bold to put forth a theory, I would put it like this… Writers write.  Painter paint.  Singers sing.  Musicians make music.  They can’t help themselves.  It comes out of them, not as a work, but as a self-expression that they can barely contain.  Their creativity needs an outlet.

I see God the same way, yet we so seldom think of Him as the Ultimate Artist that He is!  We praise Michaelangelo endlessly for replicating the human body in marble so exquisitely.  But why do we never think to praise the one who created the human body in the first place… and with no previous model, BTW?  Or gave ol’ Mike-angie the creativity to do his thing so well?  How about the fact that He also created the marble, for that matter?

It attests to His creativity that knows no bounds.  He was not satisfied to not express it.  What an amazing God we serve.  Let’s not forget to be in awe of Him or of His creation.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.

There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.”  Psalm 19:1-3

So, are any of you the snorkeling type?  If so, where have you been?  Did you like it, love it, or hate it?  Do you get some claustrophobia going when you stick your head under water and breathe?  Does doing  that play with your mind a little bit?  Are any of you looking forward to snorkeling, or making plans to do so?  Let me hear back from you guys.  Let’s talk snorkeling, God’s creativity, man’s creativity, and other stuff.

God’s Blessings and Peace,

RPfromEHC

PS.  Check out my picture of swimming with a sea turtle.  I saw about 5 of them when we visited a Black Sand Beach on the Big Island (Hawaii).  We snorkeled with them and my sister got this shot of me.  I sent it out to all my tweeps already, but maybe you aren’t following me yet.  If not, follow me by logging onto Twitter and searching for me.  My Twitter handle is @RPfromEHC.

Spinner dolphin-taken from small boat we were on

Example #1035 We Have No Clue What A Real Man Is

If you are here to see the funny video I promo’ed in the newletter, check the comments section at the bottom.

Let’s be real here: our view of manhood is pretty screwed up right now.  This world’s view of masculinity usually revolves around “the billfold or the bedroom,” as the excellent book Season of Life by Jeffrey Marx says.

http://www.amazon.com/Season-Life-Football-Journey-Manhood/dp/0743269748

In other words, how much do you make and/or how many women have you had a sexual relationship with?  BTW, I highly recommend this book, especially if you have had a difficult relationship with your own father, or if you are interested in what a real man with Christian values ought to look like.  In our world, we  don’t champion men who just simply live their lives well and love their family well.  It hardly makes for good TV.  So consequently, we can scarcely point to any positive examples of what a real godly man ought to look like.

So how screwed up is our society?  “Don Draper” the lead character in the AMC TV series “Mad Men” recently was named “Most Influential Man of 2009” in a poll conducted by AskMen.com.

http://blogs.amctv.com/mad-men/2009/10/don-draper-most-influential-man.php

The most influential man was a FICTIONAL CHARACTER?  I don’t watch “Mad Men.”  I know little to nothing about it, so I don’t want to come down too hard on something I don’t fully understand.  But here’s a quick overview: Don Draper is a chain-smoking ad executive from the 1960’s.  I know that at his best, he represents masculinity and taking charge in your life.  He stands for his beliefs and is courageous with his convictions, some of which seem to be ahead of his time.  He struggles with a past, but has risen above it in many ways.  Don Draper is kind of a throwback to a simpler era of gender roles.  He’s a great bread winner for his family and he is seen as attractive to lots of women.  Now that is good in any era, right?

But come on now.  Let’s not forget he has some character issues, to say the least.  Here is a short blurb from Wikipedia on Don Draper, just to give you an idea of what his character is like in the show:

“Don cheats on Betty [his wife and mother of his 3 kids] repeatedly throughout Seasons 1 and 2. In Season 1, Draper is involved with Midge, a pot-smoking beatnik and illustrator who works out of her small, dingy apartment. Midge’s beatnik lifestyle and friends do not appeal to Don, but she offers him an escape from his high-pressure job. Don receives a bonus check of $2,500 from Sterling Cooper and asks her to run away with him to Paris. However, Don changes his mind, perhaps because he realizes Midge is in love with a fellow beatnik, or perhaps because the instinct to escape is fleeting, and instead stuffs the check into her blouse. He tells her to go buy a car with it and leaves.”

What Would Don Draper Do? Really?

You give ONE of your mistresses (what? I guess one wasn’t enough!?) enough money to buy a car instead of bringing that home to your wife and 3 children?   All this is in addition to the fact that this man accidentally killed the real Don Draper in the Korean War, and is impersonating him to escape his past.  Not even his wife married him knowing his true identity.  I’m not saying let’s make all TV heroes wear white and the bad guys wear black.  I like the layers of characters instead of the simplistic, 2-dimensional characters many TV shows have.

But people are embracing this man’s simplistic, “live for today” 1960’s sensibilities as a roadmap for our generation to follow.  Is that really what we want to glorify?  You remember WWJD (What Would Jesus Do?), right?  I found this image on the first page of my google image search for Don Draper (portrayed by actor Jon Hamm).   So that’s what we’re going with as what passes for a real man?  Really?

Two things as I bring this to a conclusion. First, I do not miss the 1960’s when it comes to gender roles.  My wife has a job, and she is very, very good at it.  I am not a lesser man because she works.  If she chose to stay home, that would be great too, but it is her choice, or ours together.  I play Mr Mom to my kids – they aren’t my wife’s sole responsibility.  I’ve done more than my fair share of dinner dishes, and I actually like to cook (even inside)!  I do not think my kids have to be afraid of me in order for me to have their respect.  I don’t think my wife is nothing but a trophy, although if you read this Shelly, I still think you look like a trophy wife, baby!

Second, I sense that Don is attractive as a figure because of his confidence and his success/money.  I think men of 2010 crave the respect that was given to men in a past eras because men crave respect above all other things.  It is the number one need for a man according to “His Needs, Her Needs” polls.  And sex is second.  Ponder that for a minute… that’s really saying something, isn’t it?  Women, if you want to tap into your man’s heart, start to tell him and show him how much you respect him.  And men, become someone who is worthy of your wife’s and other’s respect.  That is where real self-satisfaction lies.  Not in cheap imitations of true respect, or in the surface success that can come with wealth and a false sense of independence.

I know it sounds like a church answer, but I’ll take Jesus.  Serving the down and out.  Tough as nails (He went to the cross knowing exactly what was coming… WOW!!)  Forgiving.  Bold and courageous in the way He stood up to the Pharisees.  He saved people’s lives in the face of injustice (woman caught in adultery: John 8).  He reached out those who others scorned (touching on of the lepers He healed: Matt 8).  A real man through and through… totally amazing.  Amazing.

Just because a character on TV is shown in-depth doesn’t mean that they actually have any real depth.  Just know that in Movie-ville and TV Land, there are not a whole lot of men out there worthy of our respect.  Please use caution that you watch with both your eyes open AND your mind engaged.

30 Days To Live, Switchfoot, Joan of Arc

If you know me very well, you know that my favorite band is Switchfoot.  I have liked them since back in the days of their first album, “The Legend of Chin” (released in 1997).  I read an album review, took a chance and bought the album without hearing them at all.  Fast forward, and I have gotten every one they’ve released since then (except their “Best Of” album, for obvious reasons).

I follow the lead singer, Jon Foreman on Twitter.  BTW, if you Twitter, why don’t you follow me?  I only post occasionally, but I think it is always something worthwhile when I do.  But then again, I guess everyone thinks that about their own posts, right? LOL!  But I digress…

One of the best things about their band is how much they connect their faith to making a difference in the world.  John Foreman tweeted that he just wrote something for the Huffington Post.  Now most of the Huffington Post is not something that I agree with, but one thing about JF, he is not going to only be pressed into a “Christian mold” and only try to engage the world around him if they agree with his worldview.  Sometimes we Christians are too busy trying to convince the already convinced, but that is another post, I think…

So check out his story about Joan of Arc. And about her life story and the impact that she had on her world?  All I can say is “Wow!”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jon-foreman/the-dark-horse-joan-of-ar_b_558967.html

Kind of all goes together with my “30 Days To Live” sermon series that begins this week. Have a great week, and be blessed,

RPfromEHC

PS.  If you are a podcast junkie like me, check out episode #109 in the podcast “How Stuff Works – Stuff You Missed in History Class.” (the episode from 4-22-09)  Podcasts are like old-time radio specials that you can listen to on your computer OR download it to your i-Pod (a truckload… maybe most… of these are available for free).

Big B-day, LOST, & Some New Wheels

Hey everyone, welcome to spring!  I’m loving it, aren’t you?  I’ve got a couple of things I want to try to hit in this blog post.  I’m starting with my family…

DAD AND SIS

My dad is turning 70 today (I wrote this on April 9 but posted about 12:30 AM on the 10th!).  And my oldest sister Lancia was also born on this day!  Talk about an awesome birthday gift, huh?  Love ya, sis!  She is such a great person and I am so proud to claim her as my sister.  Now If I could just work on her claiming me…  LOL

What can I say about my dad?  I am just so impressed and pleased with

him as a person and have grown to respect him even more as a man than

ever before.

I had the awesome opportunity to work with him side by side every day for five years.  So many people never get to work with their father.  If they do, many wish they had not!  Knowing him as well as I do, it just is an impressive thing to love him and respect him like I do.  So Happy 70th Birthday, dad!!  You’re truly an inspiration to hundreds of people.  I am only one more, but maybe you’ve impacted me more than anyone else you’ve touched.  I know you’ve impacted me more than anyone else in my life…

LOST

Are any of you guys watching “Lost?”  I know some of you are.  I don’t wanna be “that guy” who drives people crazy with Lost stuff.  But this season has a lot of people talking and a lot of compelling things happening in it as it draws to a close.  Personally, I am amazed that the show from Season 1 when these people were trapped on a deserted island has become what it has.  Check out the poster/pic that came out to promote the final season.

As you can tell from the “Last Supper” motif, it has become increasingly spiritual in it’s tone.  It is amazing that something that seemed to start out as a story about surviving a plane crash on a deserted island has become about good vs evil, and has become in many ways, a story that greatly mirrors “The Greatest Story Ever Told” as so many have called the Gospel.

I know that there are about 100 different themes in  “Lost” and I am not smart enough to catch them all, much less explain them all. But here is one thing that may really make you think… it did me.  Maybe the  most overriding theme amongst all the others is the fact that they just have given us a whole series that is not about getting “lost” on an island but being “lost” in the spiritual sense.  That we are all in desperate need of redemption.

Now I wish that I could say that I came up with that theory on my own but the truth is that that was an observation from my “Lost parent” Janet Hilton (she & hubbie Brendan were the people who got Shelly and I hooked on the show and provided all the DVD’s to all the previous seasons).  So I can’t claim any credit but I totally believe that it’s true.  What about you?  Are you watching “Lost” and if you are, what do you think about this theory?

I think my favorite episode of the whole series so far is when Jacob (the figure that represents Christ) meets and physically touches all the people that are on the island.  One of my favorite scenes is when he touches John Locke after he is pushed out a window about 5 stories up.  It appears that Jacob’s touch brings him back to life.  But I want to remind you that Jacob is not the perfect representation of Christ.  Christ can forgive sins; Jacob claims he cannot.  (that is what I would call a HUGE and important difference).  But some of the episodes with an overwhelming spiritual overtone have been so well done it literally brought tears to my eyes a couple of times.  This episode was one of my favorites because it showed that Jacob/Christ-figure was there for each of the characters at some of the most pivotal moments of their lives.

One other great thing about “Lost” is that the flaws of every one of the characters have been chronicled.  There is no hero in this show.  The hero one week is exposed as something different later.  No one in the series is untainted by their own flaws and sins and problems.  No one is who they appear to be on the surface.  Kind of like all of us without Christ’s love applied to our lives!

I have to share one more of my favorite scenes from this entire series.  It is from earlier this season.  Ben Linus is a guy who is running from Jacob’s camp (Jacob is the Christ figure) and running away to Locke (the character possessed by evil incarnate).  If you can’t see the parallels of redemption running through this kind of clip, if feel for you.  You’re totally missing the entire point of the series!

http://abc.go.com/watch/clip/lost/SH006723620000/236302/253530

Tears were coming to my eyes… it was such an amazing scene.   I had to praise God that HE was the One who said about all of us, “I’ll have you,” even though all of us were villains in our own ways, and in our own stories.

NEW WHEELS

Well on a personal front, we are biting the bullet and getting another car payment. haha  In all seriousness we are getting a new car for Shelly and I guess after driving the minivan for over 205,000 miles, it’s probably about time.  I would probably still own my little Mazda pickup from ’89 if I had my way, so maybe I’m a bit slow to come around on these things.

She drove that van for 10 years.  It’s been a really good vehicle, and so we continue to swear by our Hondas.  We’ve driven at least 2 of them over 200K miles now. We had one that we sold at about 195K.  We had one other that went out on us early… around 185K! haha   But we try to have only one car payment at a time.  And with that many miles and years, and us finally getting my Man-toy paid off, she’s decided that she is no longer in the life-stage where she needs to have a minivan.   So that is good news for her and it is good news for me too, I guess.  That is, if I can convince her to let me borrow her new car.  Wish me luck – I think since I made her wait this long, I might need it!  haha  Here’s a pic of this pretty little thing.

God bless you all, we love ya!

RPfromEHC

The Sex-Talk from Sunday

Well, I hate to kiss and tell, but I just completed my first real in-depth sermon about sex. And as you know, whenever somebody says, “I hate to do such-and-such” that probably means they are about to do the very thing that they say that they hate. So here I go… Some of your responses, with your names withheld.

“Thank you for the sermon today.” I got a couple of those.

“Thank you for the frankness. You went deep, but it was a good deep.”

“I wish I had had this sooner.”

“Mom’s sex talk to me was 7 words…”

“I kept wondering how far down you were going to go. And you went there, but you still pulled it out.”

“Is that one going to be on i-Tunes?” (BTW, it is just like always thanks to Janet!)

Well, this sermon won’t be the last time we speak on this subject at EHC. I don’t know when we will do it again, and I don’t know what format it will be in. Maybe the next time I will try to tackle it in a more “discussion-friendly” format. I’m interested in hearing from you. Or hearing about questions you would like to hear discussed.

I want to make clear that it was never my intention to be like a shock-jock on the radio, and try to talk about this subject because I knew that it would be controversial. I really feel like this world is talking about sex all the time. TV. Radio. Magazine and books. If the only place that is not talking about it is the church, three things happen.

#1 We Create A Vacuum of Ideas When One Does Not Exist

I heard a podcast of Rolling Stone interviewing Bono, lead singer of the rock band U2.  In this interview Bono talked about U2’s albums, and he spoke about how one particular album dealt with sex, and he said, “This is a powerful subject… sex…. If it isn’t the center of your life, which Frued said it was – and I don’t think it is – but even if it is close to center, how is it that we have relegated the subject to pornographers, and the dullest of minds?”

If you will allow me to expound on what a multi-platinum rock star is trying to say (haha), I think he’s saying that as decent and (in his own case, at least somewhat) God-fearing people fail to talk openly about the way that we view sex, we leave a very important and powerful subject to people who have no problem stating a view contrary to God’s view.  Churches remaining silent on sex creates a vacuum that gets filled with trash.

#2 We Assume An Understanding of Principles That Does Not Exist

We cannot assume that everyone know what God says about sex. We live in a society where fewer and fewer people have grown up in church. Some know a little of the church’s beliefs, but many just don’t know. And some who think that they know have gotten their info from the media’s blurbs about Christian beliefs (yikes!). I would prefer to let the Word speak for itself. Go back to the comments section above. One person said, “Mom’s sex talk to me was 7 words…”

Other comments I got (though not listed above) said that they wished that more had been said from their parents. So, did these people just not know about sex till I spoke about it Sunday? So laughable, right? So they got them from other people. Or society. But from the church? Hmmmm, doubtful. Can I ask, “Why not?”

#3 We Risk Making God Appear Irrelevant… Which He Is Not

God pretty clearly about sex in His word. But if we don’t speak about those subject because we are embarrassed? As a pastor, I can’t imagine telling God, “I let the people I preached to think Your Word wasn’t relevant to all important issues of life because I was embarrassed to talk about sex. And besides, I didn’t want to make people uncomfortable in Your house.” Thanks, but no thanks. I’ll skip that conversation on my judgment day, thank you very much! If God wanted us to know it, and He put it in the Bible, we should share what He says. The entire book of Song of Songs (also known as Song of Solomon) deals with sex . Some have said that SOS is merely a metaphor for Christ and the church. Check out this Scripture link and tell me that you think that SOS isn’t about sex.

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Song%20of%20Solomon+7:6-8&version=NIV

You See Tim Tebow’s Super Bowl Appearance?

As you were watching the Super Bowl 2 Sundays ago, did you see the Tim Tebow ad?  It’s created quite a stir.  Not that the commercial itself was at all controversial – it wasn’t.  But more than anything, it started a debate because it was not your normal football fare.  I mean, no one was in a bikini or anything!

But this subject is not, in my opinion, political.  I believe it to be spiritual.  So I wanna weigh in.  Strap in, this could get bumpy, but I am going to speak what I believe to be a Biblical perspective on a issue that has become a hot button recently because of Mr. Tebow (who beat my beloved Sooners in the National Championship game a couple of years ago.)

I’m dropping a link to a blog from a Christian author named Randy Alcorn (author of Deadline, Safely Home, many more).  He responds to an article by a columnist who is definitely “pro-choice,” She talks about the commercial and how critics have responsed to it.  Her article’s title is “Tebow’s Super Bowl Ad Isn’t Intolerant; Its Critics Are.”

I highly recommend that you take the few minutes required to read the whole article that he links to.  I sent you through the Randy Alcorn blog page for 2 reasons.

He’s a great author.

He’s got some great things to say about this article.  Check it out!

http://randyalcorn.blogspot.com/2010/02/tim-tebow-super-bowl-commercial-thank.html

Want some great quotes from the article?

“Tebow’s 30-second ad hasn’t even run yet, but it already has provoked “The National Organization for Women Who Only Think Like Us” to reveal something important about themselves: They aren’t actually “pro-choice” so much as they are pro-abortion.”

“Tebow himself is an inescapable fact: Abortion doesn’t just involve serious issues of life, but of potential lives, Heisman trophy winners, scientists, doctors, artists, inventors, Little Leaguers — who would never come to be if their birth mothers had not wrestled with the stakes and chosen to carry those lives to term. And their stories are every bit as real and valid as the stories preferred by NOW (National Organization of Women).”

Wow.  She hits on something that we hardly ever (read: never!) hear discussed.  I believe we have issues that may have been dramatically impacted for the better if we had not chosen to allow ourselves to abort a whole generation of people.

For example: Social security is a huge issue.  Part of the problem?  We have (way) over 50 million potential wage earners who, because they never lived (were aborted), they were never able to pay a single dime into social security.

www.nrlc.org/abortion/facts/abortionstats.html

(notice the stats on this page don’t include numbers from the last couple years OR California and other states for a full 7 years, so this number is definitely conservative!)

Is it possible that some of the larger economic/socio-political/medical issues our country faces right now boil down to and cross-over with a spiritual issue of a generation that has decided that aborting the ultimate in innocence is a “RIGHT?”

I’ll go further.  Is it possible that we have aborted the baby that would have grown into the adult who could have been part of the team that began the process of curing cancer?  Or the politician who stemmed the tide in the African AIDS crisis, or any other MACRO issue we deal with?  You think I’m taking it a bit too far to suggest this possibility?

Let me share it with you this way; click the article here to get the background.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1937804/posts

Short version, his mother was told by many doctors that carrying the baby to full term would literally kill her.  “You need to have an abortion.”

IMHO, Tebow is the best college football player I’ve ever seen, and I’ve been watching since the early 1980’s (about 25+ years…Wow, I’m getting old!!). I am not overstating this, look at his resume: He has won 2 National Championships in his 4 years at the University of Florida (one over my beloved Sooners!  Wait, did I say that already?).  The Heisman Trophy is given every year to the best college football player fro that year.  Tebow won the Heisman in 2007 as the best college football player that year.  He finished 3rd in the voting in  2008 although he actually got more first place votes than the 2 finishers in front of him.  He finished 5th in the voting in 2009.  By any account, he is an amazing player!

If it is true that Tebow is better than the other 277,000 (a very conservative approx number) football players that have played in college since 1973, is it crazy to say that there might have been another intellect or personality that could have had a similarly profound impact on our society; only instead of focusing in the arena of football, they chose to impact the arena of medicine?  Or politics?  Or any other, much more important arena?  Put this way, we have aborted a “one-in-a-million-type-person” 50 times IN THIS COUNTRY ALONE!  Just imagine what we’ve done in other countries (mandatory abortions in China, anyone?).

I hope that you will stop and think about this.  Personally, I am so glad that when one specific single mom in OKC in 1970 found out that she was pregnant, she did not worry about her father that she feared.  I am glad that she did not listen to those who said she should abort that child, because the child would never have what a child needs to really flourish – the stability of a “Ward and June Cleaver” upbringing, financial security, on and on the list goes.  I am glad that she followed her beliefs that abortion was taking away a life that God had already given.  I have grown to know that lady pretty well.

Her name is Linda Riddle, and she has been my mother in law for the last 19 years.  I think that she would be the first to tell you that she made some mistakes at that point in her life.  But thank God, she got this one decision right!

RPfromEHC

Super Bowl, V-Tines, Fainting, and Praise Reports

So, how’s it goin?  I’ve got so much to send your way. Let’s get started.

The Relationships Thing is coming starting FEB 14.  I want you all to know that while we are talking about relationships that go BEYOND marriage and kids.  So if you are single, married, divorced, widowed, youth, etc. it will apply to you.  You’ve got friends, right?  And  parents?  And siblings?  And co-workers?  Then you will benefit – trust me!

I am so pumped about the V-Tines Banquet.  The movie, the food, the fun.  It is going to be great!  Don’t miss out!  And PLEASE, PLEASE PLEASE!  If you are not married, you can still come and enjoy this evening!  Let me know you’re coming, but either way, I would love to have you ALL be a part of the great night coming your way Sun night FEB 14.

Hey BTW, can you help us do the cut-up of the meat, bread, veggies, etc?  Sat Feb 13 at about 2:00.  I need a few volunteers.  Actually, we will turn on the tunes and have some fun.  I need a couple of couples… Send it to me as a comment, please!

SUPER BOWL, who ya got?  I’ll take Indy.  Let me hear your Super Bowl predictions and I will get a $10 Starbucks card for the best prediction.  I say Indy wins the game, 34-31.

Have you seen that video of the lady that faints on “The Price Is Right?”  It is so funny!

Lady Faints on \”The Price Is Right\”

If you grew up watching this occasionally  when you were a kid (like I did), you always remember the energy when they dropped the classic lines; “A BRAND NEW CAR!!”  And then this lady bidding on the showcase just drops like a lead weight.  Little hint; when nervous, DO NOT lock out the legs!!  Her legs look about as stiff as 2×4’s when she goes down!  In the immortal words of my daughter Tatum when she was about 6 (and deadly serious about this quote); “No.  We’re not laughing AT you.  We’re laughing ABOUT you!”  And seriously, can you think of a better way of drawing eyeballs to a really old TV show like “PIR” than having one of their contestants faint cause their prize is so SWEET?

Watch it again.  You can hear the announcer laughing at the situation and waiting till she is back on her feet and smiling before continuing.  Too, too funny!

I bet she would not have fainted but that looked like a new Camaro.  Those are COOL!  That reminds me so much of my own first car.  A black Camaro.  Except mine was never, on its very best day, even 25% that cool, and mine also eventually had hail damage when I got rid of it.  Alright, on second thought, there is absolutely nothing that reminds me of that my first car!  haha

Okay on to the serious.  Praise the Lord for His answered prayers!

We prayed for Patty Pinto to be accepted at MD Anderson so she could afford the cost of surgery.  SHE WAS!  But despite the fact that she as in a good deal of discomfort, her surgery got set for Feb 28. We prayed that she might get bumped up instead of having to wait for her surgery so late in the month.  The next day after we prayed for that, SHE WAS!!  So cool, and definitely an answer to prayer, huh?!?  Praise the Lord!

For those who don’t know her, Rose Alquiros used to be a part of the EHC family before she married and moved to NYC.  She came down to Houston but had a serious car accident.  Rose is already in a private room instead of ICU (in Mem Hermann hospital).  WOW!  I cannot believe it!  When she first got here, the doctor told her that she is lucky to be alive.  She broke 8 ribs, collapsed both her lungs, cracked a couple of her vertebrae, did all kinds of damage!  Here is a pic of Rose and I.  She looks good for a lady that was at death’s door, right?  God had His hands on her for sure!

Here is a pic of Chesca Alquiros’s baby, who is named Chloe.  She also is now married, but she living in Philly.  They are expecting their second child in about 4 months.  Her first little one is so cute!  Actually this is a pic of a pic, so please excuse the quality – I did what I could!

Well, guys I love ya and look forward to hearing from you on the prayer stuff, V-Tines Banquet, V-Tines Banquet Preparations, Super Bowl, etc.  May you know PEACE!

RPfromEHC

My Wife Is Better Than Sarah Palin

Well, my last post was pretty heavy, and I don’t apologize for that.  It is life, so what can you do?  We can’t pretend it’s not important.  However, I am going out today on a much, much lighter note.

I am going to a seminar entitled “Get Motivated” here in Houston on Feb 8.  The price of admission was incredibly inexpensive, and it covered the cost of not just ONE, but FOUR people.  So I have 2 extra tickets.  If you would like to go, call me, text me or e-mail me.  First come, first served, but it will be free for you to go and I can meet you there or you can catch a ride with me if you prefer.  Here is the website so you can see who is going to be there.

www.getmotivated.com

If you didn’t go to that link, I will tell you that Zig Ziglar, Rudy Guliani, and many others will be speaking live and in person.  Oh, and BTW, so will Sarah Palin.  So if you know him well, have seen his choice in watches, and other things, it may go without saying, but I am going with Chris Rooney.

He has read her book.  He is a HUGE FAN.  Maybe you might want to be the judge of how healthy/unhealthy his fascination with her is.  But I took a few pics so you could have the evidence in front of you.  (Funny note: look for Steve’s foot that made it into one of the photos, LOL)

Some might say his fascination with her is the type of that usually ends with a restraining order.  LOL  But all joking aside, I would love for him to have the chance to meet her and get his book signed.  It would be a thrill for my man across the street!

SP is definitely one of my favorites as well.  Well, I mean Shelly Puckett, not Sarah Palin.  BTW, am I the only one who sees some resemblance in these two ladies?  You be the judge…

Speaking of them both being known by the initials of SP, is it just me or do you find these similarities strange?  (some of this info is from S Palin’s Wikipedia page)

SPuckett started her career as a teacher.  So did SPalin.

SPalin married her high school sweetheart.  So did SPuckett.

They both claim to be Bible-believing Christians.

They have a similar hairstyle.  They both wear glasses.  They both have dark hair, although one of them obviously frosts… And you know I could not write that sentence and live if it was my wife! LOL

SPalin played basketball in High School.  SPuckett played basketball in High School.

SPalin was nick-named “Barracuda” for her competitve streak and heart.  SPuckett has listened to the song “Barracuda” by 70’s rock band Heart.

Can you BELIEVE how similar they are?  Isn’t this BIZARRE?

SPalin once was named “Miss Congeniality” in a beauty pageant.  SPuckett once watched a movie called “Miss Congeniality” about a beauty pageant. (it starred Sandra Bullock, maybe you’ve seen it)

SPalin recently wrote a book about her life.  SPuckett deals with books almost every day of her life.

SPalin announced she would not seek election as governor of Alaska.  Although she has not announced it, I know for an ABSOLUTE FACT that SPuckett will not be seeking to be elected governor of Alaska either.

It is ABSOLTELY UNCANNY, isn’t it?

Although these two are obviously twins separated at birth (and about 8 years), I have to say, I am more partial to my own personal SP.

And in honor of that, I wanted to share “AT LEAST 4 REASONS SHELLY P IS BETTER THAN SARA P.”

4.  Shelly was wearing the hair before anyone even knew who Alaska’s governor was, much less what hairstyle she wore, and way, way before Tina Fey ever tried to copy it!  I have photo evidence to prove it!

3.  Sarah Palin, that hero from the Vietnam War that you ran all over the country with in 2008 (John McCain) is not your husband or your daddy!  Shelly might do the same thing, running around with a hero from the Vietnam War.  One big difference: the guy she has been seen with actually IS Shelly’s dad!

2.  Shelly would never agree to sit on Oprah’s couch and discuss things with her like Sarah did.  Alright, I don’t know that, I just don’t think she would.  And Oprah?  Well, let me just say that I would rather be kicked in the shins by a Keebler Elf than do anything that might draw more eyeballs to her program.

http://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2008/mar/08030701.html

1.  Sarah admitted spending somewhere close to about $150,000 for her wardrobe for the 3 final months or so of the campaign.  Shelly gets about $150 and some discount coupons for clothing from her super-romantic hubbie for a whole year and she still always looks like a million bucks!!

So there you go.  Do you have a comment to add?  Do you agree that I’m not the only one seeing amazing similarities?

Did you see Sarah Palin in 2008 and think she looked like Shelly?  Should I have not mentioned that Oprah is not my favorite person?

Is Chris heading for a stalking charge? Do you know why I was smiling in the first part of this post?

PEACE to all of you guys, and hope I brought a small smile to your day.

RPfromEHC

MEXICO, GODLY MEN, MOVIES, & MORE

Well, it has been crazy and the story I wanted to send out to my blog was sidetracked by a lack of time last week.  But I will make up for it with a couple of posts this week.

I told you in my last post about John Bivens.  He had started and orphanage, and had been so successful in running a great one, he was asked by the town of Morelos, Mexico to begin that orphanage.  If you want to see some pics, check him out here…

www.rainbowministrieschildrenshome.org

When I was there, I met a girl whose name was Santo Magdela, which means “Holy Magdalene” in Espanol.  She is 13 years old and different from any 13 year old I’ve ever met.  Why is she so different?

Because she is only 13 but she is also 8 months pregnant!  Her story was an absolute tragedy!

 

When John first met her she was about 8-9 years old, and she pulled a knife on the people who were running an orphanage (not his).  She had been bounced from house to house constantly and she was terrified to move again.  But despite their protests, the government insisted and once more she got shipped out to another person who promised to take care of her.  John saw her again about 3-4 years later and she was pregnant.  He found out that when she had been moved around, she landed in a home where she had not been taken care of.  Instead those who were charged to care for this fractured soul decided it would be a good idea to allow her to be prostituted out for months on end to different men.

As a man (not as a pastor here), I would love to get my hands on some of the people who chose to prolong and add to this fragile little girl’s tragedy.  Then all of you could come visit me as I awaited my trial…

You CANNOT tell me that we don’t need GODLY MEN who will stand up and be counted as people who are actively preventing this kind of tragedy!  I wish we men of God would get causes that we would give ourselves to – doing something to stand up for the broken.  You know, real life heroic stuff that we would like for our lives to be remembered for?  Yeah, that kind of stuff!!

But I digress…

As a human being, I am totally blown away by the depths of mankind’s sin and how it makes us treat our fellow human beings!  It’s absolutely sickening!  I am literally shivering as I write these words and I feel like I might throw up.

Maybe because my oldest baby just turned 14, and my baby in the middle is going to turn 13 in less than 2 months.  Santos will HAVE A BABY before she is Torre’s age.  And she is an orphan – no support system without God’s people like John, his wife Paulina, and others making the efforts to meet their needs.  What an amazing thing it is for God to use their lives to count in such a way, don’t you agree?

So, is it even possible to make that big of an impact in someone’s life unless you have been given the job of running an orphanage?  Or being a person who is full-time in the ministry?  I would love to hear back from you if you have an opinion.

Here is a movie that is coming out now that tackles this topic and will give you a hint of what my own belief is…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvXktDeAEmU

BTW, Thanks for the heads up on that one, Mrs. Hilton… and no, I’m not talking about PARIS!! LOL

So here is a question about Santos.  Can she ever have a life?  Can she ever have a good relationship with a man?  Is she always going to be “damaged goods” from this point forward in her life?  I really do want to hear from you!

I am going to post again this week, and it will be considerably lighter.  A lot of fun.  But this is life; sometimes heavy-duty stuff.  Sometimes lots of fun.  Gotta trust that HE is in control whichever one is coming your way.  Check back in with you soon!

 

RPfromEHC