What’s the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning?

Job 3:23 MSG – YouVersion.com: Online Bible.

And there’s the question. “What is the point of life when it doesn’t make sense, when God blocks all the roads to meaning?” This is what Job asks in the third chapter, after losing pretty much everything he had.

Though I’ve heard the story many times, I’m eager to read through, in context, the rest of this book on faith and why bad things happen to good people. In fairness, though, bad things happen to everyone, both good and bad. I think it’s easier for us to feel ok about when something bad happens to a murderer, or a rapist or someone who is clearly “deserving” of the worst fate. And in conjunction with that thought, it’s definitely hard to believe that a good God would allow such tragedy to befall someone like Job, who by all accounts is God’s number one, best man. But I wonder, why do we also not question the good that happens to those of us who consider ourselves good? Why aren’t we questioning the point of life when all is going perfectly well for us? Should we be?

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this topic and I plan to post more over the coming days as I continue to read through the book of Job. I’ve committed to read the Bible through, this year. I’ve never done it, I’m ashamed to say, and as I get older, and I realize that life doesn’t get any easier, I think a year of renewal and dedication to meditating on God’s word will do me some good. My prayer is for God to use his word to speak to my soul and mold my mind and spirit into who He wants me to be.

Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

Romans 12:2 MSG – YouVersion.com: Online Bible

If you’ve never read the Bible, much less, read it in it’s entirety, I invite you to join me this year in a quest for truth and transformation. Please comment, question, agree or disagree. I welcome all discussion. I’m following a plan that lays out the reading in chronological order. I also joined the group on YouVersion.com that is reading this chronological plan. You can, too, by following the steps here.

Like many people, we have our Christmas traditions. When and where we do Santa pictures, getting together with family, milk and cookies for Santa that came from Bill Rhodes Bakery, where my wife works. I’m sure you get the idea and can think of plenty of your own. We wanted to make sure that we really instilled in our boys a sense of what Christmas should really be about, so last year we started the Christmas Closet Cleanout. We encouraged them to make room for new toys and things by selecting some of their existing toys to donate to charity. We don’t donate anything broken or worn out. Those items get tossed as necessary throughout the year. They make the choices and they know that the toys are going away to be given to a child that might not otherwise have much of anything at all. So far, it seems to be working well.

I decided to take Neal with me this year to deliver the clothes and toys to The Quinn House in Lawrenceville, GA. (If you find yourself in a position to donate, please give them consideration as they do a great job in the community.) As we pulled into the driveway, turned the truck around and parked at the steps to the house, Neal saw the people organizing other clothes and toys and such and asked about their activity. I told him they were helping get things organized so that they could be given to the people that needed them. We walked inside to get our receipt and a lady that worked there asked Neal about his Christmas, told him about Santa coming down their chimney, and thanked him for “sharing” his toys. Neal, polite as usual, said, “You’re welcome.”

I don’t know if he fully gets it, yet, but I hope that as he and his brother, Eli, grow, and we continue to do this, that they naturally develop a spirit and attitude of giving and helping others. Steph and I recently saw The Blind Side and also felt challenged to do more to help and make a difference to those around us. We’re praying for opportunity and for guidance for the coming year so that we might have a positive impact on those we come in contact with. What are you doing to make a difference? Any Christmas traditions that you’re passing on to your children?

We taped this video of Matt a few days before his surgery and aired it this weekend at our worship services. We pray your heart is challenged and encouraged by it. Thank you for your continued prayers.

via Video from Matt | The Village Church : From Our Pastors.

As I watched the video and listened to him talk about his current situation, I was reminded of my father and the kidney cancer that took his life just over five years ago. My father taught me much about how to live. But he taught me just as much, if not more, about how to face adversity, even if that means death. After his passing, I remember hearing from many of the doctors and nurses just how special they thought my dad was and just how much they were impacted by his attitude of joy in all things. I can’t say for sure, but I believe they were also deeply touched by his faith. Faith not only in healing, but faith in a purpose and a plan bigger than any of us. Faith that, regardless of what happened, God was in control and God would get the glory. Even if that meant that the healing came, not in life, but in death.

I pray for healing for Matt and I pray for peace and comfort for his family and friends. I pray that God uses Matt and his life, his faith, to bring honor and glory to him. I pray that Matt’s courage can be an enCOURAGEment to all of us. May God’s grace be sufficient for us all. May His kindness and mercy last forever.

As Matt asked, I also ask, “What are you afraid of?”

I’m a husband to Stephanie, a dad to Neal and Eli, and the son of Walter and Jannie. I am co-owner of Digital Design Solutions, an Atlanta, GA based consulting firm. We specialize in Apple consulting and web presence consulting, using WordPress as the hub to power our, and our clients, web presence. I love Georgia Bulldog and Atlanta Falcon football and Atlanta Braves baseball. I’m a techno-junkie and dig all things relating to Apple, WordPress and leveraging the interwebs to extend and increase influence and more effectively communicate a positive message of love, hope and peace.

I appreciate his take and agree with Justin on this. I’m not saying it means anything, but I also can’t dismiss it as pure coincidence. Was God trying to get our attention? If so, what was he trying to say? What should we be hearing? Take a look at this story, it’s only a few short paragraphs, and comment on the discussion going on at Justin’s site, or comment here. Either way, join in the discussion and share your thoughts. And above all, seek God and His Truth in all things.

At approximately 2 pm yesterday, a tornado touched down in downtown Minneapolis. It was the first tornado to hit this area in nearly 90 years. Even more profound is that the agenda for the churchwide assembly stated that discussion surrounding the proposed human sexuality statement would begin at, you guessed it, 2 pm.

via Tornado Hits Near ELCA Assembly Hall During Vote | BeDeviant.com.

It is in the valley that we slog through the lush grass and rich soil, learning and becoming what enables us to summit life’s next peak. – Jones, The Noticer

The situation in which you find yourself is fraught with difficulty, yes. It is also piled high with benefits. – Jones, The Noticer

Remember, whatever you focus upon, increases. – Jones, The Noticer

What is it about me that other people would change if they could? – Jones, The Noticer

These are a few lines from the latest book by Andy Andrews titled The Noticer. And this is just in the first chapter. I knew I was in for some good stuff.

If you don’t know Andy Andrews, you should. He is quickly becoming one of America’s most influential and in-demand speakers. Speaking for four different US presidents certainly gives him credibility as someone with something important to say. Having read his previous best-seller, The Traveler’s Gift, I could appreciate his easy style and masterful storytelling. He draws you in and takes you on a journey; teaching, guiding and providing wisdom like a kind and loving father that is tough at the same time. I started reading The Noticer with the belief that this was but another great story with a great message. And it is. But it’s so much more. It’s real. This is Andy’s story. And it will blow you away.

Check it out. You can purchase it at Amazon.com by clicking on the book cover to the left. you can also purchase The Traveler’s Gift by clicking on it in the Amazon Books ad in the sidebar on the right.

If you aren’t familiar with TED, let me encourage you to get on iTunes and subscribe to the podcast. Lot’s of great thinkers sharing lots of great ideas. I recently watched this talk given by Clay Shirkey titled How Social Media Can Make History and thought, T”this guy gets it and lays it out in such a way that helps others understand it.” Take a few minutes, if you can, and watch this.

Any questions or comments? Did this make you think about how you can use social media in your business? If you need any assistance or would like some help, contact us over at Digital Design Solutions.

Daniel’s court-appointed attorney, Philip Elbert, called the decision unfotunate.

“I feel it’s a blow to families,” he said. “It marginalizes the decisions that parents face every day in regard to their children’s medical care. It really affirms the role that big government is better at making our decisions for us.”

via Judge Rules Family Can’t Refuse Chemo for Boy – ABC News.

If you haven’t heard about this case, you need to sit up and take notice. If it doesn’t concern you, you need to wake up. If this case stands it will set precedent that can and will most likely lead to more and more intrusion of the government into our lives. A government that thinks it knows what’s best for us. A government that isn’t interested in what’s best for you as an individual or you as a family. A government that thinks they should order you as a family to accept medical treatment that may not be best for you.

If you aren’t familiar with the story, follow the link above to read it. If you are, please engage in the conversation. If you are not familiar with what chemotherapy is and does to the body. Do some research. It kills good cells along with the bad. There are plenty of reports and studies that show different people respond differently to different types of chemotherapy. It doesn’t work for everyone and it doesn’t work the same in everyone.

The fact that several other young men, who went through similar situations as Daniel Hauser, took herbal and natural supplements and treatments instead of chemotherapy and are both, today, cancer-free encouraged and inspired the Hauser family to pursue alternative forms of treatment for their son. What right does the court have ruling that the family is being “medically negligent” and ordering them to take their son and allow him to receive the chemotherapy. Isn’t this a case in which the court is drastically over-stepping its bounds, or am I crazy?

What would happen if we put less attention on organizing relationships and more attention on giving people something to organize around? For example, what if we focused on serving opportunities? Would people naturally gather around those initiatives to serve others? What if we focused on the content we were generating to help people better understand the Bible and its application to our daily lives? Would people naturally organize around that content for conversations together? And what if we embraced social networking to encourage people to find their own friends…like they’re already doing? Would people initiate their own relational connections? 

via The New Traditional Church: Community | TonyMorganLive.com.

Excellent questions by Tony Morgan over at his blog. Questions that hopefully get folks thinking about church and how we do it. And hopefully thinking about how we can do it better.

I like the direction he’s headed with these questions and I like challenging the status quo. I think there are quite a few churches that are leading the way in this regard, but I truly believe we are just scratching the surface of a radical change that is taking place in how church and organized religion is practice in this country. What do you think?

Twitter Basics

If you had no idea what Twitter was walking into this article, we’re going to start you off at the very beginning. To sign up for Twitter, go to twitter.com and click on “Get Started – Join!”. Fill out the information and voila – you have your own Twitter account. I set up two accounts; one on my personal name, and one for my business. It’s important to grab your names before someone else does, even if you don’t plan on using the account for a while.

via The Ultimate Guide for Everything Twitter | Webdesigner Depot.

For all my friends and family that are still unsure about “this Twitter thing”, here is a great guide that spells it out for you. Let’s call it Twitter 101 and class is in session. Enjoy. And you can follow me here.