As a man thinks in His heart...

Some things on my mind today…

1. - When am I going to be able to go to Europe again? I can’t imagine another year going by without figuring out a way to get Heidi and I over there. I met a guy in church yesterday from the UK and he said to contact him when I want to come over and we could stay with he and his wife. I want to figure out how to do this as a study leave or something as I get ready to launch into the a new ministry season.

2. - Are Heidi and I called to adopt a child? My daughters are passionate about this and I’m not sure what’s holding me back. Finances? Time? Energy? Commitment? A variable that could mess up the equilibrium of our family? Size of the house? What is it? I need to plummet the depths of this question. I sense a deep fear that we would invite disaster upon ourselves…is this a lie or a truth that must be embraced as the risk God is calling us to pursue?

3. - How can I plan now to go with my family to a Third World country? It might not be for several years, but I want them to see poverty and hunger and need up close. It would bless my heart if something touched them so deeply that they wanted to go to the mission field and spend their lives carrying water to the thirsty in far away lands.

4. - Should we get rid of our television? There are days when I’m ready to just chuck the thing out the window I’m so tired of monitoring its unpredictable content. But there are other days that I love watching a Yankee game or a Sunday afternoon football game or a good movie or the news. I’m torn. But I would be lying if I didn’t say that I’ve about had it with television and the time is consumes and the heart is consumes as a counterfeit family activity. Would our family play together more without it? Sometimes I wonder if our home would calm like the sea did when Jonah was thrown overboard. What if we threw our television overboard and only used it to watch movies we rented? Hmmm.

5. - Am I falling prey to the cultural seduction of doing things for my kids instead of doing things with them? Am I carrying them to games and practices and parties and activities and thinking this is parenting? Am I letting others educate them, disciple them and coach them? Am I letting television rear them as I try to catch my breath after a long day of work? It is so much easier to give them money instead of energy…and I know this is wrong and futuristically fatal, but it’s so easy to be lulled into thinking this is sufficient. How much time am I spending doing things with them…playing with them, talking with them, reading with them, watching a movie with them, eating with them. This is parenting.

Just a couple thoughts bouncing around in my head this morning as I start the week? I wonder what other people are thinking about this morning?

“As a man thinks in his heart, so is he.” – The Bible