Life Happens

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ “Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ “His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. “‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:14-30 NIV

For the next few weeks at Oasis Community Church we are looking at this parable in relation to how we spend our time, money, and relationships. Last week we started with asking the question of time and what it looks like to be good stewards of the time we have been given.

What do you think? What does it mean to be a good steward of your time in regards to the Kingdom?

Something about seeing a hundred people in “Hammer” pants makes the world a better place…

As we ring in 2012, may we remember that we are all made in the image of God, we are all His children (whom He loves), and how we treat each other has eternal consequences. God bless ya and we’ll see ya next year.

Fun at the Dino Park!

So our bedtime routine for the last few weeks has gone something like this:

1) Corral Ike into brushing his teeth.

2) Attempt to read a story. Attempt usually means we get 40-60% done with the book and then Ike wants to play more.

3) Hugs and kisses and tuck in #1

4) Followed by tuck in #2, #3, and #4. He’ll move his feet or stand up and then request to be tucked in again.

5) About 2 minutes after we leave the room it’s either the proclamation that he has boogers or needs to go potty.

6) Two minutes after that it’s the un-asserted of #5.

7) Request for tuck in #5. Denied.

8) Begin catastrophic meltdown

Generally he gives up and goes to sleep somewhere between 9 and 10. Oy.

We’ll be thrilled when this stage passes…other than bedtime he’s the most awesome little boy there is.

We didn’t really mean to be so busy…it just kind of happened. We set out to make sure this year we didn’t succumb to the annual stressness that at times is the Christmas season. After all, I preach against getting sucked in and being present during this time of year. However, I’m honest about it. Mary and I have often struggled to just enjoy the season.

So this year was going to be different. For sure. And it was. Honestly, best Christmas ever. Here’s why:

1). We didn’t spend a bunch of money we didn’t have. No taking 3 months to pay off credit cards or 3 months to get caught up on bills.

2) Ike was old enough (2) to really get into the whole opening gifts thing. He LOVED it.

3) Ike was stoked about Santa (as St. Nick…Jesus’ helper) and did the whole leaving out cookies, milk, and nuts for Santa and the reindeer.

4) We had our first Christmas Eve services as Oasis Community Church. Was the best service ever. Not because we had lots of folks but because the people who came where into it. The spirit was moving and it was beautiful. Beautiful.

5) Christmas Day we hosted about 15 folks for our annual Christmas Brunch where we invited those without family nearby (like us) and had an AMAZING brunch.

There’s many other reasons but…I have dishes calling my name. We’re still resting to recover from the awesomeness that was Christmas.

How was yours?

Merry Christmas!! (Photo by cameronkgarcia)

Photo by cameronkgarcia

Christmas jammies!! (Photo by cameronkgarcia)

What are some of your Christmas traditions? Mary, Ike, and began a new one last year that we are very excited about this year.

We moved to Sunnyside in November of 2010 and with the exception of an aunt that lives in Naches, all of our extended family lives hundreds of miles away. So, Christmas morning, after family time and opening gifts, we invited of for Christmas brunch a few folks we knew from the church that had a similar situation. No family around. Last year we had 3 or 4 folks over and it was wonderful.

This year? Looking like we’ll have close to 30!! Mary has an awesome feast planned for us and it is sure to be an awesome time.

What are some of your traditions?