Joel Stiff's Adventure

The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

The irony is that the term was intended to be an insult, a slur if you will. The title “Christian” meant little Jesus. The disciples were being mocked for being just like Jesus. Little did the detractors know that being like Jesus couldn’t have been a greater compliment.

Nicole has been at driver’s training for the last three weeks. Tonight, the class was playing a Jeopardy style game where everyone was divided up into teams. She is a good student so whenever it was her team’s turn to answer, her teammates would holler, “Let the Christian answer!” From the sounds of it, they weren’t necessarily being mean, but they did label her based on their understanding of who she is.

What an honor to be called, by people who have only casually known you, a little Jesus.

A few months back, I was able to pick up the iphone 6. It is certainly a thing of beauty and aids me in my daily work in ways I never could have imagined.

The trouble is that handling it is like trying to walk the deck of a pirate ship in high seas while carrying a glass of nitro glycerine. I am terrified that I am going to drop and break this thing.

When I bought it, I was offered the “insurance” at $15 a month. This “insurance” also carried a $200 deductible. Not very appealing to be sure.

I have tried to forego a case of any kind since I have the gold version and enjoy how thin and sleek this thing is. My fears, however, got the best of me and I broke down and bought a case for it last night. The case can barely be called a case. It simply covers the back and sides and has a little lip around the front for if it were to fall face down. It is made of some kind of rubber and ended up costing me $40. I’m sure Apple stamped it out for a mere four cents.

The price angers me. It is preposterous to charge $40 for this little thing, but in the end, it is significantly less expensive than the insurance or replacement if it were to break. And so I paid it.

It is interesting to notice what we are willing to spend on something that gives us just a little bit of extra security. Will it truly protect my phone from anything I am likely to do to it? Maybe or maybe not, but I sure feel better knowing it’s on there.

I sometimes wonder how people can be duped into magic elixers, potions and creams. The ones you see on tv marketed by the pharmaceutical companies or being sold by moms on facebook. Then I realize, it’s not what the product actually does. It’s what people believe it does that matters.

Gotta run. I’m out of hydroxycut.

It is interesting to watch how people treat those who are not as informed in their field of expertise.

If someone without as much experience in the out of doors falls into a group of hunters and fishermen, suddenly the newcomer is not a real man.

If a lady is a bit technologically challenged, those who are more proficient act as though she has been living in a cave and ought to know as much as they do.

The mechanic mocks the one who needs his services. The academic looks down on the one who didn’t make it to college. The cable news junky slams the individual who doesn’t care to stay on top of every minuscule story that passes over the wire.

No one is an expert in every field. Each of us lacks knowledge in areas where others are experts. Frankly, we are ignorant of more fields than we are informed.

A humble heart is grateful for what she has been able to learn and uses that information to help those without it not crush them in pride.

We are enjoying the privilege of having the Featherstone family with us at church today. Bro. Lyle Featherstone contacted me out of the blue about the music ministry he and his family have. We planned to have “I Love My Church” emphasis today and I thought it would be a good opportunity to have them come.

He and his brother are exceptional musicians and his wife Emily beautifully sings the songs she has written about her growth as a Christian. They have been a great blessing.

Even better than their music was their companionship. Anyone who is a Christian knows the commonality we all have. It doesn’t matter where you come from or where you live, but Jesus starts us on common ground. On top of being Christian, serving Him in a pastoral capacity gave us even more to discuss.

It’s truly an amazing thing to sit down with folks you met a few hours ago and talk as though you have been friends your whole life. Let me encourage you to find some godly friends to talk to.

Proverbs 27:17: Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.

Last night, Shannon was telling me of all the things the husbands of her lady facebook friends were doing for valentine’s day. She specifically addressed how things have escalated to such a ridiculous degree. Men are spending hundreds and close to a thousand dollars on various creative ways to show the lady in his life that they care. She said to me, “You poor men. What are you going to have to do next?”

The trouble with a holiday like valentine’s day is that it is a false measuring stick. Anybody with a job or source of cash can buy flowers, candy and dinner. Understand, I am not opposed to any of those things. But if those are the things we look to to determine true love and worth, we have been duped.

For valentine’s day, I promise to love Shannon forever. I promise to stick by her side through the good times and the bad. I promise to help her through the troubles and struggles of life. I promise to be present in our life, for her needs and for our kids. I promise to put them all first in all things. I promise to be available any time the need arises.

I even promise to buy the occasional flowers, candy and dinners. And I promise to never use them for masquerading my failure to do all the other stuff.

Those days that are so long and non stop that thinking back to the first thing of the day seems like many days ago.

God promised length of days to those who were wise.

Enjoy them.

Today is my brother’s birthday.

We still hang out. We do stuff we shouldn’t really do. Nothing wrong, just crazy and sometimes even immature. We laugh a lot. We are completely comfortable being ourselves around each other. We have nothing to prove. I’ve known him his entire life. He doesn’t have to earn my love or respect. It’s automatic. He’s somebody I can totally let my hair down around.

You should have someone like this in your life.

Happy birthday, Rocket!

Dave Ramsey talks about managing your life like a business. He asks the question, “If you managed money for ‘You, Incorporated’ the way you manage money for you now, would You fire you?”

Of course this true not only for finances, but time, relationships, goals, etc.

A diligent man knows the state of his flocks and herds.

How diligent are we about stewarding the resources God has given us?

Will we be pleased when we meet Him to give an answer?

It’s been a bit chilly here. Not too bad, but air temps in the low teens with wind chills near and just below zero. I’m not trying to complain nor am I trying to act tough. It’s just weather. When it’s cold, you turn on the furnace and put on a coat when you go outside. No big deal.

Something  noticeable, however, is how the cold affects things we use everyday. For instance, a garden hose left lying in the yard in the warmer months is very soft, flexible and pliable. That same hose in these winter temps behaves much differently. That same hose from summer becomes frozen into shape. There is no working it. It doesn’t bend when and how you want it to.

The cold actually puts things in a state where they break more easily. Things that will bend and flex when the air is warm will now become brittle and crack or even shatter.

We live in a cold world. People are not always kind. Circumstances do not always go our way. In such a world, it is easy to crack.

The challenge then is to find warmth. Find a place, a relationship, a habit that keeps our hearts warm in spite of living in a cold world. Jesus is a good place to start. The Bible will help. Cultivating your marriage and a relationship with your kids will benefit. Plugging into a church that is a family will do the trick.

Anyone who tries to live in the cold without a way to keep warm eventually dies of hypothermia.

I’m not a tremendous football fan, but I watched a little of the Super Bowl last night. I saw the incredibly lucky catch the Seahawks made near the goal line towards the end of the game. What an amazing opportunity to win. The very next play, instead of just running the ball in for a touchdown, they went for a pass. That pass was then intercepted and the Patriots were able to kill the clock and win after all.

I do not have near the expertise or experience that those in the Seahawks organization have, but even I know that you don’t put the ball in the air in such a situation. You run the clock down as far as possible and then run it in. You win the Superbowl. You collect an amazing check and all the t-shirts have your team name on them.

You don’t take the chance of throwing a pass.

I’m all for taking chances and risks. But if victory is certain by taking the sure thing, only a fool would choose the risky path.