Caroline ------> Pooping, Parenting & Theology

“Daddee, poo poo potty.”
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Read the rest of my guest blog at Rachel Toalson's page, HERE!
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Yes, I do!

Yes.

I do.

That is an affirmative, Miss Caroline Jane Miller!

For many months, Caroline has mastered the notoriously infamous toddler word, "NO!"

Currently, she is learning the art of stringing a few jibberishly, somewhat translatable words together to explain exactly what she wants after she has said, "No!" to the thing she clearly doesn't want in a given moment. This is definitely a fun season of amazing growth with our 'lil nugget.

Here is a list of the following, "Yes! I do's" we frequent on a normal day:

- Smoothie (A daily treat)

- Snacks (Only Annie's Organic goodies!)

- Park (1 block away! Our home away from home.)

- Stroller (Her own mini-stroller, where Rufus and baby get fun rides!)

- Walk (Nightly routine before bedtime... CJ leads the way and hits up everyone's porch!)

- Pray (She fold her 'lil hands, reminds us to pray for Addie and ends with an "Amens" (plural)!

- Addie's house (The 1 and only... This is the home of the original play group that meets on Monday. Caroline makes sure and prays for Addie at every meal and before bedtime at a minimum of 30X/ day!)

- Book Babies (She's nearly outgrown this program at the library, but she still loves to go!)

- Lilly (This 4 yr. old cutie is adored by CJ. It's pretty precious.

- Taco Tuesday (Enough Said!)

-  Rufus (You would think Rufus was the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ!)

- Church (Yup, CJ loves the nursery at the church we attend.)

- Blocks (Bob the builder, watch out!)

- Daniel the Tiger (He's the new animated Mr. Rogers 2.0, but a Tiger.... only 15 min./ day!)

- "Wallow plants" - water plants (She's a fan, but only if I hold her while watering)

- Jersey (Yup. She loves her pink Ginobili jersey!)

We are coming up on 21 months, and it's amazing how time flies. I couldn't be more blessed with an awesome 'lil family. Caroline makes the world a better place. She's my nugget, and she daily stirs my soul with a deeper affection, compassion and love I never knew existed.... yup, she's 'da bomb!

Would I do it all over again?

Yes, I do!

Caroline Just Gets IT!

The sun = Awesome!

The snow = Ugh!

I love warm, spring days with my family!

I’ve come to realize in recent years that the weather highly affects my mood. Lauren is from Minnesota (They GET cold!), and she pointed out the reality of “seasonal depression” when we lived in a shoebox apartment with barely any natural light in Brooklyn. Living in Texas for most of my life, you just get hot and hot and humid as hell, HOT! The bottom line: I just like to be outside when the weather is a glorious 70 degrees. Denver is probably one of the best places to live when it comes to amazing seasons with excellent sunlight, year round. That being said, we do have a few weeks throughout the year that are difficult to handle (I don’t think I could do the Midwest! Just sayin’!). We have been having ridiculously beautiful spring weather lately, but just one week ago, Denver received an ugly hex from Mother Nature, 6 inches of snow!!! It didn’t last long, as the snow usually melts quickly around here. Still, I was NOT a happy camper on Monday morning, May 12, 2014.

Caroline, on the other hand, really loves the snow. For the past several months prior to the spring season, Lauren “encouraged” me to take CJ out in the snow and let her play while taking fun pictures on our camera. Finally, I reluctantly took the plunge and spent a few minutes with her in the snow the other day.

Boots. Check.

Snow suit. Check.

Coat. Check.

Hat. Check.

“Happy” daddy with smile on his face… err…umm... okay… checkish!

I snapped some photos on both our camera, and my iPhone. Caroline fell a few times in her stormtrooper boots, but kept getting back up to touch more white snow. Finally, I gladly held her precious cold hand and we walked back into the warm house.

Then, it hit me.

I looked through the photos, and I saw the pure joy in CJ’s face.

I re-processed those 5 minutes in the snow from her perspective.

I re-watched her cute face.

I re-analyzed her sense of awe, wonder and sheer beauty.

Caroline was awakened to something much deeper than her daddy (who happens to be a really, slow learner.).

There’s a Hebrew word for this “amazing” experience that I’m talking about, which is called, “Kavod.”

This word, “Kavod” in English is translated, “Glory!” In the text Isaiah receives his fresh vision from the LORD in the Temple, and he saw the presence of the Almighty along with some celestial, heavenly being singing, "HOLY, HOLY HOLY is the LORD ALMIGHTY! THE WHOLE EARTH IS FULL OF HIS GLORY!”

Trying to define this word, “glory” is like trying to define God. It’s highly complicated. It’s like trying to catch the wind with your bare hands.  You can feel it and know it’s there, but it’s ridiculously mysterious – yet very simple for a child. Glory literally means “weight” or “significance”. You know when you’ve experienced glory, something with true weight. For some, it’s like watching Kevin Durant or LeBron James play basketball (For me, it is when the San Antonio Spurs are playing lights out, team basketball!). For Caroline, it is when she experiences AWE….. SOMEness as a toddler delighting in the snow!

One of my favorite stories in the Bible is about a man named, Jacob. His father sent him on a journey to find a wife in a country about 600 miles away. That’s a long, lonely journey. One evening, he found himself alone, in the middle of the desert. He pulled up a rock for a pillow (Ouch?). And, he had a psychedelic dream seemingly written by Hunter S. Thompson. A stairway to heaven… angels were ascending and descending on “Jacob’s Ladder.” A fresh vision from the LORD came, and God reminded Jacob of his future blessing, reminding him that he would never forsake him.

Listen closely to the end of this story with the line that changes everything … “When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”  - Genesis 28:16-17

Did you hear that?

HOUSE OF God!

That’s what “Bethel” means, “House of God.” So, that’s the name of this place on the literal map. This was epically mind blowing to Jacob. God revealed His awesome-ness, and Jacob realized it AFTER the fact.

Did you hear the language he used in this scene, “Surely, the LORD IS in this place (That’s present tense… He’s HERE!), and I WAS not award of it (past tense). Oh, the beauty of amazing things happening all of the time, all around us, and like Jacob, we just aren’t aware of it! So often – and sadly – we have to learn this in hindsight.

Listen to the truth found in this passage. This earth is God’s home!!!

This is a belief that began to influence Jacob and his descendents who would become the nation of Israel. The prophets in the Bible were deeply influenced by the understanding that the entire earth is soaked with the presence of the Almighty God! According to the worldview before, during and after the time of Jesus, God is not found somewhere else! He is right here! It is HIS world. He made it. He’s always in it. God owns it, and God’s beauty is manifested everywhere, even on snowy days. Thus, God is ever present within every portion of it… 24/7! You cannot put God in a box.

Imagine if we really lived with the understanding that the world was saturated with the divine. Heaven on earth… Imagine if we saw the world in the ways in which a toddler sees fresh snow?

Artist Robbie Seay, wrote a song years ago called, “Breathing Air Again.” The lyrics are filled with glory! He writes the following:

Take the time to start anew

Maybe it's in front of you

Take the time to walk down your street

And heaven knows who you might meet

In another line, he says, “Take the time to stop and stare… Heaven's beauty everywhere.”

This is so true, and we know it when we have the eyes to see and the ears to hear! I have many Christian/ church pet peeves, and one of them is when pastors and leaders say things like, “Dude! Today was awesome! God showed up.” Really, I wonder… so, God wasn’t here at all… ? You gave him a ring, invited him and he showed up? Waaahhh???? He suddenly decided to show up? That's just bad theology!

God simply waits for us to show up. He desires for his children of all ages to WAKE UP,  rain, snow or shine!

Kids do this waking up thing really well, but adults somehow become bitter and cynical. We get picky, petty, panicky and pathetic. Way to often, we are looking ahead to what’s next, and we neglect to see the glory in the present world, all around us. We often do this in church, at home, in our activities, with sports, the entertainment world, and within our jobs. And, while the next thing might be great (i.e. spring over winter, the warm sun over the cold snow) often, we simply neglect what is right in front of us. The gift of GLORY is today! Blink, and you might miss it.

This reminds me of a favorite quote from the 80’s classic, “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

Special thanks to many19-month-old geniuses who simply "get it"!

So, this week... 

Become a child.

Wake up.

See the world with eyes of wonder.

Seize heaven today, and even, right now!

MillerTime Update!

What's up with the MILLER tribe?

The Nugget is growing leaps and bounds, and Lauren and I are always amazed with the developments that are taking place each week with such a ‘lil person. Caroline is nearly 16 months old. She’s communicating more and more, and she even pretends to read her books by herself, which is quite the silly and awesome sight. Of course, her favorite words lately have been, “No, No, No, No,” which can mean a lot of things she just doesn’t want to do at any given moment. She is a willful booger. We’ve also noticed that she takes after Lauren in the CAUTION department. Lauren is not a risk taker, whereas I would love to go skydiving tomorrow! Caroline processes a room, reluctantly moves forward and often gives newbies a “mean mug” and stiff-arm. Still, she has a tenderly beloved spirit once trust is built. She loves to cuddle, kiss and love on Hercules and Maggie, our 10 and 11-year-old dachshunds. She loves to see her friends in the neighborhood and at playgroup. She even says some of their names. It’s precious – beyond words – when she notices another buddy on our walks down S. Pearl St. or treks to the park. Caroline enjoys stacking blocks, putting stickers on daddy, dancing, destroying the living room like a Tasmanian Devil in 30 seconds flat; she loves Elmo, Cookie Monster and always enjoys eating, eating, eating and eating!

Dr. Lauren is doing well in her intern year at St. Josephs Hospital, which is always the most difficult year of residency. She only gets 2 elective months the first year (elective month, meaning, a  “normal” job with 5 days and weekends off!) In fact, she’s halfway finished with her 1^st year. Woo Hoo! However, she is working such long and tiresome hours that her main goal for ’14 is simply to survive and enjoy time with her family when she is at home. We were able to take Caroline to the Denver stock show on Monday. If you ever see Lauren out in public and she exemplifies a Zombie, please, know her schedule is to literally “die for”… . Lauren completed her last night shift rotation of the year (brutal), and switched to a new month of daily ICU shifts today. This means that we get to see her at nights for dinner (sometimes) before Caroline goes to bed, and she gets 1 day off a week (or 4 days/month). Needless to say, we long for the day when we will have a social life with friends again. All of this being said, we knew this season was going to be difficult, and I’m really thankful that we have 12 year of marriage under our belt as this is definitely a team effort! I’m very proud of Lauren on many levels! She's an awesome doctor, excellent wife and a great mother!

I’m beginning a new season as well. As some of you know, my days consist of changing diapers, laundry, a bit of cleaning (Cleaning is relative to me. Just ask my wife or mother!), cooking and keeping Caroline on a good schedule. We try to make it to 2 play groups/week, 2 library “book baby” groups/week and have our weekly Taco Tuesday routine and now, Sexy Pizza – Hump Days (Yes, as awkward as that sounds, we DO have a $1/slice place called “Sexy Pizza” in our ‘hood that we frequent with another Stay-at-Home dad on Wednesdays/ Hump Days! 

A new hobby I am really stoked about is learning how to home-brew. I bought my first brew kit and aim to get my first batch of IPA started Wednesday night. I only wish I paid more attention in Mrs. Carrie's Chemistry class. In addition to my full time, Stay-at-Home dad gig, I’ve enrolled at my alma matter, Denver Seminary, for another degree program (6 year plan, at best! No rush...). I’m only taking 1 online class/ semester, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience last fall. 

I’ve also finally committed to a church for this season (New Denver Church, a smaller community that values missional communities and shared leadership – See 3DM model!), which was a big decision considering the fact that I’ve never gone “church shopping” and haven’t chosen a church outside of pastoral work since college. I’ve become friends with one of the pastors and have committed to a small group with him and a few other guys; something I realized I needed. New Denver Church has, what I feel, one of the healthiest leadership structures and philosophies of ministry I’ve seen within the local church. If you are interested, I'll tell you about it on the side. Amway,  I received an email from my new friend in December, saying that their part-time youth pastor left for a full time ministry job, and they needed an interim they could trust for a season for this small youth group (literally, 8 students max). After prayer, conversations with some trusted friends and nailing out some details, I’ve committed this season working only 5 hrs./ week as a consultant-mentor-pastoral-youth guy, so to speak. My ultimate goal is to train up a young, Denver seminary student and hopefully give him the reigns at some point this year. Please, if you pray for us, be in prayer for this element of our journey and the families we will come to know as well. Also, I’ve been asked to speak again at a local Christian high school next week (It’s always a good sign when someone invites you back to speak! For those that know me and have heard my messages, what's your favorite message? They've already heard the Rabbi/ discipleship "Follow me" and the "Other Side" bit BTW. Email me.). In all honesty, there are times when I do miss local church ministry and teaching every now and then, but I have really embraced this special season for a number of reasons. Some days I get misty thinking about Caroline growing up and sending her off to school. She is my 'lil buddy, and I love her like crazy. I wouldn’t trade this season for the world!

 

Lastly, my latest crowning achievement as a parent is that I taught Caroline the beloved, “Hook “Em Horns!” Yup, she a smart one, indeed!

Peace

A Caroline Update!

Here's a C.J. blog post for our friends and family across the states!

No theology!

No pontificating!

No weird questions or spiritual ramblings!

Just Caroline Jane Miller... 100%!

Our 'lil nugget will be 14 months a day after Thanksgiving! Here are some of Caroline's favorite things. She loves the following:

1. Food! Yup. Taco Tuesday is a must for anyone who comes to visit us BTW! C.J. is 95% in weight! She might play for the Broncos next year and take Von Miller's job. You've all heard about teenage boys eating you out of the kitchen. Well, C.J. eats more than most adults. She's that kid at the park who eyes the other toddler's snack and then mooches... kinda embarrassing, but it's all healthy and she's a super cute eat-er! Speaking of park...

2. The Park! Platt Park is our neighborhood park just a block down the street. We love it! Swings, a merry-go-round, sand, slides and lots of little friends that I've grown to love. If the weather is fantastic (which it has been most of time for the past 6 months), we go 2-3x/day!

3. Play group! We meet with about 6-8 other babies on Mondays and Wednesday (4-5:30pm). We love going to Addie and Mason's house.

4. Book Babies! The library is next to the park, and every Wednesday and Thursday (11:15am), a bunch of stay at home parents (mostly moms) take their babies for some group reading, singing, dancing and playing! It's the cutest thing in the world. C.J. loves the stairs at the library. She's a great climber.

5. Laughing with mommy! We make the most of our time when Lauren is off of work and able to play with the family. Mommy is the comedian of the family. Caroline thinks Lauren is freakin' hilarious.

6. Dogs! She's fascinated with them. She's actually gotten to be pretty good with being gentle with our tiny wiener dogs too. She lets me know about every dog we pass on our walks.

7. Cookie Monster! He's her favorite toy. He's almost as funny as mommy. I will admit. I like Cookie Monster too.

8. Dancing! Move over Miley Cyrus. We've got a new twerker in the U.S.A. Yup, C.J. likes to shake her rump. We also like to, "Throw our hands in the air... hands in the air!" Tons of fun.

9. Songs! We've gotten to learn a lot of songs at Book Babies. Caroline is getting the hang of hand motions. It's priceless to watch her do "head and shoulders, knees and toes..." along with "the itsy bitsy spider" and "open, shut them."

10. Words! She's starting to talk quite a bit now. She'll stack blocks if I say, "Let's stack blocks." She'll go her books when I say, "Let's read a book." C.J. definitely understands a lot of what we say, but now she's really cranking out he words, which are the following:
- daddy
- dog
- hat
- hot
- ball
- diaper
- es (means, Rufus, her lovie)
- no :(
- i love you... = "i ooo"
- bye bye
- momma
- hi
- head
- ears (although she thinks eyes are ears too)
- nose
- duck
- 'dat? (what's that?)
- baby

11. Chase. We play peek-a-boo and chase a lot. While she's been taking steps since 11 months, C.J. still won't walk. She would rather "knee walk", which is pretty stinkin' cute. Plus, I can still keep up with her.

One of the most precious things that she does when Lauren is home is grabbing our heads and pushing them together to watch us kiss with a BIG SMILE! I love it. It's so healthy for her to see that too. If you have a child, kiss and cuddle with your spouse in front of your kid often.

I absolutely love our little family. We will be excited once residency is finished and we can have a more "normal" life again. Yet, it's been such a privilege for me to stay at home with Caroline. These 3 years will be the most unexpected blessing; a true gift I never knew I needed, but is shaping me in ways I don't even know.... I love my 'lil Denver nugget!

What if...? Being a Stay-At-Home Dad, digging Open Theism, sitting at the Rabbi's Feet & Breaking Bad!

The other day I was wondering, “Did we make the “right” decision?”

This lingering question isn’t new or alarming to anyone on any given day, as it’s the haunting question that everyone wonders throughout life’s crazy journey. Humans second guess themselves all of the time, whether after buying a new car, taking a new job, moving or simply wondering, “What would our world have been life if ________?”

We make decisions every day that have small and massive, rippling effects on the trajectory of our lives as well as minor and large consequences effecting the world around us.  I remember when Lauren and I made the decision to pursue medicine many years ago. We were sitting in our house just 2 blocks from where we live today. Lauren said, “I think I know what I want to do. I want to be a doctor.” After several years of tests, closed doors that seemed firmly locked, the perseverance paid off. We knocked down some heavy walls, kept patient, paid our dues and here we are 11 years later... we still wonder, "Did we make the right decision?"

"What if...?" 

In the last year +, we had a baby girl and moved to Denver. I made the decision to stop working as a local pastor and stay at home with Caroline while Lauren started her internal medicine residency that will last 3 years. These decisions are multilayered that go back to 2008. We sold our home, left our community and unknown possibilities of church planting in San Antonio, moved to Dominica and began a whole new journey. We made the decision for Lauren to have heart surgery 3 years ago when her conditioned worsened, made another big decision to move to New York City, and one more to move back to Austin with our family for the first year of Caroline’s life.

Every now and then we wonder, “What if ___________?”

What if we stayed in San Antonio 5 years ago?

What if we never left Denver 11 years ago?

What if we chose not to undergo heart surgery 3 years ago?

What if we didn’t move to New York City after heart surgery?

What if we stayed at Liquid Church and didn’t move to Austin for that last year?

What if we decided to stay in Austin with family just a few months ago?

I’ll be pretty honest. These questions will drive you crazy if you sit on them for too long.

I believe in both a sovereign, omniscient deity who knows every single possibility of any decision we will every make along with believing that he never manipulates or coerces his creation to make decisions outside of their free will. This position is called, the “open view.” Essentially, the LORD is still sovereign (a big misconception some use against this particular view), but our decisions have a huge effect on the complicated day-to-day issues of this chaotic yet beautiful world. The LORD intervenes, redeems and works with us every step of the way. He's not a clockwork, hands-off deity. However, this view doesn’t hold to “one way” of doing things… there are thousands of unlimited options at our disposal. It’s kind of like the children’s book series, “Choose Your Own Adventure,” but of course, with way more options. If you want to read about Open Theism in more detail, check out this book, “God of the Possible,” by Greg Boyd.

I'm a believer in our choices. So, what does it mean for us to “choose what is better?”

My father in law, Doug, typically gives Lauren and I advice from his father regarding an example with 3 paths/ decisions. You’ve probably heard the scenario at some point, and you’ve most likely “been there – done that” and wondered, “Hmmm???” Someone is standing at a “crossroads” decision, and there are three, significantly different paths to take, but they all look like pretty decent paths. One prays, seeks counsel and weighs the pros and cons, but still has no discerning clarity on the matter. At this point, Doug’s father in law said (I’m paraphrasing), “Perhaps it doesn’t matter what decision you make as long as you seek the LORD and live out His “will” in your life.” And when we speak of “will” we aren’t talking about the “destined road” or fate; but ultimately the things we all know to be his will: a life of love, joy, peace, faithfulness, hope, etc.

The writers of AMC from shows such as “The Walking Dead” and “Breaking Bad” understand this complex concept well, as the complicated and dark characters are always making “BIG” life altering decisions that beg the viewer, “What would you do if A.) You have X amount of food during a Zombie Apocalypse and didn’t’ trust person A on the fringe of “Team Prison?” or, “What would you do if you were Walter White, a brilliant chemist with lung cancer looking to provide for your family?”

If you were Walt, cook some crystal, right?

If you were Rick, take out Shane, right?

Alright, you might not be cooking meth or killing zombies, but these shows do speak to our human will. Hey, “Breaking Bad’s” Walter White, an extreme example of bad going really BAD due to poor but complicated decisions under the “Murphy’s Law” theory, is a man with massive problems that are basically rooted in his freakin' ego. Walt never believed in taking any sort of charity. He made $$$$ as a drug manufacturer to provide for his family because the running theme for Walt is subversively linked to the American man, “A man provides… A man provides" (which sadly, equates to just making $.). I know the example of cooking meth might be far fetched, but the character, Walt, believed that he was doing what was best for his family as he saw it, making hard earned cash. While it’s easy for the viewer of the drama series to go, “Walt. Don’t do it! You are digging yourself into a deeper hole with that decision.”, it’s really easy to understand why he made the decisions he made along the way as it speaks to our every day decisions, both big and small.

The Walt factor that is within each one of us reminds me of a scene in Luke’s Gospel:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said. But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her. (10:38-42).

This passage drives most of us BAT-$#*! crazy in real world time. How did Mary “choose” what was better, while clearly, Martha provided for Jesus and the disciples and was concerned with “practical” and “godly” things such as serving the Messiah. I’ll be bluntly honest. As a man living in the United States, I often feel the pressure of “Walt” to “provide” for my family in the ways we've been told by society. I often feel the struggles of uber-busy Martha, just wanting to "work" (in the traditional sense), serve others (in the churchy sense) and do what is “right” (in who knows what misconceived and ludicrous "sense") and not appear “lazy” like Mary, who was just "sitting at Jesus’ feet" (...because this "will" thing is often about "pride" for most of us if we were truly honest.).

To sit at Jesus' feet is an extraordinarily profound 1^st Century statement, though. This means to be engaged in discipleship. Sitting at a Rabbi’s feet was a Hebrew idiom for following a Rabbi, devoting one's entire life to his mission. Let me clarify before anyone makes unhealthy conclusions and parallels … there was nothing wrong with Martha taking care of everyone and serving in the kitchen. Hey! That’s what I do every day now (Totally guilty of telling Lauren, "Would it hurt you to put your dish in the dishwasher every now and then?")! The “wrong” was the prideful posture of her heart as mine on any given day. Martha could have made a fine, Pinterest meal, cleaned the houe to Martha Stewart perfection and washed every dish in Israel, but her heart was in the wrong place as she failed to “sit at the Rabbi’s feet” and begin her acts of service with relational humility that begins with the source of every decision under the sun.

This reminds me of the apostle Paul’s description of the gifts given to the body of Christ. We can do amazing things… preach the paint off the walls of a church, feed the poor, be martyrs, speak in tongues, and change some killer diapers (NewRyan'sVersion), etc. but if we don’t’ have a 'lil thing called love, NOTHING matters! Nada! I think this is what it means to “choose” what is "better." It’s not as if the choice of staying at home with Caroline is more righteous than not staying at home. It’s not as if Lauren is doing what I should be doing. It’s not as if our roles were reversed everything would be in sync with the LORD’s will. Whether we made the decision to stay in Austin, NYC or _________ isn’t really the point. The crossroads decisions are all important, and we should never take them lightly. Counsel, prayer, etc., is all good. But the point is beyond the decision. 

The point is about sitting at Jesus’ feet before we choose a path... before we "choose our own adventure." 

In addition, I'll add that the point to sit at the Rabbis' feet doesn't stop after the decision is made. Whether you are a stay at home parent or work out of the house 5-6 days/week, we have to choose to sit with our Rabbi, abide in Him and walk each day with Him.

There are days when I wonder, “What the hell am I doing?”

Lauren asks the same thing. We talk it over, get perspective. Press the reset button and walk on.

Then, I look down at my little nugget, Caroline Jane Miller, and I know exactly what I’m doing even if I'm clueless on most days. I’m sitting at the LORD’s feet, and in this season of our lives, sitting at his feet looks like being the best stay-at-home dad I can be, not for the sake of pride, but for the sake of loving my family with all of my heart, soul and strength. 

Did we make the right decision? 

For this particular season and stage in our life, INDEED!

Believe In Yourself!

Caroline enjoys books. This is good news, especially since mommy and daddy love books too.

Her favorite book this month is titled, “Things You Can Be: When You Belive In Yourself,” by Benecia Aronwald & illustrated by Jill Weber. Here’s the kicker. This book was given to Lauren by one of her best friends, Lauren “Lovin” VanderMeer. Lovin must have given this to my wife when Lauren started her medical school journey. It’s fantastic for adults and kiddos on many levels. Here’s what I love about this book.

1. It’s both fun and deep! I can see why Caroline is fascinated with the little gem with all of its bright pictures. Of course, it rhymes, which I’ve found to be the magic formula behind children’s books (i.e. ALL Dr. Seuess books!)

2. It’s really spiritually sound while not having any biblical, religious or “Jesusy” language.

There might be some feisty Christians who have an issue with its primary message because it talks about believing in oneself and chasing one’s dreams. The “self” seems to be the primary character in this book. Here’s the rub. There are many Christians who spend quite a bit of time revolted by oneself and others along with slaying the obvious consumer mentality of the narcissist western world while shouting, “It’s not about you because YOU suck!!!,” seemingly loving to revel in the doctrine of original sin and one’s total depravity. Okay, there is a thread of truth in this argument. Still, I’d like to express my thoughts on why an over exaggeration and extreme posture on this depravity doctrine and the sheer sinfulness of humanity can actually get in the way of the gospel message (gospel = good news!). To preface, I’m not discounting sin. Everyone would agree, Christians and nonChristians alike, that humanity is prone to wickedness, evil and filth on any given day. Just watch the news, right?

Still, the fullness of the gospel message is about redemption and getting back to the focal point of the biblical narrative vision, which starts with the words, “very good," referring to US, human beings! We neglect to start with the true source of goodness, our Creator, who fashioned us in his image, making us His beloved sons and daughter. We were actually created to do good works as raging love-aholics who bring peace and joy to this world. 

Yet, what many people hear is, “YOU ARE AN UTTER SINNER! YOU ARE BAD! YOU ARE EVIL. SO, REPENT!” (which, in my opinion, seems to backlash and NOT work due to so many kids within a lot of Christian circles who have entirely left the church altogether). I remember kids in Dominica who would shout out to one another with the words, “YOU are eeeeevil!” I would often come alongside these children (whose dreams and self image were typically shattered) and say, “No, you are beautiful. You did something you should not have done, but YOU are not evil or wicked."

I feel like there is a sin management gospel that has been infiltrated into our world that just doesn’t work. We try to manage our sins like a checking account. And, when we do this, we often focus on our dirt and grime while neglecting to see who we truly are, people of beauty! First off, the sin raging, angry "You are bad!" word is simply a bad gospel message, which is ultimately, NO gospel message. I can give you a list of adults who heard a bad gospel message, and who no longer have any interest in the church due to fear, shame and guilt-ridden tactics. Second, the last time I checked even the apostle Paul (who was hard on himself) said, “It’s the kindness of the LORD that leads us to repentance” (Romans 2:4). Jesus is seen, time and again, leading people to change with kindess, encouragement, coming to one’s side and saying, “You can do this! You are a rock star!” Sometimes, the church can mistakingly give people a half gospel (at best) when we say, "Put your faith in Jesus, sinner!" and neglect to tell them to have the faithfulness of Jesus because they are created in His Father's image! One of the gravest sins (according to 2nd Century Rabbi Akiva) is to tell people to believe in G-d but to fail to tell people that G-d actually believes in them. Yes, YOU can do it! You've got the biggest cheerleader in the entire world on your side. 

Our ‘lil nugget turns 1 on Sunday!

 

I’m going to continue to provide a message in our home of, “YOU CAN DO IT!” & "BE the someone you always dreamed you could be" in the face of a world that is going to tell her, “NO! YOU CAN’T!” I am going to err on the side of grace, hope and unconditional love. She will be available to reach for the stars as she was created to shine bright as the stars in the sky. We are going to watch Cookie Monster videos that make us laugh because it's both fun and deep. Guess what? There’s great spiritual message in Cookie Monster’s videos too. Don’t believe me? Watch ‘em… there are nuggets of spiritual wisdom for my ‘lil nugget on Sesame Street.

Keep reading! 

Keep dreaming!

Keep eating cookies with Cookie Monster! 

Keep telling your 'lil nugget, "Believe in yourself!" because Jesus is saying, "Yes, you can!"