Last Wednesday night, continuing the "You Asked for It!" series, we raised some questions about the use of profanity. I ended the last post stating a few principles to take home in learning to honor God with our lips. The first one was to realize that transformation happens slowly and only over time.

In my opinion, we had a FANTASTIC conversation this morning! Thanks to all you who offered great insight.

Profanity. What counts? How do we honor God in our language? Where do euphemisms fit in?

Last night we had a great discussion in our "You Asked For It" class where we are addressing various questions raised by our students. At the end of class I shared a few helpful principles to keep in mind as we learn to honor God with our lips. Here are the things I shared:

• Realize that transformation happens slowly and only over time
• Realize that our language both expresses and influences our heart
• Recognize in yourself the situations when you struggle most in honoring God in your language
• Develop a plan of action for those situations ahead of time
• Understand that small decisions to refrain from certain words (even if you still think them) are signs of real progress

Have you ever been truckin' along in your Bible, come across a passage of scripture that you had no idea what to do with it, and rather than pause a second to make some sense of it just kept right on going? That is me more than I'd like to admit! There are some passages of scripture that are just straight up confusing! Why is that in here? How am I supposed to apply this?

Even more, sometimes I feel like I'm unable to actually say that in church! It is as if I know better than to ask why that passage is in there! I'm somehow already supposed to know how that applies to my life!

Well, I'm wanting to create a little safe space where we take a look at some of these passages, passages that we'd like to ignore. Some passages I have NEVER heard preached! Some passages are mentioned only in passing without any depth. And some passages should only be talked about in appropriate places!

This 10-week class series is entitled "Rated 'i' for Ignore: 10 Biblical Passages We'd Like to Ignore." Beyond looking at specific passages of scripture, I hope also to see more vividly the human element of God's divine word. The Bible reveals stories of God in perfectly messed up lives!

In the end, I hope that we can be more realistic and honest about our own "messed-up-ness" (since that is a real word)! These passages have something to say to us who humbly recognize our own inadequacies before the Almighty God who forever reigns above all!

You can bookmark the series link to peek into our conversation.

Yesterday was an encouraging day, and the KFC Building was open for only half of it! Campus has life again as SHSU started classes, our cleaned floors were received incredibly well, students came by with renewed excitement, prayers were offered by and for me, we had a great first Bible study of the semester, and my productivity was higher than normal! I praise God for His encouragement.

"So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks find; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened." Luke 11:9-10

Z2 Convergence was an incredible experience this year!

The weekend had an aroma of Christian community lived out. We came ready to welcome other students we'd just met! The fragrance of grace filled the weekend even as collisions occurred. We connected with each other and offered ourselves for the others' sake. The scent of reverence lingered over our worship. We offered our sacrifices of praise in a variety of forms throughout the weekend. Praise the Lord!

Here is the video that I put together late Sunday night (and well into Monday morning!) to show Monday morning at breakfast as we left.


I will certainly be processing the weekend more and putting up other completely awesome videos as they become available. You can see all the Z2 Convergence posts here.

My 4 year old son, Tyler, has a hilarious way of bringing things together with his goofy words and keeping our family prayer times light-hearted! Last night, while he was praying before bed, he asked God for a safe trip to Punkinsaw. I had just prayed for a safe trip to Pine Cove for the Z2 Convergence, and Tanya had been talking on the phone about students coming from Arizona, all around Texas, and Arkansas! So Tyler prays for all of those in just one word: Punkinsaw! Amazing! We busted out in laughter as we finished our prayer time together! It was awesome!

God stirs our lives with the salt of laughter! I praise Him for Punknisaw!

In the book Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis there are times when he teaches through a hypothetical conversation between Christ and a disciple of Christ. I love this didactic strategy because he invites me in to identify with the disciple and to consider the words of Christ in a new way.

All the craziness associated with pulling together all the last-minute details for the Z2 Convergence that we begin tomorrow forces me to pause for a second to consider an interesting conversation between a disciple and Christ!

Disciple: Where are you, Lord, when I'm overwhelmed with all these details and all this stress?


Christ: I'm here with you, as you know already. I wonder what is overwhelming you to the point that you only now turn to me?


Disciple: I recognize that you have been here the whole time. At the same time, as my tasks continue to come at me with amazing vigor, my thoughts entertain the ever-present mountain called "things-still-to-get-done." I write them down "here" and "there." I forget about "this" or "that." I actually remember "the other thing" and manage to crank out pieces of randomness to add to the little hill called "finished." Are you just sitting there watching me? Waiting for something? What is going on?


Christ: Sure I see all that, my child. Actually, I feel how overwhelming it is for you. You take on so many things! I love that about you! I remember creating you like that on purpose. I also remember creating you to take delight in me, to experience peace in me. I see times when your faith in me alone carries you beyond this thing you are calling a mountain. You let go and sit at my feet as you breath your next breath, learning from me the way you must go. I love those moments that you are even unaware of yourself and so sensitive to my moving that it is as if I were directing your path according to my word. You do that so well, my child. Keep it up.

Opportunities patiently wait for us to discover them today! For some reason they like to play hide-and-seek all the time...and they are good at finding hiding spots! I know some kids who are excellent, top-notch, olympic-gold-metal-level hide-and-seek players, and these opportunities I'm talking about beat these kids all the time!

What is amazing to me is to watch them play. Even though the opportunities' hiding spots are incomparable, sometimes they like to toy with people. I occasionally see an opportunity, tired of hiding so well all the time, stand right out in the open ready to be "it" next round (wanting to be "it" even once), and someone just walks right past it as if she never saw it!! I am floored every time!

Well, today is going to be different for me! An opportunity told me to close my eyes and count to ten, and we all know what that means. I'm playing hide-and-seek today! It is going to be awesome.

You need to join us! Those opportunities have nothing on us! Ready or not, here we come!

Spiritual and mundane
They intersect I know
Maybe I miss it
Eyes aimed too low

I look up during one to find
A legitimizing prayer or song
No way this is spiritual
Too mundane. And wrong?

I look down during fun
Food and Mexican train
Did God make all of us
Odd, weird, even mundane?

Spiritual seems different than this
Yet the activity connects
God's people are nourished
Energized as He directs

God is one
Also three
Spiritual and mundane
Word and tree

We are raised to heights
Of spiritual connections
When we image God
In mundane reflections