No Longer Standing Idle

Logos Mac Giveaway

2010-08-21T02:19:00.002-04:00

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A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

2008-12-16T22:42:00.014-05:00

No one has ever accused me of being a good keeper of time. Time tends to fly away from me faster than a chubby nerdy kid from a girl with puckered lips. I open my eyes and poof, its gone. There was one instance in little league soccer when I was rudely awakened from a wonderful dream by a soccer ball bouncing off my head. I heard the coach yell, "Nice header Ryan!" You see . . . I was actually playing in the game at the time. I guess you could say that I was a little bit of a daydreamer. And when a friend of mine recently commented that it had been a while since I had last posted, I thought, "Surely it hasn't been all that long." And then, like that soccer ball of old, the date August 27th slapped me upside the head as I came to the realization that is has been about four months since my last post. Not exactly in keeping with the title of this blog.

Although I have not been blogging, my life has hardly been idle. And as I sit here trying to think of some clever way to share with you what has been going on in my life since August, it appears that my brain doesn't want to cooperate. It might be the residual effect of the last quarter's work load in seminary. My brain still feels like it hasn't fully recovered. Thoughts seem to ooze out of my mind recently like a B-movie monster oozing out of the slime: slow and lurching, while giving the occasional grunt and groan.

So what has been going on in my life? I had Presbytery exams this past November to become "Certified Eligible to Receive a Call." At least I think that is the official title. I tend to get it confused with being "Licensed to Preach." For those of you unfamiliar with the Presbyterian way of doing things if someone wants to be a pastor, they have to take a series of exams before the presbytery (a governing body of pastors and elders from each of the congregations in a region). In the Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America (RPCNA), there are two series of five exams. The first series is to be "Licensed to Preach;" these five exams include an English Bible exam, personal godliness exam, systematic theology exam, preaching, and presenting a church history paper. The second series is to be "Certified Eligible to Receive a Call;" these include a Church History exam, pastoral gifts exam, systematic and RPCNA distinctives exam, preaching, and presenting an exegesis paper. I completed the first series in two stages. I took four of the five exams in the Fall of 2007, and then the last exam in the Summer of 2008. I split it up because I wasn't sure if I could take all five at once and complete all my required assignments at the seminary. This year I decided to jump in and take all five! The Lord was very gracious and faithful as He always proves to be. My presbytery exams went well, and my seminary grades only suffered a little bit. It is a HUGE relief to have those exams behind me. Now I need to start candidating for a pastorate.

Alicia and I were able to travel to Kansas City to visit my side of the family for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving is by far my favorite holiday. We get to sit around the table with family, eat to our heart's content, and praise God for His gracious provisions. After this we get to sit down in a comfy chair and start to watch football before we slip off into a turkey induced coma. The best holiday ever! This was Alicia's first trip to Kansas City at this time of year. So on the Friday after Thanksgiving we took her down to the plaza to check out the lights and shops while sipping down some mochas from the local Starbucks.

The most exciting thing to happen to me since August is finding out that my wife and I are going to have a baby in May!! :) The news took us by complete surprise, but it is a most welcome surprise. The picture to the left is of my beautiful wife about 18 weeks pregnant. She is now almost 20 weeks along and has been able to feel the little one kick and move around. Which makes me just little bit jealous. :) I know my time will come to feel my child move, but the waiting is killing me!!! :) We have had the blessing of hearing our child's heartbeat at every appointment so far. I'll never forget first hearing that whoosh-whoosh-whoosh of the baby's heartbeat. It blows my mind to realize that God is weaving together a new living being within my wife; one who is bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh!!! God is truly an awesome God!!! I think it goes without saying that I am Pro-life. Since I found out that my wife is with child, I find it all the harder to understand how anyone in their right mind could even think about supporting such an abomination as abortion. Especially after you have heard their little heart beating away inside the womb. Abortion is not only murder, and should be punished as such, but it is forged in the very fires of hell itself. Sorry, I started preaching. :) What can I say, I am a seminary student. But if I did happen to offend you, all I can say is that I am very happy to do so. And I pray that the Lord will work in your heart and enable you to see the truth. Because right now you have accepted the lie of satan for the truth, and that will only lead you to destruction.

Those are the highlights from my life since August. My life has been a blur since I last posted. It feels like I skipped over September, October, and November and have gone from August straight into December. Lord wiling it won't be another four months before I post again. But I make no guarantees.

Transformers, Cheese Balls, Grandma's sweet tea, . . . Anything Missing?

2008-08-20T10:50:00.017-04:00

The elementary school I went to was a small Christian school, and it was right next to my grandparents house. Every day after school I would go to Grandma and Paga's house and spend the afternoon with my friend David watching Transformers, eating cheese balls, and drinking my Grandma's sweet tea. It didn't get much better than that, especially on a hot afternoon. My grandparents kept their house cold, and there was nothing better to escape the heat than grabbing a cold glass of sweet tea with cheesy fingers while watching the Transformers.

My childhood was a blessed one. I had parents who loved me, older sisters who looked out for their little brother, grandparents who lived up the street from me, and solid friends throughout my life. I didn't miss much. Except chicken pox. I never had the pox as a kid. Oh, my parents tried to get me infected with it. I was forced to play with friends at church when they had chicken pox. I didn't want to because they looked weird; I mean, who wants to play with someone who has red spots all over their face? They freaked me out! Another fond memory I have of David is me trying my best to run away from him while he laughed and chased me around the church with red spots all over his face and arms. But I never got them. My sisters even got them and yet I escaped childhood without ever experiencing the "joys" of chicken pox. Maybe I am naturally immune?

That is what I used to tell myself, and my lovely wife, before Wednesday, August 13, 2008. The day my pox free world came crashing down all around me. I was leading bible study that night as part of my internship. Before we start we go around the room and give prayer requests. The pastor I'm interning with was sitting next to me and he offered up a praise to the Lord because his case of the shingles was finally coming to an end. (For those of you who don't know shingles is a nastier, adult form of chicken pox). My only thought was, "Hmmm, that's interesting. I've never had chicken pox." That night I noticed some strange "pimples" on my shoulder. My wife and I didn't know what they were, so we popped them. The next day I spiked a temperature of 102.5, and a few more spots appeared. We still didn't know what they were, so we popped them. My temperature was still around 102 on Friday, and a couple of more spots appeared. Alicia called her doctor and described what was going on, and her reply was that it sounded like I had the chicken pox. My thought this time was, "You've got to be kidding me. I'm getting them at thirty?" Saturday I exploded. The number of spots at least doubled, and then on Sunday they doubled again. Alicia and I estimate that I probably had about 400 spots on my body.

Having gone through the "joys" of chicken pox is my life more complete? Honestly, I'd have to say no. My life was perfectly good without it. But I am happy to have had them. Well, more relieved I guess than happy. Before I got the pox, I always wondered what I would do when my children got them. Now I don't have to worry. I even got to have a "pox play date." A mother of eight from our church brought her two youngest boys over and I held them in my lap and read to them. The older one was a little shy about climbing up on my lap. I don't blame him. I looked like a teenager with the worst case of acne imaginable.

The Lord indeed works in mysterious ways. There were a number of things going on during my time with the pox that I could not be a part of. For some reason He wanted me to stay away. A small post-it note would have been more enjoyable, but my time with chicken pox was valuable. The most valuable thing the Lord gave me through my bout with the pox is a deeper appreciation for the incredible gift He gave me in Alicia. The girl is a wonderful caregiver. By far the best doctor/nurse I've had. When the time comes for the Lord to bless us with children, and when they become ill, I know that they will have a wonderful mother to care for them in their time of need.

Push-ups?

2008-08-20T10:20:00.002-04:00

My push-up program has run into a little snag this week. A snag I like to call chicken pox. I haven't really felt like doing them, so I didn't. I'll probably take another week off and then start in with week two again. However, I did see some improvement in the test after week two. In my initial test, I powered through to the mighty number of 18, after week two I was able to muscle out a whopping 22 (and yes, you do detect sarcasm).

Week 1: Take 2

2008-08-05T09:50:00.003-04:00

During week two of the 100 Push Up Challenge the Reformed Presbyterian Church had its international conference. It was a wonderful conference, but I let it interfere with the challenge. So, I ended up doing week one again and I am now starting week two.

100 or Bust -- Week 1

2008-07-18T08:02:00.002-04:00

My first week of the push-up challenge is behind me. My maxes for each day were 12, 14, 18. Be sure and post your updates here. Strength and honor!!!!

Did Somebody Say Vaccines?

2008-07-14T20:53:00.005-04:00

Vaccines seem to be something we all take for granted these days. After all, it must be a good thing to protect your child from as many diseases as possible. But are we really protecting them? It turns out that I married more of a planner than I realized (which is fantastic). I would have waited to do any research on the topic until Alicia was actually pregnant. Alicia on the other hand started doing research in March, about a month after we were married -- God knew what He was doing when He made Eve for Adam; it is truly not good for man to be alone. Due to my load at seminary I have not been able to do nearly as much research on the subject as my studious wife, but she has been faithful in keeping me up to date about what she has been discovering. If you have any questions about the issue, I encourage you to read up on what my wife has found on her blog. Even if you don't have any questions, I encourage to read up on the issue. Alicia and I don't believe that all vaccines are bad. However, the amount an infant is given and the age at which they are given the vaccines could have severe consequences. I hope you take the time to read up on the study my wife has so carefully done, and possibly start a study of your own. Oh, be sure to leave a comment on her blog; Alicia likes to hear what you think. And check back periodically for more updates on what we find.

100 or bust

2008-07-09T17:58:00.003-04:00

A friend of mine, Jared, just posted a challenge on his blog to reach 100 consecutive push-ups. I took him up on the challenged and thought I would offer one of my own to any of my family and friends out there that would like to participate. (Go here to read more about the program). If you are interested, just leave a comment to this post with your level after you have done the initial test. Then comment to this post again each week with your progress. I'm going to start next Monday and then leave my updated level each Saturday. There is no grand prize at the end, except for a stronger core and upper body. Oh, and be honest about your level. :)

Crazy Cat

2008-07-07T21:42:00.010-04:00

Pets are fantastic. Especially when they do something that makes them seem almost human. My wife recently posted on her blog a story her Mom sent us about their dog, Asher, acting like a small child asking for his mother. This story made me think of an old cat of mine named Jack, who I am sure thought himself to be as close to human as an animal can be.

Jack was an incredible cat. He lived to be 20 years old, just short of 21. In his prime, he weighed in at 28 pounds! He didn't have any front claws, but when he swung at you and made contact it sounded like someone was slapping you on the hand. I'm about 6 foot 2 inches, and when Jack would reach up and stretch on my leg his front paws would be up past my waist. Jack was a beast, and he carried himself with the royal dignity of a lion (Although he doesn't really show it in this picture).

My parents decided to add on to our house in the late 80s. While we had a big gapping hole in our living room, we lived up the street with my grandparents. We had to keep Jack down in the basement at night so that he wouldn't jump onto my grandparents mantle and break my grandma's porcelain figurines. One night my parents were up late watching TV and Jack was already downstairs. My parents began to hear the basement doorknob rattle. Then the door swung open. Then the door shut. Then Jack came walking into the living room. My parents looked at each other and thought, "We must not have shut the door tightly enough." So they picked Jack up and put him back downstairs while Jack protested as much as he could, and they made sure the door was shut. Five minutes went by. They heard the doorknob rattle. Then the door opened again. Then it shut again. Then Jack came walking into the living room, standing proud and tall. My parents then picked Jack up, put him back downstairs, and this time locked the basement door.

The thing that amazed my parents that night, and still amazes us today, is that Jack not only opened the basement door, but he also shut it. It was impressive enough that he could even open the door -- the handles were the normal round kind not the kind which stick out to the side that anyone without opposable thumbs could open -- let alone actually closing the door behind him. He always carried himself with the attitude a proper Englishmen would envy. Looking back, I guess we shouldn't be surprised that he was polite enough to shut the door he just came through.

Hello! My name is . . .

2008-07-04T10:31:00.006-04:00

I used to blog many years ago. I can't remember why I deleted everything; probably because I was spending too much time posting and customizing, and not enough time writing papers and studying. I still need to study. Especially, since I'm now in seminary. But as I have watched my wife furiously blogging away I have begun to realize that there is a real ministry opportunity in having a blog.

Which is this blog's overarching purpose: to add another Christian voice to the internet. The internet is a good tool, but like everything else which is good Satan has used it for his evil intentions. He has used it very well. Hopefully, some may stumble across this blog and find words of encouragement, or words of conviction, in a dark world. But why have I titled it No Longer Standing Idle?

Before I acknowledged God's call to the ministry I wanted to be a doctor. Specifically an orthopedic surgeon. The only problem was that I was lazy! And I had the grades to prove it (It took me ten years to get my undergrad. That's right, ten years!!). Eight years into my college career I was having a particularly depressing day. After laying all my frustrations on my Mom, she asked, "Have you ever considered the ministry?" Thinking back over my life I could see times when God was pointing me in this direction, but I would always dismiss it for various reasons. That night I was reading Matthew 20 for my devotions. I typically ask God for guidance as I read His Word, and this night I asked Him specifically to let me know for certain if He truly wanted me in the ministry in some fashion. I wasn't really expecting an answer that night. (For those of you unfamiliar with this text, Jesus is speaking a parable about a man who owns a vineyard and goes out at different times of the day to higher helpers to harvest his crop). Then I came to verse six, "And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'" As I read this verse, it was like God was slapping me upside the head. My previous eight years of life could easily be summed up by standing idle all day long. I have marveled over the graciousness of God in my life over the four years since!

I have titled this blog No Longer Standing Idle because of the impact Matthew 20:6 has had in my life. God used it to wake me up and lead me to the path He had prepared for me. Like all of Christ's sheep, I am still a work in progress. I hope to use this blog as a way to keep from standing idle. Not all of my posts will be theological, but I hope to give a Christian slant to what I do post. Hopefully, if you stumble across this blog you will find it encouraging. It is also my hope that at times you will be challenged and convicted by it.
Happy reading.