Just in time for Halloween.......

10.31.2006

I share with you today a story so horrific, so scary, so bizarre, that you may not want to continue reading......... I call it...
"The Sick and Twisted Tail Of the Toe-doctor Chair Possession"
As most of you know who have been following this incredibly life-changing blog, or who know me in person, almost 3 weeks ago I had to have toe surgery in which they put a pin in one toe and whittled on three other toe knuckles. Well, yesterday was my third followup visit and the doctor was set to remove the stitches. As usual they ushered Linda and me into an examination room and instructed me to wait in the chair. Before long, one of the medical assistants came in and removed my bandages and began cleaning my foot. Now, that in and of itself was scary enough given the fact that my foot had not had a proper bathing in nearly 3 weeks! But I digress. Once the cleaning was complete, the assistant left the room and the wait began. As Linda and I waited and talked about the bad art (in my opinion) in the room, my shoe began to slip off of my foot. So instinctively I moved it towards what I thought was the floor to push it back on. Well.....I hit the control pedals for the chair instead thus initiating the "possession" sequence. First the chair lunged skyward. Then, in panic, I hit the pedal again, this time beginning the tilt-forward sequence. By this time Linda has moved to the pedal and begun a frantic stomping to try and stop the possession. We are both now laughing hysterically. I've gone from about 2 feet high in a relaxed reclining position to nearly 5 feet high in a forward slant. Of course this is when the Dr. decides to make his entrance! The Dr. recognizes the situation for what it is..... a chair possession! He quickly directs a few commands in Latin in the chair's direction and after some violent shaking, the chair returns to it's original position. Relieved, we thank the doctor and get on with the business at hand.....stitch removal. Anyway....that is "The Sick and Twisted Tail Of the Toe-doctor Chair Possession!" told for your enjoyment.

Happy Halloween!

semper reformanda,

Michael "sinbad" Creighton

GIANTS, Dottie, Monkey and TOES.....

10.30.2006

This past weekend, Linda and I went to see FACING THE GIANTS. I highly recommend it. IT is one of the rare "Christian" movies that doesn't seem all cheesy. Unfortunately, many movies produced that desire to display a "Christian" theme portray Christians as geeky robots who can't think for themselves. I didn't get that feeling from this one. Plus, the story behind how the movie came to be is nothing short of amazing. You can read about it here. You can find a good reminder of that concept in God's words in Philippians 4.13.

So anyway, something totally cool happened to Linda and me after the movie. We were leaving the theater when Linda noticed a woman who appeared to be in her late 50's on the pay phone crying. We had actually walked outside when Linda brought it to my attention. So we decided to go back in and assess the situation. After a few minutes we approached her and asked if everything was alright. She said "No" and that she could not get her car door to open. I asked if she would mind if I took a look at it and she said sure so we walked out to her car. She told us her name was Dottie and asked what I did for a living and I told her I was a Youth Pastor. Once at the car, I tried the door and it was definitely locked. I then took the key she had given me, stuck it in the door, and it immediately and effortlessly unlocked and was opened. She was amazed and asked how I had done it. I pretty much blamed it on God. Then it hit me. One of the scenes in the movie referenced Revelations 3.7-8 about God opening and closing doors. She went on to ask for prayer for herself stating that her husband had just died in February and that her dog "Monkey" had diabetes and Chron's disease (Huh?). We then prayed for her and went our separate ways.

What a powerful reminder that God can truly open doors others can't and and what He closes, others can't open. Maybe you have a door that you've been trying on your own strength and ability to open or shut, but haven't REALLY sought God about it. What are you waiting for?

On a personal note, I had a pin put in one of my toes and today I had the stitches removed! YIPPEE!!! I can wash my foot!!!!

semper reformanda,

Michael "sinbad" Creighton

The Toe and The Pin

10.24.2006


I recently went "under the knife" (sounds dramatic, doesn't it?) to have surgery on two of my toes on my right foot. Bascically, the doctor said that I had probably injured the #2 toe on my foot sometime earlier in life and as a result it had begun to do weird things. It looked like a hammer toe (and was affectionately knick named HAMMY by my friends) and was trying a hostile takeover of the big toe (over-the-top). Not only that, but it was bringing #'s 3, 4, and 5 with it in the process. Sooooo.... the Dr. went in and scraped a little here, ground a little there, and then screwed a pin (the pin is about as long and twice as thick as this line ___________) into the middle joint of Hammy. As a result I have gotten to wear an AIRCAST boot for the past 2 weeks and will probably get to wear it for another 1-1.5 weeks. The point of the story is........

I find it interesting how much of an impact such a little thing as a pin this big ___________ in your little toe can have on everyday life. No, it has not been unbearable pain (there's been almost no pain to be honest) and I haven't been a helpless bum, but it has made a difference in how things do or don' get done. It makes me think about our spiritual lives.....

How often do we let the introduction of something small influence how we live for God's glory. For instance, unforgiveness or bitterness towards someone else. Many times when we feel we've been "wronged" or someone has trampled on our "perceived rights" we let it affect many other areas of our lives. How we treat those we work with. How we treat those we live with. Etc, etc, etc. Maybe it's that one area of your life that the "small voice" has been telling you for a long time to hand over to God. The pin I now have in my toe will remain forever. However those "pins" we have in our lives don't have to. Don't let those small things in our lives keep us from being who we were created to be.

In other words.......

DON'T GET PINNED!

semper reformanda ragamuffin

sinbad

Succumbing to fan pressure.....

Due to increased pressure from fans, I will once again resume posting on the SRR blog.....

Coming soon!

10.09.2006

SRR will be returning with ruminations soon. Stay tuned!