Another book review....sorta!

I ran across some pretty cool stuff in my current bathroom reader that I thought was worthy of sharing. The book is Called Everyone Wants To Go To Heaven, But... Wit, Faith, and a Light Lunch by C. McNair Wilson. Unfortunately, it is out of print, but I did find one on Ebay. Anyway, it is a collection of random thoughts on different topics that go by the letters of the alphabet (A is Adam, anger, ark, atheist, and authorized version) about the bible and religion that are hilarious, thought provoking, and really hard to explain. So I won't try to. However, I highly recommend it, especially to keep by the can for quick reads! Sorry McNair. By the way, the author, C. McNair Wilson was on staff with Disney in their Imagineering Department. His mind is crazy cool like that! Anyway, here are the two that jumped out at me the other day.

(H) HOPE
Hope is not when you close your eyes and blow out all the candles on your birthday cake and hope for a pony (when you're a child) or a Mustang, later.
Hope is not crossing your fingers while taking a test in school hoping you'll magically remember stuff you never studied.
Hope is when you come to the end of your abilities and you don't know where to turn. You feel tested beyond your limits. You feel like you are standing on the edge of a dark abyss, afraid to jump. If you put your trust in God, one of two things will happen when you jump: there will be someone there to catch you, or you will be taught how to fly!

(I) IMPOSSIBLE
The only assignments that God will handle personally. With all others, he asks us, "What are you going to do about that?"

Anyway, if you are looking for a GREAT easy read, get this book!

srr

sinbad

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

So for all of you (2) who have been wondering whether I was still alive or not.....

Anyway, just finished a pretty good book (The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary Into Extraordinary). Nothing from a spiritual sense, but a good one on leadership and the best coffee seller in the world.....Starbucks. OK, maybe not the best but def the biggest. Either way, its a pretty cool place to get some caffeine. Anyway, there is a lot the western church can learn from how Starbucks does business. Here are some brief thoughts on the Starbucks principles as stated in the book and what the church can learn:

• Principle #1: Make it your own
• WOW!!! There are a ton of churches, especially "contemporary" one's, that spend a ton of energy and resources trying to be the "latest and greatest" church down the street or across town or on the other side of the country. All churches are not supposed to look like North Point in Alpharetta and that's OK! Although I think NPCC ROCKS! It would be better and more lives would be transformed if churches spent more time actually doing and being the church GOD called them to be.
  
• Principle #2: Everything matters
• Everything matters when it comes to reaching those far from God. The sad truth is that many churches and Christians only focus on a few things, like the length of a guy's hair or the color of the carpet or buyin' a freakin' organ or telling everybody else how bad they've screwed up over and over and over..... What if the church spent more time finding out the needs of those far from God and then invested some time and energy in meeting those needs. Come to think of it, that's what that other guy did most of the time. You know.... Jesus.
• Principle #3: Surprise and delight
• One of the many things I like about the church I get to hang out at (Revolution Church) is that it is "like a box of chocolates"........sorry Forrest! You REALLY never know what you're gonna get! Stagnant churches tick me off! CAUTION: Don't do something in church just shock people or because that other church did it (see Principle #1). Do it to change lives! Oh, yeah.....and because God said so. :) Isn't God the author and giver of creativity? GET CREATIVE!!!!
  
• Principle #4: Embrace resistance
• From the book: "Don't mind criticism. If it is untrue, disregard it; if it is unfair, keep from irritation; if it is ignorant, smile; if it is justified, it is not criticism- learn from it." Author Unknown. Also from the book: "To work with resistance effectively, you must distinguish between people who want their concerns to be resolved and those who simply like to complain." Needless to say, churches, no matter what they look like or how they act meet resistance CONSTANTLY! The key is how do they respond to that resistance. Resistance, when recognized and handled appropriately, can prove to be a valuable tool for growth. Try this: The next time you face resistance, ask yourself, "What is the real issue and what is the truth to be learned?
• Principle #5: Leave your mark
• This whole chapter was about Starbucks and their involvement and investment in the communities that are in their sphere of influence. What can the church learn?
  Simply, serve someone other than yourself! While some churches do an amazing job at looking OUTSIDE of the walls, many have never seen outside of their walls. How sad!

I also just finished the book BLIND COURAGE by Bill Irwin. AMAZING!!!! He is the only person to have hiked the entire Appalachian Trail blind! He did it with his dog guide, Orient! Incredible story and I recommend it. They need to do a movie based on the book!

I'm trying to read more. Here are the books in my book que (not necessarily in the order I hope to read them):

• The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus
• Quiet Strength by Tony Dungy (Christmas gift)
• CASH...the Autobiography by Johnny Cash (Christmas gift)
• First In, Last Out by John Salka
  
• The Heart of the Antarctic by Sir Ernest Shackleton (Christmas gift)

I'll post some thoughts as I complete books.

Peace!

SRR

sinbad

CRAP!!!

So yeah, I knew it had been a while.....anyway....

Prison ROCKED! I love going to prison to do ministry. Had a pretty unique experience this time. The weekend revolves around being a part of a table community and hearing talks about the Christian life then discussing the impact the talk had on each person's life. Well, the table community I was a part of this time was Hispanic. The interesting part is that I while I am bi-lingual, my second language is NOT espanol! It's southern! But God worked it all out and the two residents (our term for the inmates) that sat on either side of me were bi-lingual. It is incredible to see God work in the lives on murderers, rapist, former and current gang members and leaders. I'll write more specifics later, but in the mean time, check out the ministry, KAIROS.

SRR

sinbad

Off to prison...

I am leaving today for Hays State Prison in Trion, GA., for a KAIROS weekend. Please keep my family, the inmates at the prison and the Kairos team in your prayers. I will update most likely on Monday.

Go God!

SRR

sinbad

Stitches...first, cool....then suck!

(NOT MY ACTUAL STITCHES...I WISH!) So I got me some stitches (only 5) 15 days ago for a gash on my lower left leg. 15 freakin' days ago!!! They are kinda cool when you first get them cause they freak people out a little when you show them off! Anyway, I go in to the emergency room (that's where they put them in so that is where they said to come to get them out) and they take them out this morning. No problem, right? WRONG! So I am sitting at home after returning form the ER and I look down and there is oosage. Niiiccceee. So I go back to have them look at it and after nearly 3 1/2 hours they tell me to take 7 days of antibiotics, keep it clean, and keep and eye on it! WHAT THE CRAP?!? 3 1/2 HOURS to tell me that!!! They said it would heal from the inside out. Whatever?!?

But it did kinda get me thinking about a song I am diggin' right now.... FROM THE INSIDE OUT by Hillsong United. Here's the chorus...

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love you from the inside out

Just like my cut will heal from the inside out, God desires to heal each of us from the inside out. Odd, though, how many times we often worry TONS about the outside first, while the inside is screwed up! Hmmmm...just a thought!

SRR

sinbad

A COW?!?

So REVOLUTION CHURCH pretty much rocks! We're in the middle of a series on how we can better manage money so that when we realize God's vision for our lives, the chains of financial burden won't hold us back from goin' for it. Joseph Sangl is gonna be there on Sunday, November 4 in the morning bringin' it about money and breaking out of the debt chains that come with it. Anyway, the reason I am telling you this is that I heard somethin' in church I never thought I would!!!! Our pastor, Gary Lamb, was talking about radical ways to save money and things we can cut out of our life to be better stewards. That's when I heard it! He said that he and his wife had bought a FREAKIN' COW!!!! Yep, a cow!!!! Sorry Chik-Fil-A! Why, you ask!!! He went on to say that their beef came out to around $2 a pound! Not super good for ground beef, but amazing for steaks and roast and all that jazz!

Save money....buy he WHOLE DANG COW!!!! I LOVE IT!

SRR

sinbad

Some Football, A Wedding and More Football

So today started with some football.....at 9:00 AM! Yeah, some guys from Revolution Church play flag football most Saturday mornings. Check with Preston Porter if you're interested. I did not play. I learned a valuable lesson in life.... KNOW YOUR LIMITS! :) However, watching can be very entertaining!

Anyway, then it was off to a wedding of a guy that was in the first student ministry my wife and I volunteered in. He also was my worship leader for a while at the last student ministry I was a part of. It was good to see a lot of old friends I hadn't seen in a while and it was a great reminder of my most prized earthly gift....my God-sent wife!!! 12 years of marriage.....and I love her more today than the day we married...love still growin'....would do it all again in a split second... It always makes me crazy when dudes say, "I need a break from my wife." Are you FREAKIN' kiddin' me?!?! I may need a break from a lot of things, but my wife ain't one of 'em! Sheeesh!!!

So back to football... Most of you know that I am a GEORGIA TECH fan. My dad graduated from TECH and my brother graduated from UGA. So we have a lot of fun in our family. Anyway, TECH beat ARMY today, but in the process may have lost the ACC leading rusher, Tashard Choice. WHAT THE CRAP?!?! We'll have to wait and see tomorrow or the next day if Choice will be out and for how long.

Gotta go....fourth quarter of the LSU-AUBURN game. Gooooo.....Tigers!

SRR

sinbad

MAKOS and AXE

Saw THIS today and thought I would share it with ya. It's about two dudes fishing for grouper and catching an 844 lb. 11' mako shark. Can you say "poopy pants"!!! Talk about not getting what you expected.

Through a series of God-moves, Linda and I have found ourselves at a church that has a lot of 11' mako's!!! By that I mean take all of your preconceived notions about church and how screwed up, judgmental, and dysfunctional many of them our and throw it out the window! Here's just one tiny example....how many churches supply the dudes of the church with AXE Body Spray! I never use the stuff, but I freakin' love walking in the bathrooms each Sunday and seeing the AXE bottle in a basket by the sink.

Will AXE save souls? Probably not, but it is all about creating an environment that all of those people the church has been toastin' for so long with all their religiosity CRAP can come into JUST THE WAY THEY ARE and hear about the transforming power of Jesus in their lives.


So, I say all that to say this, if you've been toasted by the "church" in the past, check out Revolution Church in Canton. Can I guarantee it will be the church for you. Don't be stupid! But I can guarantee it won't be like any church you've been to before.

Dare ya!

semper reformanda ragamuffin

sinbad

Dog Bites and Blood

That got your attention, didn't it. So, I am a wanna-be-blogger. I have tons of thoughts, I've just not made it a priority to put them down in this blog. So, at the urging of a crazy man (that'd be you Mr. Lamb!) I shall try and light a fire under my own butt!

So, here we go again.....

Last Sunday night, my wife and I decided to take a stroll through a neighboring field that is near where we live. So, we got the dogs (our two, one of which is blind, and the two who call the ranch we live on home) and headed to the field. As we were walking through it Linda made the remark, "You don't think anyone would put any traps out here do you? To which I replied, "Don't be silly! Of course not." So we continued on our stroll through this rolling pasture and were almost near the end of our journey when the action starts! One of our dogs who had been venturing ahead begins yelping with that crazy yelp like a dog does when it has been hit by a car. I run over full expecting to see a snake retreating into the woods, but I notice that my dog, Tabor, is not moving from the spot even though he is trying too desperately. And I very quickly realized why....HIS FREAKIN' LEG IS CAUGHT IN...you guessed it......A TRAP!!! What the CRAP?!?!?

So I rush over to free him and get the second shock of the night. As I am trying to free him, his response is to start gnawing at my hand! In very short order, I have him freed and that's when I start noticing the blood. My blood! Yeah, where he gnawed on me as I was freeing him from the trap he was in! Come to find out, Tabor didn't have one single scratch on him! No broken bone! No broken skin! NOTHING!!!! So all of the blood that was on my hands and forearms, shorts, shirt, Tabor's nose and his leg, was from me.

After getting home and cleaning up everything, I had about 7 or 8 good bite wounds. No biggie, but God showed and reminded me of some interesting stuff through the experience, especially when it comes to striving to follow the example Christ set for me and us as Christ-followers.

First, sometimes when we try to help someone, even though they desperately need our help, they might not react the way we expect them too. Help them anyway.

Second, when we were screwed in our own lives and trapped, Jesus came to get us out. And guess who got bloodied then? Yep, it wasn't us. But Jesus did it anyway.

Third, when Linda and I turned around to make our way home, she noticed something different about Tabor. Instead of running ahead of us and doing his own thing, he stayed close.....real close...and behind me....like 4 feet behind me. He knew. He knew I'd saved him from what ever it was. He didn't know what it was, but he knew he couldn't get out of it on his own and with his own power. And he knew that even though he wasn't sure how, he was sure of who! And he wanted to stay close to that who. In the same way, I may not be sure of what all Jesus has saved me from, but I know there was no way I could have done it on my own. And now, I strive to walk as close to Him as possible.

Anyway, enough about that....I want to leave you with two cool thoughts off of two cool websites.....

First, http://www.uncensoredgrace.com/
(from the site) Uncensored grace is what you get from a loving God when all the religious types have gone home, and every last hope for your own effort has blown up in your face.

That's just sweet!!!

Second, http://www.revolutionatlanta.com/
(from the site) As Christians, we are sorry for being self-righteous, judgmental bastards.

OUCH! That stung a little!

This is from Revolution Church in the ATL. It was started by my boy Jay Bakker (who got me fired from my first church! :) ) They are rockin' and transforming the least, the last, and the lost of Atlanta.

Finally, I leave you with this website. It is the site of mine and Linda's new frickin' suh-weet church.... www.therevolution.tv !!! If you live in Canton and don't have a church you call home, I dare you to check it out. NOTE: If you do have a church you call home and are plugged into, do us all a favor and stay there! But if you don't....come on, baby!!!

It's late, I must sleep....

semper reformanda ragamuffin

sinbad

Gonna try again.....

One person said they had checked out my blog and it sucked cuz it hadn't been updated in forever. Another person said that I should blog whether anyone reads it or not. So, I will try again.

I ran across this song the other day on RELEVANT TV. Yet another powerful song by Johnny. I think Elvis did it originally, but I like Cash's best. I hope you like it.

HELP ME performed by Johnny Cash

Oh, lord, help me walk
Another mile, just one more mile;
I'm tired of walkin' all alone.

And lord, help me to smile
Another smile, just one more smile;
Don't think I can do things on my own.

I never thought I needed help before;
Thought that I could get by - by myself.
But now I know I just can't take it any more.
And with a humble heart, on bended knee,
I'm beggin' You please for help

Oh come down from Your golden throne to me, to lowly me;
I need to feel the touch of Your tender hand.
Release these chains of darkness
Let me see, Lord let me see;
Just where I fit into your master plan.

I never thought I needed help before;
Thought that I could get by- by myself.
Now I know I just can't take it any more.
And with a humble heart, on bended knee,
I'm beggin' You please for help
With a humble heart, on bended knee,
I'm beggin' You please for help

THINK!

I was thinking the other day about thinking.

We don't think enough as a society... about anything. We don't think about our actions. About who it will effect. About how it will effect. We do think about ourselves though. A lot. We don't take time to think about others. About their lives. About their hurts. About their fears. About how God may be wanting to use us to help them with their lives, hurts, and fears. We don't think about the least, the last, and the lost near enough. Interesting how much Jesus thought about them. We usually only think about them when they are causing us some kind of uncomfortableness. You know, when they ask for a $20 for gas. We don't think about our lives and where they're headed and where they've been and where they could be.

We do spend a lot of time thinking about others and what they might think about us and our new car that we really can't afford and our new designer jeans and over-priced purse and that our kid got his name in the paper again...for the fourth time...in 3 months. And what the neighbors think about our new landscaping and the birthday party we just had for our 4 year old. We look so well off, don't we?

Why is the scale of time tipped so drastically to the time spent thinking about others and what they think about us side and not to the time spent thinking about God side?

Strange what we think about....and don't think about.

STOP. THINK. NOW. GOD.

semper reformanda ragamuffin

sinbad

AMEN

UPDATING TO BEGIN SOON!

I promise I will begin updating soon! Thanks for stopping by and feel free to leave a comment if you wish!

srr

Michael "sinbad" Creighton

Me too, Aaron!

I have been listening to a certain song that has a line in it that has been resonating quite a bit for me and in a variety of different situations as of late. It is called "My Savior, My God" and was arranged by Aaron Shust. This is what Aaron has to say about it on his site and in his own words:

I was reading my "One Year Book of Hymns" and stumbled across a hymn entitled "I Am Not Skilled To Understand" whose words blew me away. I didn't bother searching for the melody: its obscurity indicated antiquity. So I started from scratch and sang it without the chorus for over a year at our church, which seemed to embrace it as it was. But I wanted to take it over he top. Sitting at a red light one night, a melody of excitement and a lyric that seemed to pull together the concept of Christ, my Advocate, always pleading my case, was born. And the song finally exploded on the chorus like I always knew it should. i do not understand everything, but I know that Jesus Christ loves me and is alive defending me. That calls for a big chorus.

Here are the lyrics..... (take a listen here)

My Savior My God
I am not skilled to understand
What God has willed, what God has planned
I only know at his right hand
Stands one who is my savior

I take him at his word and deed
Christ died to save me this I read
And in my heart I find a need
For him to be my savior

That he would leave his place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my savior

My savior loves, my savior lives
My savior's always there for me
My God he was, my God he is
My God he's always gonna be

Yes, living, dying, let me bring
My strength, my solace from this spring
That he who lives to be my king
Once died to be my savior

That he would leave his place on high
And come for sinful man to die
You count it strange, so once did I
Before I knew my savior

My savior loves, my savior lives
My savior's always there for me
My God he was, My God he is
My God he's always gonna be

So, "What's the line in the song?", you ask?
"You count it strange, so once did I"

When I stop and think about Jesus and the radical revolutionary He was, it still seems strange. Mainly because I have been born into a culture that is at it's core, in direct opposition to what the man they called The Christ was all about. I wonder if it would have originally seemed more strange to me or less strange to me if I had been born in a different culutre. Either way, I cannot deny those times in my life that I have felt the undeniable presence of God deep within me.

BOTTOMLINE...

This "jar of clay" was somehow found "worth it" by homeless man!!!

Me too, Aaron.....I still count it strange sometimes.

semper reformanda ragamuffin

sinbad

Amen

STORY LINES...

The following is from the IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE transcript...

EXTERIOR HOUSE –– NIGHT
MEDIUM CLOSE SHOT –– George stands a moment, stunned. Then he turns and runs out to the sidewalk, until his face fills the screen. His features are distorted by the emotional chaos within him. We see Clarence leaning on the mail box at the curb, holding his volume of "Tom Sawyer" in his hand.

CLARENCE
Strange, isn't it? Each man's life touches so many other lives, and when he isn't around he leaves an awful hole, doesn't he?

For those who don't know, I am a Youth Pastor at Hope Church in Dallas, GA. Our student worship celebration is currently in the middle of a series titled STORY LINES. The focus is about STORY LINES- God's, ours, and others. As I was preparing for the message this week where we will be looking at our own stories and how they might influence others, I thought about this line form the movie.

Interesting.....

We never cold possibly realize all the lives we impact as we go about our daily business. The question then becomes what impact are we making on all of the lives we are touching with our own? How will we be remembered? I love the song by Nicole Nordeman called LEGACY. Here are the lyrics....

I don't mind if you've got something nice to say about me
And I enjoy an accolade like the rest
You could take my picture and hang it in a gallery
Of all who's who and so-n-so's that used to be the best
At such'n'such ... it wouldn't matter much

I won't lie, it feels alright to see your name in lights
We all need an 'Atta boy' or 'Atta girl'
But in the end I'd like to hang my hat on more besides
The temporary trappings of this world

I want to leave a legacy
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love? Did I point to You enough
To make a mark on things?
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile
To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy
It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile
Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred
Just want to hear instead, "Well Done" good and faithful one...

Probably my most favorite line in the song is "Did I point to You enough..."

One of the two people that have been influential in my thinking about God and Jesus and that all that jazz, is Rich Mullins. He authored a book called AN ARROW POINTING TO HEAVEN. His wanted his life to be just that~~~ an arrow pointing others to heaven. (more about Rich and the other guy later)

God, I need your help if I am going to influence even just one person for your glory.

Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God have mercy on me.

semper reformanda ragamuffin,

sinbad

Amen.

NOW I WANT A BROKEN HEART

Chapter 2....Irresistible Revolution....

Something happened to me this morning at church (the walled one).....

I choose not to divulge it here, but will outside of this medium if you ask me too.....

The result.... a broken and hurting heart.... mine.

I was reminded of a quote by the founder of World Vision.....Bob Pierce.....

"Let my heart be broken with the things that break God's heart."

I've prayed this prayer before..... only not wholeheartedly.

I'm also reminded of another revolutionist and his lyrics..... Derek Webb...I WANT A BROKEN HEART.

i've got faith in the bank and money in my heart
i've got a calloused place where your ring used to be, my love
i've traded naked and unashamed

for a better place to hide
for a righteous mask, a suit of fig leaves and lies

i thought the cattle on a thousand hills
was not enough to pay my bills
and i fell in love with those who proved me wrong
and now i want a broken heart

now there's a great pad lock
on the place where i was free
and i'm feeling bad from swallowing that key
now i work real hard but i mostly call in sick
of a broken back from the ground fighting back at me
i cannot look you in the eye
so i check the knots on my disguise
'cause i fell in love with fashion in the dark
and now i want a broken heart

i've got alibis for every crime
a substitute to do my time
'cause Your heart breaks enough on both our parts

so now i want a broken heart
now i want a broken heart
now i want a broken heart

I find it interesting to think how many times I've had a broken heart from girls or life or situations that didn't go the way I wanted them too. But the times my heart has been truly broken with the things that break God's heart has been far less. Not saying they haven't been there and been incredibly real, there's just fewer of them.

Hmmmmm....may I not be afraid to WHOLEHEARTEDLY ask God to break my heart with those things that break His. Amen and amen.....

May my broken heart allow more of YOU to shine through.

Reformanda....

M"s"C

EVERYTHING....?....!....

Scribed this morning. Been a while. Anyway......

I'm scribing in Luke. Currently in chapter 5. These were some of the verses I was journaling on today....
Luke 5.27-28
27-28 After this he went out and saw a man named Levi at his work collecting taxes. Jesus said, "Come along with me." And he did—walked away from everything and went with him.

Hmmmmm......here's what I think......

(from my scribing journal)
No doubt a tax collector in those days was not only not liked, but rather despised by society. BUT, he certainly would have had a lot of "everything" to walk away from, especially in a material sense. Certainly people must have thought he had lost his mind. What is my "everything" and am I willing to leave it all for The Way? God, help me to loosen my grip on my "everything" and turn it loose so that in it's place I can better grasp YOU and YOUR everything! Amen....

I'm reminded of the words of Dietrich Bonhoeffer when he said.....
"When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die."

I'm also reminded of the words of LIFEHOUSE in the song EVERYTHING.

Complete "EVERYTHING" by Lifehouse Lyrics

Find Me Here
Speak To Me
I want to feel you
I need to hear you
You are the light
That's leading me
To the place where I find peace again.

You are the strength, that keeps me walking.
You are the hope, that keeps me trusting.
You are the light to my soul.
You are my purpose...you're everything.

How can I stand here with you and not be moved by you?
Would you tell me how could it be any better than this?

I especially like the line "Your are my purpose.....You're everything."

May I never lose sight of the fact that all else is "rubbish" compared to HIM.

Striving to let go of my everything,

semper reformanda,

M"s"C

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

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.....

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

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