DISQUS

Ben, I loved this post - it really rocked me and made me think about the people I'm not talking to about the Lord. When Penn said "You must hate someone not to tell them if you think they're going to hell" (or something like that), I was absolutely amazed by his perspective. Yes, this Christian that witnessed to Penn is quite an example. I wonder if it was really a "Gideon" bible as Penn says or if that's just what Penn, who probably spends a lot of time in hotels, refers to little bibles as.
Again, thanks for sharing this.

Hey Ben! I've been looking for an old post of yours that I think was called "Why Santa Won't Be Visiting My House This Christmas". Does it exist? Did I dream it?

Yes and amen.

Ben...
After seeing your worship team here... We'll, I think I'll be having an acute appendicitis attack that Sunday I was going to play at your church, so I won't be able to make it.

Then again, I do have that old Partridge Family costume from trick-or-treat in the fifth grade.

O.K. - I'll still come! And I'll be working on the chords to that song.

My not yet two year old boy keeps messing up our keyboard so every time we hit a period sign it makes 4 periods. The other night he broke our cordless mouse by banging it on the computer desk over and over. Your post made me shudder. Thanks for the warning.

I'm with you on the Facebook disinterest. At first it was great to reconnect with some old friends, but after a month the novelty wore off. Now I get a message and don't even bother to check it. I know it will be another mass sent picture of a hairless cat or something. MySpace I still like - mostly for the music.

And by the way thanks for a few other recent posts I've enjoyed: Stuff Christians Like, RSS explained and the hedge of protection bit. And I'm glad to know I'm not the only one who's wardrobe is overseen by his wife.

Keep writing. I'll keep reading.

Great! I loved it. Just what I needed this evening.

That was great! Thanks for sharing it. I can't imagine how long he had to work to get that just right. Cool!

I love that song. In fact, it has been one of my favorites for years. But I've always been confused by the "night" reference. Maybe you can clear it up for me. Is it the night following Christ's 3:00pm death? Is it the night of Gethsemane? Is it the darkness that swept down eclipse-like in the middle of the crucifiction? Is it an analogy? Or does "night" just rhyme well with "white"?
I would have performed that song years ago with a friend of mine, but I couldn't quite figure that reference out. Still, it is a great song that causes me to be still and thankful for all the Lord has accomplished for us.

Chip

I was really struck by your sentence about boxes - being able to get out of old boxes you had yourself in or other's had you in. There's a comfort and frustration in our "identity". I experienced this when we moved to Winston Salem back in 2002. Lots of people in Boone knew me as a musician and a worship leader. Suddenly no one knew me. It was a jolt to my identity - I was out of my box. I ended up in a couple of other boxes: my career box and my being a daddy box. Now we've moved to Sanford and I'm readjusting again. Ultimately, God wants me to find my identity primarily in Him. I think of Jesus' words in John 15: "remain in Me", "abide in me", "let My words remain in you".
Also, I wonder if you brought up the whole "box" thing because you're surrounded by boxes full of all your stuff. It's a great feeling when you get all your boxes unpacked. Maybe there's a sermon idea in that for Ben!
Finally, the best dentist and pediatrician in the world are now very close to where you live. We miss them a lot!
God bless you!

As Barney said of Ernest T. Bass: "I think he's a NUT!"

Of all the gazillions of blogs out there... yours is one of them. I check here about once a week and I, too, enjoy the balance between serious and light. what I especially enjoy are any posts that invite participation of some sort from the reader. keep at it, friends!

This really made me laugh and smile, a good way to close my day. Thanks!