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Showing posts from September, 2012

"He went down with them"

I'm working on my sermon and I came across this phrase that I have ready many times and completely skipped in order to get to the "good stuff." Luke 6:17, "He went down with them and stood on a level place." I have been told that God has not listed any stupid details in the Bible.  That means that everything, including direction, weather, titles, etc, is pertinent to the story. Jesus went down with them and stood on a level place. Jesus went down... Where was he?  He was down.  He was not up.  He was not looking down.  He was not above.  He had to descend.  He had to go from up there to down here. Jesus went down...with... He did not just go down there.  He went down "with."  He went down there to be with.  It was not just Jesus looking down on the people.  No he left up to go down with. Jesus went down...with...them... Jesus went down with them.  He did not just go down.  He didn't just descend.  He descended to be with them. I

Painters paint

I was reading this morning and came across these sentences... "Give painters a room full of canvasses and they will paint.  Why?  Because they are painters." That's one of those ideas that could be seen as totally stupid or super deep.  I like to see it as both. It's stupid.  Painters paint.  That's why they are called painters.  OR Painters paint because they have to paint and ,therefore, they are called painters because of a calling or desire they have. It's deep.  What would I do in a room full of canvasses?  I wouldn't paint.  I'm bad at it and I don't like to paint.  So, what's my canvass?  How would this phrase play itself out better for me?  That led me to this thought. If you suddenly found yourself in a room full of other people that you didn't know.... ...what role would you take? ...what would you want them to see you as? ...what would you tell other people about yourself? ...what would your goal be in that situati

Surgery is Scheduled

Things have been happening so fast that it's been hard to keep everything updated.  Silas was officially adopted this past Wednesday! We went to Charleston and took the kid's with us.  They did very well in court.  We met our lawyer and then met the person representing Silas.  She kept pronouncing Uganda incorrectly, but I didn't want  to correct her!  They were both wonderful with the kids and very easy to work with.  When we went into the courtroom to see the judge I felt like I was in Law and Order.  The judge came in and we all stood up.  Then the lawyers started talking really fast.  Next thing we know they called Mindy up to the witness stand!  She was a little nervous but did well.  Then I had to take the stand.  Then...it was over!  They declared Silas a Boyd and an American! That was an amazing moment.  The lawyer asked Mindy if she knew that adoption was forever and that we could never take him back.  She smiled and said, "Yes."  I think I laughed ou

Lambdoid Synostosis

We took Silas to Children's Hospital in St. Louis yesterday (8/31).  The doctor came in and said, "Oh wait, let me go see if the pediactric neurosurgeon is available for this meeting."  So we obviously assumed that Silas' head was not purely a cosmetic issue but would need surgery.  When the doctor came in again he confirmed it. Silas will need surgery and it is a major surgery.  He has Craniosynostosis which is found in about 1 in 3,000 births.  (Take that "doctor" from Uganda who told us to lay him on his other side when he sleeps!)  Silas' case is even more rare as it only occurs in 2.5% of the 1 in 3,000 births. I'm going to do my best to anticipate your questions. What is wrong with his head? Silas is missing one of his "growth fractures."  You know how they put the cracks in the sidewalks on purpose so that they concrete can expand and contrast?  Silas is missing one of those.  As the brain grows it pushes the skull out to make