Gluttons of Stuff

A couple days ago, my wife and I lived very comfortable lives. We have food in our stomach's and a nice house in a nice neighborhood. Needless to say, our house is full of nice "things." And if you were to ask me if I needed or wanted any other things, I would probably have to think really hard, and possibly for a long time on any new addition to my house. Then there was Christmas. And the next couple of days, I spent a great deal of time unloading the car and filling up my living room before sorting through, unpacking, and to finding appropriate places for all our new things. So I guess if we were very comfortable before Christmas, now we are "completely comfortable," "incredibly comfortable..." I am not sure what the adjective is that describes my families wealth and comfort level, but you get the point.

This probably makes me sound ungrateful and unappreciative, which is far from reality. I am truly grateful for the thoughtful presents my family and I have received. I am continually amazed by the generosity of our families and our friends and wonder whether or not I share as openly as they do. My generosity, or lack there of, is for another post, today I want to express how deep down our roots are in materialism, greed, and gluttony are.

I recognize that I am on a path that leads to more questions than answers. I am sure there are many different opinions in how to diagnose and treat this problem. Others might call this problem, sin and then there are others that would question that it is even a problem.

So because I have no answers, I will leave my questions.

-Do I want to be treated for this problem?

-Is this a issue of the heart?

-Is the my culture that forces me to live like this?

-Is it because of my socioeconomic status that I live like this?

-Am I celebrating an American holiday, rather than the birth of my Savior?

-How can I have a non-materialistic, glutton free Christmas?

1 Day til Christmas

1 day until Christmas, happy Christmas eve... This is our final day of preparation for the coming of Christ. Today you are to worship. Have moments of worship all throughout the day. Honor God today in what you do. Give glory to God in all that you do. Yes, you are to do this normally, but sometimes in the busyness of life we forget or miss out in our constant devotion to God. A lot of times worship is thought of as singing "worship songs." Although music is good and fun, look for other ways to worship and honor God today. There are many forms of worship. Feel free to be creative, think outside of the normal Christian box of worship. Take what God has given to you today and find ways to worship him in it!

Psalm 100

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Romans 12:1

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.

John 4:23

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.

Thank you for participating in our 12 days til Christmas! Have a wonderful and Merry Christmas. May the real 12 days "of" Christmas begin.

2 Days til Christmas

Only 2 days until Christmas is here. We have been preparing and anticipating for 10 days and it is almost here. Do you anticipate the second coming of Christ the same as you anticipate and prepared for this coming Christmas? Always growing, always thinking and talking about, always receiving emails and constant reminders of who and what is really important. Today our activity is going to revolve around forgiveness. Confession and forgiveness are very powerful. Confessing to God is good, confessing to a trusted friend, a spouse, a family member, a co-worker, may not be easy, but is equally as good. When you confess to God, you are accountable to Him. When you confess to someone close, they will keep you accountable. There is no better fresh start, or renewed life, than after a heart to heart confession with someone you trust. Start your new year, your new life, this Christmas with an accountability partner digging in deep with the things that weigh you down, or the sin that easily entangles. Whatever it is there are things that keep you from a certain closeness and intimacy with God. Identify those things, be truthful, and honest with yourself and let the truth set you free.

Hebrews 12: 1-2

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Matthew 5: 23-24 (The Message)

This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.

James 5:16

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

3 Days til Christmas

With 3 days til Christmas were getting into the word again. Mike has sent me the lectionaries, thanks Mike. Do one, do all four, remember the cosmic score keeper is in heaven keeping track so if you want more points do all four and send this to ten other people and God will bless you with even more points... Breakfast at 8am my house today for a couple more points, even more points if you are actually reading this before 8am. Lastly, for those that are in town; Youth group Christmas party at the church at 6:30pm, alumni are welcome! Enjoy the readings...

These are the readings for this week: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16. Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26. Romans 16:25-27. Luke 1:26-38

Below are the readings, broken down into verses

2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16

7:1 Now when the king was settled in his house, and the LORD had given him rest from all his enemies around him,

7:2 the king said to the prophet Nathan, "See now, I am living in a house of cedar, but the ark of God stays in a tent."

7:3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that you have in mind; for the LORD is with you."

7:4 But that same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:

7:5 Go and tell my servant David: Thus says the LORD: Are you the one to build me a house to live in?

7:6 I have not lived in a house since the day I brought up the people of Israel from Egypt to this day, but I have been moving about in a tent and a tabernacle.

7:7 Wherever I have moved about among all the people of Israel, did I ever speak a word with any of the tribal leaders of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, "Why have you not built me a house of cedar?"

7:8 Now therefore thus you shall say to my servant David: Thus says the LORD of hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep to be prince over my people Israel;

7:9 and I have been with you wherever you went, and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make for you a great name, like the name of the great ones of the earth.

7:10 And I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them, so that they may live in their own place, and be disturbed no more; and evildoers shall afflict them no more, as formerly,

7:11 from the time that I appointed judges over my people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies. Moreover the LORD declares to you that the LORD will make you a house.

7:16 Your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me; your throne shall be established forever.

Psalm 89:1-4, 19-26

89:1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, forever; with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

89:2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever; your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

89:3 You said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to my servant David:

89:4 'I will establish your descendants forever, and build your throne for all generations.'" Selah

89:19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said: "I have set the crown on one who is mighty, I have exalted one chosen from the people.

89:20 I have found my servant David; with my holy oil I have anointed him;

89:21 my hand shall always remain with him; my arm also shall strengthen him.

89:22 The enemy shall not outwit him, the wicked shall not humble him.

89:23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.

89:24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him; and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

89:25 I will set his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.

89:26 He shall cry to me, 'You are my Father, my God, and the Rock of my salvation!'

Romans 16:25-27

16:25 Now to God who is able to strengthen you according to my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery that was kept secret for long ages

16:26 but is now disclosed, and through the prophetic writings is made known to all the Gentiles, according to the command of the eternal God, to bring about the obedience of faith --

16:27 to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever! Amen.

Luke 1:26-38

1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth,

1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

1:28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

1:29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be.

1:30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.

1:31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus.

1:32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.

1:33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end."

1:34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?"

1:35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God.

1:36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren.

1:37 For nothing will be impossible with God."

1:38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.

4 Days til Christmas

Only 4 days til Christmas... it's Tuesday and if you haven't finished your shopping or prepping for Christmas, you are known to the western world as a slacker, a grinch, or a scrooge. There is no term for someone who does not prepare spiritually, or take time to think about the significance of the season. No I am not trying to make anyone feel guilty. I too have not completed all the tasks each day, but I have felt the guilt for past seasons that have come and gone without any expense of time or energy into thinking or preparing for the coming of Christ. Anyway with 4 days til Christmas your activity is going to include your neighbors or your neighborhood. I am sure that you instantly have an idea that will help spread God's love or some Christmas cheer. If not, here are a couple ideas:

- Walk around the neighborhood and pray for your neighbors

- Make a goodie plate or treats for a neighbor

- Arrange a night together/date with your neighbors

- Random act of Kindness for your neighbor like rake their leaves, shovel their snow (Jai), help unload groceries...

- Play with the neighborhood kids outside

- Write your neighbor a note or letter

Matthew 22:37-39

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Exodus 20:17 NASB

You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife or his male servant or his female servant or his ox or his donkey or anything that belongs to your neighbor.

Deuteronomy 23:24 NIV

"If you enter your neighbor’s vineyard, you may eat all the grapes you want, but do not put any in your basket."

Philippians 2:4

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

5 Days til Christmas

There are only 5 more days til Christmas and hopefully the weather will cooperate with our Nature Appreciation Day or Nature Awareness Day. Even if it is raining, you can appreciate the splendor of God in the rain. Take some time off today to spend some time out in His creation. If you can really get away into the wilderness or mountains, that would be ideal... but if it must be your backyard, then so be it. We have so many reasons to be thankful for what God has done in our life and sometimes it takes a few minutes outside to remember those things that we would normally take for granted.

Psalm 24:1-2
The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.

Psalm 19:1
The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.

Ephesians 1:4
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

6 Days til Christmas

So today is Sunday and we are six days and counting... yes we are counting. With the chance that some of you will not be able to be in Sunday School with us today, I decided that I should keep you in the loop and send out my daily email anyway. Sunday is going to be the day of giving. I know that Christmas day is usually the big day for giving, but this year Christmas is not a day it is a season. As we prepare ourselves for the one day, we decided that we should prepare our hearts and our minds by being generous in our giving. Giving... although it usually begins and ends with material stuff and the giving of things, hopefully this year we can give a little more. Today think about giving. We are going to discuss this in Sunday school. I don't have all the answers so I hope the group will provide them at some point. Here are some of the key topics we'll be discussing.
~Giving to God
~Giving Knowledge
~Giving Gifts like Gold, Frankincense, and Myrrh.
~Giving Gifts like Peace, Forgiveness, Discipline...
~Giving Time
~Giving Money
~Giving Service
~Giving Tithes & Offerings (different from Money)
~Giving Yourself
~Giving Thanks
~ The opposite of giving (taking... or greed)


Proverbs 11:24
One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.

1 Chronicles 16:34
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever.

Proverbs 15: 27
The greedy bring ruin to their households...

7 Days til Christmas

Be still.

Psalm 57:10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”

8 Days til Christmas

With 8 days til Christmas, its time to re-connect. Whether it is someone that you haven't connected with in a long time, or someone who means a lot to you and you feel like re-connecting. Today your activity is to reach into the past and think about a friend, a family member, a co-worker who you have not been in touch with for some time. Call them up, write them an email, go snail mail, send a card, or a small note. Whatever it ends up being, tell them how awesome they are, encourage them, and lift them up. When re-connecting this week think about when we will celebrate when Christ does return. The birth of Jesus, there was quite the celebration, Angels appearing out of the sky and singing... that is probably on the list of freakin amazing. When Jesus returns we will not only get to re-connect with Him, but everyone else who have been apart of our lives, and you will get the spend the rest of eternity remembering and reminiscing about that one year that you counted down til Christmas and talked to each other.

John 15-13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

Proverbs 12:26
The godly give good advice to their friends; the wicked lead them astray.

Proverbs 27:17
As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12
Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed. If one person falls, the other can reach out and help. But someone who falls alone is in real trouble. Likewise, two people lying close together can keep each other warm. But how can one be warm alone? A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken.

Email to Nick

From time to time it is good to look back to see where you have been to know where you are heading. Nick and I have been searching for a couple years the direction that God was leading us and continually talking and emailing each other about different things that were going on. It was in December when I wrote this email to kind of try to put words to where we had been and where we were at...

The time when things are good: When Amy and I were married we saw ourselves in San Jose for a very long time. We both had jobs we liked, we had family in the area, we felt like we were where God wanted us to be. So we bought a house. Then things didn't really change... so we upgraded and bought another house. I would like to say that we thought through those huge purchases. I would also like to say that we invited God in on those purchases. The purchases were not on whim. Because the fact that we were able to get an incredible loan on the second house, that we should have never in a million years been able to afford, that it was God's way of opening that door and putting us in a more permanent place. I cannot say that we were totally at peace with the purchase. But it was peaceful enough to go through with it. I am continually looking for ways to better understand the true peace that comes from God.

Change: While at that house... "things" started to change, feelings started to change, our perspective was changing. Other than the new house, nothing drastic in our lives changed, yet our minds were moving in a different direction than they were before. There began a tugging, that is hard to describe or for us even to understand. Quite a bit of the unsettled feelings were in and around the church and our ministry. So we did what we thought we were suppose to do, and changed some things that were bothering us in our ministry to rid ourselves of that unsettled feeling. Then more recently the unsettledness has moved into the areas of school and football. The best way to describe the unsettled feeling is a lack of peace or contentment. We still have joy and happiness, with a little nagging in the back of our minds. Those feelings, we cannot help. They are there for a reason. This helps us believe that God is preparing us for something.


Preparation Part 1: The first part of His preparation was to give me knowledge and experience. In the last couple years I have had different unexplainable, unforeseeable, unique opportunities and experiences that have given me knowledge, wisdom, and experience that would be hard to come by if it were not apart of God’s plan in my life. These experiences have given a wide set of perspectives and philosophies that have come in many different arenas: financial (identity theft, two house foreclosures), business (Cisco), school (V.P & Dept Chair), football (head coach), education (masters), Church (pastor, and vision team). In trying to decipher What God’s plan is and Why this is His path, I have come up with many hypotheses that go in different directions, but nothing that has yet given us our true God given calling.

Preparation Part 2: The second part of His preparation has come in my obedience or lack there of. It has become clear that God has a plan for us. Therefore there were two avenues that we must prepare for. The first was that our lives were “too noisy” and that our spiritual lives are not where they need to be in order to move into God’s plan. In order to hear God’s voice, we had to cut out commitments, and leadership and offer God some time to not do what we think we should do but to listen. The second avenue is a lot like the first (or perhaps is attached to the first) that we are to end all responsibilities, commitments, and places of leadership so that when God calls or leads us to where he is preparing us, we can answer without hesitation, without permission, and without interpretation.

Three times: For the record, I wrote the above paragraphs three times. The first time I got to here and Word unexpectedly quit. Then I started over and wrote 2 paragraphs, and the power went out… twice so finally I made it back to where I once was.

Current: Which brings me to where we are at now. We are excited about the new avenue our lives are coming to. As of January 1, all commitments to the church and ministry are ending and our lives will be very different. For the five years I have been married to Amy our lives have been captive to the church and not necessarily to God. We do not have a peace or live in peace. We believe that this change will give our relationship with God, relationship together, and our life a peace, a new perspective and new life.

9 Days til Christmas

With only 9 days til Christmas, you might have a lot of preparing to do... you know gift buying, wrapping, cleaning... whatever it may be. But this email is not to remind you about that, but to remind you of another type of preparation. Preparing your heart and mind for CHRISTmas. Today's (Thursday's) activity is to prepare for the Christmas season, is to get into the Word! If you don't normally catch a daily devotional or read the word daily... weekly... bi-monthly... , really put in an effort today to read the Bible. Jai this last week was reminding us not to just read the words, but to read it to hear God... read it to get something out of it. Do not just see what it says, but what He is saying to you. Jai recommended that we read three books of the Bible. 1 Peter, 2 Peter and Ephesians. So stop reading this email and bust out your bible... your iphone, or click right here on www.biblegateway.com. Stop reading your emails take a couple minutes and read the word.

Psalm 119:105
Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.

John 1:1
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

10 Days til Christmas

On the 10th day til Christmas, this is a day that we honor people who serve us frequently, and may not receive any gratitude or notice.
Today we are going to look for them, and brighten their day, or just say thank you!
These people include, but are not limited to:
-Your mail person
-Your garbage collector
-Your PG & E guy
-The bagger at the store or the shopping cart getter
-Neighborhood fire station
-the secretary or office aid person that does it all
-the janitors
-the night crew
-your starbucks bistro
-lunch lady

The options of what you can do are endless, even if this service person doesn't come around today, put the thought and effort in today and then
you will be ready when he/she comes around. A little note can go a long way, a little note and a $5 gift card will even go farther!
These people serve us all year, lets try to take one day of that year and honor them.

Matthew 25:35-40 (NLT)
‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’

Mark 9:35
Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all."

11 days til Christmas

On the 11th day til Christmas, this is our day of prayer.
Above and beyond you normal prayers. Your goal is to triple your prayer time. Whatever it originally is... triple it. Do it for God!
In preparation for the celebration of the birth of our Savior, when you pray, focus on Him and His love and what He means to you.

Here are a few ideas that may help you out.
Choose a different location to pray
Choose a different prayer position. Some may say your posture is not important... well prove them wrong....
Write out your prayer
Sandwich your prayer time with a worship songs or hymns.

College group prayer list:
Judy: Her dog is not doing well, and her plate is very full these days.
Jai: Traveling back to the Midwest and her witness to her family
Joey: Decision making
Scott: His new babysitting job and more work
Lance & Amy: God's plan in their lives
Stef & Pat: Stef's possibility of a new promotion and Pat's niners will make it to the playoffs... next year.
Owen: He has an ear infection
Jason & Bre: their leadership with the youth group and holiday travels back home. And that Jason will get a deer and not miss...
Justin: That he will receive a letter in boot camp
Mike: Future direction and vocation and safe journey home
Travis: Studies at PLNU
Daniel: Hebrew and his ministry
Jessica: Safe Journey home and her studies at Olivet
Morgan: Her studying abroad in Ireland
Jamie: Relationships with her family and her time with her Dad back east.
Kelly: His studies at SJSU in electrical engineering
Tim: His busy schedule and his studies at Santa Clara

Church Prayer list:
Doug Upp (major accident and is facing possibilities of being paralyzed)
The Clifton Family (Joyce passed away)
Pastor Bob's health
The new youth pastor
The Spanish congregation

Other prayer ideas:
The Lords Prayer
Pray for your nations leaders, state leaders, city leaders.
The things that you take for granted.
Your Boss
Your professors
Your neighbors
That you may not fall into temptation
That you may experience God in a new way this Christmas!

Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Ephesians 3:20-21
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

12 Days til Christmas

Since the "12 Days of Christmas" comes after Christmas, we thought it would be more fitting to have a new and improved 12 Days til Christmas. As a Sunday School class we have decided that we are going to prepare for the coming of the Christ. This means that the next 12 days we are going to set aside some part of our day to prepare for Christmas. Not prepare such as, hanging lights, buying gifts, and practicing kissing under mistletoe... but prepare our minds and hearts spiritually for the celebration of the birth of our Savior. This will act as a count down as we get closer and closer to the date, the hope is that we will feel closer and closer to God, and our minds will have a different perspective on Christmas morning when we are stuffing ourselves with homemade donuts, and opening up gifts.

Everyday from now until "the donuts," there will be a new focus, a new thought, or task that we have come up with as a group that we think will help us focus more on the real reason for the season. You can do as little or as much as you feel led. If/when you experience God feel free to share with us over email, or one of the next couple Sunday's. Also if you feel that someone else would like to participate in the fun. If you choose not to do the task or to put time into the thought, then you are losing out on some major points that the cosmic score keeper is keeping, and frankly you will be less Christian than the rest of us...

On the 12th day til Christmas (Monday)

This is known as the day of thanks. On Monday you will focus on thankfulness in ways or at times that you would not normally be thankful.
Here are a couple ideas:
- Sincerely say thank you to a close family member for something they do all the time, that you may or may not always say thank you to. Make sure you emphasize your thankfulness and gratitude. It may be a little awkward and that is okay. If it is, that means you have done it correctly.
- Thank you journal. This activity you must write, you cannot just think of what you are thankful for, this time write it down. Take the good and the bad events from your day and find ways to be thankful for those events.
- Make a Thanksgiving craft. Simply trace your hand so that it resembles a turkey. Then on each finger/feather and write reasons of thankfulness about a person and then give them the craft. Just because you are of college age doesn't mean you can't reach back into your childhood and pull out a gem and encourage and lighten someones day.
- Think of someone of your past you need to thank them for. Write a letter or email and thank them.

Psalm 107:1
"Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; his love endures forever."

1 Chronicles 16:34
O give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; For His loving kindness is everlasting.