"You will appear with Him in glory..."

Have you ever asked that deep, sometimes embarrassing question to yourself, "Where am I?" or  "What am I doing here?"

A dear friend of mine just recently explained that he has an alternate identity on the web so that "he can be free to spout off about whatever he wants to."  Especially since he's the type of public figure that people could misquote or get all huffy about if they don't agree, I understand his position.  But that leaves me with a question.

Who is he, then?

Who are any of us?  If our lives are so impacted by other people's opinions and demands of us, who are we, really, underneath all of that?  Is there a way to check?  Forgive the derogatory comment, but can we sort of lift up our skirts to see what's under all the cotton and lace?  Or, are we unable to get away from the lace and baggage that our environment heaps upon us?  Is that just the real us?

A man once said, "Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.  For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."

I like the idea that as Christ-followers, we have died and HAVE NOT REAPPEARED yet.  It sorta takes the pressure off, doesn't it?  In my not-too-distant past, I have lived under the assumption that since I was a "born-again Christian" I should be able to put all my bad nature behind me and just be a great person from here on out.  Despite my best attempts, I fail ROYALLY and EPICALLY time and time again.  If this is the true me, and all of this struggle and fail and succeed and then fail again is as good as it gets-- well that's just disheartening.  Almost disheartening enough to question if I ever really "got saved."

However, the TRUE us-- what is  "hidden with Christ in God"-- has yet to be revealed.  I can't wait to see what I'm really like!  What remarkable people we will be when we are no longer bound to sin and greed and selfishness and other things of this life.  Things we do here ARE important, and we strive for holiness-- but who we are is HIDDEN and will appear when Christ returns.  Another reason to look forward to our Savior's second coming!


Hopefully this is a freeing thought!  You and I ARE saved, you and I ARE "being made new" but we are still hidden, yet to be finally revealed (in glory!) at Christ's triumphant second arrival.  See you then.

The American Dream

You looked me in the eye and said, quite plainly
The American Dream is a lie
Yeah, but, I said, look at your nice big house and backyard for having guests
All the cool gadgets and nice car and money to spend on whatever
But it's just stuff, you said
Yeah, but you can use it to honor God
Then you looked away

I started thinking about my dreams
If I was American or not with my passions
Yes, I'll be honest
I'm tired of not having money
I'm tired of not going out with my wife to a nice dinner
I'm tired of only buying what's used or on sale
Though I still like browsing the thrift stores... :)

But I WOULD like to own my own house
I WOULD like to be able to invest in musical equipment
I WOULD like to be able to buy Julie nice clothes
I WOULD like to be able to take classes
I WOULD like to be able to give away more
I WOULD like to be able to afford health insurance
I WOULD like to have a savings

I'm an American.
I DO pursue the American Dream
But I don't know why
It's just what I want
And now, thanks to you, friend,
I'm questioning all of that

God, guide my wandering heart
May I find solace in Your provision

Tell Your Friends...

This post is directed to massive rats that like to sneak into people's garages and eat their dog's food while everyone is asleep.

That's right.  Dead.  Dead you shall be if you dare try to infect my poor little dog with your disgusting diseases.

Sorry it's so graphic, everyone.  I just need to get my point across to all the rats out there who are thinking about living at my house.  YOU SHALL BE DESTROYED!!!  MWAHAHAHAHA!!!

And if the trap doesn't kill you all the way...

Then this hammer will finish the job!!

(Yes, that actually happened, BTdub.  The damn thing got himself trapped but wasn't dead yet, so he flailed around until I could finally end his miserable little life.)

Tell your friends, rats.

A Washington Trip To Remember...

Thought I'd go ahead and throw out a few blogthoughts on my recent trip to Washington.  First... some pictures!

I know, a little scary...

If you dare, more pictures can be found here at Tim's Picasa Website.

Baby, baby, baby.

Someday I'll have one of my own.  I may even let my wife help.

I just realized that I spent so much time just trying to figure out how to load these pictures onto here that it's 1 AM and I'm tired.  Boy, this post really sucked.  I need to work at this a little more.  Candace?  Help me.