Today I have come to announce my retirement from the blogging world. I am doing this for a couple of reasons. 

1. I have not been keeping this up like I want to.

2. It is one of those things that is not as funny or as exciting as you had originally imagined. My life and thoughts don’t appear to be all that random.

3. Finally, and most importantly, I feel like I have started this blog with the wrong intentions. All of us struggle with different things in our lives and one of the things I have to fight against is pride and self-centeredness. Let me say, I do not think that everyone who has a blog is prideful or self-centered. However, looking back I believe that I started this blog with the hopes of becoming an internet success. I was hoping that I would come across some sort of internet fame. So, I have started to take actions that would prevent myself from striving to bring attention and fame to myself. I have been begging God for a new, humble heart and I want to remove any roadblocks or temptations that would taint that. I believe that it is smart to protect yourself from areas in which you are weak, hence why it is smart an alcoholic doesn’t go into a bar or a glutton go to CiCi’s.

“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in the due time.” – 1 Peter 5:6

I believe that if we want to live lives that make an eternal impact, ones that leave an everlasting impression for centuries to come, it is not done through blogging yourself to fame. The only way to live lives that count for eternity, is to live lives that make Him, God, famous. If it is meaningful lives that we are after, then we need to stop living for ourselves and for our name, and pour everything that we have into His name and His renown. I don’t believe that I have been doing that through this blog, so therefore there is no reason to keep using my precious, limited time updating this blog.

Making HIM Famous,

Matt

I was sent this video in my e-mail today from the folks at “Invisible Children” and I loved it for several reasons…first, the song in the background is totally appropriate and well done and secondly it gives you an update on all the children who we have watched and bought bracelets for. Enjoy and Merry Christmas.

If WordPress wasn’t so stupid, I would embed the video…but I can’t. Here is the link

http://boss.streamos.com/download/invisiblechildren/media/assets/files/happychristmas.mp4

Dripping sweat on the paperback’s pages, I speed-walked and read for one hour and twenty minutes holding this book in my hand so that I could finish it before my routine was over. That was two weeks ago. Since then I have been trying to figure out how to describe the way it has affected me. It’s mainly because of the Dad, Jeremiah Land.

I am talking about Leif Enger’s first novel, Peace Like a River. Abraham said I should read it. If my sons tell me to read a thing, I do—at least so far.

I fear saying something trite. I read one reviewer who said, “heartwarming.” Like a rifle bullet in the head, it’s heartwarming. The heart needs something bigger and deeper than warming. And this book helps.

The year is 1962. The narrator is Reuben Land, the son of Jeremiah. Here’s the story of his birth when he almost died—or maybe did die.

I was lying uncovered on a metal table across the room.

Dad lifted me gently. I was very clean from all that rubbing, and I was gray and beginning to cool. A little clay boy is what I was.

“Breathe,” Dad said.

I lay in his arms.

Dr. Nokes said, “Jeremiah, it has been twelve minutes.”

“Breathe!” The picture I see is of Dad, brown hair short and wild, giving this order as if he expected nothing but obedience.

Dr. Nokes approached him. “Jeremiah. There would be brain damage now. His lungs can’t fill.”

Dad leaned down, laid me back on the table, took off his jacket and wrapped me in it—a black canvas jacket with a quilted lining, I have it still. He left my face uncovered.

“Sometimes,” said Dr. Nokes, “there is something unworkable in one of the organs. A ventricle that won’t pump correctly. A liver that poisons the blood.” Dr. Nokes was a kindly and reasonable man. “Lungs that can’t expand to take in air. In these cases,” said Dr. Nokes, “we must trust in the Almighty to do what is best.” At which Dad stepped across and smote Dr. Nokes with a right hand, so that the doctor went down and lay on his side with his pupils unfocused. As Mother cried out, Dad turned back to me, a clay child wrapped in a canvas coat, and said in a normal voice, “Reuben Land, in the name of the living God I am telling you to breath.” (2-3)

Christians don’t usually deck their doctors. That’s part of why the book works. There’s faith in it, but not like your usual faith. More strange, like the Bible.

Then there’s the way Mr. Enger writes. It’s not artsy. But, listen! It’s not your normal prose either. Stay with me. Here’s a few lines.

• “Once torched by truth…a little thing like faith is easy.” (33)
• “Routine is worry’s sly assassin.” (27)
• “…a man whose face was a minefield of red boils…” (63)
• “Exile has its hollow hours.” (310)

The book is a witness. It ends:

Is there a single person on whom I can press belief?


No sir.


All I can do is say, Here’s how it went. Here’s what I saw.


I’ve been there and am going back.


Make of it what you will. (311)

What do I make of it? Wrong question.

What is it making of me?

More alive to everything true, I hope. More steady in the wind. More hopeful. Less anxious. Eager for Christ to show up.

Yes. This is a recommendation. Ask for it for Christmas

http://www.desiringgod.org/Blog/1542_Not_Heartwarming_Christian_Fiction/

Since I was so excited for this occasion I didn’t want to play it safe…I had to craft one of my own. I could not chance the opportunity that someone would don the same exact ugly Christmas sweater. I would be laughed at for the wrong reason. Instead of being laughed out the building for the ugliest sweater, I would be laughed out of the building because someone was wearing the same outfit. I don’t roll like that.

Mander, Landon, and I went to the local Super Wal-Mart and did some damage in the crafts section and made an even bigger dent in the Christmas department. We picked up several shades of puffy paint, sequins, felt, foam stickers, glue, stockings, beaded garland, googly eyes and, of course, red sweatshirts. $40 later we were ready to get our decorating on.

If you were to ask what I thought makes the successful ugliest sweatshirt, I would tell you that it all lies in the details. If you notice, my snowman was actually quit cute. However, you throw on some googly eyes and you have instant tackyness. For that perfect chintzy look you have use the small things like glitter, sequins, and beads. What won it for me was not the snowman or the cute, glittery foam stickers, but the beaded neckline and waistline. You have to pay attention to the small things.

Overall it was a delightful experience. I think that my family might have found a new Christmas tradition and also come across their family photo for Christmas cards this year. We thank the Traurigs for housing and organizing the event and I give kudos to Kevin Harper (his blog is listed to the left…a must read) for some advice and brainstorming. It looks like a brotha is going to have to hit up some Ikea…Suckas!!!