Sushi, anyone?

Well, I know it has been a couple of days since I last posted, and sorry. I have been swamped here, working on the Training Manual for the Bean'ry, our new internship program with a college there, the new menu, and some new artwork for the Beanryboy that includes a cool surfboard. I will include it for you to tell me what you think. This will be a shirt in addition to our normal, classic logo. In the finished logo, the surfboard will be closer to his body. The Training Manual is coming along nicely, and should be finished by this week, as should the menu. I am still tweaking it, but I will tell you it is a pretty good selection, and should satisfy all.
That reminds me, in a weird way, about something I did first time in Florida. One night, the pastor and his wife took us to one of those Japanese restaurants, you know, the dueling knives, the shrimp in the hat, the onion volcano. Yeah, that kind. Anyway, tried my first sushi. Yep. Can't say I enjoyed it, but I did it. It was seaweed wrapping rice and raw fish, and who know what else. But, all these years I have felt on the other side of a busy highway watching everyone just LOVE sushi, and all I was missing, and now I can say with confidence, I am just fine. So, there. :-)

You know, I have been thinking about the message from last Sunday, from the series, "Games People Play." It was about Christians who are more like undercover agents, never really giving away the fact they are Christians. They don't let others know of their faith because many reasons, but one of the main reasons is that they feel they aren't good enough for people to watch their own lives, and by and large they are right. Christianity is wrought with imperfect people, for it is the very essence of our faith. For it is in that space that we know our need for a Savior. In other words, what I lack in, God has, and desires to give to me. I will always be the first to say I am not the perfect picture of what a Christian is supposed to be. But, everyday I awake with the same passion, the passion to become more like Christ in some way. Whether it is my attitude, my heart, or my tongue, everyday I make a decision to try and walk the narrow road. To become a better person than I was the day before. In some ways I succeed, in others I fail. But our life is a journey, and does not end until we leave this fragile suit of skin we reside in. Perfection is not possible, but where that is true, God's grace is sufficient and there to meet our insufficiencies. So, we can take comfort in exposing our faith to the nasty weather of our world, our culture, and our community. It can withstand the winds that blow. For when we look inside each one of us, all of us are hypocrites, all of us are sinners, and despite the "Anonymous" guise that we hide behind, the trueness of our heart will always come out. Being invisible and "Anonymous" makes us impervious to having to own up to our own flaws and problems, but it also shows we lack the strength of being open about who we really are.
Every Thursday I meet with a guy that I have been going to church with the past year or so. I consider him and his wife to be great friends of ours, and he and I have become accountability partners. We get together and air all our dirty laundry in hopes we can help each other with the load. We both feel that transparency is the best way to live, and despite the fact it's not always cool, we agree that it's best for our spiritual walk when we bring things out in the open, pulling out all those skeletons from our closet and calling them for what they are. There is so much freedom there, in not having to hide behind our perfect facades. We sharpen each other, and pray for each other, not because we know we are perfect, but because we know we aren't. There is a realness there that is refreshing, a true understanding of our true nature, and of grace and love. I HIGHLY encourage you to do the same, and if you have questions how, ask me. Trust me, it's not easy at first, but it setting down the piano we all have strapped to our backs. It feels so much better!
Well, I guess that's all for now. Please remember to pray for our friend Joe's little nephew Joey. He is undergoing chemo for a cancer that is trying to take over his little infant body. He is doing well, but has a fight ahead of him. His name if Joey Kinney. Thanks.