Free Book by Brian Tome

Free Book is the latest work by Brian Tome, pastor of Crossroads in Cincinnati. This book is about freedom. Freedom from fear, freedom from sin and freedom from the legalism that Christians often wrap themselves in. It is not a license to do whatever we want, but freedom to really live within the boundaries God has laid out for us.

I absolutely loved this book.

The review copy came at exactly the right time for me. I plowed through it as quick as I could and found myself writing notes and underlining quotes and searching the web to find out the background of some of the statements Brian makes. I don't often do that.

Brian speaks in clear language that is often humorous and self deprecating. He backs up his thesis through thorough biblical references that are not taken out of context (I looked them all up).

Throughout the book, Brian lays out practical steps for freeing you from bondage. I was often reminded of Neil T. Andersons book: The Bondage Breaker. This book will challenge you.

Not everyone will be ready to take a critical look at themselves and their beliefs. But I have been in a church that was more interested in pleasing the community than in pleasing God. I recommend you read this book with an open mind and I do recommend that you read it.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Fawkes

For Christmas my son gave me an XBox 360 game: Fallout 3: Game of the Year Edition.

Really an addictive game. Wandering through the wasteland around Washington DC a couple hundred years in the future.

A lot of the decisions that you make affect the course of the game and how it plays out. You can be good or bad or neutral (karma in the game).

At one point you will come across a character named Fawkes. Depending on your karma he may be recruited to help you out in the future.

I am not really good at video games and tend to die a lot (think it has to do with the fact that I was in college when Pong came out). But it sure makes it a lot easier to have Fawkes along with me during this game.

He has saved me from a lot of grief along the way so far. The big guy can carry whatever I give him. And he has unlimited ammo. And his thick skin lets him take a lot of damage. And he tends to see danger before I do. He's got my back.

Now I realize that this is just a video game and Fawkes is just a figment of the Artificial Intelligence (AI) of the game engine.

But it really points out just how tough it is to "go it alone." Having someone to rely on is valuable.

Kind of like life. God did not make us to go it alone, he made us to live in community with others. This includes not only our spouse and kids, but other members of our families and our friends and others. Life is easier in community

We will still have challenges and trials and things won't go the way we want to go. But having others that we can rely on when things get tough can make all the difference.

Oh, sure, Fawkes can be annoying at times. He makes the same stupid Zen comments that don't make sense, over and over and he blocks the door all too often when I am trying to get out of a room.

But it sure is handy to have him around to help me get over my mistakes...

The Cyst

For the past several years I have had a cyst slowly growing on my head. It started out pretty small.

It has gradually grown bigger over the years. For most of the time, it has not been a problem. Until recently. Then it started to get in the way. I started to ding it every time that I cut my hair. And it became more and more obvious when I looked in the mirror.

This week I got fed up and had it removed.

The doctor did a good job. He made a small incision and took the cyst out. Three stitches. No bandage. Hard to see. I will have a small scar though.

Took away all the jokes I had planned about getting the hole in my head spackled. Kind of depressed about that.

Anyway, as I thought about this I realized that the cyst is kind of like sin in my life. It can start out kind of small and hidden. Then, over time, it grows and becomes more obvious and starts to interfere with things.

It can't be tolerated or I will be totally disfigured.

So I have to deal with it. I have to cut the sin out.

But I will have been changed by the sin.

No matter how good and completely that I remove the sin, scars will remain.

But the scars are not the same as the sin.

Scars are a sign of character...

Anniversary Cold

This past Saturday Loralie and I celebrated our twenty-eighth wedding anniversary.

We got married on the coldest day of the century. Wind chill was 98 below and we have the paper to prove it. We flew out the next day to get to North Carolina where we were stationed in the Marine Corps.

Flew from Fargo to Minneapolis to Chicago to Atlanta to North Carolina. Three plane changes seven takeoffs and landings. The cold followed us down. In Chicago it was so cold that the ramp that swings out to the plane was frozen and we had to get out on the tarmac to get off the plane.

And it was right around freezing in Atlanta.

Then this past weekend we saw some pretty cold temperatures again. Brought back memories of that weekend in 1982 even though we weren't in Minnesota.

And the snow was just as deep in Kansas as it was in Minnesota...

The Winter of Our Discontent

Here it is: Three days into the new year and I've shoveled about a dozen times already.

Pretty unusual.

You see, where we live here in Kansas, most of the snow that falls melts within a few days. We spend a lot of the winter with no snow on the ground. But this winter is different. We are having snow after snow. And it is staying cold.

By my calculations we are at roughly 18 inches for the winter already. There is around eight inches on the flat.

As I was shoveling early this morning, I had the realization that this was just like a Minnesota winter. Piles of snow and cold weather.

I realize that it is not near as cold here as it is up north, but it is cold enough.

Many people have not shoveled out from the first big snow storm preferring to just ram their way through the snow and ice clogging their driveways. I, on the other hand, subscribe to the: Shovel Early, Shovel Often" philosophy of snow removal. It is better to get out and shovel several small snow falls than to try and clear it all at once after the snow quits falling. Keeps ice from forming and the snow loads from being too heavy.

And there is a certain sense of accomplishment from looking out at a clean driveway and sidewalk several times.

So for the time being, I'll keep on clearing snow as it falls.

But there is another "heavy snow event" due in on Wednesday...

Black Friday

I have been trying to get the dog out for a walk early every morning during the week. This means that I leave the house around 445. On both Thanksgiving day and Black Friday, I made it out the door right around that time.

Thanksgiving Day was quiet. Not a lot of traffic out. A stark contrast from most days when delivery vans are making early morning deliveries and the first shift crew is showing up at the dry cleaning plant over in the industrial area down the road.

On Friday there was a steady stream of traffic heading south on the main drag a block from the house. At 504 AM (yes, I checked the time) Nikki (our aging beagledor) and I got near the twenty four hour Walmart that we are blessed to have a half mile from the house.

The parking lot was full. Cars and pick up trucks were circling the lot looking for parking spots. Almost like sharks on a feeding frenzy seeking their prey. The was the most full that I have ever seen the parking lot.

Stark contrast with the day before when the lot was almost empty at that time.

And a stark contrast from the day before when we give thanks for all the things that our Creator has blessed us with.

I have to be honest. I have gone out to get the early deals on Black Friday exactly once. And I may again.

But as I was walking Nikki in the clear, cold, early morning air with the stars shinging, I came to realize that there is little that I need. I have a lot of wants but few things that I need (a 12 gauge short barreled shotgun (long story for another post) and a cell phone that receives email are the only things that come to mind right now).

Please note that it is OK with me if you were one of the people lining up to get the bargains. That is your decision. And in some cases it is a great way to stretch the holiday dollar for gifts.

My son and I did hit four stores later in the morning, including that same Walmart, when some semblance of order (and parking spots) had returned. And he got some great deals on some things he wanted.

But I sure enjoyed my early morning walk...

Thanksgiving

I was a bit irritated. Twas the second time in a row that the pest control guy showed up right as I was ready to leave work. Doesn't take him too long but I have to hang around and sign the paperwork.

And I was ready to call it a day.

I remembered that I have to deal with the person in front of me. Or I should say I get the privilege of dealing with the person in front of me.

Didn't he realize that he was interfering with my plans? Obviously not. So I had that little internal talk with myself that he was just doing his job. And rather than express my displeasure at a few minutes delay I resolved to be pleasant (I know, some of you are thinking that is pretty unusual).

By the way, in case you are wondering, the warehouse has to be sprayed monthly to keep the bugs out. And we do clean it up every once in a while. Lots of nooks and crannys for crawly things to hide.

When he got to my office, before I could even say "Hi", he asked me if I was looking forward to Thanksgiving. I told him that I was and asked him if he was staying around or traveling and if he had family coming in.

And out it came: his wife had passed away in January. And he was having his in-laws over for Thanksgiving dinner because he figured that he could handle that part of the holidays. He was really looking forward to the occasion.

And then he said with enthusiasm and a huge grin: "I just love Thanksgiving!"

And I was ashamed of myself for being irritated just a few minutes before...