Making God Room

6 Year Old Logic

2011-02-16T09:50:00.001-08:00

3 year old Zachariah climbs in my lap, turns around and hangs upside down with his head on the floor.
Havilah: "Dad, can you tell him to move so I can do that?" (He has a good idea and I want to do it)
Dad: "But He just got here."
Havilah: "I want a turn." (It doesn't matter, I'm older and a girl and I should be there anyway)
Zachariah: "Hava, look at me." (Neaner, neaner--I'm under Dad's protection)
Havilah (scooting halfway into my lap): "Make room for me, Zach!" (I'm going to be close to Dad, anyway I can)
Dad: "Don't sit on his leg! Here both of you come into my lap." (Pulling Zach back up).
Zach (taking up most of my lap): "Hi Hava!"
Havilah: "Dad said you have to go to bed!" (referring to something I told both of them to do earlier)
Zach: "No!"
Dad (using the tickle attack weapon): "Right now I need to love both of you! And then you can both go to bed."
Havilah: "See, you have to go to bed!"

Devastating Peace

2011-02-08T07:48:00.001-08:00

In my God, I find a terrible hope--a devastating peace.

How so?

It has to do with how invested I am in this life. As a child I could run to God... "Help me, help me!" Ah the comfort a child finds in his parents arms and oh so quickly, no longer needs them. Time to run, time to jump, time to play--uh oh, thorn bush, back to Mom!

Ahh...but now I am adult. My life entwines with so many valuable treasures. My heart embraces fading hopes without number. Then I need God. Yes, reader, I am really this simple, this immature! I need God and I run to Him and I remember. Throwing my arms around my creator exposes all my little treasures, all the broken toys I cling to. Suddenly I am vulnerable, suddenly all that clutter announces itself. "So who needs it?" you say! Well, you go ahead and toss your stuff. Mine is a part of me. But, of course, in time--when the pain level overwhelms my need to be adult, I cave. I come. I surrender. And, you know, being a kid again is not so bad.

"Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, The God who is our salvation."
Psalm 68:19

Havilah's Wisdom

2009-08-03T08:44:00.001-07:00

On Sleeping:
"Sleeping is a 'portant thing cause it makes you more muscler...and stronger."

On Shopping:
(Nanci went to Costco on day and was checking out with only 2 things...)
"Mom, we didn't do it right. Go back and put more stuff in!"

On Fashion:
1. (with grandma at Pennys, passing large men's shoes)
"those shoes are adorable--yea, like for my daddy"
2. (Havilah's shoes gave her a blister. Nanci checked inside to see the size. she responded...)
"does it say 'too small?'

On airport safety:
(Driving at night we see the tall red lights/towers)
"Mom, they are there so the planes don't skid into the hills."

On Curfews:
"When it's all the way dark and we're done being there, we go home?"

On Playing Volleyball:
"Mom, I'm going to be on your team so you won't lose."

On group participation
"Mack, come roll down the hill with me." (Mack ignores the invitation) "O.K. miss the party!"

We now return you to your local stations...

Story Time (TJ part 2)

2009-07-30T08:09:00.000-07:00

     The next day awaited her with mischief as devious as Puck himself.

     She slept in late, waking flustered as she pulled on her robe and stepped into her galoshes that stood on the porch. The paper hit her on the rear as she bent to grab her watering can, and she let out a squeak, sounding like a four-year-old instead of a grown forty-year-old; and three months.
     The watering took twice as long as usual, and her tea kettle whistled early, throwing her off-balance. She dashed into the house, her robe flapping - horribly reducing her dignity - and three long blasts of one of those dreadful automobiles sounded outside as she snatched the kettle off the stove.
     She raced outside, waving her arms and yelling at the taxicab as it sped away, honking infernally and leaving a cloud of dust behind.
     The figure of two suitcases with a small figure sitting on them halted her. Constance dropped her arms as the girl stared at her.
     She must look a sight. Her hair was disheveled; the robe slipped halfway down her shoulder as she held the steaming kettle in one hand with mud splattered across her boots.
     “Oh!” She squeaked.
     The girl didn’t move, gazing unwaveringly at the woman, studying her.
     “Hello, Aunt.”
     Constance stood, unsure of what to do. Her poppies were trampled, and the morning’s paper lay in the mud along with her watering can, and the white fence drooped even lower.
She looked down at the tea kettle in her hand.
     “Uh... Tea?”
     The girl stayed stiller than ever, considering. “Inside?”
     Constance nodded, not knowing what else to do.
     “Sure.” The girl promptly hopped up and hoisted her bags up the steps.
     With a sinking feeling Constance heard the screen door slam. To think, that her screen door was slammed. God save them all.

Elephant Sat on a Fence (Turner Joy- Part One)

2009-07-29T18:32:00.001-07:00

    On a dusty road, a mile or two from town stands a neat, whitewashed fence. This fence surrounded a garden, which encircled a yellow house. In this house lived a tidy, middle-aged woman, who was at this precise moment removing a speck of dust (Oh, sacrilege! To even think there was dust in that house,) from her matchbox.
    This white picket fence was overrun with ivy and jessamine, and its well-oiled gate swung gaily on its hinge.
    Every day our diligent spinster watered her plants and made her sage tea, reading the paper that ‘thumped’ daily against her door, announcing that morning had crept over the hillside at last.
Our dear lady (named Constance, if you must know, for her constancy) watered her Black-eyes Susans second to last, and when she was watering this very plant on a quiet sunny morning, she noticed that her smart picket fence sagged a little, in the very middle. She frowned. It had been good as new yesterday morning.
     She moved on to water her ivy, still frowning, and at the precise moment that she finished, her tea kettle whistled as usual and she went inside to her tea.
The next day, she noticed that it drooped even lower. Our dear lady was puzzled. She read the paper that banged louder than usual against her door. Elephants had escaped from the city zoo. There was a city zoo? Oh, yes. She had read about the grand opening about three months ago.
     She read her favorite book again to shake the feeling of impending disaster.

Story Time

2009-07-22T06:56:00.000-07:00

My kids are always asking for stories. You know, the famous "tell a story about when you were a kid" kinda stories. Well, now I will get my revenge. I asked the older kids to write stories that I will publish. This is the "tease." Look here for more stories as the weeks progress and I train both myself and my kids in this area!

Our first story is based on the following sentence I threw at them months ago:

The fat elephant sat on a fence

Josiah and Turner Joy both responded with creative stories based on this silly theme. Before you read theirs, however, you must suffer through my own response:

Sven, the famous jello making pachyderm from Naples, escaped the drudgery of his whirlwind tour to America by visiting the curious town of Pico Rivera. Chance brought him to our street and calamity delivered him to my front door. I opened that door to find him attempting to rest himself on my fine fence.

I know that it may be shocking to you that an elephant is loose in the area (especially a jello making one), but be calm--this is not the end of the story. Look here for more episodes of Sven and more importantly, of Josiah and Turner Joy's installments!

A Post About Yliana

2009-05-07T19:18:00.001-07:00

It has been brought to my attention (by a young 10 year old girl) that I have not posted about Yliana, my fourth born. This is her story.

Well, ok. It's not a story. How about a picture:

This is my little princess reading about the True Princess to a small boy of only two. One wonders what valuable lessons this small boy is learning. No doubt he is feeling loved. Yliana is a good reader and knows how to keep the attention of a 2 year old for 4 or 5 minutes (pretty much a record).

Now a word from our sponsor (Yli):
The True Princess is a very good book. It tells little boys what little girls should be like when they get married. Before you know it they'll teach their little girls what they should be like. Honoring, respectful, and say "yes sir" and "yes ma'am." My favorite color is green, I love to read, I love to cook, and ride a bike. The most important thing to me is loving God!

Bear-ly Making It

2009-05-05T21:31:00.001-07:00

Yosemite.

The shear rock walls. The prolific water falls. The towering Sequoia's. The hungry bears.

What? The bears? Yes, all part of the beauty of camping. We spent 5 nights in Yosemite and had bears in camp 4 of those nights. I think they got a day off because of the rain (some 5+ hours of it!).

The bears mostly perform at night. The show starts up just about anytime after dark. One could be about some mundane chore and have a bear show up to help. This kind of excitement only happened the first night with less than desirable results. However, most of us experienced the performances with audio only.

Imagine laying in a sleeping bag on a half inflated mattress inside a 3/100th's of an inch thick nylon tent listening to the night. A murmur here, a chuckle there...then a "Hey", and a "Oh no!," "Did you see him?" "Where?" Then riotous clamor and the percussion of 40 feet running as every youth playing games or talking around the campfire (still not in bed!) is taking off after (no...not away from) the innocent wild bear chasing it into its own woods, where any smart bear could begin to pick them off one by one. No smart bears being available, all the young people make it back into camp safely, assaulting one another with stories of how close they were to the bear or how they were the one to ...[Warning: animal lovers may want to skip down a paragraph or two!] ...how they were the one to hit the bear with a rock or scare the stuffing out of it [don't say I didn't warn you!].

However frightening the actual events might be, lying down in a tent with 3/100ths of an inch between you and the living nightmare made each event much more epic. Imagine what images the phrases screamed by a women: "Is he still there? Did he rip the tent?" might bring to your mind. Can you picture the small children being snatched through the tent nylon mere yards away? Can you see the creature standing two footed pawing at the would be rescuer? Well, I couldn't either, but the few sound clues I had sure gave me enough material to manufacture any number of possibilities.

Apparently these bears were here first and expect a little leeway. Park Rangers tell us not to "feed the bears" and to make general fools of our selves if we happen to see one. This is their land and they are supposed eat berries and nuts while campers sup on burgers, spaghetti, chicken asada, taco salad, and cup of noodles. Hmm. This bear problem may be there for a while.

Now, some 300 miles and 6 hours away, I find myself looking over my shoulder, wondering what would possibly keep a bear up there eating tree bark while my wife, the best cook in California, is residing here.

The Bathroom Zone

2009-03-25T11:06:00.000-07:00

For those of you who suspect this post of being filled with crass bathroom humor, ease your fears now. Nothing stinks more than hackneyed prose. It is an unusual discovery that brings us to this Bathroom Zone entry. Herein lies the tale:

At this very moment, the clock in our bathroom reads 9:22 am. Do you see where I am going? Well, perhaps it would help to know that every other clock in this hemisphere reads 10:22 am. Now you see. Our bathroom has its own time zone.

This explains a lot.

You may be unaware of the five minute shower. It is the requirement at the Lynch home when various residents here wait for the morning to take their shower, thus endangering a timely departure for family morning activities. However, this "five minute shower" takes approximately 25 minutes when my 14 year old daughter enters the Bathroom Zone. This is no quirk. The same twisting of time occurs when my 15 year old son asks to invest a moment combing his hair. The Zone again exercises its influence and a simple glance in the mirror leads to 20 minutes of facial exploration.

I have searched for clues to these aberrations but no clear answer is forthcoming. The phenomenon of the bathroom clock being the only time piece in our home to remain 1 hour behind the others is the most significant. But there are other signs. Take the ring in the bathtub. One is reminded of mysterious crop circles in corn fields. And observe the toothpaste tubes. Ignore that fact that the caps are all missing (if you can). Each tube has been dented in at the middle! Once, and I know this might be frightening, I entered the bathroom to find every towel hung up on a rack.

There is more, but if I were to mention the mold in the shape of Elvis, the unexplainable empty toilet paper roll, the sudden entrance of small children without knocking you would pull your hair out.

And that would not be good, because the waste basket is full.

The Great Equalizer!

2009-02-26T20:28:00.001-08:00

As a Dad, I have the edge on most games with my kids. I can cream my 6 year old son (Mack) in checkers. I can conquer my 10 year old daughter (Yliana) in chess. I can even wallop my 15 year old son (Josiah) in Lord of the Rings Risk (but not every time!). But rarely can I survive the chaos due in the next game of Chutes and Ladders!

You spin the wheel and you cross your fingers and hope against hope that the space you land on will not be the seven row, lead erasing, drop down that pesky Chute ("slide" for the uninitiated). I watch Mack, a tough C & L competitor, agonize over visiting the same Chute 3 times in a row. My eight year old cheerleader Sequoia ("You can do it , Daddy) climbs into second place only to slip down to third the next turn. Oh, and most frustrating of all, my 4 year old (Havilah) floats into first place, second row from the top, narrowly missing instant death and has no idea. She Has No Idea. In fact, she wants to leave and go see what mommy is doing. Two sets of eyes (OK, 3) will her to walk her little oblivious self out of the room and out of first place. But No. Its her turn again and she likes spinning. And she trusts that we are going to tell her where to move. She actually trusts us! And there she goes, skipping by the last Chute that could possibly take her out of first. And she wins.

Daggers are flying her way and she bounces out of the room to find Mommy. I look over to my 6 year old Mack. He says, "Let's see who comes in second." Now, that's what I'm talking about!

The Backyard

2009-02-17T15:19:00.001-08:00

You can't see it.

But I know it's there.

It occupies a dimension inaccessible to most who pass by. The dogs live there. The kids carry items of interest and leave them there (when they are no longer interested). The dogs find them. Transformation takes place. And all this without me ever entering the realm.

Yet, today I ventured. I found adventure. I partook of earth and sky. Some of that earth is still on my hands to prove it. And, perhaps, I will return someday. And, by the grace and blessing of the Creator, things will grow:)

The Chore Chart

2009-02-16T12:01:00.001-08:00

5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge; 6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness; 7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2 Peter 1:5-8 (NASB77)

My wife, God love her, is a list freak. I, however, am not. With me, one idea leads to another. That is 1 chore leads me to thinking about another perhaps not so important task and that to another until I am sorting through software when my wife asks me if I fixed my son's bike. Go figure!

Another trait that sinks me is the sudden attack of an idea. All the good ideas always come five minutes before I need to go somewhere. Thus I am in the middle of creative bliss when I hear the words, "Honey, are you ready to go?" Of course I'm ready. Well, after I comb my hair and change out of my pajamas...

However, order does have its place in my universe. Finding out what is most important to my wife and doing it can win her heart. Finding out what is most important to my creator and doing can bring me great blessing.

I especially love this biblical truth. Knowledge follows "Moral Excellence." You would think it was the other way around. Don't we need to get taught or teach before we expect "Moral Excellence?" It seems active obedience can be a better teacher than a lecture or a good book. Hmmm. I better get busy!

Trinkets for Gold

2008-10-17T07:31:00.000-07:00

Those of the Spirit walk in the Spirit and those of the flesh, the flesh. (Romans 8:somewhere)

I wonder about this verse. If I have the Spirit, why do I find myself walking so much in the flesh? Why do I worry about money, work, relationships and the moral meltdown of our country?

I am surrounded by the Gold of God's kingdom and I focus on the trinkets.

How do I walk in the Spirit? Perhaps it is less of a "how" and more of a "hey, look at the Gold!" I want to remember how valuable are the things of God vs. the worries of man. I choose to celebrate the mastery that God holds over my worries and be available when the Spirit beckons.

He's still working on me...

2008-10-06T18:27:00.001-07:00

I've been finding myself corned again by my own reason (or lack thereof!). As I try to teach my children self-control I'm running into the old "ought-to/let go-let God" wrestling match. How much of what we teach our children should be "effort" based when we believe in a God who works in us and through us to do his good works?

Now, we put up with a little chaos, but it's not our religion. We teach a certain amount of order and expect obedience from our kids. We aim at consistent discipline with liberal amounts of love stirred in. Yet my wife and I both believe that it is the desperation of our kids own struggle that will lead them to rely on a Savior to help them to ultimately obey.

However, my own expectations for obedience from my children work against me. I find myself in that same place of training my children into a "do it" mode and then remember I don't believe that my "doing" is getting me anywhere. So I change tactics and tell my kids (and myself) that the "doing" for us is all surrendering. That is, giving up, resting and laying down so the God who loves us can work through us.

I can hear you already. So you're one of those lazy Christians (Yes!), a God-helps-those-who-sit-around kinda guy.

OK. I'll try to esplain the mysteries of God. No, too much. I'll sum up:

The action is inaction.
The "goin for it" is resting.
I'm battling to wait.
I'm pushing to yield.
I'm floating in a screaming dive.
This is full contact passiveness.

Yea. And God will finish his work in me (and my children).

It's good to remember that the sovereign God is still working on His plan. I'm happy to be in His universe and under Hand. I celebrate the ongoing work of the Creator!

So, Where is He Really?

2008-04-09T22:11:00.001-07:00

"He's far away up there," says the 3 year old. "Sometimes He's here," replied the 5 year old. "You know what? He's everywhere!" exclaims the 7 year old.

You know, ya gotta listen to these kids if you want to know about God.

New Drug on the Market

2008-04-05T17:48:00.000-07:00

Today I met an amazing lady. Over the last several years she has endured cancer and many operations. Most recently she spend months in a nursing home recovering from a staff infection she caught during another hospital stay. She showed me a stack of books she was taking to a friend she met at that nursing home. She was going soon to visit this friend and keep her in reading material. Another friend she knew was going to be her roommate at an upcoming church retreat until she fell and broke a bone. Ironically, this lady I met was also going to miss the same retreat her friend was missing because of an new upcoming surgery on a recent hernia.

But you can find these kind of troubles quite often in the "Seasoned" Citizen community. Which is a whole vital topic waiting to be written about. That's not so amazing.

What is amazing about this lady is her thriving spirit. She could be in awe of her medical history, but not complaining. She could smirk or snort in disgust about her condition. The circumstances facing this blessed soul just spurred her on to visit and help her friends. She felt God had been very good to her.

I want some of that "Thrive."

Guest Columnist - Sequoia

2008-04-04T20:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Anybody who comes to see Daddy's blog. You'll be able to see the picture of my little little face. I want you to know whoever comes and sees Daddy's blog that he's a very very very silly guy. And loving.

I live in a house at Pico Rivera. I have a little brother and a little sister. Their names is Havilah and Zachariah. All Zachariah says is blah, blah, blah. So you're going to be able to see how it feels to live in a house with a sister named Yliana that's very funny. And another sister named Turner that's mature. And its fun to have an older brother named Josiah that saved me out of a tree. Once I was stuck in a tree and he saved me. That happened when I was six. I also have a Mom & Dad that love me very much. And you know what? My Dad is right now writing this blog for me.

Love,

Sequoia

Fear & Greed Revisited

2008-04-04T20:45:00.001-07:00

So...don't look for anything earth shaking on this topic today. I haven't worked through the issue of how to be at rest when I work. I know. I couldn't resist. Maybe I'm wrestling with topics bigger than I can handle. Since "sliced bread" us men have been looking for "easy."

Actually we slice our own bread.

So...don't look for any fast answers here. However, I will toss in some suppositions. Suppose (<--supposition #1) I focus on putting in my time and creativity, working "as unto the Lord" and letting the days wage be what it is? This has been a working theory for me for the last few years. It doesn't address the forward thinking, the brainstorming, the stressing that has to take place in order to see a business grow and find that "cutting edge." Well, I'm going to keep working at this--in a restful way, of course.

P.S. Doing quite a bit of quotation marks today. Its a short cut to actually thinking and using my own words.

User Friendly Plumbing?

2008-04-03T16:25:00.001-07:00

Hi. I'm Tim and I'm a "user-friendly-aholic"

This is going to be an interactive blog today. You try: Hi I'm _______ (fill in the blank). I'm a "user-friendly-aholic" too.

Yes. You know you are. Just join me in reliving my experience with plumbing today.

I down loaded (read: went to Lowes and bought) a new bath fixture today. It came with the usual "throw away" instructions with a couple of useful pictures. It had the basic hardware with a few extras to make you feel like you got something for nothing. And, of course, it expected you were installing to a completely clean and up to date environment. The old environment had some cantankerous objections to being updated.

Initially, the unit appeared to be a match. However, after shutting down all other programs (running water, old putty, riser connections)and imputing the new shiny upgrade, no "WIZARD" showed up to help with installation. If that wasn't enough to disconcert me, the floppy drain plug had no matching drive. Piecing together a little bit of the old program with the new finally settled on a happy _________ (remember - "interactive" - you fill in the blank). I'm still waiting for the bugs to show up on that one.

Finally, having covered every area I could think of, it was time to reboot.

Immediately a virus flooded the work area. I shut it down. Fortunately, silicone (tape) came to the rescue, though I had to manually install it. One hour and thirty minutes later (45 minutes longer than the instructions claimed), I had access. Now if I can just get the local network to go easy on it...

The Virus of Fear and Greed

2008-04-03T09:44:00.001-07:00

The blessing of the LORD brings wealth, and he adds no trouble to it.
Proverbs 10:22

But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day.
Duet 8:18

It is a struggle these days to think about business without being either afraid or greedy. One moment I am surrounded by the giants of fear and uncertainty and the next I am rubbing my hands like Silas Marner, drunk with the potential of future gain.

At its most viral state, fear quenches greed and greed fear. Where do I find rest?

A wise old man told me once that you become what you look at. How then, does one weave the meditations of "God as source" into every action or thought concerning business? Otherwise the one activity that consumes most of my day--the making of provender--will consume me!

Offering my sweat as a sacrifice? Surrendering my efforts hourly? Putting up scripture in my truck to remind me where the power comes from? Giving away my money?

Your comments welcome!

More on this later.

The Tip of Unbelief

2008-03-30T23:14:00.001-07:00

It's difficult to discern where people stand in the eyes of God. Well, it's probably none of my business. But how close are the people who refer to themselves as the Church to the...well, how close are they to really being the Church?

Take this interesting, o.k., alarming article about a church in Canada.

(Thanks to Richard @ Family: The Final Frontier)

The Reverend Gretta Vosper, of the West Hill United Church has some thoughts on the Bible that might differ from yours:

She says there's been virtually a consensus among scholars for the past 30 years that the Bible is not some divine emanation – or in Ms. Vosper acronym, TAWOGFAT, The Authoritative Word of God For All Time – but a human project filled with contradictions and the conflicting worldviews and political perspectives of its authors.

Now, lets just pretend just for a moment that this was Ms. Vosper's web site. There would be no mocking of the aforesaid opinion. There would be supportive thoughts and collective ideas to sway the reader towards the sanity of her position. The bold redefining of "Church" would ring with finality. The Rev. Vosper would lay out her desire to save and heal through humanistic principles.

But I ask you, as it is my blog, if you move a boat to dry land and adapt it for dry land purposes is it still a boat? Haven't you changed its purposes and limited its function in such a way that a name change would be in order? I have little desire to condemn West Hill United Church's direction. They are just victim to the disillusionment that much of Christiandom faces. I would question why they want to continue to lay claim to the name "Church."

The "Church" is the body of Christ, belonging to Jesus and fulfilling the purposes of the same. Should you consider this Jesus (or his present characterization) a fictional character, you still must recognize that the story line puts the Church with Jesus and Jesus with the Church. If you want to challenge the "historical documents" and the "traditions" why do you want to borrow so heavily from its language and terms and yet reject its story line?

Well, my own little answer to this question is that the name "Church" still rings with hope and people want that hope without the whole complicated package. Ms. Vosper would be up a creek without a church had she just hung out a shingle for "Fellowship for Humanists" at her Canadian home.

I am sorry for my own part in making that package of today's Church complicated. The Church wasn't meant to have all sorts of institutional qualities about it.

I, however, still believe the story line.

Guest Columnist - Zachariah: What makes me happy

2008-03-27T19:39:00.001-07:00

I'm stealing some time away from my busy schedule to share deep thoughts with you all. Having lived in this home for most of my life, I find myself in the enviable position of knowing everything of import that takes place here. When brothers and sisters are making a lot of happy sounds, I want to be there. I'm not sure what all the primitive activity means to these big people but I'm sure it communicates a wealth of love. So I drag myself into their presence and show my approval. They seem to understand. The whole bunch of them gathers around me, presumably to hear some seed of wisdom. Sometimes they step on me and tip me over, but the risk is worth it. These young vulnerable ones need the adoring looks and dribblings that I make available during these special episodes. So good people, make noise and be happy.

Road Sage

2008-03-27T19:36:00.001-07:00

If you don't know where you are going, any road will get you there.
Lewis Carroll

"Now where am I going?" I say to myself as I head out to my first job of the day. This happens quite often. It's like a premature launch. I get dressed, shaved, vitamins, coffee, toast, out to the truck - oops, comb my hair, back to the truck - oops, get my keys. Then I'm off to somewhere in Downey. But where?

I suddenly realize that there is a mantra ringing in my head. ...Lakewood, left on Florence, left on Downey Sanford Bridge... I've been repeating it since I left the computer to grab my coffee and didn't hear it till now. It's like a loop running around in my head waiting to catch my attention. Now I know where I'm going.

It was so cool to have instructions in my head, I thought I'd check out if anything else was in there (I'm ignoring your comments). I remembered that I had an all powerful God to face the challenges I would be having today. "Be strong and Courageous!" I put aside the gnawing in my stomach and rested in the Lord's ability to get me through it all. I have all his leadership and creativity at my right hand. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Squeezing the Lemon of Time

2008-03-26T17:43:00.001-07:00

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."
Albert Einstein

Had a full schedule yesterday...oops, had to move a big customer to today, now yesterday has a wandering schedule and today has enough work for a week in it. Hmmm. Tomorrow is content, lets drag a small customer from today to tomorrow. Now tomorrow is unhappy, but doable and today probably won't even feel the weight loss but at least I did something about it.

I think this would be a good time to walk away and read to the kids.

What's not making the Six O'Clock News

2008-03-25T13:03:00.001-07:00

Little did I know that this day would bring such drama. McCain sets up Obama and Clinton as straw man (er & straw-woman) against his pro-Iraq ("We're succeeding") stance. Jose Canseco's new book somehow vindicates him while dissing his former teammates in the steroids world. Some young, rich and character weak woman has succumbed to another act of despair and drug induced activity. And, unfortunately, it would not be a news day if ______ (fill in blank) had not killed his family members in a heartless way in the city of _____(fill in blank).

Well, O.K. I knew all that would probably happen. If you can get over the yawns, I have the real heart shaker for you. The drama of Jesus walking with me today is pretty intense. He's going with me into the mundane and the stressful. He's the living, acting, hope invigorating person of note standing with me today.

Yes, it would be drama if I could keep it all in mind. The mind wanders, you know. May God transform the mind of the weak.

Grrrrr!

2008-03-24T18:10:00.000-07:00

Wow, am I stressed! I can't seem to check off sufficient items on my "to-do list" or run willy nilly like a headless fowl enough to ease the tension.

I know I've been here before--I recognize the anxiety. It's that "can't settle down-can't rest-on the edge of an escape frenzy" kinda feelin'. What it really means, I suppose, is that I'm not in control. Again.

Well now, I'm going put that beast down. Yessir! That's how you fix a situation like this. You don't pander to it, let it take you out for jelly donuts or help you go kick the dog. You just declare war and put it in the cross hairs.

I will NOT be in control.

Whew! There. Boy do I feel better.

And not only that, but I got my first blog written since last October.

What is "God Room?"

2007-10-07T07:36:00.000-07:00

and how much room does God take up anyway?

i guess i'll leave that for him to decide.

I'm feeling pretty small lately. The ideals, the visions for success and what not are not matching my life lately (can i use "not" twice in a sentence?). Isn't God supposed to move in and make these things possible? Well of course the ideals never match my life, that's why they're called ideals.

i knew that.

Its just that I need to talk about it. Is there really any more room in me for God since he first spoke these words to me? (I was driving through Rowland Heights, California one day, years ago, and I looked at a store sign and read "make God room." Well of course the sign didn't really say that, I just imagined it. Maybe thought it. However it stuck with me and I decided it might be God. The real issue developed into a need for growing in character. )

I have 4 or 5 more children since then. They take up a lot of room. I've been to several Gothard seminars since then (Basic principles of life) and I've heard quite a bit about character since then. I used to be (or thought I was) the most mature person I knew. I now am around people that are wiser, more faithful, more loving, better communicators, and I'm sure don't use spell check as much as me.

So, I'm not being completely honest. And I need to be so that this does not become a pity party (or is it too late?). God has been faithful and life has never meant to be about me. I am confident in God's ability to act in spite of my inaction. Renew your vision in me, Lord. Give me a target...

Gold, Clothes & Eye drops

2007-10-05T06:56:00.001-07:00

Coffee is a wonderful invention. O.K., hold on. Not just any coffee. I like the smooth taste of a fresh, gourmet bean, rich and hot. It is a religious experience. Oh, and I like it to come with mornings. Mornings are pretty cool too as long as they don't involve the phrases "running late," "I should have done this last night," and well, you get the picture. Wait, one more thing--well two: my easy chair and my big heavy Bible. And my cat. The cat is purely for warmth, complementing the "hot" in my coffee. However I do have some complications holding my big Bible and making room for the cat to warm my legs. But things seem to work out most mornings.

The truth is religious experiences are so temporal. Thirty minutes later the memory of hot coffee and a heavy Bible fades. I did find something a little longer lasting yesterday morning. I was reading Revelation 3 and learned about being "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked." (Rev 3:17 NASB) The Bible is so helpful when you want to see yourself. I found a new "checklist" to try with my mornings in the next verse:

I advise you to buy from Me gold refined by fire so that you may become rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself, and that the shame of your nakedness will not be revealed; and eye salve to anoint your eyes so that you may see.

Rev 3:18 (NASB)

The thing is that none of these items is useful unless you are "wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked."

Today's Offering

2007-10-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

And thou shalt burn the whole ram upon the altar: it is a burnt offering unto the LORD: it is a sweet savour, an offering made by fire unto the LORD.

Ex 29:18 (KJV)

Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: For our God is a consuming fire.

Heb 12:28-29 (KJV)

I found it helpful last night and today, when faced with fear and anxiety to remember that my life is an offering before God. Who I am, what I do. I am a priest and my body a temple of God. What I do is an offering whether I like it or not. (Thank you for that Norm Wakefield, spiritofelijah.com). I was encouraged to not shrink back but stride forward into the night and day that my steps would be offered freely and not with wringing of hands. A window cleaned, an errand run, a little head patted -- all offerings to be consumed by the fire of God.

"I remember," I said to myself and all was well.

Measure Twice

2007-10-01T13:02:00.001-07:00

What man can fix, he can surely make worse.

I point to the broken window and say, "use this measuring tape and give me the size of the glass that needs to go there." The young man shows every evidence of wanting to be someplace else. Shifty eyes, shifty feet, even a -- "can I do something, first?" -- shifty location. I say "no. focus." "When you are through I'll check your measurements against mine and help you get it right."

I leave the responsible party (broken window, young man--you make the connection) to his deed and leave.

The young man gives me the wrong measurements, which when double checked end up being the right measurements. Mine were wrong. There must be a lesson here but I'm darned if I know what it is.

The saying is "measure twice, cut once." I guess if you think you know what you've got you should still go back to the original. No one wants a standard they can't control. It keeps judging you.

Hello, Monday

2007-10-01T10:47:00.001-07:00

So...I'm writing again. Have you missed me?

A flashlight on some of my trash

2007-04-20T08:40:00.000-07:00

Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel. Prov. 20:3

Sequoia just brought her little flashlight to me for more batteries. The off button is rarely used by my kids--easier to get more batteries from Dad. It is true in the spirit as well. Sequoia and the rest of the crew never turn off their flashlights when it comes to Dad. Everything I say and do lies under the spotlight.

It's amazing how much strife there is in my house. A simple act of sharing or deference could put out most of the fires in our daily routine. My combative leadership has laid the foundation for my kid's interaction. I can easily color my quarreling with suave design and calculated adult pretense. Children have no such skills and reveal all my weaknesses by repeating my strategies with naked plagiarism.

Some homes may exhibit repressed emotion with darting eyes the only clue to the deeper issues. Not so here. I could use a little repression if for no other reason, to grasp at the honor due a man so disciplined.

"And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect." Rom 12:2

2007-04-19T20:21:00.000-07:00

Josiah's 14th B-day. Donuts at the break of day.

Friends for dinner. Thanks Herseys!

The rest of the Hersey Gang including little Thomas and baby Emma

Lots of love. Lots of cinamon roll. Lots of smile. Will he burn his finger?

2007-04-19T20:17:00.000-07:00

Keeping Grandma Updated!

Two of my babies.

2007-04-19T20:13:00.000-07:00

Baby Zach's first bath (at home!). He looks like he's really enjoying it, huh?

Safe and warm and, well, not wet.

2007-04-19T20:09:00.000-07:00

I'd like to introduce our new science editor for the Making God Room blog: McKadesh Samuel Lynch. Today Mac was playing a game with Mom and other siblings and was asked "how do you know something's happening if you can't see it?" His answer "with my ears." Next he was asked "what part of your body do you smell with?" His tentative response: "your bottom?" Another chapter of success in our homeschooling adventure.

2007-04-19T20:01:00.000-07:00

I Call this one "Girl in a tree." We don't know why such silliness occurs around our house:)

The fun is over now.

Morning Musings

2007-04-19T07:54:00.000-07:00

Simple joys. My daughter Turner Joy wrote this poem 2 days ago:

Ballad of the cat and the dog

O, doth every dog do wish

For a cat served in a dish

With catsup, radish, and an onion too

Boiled down into catsup stew

Then, to be applied so quickly

So the cat to be real sticky

But why, oh, why doth the dog tarry

For the cat to block and parry?

Hissing, flailing, squirming too

Leaving unmarred a very few?

Every night doth the cat contrive

A new way to forthwith survive

Leaving the dog to compromise

For the cat's doom and demise.

Turner Joy Lynch, 12 years old

The fear of the Lord leads to life, so that one may sleep satisfied, untouched by evil.

Proverbs 19:23

Short of sleep these days. Baby tag is giving me from 9:30p to about 3:30a. Then I'm up holding Zachariah Zion. It's not a time to have a guilty concience. God guard my heart and thoughts so I might sleep the good sleep of the rested soul. Fear leads to life. Sequoia, my 6 year old daughter, woke early to the fear of 2 headed monsters that wanted to kill her. That's not the kind of fear that leads to life. The fear of the Lord is a transforming power (its the beginning of knowledge, after all - Prov 1:7), a revolution in the heart that overthrows the false reigning abscounders. After all, the competition for the "fear of the Lord" can only be the fears of man, loss, lonliness, etc. Best to see their rule overthrown by the healthy fear of a good king!

2007-04-03T19:29:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home Zach!

2007-04-03T19:26:00.000-07:00

Happy Siblings!

As promised...

2007-04-03T19:19:00.000-07:00

Zach has learned the secret of the camera. Red light glows, then big nasty flash. Close eyes after red light!

Proud Mom & Dad leaving hospital 3 weeks after Zach's arrival

Secret Handshake

One eyed Zach

Baby 'riah is home!

2007-04-03T17:34:00.000-07:00

Excitement, frolics, jumping and ecstatic noise (and that was from the grownups!). After 3 weeks in the NICU, little baby Zachariah Zion is home! For big sister 2 year old Havilah, little baby 'riah is now here. She's not sure what that means yet, but for now she's riding the excitement wave. Its good to have him here close to us. He's small (about 5 lbs now), fragile, quiet (so far) and very welcome. We're not sure yet how he will change us (read make more God room in us) but I'm sure he will. And...as soon as I figure how to put pictures on this blog thing, I'm gonna do it. Really.

The Arrival of Chaos

2007-03-23T09:22:00.000-07:00

This blog begins at an opportune time in our lives. Little boy Lynch Zachariah has just made his appearance. Chaos, being the currency God most uses to "make room" for Himself, has arrived. Zachariah was born March 13, at 6:10am, at just short of 33 weeks gestation. The package included an expected c-section, an unexpected blood transfusion for my wife, a 4 day stay (Mar 13-16) at the hospital for Nanci, a quick visit for Nanci back to emergency room this last Sunday (Mar 18) for anemia, an overnighter to the hospital for Nanc for another blood transfusion (Mar 20-21) and finally, a return for Nanci to her semi-bid rest here at home (something she endured for months before Zachariah arrived). That's just the highlights!

i cannot remember a time when the raw Word of God has been so powerful and calming. Fear not. Take my yoke upon you. Be anxious for nothing. Cast your cares upon him. He who tries to save his life will lose it. No explanation of purpose or benefit can suffice. No counsel fulfills. Here and now, the words of life suffice. Desperation has its own rewards.