Author Archives: Justin

About Justin

I believe that in the end love will win out.

No no…I like this smell

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(the long awaited return of me writing about Babies (now kids) and Spirituality)

Cutler needs his diaper changed every morning. I guess his bowels are on a schedule, 9 times out of 10 he’s dropped a bomb in the morning. And 10 times out of 10 he doesn’t want me to change his diaper. When I get out the tools to get the job done he runs away like I’m chasing him with a pair of hedge trimmers and a crazy laugh.

I really don’t get it. He smells. It could give him a rash. And he doesn’t want it to go away. Even when I do catch him, he wiggles and doesn’t make it an easy job. It’s like he’s saying,

“No no…I like this smell. I’m not really ready to let it go and I’d rather just live in it than be clean.”

I find that I act like a baby with a poopy diaper sometimes too. There are things that I’m carrying around that don’t need to be there, that are keeping me from ‘being clean’, maybe even hurting me. The best thing to have happen would be to stop running and let God deal with it. But maybe I’m too busy or just don’t want to slow down. Or maybe I’ve just become accustomed to it and the smell doesn’t really bother me.

This is when God, as a loving father, actively works to help get rid of things that are killing me. (Kill may be a strong sounding word, but I would argue that we need to think of ‘sin’ in the strongest terms possible or we won’t see it for the destructive force that it is) Because God is a good dad he doesn’t let us run around with things in our lives that aren’t good for us. The Bible says ‘He disciplines (corrects) those he loves’. As a dad of two little kids, I have to correct my kids when they are doing something to harm themselves or others. I would be a bad father if I let them hit other kids or eat cigarette butts they find on the ground.

I think at some point we just have to ask, ‘Do I want to walk around with a soul and spirit that is like a soggy diaper?’ And if we answer ‘No’ to that question then we have to ask the brave question, ‘What do I need to do to let God help me?’ I would offer up a few ideas…

1. Pray….ask God to show areas in your life that are working against you being the person He wants you to be.

2. Slow down…a lot of times we get so busy or so wrapped up in a busy routine that we don’t just slow down and evaluate our lives.

3. Ask somebody close to you to tell you the truth…this is a dangerous one. Being willing to listen to another person’s thoughts about your life can be vulnerable, but they may also see something you don’t.

4. Ask somebody you can trust and who has a backbone to help you stick to your plan, it will get tough.

5. Don’t stop evaluating yourself…Often times dealing with one thing prepares us to deal with another. The point is allowing God to begin ‘a new creation’ in us. Not just a single upgrade on the old one. There are poopy diapers nearly every morning in my house…it’s just the way it is.

I take a lot of comfort knowing that God doesn’t quit on me. That even when I run, He doesn’t stop. He cares about each of us deeply, all of His creation for that matter, and his work in us will do nothing except for what is good.

I would also add, there is a cycle to all of this. When we have experienced God’s goodness, grace, and love over us, we get to share our hope with others. We get to help them become the new creation that God hopes for them to become as well. God also gives us eyes to see the things all around our world that he wants to bring new life to.

A big life change begins with one small choice. What am I going to choose today? To let God do what he has to do, or to run off with a poopy diaper?

 

Suffering and Cycling

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You can read this article first if you want to see what inspired this post: Colombian Cyclists Dream Of Racing Out Of Poverty : NPR

I originally wrote this post a couple of days ago, but it got deleted for nerd reasons I won’t go into. But here’s my second try…

I just read the article above and a line in it hit me,

“If you can’t suffer,” Johan says, “what good are you?”

We just got back from our annual Christian Associates conference called connect. This year, our main sessions were taught by other church-planters within CA. The main text we were being taught was Hebrews 11. As each of my friends taught through this, one theme resounded from the lives of the people of faith in Hebrews: their faith lead each of them to some sort of significant suffering that resulted in their character being developed. Because of who they became through their suffering they were able to live lives of faith that made a difference in the world around them…and subsequently be considered by the writer of Hebrews some of the most noteworthy followers of God in history.

I like to ride my bikes. I like to work on my bikes. I use my bikes to get around town faster or take my daughter to school on. Basically, I use them for convenience. But I really don’t set out on my bike to suffer because I’m not competing for anything like the Columbian young men in the story, or like the riders in the Tour de France.

I watched the Tour de France a lot this year…mostly because of my newfound passion for bikes (which is evident in my last three posts). In the stages in the mountains I couldn’t get over the effort that there were exerting. They were riding 100′s of miles within a few days in incredible heat, altitude, and mental strain. For a rider in the Tour, winning a leg is pretty remarkable. Winning the whole thing is incredible. But the agony on their faces proves that they must suffer to get there. They are suffering for a prize.

In the story of Johan above, it’s not just him suffering on a bike. His mom has opened a new business, his parents sold their home, his dad is working construction as an older man. They are suffering together…but not just for the sake of suffering or riding a bike. They are suffering and sacrificing because they hope that cycling will take them out of the poverty they were living in.

This reminds me of a line in the Bible: (Hebrews 12:2)

looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

It’s clear to me that there is something significant with suffering in the Christian journey. I think that there is a transformation that takes place within in us that enables us to become the type of people that God can use to join him in his good intentions on earth.

I think that the quote rings true:

“If you can’t suffer, what good are you?”

I think that I need to come to terms with something spiritually. Am I a casual bike rider when it comes to suffering? Do I just want faith for convenience? Or do I want to ride like I’m competing for a prize? (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) Do I want to push on in the face of difficulty? (2 Corinthians 4:7-10) Do I believe that partnership and relationship with God is worth it? (Philippians 3:7-14)

I think I do…

 

EDA Vintage French Fixie

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This is the bike that I bought as a rusted pile of nothingness at the flea market and transformed into a super cool (in my opinion) fixed gear bike.

It’s a vintage french frame…from the 60′s I believe. The only marks on the frame are the angles of the tubes on the lugs and the initials EDA on the bottom bracket. From my research, I believe it was built by two French brothers.

Regardless…it’s my daily ride around town and I love that I restored this bike to being useful again. One of the pictures is what it looked like when I bought it…


My New Bike – 82 Colnago Mexico

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I saw this super grainy, black and white photo of a bike for sale online. It was nearly impossible to tell what it was (you can see the picture in the flickr set) but I could tell it was 1.) my size, and 2.) looked kind of like a Colnago. I called the man selling it and he explained to me that he’s 67 and hasn’t ridden it years. It was, in fact, a Colnago. My Spanish isn’t that good, so I had my friend B call for me. I got a call back from B and he was on his way to go look at it. It happened to be only 18 kilometers away from where he was staying in Alicante, Spain.

Without even calling me to check in, B bought the bike on my behalf. Like any good friend, he just knew that I would want an 82 Colnago Mexico in near new condition! (Thanks B!)

While there B learned that Vicente, the original owner, was once the mayor of his town and that he had bought the bike brand new in the early 80′s. He said that when he originally bought it, it was such a high end bike that the local paper did a story about it.

Now it’s on it’s way to me…I feel in some ways like I’ve been given a chance to look after this piece of cycling history. But I’m not buying it to treat like a museum piece…I’m hoping that most of it’s kilometers/miles are ahead of it!

B sent me these pictures today…This is exactly the way it was taken out of Vicente’s basement. I’m going to have to wait a week or so to get it cleaned, tuned, and running so that I can hit the road! I’ll post more pictures when I get it cleaned and shined…


Barcelona Protests

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I don’t have any commentary on this right now, but this article talks about the protests happening in Barcelona right now. The picture in the article was taken about 5 minute walk from our front door.

BBC News – Barcelona: Angry crowd pursues Catalan MPs

I think that these protests and the increased sightings of dreadlock mullets go hand in hand. (you may only get that joke if you have been to Barcelona)


An Atheists Explanation to His Child

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I came across this article via twitter (@hopefulskeptic) and thought that it was interesting thing to think about. It’s an atheist father explaining in a letter to his 11 year old daughter why he doesn’t pray. I obviously don’t agree with the conclusions of the author, but I do think his perceptions of what Christians pray for and who the God we pray to are worth reflecting on.

I also think that it’s worth receiving the criticism that praying for things that only benefit ourselves or our desires is selfish…I don’t think this because I don’t believe that God answers small prayers. I say this because I think that it’s worth us really being thoughtful about what we pray for. I would hope that my prayers more reflect what God desires on earth, not the way that they may reflect my desires on earth…

Enjoy…(tongue in cheek)

Without a prayer | Psychology Today