Square one.

I am a master. A master of disguise.
Like a jackrabbit, in the winter I am white, in the summer I am brown.
I can fit in anywhere.

In the bars drinking beer and eating popcorn? Sure, pass some my way. At a movie theatre watching R rated humor and explitives, fine. In church singing praise songs and hymns? Without question. Course joking in a staff meeting... Here's a zinger.

I am a chameleon; no matter what the environment, I hide myself... trying to fit in no matter where I am. I am quite good at it. As a matter of fact, I have changed my appearance so many times, I don't even know who I am... who the real me is. Instead, I have become what I continue to be in the moment. Like the wind, my direction and speed varies in each passing moment. A man without conviction. This is not who I desire to be... but rather the result of years of poor choices and a desire to fit in.

But I have chosen to come to the Cross and lay who I have become at it's foot. Square one.

I am a man of conviction.

2 Corinthians 5: 16-21

16 So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

I don't feel like blogging today.

Struggling with family issues. We are requesting prayers for Sydney's sister Katie and her husband Scotty... no details... She/They need our prayers really badly right now.

Thanks.

Follow up to the last post...

Aim Claim is the official winner of my "Name Ben's Ipod Nano Contest."

My ipod is now named "BIG boy" ... and yes the quotes are part of his name.

Aim... Let me know where you want me to send your free ipod... (OH YEAH... that's right... I am not sending a free ipod to the winner.) But if you want the headphones and apple sticker, email me your address at: benandsydney@gmail.com and they are on the way.

"BIG boy"

Classic.

Thanks to all who participated in the "Name Ben's Ipod Nano Contest." You didn't win. Better luck next time... and no, everyone that participated are NOT winners. You lost. This makes you a loser. MIM does not subscribe to the politically correct notion that everyone is a winner. You are only a winner if you actually win.

BUT, I love you all anyway.

The Management.

I purchased a new Ipod this weekend...

I bought an Ipod about 3 weeks ago... and I liked it. The Ipod nano. And then after seeing how cool mine was, Sydney mentioned that she thought that she would want one... so I gave her mine and then purchased the same one... except it has 4 gigs on it instead of 1. Typical guy... I know... but she was fine with this... and my other one was ONLY a few weeks old. Anyway... I named that one Eddie... so "Eddie" is now in the possesion of Sydney and she is pushing all of his buttons... making him do and say exactly what she wants him too... and he is covered in a shiny pink protective carrying case. Eddie has never looked so good.

Anyway... Since it is mandatory to name your Ipod around here... I will send a free Ipod to anyone who can come up with the perfect name for my new Nano. (Okay, I am lying... I will not send you a free Ipod... but if you need a free set of headphones and a Apple sticker... they are all yours.)

(And Eddie can not be used... Eddie has been replaced... he was too shallow... not enough storage capacity... )

Quiet! ...or I'll put a cap in you.

This cap in my mouth is TORmenting me. It keeps falling out and my mouth is full of pain. This must be what "gangsta's" mean when they say, "I'm gonna put a cap in him."

To all of the gangta's out there-

If this is not what you mean... then maybe you should think about it? I am sure that death is less painful, so feel free to be more vindictive and make your victim suffer a little more. Then your victim will be BEGGING you to shoot them... and then you can go all "Dr. Kavorkian" on them. And then you could justify your actions.

Maybe.

How's my morning you ask?

Well... if the sound of a drill and the smell of grinding teeth does it for you... then it was perfect.

Back.

The marriage retreat, as always, was a good time... although there was no talent show this year... guess people are running out of talents. I can always think of a new talent if coerced into doing so. But for what ever reason, no one wanted to do it this year. So we didn't. Anyway, Sydney and I enjoyed the time spent together even though we had Benji with us this year because he is still dependent on mom for sustainance. So it wasn't a complete break from the kids, but close.

After the marriage retreat, we went and picked up Jake, Micker Mackers and Bug Bug from her sister's house and brought them back to the resort. We live like wealthy people for the week. Very enjoyable. Games were played, time with friends was spent, water was splished and splashed, Ice was skated upon... overall, it was non-stop fun. We had two of our close friends and their kids staying a couple of doors down from us in the same resort, so Jake spent the week with his best friend. These friends are like family so it was mucho bueno. It is amazing how the Lord works. 15 years ago, I was dating Missi... Now our families are close friends and our sons are best friends... but that's another story.

We finished the weekend at Grandpa and Grandma's place, where much time was spent watching NCAA Basketball. Came home Sunday morning and relaxed as I prepared for Monday... getting back to the grind stone.

So I am back. Officially.

BeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeP!

This is a test of the MiM Broadcast system.
This is only a test...

If this would have been a real emergency, this message would have been followed by information about what had happened to MiM and what kind of medicine should be taken to avoid depression because MiM was no longer on the air.

BeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeP!


On Vacation...

Searching...

Tap... Tap... Tap... A man taps the side of one of the shelves... discouraged. Looking for the right topic...

There is a maze consisting of hunter green carpeting and mahogany book shelves. On the shelves that line the wall exists a sliding ladder that reaches to the ceiling. The books line the shelves and the shelves go on for what seems like eternity. Dust covers the bindings of books that have gone untouched for ages. Books filled with words that nobody cares about... Millions of people who have written books about something that nobody cares about. Useless words. The world's libraries are filled with authors of pseudo notoriety...

Like all others, he is searching. It's an all too familiar search; a search to gain some sort of wisdom that will fill the void. The void of worthlessness. It's a search for worth. Books have been written about the subject... most filled with useless words filled by authors who have, themselves, had a false sense of worth.

BUT, as he peruses the volumes of books he sees a familiar book in various locations... the books are identical... except for the title. In the "B" section, the binding says: "Bible." In the "G" section, the binding says: "God's Word." In the "H" section, he reads "Holy Bible." He reaches the "W" section and there again is the same book... different cover. "Word of God." Figuring this would be his last chance, he reaches for the book. It has just as much dust as the rest of the books, but somehow is different. It has been the one book that keeps calling him to read. So he gives the book a try. As he flips thru the pages, the book opens to the following passage:

Hebrews 12:2&3
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

Thee Author. Words of Truth. Words that are of worth. Worthy.

Walking to the circulation desk, the book tucked under his arm... he checks the book out somehow knowing that this is a book that needs to be checked out. And as the librarian stamps the slip in back he notices there is no due date. Quizzically, he looks at the librarian. His only response is, “Take it. I have already paid the price for you.”

He leaves the library encouraged.

Disclaimer: Talk of Romantic Marriage Retreat ahead...

This weekend is the imfamous marriage retreat. Can't wait. Sydney and I always have a great time... As a result 3 of our kids were born in October... but I digress. This is a weekend that we have had for the last nine years. A group of our friends (about 12-15 couples) who are committed to maintaining a strong relationship with our spouses, all chip in and rent about 5 cabins for a weekend at a local Minnesota resort approximately 3 & 1/2 hours north of here and we hire our own speakers that will impart some wisdom on us on how we can continue to maintain a healthy marriage by keeping Christ as the focal point of our marriage. Once a year we are able to deal with issues, if we have any, and enjoy a weekend together... while also enjoying fellowship with close friends. It has proven to be worth its weight in gold and is why, I believe, that Sydney's and my marriage (She's married to me and I am married to her... so I guess "our" marriage would be appropriate here.) has remained rock solid over the last 9 years. I believe Sydney would agree.

That said, this year we have a twist... because our group has to rent these cabins for a week (even though we only use them for the weekend) Sydney and I are going to pick up Jakers, Micker Mackers, Bug Bug and Benjino from my folk's place after the weekend and then head back to one of the Cabins and stay for the rest of the week. We have friends that will be doing the same thing... and they have 4 Kids around the ages of our kids. So we are planning to join forces and have a great time... On the agenda is an indoor water park, iceskating, maybe a movie... and, in general, just enjoying our time up there as a family. All in all, it should be a great weekend/week.

Anyway, So there you have it... the secret to our success... The Lord as a solid foundation and a Marriage Retreat once a year.

A painful process...

Daily I am being refined... like when I rolled through that stop sign two nights ago and I got the $127.00 ticket... yep, refined... The officer asked me if I knew what I was being pulled over for and I said “no” and he said it was “because I didn’t come to a complete stop” and I said, “Who me?” Indicating a sense of innocence in order to try and get out of the ticket and get a warning... EVEN when I knew exactly why I got pulled over...

That’s right... I failed.... Miserably. I hate when I screw up like this... and we all do it from time to time. I think it is part of this process we call refinement. But I think there has to be a willingness to be refined on our part. A willingness to admit that we are not perfect and a willingness to admit when we have screwed up. A willingness to ask for forgiveness. Refinement is a constant changing from who we are to who we will become: An image of our creator. Recently, it was brought to my attention that the refinement process occurs when the refiner applies heat to a precious metal in order to purify it. When this occurs, the impurities rise to the top and he gently skims them off. How does he know when he has pure gold or pure silver? When he can see his reflection...

This is us.

Daily being refined through the trials He puts in our lives everyday. But we can choose to acknowledge that we have impurities or we can chose ignore them. It's hard to be humble... but when we fail, we need to allow the One True Refiner to remove the impurities from us.

Are you willing to be tempered by the flames... seeking to become pure? I believe this is a process... and I don’t believe I will ever become completely pure except through Christ’s death on the cross. But I truly hope that, from one day to the next, His reflection keeps improving.

In the meantime, I am paying $127.00.

Refinement hurts.