The Toy Box

Each year, millions of parents suffer from Lego Tunnel Syndrome--a chronic condition where the parents' hands lose function after constantly extracting Lego's from the bottoms of their feet.  This is why Courtnie and I thought it was a good idea that Beckett have his very own toy box for Christmas this year.  Even though he is 15 months old, and has yet to have any set of Lego's that he can call his very own, we have been up to our eyeballs in Fisher Price and Leap Frog since last Christmas, and it's just time that they found a home.

Besides, every kid needs a toy box.  And it should be perfect. 

After perusing the aisles of Target one evening, and seeing the cheap quick-assembly toy chests, I suggested to Courtnie that maybe I should build Beckett's toy box myself.  See, I've always considered myself to be a handy man, and at times spend my entire lunch breaks watching Do-It-Yourself videos on Youtube.  And I've built and repaired things in the past, but this would be my first "major" project venture.  Accordingly, I began to develop my vision and plan for building it, and before long, I had the "perfect" image of the toy box in my head.

Well...I built it.  And I can confidently say that I built it well.  I worked hard, and I am proud of my work.  It's a great feeling to finish something, then lean back and look upon it with satisfaction.  On Christmas Day, when Beckett saw it, his first order of business was to put it to the test by crawling on it, as well as climbing inside--he loved it.  Courtnie was very impressed, too, which felt great.  I even thought to add some features that would keep Beckett from smashing his fingers with the lid closed.  And I tested it myself, by standing on top of it.  I had actually built his toy box the way I had envisioned it.

But it wasn't perfect.

Because I built it, I know that it's not perfectly squared, so I had to overcompensate with extra sanding.  There were some dents in the wood where I had to pry two boards apart to reposition them, but I filled those in with wood filler before staining it.  There are two very heavy duty, but mismatched, spring hinges that hold the lid in place when it's opened.  No one can tell.  No one has any clue about the flaws in Beckett's toy box.  But I made the toy box, so I know every flaw.  I wish they weren't there, but they are.

This thought takes me back to the very first chapter of God's word, in Genesis 1, where the story is told of Creation; of how God created the Heavens and the Earth, and everything on the earth; even us humans, created according to the perfect image of the Creator.  And he looked back on everything with great satisfaction.

But, just as my flawed finished project did not exactly match the "flawless" image that I had in my head, we were not created flawless, because we are not God.  I know that I am far from perfect, and I try to be a pretty open book, but I bet that there are still some flaws in me that only God knows about.  Even so, I know that He loves me.  In fact, He loves me so much that he sent his perfect son to die for me.  The same goes for all of us.  We are all uniquely imperfect, but Jesus Christ died for us so that one day those imperfections can change.  In fact, the blood of Christ makes us completely new.  As we reflect on the death and resurrection of Christ, keep in mind that we are the reason that Christ suffered and died.   Let's worship the perfect Father, God, who loves us no matter what flaws we possess.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died;  and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.  From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 

-2 Corinthians 5:14-17

Facebook Panic ATTACK!!!

Anyone out there with a Facebook profile...?

Good!  Glad to know that I'm not the only one. Yesterday, it looks like we were hit pretty hard.  I logged in yesterday, only to find people in a mass brutal panic because Godzilla was, once again, terrorizing their town and breathing fire all over their Farmville (don't worry, "Godzilla" is simply a metaphor for the "Facebook Changes".  We are NOT experiencing a Godzilla/Facebook Change Double-crisis...God forbid.).   Seriously though, some posted some very long "letters to facebook" statuses, giving their $1.50 worth of input on the changes.  Others resorted to mere profanity (in ALL CAPS, might I add).  And then, there is my favorite--"I'm SO mad, I'm going to put some words on a picture and POST it.  That'll show 'em!"

People...seriously?  Do we need to take a Facebook timeout?  Did anyone even bother to send an email to Facebook support before they threw themselves on the ground, kicking and screaming in a temper tantrum?  Maybe some did, but I would anticipate that the majority of us did not--not that I'm in the habit of assuming.

That about wraps up my thoughts for the general public.  For the Christian Facebooker...

1.  Do not complain (Phil 2:14).  Especially on your Facebook status.  In doing so, you become NO DIFFERENT from any non-believer, which does NOT align with our calling as followers of Christ.

2.  Facebook is free.  Since when do we complain about stuff we didn't pay for (i.e. Grace--totally incomparable with Facebook, but the two do undeniably possess this common element.)?  I would imagine you would be even more irate if you had to shell out even $1 a month to continue using.  This is the largest social network in the world, and I have not paid a dime to be a part of it.

3.  Facebook is a mission field.  No doubt.  Ask yourself one thing--"Do my Facebook friends know I'm a Christian?"  If you answer YES because you put "Christian" in Religous Views, SHUT YOUR ACCOUNT DOWN NOW (again, this portion is for the Christian Facebooker).  You are doing damage to the Body of Christ--plain and simple.  Imagine if I flew over to Africa to do mission work, did not share a single word about Christ with the people, but DID manage to remember to wear my WWJD bracelet.  Don't be ineffective.

4.  Do you idolize your Facebook account?  I think it's a legitimate question.  After all, it is pretty cool to be able to check in on your friends at any time.  Even cooler to see who's checking on you, commenting on your wall and photos.  I think some get a little carried away.  I get so sick of people who update their status every hour with worthless junk about their lives, as if they are doing me a service by keeping me informed.  How rude of me not to comment.  And lay off the ridiculous secondary source prayer requests--"Pray for my friend guys.  He just discovered a rash on his inner thigh.  It could be cancerous, but it's probably psoriasis."  I'm not trying to be cold-hearted here, but there was a reason why Jesus kept only 12 disciples around, and even then, would often go by himself to pray.  He didn't tweet his prayer thoughts to all of Jerusalem.  We don't have to either.

I'm sorry to offend anyone, but again, keep in mind that these thoughts are intended for reflection.  Yes, I have expressed MY opinion, and I hope it has made you think.  Bottom line, Christians--"...whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus..." (Col. 3:17).

Fin

Juggling

Do you have an "I Wish" list?  Not a wish list, but an I wish list--a list of "I wish I had" or "I wish I did" things.  Years ago, it probably had a different name for you.  Maybe it was your bucket list, or your to-do list that never got to done.  Whatever your list looked like or was called, I am going to take a gamble and say that it would be more of a rarity to find a man or woman with their list complete.  Hence, the "I Wish" list.

Before I proceed, let me disclaim:  The "I Wish" list and the "I regret" list are NOT synonymous, as it pertains to this blog.  Sure, everyone wants to relive some glory moment in high school or college and be known forever as the guy who would have hit the buzzer beater in overtime to win state, or spelled "recollect" correctly to win your 5th grade spelling bee, if that's your thing.  Unfortunately, Uncle Rico, you missed.  Time to move on.  Now, let's stop being downers here and get on with the point, shall we? ;) - (the smiley is so that you think I'm nicer than I really am, since we just met and all.)

I knew a guy who could juggle in middle school.  No idea how he did it, but he was legit.  He could toss under his legs in mid-juggle without even flinching.  I saw him throw up 5 bean bags in a talent show once.  Now did this talent earn him instant popularity?  Nope.  Can you imagine some 8th grader walking the halls with a girl on each arm, leading his posse of circus clowns while he's tossing torches into the air?  Interesting mental image, but I guarantee you've never ever seen anything like that in your life.  Even so, juggling intrigued me.  I wanted to learn because it was something I couldn't do.  But I never learned.

Years later, I sit here as a 26 year-old no juggler.  That's right, I'm Daniel Nix and I don't know how to juggle.  (Hi, Daniel!)  Do I regret it--no.  Do I wish I had learned-sure.  But not because I have this deep rooted desire to impress circus clowns.  I think I could have learned a lot from juggling.  There are certain rules and principles that make a successful juggler--the biggest being focus.  My one downfall in juggling is that I forget about the first ball/bag/chainsaw/whatever once the second one hits the air.  Now, at age 26, I have a gorgeous wife, beautiful son, fun/stressful at times job, friends, family, house, etc. (including a stinkin awesome Christian rock band)--all of which are dominated by an unshakable faith in Christ--and I am figuratively learning the art of juggling.  Even within each single element of my life, there are so many things that demand my undivided attention, and I would not have it any other way.  And not only do I want to juggle these things, I want to juggle with integrity (bet they don't teach that principle at juggle camp).  I think a big part of having integrity is knowing where and when to focus your attention.  If I focus everything I have one single part, another ball is bound to drop.  It's juggle science.

Friends, I am going to wrap it up here.  Some of you have a million different things going on in your life.  Learn balance.  If you have too much, lighten your load.  There is no shame in pushing the pause button on a few things while you devote time to sift through other stuff.  "Wherever you are, be all there"-that's not my quote, and I'm don't have time to google it.  If you're curious, be my guest.

Now if you'll excuse me, it's my day off and my son Beckett is starving.  Adieu.