The Cross

Our family watched "The Passion of the Christ" last night. I thought the kids were old enough to see it. It is brutal to watch, but a very, very important message comes through in that movie-the extent of sacrifice and complete hellish misery that Jesus Christ endured, all because of our sins.
As we came to the scene where the man is told to help carry Jesus's cross, I said out loud "what an honor to be side-by-side, carrying the cross with Jesus." Then I said to myself, "I wish I could have been there, and been the one to help carry the cross." Then just as that thought went through my mind I realized how short-sighted that thought was! Jesus has asked us (and me) to "pick up your cross and follow me." I CAN walk side-by-side with him, and bear the burdens that come with giving up pursuit of my pleasures to fully serve Him. I won't see him, and I won't have a physical wooden cross on my back, but I can have the honor of serving Him using the life, time and resources He has provided me.
After seeing the movie again, I came away with the thought that no matter what I sacrifice over my remaining years to serve Him here on earth, it won't equal even a few minutes of the sacrifice and suffering He did for me.
The photograph is of me and my good friend Pradit. Pradit lives in Thailand, and has graciously invested a substantial sum of money in my next movie. His is an encouragement to me.

Pain Management

I understand time management, money management and similar terms, but "pain management" has perplexed me. I know that many people with medical conditions have doctors talk to them about pain management, and I think that is okay. But, I don't think "management" is the correct term. Things like time and money are limited, and valuable resources. It is responsible to manage time and money, I get that. But "pain management?" I don't want to "manage" pain, I want to elimate or minimize it. Pain is not a resource, is it? Ah Hah! I was recently reading another book by Don Piper, and my perspective shifted. He was crushed and instantly killed when an 18-wheeler ran over his little Ford escort. He was dead for 90 minutes, then came back to life. He really didn't wan't to come back after experiencing Heaven, and he certainly questioned why God brought him back during his months of excruciatly painful, unbearable recovery. Then he figured it out. By experiencing extreme pain, he could now relate to others in extreme pain, who otherwise would probably not give salvation through Jesus Christ a second thought.
So, "pain management" now means to me to take the hardships that come my way, and ask God to use them, and me, to accomplish His purpose. I've had some pain, not so much as others, but I've had my share. It is not right for me to act like it doesn't exist, that is not helpful to anyone. What God wants me to do is "fess up" about the events in my life that hurt, and then use that to connect to others, to honestly "feel their pain" and let them know that they are not alone.
This blog entry may be confusing to you, but it makes sense to me.
The photo is of our dog, Sandy, at the lake today. She helps keep our family stay in focus.

It's Your Life

I have wrestled with my conscience/heart for many years over how I should be spending my time here on earth, what career it is that God would have me in. I have raised the question to others, including pastors, "Is it God's will that every Christian have a career as a pastor or serve in a full-time ministry, since all other careers are not fully devoted to serving Him?"
I always got the same general answer, which in summary states that we can serve God in many careers by being a good example, being a positive influence on and ministering to others, etc. These are good answers, but, it didn't quite get to the core of my sticking point. I read a devotional by Charles Haddon Spurgeon this morning, here are the pertinent parts:

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"For me to live is Christ." — Philippians 1:21

In the words of an ancient saint, he did eat, and drink, and sleep eternal life. Jesus was his very breath, the soul of his soul, the heart of his heart, the life of his life. Can you say, as a professing Christian, that you live up to this idea? Can you honestly say that for you to live is Christ? Your business—are you doing it for Christ? Is it not done for self- aggrandizement and for family advantage? Do you ask, "Is that a mean reason?" For the Christian it is. He professes to live for Christ; how can he live for another object without committing a spiritual adultery?

- Charles Haddon Spurgeon
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At first as I read this I thought (as I have before) "Should I quit my job as an engineer and jump full-time into Christian media productions?" Quickly, before I could agonize over that (again) this answer came to me; "The point is to examine your motives. Your hands and feet can be in many places, it is your heart that He cares about."

So, I can't answer for anyone what they should be doing as "hands and feet" of God, but that we each must carefully and prayerfully examine our motives for how we spend our time.

This devotional relates well to the next movie that I am considering producing. It is a documentary exploring the lives of people who spend their time serving others, making life better for others, and making the world a better place. I still don't have a title. The potential distributor suggested titling it "Hands and Feet," I have considered titling it "It's Your Life...how will you spend it?"

The photograph was taken during production of "Spirits Among Us" while we were shooting the church service scene.

Have a Laugh on Me

Though I am guilty of it, I know it is wrong to have a laugh at another’s expense. In this case, I am giving you permission to laugh at my expense, so no need for guilt.

For those who don’t know me well, I like to keep everything I own looking and functioning like new. I fuss over little nicks and scratches, I don’t like leaks and spills marring the finish of anything. I like to keep everything neat, clean and orderly.

I came to our lake house this weekend to have a little break, and to build a ramp connecting our back yard area to the terraced area where our house is located. The change in elevation is about 2 feet between our backyard and the area in which the house is built. I wanted to build a ramp so it would be possible to drive our lawn tractor up into that section of the yard to mow it. I bought the lawn tractor used, but the owner had kept it in great condition so it looked and good as new. I like it that way.

I worked all day building the ramp. It was a more labor-intensive and time consuming task than I anticipated. I had mis-judged the amount of decking needed, so I had to make a trip into town to get more lumber. I had hoped to fit in some fishing, and maybe a nice walk in the woods, but the ramp job took all the time I had. After driving the last nail I decided to start up the tractor and try out the ramp. After working all day I was anxious to enjoy the fruits of my labor.

I had some trouble getting the tractor onto the ramp, but I added an extra piece to the bottom of the ramp and fixed the problem. Just as I was at the top of the ramp almost onto the upper lawn, the tractor hung up. It seems that the transition was too abrupt and the frame hung up on the top edge of the ramp. I jostled and shook the tractor around and it moved off the ramp into the lawn area. I figured I would have to add a few pieces of lumber to the top of the ramp, but was generally feeling that my work for the day was a success. I mowed the lawn area in about 5 minutes. Before installing the ramp it took me 30 minutes with a weed trimmer to do the job. I was feeling like I had done a pretty smart thing building that ramp.

While maneuvering the tractor around the area I found myself getting pretty close to bumping it into obstacles, like trees, the stairway, the fence, etc. I thought to myself “your son will probably smash the front of this tractor into something when you ask him to mow the property, so don’t get all upset when it doesn’t look perfect anymore.” I guess that was a premonition.

I finished mowing the area, then headed down the ramp. The tractor got stuck on the ramp. Wanting to play it safe I shut off the motor, put it neutral, then stepped off to get it unstuck. I lifted and tugged and got it unstuck. Then, it began to roll down the ramp. I grabbed the back of the seat and tried to stop the tractor. It wouldn’t stop. It picked up speed rather quickly. I switched my grip to the rear fenders to try to get better control. I lost my footing and started down the ramp hanging on to the fenders and sliding down the ramp on my behind. I quickly looked left and right, making sure no on saw me (this is an automatic reaction, hard-wired into the genetic code of all men). I popped myself back onto my feet and began running behind the tractor. I was grasping at anything to regain control of it as it picked up speed heading down the steep slope of our backyard. I flailed at the steering wheel and managed to prevent a direct collision with a tree. In retrospect, that may have not been a wise move. The tractor hit a glancing blow to the tree then began barreling down the sharp decline headed towards the storage shed. I was no longer keeping up with the tractor. The redirection after hitting the tree slowed me down a bit, so at this point I was just running and flailing at the tractor, but having no effect at slowing it down or steering it away from the shed. The tractor picked up speed for what seemed about 30 minutes (actually about 0.75 seconds) then after reaching terminal velocity slammed head-on into the side of the shed. The side of the shed deflected about 3 inches, and I think the rear wheels of the tractor came off the ground when it stopped. I heard items falling off the shelves in the shed.

I was moving so fast that I couldn’t slow down before bouncing off the tractor and landing on the ground next to it. I sat on the ground, processing what just happened. Oh golly! Those weren't my exact thoughts. I am certain that if someone had a video camera trained on me this would have made “America’s Funniest Videos.” I am so grateful that no one had a camera.

With great effort I pulled the tractor back off the shed. The sheet metal is bent, both headlights are popped out, and the cowling doesn’t fit right anymore. I don’t have to worry about my son messing up the tractor. I beat him to it.

Freedom and Jugglers

I watched "Braveheart" this weekend. It reminded me that freedom is not free. Actually it is quite expensive. I recommend watching the movie if you have a strong stomach. I think I need to write my congressman and senator more often

Brain Drain

It has been a very, very long time since I have updated this blog and my Spirits Among Us blog. It isn't that there haven't been things to talk about or share, I've just had 100% of my time and creativity absorbed lately. I am grateful that I have not been traveling abroad lately, because it has given me time to work on two very important projects; my next film and a Christian media event.
It might appear to some that I have too much on "my plate" and I question that myself sometimes. But it always boils down to this, I am doing what I believe God is leading me to do, so I can't ignore any one of them, I have to pursue them. I used to use an analogy concerning my work in secular business (engineering) and my work in ministry business (Christian movie production). I likened it to having one foot on the dock (secular) and one foot on the boat (ministry). That was easy until the boat began moving from the dock. Eventually was going to have to either jump onto the boat or onto the dock, because my legs were getting stretched far apart.
I prayed about this often. It has been my desire for quite awhile to have a full-time ministry career. Yet I am still straining with one foot on the dock and one foot on the boat. God revealed to me three truths.
1. It is not a dock and a boat, but two boats, that I have my feet on
2. God is steering both boats
3. God is helping me to grow longer legs

Here is what this means in the real, non-analogy world:
1. I am doing what God wants me to do
2. I am moving in the right direction, His direction
3. He is helping me to manage people and multiple tasks better, without becoming overwhelmed
4. He is helping me to form teams that help me in achieving the goals He has set before me
5. By getting other people (teams) involved, God is able to use these activities to help them grow in their discipleship.

That is it for now. Please visit www.pottersreel.net to learn what we are doing with this conference. Please visit www.spiritsamongusmovie.blogspot.com in a few days to learn about the next movie we are working on.

Have a blessed day, thanks for reading.

Heaven and Hell

I came back from a nice weekend retreat with the church men's group to find out that we had a severe storm while I was gone. Lightning struck near our home and disabled a vcr/dvd player, the x-box, our vonage phone module, and my main computer. So, the mess you see in the first photo is of my office, messier than normal. My old computer is in computer heaven, which left me in computer hell for a couple days.

Our dog Sandy was little distressed. She normally lies on the office floor while I work. She takes little naps, snores, and barks in her sleep. The room was so cluttered she barely had enough room. It is great that she hangs out in the office while I work, it reminds me that life is not all about work. Naps, snoring and barking are important too.