5 years!

Yesterday my special lady and I celebrated 5 years of marriage.  I realize that for many people reading this, 5 years is nothing - we're still in our 'infancy' in our marriage life.  That being said, there are a lot of marriages that don't get to the 5 year mark...but that's not what I'm here to talk about.

It's been a great 5 years.  She is awesome, and I am blessed.  We're actually quite 'lucky' because we really don't argue all that often...we're generally on the same page with everything.  I guess that's what marrying the right person can do - you think the same way, laugh at the same jokes, and have the same beliefs, all of which are important and guiding factors in all of our lives.  Having someone on the same track as you makes life a whole lot simpler.

I've also learned that marriage - and fatherhood - is a lot of work.  Great, rewarding work, but work nonetheless.  It takes time.  Effort.  And perhaps hardest of all, self-sacrifice.  But that last point is huge.  I think part of the reason our marriage has been so smooth - among many other things of course - is that we always put each other first.  That means that when we're sitting on the couch downstairs and she mentions that she's thirsty, I go get her a glass of water.  Even if it means getting out of my comfortable, cozy position on a wonderfully warm couch, and walking all the way upstairs when I'm tired and all I want to do is sit and relax.  I do it because she's first.  And that means that when I did the morning shift for so many years (pre-kids), she would wake up with me at 4am everyday to fix me a breakfast and lunch.  It means you put the other person's needs above your own.  (This is biblically based stuff too - check out Philippians 2:3-4, and Mark 10:44-45.)

I know we're only at the 5 years mark, but I look forward to many more years of serving my wife.  And to any unfortunately immature guys out there who think that's me being "whipped", it's not.  It's the key to a happy marriage.  Try it.

T-shirt war

I'm not one to talk about celebrities.  In fact, I generally couldn't care less about their lives, pop-culture, and the media fascination.  But this...this is different.  This is fantastic.

Macauley Culkin has become my hero for the day.  This t-shirt battle between him and Ryan Gosling is epic.

It started with...(still don't know why he is wearing this...)

To which Macauley Culkin replied:

BEST RESPONSE EVER!

Now if the photoshoppers are actually able to predict the future and this happens, I'll be thrilled:

Now while this is truly fantastic, it's not the best t-shirt war to grace the world, and it's not the original. THIS is perhaps the best t-shirt battle ever created.  Enjoy!

Boko Haram

The world has been gripped by the news of what's happening in Nigeria - 276 teenage school girls kidnapped by an extreme terrorist group called Boko Haram (which means 'western education is sinful'), who are looking to implement a strict Muslim state.

If you've listened to LIFE for a while, the name Boko Haram is not new to you.  You've heard it several times on 'Beyond the Comfort Zone', where I look at the struggles and persecutions of Christians around the world.  Nigeria is one of the worst places because of Boko Haram, and every couple of weeks a new story emerges of Christians being slaughtered, churches being burned, etc...  Hundreds of Christians are chased down, and brutally tortured and murdered by this group every year.  (In fact, the group kills thousands of people each year - a quick internet search will turn up dozens of stories, many of them recent.)

Now there's this story of the captured teenage girls.  It's maddening that this still happens in our day and age.  It's infuriating that people still haven't learned to treat each other with respect, that some see themselves as better than others.  And it's frustrating that it takes the capture of almost 300 teenage girls for the world to finally take notice of one of the worst terrorist groups in the world.

Now on the positive side of that last frustration, it's good that the world has finally noticed, and is doing something about it (better late than never). Canada, the US, and Britain have all offered help in finding the girls.  There is mounting pressure on the Nigerian government, international news coverage, and several social media campaigns.  We pray for the safe return of these girls.  And we pray that this will be the catalyst for the world to start to take note of Boko Haram, their religious extremism, and their persecution of Christians.