titus 1:6-9

An elder (overseer) must live a blameless life. He must be faithful to his wife, and his children must be believers who don’t have a reputation for being wild or rebellious. For an elder must live a blameless life. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered; he must not be a heavy drinker, violent, or dishonest with money. Rather, he must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must love what is good. He must live wisely and be just. He must live a devout and disciplined life. He must have a strong belief in the trustworthy message he was taught”

raise the bar

this specifically addresses elders, but let’s consider the possibility that it was written for a more general audience, ministers & leaders in the church. if i’m on a worship team, i’m not just an artist, i’m a minister, right? i stand on the same platform

yes, they all have something in common. check this out. did you know your brain releases high levels of the same chemical during an orgasm as it does when you’re about to jump out of a plane? oxytocin. i’ve been researching this wonder chemical this week & found that it causes feelings of bliss or euphoria, & is secreted when you’re in love and also fully satisfied after a good meal. the medicinal form has been coined as ‘liquid trust’, as it’s been proven (with studies on breast milk production & nursing) to calm nerves & strengthen human relational bonding.

i say chocolate can officially be grouped with these two, by default. while chocolate itself doesn’t contain oxytocin, the fats it contains cause the stomach to signal the brain to release oxytocin…immediately. aaaaaaah. that’s what i’m talkin’ about. which answers why some refer to it as an aphrodesiac. be right back ~ off to the hershey kiss stash in my highest cupboard…(meanwhile, check out this interesting video i found, of how hershey makes their chocolate!)

….ok, i’m back. anyway, check out this article called ‘chocolate on the brain’ for more melt-in-your-mouth info or this one called “the two faces of oxytocin” for a well-rounded psychological perspective on the chemical. after reading them myself, i was so stunned how the human brain works in tandem with the body, that i told my husband all about my findings, to which he replied, “huh! how ’bout we see what it’s like to do all three at once? except chocolate’s just so high in sugar…and…we don’t have the money for skydiving, so…”

this is what braylon prayed about an hour ago:

God, help dad to act like you…

and help him to drive home safe…

and if he goes swimming in a cold swimming pool, that he won’t be cold even if there’s ice cubes in it.

what happens when your world, as peaceful & good as you think it is, falls apart almost suddenly? what do you do when you hear the news - the kind of news that not just changes your year, but your entire life? you can try to move on, do your best to reconcile your feelings of disappointment & confusion. you may find it easier, in the moment, to skirt around the issue or even ignore it. have you ever had a child stand 2 inches from your face, staring at you? it seems impossible to not look back. ignoring never works. looking back is ok until we can say “i’m doing everything i can do to let God work.” looking back as a means of facing your own short-comings with humility & honesty so that you can learn from them, is different than “dwelling in the past”. looking back for short periods with a heart of thankfulness and self-examination is crucial. remembering triggers, thought patterns, habits & lures can be hugely instrumental in keeping us from making poor choices in the future.

and yet, even when we believe it’s been pretty well worked out, reminders have their way, don’t they.

my son helps with a few things around the house like dust-busting the kitchen floor, cleaning, and emptying the dishwasher. tuesday he was moving all the cups to the counter and trying a shortcut by stacking them. just as i saw him stack two glasses, i chimed in, “woah, there! you shouldn’t stack glasses!” quickly, he pulled the top one out of the other. “…they could br…” and it shattered. thin shards flickered all across the floor.

5 years. pornography and a messy affair threatened to obliterate our unity as a family. oh, that’s not how long it lasted. that’s how long ago it happened. both our lives were terribly affected by the lies. there is hope!! but trust is so slow moving. even after this long… after so many boundaries and kept promises, after our marriage has seriously grown, & we are restored, i can still step on a sharp piece of broken glass. it’s few & far between, but we still struggle. we haven’t done all our learnin’ just yet.

a strange text message or email, a late poker night with work friends…they can lead to lies in my head. those bastards (the lies) can stab my sole and make it bleed ’til of course, we talk it out like grown-ups. me & my husband…and me & my God. and i’m healed again.

trust breaks. it happens with abandonment, or the death of someone very close. it happens with verbal or physical or sexual abuse or when a parent lets you down. it happens when your son looks you in the eye & lies.

but i continually find comfort in this truth: His mercies really are new every morning.

have you ever committed to building trust again after it was shattered? how long did it take to restore? do those stupid tiny pieces of broken glass ever really go away…completely?

so head over to braylon.com for a bunchanew pix & an entirely new design ricky’s been workin’ on! he rocks. but, there are even more (below) that didn’t get included (from my camera)…enjoy!

austin’s park and pizza, yum-yum cake & gifts (like this spi-dog, spiderman tracing laptop & lilo & stitch 2!)

watermania at frank & sherry’s pool, with ‘gamma’ janis & ‘papa bob’

R: How was church today?
B: Well, something good and bad happened.

R: What’s that?
B: Well the good thing is that I shared my gum with my friends.

R: Good job buddy!
B: But the bad thing is that I don’t have any more gum now!

(thanks, ricky for the details on this one)

my favorite song right now? ‘burn us up‘, by shane and shane. lyrics from the latest album, “pages“, display honesty and transparency, continually bringing the listener back to the most important source, Jesus Christ.

‘burn us up’, when you learn & sing it yourself, provides a fresh way to express to God a higher level of brokenness, surrender & complete devotion. ironically, this song gives me chills, especially when the music dies out a bit 3/4 into it as they sing, “and even if you don’t…

i just had to get a shot of bray on his 6th birthday, today…8-08-’08 at 8:08am

lame that the alarm clock didn’t show the time cuz of the glare, but you’ll just have to take my word for it! maybe we’ll try again tonight. we be headed to his last t-ball game @ 8 in the mornin’ followed by shave-ice, & then for dinner, austin’s park & pizza with friends, family! later on, cake & presents ~ this’ll be fun.

meanwhile, today, we’re off to play in the creek!