What’s on my mind tonight

It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything…and I apologize. Usually I like to make a plan about posts, but this one is being written straight from my cellphone…so we’ll see where this goes.

Tonight we went to our church for Saturday evening services. We’ve found that going to church Saturday night instead of Sunday morning is better for Elijah…and anything that helps him ultimately helps US too! Our church theme stems from Psalm 11:3…which says: “if the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” or putting it another way, “if the foundations aren’t destroyed, what can the wicked do?” With these thoughts, our pastor has put together 6 foundation subjects and has called us to attend when these messages are preached, calling them 100% attendance weekends.

This weekend, the foundation subject was about Jesus. Isn’t it interesting how you can read a section of scripture one time and something sticks out, then read it again sometime later and something else sticks out? Well, tonight it happened to me.

Before I let you know what stood out, let me just say that I sometimes feel like I have ADHD or maybe a “controlled” ADHD. Reading books was so hard for me when I was younger because I could never read a full page without my mind wandering (sometimes about what was on the page, sometimes about something completely different). Well…my mind wanders during sermons too. Sometimes it’s to recall something a different pastor said about the current subject matter. Sometimes it’s focusing on an error that was said. Other times it’s hoping that the preacher goes in a particular direction with the sermon (it typically does not).

Tonight my mind started to wander when we talked about how Barabbas was the first in a long line of people who Jesus was a substitute for. The whole prison scene really got me thinking (here comes the wandering…as well as the thought that this is where the sermon should go). One could say that sin has put us ALL in dark prison…with a death sentence. Jesus has the “get out of jail free” card and all we have to do is accept it. Sure, that’s simplifying things…but in a world of complexity, isn’t it nice to hear something simple for a change?

It does make you (or maybe just me) wonder about those that choose not to accept Jesus. Using my analogy above, these are people in prison, told that they can get out for free and choose to stay in prison…knowing (or maybe not) that their coming execution is coming. It’s hard to imagine someone not wanting to get out of prison…until you read 2 Corinthians 4:3-4: “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

See…the problem isn’t that people don’t want to get out of prison necessarily. It’s that they don’t see that they’re living in a prison because the “god of this world” (Satan) has blinded them to the truth. As my pastor has said multiple times, “you wouldn’t slap a blind person for not seeing something, right?”

 

2015 Independence Day Fireworks in Chicagoland

 

 

I haven’t done this in a few years, but I thought I’d consolidate a list of towns in the Chicago area that are having Independence Day fireworks. The links where I obtained this information is at the end. Have a happy & safe 4th of July!

 

Antioch – July 4 @ dusk @ Williams Park

Arlington Heights – July 4 @ dusk @ Arlington Heights Racetrack

Aurora – July 3 @ 9:30pm @ River Edge Park

Barrington – July 4 @ dusk @ Barrington High School

Bartlett – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Apple Orchard Park

Batavia – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Engstrom Park

Beecher – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Firemen’s Park

Bensenville – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Redmond Recreational Complex

Bolingbrook – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Bolingbrook Golf Club

Buffalo Grove – July 4 @ dusk @ Village Hall Campus

Burbank – June 27 @ 9:30pm @ Michael Looney Park

Burr Ridge – July 4 @ dusk @ Walker Park

Carol Stream – July 4 @ 9:20pm @ Ross Ferraro Town Center

Cary – July 3 @ dusk @ Lions Park

Channahon – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Community Park

Chicago – July 4 @ dusk @ Navy Pier

Chicago Heights – July 2 @ 9pm @ Bloom High School’s North Soccer Field 

Crystal Lake – July 5 @ dusk @ Main Beach

Deerfield – July 3 @ 9:15pm @ Brickyards Park

Downers Grove – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Zigfield Troy Golf

East Chicago – July 3 @ dusk @ East Chicago Marina Boardwalk

Elgin – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Festival Park

Elk Grove – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Lions Park

Evanston – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Sheridan Road & Church Street

Evergreen Park – July 2 @ dusk @ Duffy Park

Fox Lake – July 4 @ dusk @ Fox Lake

Fox River Grove – July 11 @ dusk @ Picnic Grove Park 

Frankfort – July 4 @ dusk@ Main Park

Glen Ellyn – July 4 @ dusk @ Lake Ellyn Park

Glencoe – July 4 @ 9pm @ Lakefront Park

Glendale Heights – July 8 @ 9:30pm @ Camera Park 

Glendale Heights – July 12 @ 9:30pm @ Camera Park 

Glenview – July 4 @ dusk  @ Gallery Park

Glenwood – July 4 @ dusk @ Glenwoodie Golf Course

Gurnee – July 4 @ dusk @ Six Flags Great America

Gurnee – July 5 @ dusk @ Six Flags Great America

Hawthorn Woods – July 3 @ dusk @ Community Park

Highland Park – July 4 @ dusk @ Wolter Field

Hoffman Estates – July 4 @ dusk @ Sears Centre Arena

Homer Glen – June 26 @ 9:30pm @ Township Sports Fields

Huntley – July 4 @ 9pm @ Diecke Park

Itasca – July 4 @ 9:45pm @ Hamilton Lakes 

Johnsburg – July 4 @ dusk @ Oak Park Lounge

Joliet – July 4 @ dusk @ Memorial Stadium

Kirkland – July 4 @ 9:30am @ Hiawatha High School football field

Lake Forest – July 4 @ 9:40pm @ Deerpath Community Park

Lake Zurich – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Paulus Park

Lansing – July 4 @ dusk @ Lan-Oak Park

Lemont – July 3 @ dusk @ Centennial Park 

Libertyville – July 4 between 9:15-9:30 @ Butler Lake Park

Lincolnshire – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Spring Lake Park

Lisle – July 2 @ 9:45pm @ 1825 Short Street (Eye to the Sky Festival)

Lisle – July 3 @ 9:45pm @ 1825 Short Street (Eye to the Sky Festival)

Lisle – July 4 @ 9:45pm @ 1825 Short Street (Eye to the Sky Festival)

Lockport – July 3 @ dusk @ Dellwood Park

Lombard – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Madison Meadow Park 

Midlothian – June 26 @ 9:30pm @ Memorial Park

McHenry – July 4 @ dusk @ Petersen Park

Momence – July 4 @ dusk @ Island Park

Morton Grove – July 4 @ dusk @ Harrar Park

Mt. Prospect – July 4 @ dusk @ Melas Park

Mundelein – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Kracklauer Park

Naperville – July 4 @ 9pm @ Knoch Park

Northbrook – July 4 @ dusk @ Velodrome

Northlake – July 3 @ 9:30pm @ West Leyden High School 

Oak Brook – July 3 @ dusk @ Oak Brook Sports Core Grounds

Oak Forest – July 4 @ dusk @ 159th & Central

Oak Lawn – July 4 @ dusk @ Richards High School

Oak Park – July 4 @ dusk @ River Forest High School

Orland Park – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Centennial Park

Oswego – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Prairie Point Park 

Palatine – July 3 @ dusk @ Community Park

Palos Heights – July 3 @ 9:15pm @ 76th Avenue & College Drive

Park Ridge – July 3 @ dusk @ Maine East High School

Pingree Grove – July 11 @ dusk @ baseball fields near Cambridge Lakes Dr. & Wester Blvd.

Plainfield – July 3 @ dusk @ Plainfield Central High School

Rolling Meadows – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Salk Park Community Center 

Romeoville – July 3 @ 9:15pm @ Village Park

Roselle – July 3 @ dusk @ Lake Park High School West

Rosemont – July 2 @ MB Financial Park

Round Lake Beach – July 4 @ dusk @ Cultural Center

Sandwich – July 5 @ dusk @ Sandwich Fairgrounds

Schaumburg – September 3 @ dusk @ Boomers Stadium

Skokie – July 4 @ dusk @ Niles West High School

Sleepy Hollow – July 4 @ dusk @ Sabatino Park

South Holland – July 4 @ 9:10pm @ Veterans Memorial Park

Spring Grove – July 4 @ dusk @ Horse Fair Park

St. Charles – July 4 @ dusk @ Pottawatomie Park

Streator – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Streator Township High School football field 

Streamwood – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Dolphin Park 

Sugar Grove – July 25 @ dusk @ Volunteer Park

Summit – July 3 @ 9:15pm @ Summit Park 

Thornton – July 4 @ dusk @ Hubbard Park

Tinley Park – July 4 @ 9:15pm@ McCarthy Park

Vernon Hills – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Century Park

The Village of Hawthorn Woods – July 3 @ dusk @ Community Park

Vernon Hills – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Century Park

Warrenville – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Cerny Park

Wauconda – July 3 @ dusk @ Cook Park

Waukegan – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Downtown Waukegan

Westmont – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Ty Warner Park

Wheaton – July 3 @ dusk @ Graf Park

Wheeling – July 3 @ 9:15pm @ Chicago Executive Airport

Wilmette – July 3 @ 9:30pm @ Gilson Park

Wilmington – July 5 @ dusk @ North Island Park

Winnetka – July 4 @ 9:15pm @ Duke Childs Field

Woodridge – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Zigfield Troy Golf

Woodstock – July 4 @ dusk @ Emricson Park

Vernon Hills – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Century Park 

Yorkville – July 4 @ dusk @ just south of Menards

Zion – July 4 @ 9:30pm @ Shiloh Park

 

Sites: http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20150628/entlife/150629282/

http://fireworksinillinois.com/

http://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/worth-the-trip/Where-to-Watch-Fireworks-in-the-Chicago-Area-for-July-4th-310816401.html

http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/lake-illinois-mchenry-counties-4th-of-july-2015-fireworks-displays/816537/

http://abc7chicago.com/entertainment/dupage-kane-dekalb-counties-4th-of-july-2015-fireworks-displays/816494/

http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/06/23/2015-fourth-of-july-fireworks-around-chicago-northwest-indiana/

 

Sticks & Stones

Sticks & stones may break my bones but names will never hurt me.

You’ve heard the above saying, right? As children, we’ve had this mantra drilled into our heads…to the point where we start to believe it…and then question the ones who taught us this saying when reality says the opposite. Let’s dispel the lie right now by saying: names do hurt.

I’ve experienced this first-hand at my high school. I was made fun of and called two names (to my face, that is. Who knows how many others were created and used behind my back). One was because of a science project I did. The other was because of my athletic ability combined with my strict adherence to the gym uniform. Let me make this clear…I hated both names. I made this known to the ones that called me these names…but they kept doing it. You’d figure that this level of bullying wouldn’t occur at a Christian school…but you’d be wrong. You’d figure that you’d be safe from being called these names from a teacher at the same Christian school…but you’d again be wrong. It was tough sometimes to make it through the day.

For those that are familiar with my situation, this is why I chose to sit out a few seasons of playing basketball for the school. It’s hard to play with people that are your “teammates” on the court and then make fun of you once you step off the court.

It was a simpler time then. Much simpler than today. In fact, if you turn on the news you may discover a case where cyber bullying of a young girl by two classmates led the girl to commit suicide. In a strange case of media mimicking reality, last night’s episode of Blue Bloods had a case where a girl committed suicide because her brother was cyber bullying her. Texting, You Tube, Facebook & the rest of the internet has made cyber bullying possible…turning what was a small private shame into humiliation on steroids.

To make matters worse, our so-called ‘leaders’ are guilty of the same name-calling tactics. This was put on display for all to see when the US government was “shut down” and nearing it’s debt ceiling. How many times did we see the blame game for who was at fault? It was sickening…you guys are adults, right? But then, democratic “leaders” took it to a whole new level by calling some of the Tea Party congressmen “terrorists”. Ok, this is why it took so long to get a deal done…just like how I didn’t want to play with people that called me names in high school, the same could be said about the Republican party playing “nice” with the democrats.

The name calling hurts…STOP IT!!!

 

Wrong place, wrong subject

I know I haven’t posted here in a while, and I apologize, however I’ve been a tad busy. For those that aren’t a friend of mine on Facebook, I’ve recently become a father!! My son, Elijah David was born on June 20th at 8:18 pm. It’s a VERY long story…but a good one, as I believe it’s one that clearly demonstrates God giving us a trial so that we could rely upon Him for all people involved to be healed. Before I get to that though, something has been weighing on my heart as of late that I’d like to address now.

During our stay at the hospital, we were visited by one of my older brothers. A topic was raised that was brought up at Thanksgiving the year before: abortion. Yeah, that’s right…talking about abortion in the hospital while looking at my son in the NICU of all places. What surprised me was that he was FOR it…and not just for other people. He implied that if he and his wife got pregnant again (they have 2 boys) that it would be an option to consider.

WHAT?!?!?!

I know I just became a father, but I have a hard time understanding what would make a man want to kill an unborn child…it just blows my mind. To think that someone would want to harm an innocent, defenseless child, in their most vulnerable place (the womb) is just beyond cruel in my mind. What reason could one possibly give to justify this brutal act?? Ah…because they’re ‘older’. I can understand not wanting to have more children after a certain age, but there are ways to ‘fix’ the situation without having anyone killed.

To make matters worse (again, in my mind), is that my brother is a Christian (as am I). I have not asked him this but I’d LOVE to hear his justification for abortion, using scripture. I mean, if you’re a follower of Christ, you follow his instructions found in scripture…is that too big of a leap to assume? While I don’t see any justification for abortion, I do see messages of responsibility…of love…of remaining under the trial that God has allowed.

The book of James even says to “Count it all joy…when you meet trials of various kinds”. Why joy? Well, I like to think that when you experience a trial, God has His focus on you…to see what you’ll do…if you’re up to the challenge so-to-speak. That ought to make you feel kinda special. I mean, there are billions of people on this planet and He chose you with this particular trial. James goes on to say that the trial is to test your faith to produce steadfastness…so that you may be “perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” We see this in sports all the time. While we’ll see the final product on TV, what you don’t see is the countless hours of painstaking practice, strength training and other assorted tasks that athletes must go through so that they can even GET to the final stage.

I did end up telling my brother that life is precious and that any attempt to take this life away is inhumane. I also told him that at some point in our lives, we either have to trust God with everything that we have or not. Why is it so easy to say that God is God in church, but so hard to say that outside of church? Is recognizing Jesus as Savior easier than acknowledging Him as Lord of our life?

 

Something that was on my heart today

Have you ever found yourself asking the question, “Is (fill-in-the-blank) wrong?”. I think many times we focus in on this question and cause ourselves un-needed stress as we war over what truly is “wrong”. For example, is smoking wrong? Is investing in a 401k wrong (it involves risk, which can be viewed as gambling)? Is watching a certain TV show wrong? I could go on with the questions, but I think you get the point. These questions don’t have direct answers from Scripture, so the battle rages within the Christian…what are we to do?

In my opinion, I believe we’re asking the wrong question. We shouldn’t be asking if something is wrong, but rather, is it right? Is this action God-honoring? Further, is what’s troubling us going to cause tension between us and our Saviour? Would the world, who doesn’t know Christ, not see the difference between us and the world due to the matter? Would my action detour one from knowing Jesus?

When viewed from this perspective, I think many once troubling questions have relatively easy answers. God calls us to a higher standard of living…so live it for Him and to the fullest.