Playoff bound

so it's official. i got tickets for both Micah and me to head, with another father/son, to game 3 of the Celtics/Cavs playoffs in boston. i have wanted to go to a basketball playoff game since Larry Bird and the Celtics lost to the Lakers in '87. sky hook by Magic, eesh.

game is next friday, long drive to boston, but totally worth it. i told my 9 year old about it today, and he was ecstatic. he already made a poster that he is planning to hold up at the game. (so if you see a green blip in the nose bleed section, that might be us.) It says, "go cavs". NO, i'm totally kidding. he has green blood like me.

fascinating how a son takes after a father without there being much effort in it. seems very natural, instinctual, perhaps you could say, God-given. i guess that's why our spiritual instincts incline us to be like our heavenly father. but only if we spend some good quality time with him. maybe it's time for a "road trip" with the Father?

as much as i got hyped about the game, it is nothing compared to the thrill of being able to take my son. it is nothing compared with his face expression today when i told him he was coming along for the ride. it is nothing compared to seeing him make that poster.

i bet God feels the same way when i am truly excited to be with him.

Is Donald Miller My Friend?

i am a pretty big fan of donald miller, especially the book, "to own a dragon". reading the book made me feel like don knew me. and that, in a sense, i knew him. that's why this video that i saw on a blog today was hilarious (stuff Christians like).

even if you don't know don, i think you will find it funny as well!

the colonel's secret recipe

i have a cold. so i took some nyquil the other night to knock me out, but it didn't work. so i found myself on the couch in the middle of the night watching a biography on CNBC. i figured, if that didn't put me to sleep then nothing would. nyquil and CNBC--a sleepy combination.

anyways, i found myself watching about the life of colonel sanders. interesting guy. he came up with an 11th herb (or was it a spice?) to his already award winning chicken, wrote it on the wall of his basement, and only let his daughter see it. the secret recipe has been hidden ever since.

but as i watched, another interesting fact stood out to me. harland sanders didn't open up his first franchise restaurant until after he went broke when he was 65 years old. that's right, broke at 65, but it didn't stop him.

it turns out that the real secret ingredient in colonel sander's life was actually perseverance. most people at 65 are ready to retire. he could have accepted his failure, taken his pension, and moved on. but instead he went on to create one of the most successful fast food chains in America.

the Bible teaches us to persevere when faced with many obstacles. it says that enduring trials is the secret to spiritual progress. tough to hear, harder to live.

so if you are in a trial, ask God to help you, and hang in there. you may not end up with a franchise of chicken houses, but you still might find something else that is 'finger lick'n good'!

i suddenly feel hungry.

cutest kid that isn't mine

i have 3 children. they are awesome. people say that my face lights up when i talk (-read brag) about them. but i admit i am extremely biased.



it's interesting to listen to people talk about their own children. they could be complete monsters. they could be future serial killers or terrorists. heck, they could even like country music. it doesn't matter, the same is usually true: parents love their own children.



i remember my wife one time talking about why she hates working in the church nursery. it's simple: she can't change someone elses kid's diaper. changing her own kids? easy. changing someone elses--not so much. i have changed many a kid's diaper in my day, but all of them had the last name tucker.



all of this has me thinking of the love of God. it wasn't enough for him to have us be someone else's kid. he adopted us as his own. he loves us as his own. he is as biased about me as i am about my own children--even more so. what a wonderful thought.



here's a youtube clip that i thought was perhaps the cutest thing i have seen that wasn't one of my own kids...