I don’t get very excited when I think about heaven. Sometimes I actually get a little sad.

I love life on Earth.

I love succeeding and I love failing.

I love learning and I love teaching.

I love challenges and obstacles and I love overcoming them.

When I think about heaven, I envision a huge pipe organ, Birkenstock sandals, fluffy clouds, and little naked cupid angels.

I know I’m way off base, and I pray that God would drastically change the way I think.

Still though, there’s something so sweet about being an imperfect human, isn’t there?

There’s something so sweet about failing, picking yourself up and trying again…

And human emotion can be so incredibly warming to the soul.

What a great feeling it is to fall in love…

To watch someone grow up…

To watch them succeed…

And I hope there’s food in Heaven. Man, how I love to eat.

(written by Bill, not hoverFrog - working to fix this author issue)

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When the going gets tough it is so flippin’ easy to ask:

• Did I hear God right?
• Do I have what it takes?
• Am I even capable of doing this?
• “Do you have the right person, God?”
• “I thought I heard from you, God. Did you forget about me?”

And I am sure that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work, until it is finally finished. Philippians 1:6

1. God began the work.
2. The work is good.
3. He will continue HIS work.
4. He will finish what he started.

I hope that’s as encouraging to you as it is to me.

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Joel Osteen - please change your name to “Joel Olsteen,” as the world has come to know you. I know very few people who actually call you “Osteen,” as you’d argue it’s pronounced. I promise you that Your Best Life Now will be achieved after this much needed change.

Brett Favre - please change the spelling of your name to “Brett Farve,” as it is [for whatever reason] pronounced. And you should quit playing football too. I digress…another story for another blog.

Joel/Brett, if you’re reading this (which I’m sure you are - why wouldn’t you be?), please work with us here. Your surnames are in need of slight modification. You need a simple last name like me.

Please let us know when this task has been completed.

Sincerely,
Bill Cecchini (on behalf of the world, of course)

Join me in voting for Joel’s name change.

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When I think:

• how much I hate my job
• how I wish I was married
• how I am tired of being in this “middle” phase of my life
• how great tomorrow will be

I forget:

• how blessed I am to be able to work only two days a week so I can focus on school
• how much this dating phase will help a potential marriage
• how I’m being groomed, educated, shaped, and molded for the rest of my life
• how great today is/can still be

When we focus on what we don’t have, we can easily lose sight of what we do have. Even worse, we’ll soon find ourselves as unappreciative and ungrateful.

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Bill asked me this question:

If you were to die and find out that God DOES exist, do you think you’d go to heaven or hell?

A few years ago I came to the conclusion that if such a thing as hell existed in the universe of an all-powerful all-knowing Being who is all-good and all-compassionate, that all-powerful Being would do something to prevent any human going there. Because even the thought of any human being tortured forever would literally be hell to that all-powerful all-knowing all-good and all-compassionate Being. Even when I’m frustrated with my kids I don’t wish eternal torture on them. And obviously I’m not all-good and all-compassionate although I try not to be a complete jerk.

If the universe is being run by a sadistic monster, maybe a lot of people including me will find themselves in hell.

Actually I don’t think there’s anything I can do about it either way. I have no control over who runs the universe. Read the rest of this entry »

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I don’t have any kids. One day, but not yet.

I’ve heard that it’s pretty special watching your child grow up:

• Their first smile
• Learning to sit up
• Learning to crawl
• Making baby sounds that “I swear are words!”
• Taking their first step

A friend of mine recently told me about his year old son. He told me how special his son is to him…how he looks forward literally every moment that he gets to spend with him, no matter if the child is laughing, crying, happy, or cranky. His son is so special to him. Nothing could ever come between the love he has for him. He loves him more than he ever knew he could love.

He told me how his son is trying to walk. He pauses, finds his confidence, and takes a step. Sometimes he succeeds. Other times he fails and falls on his padded butt. Determined, he gets up and tries again. My friend told me how special it is to watch his son learn. Sometimes he rocks! Sometimes he gets frustrated and cries. Whenever son needs him though, daddy is right there to help.

I wonder if this isn’t a decent representation of our relationship with God…?
 

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I have two pups: Apple (on the left, chillin’) and Jack (on the right, curious). I love them
They are jealous dogs…waaaaayyy jealous. For example…

• If I’m petting one of them, no matter how sneaky I try to be, the other one always notices and and tries to steal my attention.
• If one licks me, the other licks me. They see who can lick more!
• If one is sitting and behaving, the other tries to sit tighter, obeying my every last command.
• If one wants to cuddle, the other wants to cuddle even closer!

As cute as it sounds, it’s actually kinda aggravating. I don’t want this fake love from them…I want real, authentic, “because I want to” love!

I wonder if God’s jealousy is as simple as this canine concept. He wants real, authentic, “because I want to” love. Hmmm…

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The book of Song of Solomon is funny; it reads like a cheesy romance novel! Seriously, have you ever read this stuff???

Ah, I hear him — my lover! Here he comes, leaping on the mountains and bounding over the hills. My lover is like a swift gazelle or a young deer.

Hahaha - the day you see me frolicking through the hills is the day that Satan wins the snowball fight in hell! 

Your breasts are like twin fawns of a gazelle, feeding among the lilies.

Um…gazelle fawns? That’s a good thing, right?

Oh, lover and beloved, eat and drink! Yes, drink deeply of this love!

Translation: Take me to Pleasure Town!

Christians look forward to marriage for one (among many) obvious reason: booty! I’ve often wondered what would happen in this potentially awkward situation:

My wife and I are laying down, alone, watching television. Flipping through the channels, something on TBN catches our eye. For a brief moment, we focus our attention on some Christian television. During commercial, my wife gives me that always- anticipated, never questioned “how YOU doin?” look.

Oh yeah -  It’s time to enjoy the fruits of marriage!

[Marvin Gaye singing...]

In a moment of silence, the television interrupts and reminds us that it’s still on…something about living my best life now???

Shocked at the possibility of what could be, my wife and I look up at the tv and see an unmistakable set of pearly whites: It’s Joel, and he’s preaching about [insert Christian-criticizing-Christian joke here].

That’s really the end of my story. I just wonder what that unfortunate experience would be like. Sex is ok (and encouraged)…we’re married. But it’s still weird to um…have sex with Christian television happening in the background, ya know?

Yeah, I’m weird, I know.
BTW, did you catch the Anchorman quote???

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Many say that we tend to form our opinions of God based on how our Earthly father treat(s)(ed) us. For me, that would make God an unloving enforcer whose only role was to tell me when I am wrong.

It’s no wonder why I have a hard time accepting God’s love for me and I feel the constant need to “perform.”

…

I feel the need to say that my father is an extremely hard worker and he does love his kids…just not in a very encouraging or obvious way.

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I tutor for a summer program. The first day there was this adorable little girl who was constantly calling out her classmate. I kept telling her “worry about yourself” instead of tattling.

And yet…

I complain about and secretly judge writers who spend more time whining about Mother Theresa and religion than actually contributing anything important to society. I roll my eyes in disgust when I see “religious” people talking about how much God hates their guts. About a week ago, I basically went off in two, count em two, Bible study groups back to back on how the church needs to be more actively loving and more giving.

However, on the drive back from the Bible studies, I realized how much I meet my own standards of being a “good Christian” who contributes greatly to society:

Not much.

Ouch.

If you looked up hypocrite in the dictionary, you’ll find my happy face with freaking arrows pointing towards it.

So why with the harsh judgment of others?

Maybe it’s because it’s easier to see their flaws. Or maybe it’s because it’s a heck of a lot harder to look at myself in the mirror and see what I have to work with.

I dunno.

I believe that I often forget how much grace God has given me over the years. And as I try to remind myself of this undeserved, yet unchanging grace that I am given, hopefully I can in turn show this same grace to others.

“Forgive those as you have been forgiven.”

Kindergartners can teach you a heck of a lot!

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