Summer time is the season of movies. With an impressive lineup this year’s group of blockbusters promises not to disappoint. So far this summer I’ve seen Wolverine and Star Trek. In the coming months I will be able to sufficiently satisfy my inner nerd with the next Transformers movie, a live action GI Joe, and the sixth Harry Potter. The summer also looks to have several other gems like the Disney movie “Up.” Not being one who really enjoys paying $20 to sit in a theater I know I won’t see everything that interests me this summer but I’m sure this lineup will fill my Netflix queue for the coming months. By the way, you think if I continue to shamelessly pug various products I’ll get some free stuff? Can’t hurt trying, right?

Alas, as for my movie experience this summer…we can talk about that next time. God is Everywhere.

Last week was a big moment in our family. It was a proud moment for any father. We took C to her 1^st professional sporting event. We went the Braves’ game. She seemed to know that it was a special day cause even as we walked through the parking lot she was bouncing in the stroller. As we got into the Ted (Turner Field) there are large cartoon network chacters just inside the gate and I think that convinced C that this was going to be a great place to be. Even though I prefer football, I must confess there is something very special about a baseball field that just invites you in and even a 2 year old can understand that. C was fascinated with everything. From the folding seats to the big screen to the cheering people she enjoyed to whole thing.

It was fun to review with her the finer points of the game. Like the use of the hit and run and a full count breaking ball. Of course her conceptual grasp at this point is “out”. She’s all over “out”, so I guess that’s a start. She had a hot dog, and did her 1^st tomahawk chop. I’m not sure I really sold her on cotton candy as a snack but she enjoyed tearing it off and feeding it to me, and that means more for me.

Even though the Braves lost it was a great evening. We weren’t really watching the game. The real show was in the seat next to us. Every cheer got C excited and she really enjoyed dancing to the mid inning music. And toward the later innings she curled up in my arms and we watch the Braves attempt a comeback as we snuggled in the upper deck. Who needs World Series tickets when you can go to a meaningless mid May game with a two year old.

I have never been who has overly concerned myself with getting a lot of sleep. I like to sleep but I’ve never needed to get a lot of sleep. Some people know they need at least 8 or more hours of sleep. For some people their sleep pattern is more like a savings and loan office, if they get 5 hours tonight, 7 tomorrow, they could then stay up all night if the sleep for 37 hours the next day.

For me its not complicated. I need 5 or 6 hours to be functional the next day. I’d prefer more but that’s what I need. In college it was 3-4 but alas old age and all. By my calculations at this rate by the time I’m 40 I will require 18 hours of sleep a night, 27 hours by the time I’m 55, but that’s a problem for another days. Now just because I know how much sleep I need doesn’t mean I will always make sure to get it. Seems dumb I know but if you read previous posts you’ll see that my judgment is not to be trusted. Now, we all know that we need a certain amount of sleep to function and if we don’t get it then we either feel lousy the next day or worse can’t do anything at all. However I have a theory (perhaps one induced by a lack of sleep but its my theory none the less). I believe that we all have a point, well below our normal sleep threshold, that our body kicks in spite of the sleep deprivation, for me its 2 hours. As curious as it seems if I get 2 hours of sleep I can kick it in and make it through the next day. I don’t recommend it and I may not enjoy the day as much but I can make it.

This was the case this past week. I was sick most of the weekend and didn’t feel up to doing much. Saturday evening I was more than excited to see my bed. I threw myself in and prepared for the long and much needed rest. Sadly it did not come. I lay there, and tossed and turned and after a couple hours I decided I needed a break from my not sleeping. I got up and did some work, and then played on facebook. After a while I knew that I was now ready for sleep, but upon returning to the bed I endured 2 more hours of sleepless lying. I ended up getting about 2 hours of sleep, and when I got up it was with a resentful resignation. It was almost like my body had decided I was a huge jerk for setting the alarm but it was going to bail me out none the less. The 5 loaves and 2 fish got nothing on what my body can do on 2 hours of sleep. I made through a very full Sunday and even was able to enjoy preaching that evening. And that’s my theory. I think everyone need to find that sleep deprivation sweet spot.

Now the proverbial rest of the story is that Tiff let me sleep in the next day and I vowed to myself to get plenty of rest from now on…and this time I mean it…at least for now.

Sometimes I’m amazed that I have made it almost thirty years in one piece. I would like to think of myself as a smart enough person but the truth be told when I get in bed some nights I just have to think, “how did I get through this day without getting myself killed?” Just when I’m prepared to declare myself a functionally intelligent person I am reminded that it is only by the grace of God that it is not me as that last news story of the evening. “And in a stranger story, a local man was killed today when he poked a wild badger with a spoon.”

I was most recently reminded of my own intellectual mortality when I purchased a package of callus remover for my feet (don’t worry, this is not a gross foot story). The package said it 4 cushions with medicated discs. After using them for 3 days I went to get the last one from the pack. A smaller package fell out. Somewhat baffled, I investigated and found that they were the medicated discs packaged separately from the cushions. So apparently, for the last 3 days I only wore the cushion with no medicine under them. I guess a pesamist would say that I don’t have enough cushions for my medicine, I’m an optimist, the foot medicine is half full at the Coder house. Now before you laugh too hard remember that but by the grace of God go you too.

There is so much we can learn from these early chapters of John. This week in AMP I will be talking about the picture of worship that Jesus describes in John 4 but for now I want to look at the parallel that are made between needs of the body and the needs of the soul. The Samaritan woman confused the two. She was out to meet her physical need while Jesus was waiting to meet her spiritual needs.

There is a truth of all of us, whether we like to admit it or not, when we come to Jesus. We all come to have a need met. Usually not our greatest need, to be made right before God, but all too often we come to the Lord because we have a need that we believe is the most pressing of matters when in fact it pales in light of God truly wants to do in our lives. We come to the cross because we think, or hope, or have nowhere else to turn, and maybe we can have our needs met. We all come selfishly, at least initially. This is good, and it is the only way we can come. Jesus didn’t speak to those he healed about repentance first; he simply met their immediate need and then moved on to their need they didn’t even know about. The woman in the story was so concerned about the well’s water that she didn’t understand Jesus was offering her soul water, but when her eyes were opened she wanted the Lord’s forgiveness and then went to tell anyone who would listen about what had happened.

We all come out of need to Christ, but then when the hard times pass and our needs are met we tend to drift away. This is where we starve our souls. We come and drink the water and leave until we are so parched we can no longer continue. We will only truly grow when we learn to drink deeply, not because we need God to get us out of our need but because we develop a need to dwell in the presence of God. This is true and authentic worship, and it’s the only thing that will resonate with the world around us. And in the end that’s how we let the world know that God is everywhere.

I’ve been watching a lot of videos as of late, being that I am the minister of modern media (not to be confused with old media), and this is by far one of my favorites. There is almost too much funny in this video. So get your game day apparel set, and enjoy.