Boundaries

Today is a great day! I woke up to my family singing Happy Birthday dad, breakfast, and hot coffee. We actually had a family breakfast at the table, which never happens, especially on a school day. Yep, today I turned the big 40! Pretty crazy. 40? 40? When you actually say 40, it makes it sound like I have moved into the next speed limit zone. Does that mean that the days go by faster? I am not entirely sure yet, but I will let you know how it goes.

We also had family devotions at breakfast. Tracy shared some great thoughts from 2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" Here are the powerful words that made me aware of His presence today.

Jesus is the Risen One who shines upon us always. We worship a living Diety, not some idolatrous, man-made image. Our relationship with Him is meant to be vibrant and challenging, as He invades more and more areas of our life. Do not fear change, for He is making us a new creation, with old things passing away and new things continually on the horizon. When we cling to old ways and sameness, we resist His work within us. He wants us to embrace all that He is doing in our life, finding our serenity in Him alone.

It is easy to make an idol of routine, finding security within the boundaries that we build around our life. Although each day contains twenty-four hours, every single one presents a unique set of circumstances. Don't try to force-fit today into yesterday's mold. Instead, ask Him to open your eyes, so you can find all that He has prepared for you in this precious day of life.

As I move from one "speed limit zone" to the next, what boundaries do I find that I have created in my life? May I not resist, but embrace, what God has prepared for me today.

What boundaries have you created in your life?

What do I lack?

A wealthy young man asked Jesus, "What good thing must I do to get eternal life?" Jesus said, "Why do you question me about what's good? God is the One who is good. If you want to enter the life of God, just do what he tells you." The man asked, "What in particular?"

Jesus said, "Don't murder, don't commit adultery, don't steal, don't lie, honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as you do yourself."

The young man said, "I've done all that. What do I lack?"

"If you want to give it all you've got," Jesus replied, "go sell your possessions; give everything to the poor. All your wealth will then be in heaven. Then come follow me."

That was the last thing the young man expected to hear. And so, he hung his head and he walked away. He was holding on tight to a lot of things, and he couldn't bear to let go.

Matthew 19:16-22

As I read through this interesting dialogue this morning, at first I could not relate to it. I do not have alot of money. I do not have alot of material wealth. I began to dismiss it and thought I was off the hook.

But that four word hook, got me..."What do I lack?"

WHAT do i lack?

what DO i lack?

what do I lack?

what do i LACK?

What do I lack ? Wow, this guy had alot of guts to ask Jesus this question. He was basically giving Jesus permission to call him on anything in his life that was more important than his relationship to Jesus. And Jesus did! This young mans unwavering passion for his money and material things kicked any thought of a relationship with Jesus, to the curb.

When Jesus told him what he lacked, he hung his head and went away sad because he had great wealth.

We cannot love God with all of our hearts and yet keep other parts of our lives to ourselves. Loving him totally means using every parts of our lives in ways that please him.

Does anything come before God in your life?

Here are some things that may come before God in your life:

• pride and personal independence
• happiness at any cost
• desire for power
• desire for recognition
• pursuing personal wants
• deception is acceptable
• weak commitments

Personal question of the day:

What do I lack?

ASK A PRO ANYTHING

Last week I was out fishing Black Dog slough on the Willamette River with my good friend Larry Cross. It was a rrreeeeaaalllllyyy ssslllooowww day. After a few hours with no bites, you begin to evaluate everything: location, tackle, bait selection, fishing too fast/slow, etc. I began to think in my head, "I wonder how so-and-so would fish this slough?" " I wonder what they would do differently and why?"

It is amazing what you can learn when you are willing to simply ask a few questions. Sometimes the smallest tweak to what you are currently doing, makes all the difference in the world.

So I wonder......

If you could ask a Bassmaster Classic contender and an FLW Tour pro any two questions, what would you ask them? I am going to be interviewing them in the next few days with their interviews to be posted here on Flared Gills. I love getting input from other anglers and would love to consider your questions. So, if you could ask a PRO anything, what would you ask?

Check back soon to find out who the PROS are, see their responses and see if your questions got answered. Thanks in advance for your great questions!

Decisions and Obedience

As I look to the days ahead, I wonder what God has in store? I wonder what the next few steps in my journey will look like? What will be the extent of His plans? Will they be vast and far reaching, or will they be so simple, so close to home, that in my own "wisdom" I looked right past them? Regardless of what's ahead, I want to be right in step with God. Not one step ahead or one step behind. That is so much easier said than done, especially when I have absolutely no clue, what could possibly be next.

As I search the Word, I notice that Jesus saturated his life with prayer, when faced with major decisions. "One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, He chose his 12 apostles..." Luke 6:12-13

As we saturate our life with prayer, we should pray for God to give us the desire to obey Him and seek His guidance. When we obey, He will guide. Phil. 2:13 "...for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." Psalm 25:4-5 "Show me Your ways, O Lord, teach me your paths; guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long." God, increase my desire to seek you and to search your Word. May I be restless until I find your direction. May I always be alert and prayerful in order to respond properly to every situation (Matthew 26:40-41).

If this is truely the attitude of our heart, God will bring hope where there is no hope. He will bring clarity where it is cloudy. He will do it, in just the right way, at just the right time. And here is the kicker: it will turn out so much better than if I had been given the chance to dream and choose the outcome myself!

So, what are your thoughts today when it comes to Decisions? Obedience?

The Delivery Man

We had a special delivery today from a guy that had the coolest "sheriff stash." I didn't realize that they started making deliveries on Sunday afternoons. I didn't catch his name, but he looked really familiar.

Happy New Year 2009

Wow! What a crazy night on New Years Eve. We had 14 people and 2 dogs here for a fun night of games, food, and random made up songs. Friends from Seattle and relatives from Los Angeles were hear and the noise level was deafening. Here is a little video compilation of some of the highlights. No baking utensils were injured during the events of the evening.

Bring it!

I'd like to introduce you to our new Guitar Hero-World Tour Band
"Da Ho Band." Pictured from left to right: "Fishy", "P.R.", "Kooter", and "Chewy".
We extend a challenge to all other "bands" out there. Bring what ya got if you think it's good enough. Looking for a hero not a zero!

Stocking Stuffers

Wow! What a blessed Christmas. Santa brought some some great gifts this year. I think that I played a years worth of Guitar Hero - World Tour in the last few hours. And, it is correct "I Rock!" I will post a picture of our new band here soon. We will challenge anyone on the face of the planet!!!

I also received a nice selection of new swimbaits which I hope to try out here in the upcoming weeks. In addition to the misc. Basstrix selections, new additions include:

Sebile Magic Swimmer 165 Trout - Slow sink



Spro BBZ-1 Shad - Floater & Slow sink


Jackall Giron - Sinking



I always look forward to trying new and different baits to see if they really live up to their hype and reviews. I'll let you know how it goes.

What are the new baits and techniques you are checking out for this coming year? Share your thoughts with us here at flaredgills.

Hope you had a Merry Christmas!

The Last Eggtion Hero

Every so often you come across something that reminds you of earlier days. I saw this and it reminds me of my high school days. As a high schooler, I can't remember ever buying fewer than 5 dozen eggs at a time. And no they weren't for mama's baking class.

THE LAST EGGTION HERO from ulteriorproductions.com on Vimeo.

1 UNDER 20

What is one thing you want for Christmas under 20 bucks?

Take the time to leave a comment. You never know what sort of Christmas magic could happen at the flaredgills blog!

**I want a Huddleston Deluxe Swimbait in Trout color :)

MY SON

My Son
I am speechless. In my wildest dream I always knew that you would grow up to be an amazing person. I knew you would be fun, intelligent, have a great sense of humor, handsome, lover of family, selfless, compassionate, servants heart, hard working, never complaining, polite, craving right and hating wrong, full of joy, man of patience, kindness, self-controlled. Guess what? You have far exceeded my grandest dream for you. God is shaping and molding you into something so amazing that words cannot contain you, describe you, or do you justice. I hope you see that and understand that. You are so amazing.
I am proud to call you
MY SON.
Happy 17th Birthday Timothy.
I love you.

Dad

Brfxxccxxmnpcccllmmnprxvclmckssqlbb11116

Have you ever thought about your name? Where it came from, why your parents chose that particular name, and what does it actually mean? I have been working on a couple of sermons about the different names of Jesus and what those names mean to us today in 2008. During my research, I came across this crazy name and story online.

Pronounced /'al,bin/, Brfxxccxxmnpcccclllmmnprxvclmnckssqlbb11116 was the name intended for a Swedish child who was born in 1991. The boy's parents had planned to never legally name him at all, as a protest to the strict child-naming rules of the Swedish government.
Because the parents (Elizabeth Hallin and an unidentified father) failed to register a name by the boy's fifth birthday, a district court in Halmstad, southern Sweden, fined the parents 5,000 kronor (equivalent to approximately US$ 650 or € 525). Responding to the fine, the parents submitted the 43-character name In May 1996, claiming that it was "a pregnant, expressionistic development that we see as an artistic creation". The parents suggested the name be understood in the spirit of pataphysics. The court rejected the name and upheld the fine.
The parents then tried to change the spelling of the name to, simply, "A" instead. Once again, the court did not approve of the parents' ideas for naming, for in Sweden it is prohibited to have a name of only one letter.

The Swedish government is boring.

And how in the world was that kid suppose to fit that on the back of his sports jersey?

What are your thoughts about your name?

Snow Day #3

Snow Day #3

Tractor + girls + snow + sled = "Snow Day #3"

Snow Day

Today was the first snow day. It is amazing how 4 inches of snow and 15 degree temperatures can change everyone's perspective on the day. I guess it probably had more to do with the fact that school was closed. Regardless, it was a great day.

Christmas Banquet

Here's Molly just before heading out to attend the Christmas Banquet. As always, she looked amazing. We thought this was her best pose for the night!