Welsey Allan Dodd tortured, molested, and murdered three boys in Vancouver, Washington, fifteen miles from our home.

Dodd was scheduled to be hanged–the first U.S. hanging in three decades–shortly after midnight, January 4, 1993.

At dinner that evening, both our daughters, then eleven and thirteen, prayed earnestly that Dodd would repent and place his faith in Christ before he died.  I agreed with their prayer…but only because I knew I should.

I stayed up and watched.  Reporters from all over the country crowded around the prison.  Twelve media representatives were firsthand witnesses to the execution.  When they emerged thirty minutes after Dodd died, they recounted the experience.

One of them read Dodd’s last words: “I had thought there was no hope and no peace.  I was wrong.  I have found hope and peace in the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Gasps and groans erupted from the gallery.  The anger was palpable.  ’How dare someone who has done anything so terrible say he has found hope and peace in Jesus?’ Did he really think God would let him into heaven after what he’d done?  ’Shut up and go to hell, child killer–you won’t get off so easy!’

The idea of God’s offering grace to Dodd was utterly offensive.

And yet…didn’t Jesus die for Dodd’s sins just as He did for mine?  No sin is bigger than the Savior.  Grace is, literally, not of this world.  I struggled with the idea of God saving Dodd only because I thought too much of myself and too little of my Lord.

I’d imagined the distance between Dodd and me as the difference between the South and North Poles.  But when you consider God’s viewpoint from light-years away, that distance is negligible.  In my standing before a holy God, apart from Christ… I am Dodd.  I am Dahmer.  I am Mao.

It is so easy to sit and judge other people.  Someone recently said, it is easy for me to condemn the sins that I don’t struggle with.  Too true right?  It is easy to feel like I am better than everyone else because I don’t do what they do.  Let’s take a step back.  What does Jesus say?  Check out Matthew 7:3-5

Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye?  You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye.

I am one of those people.  I have become incredibly god at judging other people’s specks while wandering around with a nail in my own eye.  This little book by Randy Alcorn, is well worth the read.  Put this book on your amazon wish list.

For those of you who are recovering judge’s… It’s time to set the gavel down.  Step down out of the bench and come alongside of those who suffer.  Let’s stop throwing stones at one another and graciously help bring one another to the cross of Christ.  It is at the cross where we can find forgiveness and grace.

Which is more difficult for you, telling truth or giving grace?  I’d love to hear your thoughts…

~Peter

Then I read what Thomas a Kempis wrote in his book The Imitation of Christ.  He writes, “Place all your trust in God; let Him be your fear and your love.”

Too often we place our trust in what others think of us.  Or what we can do for others.  In fact we allow ourselves to be defined by what others think of us.  The reality is that we need to place all of our trust in God.  That includes trusting God with our identities.  When we allow others to occupy the place in our mind that is rightfully God’s we do ourselves and God a huge disservice.

So what do you think?  Who is shaping your identity?  Do you have an identity crisis on your hands?

~Peter

I found my self being rejuvenated by the time that I was spending with my kids.  I laid with my back on the blanket, holding my 1 year old daughter above me in the air.  She was cooing, laughing and drooling all over me.  It was incredible, and I loved every moment of it.

I was on the phone the night before talking with a mentor buddy of mine and he asked me how my soul was doing.  We had a long conversation about that and then he challenged me to make sure that I was playing well too.  He was concerned that I was finding rest and joy in life as well.  This picture was the moment I realized that this was exactly where I needed to be.  In this moment I was so keenly aware of how much God has blessed my life.  I am so thankful!

What a day.  I brought the camera along with me to snap some pictures of the kids.  We had a blast with that.  It turned into a little mother’s day present too!  Here is what we gave her.

What did you do for Mother’s Day?  Even more importantly, how do you refresh your soul?

~Peter

Here’s my only issue… Why is it that the picnic basket I had looks like this?  Couldn’t we find one that was a bit more manly?  Maybe looked more like this?

Then there is this guy.  Pastor Tom is nothing but energy and personality!  I love being around him.  You are sure to have a good time and be cared about along the way.  I mean his twitter name is @kangsta!  Who wouldn’t love a guy with the name @Kangsta?

I could go on…

The only thing that would make these guys any better was if they wore a little more Averagé.  Because Averagé > Hipster.  And here’s the proof.

~Peter

(ht: Tyler Stanton’s blog  He’s hysterical!  Show him some love…)

It was incredible to think of what the Bible tells us happened here some 2000 years ago.  The Church has placed a church on this location and inside of this church there are some incredible mosaics depicting the time that Jesus spent here that night.  Can you even imagine what Jesus was thinking, and going through that evening?

Thomas a Kempis tries to help us think about what that would have been like for Jesus.  What I appreciate most about this is that he tries to help us get a better baseline on our own condition too.

When Christ was in the world, He was despised by men; in the hour of need.  He was forsaken by acquaintances and left by friends to the depths of scorn.  He was willing to suffer and to be despised; do you dare to complain of anything?

~Thomas a Kempis – Imitations of Christ

I have been commuting 90 minutes each way for the last two months to get back and forth from home to Liquid’s office.  It has definitely taken a toll on me.  I loose three hours a day to my car.  Let me tell you, this is not fun.  I find that I can slip into periods of lengthy complaining and think nothing of it.  I may grow agitated because I hit traffic on the way home, or the price of gas puts a death grip on my budget.  Kempis provides a new baseline for me.  Jesus was willing to suffer and die for me, and He did not complain.  What basis do I have to complain about traffic being slow?  It certainly puts things into perspective.  My Lord was crushed so that I could be spared.  It is time for me to pony up and quit complaining so much.

Okay, there you go.  I spoke first.  Your turn.  What do you need to stop complaining about?

~Peter

bonus… Here are some pictures that I took at the Garden of Gethsemane and in the church.

The other day I went through the drive through at my local Starbucks.  It was the afternoon and I was really thirsty for an iced black tea lemonade.  I pulled in, placed my order, and pulled ahead to the window like I was asked to do. I love this Starbucks.  I used to go there all the time to work and read.  They have great Barista’s that know how to give great service.

However, this particular afternoon, I sat there and watched my iced tea sit in the window while the five Barista’s hustled around in their coffee haven all looking at me through the glass.  I found it very odd at first that the individual who made them didn’t just hand them to me and scan my phone for payment.  That was stage 1.  Then I entered stage 2.  I began to notice the time.  I said things to myself like, “THIS IS TAKING FOREVER!”  Frustration began to eek out at this point.  Then stage 3 welcomed it’s way into my little car.  Stage 3 is the full on temper tantrum, including looks to the Barista’s on the inside.  Finally someone came to the window and apologized and just gave me the drinks for free.

Had it not been for their exceptional customer service, I would have been hot to trot.  Right?

Chances are you’ve been hot to trot too!

Okay, maybe not at my corner Starbucks waiting for iced black tea lemonade, but maybe it was at your favorite restaurant.  Maybe it was this morning waiting for your kids to get their shoes on.  Maybe it was waiting for your husband to mow the lawn.  I don’t know what your particular flavor of impatience is, but I do know that we all experience it.

One of the hardest things for me is to be patient in the midst of felt pressure.  I didn’t need that iced tea right away.  In fact, I wasn’t even in a rush.  I just felt that I should have had it quickly.

Do you want to know something funny?  I caught myself writing this in a paper for seminary the other day.  Take a look at this screen shot…

Read the last line again.

Can you believe that?  It is true.  I long for the experience that leads to understanding, but I am so stinking impatient.  I need to slow down, take a deep breath and enjoy the journey that I am on and pick the fruit along the way that will lead to understanding.

What about you? Have you ever struggled with having patience?  What was the last thing that made you feel impatient?  Let’s help each other…

~Peter

One of the best leadership reads that I have laid eyes upon was a book by Bill Hybels called Axioms.  I would highly recommend that you pick it up and read it.  It is a great read, it is quick, short chapters.  (I like that!)  They may be short, but don’t be fooled.  Those babies are chock filled with tons of wisdom.

After reading his book of axioms, I decided that I would write a few of my own.  I give you, a few of my own axioms.  I’ve come up with/collected these over the past several years.  They probably aren’t all original thoughts, but they have been adapted and tweaked to fit my life.

• People matter more than process
• There will be times when I need to give up the right to be right
• Love the way that I have been loved (1 Jn 4:19)
• I usually find out my wife is right two months after she speaks
• View present ministry with a lifetime perspective
• It is more about being with God than doing things for God
• When conflict arises, relationships must rise more

What pearls of wisdom do you have?  Let’s hear some of your axioms.

~Peter

Did you know that the shepherds would pen the sheep up?  Of course you did.  But in your mind what did you think that the pen would look like?  In my mind I think of Sean the Sheep…  (can you tell that I have little kids?)  What I mean is that I think that the sheep are kept in a large, open field.  Like there would be a wall around the field, but for the most part those sheep could graze and go crazy in their pen.  I viewed it a bit more like the way that the shepherd boy David penned them up in the old sunday school flanel graphs.  But that’s not the way that it worked.  They would’t do that!  They kept the sheep in a tight little pen.  ”Why” you ask… Great question.  It was so that there was less area for robbers to break in and steal sheep.

We were told that the shepherd would sleep laying down in front of the gate to this small pen.  Why?  Another great question!  It is because you can’t very well lift a sheep over the fence without making a really loud noise.  This loud noise would in turn wake the shepherd.  That was a quick way to get a fist in your face, or a stone thrown at your head.   You can however avoid all that by opening the gate and letting them out pretty quietly.  Sleeping in front of the gate was a safeguard against loosing sheep to thieves.  Smart stuff right?

This pen, may have looked something like this:

Pretty cool huh?  Especially when you think of what Jesus said:

Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way, he is a thief and a robber.  But he who enters by the door is a shepherd of the sheep.  To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.  A stranger they simply will not follow, but will flee from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.  ~John 10:1-5

What do you think? Does this change anything you’ve thought about what Jesus was saying?

~Peter

(That’s some good seminary humor for you…  For help in understanding why, figure out what my name means.)  

That’s the best I could do.  Maybe you have a better tag line.  Let’s hear em!

~Peter