3:55 am

So my son has not been feeling well the last couple of days. He's been running a low fever and has just not been his normal playful self. We had his 1 year well-baby appointment yesterday and everything is fine, he is just going through some discomfort. It amazes me, however, that no matter what kind of discomfort it is, I can't stand knowing that he isn't feeling his best.
So tonight, or last night rather, he kept getting up in the middle of the night. Usually he is a great sleeper. This night, however, he had some major troubles sleeping. Twice I went into his room where he was standing in his crib. I put my hand on his back and hug him without taking him out of his crib. He settles down and goes back to sleep. He is warm in the head and cold in the hands. He is wearing his cozy jammies from grandma and grandpa Rohde. I repeat the routine an hour later. I'm pretty sure that Pam went through it once too. Then I again. This time it is 3:55am and I am just not able to sleep. So I've been up. I have done the following;
I read "The Banner" from cover to cover. (For those who don't know, "The Banner" is the Christian Reformed Church's denominational magazine publication.)
I read TIME magazine cover to cover.
I got hungry and warmed up hotdogs left over from Gabriel's b-day party.
And now I'm blogging.
To be honest, I am rather enjoying this time.

I really appreciated Emily's last blog. She is my sister-in-law and she is also one of the funniest people I know. She directed her faithful readers to a couple of links that "You entertain yourself, learn useful information, and help the world all at the same time. How nice!"
Here are a few of the links;
http://www.freerice.com/

http://www.freeflour.com/

http://www.bhook.com/

http://www.freeproverty.com/

http://www.helpthirst.com/

I've been wrestling for the past few weeks with this thing that the church has unintentionally created that a good friend of mine calls "The Corprate Jesus". Sometimes I think we spend so much time catering to people's need for comfort that we forget what we're here for. Why can't we just love people and have it be that easy. I guess what gets me most is this need to live a well trimmed, neat, orderly life where we work hard to gain a nice home with four bedroom, a three car garage, a nice lawn that we can spend hours every week keeping exactly as high as our neighbors, a white picket fence, a clean car, a spotless interior, etc... What kind of Jesus are we showing the world? Let's face it, no one really likes all that, everyone is just doing it because everyone else is doing it. Jesus didn't have a lawn, his feet probably smelled, and I'm guessing that his clothes were pretty dusty most of the time. But the people he was around never went hungry or thirsty nor did they starve for eternity. The people around Jesus, at least the ones who accepted him as Lord, knew what it meant to live life to the fullest. They were concerned about "the least of these." The early church was known for their ability to die well, not to live well. Jesus said to the rich man that he must sell everything. I don't think he was kidding. I watched my parents do this. I've been one of I think very few children who actually got to see what this can look like. I saw my parents sell everything. I have seen the ways in which God has rewarded them. I have seen a Jesus that is there. Oh my goodness it is hard sometimes. He never said it would be easy. It downright sucks sometimes, but I have seen a Jesus that is THERE. He is so not the corprate machine that we have made him out to be. He is the one that looks at the orphan, the widow, the drunk, the prositute, the homosexual, and yes, his broken church and says, I know what you are going through and I am here.

So where are we? Who are we trying to impress? Do we really think we are entitled to "The American Dream"? When are we going to find the very poorest and say, Jesus is here with me so I'll be here with you?

As for me and my house, it is now.