Author: Addis Andy

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A little risky business

I have a confession to make.

Many think that because I am a public speaker and a leader that that I am a bold individual. They assume the stage persona that delivers the weekly message is the same guy wandering around my house.

Well, I hope I am the same kind of man with the same kind of character both in and out of the spotlight. But, truthfully, my persona on stage is not the same as it is when “the switch is off.”

That’s why it always cracks me up to have people say to my wife, “Wow, it must be a real blessing to be married to him. You’re probably laughing all the time!”

Her response is usually a very dry, “Yeah… he’s a real riot.”

In fact, one of the secrets to my message/sermon preparation is that 90% of the lessons I teach, I am delivering to myself. I feel them because I need them.

So, what about this confession I need to make? Continue reading “A little risky business”

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The long way around

My wife and I are never closer to divorce than when she is right.

Just kidding. We’ve already ruled out divorce as an option, but homicide… well.

Once again, just kidding.

Seriously, it really peeves me when my wife and I are engaged in passionate discourse (aka fighting) and in the midst of the battle it becomes abundantly clear that she is right.

The one time that happened was really rough on me.

You know that feeling that you have been missing the obvious? That the answer has been right there all along and you’ve just been too blind, busy or bored to pick up on it.

No? Just me? Hmm. Continue reading “The long way around”

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Just to make it today…

I can’t believe how 80s I am.

Every time I think, or hear, the phrase “You’ve got to pray,” I envision MC Hammer pants. That can’t be healthy.

But, here we go… You’ve got to pray (just to make it today… wow, it is an illness).

Communication is essential to any relationship, and without it the relationship will wither and die. Or, at least go into a period of hibernation until the spring thaw. Continue reading “Just to make it today…”

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Merry Christmas

Thanks to everyone who attended our Christmas Eve Celebration. This year we tied the whole service together with some poorly written poetry that told a version of the Christmas/salvation story, and I can say poorly written… because I wrote it.

I’ve been a asked a couple of times where to get it, so, I thought I’d make it available here at the CrossEyedLife.

It comes in five sections as a progressive story and many thanks to Sam Wilk who narrated for us… great job!

THE NEED

 Dark and barren, a formless void
Our universe an empty nothing
No light, no warmth, no life to be enjoyed Continue reading “Merry Christmas”

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Primal is a Primary Read

For you regular here at the CrossEyedLife, you know I’m a reader. I don’t just believe in it, I enjoy it (that is, once I got out of school. No one likes reading when they are forced to).photo

The picture that accompanies this blog is the right hand corner of my desk that several of my ‘loving’ brothers and sisters have offered to file/clean for me. But, I share with each of them that the corner stack, mound, pile, library (proper usage check) is actually not static, but in frequent turnover.

These are the ‘next read’ books and when one is finished another is added. I love reading, learning and growing, and several times I have quoted, or even taught from significant reads. Never, though, have I reviewed a book here at CEL, so, today we make history.

As always, my first recommendation to you is to read, re-read and re-read again the Bible, but I also want to make this recommendation: Primal by Mark Batterson should be a primary read for you in 2010. Continue reading “Primal is a Primary Read”

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Behave yourself

What’s better than getting up at 4 am on Black Friday to fight the crowds and strategically rifle through a well-thought out plan of attack documented only by a string of newspaper ads marked in Sharpie and ordered by store opening times?

Almost anything.

Anything is better than that.

Still, that was today for my bride and I as the kiddos slept in at Grandmas. We spent a small fortune (as opposed to the large fortune it could have been) and got about 90% of what we hunted.

We dominated Wal-Mart, K-Mart, Target Mart and Home Depot Mart and even squeezed in a romantic breakfast for two at IHOP Mart.

While we were wolfing down some pancakes (actually, I was wolfing… Kathy never wolfs… she delicately cuts, slowly eats and cutely chews… she never wolfs) we were discussing how crazy some people were. Continue reading “Behave yourself”

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Thanks for nothin’ ?

As a pastor of a decade and a half now, I have sat through some pretty rough family counseling sessions.

You’d be amazed at the harsh things people can say to each other… or, maybe you wouldn’t be. I guess that’s even sadder.

Some of the barbs that get thrown include:

  • If you cared about me at all…
  • I don’t think I can love you anymore…
  • You’re an idiot…
  • I just wish I was as important to you as your sister is…
  • It’s me or the XBOX (seriously, I’ve heard this one)…
  • I can’t stand to be around you anymore…

Ouch! After a few of those, it’s a little awkward trying to schedule the next meeting. I never know if they are planning on being together in a week, or if I’ll have to visit one of them in the county clink where they now reside for stabbing their mate. Continue reading “Thanks for nothin’ ?”

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Symptoms aren’t the disease

We often get caught up in the trap of the immediate, but when it comes to our spiritual condition we need to look further than the surface.

In this video we can explore the possibility that we are spending too much time of the symptoms and not enough on the disease.

Matthew 15:19

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander.

 

Continue reading “Symptoms aren’t the disease”

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Wrong Getting Wronger

It was Memorial Weekend a few years ago, and due to my lack of planning we couldn’t go camping. As this news would be seriously disappointing to my boys, we determined to continue the camping excursion, even though every campsite in a tri-state area was booked.

We simply moved our adventure to KOA Addisland. Yep, we’ve all done it; camping in the backyard, that is. This would be my boy’s first experience.

Hot dogs and smores over an open fire, a six-man tent pitched in record time (3.5 hours… I didn’t say which record),  and a complete lack of bathrooms. Oh, we had them, but we made the boys go outside to increase the authenticity.

Never should have started that… they’d rather ‘water the lawn’ than all the other civilized options to this day.

Continue reading “Wrong Getting Wronger”