It All Depends

Alexander Joseph Amsden was born on March 22, 2010 at Providence St. Joseph Hospital in Burbank, California. (I can almost hear the collective "Awww...")

Even with a somewhat challenging first week (A laborsome --- for Dallas, anyway --- 27-hours ending with a C-Section birth complicated by pneumonia that put him in the NICU for a full week), Lex is now home with Meg and me - happy, healthy and no worse for wear. Thanks for your prayers!

When we got home on Monday night, Meg looked at me and shot me the age-old question, "so, what do we do with him now?"

I laughed.

That's it. I didn't have a good answer --- I simply laughed (it's my coping mechanism; all right!)

AND THEN IT HIT ME...

Lex is, for all intents and purposes, my dependent. That's even how the government looks at him. On tax forms, he is listed as my "dependent."

He depends on me. Depends. Someone else depends on me --- for food, shelter, warmth, clothing, etc., etc. --- Aaaahhh!

I am the least dependent person I know. I'm pretty sure my wife Meg doesn't even depend on me! I've never heard her say to anyone, "my husband, Dallas - he's so dependable."

And I know I don't depend on myself. This isn't even a question of being independent --- this is an issue of being nondependent.

Even without a child, when I was predependent, I was nondependent. Now, I have a dependent, and I feel more undependent than ever.

How can a nondependent sufficiently provide for an overdependent? And, it's not like he is selfdependent, codependent or even quasidependent --- those are dependencies I can depend on!

How will this situation turn out? --- I guess it all depends...

Fatherhood And Professional Wrestling

Alexander Joseph is due on the 20th of March, meaning he could show up any time now. Meg and I have prepared as best we can for Lex's arrival. The nursery is set up, the car seat is in place, and the diapers await his appearing. It could be any day now (though both of our mothers would like him to wait until they arrive).

Now, I should say, by way of biographical information, that I am a life-long fan of professional wrestling. Ever since I was a little boy, I have loved pro wrestling. Yes, I know that many would argue that wrestling is "fake", but I would argue a different point: even though the matches and winners are predetermined, pro wrestling, known as sports entertainment, is a valid form of athletic theatrics.

Plus, as I always say to the Debbie-Downers out there, let a 6'10" man pick you up and throw you down on a canvas-and-plywood-covered trampoline, and see if you don't feel it a little bit. These men are stunt performers - athletic actors if you will - and they perform death-defying maneuvers on a daily basis all for the enjoyment of the rabid fan base (myself included). I've said it before, and I will say it again: pro wrestling is, indeed, very real.

Well, what does that have to do with the birth of Lex???
Good question...

Nothing.

Other than this: I have a quandary. My wife is convinced that she does not want me passing on this love of the squared circle to my son.

Yet, there's just one problem - Lex is due on the 20th of March, and WRESTLEMANIA XXVI is on the 28th!!!

Sorry, Meg, but I have a very real feeling that our son, who may be only a week old by this point, will be in his father's arms watching the biggest wrestling event of the year.

Lex will, undoubtedly, feel my heartbeat quicken during the Shawn Michaels-VS-The Undertaker main event. HBK is putting his career on the line against The Undertaker's 17-0 Wrestlemania win streak. This promises to be one of the greatest main events in wrestling history, second only (maybe) to when the Rock faced off against Hulk Hogan, Icon versus Icon!

Needless to say, there is a good chance - a very good chance - that my son will attend many wrestling events with his father.

We'll see how this blog post goes over with my wife. HaHa!

Face To Face

My wife and I are mere weeks away from meeting our newborn son, Alexander Joseph.

All of the preparations are being made and finalized in anticipation of his arrival... well, the best laid plans of mice, men and Meg, anyway.

We're under no illusions, people. I'm sure that there will be plenty of surprises and shocking moments along the way, but we're doing our best to get ready for Lex.

Regardless, I just can't wait to meet our little man, see his little face (even that big Amsden-head), smell his skin, & hear his voice. (crying and all)

I remember when my first niece, Lydia, was born. My sister, Dawn, and her husband, Tim, would sit for hours upon hours and just study her beautiful little face. I fondly recall how Tim would just hold her close and press his lips against her tiny cheek, breathing her in and feeling her breathe. The world and all it's problems would fade from view as Tim was locked in this moment with his child. Face to Face.

I'm really looking forward to those moments with Lex. Amidst the crying, sleeplessness, dirty diapers, fevers, and everything that the "newborn" experience will hurl my way (yes, literally, "hurl"), I am looking forward to holding my son close, feeling him breathe, kissing his cheek, and communing with him. Face to Face.

I think this is what our Heavenly Father truly wants for us, his children. Amidst the chaos and tumult of our daily lives, He is holding us. When we think He is so far away from our hurts, our pains, our cries, He is right there, breathing on our skin. He longs for that communion, that closeness, where we can breathe Him in as He breathes on us. Our Father loves us, holds us, longs for closeness to us, and all we have to do is meet Him there. Face to Face.

I pray that you would fully experience the close, loving breath of your Heavenly Father!

PART 2 - Root Problem Or Fruit Problem?

(So, it's been a couple weeks since my last post, but I've been busy with another creative project that has had my full attention... but now, we're back, folks!)
ALL RIGHT! Let's get back into it!

There were some great comments on the last post (Is It A Root Problem Or A Fruit Problem?), and I think some of the thoughts expressed by others warrant another entry on this subject.

Let's explore the idea that, when looking at our cultural Root and Fruit Problems, we might just be dealing with an issue of "BOTH/AND", not necessarily, "EITHER/OR".

I'm not saying that we must be EITHER/OR when it comes to EITHER Personal Evangelism OR Social Reform. The focus of the Body of Christ should definitely be BOTH personal evangelism AND social reform, but what I'm saying is that we should prioritize our BOTH as well as our AND.

My point is that one naturally follows the other.

One of the commentors (Karen, love your thoughts!) from the last entry pointed out that "[she has] recently received some very thorough Biblical teaching on the Reformer’s Creed that leads [her] to believe we must do both at the same time. [my emphasis added]." (by the by, Karen, I've read that book too... it's quite good! And, the author is one of my personal favorites. HaHa!... I fully recommend it to anyone who wants to read THE REFORMER'S CREED.)

However, we're not talking about Personal Evangelism as merely getting people to have a "salvation experience." Certainly, Personal Evangelism is more than walkin' that aisle and sayin' that prayer... that would be naive and short-sighted to think that ye ole sinner's prayer (ie: just get their ticket punched) is a sufficient form of Personal Evangelism.

The Personal Evangelism promoted through the New Testament involves relationship, ministry, service to each other, discipleship, and training. It is being intimately involved in the lives of others, pointing them toward a Christ-centered, Spirit-driven relationship with the Father! It involves transforming lives so that one can be truly FREE, in the Biblical sense of the word, not in the American sense of democratic LIBERTY.

So back to the BOTH/AND.
Like I said above: one naturally follows the other.

True Personal Evangelism and discipleship will change a culture from the Bottom - Up. It starts at the lowest point of the culture, the individual. Personal Evangelism transforms individual lives, one by one, person to person. And when the individual people of a culture are transformed, then it naturally follows that the culture will be transformed. That's my point.

To restate what I said in the last post, "we are focused on the wrong thing if we think that the laws on the books will change people's hearts. Rather, we should focus on changing people's hearts first. Then, we will see the laws reflect the morality of the people."

And, the growth of Christianity through Personal Evangelism cannot be stopped, no matter what the natural governing authorities do to quell it.

Case in point: even as an outlawed minority, Christianity grew exponentially under the repressive hand of the Roman Empire, and not because Christians were a special interest lobby group in the Roman Senate. No! As Tertullian said, "the blood of the martyrs was the seed of the Church." The Church exploded in growth when it was persecuted - not when it was the State's officially-recognized, TopDown religious authority.

As a matter of fact, wasn't it around the time that Christianity became institutionalized by Constantine and when the "Church" became the leading political force that Europe entered a period commonly called, The Dark Ages... ??? (Sure, it can be argued that there had to be a period of deconstruction to wipe away the last vestiges of Roman dominance, but it is compelling to think that TopDown-politically-driven-Christianity was the major ruling force during that era.)

But I digress... my point is that, as Christians, our MAIN focus should be on reaching out to and discipling individual people rather than becoming a dominant political force. After all, what difference does our democractic system make to the souls of those who enter into Eternity separated from God?

Obviously, this topic is epic in scope, and I can barely touch on all the various sides of the argument in one blog entry, and I've already gone long enough on this one. So, perhaps we will have to continue on this topic some more later.

As always, I welcome any thoughts, comments, questions, suggestions, recommendations, etc. I even welcome you to say, "Dallas, you're crazy! What would your parents say?"
Much love to you all!

PART 1 - Root Problem Or Fruit Problem?

WARNING: This one may rock the boat a little, but lately, I've been thinking some personally-challenging thoughts with regard to my evangelical efforts. Some of you may even call these thoughts "heretical", but I'm just asking questions. I'm just seeking understanding. I'm not saying that I am right; I'm not saying I am wrong. I am simply writing what has been going around in my brain for a few weeks now... and I welcome thoughts from anyone and everyone. With that said, let's explore:


I fear that as Christians, too often, we focus our missional energies on the "fruit" of our cultural problems rather than the "root" of our cultural problems. We want to see laws changed to favor righteousness. (Fine.) We want to have "righteous-rule" in our land. (Sounds great.) 


However, I think that we have become political Christians. We have blurred the lines between spiritual freedom in Christ with the civil liberties afforded by the Constitution. We have sought social reform before spiritual reform. In essence, we have looked at the failures in our land and said, "if we can just get more Christians in political offices", or "if we can just get them to outlaw abortion", or "if we can just get them to keep the Ten Commandments up at the courthouse"... "then, and only then, will we have God's favor on our nation." . . . get ready because this is where the boat-rocking starts.


My challenge is this: it does not matter who rules the land. It does not matter what laws are on the books. It does not matter who is in political office. Those issues are all fruit problems. (As a matter of fact, the greatest growth of the Body of Christ on the earth, historically, seems to always come when their is unrighteous and oppressive rule in the land... hmmm...???)


Back to the point: it is a tragic thing when an apple tree doesn't yield fruit, but to focus purely on the no fruit/bad fruit/weak fruit/etc. is fruitless. First, we must examine the root system of that apple tree.


The laws of our land are nothing more than a reflection of the morality of the people of our land. If there is lawless, godless edicts being proclaimed, that is merely because our nation has become lawless and godless. However, simply putting "righteous" rule from the TOP DOWN is nothing more than Theocratic Tyranny. (yes, I just said that.)


We must first focus on the roots: the people of this nation. They need the Church, the Body of Christ, to rise up and reach out. These may seem like a broad generalization...BUT... Christians, more commonly termed by the Media as "the Religious Right", are nothing more than a social institution looking to get the best political deal they can to further their social worldview. (and please, don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful worldview). 


All I am saying is: we are focused on the wrong thing IF we think that the laws on the books will change people's hearts. Rather, we should focus on changing people's hearts first. Then, we will see the laws reflect the morality of the people. That is not to say that we neglect our civil duties as citizens of these United States. That is merely to say that we need to be focused on eternal souls rather than short-term policies. People need salvation, not democracies.


Two final quotes to leave with you: 
1) John Adams wrote: "Our constitution was made for a moral and religious people; it is wholly inadequate for any other."
2) Scripture does not say, "If my people, who are called by my name, will vote in the right politicians and decree the right laws, then will I hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land." I believe it actually tells us "if we will humble ourselves and pray." 


Theocratic Tyranny comes from the top-down, but Jesus Christ ministered to people by making himself the lowest. He reached out to the broken, to the wounded, the lame, blind, deaf, captives, etc. He was a citizen of a different kingdom who did not confuse his civil duties to Israel and Rome with his eternal duties of showing those who were lost the way back to their heavenly Father.


Like I said, I welcome your thoughts, comments, suggestions, recommendations, etc...

Video: THE AUDACITY TO GOLF

A friend shared this quick, little video with me.
I thought it was funny.
So, I'm sharing it with you. Enjoy!


For more fun, satire videos from this cartoonist, check out their youtube page at: http://www.youtube.com/user/politizoid

Home Is Where The Heart Is

We just returned from our Christmas trip to St. Louis. This year, I noticed a funny thing in my words: before we left SoCal, we were preparing to fly to StL for the week, and I kept saying to Meg, "I'm really looking forward to going home."

Then, at the end of the Christmas week, when we were in StL preparing to fly back to SoCal, I also said to Meg, "I'm really looking forward to going home."

Home truly is where the heart is. My heart is in both places. I have family and friends in both places. The Los Angeles area. The St. Louis area. Both are home to me. I am not torn between them because my heart is at home in both places.

What an amazing blessing from the Lord! I am both amazed and humbled that the Lord would be so gracious as to give me two homes, both of which I love and adore. I feel as though I am the most blessed man in the world. Lord, you overwhelm me with your outpouring of grace upon my life.

To all my loved ones: parents, grandparents, brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, and all of my dear friends that are so close to my heart --- you are all my home.

Thank you, ALL, for allowing me to come home to you.

"UNTITLED"

I was passing this sculpture in Burbank the other day. The sculpture consisted of a series of multi-colored beams that resembled a rainbow. It was beautiful. It was elegant. It was inspired...
...it was "untitled."

Now, I'm not saying this beautiful sculpture piece didn't have a title.
No, no, no... the title was, "UNTITLED."

What is that?!?

There was obviously great care taken in the sculpture as well as the wonderfully engraved plague that proudly displayed the artist's name right below the inane title "UNTITLED."

This is one I have never understood: why would any artist, be it a sculptor, painter, musician, poet, etc., ever create an amazingly inspired piece of work (which, let's be honest, was inspired by something) and then not give the work a name...???

It's kind of pretentious; don't you think?

I feel like the artist is saying to me, "I'm too inspired by this incredible piece of art to even finish the mundane task of giving such brilliance a name, so I will simply call it, 'Untitled'." Come on! You took a mundane moment to give it a nameless name!

Take, for instance, this rainbow-looking sculpture I saw in Burbank. How about "Rainbow", Mr. Artist? Or "Promise"? Even "After The Rain" would do. How about "Reflections Of Oz"? Anything other than "Untitled"...

To me, Mr. Artist, do you know what your saying? You are saying that your piece of work is not worth my time.

That's right! I looked up "untitled" at www.thesaurus.com to see a few of the synonyms for "untitled." Do you know what they are, Mr Artist?

"Unacknowledged. Uncelebrated. Undistinguished. Unfamed. Unsung. A Whatchamacallit."

There you have it, Mr. Artist. If you can't even take a moment to come up with a simple name for your art, then your art will be forgettable.

Come on! Give it a title. Or leave it non-titled. Don't call it "untitled." I need a title. I feel I'm entitled!

Well-Worn Paths

My wife and I hike at this canyon nearby. We love to get up there, explore nature's majesty and breathe the fresh air (FYI - Angelenos have approx. 15% diminished lung capacity from the air quality).

We have an amazing time together.

We love to enjoy the beautiful weather while hiking, walking, jogging, laughing, praying and dreaming on our little journeys.

At this one particular canyon we hike regularly, the majority of hikers, Meg and myself included, stay on the main path - a huge, 10-foot wide, dirt path that is large enough for emergency and service vehicles.

Occasionally, however, I like to explore these little side trails. Not many people journey on these. They are off the well-worn paths - the road not taken, if you will ... or, in this case, the road less taken.

Now, by way of biographical information, I should tell you: I'm not much of an "adventurer" in the traditional Indiana-Jones-sense of the word. I don't like "nature" per se. I'm not a fan of bugs, spiders, creepy-crawlers, etc. I fight allergies. I don't even like it when my hands feel like they have that layer of dirt on them for an extended period of time. And you know the layer I'm talking about: that invisible, I-can't-see-it-but-I-know-it's-there-because-I've-been-working-outside-picking-up-dirty-stuff-and-it's-been-too-long-since-I've-washed-my-hands-so-I-can't-even-think-about-picking-up-a-piece-of-food-until-I-get-some-hand-soap! kind of layer of dirt. (yes, I may be a little OCD, thank you very much)

Yet, occasionally, I listen to that inner adventurer and trek to the road less taken. Just recently, I even went off the road less taken and forged a completely new path. As far as I could tell, I was on soil untouched by another human. There was something unique, something wild, something passionate in what I was doing. I prayed, I worshiped God. I stood in awe of His creation, the works of His hands... and I wondered to myself, "is this the life we were created to live?"

The life of an adventurer, an explorer, a discoverer.

How often do we go where so many others have gone before (I can almost hear Captain Kirk's voice), following the well-worn paths, instead of forging new ones? In every aspect of our lives (work, home, family, church, etc.), I think we should push ourselves beyond the limitations of what we have always done and what others before us have always done, and seek out the adventure of life waiting to be explored!

I don't know - these are just thougths... perhaps you and I need to re-awaken the adventurer within us...

And the amazing thing about this adventure is: with God, our quest can start at any age. We're never too old, never too far, never too tired for the Spirit to quicken and make alive our mortal bodies for the adventure that awaits - the journey of exploring God's divine destiny!

“Do not go where the path may lead; go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

VIDEO - The Tradition Lives On

For over 60 years, the Lybarger and Amsden family have had a tradition of decorating Christmas Cookies. Well, this year, the tradition continued as Meg and I expanded the cookie decorating to Los Angeles.

Here's a brief highlight video of the continuing tradition!