Dinosaur Fish

 

Yes, that's right.  Wyatt calls the blue gills and perch, "Dinosaur Fish" - he says we are catching little dinosaurs! He also gets so excited he almost can't see straight...when he's reelin in a fish!  We caught about 7 or 8 fish on Monday morning - it was the greatest!  Wyatt told me, "Daggy...you have to be paaathhents" - translation:  you have to be patient - "...when the fishes come...we have to wait for them to come and bite the worm on their mouths; and then, Daggy..we can REEL 'EM IN!!!"

We fished for probably 3 or 4 hours and when we left he asked why we couldn't stay and catch more fish so we could cook them on the stove and eat them! 

I think of the memories I have of fishing with my dad...my whole life it's been a highlight of the special things I have done. Now, to share that same experience with my son is like nothing else.  The joy we experience in those times is something that is made up of the ingredients of life and love that God put me on Earth for.  Good night - it is just the bomb.  I hope that we get to always do that....my dad, me, Wyatt, Boone, my brother and his Son....

It's just part of the fabric of who we (in my family) are.

Dang. It was good. 

Here's to the next time...

-ao

Is it a feeling...

 

What is it about Jesus?  Who is this man...that's what so many people wondered about Him when he walked on the Earth.  The truth is, so many are wondering the same about Christ today - they may or may not truly know it.  I believe that many people wonder about God....about Jesus Christ and the things He said and did.  I believe they wonder about miracles, about poverty, the ancient tribes in Africa, the homeless people, the rich, the famous, the murderers, the lonely ones, the ones without hope, the hookers, the officers.....the moms and dads...the husband who left for another, the mom who walked away....there are so many things to consider. There are so many scenarios to conquer or to doubt...which way to go - shall it be left or right, right or wrong, happy or sad!  Decisions, thoughts, and doubts - a labyrinth of mind games and pockets of hope and fears. It seems there are fingers pointing in all directions.

So, which direction is the right one?  Which is, as they say, True North ? 

What happens when the feelings over come everything else?  What happens when life gets in the way....and the "Dark night of the soul" shows up in our lives??  How do we get past a feeling of depression?  What do we do with our anxieties and our anger?  What do we do with this slave that lingers in a place where no one can go nor has ever seen - this true self?  Are we supposed to "get over it"?  Are we to simply move on and be better? Is better even relative?  You see, this is the stuff that crap is made of....from the pits..the pits of hell - rather, it (all the mess of lies that infiltrate our minds and attempt to penetrate our hearts) is not from the Lord.  Hear that again: It is not from the Lord!  It isn't. No, those do not belong in the same sentence; they are not a part of the breath of God.  When Jesus Christ walked in the upper room and breathed on His disciples, He was breathing the breath of life (the light and life of God) and the Holy Spirit upon them.  It was really Him.  Jesus Christ, fully God and fully man - the "visible expression of the invisible God" (-Colossians 1:15)

May we, somehow, never forget to remember that Jesus' love for us stretches as far as the East is from the West; His love and payment for us separates those that believe in Him from our sin as far as the East is from the West = forever...and ever!  Any time a feeling that is other steps or creeps in...it just is not from Him.  True North?  Happiness?  Hope and Peace?  Freedom?  Well, it exists.  They exist.....only in Him.  Those things not of Him or from Him are of no value.  The arguments at home, the thing you may be about to say in the midst of anger or in the midst of  frustration....or in a conflict that has not even happened....well, is it of any value??  The truth is that He is the value in our lives.  Jesus IS the ONLY true VALUE.  Everything else will fail....He is.  He was.  He will be forever.  Nothing can separate us from the love made known in Christ Jesus.  Forever and ever.

 

Is it just a feeling? perhaps the feeling is temporary. Jesus is not.  My faith in Him is not.  His being in me and me in Him:  not temporary.  The hope we have in Christ; the promise He gives...the infinite love and mercy and call:  Forever with the Father.  Pure in the eyes of the Lord.  To Hell with that which is not from Him.

All I need is in Christ...in Christ alone.

His Peace.

-ao

Wyatt brim.jpg

A good lot...

 

Last night we had our 2nd "Summer Five" - a bible study discussion we have at our house in the summers.  We meet five times (plus one or two) over the course of the summer and call it, "Summer Five"!  It has been a time of rich conversation and encounters with the Lord.  Jesus is in the midst of us and we always feel his presence - it has been an addictive thing for us in the summers.  It is for our friends who've graduated high school (at least one year removed) and up.....always a fun mix of people each week.  Last night was great.  We were in Colossians Chapter 1.

 

This a.m. I was in Psalms.  I read in chapter 16....

     "I said to the Lord, "You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.  -  Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.  The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.  I will praise the Lord, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.  I have set the Lord always before me.  Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken."

                                                                  - Psalm 16:2,5-8 NIV

Father, thank you for my lot.  Thank you that I am secure in you and your love for me.  Pleasant places is where you have landed me - because it's yours....Jesus I am yours...you are mine...my inheritance:  "every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms" -Ephesians 1:3

Thank you for counseling me, Jesus.  Thank you that you instruct my heart and I can depend upon you.

 

Today.  Thank you.  The lot you have given me is good...yes, Lord, it is good. 

Blessings.

-ao

A good day...

Today - a good day.  Breakfast with Ryan, my step brother.  Good conversation on the back patio - cool morning with the birds singing God's praises and the grass freshly mowed from yesterday afternoon...still damp with the morning dew.  Biscuits, bacon and sausage, eggs and coffee to drink.  We laughed.  We caught up - Ryan's first time in our home....been over two years and he's not been in my house - what kind of brother am I ?  We enjoyed our time together - I felt like we had no agenda, plenty of time, and were in the presence of the Lord. 

That is what I enjoy most about getting up early....the cool mornings, the quiet of the day as it begins to open the eyes of whatever this day will bring - there is a yawn and a stretch....the breeze blows and the trees whimper....the birds begin to spread the word that light is coming....the day is happening - God is doing His thing...and tell the bugs, tell the bees, alert the leaves at the tips of the moistened tree branches and tell the sky to open up as we all prepare for "the day the Lord has made.."

Mornings with Jesus.  The best.  There's nothing sweeter than time with Him...time to begin my day...time to keep my sanity - when I am not with the Lord and not with the orchestra of His creation, praising Him for the day - things are just not the same.  There is so much to tell  - so many stories...stories of friends, stories of Wyatt and Boone being best buddies, stories of Olivia and me taking these new products called Genesis Pure (www.genesispure.com/andyogle) and feeling different in a terrific manner! We feel great!  We are on our way to better health.  I will probably write soon to tell more of our Genesis Pure experiences and improved health.

For now, it's a good day.....a good day to soak in.  A good day to remember who's I am...to get a few things done, to walk in the light of Jesus and the life He calls me to live.  May I be reminded that I am His and presented as Holy to the Lord God.  Holy; He has made me like Himself -  because of the depths of His love.  The Cross.  The Resurrection.  Life abundantly in Jesus.  Forever.

His Peace.

-ao

A time to ponder...

I had my time with the Lord this a.m.  We were in Colossians.  I say, "We", because He is in me and I am in Him. He speaks to me through His word and I was in His word this morning - the book of Colossians.  I read.  I listened.  There were several things that I felt the gentle nudgings of God's Spirit in my heart and then one thing hit me a bit more than some others.

     "And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called, in one body.  And be thankful."

                                                            -Collossians 3:15 ESV

The Peace of Christ.  That is my hope and my prayer more days than not.  That His peace would reign....that He would rule in me...and in my heart - that I would trust and love and follow Christ in all my ways.  That all I do would be about Him and His love.  That I  would love Olivia and Wyatt and Boone in a manner that simply reflects Jesus.  That all I do and say to anyone and myself comes out of the overflow of Jesus Christ...in me!  For me, to let the "peace of Christ rule.." in my heart is to allow Jesus to take over.  However, it isn't as simple as it might seem.  It is a commitment, following Christ.  To allow His peace to rule means I must trust Him in all I do.  It is my hope for sure - it is my passion; but, I do not always submit my ways to Him.  He is my rule...the RULE in my life is in Christ, certainly.  So, shall I be guilted in time or lack thereof with Jesus?  Shall I be so excited I can not see straight that He rules in me and I have Him therefore I have eternity with God the Father and because of Jesus I have been redeemed...that my sins have been "set aside...and nailed to the cross" (Collossians 2)

There is no guilt in Christ.  He is my rock.  He  is my ever-present help.  I have been called to Him, by Him...and called to His peace - a peace that means "freedom from disturbance" and to be a part of the body of Christ.  It is freeing to remember this....to be reminded of His love and to be freed from guilt = faith in Jesus Christ.  He has set me free.  I will not give anything else a foothold because I belong to Him.  Perhaps there's something to this...perhaps this is a message that all might ought to consider??  I agree.

 

I was reading Don Miller's book, "To Own a Dragon" this morning and on one occasion, where he was backpacking in the Grand Canyon, he began a small journal entry.  In that entry he said this, "..If you can't buy a nice car for your family or anything, don't worry about it.  Just go into your kids' room and kiss them on the forehead, okay, 'cause there is all kinds of beauty and it doesn't have anything to do with having some stuff."  When it comes to the things that matter and the question of "Am I good enough?" - for you...or for me..or anyone asking, I believe it may be helpful to consider this quote.  Don Miller had been writing to himself in his journal - a note to encourage himself twenty years down the road from the time he hiked the Grand Canyon.  It was as if to say that being tempted to being relevant and successful is a bit of hogwash.  The true beauty in life is rooted in love.  Do you tell your kids you love them?  Do you give them kisses...or do you give them one hundred dollar bills?  Do you let them know they matter like nothing else?  Do you do the same to your spouse?  Do you simply love?  Or do you compare and wonder if you will be good enough? Rich enough?  Fast enough?  Eloquent? Good looking?  Status quo?  This list goes on....but something in Don Miller's note to himself struck a cord in me.  It is that I can have no fear - that the the joy in knowing Jesus Christ is that I can have no fear - that death has no final power on me and that nothing outside of love (which comes from Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith) really matters.

 

May your day be rooted in Love.

 

Blessings.

-ao

Silent Retreat

 

In April we did a Silent Retreat.  It was by invitation to our YL Leaders.  Some decided they wanted to participate - that was good...I knew when it was prompted upon my heart that not all our leaders would do this but a few would be interested and perhaps they would be given a platform to have an encounter with God they might not forget.  My hope:  to give whomever was here ( we did the retreat at my house) some space and time to be alone with the Father. 

Silence.  No words. No outward communication.  Words  - via prayer and journal entries....alone time with the Lord.  It was our night to be alone with the Lord, alone from one another, and a night to take all the time we needed to walk, talk, write, listen, sleep, read, or whatever we felt to worship and honor and BE WITH the Lord.  A silent retreat can be pretty intimidating.  For those that showed up  -it was an invitation into deeper intimacy than they'd experienced with the Living God.  For me - an opportunity to serve in a capacity that I have longed to do for some time now.  It was beautiful.

 

After a couple hours of initial silence, we came together for dinner with some worship (instrumental) music in the background and a meal that was wonderful - it was steak, corn, baked potatoes, chicken, salad, and sweet tea.  I'm telling you - this was a meal that the Lord showed up!  We ate like champions...in silence and worship.

 

After dinner, we took some down time....then it was out to the fire pit in the back yard.  We worshipped in a unique manner.  We prayed.  We talked with the Lord openly.  We were each handed a log to cast into the fire  -it could represent something in our lives that was in need of kindling the flame....or it could be something that needed burned, forgotten, sent to Hell - either we chose...either would happen - this was our prayer.  We experienced both - things needing ignited further by God and things needing to be burned with the finality of separation.  It was truly powerful.

 

At the end of the night....dessert.  Not all ate..but, it was good....a reminder of our sweet time with Jesus and time alone in silence and solitude.  The next a.m. we had a breakfast together in silence....then we broke our silence and discussed what the Lord had done in our lives. 

 

There is no substitute for time alone with the Lord, period. 

 

We will be doing this again - mark it down.

 

 

.....a privilege to serve Jesus in a manner that spoke volumes to my heart and did wonders from Him in the lives of a few YL Leaders in Loudon County.

 

His Peace,

-ao

A Mommy - for them...but so much for me!

This is how I view Olivia - she is my wife; she is Wyatt and Boone's mommy.  Olivia IS a Mommy.  Olivia works her tail off.  Olivia loves our little boys.  She takes care of them all day - everyday! Olivia wipes their tears away, she feeds them, she does crafty things with Wyatt.  Olivia runs and plays in the yard (and in the house) with Wyatt.  Olivia "wallers" on the floor with both boys.  Olivia rocks Boone to sleep; she sings to him every single day.  Boone lights up when his eyes meet Olivia's.  Wyatt talks of Mommy all the time - he mistakenly calls me "mommy" probably 7 out of ten times!  Olivia is on the minds of Wyatt and Boone.  Olivia Ogle takes her boys shopping, she takes them to the park - she lets these little tikes play (well, Wyatt is on his own...Boone is in her arms!).  She lets Wyatt play in the rain and make splashes in mud puddles.  Olivia prays over her babies.

Olivia - there is a cartoon named, Olivia.  My Olivia says the cartoon character, a little piglet girl, is a lot like how she is in real life.  She's fun, wacky, a little bit of a drama queen, and always learning things. If there is anything engrained into Olivia's heart and soul - it's being a wonderful and sweet and loving and unconditional MOMMY to our little boys.  I watch my wife be the mother of our children - this beautiful woman, the girl I always wanted....the one whom I chased for so long...the one whom I prayed over and handed my heart to at our wedding....the one whom I vowed to and gave my highest covenant on Earth - my commitment to her and no others (apart from Christ being first for us both).....I watch and I am in awe!  How does she do it?  It must be from God! It is a miracle....she can multi-task like nobody's business...and it is just effortless.  She is smooth.  She is good.  She is a mommy - she is the mommy in our house and for that I am more grateful than words can express.

To Olivia:  I love you with all my heart.  You are the one I always loved - you are the one I love always.  You are the light of our boys' days!  You ....you...you, Olivia Ogle - are adored by three boys in our home!  We all love you.  We all need you.  We all will go to the moon and back for you - may you always be Olivia....always a wonderful wife..always a wonderful mother....a role model and guider of so much in our lives.  WE love you!  I love you in ways I cannot express....ways I cannot write about...ways I cannot put on a blog (yippee!)....I love you in a manner that I know is from Him - the One who created you and me and our boys....who created mothers and gave you the deep-down gifts that exist within your soul that the rest of us on Earth can only marvel at!  He is the One we love....He is the One for us - all of us.  To my dear bride:  Happy Mother's Day 2009.  You are so cool.  You are an encouragement to me...to so many, and for me to be a better dad - because you are an awesome mother...a great mommy!  I love being a Daddy so much because of the Mommy you are to Wyatt and Boone - may it always be.

 

His Peace.

 

-ao

Things of insignificance....maybe not!

What happens to the little things? The things that matter to you - you know, those things that drive us crazy if we lose - well, that is probably my Obsessive Compulsiveness coming through....However, when I have something simple...something that I like and then I can not find it, it drives me nuts! I wonder if you can relate? Things that come to mind: pens, pencils, socks, pocket knife, certain spatulas, a favorite wallet or (fill in the blank). It could be anything - could be clothes or keys or music......it's the things that are little to "them" that mean something to "us" (or - me!). This is a story about a jacket....a jacket's job is to protect, to cover, to keep separate from the elements that which it is covering. Webster's says: "an outer covering or casing..."

This is the jacket I am referring to:

yep, that's right, my Blackberry phone case - a jacket for my phone. Well, I have had this thing since I got my phone. It reminds me a little bit of a purse - I call it my man-purse for my phone. But, once I got past the femininity of the original feel of that jacket...it was all good. Then, I had something - I had a cover for my nice phone that would protect it. I have dropped my phone thousands of times...and thousands of times, this little phone jacket has protected my phone. I have become attached to my phone case because without it my phone would be toast! It would have smashed many times over - sure I pay for insurance but this is about keeping what I've got, right? I mean, don't we all like to protect our stuff? Well, I happen to feel that this jacket for my Blackberry Pearl is a non-negotiable for carrying this phone! It is a solid investment to have a case for my phone (and yours, too).

...this story continues...

I went to the park a few days ago (coming soon to the blog...stories of people) and came across this girl running in the park. She had a large jogging stroller and two little kids with her. A double-take would confirm that this was my wife and our two little ones. So, I decided to "cut them off at the pass" and meet up with them...before sitting on a park bench to do some writing. We visited, we laughed at the surprise showing for all of us - and Olivia, Wyatt, & Boone strolled on as I went to sit at a bench by the creek. After writing a little while....it was time to go home. I left. I went to use my phone and realized there was no phone case...just my naked phone. This felt odd - like I was missing something. When this happens, something weird on the inside goes on...it's like all these chemicals release in my brain that says to me, "you can't leave without your phone jacket", "you must find this thing of SIGNIFICANCE!!" So, I looked for my little black jacket. It was not in my bag with books and a journal. It was not on the walk way at the park. It was not on the park bench. It was not in my car. I began sweating....and getting impatient. Then, I had to go home - I was defeated, weakened and mentally beat up.....all over my little black phone case!

I began thinking a little more about this...you know when I tell a story like this and people give me the look (perhaps about like the one you have in your mind reading about this ridiculous story) that says, what is the big deal on something so insignificant??!! Well, exactly, what IS the big deal? I wondered....and I considered...so, I figured I would just move on without my phone jacket....and life would be fine. Then, one morning before an early AM breakfast with some high school guys that I spend time with as a Young Life leader, I had the thought of "significance in the eyes of the Lord". And then, it hit me!

The Parable of the Lost Coin

⁸"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins^[a] and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? ⁹And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' ¹⁰In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

The Parable of the Lost Son

¹¹Jesus continued: "There was a man who had two sons. ¹²The younger one said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the estate.' So he divided his property between them.

¹³"Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. ¹⁴After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. ¹⁵So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. ¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷"When he came to his senses, he said, 'How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men.' ²⁰So he got up and went to his father.
"But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.

²¹"The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.^[b]'

²²"But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.

"The Father....He's so very fond of me..."

- Brennan Manning; story in his books telling of an individual's thoughts of God's infinite love, mercy and grace for him.

(in these photos...I felt it shows a father's love to his children...it reminds me of He who is always loving me - always having me on His mind....and, you, too.)

The thing about these parables that Jesus Christ is telling is that we have a God who pursues us...He overturns things to search us and He waits on His tippy-toes to see us in the horizon....He will not stop loving us, He will not stop pursuing us - he is a Chaser! Even if we feel like we are not worth searching for...like we are insignificant to those around us, like we are meaningless and not of value - we have a God who cares to know us on an eternal scale in a manner that is infinitely greater than we can fathom! And....we matter to Him! It is as if we are the lost phone jacket - if we do not know Jesus as our Savior and have a relationship with the Living God, we aren't just a lost phone case in the park...we are THE SIGNIFICANCE in the eyes of the Lord. You and I were made in His Image and are the joy of Him. He can't not search for you and me - He can not "not" love us....LOVE is His nature....to pursue you and me IS the business of God!

May we, somehow, never forget to remember His infinite love....that we are His creation and He is crazy about His children.

Who would think that a day in the park would reveal another route of God's love? I think it is probably telling of a little more than my compulsiveness; that it is a revealing of a love story....that God is in the midst of everything...He is in the park, He is in morning, He is in the car ride home, He is in ALL, period.

May we consider His love.

-ao