Archive for May, 2012

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#359 – Summertime Prayers

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on May 31, 2012 by scotthiga

I’ve written a lot about my prayer life on this blog. Probably because it’s one of the areas in which I need the most growth. Prayer has always been a struggle for me and I’ve shared some of those struggles. I used an Orthodox prayer book for a while and for a season I have been focused on praying for our church’s golf tournament. Those have been bright blips in an otherwise dim part of my spiritual life.

I wrestle with prayer because I don’t feel like I’m very good at it. I know it’s just talking with God but other people seem so much more in tune with what to pray and how to pray it. I have friends who are amazing prayers and, when I compare myself to them, I always come up short.

I know I’m not supposed to compare myself to others but, when they’re so good at prayer and I feel so bad at it, it’s difficult. Read more »

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#358 – Nerdy Spiritual Retreats

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on May 30, 2012 by scotthiga

This week our pastoral staff is spending some time in Malibu on a little spiritual retreat. It’s good for everyone to take some time away and give some directed attention to our spiritual lives. Our lives are so full and so busy that we often need to take time away in order to clearly hear God’s voice. We’re at a retreat center in Malibu and I can’t think of a more perfect place to pause and get away. Here are some nerdy retreat centers that might be just as good.

Hoth

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#357 – Preventing Childhood Nerdiness

Posted in Uncategorized with tags on May 29, 2012 by scotthiga

I was recently a guest on The Dadcast, a sometimes irreverent look at fatherhood by my friend Nick and his cohost Shawn. You can listen to the podcast here or subscribe to it on iTunes. The Dadcast is a little NSFC (Not Safe For Church) but it shouldn’t cause you to stumble too much.

I’m not yet a father but the topic for the episode on which I was a guest was the Top 5 Ways to Keep Your Kid From Becoming a Nerd. I may not have any kids but I definitely know a lot about preventing childhood nerdiness. I basically thought about what my parents did and told Nick and Shawn to do the exact opposite.

Below are three ways to keep your kid from becoming a nerd. Check out the podcast for all five. Read more »

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#356 – Review: Men in Black 3

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on May 28, 2012 by scotthiga

I finally saw a movie this summer other than The Avengers. I enjoyed the first Men in Black, didn’t see Men in Black 2 and wasn’t sure I was going to see Men in Black 3. Alycia is a big fan of the series, though, so I was more than happy to go see MIB3 with her. It wasn’t the best movie I’ve ever seen but I was more than entertained. Will Smith does what Will Smith does and Josh Brolin does a great job as a young Agent K.

Below are some reflections I had while watching Men in Back 3. Read more »

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#355 – The Prisoner of Azkaban: 6-9

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on May 25, 2012 by scotthiga

So far The Prisoner of Azkaban has followed a similar trajectory to the first two Harry Potter novels. There’s been some drama in the classrooms, Harry’s hearing strange voices and Draco Malfoy is still the worst. Things have picked up with Sirius Black allegedly making his way into Hogwarts and Harry taking a tumble off of his broomstick.

Below are some reflections from chapters 6-9 of The Prisoner of Azkaban. Read more »

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#354 – Biblical Bad Calls

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on May 24, 2012 by scotthiga

A month before its scheduled release, G.I. Joe: Retaliation has been postponed for nine months. After sinking millions of dollars into promoting its June 29 release, Paramount postponed G.I. Joe: Retaliation in order to post-convert it to 3D. I was really looking forward to G.I. Joe: Retaliation. The Rock looked amazing and I was pretty sure that Channing Tatum died early on. Now I’ll have to wait nine months to see Duke die and ninjas fight on the side of a mountain.

Postponing G.I. Joe: Retaliation seems like a pretty bad call. Here are some biblical bad calls. Read more »

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#353 – Guilty Blessings

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on May 23, 2012 by scotthiga

I hear about a lot of other youth pastors and the struggles they face in their jobs.

They have to work crazy hours.

They have to take vacation time to go to summer camp.

They have senior pastors who can’t remember their families’ names.

When I hear about the struggles they face, I end up feeling pretty guilty for how God has blessed me with the job that I have.

I love my church.

I thoroughly enjoy my job and the people I work with.

I’m proud to call my senior pastor my senior pastor.

God chooses to bless whom he’s going to bless and we shouldn’t argue about it. There are people far more deserving of God’s favor, though, who don’t appear to have been blessed as much as I have. I know I’m basically a screw-up, but God still chooses to bless me even when I don’t deserve it. Read more »

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#352 – Worst Nerdy Meetings

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on May 22, 2012 by scotthiga

As a pastor I sit in a lot of meetings. Yesterday I had an eight-hour meeting with the rest of the pastoral staff at our church. It was a good meeting and we hopefully gained some clarity for where God wants us to go during this next season of ministry. Even though it was a good meeting and I like all of my coworkers, an eight-hour meeting is still an eight-hour meeting.

My meeting was long but it was still better than these nerdy meetings. Read more »

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#351 – Worst Nerdy Pets

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , , on May 21, 2012 by scotthiga

It took the better part of two years but Alycia and I finally got a dog. We had said that we didn’t want to have a dog while living in an apartment. However, once we saw that face, we knew we’d found our first dog. We named her Elphie and she has been a great pet so far.

Not all pets are as great, as Elphie. Below are some of the worst pets of nerdom. Read more »

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#350 – The Prisoner of Azkaban: 1-5

Posted in Uncategorized with tags , on May 18, 2012 by scotthiga

The Prisoner of Azkaban started very much like the first two Harry Potter books. Harry is back with the Dursleys and his magic again gets him into trouble. I hope one of two things happens by the end of the series: that Harry doesn’t have to go back to the Dursleys’ during summer vacation or they have a change of heart and reconcile themselves to Harry.

I enjoyed the first five chapters and, as always, things really pick up when everyone gets back to Hogwarts. Below are some reflections from chapters 1-5 of The Prisoner of Azkaban. Read more »

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