Robert Murray M'Cheyne: Part 1

Some thoughts from a Scottish theologian... More to come.

"I fear there are some Christians among us to whom Christ cannot say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” Your haughty dwellings arise among thousands who have scarcely fire to warm themselves at and have but little clothing to keep out the biting frost. You heave a sigh perhaps at a distance, but you do not visit them.

My dear friend, I am concerned for the poor, but much more for you. I don’t know what Christ will say to you on the great day. You seem to be Christians, yet you don’t care for His poor. What a change will pass upon you as you enter the gates of heaven. You will be saved but that will be all. There will be no abundant entrance for you. He who sows sparingly will reap sparingly.

And I fear that there may be many hearing me who know that they are not Christians because they do not love to give. To give largely and liberally requires a new heart. An old heart would rather part with its lifeblood than its money. So friends, enjoy your money, make the most of it, for you will be paupers throughout eternity."

-Robert Murray M'Cheyne

The Virus

Well, it is finally nearing an end, at least in the Roberts' home. For over a week our family and friends have been passing around and stuggling through a horendous stomach virus. In the Roberts' home, it started with Zach "spitting" on Friday night, all night. Then he decided he would share it with his mother. Angie fortunately has the stomach of steel, so she neither "spit" nor had diarrhea, she just had a significant upset stomach and loss of appetite.

On Sunday night we thought everyone was starting to feel a little better. We were getting ready to settle everyone into bed and get some rest when Angie yelled out "He's throwing up." I thought she meant Zach, but no, it was Sam. The virus lived on and another sleepless night was on the way. I stayed home on Monday to tend to Angie and the kids.

Tuesday came and I continued to feel well. I felt confident that I had avoided the plaque. Angie wasn't so convinced. She was concerned I was going to catch this monster and end up in the ER as I had a couple times before. (I tend to get violently sick when stomach bugs hit). I drove to Paris to begin my day in the OR. Angie asked her mom to come and help with the kids so she could catch up on rest (found out this morning she is sick).

Around 2:30, while I was scrubed into a case, I began to feel faint and nauseated. After taking some jabs about being the student who's going to pass out in surgery, I stepped out and found the nearest bathroom. I'll spare you the details.Anyway I drove myself home and remained in bed until 11:00 the next morning. I took Phenergan, Immodium, and Tylenol every chance I could.

By Wednesday, I felt much better but still didn't have much of an appetite. Angie and the kids were doing fairly well. Then came Friday night. We thought it was over, then it reared it's ugly head once more. While driving home from the Bustrum's, Sam yacks all over himself while in his carseat. Fortunatly that was the one and only time for the evening.

Now it's Saturday. All is well...so far.

ONE.org

Today I want to share with you ONE way you can get involved. It only takes ONE minute of your time. And it won't cost you ONE dollar.

The ONE Campaign is an effort by Americans to rally Americans – one by one – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers, stay at home moms and Salt group members, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united to help make poverty history.

The ONE Campaign derives its name from the belief that allocating an additional one percent of the U.S. budget toward providing basic needs like health, education, clean water and food would transform the futures and hopes of an entire generation in the world's poorest countries. They also call for debt cancellation, trade reform and anti–corruption measures in a comprehensive package to help Africa and the poorest nations beat AIDS and extreme poverty.

The goal of ending poverty may seem lofty, but it is within our reach if we take action together as one. You can start now by joining the ONE Campaign and pledging your voice to the fight against extreme poverty and global AIDS.

Join the ONE Campaign. Then spread the word. If you do sign up, leave a comment encouraging others to do the same.

compassion

A couple of short months ago I became aware, God made me aware, of a lack of compassion for others in my life. Not to say that I didn't or don't care about those close to me (although I could do better). But those outside of my circle who were suffering didn't even enter my thoughts.

I can make excuses about the guy sitting on the corner with the cardboard sign like, "He just wants money for a drink" or "Why doesn't he get a job". And for those suffering around the world, "I can't make a difference" or to be quite honest, it just doesn't seem real. They're too far away and the problems and suffering in the 3rd world just don't register with my westernized brain.

I happened to stumble upon a couple of videos on iTunes done by NBC news' Brian Williams . One was about the crisis in Darfur, the other with Bono in Africa. I had seen videos like these before, but they had never quite stirred things within me like this.

God was making it clear that I was ignoring a huge part of my call to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. I am commanded to consider others better than myself and not look out for my own interests but also the interests of others. In other words Dave, quit being so selfish.

Over the next several days, weeks, or how ever long I do this blog thing, I will share my thoughts as I go on this journey to learn what it means to be compassionate. Hopefully it will start a dialogue and you can help me figure some things out.

John Piper is Bad

Ok, you guys know I love John Piper. I was searching You Tube for Piper videos to watch and came across this. I thought you might enjoy it so I decided to post it here. I got a good laugh and thought you might too.

There is a shorter version without the Piper interview on You Tube, but I thought it was good to show this one since the guy shows it was done in good fun and not out of disrespect. And I like what Piper has to say about it. We are bad. Thanks be to our Savior Jesus Christ!

If your not familiar with John Piper, check out his teaching at www.desiringgod.org or click the link to the right.

Dave

What's in a name?

You may be wondering about my screen name and name of my web address (Zeppie) or maybe not. But I thought I would share it with you any way. So here it goes.

As you may know from personal experience, coming up with a screen name is usually a challenge. There is always more than one cardsfan or droberts or any other countless combinations that you try to think of. So one day when trying to come up with a screen name for Ebay, or something of the sort, I began to run out of options.

It just so happened that I was a collector of Pez dispensers. That's right Pez . You know, the candy dispensers with the character heads. That for another blog, another day. So, I tried to think of several combinations that included Pez and finally stumbled upon Zeppie. Pez spelled backwards with ...pie (pronounced zepp as in zeppelin and ending in long e). It seems like most places I am the first to claim zeppie, so it stuck.

Manhood

Well, my manhood was tested today and I passed. Not with flying colors, but I passed. On my way home from Paris (did I tell you how much I love driving to Paris every day) a man behind me began to flash me with his headlights and point emphatically downward. I had no idea what was the big deal. I took a look in my rearview mirror to make sure my trunk and gas tank were closed, and they were, so I continued to drive.

A little time passed, but this guy was persistant. He was waving his hands like he was having a grand mal. So I figured it would be in my best interest to pull over at the next spot possible. So I parked my car at 1st Bank in Atwood, got out and took a gander. To my amazement and dread I spotted the cause of his status epilepticus .

My rear driver's tire was flat. I mean flat. Not just low on air, but sucking it. It was flatter than a playing card, flatter than a pancake, flatter than Al Gore. You get the point.

You see, I have never sucessfully changed a tire before. My manhood was a stake. Could I do it without mamming my car, myself, or my pride. The challenge was on. After stuggling for longer than I want to admit (ok about 10 minutes), I finally got the jack out of the trunk. Yes, just to get the jack out of the trunk. But with a little help from a passer-by, I was able to figure out that I would need to twist a knoby thing to get it out. Ok, strike one on the manhood.

Then I needed to decide the proper placement for the jack. This is where I went wrong in my previous tire changing escapade. Lets just say I had a little minor body damage the last time, won't make that mistake again. Fortunately there was a little picture on the jack that showed where I would need to place it. Got to love those pictures.

Now time to crank up the jack. I wasn't sure which tool to use, but I started in anyway. I'm a man, I should be able to figure this out... This seemed to be taking forever. I broke down and did the unthinkable, I read the instructions in the owner's manual. Duh...so that's how you do it. Strike two on the manhood.

Fortunately, the tire came off with ease, but the jack needed to be a little higher to get on the spare. After a couple minutes it seemed to be getting harder to put the tire on instead of easier. Then I realized I was turning the jack the wrong way. I realized my error and quickly began to crank the opposite way with much better success. Let's just count this one as a foul ball, shall we.

Ah!! The tire was on! Now I just needed to make it to Jackson without anything tragic happening. My fear is that I would not have the lug nuts tight enough and the tire would come flying off down Hwy 45. If this happened it would certainly be my third and final whiff. Then I would begin my slow embarassing walk back to the dugout. But I am happy to say that I made it to Jackson in one piece, with my manhood intact, barely.

An hour later I had a new tire from King Tire, with rotation, and an oil change. The only glich is that I had thought we purchased the Roadside Hazard warranty from them when we bought the tires. Apparently not. So instead of the free tire, which I expected, it was $62 plus tax. Why is it when we buy the extended warranty things never break, and when we don't they alway break? I guess that would make another blog.

Men, save your boys great embarassment later in life. Teach them to change a tire.

Death and Taxes

I just finished my taxes online. Many dread the thought of taxes, but not us poor folk. It's the moment I've waited for all year. Uncle George sends me a paycheck for having kids and barely making an income. Don't you love America!

I think doing my taxes is a blast. Heck, it's more fun than playing the dollar slots at Tunica. If you do TurboTax online (which I highly recomend) you get the pleasure of seeing that little box in the corner rack up your refund. I mean what's better than seeing your yearly income almost double before your very eyes. That's right double!

I just found out I got a $2600 return! Cha-Ching! I only made a little over 3000 bucks last year. That's what I call a payday. No wonder so many people would rather be poor than find a job. Mark, maybe you shouldn't be so concerned about finding work.

If your poor like me and haven't done your taxes yet, use TurboTax freedom online. It's free if your poor and you too can have the pleasure of seeing your return spin upward into the heavens.

Dave