Gain a child...lose a child

We have a new son! Sort of. Meet Samuel.



On Thursday the Chizzlwicks became proud sponsors of Mr. Samuel De Andrade Lima through an organization called Compassion International. Compassion will ensure Samuel gets an education, health care and other necessities most of us take for granted...and they will do it all in the name of our great Savior.

On a heavier note... on Friday we learned that Mandy miscarried and we lost our second child. We are saddened by this turn of events but find comfort in our Lord.

He gives and takes away, Blessed be His name!

Dumpster Daddy

Some friends and I were taking advantage of the warm weather today to get in a round of disc golf.

I noticed that disc golfers leave a tremendous amount of garbage behind. Mostly empty beer cans. After everyone went back to work, I had the grand idea that I would clean up the course and make some money in the process. Times are tough and every cent helps. So inspired by a woman named "Dumpster Muffin", I enlisted the help of the wife and child and off we went. I was able to get a full bag full of aluminum cans. My wife on the other hand, she managed to track down 1 can.

The recycle machine is on the way home...unfortunately it was busted. With the help of google we found another location not too far away.

The final tally....40 cents.

That equals about 20 cents an hour. Just slightly less then my day job. Not enough to pay for our new baby.

O Holy Night

O holy night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
'Til He appear'd and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.

Fall on your knees! O, hear the angels' voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother;
And in His name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy name.

Christ is the Lord! O praise His Name forever,
O night divine, O night when Christ was born;
O night divine, O night, O night Divine.

Who or what is Normal?

In my travels, I recently crossed paths with a missionary on his way to Paris. His wife had an article published in Christianity today a few years ago titled "A more perfect society." Good read. I also recommend you watch a sweet video of their son Michael. He is quite a dancer!

Been thinking a lot lately about terms like "normal" and "perfect"

Reflections on a year of Daddyhood

Our offspring recently turned a year old. I remember awhile back my friend Jason said that when you get married you discover just how selfish you really are...man was he ever right! This year ive learned that having a kid adds approximately 100 million percent to my selfishness factor....for example, why wont that goober stop crying so I can think enough to write this blog about him!

I always knew that being a father wouldn't be easy. What I wasn't prepared for was the range of emotions that comes along with it. From feelings of utter helplessness and sorrow to laughter and joy, no emotion is left untouched. This has been a long, interesting and beautiful year. Ive learned what it means to be needy and needed. More than anything, i have learned about grace and my desperate need for it. There is nothing quite like being a daddy-o. Happy birthday ya big chooch!

MnM

Our friends Jason and Vanessa had their precious babies Melody and Madison tonight. I cried as I held their lifeless bodies and my mind turned to heaven... a place where sickness, sorrow, pain and death are felt and feared no more. Thank you Delgados for letting us bear this burden with you....and thank you Jesus for defeating death.

Power Stash

Whatdayall think of my new look? Should I keep it or retire it lick-a-dee-split? Polls are open to your right.

Things are not as they should be.

Im not sure how big my audience is anymore, but for those who are following and would be so kind....please pray. Please pray for my friends Jason and Vanessa whos children need a heart...and lungs. As Jason said:

Have you thanked God lately for giving you a heart that works properly?

Pray for my other friends Chris and Stephanie who may lose the two kids they have been loving and caring for and been waiting for so long to adopt.

When I think about things like these and things like Children's hospitals and prisons and war and abortion...its then I know things are not as they were created to be.

Andrews update

No we are not doing an early Halloween...



The hospital visit last week confirmed what we had suspected; He is having seizures. They put him back on Phenobarbital and this has made the lad very cranky. He hates the taste of it, it makes him irritable and dizzy. Suddenly he is scared to death of the front door. If someone opens or closes the door he goes bananas...its pretty crazy. The upside to all this (if there is one) is that since starting him on it about a week ago his seizures have become less pronounced and less frequent. Thats about all we know right now. Its been a difficult couple weeks for us and appreciate everyones continued support.

This too shall be made right.

No Rest for the Weary

Seems like we have been going non-stop for a month. Couple weeks ago the chizzlewicks attended my good friend Rich's wedding in St Michaels Md. It was easily the most beautiful wedding I have ever attended. Drew was a hit with all the ladies, and it was a good substitute for my 10 yr HS. reunion. I cant believe its been that long. Pictures of the event (including one of my lovely and my son) are here.

Since then we were on the road for a couple weeks including a couple days with Mamo in FL. Again it was good to see family. Unfortunately Andrew has shown some signs of regression. We notice that at times he appears to be zoned out...he will stare to his right and seems to "lose it" for about 10 seconds before he snaps out of it. He will do it about three times in a row before he starts acting normally. We called the Dr so tomorrow we go in for an EEG and a 24hr evaluation. Updates to follow.

Happy Birthday Vic

Andrew helped celebrate my friend Victor's 10th birthday today. As you can imagine he is quite a hit with all the Castro ladies...and there are a lot of them. He got lots of hugs and kisses and enjoyed his first Mexican lollypop. There is something about the Hispanic culture I just love.

Vote Libriarian

People keep saying that this is the most important election in history. To quote Napoleon Dynamite "like anyone can even know that!" But since it seems so important, I gave it a lot of thought today as I was mowing the lawn.

At first I really liked a lot of what Ron Paul had to say, but as it turns out He's lame. I could say a lot about Obama and McCain but its all already been said over and over ad nauseum. Instead id like to point out the party I think is most ready to lead this country. The librarian party. No, I dont mean libertarian...we are not ready for that much freedom. I mean your local librarian.

Really, what better choice can one make? Librarians are very smart. Typically they can read and write and they have a world of knowledge at their disposal. Foreign policy, economics, war, health care, the environment..no problem! What subject has not been covered by at least a million and one books? I would be willing to bet that the majority of library's out there have a copy of The Constitution...something most legislators and judges are unfamiliar with. Besides if you can figure out the Dewey decimal system you can handle D.C..

Thats about when the mower ran out of gas...energy crisis, yet another problem any decent librarian would know how to fix.

Dont See This Movie

I like Indiana Jones. In fact, in highschool I wanted to be an archaeologist after growing up on Raiders of the Lost Ark, Temple of Doom and the Last Crusade. We finally got around to seeing The Crystal Skull. How bad was this movie? I mean really, this has to be embarrassing to Harrison Ford, Stephen Spielberg and George Lucas. The story line was lame. The action scenes and special effects were horrible. Luckily we only paid $2.50 to see it. In Highschool $2.50 bought you a nasty hot lunch and a chipwich. Compared to this movie, it was money well spent.

Atlanta

We just completed a working vacation to Atlanta. The following is a summary of our trip.

Day 1:
We got up before the sun to get to ATL mid morning. We had no agenda the first day, so we go to the three star hotel that makes me wonder what 2 or 1 stars look like. Hey, at least it had cable TV and a microwave (two amenities you wont find at our home in Texas). Saturday night we showed up late to Perimeter Church in north Atlanta. The pastor preached the Gospel and they ended with my new favorite hymn Before the Throne of God Above. I cried.

Day 2:
Our busiest day. We started by going to a hipster church called Trinity Vineyard. The worship was fantastic. The demographic was mostly short haired white kids just like us..looking for a little more diversity, but overall we enjoyed the service. Next we went to the Atlanta Aquarium. My main mission here was to find the very rare and exotic "scribbins fish"


Mission Accomplished!

From the Aquarium headed to Southeast Atlanta. We attended a worship service in an old methodist church abandoned during a period of "white flight" to the suburbs. The congregation was a combination of locals, intentional neighbors, and at what appeared to be several homeless people. It was warm and inviting and followed up by a family style dinner. Afterwards we drove one of the members home and he showed us around his neighborhood. I really cant put to words all the thoughts I had that night. I got almost no sleep counting the cost of moving to a neighborhood like that.

Day 3:
After a sleepless night, I sat through 8 hours of ground school. I managed to get through it before meeting up with Mandy's friends from Florida in Atlantic station. This was pretty much the complete opposite of where we ate the night before.

Day 4:
The most uneventful day of the trip, managed to catch up on some sleep.

Day 5:
After work we met up with a handful of couples who are living and working in the city. We hear about the mortgage crisis in the news but until this trip I had not actually seen what it has done "to the least of these." I would guess that on the street we ate that night about half of the houses were abandoned. It was a good evening of food and fellowship. We got to ask a lot of questions and meet some wonderful people. I didn't want to leave.

Day 6:
The Chizzlewicks go home... at long last.

Overall we had a great trip. It was exhausting both mentally and physically. We certainty don't have anything sorted out, but intend to keep asking, seeking and knocking.

Of First Importance

Ive been a Christian now for about four and a half years and somehow during this time I have never been able to nail down a good definition of the gospel.

Uh...you know Curt this is like the most essential part of being Christian?

Really? You wouldn't know this by going to most churches, watching Christian TV or listening to Christian music.

Good Point.

The Gospel has been defined by many people in many ways. But I like what Paul says best:

"That Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day"

In your own words please Curt.

Ive never had an original thought but here goes:

The Good News is that my sins are not counted against me. Because God is Just, He must hold me accountable. Fortunately, God himself paid the necessary and due penalty for my sin when He came to Earth. God, in Jesus, was wrongly accused, beaten to a pulp and nailed to a tree by those for whom He came to save. The last part of Paul's definition is the evidence of God the Father accepting God the Son's sacrifice. The resurrection.

Common man lets not talk about sin, blood and guts its offensive and gross

If its not offensive and gross its not the gospel.

Fine then, what else is the gospel NOT?

Despite what I may try to make them the gospel is not:

Bible study, prayer or fasting
Calvinism, Armenianism or anything in between
Health, Wealth and Prosperity
Politics or Religion
Anything I can work for, earn or think I might deserve.

More recently, its not moving to the Inner City or serving the poor, hungry and destitute.

The gospel is also not:
My son Andrew or My Marriage or me being liked.

All of these things may be well and good but they are not the gospel.

Sheesh, Why dont you just go back to worrying about your fantasy baseball team?

Ok.

Friday Night Fever

There I was hanging out in Saint Simon Island minding my own business when John Travoltas 707 goes rolling by. That little speck in the background is his refurbished Boeing in Quantas colors. For just a second I felt like a celebrity pilot so I donned my rock star shades.

UPDATE:

Rich thought it be cool to make me into something im not by switching my seats (see comments) im down with that all he has to do now is photoshop another stripe on my shoulder and add $$$ to my paycheck!

Cheesus

Have you heard about the latest Jesus sighting? I was scoffing at this report when I heard the lady say that instead of selling Jesus on Ebay she plans to keep him in a safe deposit box.

Thats right about when the conviction hit me..hey Curt thats exactly where you keep Jesus.

DFW-ATL

After an unannounced blog sabbatical, I am back to catch Y'all up with us Chizzlewicks.

Its not that we've been bored or had nothing to say, I just haven't felt like writing lately...sorry. In fact, there has been a lot going on in our little corner of the world lately including many fun trips and major life decisions being made.

To address the latter, as many already know the Chizzlewicks are moving to Atlanta. This is a decision that we have come to after about a year of prayer, petition and much anguish. Leaving Texas will be very difficult and we have lamented this decision for a long time. The relationships that we have developed here are eternal but that doesn't make the thought of moving any easier. I have had no peace about this move until recently discovering a couple inner city organizations who share my vision. Where we choose to settle has not been determined but we know that when we seek Him and lean not on our own understanding He will make our paths straight.

Stay tuned.

Now I have have a Blog too!

Hey friends!!!! I am so excited to say that I too now have a Blog! Yeah!!! So feel free to come over and check it out! Thanks!!!!

-Mandy


http://themessymonkey.blogspot.com/ (guess who the messy monkey is :) )

For Sale

We are having a Tag sale this weekend. If we own something you want let me know or swing by this Saturday.