tooshie totes

hey there.

wendy jo & i met for the first time in 7th grade.  we were those jr. high school sweethearts that made you sick to your stomach.  the truth is:  our cuteness has been known to make even our own stomachs turn.  80)


there is no doubt that knowing somebody for nearly 25 years comes with some really good times...  but it also comes with a handful of difficult days.  we have had to learn along the way that real love is quite stubborn.  working through the difficult days is the only way to discover and enjoy the really good times.


another crazy thing about knowing someone for about 25 years is the way we get into each other's heads.  finishing each other's sentences becomes second hand.  we can look into each other's eyes and decipher a paragraph of thoughts.  it's just freaky!  i can come home with a surprise, but she figures it out instantly.  and i can quickly tell that she's onto me, and she picks up on the fact that i know she knows...  [makes it kinda hard to pull one over in our house]

but for as long as i have known wendy, she has been one creative chica.  in fact, one of the coolest parts of my day is seeing her latest creation.  she is currently putting all of her creative juices into tooshie totes.  you can check out some of her goods on etsy.  i'm not a girl, but if i were, i would totally be into this junk.  besides, our kiddos would really appreciate the business.  =)

_that's what matthinx.

p.s.  today makes 15 years & 9 months of being hitched to my best friend!

my friend steve

check this guy out:  steve parsons dot net

hey there.

God knows.

He always knows!

it never matters what we've been through, or even where we've been...  God knows how to reach us with His relentless love.


it's like when a stranger from the other side of the planet shows up to worship with you at church, and then he sings a couple of songs that God uses to bring you crashing to your knees.


steve parsons is a funny guy.  i really think you'd like him.  his humor is perfectly dry, and his sarcasm is perfectly dropped.  he's not some pre-packaged squeaky clean plastic christian.  he's real.  he's been there.  but He is madly in love with God as he follows Jesus in real life.  and i haven't even know him 24 hours, but we are kindred spirits.  his lyrics are honestly raw, leaving no room for excuses:

one truth can set a man free, lift him up out of the dark, give him a reason, give him a new song to sing. one Man nailed to a tree, paying the price of a new beginning.  love is His answer and life is the gift that He brings.

i want to care without a stony heart.  i want to love and never lose the spark.  i want to go illuminate the dark.  and i want to, want to love.

[from 'one life'  _  written by steve parsons]

 check this out:  i attended central bible college with danae rutherford, who married steve parsons [singer/songwriter from the uk], who was invited to attend a conference in estes park colorado with eugene peterson [the beast behind 'the message'], and then got in touch with paul church [college friend & current pastor], to finally minister to the body of believers at dakota ridge assembly [where i just happen to attend].  you can call all of those details a tangled mess of happenstances, but i would simply call you crazy.


thank God for working all things together for the good!


_that's what matthinx

life is good

hey there.

with 5 kiddos & a maltese named little joe...  the day gets underway very early at the davis place.

i guess it would first be helpful for you to understand my philosophy of the morning.  i've seen a sunrise or two in my lifetime, and actually enjoyed one of them.  @_@  but i simply believe that God would have put His sunrise in the middle of the day if He wanted me to consistently experience it.  

the thing is:  i would feel quite accomplished if my early wake up calls were because of my morning mountain climb, my long distance bike ride, or my intense P90X workout.  but instead, my mornings are filled with a very large cup of joe, a crack of dawn walk with little joe, dragging some kiddos out of bed [coop, ashton & caleb], unsuccessfully putting others back in bed [carter & abbie], and a few more glorious cups of coffee.  nope, none of this stuff leaves me feeling uber cool; but all of this stuff leaves me feeling extremely fulfilled.  these days, the biggest part of my day is spent hanging out with the fam.  and if i'm lucky, i get to wrap it all up with wendy jo on a late night mickey d's/starbucks run  [oddly enough, the toffee latte washes down a mushroom & swiss angus wrap really well].

the bottom line___  i'm absolutely loving my new schedule.
it has been crazy watching God perfectly recreate our provision.  my management training is now complete with ultimate protection inc., and i could totally get use to these seven hour work days!

so, if you're in the denver metro area, here are 2 things to remember:

1.  join us anyday of the week for some early morning
 mayhem [please let us sleep in until at least 6am].

2.  if you're ready to protect your family from the bad
 guys or house fires, i'll get my team right on it.  '8~]-

that's what matthinx.

the do-over

hey there.

before the great wii, before the xbox, before psanything, even before running water...  we had atari.  it was back in the old days when 3D graphics weren't part of gaming.  some of us remember a time when our video games didn't come with pre-packaged imagination.  we primitively manipulated our pixelated icon across the tv screen, and sat amazed.  it was magical!

one thing has never changed though:  the reset button.  honest gamers will admit to using it more than they were proud of...  but we were thankful to have one more chance to beat the machine.  one more chance to figure out the things we had missed.  one more chance to execute the perfect game.

i'll never forget the long wait before the system was able to reboot.  it seemed like an eternity.  such wasted time.  we had more important things to do than just sit there waiting...  like fixing what we did wrong.

life is like that sometimes, and we find ourselves waiting to reboot.


thank GOD for HIS relentless love!

_that's what matthinx

repeatable comebacks

hey there.

i'm happy for the saints.

it's just a really cool story:  a city that is left in ruins.  a people that refused to give up.  a nation that rallied behind them.  a pro football team with 2 total post-season wins in the previous 42 years; to then win their very first superbowl appearance in 2010.  an epic comeback for the ages.

and the best parts of this story CAN be played out over and over in our own lives...

there are moments when we seem to be left in ruins.  there are moments when it seems like we haven't 'won' in years.  but when we follow God with our life and refuse to give up, we can experience miraculous comebacks.

that's all.

-pm@

p.s.  i would really like to be buried with a casket full of doritos...

so far, so good...

hey there.

welp, we're working on our third day of the new year now.  and just for the record, twenty-ten is treating me just fine.  the truth is:  i'll be leaving on a cruise to the bahamas today with my high school sweetheart.  WORD!

on january 7th of this year, wendy jo and i will have been married for 15 years!  WOOHOO!!!  every new year serves as an excellent immovable marker when we can take stock of where we've been and where we're going.  but 2010 especially gives me a chance to reflect on the love God has given to wendy and i, what it has taken us through, and where it is leading us next.  i am so thankful for the unbelievable history that we've shared together, but can hardly wait for the unimaginable future ahead.  i'm looking forward to the things that God will reveal to me when i quiet myself before Him in the coming days of this new year.

next time you see me, i'll have a better tan, and a better plan.  how about you?

[pm@]

shut the door!

[posted first on january 1, 2009]

hello, my name is matthew and i’ve been thinking...

life is very sticky. we go through our routine, mind our own business, when BAM! out of no where, and without even asking, life attaches itself to us with a very strong death grip. eventually, the layers of life begin to get kind of heavy. it’s like an old door that has been painted over and over through the years. at some point, the layers of paint get so thick, that the door can no longer close. truth is: we have several layers of life on us by now. honestly, some of them are great parts of our life... but others just aren’t. we’re gonna spend the new year stripping away all of the layers, so God can repaint us. don’t miss it, you will look much better!

[pm@]

better late than never?

as all three of our faithful uftv followers will remember, i delivered a rather hefty promise to be a better blogger in 2009.  and i failed...  miserably.


but, in an honest effort to redeem my honor, i am making a valiant effort to finish the year strong. i'm not promising a bunch of new fangled ideas this month, just some that have been carefully dusted off. please enjoy the following vintage blog posts that will remind us how the underground fellowship journey began here at pocono community church. stay connected with us, and the reward will be brand-spankin' new material in 2010.


[pm@]