I have signed The Manhattan Declaration, have you?

Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Here is a Southern Baptist Seminary President and member of the Gospel Collation on why he signed his name to the declaration.

I am of personal conviction it is so much better to state what I am for instead of making a case about something I am against.  This declaration is just that.  It brings about the convictions of Bible believing followers of Jesus into the culture of today.  I am laboring in my city to see her a better place.  To see her made good though the obedience of followers of Jesus.  And to that end I have placed my name on this declaration.  And not only do followers of Jesus value this three things covered by the declaration but so do many others in my generation.  It is time to take a stand and declare we value the family.

Tuesday is the big TTT for the Tour de France. Listen for my predictions at the end.  Dinner tonight was awesome with the Epic Church team.  Tonight was a reminder of why I love church planting and leadership.  I know Jesus has called me and my family to church leadership and it has been a blessing to used by Jesus in our city and in His church.

OH YEAH!!!  And I got to hang with a member of Stand By Red 5.  He hooked me up with a FREE CD.  This band is HOT!  Check em out at: http://www.myspace.com/standbyred5 You can follow them on Twitter too at: http://twitter.com/StandbyRed5

Today was a great day.  I really enjoy my family, all of them.  I am really blessed to have a mother who loves me so much.  In addition to my mother I am equally as blessed to have “new” family as well.  This new family I am referring to is the one I gained when I married Jennifer.  This month Jennifer and I will celebrate our 8th year of marriage (June 30th)!  I know, I can’t believe it either, “Jennifer put up with Jake for 8 years!”

It was about 10 years ago I had the honor of first meeting Jennifer’s side of the family.  The first group I met besides her Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister was Team Wulz.  I met them the summer of 1999 when Jennifer, Justin Spargur and I were road tripping it to Michigan to work for the summer.  I had just received the news on my birthday that my father had died and the very next day I met the Wulz Family, May 29th 1999.

They are loving, compassionate, fun, light hearted, active, generous, and so much more.  They are a joy to be around.  Richard, RoRo, Eric, Rachel, Emily and Lauren.  Yeah, I know they can make up a team for court volleyball.  I am very honored to have gained them as family and friends.  It is funny to see the circle of life in things.

The second time I met Team Wulz was in Enid, Oklahoma at Grandma Schmitz’s house for a Christmas celebration in 1999.  Imagine around a 1,500 square foot home and over 27 people living together for a week.  It was totally chaos filled with joy.  Anywho, Rachel, Emily and Lauren were around 6, 3, and 3 years old (respectively) and full of energy.  They would use me as a jungle gym and I would chase them though the house.  They would dog pile on top of me and it was a “hoot” to say the least.  Now, 10 years later I have a 6 year old daughter, Madison, so adores Rachel, Emily and Lauren so much.  And you know what?  They love Madison too!  It brings so much joy to my life to know that I was able to play with Rachel, Emily and Lauren when they were young and now they in-turn are having so much fun playing with my children.

My intention tonight was to write an insightful blog about what I am reading and how it is changing the way I relate to the Gospel and Jesus but I felt moved to share with you how much this family, Team Wulz, means to me and my family.

It is my hope that you too have family out there who, like the Wulzs’, brings you great joy!

I am off to bed.  Tomorrow is day 10 of the Rasmussen/Houchin summer 2009 family vacation.  We have descided to say an extra day here in Plano Texas.  This means we will be hitting the road on Wednesday and getting home, we hope, on Thursday.  Until tomorrow…

Again I am reading more of Mark Driscoll’s book, Death by Love.  It has been a super good read thus far.  Focused on Jesus whole heartedly and it has been good to catch this side of Driscoll.  He is very pastoral and compassionate, yet leading with Jesus and calling people to Jesus.  Good Stuff.  We are almost to Plano Texas.  We will be staying there for a day or so then home to Tucson.

It was cool to check out Epic Church online today until their feed went down.  I am excited for the near future of Epic Church.  There is a lot of work to be done but one thing is for sure, we cannot loose sight of Jesus or the power of the cross.  We must all be willing to submit to God’s authority and repent of our sin and wickedness in order to be conformed more to the image of Jesus.

The day at the Lake is/was totally awesome.  Maddie totally loved the boat.  Jennifer and I tubed together and rode the jetski together.  I didn’t even scare her.  It has been awesome to spend time together for sure.  It is amazing I have known Jenn’s side of the family for 10 years now.  I am excited to head to Texas tomorrow to see more family.  But not after more lake time!  Also praying for Andrew Johnson who is in NICU in Tucson Arizona!

Made it!  Here is some of the family.  Good times tomorrow for sure.

Jake and I made several purchases the other day for our bathroom  remodel. After we bought them we decided to return some of it and do something different in the bathroom. We paid for our purchases with our debit card. So the next day I left the house armed with my debit card and all the stuff and made the returns. The next day, I looked on our bank account online expecting to see our account inflated quite a bit, but no.

I went to the bank to make a deposit and while I was there asked the lady why the money wasn’t back in my account yet and she said it could take up to two weeks! What I think is funny, is that my bank was fine with taking the money for the purchases out right away. But when it is time to put it back in, they take so so long to put it back. Hmmmm. What’s up with that?

Great Job John!  I am happy I got you hooked on Jedidiah Stuff!

Jedidiah Community: John Houchin from Jedidiah Clothing on Vimeo.

A Vulnerable Brotherhood By John Houchin

Vulnerability has devastated my life, and built it up again. I told the truth. I shined light on the darkness in my life and exposed parts of me that no one knew. I spent years covering up my problems, careful to never let anyone see the parasitic creature that was embedded in my soul. I believed the lie that I could get rid of it by myself. So I tried. I made promise after promise to be better and to change. And each promise was met by a depressing failure. I could not do it on my own. I was exhausted. Then, in an instant, I was faced with a decision: let loose the pain of the truth or keep living in darkness. A miracle happened. I confessed to someone whom I loved and trusted. What I told this person was extremely painful for both of us, but I was set free from the ever-present torture that I clung to for so long.

I set out on a slippery journey towards freedom. This isn???„?t the type of freedom where one is suddenly free forever; instead it???„?s a continuous battle that I must fight for the rest of my life. Confessing to someone was only the first step. There were a few others placed in my life that I knew I could confide in. After I shared my experience with them they began sharing their own similar stories with me. I suggested for us to start meeting weekly to check up on each other and continue sharing our struggles, and they agreed. Now that I am not alone with my junk, it???„?s become harder to fall and easier to make good choices. When we fall, unconditional love picks us up.

This has inspired me to seek out others who are hurting and let them know that it is ok to be vulnerable. Now I pass on the grace that I???„?ve been shown and the love I???„?ve been given. Because of a strong community I have found my true identity. Through vulnerability I am no longer a slave to darkness. Through vulnerability I am finally seeking things that I am passionate about. Through vulnerability I found brotherhood.

I came across this article on the FoxNews.com website today. It caught my eye because it was talking about my gender, male, faking an orgasm. I thought I needed to read the article. It was a good read and I share it here because this information is sure to be included in the next EpicSEX series this fall at Epic Church.

Open communication within marriage is essential. Not only in the area of large decisions like which home to buy but also in the bedroom. For a healthy marriage to exist their must be open and healthy communication.

At Epic Church we desire to make our city a better place because of the Gospel.  We deeply desire to see men and women marry and make babies.  And it is a dream of mine to one day celebrate as a community hundreds and thousands of 50, 60, 70 year marriage anniversaries.  Communication in all areas including the bedroom is 100% necessary.  Maybe if you are a couple reading this article it would spur on some conversations about this area of your marriage.

Blessings!

The article:
Faking orgasm is almost always chalked up as a woman’s white lie. But a man can be just as guilty.

The Orgasm Survey, conducted by economist Hugo Mialon, found that 24 percent — nearly 1 in 4 men — fake the “Big O.”

What’s perplexing is that society doesn’t acknowledge this issue enough. It’s supposedly only “her” problem. So what’s going on with him? And are there ways to have him trigger-happy in the saddle again?

When I was interviewing men for my first book, “The Hot Guide to Safer Sex,” I learned that players and committed men both fake it. Their reasons:

— He feels pressure to perform, including within a set amount of time. READ MORE