But I Like Where I’m At

The other day Josh and I took Caleb out to the park to play disc golf.  It was perfect outside.  Warmed by the glow of the setting sun, a cool breeze whisked away the busy week.

Caleb loves being outside.  He loves to ride around in his stroller.  But, when it comes to disc golf, he prefers to be out in the action.  As he began to fuss, crying “Down! Down!”  we unbuckled him and let him run free.

He ran 30 yards straight to the basket. It was precious. He knew what his goal was and nothing would stop him.  When he reached the basket he placed the disc ever so carefully into the metal chains.

“Woah!” He exclaimed.

Of course, Josh is beaming, calling out “That’s my boy!”

I’m screaming “GREAT job!” Our boy is a little disc golf prodigy, you know.

We sat and watched him place that disc in the basket over and over.  As we started to leave, Caleb started whining. He wanted to stay there.  He loved to win the game. He loved the cheering.

Like many toddlers would at his age, he began throwing a fit.  Josh and I walked away, knowing that eventually he would follow.

A look of disappointment must have swept across my face. The saddening realization set in that I am no further in my spiritual maturity than Caleb is in his disc golf game.

Completing one task, I bask in my glow far too long.  God is spurring me onto the next challenge.  He’s excited for what I will learn and accomplish at the next hole.

But here I am, hanging out at one basket, tossing the disc in over and over. I like it here. It’s comfortable. I know it from every angle since I’ve been here so long.

Over there everything is different.  That terrain looks rocky.  It looks uncharted.  I can’t even see the basket for the next hole.

Like a dog chasing its tail, the victory is hollow and sometimes painful when you stay in the same place.

Phillipians 3:12
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you.16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

God has promised us that His promise is for our good. He knows the ground we’ve covered and will cover.

Life may be hard, but persevere.  The reward is greater than we know.

And those things in life we don’t get rewarded for here…you know the tough ones…rising above the sin nature every day…will be rewarded in ways we can’t imagine.

So don’t delay. Get passed this place you’ve been hanging out at for far too long.  This time we can be sure that the grass is greener on the other side.

Photo by Conor

New Post About Insecurity

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The Sex Prayer

Alright ladies.  There’s that word again.

Ironic that many guys smile inside at the word…but we tend to roll our eyes or begin making excuses as soon as it enters our mind.

But this article, which I agree with for the record, has an alternative way to view our sexual relationships.

http://jesusneedsnewpr.blogspot.com/2009/08/sex-prayer.html

Do you think it is the trait of a Godly wife to withhold or postpone sex?  Do you think that your relationship with the Lord has anything to do with your sex life?

My answers are ‘no’ and ‘yes’ accordingly.  Love to hear your thoughts though.  I can expand on my opinion if you’re interested…

Naughty Word. Naughty Deed.

Okay…so the sensitive topic was brought back up in church on Sunday.  The four letter word. P-O-R-N.

What affects has it had on your marriage?  Good news is that the church setup a blog for men and women to begin/continue healing from the plaguing issue.

Send your men here. And ladies go here.

Either way, if you and your husband haven’t had the heart-to-heart about the issue lately, it may be time for another reality check.

Just remember, ladies. Your men will be a lot more likely to be honest with you if you can bring your issues to Jesus before approaching his…

SEX Video

Let’s Talk About Sex Baby.

We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it! Check out this great video on sex in marriage http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=140728530235&ref=mf.

This is for you Jenny….

Immortality: Friend or Foe?

Last night I was watching the movie Troy with Josh.  I’ve seen the movie before, but something caught my attention this time. In case you are unfamiliar with the saga, Greece invades Troy in an effort to revenge an embarrassed king whose wife, Helen, left him for a Trojan prince.

A particular infamous Greek soldier, Achilles, was rumored to be “semi-immortal” and had valor and glory on the battlefield incomparable to another.

A well-known fact is that the Greek and Trojans idolized the immortal Greek gods, praying to specific gods for the appropriate requests.  Achilles disregards the beliefs and ransacks a sanctuary for the sun god, taking, Persais, a religious’ woman, from the temple to his tent.

The scene opens with Achilles sitting in a posh tent, amidst the Greek basecamp on the beach in Troy.  He is arguing with Persais regarding the god’s power and sway for the war’s outcome.  She is determined that the Trojans will prevail since Achilles destroyed the temple.  Secretly being part-immortal, his tie to the gods is much stronger than Persais knows.

In his objection, he throws out a truth that only he (or another immortal) can understand.  “I’ll tell you a secret. Something they don’t tell you in your temple.  The gods envy us.   They envy us because we’re mortal.  Because any moment could be our last.  Everything is more beautiful because we’re doomed.  You will never be lovlier than you are now. You will never be here again.”

Time here is short. We never know when we’ll breathe our last.

In Ecclesiastes, we follow a tale of a rich man that took “whatever [his] eyes desired”.  In chapter 10, verse 2, he says “I kept my heart from no pleasure, for my heart found pleasure in all my toil, and this was my reward for all my toil. “

But he is not considered the wisest man in the history of the world for no reason. King Solomon concluded that, “I considered all that my hands had done and the toil I had expended in doing it, and behold, all was vanity and a striving after wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun.”

If you want to discuss possession and consumption of all things ritzy, over-the-top and rediculous, King Soloman is the guy to converse with.  Decadent 7-course meals laid on the finest, crispest linen atop a hand-carved golden table.  Plush robes and royal garb that would make even Christian LaCroix jealous.  A jeweled crown, so weighted with perfect carats that a stiff neck is promised with each wear.

He had it all.  But he counted it all vanity.  He counted it as pointless as racing after the wind in front of him.  The only true purpose in this life is fulfilling the calling God gave us.

We can toil all day long with our petty duties.  Many of these are required for daily life.  However, we are in danger if we feel that our fleeting lives will amount to anything if we don’t consider each day as unto the Lord.

I don’t believe any true followers of Christ long for immortality here on earth. We know what awaits us. We should be mindful though, to take each day in, with all of it’s beauty.  We should spend each moment with an eternal mindset.

Our precious time here can be treasured or disregarded and thrown out with painful disdain to its value and worth.

What will today mean to you tomorrow?  When standing before the Judge, how will this day be measured before Him?  It’s up to you.

Sleep it Off. Or not.

Heavy lids struggle for sleep.  Exhausted limbs droop limply by your side.  Your brain is unavailable- has been for hours.  You’re pretty much only as useful as the shell of the body you reside in – and that, you feel – is rather disconcerting as well.   Why?

You’ve been screaming down the fast lane, only slowing to inhale every drop of caffeine within a 3′ radius.  Stirring the spaghetti sauce with one hand, you pull a towel from the drawer to wipe up the pitcher of red Koolaid pooling on your flour-covered kitchen counter, while leading a counseling session on the cell phone you are carefully balancing on your head and shoulder.  Utilizing your poorly polished toes, you push another pair of your husbands socks in the general direction of the laundry room, while teetering with one leg on “Puppy” the one-eyed, stuffed TRex.  Truth is, a clean house is now the least of your worries.  You’re just trying to survive.

Because your soul is tired.  Because your mind is tired.  Because your body is tired. Because your faith is tired.  Because your everything is tired.

There is this moment we all encounter when we are so confident that our day is better off being over because the world won’t benefit one bit if we continue to throw empty, weak punches at the daily struggles we call life.  It is in these moments that our life is defined.  Our character is defined. Our beauty is defined.  Our strength is defined.

Trudging mindlessly through monotonous activities seems the extent of our capabilities in days like these. However…such a sweet however…it is these days when God choses to reveal the great I AM through you.  When you’ve worked your pretty little acrylics to the adhesive and your muscles won’t even give you freedom to push the hair out of your face, it is these days when the piercing, blinding, unfathomable, marvelous, distinguished beauty of God beams from your smile.

It is these moments that we are awakened.  We have brushed against his garment and received the jolt that we know we were created for.

Romans 13:11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Salvation is here. Salvation is here and it lives in me. Salvation is here and it lives in you.  Wake from your sleep.  The night is far gone.  The day is at hand.

Go ahead and give in to the exhaustion.  Strength awaits your weakness.  God awaits your weariness.  We tell ourselves to press onward.  But the prize demands that we die to ourselves and take salvation from Him. We have no salvation to give. It is His to bestow.

If you’re tired like me…don’t sleep it off.  Wake up. Live salvation now. Spread salvation now. Tomorrow is too late.

It’s Gettin’ Hot in Here

We’re still going through the beatitudes.  Just trucking right along…at my glacial speed.

Matthew 5:8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

So may people claim they can not see God.  When we come across a verse like this, we pause.  Did I read that correctly?  If I have a pure heart, then I can see God…?  Let’s get to the root of the text to see if we can really see God with a pure heart.

First of all, our definition of pure better be aligned.  We as humans have such a convoluted view of purity that we struggle with this word.  In the Greek, we see that this word is synonymous with clean, having been purified by fire or through pruning,  enabling something to bear fruit.

Both of these actions require destruction.  So how can we be pure?  We must self-destruct.  No, I’m not talking about suicide.  And I’m not talking about blowing yourself up either.  Christ instructs us to forsake ourselves for Him.

Matthew 16: 24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross, and follow me. 25 If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

For us, purity is being stripped down physically, mentally, spiritually and emotionally to a point that we admit our filth is irreversible and inevitable without the redemptive salvation of THE cleansing Spirit.  We must burn away the dross, the excess.  We must burn to the core, the center of our lives.  We must burn until all that remains is beauty of God.

We cannot start this bonfire alone.  We can choose to gather the wood, match and lighter fluid, but the flame will only stay lit by the grace of God.  This self-destruction must be executed by the One that is Purity and Holiness.

How could I, a lowly peon, understand the standard of purity to which I am upheld?  I think I’ll let the Spirit decide what part of me is worth using.

Once I have let go of every part of myself, only then can I see a glimpse of God.  Truth is, we can’t even recognize God even though he’s all around us.  He may be the light in the darkness, but if we hangout in the shadows, or worse, the alleyway between light and dark, we cannot see Him moving.

Plus, if you haven’t burnt off the excess in a while, you probably have a few branches in the way. Pull out your blow torch or your micro-torch for caramelizing.  Whatever your weapon of choice, keep in mind that the reward is well worth it.

A glimpse of our Creator is priceless.  How much greater would a staring contest be?

Today’s Challenge…have a bonfire.  Write down 5 things in your life that you know keep you from purity.  Before you grab your pen…remember to pray for what 5 things you’ll focus on.  Then, start the self-destruction process!  Burn those areas of your life in your fire place…or on your stove…wherever.  Light it up and let it go!  I’m looking forward to this…I’m in airport right now so I am not really able to exercise this challenge quite yet…not without strange looks or risk of imprisonment.

Today Show Plays “99 Balloons”

This video is very touching. It was created by our friends at Igniter Media.  Just another reminder of how God reveals himself through whomever He choses.  Have your tissues next to you.