Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Formation’ Category

A Father’s Day To Remember

Posted in Family, Formation, Hope on June 19, 2012| 3 Comments »

This past Sunday was Father’s Day.  A day that is often set aside to give a tie or maybe a dozen golf balls to our dads.  Sometimes it is hard to come up with just what to give our dads.  Often I resort to a gift card or even worse – a check – in a card mailed too late.  At least that is how it happened this year – sorry again dad!

But it is hard to find creative ways to say thank you and show our love and appreciation for our dads.  That is not an excuse – just the reality.

However, this year, my sons made my Father’s Day experience one I will never forget!  They moved me, inspired me and gave me an overall sense of pride in the men they are becoming!  Each of them, in his own way, touched me deeply.

It began at about 11 PM on Saturday night.  I went in to tell Ethan, my middle son, goodnight and we started a conversation about his spiritual walk that went for 3 hours.  It was amazing to see and hear what God is doing in his life.

Then on Sunday morning during our worship service, Bryson, my youngest, decided during our response time to come to me.  It is customary in our church for people to come forward during this time to pray or talk with me about things they are struggling with or decisions they need to make.  Often, they come just to have me pray for them – which by the way is always wonderful.  But Bryson came with a different idea.  I assumed he was coming to ask me to pray for something going on in his life but that was not the case.  His first words were, “People always come for you to pray with them, but no one ever comes up here to pray for you.”  At that moment I began to weep.  And the tears didn’t stop as I listened to one of the most powerful and moving prayers I have ever heard!

Then, as I was trying to compose myself to finish out the response time, I looked up and my oldest son, Jared, was standing before me with tears in his eyes.  He put his arms around me and said, “I want to re-dedicate my life.”  For those of you not from our tradition or familiar with church-speak, what he was saying was “I want a closer walk with Jesus and I want my life to count for something.”  It was a moving time.

So, this past Father’s Day was one I will never forget!  I thank God for allowing me to be a dad and blessing me with a beautiful, amazing wife who has given me three incredible sons!

What about you?  How was your Father’s Day?

Read Full Post »

Not Enough Time In Your Day?

Posted in Formation, Hope on June 18, 2012| 1 Comment »

Some days I wish there were less hours in the day.  You know what I mean?  You just wish the day would end.

Then other days, you wish there were more hours in the day – just too many things to get done and too little time.

It seems that Monday’s often fall prey to one of these attitudes (and sometimes both).  I got to the office today and the first thing I did was whittle my To Do list down because I knew there is no way I can get all that done today.  I was stressing about making meetings, making follow up calls, planning for Sunday and making a couple of hospital visits when God reminded me of a passage in the Psalms.  Psalm 46:10-11 says this:

Be still, and know that I am God;  I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.  The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Regardless of how important all the things on my To Do list may seem to me, God is still in control.  God will be exalted.  It is God’s work, not mine.  It is God’s desire that should be my focus.  And according to this passage, God’s desire is for me to slow down and be still long enough to remember and know that God is God!

Sounds simple enough.  Will you be still for just a few minutes today?

Read Full Post »

On the Ropes

Posted in Community, Formation on June 14, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Today, our students from the church are headed to a ropes course.  It is going to be a blast.  They will be involved with the high challenges which are my favorite – in fact, I wish I could go and participate with them.

The elements they will face are designed to boost confidence and build team work.  It is amazing how climbing to the top of a pole 20 feet in the air and then jumping off in an attempt to grab a trapeze bar 8 feet away builds inner strength.  It is also amazing to see people who may not associate together much, all of the sudden become huge cheer leaders.

I am no stranger to such things.  You can read of one of my experiences as a flying squirrel here.

The take aways from a day like today for our students should be huge.  I am excited to see what God can do when they open themselves up to being uncomfortable and taking the challenges with courage.  The beauty of these elements is that, as scary as they may seem, they are very safe.  When they climb that pole, they will be harnessed and tied to a rope that will not let them fall.

Our walk with God is very similar to being on a ropes course.  God calls us to be uncomfortable and take risks.  Each day, we are faced with opportunities to impact people around us but they all come with the risk of being rejected or persecuted.  But the beauty of it all is that even though it may be uncomfortable, as long as we are trusting God, in the bigger picture, there is no way we can fail.

Will you live your life on the ropes today?

Go be uncomfortable today.

Read Full Post »

Turn To God’s Light

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on June 12, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever struggled with sin?  If you answered no to that question, then . . . you need to quit reading and do some soul searching.  All of us struggle with sin – with wanting our own way – choosing certain things that go against what we know would please God.

That is part of living in a sinful world and being human.  But what about those sins you keep going back to regardless of how many times you ask God for forgiveness and say, “I’ll never do that again.”

I ran across this thought today from Thomas Merton and found it meaningful, I hope you will as well.

Shall I drive evil out of my soul by wrestling with my own darkness?  This is not what God has planned for me.  It is sufficient to turn away from my darkness to his light.  I do not have to run away from myself; it is sufficient that I find myself, not as I have made myself, by my own stupidity, but as he has made me in his wisdom and remade me in his infinite mercy.  For it is his will that my body and soul should be the temple of hisHoly Spirit, that my life should reflect the radiance of his love and my whole being repose in his peace.  Then I will truly know him, since I am in him and he is truly in me.

Let that sink in for a minute.  “It is sufficient to turn away from my darkness to his light.”  I don’t know about you, but I wrestle a lot with my own selfish desires.  I feel guilty for not being the person God wants me to be each day.  Reading this thought from Thomas Merton this morning gave me a breath of peace – even release – to remember that God simply asks that we focus on what is ultimately important and turn from our own desires.

It is a constant struggle, but the picture of simply turning away from the darkness of my sin and turning to God’s glorious light is a picture of mercy I needed to remember today.  Maybe you do too!

Be blessed today!

Read Full Post »

More Light – Less Heat

Posted in Community, Formation, Grace, Hope on June 7, 2012| Leave a Comment »

We are starting a new Bible study class this Sunday and I am excited to see what God is going to do.  We have been busy this week preparing the room that will house the new class.  We have painted and cleaned and moved furniture.

One of the downsides to having a church that will celebrate 100 years in a little over a year is that the building is not new.  The lighting in the new class room was original to the building and gave the ambiance of a remote cave at Carlsbad Caverns.

So part of the room renovation involved taking down the old, single bulb light fixtures and putting up new florescent lighting.  On Tuesday, my oldest son and I tackled that project.  But the first thing we learned is that those old 200 watt bulbs put off some heat.  We turned the lights off and then turned the breaker off to the room and got ready to take the old fixtures down.  The fixtures were so hot, we could not touch them.  We had to wait 20 minutes to begin the process.  Once they cooled down, we were able to remove the old fixtures, install the new ones and increase the amount of light in the room by at least 150%.

Yesterday, I ran across this quote from Woodrow Wilson that went along with our experience with the lights.  He said,  “One cool judgment is worth a thousand hasty councils. The thing to do is to supply light and not heat.”  What a great thought!

So often, we try to offer our guidance or wisdom to a person in need and in the process of shedding light on the subject, we also apply heat.  It is all in the way we go about it and our attitude toward the situation.

Think of it in relation to how Jesus followers are often perceived by the world.  The media does not find stories of Mother Teresa’s self-sacrificial, illuminating work nearly as news worthy as a fundamentalist group burning the Korán or torching an abortion clinic.

Don’t get me wrong, physics would tell us that a by-product of producing light is nearly always heat.  But I can tell you that the new florescent lights put off a lot more light than the old ones and half the heat.

We need to focus on being light for a dark world without driving people away because they can’t stand the heat.

Go be light today!

Read Full Post »

Exhibit the Evidence

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope on June 6, 2012| Leave a Comment »

In some of my reading this morning, I picked up My Utmost For His Highest, by Oswald Chambers.  Today’s reading deals with Philippians 2:12 and the working out of our faith.  But the words that have been ringing in my heart since reading them earlier are these – “exhibit the evidence” of a life of faith.

Exhibit the evidence.  I have to ask myself, does my life always exhibit the evidence of faith?  There is no doubt that all our lives exhibit evidence of something.  Our actions tell the story of our heart.  People see who we really are through what we do and say.

I pray that today, I exhibit the evidence of a life committed to Jesus.

Is that your prayer today?

Read Full Post »

Never Alone

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on June 4, 2012| Leave a Comment »

“I will never leave you nor forsake you.”  That is God’s promise to us found in Hebrews 13 verse 5.  Let that sink in.  Never.  Never alone.  Never facing life by yourself.  God will never turn away – God will never walk away – God will never give up on you.

That is not to say we cannot turn away from God.  In fact, when we do turn away from God and choose our own way we find it is most often the starting point of our pain and troubles.  We have it in our nature to try and do it on our own.  It is inherent.  Think about small children as they learn to do things.  I can remember each of my boys saying, “Me do it.”  It is a part of our makeup to want to do things for ourselves – to be independent.

God created us with a desire for independence so there is nothing wrong with that but it causes problems when we begin to think we don’t need God.  The farther we allow our hearts to get from God, the more often we choose paths that lead no where.

But, the good news is that God will never leave us and God never gives up on us.

So regardless of how far you have run or how long you have been away, God is still right there with you.  Peace and grace is only a prayer away.

Be blessed today!

Read Full Post »

One of Those Weeks

Posted in Formation, Grace, Hope on June 1, 2012| Leave a Comment »

Have you ever had one of those weeks?  A week full of “one of those days?”  I’m not trying to complain, but that is my story today.  It has been one of those weeks.  I don’t think there has been a day this week in which I even started the things I had planned for the day before 2 PM.  Don’t get me wrong, nothing has blown up in my face, it has just been a constant stream of unexpected events and issues.

But, that is life.  It is something we all experience from time to time.  We stick with it and we do the best we can.

I was reminded of that strategy by a friend from San Antonio yesterday.  We just have to do our best.  We have to be faithful.  As hard as I try to strategically plan out my day so that I accomplish the most possible, life happens and my plan goes out the window.  I look up at the end of the day and it seems I have accomplished nothing.  That sermon that is coming on Sunday hasn’t been touched.  That conversation with the insurance company about the roof replacement has not taken place.  So many things on my To Do list haven’t been done.

But God didn’t create that To Do list, I did.  So the pressure I feel may be more self-inflicted than spirit directed.

God simply asks us to be faithful – to do our best.  It really is that simple.

Now, I don’t believe that is a “Get Out of Jail Free” card.  We still have to truly do our best.  But if we do our best – if we live in the moment and follow the leadership of the spirit as opportunities present themselves, then God takes care of the rest.

So today, if you are feeling a bit overwhelmed – if there is more on your plate for this week than you have week left to complete it – take heart.

Do your best.  And live into the freedom of knowing that God is pleased with you!

Read Full Post »

Hold Fast to Your Faith

Posted in Formation, Hope on May 29, 2012| 1 Comment »

This past weekend, we loaded up the family and headed to Lubbock to celebrate our 22 years of marriage.  We had some errands to run and also had a nice dinner together – all 5 of us.  It was nice to all be together for an afternoon.

One of the errands we had to make was a return to Lowe’s Home Improvement.  We had purchased some lights for the house and decided to go with a different style so we had a box to return.  Since we had no other business in the store, the family decided to just wait in the car.

If you live in west Texas, you know that the last few days have given us horrible winds – sustained 35 to 40 miles per hour both Saturday and Sunday.  I mention that fact because after fighting the wind to get back to the car, I found my family watching a run away shopping cart.  A lady had pushed the cart to her vehicle, unloaded her items and instead of taking care of business and putting the cart in the cart bin, she simply left it sitting in the parking lot and drove away.

The wind began pushing the cart to the east.  By the time I got to the car, it had already traveled about 50 yards across the parking lot.  So I joined the amusement and began to watch the cart as well.  It was headed to the east side of the parking lot where it would be stopped by the curb.  But a very surprising thing happened, as it neared the east side of the parking lot, it veered to the left – turning toward the exit.  Part of this was due to the contour of the parking lot but much was due to the driving swirling wind.

It continued to travel, moving closer and closer to the exit of the parking lot and my mouth fell open.  It turned again to the right and exited the parking lot, headed directly across the access road and ended up in the ditch on the other side – still upright.

Cars had to slow down and swerve to miss the cart as it meandered across the heavily trafficked access road.  It was quite a sight to watch.  We laughed in amazement and yes, felt a bit guilty that we didn’t try to do something (honestly, we never thought it would cross the street and by the time we realized it was going to, it was too late.)

As I have mused over that event, I have been reminded of the power of the wind.  Scripture talks about the wind in many different contexts.  But the one that seems applicable today is the passage in which we are told not to be tossed by the waves and driven here and there by each blowing wind (you can read it here).

We need to be grounded in our beliefs and convictions.  We need to know what we hold on to and remember who we trust.  Otherwise, we will be just like that shopping cart – blown right out into traffic and end up in a ditch.

Hold fast to your faith – even in the midst of the storm!

Read Full Post »

When Was the Last Time?

Posted in Formation, Hope on May 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »

When was the last time you stopped and gazed at the wonder of a rose?

When did you last watch a sunset and feel inspired by the magnificence of God?

Jim Dennison made some good points today regarding how great our God truly is.  You can link to his post here.

We get so busy with our “ant hill lives” that we forget to look up and realize that there is a much bigger world out there and God is in control of it all!

Take a minute today and look for God around you.

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »