An Apology & Memorial Day Options for Families

Yesterday I published a post about having fun this weekend. When I wrote that blog, I wasn't thinking about the fact that it would be read on Memorial Day Weekend. So, I would like to apologize for the fact that it did not include any mention of our veterans or suggestions about how families could remember the sacrifices so many military personal have made and are currently making.

My grandfather served in the Air Force following WWII and my brother-in-law currently serves in the Air Force and is stationed down in Del Rio, Texas. I am fully aware of the sacrifices families have to make for their loved ones to protect this country.

But, what I was reminded of is how I take for granted the freedoms we do have. I honestly believe that the women and men who have died to protect this nation would want us to celebrate those freedoms by taking full advantage of them and have some F-U-N with our friends, churches, or families. But, I also believe it's important for us all to remember and for our children to learn about what it has cost to be free. My guess is that most of your are already teaching your children about the privileges and freedoms they have and for that I say, "Well done!"

Here is a link to the MLive page about what events are happening in the greater Kalamazoo area.

http://blog.mlive.com/kalamazoo_gazette_extra/2008/05/memorial_day_events_abound_thr.html

May We Never Forget. 

F-U-N

My friend Jim has one of the best attitudes towards life. We love to golf together and even during our worse rounds, Jim frequently reminds me, "It's all about the F-U-N!"

Life gets crazy. Crisis happens. Tragedy strikes. Bills get overwhelming. Children can drive you bounkers.

SO...

Here's your permission to go have fun. It's two days before the weekend, what could you do just for fun? What could you plan so that your family can enjoy being together and just have fun? No talk of work, bills, or crazy family drama.

Make this weekend all about the F-U-N!

How Beth and I Fight for Our Marriage

Another one. My heart is shattered. 

This morning I learned of another couple getting divorced. My heart breaks for both the parents and the students when this happens. Nobody wins. 

With this one though I had a difficult time preventing my emotions from overwhelming me. I journaled on my computer a mess of thoughts, feelings, and sleep deprived opinions. Once I calmed down and received some wise counsel from my wife and father, I decided to write this blog. 

Three things Beth and I do to fight for our marriage. 

1. Weekly Dates. 

We don't have any kids, so weekly dates are very realistic. If you have kids, once every other week or once a month may be the rhythm that works for you. 

We enjoy dinner and a movie dates, breakfast dates, and antiquing dates. You may enjoy kayaking dates, walk in the park dates, bike riding dates, ski dates, horseback riding dates, etc. However you both enjoy spending time together, make sure you regularly do it. 

2. Communicate Actively Throughout the Day 

We have naturally done this pretty regularly without having to be purposeful about it, but the importance of it was affirmed to both of us by a married Christian couple. Both of them are previously divorced and the husband cheated on his first wife. Since that time, they both have come to know the Lord, but they are very purposeful about preventing their lives from slipping back into old habits. Daily communication is a key piece of that prevention. Texting, phone calls, emails, Facebook posts, tweets, or whatever else you want to do (married people, feel free to get creative here ;) ). 

3. Pray Together and for Each Other

Prayer is a powerfully intimate experience. I wrote more about that in this blog post. Your marriage is your primary mission field. Marriage is the very representation of us with Christ for eternity. Satan longs to break it up! Ask God to keep Satan far from your marriage. Let God know how deeply you long to see your spouse kept from temptation. Ask Him to show you ways you can sacrificially love your spouse. Pray regularly and deeply.  

There are more things Beth and I intentionally do to fight for our marriage. But, these are practical and very realistic ways to begin your fight today. 

And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

For wives, this means submit to your husbands as to the Lord. For a husband is the head of his wife as Christ is the head of the church. He is the Savior of his body, the church. As the church submits to Christ, so you wives should submit to your husbands in everything.

For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up his life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s word.

- Ephesians 5:21-26

Theology - Middle School Style

Wednesday night I was talking with two students about questions they had about the Bible and one of them starting talking about the Trinity. He said that the Trinity was three people who all made up one God. The other student was a bit confused (like we all are!) by this concept, so the first student explained further.

"The Trinity is like if three different people were all playing an online game together and they all had the same username or gamertag. They are three different people, but in the game they are the same person."

So simple.

I haven't done in depth analysis to discover the flaws in this analogy, but Christians spend hours and hours thinking about how to best explain complex spiritual and theological questions. Well, sometimes it may help to just ask a middle schooler. I'm continually amazed at how their minds work.

Have a blessed day!

Sick/Tired of Your Job?

“The milk maid has as honorable a calling as the clergy and the preacher.” – Martin Luther

It’s Monday. Are you frustrated at work? Sick of getting up day after day to do a job you don’t feel appreciated for, aren’t compensated enough for, or you just don’t like it. Yes, being a stay at home mom is included (and probably fits the list above better than anything else). If that’s you, let me shed some new light upon your job.

The apostle Paul in Ephesians gives instructions to masters and slaves. Now, don’t get hung up on the slavery part. Slavery wasn’t racial, lifelong, void of rights, or established by captivity in Paul’s day. Slavery was more of what we would see as a house maid or servant (the servants on Downton Abbey would be a good representation). What Paul is dealing with is the relationship between employee and boss, and Paul says to the employee, “work with all of your heart, as if working for the Lord.” The Greek translates a little more directly and basically says, “…because you’re working for the Lord.”

Your real master, your real boss isn’t the woman or man at the end of the hall or at the top of the building. Your real boss is your heavenly Father. One who gives hope, love, mercy, and grace. A perfect boss.

If we are working for the Lord, our desire as Christ followers should be to stand out in our work place (home, office, traveling, etc.) because we are doing our best work with our best attitude. This doesn’t mean you have to be fake or perfect, but let’s win this battle the majority of the time. You’ll stand out for sure.

You are the ONE

One of my favorite times of day to read the Bible is first thing in the morning when I wake up. Sometimes this even happens while I'm on the toilet. (Sorry, that may have been too much information.) 

I have been reading through the book of Luke off and on the past few weeks and when I read the parable of the lost sheep, I thought it was cool. But, when I taught on it Tuesday morning at Hutch's Huddle at Gull Lake Middle School, I was in awe of God. 

A shepherd with a very full head of hair. 

In this story a shepherd realizes one morning (it doesn't say it's morning, but like all the other elements I'm going to add to this story, it helps me put myself in the shepherds shoes a little bit more) that he has lost one of his 100 sheep. He double counts again just to make sure, but he really didn't even need to because he knows every square inch of wool on each of his sheep. After counting again just to be absolutely certain, he high-tails it for the mountains near where his sheep are grazing. 

He hikes and searches all morning, all afternoon and into the late hours of the evening. When off in the distance he hears something, it sounds like Gary (in my head that's what he named this sheep). He starts calling out, "Gary? Gary?!" 

He runs a little bit further and the noise gets louder. The shepherd is growing more and more convinced this is Gary. 

"Gary!"

The shepherd runs over to Gary, sweeps him up in his arms and throws him over his shoulders (did I mention our shepherd is super-ripped?). 

I realized as I was reading this story during Hutch's Huddle, that this isn't just a reminder about God having a huge heart towards the lost. This is a reminder that God cares about us individually. The God who created the sheep, the mountains, the sun and moon that were on display while the shepherd searched, and even the shepherd himself, cares about YOU. You are the ONE He is willing to go searching for. You are the ONE He is willing to risk His life for. You are the ONE He did die for and wants to have a daily relationship with you. 

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Are you letting God make you ONE of His sheep?

Are you running away from being found?

Are you part of the 99 sheep wondering why the shepherd is wasting His time looking for the lost ONE?

I encourage you to take time out and thank God for caring about you individually. 

I encourage those of you who are believers to ask God to soften your heart for those who haven't accepted the fact that God wants them individually to trust Him. 

Here's Me Being Transparent

"The number one reason people 16-40 don't attend church is because they believe it is full of hypocrites." - David Kinnaman, UnChristian Not because we lust, gossip, cheat, or struggle with any other sin, but because we act like we have it all together they can't stand to be around us. On Sunday, my pastor challenged our church to be more transparent. So, here I go.


I am very nervous to write this blog. I have sought wisdom and counsel before publishing it. I fear the judgement that will come from what I am about to say, but, my prayer is that God will use my openness to soften someone's heart and allow them to realize that Christians aren't perfect. I know hundreds of Christians who would readily admit their own sinfulness. Let's start letting the world know the truth. We are broken. We need Him.


For the past 12 months since I graduated school, I have been using my student ID like I was still in school. I justified it because I still have student loans. I figured that if I was still paying student loans, I should be able to use my student ID. This is blatant stealing and I was convicted of this the other day when I bought tickets at The Rave for The Avengers. I used my student ID, took a picture of it and tweeted it.
As soon as it became public, I realized how I had lying to myself. I drove back to the theater to pay for the tickets. I will no longer be using my student ID. 


The point of this is for me to let you into my world a little bit more. To open myself up to you and trust you with my struggle. To let you know more about the flesh that I wrestle against. 


I am not expecting you to open up this much with me or make it public. But, I am challenging you to be this open with somebody. Especially if you are a Christ follower. Who are you talking to about your struggles? Does your wife know? Does your husband know? Does your best friend know? Do your parents know?


When we struggle in private we are not allowing our community and network of support to keep us accountable, encourage us, relate to us, and connect to us because we have allowed them to see the real us. 


We are broken. We need Him. We should desire to be authentic with others so we can become more like Him.


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Has hypocrisy kept you from opening up with someone?


Who do you trust enough to be transparent with?


When was the last time you felt uncomfortable talking about a struggle with somebody? (Those are usually the times of greatest growth)