I have another blog that I've been working on. Check it out and tell me what you think. It;s just time to do a little more bling in the thing. So check it out! Click HERE>>>>>
craigwendel.wordpress.com
Monday, March 03, 2008
Tuesday, February 19, 2008
Yes It Is Funny
A copied list I found on another blog, and i just had to share. These are the worst analogies ever:
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
~ He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
~ The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
~ From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and “Jeopardy” comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
~ Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
~ Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.
~ Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
~ John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
~ He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
~ The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
~ From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and “Jeopardy” comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30.
~ Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze.
~ Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center.
~ Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
~ John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
Creativity or Just a Copycat?
My three-year-old boy copies everything his six-year-old sister does. If she jumps, he jumps. If she sneezes, he musters up a sneeze. It’s almost freakish. Of course, I do understand it is purely a developmental stage and the odds of my three-year-old boy growing up to be a thirty-year-old, pink-purse-carrying, Barbie-playing copycat is slim.
Copying someone is a learning trait. Even when we get a new job and are trained in a specific area we are basically copying what our trainer does. Push this, pull that, move over here, move over there. We copy the choreography until we have it memorized, and that is when we have been trained.
Although copying is a valid form of learning, it’s not a valid form of living. We have somehow moved from using copying as a tool, to letting copying become a way of life. We mimic others to find out how to dress, spend our money, and entertain ourselves and that is just not what we were created to be.
Isn’t it interesting that the Bible tells us that we were created in God’s image, and the last time I checked God was the most creative one around. He created everything under the sun, and the sun itself. With that understood, I think we underestimate the creative force of God that resides in us.
In the sixth chapter of Galatians it says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into it. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. It is each of our responsibility to live the creative best that we can.”
This passage resonates in me every time I read it or think about it. It is an ongoing challenge to explore carefully who I am, who I have become, and who I have the hope of becoming. It becomes so easy in life to stop exploring and just copy. Copy the talents of the one working by our side, or even mimic the quirky traits of our spouse. The truth of the matter is though that God created each of us to be creative, expressive beings that are examples of potential found.
How often do you tap into your creative reservoir to solve problems, resolve disputes, and share love? Do you just do what you’ve always done, or do you copy the actions of someone else? How could your day change if you took the time to be creative? Creative not just in ideas, but creative in solutions. Unfortunately most people say that when they are faced with a problem they don’t have the time to search for a creative solution, they have to act quickly. This is probably true, and that’s why creativity comes way before the problem ever happens.
Stress is the nemesis of creativity. The more stressed you are, the less creative you are. For those of you who say, “That’s not true! I work very well under stress and deadlines.” Maybe, but you’re not creative. Your mind rapid-fires ideas and thoughts from the wealth of knowledge that you have already attained. You solve problems and find solutions from the vast array of knowledge that is already a part of the fabric of your being.
Taking time to be creative is vital to our well-being, and to those around us. We need to explore who we are and tap into the creative well in us. There are a myriad of ways to do it, but the first thing that has to happen is we have to stop simply copying others because its the easiest way. When we tap into the our creative soul, we will come face to face with the uber-creative one, and realize that His creative example is the best way we could ever respond to any and all situations and problems.
Copying someone is a learning trait. Even when we get a new job and are trained in a specific area we are basically copying what our trainer does. Push this, pull that, move over here, move over there. We copy the choreography until we have it memorized, and that is when we have been trained.
Although copying is a valid form of learning, it’s not a valid form of living. We have somehow moved from using copying as a tool, to letting copying become a way of life. We mimic others to find out how to dress, spend our money, and entertain ourselves and that is just not what we were created to be.
Isn’t it interesting that the Bible tells us that we were created in God’s image, and the last time I checked God was the most creative one around. He created everything under the sun, and the sun itself. With that understood, I think we underestimate the creative force of God that resides in us.
In the sixth chapter of Galatians it says, “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into it. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself to others. It is each of our responsibility to live the creative best that we can.”
This passage resonates in me every time I read it or think about it. It is an ongoing challenge to explore carefully who I am, who I have become, and who I have the hope of becoming. It becomes so easy in life to stop exploring and just copy. Copy the talents of the one working by our side, or even mimic the quirky traits of our spouse. The truth of the matter is though that God created each of us to be creative, expressive beings that are examples of potential found.
How often do you tap into your creative reservoir to solve problems, resolve disputes, and share love? Do you just do what you’ve always done, or do you copy the actions of someone else? How could your day change if you took the time to be creative? Creative not just in ideas, but creative in solutions. Unfortunately most people say that when they are faced with a problem they don’t have the time to search for a creative solution, they have to act quickly. This is probably true, and that’s why creativity comes way before the problem ever happens.
Stress is the nemesis of creativity. The more stressed you are, the less creative you are. For those of you who say, “That’s not true! I work very well under stress and deadlines.” Maybe, but you’re not creative. Your mind rapid-fires ideas and thoughts from the wealth of knowledge that you have already attained. You solve problems and find solutions from the vast array of knowledge that is already a part of the fabric of your being.
Taking time to be creative is vital to our well-being, and to those around us. We need to explore who we are and tap into the creative well in us. There are a myriad of ways to do it, but the first thing that has to happen is we have to stop simply copying others because its the easiest way. When we tap into the our creative soul, we will come face to face with the uber-creative one, and realize that His creative example is the best way we could ever respond to any and all situations and problems.
Monday, February 04, 2008
Monday, January 28, 2008
Deadly Viper Review
Now and then you come across a book that is just real and very refreshing. AND at the same time it kicks you where it counts. Deadly Viper is one of the MOST refreshing books on character that I have read in literally decades. Character is so vital to our lives, especially as ministers, yet sometimes that same topic becomes very sterile. Well no rubber gloves here, this book is full of incredible stuff. if you buy any book this month, it's gotta be this one. Granted it is targeted towards men, so if you are a lady - well, find something else.
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Empty Pinatas
For some random holiday one year my aunt bought a piñata. Now that might not seem like a big deal to you, but I grew up in an incredibly Anglo home in Michigan. Of course I knew what a piñata was, mainly because I had traveled extensively to Central and South America, and piñatas there are like fire hydrants here. They’re on every corner.
When my aunt pulled out the piñata at the family holiday festiganza, all the kids ooohed and ahhhhd. They obviously had never seen the likes of a paper machete beast, and my aunt was incredibly proud of her find. She held it high in the air and carried it into the room with the aura of one who is transporting the Ark of the Covenant. You could almost hear the Angles singing and I believe I could almost taste manna.
She told all of us with great vigor of the random treasure that she had found that day at the flee market. She announced that we would beat open her beautiful treasure right after dinner, and once her icon of joy was split wide it would offer up succulent treats of tantalizingly tasty tidbits. They were ecstatic.
I asked my aunt if she had already put the candy in the piñata, and she told me that the lady at the flee market told her that it already had candy in it. I picked up the piñata and gave it a healthy shake and heard the distinct sound of air. I told her that with all due respect this piñata does not have any candy in it. That she has to cut a hole and fill it. She is responsibly to put the tasty treats inside it does not come with them already in there.
She dismissed me as a mere pup on the porch of life and informed me that I was wrong and that indeed there were mountains of treats just waiting beyond the thing walls of paper machete.
Dinner came and dinner went. The kids were beyond excited, they were chomping at the proverbial bit to not only smash a perfectly good toy with a bat, but then actually get rewarded for it. So my family strung up the incredibly light piñata and the kids took turns wacking at it with the hickory equalizer.
The final blow came when my nephew hauled off, and in one fail swoop, gashed the piñata’s abdomen, and broke it from the string sending it crashing to the floor. It was great! All the kids dove on the poor unsuspecting piñata with hopes of sweet rewards. It was empty.
Once the feeding frenzy subsided, all the kids turned and glared at my aunt with a look that was reminiscent of Cujo. Each one with empty hands, and unmet expectations. My aunt is still trying to live that one down.
In the church world we have done the same thing. We have become a part of the Body of Christ and declared to our community that there are sweet morsels of grace and love on the inside. You have to get on the inside that’s for sure, but once you’re in, it’s loaded.
The problem is nobody took the time to tell us that we are the ones that are supposed to fill the piñata. We are the ones that are supposed to show the love, and give the grace. We are the ones that are supposed to be accepting and caring. We are the body of Christ, and we are responsible to make sure that inside, not only ourselves, but our churches, is life-giving. It’s relational and fun!
I just don’t believe that our piñatas should be full of bitter, self-centered, discontent. If that’s all our piñatas are full of it’s no wonder no one is beating on our walls to get inside, instead they are merely passing us by. The things of Christ are fun, and engaging, and life-altering. They are meaningful and full of spiritual transformational power, but again, we are the Body of Christ, and what’s in us is what others are looking for. That is if we took time to fill our piñatas with the tantalizing sweet treats of Jesus.
Monday, January 21, 2008
ONE YEAR OLD!!!!
The above picture is our volunteer team. They are AMAZING!
SouthPoint is officially one year old now. We are no longer wearing diapers, but we have officially wearing pull-ups. We had an awesome time together Sunday morning. Jan made a phenom-cake that was amazing. We had an over the top video testimony, and of course some laughing while we reminisced together.
I go to thinking about all that God had allowed us to be a part of in this first year. My mind began getting flooded with images and numbers so I jotted them down. Wow, I was amazed.
In the first year:
Given away 50 baby bassinets bassinets to pregnant moms.
hundreds of free pumpkins for pumpkin painting int he community.
Gave away over $30,000 in product to Desoto County.
fed 800 people for Thanksgiving
helped plant 10 churches
Had exactly 100 people accept Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
baptized 18 people in water [we have found water to be more biblical and easier than molten lava]
I am so amazed at God's goodness to us. What an incredible year here in the Memphis area. I am looking forward to 2008 being even more stupedous and exciting!
Friday, January 18, 2008
Maintenance Danger
I hate maintenance. Genuinely, I hate it. I love fixing broken things, or even making something from scratch, but maintenance; hate it. True maintenance is a necessary evil. If you properly maintain your car then the odds of you needing to repair something are greatly reduced. But spending money on an oil change sometimes bugs me. I know it needs to be done, because everybody says that it does, but my car runs fine even if I’m late with my maintenance. I know it needs it, but there are no red flags telling me that I genuinely need to do it. Of course, if there were red flags then it wouldn’t need maintenance; it would be in need of repair.
Our lives need maintenance too, but I hate that as well. I think most of our lives our spent purely on maintaining what we have. We get to a certain point in life, or we accomplish a certain status or level of living and then we shut down the afterburners and begin to maintain what we have.
We here constantly about maintaining a healthy diet, or maintaining a healthy exercise regime. What about maintaining a healthy spiritual discipline like bible-reading or prayer? We hear those preached too. These are all true and extremely important to not only maintain a healthy body, but a healthy spiritual life as well. I hate the routine. I do it, but nobody said I had to like it.
I don’t want to be a maintainer. A maintainer is someone who has accepted the status quo, or has simply accepted average. What would happen if we decided that average is not good enough? Not good enough for us, not good enough for our children, not good enough for our county or not even good enough for our presidential candidates?
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like today if you had taken advantage of that business opportunity several years ago? Or where would you be living now if you had opted for the riskier career?
Back in the late sixties one of my family members had the opportunity to buy a McDonald’s franchise for next-to-nothing. He turned the deal down because it was too risky. That McDonald’s is still doing business on the same corner 40 years later, and my family member is still bemoaning his ‘safe’ decision.
In our spiritual lives maintenance becomes par for the course. It has become far too accepted to merely exist. Even as a pastor, if I am not careful, I can slip into a maintenance mode instead of advancing the Kingdom of God. Pastor Craig Groshel said, “At one point, I had become a full time pastor and a part time Christian.”
There has to be more to our spiritual lives. There is more to the relationship that we hold with God, but first we must decide that maintaining is no longer acceptable. To push forward, past the line of mediocrity, we must have a willingness to get out of our self-imposed comfort zones, and into a new realm with new problems, new challenges, and new rewards. It’s not always the easiest way, but it is always the most rewarding. Not just rewarding for us, but also for all of those that follow the trails we blaze into uncharted territory.
Our lives need maintenance too, but I hate that as well. I think most of our lives our spent purely on maintaining what we have. We get to a certain point in life, or we accomplish a certain status or level of living and then we shut down the afterburners and begin to maintain what we have.
We here constantly about maintaining a healthy diet, or maintaining a healthy exercise regime. What about maintaining a healthy spiritual discipline like bible-reading or prayer? We hear those preached too. These are all true and extremely important to not only maintain a healthy body, but a healthy spiritual life as well. I hate the routine. I do it, but nobody said I had to like it.
I don’t want to be a maintainer. A maintainer is someone who has accepted the status quo, or has simply accepted average. What would happen if we decided that average is not good enough? Not good enough for us, not good enough for our children, not good enough for our county or not even good enough for our presidential candidates?
Have you ever wondered what your life would be like today if you had taken advantage of that business opportunity several years ago? Or where would you be living now if you had opted for the riskier career?
Back in the late sixties one of my family members had the opportunity to buy a McDonald’s franchise for next-to-nothing. He turned the deal down because it was too risky. That McDonald’s is still doing business on the same corner 40 years later, and my family member is still bemoaning his ‘safe’ decision.
In our spiritual lives maintenance becomes par for the course. It has become far too accepted to merely exist. Even as a pastor, if I am not careful, I can slip into a maintenance mode instead of advancing the Kingdom of God. Pastor Craig Groshel said, “At one point, I had become a full time pastor and a part time Christian.”
There has to be more to our spiritual lives. There is more to the relationship that we hold with God, but first we must decide that maintaining is no longer acceptable. To push forward, past the line of mediocrity, we must have a willingness to get out of our self-imposed comfort zones, and into a new realm with new problems, new challenges, and new rewards. It’s not always the easiest way, but it is always the most rewarding. Not just rewarding for us, but also for all of those that follow the trails we blaze into uncharted territory.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Pick a Tree
My son hit my daughter with a shoe. It was a heavy shoe, and it was propelled with the force of a three year old. His aim was nearly perfect, and I had a moment of joy as I watched a perfectly thrown shoe land with “Peyton Manning” accuracy right on the side of Phoebe’s head. Of course, my visit to utopia was halted when Phoebe’s scream pierced the silence and I realized his aim might have been nearly perfect, but his behavior was flat out wrong.
Parenting would be so easy if it wasn’t for the kids. With the kids it seems like we spend the 80% of our lives dealing with their behavior - trying to modify their behavior. We all have a million different modification techniques; books have been written, articles have been penned, and seminars have been taught. Most of these, if not all of them, deal with the behavior of the child and how to modify behvior to make the child socially acceptable.
If all we continually focus on behavior, then we miss opportunities to help them become well-rounded young people. We have to realize it’s not really a behavior problem - it’s a heart problem. The behaviors are outward symptoms of an inward heart issue. So, as parents we have a choice. We can look at behaviors only, or we can modify the heart by looking deeper.
In Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve a choice as well. He told them they could eat from any tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were told it was good to eat from the Tree of Life, but wrong to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE). The TKGE was not right or wrong in itself, it was the knowledge of right from wrong.
We always want to blame our current sin situation on Eve’s temptation. But when you look at the words that the Devil used to tempt her, it becomes painfully clear that he was not tempting Eve with pride, or malice, but with her own desire to become more like God. It was a good desire that was in her, but the Devil manipulated those innate feelings and tempted her with the TKGE. By eating of that tree she was stepping onto the path of knowing right from wrong and doing good deeds to get to God. Of course, that is not the tree God wants us eating out of. God prefers that we eat out of the Tree of Life.
Now you might be thinking, “Big deal, Craig!” but it is a big deal. In fact it’s a huge life-changing deal when we realize that God is not looking for behavior modification as much as he is looking for a heart that is transformed. When our hearts are truly transformed, our behavior follows suit. Our behavior is a product of our heart, but the heart is never affected by changing the behavior. That is, however, the world’s view.
How often do we view the Bible as a book of behavioral commands and “don’ts”, as opposed to a book about heart transformation? How often do we focus only on society’s behaviors, and never really connect with their hearts?
Living out of the Tree of Life is a lifestyle. It’s a way to process things, view things, and connect with things. It’s too easy to live out of the very tree that Eve chose. It’s easy to focus on right and wrong behaviors and things that are based in knowledge. It’s a harder path (yet more rewarding) to live and eat out of the Tree of Life. I would challenge you with a New Year’s resolution. This year, live your life from the Tree of Life. I dare say almost every situation can be handled with a life-giving attitude if we try hard enough. That means putting others first, making the most of every teachable situation with our families and children, and treating others as we would like to be treated.
Parenting would be so easy if it wasn’t for the kids. With the kids it seems like we spend the 80% of our lives dealing with their behavior - trying to modify their behavior. We all have a million different modification techniques; books have been written, articles have been penned, and seminars have been taught. Most of these, if not all of them, deal with the behavior of the child and how to modify behvior to make the child socially acceptable.
If all we continually focus on behavior, then we miss opportunities to help them become well-rounded young people. We have to realize it’s not really a behavior problem - it’s a heart problem. The behaviors are outward symptoms of an inward heart issue. So, as parents we have a choice. We can look at behaviors only, or we can modify the heart by looking deeper.
In Genesis, God gave Adam and Eve a choice as well. He told them they could eat from any tree except the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They were told it was good to eat from the Tree of Life, but wrong to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (TKGE). The TKGE was not right or wrong in itself, it was the knowledge of right from wrong.
We always want to blame our current sin situation on Eve’s temptation. But when you look at the words that the Devil used to tempt her, it becomes painfully clear that he was not tempting Eve with pride, or malice, but with her own desire to become more like God. It was a good desire that was in her, but the Devil manipulated those innate feelings and tempted her with the TKGE. By eating of that tree she was stepping onto the path of knowing right from wrong and doing good deeds to get to God. Of course, that is not the tree God wants us eating out of. God prefers that we eat out of the Tree of Life.
Now you might be thinking, “Big deal, Craig!” but it is a big deal. In fact it’s a huge life-changing deal when we realize that God is not looking for behavior modification as much as he is looking for a heart that is transformed. When our hearts are truly transformed, our behavior follows suit. Our behavior is a product of our heart, but the heart is never affected by changing the behavior. That is, however, the world’s view.
How often do we view the Bible as a book of behavioral commands and “don’ts”, as opposed to a book about heart transformation? How often do we focus only on society’s behaviors, and never really connect with their hearts?
Living out of the Tree of Life is a lifestyle. It’s a way to process things, view things, and connect with things. It’s too easy to live out of the very tree that Eve chose. It’s easy to focus on right and wrong behaviors and things that are based in knowledge. It’s a harder path (yet more rewarding) to live and eat out of the Tree of Life. I would challenge you with a New Year’s resolution. This year, live your life from the Tree of Life. I dare say almost every situation can be handled with a life-giving attitude if we try hard enough. That means putting others first, making the most of every teachable situation with our families and children, and treating others as we would like to be treated.
Thursday, December 27, 2007
Family - Priceless
love it. We are having a great time in Michigan. We all head back
tomorrow morning to get back to the joy of church life. Its a new
year. Yea!
Tuesday, December 25, 2007
Christmas at Home
Do notice the nice Elvis stance. Must be a Memphis thing.
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
Monday, December 17, 2007
New addition to the SPC family
7 pounds 4 ounces. And a nice 20 inches long. Of course u can tell the
Picture how adorable this little guy is. Congratulations!
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
Naughty Or Nice?
Are you expecting good things for Christmas? Or is your name in the ‘naughty’ column? I believe the old adage goes something like, “Have you been naughty or nice?” So which is it? Realistically, we only consider this question close to Christmas. As a kid I never once thought about whether I was naughty or nice in July. I mean seriously, who cares? I was a boy. The idea of being nice conjured up images of pink chiffon and lace. No self-respecting eight-year-old boy would be caught dead in pink chiffon!
As Christmas drew closer, and the snow began to fall (at my home in Michigan it often snowed during Christmas), my thoughts would often drift to being nice. I somehow was able to do the mental gymnastics of climbing over the wall of chiffon in order to see nice for what it was…nice. Simply being nice. Of course then I realized, possibly too late, that I had not been nice at all. I had laughed when Joey got hit in the eye with the baseball, I shoplifted a small piece of gum from the store, and I had possibly, instigated the toad in Mrs. Shaffer’s desk drawer…although my involvement was never actually proven or confirmed, and to this day, I claim complete innocence in the entire ordeal.
Under normal circumstances, we only consider our actions when the judgment for those actions is close at hand. In other words, as the proverbial judgment day approaches, we all straighten up. We change our lives based on consequences instead of changing our lives based on a higher level of moral good. For example, should we not give financially to churches and other benevolent organizations throughout the year as opposed to only the days preceding the tax credit deadline? Should we not help our neighbor when he is in need other than when it is convenient for us? Or how about volunteering in the community other than when we have to because of probation, work release, or class credits?
Our holiday thoughts seem to be consumed with a million other things than our ‘nice-meter’. This time of year, we should set aside time to enjoy family and friends, but it turns into a time of deadlines, stress, shopping, parties, and more sugar than any child should ever consume. Yet, if we will take a step back and look at this time of year, we will realize that we need to all slow down and heighten the level on our ‘nice meter’. As Emeril Lagasse says, “Let’s kick it up a notch!”
One of the gifts of the Spirit is Kindness. Now it doesn’t take a degree in Greek to understand what kindness means; it means be kind. So how is that a gift of the Spirit? Simple. As we become connected to the Spirit of God, we will be opened up to opportunities to be kind to others, and we will be given the means to bring that kindness into the physical. We begin walking in a symbiotic relationship with the Spirit of God. That Spirit makes things happen so that God’s love, compassion, and kindness become visible to a blind world.
This Christmas season is an incredible opportunity to not do the same things we’ve always done in the same ways we’ve always done them. Let’s take the next couple of weeks to become the agents of God in our community. Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to us; to give, before we receive; to help instead of driving by; and to serve instead of expecting service. Who knows, kindness might just become so contagious that we become nice year-round.
As Christmas drew closer, and the snow began to fall (at my home in Michigan it often snowed during Christmas), my thoughts would often drift to being nice. I somehow was able to do the mental gymnastics of climbing over the wall of chiffon in order to see nice for what it was…nice. Simply being nice. Of course then I realized, possibly too late, that I had not been nice at all. I had laughed when Joey got hit in the eye with the baseball, I shoplifted a small piece of gum from the store, and I had possibly, instigated the toad in Mrs. Shaffer’s desk drawer…although my involvement was never actually proven or confirmed, and to this day, I claim complete innocence in the entire ordeal.
Under normal circumstances, we only consider our actions when the judgment for those actions is close at hand. In other words, as the proverbial judgment day approaches, we all straighten up. We change our lives based on consequences instead of changing our lives based on a higher level of moral good. For example, should we not give financially to churches and other benevolent organizations throughout the year as opposed to only the days preceding the tax credit deadline? Should we not help our neighbor when he is in need other than when it is convenient for us? Or how about volunteering in the community other than when we have to because of probation, work release, or class credits?
Our holiday thoughts seem to be consumed with a million other things than our ‘nice-meter’. This time of year, we should set aside time to enjoy family and friends, but it turns into a time of deadlines, stress, shopping, parties, and more sugar than any child should ever consume. Yet, if we will take a step back and look at this time of year, we will realize that we need to all slow down and heighten the level on our ‘nice meter’. As Emeril Lagasse says, “Let’s kick it up a notch!”
One of the gifts of the Spirit is Kindness. Now it doesn’t take a degree in Greek to understand what kindness means; it means be kind. So how is that a gift of the Spirit? Simple. As we become connected to the Spirit of God, we will be opened up to opportunities to be kind to others, and we will be given the means to bring that kindness into the physical. We begin walking in a symbiotic relationship with the Spirit of God. That Spirit makes things happen so that God’s love, compassion, and kindness become visible to a blind world.
This Christmas season is an incredible opportunity to not do the same things we’ve always done in the same ways we’ve always done them. Let’s take the next couple of weeks to become the agents of God in our community. Take advantage of opportunities that present themselves to us; to give, before we receive; to help instead of driving by; and to serve instead of expecting service. Who knows, kindness might just become so contagious that we become nice year-round.
Monday, December 03, 2007
Just because
randomly posing for pictures. I caught this one of Noah and thought it
was cool. You gotta love kids.
Sunday, November 25, 2007
Throw Another Yule Log On!
Rockwell painting or what? My wife is even sporting a June Cleaver
smile.
Marco was here!
the original launch team that helped plant SouthPoint. Of course he
had to move....,punk! But he came back to visit this weekend And lead
worship. You can also tell that my son Noah thinks Marco is pretty
cool.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Phoebe's Birthday
gave it a shot! Phoebe is offically 6!
How Thankful Are You?
How thankful are you? Better question: how thankful would your friends say you are? Would you get a, ‘very thankful’ or would you be at the bottom of the ranking with a, ‘not so thankful’? That’s a tougher question, huh?
Of course, everyone would immediately say, “Oh I’m very thankful. I love life and everything about it!” But when you listen to what you say when you are around your friends, it makes you stop and think doesn’t it? Many times we can have a very deluded opinion of ourselves. Deluded from reality, that is.
As you sit around the wonderful Thanksgiving table today, pay attention. Pay attention to how many of your family and friends have a complaining mantra instead of a thankful speech. So often without even thinking about, especially during the busy times in our lives, we complain instead of giving thanks. We all have a lot to be thankful for.
Unfortunately, complaining has become a way of life for so many people. We complain about our cars, our homes, our clothes, and about our very own family. Everything in our lives could be better. Everything in our lives seems to somehow be tainted by the “greener grass on the other side.” Their house is bigger, their car is newer and their kids seem nicer.
No, we don’t actually verbalize this, but somehow, it manages to be lodged in our hearts like a five-day-old burrito. This burrito of complaint is what spurs us on to work harder and longer hours, to achieve more, make more, and therefore, buy more. Thanksgiving is a great time to adjust and examine our hearts.
Adjusting can be a painful process because, first and foremost, we have to admit the point at which we are currently is not the healthiest place for us to be. We have to recognize that we could possibly be operating out of a complaining mindset as opposed to a grateful one. This is not an easy thing to admit. It’s actually very painful.
My very first trip to Honduras was in 1993. I lead a group of teenagers there to do some construction and ministry. I was a cocky, complaining American who had it all figured out. The missionary sent me up the mountain in the back of a truck with all the luggage of our ten-member group. I was going to stay with the luggage while he took the one-hour drive back to the city to retrieve the group members. I was to sit and play guard dog. I figured this would be a cushy job and expected a good two-hour nap in the jungle. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
As I sat there on this giant pile of luggage – 20 suitcases total – I looked across the dirt road at a mud hut that was approximately ten foot square. I watched the family go in and out and realized that about five to six people lived in this ten-foot square mud hut. I looked up and down the muddy path and realized that I was sitting on more stuff than this entire village owned.
I began to cry. I thought about how I had complained that the airplane was too uncomfortable, and how the luggage was too heavy. I had complained about the very things I should have been thankful for because I have been blessed with so much. I was complaining, while I was guarding more stuff than this entire village owned!
Our complaints are usually the very things for which we need to be giving thanks. I am so grateful for my home; so grateful for my family; so grateful for my church; and so grateful for my country (Democrats and Republicans). I am grateful.
So today, let’s look around and see with naked eyes the lack that surrounds the globe, and adjust our hearts to a path of thanksgiving and gratefulness. We all have a lot to be thankful for.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
