Status of 2010

I was tooloing around on facebook this evening and came across something called My Year in Status - 2010. It takes all of your facebook statuses for the year (or a lot of them at least) and puts them together as a collage. I especially liked the fact that I could go through and pick and choose which statuses to include in the collage.


It was interesting to see the statuses that were shared throughout the year from the standpoint of what I was doing as well as what I felt was important enough to share as a status. It brought back a lot of memories from this past year.

Great memories of family, friends, jobs, thoughts, fears, and successes!

Incomplete

Last weekend Addison and I were looking for something to do and so we pulled out a puzzle to work on. When we went to the closet to find a puzzle I saw the normal puzzles that we do, the 24-piece puzzles and decided that this was the day that we finally pull out the big one, the 1000-piece puzzle.


It took us a few minutes to turn over all the pieces and develop some sort of organization, and in a short time we had begun. It didn't take much persuasion to get Kim in on the puzzle action. Before long we had completed the frame of the puzzle and began to work on small portions at a time.

Four days later we were approaching completion on the puzzle when we realized that out of the 1,000 pieces needed to complete the puzzle, we had 999. One piece short! If you have ever felt like you were missing something, like you are 99.9 percent there but just can seem to achieve that last .1 percent, you must know how we felt. 

I wish there was a happy end to this story, there isn't. We looked all over the dining room for that last piece, we look in, under and around chairs, we looked under and around tables, we walked around portions of the house, looked in the game closet, and several drawers. The puzzle was disassembled on a Thursday having achieved a 99.9 percent completion.

Visiting through the funk

This afternoon I had the great duty of visiting with some wonderful people! 

One of the duties of my job is visitation. Visiting with the members and attendees of our church, visiting with various individuals from the community, and visiting with shut-ins and those in the hospital. While this is not the part of the job that I enjoy THE MOST, it is a fairly enjoyable task. Connecting with various individuals, ministering to them and allowing them to minister to me, this is very fulfilling and I count it a true blessing.

Yet, there are times that I find it very difficult to visit with people. Sometimes I find myself in a "funk" and don't feel like going out, carrying on a conversation, or entertaining the interests of others. And, although these moments of "funk" are few and far between, I find that these seem to be the most fulfilling moments of visiting and connecting. When I force myself past that "funk" I soon find the joy and pleasure in visiting with these wonderful people. 
 
This morning I was reading from Psalm 23 and the sixth verse really caught my attention: "Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 

Just as there are days that I find myself in a "funk", without the desire to visit with others, I sometimes find myself in a "funk", without the desire to visit with God. These are times when I don't want to read Scripture, I don't want to pray, I don't want to do anything. Yet these are the times David is writing about in Psalm 23:6, times when God says; "don't worry about visiting with me, I'm going to visit with you right now. Why? Because you are my child and I love you. Why? Because I am here for you, forever. Why? Because I am God and you need me, even when you don't always know how much you need me.

Just as God walked in the garden when Adam and Eve were hiding in sin and shame, and he called out to them; "Where are you?" How often God pursues us and calls out, "where are you". God is good, always! God is love, always! God is there, always! Perhaps He is calling for you right now.

"Where are you?"   

One Last Christmas

Matthew West wrote a beautiful song not too long ago, One Last Christmas. With this song, Matthew tells the true story of a little boy, Dax, that was suffering with lukemia. His parents were determined that he was going to see "one last Christmas" and they put up the decorations early in the year. Soon the entire community joined in, it caught the local news and people from all around were joining in.

Watch the video of "One Last Christmas" here:



Dax did eventually lose his battle with lukemia following this Christmas celebration with his family. And today he celebrates Christmas with Jesus Christ in heaven. Dax's parents would like for his legacy to live on here too and so they are asking for donations to be made to the St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital in his honor. They are hoping to raise enough money to run the hospital for an entire day (a cost of 1.6 million dollars). To donate to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, click here.

As I watched this video I was inspired by the life of Dax and by the committment that his parents had to helping him see one more Christmas. I thought about all of the time we waste everyday, especially around the holidays, on such frivilous things. If we new that this might be the last Christmas, the last day, the last moments that we have with some individuals, how might we spend our time differently?

Light: the way out of the cave

Years ago my friend and I went spelunking, that is, exploring a cave. We planned it out the day before and prepared with a map in hand and two flashlights.


Once inside the cave we began to follow the bright orange arrows that pointed the way in and out of the cave. Once we reached the back of the cave we turned around and began following the arrows back to the opening of the cave (there only one in and out of this particular cave).

I would venture to say that we both felt an emptiness in our stomachs when the bright orange arrows pointed to a dead end somewhere near the middle of the cave. This realization was followed shortly by the realization that we had left the map of the cave in the car, and promptly by the failure of both flashlights.
Soon we found ourselves running into dead ends within the cave at every turn. As we pressed on we grew more tired and more frustrated. It seemed as if everything that we did resulted in us getting lost even further.

Although we knew that there was only one way in and out of this cave, we knew that we must do something or else we may grow too tired, too cold, and too hungry inside of this cave. We began to pound on the walls of the cave, listening for a hollow echo. It did not take too long before we saw a faint glimmer of light coming from the crack in one of the cave walls. Needless to say, we did not stop hammering away at that wall until we had broken through.

That crack in the wall of the cave was our hope, it was what we had been searching for. The light coming in was our salvation. Because, after we broke through we not only saw the light of the sun, we felt the warmth of the summer air, and I saw my dad coming toward the mouth of the cave with water, a rope, and a light. He was only minutes away from entering the cave to come and find us. Thankfully, we were able to find our way our before he had to locate us himself, not to mention the police and rescue workers and their helicopter.

It is much the same with us as we live here on earth. So many are searching for the Light, they are looking for their salvation from this cold, dark, weary place. So many people have been putting in so much of their energy and time looking for the "way out", looking for the "light". Jesus said in John 8:12: “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” What's more, Jesus said in Matthew 5:14 that anyone that follows Him are "the light of the world."

If you are a follower of Christ it is your responsibility, your privilege, and your honor to share this light, the light that is Jesus Christ with all those around you. If you are not yet a follower of "The Light", take this glimpse of the hope and don't give up, pursue it, research it, and don't give up until you experience the light of Jesus Christ for yourself.

Salt: making thing more foodier

My wife and I have vastly differing views on the amount of salt that should be used on a daily or weekly basis. It seems that she can go with little or even no salt put on food while I will practically empty the salt shaker on my plate in order to get the desired taste.

Ideally though, we should aim for a middle ground, somewhere between no salt and a lot of salt. Because the right amount, the appropriate amount of salt does not allow the food to remain bland and yet it doesn't overpower the food either. The right amount of salt won't be tasted or missed. Instead, it will pull out the true taste of the food, making it more "foodier".

I believe this is one of the characteristics that Jesus was calling His followers to in Matthew 5:13; “You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

Jesus says that when we are the salt of the earth we will add flavor to the beauty of this world that has been created by Him. Rather than overpowering the taste of the things we encounter, we will pull out the wonderful and amazing qualities and characteristics.

A Reminder: Lead Me

Sometimes we need a reminder. A reminder to give up our selfish ambitions. A reminder that others are counting on us. And a reminder to lead.

This song, "Lead Me" by Sanctus Real is a wonderful reminder. It reminds husbands of their first ministry, their duty to honor, love, and lead their wives. It reminds fathers that they are to committed to their children and their families, even when it's easier not to be. And it reminds us all that when things of this life seem to over burden us, our Father in heaven grants us the strength and ability to lead in spite of the evil in this world. 

Lead Me by Sanctus Real

I look around and see my wonderful life
Almost perfect from the outside
In picture frames I see my beautiful wife
Always smiling
But on the inside, I can hear her saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

I see their faces, look in their innocent eyes
They're just children from the outside
I'm working hard, I tell myself they'll be fine
They're independent
But on the inside, I can hear them saying...

“Lead me with strong hands
Stand up when I can't
Don't leave me hungry for love
Chasing dreams, but what about us?

Show me you're willing to fight
That I'm still the love of your life
I know we call this our home
But I still feel alone”

So Father, give me the strength
To be everything I'm called to be
Oh, Father, show me the way
To lead them
Won't You lead me?

To lead them with strong hands
To stand up when they can't
Don't want to leave them hungry for love,
Chasing things that I could give up

I'll show them I'm willing to fight
And give them the best of my life
So we can call this our home
Lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone

Father, lead me, 'cause I can't do this alone