What You Focus on is What You'll See

Jen & I took the girls to opening day of "Up" in 3-D on Friday.

We had a great family day together & the movie was really good!

During the movie, I was noticing the 3-D cinematography & thinking about how neat 3-D movies are... It's really neat how they do that!

At one point I noticed that they would "focus" on the main object of the shot, blurring everything else. This effect draws your eyes to the in-focus part... The part the storyteller wants you to focus on. I'm not really sure why it stuck out to me the way it did, but it really caught my attention. So much so that I found myself thinking about several times throughout the rest of the day.

At one point it occurred to me: we see whatever we focus on. (Most people have "Aha!" moments, but I tend to have "Uh, DUH!" moments.) Seriously. Think about that: whatever your eyes focus on is the image your mind captures & the information your brain processes.

Then this occurred to me: (Uh, DUH!) the same is true in the spirit! If you focus on the negative stuff, you're attention is going to be consumed with it. The positive stuff in your field of vision will fade into the background in a blurred mess. If, however, you focus on the positive, you will be consumed with that. Whatever negative you may be forced to see will stay in the background, obscured by its blurriness.

So, let me ask you something: What are you focusing on? Is it a problem, or should you see it as an opportunity. If God be your God, then the answer is quite clear. Jesus said a man was born blind not as punishment or misfortune, but as an opportunity to show God's glory.

Look around... What do you see?

C'mon... Focus.

What are you focusing on?

'Cause what you focus on is what you'll see.

The Truth Behind My Unanswered Prayers for a Mac

After my last post about my PC frustrations (& my wife's Mac-inspired bliss), my wife sent me an e-mail about my unanswered prayer & God's reasons for them.

She wrote,

"Maybe God has an Apple and that's why he told Adam to stay away..."

Ooh... That's good!

I wish I'd thought of that... That's funny!

My PC, Patience, & a Mac!!

I am so SICK of this PC!!

I'll spare you the rant that those closest to me have witnessed & just tell you that my frustration stems from speed--or a serious lack of it--from my notebook. Things that should take me 3 seconds are taking me 5 minutes or more!

The speed problem seems to stem from a "neat little trick" my PC does.

I don't remember downloading the app for this, but I surely must have... (cue sarcastic voice) Nothing THIS exciting is EVER free! (end sarcastic voice)

Maybe you've heard of the trick... Maybe your PC does it too (I understand most of them do). I think it's called Completely Random Asymptomatic Shutdown Hysteria.

CRASH for short.

And the best part is powering it back up again, going through the 7 or 8 restarts, the "NO ANTIVIRUS SOFTWARE INSTALLED" warnings (yes, there is!), the "THIS PROGRAM DID NOT SHUT DOWN PROPERLY" (duh!) dialog boxes, and seeing all the neat little icons that magically appear in my system tray in the place of the ones I recognize.

Through all of my groans, grunts, & frustrated outbursts, Jen sits next to me, typing away on her MacBook that hasn't been turned off in 4 or 5 weeks!! She doesn't even lift her eyes up at me anymore when it happens... She just offers a robotic "sorry" & keeps on getting her work done. (Must be nice!)

So, tonight as it happened AGAIN (The 3rd time today, actually), I slumped back in my chair (again), rubbed my forehead (again... I'm getting blisters up there!), sighed (again!!), & half-heartedly prayed that oh-so-desperate prayer of the PC owner...

"Why, God?! WHY?!!!"

Well, God didn't answer me.

It was either because He uses a PC & couldn't get my prayer in a usable format so Internet Explorer was searching the internet for a suitable program, or because He uses a Mac & therefore I--as a lowly, Steve-Jobs-envying PC owner--am not worthy of an answer.

Whichever was the case, I sat there & thought to myself, "I must've prayed for patience somewhere along the line, & this blasted--I mean blessed--machine is the tribulation that's going to bring it!"

Well, I have had it up to my well-hidden, but undeniably-receding hairline with this PC! I'm going to get a Mac! And--hopefully--some patience.

Something tells me the Mac will be the easier of the two to get!

A Camp-In, A Candle, S'mores & Priorities

Jen has been working nights for the past week, so I get to play Mr. Mom.

I hate it when Jen's not around, but the girls & I usually try to cope with it by doing some special, out-of-the-ordinary, or unusual things. Last night was Jen's last night on this job, so the girls & I decided to spend our last day & night without Mommy in grand fashion!

We started with a full day at the Louisiana Children's Museum (that place is really neat!), then came home for about an hour to visit with Mommy while we had the chance (she only has a couple of hours between waking up & driving back to the set). After some dinner, we decided to go to Whole Foods & Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping for Jen.

Somewhere along the way, one of the girls shouted out that she loves camping (even though they've never been), so we decided to have a camp-out in the back yard, complete with s'mores (of course!). I checked the weather & learned that rain was forecast for the entire night... And the lightning flashing in the sky pretty well confirmed the forecast in my mind.

So, now what? The girls were SO excited, & I wanted their last night without Mommy to be fun so as to minimize the chances of wailing songs of "I want my mommy" echoing throughout the house... Seriously.

Then I got an idea: They don't really care at this point where the camp out is as long as it's not in their beds! (Thank You, Jesus, for this insight!) So, I asked them, "Since it's gonna rain outsie tonight..."

I had an idea in mind, but Hosanna beat me to it: "Let's have a camp out in the living room!"

"Great idea, Sweetie!" I called back while the other two shouted their approval.

Then I added, "And maybe we can make the s'mores over a candle or something," not really knowing how I was gonna pull off that part of the deal.

"Yeah!!" three little-girl voices cheered for my idea.

So, we made a base camp in the living room, put a candle on the coffee table & toasted marshmallows for s'mores. It was a very simple set-up, really, but it really was special to them.

And to me.

It's times like this that my priorities get re-aligned... When I remember what my first ministry is to 3 little girls who may have several pastors in their lives, but only one Daddy.

And I'm it.

A Spirit of Grrr!

Have you ever had one of those days where you're just in a really bad mood... For no particular reason?

Well, I had one of those days yesterday. It kinda sneaked up on me, to be honest.

I woke up (which is a pretty good start to the day, when you consider the alternative), but it was all downhill from there.

Can someone please tell me where we got the idea that we sleep for the purpose of rest & recovery? I felt like I'd been run over by a truck--in a third-world country! (The kind of place where if they hit you they back over you to make sure you can't take them to court... Grrr!)

I must've drifted back into La-La Land because I was suddenly startled with those nightmarish "Oh, no! I'm 20 minutes late for work!" thoughts, so I jumped out of bed... And missed the floor! (Did I mention it was a bad day from the start? Grrr!)

Once I recovered from that (I'll bet you've got a nice visual right now, huh?), I went into the bathroom & looked into the mirror to see what damage had been done during the night. It was NOT pretty... It never is, to be honest, unless Jen is standing in front of me. I reached up to move my hair & poked myself in the eye. (Grrr!)

I stumbled into the shower, hoping the hot water might help me regain some resemblance of cognitive thought... Instead, the theme song from "9 to 5" kept playing over and over in my head. And I only know like the first 3 lines. (I HATE that song... Grrr!)

To be honest, the rest of the day is a blur, which is probably a good thing since I was in such a foul mood. But the wierd thing is that I don't remember there being any reason to be in a bad mood. It's like I was in some kind of dark cloud & couldn't outrun it. (Grrr!)

I remember at one point turning to Mom and asking her, "Have you ever had one of those days where you're just in a bad mood--for no particular reason--and you dn't seem to be able to snap out of it?" Mom smiled & said she did, but I don't remember EVER seeing her in a bad mood! I'm sure she has bad days, but she hides it WAY better than I do! (I wish I could hide my moods... Grrr!)

On the way home, my girls were... Let me see, how can I describe their behavior...

Oh, yeah, let's try this: SPASTIC!!!

I love for them to have fun, & I love to hear their little giggles & squeals, but I can only take so much under normal circumstances.... Somehow--thank You, Jesus--I managed to avoid biting their heads off. But, Oh my! Talk about finding my last nerve & jumping on it like it's a trampoline!!! (Grrr!)

All I wanted to do was go home, eat dinner, do NOTHING for a while, then GO TO BED! So that's what I did.

Or... What I had planned to do. (Grrr!)

About 30 minutes before I went to bed, I found a lovely little pile of cat-hoark on the bed. (Anyone want a free domestic short-haired cat? It's recovering well from the owner-inflicted trauma in its throat area... Grrr!)

So, I ended up staying up WAAAAAAYYY later than I wanted to, needed to, or should've trying to get the bedspread washed & back on the bed. But it took FOREVER to dry!! (Grrr!)

At some point--& here was my point--you just have to give up & go to bed. Maybe start over the next day... Without a spirit of "Grrr!" all over you.

So far, it's working.

Worthy of Honor

I have very few "heroes".

There are many people whose achievements I respect tremendously, but I also realize that there are faults & flaws in even the most noble among us. To be honest, I trust myself least of all... God has allowed me to "peek" a little into the window of my soul & the evil I have seen inside frightens me to no end! You know that Scripture that says "take heed lest you fall"? Well, it certainly applies to me, even though it wasn't written about me.

One of the people I have a lot of respect for once said, "I want the people who know me the best to respect me the most." Unfortunately, it seems so often that the more we learn about people, the less there is to respect about them... Thanks a lot, Hollywood!

But let me tell you about someone whom I have gotten to know better & better as the years have gone by, and for whom I have more & more respect all the time. Sure, there are faults & flaws, but the overarching issue of her character--Godly character--is truly amazing to me!

I am speaking, of course, about my wife, Jennifer.

I have had plenty of opportunities to see the "chinks" in her armour over the years, but I have to tell you: they've been more like "niks" than "chinks". I have never seen her compromise her integrity, even in some of the toughest predicaments... Ones that--without a doubt--would've taken me for a ride, but she has always handled in perfect stride!

She has always been a woman of her word, and trustworthy like no one else I have ever met.

She has a devotion to her family that I am greatful for: I am far-too easily tempted to sacrifice family on the altar of career-achievement.

She has a determination (aka subbornness when I don't agree with her... wink, wink) that cannot be appeased by anything but success (as defined by her, of course). When she gets her mind set on something, she makes a bulldog look wishy-washy.

As a pastor, confidentiality is of the utmost importance. I have never heard her speak out of turn or say something that made me cringe. I have never had to say to her, "You should not have shared that" or been embarrassed by something she said. I'll admit, though: she certainly has a way with words... She says things (& gets away with it) that I think, but could never get away with!

I could go on & on about her... She is the most-amazing person I have ever known! I love her more & more--I respect her more & more--the more I know her.

She's my hero, & she is truly worthy of honor! Happy Mother's Day, Sweetie!

Things Are Rarely What They Seem To Be

We were at prayer meeting last night, & I noticed a real heaviness on some of our folks... A real weight of discouragement weighing them down.

In fact, I've seen a lot of that lately... Seems like people--especially God's people--are just numb. They seem to be so inundated with bad news that they're just emotionally exhausted.

It's not that people don't care... I really believe it's just the opposite.

I don't think it's apathy... I think it's appearances!

I don't think it's laziness... I think it's illusion!!

Remember what Jesus told the disciples of John when they came asking Him if He was the Messiah or not? He said, "Go & tell John what you have"--watch this--"seen & heard."

The Kingdom of God is meant to be seen & heard!

Now think about this: the devil can't create anything... He can only pervert what God has created. In other words, he's a pretender. A fake! A phony! A fraud!

So, if the Kingdom of God is supposed to be seen & heard, then the kingdom of darkness is going to mimic that with things that are seen & heard!

We don't seem to have any trouble recognizing the devil as a liar, but I'm afraid it's escaped our attention that he's an illusionist, too... he creates visual lies!

Remember 2 Corinthians 10:5? "We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

Let me put it this way: Things are NOT what they seem to me!

So, PULL DOWN THE ILLUSION & SEE THE GLORY OF JESUS!!

Cookies & Ice Cream

After my last post, I figured I needed to go a little lighter.

I enjoyed sharing my thoughts about perseverance, but my head still hurts from it. I haven't done that much calculus & physics in years.

So, let me tell you a story that's a little less liver-and-onions and a little more hot-fudge-sundae:

Two robins gorge themselves on worms after a hard spring rain, so much so that it seems too much effort to fly all the way back up to the tree-top perch.

Feeling brave, the first robin boasts, "That was DEEE-Licious... I'm so full I can hardly stand it! Whaddya say we just kick back a while right here on this grassy spot & let some of these worms digest... Besides, we wouldn't want to cramp up!"

The second robin, noticing the warm sun peeking through the clearing clouds replies, "I guess we could do that: just sort of bask in that nice, warm sun." Looking around, he continues, "I think we'll be safe here for a while."

So both robins stretch out to maximize their sun, then kick their feet up on some small twigs to drink in the whole experience. Before too long, the massaging warmth & their full bellies put them fast asleep.

Without any fanfare, a pair of snakes sneak up on the robins &... GULP!

As the 2 stuffed snakes slither away, one turns to the other & says, "Ahhh... I LOVE Baskin Robbins!"

See y'all next time!