Someone commented to Jen today that they couldn't imagine her having 3 kids in diapers. So, Jen went through some pictures from "those days" & sent them to the aforementioned "someone" (identified as tAS from here on out).
(Totally unrelated side note: isn't "aforementioned" a GREAT word?)
I walked up to Jen as she was finishing the e-mail to tAS, & she showed me some pictures from way-back-when.
Hosanna was 2 and change, still had her long-&-getting-longer hair.
Faith was 18 months-ish, with the little water-spout-style hairdo people do when the hair is too short to do anything else with.
Leili was an infant, laying on Mommy's lap with almost no hair, totally oblivious to everything... As a newborn should be.
Wow! Suffice it to say that the difference between the girls from then to now is amazing (they're 8,7, & 6 now)!
But, for some reason, Jen hasn't changed all that much. (She'll probably appreciate me saying that when she reads this... Score one brownie point for me!)
The girls have changed a TON (it's been 6 years), but Jen hasn't (it's ONLY been 6 years).
I was spending some time today with one of the guys I disciple, & I had the same experience.
In the last several months, he's grown SO much that his "spiritual portrait" has TOTALLY changed. I've grown during our time together, too, but my change pales in comparison to all the growth-related changes I've seen him go through.
But that's what discipleship is all about... Growing.
By leaps & bounds!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Silent Suffering
So much for light & fluffy posts, huh?
I've noticed several of our beloved brothers & sisters really struggling lately--even more than usual.
Bur this is different.
There's a heaviness that seems to be hovering over them... A spiritual black cloud, if you will.
I'm sure you probably know some people like this. Is it just me or does there seem to be a seemingly-impenetrable coat of emotional isolation engulfing them?
Have you ever noticed that these beloved friends & family of ours seem to be drowning I'm their own silence?
Last Sunday, while I was preaching, I asked for a show of hands from people who felt like they were struggling--alone--with a particular issue. (I'm sure you've already guessed the next part, huh?) Hands went up all over the place. Most hands, in fact.
I had everyone look around & admonished them, "Look! You are NOT alone in your struggle!" I could see the light in some of their eyes & I could feel about a hundred different 2-ton weights collectively lift off the crowd.
Up to that point, almost every one of them thought they were alone--despairingly alone--in their struggle.
So they suffered. Alone. In their silence.
Man, I hate the devil!
I've noticed several of our beloved brothers & sisters really struggling lately--even more than usual.
Bur this is different.
There's a heaviness that seems to be hovering over them... A spiritual black cloud, if you will.
I'm sure you probably know some people like this. Is it just me or does there seem to be a seemingly-impenetrable coat of emotional isolation engulfing them?
Have you ever noticed that these beloved friends & family of ours seem to be drowning I'm their own silence?
Last Sunday, while I was preaching, I asked for a show of hands from people who felt like they were struggling--alone--with a particular issue. (I'm sure you've already guessed the next part, huh?) Hands went up all over the place. Most hands, in fact.
I had everyone look around & admonished them, "Look! You are NOT alone in your struggle!" I could see the light in some of their eyes & I could feel about a hundred different 2-ton weights collectively lift off the crowd.
Up to that point, almost every one of them thought they were alone--despairingly alone--in their struggle.
So they suffered. Alone. In their silence.
Man, I hate the devil!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Eeewwwwww... Yuk!
Jen & I took the girls to the Toy Story 3D double-feature tonight. It's a great movie, and it was a ton of fun in 3D!!
The only problem is that 2 movies meant twice as much popcorn, twice as much Coke, & twice as much candy.
Don't get me wrong... I like candy well enough, for sure, but--hold on to your hats, kids--there really is such a thing as "too much."
And tonight, we had too much.
I thought it was just me at first, but then Hosanna said she wasn't feeling well either. She even knew that it was because she'd had too much candy (she said so, if you can believe that!).
So, as I sit here somewhere between "uneasy" & "moan-&-groan", the thought occurs to me that sometimes there's a queasiness in the body of Christ, too. And it comes the same way: too much candy!
Think about it: we love to hear messages that are sweet to the taste & go down easy. There certainly isn't anything wrong with a little chocolate to wash down a good meal. There's nothing wrong with even leaving a little on you plate to "save room" for dessert. But there is a serious problem when we refuse the healthy food our bodies need for the sake of over-indulging in the "treats".
When you eat too much candy (like I did tonight... Ugh!), you are GOING to be sick! When your Chrisitianity is all sweets & snacks, you're GOING to be spiritually sick.
So, if you're feeling a little queasy in your walk with Christ, maybe it's your diet.
Sometimes, brussel sprouts are good.
I'm just sayin'...
The only problem is that 2 movies meant twice as much popcorn, twice as much Coke, & twice as much candy.
Don't get me wrong... I like candy well enough, for sure, but--hold on to your hats, kids--there really is such a thing as "too much."
And tonight, we had too much.
I thought it was just me at first, but then Hosanna said she wasn't feeling well either. She even knew that it was because she'd had too much candy (she said so, if you can believe that!).
So, as I sit here somewhere between "uneasy" & "moan-&-groan", the thought occurs to me that sometimes there's a queasiness in the body of Christ, too. And it comes the same way: too much candy!
Think about it: we love to hear messages that are sweet to the taste & go down easy. There certainly isn't anything wrong with a little chocolate to wash down a good meal. There's nothing wrong with even leaving a little on you plate to "save room" for dessert. But there is a serious problem when we refuse the healthy food our bodies need for the sake of over-indulging in the "treats".
When you eat too much candy (like I did tonight... Ugh!), you are GOING to be sick! When your Chrisitianity is all sweets & snacks, you're GOING to be spiritually sick.
So, if you're feeling a little queasy in your walk with Christ, maybe it's your diet.
Sometimes, brussel sprouts are good.
I'm just sayin'...
Friday, October 2, 2009
Merciful Ignorance
The old saying says, "Ignorance is bliss."
I've personally experienced the truth of that statement a number of times in my life. The funny thing is that you can't realize the power of it's truth while you remain ignorant. (Think about that for a minute.)
It makes me think of another, similar saying: "What you don't know can't hurt you."
Really? I've been blindsided in my ignorance--maybe it would be more accurate to say, "by my ignorance"--a few times. The fact that I didn't see "it" coming didn't seem to make it hurt any less. In fact, not knowing prevented me from bracing for the impact... That would've been nice.
But recently, I've had the opportunity to experience something similar in circumstance, but completely different in spirit. Similar in that There was something going on of which I was totally unaware... Different in that it was to my benefit that I was ignorant.
You see, all I really want is to be used by God to be a change-agent in people's lives. While that ambition may be noble in and of itself, there's a lot of room for selfish ambition to ride the coattails of nobility into personal gain. That transparency may seem a little awkward to you, but I've learned that selfish ambition draws it's power from the hidden places of my heart... The surest way to keep it in check is to expose it for what it is.
Having said that, let me continue...
All I want is to be a change agent for the life-giving God... A catalyst for Christ, if you will. I want that so bad--and at the same time I'm so task-oriented--that I have often found myself trying to "help God out" with people instead of taking my place as a tool in the Master's hand. I've tried to live my life that way... Not just my ministry, but my whole life.
For several months now, I've received a bunch of testimonies--often 2 or 3 a week--from people whom God has touched through me. The irony is that it's often completely unrelated to anything I was consciously doing to impact their life.
In other words, God used me in my ignorance. And I'm so glad He did it that way, because it makes it that much harder for me to think--even for a moment--that I had anything to do with it! I do NOT want to share His glory!!
Not only would I try to steal His glory, but the next time I stood to "do the Lord's work", I'd be thinking about the great work that I was doing. Maybe you don't wrestle with those kind of pride issues, but my life is full of them!
So, God--Who is so full of mercy--mercifully keeps me in the dark, giving me just the right amount of encouragement I need to keep my zeal ablaze, and just the right amount of ignorance to keep my pride in check.
It truly is "Merciful Ignorance."
I've personally experienced the truth of that statement a number of times in my life. The funny thing is that you can't realize the power of it's truth while you remain ignorant. (Think about that for a minute.)
It makes me think of another, similar saying: "What you don't know can't hurt you."
Really? I've been blindsided in my ignorance--maybe it would be more accurate to say, "by my ignorance"--a few times. The fact that I didn't see "it" coming didn't seem to make it hurt any less. In fact, not knowing prevented me from bracing for the impact... That would've been nice.
But recently, I've had the opportunity to experience something similar in circumstance, but completely different in spirit. Similar in that There was something going on of which I was totally unaware... Different in that it was to my benefit that I was ignorant.
You see, all I really want is to be used by God to be a change-agent in people's lives. While that ambition may be noble in and of itself, there's a lot of room for selfish ambition to ride the coattails of nobility into personal gain. That transparency may seem a little awkward to you, but I've learned that selfish ambition draws it's power from the hidden places of my heart... The surest way to keep it in check is to expose it for what it is.
Having said that, let me continue...
All I want is to be a change agent for the life-giving God... A catalyst for Christ, if you will. I want that so bad--and at the same time I'm so task-oriented--that I have often found myself trying to "help God out" with people instead of taking my place as a tool in the Master's hand. I've tried to live my life that way... Not just my ministry, but my whole life.
For several months now, I've received a bunch of testimonies--often 2 or 3 a week--from people whom God has touched through me. The irony is that it's often completely unrelated to anything I was consciously doing to impact their life.
In other words, God used me in my ignorance. And I'm so glad He did it that way, because it makes it that much harder for me to think--even for a moment--that I had anything to do with it! I do NOT want to share His glory!!
Not only would I try to steal His glory, but the next time I stood to "do the Lord's work", I'd be thinking about the great work that I was doing. Maybe you don't wrestle with those kind of pride issues, but my life is full of them!
So, God--Who is so full of mercy--mercifully keeps me in the dark, giving me just the right amount of encouragement I need to keep my zeal ablaze, and just the right amount of ignorance to keep my pride in check.
It truly is "Merciful Ignorance."
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