Some times we look at our situations in life and wonder, “Why me Lord?” Life is funny like that you know. One minute things
are going great and the next minute your life gets turned upside down. Yet we try and try to figure out what is going on around here. God dosen’t get surpised by the calamities we go through. As a matter of fact, God knowingly allows us to go through it, He tenderly attends to our needs and provides comfort in the midst of our sorrows. God always sees the big picture when He looks on our lives. Through our trials, we really are able to appreciate and ultimately recieve our blessings that only God can provide.
Wow! I am surprised there are no cobwebs on this blog page. Sorry for being lazy. Church is going great. We are refocused and energized for an exciting 2012. I would like to say that we have been pretty anxious about what God is going to be doing in our church this year. But what about me you ask? Just helping my Dad over the last little while. We found out he has liver cancer, and has been real weak over the past few weeks. I am real proud of my Mom. She is a good wife and mom. She has been handling this so strongly. Please pray for my family, and for Higher Vision Church. I only want to be in the center of God’s will.
Have you ever wondered why we dream the silly stuff we dream. Were does this stuff come from? The other night I dreamed that I got on an elevator that carried me to an island somewhere. (It already sounds crazy huh?) I was stranded with my little nephew Kole, and some other people that I didn’t even know. I was alright till I started turning into a lego man. Seriously! I was so glad i woke up from that one. Life is like that sometimes. When you least expect it, something crazy happens and you are left saying “What going on here?”
Well it is official. I have finally reached that milestone in life that many people dread and even fear. Turning 40 has come and gone in a blink of an eye. It was nothing special, just an ordinary day. In my mind, I still feel like the same old me. I can still remember when my parents turned 40. I thought they had almost had one foot in the nursing home. Well I am much more in touch with reality these days, and 40 doesn’t seem so old now that I think about it. Could I be deceiving myself? Of course not.
Some view 40 as being “over the hill“. They look in the mirror and see their hair turning grey, that middle age spread, or are worried about hitting that mid-life crisis. Well all that happened to me like five years ago, so I guess I am ahead of the game. I am 40, so what! I refuse to put on my skies and take my quick ride down the hill of life. I am tightening up my hiking boots and continuing on with my climb. Life is an adventure and I still have a lot to give, and a lot to do. So I am running to 50, and then beyond. Check me out.
I don’t know why my life was always marred by trouble. I use to have a shirt that said, “I don’t look for trouble, it finds me!.” When anything was broken, I was the first to be accused. When anything went wrong, somehow I was the root of the problem. No one likes to be punished because of things done wrong. And like most other people, if not all people, we never really want to accept the blame for things we have done wrong.
I remember one time when I was supposed to play in a band performance when I was in the sixth grade. I was dressed in my best sunday outfit when I fell down while playing in the school hall. As I fell, I ripped a hole right in the knee of my khaki pants. Because of my dad, patches were a common fixture to be found in my mom’s sewing kit at home. He refused to buy me pants when I would come home with my pants torn. I would get a spanking and patches to go along with. How embarrassing!
Here I was walking on stage with a big bloody hole right where fabric used to be. To my surprise, I made it through the performance and even to the house without anyone knowing what had happened. I slipped those pants in the bottom of the hamper as slick as a thief . How awesome I was to get away with this major indiscretion. I still remember how I responded to the question that occurred when the crime was found out. ”I don’t know what happened Mommy,” I replied with that cute smile of an angel. Needless to say, I wasn’t very convincing.
When we are caught doing something wrong, there are usually four different responses that we make to those in whom we stand in judgment.
1) It’s not my fault.
2) It’s His (or Her) fault.
3) It’s Your fault.
4) It’s My fault.
Just like in the Garden of Eden, we follow the examples of the first humans, by goofing up, and then covering up, as we try to hide from our mistakes. They denied, and then blamed each other, blamed the devil, and even blamed God for the mess that they had made. Yet God has made it possible for us to be forgiven of the sins and the mistakes that we have created. Jesus took the blame for our messes, and he took the punishment for us. In Christ, I am learning to own up to my mistakes that I make. Yet it will always be a struggle because each time something goes wrong, everyone still starts looking for me. :)
When I was a kid, my favorite movie of all time was Star Wars. I remember Playing with my friend George, as we grabbed our tobacco stick “light sabers”, we would fight to the finish and see which side of the force would win. George was always Darth Vader, and he always had to win no matter what cool Jedi tricks I whipped out. I have to admit, I always knew the force was strong in me.
For years I believed that the Star Wars trilogy would always reign supreme in my all-time favorite movie list. Then when I least expected, here comes three more on the scene. You could only imagine my excitement. I have to admit that being a sci-fi geek has not always been easy. Especially when it drives my wife crazy. But I guess that stuff that happens in a galaxy far far away wouldn’t be all that different than it is right here on old planet Earth. The good guys and the bad guys fighting either for power, or justice. It is good to know that we can fight on the winning team, if we are living in Christ.
May the Force be with you!
There are a people that you know in life that really make an impact on you. I guess one of my greatest influencers would have to be my grandparents. When I think of my Grandmother, I still remember her smile, her hugs, her aprons, her cooking, and of course her hair. I don’t know how long it took her to fix it, but I can barely remember a time when I was young that I ever saw her wearing it down. My Grandpa always said he loved her long hair, and I never knew of a time when it was short. Everyday she would get up, pin it up, and slip on that old hair net. It was just how it was. She was the picture of what a Godly woman should be. She took care of her family and always was there for her husband, and I hardly ever saw her when she wasn’t doing something around the house. (Unless her stories were on TV. )
Then there were those days when she would just let her hair down. Those days were rare. I think I caught her off guard when I took this picture. She would beat me I she knew I had this photo for the whole world to see. Yet as we look at the fast pace life we live in, sometimes we need to be reminded that we need to stop and smell the roses. Take time from your everyday routine. Spend time with your family. Take a walk with your spouse, our just lay back and watch a movie. We need to let our hair down, and enjoy what God has given us.
