Well, once again, Thanksgiving has come and gone. This was not our ordinary Thanksgiving though. Today was full of normal stress & chaos, and some not so normal stress & chaos. Here is a time line of our day.
6:30 a.m. I wake to the sound of Ann on the phone (talking to Duke Energy) and I notice the electric is out.
6:35 a.m. Ann is off of the phone and we are told electric won't be on until 10:30 a.m.
7:00 a.m. Turkey should be going in the oven now, but still no electric.
9:35 a.m. Tension is high and Ann & I begin to argue. Still no electric.
10:35 a.m. We are now in "MacGyver" mode. We begin to cook the turkey on our gas cooktop. Still no electric.
11:00 a.m. ELECTRIC IS ON! Something to be thankful for.
1:15 p.m. Turkey is cooking. My family arrives. Electric is still on. Finally feeling normal.
2:15 p.m. WHAT THE? Electric is off again. Turkey is only half cooked. Haven't even started baking the side dishes yet.
2:35 p.m. Ann's family arrives. Ann's mom mentions they saw the electric company replacing a pole. Hope that doesn't take long.
3:00 p.m. ELECTRIC IS ON AGAIN! Please God, let it stay on. We have to eat at 4:00.
4:00 p.m. Electric is still on. Turkey is done! As well as all of the fixins. Time to eat!
4:15 p.m. Electric is still on. Grace has been said. People are eating. A lot to be thankful for.
5:00 p.m. Electric is still on. My family has to head back to Columbus.
6:00 p.m. Electric is still on. Football is done. I feel fat. Ann's family decides to leave.
Current time. I just finished a slice of pie and now I feel extremely fat. Time to rub my wife's feet and fall asleep on the couch. The Electric is still on, and this one is in the bag.
I just wanted to add, that I am very thankful for the folks at Duke Energy who sacrificed their day to respond to the call. I once had a position that required that of me. I was active with the US Air Force when my unit was called to Desert Shield/Storm back in 1991. It's people like that, we should be thankful for. We take so much for granted in this country, and the sad thing is that we think we deserve it. I was sitting on my couch thinking last night about all of the people in the world who don't have heat. Who don't have electric. Who don't even have family to gather with on a holiday, or any other day of the year. That, my friends, is a lot to be "Thankful" for. I fell victim to the stress of no electricity yesterday. I so very quickly forgot about those things that we take for granted. I so very quickly forgot about my trip to Honduras to serve those who have nothing. As I was sitting here with my kids, watching Charlie Brown on T.V., God was reminding me of all of these things. He was convicting me to do it better next time. And there will be a next time. There always is a storm on the horizon. Next time, I will be prepared. When I'm sitting here in the dark, I will be reminded of all that I take for granted and that I should be truly thankful for. Peace!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Church Is Not Church
O.K. We've all heard it said before, "church is not the building, but the group of believers that are in it". But lately, I've been discovering a whole new truth to that. And with that comes the realization of "who" and "where" the church actually is.
For me, it is community, fellow believers, and the body of the congregation. But it's also more than that. Let me ask a question before I explain. Do you realize that most of the stories of Biblical figures met God outside of the church? Moses met God in the form of a burning bush in the middle of a desert. David wrote most of the psalms while camping under the stars. Even Jesus did most of His teaching outside the four walls of a church. John Eldredge touches on this in his books.
I have been making a lot of effort to get outdoors lately, no matter what the weather. I recently blogged about a camping trip that I took last month with my oldest son in Michigan. When we found that clearing that lead us down to the lake, I felt as if God had provided that path to show us something. I know that it was hard for my son to grasp that concept, but for me it was evident. God wanted to be alone with us. We just sat there on the bank while the cool breeze came across the lake to gently kiss our faces. I got it. God was romancing us. It was refreshing and calming. It was church outside of church. So I sat there and enjoyed the moment. A moment of conversation with my first born. A moment of tranquility. A moment alone with our Father.
God created the world with all of it's splendor and glory. He created man (Adam) out in the wilderness. It's as if we were meant to be out there in the wild. That is where we are tested. That is where our ancestors lived. It's where they did life and had community together. It's where messages were taught. It's where we can go to get away from all of the noise. That's where we will find God. I encourage you to take an hour or two, to go hiking or just find a quiet place outdoors. Somewhere you can sit and be all alone. And listen! I guarantee you will hear Him. Being out in the very nature that He created and hearing His Words for me, is a form of church. It is a beautiful and inspiring experience.
For me, it is community, fellow believers, and the body of the congregation. But it's also more than that. Let me ask a question before I explain. Do you realize that most of the stories of Biblical figures met God outside of the church? Moses met God in the form of a burning bush in the middle of a desert. David wrote most of the psalms while camping under the stars. Even Jesus did most of His teaching outside the four walls of a church. John Eldredge touches on this in his books.
I have been making a lot of effort to get outdoors lately, no matter what the weather. I recently blogged about a camping trip that I took last month with my oldest son in Michigan. When we found that clearing that lead us down to the lake, I felt as if God had provided that path to show us something. I know that it was hard for my son to grasp that concept, but for me it was evident. God wanted to be alone with us. We just sat there on the bank while the cool breeze came across the lake to gently kiss our faces. I got it. God was romancing us. It was refreshing and calming. It was church outside of church. So I sat there and enjoyed the moment. A moment of conversation with my first born. A moment of tranquility. A moment alone with our Father.
God created the world with all of it's splendor and glory. He created man (Adam) out in the wilderness. It's as if we were meant to be out there in the wild. That is where we are tested. That is where our ancestors lived. It's where they did life and had community together. It's where messages were taught. It's where we can go to get away from all of the noise. That's where we will find God. I encourage you to take an hour or two, to go hiking or just find a quiet place outdoors. Somewhere you can sit and be all alone. And listen! I guarantee you will hear Him. Being out in the very nature that He created and hearing His Words for me, is a form of church. It is a beautiful and inspiring experience.
Breathing
Last night, as I was falling asleep, I was listening to my breathing. I noticed that I was taking long, deep breaths. And then I started to wonder; what would my last breaths be like? I don't mean to sound morbid. Will they be relaxed breaths? Will it be hard to breathe? Will I be in a panic, gasping for air? Only God knows the answer to these questions.
Job 12:10 In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
About three years ago, I decided to take up bicycling. A couple of friends of mine invited me to do a ten mile loop (on a local street) with them. Only one of us was properly equipped with the right kind of bike because he had been doing this for a while. The other two of us had old mountain bikes. I thought for sure that I could do this because I considered myself to be in pretty good shape. So, we headed out. About two miles into the ride, I was done. I could go no further, and yet, I still had to ride the two miles just to get back. It was a combination of riding a mountain bike with big knobby tires and improper gearing, and my inadequate level of cardio ability that prevented me from going any further. I purchased a new road bike and hit the streets as much as I could. I became addicted to the sport but I noticed that I was still struggling with my breathing. The slightest inclines presented a challenge for me, and I could not catch my breath. I would get extremely light-headed and I felt like I was going to black out. I was literally fighting for air. I made a visit to my family doctor who diagnosed me with EIA (Exercise Induced Asthma). In EIA, the muscle bands around the airways are sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity and react by contracting, which narrows the airway. Fatigue, tightening of the chest, wheezing and shortness of breath are all of the symptoms that I was experiencing. My doctor prescribed me an albuterol inhaler to use when I expose myself to prolonged exercise. And what do you know, it worked! I am not Lance Armstrong by any comparison, but now I can ride my bike for a good thirty or forty miles without having to fight for air.
Job 9:18 He would not let me regain my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
After the thoughts of how I wound spend my last few breaths, I began to thank God for the air that I breathe. We don't even deserve it, but He gives it to us anyway. It is a gift! When I am given a gift, I cherish it. I try to use that gift to my best ability. So, in honor of receiving this gift, I am trying to do everything that God is asking me to do. Loving Him and worshipping Him above all.
Genesis 2:7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
The air that I breathe fills my heart with oxygen. Without oxygen, the heart is a useless muscle. My heart is vital to my existence and to my relationship with God. It is my heart that allows me to feel and hear God. I often ask God to break my heart with the things that makes His heart break. And He does. An example of this would be the compassion and love that I have for my brothers that are in my men's group. We meet every Tuesday to worship the Lord, share our struggles, pray for each other and just have community together. When one of us is feeling broken, it breaks my heart. It is then that the Lord empowers us to breathe new life into each other.
Genesis 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
Job 12:10 In His hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.
About three years ago, I decided to take up bicycling. A couple of friends of mine invited me to do a ten mile loop (on a local street) with them. Only one of us was properly equipped with the right kind of bike because he had been doing this for a while. The other two of us had old mountain bikes. I thought for sure that I could do this because I considered myself to be in pretty good shape. So, we headed out. About two miles into the ride, I was done. I could go no further, and yet, I still had to ride the two miles just to get back. It was a combination of riding a mountain bike with big knobby tires and improper gearing, and my inadequate level of cardio ability that prevented me from going any further. I purchased a new road bike and hit the streets as much as I could. I became addicted to the sport but I noticed that I was still struggling with my breathing. The slightest inclines presented a challenge for me, and I could not catch my breath. I would get extremely light-headed and I felt like I was going to black out. I was literally fighting for air. I made a visit to my family doctor who diagnosed me with EIA (Exercise Induced Asthma). In EIA, the muscle bands around the airways are sensitive to changes in temperature and humidity and react by contracting, which narrows the airway. Fatigue, tightening of the chest, wheezing and shortness of breath are all of the symptoms that I was experiencing. My doctor prescribed me an albuterol inhaler to use when I expose myself to prolonged exercise. And what do you know, it worked! I am not Lance Armstrong by any comparison, but now I can ride my bike for a good thirty or forty miles without having to fight for air.
Job 9:18 He would not let me regain my breath but would overwhelm me with misery.
After the thoughts of how I wound spend my last few breaths, I began to thank God for the air that I breathe. We don't even deserve it, but He gives it to us anyway. It is a gift! When I am given a gift, I cherish it. I try to use that gift to my best ability. So, in honor of receiving this gift, I am trying to do everything that God is asking me to do. Loving Him and worshipping Him above all.
Genesis 2:7 The Lord God formed the man from the dust of the earth and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.
The air that I breathe fills my heart with oxygen. Without oxygen, the heart is a useless muscle. My heart is vital to my existence and to my relationship with God. It is my heart that allows me to feel and hear God. I often ask God to break my heart with the things that makes His heart break. And He does. An example of this would be the compassion and love that I have for my brothers that are in my men's group. We meet every Tuesday to worship the Lord, share our struggles, pray for each other and just have community together. When one of us is feeling broken, it breaks my heart. It is then that the Lord empowers us to breathe new life into each other.
Genesis 25:8 Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years; and he was gathered to his people.
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Great Book!
I just finished reading "Fathered By God" by John Eldredge and I loved it. This book spoke more to me than "Wild At Heart", another one of John's writes.
The title says it all. Maybe our fathers abandoned us when we were young men. Maybe they were there, but never really played with us, or taught us anything. Some of us might have had abusive fathers. No matter what the situation, God is our perfect Father, and He wants us to be the men that He designed us to be.
John takes us through six stages of a masculine journey that shapes us as Godly men over the course of our lifetimes. Starting with Boyhood to Cowboy to Warrior to Lover to King to Sage. The Warrior and Lover stages spoke volumes to me, probably because those are the two stages that I am transitioning in at this current time of my life. I don't want to go into too much detail, because I want this to be a great and revealing read for somebody.
I just want to say that this book revealed a deeper love for my earthly father as well. I have held a lot of anger and hurt from some of things that occurred in my past. I know that he did not intend to make those mistakes, but we all do as fathers. Somewhere in the second chapter of the book, I broke down and wept. I called my dad immediately just to tell him that I love him, and I forgave him for any hurt that he caused me. It was an awesome moment.
If you are a man and a father, I would like to inspire you to read this book. Peace!
Monday, November 23, 2009
You & Me
Man, I love the Dave Matthews Band. This new song is beautiful! It reminds me of how much I love my wife. How I long to be with her. How we can do anything together. It makes me want to travel to the stars with her. And when the kids get older, we could teach them how to fly.
I remember when I first met her. She was my world. She still is. There's nothing in this world that I want to do without her. I want to travel to the end of the world with her, and we get there, we can look back and say "there is nothing we haven't done".
I tried to load the actual video to this song, but it can't be downloaded yet. This is the Saturday Night Live version. If you get a chance, go to youtube and watch the actual video. It's the one with him sitting in a room full of chairs.
And to my bride . . . you and me together, the two of us together, we can do anything.
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving Day is a harvest festival. Traditionally, it is a time to give thanks for the harvest and express gratitude in general. It is a holiday celebrated primarily in the United States. While perhaps religious in origin, Thanksgiving is now primarily identified as a secular holiday.
The date and location of the first Thanksgiving celebration is a topic of modest contention. The traditional "first Thanksgiving" is the celebration that occurred at the site of Plymouth Plantation, in 1621. The Plymouth celebration occurred early in the history of what would become one of the original thirteen colonies that became the United States. The celebration became an important part of the American myth by the 1800s. This Thanksgiving, modeled after celebrations that were commonplace in contemporary Europe, is generally regarded as America's first. Elementary school teacher Robyn Gioia has argued that the earliest attested "thanksgiving" celebration in what is now the United States was on September 8, 1565 in what is now Saint Augustine, Florida. Today, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October in Canada and on the fourth Thursday of November in the United States. Thanksgiving dinner is held on this day, usually as a gathering of family members and friends.
I just wanted to take some time to list of some of the things that I am most thankful for.
1. I am thankful that Jesus died on the Cross for me (us).
2. I am thankful for my wife and kids.
3. I am thankful for my brothers in Christ.
4. I am thankful for my family and friends.
5. I am thankful for my health.
6. I am thankful for the air that I breath.
7. I am thankful for the men and women in uniform, serving our country, both near and far.
8. I am thankful for my freedom.
9. I am thankful that I have an available source of food.
10. I am thankful for all of the stupid stuff that I have, that I really don't deserve to have, and that I should not be proud to own.
This is just a short list of some of the things that I am most thankful for. I am interested to hear what some of you are thankful for. Take some time and share. Have a good Thanksgiving.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
Prayer Guide
I was reading a post about how to pray by one of my fellow bloggers and I thought that this would be good information to pass on. His name is Brian Branam and his blog is called "Feel My Faith". I have him listed as one of the blogs that I follow on my sidebar, feel free to click on his site and read some of his recent posts. I find them quite insightful.
Here is his post called "Prayer Guide":
Over the past few weeks I have been sifting through Dr. Gregory R Frizzell's book, Returning to Holiness, A Personal and Churchwide Journey to Revival. Here is an outlined gleaned from pages 78 - 81 on Five Practical Steps to a Powerful Daily Prayer Life. He lists five practical steps, I managed to stretch it into six.1) Make an absolute commitment to consistently spend significant time alone with God in uninterrupted prayer (Luke 11:1).
2) Approach your prayer time as a relationship with God rather than a required ritual (Luke 10:38-42).
3) Listen first (1 John 5:14-15).
4) Make a commitment to a balanced prayer life by regularly practicing the four different types of prayer (1 Timothy 2:1).
a) Praise, thanksgiving, worship
b) Confession and repentance
c) Petition and supplication
d) Intercession
5) In your daily petitions, focus more on issues of personal character and holiness than on temporal needs (Matthew 5, Romans 8:29, Galatians 5:22).
6) In your daily intercession, focus more on issues of evangelism and missions than on temporal concerns (Matthew 28:18).Develop a prayer list of:
a) Lost people
b) Key leaders and ministry strategies of the church
c) Key spiritual and government leaders in city, state, and nation
d) Mission strategies of our association, state, and convention.
e) Petitions for revival and awakening in our city.
I believe that I heard this same exact teaching as part of a message from a church that I once attended. It laid the foundation for and became a crucial part of my relationship with God. In Matthew 6:5-15, Jesus explains how we should pray. 6But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. I love to wake up early in the morning, before the sun rises, and before anyone in my family rises. I have a great view of the eastern sky through my living room windows. I will sit and read some scripture, and then I close my eyes and begin to pray. The total silence in the morning is key here. God not only desires to hear from us, but He wants to speak to us as well (1 John 5:14-15). Having no distractions around is important. His voice is not usually a loud voice, but a whisper when He speaks to me. Sometimes He paints a picture in my mind. Sometimes He gives me a simple word. Sometimes He just holds me as we sit in total silence. And then I open my eyes and look to the east just in time for Him to show me another beautiful sunrise. It is the most important and best part of every day for me.
If you are not doing so already, I encourage you to take some time and look over this list (Prayer Guide). Then, find a quiet place, and get alone with God. Lift up your prayers and LISTEN. You will be rewarded. Peace!
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