The Age of Awareness, Prayer Warriors, and Cleaning Your Room

So what do these all have to do with each other???  Read on if you at all curious, because I will show you how these all fit together.

I have never really bought into the whole Age of Awareness stuff that some religions push.  There is no magic age when kids understand God.  I don't even think it is always an big powerful moment when all of a sudden you get it.  Some times it is much more subtle... and much more beautiful.

For some time now Dylan, my oldest son, has been interested in Bible stories and "Jesus" music.  He really seems to understand a lot more than you would think.  Jodi and I even had to console his crying one day because he was so moved by the way one of his kids worship songs made him feel.  It was one of the most amazing and beautiful things I have ever experienced in my life.

Then, this morning as I was about to head out for work, I heard Dyl talking in his room.  I went in and he was in bed.  I asked him, as he looked up at me, if he was talking in his sleep.  Which he has been known to do...  He said, "No, I was praying."
"About what?"
"About watching TV and cleaning my room."

See, I have been asking him to pick up his room for a few days now, and told him last night that he really needed to pick it up today.  I have also been talking to him more about prayer.

Dylan is an aspiring Prayer Warrior.  (Now I do not use that term lightly. I think it is a term that is thrown around far too often.)  Dylan always reminds us to pray at dinner, and almost always is the one who offers the prayer.  He also is always ready to pray over boo boos or if some one is sick or seeds we plant in our garden.  And the amazing thing is that from his true child like faith he believes knows, that his requests will be and are answered.

He is an amazing blessing to everyone that knows him.

I love you Dyl!

Gratitude and Kindness

This cartoon is based in reality and I though it seemed like a good time to talk about gratitude and kindness
We seem to live in a world where far too often we react like the boy in the cartoon when some one is unexpectedly kind to us.  And if we don't react exactly like the boy in the cartoon we might try to shrug off the kind act or we accept it hesitantly wondering what strings are attached.  This same line of thinking makes us less likely to be kind and does the same for people who were kind to us and the whole thing snowballs into a world where we don't reach out to one another in love.

So the next time someone is kind to you, please graciously accept it at face value.  And then try to be kind to someone else.  I think you'll like the results.

Are commercials making you hate your life?

Donald Miller, a writer that I really like, is starting a blog series about Commercialism and Faith.  The first post is now up and I would take a look.  I will probably be writing some posts as commentary and additions as I feel lead.  But I would click over to Donald Miller's Blog and read for yourself now.

Losing Sight

From time to time I go to an old staple of mine for inspiration.  Maybe it's more often than from time to time.  I was looking through some lyrics to day of a band i really like.  The song is Losing Sight on the Shadows Are Security album by the band As I Lay Dying.  Now if you are not into heavier rock, please don't write this off.  You may never be into the music, but read these lyrics.

How could we lose sight of what matters most?
Trying to love what cannot love us back.
All we have is not worth living for
If we do not know when to let go.

What is this life, that we cling to it so tight
Afraid that it will take from us these fading sentiments?

Can we die to live another day?

How true is this... We do often lose sight of the most important things in life due to things that seem important.  We end up wrapped up in work but neglect our friends and family.  Our jobs will never love us back.  We some times get so into things and stuff when that is all they are.  Inanimate objects that cannot love us or benefit from us loving them, no matter how hard we try.  Worse yet, we sometimes spend all of our energy on these things that will never love us only to be short tempered and mean to people that love us and want us to love them more than anything in this world.  I often find my self apologizing to my wife and kids for bringing the stress of work home with me.

If this is how we treat the most important people here on earth how do you think God feels when he takes a back seat?  Sometimes he barely even makes it on the bus with us...

So to quote the song one last time... "How could we lose sight of what matters most?"

Three Hundred and Sixty Four More...

If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days a year,
that would not be enough.
If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days,
I still could never let you know how much you mean to me.
If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days,
I would spend every one with you.

If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days a year,
I would spend every one trying to let you know how much I love you.
I would tell you all of the wonderful things that you do
that let me know that you care.
I would tell you all of the things that you do that let me know that I'm loved.
And in turn I would try as I might to put into words
all of this love in my heart.

If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days a year,
I still would not have enough.
If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days,
I would not yet have enough time in a year.
If I had three hundred and sixty four more Valentine's Days,
I would still need year upon year to let you know how much you mean to me.


I love you Jodi!

Sad Sad World

I just read an article about a 30 year old women, who was mentally handicapped, that was tortured and killed by people that she called her friends.  The consequences of living in a broken world are having to learn of things like this and then trying to make sense of senseless acts like this.  How can people fall so far into darkness from where we are intended to live.  My heart breaks for the countless friends and family of Jennifer and it also breaks for the souls of the people that decided to do these terrible things.  Forgiveness does not come easy to souls like these, at least not from man.
Please pray with me for all that are associated with these horrific events.

She

Some times we get it right and other times we don't.  I have seen too much not getting it right recently.  I have seen too many people that should be spreading the aroma of Christ that are clearly spreading something that stinks!  I love how Rob Bell talks about this in his book Velvet Elvis.

SHE

One of the central metaphors for God and his people throughout the Bible is that of a groom and his bride. God is the groom; his people are the bride.  I like this because it makes the church a "she".  We need to reclaim this image.

The church is a she.

She’s a mystery, isn’t she?  Still going after all this time.  After the Crusades and the Inquisition and Christian cable television.  Still going.  And there continue to be people like me who believe she is one of the best ideas ever.  In spite of all the ways she has veered off track.  In spite of all the people who have actually turned away from God because of what they experienced in church.  I am starting to realize why: The church is like a double-edged sword.  When it’s good, when it’s on, when it’s right, it’s like nothing on earth.  A group of people committed to selflessly serving and loving the world around them?  Great.  But when it’s bad, all that potential gets turned the other way.  From the highest of highs to the lowest of lows.  Sometimes in the same week.  Sometimes in the same day.

But she will live on.  She’s indestructible.  When she dies in one part of the world, she explodes in another.  She’s global.  She’s universal.  She’s everywhere.  And while she’s fragile, she’s going to endure.  In every generations there will be those who see her beauty and give their lives to see her shine.  Jesus said the gates of hell will not prevail against her.  That’s strong language.  And it’s true.  She will continue to roll across the ages, serving and giving and connecting people with God and each other.  And people will abuse her and manipulate her and try to control her, but they’ll pass on.  And she will keep going.

How true is that...  If you are one of the people not getting this right.  If you are tearing down the church, if you are causing non-believers to stumble, if you are not spreading the aroma of Christ, if you are spreading things that stink, if you are not spreading the love of Jesus Christ, if you need soul deodorant, please talk to someone.  If you know someone that is one of these people, please lovingly take them under you wing and talk to them and help them move past this point.  Help them see how we are meant to live and how the church still today is and can work.

Life is War

Late last year I told my wife that I had realized everything in life comes down to war - spiritual war.  Life is really a constant series of battles over who holds reign in our heart, who's name is forever in our soul.

The sooner we realize that everything in life, every day, every trial, every temptation, every hardship, everything is spiritual warfare the sooner we can begin fighting on the winning side.  This all became clear to me one day when I was running.  Over the past few years I have taken up running and I really enjoy it.  I was on a run and like a lot of people that are out of shape I was having trouble finishing my run.  The struggle between wanting to achieve my goal and do something that I knew was good for me, and stopping because it hurt and was hard work had really set it.  Now it is important for you to know that part of why I like to run is I get to think and talk to God a lot on a run.  So my conversation, be it very on sided that day was something like this...

This really hurts.  Maybe I should stop.
No, I can do this.
I want to do this.
God help me do this.
There's no reason You wouldn't want me to do this.
It's good for my body...your body.
Why is it so hard then...
(here is when the light bulb lit over my head)
The devil doesn't want me to do this!
This is WAR.
Get out of my head!
I can do this.

So after I had that epiphany my run ended very smoothly and I have had less trouble with motivation.  I have really tried to approach each minute part of every day and every decision as if it were the spiritual war that it is.  There is good and evil in this world.  We need to acknowledge that fact.  Both parts of it.  It is great to talk about the good, but if we leave out the evil we tend to overlook the battle that we are in the midst of right now.

I know how the war ends, and I know which side I will be on... do you?  Do you actively take part in this battle or are you just trying to ride it out?  That can be a dangerous game.  So today, and every day, put on your armor and be prepared to fight!

13.1

So this year I have once again decided to run.  And I plan to run more than I have any other year.  Over the past few years I have been getting more and more into running.  I never used to be any good at running more than some short distances, but it seems like something has changed and now I'm able to run a lot longer and better than I ever could in the past.

So last year while I was probably in the best shape I have been since high school.  I started having crazy thoughts about running longer and longer distances.  I started thinking that someday it would feel great to be able to say that I had run a marathon (not that I was going to rush into that).  Then for some reason, I said to myself... "A half marathon wouldn't be that bad?!?!".

So now I'm trying to decide if this is the year I am going to sign up to run a half marathon.  13.1 miles...
I think this might be the motivation that I need to keep running and keep myself in shape.  Like most people I have a very easy time getting out of shape and a hard time getting motivated to get into shape.  But if I sign up to run a half marathon... I will have a goal that I can't really back out of...

Barefoot Running and Macroeconomics

Are we making any progress?
Sometimes I find myself wondering, as a whole, have we really made any progress?


I was listening to the radio the other day when I hard an interesting story about economics.  I know you're thinking, "How can economics be interesting?".  It was about a TV producer that was listening to a pod cast on economics and the financial melt down that we have been slugging through for sometime now.  The producer really liked how this econ professor was explaining things and wondered why more of the media did not present things this way.  Then, realizing that he was the media, he decided to contact the professor and start a project together to present economics in a more modern and enjoyable way.  This video was the result.





More information on their work together can be found at econstories.tv.

If you take the time to watch the video and listen to the lyrics.  The entire economic meltdown and bailout by the government has been debated for over a century.  And this is as far as we have come...

So how does barefoot running come in?  Well, I'm a runner.  And again, I was listening to the radio and a story about barefoot running came on... so right away I was paying attention.  The story was about a study that had been done showing how the human foot is really designed for barefoot running and when we run in running shoes, we run less efficiently and may be more likely to cause injury.  They are going to study the second part of this next.

So here is my point.  I know that we have developed many great inventions, and done all sorts of amazing things.  But are they really helping us?  Did the invention of the shoe and the subsequent development of running shoe technology make us bad runners?  Did years of debating macroeconomic theory make us any less likely to plummet into recession?  Well... I guess not.

A friend of mine posted this quote the other day that really made me think about this...

The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to ... work, instead of living on public assistance.  Cicero - 55 BC

If we really have any hope of really making progress, maybe technology and economic theory are not the right things to look to for guidance.  Maybe we need to really start looking somewhere else...

The Silent Witness

Today's post is in contrast to, but meant to go hand in hand with this post about our words having power.

The Silent Witness

Not a single word left his lips, but his actions spoke volumes.

Go and tell the world – let them know the truth
Show them through your actions everything you are

He told us everything he could – but never spoke a single word
He told us all – he told you and me…
But I never spoke to him.

- think about what you do
- His eyes are watching you
- your actions have consequences

You scream at them but they will never hear your words
Because your actions are more deafening and visible to all.

Remember, not only do our words have power, but so do our actions.  Sometimes our actions speak much louder than our words.

With words like bullets...

...who needs pens and swords.  Our words have power.  Everyone has heard the adage "The pen is mightier than the sword", but often we do not realize just how powerful our words can be.  It is so much more than the words we choose.  There is also power in how we say the words.  Our tone, the volume of our voice, the words we choose not to say, when we say something...

This idea was the origin of my blog title.  Through out my life, I have come to realize the importance of words - spoken and written.  With our words we have the power to build people up and we have the power to tear people down.   I think that we often do not hold this power in high regard and in turn we destroy relationships and also give people bad opinions of us.  And try as we might we can not take back our words or erase the moments when we could have reacted differently.

Whether it is how we talk to our kids, or the careless words that slide out when we are with friends, or the promises we make but never keep.  Our tongues can be powerful and destructive instruments.  OR... if we are careful and show compassion we can try to tame this instrument and spread kindness and love.

Let's all try and use our words carefully.

His name is...

If someone that knew everything about you
All the good and the bad
Loved you so much
Unconditionally
That they took a bullet for you
And died so that you wouldn’t have to

Would you love them back?
Would you do one simple thing for them?

If this person was always there for you
Whenever you needed someone
Always reassured you
Showed you through
Any troubles big and small
With no strings attached

Would you love them back?
Would you put your trust in them?

I know someone who has done this for me
He is always there for my every need
He died for me even though I didn’t deserve it
And all he asked in return was that I believe in him
And share his story with others
And try my best to live by his example even though
I will never be good enough to deserve the things he has given me
But by his grace he will continue to give and give

Would you like to know him too?

L'Union Fait La Force

The Haitian national motto is "L'Union Fait La Force" - Unity Makes Strength.

Unity makes strength, what a beautiful concept.  The US national motto used to be "E Pluribus Unum" - One From Many.  But we seem to have forgotten how to act as one.  Whether it be congressmen arguing like preschoolers over important issues like healthcare, or churches arguing over the right way to worship.  We just can't seem to act as one anymore.  Unity does make strength, but you first need unity.  With out unity we all will individual fall.  Together, the things we can accomplish are great.  This togetherness is colorblind, borderless, forgiving, holds no grudges, has no political party, plays no favorites, shows amazing grace, and would be incredible if we could ever make it happen.

I used to write a lot...

I used to write a lot.  I would write about all kinds of things - love, politics, religion... deep things.  I like to think and when I would get fired up, I would write.  Well, I used to get fired up about things because I was upset about them.  Then I fell in love and got married and have two kids.  I don't get that upset anymore. So...  I quit writing.  I used to also write songs.  Well... I'm back (at least I'm going to start writing again, the music will be back sometime).

So, welcome to my blog.

About me...

Everything you ever wanted to know about me...
Well, maybe not everything.  I never liked to write about myself, so I'll keep this short.
I have an amazing wife, Jodi.  I love her so much.  I have two awesome sons, Dylan and Lincoln.  I am an engineer for Evenflo designing child restraints and performing dynamic finite element analysis.  You are probably bored reading that last sentence... so here is some more fun stuff.  I like to read and really have a passion for learning.  I enjoy writing even though I have not done that much for a few years.  I play a handful of different instruments and write music.  I have played in several bands and probably will play in more.  Also some day I would love to talk to you about a man I know that died for me and you.