Stop In The Name Of Love

My family accuses me of being a Grinch. They ask me every year why I hate Christmas and I always tell them that I love Christmas… DAY. It’s the three months leading up to Christmas Day that I hate. The music, the decorations, the traffic, the commercials, the piles of trash and gifts that you don’t particularly need or want. Whenever the kids would bring up Santa, I would wrinkle my nose and tell them I really don’t care for him. This holiday is really about Jesus, but I felt that He was mostly overshadowed by the fat guy, I would say. Then they would get this worried look on their face because they were afraid my disrespect of Santa would negatively impact their anticipated windfall come Christmas morning. Yup, for me it is all about Jesus. Except when it isn’t.

This year my wife and I were asked to sing at the church candlelight service and we graciously accepted. But as the season became more and more busy, the practice required became more and more of a chore leading up to the service. And then on the day of the service, we were cleaning in preparation for family coming over the next morning. That’s when it happened. For a moment, well maybe a minute or two, I regretted the decision to help out at church. We were just too busy trying to get everything ready. We should never have agreed to be a part of the event. And then it hit me. I had lost focus. The thing I cherish most about the season was being overshadowed by dust bunnies. Instantly, my attitude shifted. The tension and stress melted out of my body as I realized it really didn’t matter if the house wasn’t perfect because we’re not perfect. And that imperfection was recognized and redeemed by a baby and that is something worth stopping and celebrating smack dab in the middle of a busy season.

Merry Christmas!

I Don't Believe It...

What are your core beliefs about life? What principles do you know will make your life better?

There are some principles I believe to be true that will help me be successful. But when I step back and take a look at how I behave, the argument could be made that I don't really believe those things at all. If another person were to look at my life with no other information, they might conclude that I believe something totally different than what I say I believe. They might say the evidence shows that I believe sugar and social media are good for me. Or that television is a top priority and relationships are lower on the list. They might say that I believe inconsistency is the pathway to better health, financial success and spiritual connectedness.

So what does your life say about what you believe?

GOAL!... GOAL!... GOAL!

There's a guy that lives on my road. Now, I'm a terrible judge of age but I would have to guess that he is in his late-60s or early-70s. Most mornings for the last year, on my way to take the kids to school, I see him running. Not out on the road, but just around the perimeter of his yard he runs. He doesn't have all of the cool running clothes or even an athletic gait, but he runs. With his shoulders slightly slumped forward, he runs. Leaning into the hills as he goes around, he runs. With a steel-willed look in his eyes, he runs. Every morning. Apparently, at some point, he had set a goal that he was going to start running and that is exactly what he has been doing.

A couple of weeks ago, when the temperatures were in the teens every day, I really didn't expect to see him. In fact, I secretly hoped that I wouldn't. I think some dark part of myself wanted him to fail at this goal, because if he did, it would make him like most others. It would make him like me. But even in brutal temperatures, he runs.

After the big snow last weekend, the kids haven't had school so I haven't seen him. Today they finally went back 2 hours late and I still didn't see him, but I saw his path in the snow. The place he has been running has melted just like the tire tracks in my own driveway... from use. Even in the snow, he runs.

Today I changed. I no longer hope for him to fail. Today I root for him to succeed. He is just like I want to be. Different.

I had already decided to spend today out of the office to work on my goals for this year. So, I am in an undisclosed coffee shop, drinking an undisclosed number of cafe' mochas, seeking God and his purposes for my life, and the God-sized goals he wants me to tackle this year.

Pray for me. Pray that I will sense His leading. Pray that this year I'll be different.

Where There's Smoke...

One of my greatest friend's is a guy named Rick Powers.  He has been a mentor to me and over the years has really challenged me in my faith.  He called me the other week while we were camping, but I haven't called him back yet.  

The last couple of days I've been thinking a lot about him.  I would like to see Rick, but seeing him always makes me uncomfortable because he always challenges me.  He always makes me realize how far I have to go... how little I know... how little I try... how I need to be more disciplined.  He doesn't accomplish this by judging me or condemning me, but just by the way he lives out his faith.  He probably doesn't even know the impact he has on me.

Rick makes me feel uncomfortable, but Perry Noble says discomfort is good.  In fact, he says that being comfortable is bad.  Being uncomfortable brings about growth and refinement.

One of Rick's favorite verses is "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." Prov. 27:17(NIV).  In the literal sense, when sharpening takes place, the result is friction and heat.  That's not comfortable.

I sharpened my lawnmower blades last week and sure enough there was smoke, sparks and dust.  It was a messy process, but in the end the blades were in a better condition to fulfill their purpose.

I called Rick this morning and left him a voicemail.  It's time to get uncomfortable.  Is there someone in your life that makes you better?  I'd love to hear about them.

It's Just Like Riding A Bike

It's been a while since I've written a blog, but it's been a very busy spring so far.  There have been cookouts to go to and yard work to be done.  I've also decided this spring that I'm going to get back into cycling.  I used to ride several years back and when I was riding, I felt good.  First of all, I felt healthier and that by itself is enough to continue, but I also felt a sense of accomplishment.  Anytime I would complete a distance longer than any I had done before or climb a mountain a little bit faster than I did previously, I felt like I had really done something.

To get back to riding, I first had to make time, so I decided which days and times I would ride.  Nothing gets accomplished without a plan.  Then I stopped by the bike shop one day just to see what was going on in the biking world since I had been gone.  I talked to the owner, Richard, and told him I was thinking of getting back into riding.  The first thing he told me about was the group rides that take place every week.  With all the advances in equipment, with lighter bikes and more comfortable clothing, why would he tell me about the group rides?  Because he's smart.  From a business stand point, Richard knows that if I get connected with people, that I am more likely to stay in cycling and not drift back to the couch.  If I stay in cycling, I am more likely to come back in to his shop and make purchases.  But from a personal stand point, I believe that he really wants me to enjoy cycling the way he enjoys it.  I believe he knows that the best way for me to learn and advance as a cyclist is to be around other cyclist who are better and faster than I am.  He knows I'll learn techniques to help me improve and my involvement in cycling will be more fulfilling.

Immediately I began to see the parallels as they relate to church.  I know that if people get connected through volunteering or small groups in our church, they are more likely to stay.  But deep down, I want them to experience the same joy of being a believer that I do.  I know that the best way for people to grow spiritually is to be in community with other people who are perhaps a little farther along in their faith than they are or have different life experiences than they do.  I know they'll learn principles that will make their life more fulfilling.

People tell me all the time that they want to go deeper in their faith.  Maybe, that's what you're thinking.  Are you involved in a small group with other people or are you serving together with a group?  You should try it.  It's just like riding a bike.  There will be some hills to climb, but there's nothing like the thrill of coming down the other side.  And you'll be stronger for it.

I May Be On A Diet

Scripture challenges me.  Many times when I'm reading, a passage jumps off the page at me.  It causes me to look at my life critically.

This morning, I was reading the beatitudes in Matthew 5.  I've read them many times before and I remember studying them in Vacation Bible School as a kid.  But this morning, verse 6 jumped out at me.  It says, "Blesses are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (ESV).

Reading that caused me to ask the question - How hungry am I for righteousness?  How intense is my appetite?  When I get hungry for food, there is very little that can stand in my way of getting it - SERIOUSLY!  You can look at me and tell I don't miss many meals.

Here's what I find, though:  I am starved for righteousness - in other people's lives.  In my dealings with others, I can always see how they could be more righteous and make better decisions.  I crave righteousness for them especially when it's me that's not being treated very well.  In my life, however, not so much.  Oh sure, I want to do the right thing, I want to treat people fairly, I want to live with integrity, but am I hungry for it?  Do I have a deep, internal craving for good?

How about you?  How hungry are you?

Lessons From Kids

God is love. I’m still trying to learn that lesson.

I used to have a very hard time reconciling the angry, judgmental God of the Old Testament with the loving, forgiving God of the New Testament.  What made it even harder was the legalistic churches I had attended.  Back then it was all about the rules.  You had to wear the right clothes, watch the right TV shows (or certainly not watch the wrong ones), read the right Bible, say the right things... to make God love you more.

All of that changed, that whole perspective, when we had kids.  I then saw how angry I could get when they subverted my attempts to keep them safe while at the same time loving them so much I can’t even describe it.  It all started to make sense.

This weekend marks eight years since Steph and I brought two little kids home and started the journey of adoption.  Eight years later I’m still learning how to be a father.  And, eight years later Bryanna and Michael are still teaching me about my heavenly father and how He loves me.

Doggone

I love our dog. She is a 10 year old Labrador retriever. The bad thing about retrievers, though, is that they retrieve things. Sometimes in the summer we let the cucumbers get too big before we pick them. If they are no good, we throw them down through the woods. Later we find them back in our yard… because we have a retriever.

Right now our yard is strewn with various parts of deer skeletons left over from hunts last fall; an assortment of small bones, larger bones, a skull and an entire rib cage. I tossed them all down into the woods the other day before I mowed. Today they are all back… because we have a retriever.

The thought occurred to me though that of all the things God is, He’s not a retriever when it comes to our screw ups. When we make mistakes, we acknowledge it, ask forgiveness and He never brings it up to us again (Psalm 103:12). We don’t constantly have to step over old bones from our past. Other people might remind us, but God doesn’t. That’s a good feeling. Stepping on a half rotten cucumber – not so good.

Long Live The 80's

Let me start by saying that I love music. Every significant era in my life can be defined by music. Because I love music so much, I have to admit I also have developed a deep love for my iPod, but that’s a story for another post.

I have tried to instill my love of music in my kids and I think they are getting it. I have a playlist for them on my iPod that we listen to every morning on the way to school. I call it the “Morning Mix” so I include music that is upbeat that will get us singing, playing air guitar and air drums. Michael has even perfected some dance moves that he can do even in the confines of his seatbelt.

Some of the songs I added are my favorites from back in the 80’s (where all great music comes from). Yesterday we were listening to What I Like About You by The Romantics and I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Bryanna was dancing. That concerned me because Bryanna gets her rhythm from Stephanie (again, a topic for another post) and I was afraid that she might hurt herself or do substantial damage to the car. When I looked over at her though, she wasn’t dancing. During the chorus, “That’s what I like about you, that’s what I like about you!” she was pointing both index fingers to the ceiling as if pointing to God. She was worshipping! She was taking the lyrics of this song and redirecting them to our Father. At seeing this, a couple of thoughts ran through my head.

First, I am so thankful for our church. The programs her and Michael are involved in are making such a difference in their lives. I have noticed consistent changes in them both. For example, I have noticed a change in their prayers which are becoming less about them and the things they want and more about the needs of other people. And, I have noticed them showing more of an interest in reading their Bibles. Many times they will reach for their Bible instead of Junie B. Jones. Now this!

Secondly, it just drives home the point that there is no defined formula for worship. Worship is not directly related to a Chris Tomlin song and doesn’t have to take place in a church on Sunday. It comes from the heart and a desire to connect with God. If your heart is searching for Him, why does it surprise us to find Him in the lyrics “You’re whispering in my ear, tell me all the things that I wanna to hear”? He tells us what we want to hear. Things like, “I love you and I accept you”, “You’re not an accident. I made you with purpose”, and “I want the very best for you.”

Sometimes I forget to look for Him in the everyday things. I’m glad Bryanna and The Romantics reminded me. Long live the 80’s!

To Blog or Not To Blog

Hi, my name is Don. In my first post I want to tell you a little about my self and why I decided to start a blog.

I am the executive pastor of a small church in southwest Virginia (www.blueridgefellowship.com). I am married to Stephanie and have two kids, Bryanna and Michael. I’m sure you will get to know them better through some of my posts.

It’s a little intimidating to start writing a blog. First of all, I think it’s presumptuous to think that anyone would want to read it. With so many good writers out there, why would anyone want to read my blog? Also, I am opening myself up to criticism of my thoughts, ideas and beliefs. Am I crazy to even consider it? Yes. But, here’s why I am doing it anyway:

• I have loved to write for a long time. In high school I was a features writer for the high school paper. After that I didn’t write for a long time until about 5 years ago when I went back to college to get my bachelor’s degree. I had a psychology professor that required us to write three entries each week in a journal. Through that I rediscovered my love for writing and since then I have continued keeping a journal. I am not saying that I am a good writer, I’m just saying I like to write. I like creativity and I like humor.
• I think that it will help me look at events in my life a little differently. In other words, I think it will help me look for a different angle, a lesson to learn, something to share in the everyday happenings of my life.
• Hopefully, it will make me look more critically at my writing and improve over time.

Some of my posts will be about what I am learning in my daily quiet time, others will be about family life and simple observations. I look forward to getting started.

Man, this first one sucked didn’t it?