Parenting vs. Shepherding, neither is easy!

Taking care of someone else can be exhausting! In less than TWO months, we will have a newborn baby girl. For really the first year of her life, she will completely rely upon Becca and I for everything she needs. We will feed her, change her, give her baths, dress her (probably in a pink tutu since we have those in our house now), hold her, and provide total care for her. There is going to be times we are completely exhausted and worn out. BUT, the next morning she is going to wake up and need us again. But each day, she will also learn more and need us a little less. That is the life-changing and rewarding life of a parent.

Sometimes parenting looks like this...ZONKED OUT!

Being a shepherd wouldn't have been an easy job either! The job of the shepherd was to watch the sheep. All the time. Eat with the sheep, sleep next to the sheep, always protecting the sheep. Wherever the sheep went, the shepherd would go also.

There is a major difference however between parenting and shepherding. The ultimate goal of parenting is to show love for your child, and ultimately raise them up in a way that they can be on their own when they are older. Shepherding though is almost the opposite. The sheep aren't being taught to be independent. The sheep are instead taught to rely MORE on the shepherd. So the job of the shepherd is constant and not getting ANY easier by the day.

As a parent, I sleep in a chair- the shepherd's resting place doesn't look as comfy

So now that you can maybe relate more with the shepherds, let's check out an amazing moment in Scripture with them. The verses are from Luke 2:8-12. The verses are in bold, my comments in italics:
⁸ And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby (the shepherds LIVE in the fields. They don't have a home, their home is where the sheep are), keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹ An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.(you have to think- quiet field- quiet night- ALL of a sudden- BRIGHT LIGHT. They probably were also scared for the safety of their sheep) ¹⁰ But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. ¹¹ Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. ¹² This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”(So THESE guys, these shepherds- get to be the FIRST people to see baby Jesus. Out of EVERYBODY!) 

These shepherds have lived a life of service and dedication to their animals. So imagine them now picking up their sheep, gathering them together, and bringing them towards the manger. I mean they aren't JUST going to leave the sheep in the field- they have to stay with them. So descending upon the newborn baby Jesus are these shepherds and this flock of sheep. 

Now continuing the Scripture from Luke 2:16-20- ¹⁶ So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger.(they HURRIED. They were so excited, they are rushing to see Jesus carrying along their sheep) ¹⁷ When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸ and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.(think about it- shepherds with a HUGE flock of sheep, taking the time to tell others about the miracle of Jesus) ²⁰ The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

THESE shepherds get to start spreading the BEST news ever. The savior that had been promised LONG ago had finally arrived. They were the ones chosen to share this message. And when you think about it, how appropriate is that? These shepherds who spent their lives taking care of sheep, always protecting, always watching- were now telling everyone the ULTIMATE protector and SAVIOR had come.  

The Good Shepherd (John 10:11- this is JESUS talking- ¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep) had come into the world to save all of us. AND, we are to be Jesus sheep. 

We aren't supposed to become independent of God! Our challenge is to be the sheep and learn to rely MORE on our shepherd- Jesus Christ. 

You'll Shoot Your EYE OUT.....and God will STILL forgive you!

Did you ever have a "red Ryder BB Gun?" I'm not asking if you actually owned a BB gun, but I'm asking if you ever had that ONE Christmas present you wanted more than anything else in the world? My family growing up had a tradition of watching "The Christmas Story" every year on Christmas eve. In that movie the main character, Ralphie, spends every waking moment of every day pursing that BB Gun. He does everything in his power to convince his parents to buy it, and finally even ASKS Santa for one. But of course, everyone tells him the same thing- "You'll SHOOT your eye out!." Here is my FAVORITE scene....especially Santa's boot....haha

If you never seen the movie, I'm about to ruin it so skip to the next paragraph- IF you have- you know what happens next. Ralphie DOES get the BB Gun for Christmas. He races outside to play with it. The first shot he takes ricochets back and hits him in the glasses. He then proceeds to stomp on his glasses- PULVERIZED! What EVERYONE told him would happen.....did.

Have you ever found yourself in a similar predicament? Despite the best advice from the people around you, you STILL move forward with a decision that you know in your heart might be bad one or a dangerous one?

We have all been guilty of something like this at one point or another. Why? Because we are sinful people! Sometimes our decision making gets blurred my our own selfishness and sinfulness.

One person in the Bible who fought this was Jacob from the Old Testament. Jacob was a twin with his brother Esau. The problem though with Jacob is he was the 2nd born. By custom or tradition then, Esau, the oldest son, would receive his parent's inheritance. Jacob would get basically nothing. WELL- Jacob tricked Esau, not once, but TWICE to steal his brother's inheritance! Jacob then ended up needing to flee his family and his brother in fear of his life. ALL because Jacob was completely focused on the material things he would receive. (Full Jacob and Esau Story Here- worth the read)

Jacob almost threw away his relationship with his twin brother over material things. Ralphie almost shot his eye out because he wanted a BB gun so bad but wasn't smart enough to NOT shoot at an aluminum sign. We all make sinful mistakes, we are human.

The important thing I wanted to focus on today is how we respond to life AFTER our mistakes. Even when we do something wrong, we are no further away from God then when we started. That's my favorite thing about God- God is always RIGHT there. God has already forgiven us for that mistake.

So don't dwell on your bad moments, your "I almost shot my own eye out moments." Remember you are a forgiven child of God. Move forward knowing YOU are forgiven and share that forgiveness with others.

You can't control the weather BUT a lot of time goes into PREDICTING it!

Weather......we do our best to predict it BUT in the end, we never truly know what's going to happen! Today in Minnesota we are under a Winter Storm Warning. This means our phones will flash red, the weather watcher is angry on WCCO, and our TVs will be filled with scrolling messages of cancellations and road conditions. We also get images like THIS of poor weather people being sent outside to SHOW us how bad it is and why we shouldn't go outside ourselves.

But in the end, no one has any idea of exactly how much snow we will get, when it will start, or when it will end. Then after the snow is done, the meteorologists will make their best guesses on the temperature. With all the high-tech, million dollar technology we have- we are still playing catch up with trying to figure out what's going to happen with weather.

Is that as amazing to YOU as it is me? I mean we live in an age of google. We can find out just about anything by searching for it on the internet. We can finds answers to questions we haven't even asked yet. But yet, there is still something that keeps ALL of us guessing....the weather.

I love that the only person who truly ever controlled the weather was Jesus. When Jesus was here on this earth, He was God, and every once in awhile used that power that He had. The best example was when the disciples were in a boat and trapped in a horrible storm. They couldn't get to shore, they couldn't save themselves. They woke Jesus up (he was napping), and Jesus instantly calmed the storm.(Full Story Here)

Just imaging that visual always gets me. To think of a raging storm, lightning, rain, thunder, winds...and to be on the water with waves crashing over the boat....to all of sudden seeing sunny skies and calm water.

That is the power God has.

In this world, we want to think we have control. We want to be able to accurately predict things like the weather so we can plan accordingly. OOO it's for SURE going to rain today? Ok, I'll pack my umbrella and cancel my plans at the park. But instead, it turns out to be a beautiful sunny day. We JUST lost our control over that day because of the weather.

But here's the awesome deal. Us NOT having control is a good thing! Here's the reason why- our perspective on life is sooooo limited. We can only see life through our own eyes. We only know the things we have experienced.

On the other hand, we have a God who knows everyone's perspective. God also knows our past, our present, and our future. God knows the path we have been on and the road we will soon take.

The point I am trying to make is just how much control should WE have anyways? Shouldn't we do our best daily to make sure God is the one in control of our lives?

So just like we don't have control over the weather, let's do our best this week to give up some of the control WE have over our decisions. Debating something important? Pray to God about it for an answer or for guidance. Struggling to give up a bad habit? Leave that habit at the foot of God- take it to Him in prayer and LEAVE it there. 

Here is some great Scripture verses to send you out into the blizzards of weather and life today:
Joshua 1:9- ⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

Isaiah 45:6-7-  ⁶ so that from the rising of the sun to the place of its setting people may know there is none besides me I am the Lord, and there is no other. ⁷ I form the light and create darkness I bring prosperity and create disaster, I, the Lord, do all these things.

Isaiah 41:10-  ¹⁰ So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.

When weather or life get out of control...that's ok....we have a God who can control the weather and help us!

Something great CAN come from Waiting

When was the last time you sat for 55 minutes and did nothing? I mean, really nothing. No TV, no reading, no falling asleep- just sitting still for 55 minutes. Most of the time I couldn't answer this question, I would have NO IDEA when the last time I sat that still and did nothing was..... EXCEPT for this week.

This last Saturday, I sat in my car trying to get out of a parking garage for 55 minutes. We didn't move even an inch, neither did ANY of other car around us. Time stood still; the only movement was the exhaust out of tailpipes of all the other non-moving cars.This was a very negative WAITING experience!

I participated in this madness because my family and I went to MONSTER JAM. Yah know where the Monster trucks race and smash and do stunts? It was a VERY cool show. My boys loved it, and yes I enjoyed it too! BUT you know what my favorite moment of the day was? THIS!:

You'll notice there are no monster trucks in this picture. In fact, we aren't even IN our seats. This picture was taken before the monster truck show when we were again waiting (this time in the lobby before we could get in our seats). I was holding Micah in a HUGE crowd of people, and we stood there for 25 minutes. In this waiting, Micah began playing with my hat. He thought is was HILARIOUS. He was giggling. Then he put on his hat and turned it around backwards. He was so proud of himself and this picture was the result.

Generally, we NEVER see waiting as a good thing. At the end of our Saturday night Monster jam experience, the LAST thing I wanted to do was wait in a parking garage for 55 minutes without moving. But that's just what happened. We didn't want to wait in the lobby either to sit down, BUT I would have missed out on this funny moment with my youngest son.

Sometimes when we are waiting for something we just might catch something incredible. We are currently in a TOTAL age of digital photography. People take pictures, if they don't like them, they delete them. No longer do we take pictures on our camera and THEN bring them into be processed to see what they look like. Photographers from the olden days didn't know what they got in their picture until they were processed. AND I bet every once in awhile, something amazing they didn't notice came through. Maybe a background image or a smile they didn't see. They got an incredible picture that they may have deleted in the digital age.

The point I'm trying to make is sometimes something great can come during our waiting. An incredible example of this in the Bible was Zechariah. Zechariah was a priest married to a woman named Elizabeth. One day while he was praying in the temple, Zechariah was visited by a angel. The angel told him that his wife would have a son. Zechariah has a moment of doubt with what the angel said. He was OLD, his wife was OLD, how could they have a baby? The angel again reassured Zechariah they would have a child. They would name the child John and John would prepare the way for Jesus. But NOW Zechariah would be silent...unable to speak...until the baby was born.

Imagine that waiting Zechariah went through....silent. BUT, in the waiting, something great would also happen. You see, a girl named Mary would also become pregnant too. Her child would be born after John and that child would be named Jesus.

So this Christmas season, when you find yourself waiting for something- start looking for something GREAT to happen. There could be a good reason for our waiting, so let's look for the positive in that!

And you THOUGHT the Grinch's heart was small....

This year marks the 50th anniversary of THE GRINCH! It's such a great story, a mean green guy stealing a whole city's presents THEN having a sudden and unexplained change of heart and returning all the presents. Then the whole city gets together for a community potluck.

The Grinch is a story that I think a lot of people appreciate because we see a character whose hurt and broken. We don't know his full history, but we can assume it's been pretty rough. We can relate b/c all of us have been hurt at some point. THEN we see the character undergo this amazing transformation. His heart grows, he realizes all that he did wrong, and he is forgiven. We all wish we could undergo such a positive life transformation. The story has the perfect happy ending.

We know though that life isn't a movie. A LOT of stories don't end with a nice happy ending. For a lot of families in the city of Bethlehem a few thousand years ago, their stories were effected in the most tragic way imaginable.

SEE the very first Grinch who tried to ruin Christmas was named King Herod. Herod was the king of Judea at the time of Jesus birth. His heart was probably 5 sizes smaller than the Grinch's. Herod was COMPLETELY paranoid that Jesus would take over and become the king. Well, Herod was ALREADY the king and wouldn't let anything like this happen.

Herod was visited by Wise men from the east (the same wise guys who would visit Jesus.) They shared the prophecy of a following a star and being led to a baby who would be the king of the Jews. King Herod tried to trick the Wisemen into returning to him after they saw the child to tell him exactly where the child was. The wise men though were told in a dream to not return to King Herod. So after they visited the baby Jesus, the wise men returned home a different route.

King Herod was FURIOUS! He gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under. Mary and Joseph escaped to Egypt with baby Jesus but there was no happy ending for many of the other families in Bethlehem. They lost their sons at the hand of this evil king.

Definitely NOT a happy ending, BUT this is EXACTLY the reason why Jesus was saved. Jesus would live, die, and rise again. Jesus did this to take away and forgive all the sin and evil of our world. We would all be given a clean slate of sin because of what Jesus did. 
  
So while the Grinch is just a movie (even if it's a really good one), I want YOU to focus on the scene at the end of the Grinch. The Grinch has been totally forgiven by the Who's, he is given us a fresh start. THAT is YOU and ME everyday because of Jesus. We are forgiven. Anything bad we have done in the past has been taken away. AMEN and enjoy your roast beast!  

You have to commit to it

Lots of people HATE parallel parking. I remember back in high school everyone spent countless hours practicing it JUST in case they had to do it on their driver's test. NOW as an adult, I still see countless people avoid parallel parking spots OR struggle for 5 minutes to get their car just right. Well, I just have to brag for a minute but I AM AWESOME at parallel parking. I don't remember the last time I hit a curb OR even had to adjust. Last Thursday, Mocha Monkey- here's my effort-

Car behind me: IN the street- ME: 2 tires 6 inches from the curb!

I would never write a blog to brag about my parallel parking, that isn't ALL that exciting. BUT for those of you who struggle with it, I want to share my two keys to parallel parking. #1- you have to start in the right spot. Pull 3/4 of the way up in the car in front of you. #2- you have to COMMIT to it. Let the car move back with the wheel entirely one way and then once you are diagonal, turn the wheel ALL they way back the other direction.

Now that you are an AWESOME parallel parker, let me draw a parallel to your faith life. First, we have to make sure we are in the right spot. Too many times we begin to hear what the world says about us. We start to hear we aren't smart enough, or tall enough, or pretty enough, or good enough. We get in a spot that's ALL negative. But THAT'S not the spot God wants us in. We are children of God- it states this in Galatians- ²⁶ So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, ²⁷ for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. We aren't trash, we are children of God. 

Second, we have to make sure we are making the commitment to God. Have you ever tried a life jacket out in the bath tub first? Probably not, you jumped into the lake with the faith that the life jacket would work. My point is, we need to have faith every day that God is in control. A great Biblical example of this is the disciples in the boat. (FULL STORY) A BIG storm comes up and the disciples are terrified. What's Jesus doing? He's sleeping! They wake Jesus up and Jesus calms the storm. Now, this story is great because of it's deeper context. What was the occupation of many of the disciples before they followed Jesus? They were fishermen. So they were EXPERTS on the water! But yet, when the storm came, they panicked. And while they panicked- Jesus was right there the whole time. Jesus was still in control. 

The same is true now. God is still in control during any storms we may encounter in our lives whether it be a relationship ending, a stressful time with family, or the struggle that is parallel parking. 

Remember to make sure you are in the right spot remembering YOU are a child of God! Then make sure to daily commit to God. God is in control AND that person in control loves YOU a WHOLE LOT! 

DOORBUSTERS, 75% for the next 4 hours, FREE SHIPPING AND Grace

Ahhh Black Friday....Small Business Saturday...Cyber Monday. Tis the season for SHOPPING! And who doesn't love a great deal?!? To see a price slashed in half makes me feel as the consumer that I AM WINNING! That's right, me, Josh Hoffman- I'm defeating the giant corporations of Target, Kohl's, and Best Buy when I shop only when everything is on SALE!

Well let's be real....all these stores are still open (even Best Buy), so they obviously aren't doing TOO bad! Just b/c I buy a Black Friday DVD door buster for $4 isn't going to put them out of business. In fact, during these sale days- it's pretty clear the only group adding to their debt in our country is US...not the STORES!

But yet every year it's the same...DEALS- SALES- 50% off. Why doesn't it change? Because it MUST still work. Sure, more things than ever are purchased online, but all these companies keep turning profits by getting me out of my turkey coma to go buy toys for my boys.

The other thing about these sales is that it makes SENSE to us. Let me explain! To buy anything, we need money. We know that when stuff is discounted or on sale, we can buy more of it. It's a simple formula but it works for us and the stores. Everyone wins right?

NOT EXACTLY! Here's the problem, in my opinion, whether we like it or not, BLACK FRIDAY, CYBER MONDAY, and whatever other "deal day" they want to come up with can negatively impact our relationship with God.

WHY?

Here's the REAL STORY. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. That forgives us of everything wrong we have done or will do. To receive this amazing gift or grace- we do NOTHING. That's right. Jesus death was the sole cost. We can't save ourselves.

This causes a problem b/c it doesn't agree with our culture. We are a consumer driven culture. To receive something, even the BEST Black Friday deal- we need to go into a store or shop online- AND pay for it. No matter how deep the discount, their still is a cost.

But the cost of God's grace for US? It's nothing. It's a bill that Jesus has completely paid in full. My favorite verse in the Bible from Ephesians 2 states EXACTLY this: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. 

The problem this causes though is we have a hard time comprehending grace. How can we receive the greatest gift ever by doing NOTHING ourselves? By simply having faith. The basic answer is that God loves us THAT much. Romans 5:8- ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The deals we get on Black Friday or Cyber Monday WILL probably give us a great temporary feeling of achievement or accomplishment. But all those deals will only BE temporary. The gift God gives us is eternal! We have a God that loves us NO matter what and died on the cross for us.There is NO cost to us. Please spend some time this week reflecting on God's grace! It's free for you and for me and it's forever. 

Sometimes we just need to LAUGH!

MOUSE....NO it's a squirrel. "No, it's a MOUSE." This yelling and laughing match went back and forth for 5 minutes between Micah and I. Micah may only be 2 years old but he KNOWS how to be funny. We were reading an animal book and he KNEW all the animals. BUT, Micah think it's funny sometimes to intentionally call something the wrong animal. SO he starts calling a squirrel a mouse. And he won't stop! He giggles so hard his whole body moves. He can barely get out the word MOUSE before he breaks into a 30 second giggle.

Micah understands the need to laugh! As only a 2 year old he already gets the importance of a smile and laughter. WHAT A BLESSING THAT IS!

I best learned this lesson during one of my most embarrassing moments. I was in 8th grade (when pretty much everything ends up being embarrassing), and I was in the class play. The play was Beauty and the Beast. The part I was playing was a butler. Now we aren't talking about the candle stick, or the clock, OR any cool role. I was an extra part that was added because more kids wanted to be in the play than they had parts for. My part was completely insignificant. No one would remember my place in Beauty and the Beast history....well that is UNTIL I fell off the stage. That's right....first scene of the play....walking along the back of the stage- OFF I went. There one minute- GONE the next. I was kind of hoping no one would notice; well it turns out when a few hundred people are watching AND they are recording it...people DO see things.

The next day in language class we watched the video of the play. I watched myself fall off the stage in slow-motion about 5 times.

I didn't have an option...there was nothing else to do...nowhere to hide....so I had to laugh.

ALL of us need some laughter. I write this on a MONDAY morning...what a better time to laugh. And do you know that the Bible is funny too? I MEAN like REALLY funny. When you read it, there are so many funny things that happen. First of all, God creates the world....and God makes flamingos and giraffes and a duck-billed platypus- that's funny. Secondly, a crippled man is brought to Jesus. Now that part isn't funny. But, imagine this visual. Jesus is in a STANDING only room teaching people. All of a sudden a small hole starts to form in the roof above. Then it's a big hole in the roof. Then a crippled man is lowered down into this BUSY group of people so Jesus can heal him. Can you imagine what that looked like? (FULL STORY HERE) Jesus of course heals the man and appreciates the faith this man and his friends had.

But maybe my favorite funny story is Jesus first miracle. He's at a wedding, now weddings in this time period were week long celebrations. Weddings were an EVEN bigger deal than weddings are today. Well, a problem arises that they run out of wine. Jesus mother goes to Jesus to fix the problem. And THIS is Jesus first miracle. I read this as hilarious. Jesus mom is telling Him to do something, and Jesus is like, "REALLY mom? It's not even my time yet and you are asking my to perform this miracle."Jesus first miracle isn't healing someone, or casting out a demon, it's turning water into wine for a wedding. (Full Story HERE) 

I think it's SO important that we can laugh at stories in the Bible. These are real true stories with real people that happened. The Bible is a living and breathing book and it's important that we can read it that way!

So this week, make sure to find reasons to laugh. IF you are having trouble, just ask Micah what a squirrel REALLY is?!?

Keep It Simple

Life is complicated. Growing up there is mid-terms, sports practices, chores, more sports practice, tests, snapchat, instagram, twitter, facebook, texting, and MORE! THEN when you reach adulthood there is electric bills, job reviews, work meetings, elections, snack schedules for your child's sports team, and grocery shopping. I'll be honest TOO many times we get overwhelmed and make life WAY more complicated than it needs to be.

In less than 3 months now, my family will be growing by 1. Our little baby girl will be born. We are all SO excited! Not just because we have two boys and NOW we are having a girl BUT because we are having a baby again.

A few nights ago I was reflecting on this very unique time of life. When a new baby comes into the world it really is ALL about them. It's simple, life almost slows down. Are they hungry? Feed them. Are they tired? Rock them to sleep. Do they stink? Change the diaper. All of those other BIG stressful things about life that seemed to take up so much time, don't really matter that much anymore. WHY? Because the reminder of what's important is so small it fits delicately in your arms.

Baby Isaiah....yeah he was PRETTY CUTE...I'm hoping our girl is THIS cute also!

I LOVE babies. Once I figured out how to hold a baby (as a guy, you don't get practice with this- you don't grow up playing with dolls so how are you supposed to know WHAT to DO?, i held them like a football....apparently that's NOT the right way), it was amazing just sitting there with them. Instead of life being about the stress and everything else going on, it became about that little child in my arms.

What I wanted to focus on today is not JUST the amazing blessing that new life in this world is. I wanted to talk about how WE as people sometimes make things much harder than it needs to be on ourselves. What am I talking about? Well let me give you an example. YOU have a big test next Tuesday. Instead of studying, you spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday worrying about the test and what you don't know. Then Sunday you watch football. Then finally on Monday night at 9:00pm, you start studying. Now this problem is called procrastination, but the real issue is we have SO complicated things that instead of being pushed to action, we have shut down.

This also of course happened to people in the Bible. A great example is Joseph from the new testament. (Read the WHOLE story of Joseph HERE) Joseph is pledged to be married to Mary. But then life gets complicated. Mary is pregnant with baby Jesus. Joseph doesn't know what to do. Him and Mary didn't do ANYTHING to make that baby (if you know what I mean), SO Joseph decides he will divorce her quietly. But then Joseph gets a HUGE dose of reality. An angel appears to him and tells him it's going to be ok. Joseph should take marry as his wife. That baby inside of her is the baby that is going to save the WHOLE world. Joseph simplifies things, marries Mary, and she gives birth to baby Jesus.

Too many times when our life gets complicated, our eyes stop focusing on God. We let our worry or our stress cloud our vision. At the end of the day, life really is as simple as a newborn. We were put on this earth to tell other people about God. We were put here to show love and kindness to one another. Everything else is ultimately background noise.

So this week if you have a test, study for it right away! If you have a meeting, GO to it! Don't create more problems for yourself. The world has plenty of problems on it's own. Keep it simple!

Just like that newborn baby is still learning to focus it's eyes on you, we need to keep on trying to focus our eyes on God.

Show and Tell

Do you have the same memory I HAD of elementary school when show and tell was just about the most exciting thing you did?!? I always looked forward to choosing just the perfect thing from home that I could show my classmates. Yesterday, Isaiah was trying to make his show and tell selection for the week that had to start with the letter T. He took FOREVER to make a decision. He wanted to JUST the right thing to bring.

Show and Tell as a kid is exciting because you are sharing something about yourself to other people. Whether it be a crazy loud toy, or a rock, or a teddy bear (what Isaiah FINALLY decided on); you don't really care so much about what it was, you JUST wanted other people to see something that you thought was REALLY cool.

Unfortunately, I feel that we all grow out of the "show and tell" phase. At some point we stop sharing things about ourselves with other people. Maybe it's because someone told us what we thought was dumb OR we started worrying if we were right or wrong instead of just SHARING something about ourselves. We become hesitant to open ourselves up to other people in fear of getting hurt. We certainly aren't as excited anyone as a kindergartner is to share something about themselves. 

And that's what I really wanted to chat about today- Story telling. I'm not talking about sitting down and reading the Berenstain Bears together, but instead telling stories about ourselves to other people. All of us have some great stories to share with others and by sharing these stories, we can really get to know other people. We can only put ourselves "in other peoples' shoes" when we actually know where their shoes have been!  

One of my favorite stories from the Bible is Jonah and the Big Fish. (Full Story of Jonah HERE) It's one of my favorite because I can relate to it. God tells Jonah to do something. Jonah does exactly the opposite. God STILL shows love of Jonah by not letting him drown, instead Jonah gets swallowed by a BIG fish. After 3 days in the fish, Jonah gets spit out and goes to do what God asked him to do.

This story of Jonah is significant to me because I was like Jonah. I grew up feeling like I was being called to church work.Lots of people told me this and I REALLY felt that calling. BUT, I didn't WANT TO GO! So I instead went to the college to go into sports journalism. I was going to be on ESPN! Well the University of Minnesota turned out to be my GIANT fish. I got swallowed up for a year. It was horrible for me BUT God saved me through that year by helping me realize how much I needed God in my life. SO I finally decided to listen and I got spit up at Concordia St. Paul where I could go into church work.

That's just one of MANY stories I have. And you know what, YOU have interesting stories too! Don't stop sharing your stories and your life with other people. God has put the people around you in your life RIGHT now for a reason-they aren't there by accident.

Challenge yourself this week to share some of your stories while listening to stories from others. Instead of just scrolling through facebook or instagram and looking at pictures and posts- look deeper and find out what is behind them! I bet there is a good story out there just waiting to be told. 

Contacts and Guitar Hero....not so much!

I've worn glasses now for 12 years now. I JUST went in a few weeks ago for my latest check-up and was given new glasses again because one of my eyes was one step worse. I don't think they look TOO bad...

Anyways, I'm an adult, you would think MAYBE I would be a person who would try contacts right? I mean, I play sports; I have two boys who always want to play football or wrestle; so contacts would be natural fit. WELL, as a matter of fact, I did try contacts, ONCE....it just didn't turn out too well.

So about 10 years ago I was back in my hometown visiting my parents for Christmas break. I was FINALLY going to do the contacts thing. All I had to do was be able to take them in and out of my eyes. NO BIG DEAL RIGHT? Well....with the help of the eye doctor, I got them in for the first time. He made the comment, "Wow, you have really tight eye-lids- this might always be hard for you." I thought, TERRIFIC, if this is going to be hard ALL the time, how am I going to do it?

Well the next day it was time to head back to college. I HAD my contacts in, but decided I should take them out so I could just wear my glasses to drive. Well...I couldn't get the contacts out! I FREAKED out. I kept trying to look in the mirror and grab the contact but I kept closing me eyes before I could get them out. I decided to drive back to the eye doctor so they could just take them out. WELL, once we got there, the eye doctor was closed.... for lunch....for the next hour. What was I going to do?!? We had to get back to college and here I am in front of the eye doctor with a contact somewhere in my eye and I can't GET IT OUT! Becca was with me and was quite frustrated with how ridiculous I was being. She said, COME HERE- she held my eye open and pulled the contact out. AND my experiment with contacts was over....

Contacts aren't the ONLY thing I've failed at in life. For 6 months I tried to be a church worker who could play a guitar. Well, music was NEVER natural to me. I played trombone for 8 years and barely learned the notes. So after learning basically one song and my guitar collecting a lot of dust, I gave up.

Here's the deal- ALL of us have things we aren't good at it! That's just the way life is. We are all uniquely created by God. Psalm 139:13 says this: For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.¹⁴ I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made your works are wonderful I know that full well.

Take a second to think of that image. God knitting us together, making us what we are. The careful time and thought and care that God takes in making us. WOW, I hope that makes you feel as special and unique as it makes me feel. And then there is VERSE and THIS VERSE. 

So I may never wear contacts or serenade Becca with a beautiful guitar solo. And that's OK! I can instead grill just about anything, I can remember obscure sports stats, and I can pretty much always make my family laugh. I'm going to choose to celebrate the random gifts God blessed me with instead of being disappointed that I'll view my life through glasses! 

I hope you can do the same AND realize that God has a plan for YOU also to use those unique gifts.  

Agree to Disagree

Taco Bell is the BEST fast food restaurant. Lambeau Field is the greatest sports stadium. Chevrolet makes the best automobile.

3 opinions that I strongly believe- but do YOU agree?  Maybe you strongly DISAGREE? OR maybe you don't REALLY care about sports or fast food?

Today is election day 2016. After seemingly hours and hours and hours of TV ads and news coverage,and billions of dollars spent; a new president will be elected. AND no matter who is elected, over 40% of our country will be angry about the result. Our country is very much in a time of disagreement. So how do we handle that disagreement and anger?

I couldn't help but think today about the phrase- "Agree to Disagree." I always thought the statement was funny. The visual I got from it is 2 people yelling at each other until they both fall over from exhaustion. They get back up and start yelling again until they can't do it anymore. They finally turn away from each other and slump down pouting because the other person won't agree with them. It would look like this when it was done:

Agree to disagree!

Here is the deal though- agreeing to disagree means there IS an agreement. I believe that when we run into people who might believe differently than us, we have three options. 1. We can argue with them until we are blue in the face trying to change their opinion. 2. We can change our opinion (yeah that NEVER happens easily). OR 3. We can listen to them, they can listen to us, and we can agree to respect each others differences.

The reality of life is we are going to run into people who think differently than us all the time. But this is a GOOD thing and a JOY! I like some of my ideas, but if everyone loved Taco Bell as much as I did, I would have to wait FOREVER in line just to get my quesadilla.

A GREAT Bible verse to bring into discussions with people is from James 1:19-20-¹⁹ My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, ²⁰ because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Be QUICK to listen- SLOW to speak. 

The key to any disagreement is listening. You might say we have 2 ears and only 1 mouth for a reason...haha. So don't forget that NOT just with political talk but with life. We all have a full life of experiences behind us that have shaped who we are and what we believe. We have a certain stance on life that is completely unique to us. So what a GIANT blessing we have to talk with people and hear about THEIR life experiences and what they are passionate about in life. Let's not let the things we disagree about shape us.

Be Quick to Listen, and Slow to Speak even when you may agree to disagree!

It just doesn't make sense

Why don't they make lucky charms with ONLY marshmallows? Why are regular oreo's made when they have Double Stuf oreos? Why does McDonald's make a small size fry.....I always want more fries! Why do the people at Olive Garden ask me if I want more bread sticks? OF COURSE I do, they are amazing!

Life is filled with things that JUST DON'T MAKE SENSE! Now obviously all mine seem to involve food and MAYBE I have an eating problem BUT that isn't the point of my blog today. Life is filled with many things that just don't make sense.

Many of the things that don't make sense to us are MUCH more serious than food related items. Like- why do some people get cancer while others don't? Why do some people always get injured while others are always healthy?  Why do some people NEVER get in a trouble while you get caught the first time you do something wrong?

Many times when things don't seem to add up, we want to find someone to blame. I think in these big serious moments, a lot of times we blame God. WHY is God having this happen? WHY did God not stop this? Where is GOD?

Here's the deal...in the beginning when God made this world it was PERFECT! Not just olive garden bread sticks perfect but ABSOLUTELY perfect. There was no death, no pain, and no suffering. God gave Adam and Eve a choice. When they took that choice, SIN came into the world. With it came cancer, sickness, death, and things that just don't make sense. (Consequences of Sin)

BUT here's the most important part. God then came to the world in Jesus. And what Jesus did, didn't make ANY kind of sense. Jesus died for people and for their sin when He had done nothing wrong. He loved people who spit in His face. That doesn't make any sense at all. Why would someone die for us when we are the ones who are guilty? Because God loves us THAT much.

In the days ahead- put your focus on the GOOD things that just don't make sense in your lives. Be thankful for the friends that are always there for you even when you aren't always there for them. Appreciate that it's 65 degrees in Minnesota in November. Enjoy a food that is just SO good you can't eat just one. And never forget you have a God who loves you, even if you don't always love God back! 

Just Treats......PLEASE no tricks!

My Trick-or-Treaters for tonight!

Tonight kids will go door to door to door to door to door, saying "Trick or Treat." They will put out their bag, or plastic pumpkin, and expect some kind of candy or snack to drop inside of it. But YET we still say the words Trick or Treat! No kid REALLY wants a trick. They should just go door to door saying TREAT....TREAT....TREAT. I could just imagine the scene if Isaiah and Micah went to their first house and instead of getting candy, someone scared them OR said "Sorry, I don't have a treat, here's a stapler." They wouldn't be happy, they wouldn't laugh. THEN if this continued happening from door to door to door....well then I'd see epic meltdowns from a 2 and 5 year old, followed by a meltdown from their dad....haha.

I think our hopes for our lives are similar to trick-or-treating. We only wish to receive treats. Every day if we had the option to receive a treat or get tricked, we would certainly choose the treat. We only want good things to happen for us. I mean, Don't WE deserve good things for ourselves? But what happens when things don't go well? What happens when something goes wrong, or we get tricked or lied to? Now we feel disappointed and betrayed. What did WE do deserve this bad thing happening to us?


When I was younger, I incorrectly looked at the Bible verse from 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and believed God would NEVER give me more than I could handle and that nothing REALLY bad would happen. Here's the verse- ¹³ No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.

That verse doesn't say ANYTHING about what will happen in our overall lives, it just addresses temptation. It's basically saying, no temptation we get will be uncommon to mankind (someone will have already felt that same temptation), and we WILL be tempted, but God will provide us a way out. It doesn't say ANYTHING about life not being hard or that we won't get tricked. 

You want a BETTER verse?....check THIS out from John 16 and what Jesus says, ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (Jesus Whole speech to his disciples HERE, and it's a GOOD one)

Jesus here is saying- "YEP, sometimes you are going to get tricked. Sometimes this world will knock you down. But don't worry, I've already BEAT this world. You aren't strong enough on your own to beat this trouble but I HAVE." 

We need God to get through this world. Unfortunately it's not going to be all "treats" for us. But don't lose hope. Anything this world can send at us, Jesus has already overcome. Someone else has also already been through what WE are going through. We aren't alone. 

So as you hear the words TRICK OR TREAT tonight, remember; life is going to be filled with a little bit of both. However, we have a God who loves us, ares for us, and will be WITH US through any kind of TRICK or TREAT! 

It's JUST a game

Not many comments would spark more instant anger or resent when I was a kid then when my mom told me, "It's just a game." Whether I was playing in a basketball game, or was watching my favorite team on TV- my mom's comment would always sky rocket my blood pressure and make me mad. I MEAN it's not JUST a game. It's everything to me RIGHT now! I focus in on every second, every play, every bounce of the ball. The end result is SOOO important to me. It was either the team I was on OR the team that I had spent ALL season watching. IT WASN'T JUST A GAME MOM!

Well, let me share another story with you. It's 2011. Becca is 8 months pregnant with Isaiah, so I'm 1 month away from becoming a dad for the first time. The Packers are in the....SUPER BOWL! My favorite team is in the biggest game. If they win- WE are the champs. Throughout the game, I act irrationally as usual. I throw pillows, I yell....I get mad. At one point I even walk away from the TV because I don't think I can handle it if they lose. I come back for the 4th quarter and they are ahead, but only by 6. Their defense makes a big play and they win. THEY WON THE SUPER BOWL. We have done it! I remember being excited, elated, happy, and then disappointed. The team I had been watching all season and all my life, had won- Mission Accomplished Right? Well, why then was I disappointed????

In that moment I realized something for the 1st time...my mom may have been right. It may just a game. Because I began thinking what was next for the Packers? There would be next season and they probably couldn't win it two years in a row. I knew that my happiest memories with that team were now in the past. They were behind me. It was history...

This was of course was driven home even further the next month when Isaiah was born. After a flawless pregnancy, Isaiah gave us one CRAZY scare of a birth. One minute there were 9 nurses in the room b/c Becca's and Isaiah's heart rate had dropped to almost nothing; the baby was in distress and had to come out NOW! They rushed her back for a C-section surgery. The medicine they had given her hadn't even took effect, so they had to give her ANOTHER medicine which meant I couldn't go back with her. Instead, I was now alone in a hospital room not knowing if my wife and baby would be OK. I couldn't be there for my wife when she needed me the most. I have never felt closer to God than in that moment. While tears streamed down my face, I texted everyone I knew to pray. I prayed myself between texts just hoping everything would be alright.

Well since most of you know me, you know the story has a happy ending. Isaiah is 5 now and is one of the biggest goof balls I know and he and Becca were both OK.

Yep, Isaiah was one CUTE baby!

However, from that moment on, I realized without a doubt- sports are JUST sports. A game is just a game. My mom was right.

Now I realize this week locally we have high school football playoffs AND volleyball playoffs and you might not agree with my blog or want to hear it today. But here's the deal- don't wait until some crazy traumatic life moment makes you put sports in perspective. It's a game NOT a god. The Bible speaks of this in a number of different places. We can't serve God and something else also. Matthew 6:24- ²⁴ “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. Luke 4:8- ⁸And Jesus answered him, “It is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and him only shall you serve.’”

So this week enjoy the games. Play to have fun. Appreciate your teammates. Do your best to win. But remember, when the clock hits zero, God has some big plans for your life that have nothing to do with a field or a court. God will be right there waiting to share in your excitement or disappointment and LOVE you for WHO you are- not because you won or lost. Jesus already won the most important battle over sin and Jesus did that for YOU! There won't be a greater victory ANYWHERE than that.

Awe-filled or Awful?

This past LONG weekend, my family and I took a trip down to Oklahoma. We spent our time visiting many of the great people who helped support us when we worked down there for almost 6 years. We hadn't visited in almost two years, and it's always CRAZY to see how things change. There is new buildings, new restaurants, and all the kids we knew were a foot taller. Things change! But one question that came up while talking with some of our close friends is what's different between Minnesota and Oklahoma.

I took a minute to think and there were a lot of "cultural" differences. People eat out more in Oklahoma, people in Minnesota don't put as much ice in their sodas and don't want to use Styrofoam, and ofcourse people speak differently. In Minnesota every OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO stretches on forever, while in Oklahoma you NEVER say you all- you say yawl. And in Oklahoma you are fixin to get things done. (for my Minnesota friends- fixin means planning to or getting ready to- NOT like actually fixing something that's broken)

What this got me reflecting on is God's creation. I mean Oklahoma and Minnesota aren't THAT far apart, but God created diversity and differences and variety in people JUST like in the earth. Have you ever just stood in awe of what God made? In Oklahoma the dirt is red! Why wouldn't God just make all dirt the same color?

And what about the stars? Did God really need to put as many stars in the sky as God did? NO, But God did it anyways. And there are flowers and birds of just about EVERY color!

As our computer animation gets better in movies, I think it takes MORE and MORE to amaze us. We have already seen that type of explosion or that car chase. We can put special glasses on and watch in 3-D. We aren't easily amazed. We have trouble even knowing what AWE means! Dictionary definition of AWE is: a feeling of reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.

But the amazing thing with God is this; God doesn't give up on trying to amaze us. We are given beautiful sunsets, pristine fall colors, people with that laugh that makes YOU laugh (like my son Micah), or a friend saying something at exactly the right time that you needed to hear it.

So this week, look for something that amazes you. Take a picture or leave a comment on the blog! Let's help each other find something amazing and and awe-filled this week. There is still plenty in God's creation that leave us in awe! And let this Scripture from Psalm 8 (In Awe of God) be our guide- When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,⁴ what is man that you are mindful of him,and the son of man that you care for him? 

And as you reflect and stand in awe of God this week, remember WE are God's greatest creation. Everything God made was described as good, but it wasn't until God made humans that creation was described as VERY good (People added the VERY) . 

Here's hoping your week is much more AWE-filled than awful!

Cruising Altitude

IF I had an unlimited amount of money, I would buy everyone a plane ticket so they could experience what it's like. I wouldn't do this so they could eat cheap pretzels, or breathe recycled air, or smell the unique "plane smell." The reason I would love giving everyone a plane ride would be for the view.

Every time I fly, I gain something. It's Perspective! Our perspective from the ground I feel too often becomes about us. It seems like the world revolves around everything we do. Our friends wait for us to text or snap them back. Our parents wait for us to walk in the door, our teachers wait on our papers to be turned in. Life seems like it's all about us. We are the most important thing going on ANYWHERE in the world!

WELL join me at a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet. Peering out the window you see small whispy clouds. You see the sun reflect off the wings of the plane. Looking downward you struggle to make out a river or is that a lake? Maybe those little brown and white things down there are a town. Everything is tiny. It's hard to distinguish what you are seeing. However, you know "down there" life is proceeding as usual. People are going to work and school. People are driving, walking, and running. But YOU are up here looking down on all of them.

Flying helps me remember that life is not about me. I'm just a small small small part of this world. I'm one person. I live in one house anong the billions of houses that exist in the world. And while I'm on this plane, my life completely depends on the person in the cockpit. 

The connection I want to make is this: to this world- we aren't all that important. We are just one person among billions. BUT to God, we are indeed the most important. See God doesn't pick favorites. God loves ALL of us. Each of us to God is his #1!

And here's a question- how often do WE treat God like the pilot on a plane? How often do we completely rely on God for something? How often do we make God the #1 in our lives? 

Probably no where near as often as we should. But again, here comes God- not scolding us, but FORGIVING us. One of my favorite stories about how important all of us are to God is one of the Jesus healed someone. There was a blind beggar on the road. (Full Story HERE)Someone that no one probably cared much about. However, the beggar heard Jesus was passing and called out to Him. The people in the crowd yelled at the beggar to shut up. Jesus however heard the man and stopped what He was doing. Jesus asks the beggar what He wants. The beggar asked for his sight. Jesus heals the man. 

Then one of the coolest parts is the beggar's response-  he recovered his sight and followed him, glorifying God. 

The blind beggar realized that life was not about him. It was about God and sharing God with others. I pray that you are able to see that perspective, even if it means not getting on an airplane (or if you sleep through your flight like Micah....hahaha). 

 

What are you leaving behind?

Every morning at my house has a personality and attitude of it's own. Having to get a 5 year old and 2 year old moving on a time schedule can be an adventure. This morning was quiet, both boys happily eating their breakfasts while I sipped coffee. Then when their cartoon ended, they got their shoes on and headed out the door. However, this is NOT always the case. Some mornings, Micah doesn't want to wear THIS or that; other mornings Isaiah takes 45 minutes to eat his breakfast; while OTHER mornings Micah ends up eating most of MY breakfast and insisting on bringing 10 monster trucks in the car with him for the 2 block drive to daycare.

The one thing similar about each morning is something ALWAYS gets left behind. Some days I don't have time to wash the dirty plates so they are in the sink (or even left on the table). Other days I don't take time to make the bed, so that's a mess. And other mornings it looks like we got sucked up by a vortex and everything was simply left behind and only the people are now missing.

This morning got me thinking- what are we leaving behind us on a daily basis? Now I don't mean dirty plates necessarily, but how are the decisions and attitudes WE have affecting others?

I kind of imagine our negative attitude being like a snail. If you aren't a big fan of snails, the basics are when they move, they leave a slimy film behind them. You can tell where they have been and they aren't leaving anything nice in their wake. 

,

On the other hand, I see our positive attitude being more like a flamingo. Why a flamingo? Well how do you NOT smile when watching a pink bird balance on one leg? A flamingo leaves us smiling. 

We have the opportunity everyday, in EVERY interaction, to leave behind something positive or negative. Flamingo or snail. There is some awesome Scripture verses to check out on this- Colossions 3:12-14. And this one- No grumbling or snail behavior!

In everything we are to clothe ourselves in kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. What an amazing difference we can make by showing those positive characteristics to others. So PLEASE remember as you go throughout your day- you can make a difference. Do your best to make sure what you are leaving behind is a smile and not a slimy snail-like mess!  

 

It's NOT Fair!

A BIG topic at my house these days is fairness. Having a 5 year old and a 2 year old is the reason this topic is talked about almost on a DAILY basis. "It's not fair that Micah doesn't have to eat all his meat." "It's not fair that I have to clean up the mess by myself, you ALWAYS help Micah." The life of a 5 year old can be tough. If you were curious what the "This ISN'T fair" facial expression is.....here yah go....

Unfortunately, as MANY of you know, life doesn't get anymore fair just because you are older. In middle high and high school, there are PLENTY of things that are unfair. "Why do they get to have a cell phone and I don't?' "Why do they NEVER have to study for tests and I do?" "Why do they get to stay out past 10:00pm when I have a curfew?" All the unfairness......BUT in the eloquent words of my father and lots of other dads out there- LIFE ISN'T fair!

Today however though, I want you to look at the idea of fairness in a different way. I have a story that contains the most unfair treatment of a person EVER. I mean EVER EVER EVER! Here's the deal. There was this guy who did NOTHING wrong, not even once. EVER. He spent his entire life healing, helping, and teaching people. But you know what? He was found guilty. Of what you ask? HE was found guilty of ALL the wrong things everyone else DID and is still doing. Every....single....one of them. Even though He hadn't committed one sin, He took on the sin of the whole world. Even though He lived a perfect life, He was beaten, crucified, and killed because of us. And after death....He spent some time in Hell...talk about unfair!!!!

Well you know of course I'm talking about Jesus. The Son of God, an innocent man, who loved us so much that He took on the greatest unfairness EVER.

But here is the best part- to God it was ALL worth it. We were worth it! And Christ death was just temporary, He defeated death AND the devil.

So while in life we might be treated unfairly sometimes in a negative way....don't forget- God treats us unfairly in a much bigger POSITIVE way. (One of my favorite verses)We receive His love and his forgiveness, even when we don't deserve it. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Enjoy that positive unfairness today!

Past it's expiration date

Food only lasts SO long! The other day I was eating Gardetto's. Let's be honest, they are amazing. They are so good. If you like Gardetto's, once you open a bag you KNOW they don't last long. But yet, that bag still has an expiration date. Who would let Gardetto's go bad!?! If I open a bag of them, they will be gone within a week....ok like 5 days....ok ok....probably 3 days. Now, I fully support expiration dates on food like broccoli, spinach, and generally leafy things. It's good to know when I can throw away the spinach b/c it's expired instead of my dislike for it.

My thought of the day is not completely about Gardetto's....although they do sound good....it's instead about how much our lives revolve around calendar dates. How busy does YOUR schedule look this week? Do you feel like all you ever do is go from one thing, to the next thing, to the next thing and you don't really enjoy any of it as much as you should?

As we all certainly enjoy our cell phones, computers, cars, and technology, a BIG consequence is we have also gotten busier. People can contact us at all times and all places. We can get anywhere we want to go at 8 miles over the posted speed limit (you could try more but tickets aren't cheap.)The reality though is THIS: we only get a certain amount of time to do anything. 

High school- only 4 years. MAYBE 5 if you struggle a bit more. Being a kid- 18 years. When you turn 18 you are considered an adult. WHEN you are an adult, your kids are only small for a set period of time.

What I'm getting at is things in our lives besides food have expiration dates. So how can we positively respond to that and really enjoy what we are doing RIGHT now? 

Let's go to one of the craziest and busiest times in the Bible. The birth of Jesus. (Always a good story to read!) Mary and Joseph just got done traveling to Bethlehem. The city is crazy busy b/c of the census. They have to stay in a stable and that's where Jesus is born. Shepherds from the fields flock to see the newborn baby, they are amazed and head off telling everyone they see. But what does Mary do? The Scripture says she treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. 

Mary realized that this moment would have an expiration date. So she pondered it in her heart and treasured it. 

What if we sought to "treasure" things more? This week challenge yourself to find something to treasure and enjoy. Now matter how busy any of us may be, God has given us today and today expires in 14 hours- ENJOY IT!

Instant everything

Popcorn in less than two minutes, 90 seconds or less through a drive thru, guaranteed two day shipping; we have gotten used to INSTANT results. If you don't believe me, how did you react the last time you went to a fast food drive thru and you had to pull into one of those painted waiting areas? YEAH, you probably didn't appreciate that very much. I mean HOW LONG does it take to make a double cheeseburger?!?

So then why should we be surprised when we struggle to be patient? We don't like waiting for much of anything. And by saying this, we are implying that what is happening in our individual lives MUST be the most important thing happening right now in this world.

I am no different! I have always struggled with waiting. When I was a kid and I knew relatives or friends were coming over, I would anxiously wait looking out the window until they arrived. Just imagine your dog waiting for the door for you to come home....yep that was me....but I'm a human....

So what's the problem with not being good at waiting? WELL, it can negative effect on our faith life. God's timing is usually different than our own. So if we struggle at waiting for a large fry, how are we going to respond when we pray to God for something and we don't get an immediate answer? We would probably get discouraged and convince ourselves that God isn't listening or God doesn't care.

But you know what? God is EXACTLY the opposite. Remember that image from two paragraphs ago of me anxiously looking at the window waiting for any sign of the people I knew? Well, that's the way I view God waiting for us to talk to Him. There is even an amazing parable that speaks of this: The Lost Son. It's in Luke 15- My image of God. The basics are the son takes what is his and leaves his family. He wastes all his money and has NOTHING left. He decides to go crawling back to the dad to become one of his servants. But what does the dad do? He has been watching everyday for his son to return home. At the first sight of his son, He RUNS to him. He hugs him. He celebrates his return.

Now imagine God waiting for you to talk with Him. Imagine your prayers being heard by Him. Now imagine God carefully thinking about your prayers and your life and how your life fits in with everyone else. He heard your prayer. God ultimately knows your WHOLE story so God knows what is ultimately best for you. So his answer might not come in 90 seconds, or two minutes, or today, or this year. But God most definitely heard you talking.

Don't ever stop talking to God because you don't think He heard you. Scripture says we should pray continuously (Make it an ongoing conversation).  Sometimes we just need to wait long enough to hear an answer!