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. 

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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!

Traffic Cones and a Confession

Back in the day.....I had a problem....we are talking when I was like 17, 18, 19 years old. My problem to confess to you is that I used to ....kind of....sorta.... liked to run over traffic cones. You know the bright orange ones that construction workers put up to keep us safe? Yeah...those. I used to like to drive over them REAL slowly and knock them over. Do I know why I did this? No, I can't find any type of disease or medical condition where a person likes to run over traffic cones. I also don't have anything against the color orange, so it isn't that either.

Last week when I was driving through a construction site, (NOT knocking cones over...I am 32 years old right now and can't and wouldn't do that kind of stuff anymore) and I began to think of a connection between those cones and Christ. See the problem I always saw with traffic cones is they don't really can't STOP anything bad from happening. They can be easily tipped, pushed, or driven over. Their main goal is not to prevent accident, but instead simply make you aware of danger.

So WHAT is the connection to Christ? Well God also really can't prevent us from getting into any kind of danger. We are given a choice all the time, everyday, whether or not we really want to follow or listen to God. Now God doesn't quite sit as idly by like a traffic cone, because God is certainly wherever we are TRYING to get our attention like the color BRIGHT orange does.

A great example of this in the Bible is the calling of Samuel. Samuel is sleeping and is awoken by God calling to him. God does this three times but Samuel believes it's Eli and NOT God. Finally, on the third attempt, Eli figures it out and tells Samuel to go and listen for God to call him again. Finally Samuel Hears God After Samuel had finally pushed aside the things of the world that were confusing him, he realized it was God speaking to him the whole time.

Many times I believe we struggle with our decisions. Should we spend time with that person? Should i respond to that text or that snap? And maybe there is even that "voice" in our head telling us not to do something. Instead of ignoring that voice LIKE I ignored traffic cones, let's stop and think- is that voice just really God directing me a different way? IS that just God trying to do something to keep me safe? 

At the end of the day, God desires for us to be safe. God loves us and DEEPLY cares about us. So just like you shouldn't ignore traffic cones, don't ignore the signs God is showing you in YOUR life. Cones are there for a reason, and God is the reason WE are here.