This Holiday Season

Well, first of all, for any of you who do pay attention to this blog. Sorry for the lack of updates recently. Hopefully I can get back on track.

Isn't it a great time of year. The cold air gives us that feeling of Christmas as soon as we walk out the door. Today it's about 27 degrees outside. It's days like this that really make me grateful for the blessings I have in my life. Days like this, when we are scurrying from our heated home or office to our car, should remind us that a lot of the world does not have these luxurious. Sometimes we get used to living in this American suburbia bubble where things like heated cars and homes are the norm. Meanwhile there are people all over the world who struggle to get warm through this time of year. Even in our own midst this season, we will find ourselves passing by homeless and impoverished people who do not have the blessings we have. Yet, when it is time for opening gifts we still have the selfishness to complain or be disappointed with gifts we receive. The point of this blog post is not to come down on us for receiving those gifts, but rather to encourage us to put those gifts and the blessings we enjoy in perspective. May we not forget that we are a very blessed people and that there are many people in this world who are not so fortunate.

So, This Holiday Season, try to impact someone's life. Give yourself to a cause. I know our church is doing a program called Stars of Hope which provides Christmas gifts for needy families. If you attend our church, even if you are a teen with "no money", I would encourage you to grab a star. I'm sure we could and would all do more of these kinds of things if we stopped long enough to think about how much we have been blessed. There are plenty of causes out there that we can involve ourselves in, make sure you take the time to get involved in blessing people in some way This Holiday Season. May we always find ways to share our blessings with others.

Open Eyes and Open Hearts

This past weekend we had a retreat, and we talked about seeing below the surface. How many times do we look at someone, and then make judgments based on what we see on the outside? Our hearts must drive our vision. We must have a deep sense of care for all people around us. Much like the good Samaritan, we must look to the core of a person and not the stereotype of a person. It would have been easy for the good Samaritan to walk right by had he been focused on the fact that the person in need was Jewish. Instead, he saw a human in need and hurting. What would our world look like if everyone had this kind of love for humanity? Because of the open heart that the Samaritan had, he was able to have open eyes to see an opportunity to help someone in need. May we always look below the surface, and see opportunities to befriend, serve, and help others in need.

Promises

Well, as I looked back at my first post I realized that I wasn't making good on a promise. A promise to update this blog each week. Looks like it has turned into a once a month thing. I will try to work on making my posts more often. It got me to thinking though, about how often we don't follow through with our promises. I picked up a birthday card for Lindsay the other day, and as I read the card it made me think of promises. Promises that I had made to her the day we were married. Promises like being her joy in all times, her peace when she needs to be calmed, and her constant source of love. One thing I could not deny, as I thought about all this, was that there are times when I do a lousy job at filling those needs. However, understanding that God never fails us in meeting those needs is comforting as a Christian. It also makes you realize that because others will let you down out of human nature, He will not out of his good and perfect divine nature. That is the promise of God. Sometimes I think people think this means that nothing bad should ever happen to them. That isn't the promise though. He tells us this in Isaiah 40:25-31, as he comforts his people. The promise is not that nothing bad will ever happen to you. The promise is that when we find ourselves weak and tired, and when we stumble and fall, that God will renew our strength. That we will soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint, when we hope and wait on Him. God does not always change bad circumstances, he can and he does sometimes, but his promise is that he will give us strength to make it through these tough times in life. In addition, in Philippians, Paul reminds us that our God will meet all of our needs according to his glorious riches in Jesus Christ. Sometimes, we search high and low for people to meet our needs, when the one place we should always be looking to for those needs to be met is God. So, when others let us down and don't follow through on promises, may we praise God for his faithfulness. When our needs are not met by friends and family, may we know that God will meet all of our needs. And may we rejoice in the knowledge that we serve a God who always comes through on His promises.

Rhythm

I love music. Music is such a great expression of many things. One of the key elements in a song is rhythm. Each note has a rhythm to which it is played. In a song, the rhythm creates a groove that permeates the song from beginning to end. Just as there is a rhythm to a song, God created the world with a certain rhythm in mind. He had a rhythm in mind for how we should approach life. This is made evident as he created the sun to give light to the day and a lesser light to govern the night. I think the intention there was to create a way to approach the way we would go about living each day. That we would spend the daylight hours working and doing things that need to be done, and that we would use the night for resting. God highlights the importance of rest when he himself rests after creating(working). He's giving us a model to follow. If the almighty creator, God, needs to rest, we should also take time to rest. Many times though, we get caught up in a pursuit of worldly success at the expense of rest and time spent with God in silent meditation. For some people, it's the pursuit of wealth. For others, it may be a pursuit of success in sports, band, academics, or social status. Make no mistake about it though, God did not intend for us to fill every hour of the day with something. There is a clear intention for God's people to rest, recharge, and live with a rhythm that is in tune with God. May we always live with this rhythm of life in mind.

Summer Days, Drifting Away

Well, Summer is winding down, and my energy is as well. Nothing like a good summer of youth trips to rejuvenate us spiritually, and exhaust us physically. I hope all of you have enjoyed the various youth trips you have been a part of this Summer. I know I have been very impressed with the growth I have seen in many of you throughout the Summer. One statement made early in the Summer by one of the speakers at Encounter continues to resonate with me as we close out July. and that is the question, "So What?" We have gone to Lubbock, Colorado, Mexico, and Arkansas. We have spent time in worship, prayer, solo time, and service. But what is it all going to mean for our every day lives. Unless these trips we have gone on change us into more radical Christians that affect the dark world around us each day, then they were all meaningless. I know I saw a change in people's lives, and in their priorities this summer, but will that carry over to each day throughout the school year. Will you be committed to serving people throughout the year? Will you be an agent of change for God? Will you be Salt and Light to the world around you? Will you refuse to be a lukewarm Christian? Will you passionately live out loud the life of a disciple and follow Christ? I hope you will wrestle with these questions as the school year approaches. Make a commitment to be the kind of follower of God that we are called to be. May you be a source of light and an agent of change to make this world a better place and to show people what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God.

In a New York Minute...

Lindsay and I just got back from New York yesterday. It was definitely a hopping place. We have had the blessing of traveling through many countries in Europe and Asia, but I had never been to New York. In some ways I would describe New York as a way cooler, cleaner, nicer version of China. The one unique prevailing similarity that made me think this is the crowds. People everywhere, which is what I expected. People always seeming to be in a huge rush, with the exception of Central Park. I kept asking Lindsay, what would make someone want to live here? I mean, sure, it is a pretty cool place, but is it worth it? Yet our tour guides on the big red buses that roll through town from stop to stop, kept insisting that this was the place everyone wanted to be. And I have to agree, it did seem that way due to the overcrowding I saw around every corner. But I found myself pondering the same question all weekend, why live life in a rush. James reminds us that our life is but a mist, so why make it seem even shorter. I don't think God intended for us to be so busy. I think we see this in the model of Christ. He often withdrew to quiet places. How ridiculous is it that if you want to withdraw to a quiet place in Manhatten, your only option is Central Park. Part of the problem was that we spent almost all of our time in Manhatten alone, but busyness seemed to be a pillar of culture there no matter where you were. Needless to say, it was nice to come back to the slower pace here in Burleson. Unfortunately, it's not quite slow enough. We don't have the skyscrapers and the subways, but we still have the time crunches, some of the traffic, lots of the same misguided commitments to extra-curricular activities, and the end result is we too are living life in a rush with barely any time for the one who gave us life. Oh, we have more of the quiet places to withdraw to, but how often do we take advantage of them? God wants us to make time for him. After all, if the devil can't make you bad, he'll make you busy. May we learn to prioritize our lives, and to place God at the top. May we withdraw to quiet places and simply be with God.

Launch Sequence and Blog Name

Well, here I am attempting to launch another blog. I will be attempting to make this a weekly habit. This will be a place for me to throw out ideas on faith, thoughts about my life, and thoughts about ministry. I hope that this will come to be a place where my students can find solace, laughs, and conversation about faith. I hope that it can become an outlet for me to bounce my thoughts out here on the web and see people's thoughts in return. The idea for the title of my blog came from thinking about our youth ministry logo. The idea of the logo and the wording I have used to describe it, is hopefully what is going in in each one of us. In a lot of ways, I see our faith as atomic. With an atom, there is a nucleus of protons and neutrons that make up its core while electrons are constantly circling. There is an energy represented in an atom that is the kind of model that our lives should look like. With Christ and the cross at our core, we have a constant source of energy and strength that should be driving our lives and our faith. An atom is the fundamental building block of matter, just as faith is the fundamental building block of our spiritual journey. Without the atom there would be no matter, without faith their would be no journey. We are all on a spiritual journey that is driven by an atomic faith. May we walk this journey with the energy and joy that comes from Christ in the center of our lives.