You have to appreciate life.
Everyday there is something new- or the potential of something new. Each sun rise is slightly different than the last although it rises at the same place everyday. With each new day there is a decision to make a direction that could change the course of the rest of your life and potentially the course of your family's life as well. This was a concept I realized at a pretty young age. I remember being so consumed with not kissing anyone until I found the woman I was going to marry. It was a big deal to me. I didn't want any one else to have my affections but her. I did manage to keep that value, but I MAY have kissed my wife before we were married.
It's the little decisions that impact the future.
It's like working out really. All it takes is the decision to go to the gym, or take that walk, or go for that bike ride. Doing a little everyday is way more healthy than blowing up a work out and doing that once a week (which right now would still be better than my current participation).
The same goes for my spiritual health. Spending time focused and talking to God 15 minutes a day is going to keep me in better shape than waiting until Sunday's 3 hour service or until there is some emergency needing prayer.
Focused prayer keeps us in tune with God and with ourselves.
The problem with most of us is, that we allow ourselves to be consumed with business or entertainment. It's simply our western way of life. We are never still (sitting in front of a screen does not count- I am talking about letting our minds sit still). Subsequently when we never let our minds sit still we become disconnected, disjointed, and less effective in life. Oh you may become a millionaire or get lots of things accomplished, but life itself becomes a task another work project one more "thing" to take care of.
So what's the main point of what I am writing? It's to encourage the slow drifting of the mind. To allow our brains to take a break and spend time with God and with ourselves listening to what our bodies and our hearts are telling us.
If I have a decision to make I need wise counsel from God, other people, and myself.
Romans 7:23 but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
Because the Spirit of God lives within me I have access to that Spirit at all times. So often times when I listen to that voice inside my heart I know the right decision to make.
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Just a Moment
Life is full of moments. Fleeting like wisps of smoke on a dying fire. They come faster than you can realize and are over before you can react to them.
This journey started a long time ago. Through all the adversity and the turmoil I have to believe that God's hand has been all of it. A couple months ago I had an allergic reaction to something I ate. It literally was one of the scariest moments in my life. My entire body had swollen up, my skin was covered with blister like hives, and I was the color of Bob the tomato.
My heart rate dropped below 40- I started having seizures, and I blacked out. In that moment I was walking with two other people. We were walking in a field. It was the most peaceful place I had ever been.
I was probably just in a dream, you know one of those dreams that find you in between being awake and sleeping. One of those dreams you have right as you are waking up, you know the ones that feel like they are real and you just can't shake them as you come to the full realization it's just a dream?
Regardless of the "vision" I had to face my mortality. I had to think about what life for my family would be like if I wasn't here.
These thoughts are not happy, but they help me to realize that they have to live life without me often when I choose not to be home. There isn't a paycheck big enough and there isn't enough prestige to miss those wisps of smoke that is my kids lives or the beauty that God has given me in my wife.
I have dreams of ministry, and changing the world. My first dream, and subsequently my first calling and purpose, is to be a great dad and an amazing father.
This journey started a long time ago. Through all the adversity and the turmoil I have to believe that God's hand has been all of it. A couple months ago I had an allergic reaction to something I ate. It literally was one of the scariest moments in my life. My entire body had swollen up, my skin was covered with blister like hives, and I was the color of Bob the tomato.
My heart rate dropped below 40- I started having seizures, and I blacked out. In that moment I was walking with two other people. We were walking in a field. It was the most peaceful place I had ever been.
I was probably just in a dream, you know one of those dreams that find you in between being awake and sleeping. One of those dreams you have right as you are waking up, you know the ones that feel like they are real and you just can't shake them as you come to the full realization it's just a dream?
Regardless of the "vision" I had to face my mortality. I had to think about what life for my family would be like if I wasn't here.
These thoughts are not happy, but they help me to realize that they have to live life without me often when I choose not to be home. There isn't a paycheck big enough and there isn't enough prestige to miss those wisps of smoke that is my kids lives or the beauty that God has given me in my wife.
I have dreams of ministry, and changing the world. My first dream, and subsequently my first calling and purpose, is to be a great dad and an amazing father.
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