Snapshots

We find ourselves once again in the ‘dog days’ of summer (the hottest part of the season). It appears to have come early with all of the record number of 100 degree days thus far. But like it or not, it’s here.

   I don’t know about you, but each season has a way of stirring images in my mind. Fall brings visions of multicolored trees and cool nights where we play football or huddle around a campfire and share stories. Winter brings memories of giant snowflakes gently falling to the ground and creating those pure white landscapes and peacefully quiet evenings. Spring reminds me of new life as buds sprout on tree branches and plants break through the soil to bring various shades of green back into view. And Summer always takes me back to those long hot days where I would spend untold hours out in my neighborhood as a child playing sports or exploring my world.

  Summer also brings this question to mind, why did summers appear to last forever when I was a kid? The days seemed to go on and on. Growing up, I remember adults talking about how time flew by, but it was an experience that was so foreign to me…until now. I don’t mean to come across sentimental or nostalgic, but I realize the brevity of it all. As I grow older, time seems to race by unlike those slow summer days when I was a child. Now, days seem to go by in moments and months seem to pass by like weeks. Before I realize it, another year has passed and I wonder where it went.

   The other day, though, I chose to stop and take a few mental images. I call these ‘snapshots.’ I was playing music with my children, my oldest son on the drums; my oldest two daughters on the guitar and piano while I played guitar as well. The rest of my children were in the room with me just enjoying the music and each other’s company (from my 19 yr. old down to my 1 yr. old). And I found myself just taking mental pictures of it all. As I looked at each one of them, I thought to myself, “There are only going to be a few more moments like these. Pretty soon they’ll move out and marry and have jobs and families of their own, and these moments together will become rare.”  Maybe this is a result of my own realization of how quickly my childhood years passed. But whatever the reason is, my advice is simple, don’t waste it!

   Too often we spend the majority of our time on the things that ‘scream for our attention’ but are just not that important while the opportunities to spend time with the most precious people in our lives diminishes. We should be unafraid and unapologetic when it comes to organizing our time and lives so as to not regret our choices later on in life. Today, I’m choosing more of these musical sessions with my family and taking more mental images (as well as actual photos) so that I can reminisce about them when they’re gone. And I invite you to do the same. Don’t allow jobs or people to dictate to you how you are to spend your most precious commodity…your time. Life is short, invest what you have left wisely.

   I’ll leave you with some wise words from that famous teenager, Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast; if you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.”

Who Has Control?

   Like many families, we have more than one television in our home. And as a result,  we have a running joke which goes like this: How long will the other members of our family sit and watch a show when someone besides themselves is controlling the TV Remote? I have to admit that my love of football, the History Channel, Fox News, and the Discovery Channel has left me on numerous occasions alone in the room watching my show.

   In comparison, I wonder how often we have given up quality time with others (Including God) because we refuse to give up control in some area of our lives. Madonna, the famed pop star, recently confessed that she rarely gets more than four hours of sleep each night. In one frank assessment of her hectic lifestyle she exclaimed; "I'm a workaholic. I have insomnia. And I'm a control freak."  

   Ever since the fall of mankind in the Garden of Eden, man has been on a quest to maintain control of his life and his environment. Lives are spiraling out of control as a result of poor decisions, but people still fight for control. Even if it means ill health or staying addicted, many refuse help if it means letting go. 

   And the same is true when it comes to God. Most people are willing to go God’s way if God goes their way. They say to God, “I’ll live for You so long as I agree and understand what You’re doing."  But when He requires them to sacrifice or follow him in ways they don’t comprehend, they second guess Him and don't obey His requests. All the while, they fool themselves in to thinking that God is 'Lord' of their lives.

   But how can we call Jesus, Lord, a title that means 'master' or 'ruler' and then say ‘no’ to Him? It’s a contradiction in terms. We can't call someone Lord of our life and then reject their rulership and fight them for control. I've witnessed too many people trying to control their lives and its outcome when they should be trusting God and allowing Him to guide their lives. In the same way, I've watched people make their spouses and other family members miserable in their attempts to manipulate and gain control over them. But if we're not meant to control our lives, we certainly should avoid controlling the lives of others.

   Furthermore, this isn't the way God operates. He’s a gentleman that won't force you to follow Him with threats or ultimatums. You might be thinking to yourself, "Doesn't He threaten to throw us into hell if we don't follow Him?" I would answer, 'No!' God doesn't send anyone to hell. Hell is a place that is devoid of God and everything He created (love, family, life, beauty, peace, etc...). Hell was never intended for mankind. It's our refusal to relinquish control of our lives and our sins that ultimately sends us to hell. And when we reject God, we give up the things of God (i.e. Heaven). And He gives everyone the freedom to reject Him. 

   Unlike us, God doesn’t need our acceptance or approval to operate. We NEED Him to move and breathe and exist! We need Him in order to understand the true meaning of love, life, joy, and peace. Without Him, these things don't exist in their truest sense.

   We can complain about what God has done. We can complain about how He structured creation, or we can look at it in the way that G.K. Chesterton said it here:

  “I’m not going to complain that there is only one door to heaven. I am going to thank Him that there is at least one.”

   God would be perfectly just if He decided to allow no way for mankind to enter heaven. But in His great love and mercy, He created one through Jesus Christ. And when we complain about His decisions, we're challenging His Lordship and fighting for the control that is rightly His. 

   So I ask you, who is controlling your life? 

 

The Story of Ian & Larissa

   The following story from John Piper's 'Desiring God' website brightened my day. Ian & Larissa's story should inspire us all to love deeper. It's so refreshing to see young people view marriage in this manner. The love and commitment that this young lady displays toward her husband is a beautiful representation of how love conquers all. I hope you take the time to watch this story. I know you'll be blessed...

Birthday Party for a Prostitute

        Here is an excerpt of Tony Campolo speaking of a birthday party he threw one day in Honolulu. I never get tired of hearing this story. Oh, for the church in America to love in this manner. To love people who are the outcasts and unlovable in our society is what The Church should do better than any other group. It's who Christ ministered to, and it's who He calls us to seek out as well. I hope you are inspired and challenged to love in this way.