Things to do before the Holidays

Usually my post here are spiritual in nature and hopefully make you think about Christ, but this one is just plain random. Here is a list of things to do before the holidays. Now these things may be physically done or done in thought, but any red blooded American will do these before the holidays.

1. buy presents: this is no brainer. we will all buy presents for people we love or people we know, but just don't want to feel guilty about not getting them somethings at the next Christmas party.

2. Christmas parties- Each and everyone of us will go to a Christmas party, whether we are popular or not, and enjoy a good ole fashion game of dirty Santa, sweets to fill our cavities with, and enough egg nog to make a cow sick.

3. Egg nog- this is a new one to my life. Egg nog was not bought or consumed growing up in my house, but over the last couple of years it has become quite an enjoyable treat around the holiday season.

4. Christmas music- Christmas music is a lot like oysters... it is an acquired taste. Also Christmas music is like a bad scary movie... no matter what channel you tune your radio to... you cannot escape it. It is impossible to not hear one Christmas song over the Christmas season.

5. Christmas movies- If you love sappy inspirational movies about how life is so much better at Christmas time or a moral lesson being learned about the importance of family and contentment... then look no further than the Christmas holidays. We all will sit down at least once this year to a glass of egg nog and its a wonderful life or a movie like it.

These are just a few of the things we will do over the Christmas season. Whether you like these duties or not, the magic, or the lack thereof, of Christmas will suck you into these 5 holiday traditions of Christmas. Merry Christmas and enjoy the egg nog.

The Sabbath

Rest is something we want, but can never seem to get enough of. We take vacations to rest and we come back from our vacation just as tired as when left. We take the students to a concert Friday, out to a movie Saturday, and get up and take them to lunch Sunday. We stay so busy doing ministry that sometimes we forget to follow the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.” The awesome thing about God is He has given us permission to rest. He has given us permission to spend time with our families, to go to sleep, and enjoy a good book. What we must do is make sure that we find a day to get away from the students and enjoy a Sabbath. “How?” There are two things we need to consider about rest. (1) God has shown us how to rest and (2) God has commanded us to rest.

The example God has given us for rest is found in Genesis 2:2-3. “ By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested from all his work.” If God saw it important to cease from work then how much more so for us to find a day to cease from work? Not only has God shown us how to rest, He has also commanded us to rest.

As mention earlier, Exodus 20:8 tells us to remember the Sabbath day. The Lord as He was given these commands to Moses saw fit to include the concept of rest into the Law for the Israelites. This should help us to see how important rest is to God. He put it on the same tablets as not worshiping any other gods and not murdering. As Christians, sometimes we find it easy to obey those, but much harder to rest from our work.

God has given us permission to rest from work. That means we need to cease from doing activity and recharge our life’s battery. I have a friend that loves playing guitar, but every so often he takes a month or two off from playing guitar. When he begins to practice again, he seems to be better than when he stopped. How did he get better without practicing? It wasn’t that he somehow slept on a music book and osmosis made him better. He just had time to process all that he was learning and when he returned back to playing the guitar he was refreshed. When we have a recharged battery, often times, it allows us to think more clearly and creatively in the work we are doing. I encourage you to take a day each week to rest from your day to day schedule and be still and know that He is God.

Christmas Lights and Amazement

"Stop! son don't put the Christmas lights into your mouth!" The joys of having a nine month old. I have never been much of a Christmas person, but my wife has. She loves the lights and music. I guess our son also loves the lights and music as well. What is interesting about Christmas with a baby is the wonder and amazement he has towards everything we find familiar. As he was looking and trying to gnaw on the Christmas lights, I found myself sort of jealous that what he was seeing with fresh new eyes I saw as same ole same ole. The wonder a child has towards the lights and wonder of Christmas should be the same wonder I have toward the Savior that came on that day. Often times as I enter into worship or devotion time with Jesus I find my mind wondering to what's for lunch? or did Mississippi State win the football game? Distractions cloud my vision and dampen my passion for the Savior who came to this earth to seek and save the lost. It then hits me in the face, The wonder of Christ has just become another thing on my to do list. This Christmas, I encourage you not to lose sight of the wonder and mystery of our Savior. Don't take for granted His love, His death, and His grace. Merry Christmas and be amazed once again like a child at the lights and wonder of Christmas.

First Things

Do you remember your first kiss, your first day of school, your first ball game? It is amazing how the human brain can retain such vivid details of the first times of the things we expereience. One that will go down in the record books for me is my son's first Thanksgiving. It was pretty amazing. He saw all of his grandparents, aunt, and uncle either in person or through the advances of technology, thanks Skype, and he had his first taste of the greatest desert in the world, peach cobbler. The thing is he won't ever remember this time, but his mother and I will. We will cherish this first because it is our first time to be parents and share our life, our hoidays, and our peach cobbler with the blessing God has given us, our son. For that I am truly thankful. Happy Thanksgiving to all and cherish the first things of life.

Decisions are not the end but the beginning

So it has been a while since I posted anything to this blog. It is in my favorites, but seem to never get around to writing anything. These days most of time is spent chasing a 8 month old and students who sometimes don't act much older. However, it now Thanksgiving and it has been about 4 months since I posted anything. As I reflect back on the gaps between now and July I realize how much has happened in my life. I will try to catch you up:
1. Got a new job
2. Chased a baby around the house
3. Moved to a new location
4. Still chasing that baby around the house
As I begin to think about the question, " How did I let myself go through this much change?" I realize it all started with one decision and from there BAM! everything is different. Decided to pursue full time ministry and BAM! oppurtunity comes knocking along with that decision comes packing up and leaving everything I have ever known behind. Decisions can be scary, but without making decisions nothing can ever take place. Journies we take in our lives will cease to exist. Memories we make will vanish before our eyes. Relationships we have will diminish and fade into the horizon. Everyday we are faced with decisions. Decisions on what to eat, wear, and listen to. My encouragment for you today is make the decision to follow Christ's steps: As Micah states, " Do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God." A decision to follow Christ will lead you onto a journey of purity, it will give you memories of love, and will help you to develop relationships of godliness.
Have a happy Thanksgiving and God Bless.

It has been a while... Change

Its been a while since my last post. It is amazing what can happen in 4 months. Becoming a new dad to an awesome baby boy, loosing weight and then gaining it again because of sleep and lack of exercise. It is amazing how life can change in the blink of an eye. However, throughout this journey two things have stayed the same... God and His Word. 

It is comforting to know that no matter how crazy life gets or how many curve balls life throws. God's attributes and His word will never change. He will always be loving, kind, gracious, compassionate, forgiving and a few we don't like to think about that often... He is just, wrathful, angry, and vengeful towards sin. As C.S. Lewis put it "He is not a tame lion." However, as a Christian I can stand firm in the fact that science can change, archeology can find new artifacts, and the Cincinnati Bengals may one year win the super bowl and change the face of the NFL, but God will always be God and will always have our best interest in mind. 

My question to you is will you allow God to make the most important change of all to your life... We you let Him change your heart and make it His unchanging one?

A Father's Heart

My little boy is about to be born in a few days. Wow! what an exciting time! The nerves, the anticipation, the anxiety, the joy, and happiness, all wrapped up into a chaotic ball that is my mind and  soul. As I was reading Luke 15 the other day, I begin to understand a little bit more about what God desires most. The entire chapter is parables about redemption including the most famous parable the Prodigal Son. As i read this parable, i found myself relating to God more and more. It hit me like a ton of bricks, God desires most a relationship with His children over obedience. 

In the story, one son runs away and squanders his inheritance while the other stays behind stays with his father. When the runaway son returns the father embraces him and says, " My son was dead is now is alive!" The father then tells the servants to kill the calf and let's party. While the party was going on, the "good" son was by himself sulking. When the father came to question him about why he was not as his brother's party he responded in anger towards his father and said, " all this time I have been with you and you have never let me and my friends have a party." With this statement, I realized that the "good" son did not know his father at all.  The "good" son was not only jealous of his brother, but angry at his father for forgiving his runaway son. 

The point... As I said earlier, my first son is own his way. As I was reading this passage i could not help but think that sometime is Caleb's life he will be either the runaway son or the "good" son or maybe at times both. However, nothing he will ever do good or bad will increase or decrease the love I have for him. In other words, I desire a relationship with my son over him obeying my every command. Why? because my love for him will not diminish because of what he does. The "good" son in the story failed to realize this. He had been with his father all this time, but never truly understood his father's heart. He never truly got to know his father. My challenge for all of you is (1) get to know your heavenly Father and (2) whether your earthly parents love you or not you heavenly Father loves right where you are. He does not want you to try to be better, or get better before you get to know Him. He wants to make you better and transform you into His image. Most of all He desires a relationship with. Why? Because that is His heart. His heart is eternally good and full of love and grace.

Caleb I cant wait to see buddy to show you my heart and hopefully it illustrate my heavenly Father's heart. See ya soon.