Loving Out Loud: What Mother's Do

Mother's Day is a unique day of the year. I have always found it fun to be able to do something special for moms - both my mom, my wife, and even other moms. It is a time of year that the family seems to say "thanks" when they may not say it much the rest of the year. Kids will make the "cutesie" things for their moms or buy them something with the idea of "greatest mom" on it.

This year, my son saw a card that had earrings connected to it. The earrings were decoration for the card not a "bonus" to give to one's mom. He initially said he wanted to pick that one out because of the earrings. I thought he was going to want to buy his mom some earrings. Since my wife likes to lean toward "real" jewelry, I didn't want to have to deny him the opportunity to buy her some earrings. Luckily, he was just meaning the card, which was not the one he ultimately chose (thank goodness!).

It was fun to hear him give an answer for what he was wanting to buy her. He wanted to buy her, either a "fancy" or "nice" dress. He is already thinking that she would want "pretty" things. Kids pick up on this quickly!

In the sermon, we focused on three women, Jochebed (Moses' mom), Hannah (Samuel's mom), and Eunice (Timothy's mom). As we looked at these, we saw some ways they, as women and moms, loved out loud to their children. Something I think most moms thankfully do, already. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• Sacrifice: Jochebed ~ Mom's are probably the most sacrificial people. They are willing to go through pains in life for their kids (and mate). They will give up appointments, take menial jobs, eat the scraps, and a whole lot more just to allow their family to have the better end of a situation. Jochebed was one who sacrificed "everything" so that Moses could live. It turns out it was for the best. He did survive and also lead his people out of Egypt. May we take from Jochebed that she would sacrifice so much for her children; this case, for Moses, and may we sacrifice for others.
• Commitment: Hannah ~ Even following through with the simplest of tasks can be a challenge. Making a deal on the front side, before the answer, can cause a lack of following through with that commitment. Hannah prayed a prayer committing to offer her son to God, if she were permitted to have a child. God opened her womb and she became pregnant. One of the greats about the story is that she followed through with her plan, after consulting God. May we take from Hannah a commitment to follow through to God (and others).
• Faithfulness: Eunice ~ As a mother typically has a strong bond with the children, sometimes the mother's faith can be more influential. We don't know the extent of Timothy's mom's faith, but she was commended by Paul regarding that faith. May we see the example and importance of putting faith into the lives of those we influence as we practice "loving out loud."

Mothers are special and unique. They may be females to begin with, but when they become a mom, it is as if they go through a neat change. I am speaking as a male and a father. I know there was a change in me once I had children. I also have observed this in many women who became moms. Most all of them that thought "one way" now think totally different because they have kids to take care of.

I think it is awesome that my wife was given the privilege of becoming a mom. I always knew she would be a great one!

Now it's your turn...what has been some great memories of your Mother's Day, either this year or years past?

Tuesday's Text

I love to encourage! See the right hand column (or on my home page on the right hand column how you can start receiving free texts of encouragement each Tuesday!)

First Step is the Hardest

As a parent, one of the many fun memories is to have the chance to see your child take their first steps. These are not simply the steps the exact time when they start walking, but even over the following days, weeks, and months. If you've been a parent or guardian of a child you understand my point of view.

However, are these "steps" limited to the one-foot-in-front-of-another kind? I would say "no." There are all kinds of steps a child takes as they grow up. Steps are more than with feet. There are steps to completing a project. Similarly, there are steps a person takes to growing up. Some examples may be feeding oneself, talking, running, going to preschool, playing T-ball, dance recitals, 4H groups, learning the books of the Bible or memory verses, and the list could continue. All these can be exciting and challenging.

In almost all of these steps, the end was not able to be seen because one would not know the extent of the success that may come about in any particular situation when you are at the beginning. However, without taking the first step, the end would never be known. This brings us to this week's quote...

Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step. ~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Dr. King had some good sayings for people to take to heart. Faith is essentially invisible. Whereas the demonstration of faith is tangible. Faith has power, like the wind, but cannot be seen without the effect.

I remember when I was a few months away from graduating from preaching school. I wondered how I was going to be able to do the job which I was being trained to do? As time grew closer, I became more nervous. When the time came for me to take my first job, my thoughts pretty much came true. I was so much more inadequate than I realized. I felt like I was taken out into the country and asked to find my way back.

Today, I am still inadequate, but I have a better grip on things. I rely more on God and less on me. Though I never know what is going to be around each corner, I do not make that a priority. My priority is taking the next step and looking forward to the surprise that God will bring about. (and boy, do I look forward to God's surprises!)

Now it's your turn...what, in your life, do you need to take the first step in faith without seeing the whole staircase?

What Kind of Man is This?

If I were to ask you who was the greatest man of the 20th century? Would you be thinking of an athlete? Would you be thinking of a President? Would be thinking of a musician? Would it be someone totally different? I would like to know who you're thinking of, at the end you can leave a comment.

After you've thought of who you were thinking of, think of what made them rise to the top of your list. You are going to have a number of reasons why that person was above someone else. That is one of the interesting things about this process is that you decide. Nothing is wrong about your answers, they are simply going to be different.

When you think of those reasons, they are reasons that are above all the other men who you contemplated that could have been the "greatest man of the 20th century." Even if that man was your father, brother, or someone of non-celebrity status, they have amazing qualities that resonate with you.

When the disciples experienced the storm and then Jesus calming that storm, they were amazed. Wouldn't you be? The weather went from 10 to 1 in a matter of moments. Who can do that? The answer is easy to give, yet sometimes hard to comprehend. The answer is Jesus. He can do it. He did that. What kind of man is this? A great one!

As we focused on the portion of scripture in Matthew (8:23-27) that talks about this incident. Here are some applications to choose from to use this week...

• What Makes Him Great? ~ What is one or more reasons that makes Jesus "great" or "amazing" in your mind? Was it the healing? The resisting temptation? The willingness to die for you? Is it something else? Why is that reason(s) so important to you? Allow the reason(s) you chose to be a motivator to live a life that reflects you think He's great
• Expect the Storms ~ Life is spicy - nothing is never the same from one week to the next. My week, last week, had some "lightning and thunder" to it, though no actual storm came. I was asked to do something out of the ordinary and I didn't expect it. However, things will come when we're going with the Father!
• Enjoy the Calm ~ You could ask the disciples on that boat of what section they would like the best - the calm, storm, or some other portion? You would probably have a lot of "calm" voters. As you make it through your storms in life, enjoy calm in life, as well. When you are there, in the calm, don't forget to say "thanks."

This man, Jesus, is a great one, an amazing one!

Now it's your turn...what makes Jesus great to you?

Why I Hate Religion, But Love Jesus - My View

cc Within the past few months a video on YouTube was released that was titled “Why I hate Religion, but Love Jesus,” by Jefferson Bethke. At the time of this writing the video currently has been viewed 20,757,918 times. This video went “viral,” which is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing. I am sure that some of those numbers were repeated views. However, that number is still astonishing. It definitely raises some questions for us all.

If you haven’t viewed the video, what are your initial thoughts from the title? Does it strike you as true or false? Regardless of your answer, why did you answer it the way you did?

If you have viewed the video, what was your reaction? Agree or disagree? Why or why not?

Often times the term “religion” has been symbolic of “Christianity.” The problem seems to be when “religion” becomes equal to “Christianity” because they are not. Religion shows the institutional side of Christianity, which many seem to not be attracted to at all. Christianity is about Christ, which I see is about relationships. Religion is about showing up and checking off a list of duties you deem necessary. Christianity is about putting self second to other things to live a life of servitude.

Religion attempts to look good, from the structures or décor of the buildings to the clothes you are wearing. Christianity may look nice but that isn’t a priority.

I grew up with “religion” in mind. The denomination I have attended since birth made “doing it right” a priority over what it actually means to “do it right” outside of the church building. I had no idea what I was supposed to “do” in my everyday life; how I was supposed to live out my Christianity. I only knew I was trying to get “you” to look like me.

In one portion of Jefferson’s poem he challenges by saying, “Religion might preach grace, but another thing they practice; Tend to ridicule God's people, they did it to John The Baptist; They can't fix their problems, and so they just mask it; Not realizing religion's like spraying perfume on a casket.”

I think that grace is one of those “Christianese” words that we have used in churches forever. However, the depth of its use has become stripped and devalued. It has become a selfish word, meaning that you like grace given to you but have a difficult time giving it to some people. It is a challenging word to practice. The time you need to practice it may be the most difficult. The religious will sometimes throw the “Jesus” card out there to think He will fix everything, when, in fact, He may not. So, His name is used as a mask when a situation may not actually get better. On occasion, using phrases like “God will make a way,” “He doesn’t give us more than we can handle,” or “God works all things out for good” are phrases that have truth in some circumstances but are not guarantees for every situation.

Here are some additional lines from Jefferson’s poem, “See the problem with religion, is it never gets to the core; It's just behavior modification, like a long list of chores; Like lets dress up the outside make look nice and neat; But it's funny that's what they use to do to mummies while the corpse rots underneath.” Have you ever had a religious experience where you didn’t feel you made it past the surface? Instead, you did your religious things out of duty? Or dressing up to look nice. How about the thought of looking like religious “mummies” by dressing up? Religion just seems to be about the wrong things. It tends to keep away the relationship and is concerned about the “what” you do in life and how often it’s done.

We can all put on a good front, as that is what the institutionalized part of “religion” seems to cause us to do. It is like Jefferson put it, “like [we’re] saying [we] play for the Lakers just because [we] bought a jersey.” We want to look like we belong to Jesus but it doesn’t go past the covering.

The “religious” in the Bible were often corrected for their outside acts and dead hearts. Jesus called them fools. All they were doing was living a life following the rules. The church needs to let Jesus in, not just spew “Jesus” out from their mouths. Jesus is the cure for sin and “religion” can cause you to have an infection. It makes you feel good but it doesn’t go deep. Religion causes us to work but Jesus already did the work.

Understanding what Jesus did and why God allowed what Jesus did should cause us to be eternally grateful and humbled. It is not us who had to pay the penalty we deserved to receive because of sin. When sin came into the world, in the Garden of Eden, God separated Himself from us. To allow Jesus to die was God’s plan to be able to have the intimate relationship with us. Religion simply does not do that. Those that have a relationship with Jesus are religious, in nature, but those that are religious do not necessarily have a relationship with Jesus.

I am thankful that Jesus died so that I can have a relationship with Him, His Father, and the Holy Spirit. May I never be just religious.

Windy: How do you react?

Living in western Kansas means that you are going to experience some windy days. It is a prominent weather outcome whenever there is going to be a change in the weather. It is not odd at all to have a forecast of 15-25 mile per hour winds for a day. That might be our norm. To have a forecast of 35-45 would be less frequent, but not out of the ordinary. People still go on with their activities for the day. Is this complained about, yes. Is it accepted, yes.

Last week I was flying to Atlanta, Georgia and the captain alerted us that it was windy there. He was also warning us about our landing, as that may be a bit rough, due to the wind. Aside from the landing, I had to laugh to myself about the description of it being "windy." Living in Illinois for a few years, their windy was not the same as "western Kansas" windy. Descriptions are subjective, so to be told something is windy is relative upon their view.

How do you respond when you experience a day that is windy? That brings us to this week's quote...

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails. ~ William Arthur Ward

If this quote accurately labeled people, then I've seen a lot of pessimists in my day! However, I think you can be pessimistic about "areas" in life, where you will be optimistic about other areas. Regardless, I found the quote interesting in a few ways.

For one, it may be talking about the wind, but really it seems to be pointing to life. Those that tend to have a life filled with complaints are going to look at life pessimistically. Those that are always looking on the "bright side" are going to see things optimistically. Those that see life as unpredictable and will encounter victories with celebrations and defeats as opportunities to learn seem to see things realistically.

The question is where are you in most cases? Are you to one extreme or another? How does life treat you when you see things a certain way?

May we lead more of our life "adjusting our sails" rather than the other two extremes.

Now it's your turn...What was your reaction to the quote?

The People You Meet

You really can meet some interesting people when you are traveling and have to take public transportation to the airport.

The day has come that I am finally coming home from Atlanta. I have missed my family tremendously. Their little-big hugs are being yearned for by my neck.

As I am leaving the hotel I must take a shuttle to the subway (MARTA) stop. Our party is combined with another group from our conference and I am placed next to a lady from Green Bay (WI). We exchanged backgrounds and touched on the information from the conference.

After I was on the MARTA I started a discussion with a grad student from the Atlanta area. We had a good visit as he was interested in hearing about our team's work. He stayed on for about half of the trip, then exited at his stop.

Right before the young man had exited, a man got on the MARTA, sat down in front of me and opened his Bible and started reading. I couldn't help but notice being a minister. He was reading from the book of John. I asked him if he was reading for fun or otherwise. He said for fun, as his Bible class was studying John and he had already read the required reading. I told him I was a minister and we had a short visit about church and faith.

Since boarding the MARTA I had noticed a retired couple sitting across the aisle from me with luggage. Naturally, I presume they are going on a trip. After inquiring I find out they live in Atlanta and they are flying to Baltimore to visit family. Grandparents take every chance they can to visit grandkids!

They shared about their kids and asked about where I was from. After telling them, the husband said he had been to my town before the interstate was completed, which was pre-1970. The MARTA made it to the airport stop and hundreds of people rushed off.

After arriving at the airport, I eventually made it to the security line. If you haven't flown ever or since "9/11" this can be a long line. Today, in "one-of-America's-busiest-airports" the line was long and slow.
During that long line I met a lady going to Michigan who, after mentioning that fact, was picked up in conversation by the man in front of her.

So, after a few minutes of deciding whether or not to inquire about the gentleman behind me, I "went for it." Turns out he was a chemist of German descent, working for a Swiss company, traveling with an Indian colleague from Atlanta to Tampa. Travel is a natural part of his week. We had a good conversation. When I took out my 17" laptop for security check he "whoa'd" about how big it was, for his was a 10-12". After security we said "goodbye" and parted ways.

Then I eventually met up with my team and boarded the plane home, sitting by my colleague and the window.

My flight is not over, but this portion of describing my adventures in talking to people have come to a close.

I don't know if I will ever cross paths with these individuals again. However, what I do know is that I made it a point to bring something positive to them and that is a way I can share my faith and have fun doing it.

People, get to know people, it can be very interesting.