Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Strength of An 85 Year Old

Of course, not your typical 85 year old.
This passage has put a brand new spin on how I view 85 year old's:

[Caleb speaking] "I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan...Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise. Today I am eighty-five years old. I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then."
Joshua 14:7,10-11

Hope I can say the same thing when I'm in my prime of 85 years.
Only got 59 years to go until I can have the strength of an 85 year old.

PS. I don't want to hear anymore complaining from you "old" people anymore.

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

Caden's Birthday Gift To Me (or The Accurate Speed of Time)

Today is Caden's 2nd birthday.
I can't believe how fast time flies.

It seems the older I get, the faster time goes, but time has been moving at the same speed since the beginning of time. So why do I, and you, claim that time is getting faster?
I believe it seems to be going faster the older I get because I see all the change around me.
This is one of the blessings of having kids, or being around kids if you don't have your own; they are constantly changing.
And 99% of the change is simple growth. Physical, Mental, and Emotional.
Caden is growing daily and therefore he is changing daily.
Therefore I can see the clear wake of time as it constantly moves along.

I love Caden and I love watching him grow.
And I love the fact that I now see time moving at it's accurate speed: very fast all of the time.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Watch Out For The Big Buts

(Warning: the word "but" and the word "butt" will be used.)

We've all heard about a city called Jericho. Many of us have even heard about the walls of Jericho falling down after the Israelite army marched around them for 7 days (that's a total of 42 laps!). If you don't know the details read the Biblical account here, then continue reading 'cause you'll miss the impact of the big but. Here's the beginning of the next day after the victory of Jericho:

"But Israel violated the instructions about the things set apart for the Lord. A man named Achan had stolen some of these dedicated things, so the Lord was very angry with the Israelites..."
(Joshua 7:1)

OUCH! Did you see that but? Now that has got to be one of biggest, stinkiest, dirtiest buts I have ever seen! Just when you thought the party was getting started, here comes a big but to ruin all the fun. Let me explain. You see, God gave Israel very detailed instructions of what to do once they attacked Jericho. He told them who to save, what to keep, what to destroy, and what to dedicate to him as a sacrifice. And 99.9% of all of Israel obeyed the details. However, one butt (yes, with two t's) named Achan ruined all the fun and now the great story of Israel's victory over Jericho is maimed forever with a big but because of a big butt named Achan.

There is so much to learn from this story of victory in Joshua 6 and defeat in Joshua 7 regardless of who you are AND regardless of if you believe the story to be true or not. (I personally believe it and so should you, by the way) Here's what this big but reveals to me: your decision to disobey God's instruction directly affects others in your life.

99.9% of Israel listened to God's instructions when they attacked and destroyed Jericho, but the .1% didn't. And the consequence? People died, Israel's army was crushed by a little army they should have annihilated in their sleep, they became fearful and all their courage melted away.

Think your decisions don't affect others?
Think again, before you make a big butt of yourself and maim your entire church, family, business, band, or team with a big, stinky, dirty but in the middle of people who are actually doing the right thing.

Let this be an encouragement to you to not be the but.