Chill Out A Bit! (Martha Sounds Like A Staff Member)

You need to chill out a bit!
Yea, you, church staffer or volunteer...chill out just a bit.
It's interesting how many church people claim to have their priorities in the "proper" order yet continue to live out and schedule hectic stressful calendars. Many times I feel like grabbing some of my friends and church volunteers by their collar and whispering "Is that task really going to matter 3-years from now?" We just run from place to place, person to person, text to text, errand to errand, service to service, church group to church group, recovery group to recovery group, all the while thinking bitterly, "Why can't I seem to get more help around here to share the load?!"
And then wonder why we can't seem to have enough to time to ever soak in a John 10:10 life.
I include myself in this group


This is why when I read the following passage I had the strong feeling that,
Martha sounds like a staff member! She would fit in better than Mary in many church staff teams!
Here's the short description of us...oh wait, I mean Martha...a lot of the time:

As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what he said.
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don't you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!” “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,
but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.       (Luke 10:38-42, emphasis added)

To me, Martha sounds a lot like me and you. Doesn't it?
I'm convinced that one of the main reasons we get sick, or get stuck in traffic, or get put in a long line at the grocery store, or have to go to the bathroom so frequently is that Jesus is graciously forcing us to be still and actually listen to Him.

I think Jesus is often saying to us, "Chill out a bit."
What are you doing in life right now that you know you don't need to be doing?

Being The Man of The House (Competing Desires)

"...And he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared."
[Luke 1:17 (ESV)]


I love that phrase and passage. It comes from an Old Testament passage from Malachi. It is describing the coming of John (The Baptizer) and his job description. Isn't it interesting that a father's heart aimed at his children is a major indicator that a man is living like He's ready for the coming of Jesus?


Here's a simple litmus test for us dads who want to live like we're living for Jesus:
"How much focused time & energy do I spend towards my kids in comparison to my other desires?"
It's not about bible studies, breakfasts, sermons, events, church volunteer work, sports, TV, Facebook, phonecalls, coaching, working, schooling, hobbies, etc. Grow up and realize that THAT STUFF SHOULD COME AFTER THE FAMILY!

"What am I leading better than my kid's?"
Love & lead your kids like nothing else because this will leave the greatest, longest, and largest impact and my guess is that it will bring the most rewarding life too. Trust God's Word enough to live it out.

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.

Late Night Thought: Master The Art of Great Decision Making

I've been somewhat amazed (really amazed lately) at how many good things aren't really good things at all when they keep you from actually doing the great things. Let me explain.

I love to play & practice the guitar and drums. These are really good things that I'm able to do. Spending time practicing is a good thing because it helps me get better. And when I'm better I can serve others better by offering up much better sounding music all the while spending less "mind energy" on what I'm currently playing & more "mind energy" on who I'm playing for. Get it? But what if this good thing keeps me from spending more time in my relationships? Surely spending time in my relationships (like with my wife or son or unsaved neighbor) is of a higher priority than practicing guitar, isn't it?

Now think of all the seemingly good things we all do daily.

It seems that good things aren't really good things at all when they keep us from the great things. Now, I'm not saying I give up on practicing guitar & drums, but what I am saying is that I've got to learn to pick the greater thing when faced with two seemingly good things. I'm not saying "balance" and "proper scheduling" are the answers either (although they can help) because if you look at the life of Jesus those two words (balance & scheduling) don't exactly come to mind.

So, try to balance all the good things you want and try to schedule your life away, but in the end all the good things you're trying to balance and schedule that keep you from the great things aren't doing you any good in the first place.

We've all got to master the art of great decision making. Who was the expert great decision maker? Obviously, it was Jesus. Study his life and you'll quickly see that most everything he did was based on the decision to do the greater thing rather than the good thing. Just think about how many "good things" He could have done while on earth. And yet He stuck to a few great things.

There are things in life that are more important than others and we've got to learn what those things are and stick to them like Jesus did.

Yet another reason to study the life of Jesus and study Scripture, especially if you label yourself a follower of Christ.

Don't Forget The Sauce & Cheese

Sometimes life's fast. And sometimes we get caught up in it's wirlwind and we become fast. A little too fast. You might need to slow down just a little. Or you're going to miss the most essential parts of life.

What are the most essential parts of a pizza from your local delivery place? Well, after the dough, it's got to be the sauce and cheese. What's a pizza without some sauce?! (pause for reflection) But as you can see from above some pizzas accidentally get cooked, boxed, tagged, and delivered without 2 of the most essential parts. That's right, this is a pizza that some of my friends and I were delivered (they paid though)!

My guess is the thing that actually caused the under trained cook to forget the sauce & cheese was most likely that they were going too fast to even realize the pie in front of them was missing something.

Parents, friends, pastors, politicians, students, teachers......SLOW DOWN.
Or you might forget the sauce & cheese of life.

So, what are the most essential parts to your life?
Does your schedule match up with your essentials?