Living in the now...

Tonight I had the opportunity to watch the kids while Simone was able to get out of the house and enjoy something she likes to do. So as I sat at the dinner table eating with Breana, we had a conversation about trust and lying. I asked her if she knew what trust means. She said of course daddy, it’s when someone believes in someone else….she is growing up too fast by the way. So I explained to her why it is important to always tell the truth, because when you lie all of the time people stop believing in you, they begin to trust you less. So I asked her if she was to break something in the house and we asked what happened if she would tell the truth, she said yes daddy, I don’t want you and mommy and Jacob to not trust me!! Precious!!

Then I had the privilege of playing with Jacob after giving him a bath. We played football, choo choo, cars, and even had time to build something on his little work bench. He then politely requested some milk, and sat down to finish watching Incredibles.  After about 15 minutes he simply walked over to me, pointed to his room, and simply said “book”. So we read “clickity clack”, “Goodnight NOLA”, and “I know an Old Lady”. While reading “I know an Old Lady” he started to bounce his head to the rhythm of the story…and at the end of every line the book says “I don’t know why she swallowed a fly”, he would lift his arms up and shrug his shoulders…I could barely finish the book I was laughing so hard.

After that, I tucked him in his bed and combed his hair with my fingers as he fell asleep. He looked into my eyes and just when it looked like he wanted to say something deep and meaningful, he pointed to his blanket and said “buzz”. I just smiled. He saw me smiling and started to smile too…..it was like our hearts were beating to the rhythm of the same drum.

This led me to a question. Why don’t I do this more often?

Which led to another question. Am I caught up in the hustle and bustle of busyness, or do I take times like this to actually live life?

I have to say I am saddened by my answer.

Then one more question. Do I live my life as a follower of Jesus caught up in the hustle and bustle of busyness, not taking time to live life with people?

Am I just existing?

Do I take time to let people know that I care about them, that they are loved and accepted? I was talking to a good friend at lunch and he said “I’m no pastor, I just care about people”. He knows what it is like to live in the present. He spends time with a guy shoveling dirt, not because he enjoys shoveling dirt, he cares about people. I told my friend he is a pastor, even though it’s not his work title, he cares about people, that’s a pastor!

I realized I need to be living in the present…..

If it takes shoveling dirt to show someone how much I care, then so be it….or simply reading about an old lady who swallowed a fly, and laughing with my son as he shrugs his shoulders!

New tires....

Tuesday I got some new tires for the civic. 3 out of the 4 tires were about 6 years old, and I think the 4^th one was an original tire from when we bought the civic, pretty good tires. So it was some time for some new tires. As I drove home Tuesday evening I paid special attention to how the civic rode, and if the drive was any smoother. The older tires used to make this loud noise when I traveled around 60-65 MPH.

So back to Tuesday afternoon. Once I got on the interstate it was very noticeable the ride was smoother and the tires weren’t making that noise anymore. It was nice that the civic was riding like it used to. It is amazing that something as simple as getting new tires can bring such a smoother and better ride.

I didn’t pay attention or appreciate the new tires again until this afternoon as I drove on the interstate to lunch. I turned off the radio and enjoyed the smoother, quieter ride. I even noticed as I exited the interstate the civic handled the turns a little bit better. I mean who pays attention to their tire while driving down the interstate? Who gets pleasure that their car is riding better as a result of new tires? I mean tires are something we take for granted. Tires aren’t really a big deal…until one is flat, or it blows out, then it is a huge deal.

But we don’t pay attention to the tires is what I am trying to say. Tires aren’t as important as the engine, or the air conditioning, or the air bags…but they are very important to the everyday driving around errands.

So, do you often forget about the “tires” in your life? What is it in your life that you take for granted…until that thing has a flat or blows out? Is it your health? Is it maintaining those boundaries, being able to say no to things? Is it your spiritual life?

Is it time to replace the old “tires”? Is it time to replace old and bad habits? Is it time to finally get rid of stuff that makes a lot of noise in your life?

I’m glad I did. I am enjoyed the quieter smoother ride.

Relationship or Love

Its something how we work as humans. I watched a couple, and by a couple I mean a guy and girl in an apparent dating relationship today as I ate lunch. And I am assuming they were a couple because of their actions. They walked in together, stood by each other in line, were talking and laughing together, you could tell they were not related or just friends.

But as I watched...and it wasnt a creeper type of watching, I was merely observing, something seemed out of place. I could tell the guy cared for her, but I couldnt tell if he loved her. He paid for her meal and all, but it was the little things he did that seemed out of place. He walked in the fast food joint in front of her. He ordered before her. He got his food and drink and napkins and condiments and went sat down without waiting for her.

Their conversation as they ate seemed good, but still there was that one question left in my mind.

Did they love each other? It was obvious they were a couple, but are they in love? I could not tell by thier outward actions towards each other.

Then I was left with another question.

Is that what my marriage to my beautiful wife looks like. Can people tell that we are just merely together, or can they tell that I love my wife as Christ loves the church?

It didnt stop there. That question lead to another question.

Can people tell thay I am madly in love with Jesus, or does it just seem like we are merely together?

I leave you with that to wrestle with, where ever you are in life.

Can people tell that you are in love, or does it merely look like you have a relationship with your significant other, your husband or wife, and with Jesus?

Its a tough question, but it is one worth giving some time and thought to!!

Release Date...

So if you don’t know I am a huge Lecrae fan. Don’t know who Lecrae is? He is a Christian rap artist, but I call him a minister, a teacher, and a pastor because of the messages in his songs. Just some brief history on how I landed on rap music. I grew up listening to rap music, from Beastie Boys, to Run DMC, to MC Hammer, to Tupac and Cash Money records. I have listened to it all! After listening to rap music for more than 20 years, you get accustomed to the hard driving bass and the unmistakable beats. When I was a teenager, I could feel God telling me to listen to different types of music, but I didn’t like any other music, I loved rap. So I tried to listen to Christian rap in the mid and late 90’s and it wasn’t doing it for me. So I continued to listen to the same stuff that talked about drugs, sex, violence, and getting money. Even though those weren’t my values, I listened to it so much, I could feel my soul longing for those things.

So without digressing too much, Lecrae. He wrote a song that is titled “Release Date”. Here are some of the lyrics to “Release Date”.

“ I would live for me, I made myself an alter, I sacrificed myself, for lust I was a martyr. I gave my heart up, now my hearts been changed, made a deep incision, You made a heart exchange. Tore down all my idols, help me fight to live, moment after moment my life is Yours to give. Faithful to forgive, your loves my only hope, without I’m left empty, looking for ways to cope”.

I think it is awesome that Lecrae is obeying the calling God has placed on his life. It is because of positive Men of God like Lecrae, teenagers…and adults, have music they can listen to and be challenged, stretched, edified, and challenged some more. The lyrics above describes the daily battles of living a God-centered lifestyle. We have to daily reject instant gratification, we have to allow God to remove the junk inside of our hearts and begin the healing and renewal process. And then without the love of God, where would we be?

                What do these lyrics mean to you? What kind of “heart surgery” does God need to do in your life? When is the last time you felt the love of God? God never leaves us!

Sometimes all we need to do is simply turn around and look Jesus in the face.

I think He enjoys looking into our faces instead of always looking at the back of our heads!!

What do you think??