But I don't WANT to!

Colossians 3:23 (ESV)  "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men"

It's that time of year again. The leaves are starting to turn, there is a chill in the air, and all of the stores smell of paper and pencils.
 
Well, that's what it was like back when old folks like me started school.

Now, it's still VERY hot outside, and the only reason the leaves have turned brown is either too little water or too much sun. School supplies do run rampant around here though.

Everyone better look out, because Boo starts school this year.

With Bug, it was easy. She was so excited to go to school. It was all she talked about the summer before she started. She even loved to play school at home.

Have I ever mentioned how different Bug and Boo are?  Don't get me wrong, my Boo is a very good girl. She also enjoys to learn, but does not enjoy sitting still nearly as much as her sister does, at least not right now.  Bug wants to be the teacher and have Boo be the student. Needless to say, that only lasts for a little while before the small one gets tired of the big one bossing her around and stomps off to sit alone in her room.

I've tried to get Boo excited for this new phase in her life. The conversation I remember most went like this:

"Hey, Boo, don't you want to go to school so you can meet some new friends? That will be good, right?"

"Mom, when I was born, I had friends, and that is all the friends I need."

Okay, so it's easy to pick on my kids, especially the one that is too little to be embarrassed about things I might write about her. I can see this scenario working out for me and other adults as well. How often do we have to start something new, and either do not want to or are apathetic to the idea and process?

Is there something that God wants you to do that you are running from, or trying to get out of doing?

One of the best things I did this summer was take a study on the book Radical by David Platt.  It was challenging, to say the very least. Sometimes we really do not know what all we do have until we see others that are lacking some of the very things that we consider necessities.

Of all of the many things I learned while reading (ok, skimming) this book, two stood out the most, and were so simple that I felt crazy for not realizing them before:

1. There are some things that we should do for God, that we do not for whatever reason or excuse we may come up with. Whether it is something as simple as not wanting to, or more complex like worrying about ridicule or losing our job. When the end is God, should anything else REALLY matter?

2. There are things that we do or want to have and claim that it is for God as justification of our very own selfishness.  How many times have we done something "for God", but it was really "for me"?  Do we volunteer to be good stewards of our time and serve God, or for the recognition of being a good and helpful person? Do we want bigger, larger, and better facilities in our churches to help host more people to hear about God or just so we can keep up or out do the Jones' church? If we have all of these bigger and better buildings, are we actually doing anything to bring in the lost people of our communities? Even better, are we going out of our way and comfort zone to reach the people around us for Christ at all? 

The church is not a restaurant or a baseball field. We can build it, but that does not mean that they will come.

Make an effort this week to do at least one thing that you are not quite comfortable with for God. It could be something simple. Sometimes the easiest things are the hardest to do. It could be a lot easier for some people to go around the world on a mission trip than to walk across the street and talk to their neighbor about God.

Pray this week. Pray that God will show you an opportunity to speak his word into someone's life. And when the opportunity arises, take it. Do not be scared. The worst thing that will usually happen in America is that the person will look at you weird or talk back to you in a condescending way.  Is that really such a price to pay? There is a chance that even if you get this outcome you may have planted a seed in that person's heart.

 You have kept count of my tossings;
  put my tears in your bottle.
  Are they not in your book?
 Then my enemies will turn back
  in the day when I call.
  This I know, that God is for me.
 In God, whose word I praise,
  in the LORD, whose word I praise,
 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
  What can man do to me?
 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
  I will render thank offerings to you.
 For you have delivered my soul from death,
  yes, my feet from falling,
 that I may walk before God
  in the light of life.
(Psalm 56:8-13 ESV)

Robin Hood... is he really Good?

Robin Hood… Is he really Good?

Romans 2:21 (ESV) “…you then who teach others, do you not teach yourself?  While you preach against stealing, do you steal?”

Sometimes my kids ask me things and I am just totally caught off guard.

Later I will fill you in on the questions Bug had while reading Genesis…. that is a story for another time.  (Be afraid!)

For those of you playing along at home, Bug is now 8 ½ going on 30, and Boo is 4 ½ going on Princess and CEO of the entire world while being a Ninja Spy. Yeah, something like that.

One day last week we were just sitting in the truck and Bug was excited because she was able to ride in the front. We will just try to overlook the fact that she was in the front because I had too much junk in the back seat for both Boo and Bug to sit back there. It made her happy and I didn’t have to move my stuff, so it was a win-win.

A few miles down the road she asks one of her random “what you think I will ask and what I really want to know are different things” questions. She has had a multitude of these lately.

“Mom, if Robin Hood steals from the rich, and gives it to the poor; when the rich stole it first, is he a good person, or a bad person?”

At 8 years old she is old enough to understand the difference between right and wrong. However, sometimes even we adults get confused when we start trying to blur the lines and rationalize behaviors because they are done for the good of other people.

It is still wrong.

My answer was this:  Robin Hood had a good idea, and possibly a good heart to try to help the poor people. However, the way he went about it was not right. A better option would have been if he tried to find a different way to help them, or a way to stop them from being robbed in the first place. It did not make him a bad person. He had a good idea, but he chose a bad way to accomplish his goal, however noble the goal was.

If Robin Hood had a little Robin Hood Jr., how would he have been able to justify his actions? How can he say that “stealing is wrong!” when everyone watches him steal from others? 

In case you don't know, people watch us every single day. Our kids, coworkers, everyone. The people around us know what morals we claim to have, and sit back to see if we actually choose to live them out in our daily lives.

It is one of the hardest things to do as a follower of Christ, but he does command that we not retaliate against others.  We are to stand up for ourselves, but not to seek revenge.

Matthew 5: 43-48 (ESV) “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

After all of that explaining, what was the response I received? Usually this kid is full of debate, question after question.

All she said was, “Oh, ok.”

Really? 

If you have any questions or ideas, please feel free to leave a comment!

Kris    

Tim Hawkins Things you don't say to your wife

New post is coming somethime this weekend.   Until then, Enjoy!! We saw Tim Hawkins this past Sunday.  He is a Christian comedian  and is so very funny!  If you would like to see his website, it is http://www.timhawkins.net/

Poem: Storm

Okay... I promise this is the last poem that I will post... well, for a few months at least. I was going through my other website and I couldn't see this poem and not post it; this is actually my favorite out of all the ones I have ever written.

In case you could not tell, it was inspired by the song Praise you in this Storm, by Casting Crowns. If you haven't listened to it... LISTEN!

Storm

The weather of the world
Swarms and storms around me
like walking on the beach
next to a toiling, troubled sea

the angry waves of resentment
crash upon the shore
capped with foams of selfishness
leaving my skin sore

everyday has new worries
pelting my skin with hail
and winds of trouble and contempt
through the air assail

Left to my own devices
I could never beat this rain
I would be swallowed in it
and forever live in pain

I am not alone on my journey
Jesus is my guiding light
I walk close to my father
and he guides me through the night

my father doesn't promise
a life of eternal ease
even though we walk together
there is still trouble on the seas

if I wander far away
and lose sight of my Lord
the storm angrily lashes out
and I am caught once more

but when I focus on my Father
and let Jesus take the lead
I still walk through the storm
But He helps my every need

He walks close with me
through every single burden
I lean my life upon him
HE is my salvation

The storm doesn't stop
the sea continually rages
But with Him I handle them all
with Jesus... the Rock of Ages

Poem: Sins in the Sand

I have a few ideas for my next post bouncing around in my head like a 3 year old that ate too much Easter chocolate. However, I've yet to round them up yet and turn them into anything that makes a lot of sense at the moment.

Because of that, and my recent dislike of Google sites (I could probably do a whole blog entry just on what, but I really doubt anyone wants to hear me rant that much), I decided to post another one of my poems today. It lets me update, while still planning how to capture my thoughts and tame them into coherent sentences.

I hope that everyone had a great Easter! Let us remember not to let the "high" of the season wear off. God's love for us is as great today as it was yesterday!

Sins in the Sand


As ocean tides erase the sand
my sins are gone by God's hand
the Son of God, healer, my friend
He bled and died, yet rose again

Born to overthrow death's victory
So we could be born again, in thee
Eternally praising God the King
Never to face sin's eternal sting

Let the mercy waves come wash me clean
as for Christ I prepare to sing
As closer to Christ I grow and mature
let fewer sins mark my shore

and while I live let me tell
the ONLY way to be saved from hell
Ask Christ to come into your life and receive
His gift that is free to all who believe

God wants to use his loving hand
To rid the world of their sins in the sand

Easter Poem

Happy Easter! This is a short poem I wrote several years ago. I was trying to capture the love, the pain, the...everything that I feel about Easter and try to imagine what Jesus must have felt at the same time. We will never know exactly how much love; pure, honest love, that this act of grace and mercy made God feel. We can understand to the best of our human ability, with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Thank God that He saved us! To come up with a plan for our salvation was wonderful. Then to follow through on it, for us, especially when it was this physically and heartbreakingly painful? Like I said, our human minds will never fully comprehend the level of love that he has for us.

Easter's Worth

Crucified on the cross

nailed down for our sins

a beaten body

hung upon a tree

We wonder, how could he be powerful?

dying as a common thief

the power that raised the dead

would not stop his own death

But his CHOICE is the difference

it is not that he did not HAVE the power

he simply chose not to use it

this is the most unselfish act ever

Human minds focus on the physical pain

a most horrific way to die

Usually we dwell on this

Was his cry of agony due to the nails?

No, sin was thrust upon the sinless

and because of this, he was separated

violently torn apart from God himself

The Holy had to turn his face from him

Jesus chose not to save himself-

not to call on angels or just walk down,

and let himself die, excruciatingly.

darkness before the light to come

Then He rose

three days later, he rose!

would it have been so beautiful

if the death had not been as horrible?

No one raised him up

He had the power, He raised himself

and unlike Lazarus, Jesus did not die again

no, He raised up forever

Death is conquered!

the creation can reach the creator once more

through a bridge made of the wood of the cross

and the eternal light of Jesus' resurrection



Bug got Baptized

Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.  He came to Jesus at night and said,"Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him."

In reply Jesus declared, "I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again."

"How can a man be born when he is old?" Nicodemus asked. "Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, 'You must be born again.'

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. "

John 3: 1-7, 16-18 NIV


Hello everyone!!

I have wonderful news! Just a week or so ago my daughter, Bug (7), prayed one night with her dad to receive Christ and was baptized! So Amazing!! There are very few things, if anything, that as a parent I can compare to knowing that my daughter now knows Jesus personally; and that when our brief time on earth is over she will be with me and her father with our HEAVENLY Father for eternity, praising God.

Did I mention how extremely EXCITED I am?!?!

God works in wonderful and mysterious ways. The Sunday before she prayed, we had 5 children at our church be baptized. That really got the wheels turning in her brain. She has always loved watching whenever anyone was baptized, but I don't think she really understood what was happening.

That night, and the nights following, she asked many questions. She asked me, her dad, and her teachers at church. We wanted to be sure that she really understood what was going on, and was not just following the crowd because she thought it was something she was supposed to do.

She really understood! After praying with her dad, the first thing she did was start crying. When he asked her why, she said,"But what about all of my friends that don't know Jesus?"

Wow! I love my compassionate little girl. To develop a faith in Christ and then immediately have a heart for the lost, I am just overwhelmed!

To all of you who believe, celebrate with us! To those of you that do not, you should really read up on it and ask someone you know if you have any questions!!

God Bless!!

~Kris

Charlie Brown Christmas

I can't explain it much simpler than that... this is what Christmas is all about.

Merry CHRISTmas everyone! Enjoy your families, friends, and all of the other wonderful things God has blessed you with and brought you through this past year!

KPL