What really matters...

I don't have anything specific to share tonight, but I got to experience true worship with this band tonight (Gungor), and I think they're amazing.  So I thought I would share with you my favorite of their songs... Enjoy!

Have you ever been on a tilt-a-whirl or scrambler, or any of those other spinning rides at fairs and amusement parks?  Those rides where you spin in different directions at the same time and you kind of forget which is way is up and when you get off you almost fall over because you're so off balance?  They used to be my favorite when I was younger, probably because I didn't really like heights.  But that was back before I got motion sickness on a simple swing.  I can't do those rides anymore.  But I was thinking about them today. See the theme of my day seemed to be embrace the squiggle.  I am attending the Simply Youth Ministry Conference this weekend, and in the session I am attending, which is focused on junior high ministry, we talked about how we want youth's path to Christ to be that straight line toward Jesus. We think that's the ideal.  But we know that's not a reality - so instead we think of it more as a path with peaks and valleys - kind o...

I heard this song yesterday when I was out driving and it stuck with me, especially this section: Everybody's scared to death When they decide to take that step Out on the water But it'll be alright The part that really stuck out to me was the first line: "Everybody's scared to death."  Often it seems when we're afraid we think we're the only one.  We look at other people and they seem so brave to us for the things they are willing to try.  And so we don't want to admit to our fear because for some reason our society has labeled fear as a weakness. I remember when I was in middle school the "No Fear" shirts that everyone had to have - including me.  I had one that said "Second place is the first loser."  Our society values not being afraid, so when we feel scared we keep it bottled inside.  But the reality is that with our fear bottled inside - it often has more power.  And everyone is afraid. I once read somethin...

This year for Lent I have been considering whether I wanted to give something up or add something, or even do nothing at all.  Nothing at all seemed not to be my best option since I'm clearly not perfect yet - God is still working on me so I should use this opportunity to let him. So I decided the area I need the most work is my prayer life.  There's a lot of unknown in my life right now, and prayer is the best way to remind myself to rely on God.  I will be doing a lot of this on my own time and not blogging or facebooking it, but one of the ways I connect with God is when others speak the words of my heart, and all I can do is say "yes. that."  And those moments I will share, in the awareness that my moments may speak to someone else. I heard this song last night on the radio, and it seemed appropriate for today.   Even though I don't know what your plan is I know you make beauty from these ashes. Today we are reminded that we came from a...

It was a dark and foggy night.  It sounds like the beginning of a creepy story, but the truth is I am not a good storyteller.  What I am good at is making random connections between things I experience to learn life lessons.  And it was a dark and foggy night.  I was driving, and every time I drive through fog at night, I wish I could see more clearly, and want to turn my brights on.  Then I remember learning in drivers' ed that, in fog, your brights actually make it harder to see because they create glare.  Yet, I almost always try it like maybe this time it will be different.  And my drivers' ed instructor is proven correct every time.   As I followed this sequence the other night, I started thinking about how life sometimes seems like a dark and foggy night. We feel lost in the fog trying to figure out what direction life is going next.  And we want to turn on the brights, doing what we can in our own power to get through the situation ...

I mentioned in a previous post that I was trying to run 80 miles this advent.  As of this morning, I was at 75 miles, and I had great intentions of finishing today.  But it seemed like everything was stacked against us (Dora was also at 75 and we were planning to run the last 5 together).  Everything started off well - we got up and ready and headed over to the fitness room at our apartment complex.  Which is where things started to go wrong: the doors were locked.  It did seem somehow appropriate as we had this problem frequently toward the beginning of our journey, but we thought we had it all figured out as the card had been working fine the last few days.  At that point, though, we figured the office was open and we could just go through the other way.  However, the office was closed for the holiday.  Which meant we could run outside or lots of loops at the school.  So we decided to wait until the afternoon and attempt the run outsid...

At first glance this picture might seem self-explanatory as to why this is patience.  But actually, all those gifts are from me.  I find one of the hardest things to be patient about is when I have a gift that I have spent time thinking about, and I feel I have come up with something great, but I have to wait to find out someone's reaction.  But there is beauty in that anticipation.  So often we want to just get to the next thing that we forget to appreciate that time of anticipation.  And that is what Advent is meant to be - a season of anticipation for what God is about to do.  It's hard in our time because we know the next part of the story.  We know what happens on Christmas day, and we want to jump right there.  But today, and through advent, I try to also appreciate the anticipation.  Because Christmas isn't over.  Christ is working in the world all the time, and part of following him is not knowing what will come next.  S...