Trying To Find The Balance

Earlier this evening Rachel and I went out to celebrate her birthday. This may sound weird but it was fun for us, we went to the whole foods store and grabbed a pizza together. We had a wonderful time. Sometimes I can't help but hear other people's conversations about nothing in particular and I wonder what really drives people day in and day out. Sometimes in my heart I am passing judgment on people without even realizing it, thats when God or my dear sweet wife puts me in check reminding me that I'm not all that. This is true. C.S. Lewis once wrote about Pride or Self-Conceit saying, "THe more we have it in ourselves, the more we dislike it in other people." In other words when anybody starts passing judgment onto other people we need to be careful to look in the mirror first, and do a little self examining before we think we are better than anybody else.
I think I had one of those moments tonight. I am sitting here thinking to myself, "Who do I think I am to really pass judgment on someone I do not even know?" That never really benefits anyone no matter where your coming from. In fact that is just the kind of attitude that makes many Christians to look very arrogent, when we are called to be people who are loving others as Christ has loved us.
So as our evening continued we went out to the mall. Which for the two of us is a real rarity. I truly was mesmorized by all that was going on around us. There were so many things to just lure us into different stores. I realized just how simply human I am. The truth sometimes really has a way of bring itself to light when we get too full of ourselves. Everytime this happens I struggle within myself because I know that I never want to be a pompous and proud Bible thumper that simply just pushes people away. Deep in my heart I want to encourage people with the love that Christ has put in my heart. Unfortunately that does not always come through.
Anyway, as we were strolling about the mall amidst all the commercialized craziness of the local mall there was a girl working in a kiosk. She was selling a black magic box. Well, again my first gut reaction is well I don't mess with that kind of stuff. All she wanted to do was show us a card trick. So, I spit out my pride and let her show us her card trick. It was one of those pick a card any card tricks, and sure enough she new what my card was. I have to say it was impressive. It was pretty cool. We then thanked her and went on her way. For some reason though something burning in me wanted to go back and just pray for her for some reason. Of course in this day and age that is becoming a social taboo for anyone nowadays. We just kept on walking and went home. The thing that keeps eating at my heart is this question, "If I really believe what I say I believe why am I afraid to share that with people?" Did I just miss an opportunity to share Christ with somebody? When is it apprpiate to share the Gospel? What will it take for me not to be ashamed to share my faith. How can I do this without pushing people away? At the moment I do not have any real clear answers. Nevertheless, Christ is doing a work in this area of my life, where opportunities like this will continue to come up. I can only pray that Christ will give me the strength to speak the words He would have me share with someone. Not to cram the Gospel down someone's throat, but to simply encourage and lift others up with the hope that Christ will speak for Himself in these different moments.
So there are some of my random thoughts for the evening hoping that each of us continue to grow in Him.

Just Because It's Been Too Long........

The Lord never ceases to amaze me with His grandeur. I am in awe of how He works so intricately in our lives. Each new semester brings with it new and exciting adventure in the world of academia as well as our spiritual walk with Christ. It is not often that I take the time to simply write my thoughts as I used to but inspiration has hit and these fingers need to pour out my heart because this basin is full.

Academia

I will not waste time and thought complaining about the subjects that lack luster in my mind, so let me indulge you with that which is pouring inspiration into my mind. I have embarked this semester in studying the literature of the ancient world and so far it has drawn me into some of the writings of the eastern world religions. Reading excerpts from the Bhagavad Gita, the Mahabharata, pieces from Buddhist literature, some of the Tao Te Ching, and an excerpt from the Koran gave me a taste of where people of a different culture are coming from. I say a little as I have barely even set my toe on the tip of the iceberg with these religions. In my mind there seems to be a common theme in at least the first three religions (Hinduism, Buddhism, and Taoism). There seems to be a constant desire to disconnect from reality. All of these different religious movements including Islam focus on a works based faith to either reach some form of salvation whether it be Nirvana, the Tao, or the Atman. There is something major that simply breaks my heart for people who follow the philosophies of these religions and that is the lack of relationship with their deities. It's fascinating really, that in order to make in these religions you must adhere to so many rules otherwise you simply do not make it. As I read their stories I felt such a sense of hopelessness for them. Now that is not to say that none of them have anything good to offer. On the contrary, many of the philosophical thoughts that these religions present are not that far off from my own Christian faith. There are many great thoughts of wisdom given on how to live a good life from each of them, it is just simply the means of reaching the peace and tranquility that they so long for that creates a gap between the followers and the deities, not to mention that these other deities do not lead one to paradise. This class has also blessed me with readings from the Iliad and other Greek poetry that just gets some of these creative juices flowing.
The other class that really has inspired me and even requires me to write my own verse once again is Old Testament Poetry. Wow what an amazing journey through the book of Job, Proverbs, Psalms,The Song of Solomon, and Ecclesiastes. Looking deeper into the meaning of what the Jewish authors had to share just brings these Hebrew Scriptures to life.

Faith
IN grappling with reading the ancient writings God continues to mold and shape Rachel and I on a daily basis. Constantly we learn how to rely on God's grace and love in our life together and individually.
As a couple we constantly rely on God to provide for our needs financially at the same time exercising the desire to be good stewards of those finances when it comes to school and other opportunities that come our way. Keeping Christ at the center of our relationship continues to be the foundation and mortar that binds us together.
Individually I can only speak for myself. Food is constantly a spiritual battle for me everyday not simply to eat right, but more so to eat proportionately. Each day is a struggle in this area of my life to honor God with how and what I eat. Too often I allow food to become my idol. Nevertheless the Lord encourages and strengthens me in that struggle. Learning to allow God to lead every step that I take is not a lesson in futility, it is an exercise in eternity. What I mean by that is that no matter how much I may struggle in spiritual walk Christ is still every ounce of strength that I have and the more I embrace that fact the more He continues to draw me to Him. Today was an awesome example of that. I was working on some homework in my office this afternoon and felt this tugging on my heart. Not a physical tugging but this intangible feeling that I needed to just stop everything that I was doing and simply pray. Talk to God. I felt as though God was saying come on over, spend some time with me, I want to fill you up and encourage you. All of a sudden there was this unexplainable desire to be with the LORD and jump into His Word. For once I did not fight it, I just simply followed, obeyed, and truly had fellowship with Jesus.
My hope is for whoever reads this that Christ will begin to tug on each of your hearts and that you will find inspiration in God's Word in your lives. May Christ be your strength each and everyday.

" The LORD bless you and keep you;
the LORD make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the LORD turn His face toward you
and give you peace."
Numbers 6:24-26

Our Best and Yummiest Discovery

Recipe for: The Yummiest Beans and Rice

To prepare: Preheat skillet or pan for cooking, add oil after preheated

Ingredients		Directions
Olive Oil 4 Large Cloves Garlic, minced 1 Medium Onion Vegetables of your choice 1/8 t cayenne 1/8 t black pepper 1 t Cumin ¾ t ground coriander (or you can also use fresh cilantro, and you would put in more than ¾ t of chopped fresh cilantro.) 1 t dried basil ¼ t oregano 1-14 oz. can diced tomatoes Rice and Beans-canned or cooked from dry (any type) Sea Salt		Sauté garlic, onions and vegetables in olive oil. Add seasonings and sea salt to taste. Add the tomatoes. Add in Rice and Beans. Cook until desired warmth and consistency. Enjoy!   ~~In place of diced tomatoes, we've used spaghetti sauce, tomato puree, or any other type of canned tomato product and they all seem to work well.

Two More Recipes

Recipe for: Tunafish Beans and Rice

To prepare: Preheat skillet or pan for cooking, add oil after preheated

Ingredients	Directions
Garlic Onion Olive Oil Mushrooms Flour (1 T for every 2 T of oil– white, wheat, or buckwheat can be used) Milk (milk substitute works fine if dairy-free is needed) Vegetables of your choice Tuna Dill Seasoning Sea Salt Black Pepper Rice and Beans-canned or cooked from dry (any type)	Sauté garlic, onions and mushrooms in olive oil. Add enough oil after sautéing to make a paste with the flour so that the sauce can be made. Add in sea salt, pepper, and dill seasoning to taste. Add in vegetables and tuna. Enjoy!

Recipe for: Italian Beans and Rice

To prepare: Preheat skillet or pan for cooking, add oil after preheated

Ingredients	Directions
Olive Oil Garlic Onion Oregano Basil Italian Seasoning (if desired) Italian Dressing Vegetables of your choice Rice (Brown is preferable) Beans- canned or cooked from dry	Sauté garlic, onions and vegetables in olive oil. Add in seasonings and Italian Dressing. Add in Rice and Beans. Cook until desired warmth and consistency.   Enjoy!

Two Beans and Rice Recipes

Recipe for: Chinese Beans and Rice

To prepare: Preheat skillet or pan for cooking, add oil after preheated

Ingredients	Directions
Garlic Onion Olive Oil Vegetables of your choice Bragg Liquid Aminos (or Soy Sauce will work as well) Sesame Oil (optional) 1 Egg Rice and Beans-canned or cooked from dry (any type)	Scramble and fry egg in oil. Break into pieces and set aside for later. Sauté garlic, onions and vegetables in olive oil. Add in Sesame Oil. Add in rice and beans and egg pieces. Add in liquid aminos or soy sauce to taste. Enjoy!

Recipe for: Mexican Beans and Rice

To prepare: Preheat skillet or pan for cooking, add oil after preheated

Ingredients	Directions
Garlic Onion Olive Oil Vegetables of your choice Avocado Lime Juice Cilantro Cumin Sea Salt Mexican Seasoning Cayenne Pepper (small amount! J) Rice and Beans-canned or cooked from dry (any type)	Sauté garlic, onions and vegetables in olive oil. In a separate dish, peel and mash the avocado, add lime juice and sea salt and then add this mixture to the pan. Add seasonings to taste and more sea salt if needed. Add in Rice and Beans. Cook until desired warmth and consistency. Enjoy!

God Is Still Working On Us

An interesting thing happened the other day. Rachel and I decided to get off campus for a while and went to Dollywood on the season passes someone blessed us with. We had an absolutely wonderful time. While we were there I decided to put our phones in my backpack so we wouldn't lose them. Being that they were out of sight, out of mind we didn't really think much of them at all until the next day after we got home from church. Rachel asks, "Have you seen my phone?" So the first place I look is the backpack.....only to find my phone. Rachel's was nowhere to be found after looking high and low.
Now for those of you who know me best, these are the moments that panic sets in and I start getting mad at myself and blaming everything on myself, creating a tirade that escalates into raging fury that not only sucks the life out of me but saps my dear sweet wife of energy as well. Interestingly enough this is right where God starts His work in me, or maybe I am becoming more willing to allow God to work in me at this point. I start to get frustrated but I know that this will escalate and make things work. So going to God in prayer, I simply asked for His help to find the phone for Rachel (Being that I am the one who lost it). After some time in prayer and allowing myself to calm down I decided to go back to Dollywood and look for the phone. Rachel in the meantime called Dollywood security with lost and found, but they had not received anything at this point. Nevertheless I really felt God urging me to drive back there and look for it.
As we drove to Dollywood, Rachel took a nap while I played through my mind all the places we had been at the park. Then I started to have my doubts about the trip. I kept thinking that I must be crazy to try finding this phone. I mean what are the odds that we'll even find the phone? God just kept telling me to trust Him. Be content in every situation. That is when I started looking at the blessings God was pouring out on us. First, He blessed us with enough gas to get there and back again, second God blessed us with season passes that we could even go back and look for the phone without having to pay $50 per person to get in. Plus we had the entire afternoon that we could look for it. I started to find encouragement in these blessings (Ephesians 4:8-9b).
When we got to the Trolley Station, we hopped on the Trolley that shuttled us over to the Park. On our way there we discovered that we had left my phone in the car, but I just figured that I had locked the car and the phone would be fine where it was. Regardless there was no turning back now. We searched everywhere and talked to as many people as we could only to find no phone. So we headed back to the car. That is when I realized (or at least thought) I had left the car unlocked and found no phone in the front seat. We were robbed!!!! I thought. At this point I am fuming mad at myself for be so irresponsible that I not only lost Rachel's phone but now I had lost my phone as well. It took me quite a while to cool down. I kept asking God what He was trying to teach me through this besides "Be more responsible about your personal belongings." For as mad as I was I did my best not to lose my temper. It was a long drive home, but it was a good drive because I finally came to the point that I said, "You know what Lord, in the picture they are still just cell phones. My relationship with you is more important than cell phones. My relationship with Rachel is more important than cell phones. Blessed be the name of the Lord." That is when we started singing praises to God in the car on the way home.
When we got home I decided to try calling my cell phone only to discover a message on our voice mail. It was Dollywood security. They found both phones!!!! I broke down and wept, praising God. Not so much for helping us find the phones but more so for teaching me contentment in every kind of situation.
Needless to say we went back again to retrieve the phones. The lesson I learned here doesn't mean I all of a sudden have it all together, but God has taken me another step on my own journey. The cool thing that we can all take home with us is that God is still working on each of us. When we allow ourselves to be moldable and flexible God does some amazing things and teaches us some incredible lessons. It's really comforting to know that God only took a week to create the universe but He is continually working on us as we go.
So try this week to allow yourselves to be open to God to mold each of you into the creation He meant for you to be. Have a great week everyone.

Trusting -- When the Path Ahead is Foggy

Imagine yourself stopped behind a loooooooong line of traffic on a crowded highway. A policeman raps on your window and informs you that the bridge ahead has collapsed and you will need to turn around and find an alternate route and then he gives you directions telling you where to go to find another way. Do you a)tell him he's crazy and doesn't know what he's talking about and that you're going to keep going the way you want to go because it's the only way to get where you want to go OR b)keep questioning him and asking him if he's sure the bridge is out and that maybe he should go back and check and see if perhaps he was wrong OR c)trust that he knows what he is talking about and turn around and follow the directions that he's given you. Hopefully, most of us would choose c as our answer, but how many times do we choose a or b when communicating with the Father who sees and knows ALL things. He always has our best interests in mind, and He is always there to hold our hand and guide us even when it's along a path that seems to be going in the opposite direction of where we think we want to go. As I grow in Him and come to know Him more, my trust is growing deeper and even though sometimes I still doubt and struggle with trusting, I can look at the past and see the times that He had a different plan in mind than my own and I am reminded that His plan was so much better than my own. In my mind, I've set up memorial stones just as God had the Israelites do to remember His faithfulness. These help to remind me of His faithfulness when my doubts and fears overwhelm me. He sees the whole picture - past, present, and future - and knows completely what is best for me. Lord, please help me to choose to trust You especially at the times that it is hardest. Thank You for your faithfulness in the past and Your promised faithfulness for the future! Help me to trust You at the times that I just want to charge ahead even though You've set up warnings for me to be cautious and perhaps even to turn back. You are so faithful and loving and kind and totally in control!

Little Red Riding Hood

We all remember hearing the story of Little Red Riding Hood and thinking that the little girl was so foolish for trusting the wolf and not seeing him for who he really was. Have you ever wondered if perhaps the author of this story was trying to get a message across? In the past few weeks, I've been reading some of Francine Rivers biblical historical fiction about men and women of the Bible. It's fascinating and very intriguing. It has really helped me to see the people of the Bible in a real way rather than "just a Bible story character." They were real people living life just like us. In reading about these people, I've come to see that people are really just the same as they've always been. We still have weaknesses and blind spots and most importantly we are still desperately in need of the grace and mercy of our God. When our eyes are taken off our God--the one true God--and His strength, we lose our perspective and are unable to see clearly. When we see the wolf as just a nice guy who we meet along our walk of life and not a ferocious beast who is eager to devour us, we are on the path to disaster. That wolf in the story only had one objective in mind -- have Little Red Riding Hood for lunch! However, he was cunning enough to know how to lure her in little by little so as not to scare or alarm her. Are we being lured in little by little to the trap of the enemy? Are we viewing him as just a harmless creature that really poses no threat? As long as we keep doing the nice little Christian thing by going to church, singing our praise songs, reading our assigned Bible readings, and so on and so forth, just like Little Red Riding Hood just continued to proceed on her way to Grandmother's house to deliver her goodies, do we think that the enemy will just sit idly by and watch what we are doing with no thought of harm against us? Perhaps we need to be on our guard a bit more and instead of just skipping along the nice and comfortable path of life, we need to return home to the Father who knows that our enemy is big and bad and dangerous beyond our imagination. He desires to protect us, but if we don't listen to His warnings, it's kind of hard to stay under His protective wings. Oh, Father, please open our eyes to the cunning ways of the enemy so that we can see and flee from them! Help us not to be blind to his crafty and oftentimes seemingly harmless ways. Open our eyes so that we can see clearly and be on our guard and also that we may see You for who You truly are as well! Not someone who has given us rules to make our lives boring and dull, but Someone who sees the greater picture and can give us guidelines to stay protected through the journey of life. Thank You for Your love and Your patience with us as Your children! Help us to guard our hearts and minds on a daily if not moment by moment basis. Thank You for your desire to protect us and keep us safe in the shelter of Your arms. Help us not to turn our noses up or to fall prey to the trap of thinking that we don't need Your protection because we're "strong Christians." Lord, we are weak and frail and in desperate need of You every moment of every day!