When we moved into our current house several years ago, it seemed so dark at night. The first few days/weeks I cannot count the number of times I bumped into a cabinet, or a piece of furniture, or I slapped at a wall trying to find a light switch. I purchased numerous night lights to save my shins, elbows, etc. from the torture that furniture laying in wait dishes out.
The night lights were nice. I could see where I was going at night and didn’t have to turn on all the lights in the house to do it. The kids had a light in their room so if they happened to wake up in the middle of the night, they could get their bearings and go back to sleep.
A few months ago, I started noticing that I don’t like the lights anymore. It started with a light that wasn’t even in my house. About a block away there is a street light. Once the leaves fell from the trees in our backyard and our neighbors’ yard (and I think one or two branches might have come down by the wind), that street light shines right in my eyes as I lay in bed. I can see that silly light even with my eyes closed. So I would roll over and the light from our electric blanket would shine in my eyes. At times I have lain in bed not able to sleep because of how bright the house is.
Now that the house has become more familiar, I am able to notice all of the other lights I didn’t notice before. There is a light on the VCR, the phone cradle, the TV, our alarm clocks, my wife’s computer, the coffee maker, the space heater in the corner, etc. These lights were there before, yet I was just not aware enough to notice them. Our house is anything but dark anymore, and there have been several night lights that have had to find their way into a drawer.
How often in life do we deal with other “night lights”? For a time they are helpful to help us get our bearings, or get us where we need to go. These things may help us feel more secure or make us feel more freedom... But, at some point, they stop becoming helpful and become more of a hindrance or inconvenience.
The subtitle of a book I was recently given is “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There.” Too often we continue to rely on things that were once helpful, long past their usefulness. There are times in our lives we need to put those things away because they aren’t needed, because we have grown, changed, and have become more comfortable in our surroundings. We may have to find a new “tool” to help move us forward in our lives, but if we cling to what got us here, we won’t ever get there. For healthier relationships, minds, bodies, etc. there are things we need to let go of so that we can grow and change.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Rocks
My oldest son started a bad habit his first year of school. The school that he went to had several large trees that dropped “nuts”. Our son would grab hand full’s of these “nuts and place them in his pocket. He has passed this habit on to his younger brother. The items they place in their pockets (who knows for what reason) have changed. Sometimes we find dandelion heads, or leaves, very often we find rocks, pebbles are probably a more appropriate term, but they are still rocks.
Recently I was taking clothes out of the washer and dryer and found several rocks that had escaped our pre-wash search. As I was taking the rocks out of the washer and dryer I was a little frustrated. “Why do the boys pick up these rocks and leave them in their pockets? “ I thought to myself. As I was asking the question a memory hit me. When I was younger my family had a ranch southwest of our hometown. When we would go to the ranch my brother and I would take “hikes” and find all sorts of beautiful or unique rocks. We would pick up these rocks and take them to Mom so she could see the wonderful treasures we had found. We also wanted to bring these treasures home, but Mom would always tell us that they wouldn’t look as unique at home. Sometimes we would listen to her and leave the rocks to be rediscovered later, but sometimes we smuggled some home. After a few days or sometimes a few weeks we would pull out our rock treasures to marvel at what we had found and brought home. It never failed, every time we pulled these treasures out all we had were just a bunch of rocks.
These memories started me thinking. How many times are we like those rocks my brother and I used to smuggle home? In our natural environment we sparkle we shine, we are beautiful, we are unique, but when we are taken out of our natural environment we look a little plain, we don’t look as special…
I hope you never have to suffer from being taken out of your “natural environment” and look plain and ordinary. I hope that you can find your “natural environment” so that you can sparkle and shine, and show the world your uniqueness.
Recently I was taking clothes out of the washer and dryer and found several rocks that had escaped our pre-wash search. As I was taking the rocks out of the washer and dryer I was a little frustrated. “Why do the boys pick up these rocks and leave them in their pockets? “ I thought to myself. As I was asking the question a memory hit me. When I was younger my family had a ranch southwest of our hometown. When we would go to the ranch my brother and I would take “hikes” and find all sorts of beautiful or unique rocks. We would pick up these rocks and take them to Mom so she could see the wonderful treasures we had found. We also wanted to bring these treasures home, but Mom would always tell us that they wouldn’t look as unique at home. Sometimes we would listen to her and leave the rocks to be rediscovered later, but sometimes we smuggled some home. After a few days or sometimes a few weeks we would pull out our rock treasures to marvel at what we had found and brought home. It never failed, every time we pulled these treasures out all we had were just a bunch of rocks.
These memories started me thinking. How many times are we like those rocks my brother and I used to smuggle home? In our natural environment we sparkle we shine, we are beautiful, we are unique, but when we are taken out of our natural environment we look a little plain, we don’t look as special…
I hope you never have to suffer from being taken out of your “natural environment” and look plain and ordinary. I hope that you can find your “natural environment” so that you can sparkle and shine, and show the world your uniqueness.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Time, Talents, Touch, & Treasure
I ordered a book a few months ago from Amazon.com. Amazon had suggested this book based on previous purchases I had made. I ordered the book and it sat on my shelf for several weeks. One day last week I picked up the book and began to read it. It only took me a couple of hours to read through the book (only because it is a pretty short book, not because I am an extremely fast reader).
The book, The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy (the founder of Chick-Fil-A), is a good book if you get a chance to read it. In the book the authors tell a sort of fictitious story about an encounter between a financial broker and an executive. The broker was curious about the lifestyle of the executive, so he spent some time learning from the executive. The executive shared (among other things) he felt he had a responsibility to give of his Time, Talent, Treasure, and Touch. This got me thinking a bit…
Each of us have 4 T’s, we have Time, we have Talents, we have Touch, and we have Treasure (some have more than others), but we all have these gifts to share with others. If I am to spend out of one of these categories, it may cost me being able to do something I want to do. If I spend one of my hours volunteering in the community, it costs me an hour I typically spend in another area of my life. That is at least what many of us think of giving our time. This thought hit me as I was sitting in a meeting with other leaders of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. We were discussing our use of time and resources as we planned for the future work of our Conference. Our Bishop said something that drove my thoughts back to the executives 4 T’s. We were discussing a lot of things that would be very effective, but the Bishop asked are these things helping us be effective in our Mission?
I can use my time effectively. I can use my talents effectively. I can use my touch effectively. I can use my treasure effectively. But just because I am effective in using the gifts that I have, does not mean I am using them wisely or impacting the world around me. If I want to use my time or my talents to impact lives, I may have to spend my time and my talents in a different way so that I am being effective in the Mission I have for my life. If I want to use my treasure to impact others around me, I may have to delay a purchase so that I can use my treasure to be effective in the Mission I have for my life.
What is your Mission in life? Do you have one? What are some of the hopes you have for your family, your neighborhood, our community? Are you using the gifts you have available to you to make the hopes and dreams you have for those around you a reality? Are you using the gifts you have to make your mission in life a reality?
The book, The Generosity Factor by Ken Blanchard and S. Truett Cathy (the founder of Chick-Fil-A), is a good book if you get a chance to read it. In the book the authors tell a sort of fictitious story about an encounter between a financial broker and an executive. The broker was curious about the lifestyle of the executive, so he spent some time learning from the executive. The executive shared (among other things) he felt he had a responsibility to give of his Time, Talent, Treasure, and Touch. This got me thinking a bit…
Each of us have 4 T’s, we have Time, we have Talents, we have Touch, and we have Treasure (some have more than others), but we all have these gifts to share with others. If I am to spend out of one of these categories, it may cost me being able to do something I want to do. If I spend one of my hours volunteering in the community, it costs me an hour I typically spend in another area of my life. That is at least what many of us think of giving our time. This thought hit me as I was sitting in a meeting with other leaders of the Northwest Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church. We were discussing our use of time and resources as we planned for the future work of our Conference. Our Bishop said something that drove my thoughts back to the executives 4 T’s. We were discussing a lot of things that would be very effective, but the Bishop asked are these things helping us be effective in our Mission?
I can use my time effectively. I can use my talents effectively. I can use my touch effectively. I can use my treasure effectively. But just because I am effective in using the gifts that I have, does not mean I am using them wisely or impacting the world around me. If I want to use my time or my talents to impact lives, I may have to spend my time and my talents in a different way so that I am being effective in the Mission I have for my life. If I want to use my treasure to impact others around me, I may have to delay a purchase so that I can use my treasure to be effective in the Mission I have for my life.
What is your Mission in life? Do you have one? What are some of the hopes you have for your family, your neighborhood, our community? Are you using the gifts you have available to you to make the hopes and dreams you have for those around you a reality? Are you using the gifts you have to make your mission in life a reality?
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Choices
When my family and I returned home from our Christmas travels, I started feeling a little under the weather. This feeling quickly turned into not feeling good at all. I spent the better part of a week reclining on the couch under several blankets and I still could not keep from shivering. I didn’t eat because I wasn’t hungry, watching movies or TV was not relaxing, reading a book was not relaxing. Nothing seemed to help take my mind off of my shivering, or my aches, or how bad my body hurt, etc…
While trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch I started playing with my cell phone. I have downloaded a lot of apps I rarely use, and since nothing else was helping to distract me from my pitiful condition, I thought I would look through these apps and see if I really needed all of these programs I had on my phone. One of the first apps I opened was one that helped count calories and track a person’s diet. I had downloaded the app because I really wanted to lose some weight; I just have a hard time making the choices to get the extra weight off. The more I played with this app the more I wanted to use it to keep up with what I put in my body. Since I had nothing better to do I began inputting the foods I was eating, and then I went back several days trying to remember everything I had eaten and input that into this program. I knew what I had been putting into my body but did not realize what exactly I was consuming. I did not realize my guilty little pleasure every morning (a 12 oz. can of Coke) was taking up a lot of the calories I was allotted per day. I did not realize how many calories I was blowing through with the little snacks I normally had at the office.
In less than a week my body shed 20 pounds. I would highly recommend not losing weight by being sick. But I now have several choices before me. I can go back to the way I was consuming food and quickly regain those 20 pounds, or I can begin to make changes in what I consume to keep the weight off and possibly get down to a healthier body size. I can choose to do what I have been doing or I can choose to make changes in my life to spend more time exercising to make my body healthier.
Twelve days into this New Year, most of us have choices before us, not just about how much we eat or don’t eat, or exercise or don’t exercise… We have choices before us to begin to change our lives and the lives of those around us. The choices we have are sort of like the choices of food we consume. If my New Year’s Resolution is to be a better spouse, am I going to “consume” choices that help me become a better spouse? What about a better friend? Or a better parent? Too often we view our choices independent of all other choices we make, but too often our choices are dependent on other choices we make. Each choice can help us become a healthier person, a better person, the person we have hoped we could become. There are no wasted choices, no choices that really don’t count. Poor choices can take away valuable time, energy, and resources that could be dedicated to moving us closer to our desired resolutions.
The choices we make today will impact our lives tomorrow. My hope is that we all make better choices, so that we become who God created us to be.
While trying to find a more comfortable position on the couch I started playing with my cell phone. I have downloaded a lot of apps I rarely use, and since nothing else was helping to distract me from my pitiful condition, I thought I would look through these apps and see if I really needed all of these programs I had on my phone. One of the first apps I opened was one that helped count calories and track a person’s diet. I had downloaded the app because I really wanted to lose some weight; I just have a hard time making the choices to get the extra weight off. The more I played with this app the more I wanted to use it to keep up with what I put in my body. Since I had nothing better to do I began inputting the foods I was eating, and then I went back several days trying to remember everything I had eaten and input that into this program. I knew what I had been putting into my body but did not realize what exactly I was consuming. I did not realize my guilty little pleasure every morning (a 12 oz. can of Coke) was taking up a lot of the calories I was allotted per day. I did not realize how many calories I was blowing through with the little snacks I normally had at the office.
In less than a week my body shed 20 pounds. I would highly recommend not losing weight by being sick. But I now have several choices before me. I can go back to the way I was consuming food and quickly regain those 20 pounds, or I can begin to make changes in what I consume to keep the weight off and possibly get down to a healthier body size. I can choose to do what I have been doing or I can choose to make changes in my life to spend more time exercising to make my body healthier.
Twelve days into this New Year, most of us have choices before us, not just about how much we eat or don’t eat, or exercise or don’t exercise… We have choices before us to begin to change our lives and the lives of those around us. The choices we have are sort of like the choices of food we consume. If my New Year’s Resolution is to be a better spouse, am I going to “consume” choices that help me become a better spouse? What about a better friend? Or a better parent? Too often we view our choices independent of all other choices we make, but too often our choices are dependent on other choices we make. Each choice can help us become a healthier person, a better person, the person we have hoped we could become. There are no wasted choices, no choices that really don’t count. Poor choices can take away valuable time, energy, and resources that could be dedicated to moving us closer to our desired resolutions.
The choices we make today will impact our lives tomorrow. My hope is that we all make better choices, so that we become who God created us to be.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Mystery of Christmas
When I was 6 years old, we spent the evening of Christmas Eve with friends of my Mom’s. It was a different Christmas for us that year. It was the first year I remember Mom decorating for Christmas since she and my Dad separated and divorced. We had our “Christmas tree” decorated ready for presents to appear under the tree. Our Christmas tree that year was a tumbleweed we found coming back from the ranch one day. My brother and I thought it was neat because we had a tree like no one else. I am beginning to think that was our tree because that’s the best Mom could do that year.
That Christmas Eve my brother and I played with Mom’s friend’s son until dinner. We ate dinner and we played some more while the adults visited and watched a Christmas movie. For me, the mystery of Christmas had started to fade. I was not sure I bought into the whole story Mom and Dad were telling me about how our presents showed up on Christmas morning.
We left Mom’s friends house way past my brother’s and my bed time. When my Mom, my brother, and I returned to our apartment there under the tree were presents that were not there when we left. My little 6 year old mind was blown away. For a few days the mystery of Christmas returned.
When I got into High School, I asked my Mom about that Christmas, because I could not understand how it happened. My Mom told me that during the dinner preparations her friends had run out of something that we had at the house. She swore up and down she poked her head in where we were playing and told us she was running to the house and would be right back. I don’t remember that. While at home she took a little time to do a little more “decorating.”
It’s hard to forget that Christmas. I remember my brother and I received what we thought were a lot of presents, though I don’t really remember what they were. What I do remember is that there’s something about Christmas I didn’t understand.
Later on during one of my classes at Seminary I began to understand something I began to learn that Christmas many years before. My professor was lecturing on our understanding of our faith and said “Too often we try to dissect a mystery to understand it. Mysteries are not to be understood, mysteries are to be experienced.”
May this Christmas Season be a special celebration with your family, not because the gifts you give but because of the time you spend with family and friends. This Christmas Season may you and your family experience the mystery of Christmas.
That Christmas Eve my brother and I played with Mom’s friend’s son until dinner. We ate dinner and we played some more while the adults visited and watched a Christmas movie. For me, the mystery of Christmas had started to fade. I was not sure I bought into the whole story Mom and Dad were telling me about how our presents showed up on Christmas morning.
We left Mom’s friends house way past my brother’s and my bed time. When my Mom, my brother, and I returned to our apartment there under the tree were presents that were not there when we left. My little 6 year old mind was blown away. For a few days the mystery of Christmas returned.
When I got into High School, I asked my Mom about that Christmas, because I could not understand how it happened. My Mom told me that during the dinner preparations her friends had run out of something that we had at the house. She swore up and down she poked her head in where we were playing and told us she was running to the house and would be right back. I don’t remember that. While at home she took a little time to do a little more “decorating.”
It’s hard to forget that Christmas. I remember my brother and I received what we thought were a lot of presents, though I don’t really remember what they were. What I do remember is that there’s something about Christmas I didn’t understand.
Later on during one of my classes at Seminary I began to understand something I began to learn that Christmas many years before. My professor was lecturing on our understanding of our faith and said “Too often we try to dissect a mystery to understand it. Mysteries are not to be understood, mysteries are to be experienced.”
May this Christmas Season be a special celebration with your family, not because the gifts you give but because of the time you spend with family and friends. This Christmas Season may you and your family experience the mystery of Christmas.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Hope & Encouragement
Last weekend I was able to go “home” for a couple of days. As my wife and I drove around my hometown I remembered things I have not thought of in many, many years.
I remember growing up, there were numerous things I wanted to be when I grew up. For a time I wanted to be an architect and design beautiful buildings for others to be awe-struck by. For a moment or two I wanted to be an archeologist who would unearth important artifacts relating to humanities past. There was another time I wanted to be a lawyer, to defend those who had experienced nothing but injustice in their lives. Then I wanted to be a teacher and impact the lives of my students to go on to do great things with their lives.
Growing up my parents encouraged me to think about what it was I wanted to do with my life. At times they might have encouraged me a little more in one direction than another. Through the encouragement of my parents, through my interactions with teachers, Church Leaders, Boy Scout Leaders, the adults in my life let me know that I could dream about what my future might be like as I became interested in different career fields.
The more places I live, the more people I work with, the longer I serve in places where people are in need looking for assistance; I am learning this is not what many other people experienced growing up. Too many are told they will never be this or that, they could never complete… Too many are handicapped with the restrictions placed on them by friends and family.
The Advent and Christmas seasons are about hope, about being encouraged to do more than we think is possible… Who in your life needs to be given the gift of Hope? Who in your life needs to be encouraged to dare to dream a Big Dream of what could be? Maybe you need to dream again, to be encouraged during these holidays.
May the celebration of the seasons give you hope and encouragement. May your life be changed because of this hope, and may you impact the life of someone else during the holidays.
I remember growing up, there were numerous things I wanted to be when I grew up. For a time I wanted to be an architect and design beautiful buildings for others to be awe-struck by. For a moment or two I wanted to be an archeologist who would unearth important artifacts relating to humanities past. There was another time I wanted to be a lawyer, to defend those who had experienced nothing but injustice in their lives. Then I wanted to be a teacher and impact the lives of my students to go on to do great things with their lives.
Growing up my parents encouraged me to think about what it was I wanted to do with my life. At times they might have encouraged me a little more in one direction than another. Through the encouragement of my parents, through my interactions with teachers, Church Leaders, Boy Scout Leaders, the adults in my life let me know that I could dream about what my future might be like as I became interested in different career fields.
The more places I live, the more people I work with, the longer I serve in places where people are in need looking for assistance; I am learning this is not what many other people experienced growing up. Too many are told they will never be this or that, they could never complete… Too many are handicapped with the restrictions placed on them by friends and family.
The Advent and Christmas seasons are about hope, about being encouraged to do more than we think is possible… Who in your life needs to be given the gift of Hope? Who in your life needs to be encouraged to dare to dream a Big Dream of what could be? Maybe you need to dream again, to be encouraged during these holidays.
May the celebration of the seasons give you hope and encouragement. May your life be changed because of this hope, and may you impact the life of someone else during the holidays.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Family
This past weekend I had the honor and privilege of officiating my “little sister’s” wedding. Terra is not my biological sister, but she has become my sister over the last 16 years. Terra’s family invited me to become a part of their family not long after my mother past away. Missy & Bobbie (Mom & Dad), Keith, Sarah, and Terra have become family.
My in-laws took our children for the weekend so that my wife and I could be a part of this weekend. It was interesting driving around my home town and seeing the changes that have taken place over the past few years. Since my wife and I were childless for the weekend, we had opportunities to visit with family and friends that we had not had a chance to really visit with in awhile (because we are usually chasing 4 kids around).
To be honest I was a little nervous as I prepared to stand before family and friends (many of whom I had not seen in some time) as Terra and her fiancé, Tyler joined their lives together. Tyler not only committed to share the rest of his life with Terra, but also to Terra’s almost 7 year old little girl, Gracie. They included Gracie in the wedding ceremony and in the reception after. Tyler not only proclaimed his vows to Terra, but he also got down on his knees and offered vows to Gracie. Tyler and Terra exchanged rings and gave Gracie a charm bracelet with special charms that will remind her of them coming together as a family.
It was a privilege to watch Tyler’s and Terra’s faces as we rehearsed the ceremony and then as we preformed the ceremony. There were expressions of relief on their faces; this day is finally here, and all our planning and work and stress have finally come to fruition. There were expressions of joy and love as they professed before family and friends their commitment to each other. There were also expressions that are hard to put into words, but I think I have an idea of what some of the expressions were…
No matter how much premarital counseling Tyler and Terra had, no matter how much advice given to them before their big day, they will be facing things they never could have prepared themselves for. When you become family you don’t know what exactly that means for the future, you might have an idea of what it means here and now, but very little of the twists and turns that come because you have chosen to share your life with others…
Missy & Bobbie could not have expected everything that has happened over the past 16 years when they invited me to be a part of their family. My wife and I could never have expected everything that has happened over the past 10 years when we made a decision to become a family. Tyler and Terra cannot expect everything that will happen over the rest of their lives as they make decisions to be a family.
We may not know the good or the bad the future holds, but that is not what really matters. What really matters is that we have made a decision to share our lives with other people who become “family”. Sometimes that decision takes everything we have to stay committed to it. At other times it is the easiest thing we have ever done. Who have you chosen to share your life with? Who has become a part of your family, or “family”? Take some time during these seasons of Advent and Christmas to thank them for being a part of your life, for sharing their life with you, and for walking with you through the good and bad of this journey of life.
My in-laws took our children for the weekend so that my wife and I could be a part of this weekend. It was interesting driving around my home town and seeing the changes that have taken place over the past few years. Since my wife and I were childless for the weekend, we had opportunities to visit with family and friends that we had not had a chance to really visit with in awhile (because we are usually chasing 4 kids around).
To be honest I was a little nervous as I prepared to stand before family and friends (many of whom I had not seen in some time) as Terra and her fiancé, Tyler joined their lives together. Tyler not only committed to share the rest of his life with Terra, but also to Terra’s almost 7 year old little girl, Gracie. They included Gracie in the wedding ceremony and in the reception after. Tyler not only proclaimed his vows to Terra, but he also got down on his knees and offered vows to Gracie. Tyler and Terra exchanged rings and gave Gracie a charm bracelet with special charms that will remind her of them coming together as a family.
It was a privilege to watch Tyler’s and Terra’s faces as we rehearsed the ceremony and then as we preformed the ceremony. There were expressions of relief on their faces; this day is finally here, and all our planning and work and stress have finally come to fruition. There were expressions of joy and love as they professed before family and friends their commitment to each other. There were also expressions that are hard to put into words, but I think I have an idea of what some of the expressions were…
No matter how much premarital counseling Tyler and Terra had, no matter how much advice given to them before their big day, they will be facing things they never could have prepared themselves for. When you become family you don’t know what exactly that means for the future, you might have an idea of what it means here and now, but very little of the twists and turns that come because you have chosen to share your life with others…
Missy & Bobbie could not have expected everything that has happened over the past 16 years when they invited me to be a part of their family. My wife and I could never have expected everything that has happened over the past 10 years when we made a decision to become a family. Tyler and Terra cannot expect everything that will happen over the rest of their lives as they make decisions to be a family.
We may not know the good or the bad the future holds, but that is not what really matters. What really matters is that we have made a decision to share our lives with other people who become “family”. Sometimes that decision takes everything we have to stay committed to it. At other times it is the easiest thing we have ever done. Who have you chosen to share your life with? Who has become a part of your family, or “family”? Take some time during these seasons of Advent and Christmas to thank them for being a part of your life, for sharing their life with you, and for walking with you through the good and bad of this journey of life.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)