If You Were Stuck On An Island

"If you were stuck on an island what is the one thing you would want to have?" The age old question rears its ugly head once again. This question has been debated for years. A knife, your wife or significant other,book, gun? What would it be? I have firmly decided what it would be for me. My Bible I don't say this in some super-spiritual way but in a very humble way. You see I am at the end of what has been on of the toughest years I have been through. I have rediscovered through this process of pruning and purifying that God's word is truly my lifeline. Without His word I nor you can make it in this life. Those who are skeptically when it comes to to the power of God's. Word would not understand. It's more than a book. It's life. When reading His word, the Holy Spirit brings the ink of the pages to life and illuminates them in my heart. Through the hardest times of my life I have clung to the Bible and have been able to press on in hopes of receiving the prize God has for me. So if you find yourself stuck on an island of doubt,fear,worry,financial hardship,sickness,depression,or a literal island I encoeurage you to brak out the Bible and watch the Rescuer come quickly.

Ants and Sin

We have recently experienced a hostile takeover in our home by ants. They have made life very wearisome for my wife. She can't stand them. My oldest son Will thinks that they are going to carry him off and dismember him. I haven't been to bothered by them until recently when they invaded the garbage can in the kitchen. It was the straw that broke the camels back. I have sprayed ant spray everywhere I can think of. I think they look at the spray as a sort of ant gatorade that quenched their thirst while they tear into our groceries. How can something so small cause so much stress?
One ant isn't a problem but 1,000 ants is. It reminds me alot of life. The small issues we face aren't that big of a deal but when the pile up they can throw us off focus, keep us from prayer, and hurt us. The small sin issues we deal with may not be so bad but when you have a pile of small sin issues they can destroy you spiritually. 
I'm no pest control expert, but I would assume the best way to handle ants is to act when you first see them. I'm no spiritual guru but the best way to handle the small problems and sin issues is to get rid of them before they pile up. Don't let the ants of life get the best of you.  Now, excuse me while I go burn my house down.

Father's Day

"Happy Father's Day?"
I was told that about 70 times yesterday.

"How was your Father's Day?"
I was asked that about 7 times today.

Well, I had one son break my iPhone, dump a glass of sweet tea all over me, and destroy 2 hours worth of video editing work.  If I didn't know any better I would say we adopted Will and Nate from a remote tribe of Apache Indians.  They are as close to out of control you can get.  The word rest doesn't exist in our house.  I wouldn't trade if for anything in the world though.  Well, except maybe a peaceful quiet weekend in the Bahamas.

I am just kidding!

When I first found out I would be a father over six years ago, I was speechless.  Seriously, I didn't talk for probably an hour.  It was one of those "I am God and I'll decide when you have a kid" pregnancies.  Now, life is unimaginable without my kids.  They are my pride and joy.

To be honest my Father's Day was as bittersweet as all of them have been.  You see every Father's Day I have celebrated as a father has been without my father.  My dad died in 2005, two months before my first son was born.  I realize more and more everyday how much influence he had on my life.  For instance, I received my love for fishing from my dad.  I am now passing down that fishing fever to my sons.  To say I miss my dad is an understatement.  I long to see his face and hear his voice.  To be honest, I would give your right arm just to have him yell at me again.  My dad taught me manly things.  Things like working with your hands, fishing, gardening, discretely passing gas in public.  I have perfected that last one.  He taught me how to work until you can't move and then work some more.

My dad came to know Jesus just 3 months prior to his death.  For 3 months he was the most dedicated Christ follower I have ever known.  He truly experienced what it means to become a "new creation".  So I spent most of my Father's Day enjoying the company of my sons and wishing I had the company of  my dad.  I can remember the day I had on a white t-shirt, jeans, and a tool belt and followed my dad around the house with him wearing his white t-shirt, jeans, and tool belt.  I wanted to be like him.  For a long time I was known as "Little Ricky", not Josh.

What if we tried so hard to be like our Heavenly Father that people would refer to us as "Little Jesus".  Cheesy, I know.  I can't believe I just stooped to that level of corny-ness.  It is true though.  Just like I was striving to be like my dad and my sons strive to be like me, God wants us to strive to be like Him.  He wants to be our hero.  Fathers are the most influential person in our lives.  Some of us have had great ones and others have never even known theirs.  Whatever the case is, we have a Heavenly Father that desires to be close to us.  So let me take another step of Christian corny-ness and say Happy Father's day to the only One who has shaped me more than Richard Tillman.

Treadmill Moments

One of the funniest things I have ever seen in person was a guy falling off of a treadmill. I was directly behind him on my own journey to nowhere when he missed a step and slid his way backwards face first into the floor. 

HILARIOUS!!

People tried to help him out. Me? I just laughed. What do you expect. He fell off a treadmill.
 
Truth is it was so funny because I had done it before. Yep, I too have kissed the floor after falling miserably from a treadmill. 

I hate treadmills. Not because I fell off of one before but because I am a runner who prefers the outdoors. When I go running I like to pretend I am on an adventure somewhere. It helps me forget that I am about to pass out and die. I like to hit the open road in my Vibram's and knock out 5 or 6 miles. On a treadmill I bust my tail on to never leave the spot I started in. I can never run more than three miles on a treadmill and I have ran 30 miles on pavement before. It just so mentally draining. Any runner will tell you that running is a very mental sport. For me, treadmill running is depressive. I run 3 miles only to have never moved. 

Life is like a treadmill sometimes.  It feels like we are working hard, praying, serving God, and being faithful but getting nowhere. It's depressing. We have all found ourselves there. Trying so hard in life only to feel stuck in one place. Raise kids, love your wife, work, serve at church, chase your dreams and never move. 

The funny thing about life and treadmills is that the second you lose focus on either is the moment you fall. You can't close you eyes on and treadmill and run because you will find yourself going backwards. You will eventually land on the floor crying with people asking you if you okay and a guy behind you laughing (that's me). I run best inns treadmill when I am looking straight ahead and focused. In life and serving God focus and perspective are key. I tend to forget that while on the treadmill I am burning calories and getting good exercise. I just don't keep that in mind because I am more focused on feeling like I'm not moving. What you and I have to keep in mind in the treadmill moments of life is feeling like your not moving and actually not moving are very different. It's during those treadmill moments when we are getting stronger and better capable of hitting the road. Don't despise the treadmill moments. Embrace those 3 miles of stationary movement. 

God is the Biggest

The other night I asked my son Will how "big" he loved me. He responded by stretching his arms out as far as he could. Then I said, "I love you as big as a Wooly Mammoth.". Then he pulled out the trump card.
"Daddy, I love you as big as God!"
I said, "Well, you win because there is nothing bigger than God"
I kissed him goodnight and walked into my room and then that statement sunk in. There is NOTHING bigger than God. No problem, circumstance, situation, disease, or anything is bigger than God. We make our problems and situations bigger than God, but the truth is they don't even register on the radar next to Him. Life is about perspective and when we perceive things to be bigger than God everything gets messed up. My 5 year old son knows that God is the biggest. Inherently we all know that nothing is bigger than God. When the mortgage is due and the bank account is low our God mysteriously shrinks. When our family member is diagnosed with Giant Cancer our little god seems to be no match for it. The size of God is directly proportional to your belief and faith in Him. Life is tough. Everyday can be a battle. Hard times seem to outweigh the good times.  When you understand that NOTHING is bigger than God, life is good. Life becomes more than manageable. You can do more than just survive. You can be more than a conqueror. You can overcome because He overcame it all. 

Snow Crab Legs and Religion

My wife absolutely loves snow crab legs.  She gets pumped like a linebacker in a football game at the mere mention of snow crab legs.  Watching her take down a plate of those things takes me back to some scene on National Geographic, its quite savage.  I hopes she doesn't read this, and do me a favor and don't tell her about this or I may be treated like one of those snow crab legs.  Me, I don't really care for snow crab legs.  It's not because I don't like the taste of them because I do.  I don't like them because they take so much work to eat.  You have to crack em', peel, crack some more, pull the meat out and dip them in the butter before they ever even get to your mouth.  I like my food to be work-free and ready to insert into my mouth like fried shrimp.  I get excited for fried shrimp like a 13yr old girl at a Justin Bieber concert.  All I have to do to those things is shovel em' into my mouth until I pass out into a shrimp induced coma.  I like my food to come with little to no work involved.
That's why I like following Christ, it doesn't require work.  It's not based on following strict, rigorous laws but based on a beautiful relationship between me and my Creator.  It's not like snow crab leg religion where you have to work so hard to gain the rewards.  It's a glorious plate of perfectly fried shrimp.  Salvation is free and work-less.  Following Christ is fun and rewarding.  I truly feel sorry for those who are drudging through life cracking snow crabs trying to attain freedom.  You and I cannot earn or work our way into God's grace.  It is given to us through a relationship with His son who paid the price for us.  The choice is completely ours.   Will you sign up for strict, hard working religious practices or the free relationship found in Christ.   I invite you to  pick up your shrimp, dip them into some cocktail sauce and enjoy living for Christ.

The Art of Being Made Fun Of

My wife gets on to me quite often for making fun of people. I just can't help it though. I think it's one of my spiritual gifts. I know it's bad, but I can spot a big nose from 400 yards. I come from a long line of people who make fun of people. I have asked God to help me with it, but I have gotten nothing so far. Now, don't act like you don't do it from time to time. You are not that holy. Besides, I think it does us some good to face some criticism and joking from time to time. It makes us stronger better people. I'm not malicious moe do I persecute people. But persecution is what drove the church to grow in the New Testament. If you ask me the church of 2011 could use a little more persecution. Its when we are drawn out of our areas of comfort that we grow and become more of what God wants. I think we tend to be a little too comfortable here as the church in America. Persecution and discomfort is a catalyst for growth for the church in many third world countries today as it was in the New Testament. Now i am not advocating we be chased underground or threatened to be beaten to death, but there is something to be said of the faith of those who have had to endure those things. I think we need a little ruffling of the feathers.  And instead of it makes us ashamed and afraid it should make us proud and strong.  So at the risk of being made fun of, let's all try to get a little uncomfortable for the sake of God's kingdom.  

You Should Be a Country Music Singer

Last night I had a lady tell me that I had such a deep manly voice. To which I said "Yeah I do".  She then told me that I should be a country music singer.  I immediately saw myself on the big stage.  The lights, the crowd, and myself in tight Wranglers and a cowboy hat twirling my guitar like Garth Brooks. I sing in the car, at work, and I can nail a county ballad in the shower.  Then I remembered the one time I sang in public.  I was the youth pastor of a small country church and we were having a youth night for the adults (who I don't even think liked youth, or Jesus for that matter) We did not have a worship band so I made an executive decision to make myself a worship leader and scrap together a guitar and bass player.  After it was all sang and done I was asked to never sing in the church again (yes, they said that). C'mon, I was making a joyful, tone deaf noise.
Now, some people after being told they should sing country music would quit their job, put on their tight fitting denim and march right down to American Idol and show the world how crazy they are.  You see for some people it doesn't take much to alter the course of their life.  A few words here or there and they chase after what sounds good.  I have come to know and understand the purpose for my life and it's not singing "Achy Breaky Heart" in front of 10,000 13yr old girls.  The sad thing is that most of the people on this planet have no direction for their life and it's because they don't know the one who has mapped out their lives.  Let me encourage you to stop chasing empty dreams and ambitions and follow the One who has it all mapped out.

Against the Flow

A couple of weeks ago I was at my son Will's K-5 graduation.  It was a proud moment for me as a dad.  I don't know if I was more proud of him graduating or of him not picking his nose while on stage.  Will has a history of doing embarassing things at big events. Like the time he laid down and started spinning while on stage at his aunt Sarah's wedding, or the time he was crawling up the steps during a children's Christmas production.  So, I held my breath while he walked across to get his diploma in case he decided to slap the principal on the butt.  After the ceremony there was a mad rush to retrieve children and make it to the stage to take pictures.  As I battled through the crowd, pushing and shoving older men and women on my way to parental glory, a man was going in the opposite direction and said, "It's probably safer to go in the opposite direction".  He probably didn't mean to but that man said something very profound.
In life we may think the best, safest way is to go the way of the crowd.  Spare me for a moment while I give my paragraph speech about "going against the flow". All of Jesus' teachings are based around the thought that the way of the crowd is wrong.  It may be easy to go in the same direction as everyone else (have sex, drink, do drugs, get in debt, get divorced) but it certainly isn't the safest way.  Jesus was different, his teachings were different and if we want to attain true abundant life we must live different.  The safest way is against the flow

What To Do When You Don't Want To

I like that new song by Bruno Mars. You know the one..."Today, I don't feel like doing anything...I just wanna stay in my bed".  That is how I feel some days.  I don't feel like getting up, getting dressed, going to work, writing, or doing anything that takes more effort than changing the TV channel.  There are days where I don't feel like reading or praying or being a Christian for that matter.  You can try to act holy but you probably have days where you feel the same way. These days don't come very often for me but they come often enough.  I am sure you have the same type days in your life.  Leave the PJ's on, eat Ramen Noodles, watch re-runs, and let the gross bodily functions flow.  Those days where you don't have to dress to impress or please everyone can be refreshing.  So what do you do when you don't feel like doing what you need to do?  Do you just fake it? Do you just smile and go through the motions? Do you send God a few courtesy prayers and read a one verse devotional?  What do you do on those days where the inspiration and motivation to be great just aren't there?
Maybe you can just take the day off and forget about Jesus for a while? Or you could just ignore your life's purpose for a day?
No!!
Here's what you do.  Suck it Up! Push past it all and live the life God intended.  Find inspiration in the Word. Get motivation from God's whisper.  People depend on you. They need you to be great. They need you to help be the light in a dark world.  There is no time to flop around in the world of mediocrity.  Be great!

Don't Play Alone

My son Will doesn't like playing by himself even when we are at Chuck E Cheese or one of those other play places.  He would rather sit and wait until another kid showed up to play with than play by himself.  At first it kind of annoyed me because I wanted him to be creative and play and ... well, leave me alone for a while (if you are a parent of two young apache indians you won't judge me).  But then I decided that I didn't want my kid being the one with an imaginary friend named Carl that he played in the bath tub with (cause that's just weird...right?)  I want my son to experience life with other kids, having fun, laughing, and learning.  I don't want him to become the "Lone Ranger" I was in school.  I want him to learn teamwork, lean on others, and share the joys and defeats of life with other people (not Carl).  Sadly, many of us don't share this trait with Will.  We are content with settling for doing life all by ourselves.  We mope, complain, and groan about why nobody loves and cares for us but we don't make any steps towards sharing life with other people.  We put up walls and guard against letting people in.  We would never dare to be transparent or real because that would mean the possibility of being hurt. God said, "It is not good for man to be alone..." So find a friend (not named Carl) and begin to do life with others. Don't play alone

Night Light

Recently I was driving through a fairly desolate part of Florida after leaving a youth event I spoke at.  The only thing open in the area was a bar and lounge and it was quite busy.  I began to think about why the only place open at that point was a place that only brought more pain and hurt to people who were probably already experiencing alot of pain and hurt.  It's no different from where I live where everyone retreats downtown to have a good time when all they are really doing is escaping their lives of hurt, depression, or just plain boredom.  The only places open 24 hours a day are Wal-Mart, Waffle House, and other greasy food joints that leave you feeling like you just laid down in a tub of lard.  So why is that at the point where most people are examining their lives and trying to escape, the only places they have to go to are the ones that will only take more from them.  What if beside every bar, club, or lounge there was a church, counseling center, or prayer center.  While most Christians are sleeping the enemy is doing his best work.  God has recently put a ministry on my heart called Night Light (yes, the name needs some work) where we will engage believers to step out of their place of comfort and offer solace to those who are searching for life beyond what they know.  Instead of people going to drink away their pain, we will introduce them to a Savior who will heal away their pain.  We probably won't be able to shut down the bar, club, lounge industry but why did we stop trying.  Who waved the white flag and gave up.  Instead of just praying that they will show up in a semi-sober state to our Sunday morning service, why not send out a loving group of people to rescue them on Saturday night.  Just saying.

Church vs. church

When I was 15 I gave my heart and life to Jesus Christ.  I surrendered my life to receive His and to help advance His Kingdom.  I have been in full-time  for 9 years and have seen the good and bad of the inner workings of churches.  Christ's death on the cross and the Upper Room event in Acts 2 launched a new force in the world, the Church. Jesus didn't die for many churches.  He died for one Church, one universal, Christ centered, people loving Church.  But from the beginning of the Church different factions and divisions of the Church began to spring up and now in 2011 we have so many churches that we don't even know who is legit anymore. The Church was designed to be a community of believers who work together to love the world into God's grace and mercy.  The Church was designed to be a community of people who were so in love with their Creator and Savior that opinions took the backseat.  The Church was designed to be a community of people who had a variety of personalities that were embraced as a tool for God's kingdom.  The Church was designed to be a community of people who believed the entire word of God and stood on it unwaveringly.  Instead in 2011 new churches spring up every time someone disagrees with a portion of scripture (who gave anyone the authority to disagree with Jesus anyway).  In 2011 churches seldom work together for the cause of Christ, they work alone for their own personal cause.  We have become so territorial by taking the scripture out of context.  God isn't interested in building our church.  He is interested in building His Church.  Preachers talk about other preachers the way day-time talk shows gossip about celebrities.  This all grieves the heart of God.  We have forgotten who is on our team and who we are supposed to be up against.  It's not about my church or your church but His church.

Perfect Candidate

Recently I spoke with a teenage girl named Jessica and heard Jessica's heart ripping life story. Jessica has been abused, molested, raped, abandoned, made fun of, labelled, hurt, and broken.  Unfortunately, Jessica's story is very similar to the stories of many teenage girls in America.  Jessica expressed to me how she wanted to share her story with other girls like her but she didn't know how or if she even could.  I told her that not only could she be used of God to comfort other young girls but that she was a perfect candidate to be used of God. When I read the Bible and I listen to the stories of how God changes people's lives He always seems to use the least likely people to do the most damage to Satan's plan.  He humbles the exalted and exalts the humble.  His glory shines brighter when He uses people that the world has thrown out.  To the world Jessica is just a statistic, another horrible teenage story that will no doubt end badly.  To God Jessica is triumph waiting to happen, an incredible story of grace and mercy.  God's perfect candidate is not the person who has it all together, dresses nicely, and comes from a great family.  God's perfect candidate is the person who has reached their end and is in desperate need of a Savior.  He likes using the messed up and broken because they don't take the credit.  Don't try to dress to impress Him.  Simply be available and open and you are His "Perfect Candidate"

Simply Obey

Obedience sounds simple, it does.  Just do what the Lord says. Easy enough, right? But why is it so hard.  Yeah, I know we live in a fallen world and have hearts filled with sin at birth. I know disobedience enter the Garden very early and it is something that man has dealt with since the beginning.  I know that disobedience is as the sin of witchcraft.  But you think if we had the technology to control a satellite in space and find a mass murder hiding in a compound in Pakistan, we should be able to simply obey.  My son has recently shed some light on this subject for me.  Yes, my 5yr old son has given me insight on a significant sin issue. 

Will has a big problem with obeying me.  In fact, he rarely listens to anything me or my wife says to him.  He is caught up in his own 5yr old world doing his 5yr old things and it messes up things  when the big people try to intervene in his 5yr old world.  “Rules are boring Daddy…I don’t want to listen Mommy”.  Instead of putting his toys up, he will rearrange his brother’s toys.  He will say “I’m just trying to help you out”.   He will try to go above the obedience and try to impress me or get on my good side much like I try to do with God. I am so much like my son and my son is so much like me.  I am the 5yr old kid who doesn’t want the rules and listen to the stuff that big, enormous God says sometimes.  I want to keep playing in my 27yr old world.  Saul gives the greatest example of attempting to impress God with his disobedience.  Sometimes I try, we try to impress God with our cool abilities, talents, skills instead of simply obeying Him and saying “Yes Sir”.  The Bible makes it very clear that God blesses those who obey. I think sometimes I forget that I am little 27yr old Josh, and He is giant God.  It doesn’t take creative thinking, planning, schemes, or tactics to obey.  Let’s complicate this thing as we have done with most things in the church.  It’s simple.  Say, “Yes Sir”.

Strain

As I sit and wallow in self pity thinking about the dark, miserable situations in my life, I wonder how they compare to the likes of David, Paul, and Peter.  I read in Psalms where David said, "My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me."  Instantly I thought me and King David were in the same boat, fighting the same battle.  I am in a situation where I am waiting on God to show up and so was he.  And then I thought about Paul, Peter, Elijah and others being there as well.  We have all been at that place of straining to see the promises of God in our lives.  That place where we wonder if the desert will ever end.  The place of constant head scratching.  The place where all we have is 5 loaves and 2 fish, and we are waiting on Jesus to turn it into a feast.
But before I was too comforted in my little community of pain and sorrow, God whispered something to me.
"You haven't been there like they have been there"
It's true that those great conquerers of the Bible have been through there fair share of struggles, and we can take comfort in knowing that we are not alone. But we haven't been to the same places they have been too.  You and I have never walked around a literal desert for 40 years like Moses.  You and I haven't been chased by a bipolar king who wanted us dead like David.  You and I haven't been shipwrecked, imprisoned, and beaten like Paul.  So take comfort in this...You and I really don't have it so bad. Maybe if you and I spend more time counting our blessings than discounting God's timing we would be much better off.

Unsatisfaction

I have a disease. It's called unsatisfaction. My disease hurts me and benefits me. I am never satisfied with almost everything in my life. I can never get educated enough. I can never get fit enough. I am never in the right financial situation. I haven't accomplished enough or worked hard enough. I haven't loved enough or given enough. I haven't touched enough lives or changed enough situations. I don't feed the hungry enough, give shelter to the homeless enough, or answer the cries of the hurting enough. I haven't prayed enough or studied the Word enough. I am not close enough to Christ. I'm never close enough to my wife and family. I'm never a good enough speaker, teacher, mentor, it motivator. Unsatisfaction drives me. It keeps me awake at night. It keeps me from becoming stale and bored. Unsatisfaction also keeps me from rest. It makes me weary. I understand that I may never be, have, or do enough, but God covers my gaps. The only thing I am satisfied in is Him. He is complete in every way. So to sum this up: My unsatisfaction leads to my satisfaction.

Are You All In

I have never been good at poker.  In fact, I don't even like it, and I am completely against gambling.  But there is an interesting dynamic that poker brings that the church and individuals should look at.  It's the "All In" way of living.  In poker if you think you have the overwhelming best hand or if you are just a risk taker you will bet everything you've got.  You will lay everything out on the line.  If you play poker in a safe, no risk way, you will likely be a horrible player.  You have to take risks.  You have to believe you have the best hand.
As Christ followers and members of the unified body of Christ we have to believe we have the best hand.  Even if we are holding just a pair of 2's we still have a way better chance of winning than our enemy.  We must live our lives believing and knowing that what we are holding trumps what the enemy of our soul is holding.  We have to take risks and chances and see God prove Himself big in our lives.  We must be willing to bet the house.  We must be willing to give everything we have or we need to get out of the game.  Are you "All In"?

The 7 Year Itch

About 7 years ago I began to experience something that confused me but now makes sense.  I began to "suffer" from a skin disorder called Eczema.  My skin get severely dry which causes it to crack and bleed.  It also itches severely.  I don't think you would understand how bad it itches unless you actually had Eczema.  I will at times scratch my hands almost uncontrollably.  I have also unfortunately passed this trait down to my two sons.  I have at times thought about why I would have developed this disorder out of the blue in 2003 and why I haven't always had it.
I have also wondered how a crack addict can never get enough and will do anything to get his fix.  I have wondered why an alcoholic always needs another drink.  I have wondered why "meth-heads" would go to such suicidal extremes to get high.  I have wondered why dogs return to their vomit.  You see for those of us who have never tasted those things it is difficult to put ourselves in the shoes of a drug addict or alcoholic.  It's hard for me to understand why someone will steal from his family just to get more of something that is ruining his life.  I never knew why it is so hard not to scratch that itch until I had Eczema.  Eczema is that thorn in my side that allows me to put drug and alcohol addiction among other things into perspective.  I was once very bitter and confused about this shin disorder.  I know find myself thankful for another one of God's weird life lessons.  So when you find yourself with a thorn in your side like Paul, allow God to show you why it is there.

Live to Love

We are all born with Love.  We are all full of Love.  Yes, we are born in a world filled with hate and sin, and we are born into sin (thanks adam and eve!), but we are born full of Love.  We were made in God's likeness, and God is the very definition of Love.  Our problem is finding where to put our Love.  Where is it supposed to go?
Family...friends...stuff...hobbies...jobs...pets...boyfriend/girlfriend...?
We take chance on where to place our buckets full of Love and often have them just knocked over by people.  We expect to receive Love when we give Love and we should. But we get frustrated and angry when we misplace our Love in the wrong spots and don't get Loved back.  We tend to give up on the Love we have to give.  Our Love grows cold and dark and starts to decay.  Our Love must be put in the proper places for it to grow.  There are 3 ways our Love must be lived out.

1.  Worship.  We were created to worship.  We spend our lives searching for that someone or something to give our Love in worship to.  When we worship anything other than our Creator, our Love decays. Misplaced Love in worship turns to hate.
2.  Relationships.  We were created for relationships with people and our Maker.  Our Love must be poured out in the right Godly relationships.  We waste our Love on relationships that drive us away from God.
3.  Cause.  We were created for a cause.  We must have a cause to spend our Love on.  Whether it's making the world cleaner, defeating starvation and poverty, fathering a fatherless generation, or stopping abortion, we must have a cause.

People hurt us, disappoint us, and abandon us.  This world is messed up and probably won't get any better. Teenagers are killing each other, men are cheating on their wives, and hate is running rampant across the nation.  But I can't help but thinking that if this world could just put their Love where it is supposed to go it wouldn't turn into hate.  I think it would help.

Perspective

We all have goals, dreams, and visions for our lives.  Well, at least you should have those things.  Let's be honest, for some of us those goals and dreams are a little out of focus.  We live in an age where competition reigns supreme and it truly is the survival of the fittest.  We must get bigger, stronger, faster, smarter, and greater.  We are at times willing to sacrifice important relationships with family and friends to get where we think we need to be.  We push and shove our way to the front like it's Black Friday and Walmart has 42" Samsung's for $199.  This attitude is shown by both Christians and non-Christians and even worse by some churches.
I wish I could have been born in the 40's. Life was much simpler. Sure, it may not have been as convenient but they had something in the 40's that we don't have now. Rest.  Rest, as simple four letter word that some of us don't like to hear.  We fear rest like we fear cancer.  If we sit and rest someone else will climb to the top of the mountain and our dreams will be crushed.
Allow me to throw some perspective your way and introduce you to perhaps a new life goal.
Genesis 26:28
"They replied, "We can plainly see that the Lord is with you."
This passage refers to how some disgruntled men viewed Isaac.  I know that in our society it may not "pay" to be Holy, but I assure you in God's society it does.  What if we all shifted our perspective to this way of life. To live in such a way that even our enemies can plainly see that the Lord is with you.  I am sure it would cause you to adjust some of those goals, dreams, and visions.