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.  

Cheap Hot Dogs, Spray Cheese, and Loving People

One of my favorite foods of all time is a loaded hot dog with sweet relish.  But I can't have just any hot dog wiener.  I can't stand cheap hot dogs, and it's not because I am too refined for them.  It's because they are gross and give you gas.  Have you ever read the ingredient list on a hot dog package.  Things like "mechanically separated pork and chicken, red dye #76, and sodium nitrite," should not be a part of your dinner.  Have you ever had the ones that turn your water red when you boil them-they are my mom's favorites. Ugh!  I like an all natural/all beef hot dog.  Yes, they cost at least twice as much as their mechanically separated counterparts.  But at least I know that I am eating real food that God made.

Now about the Spray Cheese.  Just say that with me...
"Spray Cheese"
Kinda rolls of the the tongue like..."Stomach Cramps"
There is nothing good or wholesome about Spray Cheese.  If I am gonna eat cheese, I want the real stuff not some aerosol concoction.  If there is any Spray Cheese in your home, stop reading this, run to the pantry and throw it away...NOW!  Trust me you are a better person for it.

So what do Cheap Hot Dogs and Spray Cheese have anything to do with loving people.
A Great Deal.
Odds are if you were to the President come over for dinner you would not feed them cheap hot dogs, saltines with spray cheese, and Kool-Aid. For that matter you shouldn't feed those things to anyone unless you wanted them to have stomach cramps.  But the truth is we are figuratively feeding people cheap hot dogs and spray cheese with the way we love them every day.  There is a huge difference between pure, natural, organic love for people and man-made, forced, fake love.  Fake, cheap love leaves people poisoned much like a bad hot dog or aerosol cheese.  Sure natural, organic love cost more, takes more time to prepare, and can be messy.  But natural, organic love also tastes much better and leaves our spirits unclogged.  Love is not something that can be forced in us or out of us.  Loving people must come out of a natural progression in our relationship with Christ.  God will give us the heart and the ability to love people in a beautifully organic way.  He commands us to love our neighbor of the love He has poured out onto us.  He doesn't expect us to manufacture some artificial love to love people with.  That's what the world does.  This world gives out cheap hot dogs and spray cheese in the form of entertainment, bad relationships, and addictions.  We can't allow ourselves as Christ followers to hand out the same love this world is handing out.  Our love must be His love.

Bigger Cup Please!

This morning I began to pray and ask God for something which isn't at all abnormal for me.  I am going to be a little transparent if it is ok.  I began to ask God for a bigger cup. You know, kinda like the Prayer of Jabez..."Oh Sovereign Lord, enlarge my boundaries, broaden my tent pegs."  I thought it was a pretty good prayer, but mine went like this..."Hey God, I think I need a bigger cup, mine is kinda like a sippy cup and I want a BIG cup."  Before I could even finish my eloquent prayer, the Holy Spirit stopped me and said, "Hey Josh, you haven't filled your cup up yet. You gotta fill yours up first."  Then I stopped praying and moped for a while like a little kid.
You see my son Will is 5, and he drinks out of little cups.  Not only does he drink out of little cups, but we don't even fill his little cup up all the way.  The reason we don't fill it all the way is because we don't trust him enough yet with a full cup.  He will end up spilling the whole thing everywhere, and we would be the ones cleaning up.  So essentially the Holy Spirit was telling me that I am too much like my son Will, and I can't handle a big cup yet.  But man I really want a bigger cup.  Maybe if I quit spilling what God gives me things would be different.  I want to note that there is a BIG difference between spilling and pouring.  If I pour out what God gives out, God will give me more. If I spill out what God gives out, God will hold out.  I am gonna get my big cup...

Reflection

"I always begin my prayer in silence, for it is in the silence of the heart that God speaks. God is the friend of silence-we need to listen to God because it's not what we say but what He says to us and through us that matters"   -Mother Theresa

This year more than any other I have learned how to reflect on God.  I have learned how to be silent and allow everything to slow down and recognize God.  I have always been told that I am a quiet person.  I believe silence is underrated.  I think if more people would shut up more often the world would be in better shape.  We must learn how to harness our thoughts, shut our mouths, and let God speak.  I love to go fishing, and it's not because I am a great fisherman.  I love to just sit and stare out at the water and imagine God.  I love to sit in silence and dream.  My dad was a great fisherman. He would sit in a boat for hours perfectly content without saying a word.  For the 3 months he lived for Christ, I bet he was a great prayer.
The more I am able to sit in silence and reflect on God, the more I am able to see God's reflection in all of creation.  This world needs silence desperately.  We need to turn off our lives and tune into Him.  Elisha learned the beauty of a whisper from God.  Sometimes my son Will tries to talk to me from the backseat of the car.  He speaks so softly that I have to turn the radio down to hear Him.  Why does God speak so softly?  He would like to know if we are willing to turn down the radio to hear Him speak.  Is His voice important enough to you that you would be willing to stop the madness and sit in silence?  Reflect on Him and see His reflection.

The Harvest

As a boy, my dad always kept a garden in our backyard and at my grandparents' house. I would always have to help with every phase of the garden from working the ground, to plowing, to planting, watering, and then harvesting. Now my favorite part in the whole process was watering because it took the least amount of effort and what kid doesn't like playing with the water hose. My least favorite part in the art of gardening was the harvesting. Don't get me wrong its exciting to get to the point where you can actually enjoy the fruits of your labor. But harvesting was hard work, and you had to have a keen sense for knowing what was ready and what wasn't. My dad plucked the easy stuff like the tomatoes and peppers. He left the joy of picking peas, beans, squash, blueberries, carrots, and potatoes to me. It was back-breaking, agonizing, tedious, hard work, but someone had to do it. In all the stages of a garden you would think that harvesting would be the one everyone would line up to do. Jesus states that there is a severe shortage of harvesters, but there was no shortage of planters or waterers. Planting is fun, watering is fun, but harvesting is hard selfless work. As Christian we are called to a very selfless lifestyle. It is a lifestyle of You and not I, Him and not me. In order to be a harvester you have to notice things that planters and waterers don't. You can't just go into a garden and pick peas prematurely (how do you like that alliteration?!). They have to be ready to pick. You have to be in tune with you garden (now I'm starting to sound like a hippie) You have to watch that garden which also means you have to keep it free from bugs and rodents who would try to destroy the crop and limit the harvest. Most of us tend to want the easiest jobs in the Kingdom. It would be great if the harvest was like the Jubilee that happens on the shores of Mobile Bay every year where people just walk up and gather oxygen deprived fish without much work. I would love to have someone walk up to me randomly at Walmart, fall on their knees, and beg to know Christ. Unfortunately the spiritual harvest rarely works like that. In order to be a harvester in God's kingdom I have got to get down to where His crops are, notice them, keep watch over them, and gently pull them into the Kingdom when they are ready.