Setting the Pace

On our bike ride this morning, my son became the teacher. One of my muscles kept cramping up and I could not keep up. When we reached the point about halfway to our turnaround spot, I got the boy's attention; we stopped and had a meeting. I shared my problem with him and offered to wait at this spot while he rode to the turnaround spot and back where I'd rejoin him and we'd finish our ride.

He would not allow it. Instead, he told me I could lead out and set the pace. I could stop whenever I wanted and we could go as slowly as I needed to keep my thigh from twisting in a knot. He wanted us to do this together, no matter how long it took. Dang.

I took a minute to rest and refresh, then led the way. I moved gingerly and slowly along the path, trying to go as fast as I felt comfortable going so my son would have a reasonably OK time with his mom this morning. After a few minutes, this sweet boy rode up next to me and told me I was doing just fine and the pace I was setting was very comfortable. However, if I wanted to turn around at any time, he would be OK with that.

There was no way I was going to rob that boy of meeting his goal this morning, so I kept pressing on. Forty-five minutes or so later, we had completed the entire planned course and had returned to our car. We went a little slower than usual and stopped a couple of times for water breaks, but we were successful in our quest.

Isn't that exactly how we are told to treat our Christian family as we grow together in Him?

And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. 1 Thessalonians 5:14

If my son's goal had been to finish his ride well, he would have been better off leaving me at that first stop and picking me up on the way back. But that wasn’t his goal. He wanted us to experience this ride together. The enjoyment was in sharing the experience. As we grow in our spiritual walk, our Christian siblings are right alongside us. Sometimes, I can get so caught up in pursuing my spiritual goals I forget to encourage those who may be struggling.

The "lead, follow, or get out of the way" approach may work in some circumstances, but not when we are supposed to be finishing this race together. Sometimes we need to be willing to slow down and work side-by-side with our struggling siblings. It might not be the pace we prefer, but it is the pace God prefers.

Lesson learned, babe. Thanks.

To Tell The Truth

Can someone explain to me what is so dadburned difficult about simply being honest? I have reached my limit of people telling me they have done something only to find they have not. Especially when the information they give me results in me making commitments and answering questions in ways I know now are dishonest. Right now I am livid, but moving from that into severe disappointment. I'm sure I'll get to forgiveness eventually.

We all want to be seen in our best light. But "fudging" the truth or telling "little white lies" to make ourselves look better in the short term severely damages our testimony in the long term. Not only does it damage our personal testimony, it damages the credibility of the Christian community to non-Christians. Whether we like it or not, the lost world is watching. We all mess up occasionally (Romans 3:23), but our goal should be to avoid that at all costs. When we allow sinful behavior -such as lying- to become habitual is where we not only hurt ourselves but potentially others who are watching us.

If we don't look different than anyone else in the world, why does the world need Christ? Why should they voluntarily place themselves under the authority of some unseen being if it won't bring them some positive change in their life? If Christians are guilty of the same garbage as the rest of the world, trapped by the same sins as the rest of the world, damaging their reputations and their families just like the rest of the world, then what's the difference?

I see the world's point.

It is for FREEDOM that Christ has set us free!!! We have the potential to be free from the consequences of sinful behavior because we were given the supernatural ability to flee from that sinful behavior in the first place (James 4:7). We have the potential to bring healing to our families (Eph. 5:21-28, Psalm 68:6). We have the potential to encourage others to enjoy the same freedoms (Matthew 28:19). Why do we squander our freedom in Christ for short term comforts??

Rant over. For now.

But above all, my brothers, do not swear, either by heaven or by earth or by any other oath, but let your "yes" be yes and your "no" be no, so that you may not fall under condemnation. - James 5:12

Our OFFICE Par-tay!!

This is how we are celebrating the long-anticipated premiere of season 4 of our favorite show, THE OFFICE!!

It is a Fiesta to celebrate Oscar's Mexicanity (a la a special Office event from last season)! They served frozen Swanson Chimichangas, but they were sold out at our local grocery store this afternoon....I wonder why....

Instead, we made mini-chimis, tacos with freshly fried taco shells with all the fixins and

lemoñadé

You east-coasters are already enjoying it, but it's 2-1/2 hours away for us. Oh, the anticipation!

And we have ice cream sandwiches for dessert (another tribute to a memorable episode)!

YAY!! I can't wait!!!

UPDATE: "I'm not superstitious...I'm just a little-stitious." Favorite Office quote EVER. I may turn it into a t-shirt.

Some of the gags stepped on the line, possibly crossing a bit. I really don't like it when that happens. I did laugh a lot. Either you love it or you hate it.

Thoughtful Worship

I was transfixed by a passage in 1 Corinthians yesterday, specifically Ch 14:10-20. The passage discusses the usefulness of speaking in tongues in worship, but that is not what captured me. What I fell asleep considering was verse 15:

"...I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. I will sing with my spirit, but I will also sing with my mind."

So often, we find ourselves in two camps: Those who interact with God full of emotion and those who interact with God on a very logical plane. I have noticed, sadly, a very judgemental attitude pointed at both points of view, usually from someone who holds the differing opinion. Our churches are often placed in one "camp" or another, based on these two ways of communicating with our Savior.

But this scripture and the surrounding passages tell us neither approach is fully correct. We are called to worship God with our spirits (emotionally) while being conscious of what we are doing and why we are doing it (using our minds). Approaching God completely caught up in the emotional aspects of worship is no more complete than approaching God solely through intellectual pursuits. Neither approach is wrong, but limiting our method of interaction with God limits our experience and understanding of this Great Redeemer whom we serve.

It also limits our ability to draw others into a closer relationship with Him. If what we do to worship God doesn't make sense, some will never understand. If what we do is without emotion, some will never recognize the healing and freedom they can experience in Christ.

We are called to pray emotionally and logically. We need to be thoughtful of how we approach our Sovereign God while fully enjoying our ability to come boldly to the Throne of Grace! We are to sing as though we are children at a choir recital, excited to show our Dad what we can do for Him. We need to consider the words we sing, too. Like my earthly Daddy always said, don't sing it if you don't mean it.

I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene,
And wonder how He could love me, A sinner, condemned unclean.
How marvelous! How wonderful! And my song shall ever be:
How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior's love for me!

Are you overwhelmed by the thoughts shared in this verse? If we sing it -and mean it- we can't help but get emotional over the whole thing!

It is great to know that, when it comes to worship, emotion and thought go hand-in-hand.

Different Troubles, Same Need

My fall allergies came at me all at once this past weekend. I am only now getting to the point where I can function well again. For me, my first clue that it is allergy season for me is overwhelming fatigue. The constant searching for moments to sneak away for a nap or 'just to rest my eyes' gets ridiculous within the first 24 hours. I am on my allergy medication now and expect to be my old bike-riding, gym-going self in short order.

When I shared my troubles with a friend she was surprised. As most people do, she assumed allergies are at their worst for everyone in the spring and summer seasons. For me, they come on soon after the first good rain. I suspect mold is the culprit. Whatever the source of my allergies, finding a proper treatment and using that treatment makes all the difference in the quality of my life and the lives of my family (I can be a little grumpy when I feel tired all the time. Anyone else?)

Isn't it interesting that, although God made all of us in His image, we are still very unique? We have endless combinations of eye, skin, and hair color, size, shape, etc. We also are unique in the way we interact with the world. Some are very sensitive to light, others aren't. Some love broccoli, some don't. Some struggle with allergies in the spring, some are more sensitive in the fall and some don't have allergies at all. We are also unique in what tempts us to sin.

Although we all sin, we are all tempted in different ways. Some are more likely to sin when alcohol is present. Some can fall into the sin of gossip pretty easily when surrounded by talkative people. Some are quick to start cursing when placed in frustrating situations. Some are more tempted by inappropriate movies or music. Some people are not tempted by any of these situations while others are tempted in ways we would never suspect.

We all engage in activities we enjoy and love to include friends and loved ones in our endeavors. When we encourage others to participate in our stuff, we need to be sensitive to their weaknesses as well as their ability to enjoy the activity with us. As Christian siblings, part of our role is to keep each other accountable to the standards placed before us in the Word. We might be fine watching a PG-13 romantic comedy, but it might cause our friend to begin to fantasize about someone other than their spouse. Enjoying a glass of wine might be relaxing for us, but it could open a door to drunkenness for those we care about who are tempted by alcohol. Including a friend in a game of bowling might tempt them to use an expletive or two when that ball doesn't go where they want it to go.

We can't assume that because we know all a lot about temptation that we know what issues tempt others. Such an assumption can cause us to place someone in a situation that is tempting to them even if we can't see why such a situation would be a temptation. I guess this is another example of why we need to be in constant communication with those we care about.

Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food. All food is clean, but it is wrong for a man to eat anything that causes someone else to stumble. It is better not to eat meat or drink wine or to do anything else that will cause your brother to fall. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the man who does not condemn himself by what he approves. - Romans 14:20-22

Horrible Hyphen Halt!

link: Thousands of Hyphens Perish

"Bumble-bee is now bumblebee, ice-cream is ice cream and pot-belly is pot belly.
And if you've got a problem, don't be such a crybaby (formerly cry-baby)."

They say it is because most people don't know how to use hyphens properly. I'd be horrified, hurt or even huffish, but I didn't even realize 'ice-cream' should be hyphenated in the first place. If you aren't part of the solution...