Vacation is good!

What a great time we had on vacation.  We were able to spend some time with great friends and family.  It was the first time I had taken two Sundays in a row off and even though we were only gone ten days when we returned it felt like I had been gone forever.  We even survived a week with the sister-in-law and her 6 month old son!  He actually is a great baby and uncle's don't have to change diapers so all was grand.  Vacations are something that I think all of us need and probably don't get enough of.
One of the best things about vacations is they let you get away from the normal hectic routine of life and offer a chance to recharge and reset a little bit.  I don't think I knew how much I needed to get away and recharge until after I got back home and felt relaxed and rejuvenated.  Sometimes when you're in the rat race of life you don't realize the need to step back and step away for awhile until you get a chance to and enjoy it so much.  I know it's not realistic to be able to take multiple day vacations very often during the year, unless you're a pastor and only work one day a week, but I think it is vital to our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well being to get away and break the routine once in awhile.
Even if we can't take days off we still need to find time to feed our souls and regenerate our batteries if you will.  How each of us goes about doing that is different for each person.  Hopefully all of us know what feeds us and what recharges our soul.  Whether it be reading a good book, watching silly TV shows, playing catch with the kids, having coffee with friends, meditating, praying or whatever, we need to be diligent about carving out space to enjoy those times.  Sometimes we get so busy with life that our blinders are on and all we can think about is keeping our head above water and getting to the next task.  Well, if you're anything like me when that happens for very long you aren't a very nice person to be around.  When I neglect to take care of myself I find myself being grumpy and a general stick in the mud.  When that happens I need to find time to break the routine even if it is for only 15 or 30 minutes.  I know I need to recharge or my family is going to tie me up for awhile.
I get into trouble because I tend to think that making time for myself is selfish.  I tend to think that I should be all about others and that any time I spend only on myself is taking away from others.  Well, there has to be a balance.  Yes we can't be all about ourselves, but we won't do anyone much good if we run ourselves raged trying to be all things for all people.  Taking time to slow down, recharge, rejuvenate, and take a vacation is not selfish.  In fact I'd say it is vital to our well being.  By taking care of ourselves we are better able to take care of others around us.  So I challenge you to find time to break the routine, get away even if it's 30 minutes locked in your bathroom reading a favorite book, so you can nourish your soul  and keep from being run silly in the rat race of life.

My sacrifice...? Surely you don't mean me!

I've been reading the book "not a fan." by Kyle Idleman and I'm not sure what to make of it.  The premise of the book is that many Christians are fans of Jesus.  Enthusiastic followers who admire what Jesus has done and what he can do to help them, but they aren't true followers.  Mr. Idleman would say that when the going gets tough or Jesus truly asks for a sacrifice or a change of life followers will do so and fans will fall away.  I guess if I boiled the book down to one sentence it might be this: if you want to consider yourself a true follower of Jesus then your life has to reflect some sort of sacrifice or real commitment to follow beyond lip service and rule following.  I can honestly say I like parts of the book and some parts I don't agree with, but it has gotten me thinking.
One question in particular was asked, "What have you sacrificed to follow Jesus?"  Huh...think about that question for a minute I'll wait.  Did you come up with something?  I know that question has stuck with me after reading it.  On one hand I don't want to think that Jesus may ask me to sacrifice something...money, job security, a friendship, my comfortable location in order to follow him more closely.  Frankly I like where I am in life and I may be resistant to change and or sacrifice.  On the other hand I do believe that our Christian walk has to involve some sort of sacrifice and there has to be some evidence that my life as a follower of Jesus is different.  How did you answer that question?  What is Jesus asking you to do?  Does it involve some sacrifice?  Are you willing to go there?  Not fun questions, but necessary ones.
I tend to gravitate to the stories of Jesus that talk about grace, unconditional love, and forgiveness.  I like hearing those because it comforts me to know Jesus offers all of those things.  I don't tend to spend enough time on the stories of Jesus challenging the power elite and religious authorities and where he offers challenges that seem to ask too much or make me uncomfortable.  I want to explain those stories away as Jesus talking to someone else and not me, but in fact Jesus is talking directly to me and to you.  I know all this talk about sacrifice and being challenged as to how you order and live your life can be uncomfortable, but they are a necessary balance.
I think we do ourselves an injustice, and limit Jesus' work in us, when we only focus on the "feel good" stories of Jesus.  Yes grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love are offered to us all the time, but Jesus also asks us for sacrifice and real action in our lives.  We have to offer Jesus more than just lip service and occasional worship.  Our faith can't be something we turn to once in awhile when we need some help through dark times.  Jesus does demand we give him our whole lives and do real work to further his message of unconditional love, forgiveness and grace.  I guess the question becomes what have you done in your life to show you are a follower of Jesus?  Are we willing to offer some real sacrifice in our lives?  Is Jesus important enough to us to place him as our greatest love and head of our whole lives?  All absolutely necessary questions and not necessarily fun ones to ask.

Father's Day

Yesterday was Father's Day, and what a great day it was.  A little boy was asked what the difference between Father's Day and Mother's Day was and he said you don't spend as much on the gift for dad!  That might be true for some, but I'm especially spoiled on Father's Day with my gifts...I have two with short blonde hair and one with slightly longer and darker colored hair.  The gift is they call me dad and husband and even after all of my screw ups they still tell me they love me every day.  Gifts don't come any better than that!

I've written on here, probably too many times, of how much I'm reminded of God's relationship with us when I sit back and observe my relationship with my boys.  Brace yourselves, because another reminder is coming your way.  I've been reading in the New Testament book of Ephesians, and in that book the author talks a lot about how we're supposed to act and reflect the image of Christ.  I can tell you that I wish I reflected the image of Christ more and that my boys reflected the image of me less!  How come they tend to pick up on the bad habits so quickly?  I can readily admit that I don't have a lot of patience for silly questions and not following directions (this lack of patience not one of my better qualities).  I had to stifle a giggle, or was it a tear, when I saw my oldest son reflecting that same quality when he was doing a project with his little brother.  It was like God had put up a mirror and I was looking at my interactions with Isaac sometimes.  Yikes...!  Do what I say boy not what I do!  Sometimes I wonder if God blessed me with these two boys to remind me of the things I need to work on in my own life.

I know God doesn't have any bad qualities that we can reflect, but I wonder if God shakes his head, as I do, when he sees his children not reflecting the image of Christ as they should.  I wonder if God says, "Do as I say and as I did through the life of Christ."  Is it easier to pick up and reflect the bad habits?  Is that why my kids seem to pick up on mine?  Or am I too quick to criticize and not quick enough to praise the good things I see?  I bet it's more of the latter...I don't praise them enough when they are taking after their mom and being little angels!

I wonder if we are like that with ourselves a little bit too.  I/We are very critical of ourselves.  We are very quick to point out all of our faults and the areas of our lives where we know we should be better.  Why aren't we as quick to highlight and emphasize the good qualities we have?  Is it because we've been raised not to brag about ourselves?  I bet if we took some time to emphasize our good qualities some of the not so good qualities would fade away a little bit.  I'm not saying we need to stop working on making ourselves better, but we need to stop being so hard on ourselves all of the time and acknowledge the good we do too.  I'm going to be better about doing that with my boys, and also with myself.  Will  you join me?

God and baseball?

Over the weekend Isaac played in his first baseball tournament in Woodbine.  It was an 8U tournament and the boys played some of their best baseball of the season.  Warning...warning...father brag alert...Isaac took second place in the home run derby missing out on a tie for first by a foot.  All in all it was a great day.  The tournament offered the boys their most competitive baseball environment yet and this also translated to moms and dads cheering on the sideline.  I think I have a small glimpse into how God might feel watching us from time to time.  Let me explain.
As I sat and watched Isaac and the boys play I so badly wanted them to do well and succeed.  I thought about the practices they've had and the previous games and hoped they'd learn from past experience and would play well on Saturday.  I also was hoping that my son would remember the endless talks from dad about enjoying the game, being a good sport, no "Isaac" face, and to try your best and don't focus on the mistakes.  All the while I know there's nothing I can do about it right at that instant.  He's going to perform as he's going to perform and I can only watch right now.  It is kind of a helpless feeling.  I can encourage him from the sidelines, although not nearly as loud as his mom,  and cheer him on, but ultimately it's up to him right?  During the game he and his teammates are on their own.
Do you suppose our relationship with God is much the same way?  I'm not sure God ever feels helpless, but does he shake his head when we make mistakes like I shake my head when Isaac makes mistakes or doesn't act perfectly as I expect. ;-)  Does God get as frustrated as coaches and fans when we make silly mistakes or the same mistakes over and over again?  Does God want to pull God's hair out when no matter how many times you've been told not to do something you go ahead and do it anyway?  Does God want to throw in the towel when we ignore clear instructions that we've been taught and read in his word as I do when Isaac doesn't listen?  I sometimes imagine God as the big parent who wonders why his kids don't just ask for direction instead of blindly trying to find their way on their own.
God has to feel like a parent on the sideline of a game as he watches us go through life.  God hurts when we make mistakes, God shakes God's head when we don't ask for guidance or ignore what we've been told, and I imagine God might get a little angry when we clearly go against his will especially when we know better.  Is it any wonder when we get a cosmic spanking once in awhile to wake us from our unruly ways?  We have the perfect parent and all the instructions we need in order to live the fullest life we can, but like kids we think we know better and that we don't need help.  Maybe we should take our own advice and listen to God and stop thinking we know what's best for us.

Volleyball and Friends

Yesterday I was reminded again how much sand, sun and friends go so well together.  The Buck Snort in Neola held a sand volleyball tournament to benefit Jason and Kaylee.  Tracy organized two teams of our friends to play and after church we headed over for some good old fashioned embarrassment.  There ended up being 12 teams and to put it nicely I believe we raised the average age a little bit...yeah just a little bit.  Never mind the fact most of us haven't played competitive volleyball for a few years...if ever.  Oh well, none of that mattered because we weren't there to win; we were there to help raise some money for the Schneckloth's and to have some fun with friends.  I would say the afternoon was a success because I'm not judging success on wins and losses.  No one pulled a hammy or tore an Achilles's, and it was a fun afternoon with friends with some beautiful weather.
Sometimes I'm amazed at the way God works in my life.  I'm amazed that Tracy still agreed to go on that first date with me after the "coach" comment during one of our league volleyball games so many years ago.  I'm amazed at the church family, friends, school and community that God has lead us to and I could continue with the list but you'll get bored.  I was amazed by God yesterday, and reminded how blessed my family is by our friends, because of how my sermon about prayer and relationship tied into the afternoon of fun and frivolity with friends.  Relationships are important...obviously.  The relationship with your significant other, your family, your friends, your coworkers, your neighbors and maybe most importantly your God.  Relationships are what sustain you through the bad times and carry you through the wave of good times, and if we neglect those relationships then they won't be as strong when we truly need them.
My sermon on Sunday was on a familiar topic...prayer.  We looked at the 17th chapter of John and Jesus' prayer for his disciples and us.  I talked about the power of knowing that Jesus, or savior and creator of the universe, prays for us and intercedes for us on our behalf before God.  Just stop and think about that...Jesus prayed for and is praying for you, yes you.  How does that knowledge change how we view ourselves or how we pray ourselves?  Prayer is one of the primary ways we can strengthen our relationship with God.  Prayer isn't all about bringing our list to God and hoping God fulfills our wishes.  Prayer is mostly about tuning our minds, hearts, and souls to God's will and strengthening our relationship with God so our faith grows and we know the mind of God better.  Just like our earthly relationships need work and time with the other to grow our relationship with God needs the same tender loving care.  The big difference is that unlike earthly relationships God's love and care and forgiveness never wavers or falters.  Have you prayed today?  Have you given some effort towards a relationship that needs work in your life?

Relax..breath...and enjoy.

Wow...it has been a long time since I did any blogging on here, Oct. 14th!  Oh well, better late then never.  As I sit in my office and see the freshly fallen snow outside my window and slowly wait for the feeling to come back to my ears and fingers I wonder if this truly is the most wonderful time of the year!  Okay, I'm only half kidding.  I love Christmas and all it stands for, but I could do without the freezing cold and snow.  I gave a sermon yesterday about priorities, Christmas, hoping and working toward making this holiday season the best one yet.  Just one more thing to add to our never ending to do list this Christmas season right?  Some silly pastor asking us to actually dream about the perfect Christmas and then rearrange our priorities to work at making that dream come true.  Just some more of that pie in the sky stuff from Pastor Brian right?!  Well yes and no.
I'm fully aware that this time of the year may not be all that jolly for everyone and that we are at our wits end just getting everything done and ready for the celebration.  I'm also aware of the guilt that can be felt when we're reminded of the reason for the season and how we should be paying more attention to celebrating the birth of our savior but frankly we just don't have time.  Can I get an amen!  Well maybe we need to just give in and stop all the worrying about priorities and simply try and enjoy the season.  That's right...I said maybe we need to give up the guilt and simply enjoy the season.
Now, I'm not saying we throw in the towel and get rid of any thought of preparing for and celebrating the birth of Jesus.  What I am saying is sometimes we put so much pressure on ourselves to find the perfect gift, make the perfect meal, get the house looking perfect, finding the perfect outfit, being in the perfect Christmas mood that when Christmas comes it isn't a celebration it's a relief it's here and gone.  That certainly doesn't sound like the Christmas spirit to me.  How would Christmas be different if we just let go of that illusion of perfection?  None of us are perfect and we certainly can't make the holiday season perfect so maybe we should just stop trying.  A little dust on the window sill is ok...a store bought salad will be just fine...the gift can be exchanged...there has to be something in your closet that looks good!  The reason this season is so special I believe is because we are afford the opportunity to get together with family and to share gifts, time and energy.  The season is also so special because we are reminded, amongst all the glitter and ads, that our creator loved us enough to be born as a peasant and live as one of us.
I don't want to ad another thing to your already full list.  What I want is to maybe take a few things off that list so you can sit back and enjoy the season.  Let go of the need for perfection and just enjoy our ability to be with family and friends this season.  Soak in the Christmas Spirit and let the rest of the stuff take care of itself.

Boom goes the dynamite!

I was watching the baseball playoffs last night something pretty cool happened.  In the bottom of the 8th inning the Boston Red Sox came back to tie the game and then eventually won the game in the bottom of the 9th.  Tracy could barely contain her excitement because she lives for playoff baseball!  Now I know what you're thinking...that doesn't sound very cool or exciting.  Well, if you had been watching the game you would have thought there was no chance the Red Sox would be able to win.  In fact ESPN said their chances of winning were less then 4%.  For 7 innings the Detroit Tigers had dominated the Red Sox to the point the hitters looked dumbfounded at the plate.  To top it off the Red Sox were down 4 runs in the bottom of the 8th and facing a Detroit bullpen that had been lights out.  I promise there's a point to all of this!  It would have been easy for the Red Sox to just pack it in.  They could have felt it wasn't their night, everything was going against them, and they should just wait for the next game and hope things were better.  Instead, David Ortiz hits a game tying home run and changes the whole complexion of the game and series.  A great lesson in not giving up hope...ever.
Not giving up in sports, and of course life, is something I've been trying to instill in my boys.  I understand they are still very young in their sport's careers, but I really want them to understand that no matter how tough the circumstances you don't give up.  Sports gives us a great opportunity to teach that lesson over and over again.  In my limited experience coaching the boys I see how easily they get down, blame each other, and generally pout when things don't go their way.  The idea of building each other up and working as a team isn't something they have completely grasped yet.  As I see them play more and more I hope they grow into this, but I wonder if we ever grow into that mindset completely.  Ha, I think teamwork is a foreign concept in Washington, but I digress.
As adults I think we too can be quick to get down, blame others, and generally pout when things go badly.  I know it's easier for me to scapegoat somebody or something instead of looking in the mirror.  I also know it is sometimes easier to tear down instead of work together and build up...especially if you may or may not particularly like who you are working with.  Maybe my second grade football team is simply a reflection of what we are like as adults.  I'd like to think we've grown but have we?  What is our reaction when the sledding gets tough?  Do we pull our boots on a little tighter and work harder or do we complain and blame the world?  What happens to our spiritual life when we hit one of life's valleys?  Do we blame God and turn away from God because we think it's obvious God doesn't care about us any more?  Or do we continue to pray and have faith that there will be light at the end of the tunnel knowing we may not understand our circumstances now but trusting in God to walk with us?  I know I find complaining pretty easy.  I also know and have seen the rewards of working hard through obstacles and tough times only to see faith rewarded and lessons learned.  So, take it from a second grade flag football coach...you got to be willing to work together as a team, you can't give up, and you have to have faith that the Spirit will guide you through.