I received a call today from a friend in great need. I have been speaking to him on a regular basis over the last few weeks and all seemed to be fine. That is until today. He called to open up about what he had been walking through. I will say I was a bit suprised to hear about his previous week. Not disappointed not let down just suprised. It really hit me today that we don't really know what goes on behind closed doors do we?
We can sometimes paint people into a corner with our assumptions. We like to assume everything is okay with everyone around us because we don't really want to know the truth. What's the old saying? "What we don't know won't bother us." No I think it's what we don't know won't infringe on our time." Maybe it's "what we don't know won't take us out of our comfort zone." Whatever my failing 40 year old memory can't recall I do know we can feel like we're supposed to be the person others perceive us to be.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not espousing pop psychology and blaming everyone else for our shortcomings. You and I are ultimately responsible for how we live and how we respond to others. I'm just saying we could be doing a little better when it comes to meeting people where they truly are and not where we think they are.
It was a big step for my friend to lay it all out there to me today. He was a little scared to call and tell me. I blame myself for that to a certain extent because I haven't done a good job of dealing with him where he is, only where I perceived him to be.
How many people do we have in our lives that we're treating the same way? My guess is that for most of us it would be many. Most of us aren't intentional in our relationships. They just float by like clouds on a lazy afternoon. There is no purpose in our conversation and no method to our actions. I don't support having actions that are contrived, just meaningful.
Relationships can slowly fade away with the lack of intentional pursuit. They won't dissappear in an instant but you'll notice it the instant they're gone.
I can't think of a relationship that is more valuable to pursue than one with Jesus Christ. Do we start our day purposely seeking to glorify God or do we just let life come at us and pick up our "God shield" every time we need to deflect something that could be hurtful or inconvienient?
At different times in my years I have exhibited a faith of convenience. Bringing it to the forefront when the tsunami was ready to break on top of me instead of vacating the coastline the second the warning came.
We can't afford to live a life without intention. There is too much at stake. The very moment you finish reading this blog I challenge you to tell God exactly how you're going to honor Him for the next 10 minutes. Then do it. I am going to do the same.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Sunday, January 18, 2009
A Brand New Week
Tomorrow is the first day of a brand new week. A day I would like to rename " The Eve of Destruction." Now before some of you reference my first blog, I am not hating. I am being a realist.
I do not hate President-elect Obama. I actually think he seems like a pretty decent guy. He hasn't done anything to make me think otherwise. I will not speculate that he won the election in an underhanded way nor will I walk around spewing the phrase " He's not my President." That position shows the ignorance of a lot of people. He will be my President in 2 days. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him on all of the issues. I most certainly don't. But for me to say he's not my president would be spitting on the graves of all who have fought and died for this incredible country.
Millions have fought to allow Obama and every President before him the right to win a fair and open election. So please don't anyone from the right side of the spectrum walk around spewing that tripe. And you on the left, please don't float around thinking the world is going to grab hands and sing cum-by-yah.
The new President is a human being and said a lot of things just to get elected just as most political candidates before him. If we look back a year from now there will be many campaign promises he made that won't be fufilled. It will be spun as a changing of circumstances that forced him to do so. That being the case, he should have never made the promises in the first place unless he made them citing a potential change in circumstances.
My point is that neither side is perfect. A lesson I learned while playing in the Major Leagues for 9 seasons. Both the players and the owners are wrong in different areas. Republicans and Democrats are wrong in different areas too.
I am not excited about what the next four years brings with it. That being said I'm not scared either. As a Christian I know who has my life in the palm of His hand . It wasn't George Bush and it won't be President-elect Obama. It is God almighty. Nothing happens to my life outside of what He allows. I take a great comfort in that because the book of Romans says " And we know that God causes ALL (emphasis mine) things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 8:28
I don't think the policies of the new administration will be effective. They have been tried different times throughout our history and failed each time. Why would now be different? Any time you let government take control things get "jacked up." Sorry about that. I was wanting to appeal to the younger demographic for a moment.
To be clear. I disagree I don't hate. I anticipate I don't fear and I blog I don't solve the worlds problems.
I do not hate President-elect Obama. I actually think he seems like a pretty decent guy. He hasn't done anything to make me think otherwise. I will not speculate that he won the election in an underhanded way nor will I walk around spewing the phrase " He's not my President." That position shows the ignorance of a lot of people. He will be my President in 2 days. That doesn't mean I have to agree with him on all of the issues. I most certainly don't. But for me to say he's not my president would be spitting on the graves of all who have fought and died for this incredible country.
Millions have fought to allow Obama and every President before him the right to win a fair and open election. So please don't anyone from the right side of the spectrum walk around spewing that tripe. And you on the left, please don't float around thinking the world is going to grab hands and sing cum-by-yah.
The new President is a human being and said a lot of things just to get elected just as most political candidates before him. If we look back a year from now there will be many campaign promises he made that won't be fufilled. It will be spun as a changing of circumstances that forced him to do so. That being the case, he should have never made the promises in the first place unless he made them citing a potential change in circumstances.
My point is that neither side is perfect. A lesson I learned while playing in the Major Leagues for 9 seasons. Both the players and the owners are wrong in different areas. Republicans and Democrats are wrong in different areas too.
I am not excited about what the next four years brings with it. That being said I'm not scared either. As a Christian I know who has my life in the palm of His hand . It wasn't George Bush and it won't be President-elect Obama. It is God almighty. Nothing happens to my life outside of what He allows. I take a great comfort in that because the book of Romans says " And we know that God causes ALL (emphasis mine) things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. 8:28
I don't think the policies of the new administration will be effective. They have been tried different times throughout our history and failed each time. Why would now be different? Any time you let government take control things get "jacked up." Sorry about that. I was wanting to appeal to the younger demographic for a moment.
To be clear. I disagree I don't hate. I anticipate I don't fear and I blog I don't solve the worlds problems.
Here We Go
This new blog of mine will deal with all kinds of subject matter but the two that will be dealt with the most will be Christianity and politics. There seems to be way too many people that when discussing either of these issues, have a difficult time being reasonable without compromising their position or just plain hating on the opposition. You won't find either in this blog.
There will be some that won't agree with my positions. That's okay. I'm not doing this to be popular. My perspective comes from a Christian worldview. I believe that The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God. That will turn some away right off the bat. That's okay too because this blog is for those who have a Christian faith or are curious about it and willing to dig a little deeper.
I'm not going to get into arguments with those who are predisposed to hating or denying God. I can't change you or your mind. I'm not going to get into arguments with those who have an agenda to hate conservative politics. I can't change your mind either and won't attempt to.
I know the haters will respond by calling me an idiot while using every expletive in the book. I know they will say God is a fairy tale and add George W. Bush a few times. To all of you haters, I know this is coming. It won't suprise me. It won't change my mind. It won't get me riled up. It won't make me hate you. It won't make me respond to you.
I wish I had a "terms of service" box for everyone to check so I was guaranteed everyone understood all of this going in but I'll play the hand that was dealt me. Here We Go........
There will be some that won't agree with my positions. That's okay. I'm not doing this to be popular. My perspective comes from a Christian worldview. I believe that The Bible is the inspired, inerrant word of God. That will turn some away right off the bat. That's okay too because this blog is for those who have a Christian faith or are curious about it and willing to dig a little deeper.
I'm not going to get into arguments with those who are predisposed to hating or denying God. I can't change you or your mind. I'm not going to get into arguments with those who have an agenda to hate conservative politics. I can't change your mind either and won't attempt to.
I know the haters will respond by calling me an idiot while using every expletive in the book. I know they will say God is a fairy tale and add George W. Bush a few times. To all of you haters, I know this is coming. It won't suprise me. It won't change my mind. It won't get me riled up. It won't make me hate you. It won't make me respond to you.
I wish I had a "terms of service" box for everyone to check so I was guaranteed everyone understood all of this going in but I'll play the hand that was dealt me. Here We Go........
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