Friends...who are they?

I’ve been rather quite the past few weeks, having many things on my heart that I felt were all good enough to put into words but just didn’t take the time to. I guess it was more some personal processing than anything else. Tonight however there’s just something kind of reoccurring going through this old heart. That is true friendships. Before I think about tackling this let me just say that I try to be decent to everyone. That being said, do you have any true friends?

This was something I recently asked myself, because I realized that some of the people who said they were there for me or wanted to be in my life were just giving me lip service. Does that make them bad people? No way, of course not, it simply means that I wouldn’t consider them a friend but more of an acquaintance. We all have many acquaintances, but few friends. I’m beginning to find the people once again who are with me and for me all the time, not just when everything is going great or when it all falls apart. Lets put it out there people are fickle, there’s no need to question that. Don’t let that stop you from opening up, just be careful to the point that you open up to them. The best lesson I’ve learned in relationships is that everyone and I mean EVERYONE has motives. Some are good, some are bad, some are selfish, some are pure, but everyone has them. Discern motives quick, and evaluate the level of relationship that person can be. You probably don’t want to be taking life advice from someone who has no interest in your future and is just after a friendship with you because of what it means for them. Be your own person, not someone else’s puppet.

Having said this, I have no idea the point I’m trying to make. Sure, have healthy relationships in your life and exercise wisdom in all relationships. More than that I think I’m trying to say I’ve lost some amazing friends, even best friends, over stupid stuff. Over stuff that didn’t matter then and really doesn’t matter now. How long will I let pride keep me from having those friends back in my life? I think that’s a question we all need to ask ourselves from time to time. Maybe it’s time for a life check or reevaluation.

Price of Your Life

It’s funny as I sit here in Washington Dulles I’m beginning to feel more challenged than I remember in recent memory. Looking back on the last 7 days I can see the many different ways God has been speaking to me, through books, prayer, and life experiences. My current way of doing life will just not cut it for where I believe God is trying to take me and the calling on my life. There’s this misconception in life that I have heard countless times over; it goes something like this, “just roll with the punches and whatever happens deal with it on the fly.” Now to some extent I agree with this, you can’t always foresee all the situations that will occur in your lifetime. In my opinion my generation has been to content to just go through life being unintentional. In generations past your direction in life was somewhat determined by your family and the family business; you would follow in the footsteps of those before you. There is nothing wrong with this; however, there is a genuine longing for something new, something unseen, and something that will leave a mark.

I have no idea exactly what I would like to do with my life, but I know that I want to leave a mark on this place before I depart. I have come to the conclusion that I will not get sidetracked by money or chasing after success. Now I know what you’re thinking, I’m not saying I will not be successful or have money. Quite frankly I believe that I will be very successful, have more than enough money to pursue all my dreams and supply for my family. We have one shot at this thing called life; there are no mulligans in real life. What benefit would playing it safe be; where’s the adventure? I would rather have the regret of failure than the regret of inaction.

So I ask, what are you dreams worth? If there’s something that the baby boomers have taught us it would be that a house on the lake, another car, and a lavish lifestyle doesn’t satisfy all your desires. God gave us the desire to make an impact, and there is no substitution for that. Put up the Sam’s Cola and get out the Coca-Cola. If you ask me, I say put it all on the line for the dream, you can get more money, but you can’t get more time. Where are you placing worth?

What I Will To Do...

As I sit here studying, there’s a passage that grabs my attention and communicates with where many of us are at including myself. Romans 7 has pretty much nailed me down tonight. As you can see in the following verses it answers some of the age-old questions about why we do things or make certain decisions that are not what God wills for us to do.

Romans 7:7-25

7 But I can hear you say, "If the law code was as bad as all that, it's no better than sin itself." That's certainly not true. The law code had a perfectly legitimate function. Without its clear guidelines for right and wrong, moral behavior would be mostly guesswork. Apart from the succinct, surgical command, "You shall not covet," I could have dressed covetousness up to look like a virtue and ruined my life with it. 8-12 Don't you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of "forbidden fruit" out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me. Without all the paraphernalia of the law code, sin looked pretty dull and lifeless, and I went along without paying much attention to it. But once sin got its hands on the law code and decked itself out in all that finery, I was fooled, and fell for it. The very command that was supposed to guide me into life was cleverly used to trip me up, throwing me headlong. So sin was plenty alive, and I was stone dead. But the law code itself is God's good and common sense, each command sane and holy counsel. 13 I can already hear your next question: "Does that mean I can't even trust what is good [that is, the law]? Is good just as dangerous as evil?" No again! Sin simply did what sin is so famous for doing: using the good as a cover to tempt me to do what would finally destroy me. By hiding within God's good commandment, sin did far more mischief than it could ever have accomplished on its own. 14-16 I can anticipate the response that is coming: "I know that all God's commands are spiritual, but I'm not. Isn't this also your experience?" Yes. I'm full of myself—after all, I've spent a long time in sin's prison. What I don't understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can't be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God's command is necessary. 17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can't keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don't have what it takes. I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. 21-23 It happens so regularly that it's predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God's commands, but it's pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge. 24 I've tried everything and nothing helps. I'm at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn't that the real question? 25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.

Have you been at the point where I’ve found myself so many times? The point where you decide that you’re are going after everything that God has for you, and many times you know that will require you to take up a new way of thinking. It’s so easy to become encouraged through peer relationships, or people in the public eye, or even sermons to go out into the world and “make a difference.” For 95% of us we let it die within the first week or two of making that decision. Why is that? Romans 7 illustrates exactly why this happens.

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the comment “dreams die during implementation.” Dreaming is the easy part, walking it out is where we often find ourselves upside down.

“ I can will it, but I can't do it. I decide to do good, but I don't really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don't result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.”

This has been my story countless times, seems like every time I decide to go after my dreams that God has birthed inside of me I get hung up. After the dream or vision I feel like I can charge Hell with a water pistol and take over, this is usually short lived. Why? The best bet is because I try to do it out of my own strength and will. 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 tells me:

9 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

If I will just find the source of my strength then I can overcome all things. I don’t have to be a spiritual superman so to speak; I just have to be in relationship with the “Spiritual Superman Himself.” It would be like playing a game of 3 on 3 with Michael Jordan and Shaq on your team. You could take on anyone and be confident in a win. It’s just like this with God on your team. He’s in your corner, waiting for the ball; when the ball is in His hands it’s a certain victory, without question. Sometimes we need to take a step back, take the game out of our own hands and put in the hands of the One who has already won the final victory. Flip to the back of the book, we win!

The best things sting the most!

Beginning to realize that without having something in the right context you will lose that something. Mainly relationships...sucks but it's true. What do you do when you feel that you have something that you can't live without only to realize you're going to have to live without because through neglect you lost it? It's important to realize the meaning and depth of a relationship with someone before it's to late. I'm at a loss for words for what to say, all I know is that the hole that it created has so much uncertainty, fear, and love in it at the same time. It's like having an out of body experience while being in trauma on the operating table.

Up Late Looking Back

As I sit here at 1:30 am and I’m looking back at the time I’ve wasted tonight looking back over pictures I realize that it wasn’t wasted time at all. It’s brought me back to many memories over the last 4 years or so…most all of which are good. But the amazing thing that I’ve seen in all this is the progression of what God’s brought me through and what I’ve been exposed to. It’s hard to look back at the person I was 4 years ago and not be thankful for where I’m at today. I’m sure there have been many tears along the way, but tonight brought only tears of joy for where I’m at and the people that are in my life. It’s so easy to take the journey for granted along the way, but I guess there is always a way to bring us back to reality and remind us where we’ve been. I’m still just sitting here in awe of this…looking back I don’t think I realized that taking a chance and walking through the door that was open could’ve brought so many great things. Amazing how that happens huh?

 

So what am I trying to say here? Always walk with an awareness, take it in as you go, and never be afraid to take a chance in a direction that your heart is leading you! You’ll be surprised where it might lead you. 

It's been a while

I realize it's been forever since I've posted anything on here, but hopefully that's about to change.

I should have time in the next little bit to start blogging more now that I'm off tour and more stationary for the moment. 

Keep checking back. 

Why is it?

Have you ever noticed that it's at the end of something when you start thinking about the beginning? I always hear people say that you never know how much something means to you until it's gone...why is that? It seems so true, but is it really? The more I think about it the more that I realize that may not be the case. Let's take a closer look at this. Does that something not always mean something to you? I think so, I believe that whenever you have it though you just expect it to be there and then when it's not you realize that there's a void where it used to be. Let's even look at relationships. Whenever you're "with" someone there could be many reasons why you don't "care" about them. It's not so much that you don't care, it's just that you don't know how to convey it all the time. If it's a new relationship you don't want to look like you're to into it to soon, lets be honest we all do this. If it's an old relationship maybe you're just comfortable with it and you expect it so you forget to do the small things. Whatever you're reason is it is still an injustice to the other person in the relationship. They deserve to know how much they mean to you. Don't ever take them for granted or be to prideful to let them see you vulnerable with your feelings. Looking back there's so many things I would've said that I didn't have the chance to say, there's many things I would've done that I didn't do. I guess the main reason I didn't was because I was afraid "feeling" those things to quickly would push you away. What's your reason? Think about it. Don't ever be afraid of a good thing.