Meshing The Names

I recently read an article that talked about the latest trend in the UK for married couples - meshing names. Basically when people cannot decide which name to take they combine fragments of both to come up with a new name.

The article talked about Michael Pugh and Rebecca Griffin, they meshed their names to come up with Puffin. Before you laugh, and I know you are laughing at the image of the cute little birds with the bright orange beek, think a moment about what this teaches.

I don't know about what this couple believes, but to me it really shows the value of what the Bible teaches about marriage. It is a cool picture of 2 people becoming one. They bring their identities together and are a new person.

It is a refreshing commitment to the sanctity of marriage and one that might just make commitment and fidelity the cool thing that it really is.

Communication Communicates Character - Facebook and Beyond!

The title of this post came from a friend of mine who is a pastor in Arizona.

When I first heard it I thought wow that is a little over the top and then it got me thinking.

Most of us can probably think about the times when we have said something we wished we hadn't.

But would it shock you to realize that speech is just 1 of the many ways we communicate?

Actions - the way I do something to someone or for someone, whether I like it or not speaks volumes for what I think about the person.

Body Language & Facial Expressions - ever rolled your eyes at someone? Maybe let out a sarcastic laugh? What do you think that is communicating

Availability - try telling someone that you like them or love them but then tell then you have no time for them...don't think that will go down too well...

FACEBOOK/TWITTER - I am sure we know people who take a subtle jab at us via a comment or a status update...are we aware of how the way we use social media, speaks to people about what kind of person you are?

There are many more ways we communicate...but all of these ways speak volumes about what kind of person we really are?

Do you like the message you are communicating?

Investing Matters...In What?

I had the amazing opportunity to spend the weekend at a family reunion of my wife's uncles and aunts. Part of the weekend was spent reflecting on the gift of leaving a legacy that was left by the grandfather and grandmother in the family.

Grandpa Weaver was a church pastor and a business man. I heard stories of a man who believed in the importance of emotionally investing in people's lives. He would make children and grandchildren feel like they were the only ones that mattered.

Investment in anything takes time and it takes a plan...no one invests in anything without first thinking about the cost and how they will do it.  Sadly I wonder whether we have stopped investing in future generations. We are so concerned about our retirement and social security discussions but very rarely talk about the investment spiritually of the next generation 

Why don't we challenge ourselves to find someone in the next generation to invest in? The return will be greater than anything we can imagine!

Are your jeans unique?

So I have developed a new fashion passion (dude that is just the weirdest sounding phrase ever!).

I really want a pair of pre-ripped jeans. These are the kind of cool fashion items that look like they had a play date with a pit bull.

Most of these types of clothing have this tag on them somewhere: “These jeans have intentional flaws in order to make them unique.”

But I read a devotional somewhere that used that cool phrase to stress that God makes us that way. God makes us with genes that have some intentional flaws, quirks you may say, that are unique.

We may have personalities that seem quiet, or we may be crazy kind of people, we may have likes and dislikes that we think no one else does...but guess what God made us all with intentional quirks to use for his glory.

Once we are comfortable knowing that we are who we are not by chance but by design of the Living God, then our identity can be used in amazing ways.

Psalm 139 in the Bible says we are wonderfully and complexly made, it is time for us to embrace the unmistakably flawed and unique person God has made us to be!

Now off to find those jeans....

Faith Makes Sense

Recently as I was reading a book called Sharing Jesus without Fear, I came across a bizarre fact from Ripley's Believe It or Not! Strange Coincidences, for a tossed coin to fall to heads fifty times in a row would require one million people tossing ten coins a minute for forty hours a week, and then it would only occur once in every 900 years.

Did you get that? Go back and read that again.

Now, Fey the author of Sharing Jesus Without Fear, goes on to explain that the Old Testament contains around 30 prophecies about the birth death and resurrection of Jesus and around 240+ prophecies that were foretold and ended up coming true.

So put that back into coin flipping terminology that would be the equivalent of flipping a quarter until a person hits heads 240 times.

The odds? 1 in 1 billion.

Faith is not crazy, it is a matter of sensibility. That is upside down reasoning at best!

The best 25c ever spent!

In Lancaster County we have a grocery store called Aldi’s, part of a larger chain. In order to keep the cost of groceries down, customers need to bring quarters to unlock the shopping carts and bring their own shopping bags. My wife and I regularly shop there and I have found myself being in the store without a quarter and having to try and find empty boxes around the store to carry my groceries in.

 The Holy Spirit put on my heart the idea about turning up one evening to the store with a handful of quarters.  I arrived and began to wonder if this was really needed and I felt a resounding yes as I say two elderly ladies struggling by my car carrying groceries in half broken boxes. So I joyfully jumped out of my car and headed for the store.

Everybody who needed a cart was joyous in receiving the free cart. What I learned early on was that this was going to be more than anything a time to pray for everybody I saw walking in and out of the store. It was an incredible experience praying for people I don’t know or may never meet again. I was starting to feel like this was a waste of time, even though I was praying for so many people, simply because no one asked me why I was doing what I was doing. At just the right time, a mother and child came to the grocery store, I gave them the free cart, they actually had no change for their own cart. When she exited the store after taking the groceries to her car, her son came back and gave me the cart and I gave him the quarter. He looked confused, as he should have been because he knew he did not pay a quarter in the first place. It was then the mother asked me: “I don’t understand, why are you doing this?” Finally I had the chance. I said to her “because I love Jesus and I want to serve people”, she replied “I thought so.” She got in the car with her son and drove off.

There was no deep time of sharing the gospel with anyone. What the Lord Jesus did remind me of was that I have a role to play in evangelism. I have no idea what role I will play in the life of that mother and child. Maybe she has Christian friends who had tried to share the gospel with her and she wanted to see proof that God loves her, maybe all God wanted me to do was to be Christian who cared and valued her by serving.  I will never know and I am okay with that. 

It was the best 25c I ever spent!

Up The Down Escalator!

Ever tried walking up a down escalator? Totally fun, but oh so challenging!
But what happens if you stop walking...now that is not so fun.
I think the Christian life is much like this. Often I feel myself walking against what seems 'normal' and it is tempting to just stop. But stopping means trouble, it means danger and it means the dangerous possibility of stumbling back and stumbling back hard.
I was challenged this morning by the question "Am I a citizen of heaven or of earth?" My first response was I don't know...
But I am not sure I could really answer?
A.W. Tozer (a smart old dead Christian guy) asked these questions to help us think through our citizenship:
1) What do I desire most?
2) What do I think about the most?
3) Who do I admire most?
Answering and living out these questions probably will make us feel like we are walking up the down escalator!

Get Dirty!

Ever wondered why I don't pursue farming as a career?

Simple, I don't have the patience nor does the idea of getting dirty excite me...I will not ever begin to talk about how much the thought of getting kicked by random farm animals scares the living daylights out of me.

But then I read this strange part of the bible that tells me that evangelism is like farming:

This guy in the Bible called Paul is talking to a local group of believers about who is more important in their lives, him or some other guy called Apollos. Paul responds this way:

"I planted the seed, Apollos watered the plants, but God made you grow. It's not the one who plants or the one who waters who is at the center of this process but God, who makes things grow."

I have been really convicted about how evangelism or sharing what I believe is about a preparedness to get down and dirty with people. Some people's stories, their lives are messed up, full of dirt and junk...so if I want to share what I believe then I have to be willing to sit in the dirt with some people and get dirty as we do life together.

I don't know if I am planting a seed or digging up soil in preparation for planting or maybe even watering. But one thing I do know is it is time to get down, get dirty and see what happens!

Maybe I was supposed to be a farmer after all!

How Much Am I Worth?

If you were to melt you body down and divide up all the elements in our body, the total value would come to $4.50 (approximately).

I was absolutely amused and shocked by the story of the 21 year old who fooled people into thinking he was famous. The story, located here, is an interesting commentary about how desperate we are to either be famous or hang with famous people.

It is sad to say that today I think many of us have become obsessed with the desire for our 15 minutes of fame. Social Media (ha! Bet you thought I was going to name names) has helped us feed that desire for fame.

But I think this desire for our time in the spotlight comes from a need to know that we each have value. We try to find value in relationships, in sports, in academics, in jobs and even in how much money we have.

The cool part is you could lose you starting spot on the varsity football team and have value. You could be horribly deformed in an accident and lose all your "beauty" and still have value. You could have no job, no degree, no money and still have value.

How? Simple God gives value.

You see the Bible says "God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them, male and female he created them"

So you see me value comes from the fact that God created me in his own image. Nothing can add to that value and the even better news is NOTHING can TAKE AWAY my value.

Steven Curtis Chapman has an awesome song called Treasure of You. Read some of his lyrics and remember, GOD SAYS YOU WORTH IS PRICELESS.

The rich man treasures gold and silver
The wise man, his knowledge of truth
Some will hold to memories and some will cling to youth.

But to the one who carved out the oceans
And painted the stars in the sky
You are His prized creation, the apple of His eye

There's no one else in the world who could take your place
Just the thought of you brings a smile to His face
God loves you with amazing grace

Which Master Do I Serve?

"No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other."

This phrase was not made by some eastern philosopher or even a great social commentator, this is Jesus talking.

Try it and see what happens. This year for me is the first year I will be Fantasy Football free. I must admit it seems a little weird seeing the hype and knowing fantasy drafts will be taking place. But you know what? Fantasy Football was where I would sacrifice my bride, Michelle, every year. 

I could not spend any quality time with her from Thursday - Sunday as I would contemplate changes, negotiate trades and try and pick up the best free agent possible.

Now before comment that I had a major problem and should see a therapist, I think there are things in our lives where we try and serve two masters - both relationally and spiritually.

How many times have we said that we have never had enough time to read our bible and spend time just getting to know who God is, yet we have watched hours and hours of  meaningless TV.

What about when our pastor challenges us to give 1/10th of our income away and we wonder if that is possible, yet we can easily by tons of itunes downloads and coffee (from wherever)....that starts to add up.

You see I think the point Jesus makes is not about being so crazy that you give up everything because you have to, but you do these things because you just know that life seems upside down when you are trying to be dedicated and committed to 2 different masters.

What Masters do you have in your life?

Eyes Wide Open But We See Nothing...Ears Open But We Hear Nothing

When was the last time you really stopped at listened? I mean really listen. Have you enjoyed the sounds of birds, or the noise of cars, or even the sound of crickets!

In a digital age when iPods, iPhones, music, texting and Facebook are the way to spend our time, I was challenged to think about how much do I see and hear.

In life it is easy to "use" people for what they provide for me. My hairdresser cuts my hair (or ever decreasing amount), my coffee is usually made perfectly by the Starbucks attendant, and the lady who takes my Sheetz card in the gas station is doing her job. But what do I really know about these people?

Sadly the phrase "how are you?" has become nothing more than an alternative version of hello. God calls me to value each one of these individuals not because of what they can do for me, but because of who God made them to be.

God made people in His image, He gave them value. So maybe it is time for me to start appreciating the soul of these individuals and start listening to their stories so I can share God's story.

Challenge accepted.

The Curse of the Blue Rinse!

I was reading an interesting book over the weekend called Think Orange, a challenge for people involved in Youth Ministry to look at how churches and parents can work together to be more effective.

I came across some interesting insights about the dangers of the "just behave" attitude toward young people.

In many churches, youth are usually encouraged to be a part of the church as long as being a part is not being too disruptive or challenging the status quo.

It is like the young teen with the died blue hair (blue rinse) walking through the church foyer and seeing the older lady, dressed up in her "Sunday Best" and them both thinking "Church would be better if there were less people like that around" (although this quote does open another rather large can of worms).

The challenge for parents, schools and churches is simply to see that the new generation, the Millenials, are an incredibly awesome generation. They want to experience, they want to discuss spirituality and even better they want to change the world - if only we would let them.

After an incredibly fun Friday night with over a dozen students hanging at my place, I really learned that this next generation will change the world. Maybe we need a few more people to join the Blue Rinse Club!

A Right Way of Doing Good?

Recently it has been evident to me about just how much the words of Jesus are so totally counter revolutionary.

As I read Jesus' word I am astounded at how he tells me to do things as a Christian that seem "upside down".

I was struck this morning by this question:"Is there a right way of doing good?"

On the surface it seems like a stupid question.

The Bible recalls this story:

He was teaching in one of the meeting places on the Sabbath. There was a woman present, so twisted and bent over with arthritis that she couldn't even look up. She had been afflicted with this for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her, he called her over. "Woman, you're free!" He laid hands on her and suddenly she was standing straight and tall, giving glory to God.

The meeting-place president, furious because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, said to the congregation, "Six days have been defined as work days. Come on one of the six if you want to be healed, but not on the seventh, the Sabbath."

But Jesus shot back, "You frauds! Each Sabbath every one of you regularly unties your cow or donkey from its stall, leads it out for water, and thinks nothing of it. So why isn't it all right for me to untie this daughter of Abraham and lead her from the stall where Satan has had her tied these eighteen years?"

I was challenged by the point of this story.

Jesus wants me as a Christian, and all Christians to do good...always!

There might be times when it is inconvenient, or even when it may cause some offense but I should never be afraid to do what's right over what is convenient!