Christmas Break

I'll be gone for awhile. I will pick up on our Psalms series when I return.

Have a merry Christmas. God bless each of you.

You Choose

Choose God. That decision makes the difference between a life of joy or misery. Please understand that I didn’t say it would bring about a life void of troubles. Joy and misery arise out of one’s perspectives and loyalties and not from the absence or presence of adversity.

The psalmist of Psalm 5 (probably David) contrasts the life of wickedness and the life in pursuit of God’s way. The former brings misery, the latter savors indescribable joy. What do you want? And what will you do?

Count to Ten | Psalm 4

Ever been told "count to ten" to stave off a fit? I have. But I always thought the advice too simple. However, there is something to taking a few minutes, calming down and not reacting to situations that make you angry.

[Intense sarcastic tone] Surprise, surprise. I discovered the concept in the Bible. Check out Psalm 4:4 and call it to mind when you're faced with the temptation to blow up.

Love Them

[Throughout the Psalms series I will also intermingle a little series of articles I'm writing on parenting. I hope they can prove beneficial to you.]

For the next several weeks I’m going to write about parenting. I hesitate though. I shudder to think you might read this and think, “Does he think he’s a better parent than me? What nerve!” Disclaimer: I am not offering this series of articles from above you but as a fellow parent and struggling Christian wanting what is best for my family.

Parenting presents a common struggle to many of us. And it’s true that each family will battle different problems and encounter different dilemmas. No two kids are alike. None of them “turn out” the same and it seems that we must continually adjust how we raise the kids. However, after hours of intensive study and anxious doubt about my own ability to nurture my children I’m convinced parenting boils down to several godly principles that should permeate every unique detail and decision families employ in raising their kids.

Love your children and make sure they know it—love them unconditionally. Son, I love you regardless of… Daughter, you make me happy, period. Remember God is love (1 John 4:8). As we look to him as father, his love embraces us. He teaches us what love is all about—giving, sacrificing, no strings attached.

As the week unfolds I encourage each of us as parents to find ways to express love to our children expecting nothing in return. Send a note. Take lunch to them at school. Sit down and seek to understand where they’re coming from. Make them feel important and special. Love them.

I Will Not Fear | Psalm 3

Have you ever entered a building after dark? In dark church buildings, when all alone, the noises, squeaks and creaks echo into the once fearless heart. Oh, it simply sends chills up my spine to spend time in a darkened church building, all alone. Fear has forced me to leave too quickly on several occasions—before my work was finished.

The emotion of fear holds powerful sway over the human soul. It is crippling. The most physical elite can change to mush in the face of paralyzing terror. Fear can mute an otherwise prolific tongue. It has its ways of bringing progress to a halt.

With God we have no need to allow fear to knock us off track. We can continue with our life, even the simple things that fear often disorientates, like sleep. Through a real and present danger David writes, “I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me. I will not fear…”

God wants us to continue. He wants us to trudge ahead and so he offers us a reason not to fear—his sustaining presence and power. The very acknowledgement of God’s desire should cast away the fear that can often place a choke-hold on our humanity.

Now, I still don’t like to venture into a church building shrouded in shadow. But that’s really not what this is about. God wants to rid those fears that come about through anxiety, personal enemies, doubt, insecurities and worry—those sources of fear that we can’t see and touch, that can’t hide in a dark corner of a hallway. Will you let him enter your heart and drive out those monsters? Say it. I will not fear…

Refuge | Psalm 2

Sometimes bad days arise. Occasionally, life treats us unfairly. Bad news, sickness and consequences come like pellets of rain that you can’t avoid. I, like you, face these times once in awhile, and more than I’d like to.

When I’ve had a bad day I anticipate going home to my wife. Over a cup of coffee and between the relentless questions from our kids I find refuge in our conversation. She doesn’t realize how much healing comes from those moments. I love escaping from the harshness of life’s storms into the shelter of our dialogue. We dream together. We complain together. We question things together. It makes the next day vulnerable to my fresh outlook on life.

It may be difficult for you to relate to this very personal illustration of refuge. But perhaps you can grasp the idea of escape and safety with something meaningful to you. It may be the confidence of a close friend, a time of the day or a special place to hide-out. Whatever the place of refuge, I want you to call up the feelings you experience when there. Consider them. Comfortable? Safe? Secure? That’s the idea.

Now, get this—Jesus wants you to make him a place of refuge too. He wants to bring comfort, safety and security to your life. He wants to warm you from the cold, to shield you from the arrows and shelter you from the storms. “Blessed are all who take refuge in him.”

I have not the creativity right now to come up with a title

Today I received terrible news...family related. I don't have the energy or mental stamina to continue the series today.

Hm...life is like that, huh? To be Christian is not to be inhuman.

Grounded... Psalm 1

When I worked for the city of Richardson, the department that employed me was attempting to combine three aspects of civil service into one functioning department. Headaches and confusion weren’t uncommon. Rarely, would I know where I’d go on any given day or what I’d receive as work. This job? That crew?

The uncertainty drove me crazy. Tossed here and there from one jobsite to the next, day to day, didn’t really cut it for me. When life grows tumultuous like my job did an unexplainable anxiety can set in, which can pinch off the joy and confidence of life. Thankfully, a pursuit of God’s way will bring about a totally different feeling of living.

The first Psalm says that the man who determines to stand with God and embrace his message is like the tree rooted deep into the ground next to a continual source of life. Grounded. Constant. Full of life. Yes, that’s the way to live.

Do you ever feel far away from true meaning? Have you ever thought that you’re simply floating through life as the leaves that fall in October? Pushed and forced by the wind? If so, ground yourself into the fertile soil of God’s love and law. Stay close to him and he’ll bring purpose and steadiness to your life.

A New...perhaps way too long...Series of Blogs

To my few readers,

Yes, for one I treat this as though people read my blog; I aspire to be one of the big boys in the blog world. It's a thrilling form of communication. So if you read please tell others about it and send them a link.

Now to the important thing. I plan to start tomorrow with a series on the Psalms. I hope to write a devotional and encouraging blog each week day on an aspect from one of the Psalms. I don't intend for this to be a commentary nor do I plan to write over the entire Psalm. I hope to offer a bit of something to think about each day, which will find its source in my daily reading of the Psalms.

So I hope you'll join me and start this journey with me tomorrow.

Unload

I have cares—things that bother me and battles to fight. Nearly always at the front of my mind rests that passage in Peter, “Cast your cares on him because he cares for you.” Wow. How amazing it is to unload on God!

The more we carry the baggage through life the more sluggish we walk. Have you ever reached those moments when you’re ready to quit? Living has sucked the life from you? The things you carry around hurt deeper than your shoulders? We’ve all been there, right?

Good news. God wants you to unload it on him. Let him carry your burdens and lighten your load for the rest of the journey. I’m afraid I try to carry my baggage too far at times. However, today is one of those days I can’t move forward anymore without dumping some stuff. It’s nice to know I have just the place to do that.

Going to see my family today

Today I’m going to see my parents and my brother, his wife and kids. I often don’t appreciate what they mean to me and have failed to give them the time and attention they deserve.

I watched the movie Click the other night. It really hammered this thought home. We can so consume ourselves with pursuing happiness that we create a world of misery. I hope that the day never comes that I die regretting not taking the many opportunities to enjoy those I love most. Cliché? Maybe. But true.