An Accurate Picture

This past weekend Jason and I had the privilege to lead worship at Men's Camp for Fountain of Life International in the mountains of Arizona. It was truly an amazing experience, and one that I will never forget.

One struggle I had over the weekend was adjusting to the three hour time difference. Every morning I awoke bright an early, hours before my native Arizonian friends and each evening at around 8 p.m. my personality turned into a pumpkin.

One advantage of my early rising was that I was able to take long walks alone, since God and I were the only ones up at that hour. One particular morning the path I was walking along sidled up to a ridge that overlooked deep valley of pine and cedar. As I rounded the corner near this valley, the sun was just rising over the peaks behind me, cascading light down to the expanse below. Being the astute observer of all things beautiful that I am, I decided this was a perfect photo opp.

Unfortunately I only had my cell phone camera with me and while it is the best cell phone camera on the market, with a half eaten piece of fruit on the back, it still fell short in doing the amazing surroundings I was witnessing justice. No matter how many pictures I frantically snapped, none seemed to upturn the frown of dissatisfaction on my face. As I looked back and forth from the viewfinder to the actual picture laid out in front of me, I was disappointed in the lack of depth, texture and vibrance of the scene I was viewing compared to the pictures I was taking.

I wondered what descriptive words I would need to fill in the gaps that my present technology had stopped short of. How enthusiastic would I need to be in order to convince the viewer of my pathetic photos that this was one of the most majestic scenes I had ever experienced. Would my ranting only serve to prove how elusive my grip on sanity was becoming? How could I garner anything but an apathetic response to my two dimensional, ill-colored portraits?

It was at that moment that I wished I could bring them (whomever "them" may be) along side me. I wished that I was not alone at that moment and I wished I did not have to rely on inadequate equipment to paint a picture of what I was experiencing.

How often are our experiences with God like this? Amazing, yes. Breathtaking, yes. But you often find yourself alone, and unprepared for them. So many times I have left experiences such as this like a raving lunatic, attempting to convert anyone in my path to my way of thinking for fear that the emotional high of my experience would quickly fade and be lost forever.

What if instead of attempting to snap an accurate picture of God and run from person to person, I calmly and slowly took them by the hand and walked them along the path so that they could experience God for themselves. Void of preconceived notions, prejudices and predetermined ideas.

Kind of scary to think about but what if I didn't need to be the one to bring God to the people?What if I just let God be God and I just pointed them down the proper path towards discovery of Him?

The moment we have all been waiting for.....

So they have finally done it. It is accomplished. There is no need to wait any longer.

For those of you who have ever spent long arduous hours in a pool, standing stagnantly with a secret urge to jump around, the fine folks at SkyMall have answered the call for the need of a waterborne bounding device. For $59.95 + shipping and handling, you can bounce away the blues of sedentary pool immersion forever. Whether you are splashing sloppily through shallow water or gliding serenely and gracefully through the deep end, the non-slip footrest and rubber grip handlebars will ensure you keep a firm grasp on the fun. So put you Flo-Bee on Craigslist, and drop off your Bill Cosby Sweaters at Goodwill 'cause your going to need room in your closet for this must-have gem.

I should point out that the add says that this is the "only" underwater pogo stick, so if the idea for this product has been marinating in the 'ol noggin for a while now, and you just haven't had a chance to get it into production, you missed it. There is only room for one at the top. There ain't no sidecar for greatness. This is a one-man underwater pogo stick ride, and it has already left the station. I'd suggest you work on the pocket-sixed chain saw or the dogsled sno-cone machine.

I have included the ordering information and a photo below in case you are saying to yourself, "I need to get me onea them."

All I ask is that I get a spin the next time were hangin' poolside.

Item #75381D

www.skymall.com or by phone (800) 759-6255

A walk to Emmaus

I grew up loathing my Sunday mornings. The time spent in the pew from 8:00-9:30 seemed to be unending. My only hope was that my mom would be so enthralled by the utterances of the well intentioned preacher behind the pulpit that she wouldn't notice my incessant doodles on the back of the bulletin. I had no interest in learning, no interest in growth, and certainly no interest in a relationship with the Creator of all things.

So that is what my relationship with God looked like for most of my childhood, teen and even young adult years. He was something to be endured until something better came along; A long list of rules and regulations that we best not overstep for fear of smiting. I knew, sitting in that pew that I would never be able to live a life that would please someone like the guy in the suit in the pulpit. From my adolescent and ignorant perspective, the “straight life” I heard about on Sunday morning would never be a realistic aspiration for me because I was flawed. Naturally I ran from God and most especially the church and my heritage. I made it my mission to experience life and all that it had to offer. I found those around me that had taken most advantage of what this world had to offer and I did my best to emulate them.

All the while I had this hole inside me. It was a hole that needed to be filled as soon as possible. I threw everything into this hole; alcohol, money, drugs, clothes, women, anything and everything that I thought big enough to clog it. I needed to stop the nagging feeling that it was creating inside me.

When I think back on this time in my life I am reminded of a scene from the Lion King movie. The main character Simba has exiled himself from his friends, family and all that he knew of home due to a mistake in his past. He surrounded himself with friends whose motto was to take life as it comes. Their plan was not to worry about anything and to live life to the fullest without thinking about consequences, obligations, purpose or meaning.

But one night, Simba had a chance encounter with a Sage from his past who led him into a conversation with his deceased father. His father's words rang in my ears as if he was speaking to me directly through the screen. "Remember who you are, you are more than you have become"

It was when I came to the realization that God was not a list of rules written on stone tablets but a Father who wanted nothing more than to have a relationship with me, despite of all I had done to hurt Him. It was only then that I felt the edges of the hole inside me begin to recede and I wanted nothing more than honor Him with my life. What I did from that moment on no longer felt like an obligation to a guy in the clouds with a long beard, white robe and an iron fist but to a creator that saw fit to bless me, even when I was undeserving of blessing because I was His child.

I am blessed to serve at Ignite. God has entrusted me with His people that are all trying to find their way along this journey. While most differ in virtually every aspect of their lives, there is one thing they all have in common. There is one trait that they all share. When I look into their eyes, no matter what words are coming out of their mouth, their eyes always speak the loudest.

Some are confident, some are shy, some are successful and some are struggling. Some speak boldly some speak softly, some are articulate and some are not. But when I look into their eyes, I always hear, "Am I worth it? Am I really worth all of this love that you say God wants to give me?"

The blessing for me, comes from getting to tell them, God gave you breath because He wanted to have a love relationship with you. You may be a mom, you may drive a truck, you may lead men into battle or find the cure for cancer someday, but the primary purpose for God to assemble your atoms, protons and neurons together the way that He did is so that one day you would realize your need for salvation and learn to love Him in a way that resembles the way that He has always loved you.

What I missed in all of my years sullenly sitting in the pew on Sunday morning is that obedience comes when you first recognize that you are loved. When you truly and unconditionally love someone, the last thing you want to do is anything that would cause them pain. You desire nothing more than to spend time with them, learn more about them and serve them. You go where they ask you to go, not because of some desired result, but simply because they asked you to.

It is for this reason that I desire nothing more than all that God has for me. Whatever that means. I want to serve Him and teach others to love Him as I do. I want my life to speak of the love of Christ. I want the chance to look into the eyes of the searching, whatever the venue; to walk them down not only a path of salvation through Christ, but to a life of fulfillment through the power of the Holy Spirit.