God Owes Me!!

God owes me…right? Doesn’t God owe me for becoming a Christian? I mean, I did SAY I believe in Him. Heck, I even said it in front of others a time or two. God owes me!

God owes me because I did what he said I should. I got baptized in front of a lot of people just so they’d know I was serious. So, God owes me!

God owes me because I’ve done everything right. I pray sometimes…I read my Bible some. I even give God a whole hour or two one day a week. That’s not my time. I sacrifice that time…right? God owes me!

God owes me because he loves me. And if he loves me, he owes me a better life…right? God owes me!

I mean really, what’s God done? He sent his son to die in my place. He sent his son to die so that I could spend eternity beyond the pettiness of this world in an unimaginable paradise with him. He sent his son to die just so he and I could be friends. He traded his own child’s life so he and I could have a relationship. Wait, he literally offered up his son; HIS WISE, SMART, GREAT, PERFECT, SINLESS, LOVING CHILD, so that a foolish, ignorant, ungrateful, filthy, sinful, unlovable person like me could be claimed as his child instead. That doesn’t even make since. That kind of love for me is unparalleled in this world.

No, God doesn’t owe me. If anything…I OWE GOD my life! Wait...didn't I say I gave it to him? :-o

TORNADO ALERT!!

What a season for tornadoes it's been. Unfortunately, they are literally all over the central and south eastern parts of the US as of late. Over 500 people have been killed within about a month due to these destructive storms. Just the other night, the city in which I live in was forecast a 9 out of 10 chance by the weather forecasters of having severe storms and tornadoes. They were right, as we had both. We were lucky though. The whirlwind storms did some damage but nothing to get all up in a tizzy about. I heard someone lost a roof and there are trees down in places (including my neighborhood) but all in all, we were lucky. Other towns and cities have been absolutely DEVASTATED this year.

This week had started out normal. I had just put up a new playground after work, for my boys, and then a phone call came. In casual conversation someone mentioned the storms headed our way. I had no clue this was coming so I got on the computer and started checking my local forecast and sure enough, we were predicted to get nailed! At first, I totally freaked out. We were supposed to go on vacation just a couple days from then and I called my wife and said, "We're going to leave today for vacation! Get home, we're leaving now!"

Ok, so maybe that wasn't the most sensible reaction. But my instincts were to save my family at all costs from the impending doom headed our way. As it turns out, my wife and kids and I went over to my moms house and we rode the storms out in a closet together. You'd have thought we were going camping or something. My kids had game systems and toys to play with in the closet. We had blankets and pillows to cover up with and to sit on too. And even though it was a little unnerving and incredibly cramped (3 adults and 2 kids in a closet is tight) the conversation we wonderful. It was an unplanned vacation in which the family simply set around and communed together. We played games in the closet with the kids to distract them from the whirlwind storms outside. We talked, we laughed and it was generally a wonderful time with those I dearly love. It made me think about how important these people are to me in my life and how I'd be lost without each of them. I also had a reality check that reminded me that we aren't promised more time than the present with the people we love. That made me ask myself, why do we ever let the whirlwinds of life take us from those we love?

What Mother's Teach Us

Yesterday was Mother's Day and I just didn't feel right honoring our mothers with a blog. So, I took a look at three exceptional mothers from centuries present and past. They are world famous mothers. Not for being moms though, rather, for being exceptional in their Christian walk. So let's get to it.

1) Mother Teresa - Mother Teresa teaches us what it means to follow Romans 12:1 which says, "So brothers and sisters, since God has shown us great mercy, I beg you to offer your lives as a living sacrifice to him. Your offering must be only for God and pleasing to him, which is the spiritual way for you to worship." I can't remember ever seeing a picture of Mother Teresa in catholic Mass. It's not that she didn't attend, most assuredly she did. But her true worship was in sacrificing her own needs and desires for the sake of others and ultimately, for the sake of Christ. That's a lesson we all can learn from.

2) Mother Mary - As a protestant, we don't give Mary her full due a lot of times. However, if there's one lesson Mary can teach us, it's how to endure struggles and pain. She was pregnant as a young teen and was unwed when it happened. Her future husband, Joseph, had one foot out the door until an angel came to him in a dream and assured him her pregnancy really was from the Lord. I'm sure she was mocked and laughed at plenty. Not to mention, she watched her little baby boy grow up completely innocent of all crimes and sin. Yet, she watched him suffer beatings, false accusations and watched him die a criminals inhumane death, naked, on a cross. Yet, she endured through it all. She is the perfect example of what Paul means when he writes in Romans 5:3-4, "But that's not all! We gladly suffer, because we know that suffering helps us to endure. And endurance builds character, which gives us a hope." Our hope in Christ is our confidence in Him. That he is who he says he is and that he did what he claimed to. So praise God for the refining process of struggle that ultimately reminds us of our hope in Christ.

3) Susan Wesley - Susan Wesley was the mother of John Wesley who was the founder of Methodism. She is a shining example of what it means to be Spiritually Disciplined. Every day she taught her children their scholastic studies, Biblical studies, and prayer time. She also spent time every day for herself with God. Oh, did I mention she had 19 children! Now, less than half survived ( I believe somewhere between 6-9)which she still managed time for every week and every day. She prayed, read her Bible and helped in her community. Three disciplines I know I need to do better in my own life. How about You?

WOW, what extraordinary women these women were! I'm so impressed by each and only hope my life is as dedicated to the love of God through loving the people of this world as theirs were.

Run Away

I was thinking about Jonah the other day. We were reading from his book in the Bible and the story struck me from a different point of view. This time, rather than a third party, I became Jonah (a position I unfortunately have played many times in my life.) Well anyway, I could only imagine how a modern day conversation between Jonah and God might have gone. Adding some of my own frustrations along the way, these lyrics below are the result of the thought process. It is now actually a song, but I'm only posting the lyrics for now.

Run Away

You walked in smiling ear to ear
you say that you got good news
so I'm ready to hear

Then you share your news with me
instead of delighted, I despise it
I'm green with jealousy

Oh it makes me wanna run away
It makes me wanna run away
no matter what you say
I don't wanna be here anyway.

The feelings cold as I head for the door
I can't understand why I'm left out to dry
while the cold rain pours.

Oh it makes me wanna run away
It makes me wanna run away
no matter what you say
I don't wanna be here anyway.

I said it makes me wanna run
but that's hard to do
when everything I need happens to be
all wrapped up in you

Why do I run away
why do I run away
no matter what I say
I need to be right here today.


Blessings,
Derek

The parable of the Dirty Laundry

Laundry is a funny thing around my house. I don’t know, maybe it is around your house too. In my house, laundry is a daily activity…or at least should be. We don’t make a daily one, as there are mounds of clothes currently in my hall outside the laundry closet to testify to this. However, whenever my wife and I trudge up the will to fight the battle ahead, it usually happens in heaps. Yep, we usually grab one big, supersized mound of clothes and throw it in the wash. Sometimes they’re even separated into whites, darks, and towels. Depending on how much there is to do will usually determine the time and effort put toward the proper separation of the clothes. That’s probably not too uncommon from house to house in America is we’re honest with ourselves. Then, the process usually continues with the steps of washing the clothes. In our case, we turn the water on, dump in the soap and close the lid. What caught my attention today were all the dials on the washer. Sure, I’ve seen them many times, but common, who really uses all those. Seriously! In our house, regardless of the size of the load that goes in the wash, the dial that adjusts the water according to the size is ALWAYS on “LARGE”. There are two other settings; “SMALL” and “MEDIUM”. Those suckers NEVER get used in my house. On top of that, there’s actually a line in your laundry detergent cap to show you where to fill the cap up to depending on the size load you are washing. Once again, our loads (regardless of size) all get the full cap of laundry detergent. HA, isn’t that a bit silly? Is that the way it works in your house too? (My wife hates me right now for revealing the way we do laundry in our house, I’m sure.) Today, I’m proud to say I took one more step closer to correcting myself. I actually switched the “LARGE” dial to “SMALL”, which was appropriate for the size load today. However, I still filled the cap up and dumped it in before I thought about what I was doing. Guess old habits will die hard.

My laundry experience today made me thing of the parable of the workers in the Bible. You know, the one where all the workers get paid the same amount of wages at the end of the day, regardless of how much time they’d put in. Here, check out the parable below.


Matt 20:1-16
"For the Kingdom of Heaven is like a man who was the master of a household, who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard. When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius a day, he sent them into his vineyard. He went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace. To them he said, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.’ So they went their way. Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did likewise. About the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle. He said to them, ‘Why do you stand here all day idle?’ "They said to him, ‘Because no one has hired us.’ "He said to them, ‘You also go into the vineyard, and you will receive whatever is right.’ When evening had come, the lord of the vineyard said to his steward, ‘Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning from the last to the first.’ "When those who were hired at about the eleventh hour came, they each received a denarius. When the first came, they supposed that they would receive more; and they likewise each received a denarius. When they received it, they murmured against the master of the household, saying, ‘These last have spent one hour, and you have made them equal to us, who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat!’ "But he answered one of them, ‘Friend, I am doing you no wrong. Didn’t you agree with me for a denarius? Take that which is yours, and go your way. It is my desire to give to this last just as much as to you. Isn’t it lawful for me to do what I want to with what I own? Or is your eye evil, because I am good?’


Just as my laundry received the same amount of cleanser to be washed, so did the workers receive the same wage. This story is ultimately about our choosing Christ. It doesn’t matter if you come to Christ late in life or early, the reward is the same. The Grace that enables your cleansing is the same. No matter how big the mound of dirt is in your life, or how small, the same love and mercy and forgiveness is offered to all. God’s not in the business of define who is better than another because ALL have sinned and are in need of a savior. The question for me is, am I offering grace in equal amounts like Christ, or am I stingy and choosy with my grace? What about you?

Don't worry, be happy...right?

Why is it so hard to do? You would think there would be many more daunting tasks in life that would take much more of our concentrated efforts to accomplish. Seriously, aren't there bigger distractions in life than little ole "worry". I think I'd have to say, "no!" In all reality, worry weighs on each of us every day. Proverbs even tells us worry weighs on us. I've fallen into worry's trap today and as I write this my mental exhaustion has taken it's toll on me physically. In other words, my stress and anxiety about the day have now brought me to a place where I'm too tired to experience the rest of my day. There's definitely a reason God tells us not to worry. What's more, God tells us we can't add anything to our lives by worrying. The problem for me is, I'm so dang good at it. And, as anyone would, I hate to stop something I'm talented at. ;) All this to say, today my prayer is to let go a little more and rest easy in the arms of my savior. After all, what better place is there for me to be?

Philippians 4:6-7
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Soap Molding

Don’t worry folks; this isn’t a blog about moldy soap. However, this is a blog about molding soap. This, again, isn’t to be confused with the process in which soap has been left untouched for months and as a result, in it moist environment begins to mold. No, rather, this is about the process of molding two bars of soap together. You know…soap molding.

Have you ever molded two bars of soap together? I’m sure you have, even if you haven’t noticed. The process goes a little something like this. After a given time span (depending on the size of the bar of soap and the number of times per day it’s used) a bar of soap (we’ll say one that’s in the shower) begins to dwindle. It’s just the nature of the beast. You use the bar to wash, and the more you use, the smaller and thinner the bar gets. After some time the bar reaches a flimsy like plastic state in which it becomes rather cumbersome to use effectively. It’s at this time you realize a new bar is necessary. However, what do you do with the remainder of the bar that’s left? After all, it’s still soap and can still be used to cleanse, right? Many might throw it out into the hand soap tray on the sink. But let’s face it, though you’d still finish off the soap, it might look a little tacky. So I say no, the more proper thing to due is leave it in the shower. Get a new bar and use that new bar for cleaning one time. At the end of it’s first use, take the old flimsy bar and lay it on top of the new bar that’s just been used. Come back a day later and you have begun your soap molding process.

Depending on the thickness of the old bar, you can have a unibar of soap in as little as one day. Sometimes, the molding process takes a little longer. Occasionally the old bar isn’t quite ready for molding and for whatever reason (justified or not) you decide to press your luck with soap molding and see if you can force a proper molding of the soaps. However, this isn’t the best idea. Soaps need to be used to a point before their ready. I’ve tried to force two soaps before the proper time. The result was the two united bars separating again. That can be really frustrating for some reason. No, the best thing to do is to be patient with your soap…make sure it gets to the correct stage in its soap life, and then when ready, bring the two soaps together for proper molding and perfect results. Still, some bars may mold quicker than others, but all will eventually adapt and mold together. It's such a silly little process for saving soap. Wonder what it would look like if we used this method in saving souls?