Exciting News!

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Back in Town

Jessica and I have returned from showing off our daughter McKenna to our family and friends back home in Michigan.  And of course, they loved her!  How could they not?

This trip was by far the best time Jessica and I have had while in Michigan.  The relentless pressure from our parents and grandparents for our return to West Michigan made us feel loved; however, can’t say just yet that moving back is God’s plan for us.

The reality is–with the arrival of McKenna–the desire to move back home has increased (our family is taking full advantage of our temporarily weak mind setting).

I understand that we experience one life, and one life only on this side of Heaven, and family is beyond important to Jessica and me.  As much as I want to settle down and buy a house and spend the rest of my life comfortably positioned in West Michigan, I can’t help but think that there is so much more to this life.

Christianity in many ways has lost its edge.  There is no adventure, no excitement, no fun.  Is that a result from the comfortable lifestyle that many Christians want?  Buy a house, work hard, don’t complain–much anyways? 

I can’t stand by and watch my life fade away little by little while God is looking on–shaking His head thinking “if only you knew the greatness I desire for you.”  I believe God wants to do something amazing and He is looking for this generation to step up and conduct a movement of God that has never been experienced.

Excellence in All Things

I desire to be the best.  Plain and simple.  The greatest, the man, the most awesome, the most awesome greatest person that ever existed.

Man, glad I got that off my chest.

My wife made a little comment to me yesterday that smacked me in the face (I hate it when Jesus uses her to show me things that are right in front of my face, I would rather Him use a complete stranger).

She said, “You know, you are always saying ‘do your best, be the best, out work everyone else, ask Jesus for something amazing'”  The list could go on.  Then she told me that I expect the absolute best out of myself with everything except in class.  I am perfectly fine with a B.  That is pretty much my goal. 

Not an A, but a B.

I asked myself why this was.  I came up with–it is not worth the extra time and effort to receive that A.  That’s it.  Not that I couldn’t do it, but I just don’t want to put forth the effort.

What part of your life are you settling for a B because you just don’t want to produce the effort necessary to get that A?

Love Vs Obedience

Great time with Jesus this morning.  Have you ever had those moments where you sensed His presence?

It was nothing planned or constructed–I had some extra time sitting in my car, and opened up my Bible to John 13.  I read John 13 and nothing really struck me or stood out.

Then I got to John 14.  Jesus started speaking.  The verses that stood out were: John 14:15, John 14:21, & John 14:23.

“If you love me, you will obey what I command.”  — John 14:15

“Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.  He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  — John 14:21

“If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching.  My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.”  — John 14:23

You can see from the repetitive nature (all within 8 verses) of this idea of love and obedience that Jesus found the relationship between the two very important.  I think many times we become infatuated with one or the other…we focus on Jesus is only love or Jesus demands obedience.

I think the scripture is clear that the two have a significantly close relationship and I don’t think you can have one without the other.

The question I was asking in my journal this morning is…is it my love for Jesus that generates obedience or is it my obedience that produces love?

Baby Christian

Life is completely different with a newborn.  Holy crap! is about all I can say to adequately describe how I feel.

One very cool thing about having a brand new little baby girl is the amount of praise given out in my home.  Everything she does is amazing, and never sisyphean.  Every time McKenna lifts her head up, hoots and hollers go off!  Every time she burps, I yell “that’s my girl!”  Every time she passes some gas, I praise her by telling her she takes after her mom (hahaha–I’m in trouble for this one :))

So now I am asking the question “is this how God feels about brand new Christians?”

Is God cheering every little thing a new believer does?  Each good decision?  Each attempt to pray?  Each time they go to church?  If they read the Bible 2 times in a month, is God yelling at the top of His lungs, “THAT’S MY BOY!” 

An even bigger question…”Does God ever stop cheering for His kids?”  Even now, after growing substantially in my faith I can sometimes feel God cheering.

Greatest feeling in the world–when we fall down, pick ourselves back up and God is right there with a “THAT’S MY BOY!”

Sisyphean–after a king in Greek Mythology who was cursed to push huge bolder to the top of a hill, only to watch it roll back down and had to repeat this forever…so you can prolly guess what it means, endlessly fruitless.