The Mending

I sat there... Staring at it... The imperfection looking me in the eye... It crawled under my skin and screamed for some kind of help, some kind of redemption. I would be the one who would give that redemption! No longer would it have to live a life of imperfection, no longer would it be mocked by its peers. The item... A torn page in a story book. There's just something about a torn page in a book that is like fingernails on a chalk board to me. One accidental turn, one swift read and riiiiiiip out it comes. So in order to prevent this travesty in my sons' Go Dog Go book, I will mend it. I will make it new and whole again. The tool - Super Ultra Clear packing tape, yes this should do the trick. Then he will still be able to enjoy the words and the pictures.

So...I hold the page together.

Measure the tape. ( so its just right)

Then...Apply...

I repeat the same process for the other side of the book and wallah a brand new page, reinforced in fact.

I stare at my handiwork and I must say that I am very impressed with myself. You can barely see the tape and the page is mended, restored. I am happy, no longer will this page irritate me as I turn towards the end of the story. As I stare a little longer (checking for mistakes) I notice the page is misaligned just a tad but nothing big. I also notice that the tape is smooth and I can see through it really well. Pleased, I start to close the book and put it on the shelf - then a thought hits me.

There is one thing I cannot see. (I re-open the book) I cannot see the hands that did this work, I cannot see the time that it took to fix this book, I cannot see the thought that went into the solution of the problem. The only thing I can see is my finger prints on the "clear" tape. The prints of the healer, the prints of the one who took the time to fix this meaningless page, the prints of the one who thought it beneficial to repair a page in a story book.

David said his life was like an open book to God. (Psalm 139:16 Msg.)

How many of our lives have torn pages?

How many of our lives have restored pages?

There is never a time that God is closer in our lives than when we are in need of healing. Whether we are going through a trial, or need a physical touch, or our emotions are torn and tattered. God is there...mending...placing his hands on us...leaving his fingerprints.

Look at your scars, your torn pages and begin to see The Mending that took place there. Begin to see the fingerprints of God. Analyze how he took the time to work in your life.

Look how he mends and leaves a piece of himself behind.

The Great Balance

It's been a while since I have posted. The reason? Well it's both simple and complicated...Time. My Wife and I recently had our second child and I thought that it was going to be a little easier than the first go round... It has not. I thought we would be able to put to use all the knowledge we had gained from the first child and then we basically would become parental machines. Like an auto-pilot parent, we would know why the new one was crying, we would know how to calm him down and.... We could still sleep (again because of all of our knowledge). I was wrong. I have to agree with my brother in-law when he said "Having two kids isn't harder, its ten times as hard and you are ten times as busy." This then leads me to the title of this post. B.A.L.A.N.C.E. How do we balance our families, our ministries, our jobs, our lives? I've noticed some things as I have tried to answer this question over the past month;

My house has gotten dirtier.

My trucks are not washed.

My lawn needs mowed.

I need a shower.

My faith has grown.

I love even more.

When I have 10 minutes with my wife alone, that time is more precious than gold.

Balance.

Increasing the workload in your life seems to lead to some interesting conclusions. It shows you where your priorities are at. It shows you what you care about. Now I am not this shining saint of a dad, nor am I a "superman" of faith. I am simply a human being and a dad, and even though I desperately need some sleep I love every minute of it. (Well almost every minute.)

Balance.

How do we keep our faith alive when our kids are screaming and we have to get worship ready for youth service?

How do we keep our Love burning strong for our spouses when we barely have minutes to spend with them?

Balance.

How do we balance?

Matthew 6:33 - says to seek God first. This gives us the road map for balance. Put God first and all things will fall into place.

God... FIRST...

I am ever learning how to balance.

The whore that is us

I was talking with my pastor a few days ago and he brought up an interesting question He asked; why do we give ourselves to other gods? What is it in man, that he constantly feels that he needs to give himself to other gods? As we were talking, he said that that question could not be fully answered. He brought up how Israel continually prostituted herself out to other gods and how in the bible God longed for Israel to show the same devotion to him as other tribes did to their gods. My Pastor also brought up how the other tribes had great devotion to their false gods and how Israel (whom worshipped the true God) always was the one to leave their God for another. So what is it that is in us that needs to constantly look for fulfillment in false gods. Why does the notion of "cheating" on God sound so appealing?

Is it our Sin/Flesh nature?

Is it our eyes, do we see something more lovely than what God can give us?

Is it self justification that we seek in other gods? We simply follow a set of rules and then woalla we are justified and then can go on sinning and feel "good and justified" in our sin.

Why does God want us all to himself? Why is it a commandment to have no gods before him? Is he a jealous lover or does he just care for us that much, in that he feels that no one could possibly care for us or love us like he could?

Some food for thought:

Zechariah 10:2-3

Jeremiah 13:25-27