October 15 / God at Play

As Long As It Is Today

As Americans, our culture tells us to live in the moment. Although it’s difficult to tell amongst the incoherent ramblings of spokesperson Matthew McConaughay as he drives, this has become Lincoln’s motto.

Typically, our Hollywood-laden ideals and work ethic combine to form the cliché “work hard, play hard.” To live in the moment continually, every day has to be special. For every day to be special, every today has to be special. These ideals are unattainable. No matter how inspired we are, the relentless grind at work grates against these ideals, causing a lot of frustration.

Redemption

Years ago, in the pre-kids era, I spent several weekends re-finishing a crib. The crib was not special in any notable way, except that it was left in my house from the previous owners. I held onto it for years, hoping to someday fix it up … Read MoreRedemption

October 14 / God at Play

The Great iCloud of Witnesses

Has the song in your heart ever stopped? A few years ago, I didn’t have a fresh song in my heart, and it was kind of sad when I realized it had disappeared. My wife and I had just received some great news—a major prayer request had been answered– and we showed up to church really ready to worship. I was grateful to God and excited. I wanted to sing for joy with all my heart. Funny thing was, I couldn’t sing. My voice literally wasn’t used to it, all scratchy. My singing voice had atrophied, it had been so long since I’d actually sang out loud.

Spiritual Fitness

I can’t remember what the advertisement was selling– I probably was supposed to open a new 401K. Regardless of what product the commercial was all about, it was hilarious. An overweight guy, all dressed up in new athletic apparel, is at the gym for the first time to fulfill his New Year’s resolution of losing weight. He steps on the scale to weigh himself, runs around the gym for a couple seconds, then steps back on the scale. He looks disappointed when the scale says he still weighs the same. The message was well crafted– we have unrealistic expectations and demand results too quickly. Read MoreSpiritual Fitness