11/6/2012
Beauty in the Desert


I grew up in a small town in Arizona. There was nothing but Desert for miles to see, then the mountains rose up from the valley floor just as majestic as the day that God had created them.

Over the years I had seen a lot of friends and relatives come and stay at our house. It didn't matter what the reason for them coming was, it only mattered that they came.

Out of all the things that they said, the one thing I can remember them saying the most was how hot and desolate it was there. They said that, because they believed what they saw, and that was a lack of greenery and cool air. But just like all things, people tend to see things differently.

I know some people who would tell you that they would rather live in the Desert then anywhere else.

These people had seen something much different in that hot, dry, unforgiving climate that those visitors did.

I was raised in the Desert and don't remember complaining about the heat or wishing I was somewhere else.

I can remember all the places that we could go, just by simply driving out of town for an hour or two. I can remember going swimming at the city pool over the summers, going hunting in the Desert and surrounding mountains, and driving the endless gravel roads that seemed to go on forever.

We would ride our bikes to town , apx. 7 miles worth, and when we got there, begin to spend our meager allowances on dairy queen dilly bars, the latest toy, or just freezes from the local 7 eleven store. 
In a town where there was nothing to do, we always seemed to find something.

Others who had visited could not see what we could, and even now as I am older, when I explain it to others they seem unimpressed by my ramblings.

It is hard to explain something to someone who has never experienced it before.

This is because their experience was much different then what we experienced as we grew up as kids. But it doesn't change the fact that the Desert was a beautiful place for us as kids, and that for us created fond childhood memories of days spent exploring the Desert wilderness.

The Desert can be a harsh formidable place to live in, or it can be a place of unending beauty if you knew where to look.

A place where others couldn't wait to leave, was for us a home.

It is the same in my personal walk with God, I can either choose to see all the things that others complain about, and experience the result for that choice, or I can choose to see things as God does.

God has placed us in a world that has unmeasurable beauty, but as we go through this life beauty seems to fade away to a distorted picture that God never intended us to see.

In our own personal lives, God chose to take us through a seven year hiatus into the Desert. 
We came out with a personal relationship with Him as a result.

If you would have asked me at the time, I would have told you that I've never felt so alone in my life.

If you were to ask me now though, I would tell you that it was necessary to redirect my life into the path that God had for me.

But in the Desert it wasn't pretty, it was just hard.

I can now look back and know that those seven years were warranted, just as I can look back and know that for me the Desert was the right place as a child.

I know this because, of the memories from those many childhood days spent exploring that wilderness, and the adventure that was always waiting for us right around the corner.

Now I can see the beauty that comes from the Desert, and the beauty that comes from my God as well.

We were never created to live our lives complaining, instead we were made to find, and bask in the beauty that has been set before us.

It is important to see the world through God's eyes, because that is truly where the Desert becomes a place of beauty, and that is where the Desert becomes the promised land.

Just as I saw the beauty of that small Arizona town as a child, and lived the adventures that were set before us, we are to live the adventure that God daily sets before us.

This may take you having to go through the Desert to get there, but remember that there is beauty in the Desert, so stop sometime and look around and see what God has set there for you to see.

Then engage life and live the adventure, for that is where true joy is.

3/11/2011
Following God

Life has been very stressful lately. God has decided to take me through," past stuff "so that I may be able to be closer to him. I didn't know that I had gone anywhere, but I did.

My youngest Son is in Japan as a nuclear meltdown may be eminent following a 9.0 earthquake and Tsunami in Northern Japan. If that wasn't enough there has been looming scuttlebutt about the United States economy failing and the dollar devaluing. 

Along with life's daily struggles this has caused my stress levels to reach the max. Its funny how it takes disaster in our lives for us to finally realize that we have little control over what is really going on.

It brings us to an place where we must once again ask that looming question," Is God real and does he care?"

I'm sure Satan would love us to get caught up in the confusion of the world and the pain in our everyday lives. Nothing good ever comes from our focusing on those things though. I call it, "Smoke screens, lies and illusions" those are his tactics.

I was watching a news caster last night and I liked the way he boiled it all down." when it all falls apart, what choice will you make? 

Which side will you fall on? 

The side of those causing confusion, abdicating violence and condoning taking what others have so they can secure there own safety. 

Or the side of those who will help provide for the needy, the lost, the confused, and even give of what they have even if it costs them everything.

This ultimately is the choice we must make, and it very well may cost us dearly. 

What choice will you make? 

Will you do what Jesus did and give up everything, or will you follow the crowd and choose safety above all else? 

  I hope that our country can react the way the Japanese people did and put the highest priority on taking others in and giving of what we have, but I fear that we have lost our respect for those values and principles that the Japanese people so readily hold on to.

I think that we as a nation better look hard at what this disaster has to teach us, or we may well find out the hard way what we have lost.

As I have been taken through this last month, I have been brought back to that looming question,
 "Is there a God and is he real? Does he care? Will he move his hand and help?

What I have come to is this...

He never left. It was I that walked down a different road. I don't mean church, bible studies, ministry, etc.... those are man's things. I mean relationship with the father. Real relationship, ongoing daily relationship.

It's funny how when God speaks, all those things that seemed so pressing and so urgent just seem to fade away.

The enemy would have me believe that I'm a failure, my past tells me I won't ever achieve, but God always tells me I'm called to be a leader.

The funny thing is its my choice which I will believe?

It is also my choice which side I will choose?

My answer came in an unexpected way. (Isn't that just like God)

My choice is simple I will do what my son is doing in Japan. 

My Son is an American student at Temple University in Tokyo. He was told, by us his parents that his ticket was paid for and all he had to do was to catch a plane and come home. What he decided to do was to stay and help wherever he could.

Forgetting about his own safety and waiting there until he can go north and help.

This is what real men are made of. This is what God intended for us. I for one will follow my sons lead and I will stand on the side of compassion, mercy, and integrity even if it costs me all that I have.

Let the future come and we as men of God will embrace it and do what is right.

That is Living the Adventure, isn't it?

11/6/2012

A Fathers Love


As I sat at home this Sunday Morning, a memory from the past flooded into my mind. It was a memory from when I was fairly young, about eight or nine maybe. It was a time when men were going off to Vietnam, man was attempting missions to the moon, and mothers and fathers were just trying to get through their lives and keep their families together.

With the war in Vietnam in full swing and the world in chaos, there I was an eight year old, dreaming dreams of future stardom.
 
And here is where i sat, in the midst of everything my only concern being, some day becoming a basketball star like Kareem Abdul Jabaar.
 
In 1968 he was a twenty year old college student whose basketball success had made him famous. He had been honored as player of the year, The most outstanding player in the NCAA tournament, and named the USBWA player of the year. Not to mention he played the game of the century against the Houston Cougars in the Houston Astrodome.
So it was no wonder that he captured my attention as I practiced basketball shots in my backyard that year.

This memory begins with me playing basketball in the back yard. One thing I need to explain here is that our family didn't have much cash available, because of the eight children they were raising. There was enough money to live and get new clothes for the start of the school season, but not much left for the hopes and dreams of us, the children.
 
We played with a used, hand me down, weathered, discolored basketball that didn't have much rubber left.

In fact I can remember the day that I was able to save enough money to buy a new basketball. It was a red, white, and blue one that put all other balls to shame. This is important because when you are the youngest in a family of eight siblings, everything is hand me down.

So, instead of playing basketball on a concrete court we played it on dirt, and instead of the basket being held up by a nice clean black painted pole it was a unpainted four by four.

Oh, yeah, the backboard wasn't new either, I seem to remember the lines being faded and the color being more of a yellow then pure white. Also if you wanted to make a shot, you had to make it by drawing from your experience, as I mentioned earlier the lines were gone.

If you've ever played basketball you know that those lines are there as a guide, so that you can judge where in relation to the lines that the ball was when you made the shot.

This would enable you to be among your friends someone like, (Kareem Abdul Jabaar), and be the envy of every one of your friends when you were called on to win the game.

As I was playing on that Sunday afternoon I seem to remember that the sun was going down, and it was quickly becoming increasingly more difficult to see even the yellow looking backboard as I took my shots.

I can remember thinking about going inside the house, but the allure of making that next basket kept me squinting in the darkness to see the hoop. I believe it was Sunday night which meant that I would have to eat dinner, then get ready for bed which meant waking up and going to school.

This of course was not my first choice, as all I had on my mind was to become a basketball superstar, so that others would envy me and talk about my supernatural shots all day long.

Then I can remember the Light tan colored Dodge Dart that was sitting in the back yard, and that I had to continually keep running to keep the ball from hitting it as I played. I wasn't up to par with Kareem Abdul Jabaar yet, so there were a lot of balls bouncing off of the unlevel hard packed ground towards the car.

Where the car was parked was more of a hindrance, but when you are the youngest of eight with three older brothers and four older sisters, the first thing you learn is not to ask them to do anything, especially if that meant they would have to move their car for you.

This meant instead, running continuously to keep the basketball from denting the car, because if that were to happen it meant sure death, and the loss of all of your hard earned spending money being handed over for the dent repair. This money had cost me hours of cutting weeds in the sun, not to mention that it had lengthened the time that it would take me to practice enough to have the skill level of Kareem Abdul Jabaar.
The result of this meant that it would take me at least until I was thirteen to be a superstar instead of ten. This wasn't worth the cost that I would incur, and so in my wisdom I decided that I would just keep shagging the ball so it wouldn't dent my brothers car.

Then as I was shooting my last shots I remember my brother coming out of the back door of our house and getting into his car. With the sudden allure of the car being gone, and the idea of not having to worry about his car being dented, something rose inside of me, and I ran over and asked him what was going on. Of course I didn't realize with the car gone that the ball would not have a place to bounce off of and it would make me go even farther to get the ball.

But, as I asked my brother what was going on I sensed something was wrong because of his lack of excitement. I don't remember the exact words, but I do remember asking him where he was going.
He then told me that he was going away and something like he wouldn't be seeing me for a while.

Later i found out that he and his girlfriend were leaving and that he was going into the air force. I couldn't comprehend all of what this meant in that moment, but I did understand that something was wrong.
I knew that my mom and dad were upset when I finally walked into the house that night, but at that time had no clue as to what had transpired. I only knew that whatever the reason, they were hurt.

Now, of course, I can understand what this all meant, and how this had changed the look of our family forever.
Later, I found out that my dad had stopped in at the bus station as my brother was waiting to leave. He talked with my brother and had given him some money. This was important because my dad didn't have much money, and it would have meant a lot for him to give it up.

But for his son, he would have given all he had without hesitation.

Now, as I have had the chance to see some of my own children go their way in life. I have been left with the loss that comes from the separation of them starting their own lives, and I can now understand more of what my parents felt, and the pain that naturally came for them as they lost but another child to life.

I know that God has been speaking to me this year about what it means to have personal relationship with him. Lately He has been showing me what fear does in my life, and the lives of others, and how destructive it can be in the absence of belief and faith in Him. I'm sure that my parents and my brother were just doing what they thought was correct at the time, and I,m sure they both had regrets later.

I could draw so many life truths from this story, one of a fathers unending love, one of a sons need to go out into the world and start his life, one of a mothers love and her not wanting to lose her son, but the one thing that sticks out this morning is fear.

Fear can effect our lives without us even realizing that it is doing so. The enemy will use whatever is available to Him at the time to work his destruction. If we do not spend time allowing Jesus to reveal these strongholds of fear in our lives, we will be destined to live in this fear as the enemy uses it against us.

I now have a different outlook on life and see the destruction that fear did to my family as we grew up in that small Arizona town. My parents did the best they could and I know that they loved us. But as life goes on, all we can do is learn from what God has shown us and submit to His revelations of the past and their outcomes, so that we can be in our lives honest and transparent before God and others.

Fear is from the enemy and can cause our lives to be destroyed if we allow it in.There is nothing we can do to shelter ourselves from being hurt, it is how we choose to deal with and allow that hurt to shape us that will determine if fear rules in our lives or not.

I like the way that my Son's girlfriend looks at it.
She simply says that we have nothing to fear,.... except for spiders....

We must remember the spiders will always be there, and that, Yes, God has even given us dominion over the spiders....

Remember, Even when life hurts you, Fear Ends Where Faith Begins.

Live the adventure and live your life out loud for God!

Chasing Jesus
Life is so hard at times that I wonder if I will ever make it through to the end. God says in his word that he is here for us, but at times it seems like he is nowhere to be found. Those same men that promised me in the past that they would be there for me have all instead chosen to judge me. Every step I take seems to end with more questions than answers.
If God does care as he says then why have I ended up here?
In life it is not easy to pursue Jesus. To be passionate about Jesus we have to give up everything of who we are, and deep down inside, most of us don’t want to do that. But God will accept nothing less than our complete surrender to his Son.
Jesus requires us to be who we have been created to be. He doesn’t promise us it will be easy, only that “there” is where we will find true joy. Notice that he doesn’t use the word comfort.
The first thing that happens in our pursuit to find Jesus is he will bring up the sin in our lives so that we can repent and let go of the past. Then he places a new hope and promise before us and expects us to step up and do what we have been created to do. With Jesus there can be no half way, he always expects us to be the “us” that God created us to be. Just as with his disciples he will accept nothing less, he expects our best not our worst.
To chase Jesus is the easy choice, to find him is much harder. The more we pursue Jesus the more we see our inadequacies. Sadly, for many these inadequacies are too hard to face, so many will choose to leave that area untouched inside of them, so they can pursue a more normal relationship with God.
The problem here is this new relationship is not with God at all, it is with an idol they have placed the name of God upon, called religion.
To chase or pursue Jesus requires everything from us. With Jesus there is no “other way” to go; only his way matters. This is why so many fall away, they see his way as to hard.
What does the word warrior bring up in your mind when I say it? For most of us I think it is a picture of a strong man with big biceps, wearing armor, and either swinging a sword or shooting a gun. This same man has to continually be able to be placed in the most dangerous places and situations, usually around those that want nothing less than to kill or torture him.
Sadly to say many choose the easy road before they have ever been in even one battle.
God is calling out his warriors, not those that have chosen the easy road. Jesus is training an army for war and, make no mistake, you will either learn to fight or you will be left for dead. To use our armor as his chosen warriors we need to know what weapons have been given to us to use.
How do you think that we find this out?
Jesus walked this earth, Gods very Son, to show us the way. All through the New Testament his words are recorded so we can know him better. So all we have to do is read about him, listen, and meditate on his words. Then we can model ourselves after what he said we should be.
To know Jesus is to know the father, to know the father is to know our true selves.
So now we have no excuse, no easy way out, no man made kingdoms to hide in. Jesus died and requires all of this from us and much more, because he knows anything less will lead to our destruction.
By the way it will be hard for us to pursue Jesus, but it will also bring us more joy, happiness, and peace then we have ever had in our lives. To accomplish this will take everything that you have inside. It will require you to give up friendships at times, to give up money, to give up fame, to give up yourselves.
In days of old, even in recent times, to be called a warrior meant that you have been judged as worthy to hold such a title. It meant that you have on your body and mind the scars from training that made you who you are today. It meant that you would be trusted with protecting the kingdom. In many civilizations there was no greater honor then being chosen to be a warrior. In fact many kings were actually proven warriors seasoned in battle.
The battle being lost meant more than just defeat, it meant that your family and friends would be placed in bondage for years or even their lifetime under the enemy’s control.
This is why it is so hard, you will have to fight…
You will have to forget about the past, so you can see the future that God has for you.
One thing is different though, with Jesus we have been given something that other warriors didn’t have, a King that will fight for us, when the battle is at its fiercest.
So today my hope for you is that you will fight with everything inside of you, to be the warrior that Jesus has called you to be. The warrior that God himself created you to be, even before you were born.
Today raise up the battle standard with the name of Jesus upon it, this is why we are here, for this is why we were created, and for this is why we will fight.
The Name of Jesus…..
Philippians 3:13 (nas)
Forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.