Dip, Cigarettes, and Jesus.

Addiction is no stranger to me. Although I have not dealt with it personally, I have come as close as you can get without actually tasting it. I have seen numerous family members, friends who have family members, and in some cases even some friends fall into it and then watch their fight to beat it begin. But the more and more I have witnessed this fight, the more my perspective has been altered.

We are so quick to judge. So quick to get angry, trust me I am guilty more than you will ever know. But Jesus is teaching me now that as Christians we are always so quick to give the answers to escape it, but sometimes that doesn't cut it.  The simple phrase, "Christ is enough," seems to solve all of life's problems. 

This phrase has become the banner of the church and the christian life.  We think this phrase will fuel a growing conviction and ultimately provide the finding everything you/we need is in Jesus and will increase someones joy and destroy the sin addictions.  But I have learned, it isn't quite that simple. 

Here’s the problem, it is absolutely true, but ultimately the saying "Christ is enough," is just a summary.  

Summary: a brief statement or account of the main points of something.

It skims over the process of how you get from point A to point B.  Saying “Christ is enough” is often used when it comes to addiction. Struggle with materialism?  Christ is enough.  Can’t stop looking at porn?  He satisfies.  Have a problem with dipping?  God is all you need.  I absolutely believe that finding satisfaction in Christ is the answer for any of our addictions.  But simply telling someone that God is all they need without showing them how to find that satisfaction does about as much good as saying nothing.  

I’ve often seen the whole “God is enough” thing illustrated in sermons by setting up two tables.  On one table is a burger, fries, and drink from McDonalds.  The other table has a feast on it.  The McDonalds combo is that sin you keep turning back to.  The feast is what Christ offers.  It would be dumb to run to the McDonalds table for something that is way less than what is on the other table. But here is the problem whether you choose the McDonalds combo or Jesus you are still satisfying the same craving, which in this case is hunger.

So yes Jesus is more than enough but these things people turn to will satisfy them, just as the McDonalds meal will, just not as much as the feast would.

I hope you see where I am going with this...

We can't just say, "Christ is enough," and expect them to instantly choose Jesus over that cigarette or the beer. We have to show them. Wanna know how to do that: you let your life reflect it.

It doesn't make you less spiritual than anyone else because you smoke, or because you dip. By no means am I saying it is our job to get someone to stop doing what they are doing. What I am saying is it our job to encourage them and let the fact Jesus does satisfy speak not only from our mouths but from our lives.

It means absolutely nothing if we tell someone something and then don't let them see how it applies in our own life.

So today Jesus, let us love people no matter where they are at. Let us not try to tell them all the answers. Let us just point them to you. Let us be addicted to you.

Dream On.

My mom encouraged my to read the book, The Last Lecture, by Randy Pausch. I willingly agreed, not planning on actually doing it. But today I read the book, the entire book.

The title of the book explains just what the whole book is about: a last lecture. A lot of professors give talks titled "The Last Lecture." Professors are asked to consider what matters most to them and before finishing their season of life that involves teaching they give their last lecture spitting out tad bits of wisdom.

But Randy's last lecture is literally is his last lecture. He is fighting pancreatic cancer, the same cancer my dad had, so you can imagine I was a blubbering mess while I read the book. But Randy does something unique, and heartfelt. He dedicates his last lecture to teaching life lessons to his kids that he won't ever get the chance to teach them. So one day when they look back they can still learn from their father. Like I said I cried the whole book. I highly highly encourage you to read the book. But one of the main ideas is Randy encouraging his kids to accomplish their dreams. Because when you strive to live a life where you accomplish your wildest dreams you are truly living.

But this book got me thinking. What are my dreams? Am I chasing them?

When the time comes for me to step out of earth and into eternity, and my loved ones silently wish for me to live, I want to to reply to their silent request and say,"I already did."

You see I wanna dream. I wanna chase my dream. I wanna really live.

You never know when the doctor will come into the waiting room and tell you that you have terminal cancer, Randy didn't. But he lived his life in a way that it didn't matter if the news came or not... He dreamed. He lived.

The question now is not can you dream, everyone can dream, but do you have the courage to act upon it? Do you have the courage to chase it? .

The Children of Israel dreamed of living in the Promised Land, but the only way to get there was through the wilderness. You will not be able to trust God for the fruition of your Dream, until you see His faithfulness in the process. But as the people walked through the wilderness, chasing their dream, they learned.

That's the beautiful part about dreaming. Even if you never accomplish what you are seeking what you learn along the way will benefit you just as much.

Numbers 13:2-3 
The Lord spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel. 

The men Moses sent out to scout the land most likely were not that excited about going, probably a little scared. But they went, they chased their dream dispite the discomfort. 

If your dream does not stretch you to the point of discomfort, it isn't big enough, fear is standing in the way

Little dreams lead to little service, but big dreams can lead to big service, so ask yourself, "How big is my dream?"

So today take a step with me. Start dreaming a dream and start chasing it. Let's truly live.

Put Down the Phone.

"Put your phone up for 2 seconds." -Mom
"Mom, I am not always on it (lying) you just always see me when I am." -me

Last night I spent the night at a families house so the mom could sleep in, therefore I was in charge of taking the kids to school. First, these kids wake up dang early. Rolled over looked at the clock, 5:45, and all 3 of them were up and ready to start the day. I slowly got out of bed, turned the tv on for the kids and went and sat in the other room. First thing I did... started looking at my phone. It is 5:45 in the morning nobody was tweeting, posting pictures on instagram, snap-chatting, or even posting facebook status. But yet I still ended up on my phone for a solid 15 minutes... and then it hit me: serious conviction.

The house is so quiet, still, and there is absolutely nothing to look at on my phone but I am still choosing to be on it...

Why?

Why wasn't my first thought to make use of the quiet and stillness and breathe in the start of a new day and start leaning into what Jesus had in store for me over the next 24 hours.

You can deny it all you want, but today almost every single one of us spend more time on our phone then we do anything else, and honestly that is completely pathetic.

So, I put down my phone, then realized we had lots of time before school and decided to load the kids up and take them to breakfast. When they were finish eating we still had about 20 minutes before we needed to leave, so I told them they could go play on the playground. Instead of me scrolling through twitter, again, I watched the kids play, and the reaction they showed to me watching them is/was such a beautiful picture of what Jesus wants from us.

Their faces lit up with joy and smiles as they looked out and saw me watching, and then they busted out in their best dance moves from behind the glass. They just died laughing and kept waving at me making sure I was still paying attention.

That is it people.

Jesus just wants our attention. He wants us to put down the phone, and look up and watch everything that He is doing, but He doesn't want to have to keep waving to make sure we are paying attention.

Now I am not saying everyone needs to fast from social media and to only spend 10 minutes a day on your phone, not at all. What I am saying is don't miss out on the little things in life because you are to busy starring at a screen. Yes, through social media we have a sneak peak into the lives of those we follow, but if we become so concerned about what everyone else is doing, we miss our own life.

Jesus has placed you where you are for a purpose, and I am 100% positive your purpose isn't to sit and stare at your smart phone. Make you goal for Jesus to stop waving at you because you are already paying attention.

So today, I am choosing fix my eyes on Jesus and not on my iphone.