A couple of weeks ago on my way home I surfed the radio dial to NPR. I usually only listen to NPR when I need some quiet background noise, but don't want to listen to the crap on the radio and am tired of the 3,000 songs I have on my ipod (completely American).
Anyway, on the ride home one of the stories was that George Clooney was appearing before the UN to address the crisis in Darfur. My immediate response was to laugh. My immediate thought was, "Why in the world is George Clooney meeting with the UN?" "How arrogant for him to think he has something to say!" And, "How ignorant of the UN to waste time with him!" Surely the UN can find someone more intelligent and more in touch with the situation to listen to.
These thoughts were almost immediately followed by my realization that it is so easy for me to point the finger at Clooney and complain. Instead, I should focus that energy on finding out what I could do to help the situation! My initial reaction to the story was the same that the Pharisees would have had! It's easier to pass judgement than to extend grace! And, besides, if the church were doing more to help in these situations we wouldn't be relying on Hollywood stars to issue a call to action.
I know that there are some Christians and Christian organizations serving in the area, but where is the rest of the church? Why do we always seem to be the last to respond to these social issues? Why is it that sometimes the non-Chrisitans seem to follow the example of Christ better than those that profess to follow him? Maybe it is because we are too busy following the example of the pharisees. Maybe it is because we are too busy passing judgement on those who are setting an example, we should be setting.
There are two songs that speak to the injustice in the world in light of the sovereignty of God in an incredibly powerful way! Well worth downloading!! One is called Our God Reigns and is by Delirious. The other is Oh My God by Jars of Clay! Seriously, check them out!
Friday, September 29, 2006
Salvation from . . . and to . . .
I have been thinking a lot about the idea of salvation. When we say salvation what do we mean? Often I think we limit the definition of salvation to a rescue from hell. I mean, this is what is preached in many churches; that is, if you don’t believe in Jesus or accept him as Lord, you will spend eternity in hell. Salvation, when defined this way, has very little to do with our lives in the here and now. I think this is why so many of us live our lives the exact same way our non-Christian friends do.
Dallas Willard writes this in his book The Divine Conspiracy:
“The sensed irrelevance of what God is doing to what makes up our lives is the foundational flaw in the existence of multitudes of professing Christians today. They have been led to believe that God, for some unfathomable reason, just thinks it appropriate to transfer credit from Christ’s merit account to ours, and to wipe out our sin debt, upon inspecting our mind and finding that we believe a particular theory of the atonement to be true—even if we trust everything but God in all other matters that concern us (italics mine).
It is left unexplained how it is possible that one can rely on Christ for the next life without doing so for this one, trust him for one’s eternal destiny without trusting him for ‘the things that relate to Christian life.’ Is this really possible? Surely not! Not within one life.
In the Gospels, “the gospel” is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever, through reliance on Jesus the Annointed.
Accordingly, the only description of eternal life found in the words we have from Jesus is ‘This is eternal life, that they [his disciples] may know you, the only real God, and Jesus the anointed, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3). This may sound to us like “mere head knowledge,” But the biblical “know” always refers to an intimate, personal, interactive relationship.
The eternal life of which Jesus speaks is not knowledge about God but an intimately interactive relationship with him."
So, if salvation is not just the promise of eternal abundant life after I die, but is also the promise of abundant, eternal life in the here and now, how come I often feel like life falls short of abundant? I believe it is because I often choose to live life on my own, apart from Christ. My pride takes over, and I decide I want to live life for myself! I choose to make myself and idol. True life, abundant life, eternal life can only be found as we seek an interactive, personal, intimate relationship with Christ in all things and recognize that He is Lord of our lives.
Dallas Willard writes this in his book The Divine Conspiracy:
“The sensed irrelevance of what God is doing to what makes up our lives is the foundational flaw in the existence of multitudes of professing Christians today. They have been led to believe that God, for some unfathomable reason, just thinks it appropriate to transfer credit from Christ’s merit account to ours, and to wipe out our sin debt, upon inspecting our mind and finding that we believe a particular theory of the atonement to be true—even if we trust everything but God in all other matters that concern us (italics mine).
It is left unexplained how it is possible that one can rely on Christ for the next life without doing so for this one, trust him for one’s eternal destiny without trusting him for ‘the things that relate to Christian life.’ Is this really possible? Surely not! Not within one life.
In the Gospels, “the gospel” is the good news of the presence and availability of life in the kingdom, now and forever, through reliance on Jesus the Annointed.
Accordingly, the only description of eternal life found in the words we have from Jesus is ‘This is eternal life, that they [his disciples] may know you, the only real God, and Jesus the anointed, whom you have sent’ (John 17:3). This may sound to us like “mere head knowledge,” But the biblical “know” always refers to an intimate, personal, interactive relationship.
The eternal life of which Jesus speaks is not knowledge about God but an intimately interactive relationship with him."
So, if salvation is not just the promise of eternal abundant life after I die, but is also the promise of abundant, eternal life in the here and now, how come I often feel like life falls short of abundant? I believe it is because I often choose to live life on my own, apart from Christ. My pride takes over, and I decide I want to live life for myself! I choose to make myself and idol. True life, abundant life, eternal life can only be found as we seek an interactive, personal, intimate relationship with Christ in all things and recognize that He is Lord of our lives.
Monday, September 25, 2006
Studio 60 continues
Another good hour of television writing. I continued to recognize parallels between what was going on in the show and what is going on in the church. The most interesting thing was the way the church was presented in the show as pointing the finger at culture. The opening number (which was shown at the end of the show) had some caricatures of Christians in America that we should probably pay attention to. These shows may be missing the point (though not always); at the very least they are informative as to how non-Christians percieve our behavior.
Studio 60 and The Sunset Church
I never saw an episode of The West Wing, but I caught Studio 60 and the Sunset Strip last week and was immediately impressed with the writing of the show. The premise is that it follows the behind the scenes happenings of a show that is obviously a reflection of Saturday Night Live.
In the first episode the Lorne Michaels type character interrupts a live broadcast and has this to say to his national audience:
Wes: This isn't gonna be a very good show tonight and I think you show change the channel.
Wes: (on air) You should change the channel right now, or better yet turn off the TV.
Lilly: (in control room) Does anybody know what the hell is going on? (audience laughs)
Wes: (on air) No, I know it seems like this is supposed to be funny, but tomorrow you're gonna find out it wasn't and I'll have been fired by then. This isn't supposed--this isn't a sketch.
Cal: (in control room) This is for real.
Wes: (on air) This show used to be cutting edge political and social satire, but it's gotten lobotomized by a candy-ass broadcast network hell-bent on doing nothing that might challenge their audience. We were about to do a sketch you've already seen 500 times. Yes, no one's gonna confuse George Bush with George Plimpton, we get it. We're all being lobotomized by the country's most influential industry which has thrown in the towel on any endeavor that does not include the courting of 12-year-old boys. And not event the smart 12-year-olds, the stupid ones, the idiots, of which there are plenty thanks in no small part to this network. So change the channel, turn off the TV. Do it right now.
As soon as the character started into this rant, I immediatly began thinking of the church in America. I think the church in America has been pandering for far too long. God forbid we ever challenge or offend someone. We have ended up with church members that want to leave church feeling good, but have no idea what it means to say "Jesus is Lord". The Church in America has too often bought into a placebo religion that offers no transformational power. We have traded the gospel for the American Dream (see last week's issue of Time magazine). Consequently, Christians in America look no different than non-Christians in America. I believe this is a result of churches preaching an I'm ok if you're ok "gospel", instead of preaching the transformational good news of Jesus Christ. These are the times that I would love to tell our congregations to change the channel, turn off the TV.
In the first episode the Lorne Michaels type character interrupts a live broadcast and has this to say to his national audience:
Wes: This isn't gonna be a very good show tonight and I think you show change the channel.
Wes: (on air) You should change the channel right now, or better yet turn off the TV.
Lilly: (in control room) Does anybody know what the hell is going on? (audience laughs)
Wes: (on air) No, I know it seems like this is supposed to be funny, but tomorrow you're gonna find out it wasn't and I'll have been fired by then. This isn't supposed--this isn't a sketch.
Cal: (in control room) This is for real.
Wes: (on air) This show used to be cutting edge political and social satire, but it's gotten lobotomized by a candy-ass broadcast network hell-bent on doing nothing that might challenge their audience. We were about to do a sketch you've already seen 500 times. Yes, no one's gonna confuse George Bush with George Plimpton, we get it. We're all being lobotomized by the country's most influential industry which has thrown in the towel on any endeavor that does not include the courting of 12-year-old boys. And not event the smart 12-year-olds, the stupid ones, the idiots, of which there are plenty thanks in no small part to this network. So change the channel, turn off the TV. Do it right now.
As soon as the character started into this rant, I immediatly began thinking of the church in America. I think the church in America has been pandering for far too long. God forbid we ever challenge or offend someone. We have ended up with church members that want to leave church feeling good, but have no idea what it means to say "Jesus is Lord". The Church in America has too often bought into a placebo religion that offers no transformational power. We have traded the gospel for the American Dream (see last week's issue of Time magazine). Consequently, Christians in America look no different than non-Christians in America. I believe this is a result of churches preaching an I'm ok if you're ok "gospel", instead of preaching the transformational good news of Jesus Christ. These are the times that I would love to tell our congregations to change the channel, turn off the TV.
Placebo Religion
Tom (my senior pastor) is currently working through a sermon series on the book of Hebrews. I believe this book has some very important things to say to our current culture.
I am troubled at the form of Christianity that so many of our churches and pastors practice and preach. It seems to me that way too often we are fed and we participate in a placebo religion. A religion that allows us to be self-satisfied and self-content. Our form of Christianity leads to lives that don’t look any different than the lives of non-Christians, simply because they are not any different. Anything in Christianity that challenges our way of life is watered down, or compromised so that it will not fringe on our way of life. This is why so many mainline denominations have downgraded the position of Christ to simply being a good teacher, a moral person. I also think this is why mainline denominations are struggling. Deep down, we know we want, desire, crave and even need a promise of transformation. There is a part of us deep down that needs that promise, and another part that shows it’s ugly head more often that enjoys life under our authority.
Dallas Willard, one of my favorite authors, puts it this way, “Generally, what I find is that the ordinary people who come to church are basically running their lives on their own, utilizing ‘the arm of their natural abilities to negotiate their way. They believe there is a God and they need to check in with him. But they don’t have any sense that he is an active agent in their lives. As a result, they don’t become disciples of Jesus. The consume his merits and the services of the church . . . Discipleship is no essential part of Christianity today.” (as quoted in the latest issue of Christianity Today)
Hebrews chapter 2 sounds a wake up call!! The author writes, “We must pay more careful attention . . . so that we do not drift away.” He goes on to say this, “If the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”
Paul puts it this way in the letter to the Ephesians, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Making the most of every opportunity! Who do you want to become? What do you want your life to count for?
Willard writes in The Spirit of the Disciplines, “Why is it that we look upon salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God?” In the Divine Conspiracy he writes, “God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being ‘right’, we will simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our life. For those situations and moments are our life.”
Paul writes, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation!”
I am troubled at the form of Christianity that so many of our churches and pastors practice and preach. It seems to me that way too often we are fed and we participate in a placebo religion. A religion that allows us to be self-satisfied and self-content. Our form of Christianity leads to lives that don’t look any different than the lives of non-Christians, simply because they are not any different. Anything in Christianity that challenges our way of life is watered down, or compromised so that it will not fringe on our way of life. This is why so many mainline denominations have downgraded the position of Christ to simply being a good teacher, a moral person. I also think this is why mainline denominations are struggling. Deep down, we know we want, desire, crave and even need a promise of transformation. There is a part of us deep down that needs that promise, and another part that shows it’s ugly head more often that enjoys life under our authority.
Dallas Willard, one of my favorite authors, puts it this way, “Generally, what I find is that the ordinary people who come to church are basically running their lives on their own, utilizing ‘the arm of their natural abilities to negotiate their way. They believe there is a God and they need to check in with him. But they don’t have any sense that he is an active agent in their lives. As a result, they don’t become disciples of Jesus. The consume his merits and the services of the church . . . Discipleship is no essential part of Christianity today.” (as quoted in the latest issue of Christianity Today)
Hebrews chapter 2 sounds a wake up call!! The author writes, “We must pay more careful attention . . . so that we do not drift away.” He goes on to say this, “If the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?”
Paul puts it this way in the letter to the Ephesians, “Wake up, O sleeper, rise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Be careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.”
Making the most of every opportunity! Who do you want to become? What do you want your life to count for?
Willard writes in The Spirit of the Disciplines, “Why is it that we look upon salvation as a moment that began our religious life instead of the daily life we receive from God?” In the Divine Conspiracy he writes, “God has yet to bless anyone except where they actually are, and if we faithlessly discard situation after situation, moment after moment, as not being ‘right’, we will simply have no place to receive his kingdom into our life. For those situations and moments are our life.”
Paul writes, “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation!”
Monday, September 11, 2006
Sonic Change
I work hard to find things that I like! I say this because I think "they" (the same "they" that are always against you, kind of like the "others" on Lost), are watching me, waiting me to finally find something that I like only to yank it out from under me. This has been evidenced many times! On The Border taking Miguel's #10 combo off the menu, Wendy's taking away the 99 cent double stack, someone taking the cents symbol off the keyboard, etc.
So, now Sonic is joining the bandwagon. First of all, the new look of Sonic is simply gaudy. People should learn from Oral Roberts University that the future/spacey motif does not work architecturally. So, while the old look didn't do a lot for me, the new grey/green look does less.
However, that is the least of my concerns. I am more bothered by the addition of the drive-thru window. It is Sonic America's Drive in, not drive thru! Now, if it was the addition of a drive-thru window, no problem. However, what they have done is they have taken away the cool side of the drive-in. Everyone knows (unless you are a mother in a minivan) that you do not park on the right side of the restaurant! You must drive around and park on the cool side! This allows you to face both the front door of the franchise and the street! It is the "power seat" of Sonic. Now that the drive-thru is there I am lost.
But I still want my large Dr. Pepper easy ice!
So, now Sonic is joining the bandwagon. First of all, the new look of Sonic is simply gaudy. People should learn from Oral Roberts University that the future/spacey motif does not work architecturally. So, while the old look didn't do a lot for me, the new grey/green look does less.
However, that is the least of my concerns. I am more bothered by the addition of the drive-thru window. It is Sonic America's Drive in, not drive thru! Now, if it was the addition of a drive-thru window, no problem. However, what they have done is they have taken away the cool side of the drive-in. Everyone knows (unless you are a mother in a minivan) that you do not park on the right side of the restaurant! You must drive around and park on the cool side! This allows you to face both the front door of the franchise and the street! It is the "power seat" of Sonic. Now that the drive-thru is there I am lost.
But I still want my large Dr. Pepper easy ice!
death, life, powers, Love
The Bible is really a pretty amazing book. Seems like an obvious statement, right? While that is true, I think that it is such an obvious statement that we often take it for granted.
Many of us have heard the story from Creation to Final Redemption so many times that we forget how incredibly awe inspiring the story really is! We forget that we were created! We forget that God is going to redeem all the pain and hurt and falleness we see around us!
I was thinking through one of my favorite verses in the car the other day. Not sure what caused this verse to pop in my head, but I couldn’t let go of it. I just kept “hearing” it over and over again in my head. I really spent some time with it! And the verse spoke to me in a much deeper way than it had before, almost as if I was hearing it for the first time!
This may be a stretch for some of you, but I would encourage you to take 10 minutes to write this verse out on paper in your own handwriting and let the verse sink in! For the first time in a long time I was able to hear God speaking his love and acceptance to me over all the other competing voices that surround me telling me I am not good enough!
For I am convinced that neither death
nor life,
neither angels
nor demons,
neither the present
nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height
nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Maybe even spend some time creating your own list:
Niether the wrong clothes
Neither my failures
Neither others opinions
Neither bad grades
Neither my low self-worth
Neither anything else . . . .
Neither anything else!!!!
If you feel up to it, and it is not too personal share your list with me!
Many of us have heard the story from Creation to Final Redemption so many times that we forget how incredibly awe inspiring the story really is! We forget that we were created! We forget that God is going to redeem all the pain and hurt and falleness we see around us!
I was thinking through one of my favorite verses in the car the other day. Not sure what caused this verse to pop in my head, but I couldn’t let go of it. I just kept “hearing” it over and over again in my head. I really spent some time with it! And the verse spoke to me in a much deeper way than it had before, almost as if I was hearing it for the first time!
This may be a stretch for some of you, but I would encourage you to take 10 minutes to write this verse out on paper in your own handwriting and let the verse sink in! For the first time in a long time I was able to hear God speaking his love and acceptance to me over all the other competing voices that surround me telling me I am not good enough!
For I am convinced that neither death
nor life,
neither angels
nor demons,
neither the present
nor the future,
nor any powers,
neither height
nor depth,
nor anything else in all creation,
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Maybe even spend some time creating your own list:
Niether the wrong clothes
Neither my failures
Neither others opinions
Neither bad grades
Neither my low self-worth
Neither anything else . . . .
Neither anything else!!!!
If you feel up to it, and it is not too personal share your list with me!
The Solar System, Faith and Arrogance
I am always fascinated by how arrogant we can be as humans. This whole “debacle” with our understanding of the solar system has been a strong reminder for me that we don’t have everything figured out.
Christians are always labeled as arrogant because we claim that we believe what Jesus said when he said “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Fascinating when science says that it has provable and testable truth on its side, and yet the truth has to be “tweaked” from time to time. Now, I don’t have a problem with science (I am quite fascinated by it), nor do I think that it is not valuable. I just think we need to be honest that our faith, science, reason and experience do not guarantee us exhaustive knowledge of the universe and how it works.
As I have reflected on this it has reminded me of something that Rob Bell writes in his book Velvet Elvis. I include this as an encouragement to those of you that are struggling with questions and doubts. Rob is talking about responding to some questions that people had asked him:
“Most of my responses we about how we need others to carry our burdens and how our real needs in life are not for more information but for loving community with other people on the journey. But what was so powerful for those I spoke with was that they were free to voice what was deepest in their hearts and minds. Questions, doubts, struggles. It wasn’t the information that helped them—it was simply being in an environment in which they were free to voice what was inside.
And this is why questions are so central to faith. A question by its very nature acknowledges that the person asking the questions does not have all of the answers. And because the person does not have all of the answers, they are looking outside themselves for guidance.
Questions no matter how shocking or blasphemous or arrogant or ignorant or raw, are rooted in humility. A humility that understands that I am not God. And there is more to know.
Questions bring freedom. Freedom that I don’t have to be God and I don’t have to pretend that I have it all figured out. I can let God be God.”
Bell goes on to say, “It’s not so much that the Christian faith has a lot of paradoxes. It’s that it is a lot of paradoxes. And we cannot resolve a paradox. We have to let it be what it is. Being a Christian then is more about celebrating mystery than conquering it.”
Christians are always labeled as arrogant because we claim that we believe what Jesus said when he said “I am the way, the truth and the life”. Fascinating when science says that it has provable and testable truth on its side, and yet the truth has to be “tweaked” from time to time. Now, I don’t have a problem with science (I am quite fascinated by it), nor do I think that it is not valuable. I just think we need to be honest that our faith, science, reason and experience do not guarantee us exhaustive knowledge of the universe and how it works.
As I have reflected on this it has reminded me of something that Rob Bell writes in his book Velvet Elvis. I include this as an encouragement to those of you that are struggling with questions and doubts. Rob is talking about responding to some questions that people had asked him:
“Most of my responses we about how we need others to carry our burdens and how our real needs in life are not for more information but for loving community with other people on the journey. But what was so powerful for those I spoke with was that they were free to voice what was deepest in their hearts and minds. Questions, doubts, struggles. It wasn’t the information that helped them—it was simply being in an environment in which they were free to voice what was inside.
And this is why questions are so central to faith. A question by its very nature acknowledges that the person asking the questions does not have all of the answers. And because the person does not have all of the answers, they are looking outside themselves for guidance.
Questions no matter how shocking or blasphemous or arrogant or ignorant or raw, are rooted in humility. A humility that understands that I am not God. And there is more to know.
Questions bring freedom. Freedom that I don’t have to be God and I don’t have to pretend that I have it all figured out. I can let God be God.”
Bell goes on to say, “It’s not so much that the Christian faith has a lot of paradoxes. It’s that it is a lot of paradoxes. And we cannot resolve a paradox. We have to let it be what it is. Being a Christian then is more about celebrating mystery than conquering it.”
Reflections of a grandfather's life
I just got back in town from Rogers Arkansas. My grandfather passed away this past weekend and that is where we attended the funeral. The funeral was emotional, but not especially difficult for me. My grandfather was either 83 or 84 and had lived a long life. More importantly my grandfather made his life count! He lived with a joy and a spirit that infected all those that he came in contact with. He valued the things that matter most. Namely, his relationship with Christ and his relationship with others.
The funeral got me to thinking about a couple of conversations that I have had with some of you and I wanted to send these thoughts in reflection on those conversations and as a way to put this school year into perspective:
What matters most: I am not sure what my grandfather would have said was the measure of a successful life if you had asked him, but I do know how he was remembered. During the open mic time at the funeral not one person said anything about his financial accomplishments or any position that he had attained. Some mentioned that he served in WWII, and as a postal inspector, but neither were what he was remembered for. My grandfather left behind lives that had been changed by his joy and his selfless service. I couldn’t help but realize that our world says it values status, power and money, but when it comes to the end of one’s life even the world recognizes that these are the things that matter least!! Sounds cliché to say, but how many of us live with the clarity of that statement? How would you define success or significance? A good question to ask of life, but also a good question to ask of this school year. What does a successful school year or life look like, and how would you measure your significance at the end of the school year or your life?
Significance: My grandfather’s significance did not come from leading others from a position of power. The power of his life came from serving others! He changed the lives of others because he found that the lives of others would be changed from power under rather that power over. Do you want to have influence in the life of another person? How are you serving that person?
Calm: There were a number of comments about my grandfathers calmness. I was told that “I am not sick” were basically his last words. My G-dad (that is what we called him) was not ignorant of what was going on around him, but he had a sense of joy and peace that had to come from his faith. I will remember him as a whistler, a laugher and a joker. My G-dad controlled that which was his to control (and he liked to control that part), but was willing to let go of that which he could not control. What are you holding on to that you need to let go of? How long will you let that thing rob you of the joy of life?
I could go on, but don’t want to take up too much space or muddy the point I am trying to make. My biggest desire for each of you is that you would not waste your life living for something that is not worth living for or is of temporal significance at best!
The funeral got me to thinking about a couple of conversations that I have had with some of you and I wanted to send these thoughts in reflection on those conversations and as a way to put this school year into perspective:
What matters most: I am not sure what my grandfather would have said was the measure of a successful life if you had asked him, but I do know how he was remembered. During the open mic time at the funeral not one person said anything about his financial accomplishments or any position that he had attained. Some mentioned that he served in WWII, and as a postal inspector, but neither were what he was remembered for. My grandfather left behind lives that had been changed by his joy and his selfless service. I couldn’t help but realize that our world says it values status, power and money, but when it comes to the end of one’s life even the world recognizes that these are the things that matter least!! Sounds cliché to say, but how many of us live with the clarity of that statement? How would you define success or significance? A good question to ask of life, but also a good question to ask of this school year. What does a successful school year or life look like, and how would you measure your significance at the end of the school year or your life?
Significance: My grandfather’s significance did not come from leading others from a position of power. The power of his life came from serving others! He changed the lives of others because he found that the lives of others would be changed from power under rather that power over. Do you want to have influence in the life of another person? How are you serving that person?
Calm: There were a number of comments about my grandfathers calmness. I was told that “I am not sick” were basically his last words. My G-dad (that is what we called him) was not ignorant of what was going on around him, but he had a sense of joy and peace that had to come from his faith. I will remember him as a whistler, a laugher and a joker. My G-dad controlled that which was his to control (and he liked to control that part), but was willing to let go of that which he could not control. What are you holding on to that you need to let go of? How long will you let that thing rob you of the joy of life?
I could go on, but don’t want to take up too much space or muddy the point I am trying to make. My biggest desire for each of you is that you would not waste your life living for something that is not worth living for or is of temporal significance at best!