Stages

Due to the recent changes in my life and some of the conversations I've had with people lately, I've made some observations about the stages we experience in life:
1) Each stage of life has it's own significance. We tend to make some more important than others(sweet 16, college, marriage...), but I'm not sure that we should view them that way. I don't want to go back to my high school years...but I know that it was a part of my life that shaped how I am today.
2) We tend to look forward to the next stage or wish we could re-live a past one rather than live fully in the one we're in. "I can't wait until I'm older" a 7 year old says. "Wish I had my licence" a 15 year old might say", "We are getting married next year, can't wait!!". The 60 year old says "not as young as I used to be, it's a shame". I understand that there are some things to look forward to. I think though that sometimes some people have all of their focus on the future or past rather than enjoying the phase they are in.
3) Last and most annoying(to me anyways): "Just wait til you get to the real world"-we say to a college kid, "Wait til your married, then you'll know what I mean"-to a young couple, "Just wait to you have kids"-to a newly married couple, "O you just wait til they turn 13"-to a family with todlers, "See if you feel the same way when your my age"-an older person says...and so on and so on. It's not condesending I've decided but it is a somewhat negative comment. Basically we're saying "you think you have it bad now...you just wait. It gets worse!!!" I'm sure I will do it myself from time to time but I hope to include the good things as well. "Enjoy high school while your there, college is a blast but make sure to enjoy the time you have left at home."
Bottom line: Enjoy the stage you're in to the best of your ability, know that God has a plan for you during that stage, and don't look down on but encourage the younger and less experienced people.

More Drama Than A Junior High Dance

Drama. we all expereince it from time to time. I'm not talking Shakespeare either. I'm talking moments in life when everything gets crazy. Had one of those weekends Friday and Saturday. I'll spare you the details but give you my thoughts on it.

One moment in time. That's what makes a difference in some people's lives(not the song either). One choice, one mistake, one good decision...these are what define our lives at points. They point us in a direction. Sometimes one bad decision can change the course of a person's life and possibly change the world. The exact same truth applies to good choices as well. Consider Hitler and Abraham Lincoln.

There's a movie that I enjoyed watching in high school. It was a rough movie and I wouldn't recommend it because of the content...but I did get something out of it. The Butterfly Effect is a movie where a young man is able to read some of his old journals and is able to go re-live that moment in time that he wrote about. Not only can he re-live it but he can change what happens. Once he snaps out of his "reliving time" he comes back to reality...but his reality has changed. By changing one moment of his past, his entire future has changed...different college, different personality, everything has changed.

I like this because it shows that our decisions we make on a daily basis can effect our future paths and what will happen to us. It reminds me to keep my focus on God. When dramatic moments come...I want to make a good decision that has positive effects on my future...not negative. Don't let one moment in time mess with your eternity. So many people do this in moments of pressure, stress, and drama. The moment will pass and you will have to deal with the consequences of it. We need to decide right now that we are not going to let anything, any drama or situation mess with our final reality...heaven and life eternal with Jesus.

National Youth ministry Conference

This past weekend I went to the Columbus Convention Center for the National Youth Ministry Conference. On the way there I started feeling really bad I must say...headache, sore throat, freezing to death. I went with my friend Justin pack who works at Louisville church of Christ. We got there and the night session was really good despite how bad I felt. They had a band at the end and I decided to go out and find a place to lay down. I found a sack chair and curled up in the fetal position and shivered for 45 minutes...it must have been interesting to watch. Some people must have thought I had the spirit in me, the others must have thought a demon. We found the couple that was letting us stay in their home and we headed that way. Once we got there I headed straight to bed and preoceeded to sweat out my 102.9 temperature. The next day I felt a great deal better.

I went to classes the next day pertaining to developing student leaders. It was a really great class where I learned a lot and I got plenty of ideas. I won''t share those ideas here right now. i must say though that this is an awesome conference. 3000 youth workers coming together to share life and conversation. I met a lot of great people and even though I felt like I was dying, i walked away encouraged.

Drunk McDonalds

I had a very interesting conversation in Gatlinburg this past weekend. We had some free time during the day and some of the teens decided to go to McDonalds. Since I already had lunch that day I just found an open seat. Sitting at a seat near by was a gentleman that caught my eye. Something seemed odd about him to me...so obviously I had to talk to him. Ever feel like God is pulling you into a conversation? I said hi to him and the hour that followed became the most interesting one of the weekend. I asked if I could join him at his table and continue our conversation. Immediatly after sitting down I realized why this man seemed odd to me; I caught a whiff of his breath and it about knocked me down. It was 2:30 in the afternoon and this guy must have had some Jack Daniels for breakfast. "This oughta be good" I think to myself.

His name was Sam. He made outlandish claims that he was the son of the Tennessee govenor(false), he used to serve breakfast to big stars like Bono, Harrison Ford, and Sheryl Crow(doubtful), and that when there's any crimes on the news, you can bet it comes out of Ohio(I might believe that). I've had conversations with 3 or 4 drunk guys in the past...every single one of those talks led to Jesus. This was no exception. This was a man who was searching. He told me that he believed in God and absolutly loved Jesus(he asked me which one I preferred to pray to more...tough question). He told me though that he had a lot of questions. So for the next 45 minutes he fired them off at me. Some were legitimate questions, others didn't quite make sense...which makes sense since I was talking to a drunk guy. His big question was why Jesus was so special for giving his life since He knew that He would come back in 3 days. I won't tell you what I told him...you think about that one.

Bottom line and to make a long story short-er, I came to love this man that I didn't really know. He has so much potential and I told him that. I was able to shoot straight with Sam. I explained that no one can serve 2 masters and it seemed like he was trying to love Jesus while loving alcohol more. He agreed and told me that he planned on going to the bar after he left...he was eating at McDonald's to sober up. (?) By the end of our conversation though he was circling around the idea of getting help. I said a prayer with Sam and told him I had to leave. He didn't want me to go; he started naming off things we could go and do, things he could show me in town. I had to leave and I did so with a couple tears in my eyes.

Hope. Jesus brought hope to people. He went to where they were, talked to them as if they were close friends, and left them wanting more. Do we do that is my question? I'll admit that very few times in my life I've opened my eyes to that notion. Do we L1 by doing L2 to others and showing them that we care? It may have made a difference in Sam's life...I guess I'll never know until I get to heaven. That was the thought that made me ache on my way back to the hotel...I want Sam to go to heaven not hell. Please pray for Sam. Also pray that God opens our eyes to the hurting people around us who desperatly need Him. Be God's.

L1 L2: Winterfest

This past weekend I hopped on a charter bus, as has been my custom for the past 11 years, and headed to Gatlinburg, TN for Winterfest. Each year is different and each year is the same. I always have "stomach issues" on the way down and always on the way back...I thank the heavens for Gas-X...and so do the people on the bus. I always make atleast 2 stops at the wonderful and magical land of the Donut Friar. I ordered a hot chocolate with expresso in it and the lady thought I was crazy. Guess they don't have Cafe' Mocha's in Tennessee. All in all a great trip and relaxing experience.

The lesson this year was really good. I'd like to share the basics of it. Matthew 22:34-40 Jesus explains that the 2 most important laws are to "love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength" and to "love your neighbor as yourself". Everything we do hangs on these 2 elements. L1: Love God. L2: Love others.

Sometimes we make things so much more complicated than that. "You must have a daily quiet time", "You must dress up for church", "You must attend 3 services a week"...etc. Often we have what I call Pharisiteous. We become the Pharisees in Matthew 23 that Jesus calls the "sons of hell". I think what Jesus is saying here is that if we focus on L1 and L2...all of the other things will fall into place. Also we must recognize that we can have L1 but miss L2. There are people out there who love God and enjoy worshiping him yet have racism in their hearts and are harsh to the strangers they meet. There are also people who love deeply and are great people yet they don't have a relationship with God. The two combined are the key elements Jesus says. It's not about the rules...it's ultimately about our relationship with Christ and our heart toward others. L1, L2...basic elements that give us the foundation to a meaningful life.

What's with the title of this blog?

I was going to meet a teen yesterday for lunch and as I was driving I had a little prayer time. I prayed that God would allow me to get a little deeper with the kid in conversation. He and I typically talk about surface level things...school, work, college...etc. While I was praying I asked God to help me get past the malarkey of fluffiness with this teen. I stopped and said "God hold on a second, I gotta write that one down"!

In our day to day lives we have plenty of fluffy conversations. They are all well and good and they have their place. Too often though we ignore and pass by chances to go deeper into conversation with our friends, family, and sometimes strangers. I'm not talking about emotionally akward sharing times at church camp where you tell everyone all the sins you've committed in your life and later on sing kum-ba-ya. I'm talking about a conversation that encourages someone; a conversation that explores who we are and who we should be. I desire to have more conversations like this in my life, I need them to be honest.

That's what this blog will be about. Going deeper. I hope you will join me in this conversation.