The Cone of Shame Revisited

You would think he would learn.

You would think our dog would remember his previous missteps.  And you would think he would resist his urge to eat fabric.

Last spring, our dog, Iso, ate one of my dress shirts.  I talked about it in a post called The Cone of Shame.  He ended up at the vet where X-rays revealed a football-sized blob of “stuff” in his stomach blocked from passing by large pieces of my white dress shirt (it used to be white).  A few days and a large bill later, Iso came home wearing the cone of shame and sporting a large incision on his underbelly.

You would think he would remember this event from his past.

But he either didn’t remember or he just couldn’t resist the urge to check up the bottom of a fleece jacket.

Yep.  You guessed it.  He somehow reached up on the coat wall and chewed apart the bottom of a jacket.  He even chewed up and swallowed some of the zipper.  We spent the next few days watching and waiting to see if he would “pass” the jacket.  Thankfully, he seems to be doing okay, and his digestive system seems to be returning to normal.

Before I go passing blame on my four-legged friend, it’s probably a good idea to look in the mirror.

There are definitely things in my life that I shouldn’t do, but I do anyway.  Sin has a sneaky way of invading our lives and taking over our rational thinking.  Maybe it’s gossip.  Maybe it’s judging.  Maybe it’s lust.  Maybe it’s some other sin area.  Whatever it is, we all struggle with one thing or the other.  We keep doing things we shouldn’t do.

We are not alone.

The Apostle Paul talks about his own struggle with his sin nature in Romans 7:

We know that the law is holy. But I am not. I have been sold to be a slave of sin. I don’t understand what I do. I don’t do what I want to do. Instead, I do what I hate to do. I do what I don’t want to do. So I agree that the law is good. As it is, I am no longer the one who does these things. It is sin living in me that does them.

I know there is nothing good in my sinful nature. I want to do what is good, but I can’t. I don’t do the good things I want to do. I keep on doing the evil things I don’t want to do. I do what I don’t want to do. But I am not really the one who is doing it. It is sin living in me.

Here is the law I find working in me. When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. Deep inside me I find joy in God’s law. But I see another law working in the parts of my body. It fights against the law of my mind. It makes me a prisoner of the law of sin. That law controls the parts of my body.

What a terrible failure I am! Who will save me from this sin that brings death to my body? I give thanks to God. He will do it through Jesus Christ our Lord.

So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law. But in my sinful nature I am a slave to the law of sin. Romans 7:14-25

Do you see what I mean?  Even Paul struggled with his sinful nature.  But this isn’t the end of the story.  Sure we will continue to struggle with this until we get to heaven.  Yet we have a hope and a promise.  In the next chapter of Romans, Paul lays it out clearly for us:

Those who belong to Christ Jesus are no longer under God’s sentence. I am now controlled by the law of the Holy Spirit. That law gives me life because of what Christ Jesus has done. It has set me free from the law of sin that brings death.  Romans 8:1-2 (Read the rest of Romans 8 for more.)

I don’t know what’s going to happen to our dog.  He will probably continue to struggle with his strange appetite for fabric.  I don’t think you can call this sin.  It’s more like stupidity.  I’m thankful for him despite the fact he drives me crazy.  He reminds me of my own struggles and of the victory I have to sin because I belong to Christ.

I remain thankful for the grace of God.

Do you struggle with repeated sins?  What helps you in this struggle?

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The Expectation That Comes With Darkness, Silence, and Uncertainty

The Expectation That Comes With Darkness, Silence, and Uncertainty

Yesterday, I posted 5 Ways To Handle Darkness, Silence, and Uncertainty in Our Lives.  I hope you’ll go back and read this post.  It is one of my favorites.  I’ve been thinking a lot about the idea of darkness, silence, and uncertainty lately.  I can’t say I like this feeling in general.  As I alluded to yesterday, it can feel so lonely and isolating when we are in this state of uncertainty.

We are not alone in this feeling of isolation.

At least two times in Biblical history, God seemed to disappear from the scene.  The first time came when the Israelites moved to Egypt to escape the famine.  If you remember, Jacob moved his entire family to Egypt to live with his son, Joseph, who had gone down to Egypt when his brothers sold him into slavery.  The Israelites (Jacob’s descendents) ended up living in Egypt for 400 years. I’m not a Biblical scholar, but there seems to be very little record of God speaking to His people during this period of time.  It wasn’t until God spoke to Moses through the burning bush that we begin to see God breaking the silence.  A short time later, he led his people out of Egypt and back to the Promised Land.

Fast forward several hundred years.  The Bible is full of stories and prophesies in the Old Testament which give a record of God’s voice and interaction with His people.  We hear from prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, Hosea, and Daniel.  We see God speaking to King David and King Solomon.  There are many clear examples of God speaking.

But then it happened again.  God was quiet.  About 400 years before the time of Christ, there seems to be another period of silence.  The prophesies stop.  And the stories of God’s interaction come to a halt.  For 400 years, the people of Israel are in a place of darkness, silence, and uncertainty.

And then it happens!

God breaks through kind of like the Apollo 13 clip we saw yesterday.  He shines brightly through the darkness as He sends His Son to earth on a rescue mission like none other.  He speaks to His people like never before – through His one and only Son.  I think there was an expectation on the part of the Israelites.  They expected to see God.  They expected to hear God speak.  And they waited.

We are approaching a time of year when we celebrate Christmas.  This season means many things to many people.  It means family.  It means food.  It means presents.  It means traditions.  It means Christmas movies and Christmas carols.  It means holiday parties and ugly sweaters.

But there is something more.

Christmas is a time to remember God’s unmistakable voice breaking through the silence, darkness, and uncertainty.  Christmas represents God’s rescue mission for us – His people.  It represents the coming salvation for those who believe and put their trust in Him.

As we head into advent next week (the time before Christmas), I invite you to listen for God’s voice.  Watch for the ways God is breaking through the darkness and uncertainty in your own life.  And celebrate the new thing He is doing in you.

Maybe it seems like God hasn’t spoken to you for a very long time.  Maybe it seems like 400 years.  As we talked about yesterday, maybe we just need to stop, wait, and listen.

May God speak to you in new ways this holiday season!  May He provide an epiphany directly to you and to me.

How is God speaking to you these days?  What are you doing about it?

5 Ways to Handle Darkness, Silence, and Uncertainty in Our Lives

On Thursday evening, I turned my laptop over to a team of “experts” in my office, so they could convert my PC from Windows XP to Windows 7.  To all you Apple IOS users out there, please hang in there.  I think you’ll get my thinking.

My laptop was with the conversion team all day Friday.  Besides minimal access on my mobile devices, I was mostly in the dark related to office e-mails and applications.  I used this time to meet with several of my team members to discuss their performance over the past year.  I also dealt with some other phone calls and conversations, and I cleaned up some waiting paper work.  The time was not a waste at all, but it did seem a bit strange to be untied from the network.

As I was handing over my laptop to the conversion team, I remarked how I felt like NASA during the Apollo 13 re-entry.  In the clip shown below, the Apollo 13 re-entry pod was making its way back into the earth’s atmosphere after a challenging flight with multiple problems.  Many wondered if the astronauts would make it back alive.  If you remember the story, the re-entry pod lost contact with NASA for an extended period of time as they made their way from outer space into the atmosphere.  For everyone involved these minutes of silence must have seemed like an eternity.

Sometimes we go through times like this.  We feel like God is quiet in our lives.  We don’t hear His voice.  We feel a lack of direction.  We’re scared and lonely.  And we begin to lose hope.  It’s times like this we need some reminders.

5 Ways to Handle Darkness, Silence, and Uncertainty in Our Lives

1. Prayer.  I’m not sure if this is the starting point, but it’s definitely one place to go when you feel like you’re in the dark.  As God for direction.  Ask Him to relieve your anxiety and fear.  Ask God for hope.  And ask Him to speak clearly to you.
2. Listen.  I’m not an expert, but I think we crowd our brains with too much noise.  We’re plugged into the web 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  When we’re in the car, we have noise blaring through the speakers.  We need to carve time out of the chaos of life to be still and listen.
3. Trust.  Sometimes this is the hardest part.  We want to be in control.  We want to know exactly what is going on all the time.  Faith is hoping for things unseen.  “Let go and let God” may sound a little too basic, but there is some truth to this.  We need to trust that God will work all things together for good.
4. Remember.  When you finally find direction, remember who is leading you.  We are often quick to pump up our chests and rest on our own laurels.  “Look what I did!”  We need to stop and recall how God is working in our lives.
5. Celebrate.  Just like the NASA engineers celebrated when the Apollo 13 re-entry pod showed up on their monitors, we need to rejoice in the blessings of God coming through for us.

On Friday evening, I picked up my laptop from the conversion team.  They explained to me what had happened with my machine.  There was some type of restore error which caused a delay in the conversion process.  They stuck with it and figured out how to overcome the problem.  My laptop is now working fine with the new operating system.  The time of “darkness” was actually refreshing.  I feel like I was able to make some connections which could have been overlooked otherwise.

Maybe – just maybe, God uses times of darkness, silence, and uncertainty in our lives to shine even brighter.

When have you experienced a time of silence or darkness in your life?  How did you get through this time?  What advice do you have for others who might be going through a time when God’s voice seems absent?

As I finished typing up this post, I couldn’t help but have this song in my head by Hillsong United.  If you have a few minutes, watch this video and listen to the words.  I think it provides a great reminder to all of us who sometimes feel like we’re unsure of what is going on around us.

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5 Reasons The Church Should Engage In Short-Term Missions

The local church is God’s designed instrument for impacting the local community and for living out the Great Commission.  And I believe short-term missions is a key tool for pursuing this command.  If you’ve been reading for very long, you know that short-term missions has had a huge impact on me – an individual.  But I believe there is something greater to consider.  Short Term Missions can also have an amazing impact on churches.

In today’s post, I’d like to share some thoughts on short-term missions and the local church.  I’ll present five reasons the local church should engage in short-term missions.  I’d love to get your thoughts and feedback.  Do you agree with these reasons?  What other reasons would you add to this list?  And how have you seen short-term missions work (or not work) in your local church?

5 Reasons the local church should engage in short-term missions:

1. Short Term Missions provides a way to partner with full-time missionaries.  There are many full-time missionaries out there who depend on relationships built through the local church to provide financial and prayer support for their ministry.  Short Term Missions connects churches with missionaries to enable greater work.
2. Short Term Missions challenges individuals to take a leap of faith.  This is part of my story.  My church has made a practice of challenging church attenders to go on a short-term missions trip.  I’m assuming that most people are like me.  Most people have to take a leap of faith in order to go on this kind of trip.  These kinds of trips change lives.  My life was changed when I took a leap of faith to Guatemala in 2012, and I know many people who were dramatically changed when they decided to go on a short-term missions trip.
3. Short Term Missions encourages members of the church body to leave a legacy.  This is becoming my story.  My initial trip to Guatemala had a huge impact on me.  I knew when I came back the first time I wanted to go back again.  And I also knew I wanted to keep finding ways to make an eternal dent in the village of Xenacoj.  Even now, I am planning and praying about a return to Guatemala in 2014.  Maybe you’ll join me!
4. Short Term Missions is a way for the local church to make disciples of ALL people.  The Great Commission instructs Christ followers to go into ALL the world baptizing and teaching others to follow Christ.  I believe this starts in the local community, but I also believe the local church has a responsibility to go into ALL the world.  A great way for the local church to take an initial step toward this command is to pursue short-term missions.
5. Short Term Missions inspires the church body to pursue greater goals for the Kingdom.  Everybody likes a great story.  I know my stories from Guatemala have been an encouragement for others.  And I’ve seen the stories of others who have returned from a week away in Guatemala, Mexico, Haiti, India, and Kenya.  These stories have an amazing power to move people.  Call it the ripple effect.  Stories from short-term missions experiences multiply and even grow exponentially as other people jump on board to go on a trip of their own and as churches take bigger leaps and make intentional decisions to devote more of their focus and resources to helping people in far away lands.

Do you agree with these reasons?  What other reasons would you add to this list?  And how have you seen short-term missions work (or not work) in your local church?

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Pause

“I’d rather be busy than bored.”

This is a common phrase that I say – especially at work.

It’s great to have things to do.  It’s wonderful to have goals to pursue.  And it can be invigorating to know that the backlog is full with plenty of work for the foreseeable future.

However…

There can be a downside to this.

When we’re too busy, it can be challenging to focus on all the right things.  It can be difficult to prioritize effectively.  And it can be nearly impossible to catch our breath.

I’m in one of those phases right now.  Work is extremely busy.  Home life is pretty full.  And I’m trying to find time to live out some of my writing dreams.

The best thing we can do at times like this is to simply pause.

We all need a break from time to time.  A pause can give us time to catch our breath, to refocus on the things that matter, and to reflect on the next steps we need to take towards achieving our goals.  There’s something else that a pause provides.  A pause provides the opportunity to make the One thing the one thing.  Here’s what I mean.  When we get busy, we allow our schedules to become our god.  This isn’t good.  A intentional pause reminds us Who is on the throne.

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”   Psalm 46:10

Today, I’m taking a pause.

When was the last time you paused?  What benefits have you found from a pause?

What Will Heaven Be Like?

Have you ever stopped to think about what heaven might be like?

Come on.  I know you have thought about it.  Are the streets paved with gold?  Is there endless singing?  Do we sleep in heaven?  Do we eat in heaven?

Something happened at our house the other night that got me thinking about heaven.

Here’s a peek into our post-dinner conversation a couple of nights ago.

Hannah was getting Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups out of her Halloween stash in the pantry.  Leanne and Isaac were joining in on the fun.  And I was feeling left out.  Chocolate has not been one of my friends since I learned that caffeine was causing my migraine headaches.

And so I declared, “When I get to heaven, I’m eating some chocolate!”

And Leanne quickly responded, “When I get to heaven, I’m having a glass of wine!”

You see, Leanne cannot have alcohol.  This isn’t generally a problem in our house; however, there are times when Leanne would like to enjoy a glass of wine with family or friends.

Will there be chocolate and wine in heaven?

I don’t know for certain.  But I am pretty certain that heaven will be way better than we could ever imagine.  In fact, we’re told in Revelation that all the pain and suffering of this world will be swept away when we get to heaven:

He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.  Revelation 21:4

I long for the day when things will be new – when the junk we deal with here will pass away.

What do you think heaven will be like?  Just for fun, what do you hope will be in heaven (like chocolate or wine or baseball)?

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Perseverance – Taking Trials To The Extreme

When you think of perseverance, what or who comes to mind?

I think of a marathon runner who trains for months suffering through weather and injury and then runs 26.2 miles to the finish of a race.  This takes perseverance.

I think of a doctor who studies for years and years learning everything possible for the opportunity to treat people medically.  This takes lots of perseverance.

I think of a couple who want to be parents but struggle through the pains of infertility – maybe using in vitro fertilization or maybe adopting.  They pour all their energy, time, and money into becoming parents.  This takes perseverance.

I think of a cancer patient who deals with the ups and downs of chemotherapy and radiation meanwhile hanging onto a thread of hope for another year, another month, another day.  This takes perseverance.

In each of these cases, perseverance is only achieved when someone decides to endure the trial they face.  They may consider giving in, but there is something that keeps them pushing – something causes them to fight – something reminds them to persist.  They keep going even when it’s hard, when hope seems dim, and when many would rather give up.

I don’t know what kind of trial you are going through.  I don’t know what trial you have yet to endure.  But there’s something we each need to know about the trials we face.  In the first chapter of his letter found in the New Testament, James talks about the importance of trials in bringing us to completeness and maturity.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

Did you catch that?  James says we should consider it pure joy when we face trials.  I don’t know about you, but this is tough for me.  I remember going through a pretty challenging time a few years ago.  I was facing a very tough challenge at work; meanwhile, my wife was struggling through significant health issues.  It was not a time of joy for me.  I was lonely.  I was distraught.  And I was hanging onto a thin thread of hope as it felt like the world was collapsing in around me.  It’s funny now.  I honestly didn’t even think about this passage from James which I had read many times before.  Yet I was supposed to find joy in the midst of trials.

I can look back now and see God’s hand in my life despite the challenges I faced.  I can see how God used these trials to produce perseverance in my life.  And I can see how these trials led to a deeper maturity.  God is good.

James goes on to share how blessing follows those who persevere through trials.

Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.  James 1:12

Like I said before, I don’t know what trials you may be going through.  But I would encourage you to hang in there.  Look to God for your strength and hope.  And know that God can work through the junk you are dealing with today.

How has God blessed you through trials?  What keeps you going when life gets you down?

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Silence Is Golden

Is it just me, or does the world seem noisier than ever before?

There are so many things tugging to get our attention. We are distracted by all the noise. Everyone is saying “Look at me”. We throw up status updates on social media and even on blogs hoping to be heard. In most cases, we are simply adding to the noise and chaos.

In the midst of it all, we complain. “God’s not speaking to me.”

Do you think this is really true?

Or do you think it’s possible that we are doing a terrible job listening?

Maybe it’s time we turn off some of the noise.

Maybe it’s time we start being more intentional with our times of solitude.

Maybe, just maybe, we need to pursue silence. In pursuing silence, we might just start hearing God’s voice which has been speaking all along.

I don’t know about you, but I want to listen to the Voice that really matters. I want to pursue a silence that is truly golden – a silence filled with God’s voice.

What are you doing to hear the voice of God in your life? Is your life full of noise? What is one thing you can do this week to remove the noise?

Happy Halloween! – What’s Behind Your Mask?

Happy Halloween!

Sorry if I just offended you.  I hope you’ll keep reading.  I grew up enjoying the fun of trick or treating in costume.  My parents sorted out my candy when I arrived home.  And I overindulged in candy for the next several weeks.  We carved pumpkins.  And we participated in the school Halloween parades.

Part of this left a scar on me – I was a flower and flower-pot in 4th or 5th grade.  I’ll never live this one down.

In 3rd grade, I was a Mexican – not a politically correct move these days.  One year, I was a box of corn flakes.  And I was a pretty scary ghost in 1st or 2nd grade.  (I’m sure my parents could dig up pictures of some of these costumes.)

My kids are excited to dress up for Halloween again this year.  We carved pumpkins (as you can see above).  And we’ll probably eat more candy than we should.

There’s something we all enjoy about dressing up in costume and wearing masks.  It doesn’t just happen on Halloween.  It happens every day – at work, at school, and even at home.

You don’t believe me?

Look in the mirror.

Can you see what I’m talking about?

At one point or another, we all pretend to be someone or something we aren’t.  As guys, we try to be ultra macho or super intelligent.  I think many women dress up in an effort to appear glamorous or easy.  Sure, I’m generalizing a bit.  But here’s the deal.  Most of us are hiding something.  We’re covering up the fact that we have issues.  We’re covering up some kind of perceived flaw.  We’re trying to present ourselves differently than we really are.  It’s like Halloween everyday!

Maybe it’s time to take off the mask – to leave the costume behind.

Maybe it’s time to practice transparency.

Maybe it’s time someone in your life knows the true condition of your heart.

I know it’s not easy.  I know it takes courage to expose yourself this way.  I know it’s even scary.

What will people think?  Will people still like me?  Will I still have friends?  Will I be accepted?

But give it a try.  I think you’ll find freedom.  I think you’ll find grace.  I think you’ll find a love unexpected.

God, investigate my life;
get all the facts firsthand.
I’m an open book to you;
even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking.
You know when I leave and when I get back;
I’m never out of your sight.
You know everything I’m going to say
before I start the first sentence.
I look behind me and you’re there,
then up ahead and you’re there, too—
your reassuring presence, coming and going.
This is too much, too wonderful—
I can’t take it all in!

Cheer Each Other On

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  Hebrews 10:24-25

My Guatemala story would be incomplete if I failed to talk about the importance of cheering each other on toward love and good deeds – especially when it comes to marriage.

My initial leap of faith decision to go to Guatemala would not have happened had it not been for my wife.  Let me explain.

Two years before my initial trip to Guatemala, my wife and I were planning to go to Nairobi, Kenya on a mission trip with a group from our church.  We saved and raised money to go on this trip.  We got our shots.  We purchased our airline tickets, and we made our final deposits for the trip.  As we finalized our preparations for the trip, something wasn’t quite right.  My wife’s health was beginning to deteriorate.  We visited her doctor, and we tried to make some adjustments.  But it wasn’t enough.  Four weeks before the trip, we made the difficult decision to cancel our plans.  It was one of the toughest decisions we have ever had to make.  We didn’t have travel insurance.  We couldn’t get our money back, and we were missing out on a “dream” mission trip to serve the poorest of the poor in the slums of Nairobi.  I remember feeling lonely and defeated.  Would we ever be able to go on an international mission trip again?  More importantly, would my wife’s health improve?

Without going into detail, things got worse before they got better.  Leanne ended up in the hospital in September just weeks after we would have come back from Kenya.  It was clear that being in Nairobi at this time would not have been a good idea for us.  Leanne’s recovery was slow but steady.  She was released from the hospital in early October, and she began the process of healing.

Throughout the healing process, we continued our desire to serve others.  We launched our H.O.P.E. group (Helping Other People Everywhere) serving the local community with other families.  This has filled much of our desire to serve others, but there was still an itch begging to be scratched.  We still desired to serve internationally.

Fast forward to last spring, our youth pastor asked if I would go on the high school summer mission trip to Guatemala as a chaperone.  I can’t tell you how much I struggled with this decision.  How could I “risk” leaving my wife and son home alone while I traveled to Guatemala with our daughter?  I prayed.  I sought godly council from friends and family.  And I wrestled through a lot of fear and doubt.  In the midst of this, my biggest cheerleader kept encouraging me to go.  Leanne said go over and over again.  She knew it would be hard, but she knew it was the right thing to do.  She kept cheering.  She kept spurring me on toward love and good deeds.

You know the story.  I ended up going to Guatemala in 2012, and the trip rocked my world.

Upon my arrival home, I had so many stories to share.  I indicated my desire to go back again.  And Leanne listened to my stories – a little jealous about my experiences and a lot more interested in going overseas for missions.  Our family talked and prayed about going somewhere together as a family in 2013.  We kept coming back to Guatemala.

This decision gave me an opportunity to be the cheerleader.  Leanne was a little concerned about the language barrier that went with being in a strange place.  As the week went along, I tried to encourage Leanne, and I prayed she would connect with the people of Xenacoj as we ministered together.  It was amazing to watch her fear and frustration transform into enthusiasm and excitement.  I will always remember our last day in Xenacoj.  Leanne was in tears – good tears.  She didn’t want to leave yet.  Xenacoj had captured her.

Our reentry back into life in the United States has gone relatively smoothly.  Yet we’ve been left with a huge desire in our heart for serving the people of Guatemala.  And so our story continues to evolve.  It’s our turn to cheer you on.  While we prepare for another trip to Guatemala at some point, we want to encourage you.  We want to spur you on toward love and good deeds.  Maybe it’s in your office.  Maybe it’s in your neighborhood.  Maybe it’s overseas.  Maybe with us in Guatemala.

How will you share love and good deeds with others today?

Who is your biggest cheerleader?  Who do you need to encourage today?

What are you being encouraged to pursue?