Hand In Hand

I broke up with a girl in 6th grade because she tried to hold my hand. It made me very uncomfortable. We weren't supposed to hold hands. 6th grade dating code states that you simply call each other boyfriend/girlfriend, but that you rarely talk to one another, much less hold hands. What was she thinking?!?! When I felt her hand reach over and grab mine, I decided to run for the hills (aka-send a friend to communicate that the relationship was now over). I just wanted to call her my girlfriend without having to really get to know her. When I was twenty, I found myself wanting to call Jesus my LORD without having to take his hand and walk where he was going. I wanted the Christian title without the actual relationship. When I felt him reaching for my hand, I ran for the hills (or to the bars).

Thankfully, I have gotten over my fear of holding hands with a female. One of my favorite things to do is walk hand in hand with my wife. I also love when Avery reaches up and grabs my hand. It's hard to find words that describe the joy of her little fingers reaching for mine. Most importantly, I have since developed a deep love for the God I once ran from. I have come to appreciate his reach as he takes hold of my hand to lead me. To comfort me. To simply remind me of his presence.

Sometimes it's hard for men to picture Jesus holding our hand and leading us. We like to think of ourselves as independent. We sometimes think we can handle everything ourselves. I know that thought process all too well. At the same time, I know that in order to follow where Jesus is leading, into deep and dangerous waters, I desperately need him to walk beside me. I need him to reassure me. The path will twist and turn and lead us to places we would never go alone. There will be set backs. There will be heart ache. There will be valleys and mountain tops. And when we think we can't take anymore, he'll whisper to us, "We're just beginning." There will be times when he says to speed up. There will be times when he says to slow down. And yet, there will be other times when he says to wait. The truth is that we were never meant to walk alone. Our hand was designed to fit into his. For if we walk alone, we will get eaten alive. We will turn back in fear or discouragement. Or even worse, we will never even set out on the journey. We will die in shallow waters with sun-burned backs without ever experiencing the Promise Land. You see, life is a wonderful and mysterious journey. It's a fierce battle. It's a grand story. Thankfully the God who formed Pikes Peak is walking beside us, holding our hand. Or better yet, carrying us close to his heart.

He tends his flock like a shepherd:
He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
he gently leads those that have young. Isaiah 40:11

God, The Wrestler

It's a great time of year for the sport of wrestling. We just finished the Colorado state wrestling tournament last weekend. Many states are having their state wrestling tournament this weekend. College regional tournaments are less than 10 days away, and I've already booked my tickets to attend the NCAA national tournament in Philadelphia in March. I love this time of year. Because wrestling is on my brain, I thought I would repost one of my previous entries entitled "God, The Wrestler".

Originally posted on April 19, 2009

God's wrestling match with Jacob (Genesis 32) has to be one of the coolest stories in the Bible. I'll admit I might be biased. I was born and raised around the sport of wrestling. My dad was a high school wrestling coach for over 30 years. I now find myself coaching the same sport that I competed in for 18 years. I am not talking about the kind of wrestling you see on TBS or Pay Per View. I can proudly admit that I have never painted my face, worn a speedo, or hit someone on the back of the head with a folding chair. I am talking about the sport that is seen in high school and college gyms across the country-amateur wrestling-one of the greatest and oldest sports on earth. Being familiar with the sport, I have a great appreciation for what God did on that fateful night as he engaged Jacob in a wrestling match. The story would have been much less appealing to me if God would have challenged Jacob to a ping pong match. Or, even worse, chess. God wanted to see what Jacob was made of. My brother, who is currently flying helicopters in Iraq (one of the bravest men I know), made a good point in a recent email: "I picture the LORD as the day broke filled with delight and thinking, 'Yes, this is why I made man in my image.'" I think my brother is right. God wants to engage us on this kind of level. It's just like a father wanting to wrestle with his son. He wants us to roll up our sleeves and struggle with him. He wants to see what we're made of. At first, the religious side of me was quick to think, "Wrestle with God? No, he would rather have us lay on our face and worship him." Of course He wants us to worship Him. He also wants us to "step in the ring" and grapple with Him. How cool.

Sharks are better than minnows...

We recently took Avery to the Denver Aquarium, and she had a blast! She was in awe of the diferent fish, colored coral, and best of all, the sharks. Right as we walked in there was a SMALL little aquarium with SMALL fish in it front and center. I was excited to hurry along and see the exciting things, like sharks, but Avery's eyes locked on to the small fish in the small aquarium and she was mesmerized. I couldn't get her to keep walking to see the really good stuff. I kept saying, "Avery there are much better and more exciting things around the corner", but she didn't want to leave the first tank. She didn't know what was around the corner waiting for her. She just knew that what she was looking at was pretty cool.

God is calling all of us to move out into deeper waters with Him. The kind of place where we have to trust Him on a daily basis. The place that's scary to us but perfect to Him. As we do this we may have to leave familiar things behind. Ouch. You know, the things that comfort us. The things that may even rival God's place in our hearts. Or, it may even be things that aren't necessarily bad, but He simply has better things planned for us. Why stare at the minnows when you can see the sharks? He has proved Himself faithful too many times for me to stand in ankle-deep water. Besides, it gets boring close to shore.

A beautiful ending...

It's a sound that a man never wants to hear. It's worse than fingernails on a chalk board. Far worse than the intro song of What not to wear. It's the sound of a car smashing into another car, and it was one of the first things I heard yesterday morning. As I backed out of the garage, I drilled our explorer and spilled coffee all over myself. Not a good way to start the day. The rest of the day was a grind.

I finished my day with one of the sweetest sounds I've ever heard. As I rocked Avery to sleep, I started singing "Amazing Grace", and she started singing with me. It was amazing. Her soft and gentle two year old voice would repeat the words after I would sing them (she already sounds better than me!). The events of the day were a distant memory. They were washed away by the sweet sound of Avery's song. God redeemed the day. It made me think about all of the different ways God works redemption into our lives.

My life story is a story of redemption. I haven't always walked with God. I am not proud of some of the choices that I have made. But, God's redemptive hand has been upon my life. He turned my bad choices into something good. This is His heartbeat. He loves to come into messy lives and create something beautiful. Just before I fell asleep, my mind drifted back to the words we were singing. I didn't think about it at the time, but we were singing the song of redemption.

"Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound,
That saved a wretch like me.
I once was lost but now am found,
Was blind, but now I see."

No wonder the word Gospel means "good news".

Abundant Life

My wonderful family and I just took a family trip to Culvers to enjoy some quality desserts. On the way back, we stopped at Wal-Mart for a diaper refill. Instead of getting Avery out of her car seat and having all of us go in, I dropped Ashley off at the front door and waited in a nearby parking spot. As I was waiting, I began to think about the reality of God being with us. Now, if I were to ask nearly everyone reading this if they believe God is with them, they would most likely say "yes". However, when was the last time you took 10 minutes to simply think about what it means that God is right beside you-or better yet, inside of you? The God who placed the stars in the sky and knows each one by name is with you at this very moment. The God who can hold all of the oceans in the palm of his hand is smiling at you. The more I thought about this, the more amazed I became. As I was driving home, I couldn't stop thinking about how miraculous it is that God is always with us. I noticed that when I am aware of His presence, the little things that usually annoy me don't really matter (bad drivers!). As we got home, I put Avery in the bath tub and took my usual place perched on top of the bathroom sink watching her play in the water. The tradition has been that she plays with her toys, and I lazily sit there and watch her (sad, huh?). Again, I began thinking about how God was with us right there in the bathroom. As I was thinking about His presence, I heard him whisper to my heart that He was on his hands and knees playing with Avery. I instantly got up from my comfortable and lazy position and began playing with Avery's bath toys. She laughed the whole time. I laughed the whole time. It was a blast! It was a result of just being aware of God's presence and what He may be doing in a given situation. When we live with an awareness of the Holy Spirit, every day life turns into the abundant life that Jesus promised in John 10:10. Try it. Pause and take a few moments to enjoy the presence of God. Talk to Him. Ask him questions. Listen for his sweet words.

Jesus, help us to be aware of your amazing presence. Open our eyes to see you and open our ears to hear you. Teach us to experience this abundant life you created us for.

Better than a gym membership...

Children, Arrows, and God's Strategy

I am one of 2 men that work on a team with 16 women. No, I don't work at a nail salon. No, I don't work at great clips. I work as a children's pastor at New Life Church. When I first started in children's ministry, I began to ask God if he had the wrong person for the job. After all, I like manly activities. I like to go fly fishing. I enjoy prairie dog hunting (If you shoot them in the right spot, they will do a flip and land flat on their backs-pretty cool). One of my favorite movies is We Were Soldiers. I have coached High School football and wrestling for the past 6 years. Did I mention that I enjoy manly activities? So, why did God place me in children's ministry with a bunch of women?? God's answer to this question has changed my paradigm on children.

³ Children are a heritage from the LORD,
offspring a reward from him.
⁴ Like arrows in the hands of a warrior
are children born in one’s youth.
⁵ Blessed is the man
whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame
when they contend with their opponents in court. Psalm 127:3-6

God is comparing children to arrows. Arrows are an offensive weapon. That's right, the chief strategist (GOD) is calling children offensive weapons. The Message puts it like this:

^3-5 Don't you see that children are God's best gift?
the fruit of the womb his generous legacy?
Like a warrior's fistful of arrows
are the children of a vigorous youth.
Oh, how blessed are you parents,
with your quivers full of children!
Your enemies don't stand a chance against you;
you'll sweep them right off your doorstep.

Psalm 8:2 is another example of how God is correlating children with the advancement of His kingdom.

² Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold against your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger. Psalm 8:2

Most of us have read the end of the Bible and we realize that, in the end, God wins. What I think a lot of people miss is what role children play in God's grand strategy. I think too many people subconsciously think that children have received a Jr. Holy Spirit and can't do much until they grow up. This couldn't be further from the truth. God has placed the same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead within the hearts and upon the lives of children. God wants to use them right now for ministry. As the body of Christ, we can't afford to ignore them or their role in the story. We must encourage them to find their God-given mission, and train them to be successful. If we do this well, we will see miraculous results. In fact, our enemies "don't stand a chance against us." We'll sweep them right off our doorstep.