Filed under: family life, my faith journey, randomness and miscellany | Tags: chili, christianity, cold weather, faith, family, God, love
It’s cold here tonight. Well, at least South Texas Cold. i was excited, because that meant chili night. Chili night is not something taken lightly in the Powers family. Think more, rite of passage, primal man thing. Growing up, some of my fondest memories are of my dad wearing a flannel shirt and cooking chili and corn bread in his gigantic harvest gold pot as we sat around and talked and hung out by the fire… I love those memories.
Fast forward 25 years or so, and I find myself pleasurably on the other side of the chili pot so to speak. Tonight, I felt like a dad. i know that sounds silly seeing as how I am a dad, but this was one of those moments where I found myself being like my old man, and I loved it. I saw my wife and two kids sitting by the fire and laughing as I sat in the kitchen with my pot (sorry, dad… I’ve passed on harvest gold and settled instead on a sleeker stainless steel model) making a pot of red, and loving every second of this pretty sweet life I’ve got. And I hope that someday Carson will remember tonight as fondly as I remember those nights with my dad, and then I hope it will spur him on to continue the tradition with his little ones. LIke I said, it’s a big deal in the Powers family.
But this all got me to wondering… what are the moments when the Father looks down on us, smiles, and says, “tonight I feel like a dad!”? What things will he someday tell us of with a fondness in His eyes?
And maybe more importantly, what are they so I can be sure to pass them on to my little guy and gal? Family is a big deal to the Almighty.
No answers, but the tought made me smile, so I thought I would share it. Life’s short… love your family.
Filed under: family life, my faith journey, youth ministry | Tags: busyness, christianity, faith, life lessons
Seven years ago I began my journey into youth ministry by teaching a 5th grade class. Eventually, my volunteer role morphed into my life’s calling and full time vocation. The first several months left me working a full time job that i didn’t really like, pouring into a full time ministry that I was passionate about, and planning a wedding to the woman of my dreams. It was insane, but I convince myself it was just a “busy season”. Seven years, 1 wedding, 2 children, countless camps and retreats and events and football games later, I find that season never ended.
Busyness isn’t unique to ministry, we are all busy, all the time. I have found that even in full time, vocational church work (I often tell my students that I am a professional Christian) my personal spiritual development takes a back seat to the tasks at hand. The problem is that there is always a task at hand. Lately I have been thinking alot about what to make of all this. If busyness is the norm (we could debate whether that should or shouldn’t be the case, but that’s not for here or now) than how do i find Christ in the midst of the norm? Today, I write not as one winning, but rather as one losing but who desperately wants to find a better way. To that end, I offer a couple of suggestions for finding faith in the frantic…
1. Make the most of moments that aren’t crazy
There are moments of calm even in the craziest of days… turn the radio off in the car, take the long way to the copier, heck, put the magazine down in the bathroom and instead talk to Him. Don’t worry about the way it sounds, just tell Him what’s going on in your day. Vent, confess, listen… connect. A couple of minutes won’t kill you or set you behind. Be willing to let your mind slow down and focus only on Him, even if just for a couple of minutes at a time. I promise, it will change the way you look at the world around you.
2. Realize who God really is, and who really isn’t God
Start each day reminding yourself that you aren’t God, and He is. There is nothing you face today that God can help walk you through. he created you, your boss, the person who invented the industry you are employed in… In Colossians 1 we are told that in him everything is help together and finds it’s purpose. I laugh at myself when I say I am too busy to stop and pray… isn’t it at those times i should stop the most? Martin Luther once said, “My life is too busy not to spend the first three hours of it in prayer.”
Show off.
But seriously… you aren’t God. I’m not either. We can’t make it perfect in our own strength. Sure, we could finish the task, but at what cost? What we can do is connect to the one who is perfect. And more than completing the task, we will find ourselves feeling more completed. We were designed to be dependant… not on pay checks or approval, but on Him.
Again, I ain’t there yet, but I want to be. Next month will be busier than this month, and then, well… let’s just say it looks like this season is going to be a long one. If I can’t change the pace, I can at least change who I follow. Here’s hoping.
Filed under: my faith journey | Tags: christianity, election, faith, hope, mccain, obama, prayer
Last night our country changed direction. As I sat and watched the returns roll in my emotion changed from hope, to shock, to disappointment… heck, there was even a little fear mixed in. As the night wore on, a strange thing took the place of all of that… I became resolved.
This may come as a surprise, but there are actually a few things that I am thankful for after last night. First, I am thankful that while last night we elected a new president, we still serve the same King. The country changed direction and perhaps ideologies, but Christ didn’t, for He is the Lord, and He does not change. It is easy to get wrapped up in a situation that seems hopeless, but our God is a God of hope, and God who promises that ALL things work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. God was not surprised by the election results last night. His plan is still to give me hope and a future, I now have the task of walking in obedience to Him.
Second, I am thankful for a renewed passion to pray for our country and the man who will be leading it. We can no longer be Red Elephants or Blue Donkeys, we, the body of Christ, must now make our second most important affiliation simply Americans, united under one cause, which is to see America again become, “one nation, under God, indivisible…” My hope is that those who voted for Senator McCain will now pray for Barack Obama to become intimately intune with voice of God even harder than they prayed that he wouldn’t win the election. More than most, this man need the wisdom of Solomon, and the guidance of a just and merciful God. I am thankful that God is up to that challenge. But we have to step up, church. There is no place anymore for partisanship, at least not until 2012. We are all in this together, and as for me, I choose to stand on the promise that “if My people who are called by name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The charge isn’t to pray that another be convicted of his sin, though we certainly can, the charge is to admit where WE have fallen short of God’s glorious standard, and then pray. Pray for our country, pray for President-Elect Obama, and pray that God heal our land. The truth is that God desires that even this man would come to an intimate, passionate, life-changing closeness with Him. It’s our job to stand in the gap for him until he does.
Finally, I am thankful for the privilege of being called a son of God, for I know that any Father worth his salt looks out for his kids, even in the most trying of times. I am thankful that there is a God more trustworthy than the nation in which I live, and I am thankful for the grace and mercy He has showered on me. The next four years are going to be interesting to say the least, but I KNOW THAT GOD IS IN THIS WITH US!! And, in the end, that brings me back to hope. After all, if He is for us, whom then shall we fear?
Filed under: Uncategorized
So, I am podcastable. That’s not even a word, but I am. Apple sent me an approval email and everything. you have no idea how it makes one feel to be approved by Apple. Wow.
But seriously, we have begun putting the audio from our weekly sermons on line at this cool hosting site. From there, you can subscribe, and it will download weekly. Pretty cool for if you miss a week or if your just surious about what we’ve been talking about. Subscribe today!!
In other news, I like southwestern egg rolls, and you should vote tomorrow. those two thoughts have nothing in common, but they both popped into my head at the same time, so I wrote them. Hope your night is awesome!!
Church Can Still Be Cool 