What you are about to read is crazy!

It flies in the face of all that modern society in all of her acclaim and prestige will urge from you. To be honest with you, it goes directly against what many churches have taught and are currently teaching. Some of you will balk at a perceived tone of laziness or disenchantment. Some may be disheartened and frustrated that I have lost my mind and have lost touch with what’s going on in the world around me. For others, you will read this and find encouragement, peace, and rest.

What I am sharing with you in this refueling stop in our journey is not mine. It has come from years of study, personal experience (both failure and success), and a commitment to help others and myself. It is biblical.

Years ago while attending a men’s Bible study led by my great friend and mentor Adrian Despres, he introduced a concept that has changed my life. Please understand that I was the oddball in the room (which is often the case!). In this room of 25 plus men were doctors, attorneys, high-rise businessmen, politicians, and college professors. The elite of society; the busy and overloaded. I was the young pastor still wet behind the ears and comparatively speaking the most insignificant guy in the room. While studying with these fast-paced men, Adrian shared with us about his DAWG. Adrian told us that every so often he purposefully spent a Day Alone With God (DAWG). During this day, there was no cell phone, no other people, and no food only fasting.  Only a radio or mp3 player with Christian music was permitted. I was intrigued, and I had to do it. Years later, I still spend a Day Alone With God every so often (about once a quarter).

Why do I practice this? It’s the same reason you take your car for an oil change or tune up. For me it’s spiritual maintenance. The truth is, we all need rest. We all need a reset. We all need rhythm. What I’ve noticed (and I know you have too) is that when I get busy doing life my resources begin to deplete. I become tired, frustrated, and easily agitated. My focus drifts and thus my mission and purpose follow. I begin to rely on my strength, determination, and will instead of the will, grace, and omnipotence of a mighty God. The luster gets thin and shimmer no longer shines. The man in the mirror looks tired, embattled, and ungracious. And I know that’s who you see when you look in my direction. Without rhythm, resetting, and rest life does this to all of us.

So how do we fix this? How do I reflect God’s grace? How do I rest?

Simply do it. More intricately, it involves setting aside time in your busy life and schedule to spend time in quiet reflection and rest to recharge your battery and set a daily rhythm for the journey through which God is leading you. I want to share two thoughts specifically that I have incorporated into my life (I am continually learning) that will help you find rest.

As we read though the Old Testament, we see a concept that is foreign to most of us today. It’s the Hebrew word sabbat transliterated into English as sabbath. This word literally means “to cease, rest, or desist.” (EBD) This practice was ever present in the mind of the Hebrew and was modeled by the Creator Himself. Genesis 2:1-3 tells us, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.” Before I go any further, please let me explain that God wasn’t tired after creation. He was exhausted in a physical sense and needed to take a nap. He saw what He made, blessed it, and since it was “good” in His eyes He ceased (rested) His masterpiece. The Creator God set forth in motion for His people, both Jew and Gentile, a rhythm by which we can enjoy a blessed life.

Some might be thinking that this is an Old Testament part of the Law (10 Commandments) thus it doesn’t apply to Christians today since we are part of the Bride of Christ.  While the church is no longer under the Law of the Old Testament, rather the Law of Christ, the principle and practice of Sabbath are still beneficial and a blessing to all that practice this God-given rest.  We must remember that God gave us sabbath to bless us, not to keep us from doing things we think are important. This is what the religious elites of Jesus’ day had adulterated the sabbath to mean. The Pharisees and Sadducees created an additional set of laws based on their perception of what God meant when He gave us this blessing. That’s why so many of us are afraid of this concept today. Many fear it will keep them from doing what they need to do or that they don’t have time for this practice.

Friend, you don’t have time not to rest.

There needs to be a period of time in your week where you purposefully rest. The Hebrew people set aside an entire 24 hours from sundown on Friday to sundown on Saturday to observe the Sabbath (Nehemiah 13:19). This doesn’t mean that you don’t do anything for 24 hours. That you sit on your hand or lay in bed all day. It does mean that you spend a period of time in quiet reflection and rest. This is not a substitute for your daily quiet time with God (more on this later). This is a purposeful time to spend enjoying the blessings of God including nature and the outdoors, food and it’s taste, and people and the relationships God has given you. I understand that there are some practical concerns that you may have depending upon your station in life. I’d love to communicate with you further to help you through some of your concerns. Send me an Email of contact me to share your concerns so we can help each other.

As I’ve studied this practice of Sabbath rest, one question has continually come to my attention whether asked by me or someone else. “How does rest help me if I am going right back to the same problems of life?” Let me say, I totally get it. There is nothing worse that the realization on the last day of a great vacation or time of holiday that you have rested but everything and everyone else hasn’t. Here is my second thought for you.

Practice continual rest.

The creator God and Savior Jesus are extending the invitation to continually rest. Listen to the invitation of Jesus In Matthew 11, “²⁸ Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” WOW! How exciting to know that Jesus knows how I feel! He understands when I feel overwhelmed. He hears my cries of painful desperation. Jesus gives REST. Jesus extends to you the opportunity to rest in Him. When your world is crazy; He provides peace. When your surroundings leave you feeling unsafe; He is safe. When you are burdened and overwhelmed and your soul can’t take it any more; He can take it for you. He still requires that you take His yoke (not talking about eggs), but His word is sure and He guarantees that you can carry the load.

God has given you rest; take it. Make time to rest in His grace and enjoy His blessings. Find peace in a new perspective. Seek His truth and live in it.  Jesus has extended the invitation to rest in His unfailing arms of love. They are strong arms. Rest my friend, knowing that you are known and still loved.

Shhh. Be quiet. Be still. Mute the TV and put away your cell phone. In fact, put everything away for just a minute.

Listen. Do you hear that? Can you hear that deafening noise? Yes, that’s right; QUIET. You probably aren’t used to that rare, dull hum of nothingness. It may frighten you at first, but give it time and it will engulf your soul with contemplation, peace, and joy. Let me share a few thoughts on quietness I’ve had as I’ve spoken with some of you on the journey recently.

No kidding there I was, all alone with 3 boys and CHAOS. My wife went to spend some much needed time with her mother during a difficult time and it was now man time. For an entire week! It was fun, crazy, thrilling, exhausting! (Side note: mothers are amazing and should never be taken for granted) I found myself running around the house with my hair on fire. On top of getting 2 boys to school and 1 boy learning to walk and get into everything, I had to maintain the normal life duties like my pastoral responsibilities and political campaign assignments. Bed time couldn’t come fast enough each night! At the end of the day I would sit quietly on the couch. The TV was off, the lights were off, and I could hear myself breathe. I enjoyed those few moments of proverbial peace and quiet.

I think my experience is pretty common to most of us. It’s part of human nature to be busy filling my time with important tasks to accomplish. After all, my motto, “What’s next?” The culture doesn’t help much either. Whether you are the parent running around with those little blessings, the corner office business person who somehow manages, the student who has a stack of books to read and a pile of papers to write, or the seasoned veteran of life trying to squeeze in a few more adventures before the end comes; you are busy.

I don’t want to give you all of what I think you need to help with this problem we all have because it would probably overwhelm you. In the weeks to come, I’ll share more of what the Bible teaches and what I believe are necessary steps to your spiritual and emotional health. I’ll share some helpful tips on how you can joy in the journey and have calm in the storm, but more on that later.

What I want is to invite you to be still, to be quiet, and to enjoy those moments in the calm.

Some of you may be thinking, “I have way too much to do!” or “Who will get everything done if I don’t?” I think those are some of the same thoughts and concerns the poet that penned Psalm 46 has. Read what he writes,

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Can I just be honest with you right out of the gate? I mean really honest!?

I am impatient!

I really hate waiting! It’s something I’ve really struggled with most of my life. I’m working on it and I’ve grown a lot in recent years, but it is something I have to keep in the front of my mind most of the time. My impatience finds it’s way out of my brain and into my actions in the silliest ways. I have been known to pull popcorn out of the microwave early, 5 seconds early just because I didn’t want to wait for it to finish. I have found myself counting down the seconds I had to wait at a red light because I had somewhere really important to go. I am willing to be honest; brutally honest.  This manifestation of impatience in my life is not healthy for me. It’s not a great way to view the world around me. It’s actually pretty silly for me to be so impatient.

But can I be a little presumptuous?

I’m going to step out on a limb and say that there are many of you reading this right now that are just like me. You’re impatient too. You don’t take pride in it and you don’t want to be so impatient, but you are.  So let’s climb in the same boat and journey together toward a slowdown. Not only because it’s good for you (seriously, slowing down is good for your health), but because it changes the way you view the world and the way you interact with everyone around you.

I have found that one of the by-products of my impatience is the overwhelming desire to personally handle every problem that I encounter as if I am the solution.  This comes partially because I don’t want to wait on others (or God) to take care of the problem (or me), and partially because I feel a great sense of accomplishment if I can handle the problem on my own. How absurd! I mean it’s so crazy that I think I know better that God and that I am not willing to wait on His providential care. Read what the Psalmist writes in Psalm 130:5-6, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”  Where should I get my hope, strength, joy, and peace? The Lord! When I am willing to slow down, rest in His grace and truth, and wait on His perfect will; then will I find hope, strength, joy, and peace. 

I think you’d agree with me that this flies in the face of human nature and all that is being perpetuated by our culture. The pervasive theme of the day tells one to get what belongs to them and to get it now. In fact, the goofy lawyer commercial rings in my ears every time I start to get impatient and catch myself. It’s the one where the clients all shout from the rooftops that they want their money, and they “WANT IT NOW!” The humorous thing to me is that I know how this works and these people may not get their money for months if not years. But that’s the awesome thing about God. His timing is perfect!

I love what Isaiah writes in chapter 40: 30-31. He says, “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” It encourages my soul to know that I can be patient and wait on God’s perfect timing. Why? Because He will care for me perfectly before, during, and after He completes His plan for me.

Time and again, the Lord has proven Himself faithful to me. Whether it was an unexpected text message from a friend encouraging my heart, a financial blessing right when my family needed it, or the answer to a prayer that I never thought was going to happen; God’s been faithful.

I know what some of you are thinking right now as you read this. “What if you wait on God to handle the problem or give the answer, and He doesn’t?” or “What if it’s not the answer you want?” This is the hard part. Sometimes the blessing is in the waiting and not in the outcome. The benefit is in the slowdown and not in the answer.  Will everything work out perfectly according to your plan? Of course not. But Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good,for those who are called according to his purpose.” Everything in your life works together for His purpose and your good. Everything! Even the bad test result. Even the wayward child. Even the pain of loss. It all works for your good and His purpose.

So maybe it’s time for you to slow down. Maybe it’s time for you to grow in patience. Maybe it’s time for you to wait. Let me encourage you by reiterating that God’s timing is always perfect and that His will for your life is always worth the wait.

Do you want to be different? Do you want to rise head and shoulders above the masses?

Be Grateful!

In a culture where entitlement is rampant and everyone and everything is on the dole, you have the opportunity to stand out. If you’ll be grateful.  Want to be a breath of fresh air into your community? Be grateful. (I think you get the point) My fear is that due to the entitlement culture that has been propagated and thus embraced, there are so many that have no idea what it means to be grateful.  We have raised an entire generation who expects something (often for nothing). And this isn’t to speak of their parents and grandparents where they learned from whom they were taught. (I can easily say this, because I know this applies none of you reading!) Seriously, ungratefulness and entitlement are a real problem. But enough about the problem because I think there is a real solution. I’d like to use hands as an extended metaphor for the way a person lives. The actions, lifestyle, attitude, and ideology will all be encompassed in “hands”. There are many people with their hands out.  This would be the entitlement crowd.  Their essence could be encapsulated in the phrases, “What’s in it for me?” or “What do I get?” or “What’s this going to cost me?” Notice the focus? me, Me, ME! When we have an inward focus, infatuated with ourselves and our existence, we have little time for the world around us.  Society generally looks at this crowd as “problem people” and not “solution people”.  The big blue and green ball is filled with problem people.

We need Solution People!

So here are a few Ideas of what it looks like to be grateful hands.

Working Hands

Often the solution to a problem is found it rolling up your sleeves and getting busy. Using the brilliant mind and caring heart that God gave you to reach out and touch someone. A kind look, an open door, or a cup of coffee go a long way in providing help and solutions for hurting people.  Solomon tells us ^“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…” in Ecclesiastes 9:10. Don’t do the job or deed partially. Put your whole heart and soul into it.  If we are going to stem the tide of an “entitlement society”, then we have to reach out and show the world around us what it means to have a giving spirit.

Giving Hands

If I am going to imitate Christ, my life must be outwardly and others focused.  Instead of worrying about myself to the point of selfishness (You should take care of yourself), maybe I should allow myself the opportunity to give to others. Jesus, in Matthew 25: 40 says, “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’” When I help others and give liberally, I’m not just helping them, I’m sharing Christ’s love with them.  The solution to many of life’s troubles is found in the soul of a giver.

Praying Hands

Many of “our problems” aren’t really ours.  We have hijacked and stolen God’s job.  We have forgotten to rest in His grace and stand on His truth.  I’m not quite sure if we doubt God’s significance or power in our lives, or if it’s simply because we “don’t have time” to seek His face regularly in our lives.  There is peace, rest, hope, joy, grace found in the arms of our big God and He wants to love all over us. In Luke 11:9-10 Jesus tells us, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” When we pray in the name of our Father and seek His will for our lives, He will give us exactly what we need. Worry less; pray more.

Praising Hands

“Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the Lord!” Psalm 134:2                                    The choice is yours. You can praise or you can gripe. I say we give all glory and praise to the Lord who has given us all of the riches of His creation to enjoy.  In turn, not only should we praise God, we should praise others.  Obviously not with the same attitude or reverence, but we should show our gratefulness to others for what they have done for us.  You can live life expecting others to do everything for you (and live with grossly unmet expectations) or you can live in perpetual praise and gratitude for the blessings of others. God put people in your life for you to enjoy, not to endure.  Thank God for them and let them know you are thankful for them.

Be the solution. Be grateful. Have Grateful Hands.

Have you ever wanted to take an “Adventure”?

My sons love it when my wife and I tell them we are going on adventure. (This can be on a kayak down the river, a trip to the hardware store for “man stuff”, or even to their favorite restaurant 30 miles away) There’s something deep within the soul of a man that longs for the thrill of a journey into the unknown. A woman’s spirit leaps inside of her when she meets the prospect of a new experience with a close friend.

I haven’t quite put my finger on why exactly this is, but I think I’ve got a few good ideas. One reason is because we love the excitement of the new and untamed. The possibility of a new sight to see, a new taste to consume, or a new experience to share fascinates the heart. We are invigorated with the potential of a new experience even though we may feel frightened. Therein lies another reason for some to thirst for adventure. The excitement of overcoming their fear. Some call these people thrill seekers or adrenaline junkies. Whatever you want to call them, I think there plenty of people out there who are craving adventure for the the excitement of taming a feeling of fear within their spirit. Speaking of taming, another reason why we crave adventure is because we have something to prove. Whether to others or to ourselves, we need to feel a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes I just need to “prove it” to someone else or to myself. As a man, there are times when I need to feel “man enough” (whatever that means), thus I set out on some sort of hair-brained journey to chase that feeling.

Adventure takes on many different shapes and sizes. It can be a kayak down a rough set of rapids or a motorcycle ride on some winding road through the beauty of a forgotten mountain. But adventure can also look totally different. It can be a new career choice or education path. The new relationship you just entered into or the rekindling of your marriage after things went stale. Adventure can be the choice to fight addiction or lend a helping hand to a lost friend. All these words (will he ever shut up?) to say that you have the opportunity to chose the adventure based on the longing and passions deeply seated in your soul.

So how do you know when you are experiencing your adventure. I think it’s found in a moment. It’s a moment few ever see coming, but most experience regularly. The moment you know you are on adventure is when you are uncertain. That moment is filled with the uncertainty of not knowing whether you should move forward or turn back. I’ve been here in this exact spot several times. The moment when you question, “What in the world am I doing!?” Usually this moment comes right in the middle of a project I’m trying to complete (like some piece of artsy handiwork for my wife) or when I’ve gotten stuck in a predicament in the wild an I’m not sure what to do next (this happens rather often). A couple of months ago on a 6 hour kayak up the Savannah River from Betty’s Branch to the Clark’s Hill Dam and back (14+ miles) there were several times that I found myself living this moment. While the sun was beaming down on a hot August day baking my skin to a crisp, I thought “What am I doing!?” When my arms were like noodles from thousands of paddle strokes, I though, “How much farther can I go?” There were several times when I thought about turning back, but I set out to accomplish something, and I had something to prove.

Have you ever felt like you were in this in between moment? The moment you know you are in the midst of the adventure of a lifetime when you have to decide whether to keep pushing forward or find a way back to safety?

I think that’s the beauty of adventure. You get the choice. You determine your posture and often you choose the path. But let me bring to mind a biblical concept within the teachings of Jesus that often gets taken out of context. In Luke 9:62 Jesus says, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” What is the context here? The context is the adventure of a lifetime, the Journey of following Christ. What does Jesus mean? He is explaining the cost of this adventure. He is telling His followers and the reader that when we reach the moment in our Journey with Him, we have only one real option. The mistake our human minds make is assuming that to move backward is to move toward safety while forging ahead brings the certainty of peril and danger. Jesus is telling us that when we are stuck in the middle and reach the moment that the wise choice is to dare to be adventurous. The good news is that we have the footsteps of the Savior to walk in. We have the blueprint of the Designer to follow.

God wants us to be adventurous. After all, following Him will be the adventure of your lifetime. He isn’t afraid of our questions and fears and failures. That’s why in the very next verses Jesus sends His followers out on the adventure of sharing their faith.

Whatever the Journey you choose or find yourself on. Keep moving forward. Be strong. Be courageous. Keep the faith.