Through the eyes of a child

I am very excited about this Christmas because my eldest child is almost 3 and old enough to really get into her gifts. Don’t get me wrong, I will enjoy watching the 10 month old try to open her presents, then proceed to try to eat the wrapping paper (she gets that from her dad), but the excitement and anticipation in my oldest child’s eyes will be so worth the time an effort put into the day. And I know she will deeply treasure whatever she gets, at least for a couple hours…
That begs the question of whether I am as excited about my gift of Jesus. As a Christian of over 20 years, many times I find myself lacking in excitement for, even bored about, what an amazing gift God gave us. He is MY SALVATION and REASON FOR LIVING! I have to check myself many times to see if I am being a “lukewarm” Christian (Rev. 3:16) and just going through the motions of Church, Bible Study, prayer, etc. This is such a great time of year to do a gut check and see if I am the man, father, and follower I should be.

And I get to open presents!!!

Merry Christmas, and God Bless.

Roadblocks

Do you ever have one of those days/weeks/months/years where you know exactly what God has planned for you and your life and everything is in place to get there, and then He throws up a roadblock? And not just any small little bump, but more like a a bunch of semis hauling a load of Krispy Kremes overturned across the whole road and you know it’s gonna take the cops months to eat, I mean, clean it up. (That one’s for you, Yank!)

I have been going through that daily it seems for the past 3 months. Finally, at 30 years old, I firmly believe I know what God wants me to be when I grow up. Unfortunately (to me), it will take a few steps to get there in the course of about a year and a half to 2 years.Then I can begin doing what I believe God wants me to do for the rest of my life! The plan is all laid out with all the necessary stops along the way. However last week I got an e-mail “roadblock” that has put those plans in limbo for the ump-teenth time. (Yes, I said “ump-teenth.” Thanks, Mom) Why would God do that to me? I finally know what He wants me to do, but then He says, “whoa there a minute. Not so fast.” It is killing me inside!

And yet, I find out that the specific phrase “wait on the Lord” is used at least 6 times in the Bible (NKJ). And it is amazing what happens to those who “WAIT”:

Psalm 27:14 – Heart will be strengthened
Psalm 37:9 – Inherit the earth
Psalm 37:34 – Inherit the land
Is. 8:17 – Hope
Is. 30:18 – Be Blessed
Is. 40:31 – Renew your strength

Waiting has always been an impossible for me. If there is something I wanted, needed, had to do, it was bought/gotten/done immediately. But when it comes to God’s plan, I can do nothing but wait for his timing. So with joy, I will wait for his work to be completed.(Phil. 1:6)

At least until tomorrow…

And So It Begins…

OK, so I have joined the throngs (whoo, glad I didn’t misspell that one) of people who have a blog by starting out my blog by saying “Ok, so I have joined the throngs” just like everyone else. No, I’m not a lemming, but sometimes I feel about as hairy and short as one. But I’m over it now.

I have been reading a friend of mine’s blog for a while now, and he always impresses me with what is going thru his mind at the time. Usually it is scary to delve into a man’s mind at random times, but I guess he is just good at sifting thru all that “guy gunk” in our minds and put down something that will touch the lives of others. (or his wife is a GREAT editor) If you don’t believe me, check it out for yourself: blog.inleftfield.com (Aaron, that is a nickel you owe me for every hit…)

So I am challenged to see if I can add meaning to my life and others around me by publishing my personal, discreet, sensitive, crazy, euphoric, and sometimes scary thoughts on the WWW for all to see. Careful, I must be, yes. (Spoken in Yoda tongue)

Last night my almost-3 year old spent the night away from home for the first time. Wow, I knew I wasn’t ready to have children when God blessed me and my wife with a beautiful girl, now she is already leaving home! IT CAN’T BE SO!!! Needless to say, I had a hard time with it, even though I knew she was in great hands with her Grandparents. Last night, I went into her room, knelt by her bed and prayed for her safe return to us, and almost lost it, (kinda like I am struggling to hold back the tears now). Now you must realize that I never was much of an emotional man, until I got married… And had children… Girls, for cryin’ out loud…

I realized what it must have been like when God sent his Son away for the first “night away from home”, the first Christmas night. I know how difficult it was for me to let go of my girl; how much more so would it be for the God of the universe to let his ONLY Son go from a wonderful and safe home in heaven, KNOWING what was to happen to Him. I know that I get my girl back today, happy and spoiled from Grandma. Jesus’ stay away from home was a little longer and much, much more painful, for the Father.

This year for Christmas, I truly begin to understand the Father’s position in the gift of his son. I know I have never met a person that I thought was worth letting my girl leave home, be taken and killed just to save their life. But I am glad my heavenly father was willing. BOY, am I glad…