What am I waiting for?

Last night, as I was lying in bed, I began to think. (I know, I know, me? thinking? doesn't happen that often...nevertheless, I did.) I began to think about all the things I wish I would do in life. "Like what?" you ask. Well, I'm glad you did.

There are things in life I wish I did regularly. Things that I would love to say were are part of my "routine." For one, I wish I read alot. I have hundreds upon hundreds of books on everything from spiritual matters to classic novels to your general "Everything You Need To Know..." do-it-yourself books. I wish I exercised more. Wait...what am I saying...let me rephrase...I wish I exercised. I don't know anyone who could refute the benefit of exercise. I wish I journaled more. I wish I spent more time doing more creative things. I would love to spend more time away from the "All-Consuming Drainer of Brain-Cells"--the television.

However, I find myself knowing these things and yet, never placing them into practice. Instead I find myself bewildered, just as Paul did when speaking with the early Roman Church, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do." (7:14) I know what I would like to do...in my head, but there is a large jump from my head to actually fleshing out these feelings. And because I know this, it makes it that much worse. I always hear people say, "You have to keep doing it enough until it becomes a habit." Well, I reject that thought.

Last night, as I was thinking, this, too, crossed my mind. The things I desire, I don't want to become habits. I want them to be disciplines. There is a world of difference between a habit and a discipline, coming from someone with a world of habits. Habits are useless. Habits are for the weak. Habits are something we pick up without even realizing it. They are the athlete's foot when it comes to our actions. Habits are easy, quick, and realitively easy to acquire. Disciplines are whole different ballgame. Booker T. Washington is quoted as saying "Nothing ever comes to one, that is worth having, except as a result of hard work." Disciplines are what results in hard work and persistance. It is something that onced earned, is appreciated. They enhance one's way of life.

Through persistance, a discipline is obtained. By your disciplines, an individual is defined. Your human definition gives purpose. With purpose ignited passion. And with passion, one truly lives.

Fortunately for us, Paul does not stop with Chapter 7--with this struggle we all face, but he escorts us into God's saving grace in Chapter 8. The very first verse declares, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ." Though we are weak, though we are frail, we have been set free. We have been made powerful through His righteousness. We have been given the courage to overcome "habits" and been given the strength to establish disciplines. We have been given the freedom to LIVE LIFE and ENJOY it abundantly. It may not be easy. But it will be worth it.

What are you waiting for?... What am I waiting for?... I think I'll go read.

Wealthy or not, here I come...

Wow, this puts it in perspective.(Click Here)

I saw this on another blog and felt I needed to post it here as well. I know many times I find myself in the situation of comparing my life, my wealth, my "toys," to those who have more than I. Why do we do this? Very rarely do we look the other direction. What do the Scriptures say concerning wealth? Here are a few verses:

"Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine." Proverbs 3:9 NIV

"Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil."
Proverbs 15:16 NIV

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is doshonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?" Luke 16:10 NIV

Hmmm . . . . . there you have it.

Another Friday Here

Well, another Friday is here and only 7 hours to go before the wondrous reality of the weekend. My wife and I had plans to be out of town; however, they have been cancelled. And what, do you ask, will we fill this void in our two day hiatus from the world . . . . well, let me share. NOTHING!! My plan is to go to work Monday morning, and if someone asks, "Hey Adam, what did you do this weekend?" I will proclaim the wise and immortal words of Peter Gibbons from Office Space, "I did nothing. I did absolutely nothing, and it was everything I thought it could be." It's going to be nice to be able to actually relax on a weekend . . . not having to drive somewhere or have somewhere we have to be at.

I have begun to truly appreciate the time away from what this world calls life. Life that my mind intreprets as stress, busyness, anxiety, useless. Hope you have a great weekend.

By the way, this morning in our weekly chapel service at work, Shaun Groves shared from his heart about the Beatitudes, which was/is the biblical inspiration of his new album White Flag. It was a wonderful way to start a Friday. Great job, Shaun.

Big Brother Faith

Well, I don't know about any of you, but my wife and I are reality TV junkies. Survivor, Amazing Race, American Idol . . . you name it, we watch it. One of our favorites just came on last week--Big Brother.

For those of you who are not as "reality savvy" as some of us, Big Brother is a show where 16 or so contestants live in a house all summer long, and one person gets voted off each week until only one is left. This season has been deemed "A Summer of Secrets." Throughout the summer, the show will present the guests numerous secrets, along with the normal drama that occurs when 16 people live together . . . . . (ahh, takes me back to my college days). One of the major "secrets" they have already revealed three episodes into the season, is that each player is "secretly" playing the game with another friend in the house. Everyone has a partner, but nobody knows. They think they are the only ones with the advantage.

Anyway, on with my thought... One of the "pairs" in the house is secretly dating. They have decided to, of course, keep their relationship a secret and play the game as individuals. When they can, they shoot hidden signals across the room or whisper a quick "I love you." when no one else is in the room. However, for the most part, they are just ignoring each other, for sake of the game. They walk past each other with no more than a passing glance, or one of them may leave the room if the other one enters. The couple shared a little bit last night with the viewing audience (my wife and I included) concerning the struggle it has been keeping their relationship a secret. The expressed how unnatural it was. And I started thinking....that's right. I started thinking.

Am I playing Big Brother in my own life? Not necessarily with a just a friend or even with my wife, but with an even more important relationship--my relationship with my Savior, Jesus Christ. How often do I go through my day and coldly pass Him by. Do I communicate my affection only in moments of convenience? Am I causing the decay of our relationship, just for the sake of this “game” called LIFE? What am I doing? What are we doing as a Christian culture? Here we are stuck in a “house” with billions of housemates, and we are scared to let on who our “Teammate” is because it may hurt our “game.” We may be “evicted” by society. Luckily, our God is above this. He permeates the “house.” He goes from housemate to housemate, “Want to know my ‘secret?’” As we overlook Him, He patiently waits and longs for some form of acknowledgement from us.

I wonder if after Big Brother is over, will the “secret” couple think it was worth it? Will the time of avoidance and neglect be worth it? What will the relationship be like after the game is over? How deep will scars go?

I wonder what it will be like after our “game” is over. Hmmm?

Just a Bump on a Blog

I was talking with a friend today about blogs. And in the back of my mind, I began to think about how funny the "word" blog actually is. It's not a particularly eloquent word that deserves respect or reverence. Nor is it a word that leaves us in scientific amazement. It's just...well....BLOG!!! Two years ago, if you had asked almost anyone on the street what a blog was, they probably would have looked at you funny and said, "A what?!?!?!" And now here we are in 2005, and there are blogs about anything and everything....from the lastest tech gadget to the weirdest hairstyle...and now they even have blogs about blogs. Isn't it amazing how the world changes. There--there's my epiphony of the day. Enjoy.

Silver Screen Debut

My wife and I made our cinematic debut this past weekend. It was in an independent film directed by up-and-coming Director, Shayne Pulley. The title is still undecided: however, it still looks to be a fall blockbuster hit.

It portrays an off-the-wall grounds-keeper named Luther, who is slightly off kilter when it comes to things of a social nature. Danielle and I play the role of Picnicer #1 and Picnicer #2, both of which, I hear, are "key" roles.

It tooks months of preparation (or at least a couple of days) for us to adust to such different roles than what we were used to playing. We had to reach deep down inside and tap into personal experiences of picnics in the past. It was a matter of placing ourselves in another time and place and allowing those emotions to dictate our words and our action. The pinnacle of our experience came as I responded to Luther's "nice day?" inquiry. As I pondered why this stranger would dare interupt our picnic, I delivered a powerful, and yet sensitive, "It sure is."

The rest of the plot you will just have to wait to find out.