choose your legacy

Consider -

as a growing number of kids are engaged in extracurriculars and sports, a growing number of parents choose extracurriculars and sports over spiritual investments (even seeing church as an extracurricular). We can argue with that... defend it... critique it... but the data is what the data is.

Choose your legacy.
Invest into what's eternal.
Follow Jesus.

"These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you.

Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates." (Deut 6:1-9)

God created

They're familiar words.

"In the beginning, God..."

These words are so familiar, in fact, that we may overlook how they make all the words that follow that much more special.

What if the Creation part of God's Story is less about what happened and more about why it happened?

Might it have been incredibly fun for Him, like a parent preparing a baby's nursery even before the baby was born?

Imagine every cloud and star as part of the mobile above the crib...

every droplet of water as a vaporizer for the room...

every color in the sky as paint on the walls...

every blade of grass as the fuzzy blanket the child would find textured comfort in.

How much joy did He have putting it all together, and what does that tell you about Him?

And what does that tell you about you?

And what does that tell you about Him and you, and His love for you?

tomorrow's going to be a great day

I literally just put my ten-year old son to bed. 

He's turning eleven tomorrow, but doesn't know anything about how we're going to celebrate. Still, for some odd reason, he offered these words:

"You know what I think? Tomorrow's going to be a great day."

I paused, then replied, "I think so, too."

Between the two of us, I'm the only one who knows what will be happening. As his father, I'm not only privy to the details but will be resourcing its goodness.

What he has is an open trust... a faith, if you will. He's taken what he does know - the character of his father and family - and let that feed into the unknown of however the day will play out. He went to bed content with his nightlight, oozing childlike faith and the unlit mystery front of him.

I wanted to share that with you.

I don't know what your thought is on the "tomorrow" in front of you. Maybe it's positive, or maybe it's negative. To borrow a concept from my message at Connection Church this past Sunday, "It doesn't matter if the glass is half-empty or half-full. Be thankful that you have a glass and grateful that there's something in it."

I likewise don't know who will be reading this. Still, I'm writing it and generally praying for you as I do.

Your Father and His family care about your "tomorrow" and your "today." Jesus did warn us that we will face trouble in this world, but He also promised that He'd be with us and within us each day. Hug your Father tonight (or whenever you read this) and give Him some trust... a faith, if you will.

As your Father, He's not only privy to the details but will be resourcing its goodness. 

You know what I think? Tomorrow's going to be a great day.

"Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it.” (Luke 18:17)

P.S. I hear rumors in the cyber-world about "Giving Tuesday." Someone out there thought up the idea that since everyone spent the past several days shopping for stuff, "Why not make the Tuesday that follows a time of supporting your favorite charitable cause beyond the norm?"

A global celebration of a new tradition of generosity. You don't need to just do it on Tuesday either.

If you're looking for something to support, I can think of an amazing movement called "Connection Church" where we care about the lives and eternities of people locally and globally. We're making a real difference, but there are real financial gaps that can really hold us back. You'll find a link directly below if that's on your radar. The investment we're making together lasts way longer than an iThing, new toy or winter coat.

Thank you in advance!

kiddos and Christianity

Raising kids isn't easy, especially if you're a Christian. Sometimes it's even harder.

What's perhaps the greatest challenge is your ability to raise your kids to have their own relationships with God is greatly influenced by the connection you have with Him yourself. If you're playing games with this or presuming that checking into church for major holidays is enough, then it's time to recognize you're sending a hypocritical message out they'll one day call you out on.

On the other hand, maybe you're doing your best and are the real deal. Even then the world will critique you for seeming conservative. Who cares? Its criticism or disagreement doesn't negate your freedom to instill the values that matter most. The end goal is to provide your children with the tools they need to have their own walk with God.

One approach is to use a combination of the Ten Commandments as a template to develop your own family values.

• Respect God: The first three of the Ten Commandments deal with respect for God and what it means to put him first in all things. This might inspire rules for your home including starting your day in prayer together as a family or filtering major decisions through biblical values before making them. Fold this into your entertainment, too - maybe it's time to ditch television shows that regularly take God's name in vain or listen music that has a great beat but is full of lyrics that contradict Godly virtues.
  
  
• Keep the Sabbath Holy: The Sabbath is more about restoration than rest. Many Christian families interpret this to mean they should participate in church-related activities at every opportunity, including Sunday school, a morning service and an evening gathering. Other households take it a step further and refrain from certain activities such as shopping or eating out on the Sabbath. Whatever your values end up being, it's not to put a check-mark in your week but to engage in something truly relational and holy with God. Take the day off and power down your cellphone so you can better spend time with His people and restore them back to Him.
  
  
• Honor One Another: The Bible mentions that children are to honor their parents, but also that mothers and fathers need to honor their children as they parent. This doesn't diminish the authority you exercise over your kids; however, you need to demonstrate that authority in the context of grace, love and respect. If taken to an extreme, children might feel as though they don't have the freedom to share their thoughts and feelings.
  
  More realistic values might include not permitting your children to yell, hit, kick or insult one another. You might also require that when speaking to you and their other parent, your children immediately respond with "Yes sir" or "Yes ma'am." These simple rules may seem conservative, but they'll do just that - conserve what it means to help everyone feel more respected.
  
  
• Love People and Use Things: Another three of the Ten Commandments deal with wanting things that don't belong to you, be it vengeance or an object. Simply expressed, we're to love people and use things instead of loving things and using people. To instill this in your children, make it a rule that if anyone in your home wants to use something that belongs to someone else, he must honor that person asking for permission first. Likewise, help them to see that the friendships in their lives need to be less about getting what we want from people and more about being good friends to them.
  
  
• Speak the Truth: Do whatever you can to avoid lying - it creates a home of people who can't trust each other. Jesus taught that our "Yes" should mean yes and our "No" should mean no. That can't happen in your household unless everyone agrees that you will gracefully speak truth to each other, even if it's difficult. Make it clear to your children that no one is allowed to lie -- and that includes you. Even when it's to avoid something uncomfortable, such as expecting another person to say that someone isn't home (in order for that person to dodge a call). 

One last thought... sometimes people say the only real way to help kids learn about God is to tell them nothing. What's ironic is the same people teach their kids the Alphabet, help them with math, and work on their Social Studies report on George Washington. The value to sharing spiritual values is the same - offer your kids a direction based on your best understanding of truth, and give them space to wrestle with it as the years go by.

Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and on your city gates. (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, The Message)