Dare to Dream

God called Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. to action.  I studied the man's life as an elementary and middle school student in quite a bit of detail - something about him fascinated me.  The idea that someone so resolutely and passionately believed in peaceful resolution to even the most serious conflict intrigued me.  As a figure of memory in American history, most people probably remember what he did for African American civil rights. One of the main reasons he accomplished so much in the time that he did relied on his faith.  I find it interesting that he managed to move the hearts of so many people, and did so without directly referencing God, yet also the entire time managed to do God's work.  He's the face of Civil Rights that I hope we remember today, as we face new and different struggles in our nation in terms of bigotry, hate crime, and discrimination.  His ministry was certainly one of love.  And, though Dr. King was certainly as human as they come, he proved to me that a Christian life can, indeed, be a life built for Good (with a capital G).

We have many reasons to be thankful for the life of Dr. King.  However, as Christians, one of the things we can be most thankful for is a wonderfully accurate depiction of a Christian man deeply rooted in his faith, wishing to bring Good to people all around him - black or otherwise.  We can turn to the Bible to better understand Jesus, His Disciples, His Works, and God's Word.  We can turn to people like Dr. King as an example of how to follow what the bible teaches us.

I pray for the future of this country, and that it can return to being one of the nations that others respect.  I hope that we can remember one of the most respected historical figures we know was also an extremely devout Christian.  I strongly believe that Faith alone can guide us out of some of the dark places we are heading as a nation.  However, as individuals and families, regardless of our nation, know that God is still in control, and still has a plan for the way everything is unfolding.

I have a dream too - that someday, once I'm called home, people just like Dr. King will be waiting there for me with a grand smile on their face.

Creativity

God made me into the kind of person that puts the left side of my brain to work quite frequently.  As a software engineer, I create solutions to business problems.  Software, though very technical and logical, has a creative element that many people overlook.  Most, if not all, of the software engineers I know dabble in some other kind of creative expression.  Many of them dabble in many forms of artistic expression.  I find myself not very different.

The great thing is, God created me to be creative.  And, in being creative, I understand just a little better what it means to be a creator.  Obviously, I don't have any idea the kinds of things The Creator is fully capable of.  But, I do understand that creativity lends to further creativity.  One person could write a story, and inspire a painter to paint a scene from the story.  Many movies are inspired by books, many books by paintings, paintings by music, and all kinds of other creative cross-references that logic itself can't dictate.  But, God understands all of these creative underpinnings.  After all, he created the universe to include creativity, which I think helps creative people understand Him.

Most recently, I've been undertaking the task of re-invoigorating my art skills.  God gave me at least a little bit of natural predisposition for artistic rendering (drawing, and more recently, painting) so I've been making it a point to sharpen those skills as time allows for it.  I've learned a couple of things as I start to draw and paint again.  First of all, God has an incredible eye for detail.  If I were going to create an image that contained all of the hairs on a human head, (without a camera) that'd take me a good long while.  And God did it 8 billion times.  Or, at least he made the rules that make it happen 8 billion times.  Second of all, God has great plans for his creations.  When I work on an artistic piece without anything planned, it usually turns out sloppy and otherwise a poor example of my skills.  If, however, I have a plan for a piece I work on, it turns out much better.

God planned His entire creation - which includes you and I.  He designed us, engineered us, and made us into the perfect representation of a unique soul.  God has great plans for us.  So, it's important for us to have great plans for ourselves, knowing that God will support them.  We just need to be sure that our plans aren't selfish, but instead glorify His will.

It Matters

The most important thing of all you can give of yourself is time.  Period.  I realize that you can help others with your money if you have lots of it (or even if not).  I realize you can help others with your non-monetary objects, if you have them to give.  However, God wants an open, loving, and interactive relationship with you, which most of all requires time.

I was reminded of this over the past weekend when I saw my sister.  She uses my child as a story for her peers, and will again once she finishes learning to be an elementary teacher.  Over the Thanksgiving holiday, my wife went to a party that the daycare threw to celebrate the day.  For the next couple of weeks, my child said "Mommy came. And <Friend's Name> Mommy Came."  My child, who hasn't left the toddler years - and is in fact still early in them - noticed when people were there with her.  Even a simple gesture like taking part in a party matters.  Lots.

When spending time with God, remember that your time with Him matters, too.  God loves you very much, and loves to hear from you and to see you grow into spiritual adulthood, just like we as parents like watching our children grow into adulthood.  Also remember this.  God is always present.  It's where the term omnipresent comes from.  No matter what you're doing, you can be excited that God is doing it with you, because He loves spending time with you.  My child loves knowing that nothing (except God) is more important in our lives.

Do you know that nothing is more important that Him?  I mean, really know it.  You may strive to make that true in your life, but is it?  I'm guilty of putting human interests before God interests much too often.  But, the great thing is, God loves seeing that too - and He'll help course correct us when we need it.  We'll come to self-realization about what's good and Godly, and what's not.  As we "grow up" he'll be right there with us the whole time, partying with each success we find, and holding our hand when we fall down and skin our spiritual knees.  I've got lots of scrapes and bruises that God needs to kiss to make them feel better.  And, in time, I know He will.

Gastroenteritis (Stomach Flu)

Just very recently, I got over a stomach bug that has been going around.  First of all, I want to thank God for this bug.  It wasn't the norovirus, which has also been going around, and takes a long time to get over.  I thank Him that I had a much more standard variety of Gastroenteritis, the gory details of which I'll simply leave to those of you who even want to imagine such a thing.

Even while miserably unable to move, in pain, and generally feeling icky (that's the technical term) God was teaching me a lesson about His love.  For, you see, no matter how terrible I got to feeling, I also got to feeling better.  In this case it really didn't even take very long, at least considering how bad it could have been... cough... norovirus... cough.

It taught me another lesson, as well.  Bugs like this are most easily transmitted due to more direct contact with people.  In the winter time, we spend more time indoors, so we spend more time in close physical proximity to others, and in turn in close proximity with communicable illnesses.  But, God wants us to spend time with people.  He wants His family to spend time together, get to know each other, and learn about each other in Faith.  Illness is simply a common setback, but certainly not one too big for God.  We should do our best to keep our hands clean, though - so that we don't get other people sick.

It's a fitting metaphor for evil or sin.  We should always do our best not to spread evil to others, even unknowingly, by committing sin (or, getting them sick).  We can get others sick by sharing our disease (our human nature to sin) so we need to do our best to keep our hands clean (washed in the blood of Jesus).

Thank God for lessons like this one.  And, thank God for healing my body so that I can reflect on it properly.

Remember, and Pray

Our nation experienced a great loss of life today, at the hands of evil.  However, the man who shot all of those people, while apparently misguided by the whispers and cries of Satan, there's no way that we can know what was in his heart.  He committed a heinous act, of this nobody disagrees.  However, the action of a man cannot, in any way, overshadow the work that God was doing in the moment, and will continue to do after.  I pray that the people directly affected find peace in their hearts, and find healing in Him.  I pray that the family of the shooter finds a way towards the peace of God, and I pray for the soul of the shooter.  For, the shooter lost his way, and Satan had a firm grasp on his soul.

God, please help these people find you in the moments that follow, for without you, surely we would all be lost.  Amen.

An Empty Freezer

My always-practical mother-in-law bought us a large chest freezer for Christmas this year.  I've wanted one for quite some time, so I'm glad that she did.  However, it struck me as a fitting metaphor for my relationship with God and Christ.  For, you see, right now the freezer is completely empty (my relationship isn't, I'll get to that in a minute).  It's turned on, waiting for frozen things to fill it, but for now, it's just a box full of cold air.

This is much like God's love for us. No, not cold and empty, though I could see how it might seem I was going in that direction.  No, his love is always available and waiting, ready for us to accept it as we become more like Christ.  As we fill our God-Freezer with love, the God-Freezer has more and more of its purpose fulfilled.  An empty freezer represents to me an empty relationship, or a complete lack of one, with God.  It has no real purpose, and it's impractical to keep it plugged in.  However, begin filling that freezer with food to preserve, and suddenly its purpose becomes obvious and very practical.  This is much like our lives in respect to God.  Empty of God, we wander without purpose.  Filled with God, and our purpose is obvious.  God is always plugged in, waiting for your heart and mind to fill His purpose.

One reason I think a freezer is a good metaphor, sometimes we take food out of the freezer to eat it. Taken as a metaphor, this is our sin.  Jesus died on the cross to give us the currency we need to buy more food to put back in the freezer.  For, all of the supermarkets of Grace were closed before Jesus died for us.  Now, all we have to do is truly desire forgiveness and seek it appropriately, and our God-freezers will be filled to the brim with nourishment again.  Surely, it won't always stay full, but we should always strive to keep it as filled as possible.

My own personal God-freezer isn't likely full right now.  I hope it's pretty close to full, but I'm also human, so I know I'm selfish, easily distracted, and otherwise not someone that's an obvious choice for elevation to saint-hood.  Even people like Mother Theresa probably had times where their God-freezer wasn't full, but I imagine hers was close to full much more often than mine tends to be.

I pray that God will help me find my way to filling up my freezer (the metaphorical one, not the literal one) and into his Kingdom.  It seems fitting, after all, since winter has arrived around here (mostly). Amen.

Responsible Grandchild

Me with Grandpa and Grandma

I have the privilege to have a living grandfather.  While a "young" member of the greatest generation, I think he still qualifies as a member of such.  I respect and revere the man, and love every chance I get to spend time with him.  He has a wonderful clean sense of humor.  He always has a story to tell that lightens the heart.  And he always seems to be smiling, no matter what.

My sister started writing letters (yes, snail mail) to him a while ago, and has told me a little about the content of said letters.  It's inspired me to start doing the same thing.  For, while he's still young at heart, he has a great-grandchild (my child) so he is not physically young.  The time will come much too soon for my mortal heart that God will call him home.  I'm sure he will go willingly, for God called his wife home many years ago, and to this day still speaks of her with more love and fondness than I've seen in some living marriages.

I don't know what will come of our letter conversations.  I expect I'll learn some things about my family that will excite me and surprise me.  I'm sure I'll learn some of the more personal stories of American history.  But, most of all, I'll learn as an adult the kind of man that I can grow into being someday.  While he's far from perfect (just ask his children) he certainly gives me something to aspire to in terms of my character.

Pray for me as I embark on this journey.  I have no idea what to write to him, honestly, because I've only ever known him as Grandpa, and never really thought of him in grown up terms until recently.  I'm sure the pen-pal relationship will be a great one, as I'm sure God brought the idea to me in the first place.