Housekeeping

Early in our married life my wife and I were terrible slobs (thankfully that is no longer the case.) We didn't really have the discipline to keep a tidy house and allowed our schedules (and laziness) to keep us from cleanliness. Eventually we would reach a mutual point of disgust (and lack of clean dishes) that would force us to stop pretending things were clean. We could no longer hide piles of newspapers under the couch or dirty clothes behind a closed laundry room door. Things had to be dealt with or the situation was never going to get any better.

I think we can do the same thing with the spiritual health of our life. We don't have the proper habits to keep things in order so they slide into disarray. While we might be uneasy about the state of things, we also realize we can hide it for a while if we're careful. Eventually, the mess will become more noticeable in our relationships, our attitude, and our overall health and we'll be forced to do something about it.

I don't want to pretend that spiritual health is supposed to be neat and orderly. In fact, I think it's the exact opposite. An authentic spiritual journey has rough edges, is far from perfect, and doesn't always flow smoothly according to everybody's expectations. The key to keeping things moving forward is to be free to call it for what it is as we keep working on it. Pretending that things are neat and clean because we are hiding the truth doesn't benefit anyone. Be willing to admit we are all messy while pursuing God's best in our lives. That's the quality of a genuine life headed in the right direction.

Work the System

Last week at middle school camp I had a plan for running before the campers got up. There were two fellow runners on our camp staff and we all agreed to meet at 5:30 am to run 5-6 miles together. As I was walking back to my cabin the night before we were supposed to run, I told my friend that I might not have committed to it without my running partners.

I was in the middle of stretching the next morning shortly after 5 am when the first text message came in letting me know one of our running group wasn't going to make it. I kept stretching after sending a quick response, but only had to wait a few minutes before my other partner bowed out. At this point I could have changed clothes and put the run off for another day, but I was already committed to the process of getting ready. Having already taken a few steps in the right direction gave me the impetus to follow through.

I like to go with the flow of things, but sometimes having a process of steps also helps to keep me focused. Having some idea of what I should be doing and the order I should do it in can give me the motivation to keep moving forward when I might falter. Sticking with some routines of preparation and planning create an opportunity to develop discipline and to keep doing the right things.

Camp Memories

We wrapped up another week of middle school camp this past Friday with 132 campers and 27 staff members. While this was one of my most stressful years leading into camp, it ended up delivering many things I am grateful for:

• Quality time setting up for camp with a guy I've been able to invest in over several years
• Running pre-dawn miles that gave me time to meditate and focus
• Watching a team of volunteers come together around a common purpose
• Seeing the positive transformation in a group of middle schoolers over four days from being disengaged in worship to active participation
• Being goofy enough to make a fool of yourself to get campers & staff to laugh
• Witnessing two college teams (8 people) make an incredible impact on campers with their willingness to engage in activities, dance & sing, and have serious conversations when needed
• Having tough talks with a few campers and watching them make better decisions as a result
• A heartfelt, tearful hug and a "thank you" from a 7th grade boy after a message on grace
• Getting to see eight baptisms take place in the camp pool--one girl being baptized by her father who was also baptized at camp
• A goodbye hug and thanks from a sweet hearing-impaired camper who was a complete joy all week long
• A week that already has me looking forward to next year

Not This Way

When I was in college a group of us decided to take a late night road trip to Jacksonville just to get out of town. We ended up at a Denny's for a post-midnight breakfast before heading home. When I left the restaurant in our car I quickly discovered that Jacksonville is a circuit of one-way streets. Unfortunately, I had started out in the wrong direction before realizing it and ended up driving the wrong way. There was some momentary panic as I saw other cars advancing on me and realized that I was the one driving in the wrong direction. Fortunately, we were able to get turned around before anyone got hurt and figured out how to get moving in the right direction.

It's also easy to get turned around in our life decisions and head in the wrong direction. If we aren't paying attention to the warning signs, we can stay on that track longer than we should and end up hurting ourselves and others. Knowing which direction we want to move, setting up boundaries to keep us from going off course, and enlisting reliable people to help us can help prevent long-term movement down the wrong path.

Not Alone

Waiting for an answer to prayer that never seems to arrive can be frustrating. It leads to feelings of isolation and even beginning to question where God is in our struggles. We might think no one understands exactly what we are dealing with and that we are left to our own strength to make it through. When we falsely believe no one is there for us, it becomes increasingly harder to stand strong in adversity.

I think we might be able to persevere if we could be confident that we are not alone. Knowing we don't have to bear the burden of life's consequences by ourselves can be the small ray of light we need to keep moving forward. This can be found in genuine human relationships, but most importantly in the promises of Christ to always be present for us in good and tough times. There is tremendous power and comfort in believing three simple words, "I Am Here."

Enjoying the Comfort

We have owned this couch for several years now. It isn't one we purchased, but was a hand-me-down gift from friends as they were moving. My wife recovered it and we bought new pillows for it, but it's definitely an old couch. I suppose we could buy a new one, but this one is still comfortable and it doesn't cost me anything to keep. If we were to buy a new couch we would have to shop around for a good bargain, find something we could agree on, and decide if it fits in our house. It's just easier to keep the old one since I already know what I've got and there is no risk involved.

What might seem like solid logic for furniture isn't necessarily the best guide for other decisions in my life. Always staying with something comfortable and familiar doesn't open up new opportunities and pathways of influence. Even though there is very little risk in sticking with old patterns and methods, there also isn't a great opportunity for growth. The truth is we won't discover if something fits us until we give it a shot. We might find the newness is more comfortable than we thought possible once we risk the opportunity in front of us.

Tough Audience

I’ve spoken to a wide variety of audiences in the past twenty plus years. The size of the group has varied from just a few to over a thousand and the setting has been just as different. In recent years it has been mostly adults, but there have been a large number of youth as well. There have been classroom settings, church congregations, youth groups, middle school camps, wedding and funeral attendees, conferences, and devotional thoughts. While I was always invited to speak (in one way or another) that doesn’t mean I was always well received. Some were eagerly open to what I had to say, some maintained tolerance (with a dash of indifference), and others were openly hostile, although that was rare. The receptivity of the crowd and the circumstances surrounding our communication would determine how tough the audience was.

If I was asked to identify the toughest audience I ever had to speak to, it wouldn’t be a difficult question to answer. It wouldn’t be a youth group or a disgruntled group of adults resistant to a message of change. The truth is that the toughest audience I’ve ever had to speak to is me. I know me far too well, think too cynically at times, and don’t always believe the positive things I tell myself. Even when I know what I have to say is good for me, I don’t always take it as well as I should.

A good speaker finds a way to connect with their listeners even through their resistance. You change your approach, use humor to loosen them up, and feel the tone of the room to discover if you’re making an impact. It’s interesting how changing things up is the best way for me to learn to listen to my own voice of reason.