Take Hold While You Can......

Most of us wander a bit through life and are incapable of being focused 100% of the time. Having said that I am more concerned about what our life is centered around most of the time. In America we are on a determined pace to possess those things that make our life style. This is not a bad thing because within the work ethic we can often learn character and discipline. In that respect, our talents and abilities can be rewarded and I see that is a God-given pleasure of life.

There is an end to this however and most of us never fully recognize this until they reach the end of their life. There have been oodles of big time executives that have made themselves millions and then asked themselves, is this all there is? I have been able to grab hold of some things lately that escaped my grasp while raising my family. It's almost a return to childhood innocence. It's the kind of feeling that makes you want to embrace all of life and enjoy some of the little things again. It was so hard to do this when I was just trying to survive by working hard, helping kids through college and paying for Weddings.

We've all been asked that heart piercing question, If you had to do it all over again, would you change anything? There are numerous things that I would change and a number that I hold dear and wouldn't change at all. My word of encouragement to all who read this is to take hold of life while you can. In other words, life is a journey and if you don't see the journey then you will be disappointed when you arrive at the end of your time on earth. If you see your life as a continuum of things to come then you will view life here as Part I that prepares us for our life in Part II. Whether we understand it or not we are part of a master plan that fits into all eternity. We each have a chance to realize the implications of life here on earth and what it's all about. Rick Warren masterfully addresses this in "Purpose Driven Life".

If you knew that you were part of God's master plan, I'm sure that you would live life differently. Well guess what? We are a part. It's our decision on how we respond. It's not a religious thing. It's not about attending religious events and seminars. It's receiving Him into your life and living in His presence. Take hold of that while you can. It's a life full of joy and sacrificial love. It allows us to free ourselves from religious encumbrance to love the world around us as He does.

That is a beautiful Thing! Let there be Spring!

(God said, "Let there be light" and it worked, I thought I would take a shot at it)

Marty And Pat

Our Vineyard was becoming a small family of believers. One of the pleasant surprises was the coming of two ladies that were the best of friends. Both of these ladies had daughters that attended high school with my oldest son, Aaron. Marty and Pat would come and sit in on our band practices because they wanted to come and worship to the songs we were rehearsing at band practice. They just loved to worship. Neither of these ladies ever attended a non-denominational church of any kind. In fact, they went to the Catholic church in a neighboring town. Marty and Pat gave us much of their time considering that they couldn't convince their husbands to come and visit our little Vineyard while at the same time they both were still attending their Catholic church.

They soon starting singing in the band. Pat would come on Sunday mornings to make coffee and bring doughnuts. Marty had a party at her home for the seniors graduating from my son's high school. She invited me over to do a sing along and pray for them. It was a nice summer evening and a nice gesture on her part for the departing senior class.

I look back at these two ladies as an encouragement and inspiration to our Vineyard. They were able to participate in genuine worship. I can still remember them closing their eyes and raising their hands toward heaven as they sang from their heart words of praise and worship. It was obvious that they had not been able to freely worship before they came to our Vineyard. For them, they were moving into something new and exciting. It was gratifying to see them enjoying worship especially when I knew that we were the first to give them that opportunity.

These gals came to us because of a natural relationship that I had with them because our kids went to school together. I invited them both to our Vineyard while at a high school football game never thinking that they would come. It was such a wonderful experience to see this happening because we were just getting started.

In hindsight, Marty and Pat are a constant reminder on how powerful music and worship can be to the hearts of those drawn to the Lord. True worshippers are not looking to be entertained. They are looking for a music that can bring them into His presence so that they can forget the world and all the problems of this life. There is something mystical about music. Marty and Pat saw it as their pathway to the presence of God. it was a beautiful thing for sure.

Next up,

Art and the Laundry Mat

Seeing God in The Steeler win.......

I was parked in front of Shop'n Save Monday morning listening to a talk show host on KDKA radio talking about the relationship that a football team has with the Pittsburgh community. The talk show host had a completely different spin on that relationship and why it exists.

He said the fans attach themselves to the Steeler team because the attributes that make the team successful are the same attributes that the fans aspire to. The fan sees sacrifice, love, dedication, brotherhood and teamwork. They see the pain and agony that it takes achieve such monumental success and in the end when the success comes they are attached to it because that's what they want to have and that's what they want to identify with. They call it Steeler nation. 350,000 fans from all over the country came to Pittsburgh on Tuesday for a parade to celebrate the Steeler victory.

Why does this happen? I've heard people over the years say something like, "why can't people get excited about Jesus the same way?" Inherent in that question is an obvious criticism of Christianity and the church. Now that I have lived a few years I consider that kind of condescending statement as one that misses the point.

I am seeing God more in life than ever before and because of that I can appreciate the little things more. All of those attributes that I mentioned above are the attributes of Jesus. People identify with those attributes when presented in real life and in a non-religious setting. I am not recommending that we all stop going to church and watch football but what I am saying is that if we open our eyes that we might see the real reason why all of this happens to a community like Pittsburgh. God has made man to achieve, to sacrifice, and to love. He has called us to loyalty and faithfulness. When I see people celebrating victory it warms my heart. It's exhilarating and all of those feelings and desires were to given to us by our loving creator. He must have wanted us to have them. And so to the Glory of God, behold the Lord when victory comes in any endeavor in life and thank Him for such a gratifying feeling. When I see God in life I can rejoice with any one's success because that was part of His master plan to edify us and give us hope.

So, Here We Go Steelers! Here We Go!