Getting Away

Each year, my family and I take two weeks in August to unplug and unwind. Once upon a time, I couldn’t imagine staying away for two whole weeks. But I was a lot younger then, had no children, and carried significantly fewer responsibilities in ministry. Now, it takes two weeks for me to really relax. For us, it is a critical time to prepare ourselves physically and mentally for the grind of a new season of ministry and activities. Here’s the rundown of what we did while away:

• Skyline Drive. We hiked a bit, but mostly, we drove slowly along, stopping at each observation area to marvel at the wonders of God’s creation. There’s nothing quite like eating a picnic lunch with your family with the Shenandoah Valley as your restaurant.
• Monticello. This was an unexpected surprise. We planned to spend the day with some friends in Staunton, VA. I know Monticello isn’t in Staunton, but this was their suggestion, so we went. And I’m so glad we did. What an amazing place!
• Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library. I challenged my sons to figure out what they have in common with President Wilson. It took them a while, but once they discovered the connection, it made the visit even more special.
• Grand Caverns. The boys had never been in a cave before. They loved it. And I loved watching the amazement on their faces.
• Bethany Beach. After a week on the road, it was time to just sit and relax. And that’s exactly what Bethany Beach is best for. Coffee every morning on my beach chair, just inches from the surf. Jumping waves. Plus time to read “Undaunted Courage”. Throw in some great seafood and time away from everything, and you have the perfect week.

I’m grateful to serve God within a congregation that not only gives me this time, but also encourages me to take it. I’m grateful for in-laws who make the week at the beach possible. But mostly, I’m grateful for Janet and our sons…such amazing gifts from God!

What Recession?

Economists tell us that we are in the midst of a recession. But consider this…

Each year, I work with my son at the Boy Scouts pizza booth at the Shippensburg Community Fair. It’s a great way for him to earn money towards Scout activities. It’s a great way for him to learn to work hard. It’s a great way for us to spend some time together.

Yesterday, we worked the 4:00 – 7:30 pm shift. Things started pretty slowly, but for the last 2 hours, we were selling pizza as fast as we could make it. In that time, we went through at least 200 slices… at $2/slice… for frozen pizzas warmed in an oven. In fact, we had people waiting in line for the opportunity to buy it.

After our shift, I headed to the barns to see some livestock that a friend was showing. The FFA sale had just concluded and I was sharing the story of our shift, when her father asked a simple, but profound question…

What recession?

The Walk 7.28.10

My reading took me to Isaiah 53 today, an amazingly precise prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion. Every time I read it, I wonder how anybody could have missed seeing who Jesus was. But then I remind myself that I have the opportunity to see things from the perspective of history.

It’s easy to see things after they happen. Monday morning quarterbacks operate at 100% accuracy. But when you are in the midst of things, connections are not nearly as obvious. And that gets me to thinking.

What am I missing? What things are happening around me that I can’t see? What don’t I want to see? What do I choose not to see? Is God doing things around me that 15 years from now will be so obvious that I won’t believe I missed it?

Lord, open my eyes!

Sunday Rewind 7.25.10

Our Road Trip through Exodus brings us to a pretty ugly story (Exodus 16:1-15).

We’re about a month into the journey. So far, God has miraculously released His people from bondage in Egypt, given them the riches of Egypt, guided them through the desert, and delivered from the pursuing army. But that was yesterday. Now, they’re a community of grumbling, ungrateful, selfish people whose faith only goes as far as what God has done for them lately.

It’s a story that points us to an amazing truth: God is gracious, even when His people aren’t.

The manna and quail are God’s gracious response to an ungrateful and even rebellious people. But before we shake our finger at the Israelites, let’s take a look at ourselves. The hard truth is that God’s people can incredibly ungracious.

Like Israel, we grumble about almost anything that isn’t exactly what we want. Like Israel, we take our frustration with God out on each other. Like Israel, we quickly forget about God’s provision. God’s people can be incredibly ungracious…with each other…with pre-Christians…with God himself. But we don’t have to be that way.

Instead of grumbling, we can choose to invest the resources God has given us. Instead of lashing out at each other, we can be real with God. Instead of focusing on what we don’t have, we can choose to remember what God has done.

Remember… God has not given us what we deserve and has given us what we don’t deserve. He has set us free from bondage to sin and death and set us on a road trip towards holiness and life. God is still on His throne. The Bible is still true. Heaven is still our home. Now, what is it I was complaining about?

Because God is gracious with us, we can choose to be gracious, even when others aren’t.

The Walk 7.21.10

One of the reasons I began blogging was to create an accountability tool for myself in the area of my devotional life. Since I’m back to blogging, I’m back to the weekly posting on my journey with Christ.

For the past several months, I’ve been using a Bible reading plan developed by Wayne Cordiero designed to take you through the OT once and the NT twice each year. I’ve really been enjoying it. I can access it almost anywhere through my iPod Touch, thanks to the good folks at LifeChurch.tv. What have I been learning?

Well, mostly that, no matter how easy the tools are to access and use, it still takes an intentional choice to spend alone with God. The variety of excuses that present themselves seem endless. But it all comes down to one thing: What is most important?

I can usually find time to roast coffee, read the blogs I follow, record my calorie intake, catch up on Facebook and watch TV. So it’s difficult to say, “I don’t have time”. But the only other option is, “I’m more important than You right now, God”.

I guess it’s time to stop writing this post and go get alone with God…

Is Everything Perfect?

Seth Godin posted the following on his blog earlier this week.

Greetings have traditionally been an acknowledgment of the other person. “I see you.” “Hello.” “Greetings.”

Then, we moved on to, “how are you?” or even, “how’s business?”

Recently, though, our performance-obsessed, live-forever society has morphed the greeting into something like, “please list everything going on in your life that isn’t as perfect as it should be.”

In a business setting, this causes bad prioritization decisions. The owner of the bar says to the manager, “how was the night?” and the response is, “the cash register came up $8 short.” Suddenly, there’s an urgent problem to be solved. How to replace the eight dollars and who do we fire?

If the question instead had been, “what’s up?” (as in literally up) the answer might have been, “well, there’s a big party at table 12, another going away party. They’ve been buying champagne all night. And Mary told me she set a new record for tips. And the new beer we added on tap is…”

Highlighting what’s working helps you make that happen more often.

Perfect is overrated. Perfect doesn’t scale, either.

I’m not proposing you endorse theft or ignore the bad news. But it’s clear that one more going away party on table 12 is going to make up for that one piece of bad news, every time.

Workin’ Out

When I started going to the gym a few years ago, I set a goal for myself. I want to do one unassisted pull-up before I die. Yesterday, I took another step closer to that goal.

The gym I use has a machine that allows you to do pull-ups and dips with up to 180 pounds of assistance. Yesterday I was able to do one pull-up with only 70 lbs. of help.

The impossible dream is beginning to seem possible! BTW, my current weight is 284 (down from 326), I’m comfortably into size 46 pants (down from 50), and I’m beginning to fit into 2X shirts again.

Sunday Rewind 7.18.10

Over the course of the summer, we’ve been taking a road trip together through the book of Exodus. So far, we’ve seen some pretty amazing sights and learned some important lessons:

• In the story of God preserving Moses’ life as a child, we learned that God is not absent, even when He is silent.
• At the burning bush, we discovered that our yesterdays do not limit God’s tomorrows.
• Through the Passover, we were reminded that our God has set His people free.

This week, we came to Exodus 14:19-31, where we found Israel in a tough spot. In front of them was a sea, behind the was the full military power of Egypt. They couldn’t go forward, they couldn’t go back. They couldn’t stay where they were. Their story reminds us that sometimes, we find ourselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.

Sometimes, we end up in difficult situations as the consequence of choices. Sometimes, it’s the result of the normal challenges of life. But this passage raises an uncomfortable issue. Sometimes God Himself puts us between a rock and a hard place. Think about it.

Who led the Israelites to the shores of the sea? God did. Who instigated the Egyptians to pursue? God did. God put the Israelites in the crucible of crisis. Why? So that the people would be absolutely convinced that God would provide, no matter how bad the circumstances seem to be.

Friends, faith is not formed when things are going well. Being completely convinced that God will provide only happens when you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place… when there’s no way out… when the only place to look is up.

Do you find yourself stuck between a rock and a hard place today? It really doesn’t matter how you got there… through the consequences of your past… through the ordinary challenges of life… or through the direct hand of God… look up. God will provide.

I don’t know how. I don’t know when. I don’t know what it’s going to look like for you. But I know that there is no sea you face that is greater than God’s ability to part. I know that there is no threat pursing you that is greater than God’s ability to thwart. I know that you may have to trust Him to take some pretty courageous steps. And I know that when God has taken you through, your faith will be stronger than ever before.

PeaJay’s Place 2.0

Several months ago, I stopped blogging because my posts were no longer being automatically exported to my Facebook profile. Since then, I’ve learned that by switching to WordPress, not only are my posts exported seamlessly, I can update the blog on my mobile device.

So, PeaJay’s Place is BACK! It feels good to be back in the saddle again.