How Are You Self-Medicating?

I was talking with a man the other day and he was explaining to me how many projects he had, and that were vying for his attention. They all were equally important, each with the people in charge wanting their project to be first on his list. Needless to say this man was slightly stressed out. As I usually do when I run into people that are being pulled like this, I tried to encourage him and said, "Be sure and go have a cup of coffee and just sit down for a while." His response to me was, "I'll have a cup of coffee, but I want something a little stronger in it too!"

As I left the conversation, I began to think about what he had said and the thought occurred to me that he meant that he needed a little stronger help in order to alleviate the stress in his life. How many of us do that too? I mean look for something to help us get past the grief, stress and troubles that face each and every one of us daily? Now maybe you don't reach for a bottle of alcohol to drown your sorrows, but what is it that you go to when things are tough in your life?

In the world that we live in, especially in the last ten to fifteen years, we have been inundated with commercials about the latest and greatest drugs on the market, each with about a thousand side effects. The one that makes me laugh out loud about is the drug to help with depression, which one of the side effects is that you may have suicidal thoughts. Really? A drug to make you happy, but just might cause you to kill yourself? Isn't that just a little bit ironic don't you think? Along with this, and the myriad of medical websites found on the internet is it any wonder that we as a society is a mess in this area?

Now before you say to me that you are not like this, what do you do when the daily grind begins to get to you? I know for me, it has always been to pop in a DVD or blue-ray disc and "veg out". Years ago, before being delivered as an alcoholic by Jesus, I would purchase a couple of cases of high point beer and spend the weekend in my apartment just drinking my troubles away. The thing is, that everyone does this to some degree. Some people shop, others gossip or spend endless hours on Facebook (guilty as charged) or they have endless hobbies or put their children in every sporting event known to man to keep busy. Which causes all manner of endless stress, it's a vicious circle.

I remember reading a great book by John Eldredge called "Walking with God", which can be purchased on his website at this link: and I would highly recommend it. In the book he related a story about how he would come home from a hard day of work and pour himself a stiff drink to help him unwind. This became a habit for him, and one day the Lord asked him about it. It seems that for John the drink was what he was going to for relief instead of going to the Lord. And with this realization, he sat down the drinking and begin spending time with the Father after work instead.

And this is the real crux of the matter here. What is it that we go to in order to relieve whatever stressful situations that we find ourselves going through in this life? I know that for me, going to the Father seems to be the last thing I think of, and why is that exactly? Could it be that this is opposed because it is something that our enemy, the devil knows will help us and bring the peace that we are searching for? I think so.

Jesus told us in Scripture that we would be opposed by the world, and have tribulations, trials and tests. We should not be surprised when it happens, yet we so often seem to be caught off guard by it, and then we begin trying to find things to bring relief. Instead we should run to the Father when life gets tough, take our troubles to Him and lay them at His feet and find what we need. Remember Jesus said to take His yoke upon us because it is easy. I'm going to start doing this today, and stop self-medicating in my life. How about you?

Fatherhood As Told By Parking Spaces

I have been a father now for a little more than nineteen years, and in that time I have seen a lot of change in my life. One of those I came to realize only this evening as I strolled across my lawn towards my Dodge pickup to add oil to it. This is something of another story which I may tell at a later date. Tonight however I want to talk about the passage of time and my life as a father.

When my bride and I moved into the house we currently live in, she had just given birth to our first child, Micah. At that time, we parked both of our vehicles inside the comfort of a closed in garage, something of a first for both of us. This was very good given that neither of us had been parents before, and we did anything and everything to protect little Micah from the elements.

Years passed, and we added two more children; April followed a short time later by Noah. It was during these years that we started to accumulate various toys, bicycles and a sundry other things that come with children. Of course these things needed to be stored somewhere, so I began to park my truck outside of the garage, leaving a space for my bride and children to be comfy and cozy getting into our minivan, and again staying clear of the elements.

Understand me; I never minded scraping my windshield or facing the cold and rain to allow my family the comfort of just getting in the vehicle without having to face those things. It is what a husband/father is supposed to do, and chivalry is not dead, not as long as I breathe that is. But it wasn’t too long until we needed to do something about the sleeping arrangements in our house, mainly to keep two boys from hurting each other. So as Micah entered the teenage years, my bride (ever industrious as she is) built another bedroom in our garage. This is when no one parked in the garage. It was full of stuff gathered from almost twenty years of marriage and all the blessings our children had received from friends and family. So my bride joined me in parking outside of the garage.

This went on for many, many years until one day Micah turned sixteen. It wasn’t too long until I would come home from work to find his car parked in my space outside of the garage. More than once I would instruct him to park on the circle drive, and being the obedient son that he is, he would do so. But it wasn’t until my baby girl began to drive that I realized that for the next several years I would no longer be parking up close to the house, but it was my turn to move to the circle drive.

It was on that trek towards my truck tonight that I realized what it means to be a father, and that is to give of yourself so that your family can have it a little bit better. To be the one to take one for the team, to show your family that you do in fact love them. I’ve heard it said that people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care. I think it can safely be said also that your family doesn’t care how much you know, until they know how much you love, and love after all is the key isn’t it?

It’s an amazing thing to be a father, and with all this passage of time, I realize that it won’t be long until I reach another father stage, that of grandfather. (Although that one can wait a bit longer as neither of my kids is anywhere near ready to marry yet). Who knows where I’ll be parking by that time? But I do know this one thing, I will continue to give of myself to my family because they deserve that from me, and truthfully I’m glad to do it.

I Witnessed A Transformation Yesterday

I have a very dear friend who is a worship leader at my church. She has a beautiful voice, and when she first came to us from her home town I would try and encourage her to hold the microphone up closer to her mouth so we could hear her voice better. She was timid and shy about using her gift, and probably thought I was being mean to her each time I said something about it.

Mallory is also a good friend of my oldest son Micah, and when the two of them would sing together, there was something in my heart that would leap. I loved hearing the two of them harmonize and worship the Lord. Micah left this past January to go to Australia and attend college for a year at Hillsong. One thing I've noticed, is that when the two of them would sing together she would take cues from Micah so I wondered how this would affect Mallory.

Yesterday as we entered into worship, I was particularly drawn to watching her for some reason. As I sang praises to God, there was something in Mallory that I hadn't seen until then, and it was amazing. It was like a transformation of sorts. What I witnessed yesterday was the worshiper that God has placed inside of Mallory finally breaking forth. It was truly like she became a different person on the stage, different than that timid little girl I remember from so many years ago, into this amazing woman of God with a voice to match.

I know that she may in fact hate that I have written about her in my blog, but I witnessed a transformation yesterday that truthfully left me speechless and I had to write about it. I am so proud of the woman that you are becoming Mallory and if you didn't know how I felt then I hope that my blog has help you to see how truly amazed and proud of you I am.

What Sort Of Tale Have You Fallen Into?

There are two scenes from a movie and a book that I wanted you to see something from this morning. The first is the opening dialogue from the movie Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, and it is a wonderful movie. And the second is from The Lord of the Rings book, The Two Towers.

This is one of my favorite stories of all time, even though it begins in a basement. I'm going to tell it the way it was written by this guy - Bellini - who lives underneath the amazing, the remarkable...Mr. Magorum's Wonder Emporium. And, yes...he sleeps with a dolly.

Bellini's job is to build all the books for all the kids who come to the Emporium. But is also to chronicle the life of Mr. Magorium himslef. Mr. Magorium once made toys for Napoleon, beat Abraham Lincoln at hopscotch and holds the current record for time spent upside down.

There were those who called Magorium a genius. My mom called him an eccentric. And this one guy inexplicably called him"Steve." But Magorium's story was reaching its final chapters. That's okay, all stories, even the ones we love, must eventually come to an end, and when they do it's only an opportunity for another story to begin.

"I don't like anything here at all," said Frodo, "step or stone, breath or bone. Earth, air and water all seem accursed. But so our path is laid."

"Yes, that so, " said Sam. "And we shouldn't be here at all, if we'd known more about it before we started. But I suppose it's often that way. The brave things in the old tales and songs, Mr. Frodo: adventures, as I used to call them. I used to think that they were things the wonderful folk of the stories went out and looked for, because they wanted them, because they were exciting and life was a bit dull, a kind of a sport, as you might say. But that's not the way of it with the tales that really mattered, or the ones that say in the mind. Folk seem to have been just landed in them, usually - there paths were laid that was, as you put it. But I expect hey had lots of chances, like us, of turning back, only they didn't. And if they had, we shouldn't know, because they'd have been forgotten. We hear about those as just went on - and not all to a good end, mind you; at least not to what folk inside a story and not outside it call a good end. You know, coming home, and finding things all right, though not quite the same - like old Mr. Bible. But those aren't always the best tales to hear, though they may be the best tales to get landed in! I wonder what sort of a tale we've fallen into?"

"I wonder," siad Frodo. "But I don't know. And that's the way of a real tale. Take any one that you're fond of. You may know, or guess, what kind of a tale it is, happy-ending or sad-ending, but the people in it don't now. And you don't want them to."

"No, sir, of course not. Beren now, he never thought he was going to get that Silmaril from the Iron Crown in Thangorodrim, and yet he did, and that was a worse place and a blacker danger than ours. But that's a long tale, of course, and goes on past the happiness and into grief and beyond it - and the Silmaril went on a came to Earendil. And why, sir, I never thought of that before! We've got - you've got some of the light of it in that star-glass that the Lady gave you! Why, to think of it, we're in the same tale still! It's going on. Don't the great tales never end?"

"No, they never end as tales, " said Frodo. "But the people in them come, and go when their part's ended. Our part will end later - or sooner."

"And then we can have some rest and some sleep," said Sam. He laughed grimly. " And I mean just that, Mr. Frodo. I mean plain ordinary rest, and sleep, and waking up to a morning's work int eh garden. I'm afraid that's all I'm hoping for all the time. All the big important plans are not for my sort. Still, I wonder if we shall ever be put into songs or tales. We're in one, of course; but I mean: put into words, you know, told by the fireside, or read out of a great big book with red and black letters, years and years afterwards. And people will say: "Let's hear about Frodo and the Ring!" And they'll say: "yes, that's one of my favorite stories. Frodo was very brave, wasn't he dad?" "Yes, my boy, the famousest of the hobbits, and that's saying a lot."

"It's saying a lot too much, " said Frodo, and he laughed, a long clear laugh from his heart. Such a sound had not been heard in those places since Sauron came to Middle-earth. To Same suddenly it seemed as if all the stones were listening and the tall rocks leaning over them. But Frodo did not heed them; he laughed again. "Why, Sam," he said, "to hear you somehow makes me as merry as if the story was already written. But you've left out one of the chief characters: Samwise the stouthearted. "I want to hear more about Sam, dad. Why didn't they put in more of his talk, dad? That's what I like, it makes me laugh. And Frodo wouldn't have got far without Sam, would he, dad?"

"Now, Mr. Frodo," said Sam, "you shouldn't make fun. I was serious."

"So was I," said Frodo, "and so I am. We're going on a bit too fast. You and I, Sam, are still stuck in the worst places of the story, and it is all too likely that some will say at this point: "Shut the book now, dad; we don't want to read any more."

"Maybe," said Sam, "but I wouldn't be one to say that. Things done and over and made into part of the great tales are different. Why, even Gollum might be good in a tale, better than he is to have by you, anyway. And he used to like tales himself once, by his own account. I wonder if he thinks he's the hero or the villain?"

These two instances tell me that we are in a story that is being told, and has been being told for a very long time. And we don't really get to choose the story, or even the parts that we play in it. And whether or not we play our parts well all depends on how we interpret what is going on in our lives.

Do we look at life as a challenge to be overcome, or do we just slump our shoulders and succumb to the pressure of the story and give in? I like what Frodo says to Sam about the people in the story, how they don't know what is going to happen, and you don't want them to. Life is like that, you really never know what you are going to get do you? To borrow from John Eldredge's book Epic, you have to enter into the day to find out what your part is. Good or bad, that part is actually immaterial, it is how we participate in the story that determines the outcome.

Life is unpredictable. And for those of us who want to control our environment, that can be very frustrating. But I think that's why God set it up the way He did. Because truthfully the unpredictable life is the one that is an adventure to be lived. Knowing the outcome of every moment of every day would eventually become boring, and people do not want boredom.

I watched the behind the scenes portion of a DVD one time and the actors told how they only received the part of the script that they would be acting the next day, and only their part in the scripts too. That's kind of how things are in the Kingdom of God, you get up each day, pray and seek the Father for what your part is going to be to play for that day. This is why Jesus taught us to pray, "Give us this day, our daily bread." Not, "Give us this day our allotted bread for the month." It's all a part of God wanting desperately to be in our lives and share them with us.

So what sort of tale have you fallen into? Mine is a great one, one that has been being told for all eternity, and is still being written new each and every day. Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Who's A Sinner?

I fell into sin yesterday, and I was wondering this morning about that and how it's the little things that trip us up. You know the sins that don't really seem like much, but end up hurting our relationship with the Father. Jesus told us that if our eye offends us we should pluck it out, well that seems a little extreme doesn't it? Yet there it is, a command from our Lord. So what are we to do with that?

One thing that I've come to realize in Christianity is that we as a people group try to rate our sins or categorize them into various degrees of evil. Murder is at the worst end of the spectrum, while gossiping may end up on the "little sin" end of the scale. One of the things that I find really funny, is the fat Christian who points his finger at the person who drinks or smokes and condemns them as one of those really big sinners. The truth is, gluttony is just as much a sin as what they are pointing out, but lets don't talk about that, after all a person's gotta eat, right? And don't you know that we are told to fellowship with other believers, and we do that around meals. Yeah I know, just next time skip the third helping and two deserts, how about that? (And I've been guilty of this so don't stone me).

There are no degrees of sin with God period. Sin causes separation from God. It breaks the fellowship that we have with Him, and that is why it is bad. Regardless of what sin you commit, this will hinder you in your relationship with the Father. This is why He hates sin, not because He has this big list of do's and dont's, but because He knows that when we sin it keeps His best from getting to us, and He is all about doing good for us. Remember, "For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord, to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11"

And that is the point really, the relationship I have between me and God. So when I sin, and we all do, this barrier raises up which keeps me from receiving God's best for my life, and the devil knows this. He works very hard to trip us up in this area. Now before you come to the conclusion that we are just pawns in some big cosmic chess game, I'm not saying that the devil can "make" us sin. What he does is plant thoughts in our little pea brains to see if we will act on them. Take a look at James 1:14 - 15 in the Amplified Bible:

"But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions). Then the evil desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is fully matured, brings forth death."

"Baited by his own lust and passions". Hmm, now this is interesting, we are not driven along by the devil and his minions with pitchforks prodding us to do wrong. No, it is the lust and passions within us that cause us to sin. So, while the enemy has a part to play, we can no longer just blame him for our short comings can we? I think not. You know the bait covers up a hook, and it is the hook that causes the problem, for it snares us and brings the destruction of our fellowship with God.

So what are we to do then? If it is our lust and passions that trip us up then we need to learn to control those things. But how do I do that Dave? I'm glad you asked. You have to have a working knowledge of God's Word. We can no longer take a casual approach to the Bible and it's teachings, to do so allows sin to have it's way with us. We must master those things that would try and trip us up. Now before you go any further, just because you read the Bible does not mean that you will magically never sin again. You may read in the Word that you should not do something, but just having that knowledge won't save you, you have to act on that knowledge.

Just as sin starts as a thought and then you act on that thought. God's Word is a thought which you must act on too. The key here is that we have to do the acting, either for good or for bad, it is our choice. No longer do we have the right to say that we couldn't help ourselves because that is a lie, we can..."IF" we make the decision to do so. So get a Bible reading plan and start it, then act on those things that you learn there and you will see the things that once tripped you up will begin to have less and less ability to entice you.

Now I wonder as you read this today, did you get the point I've been making this morning, or have you just been trying to decide which sin I committed yesterday? Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

When Things Don't Make Sense

What do you do when things don't make sense? I know that confusion is a tool that the enemy uses to try and distract people from the promises that God has given them, and that God never uses confusion at all. But from time to time I have found that this life I'm leading doesn't make sense to me. For instance, who would have thought that at forty-eight I would begin a completely new career path? Don't misunderstand me here, I'm not upset that this has happened, it actually may be one of the best things to have happened to me in years, but I can say that it wasn't on my radar at least.

Listening to my Pastor this past Sunday he was talking about Noah and the building of the ark. The comment that made my ears perk up was about how we know the story of Noah, how he built the ark, brought all the animals on board and was saved from destruction. But, Noah didn't know all of that until after it had happened. He had to believe God's word to him for that day, and God didn't show him a power point presentation of what all was going to happen either. Noah had to take it one day at a time, walking by faith and trusting God.

I remember a time from my past, which seems like an eternity ago, when Cheryl and I were newly married and working two jobs. We had a little debt back then (man I wish I only had the debt I had back then now) and I was lamenting to the Lord on the way to my second job about how if He would just drop me a check from Heaven for the amount we owed, then we could get on with working for Him more. This is the only time I have ever experienced actually hearing an audible voice from the Lord, not just that still small voice in my heart, and He said, "If I did that, you'd quit walking by faith." I must admit, I actually turned around to see who was sitting in the back seat of my car, it was that clear to me. I know that it was the Lord, because those nine words brought a peace to my heart that up until that time I had not known.

Well that is where I'm at today. I'm not wanting the Lord to drop money from Heaven to me (although I wouldn't refuse it either) but there are some things in my life that are going on right now that I don't understand. And while the Lord hasn't spoken to me like He did so many years ago, I can still hear Him telling me to hang on, and keep walking by faith. After all, it is when we are walking by faith that we truly please Him, and that is something that I really want to do.

I watched a movie that I have been anticipating for several months now, called

The Way. It stars Martin Sheen, and is a film by his son Emilio Estevez. There was one line in the movie that captured my heart, and actually fits in with what I'm writing about today. It said, "You don't choose a life, you live one." And that is where I find myself in life, not so much choosing it, but getting to live it each and every day, wondering what each day will bring. And that's not a bad thing, it's just a new way for me, probably the one that God has wanted for me all along.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!

Going To Pick A Fight

I was reading this morning and came across a passage in the book of Mark. A man with leprosy came to Jesus and begged him on his knees, "If you are willing, you can make me clean." Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!" Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured. Jesus sent him away at once with a strong warning: "See that you don't tell this to anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them."

Every time I see Jesus dealing with the religious leaders of His day, I am reminded of that scene in the movie Braveheart where William Wallace rides off after the noblemen of Scotland who are going to parlay with the English officers. He is asked by his oldest friend, "Where are you going?" to which he replies, "I"m going to pick a fight."

In this story, if you just casually read it, you will miss what Jesus was getting at with the man who had leprosy. God had set up through the law what the person with leprosy was to do. There were steps that he was to take that would insure his healing. But things had gotten so out of whack over the years, that the priests were more about show than actually doing. Jesus wanted this man to go back to the priest and do what Moses commanded in the law as a way of showing them how much they had missed what God had instructed them to do.

Jesus was picking a fight with the religious leaders. He was trying to get them to see how they had missed it. Unfortunately for them, they missed the message time and time again. Instead of allowing the things that Jesus was doing to move their hearts in the direction towards God, they instead went the opposite direction because of fear of losing what they had.

How many times have I moved away from God because of that same thing, fear? Fear that I am going to somehow lose out on something I have attained, instead of letting the Holy Spirit move me into the direction of true blessing He has for me? What about you? Have you let fear motivate you in opposition to the Lord? What does that stir in your heart when you read that?

I for one want to go with what Jesus has for my life. I don't want to be like the religious leaders in the Bible, stuck in my own little story, living out what I want for my life, and missing out on the actual assignment and purpose that was set out for me from the beginning of the world. How about you? Let's lay aside our desires, those things that we are so desperate to see happen, and begin to seek God for what His purpose and desire is for our lives. I really think that in doing that, we will find true and total happiness and joy.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!