I’m sitting here in a Starbucks, waiting for our fifth child to get here. The hospital told us they don’t need us there right now, but not to leave town. So Heather and I have been walking a lot, trying to get this delivery to progress.
In the meantime, we’re sitting in a Starbucks, and I’m reviewing the past twelve months, as well as looking ahead.
It’s been a crazy year. Heather’s pregnancy, Dad’s sickness, and a busy life with four kids, almost five.
Don’t Waste The Pain was a difficult book for me to read, and yet very timely.
Brother and sister authors, David Lyons and Linda Lyons Richardson, take a deep look at the pain in their lives caused by cancer. Linda has dealt with cancer for a decade, while David recently lost a son to a rare form of cancer.
This book hit me pretty hard. It’s been five years since my brother Mike lost his battle with liver cancer, and now my dad is dealing with melanoma that has metastasized into several other areas of his body. Both of those are open wounds in my life.
While Don’t Waste The Pain was difficult to read, it was full of timely input into my life. At first, I didn’t really care for the style of writing, switching back and forth from David’s experiences to Linda’s. At first, I didn’t appreciate the jabbing prod into my own tender wound right now. At first, I wanted to put the book down and maybe read it later.
But I knew that if I could just get past my own mindset, I could really learn from this open and honest look into the pain of others who have dealt with similar situations.
I read Mark Batterson’s Primal while at CIY Wilderness last week. All I can say is “Wow!”
Primal was a very interesting read. The concept is simple: The Great Commandment tells us to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. But how do we do that? What does that look like?
Batterson describes those four areas as developing a heart of compassion, a soul filled with wonder, a curious mind, and energetic strength.
Each of these four areas has a section of the book dedicated to its discussion. And it’s a very interesting discussion indeed. Batterson sheds light on each of these four areas in manners and ways I’ve never thought of before.
For example, he starts the discussion of heart with the little known medical fact that heart transplant recipients often experience new cravings and feelings. This is called cellular memory, and is commonplace in the field of cardiology, as well as other fields.
Interesting idea. We have been given a new heart. Our heart has been replaced with the heart of Christ. Should we not start loving our world and the people in it the same way that Christ does?
Batterson makes you think. And he does this in all four sections.
Primal is definitely worth reading.
Last night, I was sitting in my office at home, catching up on some reading. My son, Titus, came in to talk to me. He’s five. He was going on about something he found on a website or some game he played online. It was entertaining to listen to him and watch his excitement.
After that conversation was over, I simply stated, “Titus, you’re getting too big. I want you to stop growing.”
With his arms flung wide, he replied, “I can’t stop! God’s making me grow! I can’t stop what God is doing!” There was a ton of excitement and passion in his voice as he made that exclamation.
There’s a truth there if we have the eyes to see it. Who am I to stand in the way of God moving? Whether it’s causing a child to grow, like Titus. Or it’s causing me to grow. Or my church. Or the kingdom.
I can’t stop what God is doing. My responsibility is to align myself with His will and allow Him to work in me and through me.
How is it, then, that I get so wrapped up in what I’m doing, in what I want, in what is going on in my life? How is it, then, that I seek sometimes, it seems, to squelch what God is doing and elevate my own agenda to the top of the list?
I can’t stop what God is doing. Nor should I want to stop what God is doing. Rather, I should display some excitement and passion in my life about what He is doing. And about the fact that He has chosen me to be a part of it.
Thanks, Titus, for teaching me more about God and my faith. It’s amazing, the deep faith lessons one can learn from a five year old…
Andy Stanley’s new book is a smash hit. Full of practical advice, The Principle Of The Path really doesn’t tell you anything that you don’t already know. But then, most of the time, the best advice usually confirms that which you already know at some level anyway.
And Andy Stanley couches his advise in terms that allow the glaringly obvious (and yet we still miss it…) to be massively insightful.
We are all on a path. And the decisions we make, whether large or small, determine the direction we are headed. Andy Stanley makes a very strong argument that there is no decision that we will make, or have made – not one – that does not play a part in the direction of our lives.
What are the things in life that have your attention? Are they the things that should have your attention? Because whatever captures our attention determines our direction; we tend to head toward what our attention is focused on. And our direction determines our destination, our end result.
Where are you headed? Is it where you want to be headed? Or are you traveling down a path that may take you to other places than where you know your life should be headed? The Principle Of The Path can help you to clarify your vision, and make sure your focus is where you, and God, want it to be.
Check out The Principle Of The Path. And find out how to get from where you are to where you want to be.
If you are interested in reading The Principle Of The Path, by Andy Stanley, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.
Disclosure of Material Connection:
I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze blogger review program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Also, some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
I’ve always had a hard time when trying to read through the Bible comletely. I come across so many stretches of Scripture that seem so tedius. These passages seem, well… boring. Why in the world would God allow that to remain in the Word? What possible benefit could that have for my life today, in 2009?
My approach has been varied over the years. There have been times when my bull-headed nature took control and I simply plowed through the passages and kept going by sheer will-power. Other times, I’ve taken a more circuitous approach and broken those boring passages into more manageable chunks and scattered them throughout my reading schedule. Sure I missed out on some context, but I got them all read…
CIY Wilderness is in seventeen days!
I am so excited about this! Wilderness is a retreat for people in ministry. Check out their website here.
Wilderness is five days at Bear Trap Ranch, in the mountains near Colorado Springs. Wilderness is a time to be alone with God and his Word, seeking him and his will for my life. Wilderness is a time to rest in the solitude found in the mountains, away from the pressures of the office, the phone, email, twitter, facebook, and texting.
Wilderness is discussing life with other men in similar ministries. Discussions wll center around:
• Retreat – withdrawing to be with God
• Reliance on Jesus
• Following God’s call on your life
• As Christ loved the Church – marriage