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Bad Week

Have you ever had a bad week? You know the kind of week where everything seems to just blow up in your face or hit you all at once. Well, that describes last week quite well. Since Mid-February, I have been on a journey of weight loss and healthier habits. I purposely set time aside to be at the gym as well as to take a serious look at what kind of foods I had been consuming. For the most part, I had experienced success. The sense of becoming stronger kept me encouraged to continue my morning routine. I began to appreciate the changes that were happening and the increased energy that I exhibited. Last week though, I fell off the mental “band-wagon”.

The week started like all the others. I went in, followed my normal routine, but something was different. For some reason, my heart was not in it. As I exercised, I began to feel my efforts were meaningless. I began to think no real difference occurring. Slowly, I began to talk myself out of the good work I was doing. Eventually I was unable (mentally) to go back to the gym. I began to stop caring about what I was consuming and fell back into my old patterns.

After taking a serious look at my situation, I discovered a lot of my problem stemmed from not seeing any change when I stepped on the scale. Logic dictated that by monitoring diet and exercising I should see some change on the scale. I was feeling the difference. I felt better. I felt stronger. More amazing, parts of me were starting to look toner than before. However, in my mind, none of that mattered unless the scale was moving too. Honestly, because of this week, this moment of weakness, I saw nothing but failure and wanted to give up until I remembered a bit of scripture.

Isaiah 40:28-31 says, “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youth grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.”

My encouragement for everyone here is this…DON”T GIVE UP DESPITE A BAD DAY OR WEEK. We cannot run in the glory of success forever. We cannot live on the excitement highs bring us. Eventually, life will catch up to us and we will return to reality…which can be harsh. The key is to find daily victories we can celebrate. Mine today was I have been able to stay on my diet plan. In that, I will celebrate!

Today a rice cake, tomorrow the world! Mount up and Soar!

Moose Tracks

I am so excited. I saw my first moose. I realize that for those of you who live in North Country, this is not a big deal. Many of you have seen a moose or several meese (plural form of moose, right?) However, for someone who’s only experience with seeing a moose was at a zoo, on the Discovery Channel, or the “Rocky and Bullwinkle” cartoons, seeing the moose was a big deal.

We were coming back to Long Lake from Saranac Lake. We had finished doing our preparation shopping for our month of visitors when half way between Tupper Lake and home, a Penske moving truck approached us from the opposite direction. As we got closer, I noticed the driver making a funny face; fingers all extended and placed at the top of his head like antlers. At first, I thought he was trying to be funny. However, the more I thought about it, I became more concerned that he didn’t have his hands on the steering wheel. After he passed us, I began to mediate on the face of the driver and the possible message he was trying to send me. About a mile up the road, I saw half dozen cars pulled over. Slowly, his intentions began to make sense. He wasn’t trying to be funny. He wasn’t trying to make fun of me or make me upset. He was warning us of the potentially dangerous and definitely beautiful event that awaited us. We slowed down, pulled in behind the other cars, and watched the moose until she faded back into nature’s protective arms.

Imagine if I had ignored the message and shrugged it off as someone making a fool of himself. Imagine if I had not stopped and kept going past the pulled over cars. I would have missed a rare and impacting experience, not only for myself but also for my family.
God’s message has a lot to offer us but often we ignore the message or blow by the chance to experience the fullness of God in our lives. Then we complain to ourselves that we don’t see God working in our lives or hear His voice speaking to us. Truth is we are often the loudest voice in our lives and we block ourselves from experiencing God’s fullness. No wonder God tells us to, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a). When we get wrapped up in life, we miss hearing from God, seeing Him work in our lives, and fail to experience the great things He has for us. As summer approaches, make sure your taking time to BE STILL and KNOW that GOD IS GOD. The experience could change your life.

WOW!

WOW! Isn’t God amazing! For the past ten years MaryEllen and I have had the same television. It’s a 19 inch tube TV which was purchased before we got married for almost $300. This TV has been through it all. It has seen the births of our three children, has endured seven moving experiences (from Rochester out west and back again), has had wax dripped on it, fingerprints smudged on it and kids licking it. But through it all it has been a loyal friend and companion. And after ten years with our loyal companion, we as a family began to become very comfortable with its short comings. We overlooked the fact it took 15-20 minutes before the screen showed a picture (sometimes longer in the colder weather…but don’t we all move slower when it’s cold out?). We overlooked the fact that the screen was so small that we had to get within inches to read any subtitles or rolling text on the screen. We even overlooked that the color was starting to lose its luster and vibrancy. Though there had been talk of replacing it with a newer model, we continued to be complacent as long as it continued to work.

Well, that was true until we were kindly given a 27 inch TV from our District Superintendent, Pastor Paul James. When we first plugged in our new TV, we (the complete family) were amazed at what we had been missing. The color was so vivid and alive. The picture was so clear. The sound was crisp. And best of all…it turned on immediately! WOW! It was amazing. It was as if someone opened my eyes for the very first time and I saw everything I had been missing before.

We can fall into the same issues when it concerns our faith. We become so complacent with the idea of having just enough faith to get through the day when in reality, God wants us to have the kind of faith that is ALIVE, VIVID, and CLEAR. His desire is for us to share the same sentiment as Paul the Apostle, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the POWER of God for salvation…” (Romans 1:16). My question for you is where is your faith? Are you simply satisfied with a faith that is complacent (though you know your missing something)? Or is your faith allowing you to experience life filled with wonder and amazement?

Lord, open my eyes to your Brilliance so I can see everything I was missing before.

Cabin Fever

Around this time of year most people start to get a little antsy. We’ve had our fill of winter events like skating, sledding, and snowmobiling. We’ve enjoy all the treasured moments around the fireplace sipping on hot chocolate with those we hold dear. Winter has been fun and we have made some real memories but… as the saying goes, “all good things must come to an end.” As Spring and Summer creep closer, we get house bound and stir crazy and start experiencing “Cabin Fever”. We crave long days of outside activities. We long for the warmer weather and the late nights around the camp fire. Though we dread the mosquitoes and black flies, it is not enough to discourage us from the freedom the warmer weather brings.

As Christians we can experience a similar kind of “Cabin Fever”; a longing for something better. There is a part of us which knows this world is only a place of transition. We know there is something better out there and the longer we are here, the more stir crazy we get. Paul the Apostle put it this way, “

1 For instance, we know that when these bodies of ours are taken down like tents and folded away, they will be replaced by resurrection bodies in heaven–God-made, not handmade– 2 and we’ll never have to relocate our “tents” again. Sometimes we can hardly wait to move–and so we cry out in frustration. Compared to what’s coming, living conditions around here seem like a stopover in an unfurnished shack, and we’re tired of it! We’ve been given a glimpse of the real thing, our true home, our resurrection bodies!

5 The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what’s ahead. He puts a little of heaven in our hearts so that we’ll never settle for less.

(2 Corinthians 5:1-5) MSG

As the snow begins to melt away and the days get longer, begin to ask yourself these questions: Am I anticipating Christ’s return with as much eagerness and desire as I am Spring time? Am I experiencing a sense of Spiritual Cabin Fever or am I content with living in Spiritual Winter?