Sabotaging Happiness

Have you ever thought about how kids sabotage their own happiness? If you're a parent, you probably know what I'm talking about. My kids -- especially my twins -- have a habit of throwing their blankets, pillows, stuffed animals, pacifiers, anything that gives them comfort when they're supposed to sleep out of reach and then crying because they don't have it. Give them a nice book to read, they'll rip it up. Give them a bucket of toys, they'll throw them around the room. Their natural bent is toward destruction, and it usually lands them in a state of misery.

Aren't we a little like that, when we really think about it? How many times do we take a great gift that God gives us and throw it away with both hands? How many times do we refuse to accept the help that will get us out of a bad predicament? Just as our children don't think ahead to the future, we tend to forget the consequences of our actions.

What is it we tell our children? Listen to me, because I've been there. I know. What you're doing now, you will later regret. If only we could take the words of our heavenly father to heart, we might be free from our own sabotage.

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Back to School. We've all seen those commercials with the parents dancing down the aisles as they buy their kids school supplies. I've never really identified with that sentiment, to tell the truth. I happen to like my kids, and I like to be with them.

Sure, there are the obvious benefits -- a little more quiet time, not to mention the fact that my kids are going stir-crazy to get back. But on the other hand, I miss them. And there's that nerve-wracking first day, bringing your kids into that sea of hyper children, straining to hear their names called and putting them into the hands of a stranger.

All in all, I'm okay with it, though. I know that beyond all the worries and missing them, God has them well in hand. That's all I need to know.

Messy Hands

We have a three-times daily ritual in our house. It's called wiping the twins up after eating. First, you get a wet cloth. Then, while using one hand to fend off the other grabbing baby hand and a biting baby mouth, we wipe down the first hand. Next, while holding the clean hand in a firm grip, we hastily wipe down the high chair tray so the clean hand stays clean. Repeat with the other hand, then the face, where the biting hazard increases significantly. If necessary, we do the hair, ears, neck and upper arms, too, and sometimes the legs as well. More often than not, this is done while the baby is wailing and gnashing her teeth. Then we get to do it all with the other baby.

The point is, this whole exercise reminds me of what God has to go through with us. We get our hands messy -- sometimes more than our hands -- playing around at life. We throw stuff all over God's nice world, too. But instead of meekly letting Him clean up our mess, we fight, kick, grab, bite, and scream at him. Sometimes we try to grab the cloth and do it ourselves. But when it's all said and done, if we really want to get clean, we have to let Him wash us. The great thing about God is He will wait until we're ready for Him.

Untangling the Slinky

Having kids brings to light a whole host of life lessons. Take for example the classic Slinky. My daughter has a nice, rainbow coloured plastic slinky that she brings to me about once every five minutes to untangle. Sometimes, it's a matter of a quick manoeuvre to get it straight. Sometimes, it looks so daunting I'm tempted to throw in the towel. Sometimes Caiti waits patiently for me to untangle it. Sometimes she wants to get her little hands in there and get in my way. Usually she takes it, goes away, and does the exact same thing with it that got it tangled in the first place.

Isn't that so much like life? If we try to fix our own problems, they usually end up more tangled than before. When we bring our problems to God and try to "help" Him fix them, we prevent Him from doing His best in our lives. And then we take this straightened out, fixed up life and do the same thing that messed it up in the first place, starting again from square one. The point is, God could get frustrated and just throw the whole thing out, or let us play with a tangled Slinky. But He doesn't. When we ask, he lovingly straightens us out again -- with the admonishment to be careful not to tangle it up again.

What's your fitness level?

With the advent of the Wii, fitness is at the forefront of entertainment these days. It's chic to know your fitness level, or for that matter, train your brain in minutes a day. But while we're talking about physical and mental fitness, are we thinking about spiritual fitness?

The bible says that life is like a race. We are like runners. And there's a prize waiting for us. So wouldn't you want to train all you can and fill up on all the good things you need to achieve peak performance?

First of all, we need the Holy Spirit. I've said it before -- we can't do anything without God's power. Then we need to totally immerse ourselves in the kind of life God designed for us, by reading the bible and praying, meditating on God and His word. We're going to trip and fall, but we have to pick ourselves up, let God dust us off, and keep our eyes on the prize as we push ourselves to the limit. Our limits are where God takes over!

So by all means, get yourself in shape and pump up that IQ, but don't neglect the only part of you that's going to finish the race.

How do you worship?

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "worship"? You're probably thinking of some ritualistic ceremony, or maybe closer to home, like a worship service at church. These are expressions of worship, certainly, but not everything it is.

The dictionary defines worship as "reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred". That encompasses more than a few words or songs once a week.

Jesus said in the bible that we would worship God in "spirit and in truth". That doesn't necessarily mean what we do on the outside. It's more about the attitude of our hearts.

The way I look at it, every moment can be an opportunity to worship. Are you doing the dishes or changing a diaper? Worship! Are you waiting in a line or sitting in traffic? Worship! Are you in the shower or lying awake at night? Well, you get the idea -- worship! God deserves the best we have to offer Him -- let's give him our heart-worship.

Paul, Barnabas, and Timothy

I once heard it said that everyone should have a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy. "Huh?" you say.

Paul was a first century Christian who became a missionary to many regions of Greece, and eventually to Rome. But he didn't do it alone. He went with various partners who stuck with him through imprisonments and beatings. One of these was a man named Barnabas, which incidentally means "Son of Encouragement". Starting to make sense now?

Then Paul trained a young man to take over from him, a man named Timothy. He wrote two letters to him, full of wisdom about how to lead and care for people in ministry. Everything Paul knew, he passed on to this young man in a mentorship setting.

So, if we are each to have a Paul, Barnabas, and a Timothy, that means we each need a mentor (like Paul was to Timothy), a partner (like Barnabas was to Paul), and a successor (like Timothy was to Paul). In order to live an effective life, we need to learn from someone wiser than we are, have one or more friends who can encourage and work with us, and to pass on our wisdom to someone else who can continue our life's work long after we're gone.

So who's your Paul, your Barnabas, your Timothy? Are you well grounded in this concept? The Paul-Timothy relationship is like a lake with a river flowing in and a river flowing out. If you don't have an inlet, your lake dries up. If you don't have an outlet, it gets stagnant. Maybe you have one of these, or neither. Maybe you've isolated yourself, as I have done in the past. Just remember, God never meant for us to do this thing alone -- He made us to be a team! So find yourself a Paul, a Barnabas, and a Timothy!

Where did you come from?

As a writer, I often get asked about my books and stories -- "where did that come from?" It's a question I've pondered many a time. Characters are an interesting phenomenon that I'm not sure anyone understands.

To a certain point, they do come from the author's imagination and experiences. I often start with a drawing of a character and build a story around that one image. But there is something about characters that is external to the author, always some element the writer can't control. It may sound bizzare to say, but my characters are constantly doing and saying things I never expected of them. Yes, it's true! The words come out and I think "I wouldn't have thought of that, but it's exactly what X would have done!" Characters take on a life of their own, and everything they do and say is a function of that complex personality. I find the more I fight against the inevitable actions of a particular character, the less inspired my writing becomes.

And that opens up the question of inspiration. Does writing come from another source, outside the author? It's a common enough idea -- think of the Muses of ancient Greece. As a Christian I believe in inspiration implicitly. I know that God breathes His ideas into me on a daily basis.

So what do I say when people ask "Where does this come from?" -- not from me, that's for sure!

Soli Deo Gloria

So, I've been using this blog sporadically for promo and whatnot. But I've been musing on the idea of using this for more than just book stuff. I'm always brewing with deep thoughts about life, faith, family and just about anything else. It makes sense to write them down, and maybe someone will benefit. Here's hoping someone reads this! So keep an eye out and I'll try to write something every day about something that might apply to life or might be a little entertaining and hopefully deep.

The most important thing as far as I'm concerned is to dedicate this blog, like everything else in my life, to God. It is for His purposes -- as Bach used to sign his work "Soli Deo Gloria" -- To God alone be the glory. So, Father, use this avenue for your glory. Use my hands, my thoughts, and my words to speak to the hearts of people everywhere. Amen.