Happy Birthday Mom!

So today's my mom's birthday so I thought I'd tell you about her. 

Aside from the grace to know salvation, one of the biggest blessings I've ever experienced is the presence of my mother in this life. There are so many different things to consider when I begin to think about the ways my mom has made a difference in my life. Here are a few things off the top of my head:

• She decided that she would not abort me. So many people take this for granted. I am so thankful she valued my life even though she could have written me off as simply 'a fetus' or whatever term people like to use today to rationalize their irresponsible decisions, but she didn't and for that I am very grateful.
• She took her pregnancy seriously and did her best to manage her body and her diet responsibly in order to give me the best conditions for being a healthy baby.
• She took care of me and made sure all of my needs were met as a helpless baby. She endured sleepless nights and dealt with all my crap (literally... haha!)
• She kept her cool with me as an annoying little toddler. I can only imagine how much I drove her cray at grocery stores and the like. I would definitely be 'that kid'. You know the one I'm talking about... the one everybody in the store hates. "Where's his mother?" they all wonder.  My mom was always right there much to everyone's delight.
• She taught me how to get along with others. She taught me manners and how to interact with others socially.  This is kind of a necessity, considering how there are other people in the world than myself...
• She taught me to care for others. She would teach me about this with words from time to time, but I think I learned this more from observing the way she loved people and served them.
• She put up with me through all of the times I decided I break her rules and when I smarted off to her. This is huge. When I think back on my old self, I recall how stubborn and sarcastic. In a lot of ways, I am still like that but I don't think I am to the extent I used to be. I don't know how she dealt with me. I would've beat me with a stick and locked me away from society. Such patience and grace.
• She cooked for me...and still does! She is an INCREDIBLE cook! I absolutely love her food. She can make some of the best (insert food here) that you've ever had. She always gets mad when I can't decide on what I want her to cook when I come home from school. It's never because I'm indifferent, it's because I can't decide because it's all good. I know that my children one day are going to know her as 'the grandma who can cook'.
• Did I mention she cooks for me?
• She washed / washes my clothes. I hate doing this. If you know me, you know that I absolutely hate doing this. Don't really know why...I just do. Therefore, I appreciate this very much.
• She has always encouraged me to do whatever I want to do. If I wanted to play baseball, I could play baseball. If I wanted to do art, I could do art. If I wanted to take guitar lessons, I could take guitar lessons. A lot of parents try to mold their kids into who they want them to be, but my mom always let me be myself.
• She has always supported me in whatever I have done.  She loves me no matter what I do. If I succeed she congratulates me and tells me she is proud. If I fail, she comforts me and encourages me. I never have to worry about taking on a challenge without support.
• She believes in me. One of the reasons I have healthy self-confidence is because I know she believes in me. I appreciate that she really believes I can change the world if I want to.
• She loves my dad. In today's society that is a feat. She is committed to him and she actively shows her love for him through affection and service. I pray that my wife will be like her in this. My dad's very blessed to have her.
• Above all else, she loves Jesus. She has always exemplified this. She raised me in church. She always talked about how much Jesus loved me. She showed me His love by serving me and loving me unconditionally. If you think about it, pretty much everything I've listed up to this point testifies to this last and most important point. I am so thankful that she was there when I accepted Christ as my Savior. Long story short, late one night the Spirit moved in me and I went and talked stuff out with Mom and Dad. That night I was born again. Mom's been with me for both of my births. So thankful for that.

All that to say I have the best mother ever. I am truly blessed. I love her with all my heart and I pray that I may one day resemble a son almost worthy of her excellence.

Proverbs 31:10-31

10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. 11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. 12She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. 13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. 14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. 15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. 16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. 17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms. 18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. 19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff. 20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy. 21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet. 22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple. 23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land. 24She maketh fine linen, and selleth it ; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant. 25Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come. 26She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. 27She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. 28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also , and he praiseth her. 29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. 30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. 31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

Thought For The Day

Here's a good word of encouragement from Francis to live uncomfortably for the glory of God. Check it out.

Guidelines To Reading Broadly

• Know Doctrine. Be grounded theologically before you ever consider starting to read broadly. Scripture is constantly beckoning us to beware of false teaching. How are we to recognize false teaching if we are not familiar with truth? 
  
• Pray for discernment as you read. It is important to guard yourself from becoming slowly engulfed in the ideology of what you are reading. If it's not Scripture, it's flawed. Some books are more severely flawed than others, but all of them were written by men - men still susceptible to the effects of the fall. Hopefully the authors you are reading have the intention to be as faithful to the Scriptures as they possibly can be. If that's not the case, you probably shouldn't waste your time on it.
• Confirm what you think is truth in the Scriptures. This is along the same lines as the first point I made. The only thing that we can hold to as absolute truth is Scripture. If what we find in the reading seems to be true we must compare it to Scripture.

Random Thoughts

• Been a while since I've blogged. It always annoys me when I think about how long it's been since I've blogged.
• I'm going to Chicago for The Gospel Coalition Conference in roughly 2 weeks. I absolutely cannot wait. It's going to be amazing. How could it not be? Some of the featured speakers are John Piper, D.A. Carson, Tim Keller, and Mark Driscoll... I know. Amazing. I can already imagine the feeling of inadequacy that I will feel being in the same room with those guys. Trey and I are pumped. I'm really glad Trey is going with me. It'll be good to spend some time with him. I always appreciate talking about spiritual things with him. He's very wise and I just generally enjoy hanging out with him.
• Also, I'm very excited to get to spend some time with Johnny Grimes (Lead Pastor of Branch Life Church in Birmingham) at the conference. We're on the same flight and I think we may be staying in the same hotel. I anticipate some great conversations...
• The youth group at Journey has really gotten a hold of my heart. I see so much potential in these kids. They have such a drive to grow in their relationships with the Lord and I see a genuine hunger for the Lord. I pray that I can continue to be a part of their lives. It is such a blessing to my life.
• I just finished Mark Driscoll's Death By Love. It was a fine book. It really helped you see the application of Jesus' death on the cross in real-life situations. I definitely recommend it. I'm so glad I read it before Easter. It is no doubt shaping the way I think about the death of Jesus.
• Good Friday is this Friday. I am greatly looking forward to spending it at my home church with my family. I am spending a significant time this week focusing on the depth of my sin and the punishment that I deserve for it. Friday will be a day of indescribable gratitude and deep appreciation for God sending His only Son, Jesus Christ, to take on the sin and shame of all believers to reconcile them to Himself. I pray this Good Friday will be a milestone in my life. I want to truly grasp Jesus' death and all that it accomplished more than I ever have.
• Sunday is Easter. Much like Good Friday, I am praying that Sunday will be a day of celebration. I hope I will grasp all that is Easter on a deeper level than I ever have. I cannot wait to celebrate the death of death. I cannot wait to lead the Believers at Journey Church in Auburn as we proclaim Jesus' victory over sin and shame. It's going to be amazing.
• I have been spending a lot of time studying John 1 over the past week or so and it has been INCREDIBLE! I have never 'gotten' it like I have been over the past week. It's a very beautiful and poetic passage. You should definitely check it out.
• I will try to blog as often as I can over the next week or so. Keep checking in. Sorry I've been so inconsistent lately. I'm trying to get back into a routine.

Grace and peace to my brothers and sisters!

Weekend Recap

This past weekend I was blessed to be able to lead worship at my home church's retreat for the singles ministry. It was an incredible weekend for several different reasons: (1) I got to help lead worship - one of my favorite things to do, (2) I heard some incredible teaching from our Associate Pastor, Bill Decker, (3) and I got to actually rest and take a nap by the lake in my hammock.

The weekend's theme was 'Rebuilt'. We went through Isaiah 58 and talked about how the people were doing all of the right things, yet had sin in their lives that was had not been dealt with. During Saturday night's message I got convicted of a lot of sin that I consider 'not a big deal sin'. I think you know what I mean by that. I tend to play off a lot of sin by excusing it as 'little sins'. Here are some of the little sins that we talked about:

• Ungodliness. How often do we not even consider God's will in our decision making?
• Anxiety. Anxiety is the lack of trust in God.
• Unthankfulness. Enough said.
• Discontentment. How often do I get flustered about the circumstances in life that I can do nothing about?
• Pride. Pride is moral self-righteousness. It comes in three different forms. (1) Pride of Doctrine, (2) Pride of Achievement, (3) Pride of Independent Spirit.
• Selfishness. (1) Selfish Interests, (2) Being Inconsiderate.
• Lack Of Self Control. Self Control is the ability to control or govern one's desires, impulses, emotions, and passions. This is different from 'will power'. Pagans can have enough 'will power' to obey self-determined rules; only Christians can have the 'Self Control' that comes from the Holy Spirit during the sanctification process.
• Impatience and Irritability. How quickly/easily  do I lose my cool?
• Anger. "We often get angry because we are trying to protect idols in our lives." Dang.
• Being Judgmental. (1) Politics, (2) Church, and (3) Social Settings. "If it isn't dishonoring to God, you don't have a dog in the fight." Again, dang.
• Coveting. Envy is the painful awareness that some has an advantage that you don't have. Jealousy is acting on your envy.
• Sins of the Tongue. (1) Gossip, (2) Lies, (3) Slander, (4) Critical Speech, (5) Harsh Words, (6) Insults, (7) Profanity, (8) Coarse Joking. I got eight slaps in the face on this one particular point... Ouch.
• Worldliness. Have I become attached to the temporary things of this world?

*Don't worry, he used a lot of Scripture to back it up, I just didn't have paper with me to write them down. I got the points from someone later. 

Also, he delivered this message in such humility. On most every point he actually confessed ways he had personally failed recently. I felt like his style of communicating allowed everyone listening to let their guard down because he was able to convey that he was a sinful, fallen human being just as they were and he was no more holier than they were just because he is on staff at a church. I was very impressed with his sermons. I was very blessed to be able to hear them and I anticipate emailing him later this week to express my gratitude for the work he put into preparing them.

Here was a view from my hammock by the lake.

New Structure

Since I am clearly incapable of updating my blog regularly, I have decided to try and give it some more structure. Turns out I am a lot less creative than I thought... Anyway, here's a taste of what I'm going to try and start doing to keep myself disciplined as far as updating.

Monday Sermon Reflections

Tuesday Book Notes / Book Review

Wednesday Article / Blog Post Response

Thursday Music Review

Friday Video Post / Personal Update

There's the plan. Whether or not it actually works, we'll see...

What Is Love?

In case you didn't see it last night on 'The Bachelor', Jason was convinced that he had found the love of his life and he proposed to her. Later, on the 'After The Final Rose Ceremony', Jason dumped his fiance' in front of millions of people on live television and then proceeded to run back to the runner-up in the competition in a successful attempt for her to take him back. Needless to say, it was some classy television.

On a serious note, it got me thinking about love. Not puppy love or 'I think I've been in love before' love, but actual true love. What is true love? How do you get it? How do you sustain it? etc.

Most people would say that being in love is a feeling. I have a really hard time buying into this because feelings come and go. There is no stability in feelings. Emotions change with circumstances. I think most everyone would agree that true love is unconditional and it seems like there are too many conditions for love to be an emotion.

The only conclusion I can come to is that love is a commitment. A commitment is stable. This commitment can be accompanied by romantic feelings and passion, but the commitment is not dependent on them. Commitments don't change with circumstances. It seems love has to be a commitment. 

How do you define love? What is love? What is love not?