Make Your Choice . . . but choose wisely

I am still thinking about values. If someone said, "Jason, do you value physical health?" I would say, "yes!" But how would I defend myself? Well, I don't smoke; I am not overweight; I don't eat too much junk food nor drink too much pop; I am not experiencing any pain or other symptoms of disease. Isn't that an interesting way of defending my supposed value? The evidence of what I value is found in what I don't do. You know why? Because when I look at what I do, I am not sure I truly value physical health. I think that if I truly valued physical health I would exercise or do something active. Mowing the lawn is the only extended physical activity in which I engage. And that is once per week for 7 months- not exactly an exercise regimen.

You know, I regularly think to myself, "I should go downstairs and exercise." I have a great exercise machine in the basement, and it sits in front of a big television. But I don't. In the moment, instead of choosing exercise, I choose rest, vegging out, or, to be really honest, comfort!

So here is what I am learning about values: I can make a list a mile long of my values. But then comes the hard part: putting that list in order. Every decision is a choice between two (or more) values. One will win. How often does that value beat out the other values? I have to be honest; I value comfort more than I value exercise. Ouch. Saying it out loud and typing it for the whole world to see is not easy. But it is true. So for every value I claim to live by, I have to ask myself if there is something I value more than that.

So what do you really value? Which values are at the top of the list? Stop talking about what you value. Talk about what you value more.

Your life is the result of your choices, which are values-choices; so your life is the result of your values.

No More Dreaded Mondays - a Review

If you are looking for work, and no one seems to be responding to your resumes, you need to read this book. If you hate your job, but feel stuck because why would anyone leave a secure job these days, you need to read this book. If you are thinking it might be time for a career transition, you need to read this book. If you think you will never make more money until you get your degree, you need to read this book. I fit none of those categories, and I loved it!

What do you love to do? Dan will spur you on to think of creative ways to make money doing what you love. From guys who traded in corporate life for chainsaw art to the guy who made a million dollars selling the "pet rock," this book of full of stories. Did you know that Steven Spielberg's application to film school was denied- 3 times? Of course, after he was successful, one of those schools awarded him an honorary degree. Did you know that 69% of business start-ups required less than $10,000? Of course, if you have nothing, that is a problem- until you read that 26% of startups required NO MONEY!

Dan Miller is a creative thinker, a therapist, life coach and career coach. He is also a successful businessman. He is a decent author, too. In this book, Dan takes a look at the reasons we give for working jobs we hate. He then successfully deconstructs all of those reasons. But I love Dan because he doesn't leave his readers in a pool of despair. He shares story after story of people who made lots of money doing what they love.

If you read this book, two things will happen. First, you will be offended in every area of your life ruled by laziness and complacency. Second, you will be motivated, inspired, and given guidance in the areas of your life where you are open to change and experience success!

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. And if you are a personal friend of mine, I will let you borrow it- but you have to give it back because this one is staying on my shelves.

If you enjoyed this review, rank it here!  

My Life is the result of my values

So I have been thinking a lot about values recently. After Easter I am planning on a teaching series at New Vision that will draw heavily from this concept. I find myself constantly asking, "what do I really value?" Or I can ask, "what do I really believe in?" Obviously I don't really believe in physical exercise. I am afraid to make such a claim- for my elliptical machine might sprout legs, hunt me down, and expose my lies!

Organizations talk a lot about core values. We talk about aspired core values (the values we want to be present) and actual core values (the values we truly value- as evidenced by how we spend our time, money, and other resources). It is an important exercise, based in honesty, to determine what I truly value versus what I want to truly value. The same is true personally. Since we as humans are really good at lying to ourselves, we often tell ourselves that we value something, but our actions betray us, and our lifestyles point out what we truly value. In other words, I might think that I value family, but if I work 80 hours every week and play golf twice every weekend, I really don't value family.

So how do I know what my true values are? Well, I start by looking at how I use my time. Then my money. What do I talk about the most? An honest evaluation will reveal my true values.

But how about this. We are often told that our lives are a reflection of our values. I think we need to go deeper. My life is the RESULT of my values. This life I have built for myself I built from my values. The car I drive, the food in my fridge, the color of my fridge, the color of my hair, why I am typing this blog at 11:31 PM, everything is a result of my values.

"Wait a second," you say, "your hair color?" Yes. While I had no control over the DNA sequence that controls my natural hair color, I could choose to change it. I have always wanted to have blond hair. Why don't I change it? Because I value thriftiness over physical appearance and I won't pay to change my hair color. I also value sleeping-in over salon-chair-sitting, so I don't spend my time getting my hair colored. You see, my values influence what I do as well as what I don't do.

What do you think? Your life is more than a reflection of your values. Your life is the result of your values. So take a look at the details of your life- what do you truly, honestly value? Are you surprised?

The Dark Side of Baptism

Baptisms are one of my favorite ministry privileges. Helping a person demonstrate their inner faith with an outward sign, dunking them under water, looking out at the sea of family and friends gathered to celebrate the day with them- it is just fun. I don't take baptism lightly. I tell everyone who wants to be baptized that, "anyone can put a gold ring on their left hand- but that doesn't make them married. And so it is with baptism. Baptism is a sign of nothing if there is no inner faith preceeding it." Here at New Vision Church, we also create video testimonies of each of our baptizands. It is good for all of our members to hear a story of faith. It is good for their family and friends to hear their story. And it is a good exercise to verbalize your own story of grace.

So where is the dark side to all of this? Well, it came a couple of months ago, when, after watching two baptisms at our Christmas Eve service, our daughter told us that she wanted to be baptized. Erica carefully explained the story of salvation and drew an excellent bridge illustration. Olivia understood it, but it was evident that she was more interested in the act of baptism. And I don't blame her- it looks like fun- the attention, getting dunked in the church hot tub- I would probably want it, too. But therein lies the dark side of the sacraments. They are physical, doable, and intriguing. It is possible to participate without the accompanying faith. And baptism is supposed to be a one-time deal.

So right now we are trying to figure out how to perceive the faith of a five year old. I know that even the smartest among us do not fully understand salvation, but I want her to have true faith. I want her to remember her baptism, and know that it was a meaningful symbol of inner faith. But I don't want to put down her faith and make her wait too long.

Lord, Teach Us To Number Our (Mon)days

I hate Mondays. Most people do. We despise the Monday morning alarm that propels us into another week of work. I, on the other hand, am at home on Mondays. Sunday is my biggest day of the week, with lots of stress, people, responsibilities, etc. And being the introvert that I am, I am drained and useless by bedtime on Sunday night. On Monday morning I really would like to have some free, quiet, relaxing time. But I don't get it. At 7:00 AM I hear the pitter-patter of little feet descending the stairs. And here goes another day. Get Easton out of bed. Feed 2 kids breakfast. Fit in a bath for the kids. Take a quick shower during Easton's morning nap. Try to wash, dry and fold 6 loads of laundry. Maybe do something fun with the kids so we don't go crazy. Make dinner. Bed time. Pay some bills and balance the checkbook. Then get ready for my work week. Ugh.

So yesterday morning I was brushing my teeth, feeling grumpy, and thinking about how when Olivia goes to school we will have to get up even earlier. Every day. Great. Less sleep is just what I need.

And then it hit me. She goes to kindergarten next August. And while it will be nice in many ways, our carefree, have fun, playing paper dolls, painting, watching cartoons in our pajamas until 10 AM days will be gone . . . forever. We will only have summer breaks and a few hours after school. And the free time in those hours will continue to diminish.

While the selfish part of me really wants Mondays all to myself, when I think about it, Mondays have allowed for some great memories- lots of trips to the park, Deanna Rose farm, the library, etc.

So I looked at my calendar today. I have 35 more Mondays until life with Olivia changes forever and she climbs into a big yellow bus. My New Year's resolution? 35 great, fun-filled memories with no complaints and no regrets.

"Lord, teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12)

Jesus on the top shelf

I don't have cable or satellite television, so I have to go on vacation to watch cool shows like Pawnstars or American Pickers. But sometimes when I am at home and the kids are not pleading for some animated flick, I catch an episode of Antiques Roadshow. The episode I saw a few weeks ago must have been a special one, because all of the items shown featured the appraiser saying, "this is the nicest one of these that I have ever seen." I remember one item in particular. The guy lived in Texas and brought in a pair of matching black pottery bowls. The appraiser oohed and aahed over their condition, quality, and the really cool glazing technique used. It seems that they were made by Native Americans living in southwest area of the United States. The owner mentioned that he hoped to one day hand them down to his girls- one bowl for each of them. The appraiser said that their real value came from their being a matched set- something he had never seen. Their value as a set? $45,000! The owner was blown away.

Then came the real kicker. The appraiser asked the man where he kept this treasure. "Oh, sitting on top of the china cabinet. We thought they looked nice there."

I am guessing he no longer keeps the bowls sitting out on top of a cabinet. Having learned their true value, they are no longer mere decorations.

I think we do the same thing with the most valuable, irreplaceable items in our lives. We place our kids on the top shelf while we build our careers. We let our friends sit on shelves, and then give our real attention to our favorite friends on television. Sadly, we also let Jesus decorate our lives. If we only could realize his inestimable value . . .

I used to sing a song about this:
Lord You are more precious than silver
Lord You are more costly than gold
Lord You are more beautiful than diamonds
And nothing I desire compares to you.

Knowing Christ & Pen pals

Last Sunday I preached from Philippians 3:10, "I want to know Christ . . ." The power of this verse is in what it affirms- we can know the person of Christ and we do not have to settle for knowledge about Christ. Therein lies the basis for a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. This also defeats the idea that Christianity is just a bunch of religious activity. I love this verse. But it is also difficult.

When I preach I try to imagine the objections. You know, the "yeah, but what about . . ." kind of comments. And I try to deal with them. There is a huge objection or roadblock with this verse and the grand idea behind it. We usually think of personal relationships in terms of our face-to-face encounters. Relationships are built through time together in which we talk to each other. So . . . a relationship with God should equal face time and talking, right? Except that Jesus no longer walks on earth, and neither his Father nor the Spirit have visible bodies. Next, few people have heard the audible voice of God pulsing through their eardrums. And lots of people claim to have heard God's "voice," and many of them are crazy. So "hearing" from God is difficult. So how can I have a relationship with an invisible who tends not to speak very often? My fear is that most people give up before trying.

I tried to address this very quickly in my message, but I am not sure I really "nailed it." So let me try it this way. Somewhere I read a story about a young woman who began writing letters to a sailor, maybe through a military pen pal program. He wrote back, and the two of them exchanged lots of letters. The sailor became enamored with this woman who wrote so beautifully, and when his tour was finally over they arranged a meet-up. But how would they recognize each other? She told him that she would meet him at the dock and she would be wearing a red silk scarf. On the long-awaited day, the sailor disembarked and began looking for his friend. He saw a woman with red silk scarf, but she did not look anything like he imagined. She was rather unattractive. Nevertheless he approached the woman and introduced himself. She replied, "I don't know who you are, but the young woman standing over there by the lamp asked me to stand here wearing her scarf, and if a sailor approached I should direct him to her." She gave him the scarf and he walked to the woman near the lamp, who was as beautiful as he had imagined. Yes, it had been a test and he had passed. They spent time together, married, and lived happily ever after.

Now the story has many levels of meaning, but here is how it applies to knowing Christ. Here is merely one example of thousands of long-distance relationships that develop with no face time and without ever hearing the person's voice. But they are relationships indeed. And the depth of the relationship developed by mere letters increases the anticipation and joy of the eventual meet-up.

Can we do this with God? I can take a journal and write a letter to God. Then I can open my Bible and find hundreds of pages of his "letters" to me- ready for me to read and enjoy as he reveals himself and his thoughts, his likes and dislikes. Then I can write back. And back and forth we go, a kind of pen pal relationship with the God of the universe. In fact, for those saints whom we admire because they seem to really know God and enjoy him, I believe this is how it happened for them. Which helps me understand why they are so excited for heaven, the ultimate meet-up.