Back In Time: Learnings At The Grill

This week I decided to go back in time a bit and re-post an older Momentum for everyone to read again.  I think the lesson here is solid and so I wanted to share it again.  This was originally posted on 6/30/09.  Hard to believe I've been doing this blog that long!  I hope you enjoy - some of you for a 2nd time..

I, like many males this time of year, love to grill out meals for my family. I enjoy the time spent in the back yard cooking up these manly meat concoctions for the families enjoyment. The reason I bring that up isn't to brag about the fact that I bought a new grill the other day (notice I did mention it though!) but for the fact that I learned two things the other day when I used it the first few times.

#1 - If you are unsure of how something is going to work, don't walk away from it! Yep - the first time we used it I was getting phone calls about softball, etc. and I ended up leaving the brats for a little too long. Par for the course, 5 of the 10 were burnt to a crisp in the process. I had a good flame going and the brats were cooking up well. Yet, I walked away from it and what happened? I now had crispy brats! I should have stayed there and watched them cook, and made sure they were cooked evenly, etc.

This should be done with your spiritual life as well. I've seen a number of people get almost too turned on for God at times. (Ok, not really possible, but follow me here) These people jump right in with both feet and really seem to have the fire burning to a full blaze. They are eating up every book they can find and learning so much, so fast. (almost like a baby when they are learning to walk who takes one step, and think they can run.) What happens next, they fall flat on their face, at least spiritually. Make sure you "cook" your spiritual life on all sides. You're probably not going to be able to stop everything from your previous life right away and be happy. It has to be gradual, and watched....don't let it burn to a crisp!

#2 - You have to try again and again. It's true, I didn't let the burnt brats get the best of me. The next day not only did I grill again, but I grilled something different, trying a new technique. Much like changing your life, you may have to change a lot of things in your life. You may have to even adjust the process in order to get the changes to work. It may take many times before you get it right. My point here is that you have to keep trying as it's worth it in the end. Not only were the pork chops I made good, but the Dr. Pepper mixture that I basted on it made for some good eats. I'd gone back and tried it again, and it was well worth it.

Anyway, I'll let you know if I have any more adventures to learn from this weekend as we host the family for a cookout on Saturday.

Crops

So this past weekend I took a trip to Defiance, Ohio to take my niece back to her parents after she spent a few days with us last week.  There are really only two ways to get to Defiance from Norwalk and both are through a lot of farm land. 

On this trip we took Rt. 281 as it gets us a little closer to our destination on the south side of town, and frankly it’s not a very busy road.  Usually while driving this route one is lucky to see a total of 50 cars during the drive.

While traveling home on Sunday I really looked at all the farm land.  There was a big difference in many of the areas that we were driving through.  Some of the corn along the road was much like the corn here around Norwalk, nice and tall and ready for harvesting.  But, there were also long stretches where the corn wasn’t even knee-high.  It wasn’t fully developed, and since my brother-in-law is a farmer himself, I know that the farmers are wondering if it will ever reach full maturity.

I bring up these crops because it does remind me of our spiritual lives.  In any area one can find some of us that are just starting to bud as a “crop”.  Just a little while down the road you’ll find some that are fully developed, and still further down the road you may find some that are not growing at all. 

The question is, how do you want God to see you as He passes you by on the road?  I know I want to always be growing, until right before He is ready to take me from here.  On that day I hope He finds me fully ready for harvesting.

What’s Holding You Back?

Does anyone remember this ad campaign run by law enforcement in hopes of getting people to wear their seat belts?  This was promoting the seat belt as the way to help keep the user from having major injuries if they are in an accident.

I thought about this the other day when putting on my seat belt.  I was thinking that the slogan could also apply to our spiritual lives.  All too often we allow our busyness to hold us back from God.  We have the kids' events, our own events, work, family, and the list goes on and on. We just allow all of these things in our lives to hold us down from the life that God wants us to live for Him.  I’m not saying that they are bad things, and in fact I’m all in favor of taking part in most of that stuff, but if they keep you from God, then maybe they should be reevaluated.

So, today I just wanted to take a moment and help us all reexamine our lives and make sure that our priority is God.  If we have Him in our lives and make him the priority, then the rest will fall into place.  Don’t allow anything to hold you back from God and what He wants you to be doing with your life.

Protection From The Big, Bad Wolf

Everyone remembers the story about the three little pigs, right?  They each build a house with a different type of material and in the end only one is protected from the big bad wolf.

Have you ever applied this thinking to your spiritual life?  You can build yourself a spiritual life that is pretty shoddy and the big bad wolf known as the devil will easily be able to take it down.  If you build one that is only partially stable, then it may take a little longer, but the big bad wolf will still find a way in. 

What if you were to build that spiritual life out of the best materials you can?  Do you think that it could withstand the hardest and longest huffs and puffs from the wolf?  Do you think that any weak spots could easily be built back up and only make it stronger and stronger?

The next time you are under attack spiritually from the big bad wolf, I want you to think about the structure that your spiritual life is made from.  If it looks like it may be weak, it just may be time to rebuild that structure, only this time stronger than ever.  Having a prayer partner, joining a small group, reading His word, and individual prayer are all examples of ways to rebuild that structure and gain the protection you seek.  Yes it’s not always easy to fit that into a schedule, but it is better than letting the big bad wolf knock your house down, isn’t it?

Everything is Spiritual

What a simple phrase, right at the top there: Everything is spiritual. Have you ever stopped to consider that before? Let's look at it a little closer:

Losing Weight - spiritual by far. Ask God in prayer to help you feast His Word instead of that bag of chips or carton of ice cream.

Budgeting - spiritual again. Put God first and ask Him how to control your finances. You'll see Him at work in that area of your life in no time, and your debt will start to shrink because you put Him in control of it instead of you.

Parenting - You have a father in heaven who sets the example of how to love, so why wouldn't you take advantage of that? It's not easy, but when you allow God to control it, this is more manageable as well.

Your Job(s) - Working can be spiritual, even when you are at a place that isn't so "religion friendly". If you want to be the best worker you can be, then you can't do it alone. You may be asked to do things that you aren't qualified to do and with His guidance you can get through anything at work, when you allow Him into this area of your life as well.

I've just listed a few different examples above, and I've done that to remind you that no matter what area of your life you are thinking about right now with God in control you can do great things. We often allow God into one area or another of our life but keep Him out of others thinking we've given enough to Him as it is. If you want the life that He's set out for you why don't you go ahead and lay it all down at His feet - your life will only get better and better from that point.