I drove the family to Grandma’s last night for Thanksgiving. Three hours into the six-hour trip, I realized that I was in a theology lab.
A day with a car full of kids will teach you a lot about God. Transporting a family from one city to another is closely akin to God transporting us from our home to his.
A journey is a journey, whether the destination be the Thanksgiving table or the heavenly one. Both demand patience, a good sense of direction, and a driver who knows that the feast at the end of the trip is worth the hassles in the midst of the trip.
For me, six hours on the road is a small price to pay for my mom’s strawberry cake. I don’t mind the drive because I know the reward. I have three decades of Thanksgivings under my belt, literally. As I drive, I can taste the turkey. Hear the dinner-table laughter. Smell the smoke from the fireplace.
I can endure the journey because I know the destiny.
For some of you, the journey has been long. Very long and stormy. In no way do I wish to minimize the difficulties that you have had to face along the way. Some of you have shouldered burdens that few of us could ever carry. You have bid farewell to life-long partners. You have been robbed of life-long dreams. You have been given bodies that can’t sustain your spirit. You have spouses who can’t tolerate your faith. You have bills that outnumber the paychecks and challenges that outweigh the strength.
And you are tired.
Let me encourage you with a parallel between your life’s journey and the one our family took last night.
It’s worth it.
As I write, the Thanksgiving meal is over. My legs are propped up on the hearth. My tablet is on my lap.
I have every intention of dozing off as soon as I finish this chapter.
The turkey has been attacked. The giblet gravy has been gobbled. The table is clear. The kids are napping. And the family is content.
As we sat around the table today, no one spoke of the long trip to get here. No one mentioned the requests I didn’t honor. No one grumbled about my foot being on the accelerator when their hearts were focused on the banana splits. No one complained about the late hour of arrival.
Yesterday’s challenges were lost in today’s joy.
God never said that the journey would be easy, but he did say that the arrival would be worthwhile.
Remember this: God may not do what you want, but he will do what is right … and best. He’s the Father of forward motion. Trust him. He will get you home. And the trials of the trip will be lost in the joys of the feast.
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll close my eyes. I’m a bit tired from the journey, and it feels good to rest.
From In the Eye of the Storm Copyright (W Publishing Group, 1999) Max Lucado
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Is Your Thermostat Broken?
Ironmen Edge 11/13/2007
Have you checked to see if your thermostat is working correctly? That may seem like the wrong question to ask your self when you woke up Tuesday morning, but it was the one posed to us yesterday morning by Joel. Ironmen Edge is fortunate enough that we do have two HVAC experts who study with us during this time, so they were able to walk the rest of us through how a thermostat is supposed to work. Joel also illustrated that women are a thermometer and that men are thermostats. Meaning that women, can tell the thermostat when things are getting overheated or too cold in our households and that the man of the household, or the thermostat, we have the ability change things to make the household live able again. Now, you may be asking yourself at this moment what in the world do you mean. What we really mean with this whole correlation is that as the man of the house we are to be leaders in our home and set the spiritual temperature of our home.
Let's look at Ephesians 5:23 "A husband is the head of of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church." 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty." 5:28" And husbands should love their wives as the love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it."
As men we are the head or the leader of our household. We can change the climate of our spiritual households. As we talked about how all this works out in our on families we noticed that by being in tune with our wives we can function as a proper thermostat in unison with the thermometer. By paying attention to the thermometer we can sense when things are getting too hot or too cold. And that the best way to adjust our home temperature is through prayer. Che added to this with a prayer that his family has been praying and uses to set the temperature of his household. Psalm 89:11 - Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life." With this prayer they have been able to focus on the most important thing in this world and that is worshiping your name.
In summary, we found that we all have ways to adjust the temperature of our households and that if that means being prayerfully consistent, paying attention to our families needs, and placing our love, our faith, and all of our worship in Jesus name we are able to set the stage for family that is ready and willing to follow what ever God calls us to.
An Ironman,
Ryan
Have you checked to see if your thermostat is working correctly? That may seem like the wrong question to ask your self when you woke up Tuesday morning, but it was the one posed to us yesterday morning by Joel. Ironmen Edge is fortunate enough that we do have two HVAC experts who study with us during this time, so they were able to walk the rest of us through how a thermostat is supposed to work. Joel also illustrated that women are a thermometer and that men are thermostats. Meaning that women, can tell the thermostat when things are getting overheated or too cold in our households and that the man of the household, or the thermostat, we have the ability change things to make the household live able again. Now, you may be asking yourself at this moment what in the world do you mean. What we really mean with this whole correlation is that as the man of the house we are to be leaders in our home and set the spiritual temperature of our home.
Let's look at Ephesians 5:23 "A husband is the head of of his wife, just as Christ is the head of the church." 5:25 "Husbands, love your wives the same as Christ loved the church and gave his life for it. He died to make the church holy. He used the telling of the Good News to make the church clean by washing it with water. Christ died so that he could give the church to himself like a bride in all her beauty." 5:28" And husbands should love their wives as the love their own bodies. The man who loves his wife loves himself, because no one ever hates his own body, but feeds and takes care of it."
As men we are the head or the leader of our household. We can change the climate of our spiritual households. As we talked about how all this works out in our on families we noticed that by being in tune with our wives we can function as a proper thermostat in unison with the thermometer. By paying attention to the thermometer we can sense when things are getting too hot or too cold. And that the best way to adjust our home temperature is through prayer. Che added to this with a prayer that his family has been praying and uses to set the temperature of his household. Psalm 89:11 - Lord, teach me your ways, and I will live and obey your truths. Help me make worshiping your name the most important thing in my life." With this prayer they have been able to focus on the most important thing in this world and that is worshiping your name.
In summary, we found that we all have ways to adjust the temperature of our households and that if that means being prayerfully consistent, paying attention to our families needs, and placing our love, our faith, and all of our worship in Jesus name we are able to set the stage for family that is ready and willing to follow what ever God calls us to.
An Ironman,
Ryan
Monday, November 12, 2007
Campout Instructions
IM Campout is right around the corner. We will meet at LCCOC at 5pm on Friday, Nov. 30. We will carpool to Bent Tree Ranch and we should arrive around 7pm. Dinner will be provided by Hard 8 BBQ as we arrive. Here are directions to BTR:
Take I-20 west from Fort Worth proceed thru Weatherford approximately 20 miles, exit south on highway 281, exit # 386, proceed south approximately 15 miles to Morgan Mill, at the Baptist Church turn west on 1188, go west 1 mile to the top of the hill, turn south on county road 132, proceed 2 miles to the ranch on the right side of 132, you will see the name of the ranch over the gate, the entry has white Austin stone columns.
Here is what you should bring:
1. Tent
2. Money for dinner (approximately $10- $15)
3. Bug spray
4. Bible
5. Games (cards, football, baseball and glove, etc)
PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING. I HAVE TO HAVE A NUMBER FOR DINNER! MY CELL 214-415-9568!
Kids are welcome if their father is present.
Please come and join us, we would love to have you!
Take I-20 west from Fort Worth proceed thru Weatherford approximately 20 miles, exit south on highway 281, exit # 386, proceed south approximately 15 miles to Morgan Mill, at the Baptist Church turn west on 1188, go west 1 mile to the top of the hill, turn south on county road 132, proceed 2 miles to the ranch on the right side of 132, you will see the name of the ranch over the gate, the entry has white Austin stone columns.
Here is what you should bring:
1. Tent
2. Money for dinner (approximately $10- $15)
3. Bug spray
4. Bible
5. Games (cards, football, baseball and glove, etc)
PLEASE CONTACT ME ASAP TO LET ME KNOW IF YOU ARE COMING. I HAVE TO HAVE A NUMBER FOR DINNER! MY CELL 214-415-9568!
Kids are welcome if their father is present.
Please come and join us, we would love to have you!
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