Monthly Archives: October 2015

Photo Friday

Warrior’s Cry

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Matthew Warrior

My friend Matthew and I are putting together a workshop for men called “More Than Conquerors” next month at Westview Church in Waukee. We originally did the workshop a few years ago in Pella so we’re in the process of updating it for a new audience. The basic idea is that as a man I’m supposed to experience this sense of being a winner, a victor, and God says I’m “more than a conqueror,” but then I get totally overwhelmed by the fact that the IKEA instructions have no words. So, we dig into that dilemma with the guys.

Yesterday we shot some media for promotional material. I had Matthew (who is a rather gentle, somewhat introverted Marriage and Family Therapist) put on war paint and got him to give me his best warrior scream for this photo.

I liked the result.

Chapter-a-Day

Parents & Forbidden Friends

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The Lord your God you shall follow, him alone you shall fear, his commandments you shall keep, his voice you shall obey, him you shall serve, and to him you shall hold fast.
Deuteronomy 13:4 (NRSV)

When I was a child I lived in an area of town in which many young families were raising their children. There were kids everywhere. Most of the kids in the neighborhood were pretty cool, but on occasion there were kids my mom demanded that I stay away from. Anyone who knows my mom knows what a sweet, loving and accepting lady she is. So, when mom told me that I was not to hang out  with a kid, not play neighborhood games if he was involved, and certainly not to go into his house if invited, then there was certainly something up.

I can remember being regularly confused by this in the moment. I didn’t get why mom had turned into such a meanie or why she had suddenly laid down the gauntlet of forbidden friendship. With my mom, however, this was a rare occurrence, and the forbidden friend was almost always someone I didn’t really want to hang with anyway so it turned out not to be a big deal.

When I finally got to be an adult and a parent of young children, I finally got where my mom was coming from, and was thankful for drawing strong boundaries for me when it was necessary. Sometimes your Spidey sense (as Wendy likes to put it) goes off and you know in your gut that whatever is going on with your kid’s friend is not a good thing. When your kid hangs out with that kid, then your kid’s attitude and behavior transforms into something from the dark side when they get home. Danger Will Robinson!

Today’s chapter is one of those difficult ancient texts that is difficult for a 21st century modern American to fully understand. When I thought about it from the perspective of God as parent, and the Hebrews like children in a new neighborhood, I think I can begin to get an idea for what motivated the commands. When you consider that the local pagan religions of that time were into all sorts of dark things like sacrificing children, it starts to make even more sense.

I’m thankful this morning for parents who were appropriately cautious with me as a kid and who had my best interest at heart. I’m thankful for my children who have learned along their own life journeys the importance of choosing good companions for the sojourn. I’m thankful that God desires the same for me.

chapter a day banner 2015

featured photo:  anderspee via Flickr

Throwback Thursdays

TBT: Engagement

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Tom and Wendy Engagement Photo - 1

It was 10 years ago this month that Wendy and I had our engagement photos taken and our wedding plans were in full swing. So, for Throwback Thursday, here you go.

Chapter-a-Day

It is Well

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Be careful to obey all these words that I command you today, so that it may go well with you and with your children after you forever, because you will be doing what is good and right in the sight of the Lord your God.
Deuteronomy 12:28 (NRSV)

Thinking back to childhood, there stand out a few examples of when I chose to blatantly do what I knew was wrong. For example, there are a couple of instances of petty theft on my pre-adolescent rap sheet. One of the forays into criminal conduct resulted in swiftly getting caught and punished. You could say that I got away with the other instance, though the lingering pain of a guilty conscience and the self-recrimination may have been worse punishment than if I had simply been caught in the act. I eventually chose, of my own free will, to come clean and pay my debt.

Those early experiences taught me that there is a peace of soul that comes with simply doing what is good and right. No one is perfect. I have my blind spots and I make poor choices — willfully and regularly, I’m afraid. I have learned , however, that life is certainly less anxious when I daily endeavor to live, speak, and act out of a respect for others and a desire to do the right thing. Sleep comes more easily and the day is experienced with a greater fullness of joy when my conscience is clear.

In today’s chapter Moses urges obedience to God’s commands “that it may go well with you and your children.” While I certainly believe that God blesses His children, I also recognize that there is a natural “going well” that occurs simply as a consequence of doing the right thing.

I cannot control all of the circumstances of life around me. I cannot control what others think, say, and do. I can, however, control my own thoughts, words, and actions. And, if I do things the right way then life, for the most part, tends to go well.

chapter a day banner 2015

featured photo by jsrcyclist via Flickr