Working Out....when to do it and when to take a break

This morning, while Tami and I were getting ready for work, she asked me if I thought she could start working out again. For those that have not heard we were involved in a terrible car accident a little over a week ago and our SUV rolled over. Thank the Lord that none of us were seriously injured, but we had sore backs and necks along with a few other minor things. Tami knew that I had started back with my workouts on a limited basis and was ready to get back to the gym. I told her that your body will tell you when it’s ready. She was a little confused by my statement, so I had to explain my answer to her. I told her that you will probably be sore when working out, but if you start and your body really hurts then it’s telling you that now is not the time to do this. She thought about it for a minute and said, “My body is telling me it’s not ready yet!” LOL. So, I told her that she should wait another week and see how she is feeling!

As I was thinking about our conversation this morning, I couldn’t help but think about my spiritual journey and the things I go through. Most of my life has been an easy walk with the Lord where everybody likes me (who doesn’t?), everybody treats me with respect, and they pray for me and support me. During those times it just seems like everything falls into place and it’s so easy to be faithful and serve the Lord with all that I am.

Then there have been the times when a crisis has hit me. The loss of a job, death of a family member or close friend, unexpected debt, or maybe a health issue. These are the times that will test my spiritual fitness and strength. During the initial process it’s so hard to be upbeat, be in the Bible, pray, and maybe even go to church. Yet, unlike my physical body, which tells me to stop because I could do further damage, I need to understand that all of these things are a necessary part of my spiritual healing. Is it easy to do them? Of course not. But these are the systems that God has set in place for my own spiritual wellness. On Tuesday, when I went to the gym for the first time, I did my normal workout and was fine until the last 15 minutes. This is when I do my ab work and my back immediately said, “Stop!” I didn’t do my ab workout because I knew I could injure myself and then it could be months before I’m ready to work out. In the same way, when I hurt spiritually, I know that to neglect being in the Bible, praying, and going to church will only lengthen the time of my healing. It may not be easy and it works totally opposite of how I treat my physical body, but that is the way to find the peace that God has for you.

Enjoying Gifts....

There are a few times throughout the year when I receive gifts from family and friends. I always get excited as those times approach because I like gifts! I could go through the list of favorites but don’t want to bore you with the details. Gifts are usually something that brings value to my life, and by using it I might look better, smell better, or have an easier time with some of life’s tasks. Then there are the gifts that are just for fun. They don’t make me look better, make me smell better, or help me accomplish tasks easier; they are just for my entertainment. I can truly say that I love every type of gift.

God is a God who loves to give gifts. The ultimate gift was allowing His Son to die on the cross so we could have the gift of eternal life. That in and of itself is more than I could ever imagine receiving from God, but he didn’t stop with just that gift. When Jesus returned to heaven after his resurrection, the Holy Spirit was sent to give us power through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 we see the day of Pentecost, when the Gifts of the Holy Spirit are made available to us, the church. We need to understand that the Gifts of the Spirit are just that—a gift that I don’t have to do anything to receive. The Gifts of the Spirit are given to believers so that they can operate under the anointing and power of God. I believe it is God’s desire for every believer to live daily under the anointing and power of the Holy Spirit, but God will never force us to do it. Just as no one can force me to accept a gift, we need to understand that God will never force us to receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit. My question is: why would you not want to receive everything God has given for your benefit?

Father's Who Make a Difference

I was blessed to have a dad who displayed his love in many ways. He worked several jobs to provide for our family and allow us as kids growing up to have our mom at home with us every day. In the midst of working all those jobs, he still had time to be home most evenings to sit down with us for family dinner, and he umpired at our little league park where we spent many an evening playing baseball. He taught us the importance of being in church by always making sure his family was at services and Sunday School each week. In fact, there were several years when he was my teacher, and I always enjoyed playing Bible Baseball and other fun games to learn the Bible.

My dad has a way of making us all laugh, even though he’s not as funny as he thinks he is. As kids, we grew up singing a song that he wrote, or tells us he wrote, and we would laugh all the time singing it. And I guess that he must have written it, because I’ve never heard it sung in any church on a Sunday morning. Guess no one ever taught him to copyright and publish his work. My dad taught me the importance of loving God and treating others with love and respect by serving any way necessary to advance the gospel message.

When I think about my life as a dad, I’m baffled by a God who would bless me with two amazingly wonderful children. And now that family has grown to include an unbelievable son-in-law along with a beautiful granddaughter. My desire is to be the same type of leader of my family that my dad was for our family. He did it the same way that his father taught him to lead his family when he was younger. And now I want to teach my son and son-in-law to do it the same way that was passed on to me. What the world needs today is for more men to stand up and be the dad God intends for them to be, leading their families closer to God and being servants showing God’s love to the world around them. Men who can bring joy and laughter to their families as well as create a life-long heritage that will pass from generation to generation. I was blessed to have that in my life and have a great example that I can pass on. If you were not blessed to have the heritage I had, you can create your own heritage. Rise up, dads, and show your family how to serve the Lord.

First Experiences

One of the fun things about life is first time experiences. We’ve all had them, and some bring a big smile to our faces while others make us cringe inside. Well, as new grandparents we are experiencing the joy of watching Brynley experience new things in her young life. This past weekend, when Tami and I got home after attending an open house, we were pleased to see Krystal, Justin, and Brynley enjoying our back yard. They thought it would be a fun day for Brynley to experience our pool for the first time. As they lowered her feet into the pool she began crying because it was a new experience she was not enjoying. I was in total agreement with Brynley because the water was way too cold for swimming. Unless it’s at mild bath tub temperature, it’s just too cold.

I knew what would do the trick and turned on the spa and heated the water to a refreshing 92 degrees. Once the water was at optimal temperature, Krystal took Brynley into the warm water and she had a blast—splashing, smiling, talking, and trying to get her mouth onto the fountain pipe. What a great first time experience. So in the span of an hour, Brynley had one first time experience that brought tears while the other brought a nice big smile.

That’s what life is for each of us. We all have experiences that bring us great joy, while we wish other experiences would just go away. As a part of our spiritual journey, the Lord will bring experiences into our lives that help us develop our faith. Some of those experiences will bring us to the place of saying, “I don’t like this!” Other experiences will bring a smile to our faces because they are so special. Both are needed in our development as believers, so don’t be fearful of first time experiences but instead be open-minded and ask the Lord: What are you wanting to teach me through this? I know I have so many things to learn, and I’m excited about first time experiences that are coming my way.