http://www.wimp.com/thegovernment
My father sent this link to me recently. It is very stirring. Please have a look.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Friday, January 23, 2009
Growing in more ways than one
I am writing to update you and brag a little on how my husband is maturing in his role as the "woo-er" in the family. I hope he passes this wonderful trait and pattern on to Samuel for his future bride.
Our marriage's start in romance declined a little after the honeymoon, partly due to the stuff of life, but that is the past. This year has been quite exceptional. Be inspired, men! Go and be chivalrous! Love! Jump over mountains and woo your bride again--just as Christ does for us.
I'll just mention a few things that were exceptional to me. One morning as he rushed out the door to work, he handed me this note that said "Open Immediately". With a grin, he ran out the door. I smirked and opened it to find:
TOP SECRET TRANSMISSION
Agent Karen Hawkxxx,
An enemy to the Romance Republic has infiltrated our ranks. You alone are our greatest hope to uncover the masquerade and restore the Republic.
Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (if the kids are in a good mood and the weather is halfway decent), is to meet at the rendezvous point in disguise as a mommy with 2 children. Your cover will be to eat a hamburger and let Sammy play on the playground where you will meet up with Agent XOXO at approximately 1200 hours. He will deliver "The Package". The coordinates of the rendevous point are:
35.093414, -80.858454
(use google maps)
If you are unable to accept the assignment, please call headquarters at XXX-XXX-3901.
Warning: This message WILL NOT self destruct in 5 seconds.
It wasn't for a special occasion, and we did end up eating a hamburger with the kids playing on the playground at the Burger King near his workplace. :) Alabaster fell asleep. I got a great little package of chocolates out of the deal, but it meant more than that to me. It was the fact that he took the time out to make my day special...
Take the time out today to be thankful for those around you as well as remembering how Jesus does little things in your life to make your day special. He loves you, you know.
God Bless,
Karen
P.S. You should look up those coordinates on Google Maps just for fun!
Our marriage's start in romance declined a little after the honeymoon, partly due to the stuff of life, but that is the past. This year has been quite exceptional. Be inspired, men! Go and be chivalrous! Love! Jump over mountains and woo your bride again--just as Christ does for us.
I'll just mention a few things that were exceptional to me. One morning as he rushed out the door to work, he handed me this note that said "Open Immediately". With a grin, he ran out the door. I smirked and opened it to find:
TOP SECRET TRANSMISSION
Agent Karen Hawkxxx,
An enemy to the Romance Republic has infiltrated our ranks. You alone are our greatest hope to uncover the masquerade and restore the Republic.
Your assignment, if you choose to accept it (if the kids are in a good mood and the weather is halfway decent), is to meet at the rendezvous point in disguise as a mommy with 2 children. Your cover will be to eat a hamburger and let Sammy play on the playground where you will meet up with Agent XOXO at approximately 1200 hours. He will deliver "The Package". The coordinates of the rendevous point are:
35.093414, -80.858454
(use google maps)
If you are unable to accept the assignment, please call headquarters at XXX-XXX-3901.
Warning: This message WILL NOT self destruct in 5 seconds.
It wasn't for a special occasion, and we did end up eating a hamburger with the kids playing on the playground at the Burger King near his workplace. :) Alabaster fell asleep. I got a great little package of chocolates out of the deal, but it meant more than that to me. It was the fact that he took the time out to make my day special...
Take the time out today to be thankful for those around you as well as remembering how Jesus does little things in your life to make your day special. He loves you, you know.
God Bless,
Karen
P.S. You should look up those coordinates on Google Maps just for fun!
Rejoicing/Mourning the Passage of Time
I think the passage of time is somehow more noticeable when you have kids. Take Alabaster, for instance. She is now 14 months and still growing. Samuel is now 3 and a half and I wonder when he will stop growing-I want him to stay just as small as he is so that one day I won't have to look up to discipline him.
When I stop to live in the moment, I am amazed at how they have changed. Allie's toddling around the house and learning how to stand on her own 2 feet, particularly when big brother knocks her down again. Samuel is learning to write and things are becoming more and more fine tuned. I just wonder what I am missing when I am not looking. I am so glad they are growing up, but it is bittersweet.
Alabaster is the beautiful little girl who has this almost-impish grin that I just love. It's one of those grins where you don't want to believe that she is capable of any mischief but has the potential to be a handful. I can't believe she has grown up to this point in her life already. She is much more vocal than Samuel was at that age. Ashley says it's because she's a girl, and I have to agree. She loves her "opp-uh" (apple), and bobs her head/whole body when she is telling you yes. With her selective tastes, one day she will love a particular snack, and the next day (after I've purchased more of the previous) she will turn her nose up at it...but she'll come back to it again eventually...or so I hope.
Samuel is a fast learner. The past few days, he has led the dinnertime prayer for us. With both kids in booster seats, we will all hold hands and he wll pray: Je-jus, thank you for our food...and for my wice (lets go of my hand to point at it and holds my hand again). In Je-jus name (looks up at me and grins), A-men!
Sometimes he'll ask, "Wight (right)?" and then he applauds for himself. It just warms my heart.
It's something I am just amazed at when I think of how precious and valuable these kids are...how their little hands are capable of building and tearing things down, for hitting each other and then for coming up and patting your face with love and giving you a big hug and sloppy wet kiss. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Nothing can really compare.
When I stop to live in the moment, I am amazed at how they have changed. Allie's toddling around the house and learning how to stand on her own 2 feet, particularly when big brother knocks her down again. Samuel is learning to write and things are becoming more and more fine tuned. I just wonder what I am missing when I am not looking. I am so glad they are growing up, but it is bittersweet.
Alabaster is the beautiful little girl who has this almost-impish grin that I just love. It's one of those grins where you don't want to believe that she is capable of any mischief but has the potential to be a handful. I can't believe she has grown up to this point in her life already. She is much more vocal than Samuel was at that age. Ashley says it's because she's a girl, and I have to agree. She loves her "opp-uh" (apple), and bobs her head/whole body when she is telling you yes. With her selective tastes, one day she will love a particular snack, and the next day (after I've purchased more of the previous) she will turn her nose up at it...but she'll come back to it again eventually...or so I hope.
Samuel is a fast learner. The past few days, he has led the dinnertime prayer for us. With both kids in booster seats, we will all hold hands and he wll pray: Je-jus, thank you for our food...and for my wice (lets go of my hand to point at it and holds my hand again). In Je-jus name (looks up at me and grins), A-men!
Sometimes he'll ask, "Wight (right)?" and then he applauds for himself. It just warms my heart.
It's something I am just amazed at when I think of how precious and valuable these kids are...how their little hands are capable of building and tearing things down, for hitting each other and then for coming up and patting your face with love and giving you a big hug and sloppy wet kiss. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Nothing can really compare.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Goals vs Destiny
Happy New Year to everyone. With Christmas and New Year's behind us, I have been considering the direction that lies ahead for our family. I've been trying to find moments of time to scratch down goals and talk with Karen about what the year holds. After wrapping up a last few "Thank You" cards, we will quickly focus on what lies ahead. But one of the most profound things I've discovered since we made the move to Charlotte, is that having goals isn't quite the same as having a sense of destiny.
Growing up, I always suffered from lack of goals and "progress" that I felt was tangible. I remember attending events and listened to successful people who talked about making goals, but when I tried to do it, I would find it to be an empty proposition. Even if I squeaked out a few goals on paper, I couldn't muster the discipline to actually follow through. My heart usually wasn't in these goals because I had made them up to try to feel good about having a life purpose, and I knew that they would be "worthy" things to accomplish.
The deeper issue that I could not understand at the time, is that goals can only be built on the foundation of true destiny. Destiny is the core expression of who we are. It is the passions and desires in our heart that provide energy to move forward against all oppositions. Goals are simply the steps required to complete that destiny. But if the destiny is not clear, it is impossible to write down the goals. When this happens, we often feel frustrated with life and our own performance, and lose heart that our lives will ever amount to anything. But often times, even in these periods of frustration, God is refining our trust and character.
Since childhood, I can look back and identify that sense of destiny threaded through various thoughts, activities, and events that took place in my life. But the trick was pealing back the "layers" to get to the heart of that destiny. This is the hard part. Often times, peeling back those layers involves blind obedience (or perhaps faith is a better word) to the leading of God, when we have not yet come to grips with who we are and the gift that is dormant inside of us. I firmly believe that many people never make it this far simply because they aren't willing to take a risk and come to the place where God is calling them to come. Whether that place is a move to a new physical location, or a life event change, or what have you, we must be willing to step into the invitation to follow God to the next phase of life. If we don't, we will find ourselves stagnated in the very circumstances of life that used to provoke passion and excitement. Many Christians think it is evil to follow after such passions, and I admit that there is a balance between being "flighty/uncommitted" and being courageous enough to take a risk. Often that difference lies in the character that God is trying to work out in our personality. The best litmus test for this is to ask yourself whether you are running AWAY FROM a circumstance or responsibility, or if you are running TO a great one. But all of that aside, Christians at large suffer more from fear of taking a true risk in life than from being flighty.
I wouldn't dare put a formula to this process of uncovering true destiny because I believe it is different for each person. As Aslan says in "Prince Caspian", "Things never happen the same way twice." But I know that for me personally, marriage was one key to unlocking that destiny. The relationship spawned between my wife's own sense of destiny and mine created a synergy that has continued to move us forward much farther than we could have gone alone. Another key was making the move to Charlotte for the Morningstar School of Ministry. This was a tremendous risk with no sense of tangible reward. A third key has been a divine appointment to work with my current employer. I have found that being willing to move with the Lord's first call, often leads to the next call...in ever increasing frequency. Many people have not considered that they might should be living in a different city, or working for an employer making half of their current salary. Why? Because they are all risks. Here again, I do not want to set formulas, but merely to challenge the status quo in our lives. Comfort is the greatest enemy of destiny. It is in accepting God's invitation (taking the risk) that we find keys that unlock the doors leading to the core of our being. Every key moves us closer to the heart of what we are created to be...to the place of passionate destiny.
My experience was that between the key of marriage and the key of moving to Charlotte, I spent 4 years wondering what was the next step. All the while I was serving in a ministry and allowing God to form a level of character in my through ministry and marriage. The third key took one year. And now, it seems like keys happen monthy in some form or another. God has detailed and elaborate plans in store for us, which sometimes require fundamental changes in our life experiences and understanding of life, and knowledge of the world. Until we accept the first invitation, these changes cannot be made. Once the process begins, we experience layer upon layer being peeled back to our heart as one experience/training builds upon the next. In this process of following God's invitations, goals are good to have in place to give sharper direction to daily activities. But don't mistake having a list of goals for having connected with your full purpose. Instead, while unlocking your purpose, create goals. Since coming to this realization, I've been able to rest alot more in times when I am feeling frustrated about lacking true purpose. I realize that God (not the Devil) is in the details. Each transition, each circumstance, and often the frustrations we experience, are all part of the process of moving into true destiny. My friend, don't let fear or circumstances, or people hold you back from accepting God's invitation. Welcome to passion.
Growing up, I always suffered from lack of goals and "progress" that I felt was tangible. I remember attending events and listened to successful people who talked about making goals, but when I tried to do it, I would find it to be an empty proposition. Even if I squeaked out a few goals on paper, I couldn't muster the discipline to actually follow through. My heart usually wasn't in these goals because I had made them up to try to feel good about having a life purpose, and I knew that they would be "worthy" things to accomplish.
The deeper issue that I could not understand at the time, is that goals can only be built on the foundation of true destiny. Destiny is the core expression of who we are. It is the passions and desires in our heart that provide energy to move forward against all oppositions. Goals are simply the steps required to complete that destiny. But if the destiny is not clear, it is impossible to write down the goals. When this happens, we often feel frustrated with life and our own performance, and lose heart that our lives will ever amount to anything. But often times, even in these periods of frustration, God is refining our trust and character.
Since childhood, I can look back and identify that sense of destiny threaded through various thoughts, activities, and events that took place in my life. But the trick was pealing back the "layers" to get to the heart of that destiny. This is the hard part. Often times, peeling back those layers involves blind obedience (or perhaps faith is a better word) to the leading of God, when we have not yet come to grips with who we are and the gift that is dormant inside of us. I firmly believe that many people never make it this far simply because they aren't willing to take a risk and come to the place where God is calling them to come. Whether that place is a move to a new physical location, or a life event change, or what have you, we must be willing to step into the invitation to follow God to the next phase of life. If we don't, we will find ourselves stagnated in the very circumstances of life that used to provoke passion and excitement. Many Christians think it is evil to follow after such passions, and I admit that there is a balance between being "flighty/uncommitted" and being courageous enough to take a risk. Often that difference lies in the character that God is trying to work out in our personality. The best litmus test for this is to ask yourself whether you are running AWAY FROM a circumstance or responsibility, or if you are running TO a great one. But all of that aside, Christians at large suffer more from fear of taking a true risk in life than from being flighty.
I wouldn't dare put a formula to this process of uncovering true destiny because I believe it is different for each person. As Aslan says in "Prince Caspian", "Things never happen the same way twice." But I know that for me personally, marriage was one key to unlocking that destiny. The relationship spawned between my wife's own sense of destiny and mine created a synergy that has continued to move us forward much farther than we could have gone alone. Another key was making the move to Charlotte for the Morningstar School of Ministry. This was a tremendous risk with no sense of tangible reward. A third key has been a divine appointment to work with my current employer. I have found that being willing to move with the Lord's first call, often leads to the next call...in ever increasing frequency. Many people have not considered that they might should be living in a different city, or working for an employer making half of their current salary. Why? Because they are all risks. Here again, I do not want to set formulas, but merely to challenge the status quo in our lives. Comfort is the greatest enemy of destiny. It is in accepting God's invitation (taking the risk) that we find keys that unlock the doors leading to the core of our being. Every key moves us closer to the heart of what we are created to be...to the place of passionate destiny.
My experience was that between the key of marriage and the key of moving to Charlotte, I spent 4 years wondering what was the next step. All the while I was serving in a ministry and allowing God to form a level of character in my through ministry and marriage. The third key took one year. And now, it seems like keys happen monthy in some form or another. God has detailed and elaborate plans in store for us, which sometimes require fundamental changes in our life experiences and understanding of life, and knowledge of the world. Until we accept the first invitation, these changes cannot be made. Once the process begins, we experience layer upon layer being peeled back to our heart as one experience/training builds upon the next. In this process of following God's invitations, goals are good to have in place to give sharper direction to daily activities. But don't mistake having a list of goals for having connected with your full purpose. Instead, while unlocking your purpose, create goals. Since coming to this realization, I've been able to rest alot more in times when I am feeling frustrated about lacking true purpose. I realize that God (not the Devil) is in the details. Each transition, each circumstance, and often the frustrations we experience, are all part of the process of moving into true destiny. My friend, don't let fear or circumstances, or people hold you back from accepting God's invitation. Welcome to passion.
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