A Lifetime of Firsts

Bright and early this morning, I drove my sister to Lambert-St. Louis International Airport for her first ever flight. I could tell she was nervous and excited and probably a little scared (although she would never admit it! so I didn't even ask.). Last night before bed we talked about all the important things to know and do and bring on a flight. It was nice to know that my life experience was benefiting someone else. Still all the knowledge in the world can't curb the "first timer" jitters.  It wasn't until all three of the people she was meeting had arrived and they had all checked in that she really began to relax. It's fun watching someone go through a good experience for the first time...not so fun if it is a bad experience.

Life is full of first timer events. Sometimes they are good--like this morning--and sometimes they are bad. We should embrace our first timer experiences and learn from them. Our knowledge and experience may benefit someone else later on down the road.

Strawberry Festival

This week at the Missouri Baptist Children’s Home (where I work) things are very hectic. We are in the midst of preparing for one of our three festival fundraisers. Strawberry Festival is on Saturday, June 5th, this year and it is always an all day affair. We have craft venders, a quilt auction, craft auction, food, and campus tours. It is fun but completely and utterly exhausting!
Strawberry Festival is the oldest of the three festivals MBCH holds each year. When it first started 120 years ago, it was the main source of income for the Baptist Orphans Home (now MBCH). It all started when the orphans grew, harvested, and sold their own strawberries in order to keep the home open. Over the years it has changed and evolved. However, in the last 25 years the festival has changed very little. It has stopped adapting to current trends and is stuck in the rut of tradition. As a result, the festivals have become less and less effective in their post of providing major funding for the operation of MBCH. In fact, there were no major changes allowed until last year. I just wonder if it’s too little to late.
Sadly, many of us have a “festival” mentality. As baby Christians we established a pattern of provision for our walk with Christ. We knew what we needed to reach our spiritual goals and we worked hard to meet those goals. As we continued to grow, we would change and adapt our strategy to keep things current and effective. However, just like the festival, many of us get comfortable and stop keeping tabs on the things we are doing and their effectiveness and we get ourselves into a spiritual rut. While we are in this rut, we do the minimum to keep our Christian walk afloat but we never really are as good as we could be. Eventually we will tank if we don’t get out of this rut. Will we learn to grow and change again or will it be to little to late? I guess we will just have to wait and see.
Get out of your rut and start reaching your potential!

Too Much Emotion

I admit it. I’m Emo sometimes. I like things to go my way and if they don’t I get pouty and annoying. I mope around and sigh and generally make everyone else miserable in the process. Sadly, this behavior isn’t only directed toward other people. I also find myself treating God this way.
How many times have I cried, “Not fair!” Then I proceeded to pout and complain about how God doesn’t love me and I can never catch a break. Isn’t that the same selfish behavior I am ashamed to see myself use on other people, and now I am using it on God. Not that it will get me very far.
God is just, loving, and unchanging. He doesn’t respond to pouting and foot stomping. He doesn’t fall for reverse psychology. However, He does listen to what I have to say—no matter what attitude I say it in. He does keep His promises. He does fulfill His will in my life. He even uses my mistakes and bad choices and bad attitudes to shape the person I am going to become. See He’s got it all together even if I don’t!
“God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?” Numbers 23:19
STOP your pouting!
START trusting God.
LIVE a full life based on God’s promises.

Big Picture People

Have you ever met that one person who cannot see past the next ten minutes of the day? Everything is dramatic and the world is always coming to an end. Oh wait! We all know teenagers! Sadly, many adults live this way too.


As Christians, God calls us to be big picture people. That doesn’t mean that we have everything planned out to the letter for the next twenty years of our lives (read the dangers of this in James 4), but it does mean thinking of more than the moment. I think you could make a valid case that all successful individuals practice big picture perspective.

When people with big picture perspective encounter choices, crisis, opportunities, and struggles they stop for a minute to think. Before making any decisions they think, “What consequences good or bad could come from how I handle this situation?” Teenagers are notorious for rushing headlong into situations without a moments thought.

For example, if Andrew wants to get a tattoo he should stop and ask himself a few questions. Will I still want this tattoo when I 30+? Is my chosen location for the tattoo appropriate for my future career choice? *Side Note: I know some churches and other ministry employers that will not hire if you have a tattoo at all let alone if you have one on your face!* But many people don’t stop to give these questions and others any consideration.

This lack of big picture perspective has corroded so many things in our lives. Our rash decisions from the past are haunting us now. We regret the people we’ve dated, the jobs we’ve taken, or the places we have lived. Yes, God uses these choices to help us to learn and to influence the person we have become, but just think of the pain and regret that could have been avoided with just a little bit of thought!

Take 5 minutes today and think about how the decisions you are making could be affecting your future. You might be surprised at what you discover!