I never thought of it that way.

But as I learn more about how we are designed, it only makes sense. We were created to respond to God. Even at the earliest stages of our lives.

Why did Jesus tell his disciples to let the children come to Him? Because Jesus wanted to demonstrate true worship. Read the scripture. Jesus was in the midst of another nit-picky conversation with the Pharisees about technical rights and wrongs. But they were missing the point… again.

The whole point of our existence is to bring God glory. To worship Him. Kids respond to Jesus. Response = Worship. Worship is the point. Not technical rights and wrongs.

So when your 3-year old prays for her kitten and stuffed animal. Cherish this, but be careful not to dismiss this as simply cute. This is a 3-year old responding to her Creator knowing that He cares about everything in her life.

Instead, let it remind you that your God cares about everything in your life. Even the things you dismiss as trivial.

Your 3-year old is responding to God and thus worshiping Him. Glorifying Him.
A child’s worship is not trivial. It is not immature. It is not naive.

It’s glorifying. It’s everything God designed it to be.

So when was the last time you prayed that way?

The family you are in is no accident.

Has anyone told you that yet?

Your parents, siblings, kids, etc. They were all placed in your life for a reason.

Why?

Ecclesiastes 4:10 says,

“If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.”

God never intended for you to live life alone.  In fact… as much as some of you might argue… God didn’t roll dice to choose your family members.

How do we know?  Because His chief desire is to glorify Himself through you.  He’s going to surround you with the relationships that will accomplish just that.

Though friends will flow in and out of your life, there are only a select few God chose to stick with you through the long haul.

So the next time you encounter your uncle Alan… you know the guy that has no teeth, wears overalls with no underwear, drinks a pint of scotch a day, and has a cat named ‘dog’ and a dog named ‘cat’… remember that God’s goal is to glorify Himself through your ongoing relationship.

Whose your Uncle Alan?

If you know me… you know I love my iPod. I’ve usually got it in my ears. Another denied addiction.

The other day I left my iPod sitting on my desk. By the end of the evening it was missing.

The funny thing is, the moment I said it was missing people took me seriously.

Why is that funny? Well… again, if you knew me you’d know that losing things is a regular occurrence in my life.

But, as my friend, Shane, stated, “Gina loses a lot of things, but she never loses her iPod.”

Hello to everyone clicking over from Swerve.  I hope you’ll come back to visit.

If you’re looking for more, hang tight.  God’s got a few things brewing and I’ll be posting about them soon. 

It’s been a whirlwind week! Here’s the rundown…

• 3 Doctors, 3 X-rays, and $75 later… It’s confirmed.  Connor has a broken foot.  But we’re 2 weeks into a 3 week healing process.  So, we leave it and let it continue healing on it’s own. 
• I’ve got to start running again. Anyone interested in dragging out of bed with me in the a.m.?
• I nearly left my daughter at church the other night. I’ll tell that story next week…
• At the sight of playing cards, my 2-year old says, “No, Go Fish”. Guess we play that game a lot.
• In the midst of a refreshing season with the Lord, right now. I needed that.
• CopyBlogger offers great advice for blogging.
• Anybody have a good cleaner for Pergo flooring? I need some tips.

There.  I said it.

I don’t have them. 

I’ve spent the week in and out of conversations dealing with a tough issue.  The more I dive into things like this, the more God reveals that the source of answers is not from my ‘vast’ experience in ministry.  (did you catch the sarcasm?)

No.  I found myself confessing that I’m ‘feeling’ my way through this.  Promising to take every step God directs.  Reassuring that because He is orchestrating, then healing and restoration are the result.

Certainly takes the pressure off.

When was the last time you found yourself here?  Do you lean on your experience or the One leading you through it?

A common statement you’ll hear around LC.tv… “Excellence honors God and inspires men.”

Excellence is one of the core values of our ministry. We strive to honor God and inspire men.

But excellence does not mean perfect.

The two are easily connected, but can’t be more different. Excellence is the result of striving to please God. Perfection is the result of striving to please men.

Excellence is life-giving. Perfection zaps life from those around you.

Perfection is the result of the pendulum swinging too far. Perfection does not equal excellence. And it’s possible to have excellence without perfection.

Read what Seth has to say about perfection.

Jason Curlee gave me the opportunity to share a little on his blog about Children’s Ministry.  The opportunity to speak to ministry leaders in this context affected my approach a little.  I don’t think I’ve ever revised a post so many times!  If you’re interested in knowing my view on kids ministry within the church, click here.

I appreciate the opportunity Jason. 

…in a way I’d never seen it before. Don’t you love when that happens?

Reading through Psalm 1.

Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the LORD watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish.

I’ve always settled in the first half of the scripture. I love it. I want to be that tree.

But it’s the second half that breaks my heart today. I’ve read it time and again… but now I see it for the first time.

The ‘wicked will not stand in the judgment’ never made sense to me before. Of course they’ll stand in judgment… they’re wicked… and they’ll be judged for that.

But will they?

I mean, there is a judgment they will face, but I don’t think it is the one to which this scripture refers. I think this scripture refers to the judgment followers of Christ will face when we present our life’s work to God.

The ‘wicked’ will not be at that judgment. Jesus will have already looked at them and said, “Depart from me, for I never knew you.”

The terrible thing is when I think of the ‘wicked’, I think of a guy with a twisted mustache, shifty eyes and menacing smile. But that’s not always the physical description. Most of the time, it’s just the guy next door.

The ‘wicked’ is my neighbor that doesn’t know Jesus. My friend that does not claim Jesus as her Lord and Savior. That’s the ‘wicked’. No shifty eyes. No menacing smile. No twisted mustache. Just a person that is lost in a world of false realities.

So, the non-believer that abandons a lucrative career to bring books to 3rd world schools; the agnostic that spends years caring for the marginalized; the atheist that does more to love their neighbor than most professed Christians… they will not present their life’s work before God.

That’s heartbreaking.

Do you interpret this differently? Please discuss.

…for a chunk of meat?

We visited a well-known restaurant that recently opened a new location in the area. I was pumped for some good food. But standing at the register, I watched the ‘meat-slicer’ guy drop a chunk of meat.

Watching it roll under the counter I figured it was destined for the trash can. I mean… what else would you do with it?

Grant it… if it were my house, the 3-second rule applies. But that rule doesn’t pass with the State Health Department.

I was surprised to watch the guy pick up the meat and non-nonchalantly place it back on the slicer.

Nice.

Clearly this guys integrity was just bologna.