The World is Made of Art

One of the perks of living in Hawaii are those drives you take where the ocean is out one window, and the mountains are out the other. A dramatic sight no matter how used to it you are. I was taking one such drive a few months back with my family. My daughter Addy (5 at the time), and my son Kai (4) were going back and forth naming their favorite things. Without any prompting they began to talk about the beauty of the mountains and the ocean that were seemingly within an arms reach. Addy let out a big sigh of wonder and with all the awe of a five year old said, "It's kinda like the world is made of art". When it comes to God's creation, and the beauty that constantly surrounds us I'm not sure it could be said any better than that. Whether you're on the Hawaiian coastline of the north shore, or you're in the desert of Lancaster, Ca, there are moments and opportunities to see the brilliant masterpiece God has created. Don't miss a chance this week to stop and marvel!

Life Unplugged

In 1989 MTV's Unplugged aired its first episode with Squeeze, Syd Straw and Elliot Easton. These aren't exactly household names today, but nevertheless the hit series was born. Not a completely original concept. MTV drew from the popularity of performances over the previous two decades where artists gave a more stripped down, intimate, acoustic look at their music. Artists like Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Pete Townshend, Sting, and Phil Collins had big success with this format. MTV went on to showcase acoustic sets of music from popular artists over the last two decades. Apparently you can take away the amps, effects, electronic modification, and high tech production and still have a hit. What MTV ended up with is a more intimate, accessable look at music. Something about stripping away layers upon layers of exterior noise and production created a great connection with viewers and listeners. I'm realizing this week that we often have to "unplug" to really get to this level of honesty and intimacy in our lives. This struck me the other day as I was checking my facebook and two email accounts while texting my wife, listening to music on Pandora, singing outloud and organizing my desk. When is the last time you just unplugged and enjoyed the silence? If you cant remember when, its been too long. God wants us to experience a deep level of intimacy with him, but the question is how many layers of noise and technology does He have to break through? The irony that I'm writing this in a blog is not lost on me. Technology is not the enemy. Sometimes its just a good idea to unplug, and maybe...just maybe it will be quiet enough to hear the whispers of God.

Don't Forget to Party

Do you ever find yourself so busy "doing" life that you realize you've stopped living it? What does your list look like today? Homework, house, bills, appointments, kids, dogs (after the kids of course), gym, drop off, pick up, go to work, clock in, clock out, TB test, call grandma, do laundry, re-do laundry cause it sat for three days without being dried, groceries, and set DVR for So You Think You Can Dance. Sounds like fun right? Responsibilities abound. And let's be honest, the list is not going to start shrinking any time soon. If anything we just add on more. Should we stop doing these things? Probably not. But is there time in the day to party a little? Jesus seems to think so. I love that the first recorded puplic miricle of Jesus is at a wedding party. If we stop to think about it, the timing wasn't really all that great. Just three days earlier Jesus had called his first disciples, and they began to follow him. This would have been the perfect time to get to work. Hit the ground running so to speak. 7:00...find more disciples, 8:00...teach them how to preach, 9:00...go to the temple, 10:00...challenge the thought of the religious leaders, 11:00...study the scriptures, 12:00...explain the scriptures, 1:00...heal the sick and teach the masses, so an and so forth. If Jesus had a strategist this would seem productive. After all time is limited right? So how does Jesus begin His ministry. He parties. And he brings the disciples with him. Why? Because he chooses to live. To love. To celebrate. He chooses people over systems. He performs the miricle of turning water into wine. Not a miricle of bad to good, but of good to better. Jesus lives live. He cares about people. He takes time even though he senses urgency. Life is filled with tasks...and they're important. They need to be done. No argument there. In the midst of the list don't forget to live. Don't forget to love. Don't forget to party.

Connection

Does anyone else have a magic ice making machine on your refrigerator? It's brilliant really. You simply push the button and fresh, cold perfectly shaped ice cubes fall from the magic chute. I imagine there are mini ice-making elves with tiny little ice picks parading somewhere deep in the freezer singing sweet songs of gladness. You may have discovered as I have; however, that this magic contraption is useless if it is not connected to a water source. You can push the button as long as you want, but if the ice maker is not connected to the water source you'll get nothing. Just the sound of a motor working in vain. I admit, it may seem a bit obvious, but are there areas in our life where the motor is working hard but working in vain? John 15:5 says, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing". Jesus truly is our source! Without the source what can our lives really produce? Let's agree to stop working in vain, and reconnect to the source of life...Jesus!

The Common Good.

I find myself constantly amazed at the way God builds the church. What I lack, someone else provides. Where someone is in need, God has given me the ability to help. Without any doubt in my mind I'm being constantly reminded this week that we need each other! 1 Corinthians 12:4-7 says, "There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other". Let's spend some time this week acknowledging the gifts of those around us. Has there been anyone in your life that has made up for what you lack?