But there’s been another reason…  for a while now, I’ve been trying to figure out what to do about R3blog.  I thought at first it needed a redesign (which it did).  But that wasn’t enough.  It needed something else.  So I’ve been working on that “something else.”

I’d love to fill you in on the details, but frankly, I don’t have them yet.  I’m not even sure what that something else looks like.  And pretty much every day, I change my mind.

Don’t worry though.  R3blog is not going anywhere.  There will still be plenty of content, although I think I’m going to have to cut back on the posting schedule a bit, but I can promise a minimum of one new article a week, maybe more, depending on how life goes.

Until then, if you have anything you’d like to see R3blog have (features, content, etc…) then drop me a line and let me know.  You might just see your idea used in the next round of R3 evolution!

photo provided by flickr user pppspics

Life has been very hectic for my soon-t0-be-wife and I.  And I’ve been praying a lot about how to handle all the stresses that come with major life change like getting married.  Each time I think about it, I’m reminded that God calls us to rest.  And that’s simply been something I haven’t done much of lately.  So now it’s time for me to rest.  Enjoy married life.  And come back to R3 with some renewed energy!

I look forward to seeing you all in the middle of August!

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Think about what that means.

It’s a big deal to be an heir.  It means we need to have responsibility.  It also means we need to understand how things work.  A CEO can’t run an organization if he or she doesn’t understand the basics of the business.  Presidents can’t “run” a government if they don’t know the laws and troubles facing their land.

Paul in a letter to the Galatians says we “are no longer a slave but God’s own child.  And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”

Slaves didn’t know how to run the kingdom.  Criminals didn’t know how to run the corporation.  Strangers don’t get the keys to the house.  God doesn’t see us as distant toys to be played with, like the Greek gods.  He isn’t indifferent to us as many postmodern religions claim.  God says we are heirs to the kingdom.  We are in line to receive the Kingdom!

If that doesn’t make you smile, then nothing will.

photo provided by everystockphoto

To say that things are busy and stressful would be an understatement.  Most days I’ve handled things really well.  For the sheer level of stress and fatigue I’m dealing with, I’d say things are going great.  But there are some days when it feels completely overwhelming (like today).  It’s on these overwhelming days where I’m emotionally, physically, and spiritually exhausted.

But I’ve realized something in the midst of all of this.  There are too many big decisions to spend a ton of time thinking about (why didn’t someone warn me how many decisions you need to make in planning a wedding!).  We’ve stressed about buying a house, and dealing with a house-flipper who turned out to be a liar (no water in the basement my ass!)  But I digress.

During this time I’ve realized that I have made all of these stressful decisions with one rule in mind: actively and aggressively pursue where you think God is.

That’s it.  No fancy decision tree.  No “10 steps to a better decision model.”  Just a simple question: is God there or not?  If he’s there then I run to it.  If not, I turn away, sometimes slowly, but still turn away.

There are so many questions…. Is the house the right house?  Will it always flood?  Is pink or blue a better color for the tables at the reception?  Am I spending enough time with my family?  I don’t know if all these decisions will be the right ones.

But there is freedom in trusting God.

We spend so much of our time coming up with rules to micromanage our lives, when one rule is all we need: love God with all our hearts, minds, and soul.  Everything else falls into place after that.  Even the color of the table cloths.

I’m tired because I only got 6 hours of sleep.  And for a change it wasn’t because I was working.  Instead, I had the chance to hear Natalie Grant in concert (at the Festival of the Bells).

The venue was in a smaller, rural town that’s been hit very hard by the recession.  I’m sure she could have played in other, bigger venues.  Probably with a lot more energetic of an audience.  But she encouraged a lot of people last night.  In a town that hasn’t had a lot of good news recently.

Now I don’t go to a lot of concerts, but every time I go to a Christian concert where people sit cracks me up.  People seem to fill up a Christian concert just like they do church – starting in the back.  How many times does Dave Matthews or Lady Gaga have empty seats at the front of the stage?  Of course for us this meant, even though we were running a bit late, we had seats right up front.  (here you can see from the exclusive crap cam, as Dave Barry says)

Some artists are better in the studio than they are on the road.  But Natalie Grant was great in concert.  There was definitely no need to auto-tune her!

So there you have it.  She was awesome.  We had a good time.  And I still made it into work.

Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to be a child of God?  For me this is a difficult thing to wrap my mind around.  Not because I can’t understand God adopting us into his family, but because when I hear that phrase I immediately think of people doing cheesy Christian things (like bumper stickers that say “honk if you love Jesus.”)  In my mind, the phrase “child of God” has almost been hijacked by well-intentioned, but people who are a little creepy and who behave strangely while dressing in 1970’s clothing.

I doubt I’m alone.

But when we stop and think about being a child of God, there’s a lot packed into that little phrase.  Some of the things that come to mind are…

• We are in the family
• We can’t lose that identity (you can’t un-family your family!)
• We are heirs
• As heirs we are responsible for “the family business”
• We receive gifts from our Father (protection, love, mercy)
• We can recognize our Father’s voice

The God of the universe wants us to be in his family.  The Creator of existence loves us so much that he wants to us to be sons and daughters.  If that doesn’t blow your mind, then I don’t know what will.  What other religions make such outrageous claims?

No matter how much I learn about God, I find I am always amazed by him.

Culturally we see the world through something like Manifest Destiny.  Where we feel that there’s a purpose to our lives.  Where there’s something specific to take from live.  This is such a strong current of our culture that understanding “our purpose” is something I focus on professionally.  Almost every worker is searching for the meaning of their work.  And our search for our Meaning to Work has become a billion dollar industry.  (Of which I get nowhere close to a billion dollars…)

But is this wrong?  Shouldn’t we just be satisfied with whatever God wants us to do?

I’ve heard many believers over the years say that if you even question what God’s will for you, it’s a lack of faith.  But I disagree.  Certainly there can be danger in this.  We can easily fixate on what God’s will is for our future so much that we miss God’s will for us in the present.  We can also get wrapped up pursuing our own desires on God.

But the history of God is one of accommodation.  He continually meets us where we are, not where we should be.  (And thank God – literally! – for that!)  This is why I believe any step we take towards God is the right step.  If it takes me praying about which tooth paste to buy to bring me closer to God so be it!  I don’t think that’s any better, worse or indifferent from someone who moves closer to God by living in Africa or working with people who have terminal diseases.

There is no such thing as a wasted step when it’s in God’s direction.

You may not know the specifics of God’s will for you.  But you know the basics.  Jesus told us when he said that we were to love God with all our hearts and to love one another as ourselves.  If we do that, then we’ll find that our dreams align to God’s dreams for our lives.  After a lifetime of taking one step after another, we can turn around and see just how much ground we’ve covered.

image provided by flickr user Victor Bezrukov

Why does it take that many people?

Because we live in a fallen world.  In other words, a world filled with people who don’t always do the right thing.  Ironically most of us gloss over this fact.  We think we’re “good people” and the only “terrible people” are the ones who commit murders and crimes.  And even then, some of us might argue, it’s only because they had bad childhoods or were picked on as kids.  (Of course if that’s the case doesn’t that mean those were terrible parents, terrible children, and terrible teachers?)

You see my world view, the one of Christianity, says that we as a species are broken.  That we aren’t “good people” who sometimes make mistakes.  In fact we’re terrible sin-ridden people, who are so separated from what is good (God) that we’re better described as terrible people who sometimes do good.  (If you find that shocking, you should.  It’s completely different than what most other world views will tell you.)

It’s this brokenness that causes us to need 5 people to install software.  We need to build that much security into our systems to protect ourselves.

Now you may be thinking to yourself, “Sure others are bad.  But I’m the exception.  I’m different.”

If that’s the case, why are you different?  What really makes you different than everyone else?  I’m not trying to pick a fight with you.  I just want you to think about your own life, and your own situation.  I want you to think about what you believe.

photo provided by flickr user ChrisL_AK

We buy fire insurance, life insurance, health insurance, flood insurance, pest insurance.  We have people inspect our homes for radon, formaldehyde, and lead.  We child proof our electrical outlets, put rails at the steps, install security systems, and use floodlights to illuminate the dark.  Some people even go so far as to literally put their kid on a leash.

Wow.  Is life really that bad?  Kid’s on a leash?

But that’s where we find ourselves.  And there’s few things more tragic than living life filled with fear.

Of course there’s no question that terrible things may happen to you.  It happens every day.  Your house may burn down, you may get cancer, your kid might be kidnapped.  These things strike terror into our hearts, because we recognize the loss.  But have you ever stopped to consider what you lose by living a life of fear?

This last week a 16 year old girl tried to sail around the world.  For about 24 hours the world thought she had died.  Fortunately she had just lost her mast and a French rescue ship was able to save her.  You know what the headlines read the next day?  Not “courageous girl is saved” or “adventurer vows to try again.”  But “Questions asked of parents” and “Parents accused of risking her life.”

The world’s first reaction was to question why this girl’s parents didn’t keep her “safe.”

So let me ask you this: what’s more damaging, being told to never follow your dreams because they aren’t “safe”?  Or putting it all on the line for something you believe in?

That’s one of the remarkable aspects of Christianity.  We so often think of Christians as the “safe, non adventurous” types.  But God calls us to be ridiculously courageous.  He asks us to push the boundaries of his kingdom.  To be adventurers.  Or as Erwin McManus said, we should be the barbarians at the gate of civilization.

Fear is often unreasonable.  We weigh things differently when we fear.  How many of us are afraid to swim in the oceans because of Jaws?  But you are 250 times more likely to be killed by Bambi then Jaws?

Fear can be healthy.  It can prevent us from doing stupid things, like licking an iron.  But it can also paralyze us and take the joy out of living.  If you’re a Christian, there is no place in your life for fear.  Fear drives a wedge between us and God.  And it stops us from doing what needs to be done.  It prevents us from running to the needy.  It freezes us from helping the hurting.  And it blocks us from living in the grace God has for us.

I don’t know about you, but that’s too high of a price for me to pay.

photo provided by flickr user rocketjim54

It’s easy to forget we are special.  Life has a way of squeezing the joy from us.  Our co-workers are often more intent on bringing us back down to their level than building us up.  Our family can be more concerned with their feelings than our feelings.  Even our friends can stop us from growing because they like things how they are.  It seems everywhere we look the world is holding us back.

God alone stands out.

In fact, he has gone so far as to share his divinity with us.  It’s right there in Genesis 1: 26, “Let us make man in our image, in our likeness.”  God could have created us in any way he saw fit.  He didn’t create animals in his image.  He didn’t give them special authority.  He reserved that for us.  God shared his divinity with us, what other god can claim that?

So the next time you’re feeling underappreciated or undervalued, just remember, the creator of the universe sees you as important enough to share his identity with you.  And that’s something to hold on to.

Image provided by flickr user Plinkk