It's Never Always

Have you ever realized how everyone you meet describes everything they talk about? I mean, I never realized how much everyone use absolutes all the time. Everyone is always talking about how everything is the greatest or least or most or best or worst. It's like they've never considered the fact that there are always things in between extremes. In fact, when you think about it, everything is in the in between...except for the two things that actually would be the extremes of any given situation or circumstance.

Hang with me here.

It's not that nothing is ever always. And it's not that nothing is ever never. But nothing short of God is always, always. And nothing is never, never. (I feel like the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland.)

God is always. This I know is true. As for the rest? Well. Never say never. Because that's not necessarily true. And never say always. Because that's not the case either.

I guess what I'm trying to say is this: when you decide to talk about something or think about something, don't limit it to extremes. Instead, get the right perspective and realize that most of life is lived in the middle. Because when you focus on that, the possibilities are endless.

More Than Meets the Eye?

Transformers - more than meets the eye! Long before it was a multi-million dollar industry, Transformers was just a cheesy cartoon. But the toys? Man, those things were IT! They really were more than met the eye.

Now, I want you to know that I never wanted to be one of those "when I was growing up" kind of people. But I'm finding myself quickly turning that way. It's not that I think life was so much better "way back" then. But there are two areas that I think it definitely was. Cartoons and toys. This post is about (one of) the toys (I really don't want to spend as much time as it would take to go into my cartoons-aren't-what-they-used-to-be rant.)

The one Transformer I remember most was Optimus Prime - commander of the Autobots. Iron cast. Nearly indestructible. In fact, I remember throwing him high into the air and watching him bounce off the concrete driveway, seconds before I ran over him with my Mongoose bicycle. And yet, he would stand strong, with nothing more than a few scrapes. It took a curious 10 year old and a Philips head screwdriver to finally get the best of him.



So when Transformers came out a few years ago, I was excited. I knew they would pull out all the marketing stops with this one. We were bound to be inundated with the movie/toy/lunchbox/t-shirt/temproary tattoo/anything-they-can-get-the-brand-on kind of marketing. But the toys were what excited me. Because finally, my sons would be able to play with a toy I had known and loved. Finally, they would discover something that was more than meets the eye.

Then, Jackson bought his first Transformer. He saved his allowance and "patiently" waited until he could buy...Bumblebee. Bumblebee?! Ok, so that one wasn't around when I played with them. No big deal. At least it's still the car/robot concept. And at least Jackson would know the greatness that is Transformers.

Well, he still doesn't. And he never fully will. When we opened the package, we didn't discover the strong, nearly indestructible iron cast toy I played with; the one I had for years. What we found was a cheap plastic mess of gears and pieces that fall off and will no doubt break if even dropped.

So I'm making this prediction now. I predict that this toy will last maybe until the end of the summer. Sorry, dude. You probably won't even remember that you had this cheap little thing.

More than meets the eye? Try, less than advertised.

Thanks for the Reminder

This past week I had an opportunity to get out to our church's camp, Allaso Ranch. I went there for work - to find stories of life change in some students' lives. God had something else he also wanted me to see while I was there.

As I arrived at the camp, I pretty much knew what to expect.

I expected the camp itself to be phenomenal, which it is! (Do you know of any other camp that has five-star quality food and lodging AND two zip lines, a full swim center and a high ropes course?)

I expected the energy of the staff and students to be busting the walls of every building, which it was!

I expected to hear stories of how God is moving and breathing and working in students' lives for eternity, which I did.

But as I sat backstage with Pace before he spoke last Tuesday night, God reminded me of something. My expectations don't mean a whole lot. And in fact, they can be very dangerous.

Pace was running through his talk and he said, "There's a fine line between expecting God to show up and disrespecting God."

He wasn't necessarily talking about my expectations of the camp. He wasn't even talking directly about me at all. He was talking about how dangerous it is for any of us to expect God to show up and honor what we do.

Too often, we can get to a point of almost demanding God to show up. But the truth is, we must stand in awe of who he is and praise his name, even when...scratch that...especially when we don't know what to expect.

Pace has a phenomenal way of challenging people not only to be better at what they do for God, but also to be better at recognizing the importance of honoring God through what they do.

When I left camp last week, yes, I had captured some great stories of life change. Sure, I had a chance to relax and play a little. But what I really walked away with was a reminder that I must honor God by what I do, not just expect him to show up and honor what I do.

Thanks for the reminder. I needed it.

Does it show?

The other day Carissa had the boys write down three things they would do if they had nothing. See, we've been struggling, as every parent does, with a little bit of greed around our house. And when I saw those lists, it got me thinking. What would I do if I had nothing?

And as I thought about it, another question popped into my head (questions lead to questions in my mind). I know it was God asking me. "If you had nothing, would you still be thankful?"

That's a question that I think I know the answer to. I hope I do. I think I would still be thankful. Because after all, the best things in life are free, right? That means that they aren't things you can have; rather, they are things that are given to you, often unearned. Things like love and freedom and peace and friendships and hope.

But really. If I didn't have any thing, would I still be thankful? Or would I, in my egocentric kind of way, be ungrateful for what I don't have? It's a hard question to ask, and an even harder one to answer.

But as I sit here surrounded by all that God has blessed me with, material and otherwise, I think the real question isn't "What would I do if I had nothing?" The real question that God asks me everyday is, "Are you thankful for what you do have?" And that I am.

But again, that leads to another question. Does it show?