Death to PCs

Don't read me wrong.  Not people of the politically correct stripe.  I love people.  Personsal computers not so much.

Would you like to know why I make this bold declaration of death to PCs?

Just now: I had my brand new MacBook Pro installing it's final updates in the middle of my desk.

Simultaneously I was completing a new blog post about temptation on my desktop PC.  Then my PC crashed.

There is always autosave, right?

When it works.

It didn't.

And I lost it.

My post.

My patience.

How ironic.  Just about to leave PCs forever and my PC had to kick me in the backside on the way out the door.  Bitter.  Sad.  Irony.

Death to PCs.

I'm Aaron Householder.  And I'm a Mac.

Dancing Patience

My dear daughter, ballerina princess that she is, dances around the living room.  No music playing that we can hear.  She moves blissfully to the song in her soul.  Beautiful.

My dear son, bulldog determined as he is, recites his Awana memory verses.  Words leaving his lips correctly, yet disconnected from his heart.  He erupts impatient to the distraction of his sister.  Ugly.

His Scripture passage, James 1:19, states, "My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry."  It was under the topic, "I can be patient with other people."  Ironic.

This vignette is not recounted for you to conclude I have one precious child & one mean child.  No, far from it, my kids are kids.  They have their moments like all of us.

He could have danced with her.

He could have ignored her dancing.

He could have refocused on his own task.

He could have thought about what he was saying.

He could have... you can imagine your own ending.

This vignette - dancing or erupting, joyful or hateful - where patience was spoken yet impatient irony acted is retold to make us each think.

What do I do when my buttons are pushed?

What do I say when my limit is exceeded?

Where is the irony between my words & deeds?

How do I handle unexpected challenges?

How do I respond to difficult circumstances?

Dancing?

Erupting?

Joyful?

Angry?

Patience has been called the chief Christian virtue.  Toughest earned.  Hardest exercised.  Foundational to faith. Hallmark of maturity.

Dancing.  Patience.  We could all use a little more of both.

My dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, & slow to become angry.  James 1:19

Coffee Mug

A mug like this belongs to a friend.  A mug to use at work.  A mug to be a witness to others.  A mug that it is manly.  A mug with a message.

What he did not know was that the person who needed that message most.  Would be him.  His work is not what it was.  He may be forced to leave.  He may choose to leave.  He may relocate his family.

His heart aches for fulfillment at work.  His mind tosses with uncertainty for his family.  His spirit wrestles with faith for his soul.

He does not know what future God has planned.  He does not know how God will provide.  He does not know when his prayers will be answered.

But.

He knows God has a plan.  He knows he can trust God to provide.  He knows God hears him when he prays.

He has a coffee mug.  A mug with a message.

What message does your mug need?  Post a comment.

Consider Your Life

It is a new year. 

I wonder if you have taken some time to consider your life.

I have done such considering these past days.  Not because of the calendar however, but as the result of a message received this past gusty, freezing Thursday night.

A friend since junior high, a fellow pastor, hubby & daddy to two young children, John Franklin, was dead.  He died in a hunting accident.  But he lived.  Wow, did he live to the fullest.

If you asked for one word to describe John, I'd say: Passionate.  Passionate in his love for Jesus.  Passionate in his love for his wife.  Passionate about loving his kids.  Passionate in loving anyone he met.  He loved in a way that elevated the object of his love.  He loved otherish.

We live like we will live forever.  Expecting tomorrow.  Assuming next year.  Procrastinating actions.  Delaying decisions.  Reasoning that we'll have time.  Yet.  In an instance.  We might die.  A accident.  An illness.

Consider your life.

Not because it is a new year, but because you do not know how many years, or hours, you may have.

Consider your life.

Are you absolutely certain that if you were to die right now that you could say, "I have trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior & Lord"?  If you confess Jesus as Lord & believe God raised him from the dead you will be saved states Romans 10:9.  You do not need to have all the answers.  You do need to know you have sinned, broken God's laws, & that you need a Savior.

Consider your life.

If you have given your heart to Jesus in the past, are your truly living for him today?  John posted on his blog the day before his death, quoting a prayer from Ephesians 3:17-18 "...that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth, and length, and height, and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge."  You won't get it right all the time.  You can ask God to know his love more intimately & live like Christ more fully moment by moment.

Consider your life.

John & his dear wife, Penny, are pictured here.  Pray for her, his two young children, his family & friends.

Click here to go to John's blog.  Listen as he sings & chats with his kids.  Recorded just 15 days before his unexpected death.

Consider your life.

Joy to You

How's your joy?  Really.  Are you joyful?  I mean it.

Joy check.  Right now.  Yes, you.  Let's check. No matter your circumstances.  Things going great.  Or not so much. Thinking you are more blessed than you deserve.  Or wondering what curse you inherited.

Luke 2:10 records, "And the angel said unto them, 'Fear not; for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.'"  Do you have joy?  Great joy?  You make up one part of the phrase "all people", don't you?  The angel meant you.  Me.  Us.  We.  Joy.  Really.  Joy.  No kidding.  It's right there in the Bible. God said it.  He meant it.  For real.  Joy.

And then the carol.  Not Scripture, true.  But meaningful to many of us.  A connection through verse & song. Memories mixed with melodies.  Visions of Christmases past.  Anticipation of eternity future.

Joy to the World , the Lord is come! Let earth receive her King;
Let every heart prepare Him room, And Heaven and nature sing,
And Heaven and nature sing, And Heaven, and Heaven, and nature sing.

Amidst all you are doing these days.  Making your list.  Checking it twice.  Have you left room for Jesus? Maybe you need to make room for Jesus.  He came to save you.  He wants to guide you.  He has always loved you. "If you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' & believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved," says Romans 10:9.  Take a minute to ask: Have I opened my heart to Jesus?

Joy to the World, the Savior reigns! Let men their songs employ;
While fields and floods, rocks, hills and plains Repeat the sounding joy,
Repeat the sounding joy, Repeat, repeat, the sounding joy.

Oh, I hope you are singing.  This time of year.  Christmastime.  Celebrating the of the birth of our King, Jesus. Even you non-singers.  You shower only singers.  You stick in the mud afraid to sing a note folks.  I hope you are singing carols.  Smiling.  Thinking.  Joyful.  For all God is & has done for you.  If you are not singing right now will you ask, why am I not singing the praises of Jesus?

No more let sins and sorrows grow, Nor thorns infest the ground;
He comes to make His blessings flow Far as the curse is found,
Far as the curse is found, Far as, far as, the curse is found.

Did you know that when Adam & Eve sinned creation itself fell?  The perfection of creation was marred by sin. And the curse of sin came to earth.  Genesis 3:17-18 tells us so.  From that time until now, one sin has followed another. We can't help it.  It's our sin nature.  Yet, God brings us into personal realtionship with Himself - through his son, born to us on earth, Jesus Christ - to love us no matter our sinfulness.  We must ask in response: How do I spread the blessings of Jesus?

He rules the world with truth and grace, And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness, And wonders of His love,
And wonders of His love, And wonders, wonders, of His love.

"The Word (note the capital "W", Friends) became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One & Only (more capitals), who came from the Father, full of grace & truth," states John 1:14. Jesus is the Word of God to us.  God in flesh.  Living Grace.  Incarnate Truth.  He is full of both grace & truth.  I pray that you know both his grace & his truth in your life.  I pray that you can consider & live out this last question herein: How can I share the love of Jesus?

Open your heart.

Sing his praise.

Spread his message.

Share his love.

And about that joy check: How's your joy now?

Merry CHRISTmas, Friends!