The cliche things we say are cliche for a reason. It’s not that we aren’t creative enough, or that we lack original thoughts…it’s just that things are most fully summed up with a certain statement that just happens to have been figured out by lots of people over many years.
They do grow up too fast. Way too fast for MY liking. And maybe that’s the point. Maybe them growing up “too fast” is a thing that has to happen or else we would ruin them with our overwhelming desire to control them. Maybe the speed at which they are born, grow large, and exit our houses is designed by God so that our children can survive our interactions with them.
Maybe they’re not growing up too fast.
Maybe they’re growing up just as quickly as they’ve been intended to. The perfect speed.
We can’t control the speed at which our children grow up, and yet I see so many parents on a daily basis trying to do just that. If you’re one of these parents, I have a small suggestion; stop doing that.
It doesn’t work. Just as most of our attempts to control things don’t really work. They almost always end up pushing things or people away that we are so desperately trying to cling to.
So here’s the question for the day:
In what area do you need to release your false-sense of control?
My good friend / co-worker Jon Price came to a hard realization this past week; his dreads just weren’t happening. He and his patient wife Melanie have been diligently pursuing dreadlocks on Jon’s head for a few months now. They’ve bought the right stuff, applied the right methods, and given the dreads plenty of time to do their thing…unfortunately things weren’t turning out quite like Jon had hoped. He and his family hung out at a weekend camp/festival deal a week ago and that’s where Jon saw many dreadlocked characters walking about. Some of them had amazing dreads and some of them had disgusting pooplocks. Jon took a deep look into the mirror and understood the harsh reality of which road he was heading down.
This was his response:
This was the amazing in-between mullet that we decided to abandon as well:
Jon brought sexy back.
Speaking of sex…sometimes it can result in baby-having. We’ve got one of those babies and he’s rapidly advancing into an amazingly tiny version of myself. Check out these new facial expressions he’s rocking as of week 6 in his life:
That ain’t no gas. He likes us. I knew he would eventually.
Maybe mom needs to apply some fresh deodorant?
Speaking of sexy…I gave a message at Vineyard Westside this weekend called “Get Naked” as a part of our current series, “A look in the Mirror“.
You can listen to it online or download it if you’re interested. Below is the intro video and then the audio recording below that. Check it out.
Last weekend we stopped all of our normal Sunday services and held one big celebration out in the parking lot. More than 600 people gathered around to watch as 44 people made an outward expression of an inward change. These people shared their stories, which ranged from being stabbed seven times and surviving to winning the battle with Leukemia. Women expressed their thankfulness to God for being released from addiction and abuse. Men cried as they told us that they were among the walking dead and that now they are alive in Christ. Others told stories of family members that never gave up on them, that kept praying for them when it seemed useless…look at them now.
This is weakness becoming strength at it’s best. As these people enter the water they are mounted upon a cross, and as they exit the water a crown is mounted upon their heads. Praise Jesus.
