Spring is past.
Summer has gone.
And winter is here.
And the song I meant to sing remains unsung.
For I have spent my days stringing and unstringing my instrument.

(Resolved: Waste not.)

Do wrong, get busted.
Do right, get blessed.
True?
Why does my brain more readily buy one over the other?

God is not obligated to do either, but I somehow see him as more willing to bust me. Considered another way, I can hear him getting upset or disciplining me more than I hear his encouragement.

And you know what’s worse: I think my kids expect criticism from me more than praise.

That’s just messed up all the way around.

Okay, let’s check this out:

Paul, the dude that penned like 1/3 of the New Testament, right? A spiritual giant, by almost any measure. You’ve heard of him, right?

Well, either way… he was huge.

So anyhow, early on in his spiritual life, he said he was, “the least of the apostles.”
Later, like six years… he self-described himself as, “the least of all the saints.”
Then, a smooth eight years after that, he said he was, “the worst of all sinners.”
So, from a small group, to a larger group, to the basically everyone on the planet group.
And all the while over these many moons, he was presumably growing in his spiritual life. I mean, he was teaching at churches, going on mission trips, mentoring multiple people, writing prolifically, … but yet he describes himself as more and more… less.

Hmmm. There’s a lesson in there somewhere… for those who have been “growing spiritually.”

(
1 Corinthians 15:9, 54A.D., “The least of the apostles…”
Ephesians 3:8, 60A.D., “The least of all of the saints…”
1 Timothy 1:15, 68A.D., “The worst of sinners…”
)

WARNING: Real life. May confuse those who are fake or robotic.

So I’m finally home after a good day’s work, right? I’m washing dishes, listening to Francis Chan, … and the phone goes off.

“Wanna play?”

Well, my first thought was, “Hmmm, maybe we can get in a few holes before dark.” But then I saw who the text was from… and realized we didn’t have the same sport in mind.

And that’s when the brain went wild. There was a temptation tornado twisting its way through every neuron in my noggin.

Rather than respond, I added more soap to the dish water and kept scrubbing. I didn’t know you could actually scrub the colored finish off of plates. And those scouring sponges that say they won’t scratch… do.

And the phone went off again…

More soap. Scrub, scrub, scrub.

The weather in my head was still violent, but I could see now. I didn’t know what to say though…

(And this is where the true act of God starts.)

I cleared a path through the bubbles and picked up the phone.

“Why are you so scared?” she asked.

“God,” I replied.

(Long pause, as the message travels from cell tower to her cell to her…).

“Ok,” she replied.

And I finished the dishes.

Lessons I Learned:
Temptation comes when I am weak. Home (alone) after a hard day’s work (tired) and doing the dishes (bored).
Temptation comes when I am going in the other direction (listening to God, through Francis Chan).
Temptation is tempting (by definition).
Temptation is an opportunity to prove out who I am.
Temptation is an opportunity for God to be who he is (1 Corinthians 10:13).
God provides strength to beat temptation.
God uses temptation to make me stronger.
God uses temptation as a witness.
Without God’s help, I would of made a big mess.

Anyone else tempted, or is it just me?

Let’s do a little math here:

What if I made it my goal that tomorrow I would think one more critical thought than I had today? Would it really be that hard to achieve my aspiration? I bet I could easily go to sleep tomorrow night with that fulfilling feeling of knowing I had accomplished my goal for the day. There’s surely something I could complain about.

Or, perhaps I might choose to think one more positive thought than I had today. I can easily reach that goal as well, for there is undoubtedly at least a few things to smile about.

So… which will I choose?
Which approach will actually add value to my life?
Which plan will provide something worthwhile for the people I will cross paths with tomorrow?

Geez, I so don’t know…

What are you doing tomorrow?

People, you have got to give it up to LifeChurch.tv for the first installment in the At The Movies series. Personally, I think it was pretty smart to parallel a movie with biblical truths. Cinematics collide with Scripture (which never returns without effect).

Either way though, check it out here. This series isn’t archived, so you’ll have to catch it during one of the live times. Go to the Church Online for the most options. Then, come back here and post some of your bucket list.

“Lord , remind me how brief my time on earth will be.
Remind me that my days are numbered—
how fleeting my life is.
You have made my life no longer than the width of my hand.
My entire lifetime is just a moment to you;
at best, each of us is but a breath” (Psalm 39:4-5. NLT).

Pardon me for asking, but how are you guys finding online life to be?  Does it intersect with your Higher beliefs?

it wasn’t a good weekend.  

with saturday came  little productivity or focus.  the mind was everywhere but yet nowhere.  the mood was melancholy at best.  

once i figured out the root cause, i was better for the knowing but then only left with the knowledge.  

sunday was better, i suppose, but really only masked over.  the emotions still lurked, being barely held at bay by other principles.  this was the day that yesterday had placed before me but i still found no peace.

i wanted to call, but how would that help anyone?  i certainly didn’t want or need to hear of wrongs, consequences, should ofs…  

i wanted to hear the truth of the matter at hand.  i don’t think it would include things such as those written above.  we’re beyond that.  

but what is here?  what is the truth for this time?

perhaps this is a day of mourning now?  a twisted anniversary?  something you never put behind you?

it’s tuesday now.  the uncelebrating should be over…

does the eleventh hate me or do i hate the eleventh?  can we ever be friends again or is life forever meant to be lived only in 364ths?

WARNING:  Edgy… and perfectly on target… and best watched on YouTube (link below)

Can I offer you a penny for your thoughts?
As a matter of fact, how about three?
One penny for you, one penny for me,
And one penny for our minds engaged not so sexually.
Getting intimately closer as we approach the
Climactic altitude of nude, mental, sensational… conversation.

Because I’m trying to get to know everything about you
From the neck… up.

So these are not your typical, sexual, poetical prose.
I’m trying to close the door on that all too familiar freaky foreplay game.
With which most guys have chosen to approach you.
While they are trying to get deeply embedded
In the fine fibers of your bed sheets,
I’m trying to find and define the fibers of which your mind speaks.

I want to engage you
By putting a two karat solitaire diamond… on your mind
Marrying your every thought!

I want to lick every inch of every crevasse
So I can get an oral fix from each orifice
And taste your passionate… imagination.

I’d rather be naked and exposed, holding you
As we’re lying and you’re crying
While confiding and describing
the tough times you’ve had in life
And how you don’t know
If you can keep a relationship long enough to be somebody’s wife.

I wanna feel the heartbeat of your inner rhythms
As they lead me toward your warm, wet, waterfalls of feminine thoughts.
And I’ll swim in them.
From backstrokes, to breaststrokes,
I’m penetrating every entrance… to your mind.
Taking my time to find out everything about you.

Did I ever tell you about how you
Fell asleep in my presence?
And your mere essence
Kept me awake for hours
As I cowered with this feeling
Of sexually unadulterated mental connection?

And as you lay by my side
I pushed the blinds aside
And took the time in the moonlight of that night
To count 72 eyelashes
On the upper eyelid of your right eye!
Because when you sleep
Your eyes remain open slightly.

And while we probably moved in too quickly into some sexual stuff
I’ve always cared more about the explicitly illicitness
That came from between your lips… meaning your voice.

So now I am standing here
Ready to trade in all the sexual acts that we’ve performed
For the chance to reform the very foundation
And the basis of our relationship.

So I reiterate my opening statement
And I offer you another penny for your thoughts!

(“Penny For Your Thoughts” – Gemineye.
Performed live here.)