Catching the Wind: All I Got Was Air

Today my son was sticking his hand out of the truck while we were driving around. He enjoyed having the wind pull his hand around, up and down. And then he tried what most of us do our entire lives, try to catch the wind. He said, "oh man, I can't catch the wind. Why not? Is it like invisible?"

I said, "no, you did catch the wind, you just caught part of it. The wind is too big to catch all of it. See, look in your hand. The wind that is outside is also in your hand, it's the air, it just stopped moving." Now I'm sure there are so many great analogies to use that for, as well as some wrong theological ramifications.

Ecclesiastes in the bible talks a lot about how frustrating chasing the wind can be. But I think that is because we expect to be able to take it all in one handful and we also expect to feel the wind blow cool back in our face when we attempt to see what we caught. What we chase after can let us down. And the older I get, the more aware of the disappointments, let-downs, hurt, diseases, unfairness, injustice that this world of sin can bring.

I rejoice that God says that it is still good to be happy and to do good in life and it's when we pursue these things in God's ways, by His wisdom, with Him at the center, we do get to grab hold of purpose, the air to our soul, the wind we so desperately seek after.

What kind of happiness are you in pursuit of?

Satisfaction. No holding back.

Peace. No pressure.

Greener grass. No disappointments.

Legacy. Tomorrow's difference.

Blog. People listen.

What are you pursuing? Why are you pursuing it? Is that really the outcome?

Ecclesiastes 3:9-13 "What does the worker gain from his toil?10 I have seen the burden God has laid on men.11 He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.12 I know that there is nothing better for men than to be happy and do good while they live.13 That everyone may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all his toil—this is the gift of God."

A Stereotypical Pastor?

Stereotypes exist for a reason. There was at some point in time certain characteristics that seemed to define a group of people. In one instance, the stereotypes are true. In another instance, they box all certain people into these characteristics. Sometimes we don't consider our perceptions of people and our stereotypical overtones.

For example, when I see someone with a money clip, I think this person is smart with money and has money. When I see someone pulling a roll of money from their coat with a rubberband (or elastic as my wife would call it), I think this person just made a drug deal. When I see someone digging into their pocket and pulling a few crinkled bills, I think this person is not so good with managing money. Based upon those perceptions, I come to conclusions in my mind about what I think this person feels is important, how they got to this situation, and how I respond to what I think their needs and wants are. I engage in conversations with them differently. I might even gain respect faster for one over the other without really getting to know them all.

I also experienced that this weekend. My wife and I went to a Weekend to Remember. As a pastor I had the opportunity of going for free. I followed the process but at the time of registration, our names could not be found. I explained that I was a pastor and had my interview with _______. The other gentleman looked at me with such a strange face and said "you're a pastor!?"

Well I suppose that the jeans I was wearing threw him off. I suppose the non-button down shirt threw him off. I suppose the hooded sweatshirt threw him off. I suppose my not being 100 lb overweight threw him off. I suppose my non "hello dear brother..." threw him off. I suppose me only being 32 threw him off. I suppose my beard threw him off. I suppose my wife not being in a dress threw him off.

Something of this man's stereotype of what a pastor should look like had him come to the conclusion that I could not possibly be a pastor. His conversation and respect for me became different than a person fitting his perception and stereotype of a pastor.

Can I really blame him? We all create stereotypes, expectations, and perceptions of what we think a certain group of people should look like, act like, and talk like. What are some of your stereotypes? and How have these expectations driven you to react when they don't fit into your box?

Good Friday: The Cross and Laminin

It's Good Friday. Our church will be having a special online message today at 12pm and 5pm. You can get it at www.fellowshipholden.com/fctv

To get you warmed up to the awesomeness of what Good Friday begins, check out this message by Louie Giglio

Guest Blogger: Kathy Blumer

Having things planned out by God and having them seem so wonderful takes a certain perspective that often doesn't come so natural to humanity. Often times, we as parents worry about how our children will turn out. There's often no rhyme or reason to the outcome and there are exceptions to every rule of thought. Ultimately, it is God's planning and you want to make sure you are on His page.

This special post is by my mother. Try to understand her position of having all her sons not living close to where she is and sometimes allowing them to put themselves in difficult situations. Could this be your reaction?

"What it’s like having children serving God.

PROUD!!!!.

I am very proud of my two son and both daughter-in-laws. I want to tell you a story. Please, I don’t want you to get the idea that I’m patting my back. It's amazing to see God have his hand in my Sons' life before we even knew about the gift of salvation, the Love the Lord has for us. Little did I know God has had us in training. I prayed everyday to God to help me to say and do the right thing that would not push the boys away from Him and use the boys in a mighty way. Through all those years I knew He had a special plan for them.You might think they are boys but God and I see Kings. When people talk about their children having high paying jobs. I let them know that my Sons have the highest paying job there is: they are serving the Lord Prince of peace, The King. Over the years, praying everyday for my sons, has showed me how to be long distance pray warrior. God is using them in a mighty way. Now I pray that they will see their fruit of their labor. And I also see my sons and daughter-in laws raising their children to serve the Lord. I thank the Lord for my Sons and their family. It makes me very proud to see them help others to know the Lord and grow closer to him. I want to Thank my two sons for helping me grow in the Lord by watching them.I Love you All very much."

Control or Allow? God Still Planned It.

Ecclesiastes 3:1 - For everything is a planned time and time is for everything desired under the heavens.

Ecclesiastes is among my favorite Old Testament books. It is so rich in understanding human struggles. It is like sitting down with a man's man, a man you know has lived life both good and bad and learned much from it. The writer works through the whole book moving man from a humanistic understanding of life to seeing it through the eyes of God.

This famous verse of the Old Testament rattles my brain the more I meditate on it. For the whole day, I've thought about what this verse really says. Each word is packed full of meaning.

Some translations have the first part of the verse as "there is a time for everything" or "to everything there is a season." Yet the Hebrew word describes this time as having been planned beforehand. Reading it as a "time for everything" or "there is a season" says to me that life is full of times of love and then times of hate and then times of peace and then times of war, etc. It's like saying, "well, this is life, get use to it." It's the humanistic way of seeing life. It's the human nature to be ignorant of a bigger picture.

Yet with the "appointed time," it says to me that these things have been pre-planned to exist. Nothing is out of God's control or handy-work. It ties with verse 11, "God has made everything fit beautifully in its appropriate time." It's a "well, I don't understand it all, yet God made it wonderful this way." It's a way of seeing God existing before me and after me. It's a way of seeing God as being and having the big picture.

Perhaps this grieves you to think that God has taken away some of your free will or that God is cruel to determine beforehand non-good things to happen, but it sort of gives me relief knowing that not every decision I make is so detrimental to the future course of events to the world. You or I would never say that, but we certainly act like it does as we worry, fight, steal, cheat, hoard our money, care less for others, or sit around doing absolutely nothing worthwhile.

Ecclesiastes 3:14 "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it. God does it so that men will revere him. "

So what are we suppose to do with our life? We'll check the latter part of that verse next time...