our boys are 18

October 2nd, 2009

Today is the 18th birthday of our sons, Greg and David.

Fear and awe come upon you when your child turns 18.

When it’s two of them, you get overwhelmed. This is how the morning began…

(Forgive, some of our warped senses of humor, but it is what it is)

“I can go to a strip club.” (Ignored that one)

“Now I can smack you and not get charged with child abuse. Assault is a lesser offense.” (Not likely, as it wasn’t an option before, though now it would be unreasonable, as big as you are getting)

“Smoking some Cubans…” (I will probably be joining you on that one)

“Did you say, ‘Happy Birthday’ to your brother?” (No wonder psychologists are so fascinated by twin dynamics)

“We love you guys so much! You make us so proud!” (Pure truth)

Happy Birthday my sons. You are completely safe and secure in the covering of a Father who adores you and is so very proud of you, and there is another father who says, “Ditto.”

Posted via web from Dana Hanson

what happens when our bodies take over our lives…

October 2nd, 2009

Let's look at some of the characteristics of what self-worship looks like when our body desires are in charge.

1. My Way
This is the natural human repsonse to life. As Frank Sinatra reminded us, "My Way." I want what I want when I want it. We are all two year olds who never grow up, when we allow our desires to be in charge. We just get more sophisticated in hiding the fact that we are on the throne of our own lives instead of God. If you want to see this attribute in action, watch how people drive in busy traffic. Cutting off, switching lanes, driving too close, don't think of coming into my lane— That's just the first five minutes of an LA commute! It's my road and I will do whatever I want. You can tell a tremendous amount about the character of a person when you watch how they drive.

2. My Body, My Obvious Choice
In order to get what I want, my body decides. The obvious results are a life of attempted physical gratification of some sort. Booze and pills dominate the lives of many. Serial sexual activity for the young and not so young, pornography for all, modern life is not much different than the fertility religions of ancient times.

3. My Body, My Less Obvious Choice

Less obvious choices of self-absorption, have to do with other forms of "pleasure" or "pain avoidance." Take "anger," for instance.

Anger turned outward shows up as "rage," and anger turned inward, often as "depression." We overlook the internal psychic pleasure of both rage and depression.

With "rage," I shift the responsibility of my problems in life onto everyone and everything else, except, of course, on me.

And "depression," while devastating, in some cases bring a strangely comforting subconscious condition, again, as a means of not taking personal responsibility.

We don't usually think on these things because our "bodies" tell us this cannot be so.

"I can't help it, this is just how I feel."

Do you experience rage or depression? What happens?

Posted via email from how to be a christian without being a jerk!

how to get into shape…

October 1st, 2009

We have now looked at the means to transform the heart. Next, we consider transformation of the body.

Our bodies are the delivery system of who we are. In a renovated life, our bodies have to be ready to do what is right and hesitant to do what is wrong. Our bodies are not evil in themselves, but they sure get us in a lot of trouble! In the process of transformation, it may be the body that gets in the way most often.

Our bodies are given to us by God as a good thing. He honors our bodies so much he chose to come in a "body" as Jesus. This is called "The Incarnation," literally "taking on flesh." Christianity does not teach the body is evil. There are other faith worldviews that do and so teach we have to punish our bodies or pretend our bodies don't exist, in order to achieve spiritual growth.

At the same time, we don't worship our bodies or give in to bodily desires as is called for in some other religions. In fact, worship of the body may be one of the key "religions" or worldviews of modern society in all of its advertising and media splendor. Future archeologists will think of our age as the time of the bare midriff and "six-pack" abs.

The result of all this obsession with the body and getting what we want through it makes growing older a curse. All the dieting, exercise and plastic surgery in the world is not going to erase the fact that…

…we are all going to die.

Transforming our way of thinking about our bodies brings us to the path where our body is a servant rather than the master of who we are. It is the difference between a bodily-focused life and a spiritually-focused life.

What are examples of when you were taught your body is somehow "bad"?

Posted via email from how to be a christian without being a jerk!

you gotta serve someone…

September 30th, 2009

All Christians are called to love our neighbor. "Love God and love your neighbor." A key way for us to take loving action is through acts of compassion in the world. Through the spiritual tool of "service." The spiritual discipline of service.

But this isn’t the same as volunteering for a local charity. Even though volunteering for a local charity can be part of a discipline of service. If this is confusing, well, welcome to my world.

When is service a discipline, when is it a Christian response, and when is it just doing good for the sake of another person, whether you are Christian or not? Let’s break these down.

Non-Christian service- God is the source of all good and so when non-Christians serve they do so within God’s realm. Human conscience alone will lift up many opportunities to serve.

Christian response- When we follow Jesus and learn from him we become the kind of people who serve others naturally as a response to the love we are given by him.

Service as a discipline- Intentional acts of service, focused areas of service, hidden acts of service, are all specific ways to die to yourself and be more open to God's power being an influence in the world.

When someone joins the armed forces, we say they are “in the service.” When they are discharged or retired, it is called, “getting out.” Well, when we join Jesus in the greatest mission of the galaxies, to be used by him to expand his kingdom, we are “in the service” for eternity. We never “get out.”

How has serving expanded you?

Posted via email from how to be a christian without being a jerk!

made to worship…

September 29th, 2009

Humans have been worshipping for at least 30,000 years or so. That’s the age of the oldest worship artifacts discovered by archeologists. Stars, animals, trees, and such are awesome creations, but we know to worship the Creator, not the creation. And the Creator is not an unknown god of nature, rather we worship the revealed, living God directly through Jesus.

When I give myself over to adoring God, it is a wonderful opportunity to get the focus off of me. This is the essence of worship. More Jesus…Less me.

Where to start:

Attend worship- Make sure you worship weekly in a Christian community. This is a time set apart for us to show “whose team we are on,” and to encourage our “teammates.” Jesus found weekly worship absolutely necessary. Why would I need it less?
Music- This is the “heart language” for most of us. Listen to worship music everyday. …you choose the genre and artists. Hillsong United, David Crowder Band, or my own LIFEhouse worship posse are my usual worship music go to’s. Fill your car, room, or I Pod with music that lifts up Jesus and his glory.
Write down daily praises of your own in a journal. “God, I adore you because…” ” Jesus, here are reasons I worship you today…” “Holy Spirit, I am blessed by you because…”

Find time for worship today…

Posted via web from how to be a christian without being a jerk!