All I could do was think. I couldn’t talk for God had sealed my voice for nine long months. I know what you’re thinking, “You’re a priest, man! How could you not believe an angel’s message from the Lord?” Well, Elizabeth and I were old and we’d never caught a glimpse of having children. I knew the story of Abraham and Sara but think about it; have you ever found yourself in a situation like someone from the Bible and not learned from it? How about someone in your own life? Take my advice, learn from those around you, mistakes or successes, and learn from those who walked before you (there are plenty in the Bible and believe it or not, they were all people just like you and me). I finally did, but it was the hard way.

There I was, amidst a turning point in history, excited and in awe of what was going on but I couldn’t even talk about it or express myself. I was told that my son, who we were to call John, would be filled with Holy Spirit from birth…from birth! My job as a parent was over, right? Ha! Far from it. Our little John was going to change the world, preparing the people of Israel for what we’d been waiting for for hundreds of years…our Messiah! My kid was going to set the stage for the greatest event the world has ever seen. You can understand how I’d be skeptical, but that doubt got me into trouble even though I’d been a faithful servant of God for years. The cost was my voice.

That time, although frustrating, ended up being nine of the most powerful months of my life. Without being able to talk, I studied and contemplated. I took a look back at the words of the prophets before our time: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Malachi and others. They had seen this coming. Even my son had been spoken of, and I was overcome with emotion as I went through the prophecies and began to realize what was happening. God was going to use Elizabeth and me to usher in a new dawn through our bloodline. His Spirit began to work on my heart and my eyes were opened. I thought it a curse to lose my voice but it was truly a blessing. I was able to spend much time in silence and listen to another voice, that of the Lord.

When John was finally born, my heart beat faster than I can ever remember. “This is it,” I thought. “This is the boy who will grow into a prophetic man and be great before the Lord.” There I was, face to face with my son who was going to ignite a movement pronouncing the coming of Emmanuel, God in flesh. As soon as I got my voice back, overcome by the Spirit of the Lord, I was filled with the God’s words found now in Luke 1, verse 67 and on. Here I had been reading the words of the great prophets of old and now, I found myself prophesying. Out of my mouth, after months of quiet, flowed the most beautiful song I could ever imagine conjuring up.

I was foretelling the fulfillment of the coming of our God to earth, our salvation from the line of David. They were words of hope to a people long awaiting their coming Savior, and the time was near. I sang of God’s mercy, His oath to Abraham of our deliverance, the one who would be called ‘the Lord Our Righteousness’, our salvation from sin, the light in the darkness and our guide to the path of peace. I couldn’t believe what was going on but I felt compelled to communicate with words that were not my own. Singing over my son, although he couldn’t understand me, I felt an urge to tell him that he would be a great prophet of the Lord and right there I dedicated his life to the Lord, knowing that he would prepare the way for the One. My doubts from before had all melted away, and his mother and I sat in wonderment. I could finally talk to her, the love of my life! We rejoiced together and cried in worship at what God had done. It was surreal and crazy, yet the most tangible God had ever been to us…truly a miracle.

I confide in you now, fellow keepers of the faith, that God may allow things to happen, put people and trials in your life that you may not understand. You think you’re being faithful and know He is too, but in his own time and not yours. We want to think that if we obey his commands and stay true to His Word that we’ll get the life we long for. But never forget, our earthly desires are far less important than the desires of God’s heart. He sees things we don’t even when we walk close to Him. My wife and I longed for children and figured by that time in our lives it just wasn’t meant to be. He closed my vocal cords because I lacked faith in His promise even after years of committing my life to doing His will. That one move changed my life and at the time I felt lost, but as the days went by He worked on my heart to get me closer to Him so now I can tell a story of real faith and overcoming. I sang His song as many did before me and my belief will never wilt again.

Do you know a story like this? Have you (or someone you know) gone through the drudges and doubted God’s presence in your life only to later realize His plan was greater than anything you could ever imagine. I’m living proof of this and so are others around you. I urge you brothers to open your eyes, close your mouths, listen for the voice of the Lord, draw close to Him, let Him draw close to you, give of your whole self and be amazed at His wonder! He’s there and He’s not going anywhere. John the baptizer was our little boy, a prophet of the Lord born to us in the late years of our lives. Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s cousin Mary was carrying God’s chosen Son and our John would let the world know that His ministry was coming. We thought our lives were going to go the way of the wind, but our Lord had other ideas. His power is not explainable and His purpose for your life is the same. Until you’re in the midst of it, you may not understand or even believe that it’s happening. Nevertheless, He wants great things for you. Are you expecting great things from Him? I Am, now and forever.

So there you are, a baby Christian, dependent on pastor Such-n-Such to feed you once or twice a week. Without him you starve, but right after that Sunday message from God’s Word you feel energized and anew, ready to take on the toughest spiritual battles the world has to offer. Then comes Monday, and he’s not there feeding you. Tuesday arrives, and you’ve almost forgotten the vitamins that nourished your soul two days prior. Next comes Wednesday, and your week is feeling long and you’re getting weak and tired, just waiting for Friday when you can crash. But wait, there’s a whole ‘nother day (Thu) to deal with. Are you kidding me? Is this week gonna end? I haven’t seen a real friend in four days, haven’t eaten my spiritual Nutrigrain bar in too long, and I’ve been so wrapped up in life I’m going off like 5 hours of sleep. Exhausted by Friday, emotionally and physically, we’re just ready to set everything aside and dedicate Saturday to…oh wait, my friend’s party is Saturday and I didn’t get a gift or outfit or anything! Huh. Looks like we’re back to Sunday feeling tired and hungry.

Does this sound familiar? Maybe you’re not a ‘baby’ anymore and you’ve ‘known’ Christ for a couple years. I’ve seen (real) kids at 2, 3, 4 years old and it’s not pretty. Everything is about them. Sharing isn’t easy, envy increases and they just cry when things don’t go their way. Maybe you’re crying. A few years later, it’s all about fitting in. “Mom, Drew has a sweet pair of Weebok shoes and all the kids at school like him more now because of it. I want new shoes!” (or whatever the case). Pride, acceptance and a self-centered, self-promoting worldview overtakes us. Then kids start the lying, from what their dad can do to what they were allowed to watch or do over the weekend. Whatever it takes to make some friends and win the affection of those around them.

The fact is, they no longer worry about eating and sleeping. It’s provided for them, scheduled into their day, and all these other perceived needs become the vein of their existence. Finally, we reach adulthood and these habits adjust their importance, however subtly. Now we’re consumed with money, doing what feels good, and grown-up toys to put atop our totem pole of seeking love, attention and being the best. These man-made, material things and self-serving bodily desires become the center our lives. If we’re not careful, we’ll completely forget to eat and sleep.

Where’s the balance? How do we curb our earthly motives and get back to survival, maybe even thriving in the spiritual wild? Sundays aren’t enough to feed us for the week. Sundays and Wednesdays aren’t enough either. We need to eat everyday and then sleep every night! Pastor Such-n-Such isn’t gonna read me a bedtime story to give me my fill and then rock me to sleep. What I’ve learned over the past couple years is that without God’s nutrients entering my eternity-bound soul each and every day, I consume the food that the world feeds me. When it doesn’t make me sick, I know I’m not getting enough spiritual eats. But the longer I feast on the world’s junk food, the less I remember what I need to be healthy and really live.

I think of the prodigal son parable and the younger boy in the story we know so well. He went away from his dad and tasted the fruits and spoils that the world had to offer. When he found he had hit rock bottom, he returned home to a place where he knew he’d be taken care of. His dad didn’t go marching through the woods over peaks and valleys to find him though. He waited patiently at home with an open invite to a feast waiting to be prepared out of sheer love. It took that son wandering so far away and squandering so much blessing for self-serving reasons to realize that what he needed all along was the food his father was gladly willing to share with him. The son, with motives of earthly desire, finally realized that the extra-curricular food the world had for him was not going to satisfy his heart. It was all a lie.

Bringing it back around, here we are; some babies, some toddlers, some adults, but we’re all in need of the same thing: food and sleep. That’s what it takes to survive. How cool would it be if we never needed rest? Maybe not, but we do. Our bodies won’t work unless we give them rest and make time for sleep so we can walk through our days revitalized, alive to the world around us. And eating well is essential for our human shell to work properly. Speaking from personal experience I plead, don’t get half way through your week and wonder why you’re struggling so bad to live in a Christ-like fashion. It’s probably because you haven’t eaten in days. Or, whatever you managed to eat didn’t get digested properly because you forgot to settle down, breathe deep and let it run deep into your system.

Macie Fritts, at four months old, needs her mother and father to put the bottle to her mouth and give her food to make it through each day. With any luck, in a year or so, she’ll be able to put the bottle to her own mouth. And eventually, she won’t need us to make her a bottle at all. That girl will be equipped to walk to the kitchen, open the cupboard, make her own meal and have enough sense to sit down on the couch after nourishing herself so her food can work it’s way through her growing body. At which time I pray she’ll open her own Bible, turn off the noise of the world, and feast on a meal which her eternal Father prepared for her before time began. She’ll eat and sleep every day, all by herself. Then on Sunday, she won’t be exhausted. Instead, Macie will be well equipped to join in a celebration with others, including pastor Such-n-Such and bring an offering of worship to the Father who has given all of us the gifts of food, sleep and metaphors.

There are countless ways that physical life mirrors spiritual life and x amount of examples occur in God’s Word. These include the most obvious, like salt and light metaphors, to the more obscure, like followers of Christ being weeds (still one of my favorites). And sure, in our own lives we can see these illustrations take shape, but sometimes they manifest themselves more clearly in other people, places and things. In this case, I’m going to talk about my baby girl. No, I’m not gonna rattle off how I’m her father and now I know what a father’s love is like for his children so she can run away from home, curse my name, be ungrateful for everything her mom and I provide for her and I’ll still be right there, loving her with all my heart. And I’m not gonna mention that her mom and I would love to keep her free from harm, sheltered in our arms, and it’ll hurt to see her make mistakes, messing up major decisions in life but it’s got to happen for her to learn and grow in wisdom and maturity. Instead, I’d like to focus on our little girl’s survival skills and what it takes to keep her satisfied.

Let me take you back to a time long forgotten - when you were four months old. Oh yes, you were there once. I was too, but unfortunately much of my younger years were spent trying to get to Sesame Street, and I don’t remember much. Macie Rayne Fritts is bringing it all back to me. The diapers, the vibrating chairs, the little piggies on our feet…it’s a great reminder of where we all come from. And beyond the pacifiers and car seats lies a not-so-mysterious truth about the essentials of life and what we need to survive: food and sleep.

Seems simple enough but I think somewhere along the line our judgment gets clouded, and the basic needs in life become overshadowed by unnecessary desires. What am I talking about? Alright, four months into her life Macie can already communicate a few things: I’m hungry, I’m tired and I pooped in my Elmo diapers (can someone clean me?). Realistically, that’s about the extent of it. And when mommy or daddy (mostly mommy) takes care of her immediate needs, a huge smile graces her face and gets reciprocated by those around her. Go figure, she’s most happy when she’s well fed and well rested. That’s what I want to zone in on and analyze a little further.

It’s almost immediate, the smile Macie delivers right after a nap. As soon as the zap of light wears off and her eyes adjust, that girl’s the happiest bobble-head you ever saw. It’s a riot! She wakes up, stretches out her little arms and legs and boom- instant contentment in the moment. I know I don’t see this in my own life…quite the opposite actually. I get out of bed and can barely crack a smile prior to drinking my morning espresso. Oh no, I’m borderline miserable when I first come to, except for every once in a while I’ll fall asleep at a reasonable hour and naturally wake up the next day without the help of my phone alarm. Those are the times where I truly feel refreshed. This is what Macie must feel like every time she wakes. I know we don’t force her up (though we force her down). She typically opens her eyes when she’s ready to face the day, and I think that’s why she wears such a big smile.

Then Macie eats. Sometimes a little and sometimes a lot, the girl eats. And not once, twice or even three times a day but like five or six times. Sure, she throws up now and again from being full of food and getting rattled; nevertheless, she’s got a big smile while we’re wiping her face off. She’s so funny, just sitting there after a feeding, again a happy little bobble-head smiling and looking all confused at the world around her. All she knows is that her belly is full and she’s no longer hungry. Now before she eats it’s a whole different story; she cries and screams and kicks and punches the air and fusses until mommy or daddy puts the milk to her lips. Then she chills out and recognizes she’s getting what she needs to sustain her life. She doesn’t know much, but this knowledge is seemingly inherent in all of God’s creatures.

So, do the spiritual math. It’s not hard here. What do we need as servants under Christ to survive and keep on living for Him? Hmmm, I know it’s something. But are you there? Are you doing the mere basics to sustain your spiritual life? Are you doing more? And are you still a baby holding out for mommy and daddy to bring the bottle all the way to your mouth? Think about it.

How many of you have ever been job searching and the employers all require experience that you can’t get ‘cause they won’t give you a job? What’s the solution? I asked myself, ‘do I have to be an unpaid intern or volunteer my time to get this experience?’ What about the college experience and the piece of paper that came of it? Was that all for naught? Of course it wasn’t, but this logic often surfaces in reference to thoughts about Christian faith. We can’t use the Bible to prove God exists to those who don’t believe in the Bible in the same way we can’t prove to a company that we’re capable of doing the job offered by showing them our diploma. They might not believe in our diploma; they want to see our abilities in a tangible environment.

So where do we as Christians start with non-believers? Can we really just point to verses that we hold to be true?

In Acts 2:38,39 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.” NIV

This verse speaks straight to us, but how do we explain these concepts of sin and repentance to someone who believes that this life is all there is and our bodies on earth are all we are…no soul, no afterlife? They believe the Bible is manmade, or equally disheartening, that God is manmade. There is a fundamental need to show the world that our lives are full of the Holy Spirit who infiltrates our being. How has it changed your life and your heart? How has it curbed your tendencies towards sin?

Corporations today need to see your experience in the work place, just like non-Christians need to see your experiences with the Lord. It is not enough to claim with our lips, instead we must show it with our bodies and minds. They want experience…show them experience.

So I ask, are you experiencing God working in your life? Are you conversing with Him and listening to what He has to say to you? I pray that you are and that you are not just holding that ‘diploma’ you received at age 5 hoping that it’ll be enough to get you into heaven.

So, what this Book is telling me is that we’re supposed to endure trials and difficulties without fear or worry? How does that work? I’ve struggled with this question for a long time and learned in elementary school that if I wonder about it, others probably do too. Well, where do we go from here? The only answer: to a place where we’re truly in submission. That’s the only way this is possible. Followers of Christ, laying down their own lives, taking up their crosses, are called to surrender all to Him. Not our urges to please ourselves. Not our desires to be accepted, loved, appreciated, wealthy, attractive, lazy, sought after or what have you…all of it. Even our fear and worry?

But what if I get made fun of? What if I get rejected? What if I get killed? No worries mate. There’s more to life than the mortal mountaintops man has created. The Super Bowl, triple-platinum records, ticket sales, Oscars, mansions, whatever - there’s more to God’s green earth than achieving these trophies. Why do you think so many celebrities develop drug habits and identity issues? Seriously, why is that? It’s because they believe that once they have their names attached to a magazine or a seven-figure bank account, their lives will be satisfying, but it’s just not true. They’re still unfulfilled. So they pop pills to help deal with stress or they stop eating to be more attractive or they party hard ‘to forget about life for a while.’

What if you made your millions, what would you do? When I hear that question, I always think of the guy in Office Space who said he’d do absolutely nothing. He wouldn’t have to work anymore so he wouldn’t; he’d just chill. Some take up drug habits or gambling addictions. Others collect cars, buy sports franchises or invest to make more money, but what for? Does this eliminate worry and promote rest or just temporarily consume time to ignore what really matters in life?

Jim Dahlke mentioned in a message recently that Christians are willing to trust God for their eternal resting place but not for day-to-day decisions. Sounds crazy but it’s true. We’re wired that way aren’t we? We have faith that God will accept us as His children in heaven but not for Him to provide for us things in this life. I know I rely on myself far too often rather than asking God to walk with me through everyday activities and conversations. He’ll carry me, and I just forget it sometimes. But the key is not to use God as an excuse to do less, but a reason to do more.

Doing nothing is easy. Surrendering everything is hard. But when we do hand it all back over to God’s kingdom and make ourselves cognizant of the fact that our lives and bodies don’t belong to us, then we can begin to really live free. We get over our fears though we’re more likely to face resistance. We get over our worries though we’re willing to take more risks. But we’re risking for the right reasons. We’re risking to make a difference. No more excuses; no more fear; no more worries. Just our hearts, minds, souls and strengths sold out ’til death. There is peace, joy and hope to be found in this world; it’s just not ‘in this world.’

Let’s call her Maebe, the name I pulled for but that quickly got shot down. Here we are, the wifey and I, about to bring a new life into the world. I’ve been unknowingly preparing for this moment for 28 years, and I’m not nearly as freaked out as I thought I might be. Perhaps it’s the calm before the storm, but I don’t even know what I expected. For starters, I’m not one for looking too far ahead. This week is quite enough for me. You ever write out a five year plan, a ten year plan or whatever? It’s tough. Where do you want to be in five years, and what do you want to be doing? If you’d asked me five years ago, ha, it sure wouldn’t have been where I am. My aspirations were far different. They were centered around me. Thankfully, priorities change and hearts can be revived, pulling us out of helpless situations to a place where things are more clear. Praise God for perspective!

But I didn’t think about Maebe. I don’t really think I thought, at least not about anything important. Today when I think about her, I still don’t know if it feels real. It’s like any other big change in life…until you’re right there in the thick of it and the tangibility can’t be denied, you’re not even sure if it’s actually happening. But judging by the size of Liz’s belly, it’s definitely happening! So now I’m like, “Okay, I’m gonna be a dad. How do I keep my daughter from wanting to be a princess and loving Hannah Montana?” I know I’ve got some time to figure it out, but the bombardment of pink and frills kind of goes against everything I stand for. I want to protect her from pop culture, but that means giving her an attractive alternative. But it’s in our nature to want to fit in and desire acceptance. How do I instill an ideal in my children that it’s not only okay to be different, it’s necessary to create change and to stand out? If anyone wants to make a difference in this world, it’s not accomplished by fitting in. It’s done by going against the norm, which goes against our norm. What a strange paradigm.

And I’m afraid I’m going to realize how little I really know about things. Have you ever been around those kids and they just keep asking ‘why?’ to everything? Uhh, I don’t think I know. And how do I teach her to be positive in such a negative culture? We’re a people obsessed with negativity and extremes which is made obvious by magazine covers and cable news networks. Maybe they slide in a story about a puppy dog being saved on the back cover, but the warm fuzzies have fallen by the wayside in favor of breakups and scare tactics (Oh no! The flu!!). I want Maebe to love what’s good…what’s really good. For her to love the important things in life and to follow and appreciate what the Bible teaches us. But at some point, I’m going to have to let her go figure things out for herself.

A wise man once posed the question, “If you see me run into something and it hurts, would you do the same thing yourself to see if you experience a different outcome? Then why do we repeat the same mistakes as other people instead of learning from them?” He then explained that we have an entire Bible worth of stories where people, followers of God, screwed up. So how can I expect my little girl to learn from them? Ahh, I must learn from them first. I must know how to apply the human lives written about in the Word to my life. But I can’t expect for her to never get into any sort of trouble. I just need to know how God dealt with so many of His children messing up and then learn from the Master. Walk in His footsteps. How does He discipline? How does He forgive? How does He love?

One can never be totally ready or prepared to raise a child, but I’m resting in that the God I put my trust in every day will teach me how to father and guide my reactions to Maebe. So, when our iddy biddy girly whirly poops her cute lil’ pants, I’ll know how to respond. And later in life, when she gets caught at make-out point with Johnny Somebody, I’ll know how to respond. And finally when Maebe’s having her own lil’ punkin’ dumplin’, she’ll know how to respond. The fact is, this little girl’s gonna change Liz’s and my future forever and we welcome that with great excitement and anticipation. We’re not freaking out or anything, but not because we know we’re gonna be great parents or even because we grew up with great parents to model. We’re calm because we have and know a great Father Who we learn from every day. As He teaches us, we’ll continually become more equipped to raise and teach Maebe so that, whether or not she changes the world, she’ll be able to put life in perspective and love what’s right (like her mom and dad…ha!).

So I was faced the decision; do I buy the #12…the sandwich I know I’ll enjoy, or do I try something new? I’m so accustomed to the turkey, cucumbers, bean sprouts and mayonnaise. I even know that if I add bacon to it, I’ll enjoy it that much more. But if I test the waters a little bit, maybe I’ll find another tasty lunch treat to enjoy all the more and I can shake it up a bit. Such a tough predicament.

You know the feeling. You’ve been at the restaurant and your favorite item screams at you to order it but you feel like this time, perhaps you should take a chance. It’s hard, I know, to steer away from what your accustomed to but sometimes it can be rewarding. It can also be a total disaster. 10 minutes later you could be kicking yourself for trying something new and regretting your mind’s trick telling you the grass is greener (or even a slightly different shade of green) on the other side.

Is it? Was the chance you took worth it? If you never try, you’ll never know, right? I hate that my mind works this way, but life has far too many choices for me to be a person who lacks variety. Sure, I know what I like, but steak everyday isn’t good for anybody. It gets old. It becomes stale, with every next filet seeming to be not as exciting as the last until you finally just get sick of it. We want something different. The human body is insatiable. We have infinite desires with finite capacities, and this is true in all aspects of who we are.

So how do we cope? We take the long way home. We get the macchiato instead of the latte. We turn the TV off and eat a meal in silence. We take the blue pill instead of the red pill. Or we don’t and always sit there wondering what might have been had we stepped out of our comfort zone and taken a risk. I wish there was an easy solution to this query but there’s just not. So I got the #12…with bacon. It’s true that the grass may be greener in Arizona than it is in Michigan, but I hear there are far more snakes hiding in their grass.

Here we go again, another daily standard that seemingly sprung up from the doldrums of people looking out for number one and not wanting to inconvenience themselves to any extent. Let me break it down: you’re on on the road getting ready to make a left-hand turn in the lane designated with one arrow pointing to the left (sounds simple enough). Suddenly, you find yourself grill-to-grill with another driver waiting to merge into the lanes that you’re trying to cross. That coveted center lane is now assumed to serve whatever purpose you want!

Let’s put the shoe on the other foot. Now you’re turning left out of the school parking lot and, heaven forbid, you wait for traffic to cease in both directions before you shoot out into the street. Instead you play Frogger, jumping past each lane as it opens forcing yourself and others into the game because you just couldn’t wait to stop your car in the middle of the road. And did you know it’s actually illegal to sit in that lane and wait to merge. Is a cop going to pull you over? Not likely, but that doesn’t make it cool.

It is called the left-hand turn lane, right? Or is it now the waiting-to-go-straight lane? I can’t tell anymore! Sure, the white arrows between the solid yellow lines clearly display the function, but it’s now totally fine to ignore the road commission’s direction for us. Better yet, I love when someone rides it out for like two and a half miles before they finally reach that cross-street they’ve been waiting to turn at. Who says you have to enter into the yellow just before you turn? If that’s not convenient for me, I’ll put the rest of the driving population at risk and expect them to follow the rules while I do what I want. We are all at the center of our own universes, after all.

What if I decide I want to enter the highway through the off ramp? I know how it’s labeled. I know it’s intent. But I’m already right here at the opposite end of the opposite direction I want to head which I can access to make a U-ey and get where I need to be. It’s understandable that traffic has worsened in the area and trees and the color green are soon to be a thing of the past in metro-Detroit, but I swear with a little patience, cars from both directions will clear and you’ll be able to make that stressful left turn across 4 lanes without sitting in the center lane for 5 minutes as your car shakes back and forth and people fly by you at 50 mph.

I encourage you all, as socially conscious people and safety-encouraging public stewards, to wait for both directions to make way for you to turn left out of a subdivision or parking lot. See if it really sets you back more than 15-20 seconds, rush hour or not.

Get honked at by those impatient behind you! Let people think you’re old-school! Let ‘em assume you’re just used to country roads! Don’t conform to them! Be radically different! Save the left-hand turn lane for…ummm, left-hand turns.

Life’s a funny little journey with twists and turns
Sometimes it tickles, sometimes it burns
Sometimes it’s no joke
We grow, we shrink, we breathe, we blink
We squint to see and process to think
Often times we choke
For rich or for poor, through less and through more
Alas the prude will envelop the whore
And the match is played
What’s fun to you is garbage to me
The song in your ears, the show on TV
The foundation is laid
A vow we proclaim to an unworthy name
A dollar is spent on privatized shame
And the earth revolves
People ask why did you ever get high
Can I really rely on a girl or a guy
Can this be resolved
Forget what you know and know we forget
Start at square one, just as the sun will set
It will rise
Open the Book and see what it says
It means so much more than a story it has
It’s a sign
What fixes, what heals, it buys yet we steal
The good in us all is suppressed by the wheels
That rotate
Innate is inside and destroys us to hide
In whom I confide, to whom must I die
To create
For better, for worse, take a look at a verse
That changes and arranges a thought, a curse
A blessing
Is it ever enough to think we can rest
Is it ever really done to the best
Arrest Him
He’s in our place for what we have done
And what we will do, the race we will run
He came
And finally we sit at the Maker’s great hand
So small is man yet so stubborn we stand
So lame
Teach us to walk, Father please pick us up
Our stumble can only be graceful with love
Show us how
This life is short lived and bound to a wreck
Except through Your mercy and how You perfect
If we bow

Go, go, go! Can this thing go any faster? How do we get more and in a shorter amount of time? It doesn’t matter what it is; cars, the internet, lines, information in general…we can’t wait for it. What’s the word that describes that…? Well, maybe I’ll remember but you might need some ‘blank’. Anyways, our ‘Me’ generation has been raised to be obsessed with speed and volume. But with it, something’s gotta give and I think it’s been quality of the experience. ‘How,’ you may say, ‘does it really suffer?’

For starters, many industrial plants have become more focused on quantity than quality. The end result for a company, of course, is more product made at lower cost. This has also been the case with restaurants and fast food chains. As soon as they learned cheaper and faster ways to get us our meals, the nutrition value got overlooked by them and many of us. They didn’t care about the customer, they wanted to cut costs for more profit. We’re now seeing the harm this attitude has caused the business world and our health.

So, what about information, media, and the internet…is faster better? Well, when this noise is put into our heads, filtered by our minds and fed into our souls, it has the potential to pull us away from the quality of life we’ve been created for. We get so much, so fast, that we forget everything we just witnessed. And it takes over how we live and interact to the point where technology is our closest friend. How often are you with a person talking face-to-face but daydreaming about the text you need to send or the email you need to respond to? I do it all the time. It pains me to think that the person who should have my undivided attention at that moment is the one I have the hardest time giving it to. Or reading…do you remember anything from the last 2 minutes?

It’s the same with cars; we’re so set in making good time to our destination that we can’t even enjoy the ride (I’m talking in a literal sense here). One of the least enjoyable things in driving, perhaps ever, is the traffic jam…or even just getting stopped at a red light when it’s 11pm and the light should be blinking yellow (is there someone I can contact to change this). The funny thing is, all day every day I’m waiting to slow down and rest, but when I’m in a car and that happens, I couldn’t be more anxious.

I want to stop missing out, ya know? To almost enjoy that red light that God gave me to stare awkwardly at the kid next to me. To appreciate waiting a long time for the Lighthouse website to load because it’s receiving so many hits. To laugh when I buy a candle at the dollar store and the wick falls out because it wasn’t in the center of the wax. Genesis 2 tells us that God “rested from all His work”. I don’t know that I ever rest from ALL of my work. Maybe I break from a few things but it feels like I’m constantly thinking about something (else). Where do I find this ‘rest’? Hmmm…

In Matthew 11, Jesus rather famously states, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” So often in Bible study I get consumed with wanting to learn more, diving into reference materials, soaking up details, and I fail to just rest in His words. We can’t know everything no matter how fast it comes our way and we can’t have everything even though rarely do we feel we have enough. “Insatiable yearning with finite capacities.” I love how that sums it up. We are human, thus we are flawed, and thus we need help with everything,,,even rest.

It’s hard to slow down and take the foot off the gas pedal, but it must be done. Otherwise, we burn out and our lives and relationships suffer. God knew this and wants to help us with it. I think that’s so cool. When we work hard, we deserve to stop and take a break (from everything). And best of all, when I do get rest and find time for real sabbath, there’s a noticeable difference in my attitude, my work, my driving, and even…my patience. The Gospels speak of evil spirits leaving men’s bodies seeking rest, but they never find it. I pray we are all finding it and in the right place!