Tebow

I was thinking the other day about the people who are jumping on Tim Tebow's case about how obvious he is about his faith. He's too zealous. He's too outspoken. He's whatever happens to annoy a given person. The thing that gets me, is that most of the negative comments I hear are from Christians. And while I don't think I'm going to start Tebowing (taking a knee and praying as a celebration) every time I get the chance, I am not going to tell him to demonstrated his faith any differently just because I don't always care for his style.
Before any of us criticize, we should check our motives first. Do we criticize Tebow's outspokenness because he does too much or because we do too little? Do we poke fun at his post touchdown prayer simply because it's something we'd never do?
When I was thinking about this I was reminded of a story from 2 Samuel 6 about David's wife Michal.
Michal was watching from the window of her house as David was in the street dancing before God, celebrating the Ark of the Covenant's return. Michal was embarrassed because David, who was the king, was dancing so foolishly around in public, striped of his royal cloths. The bible says she held him in contempt for his shameless worship.
And When David returned home Michal confronted him and said sarcastically, "How distinguished the king looked today, shamelessly exposing himself before the servant girls as any vulgar person might do ...."
And David said, "I was dancing for the Lord...yes I am willing to look even more foolish than this, even to be humiliated in my own eyes!"

Every man is different. Every man's faith and beliefs are different. Every man has his own style of demonstrating what he believes. We all need to realize this and not be like Michal, who because of fear of ridicule chose to hold in contempt a demonstration of a beautiful relationship with God. She was more afraid of what others would think of her husband dancing shamelessly than how pleasing his act of worship was to God.
I feel the same way about Tebow. While I may not be as outspoken about my faith, I will not condemn him for being too much. We can never give God too much and we can never worship or demonstrate too much if our hearts are in the right place with God. Sure it may look ridiculous to some, it might even seem crazy to some, but to God it is beautiful, and I have no right to call what God deems beautiful anything less.
It's obvious to me that Tim Tebow has decided to be like David and be willing to do whatever his faith prompts him to do even to the point of looking foolish in the eyes of others. Yes, he could dial it down, or he could be less outspoken, but why would we ever want that?
James 4:17 says "It is a sin to know what you ought to do and then not do it."
What if being an outspoken Christian is what Tebow feels he ought to do? For him not to follow what he knows is right because it would save him from ridicule would be a sin. And I for one don't want to cause a brother in Christ to stumble. Yes, he's outspoken, but because of him, thousands of people have heard about Christ. Yes, he's zealous, but because of him many have taken notice of what it's like to have a relationship with Christ. While I may not take the same action, I will applaud the fact that they are actions for the glory of my Lord.

"There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord."
1 Corinthians 12:4-5

Christmas in heaven...

Today, a friend of mine, Hannah, who, if you recall, lost her father and was seriously injured in a car crash a few months ago, lost her mother today. Her mom, Gina, had been battling stage four cancer for a long time and lost the fight sometime today. While my heart breaks for Hannah and her family, who lost a very important person on a day usually so happy, I rejoice in the fact that Mrs. Gina's long struggle is over. I don't know how Hannah's taking it, and considering the situation I would wager not well.

Please join me in praying for comfort for Hannah and her family. Pray that all the good memories of Mrs Gina will fill them as they grieve her loss. Pray God's peace and wisdom over them as they make decisions during this difficult time.

Thank you.

Merry Christmas!

It's Christmas Eve Eve(!!) and in all honesty is the first day I've been able to stop and relax. December is always so busy for me. If it's not a recital it's a party, if it's not a party it's a Christmas program, if it's not a Christmas program it's a test, oh and all this is on top of my normal (very busy) schedule. Anyway, it's crash time now and I get to enjoy not having to do anything for a week or so.

I thank God for everything I have and for the best gift ever, his son Jesus, who though he was God humbled himself and came to earth and was born to in a stable so that could die on so that my sins could be forgiven. Christ's love is the real meaning of Christmas to me.

Now to you and your's, I wish a Merry Christmas wherever you are. May you have a blessed season and a joyful New Year.

Fall, Fall, Fall!

I love fall. The colors, the cooler weather, I love everything about fall except the time change. That said here are some pictures that's I've been taking of the prettiness.

Baby Justice

There are days when we realize just how fragile life is. I had one yesterday. Baby Justice, the one from my last post, passed away yesterday after only twenty-eight days of life. However short this baby's life was his impact was beyond what many accomplish in twenty-eight years. People who had never prayed talked to God on account of this little boy, people who didn't believe in God found the Way to God's love because they wanted the best for Justice. The impact of a little boy who never left the hospital touched lives across the country. I'm so grateful to have been allowed to know of and pray for this baby boy. My life is different for it and I thank God for that.

Prayer Request

Please join me in praying for Justice Micah. He was born a couple of weeks ago with major heart problems. He's already had multiple surgeries and is still on ECMO. They're trying to take him off ECMO but he hasn't been in good enough condition to take him off. Please pray for fast recovery for Justice, peace for his family, and wisdom for his medical team.

Thanks You.

Welcome Autumn

Hannah

Hannah is doing great! So thank you for all your prayers. She's still in the hospital but she's awake and doing well. She's had all her surgeries for now and will spend a little while longer in the hospital before going to rehab for several more weeks. She is of course still having a tough time with the lose of her dad and being injured so badly so still keep her and her family in your prayers. If all goes well she should be back and better soon.

Thanks!

Hey everyone, still keep my friend from the last post in your prayers. She's awake and has had her surgeries and is on the long road to recovery. Also pray for her and her family as they continue to grieve the loss of her dad.

For Hannah

There are somethings in life you never expect to have to learn so soon. One of those things happened for me this week. A friend of mine was in a car wreck Wednesday night. Her dad was killed in the wreck. She was seriously hurt. She's in the hospital now in an induced coma in the ICU. I'm still in shock that this happened. It's really hit close to home with me. I saw her two days ago and now she's laying in a hospital bed in really bad shape. And she doesn't even know her dad is dead. Life is so hard and so fragile.

This is all coming in the midst of a series my youth pastor's doing called One Month To Live. As much as I've been thinking about how short life can be I never thought something would happen to make me face this fact. I never dreamed that two weeks into this series a friend of mine would be laid up in a hospital bed after almost dying.
It's really driven home the fact that the question "What would you do if this were your last day on earth?" isn't just a nice phrase to get you thinking. It's not just something people ask to get you to life right. It's serious. Sometimes, today is all we have. We're not invincible like so many people think they are. Our lives could end at any moment. I don't mean to be morbid, but it's what's on my heart. I forget way too much that I'm not in control of my life. Plan as I may, one act of Fate can change everything.
One thing that know is that in all this God is working. Even though this situation with my friend is crazy and awful I know God is right there in the midst of it. Even when we question "Why" he's still God, he's still there, and he's working in whatever is going on even if we can't see him.
The book of Ester is a great reminder of this. Ester went through so much. She lost her parents, was raised by a cousin, and was taken into the king's harem with our promise of being anything more than a concubine. However God had other plans. The she found favor with the king and was made queen. While she was queen, she got word of a plot of a mass killing of her people. Because of her station, she was able to save her people. Strangely, not one time in this book is God mentioned yet he is clearly present in every event that takes place.
This is such a comfort to me. To know that even when I can't see what's going on or what God intends to do, that he is always present even if we can't see or hear him.

Please join me in praying for my friend and her family. They have a long, rough road ahead of them.