No Coincidence

My son and I pulled into the car wash and as I was dropping quarters into the vacuum a twenty something man asked if he could borrow my phone. He assured me he wasn’t going to run off or anything. I willingly handed over my phone and continued to vacuum. He stepped away from the noise in order to place his call, after he finished he shared “my brother and I got into a fight and he drove off with my phone and my wallet.” I asked if he needed a ride and he said, “that would be great. Could you take me over to the Wal-mart since my brother is there?” So we piled into the car, my son a bit wide eyed, and we dropped him at the Wal-mart. On the way we talked and he asked me, “So, what do you do?” And I told him I was a pastor at Grace Point. Through this brief dialogue I told him I didn’t think there were any coincidences and that God had has our paths cross. I didn’t have a lot of time with this young man but my son and I did our best to communicate our love for Christ and his need. My son on the way home was energized by the encounter—we had helped someone and we had pointed them toward Christ in a brief but powerful interaction.

No Coincidence

My son and I pulled into the car wash and as I was dropping quarters into the vacuum a twenty something man asked if he could borrow my phone. He assured me he wasn’t going to run off or anything. I willingly handed over my phone and continued to vacuum. He stepped away from the noise in order to place his call, after he finished he shared “my brother and I got into a fight and he drove off with my phone and my wallet.” I asked if he needed a ride and he said, “that would be great. Could you take me over to the Wal-mart since my brother is there?” So we piled into the car, my son a bit wide eyed, and we dropped him at the Wal-mart. On the way we talked and he asked me, “So, what do you do?” And I told him I was a pastor at Grace Point. Through this brief dialogue I told him I didn’t think there were any coincidences and that God had has our paths cross. I didn’t have a lot of time with this young man but my son and I did our best to communicate our love for Christ and his need. My son on the way home was energized by the encounter—we had helped someone and we had pointed them toward Christ in a brief but powerful interaction.

The Zone

I’ve been riding bikes for five years now and I’ve made a few improvements. About two years ago I hit a plateau both in overall fitness and in cardio gains. A friend of mine asked me about my heart rate recently and if I was riding in my zone. I told him hadn’t really focused on my heart rate—I just ride. The next time we rode I wore my heart rate monitor and we rode the same ride we’d been riding for over a year. He’s younger and in great shape and so his perfect heart rate zone is my “anaerobic” or not so perfect zone. Come to find out I’d been exercising ruthlessly wrong. I was riding hard and fast to keep up with stronger, fitter riders but not riding in the zone that was most conducive to me making fitness gains. Sometimes in life we have to exert less energy to make greater gains, sometimes we have to work smarter not harder, sometimes we have focus on our training rather than just keep doing what we’ve always done.

In My Element

Last night on my way home from BridgePoint Church in Houston I camped at Bluff Creek Ranch, which is a working ranch that has 10 miles of single, versatile track full of beautiful piney woods. I camped in my Honda Element. My plan was to plug a hot pot into my converter for coffee and oatmeal but the converter and hot pot didn't like each other. Instead I got out in the 30 degree cool of the morning and went old school. It was the best cup of coffee I've had in a while.

Cable

We did it: we canceled our cable! We had gone from no cable to cable about two years ago and that is when the slippery slope started. Slowly our time as individuals and as a family began to gravitate toward the television. So after the holidays and way too much T.V., I decided it was time. We still have T.V. via the internet if we want it but we have to go look for it rather than surfing channels. We play more games, we read more and if we are watching it’s as a family. I didn’t watch any football and I didn’t miss anything apparently. It’s not a decision for everyone but it does represent how little benign things slowly creep in and vie for importance. I would challenge you to identify the time, and relationship drains in your life.

Wii

During the holidays I was over at a friend’s house and he was showing me his Nintendo Wii. We sat down and he showed me the golf game on this virtual interactive gaming system. The motions were life like and the graphics phenomenal and I was hooked! I said, “I could do this all day” and he said, “I don’t know about that, the other day I played so long and then suddenly I got up—I couldn’t even look at it anymore, I was sick of it!” There are so many things in my life just like that, virtual pleasures that I indulge in until I just get sick. Real pleasures you never tire of because they were designed to walk in, live in and truly enjoy. Virtual pleasures are quick and easy, entertaining and amusing but they do not last and they do not satisfy.