Feeling pretty tired. I get pretty grumpy when I start my blog entry late in the evening… especially when I have no idea what to say. I put pressure on myself… what’s something insightful or clever or meaningless but witty that I could write about tonight? I’ve got nothing. Not an unfamiliar feeling.
Wondering… is this blog accomplishing what we set out to accomplish? Asking myself, “what exactly did we set out to accomplish?” Has it run its course? Not sure… will process that for awhile.
Running through the events of my day and the posture of my heart throughout the day… it’s really been a great day. Got to have a date with Kel. Got to play with the kids, go to the pool… good stuff. Wondering how attentive I was to my heart today though…
As I play through my day in my head…only one thing that I did / experienced arouses passion in my heart… actually, as I think about it the passion rises up again… maybe even in greater force.
This morning Kelly and I got to spend time with a sweet friend… a kindred spirit. This is someone who has repeated chosen to bless my family. Most of the time I was merely a spectator enjoying the exchange between my wife and our friend… two women who both love the Lord and love their kids. In the midst of it I was able to see a passion in Kelly and an ability to articulate things I’ve felt very powerfully… it actually increased my already strong feelings about this issue.
I know you’re wondering… what’s that issue? I’ve talked around it long enough. That issue is the spiritual health, character and biblical worldview of my children.
Homeschooling is a part of that, but it’s really just a part. I would love for my kids to test out of Calculus before they step foot on a college campus. I’d love for them to have a full academic scholarship (or superfluous scholarship) to a college of their choice. However, I’m okay if my kids decide not to go to college. I’m okay if they never take Calculus. Don’t get me wrong. I really want my kids to get a good education. My wife’s done an amazing job to insure that they’ve received the highest education possible. My two older girls really have excelled in school. I just want to make sure that I communicate that it is much more important to me that my children know the Lord, rest in Him, enjoy Him, pursue satisfaction & identity in Him, live for Him, filter life through His word… That means that the secular culture’s emphasis on education over and above spiritually discipling our children… well, somehow it’s permeated our thinking and damaged the biblical perspective on child-rearing. That also means that their spiritual health is more important than their performance in sports.
I don’t have it mastered by any means (immeasurably far from it), but I’d say it’s a lifestyle. A lifestyle I’m hoping to improve upon (drastically)…
For some of you I realize you might not be parents… but I guess this has also been a challenge to me to see what it is that I’m living as my highest priorities… this can be drastically different than what I say my highest priorities are. It’s also a challenge to re-examine where a secular worldview has shaped my thinking without even realizing it’s not biblical.
Those are my thoughts tonight… seems when I claim not to have anything to say that I ramble for quite awhile. I guess that does make me a pastor.
2 Corinthians 5:16-20
ReplyDeleteSo from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
Love ya, Adam. John sends his love too. We are praying that God will use you and your family in a mighty way. Be still and know that He is GOD.
So how is your appeal? If God is doing His advertisement for His Kingdom through you, how well is He doing? If God is placing the sole responsibility of representing His Kingdom to the world through the likes of you, how well will this Kingdom venture go? Most days, we primarily think of ourselves. Our primary scorecard seems to be focused on "How well did I make a name for me?" What if we truly lived today as if everything we said and did would reflect on God's reputation and not our own? How would it change the way we treat our spouse, parent, and work at our jobs? How would it impact the way we handle our money or relate to others? Don't let this truth scare you.....let it help you understand just how much God believes in you and how much He is counting on you.
THIS IS NOT MINE - I just read it in a devo. from BUMC. Peace and bountiful blessings for the Vaughans. HUGS, PK