Living Proof 2011

Lauren, Lisa & I at Beth Moore on the screen!

This weekend was my first weekend "off" in 9 months. Of course, I don't literally work 24/7 but I am potentially on call that amount of time and there is quite a difference in your state of mind when you KNOW the phone won't ring for you to come running. You might say my work situation has held me 'captive', in that I have to be within a certain radius of the hospital at all times. Like a pet on a chain in the yard, I can literally go only as far as that radius will allow me. The conscious choice over the last few months has been whether to strain with my eyes beyond that radius, which in essence can literally choke the life out of you...or be content within my captivity and the boundaries I am given. I've tried really hard to do the latter.
However, this past weekend I got to go all the way to Pensacola and Crestview. First, I went with my dear friends to see Beth Moore and Living Proof Live at the Pensacola Civic center. Afterward, I went up to Crestview to watch the Christmas parade that my children marched in. However, this freedom came with a cost. I had to pay another physician to cover me and that coverage was not cheap. I really struggled before going whether I should even spend the dollars. In fact, I asked God not to allow it all to come together if that was not his will. But, it seemed that it was and he did not fail to speak to me on many levels, which is probably why I went.
Beth taught on the book of Philemon. This book is a personal letter from the apostle Paul to his friend and brother in Christ, Philemon. It is regarding Onesimus, who is believed to have been a slave belonging to Philemon who escaped. Further, he probably stole from Philemon in order to have the means to escape. In the course of his travels, Onesimus meets Paul who leads him to Christ. Paul wants Philemon to take him back without repercussions and in fact, welcome him as a brother. A couple things spoke to me about Beth's lesson and my current situation. Two of which I'll explain here.
1. Slaves at that time who escaped would have at a minimum been beaten, but most likely killed. In fact, Roman law at the time said they could be crucified. Hebrew law stated that if a servant was set free, "but if the servant declares 'I love my master and my family and do not want to go free' then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life."Why would Paul send him back? For the ministry of reconciliation (2nd Corinth 5).
In my flesh, I didn't want to come back to my captivity. In fact, I even shed a few tears about it. But in my spirit I know there is no safer place than under the authority of my master and king, Jesus Christ. I love him. So I willingly submit to his authority, which has placed me in this call situation for my own good. I'm not a slave to my circumstances, I am a bondslave to Christ Jesus. His yoke with never choke you...it is actually easy to wear. Something tells me that I too will be called to the same ministry as Philemon in my circumstances.
2. My freedom came with a price. Yes, I did have to pay for my weekend excursions. But Jesus paid a much higher price on the Cross for me to have freedom and joy, despite my circumstances, and ultimately all of this is for that purpose. Paul wrote to Philemon, "PERHAPS, the reason he (Onesimus) was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back for good - no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother." v15-16.
PERHAPS, this whole situation I am in is to bring others to Christ. Perhaps, there are folks very close to me watching how I deal with a very difficult situation. Perhaps, my choices will serve to illuminate this Christmas season why God sent his son to Earth in the first place. If one person came to Christ because of your circumstances, would it make it worth it? The answer should be yes. Ironically, my last 9 months correlates exactly to the time required to bring forth a new human life. I have several people who work directly for me that I am praying will one day accept Christ. Perhaps...
I'll still processing everything God spoke to my heart this weekend. It certainly was nice to get away and spend time with my girlfriends and family. Thank you, God.

Why I Don't Like the Elf on the Shelf

The Christmas season is upon us and my house has been decorated; the tree is up. This year we are only putting up our one 'beach house' tree because this is where we spend our time and plan to spend Christmas. Putting it up did help me get in the Christmas spirit. Facebook is a buzz with seasonal posts; recently my friend asked her community of 'friends', "What is your favorite Christmas movie?" She received a flurry of answers, including many of the classic movies that we all watched as children. I loved those films...Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, and my personal favorite, A Year Without a Santa Claus. These stories are great fun, part of my childhood memories and I still love to watch them. But as I have gotten older, and now that I am a parent struggling to instill godly morals into my sons, I don't believe they should be used as tools to instill character.

The latest craze for parents of young children is "The Elf on the Shelf."  The concept is that families can adopt an elf from the North Pole into their family. During the day, the elf sits around the house taking notes while the child eats, plays, watches t.v. etc with the intention of reporting back to Santa. At night, the elf "flies"back to the North Pole, lays out the lists of naughty and nice and then comes back to the home by morning. To make things more interesting than that, your elf can 'play tricks' on you with mischievous behaviors.
My problem with the Elf on the Shelf is that is teaches children to be good "because someone is watching and you might get caught." As parents, I think instead we are supposed to teach our children to have character. Character is what you do when no one is watching you. If our goal is godly character, or that which pleases God, then we strive for obedience because we love him not because we fear getting caught. The latter is religion my friends, not relationship. I want my sons to have a loving relationship with a loving God and seek to obey him because they want to, not because they think people are watching. Further, I don't want my sons thinking that God is just like Santa Claus. He is not some imaginary being that if you are good, you can present a list to and you might get everything you want but not necessarily what you need.
God wants to change us from the inside out, not the outside in.
"So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you." Romans 12:2 (MSG)
Recently, I had an experience with my older son that hit this message home. I walked into our living room to find him and my other son watching a movie on the television that he had downloaded to his phone. I asked him what they were watching; he told me the title and it was a movie that is currently in the theater. He had downloaded a pirated copy from the internet. Immediately, I told him to turn it off and proceeded to explain to him that what he had done was stealing. We talked about that it didn't matter if he was never caught, it was still wrong and God and I care even more about it as an expression of character. He was of course remorseful, didn't fully grasp it as illegal, and most concerned that I was disappointed in him; it was a great opportunity to explain how God wants to know that we can be trusted in 'little' things so that eventually we can be trusted with big things that will affect his kingdom. The most pathetic part was that the copied movie was a terrible copy; the guy even dropped the camera during recording. So typical of the Devil who wants to offer us a worldly cheap imitation in exchange for God's best for us.
As you can tell, with two young teenage boys, I still have my challenges ahead of me. But I firmly believe, God does not hold us as parents ultimately responsible for our child's decisions - each is individually accountable for that- but he does hold us responsible for our stewardship. Our children ultimately do not belong to us, they are His, and he has given them to us for a time. Someday we will be held accountable for how we equipped them to tackle life, impact the world for God's kingdom, and ultimately what we taught them about Jesus. Until that day,I will continue to enjoy the Christmas folklore, traditions, and activities, but I will not use it to teach character or integrity.