If you are anything like me, you want peace in your life. You probably want as much of it as you can get a hold of. Let’s face it. Life has a way of throwing a lot of potentially stressful stuff at us. Like you need me to tell you Read more…
In the spirit of Mardi Gras, I’m reposting my thoughts from the St. Patrick’s Day parade from last year. People seemed to enjoy reading this one, and I’ve got quite a few newcomers to the site since then. To update the following post to Mardi Gras ’08, simply delete the “Emerald City” comment, change “Cajun/Irish” to “Cajun/French/Catholic,” and picture me and my family skipping the parades altogether to simply stay home and enjoy the good times without the beads, beer, and rowdiness. OK, there is still plenty of rowdiness at our house, but it isn’t nearly so loud or drunken. Laissez les bon temp roulet! (That’s “Let the good times roll” for all you folks outside Cajun Country.)
“Plastic and Beer”
I write this post on St. Patrick’s Day, after having spent the morning with my family at my first ever parade in Baton Rouge. While I had never really heard much about the St. Patty’s Day parade, I’ve heard about the legendary Mardi Gras parades of South Louisiana for years. From what I could tell, this was pretty much the same thing – but with cheaper floats and the crowd looking like they just stepped out of the Emerald City. As I stood there on Perkins Road with my family, taking it all in, I tried to figure out what was really the point of it all. And I think the main point was this:
People were looking to have a good time. In South Louisiana, good times are never far away as long as there is plenty of beer and beads. And both were in abundance in Baton Rouge today. In the midst of this Cajun/Irish festival, I realized several things:
Our hearts are so easily captured. Put a few guys and gals on a trailer with some loud music and cheap plastic beads and other assorted junk, and our hearts suddenly become convinced that catching this stuff is the most important thing in the world. I wish I could say I did not give in to this bead-snagging impulse. But the truth is, (more…)
Today I was discussing with a client how important REAL FRIENDS are in times of hardship and crisis. She has one such friend in her life, and we sadly agreed that many people don’t even have one friend with whom they can be truly open. Let’s face it – alone is Hell. God said in the very beginning, after making the first man, Adam, “It’s not good for man to be alone.” In the great wisdom book of Ecclesiastes, the author tells us to “pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up.” We need friends. We need people we can trust to accept us and love us when we take off our masks and come out from behind our walls and get Real. We need friends.
I talk to so many hurting people who feel so alone. Sometimes their actual problems aren’t as bad as the pain of facing those problems alone. Alone is Hell. We need friends. It is truly astonishing the amount of hope that stirs in a human spirit, simply by having someone enter into one’s most vulnerable space and state clearly (with or without words), “I’m here with you.” What a gift to be wandering blindly through a terrible storm of life, and to realize a trusted friend has quietly joined you with an umbrella and a light and no words of condemnation! Or the profound comfort in awaking in a hospital bed to realize the calm presence of the person beside you is not your doctor, but your friend. Or the friend who loves you enough to sit quietly beside you because no words can heal your hurt, when all others have abandoned you because no words can heal your hurt. And don’t forget the simple, yet fulfilling joy of talking and laughing and sharing things with a true friend in ways that would lead others to think you strange, while your friend truly enjoys these moments as uniquely you.
Take a minute to consider if you have been blessed to have one or more REAL FRIENDS. If so, please let them know how much they mean to you. You may assume they understand without it having to be said. Say it anyway. Can you imagine your life without that friend? I would like to take a few moments to say thanks to my REAL FRIENDS. As I pause and reflect, I realize God has given me more than most… (more…)
So, are you joining the masses of people who make annual “new year’s resolutions?” If so, you are likely feeling one of two ways about making these so-called “resolutions.” You may be feeling really motivated and hopeful, telling yourself and maybe others, “I’m gonna do it! It’s time I made this change, and I can’t wait!” Others may be feeling cynical and embarrassed, thinking something to the tune of, “I can’t believe I’m actually even making this new year’s resolution. Those are always such a joke. Who am I kidding?! I’m not really going to change. I’m just making new year’s resolutions to feel better about myself for a while.” And, some may be feeling a mixture of both – experiencing hope and doubt at the same time. However you may be feeling about taking this step of proclaiming new year’s resolutions, I’m offering my two cents to you today in hopes that you will truly make the changes your heart is longing for, and that you will sustain those changes as a lasting new way of life. If that sounds good, and you really would like to see yourself make these changes, I’ve got some useful guidelines that will help you turn your “resolutions” into a revolution this year… (more…)
Our preacher, Eddie White, recently invited me to co-present a portion of the sermon based on Mark 4:35-41, when Jesus miraculously calmed the storm in which he and his disciples were sailing. He wanted me to offer a real-life application for this Biblical text. Following is my outline of comments:
1. Expect storms to come through your life. This world is a stormy place. We don’t help ourselves by hoping storms won’t come our way. If we expect it, we will prepare for it. Philip Yancey, in his book, “Rumours of Another World,” notes that in other cultures around the world, they expect suffering and hardship, rather than contentment and peace. John 16:33 says, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
2. Don’t waste a lot of time and energy asking “Why?” So many people throughout the ages have invested so much in searching for answers to why bad things happen. (more…)