Passivity vs. Passion

Tonight we had dinner with some dear friends of ours from Church. A pastor, his wife, and their children. I was reminded of how much I love, yearn for, and need community. Life is better when you experience the ability to pour into other's lives and they can pour into yours.

Have you ever experienced a moment of knowing that you are exactly where you should be and doing what you were meant to do? It is powerful!

If you haven't experienced this blessing, it is my prayer for you that you, one day, know the true gift of this phenomenon.

Dinner was AMAZING... homemade bread, stuffed shells, salad, steamed veggies, and then a decadent dessert to top it all off. Oh! I almost forgot a crucial part of the blessing that was this dinner... MOUNTAIN DEW! I may or may not have heard the following, "In Heaven we will drink nothing but Mountain Dew... only without all the calories." My life was made.

Although these things were amazing and were a huge blessing in my day, they were not in fact the highlight of my evening... nor were they the upmost memorable take away from this time with friends and family.

I had a thought (during our enjoyable table conversation) "Am I living in a state of Passivity or Passion?"
Let me explain this...
One of the things that I notice in people is their motivation. Some people REALLY have it and some people REALLY DON'T. It got me thinking. We either live in a state of Passivity or Passion, it is either one or the other.

-PASSIVITY- if our goal in life is just to get through another day. To clock in, clock out... and collect the paycheck. Or to serve / be served in a manner of "eh, it does't really matter... whatever happens happens and as long as it doesn't change my life in a negative way... I could give to shakes of a lambs tail about it. This is a lifestyle of coasting from phase to phase or from stage to stage of life. We claim it is a "Don't worry, be happy" lifestyle... but in actuality it is one of shirking our responsibilities and pretending like it doesn't matter what we do say or think.

-PASSION- if our goal is to see excellence in all that we are in contact with... this is a lifestyle of Passion. If we get a new pep in our step when we see our hard efforts "pay off" or see a resolution come about that has been in the works for days, weeks, or even months. If we want our industry or our MINISTRY to be changed for the better because we worked in it... because we allowed God to work through us and to use that platform (Industry or Ministry) to bring glory to himself. This is a life of PASSION, this is what we are called to seek, to live in, and to bring to those around us.


This was a very convicting thought for me. Why? Because it is TRUE. Far to often I settle for a life of Passivity and leave all Passion by the wayside. I am committed to being a Passionate follower of Christ! I will bring light to those I meet and live in Joy no matter what the circumstance.

Who is with me?

Are You Fickle ... Or A Pickle?

Everyday we live in a simple reality, we as Christians are either FICKLE or a PICKLE.

Have no fear, I will explain...

Tonight (as I was Co-Leading a middle school men's small group) I asked the question, "What are you struggling with? What do you worry about?" I thought it was a simple question. Apparently it was the lid on a massive jar of thoughts... HOW GREAT IS THAT?

An eleven year old spoke up and answered my question. "Sometimes I worry that the end of the world is coming." (I thought to myself... okay, this is probably a situation of wanting to be able to complete a "bucket list" before dying. i.e. get married, graduate school, get a drivers license, go to London, etc. It was so much more than that.
     He went on to explain that he felt the need to accomplish more... in order to be ready to go to Heaven.
     The statement struck me. Not in a way of thinking that he was foolish for thinking this way, but rather that maybe he was confused on a few things but he is concerned with doing the will of God and seeing it accomplished in his lifetime. How often to we ourselves worry about the work of God in a way that if he were to come back right now that we would be concerned for not serving all the people we could, or sharing the Gospel with all those we come in contact with.

I was convicted.

The four of us (in our mini-prayer group) had a great continuing conversation about if we could ever EARN salvation... of course the answer to that was NO. Christ paid the cost, one price = one payment. He in His life, death, burial, and resurrection covered all our sin and presents us Holy to God because of HIS sacrifice. All we need to do? Accept the gift.

This whole course of events got me thinking.

Far too often the "Christians" are just as concerned with their careers, new cars, hobbies, school, or social life as those who live intentionally against the acknowledgement of God. We become so absorbed in the daily "fluff" of life that we miss the true purpose of our living... To love (glorify) God, Seek His will, and to make Him known.
We may have the change of spiritual life... from dead as a rock in sin to having Life coursing through us in the Love and Grace of Jesus Christ.

We are to be the light in the dark place. We are to be the salt of the earth. We are to be the city on the hill.

INSTEAD we SETTLE for wallowing in the shadows, being neither Hot or cold.. bland and pointless, and making camp in the valley of temptation.

WE ARE FICKLE!

So... Are you going to maintain living a FICKLE life... OR are you going to embrace the PICKLE life?

I love this illustration. (seriously it is one of my favorites and I use as often as I can while teaching the Kiddos at my church.)

Lets talk about Pickles.

Start of as a cucumber. Nothing super special. An ordinary cucumber.
Then they go through a change. They are consumed by a concoction of brine and vinegar.
The change starts immediately, and over time they become more and more like a pickle and less and less like a Cucumber. Their flavor becomes more strident and soon there will be no denying that it is a PICKLE.

We are to be a PICKLE.

We start off as a sinner. Nothing special, An ordinary sinner (completely and hopelessly separated from God)
Then we go through a change! We (upon acceptance of Christ and his gift of salvation) are consumed by His sacrifice. We are soaked in a concoction of Grace, Justice, Forgiveness, and Restoration. The change starts immediately, and over time we become more and more like Christ (in the form of a Christ follower) and we are less and less like the "Old Self" the sinner who is broken, helpless, and lost. Our evidence of Salvation becomes more strident and soon there will be no denying that we are a CHRIST FOLLOWER.


So... there you have it. My thoughts and reflections from today.

You have the information. You have the knowledge. You have the gift of Salvation.

What are YOU going to do with it? Are you going to be FICKLE or a PICKLE?

Step by Step

So... lets have some real talk here for a hot second. Obviously I haven't "blogged" in quite some time. Nothing serious... only like THREE YEARS!

My word... when you think about it... I mean really think about it, a person changes A LOT in even just one day. (For example, I spontaneously got my hair cut tonight... now I get not only a double take, but some times even a triple take... life is good.)

My life, my world really, has changed drastically in these past three years.

I am married to the most wonderful person in the world. My love, my passion, my laughter, and my daily window to joy... Emma Mount.
Don't worry... you are not the only one who can't believe someone actually married me, I am in as equal a state of shock... but as always God is GOOD... undeservedly so.

I have a puppy now, Remmi, she is just about the cutest thing you ever did see! Her full name is Redemption... (there is a lot that goes into the naming of the pup and perhaps we will get into that at a later time.) We just call her Remmi for short... and please don't ask me how I got Remmi from Redemption, because I really don't know.

I have a "normal" life... I guess... I work for a bank and love it... I truly feel that in my position I can help people, really help them in ways that they NEED.

There is so much that I want to talk about, but I am just warming up my typing fingers to start back into blogging.

So, stay tuned... because I have so much to share about what God has done and is doing in my life and all that I see Him doing in the world around me.

So, tonight I leave you with this thought, in everything we do it is in steps. Why is it that we so often are confused or worried when life and our spiritual growth happens in steps and not full long jumps? Christ is continually working in us to make us like Himself. We will never be perfect... but then again that is the point. WE DONT NEED TO BE PERFECT. Christ is sufficient for all things, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

So trust him with your every step and walk on a path that is solid and never shifting.

He alone should be our guide!