Good day to my two faithful readers!
Happy belated Valentine's Day! Sorry for the short hiatus, but it was a bit of a busy weekend, yet very rewarding. The best part of the weekend: I was able to spend it with my fiancee, Christina and my daughter, Ellie. We had one of her nieces come stay visit Saturday night and then ventured to Madison on Sunday to celebrate a family birthday and anniversary. It was super-nice to have the family time together. One thing that we have learned as we get closer to tying the knot is we still have quite a few items left to do. These were other items that have been taking up our weekends. Lately, it has been finalizing the invitations and guest list.
So, I hope you all had a very relaxing weekend. While mine was quite enjoyable, it also had it's "down" moments. My daughter woke up Sunday morning running a fever. After debating about taking her to Madison or not, we went and she was pretty lethargic for most of the time. She did get good rest, though, at her great-aunt's place and also in the car. Sunday night her fever got worse but ended up breaking around 1:00 am. Monday morning, it was back, so Christina took her to the doctor for me. Turns out she appears to have bronchitis. Yuck! I felt horrible for her. Christina got the prescriptions picked up and we started doping her with some antibiotics.
As I was coming home last night from work, I started thinking about how my daughter's illness is a lot like our illness. This is the point where you shake your heads and say, "Dude, you must have been eating too many of those yummy candy hearts. I'm as healthy as a horse!" Well.....OK. So you may physically be a specimen that modern science marvels at, but spiritually, we are all born with an illness. Since the moment Eve decided to snack from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, we all have been born with the illness of sin. Let's look at the comparisons.
One item is being lethargic. My daughter has not had a whole lot of energy over the last few days. She has been either sleeping or wanting to sit on a bed/chair/lap and just watch a little TV or get a book read to her. Sin keeps us lethargic, too. Now, if you are reading this and thinking, "Finally! I have an excuse for wanting to sit on the couch and watch re-runs of 'Lost'!", that is not what I am getting at. Sin keeps us lethargic from doing God's will. We know the will of God from reading His Word. Sin will do everything it can to keep us from the Word. It will envelop us into the ways and objects of this world to keep us from doing anything to further the kingdom of God.
Another is the up and down fever. Ellie's temperature will be fine, but then it will spike up. She'll take medicine and it will go back down....but before long it spikes back up. What I have noticed in my life's journey is that sin does this same thing. Sin has a way of making me feel good about myselves for a short time. I will relish "being in the moment" of the sin, but after the act is finished, a wave of shame and guilt come swarming over me. It is a terribly frustrating thing! I wouldn't ever think that I am in the same league as the apostle Paul, but I understand his frustration when he proclaimed, "Why do I do what I do not want to do, and do not do what I DO want to do" (emphasis mine). The truth is that Christ's death broke the bond of sin to my life (thank you Jesus!), but for whatever reason, it can be more comforting or more fun to try to grab a hold of what had previously had a hold on me (can anyone say "Stockholm Syndrome"?) than to embrace what is now freeing to me.
The final comparison I'll make is to the lasting effect of both illnesses. If Ellie ends up not going to the doctor and I don't give her any medicine, the fever would be running rampant through her. Her body temperature would certainly have spiked into dangerous levels that would have done irreparable damage to her young body, even to the point of eventual death. That is a very sobering thought and makes me thankful for the knowledge God has poured our on some individuals in the area of modern medicine. The same is true with sin. The longer it has us in bondage, the more damage that is caused to us. Sin leaves awful scars (if you don't believe me, see the hands, feet, and side of Christ Jesus). With me coming to know Jesus later in life, I know for a fact there are scars on my heart and soul from being imprisoned to and tortured by sin for so long. If I were to have not come to Christ, and He not saved me by His grace, I would definitely have been dead. I might still be walking on the earth, but I would just be biding my time until I was commanded to take an eternal dip in the lake of fire. But the blood that Christ sacrificed for us is the "medicine" that our bodies needed. Through His propitiation and resurrection, we have justification, immediate transformation, and eventual glorification.
Well, I hope this entry has been thought provoking to you. At the very least, I hope you didn't fall asleep reading it. For you J: thanks for reading to the bottom. Daily bread, eternal healing, and daily strength (and a shout out to Jel: feel better my Princess!)
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Friday, February 11, 2011
Valentine's Day
Hello again my faithful blog readers! Um........I do have faithful blog readers, right?........Hello. Is this thing on?
Anyhow, with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, I have been thinking about a lot of things. One thing that I have been thinking about is the origin of Valentine's Day. I knew that it had something to do with St. Valentine being martyred many years ago. So I did what any curious person does nowadays: I Googled it. Turns out that the origin of Valentine's Day is shrouded in a lot of legend and myth, So much so that the truth cannot be fully found. What I found is three prevailing stories on how Valentine's Day came about.
Story one is that King Claudius II of the Roman army figured that single men made better soldiers than married men, so he banned all soldiers from being married. Valentine (a priest) refused to heed this law and continued to marry soldiers. He was executed. The second story is that Claudius II asked Valentine to renounce his faith in Christ. Valentine refused. He was executed. The final go-around says that Valentine was imprisoned for trying to help other Christians who were imprisoned. While in the hoosegow, he befriended the jailer's daughter. The night before he was executed, he wrote her a letter and signed it, "from your Valentine" (thus writing the first Valentine's Day card).
So without being able to find the true origin of Valentine's Day, my thoughts turned to another aspect of Valentine's Day. And that is: Valentine's Day is the most despised holiday of the American calendar. I know some of you may be thinking "Did you eat one too many boxes of chocolates?!? V-Day rocks!" That is true...to an extent. If you have ever been by yourself on V-Day (sorry...it's a catchy abbreviations), you know that it can be hard watching others hold hands, open gifts, kiss, etc while you long to have someone for yourself......or long to have that someone who was special back in your life.
I say all of this to bring out a few points of truth. While we as Americans spend millions of dollars on flowers, cards, lingerie (only for the married folk!), chocolate, and those yummy little candy hearts with the messages on them, our gifts cannot buy us love. The flowers will wilt, the chocolates will be eaten, the cards will be tossed into the trash, the lingerie will end up on the floor (you know it's true), and the little yummy candy hearts.......well, you can a big stash of those to eat throughout the year!.......um, but they'll get stale. These things will all fade, and then you are right back to "business as usual". You continue to live your life with the person you professed to love on Feb. 14th. What I'm trying to get at is it doesn't really matter what you do for a person on one day of the year. Yes, it's nice to get a card, or flowers, or chocolates, or lingerie (I'm guessing at that one), or those yummy little candy hearts, but you can't sustain a relationship for 364 more days by going all out on one day. The truth is, we shouldn't need Valentine's Day. Our loved ones should know that we love them EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. Let what you do on Valentine's Day be a reflection of what your relationship is every day. And if your relationship with the people you love isn't that great....well, you have 364 more days until the next Valentine's Day. Get working on it.
The second point I want to make is we celebrate the death of a man who lived 1,700 years ago by giving each other stuff. The holiday has become so much about US that we can't even remember what really happened to HIM. And as sad as that is, it brings out a truth: no matter what you do in this lifetime to be remembered by your fellow man, you will be forgotten. Maybe not right away, but at some point, generations will forget you. They may remember a name (like George Washington) and may remember some actions you did (he did something significant....what was it......oh yeah! Chopped down a cherry tree!) but they will forget who YOU really were. But here is what you need to keep in mind: The greatest love we were and will be ever shown was by a man who was fully man and fully God, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us when we were at our worst ("while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8). And one of the best parts about this: HE will never forget who we are! The Psalms say that He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb and Revelation tells us that when we repent of our sins and trust in Christ Jesus, we will dwell with Him for all eternity. How incredible is that! It's better than any flower, chocolate, lingerie, or candy heart that we can buy. If you don't know Christ, I plead you to come and be part of the greatest love story ever. If you do know Him, praise Him for first loving us!
Well, that is all for this post. Turn off your computer, turn off your TV, spend some time with the ones you love. Hug them. Kiss them. Not just on Monday, but every day you can.
Thanks for reading to the bottom. For you J, Daily bread (and yummy little candy hearts) and daily strength.
Anyhow, with Valentine's Day quickly approaching, I have been thinking about a lot of things. One thing that I have been thinking about is the origin of Valentine's Day. I knew that it had something to do with St. Valentine being martyred many years ago. So I did what any curious person does nowadays: I Googled it. Turns out that the origin of Valentine's Day is shrouded in a lot of legend and myth, So much so that the truth cannot be fully found. What I found is three prevailing stories on how Valentine's Day came about.
Story one is that King Claudius II of the Roman army figured that single men made better soldiers than married men, so he banned all soldiers from being married. Valentine (a priest) refused to heed this law and continued to marry soldiers. He was executed. The second story is that Claudius II asked Valentine to renounce his faith in Christ. Valentine refused. He was executed. The final go-around says that Valentine was imprisoned for trying to help other Christians who were imprisoned. While in the hoosegow, he befriended the jailer's daughter. The night before he was executed, he wrote her a letter and signed it, "from your Valentine" (thus writing the first Valentine's Day card).
So without being able to find the true origin of Valentine's Day, my thoughts turned to another aspect of Valentine's Day. And that is: Valentine's Day is the most despised holiday of the American calendar. I know some of you may be thinking "Did you eat one too many boxes of chocolates?!? V-Day rocks!" That is true...to an extent. If you have ever been by yourself on V-Day (sorry...it's a catchy abbreviations), you know that it can be hard watching others hold hands, open gifts, kiss, etc while you long to have someone for yourself......or long to have that someone who was special back in your life.
I say all of this to bring out a few points of truth. While we as Americans spend millions of dollars on flowers, cards, lingerie (only for the married folk!), chocolate, and those yummy little candy hearts with the messages on them, our gifts cannot buy us love. The flowers will wilt, the chocolates will be eaten, the cards will be tossed into the trash, the lingerie will end up on the floor (you know it's true), and the little yummy candy hearts.......well, you can a big stash of those to eat throughout the year!.......um, but they'll get stale. These things will all fade, and then you are right back to "business as usual". You continue to live your life with the person you professed to love on Feb. 14th. What I'm trying to get at is it doesn't really matter what you do for a person on one day of the year. Yes, it's nice to get a card, or flowers, or chocolates, or lingerie (I'm guessing at that one), or those yummy little candy hearts, but you can't sustain a relationship for 364 more days by going all out on one day. The truth is, we shouldn't need Valentine's Day. Our loved ones should know that we love them EVERY DAY OF THE YEAR. Let what you do on Valentine's Day be a reflection of what your relationship is every day. And if your relationship with the people you love isn't that great....well, you have 364 more days until the next Valentine's Day. Get working on it.
The second point I want to make is we celebrate the death of a man who lived 1,700 years ago by giving each other stuff. The holiday has become so much about US that we can't even remember what really happened to HIM. And as sad as that is, it brings out a truth: no matter what you do in this lifetime to be remembered by your fellow man, you will be forgotten. Maybe not right away, but at some point, generations will forget you. They may remember a name (like George Washington) and may remember some actions you did (he did something significant....what was it......oh yeah! Chopped down a cherry tree!) but they will forget who YOU really were. But here is what you need to keep in mind: The greatest love we were and will be ever shown was by a man who was fully man and fully God, Jesus Christ, who gave His life for us when we were at our worst ("while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" - Romans 5:8). And one of the best parts about this: HE will never forget who we are! The Psalms say that He knew us before we were formed in our mother's womb and Revelation tells us that when we repent of our sins and trust in Christ Jesus, we will dwell with Him for all eternity. How incredible is that! It's better than any flower, chocolate, lingerie, or candy heart that we can buy. If you don't know Christ, I plead you to come and be part of the greatest love story ever. If you do know Him, praise Him for first loving us!
Well, that is all for this post. Turn off your computer, turn off your TV, spend some time with the ones you love. Hug them. Kiss them. Not just on Monday, but every day you can.
Thanks for reading to the bottom. For you J, Daily bread (and yummy little candy hearts) and daily strength.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Welcome
Hello E-readers!
Welcome to "Daily Bread, Daily Strength"! Now, if you are not familiar with me or my family, you may be wondering what the deal is with "daily bread" and "daily strength". I'm going to assume that you are new to my life and my blog (I know...very presumptuous. If I get two people to read this blog, it will be amazing!) and explain the title.
My youngest brother is Jevin. He was not just my relative, but also my best friend. Our lives seemed like they were always inter-twining with one another, even though we lived far apart. We both married, we both had children around the same time (totally unplanned that it happened that way), and both had our share of struggles and joys in life. Many moons ago (what is 11 years in "moons"?), I was an unsaved sinner and Jevin was a follower of Christ Jesus. He spoke with me about the life that can only be found from the Bread of Life, and I gave my all to Jesus. He supported me and encouraged me in my spiritual walk and we found that we would lean on each other many times on our life journeys.
In October of 2009, my mother called me and asked if I had talked to Jevin recently. I told her I hadn't and she replied only with, "I think you should give him a call." I knew that this would be a special occasion because if it had been something as simple as "Jevin got a new car", or "Jevin got a new hammer", or "Jevin dropped his cell phone in the toilet....again!", Mom would have told me. But Jevin and I always made sure that we would find out major news in each other's life right from the horse's mouth. So I hung up the phone with my mother after chatting a little bit and called my bro. We chatted a few minutes and then I told him that Mom wanted me to call him to get some news. I was hoping to hear something along the lines of "Hey, Jared, I'm having another child!" And I did hear those very words.....but not on this day (he told me about a month later that he and his wife were expecting another child). This day, Jevin told me his doctor found a softball sized mass on his liver (Jevin's liver, not the doctor's). They knew it was a tumor, but not whether it was malignant or not. I was shocked, but knew that Jevin would be OK, because he always was there and was always OK.
Soon, our worst fears were confirmed when they found the tumor to be malignant. My family was devastated. He was in a fight for his life with Ewing's Sarcoma. He started chemotherapy, and a short time later announced that he and his wife were having twins! As joyful as this news was, Jevin slowly kept going down hill. The chemotherapy worked at first, but then the cancer came accustomed to it. The months passed quickly and they gave birth to two wonderful little girls. Jevin was able to hold his children and help care for them for a short period of time before the war that was waged against his body took it's toll. One week before his 33rd birthday, my brother went to be with the Lord. I was devastated.
During the months that Jevin battled cancer, his family lived by the motto "Daily bread, daily strength". They knew that God would provide both to them regardless of the outcome. This is the motto that my sister in-law continues to live by everyday as she continues on her journey. I wanted to use this as the name for my blog as a way to honor my brother and continue to support my sister in-law and three nieces. I am going to use this blog to glorify our Savior, Jesus Christ, and reach out with the Word, hoping God will use it to show His love for us and His abundant grace. So what should you expect? Well.....I would say about everything. It will be a little bit of "this" and a little bit of "that".
Thank you for taking this part of the journey that is life. And as my brother would have said, "Thank you for reading to the bottom, and God bless"
Welcome to "Daily Bread, Daily Strength"! Now, if you are not familiar with me or my family, you may be wondering what the deal is with "daily bread" and "daily strength". I'm going to assume that you are new to my life and my blog (I know...very presumptuous. If I get two people to read this blog, it will be amazing!) and explain the title.
My youngest brother is Jevin. He was not just my relative, but also my best friend. Our lives seemed like they were always inter-twining with one another, even though we lived far apart. We both married, we both had children around the same time (totally unplanned that it happened that way), and both had our share of struggles and joys in life. Many moons ago (what is 11 years in "moons"?), I was an unsaved sinner and Jevin was a follower of Christ Jesus. He spoke with me about the life that can only be found from the Bread of Life, and I gave my all to Jesus. He supported me and encouraged me in my spiritual walk and we found that we would lean on each other many times on our life journeys.
In October of 2009, my mother called me and asked if I had talked to Jevin recently. I told her I hadn't and she replied only with, "I think you should give him a call." I knew that this would be a special occasion because if it had been something as simple as "Jevin got a new car", or "Jevin got a new hammer", or "Jevin dropped his cell phone in the toilet....again!", Mom would have told me. But Jevin and I always made sure that we would find out major news in each other's life right from the horse's mouth. So I hung up the phone with my mother after chatting a little bit and called my bro. We chatted a few minutes and then I told him that Mom wanted me to call him to get some news. I was hoping to hear something along the lines of "Hey, Jared, I'm having another child!" And I did hear those very words.....but not on this day (he told me about a month later that he and his wife were expecting another child). This day, Jevin told me his doctor found a softball sized mass on his liver (Jevin's liver, not the doctor's). They knew it was a tumor, but not whether it was malignant or not. I was shocked, but knew that Jevin would be OK, because he always was there and was always OK.
Soon, our worst fears were confirmed when they found the tumor to be malignant. My family was devastated. He was in a fight for his life with Ewing's Sarcoma. He started chemotherapy, and a short time later announced that he and his wife were having twins! As joyful as this news was, Jevin slowly kept going down hill. The chemotherapy worked at first, but then the cancer came accustomed to it. The months passed quickly and they gave birth to two wonderful little girls. Jevin was able to hold his children and help care for them for a short period of time before the war that was waged against his body took it's toll. One week before his 33rd birthday, my brother went to be with the Lord. I was devastated.
During the months that Jevin battled cancer, his family lived by the motto "Daily bread, daily strength". They knew that God would provide both to them regardless of the outcome. This is the motto that my sister in-law continues to live by everyday as she continues on her journey. I wanted to use this as the name for my blog as a way to honor my brother and continue to support my sister in-law and three nieces. I am going to use this blog to glorify our Savior, Jesus Christ, and reach out with the Word, hoping God will use it to show His love for us and His abundant grace. So what should you expect? Well.....I would say about everything. It will be a little bit of "this" and a little bit of "that".
Thank you for taking this part of the journey that is life. And as my brother would have said, "Thank you for reading to the bottom, and God bless"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)