The Simple Things

So, we went to the Mall of GA on Saturday. It's 13 miles from our house. You know the feeling of realizing that you have made a colossal mistake, and it's about to go down and there's nothing you can do about it. We left at 1:30. We arrived back home at 4:30. That's right. It took us 3 hours to go 13 miles.

Now, the good thing is that we had nothing in particular to do. We had a lazy afternoon planned. The other good thing is that my entire family was together. And maybe the cool thing was that we were in my truck...all six of us. It's a tight squeeze. There's just enough car seatbelts for all of us. 3 car seats in the back, three of us across the front. We were a sight. But we survived.

In fact, we parlayed being by Steak & Shake into a potty break and came out with a strawberry milkshake. My wife had moved approximately 200 feet by the time we came back with the shake. We sat in traffic and just talked and laughed and wondered if we'd run out of gas. We were helpless, but we had each other.

People let the traffic, schedules, and general busy-ness of the holidays get to them. There's no need to. You can't do anything about it. Be thankful you have friends and family. Remember that God is good in traffic and when you're cruising down the interstate at 70 mph. God is good when you have money to buy lots of presents and when you have years you have to cut back. God is good. The traffic will eventually clear out. The busyness will eventually die down. And God will still be good. Don't let it get to you. Be thankful for the simple things, like family and friends and health. And be thankful for the most profound thing -- God is good and He loves you and me.

Movie Surprise

So I saw "Battle: Los Angeles" last night. Surprisingly good. I love a goo alien movie, but it's really about leadership. And I'm a sucker for leadership lessons. Few organizations understand leadership like the Marines, who are the central focus of the movie. If you like aliens and leadership, it's worth a watch.

Slow Down Before You Do Something Stupid

"It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way." Proverbs 19:2

Do you have a wreckless faith? I've probably been accused of that from time to time. I'm kind of like a bull in a china shop when it comes to Jesus, and that's not always good. I've been blessed to have been a Christian for 26 years. I was raised in Church and have tried to follow Jesus all along the way. Sometimes, because I'm so 'used to following Jesus', I'm not as patient as I should be with direction. I have zeal without knowledge. Neither can stand alone. Knowledge comes from the Scriptures and deep times of prayer. Zeal comes from God's urging and Spirit inside you. Knowledge does no good without the motivation to follow God's call. Zeal does no good if it's wreckless and uninformed by God's wisdom.

We are such a busy society, and Christmas is a great reminder of the hustle and bustle in which we all exist. This passage is a reminder to slow down and test our motivations, actions and words against the knowledge of God's Word in the Bible and in our heart through prayer. The right thing at the wrong time or the wrong thing at the right time won't work. If we are patient to lean on Jesus, we can do the right thing, or say the right thing, or even just think the right thing at the right time. When God is leading you to a conversation, a relationship, a job change, a big move, a new direction, and life decision or anything...make sure you don't act hastily. Sometimes we just need to wait for confirmation in prayer, check our motivations with Scripture, or seek Godly counsel from a trusted mentor. Don't run off without knowledge. Then, when you do get the knowledge the decision requires -- run like the wind.