Inexpressible Joy

 My wife and I can have a weird sense of humor. All of our kids were pretty colicky when they were babies, so it was normal for us to always be looking for some way to quiet them down, especially if we were out in public. One night when we were out for dinner my daughter just wouldn’t stop crying. The bottle didn’t work, the pacifier didn’t work, so my wife spotted a plateful of lemon wedges and thought she’d give it a try. It worked. And to this day it’s not abnormal to see any of my 3 children sucking on lemons around a restaurant table. Do you know any people who go through life like they’re sucking on a plateful of lemons (figuratively speaking now, of course)?
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What Is That To You?

 We recently ran into an old friend and his family while vacationing in Hilton Head, South Carolina. This guy is 6 or 7 years older than me, and someone I always looked up to musically when we were younger. Life has been good to him over the last 15 years as he successfully broke into the Chicago music scene as a composer and arranger for television commercials. He now owns an 8,000 square foot studio in a downtown high-rise, as well as a smaller facility in California, and has become a big player in an ultra-cool industry. As I spent time listening to him discuss his growing business, I felt something begin to burn inside of me. It was that entrepreneurial flame tickling my insides, filling my mind with wild visions and thoughts of pursuits beyond the realms of ministry - business ventures, creative companies, leveraging ideas or relationships to pursue more profit or security in this life. In all honesty I began to think, “hey, I could do this, too! What’s this guy got that I don’t have?” I entertained those thoughts for a few days as we enjoyed the sunshine and sandy beaches.
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Peek-A-Boo Logic

 I’m in my church office. Again. Now, don’t get me wrong, it’s a really nice office. It’s spacious and roomy with purposeful decorations all around. There are millions of books, a couple of couches, soft lighting, a corner TV and my incredibly functional and oh so cool, custom-made standup desk (thanks John). Here’s the deal though: it could all go away; it’s the windows that I so desperately need. When I made the decision to leave corporate America and pursue this nagging feeling that God wanted my life invested in the local church, an incredible excitement arose in my heart. “Finally!” I thought. “Here’s my chance to do the real work of the ministry! I’m gonna impact lives, mix it up with the people and change the world by reaching out to the lost. Yeah!” Yeah. Honestly, if it wasn’t for my windows, I’d often forget the lost even existed.
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See Beyond

 A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to play golf with the head principal of Ben Davis High School. Not only is BD one of the largest high schools in Indiana, it is also my alma mater (purple and white class of ’92 baby!). Ben Davis is a quality institution and really a hub of life and culture on the west side of Indianapolis, just a few short miles from where I sit in my church office this morning. So as much as I wanted to make the day just about golf, the spiritual leader in me had to utilize the opportunity to explore the mind of this man who daily interacts with thousands of students that represent the families of this community. “What is the biggest challenge you see for our city through the lives of your students?” I asked. The dialog didn’t last long but it was amazingly insightful.
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Embracing the Inevitable

 Here’s the deal: you and I are gonna die. Yeah I know. Probably not the greatest opener for a newsletter devoted to worship. I’m supposed to be talking about music and team building and songwriting and all that good stuff, but this is what’s on my heart. For now, if you’re still with me, let your thoughts wander to the physical end of your life for just a moment. Granted, no one on earth knows exactly when that is but the event is inevitable. Outside of Enoch and Elijah and unless you and I, as born-again believers are part of the Day that Jesus described as “two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left,” (Mat 24:40) everyone who has ever stepped foot on this planet has either tasted death (there has been an end to their physical body) or will taste it soon. Whew! Long fragmented sentence to say yes, we’re gonna physically die. The clock is always ticking…
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