Enjoy the Journey

Those three words..."Enjoy the Journey" were words that my father-in-law continued to repeat to Shami and myself as we have gone on a 4 week journey to find a new car.

Our old car, known as Sally, finally had too many issues to the point where we had to decide if it was worth putting more money into her or invest into a new car.

We chose to invest.

Our first investment was time. We waited and did nothing but pray for the first 3 weeks of our journey to a new car. We specifically prayed for a reliable, newer car (we had a 1996 Camry), that seated more than five.

After our 21 day wait, we investigated car loan possibilities. It looked like a van was in our future, but to be honest...I am not a van guy. I never wanted one and never felt like that was the answer, then...

Some told us that they wanted to invest into the "Replace Sally Fund" in a significant way and they wanted us to get the car of our dreams. WOW!!!!

We knew that the car of our dreams was not a van and that we really wanted a 2005 Chrysler Pacifica. All it took was one test drive and the fact that it could seat more than five...oh and it was not a van!

Shami took countless hours investigating cars online and finding where '05 Pacificas could be.

Even when Valentine's Day was filled with 9 hours of failure! (only one test drive - of a car that we KNEW we weren't getting - we just wanted the girls to be able to drive in one car that day.)

We kept remembering those words "Enjoy the Journey!"

Then came Monday, February 16th and we met Wendy. She was perfect, and the negotiations for her were perfect. I loved feeling like Dave Ramsey with a pocket full of cash and then placing it on the desk during the deal!!

Wendy? She is our new 2005 Chrysler Pacifica!! Why Wendy as a name? Well it's in honor of Wendy from Peter Pan and the fact that our new car can really fly!!!

Enjoy your journey!!!

Crutches

As I was sitting here thinking about my foot surgery, I got a thought about how it feels to have crutches.

You may have heard people say that followers of Jesus use God as a crutch.

That statement is not meant to be positive but instead a negative view on our dependence on God.

I've always thought that it was OK to acknowledge that God is a crutch. So what? That means He supports me when I'm weak. The Bible says when I am weak He IS strong.

But to be honest, I don't view it that way anymore.

I have been on crutches for less than a week and I don't want them anymore. Now I know, many times we don't enjoy some of the changes God does in our lives because we have lived our life one way and it can be hard to change, but hear me out.

In 3-5 more weeks my recovery will be done. In fact, I will likely be off crutches in a week or so.

- You don't always need crutches.
- But you do always need God!

- Crutches are intended for the short term.
- God intends to be with you for eternity!

I am thankful that I don't use God as a crutch, but rather...
...as my guide,
...my father who knows best,
...my friend who is closer to me than even Shami is.

Who needs crutches when you have God!!

5 Minutes

Since my foot surgery on Wednesday, February 4th, I have spent more time on Facebook than my usual.

It has been really interesting and fun. I've talked with friends from the present and past. I've got to connect with people in Tennessee, Washington State, Las Vegas and China, just to name a few places.

I've loved the interaction.

One of the interactions has been through a question I posted regarding how can we help diminish unwanted pregnancies. Through this question I have had a conversation with someone about how to handle this need.

In this conversation, a question was posed back to me that I would like to share with you and then share my response to that question.

Here's the question posed to me:
Let's say you've got a young lady who is going to have sex and you find out about it. You've got 5 mins with her, what do you do? She has lived a short life of immorality. It's all she knows, doing what her Momma has always done. You can't change that lifetime in 5 mins... so you have a choice, give her a condom and try to prevent an unwanted pregnancy or refuse to give for whatever reason. If she gets preggo, it's on your head! Don't you see? We can't change everyone. If you are a teacher and gain their respect, you might have a chance. If you are really against abortions, you have to prevent the pregnancy in any way and every way possible.

Here was my response:
To think that some one's life cannot change in 5 minutes...is really hard for me to even fathom. Any one's life can change in an instant (and I'm not trying to be some freak optimist here).

I'd like to give you a scenario for a moment.

There is a young lady that all she has known is sexual encounters with men. It's her life. It's her job. One day as she is in the middle of another sexual venture, she is pulled out of the room and dragged down the street and thrown into the middle of the road.

All of the sudden, she is the center of attention and the topic of a theological debate. "This woman was caught committing adultery and our laws say that she is suppose to be killed. What would you have us do?"

Everyone stares at one man. He says nothing at first and then he drops to the ground writing something. Then he responds, "if you're perfect, you kill her."

The men slowly all walk away, leaving this man with this woman. "Where are your accusers?" She sees no one there and then hears these words, "I don't accuse you either, go and sin no more."

I believe that this encounter took around 5 minutes and the Bible shows us later how her life was changed from this one encounter, from just 5 minutes.

She was changed because Jesus gave her a better story to live and she embraced this new story.That's what is so amazing about grace - it can change your life in an instant.

Maybe your young lady in your scenario is looking for a different way but just doesn't know it exists. You have 5 minutes to show her that there is a better way, an amazing way of life.

No, we cannot change everyone, but we can change one at a time. You never know how many that "one" can change later!

I hope all of you that read this remember that 5 minutes can make a difference and change a life!!