Spring Break at 35

University students have just finished their week of rest, relaxation and unruly behavior.  My kids are a week away from a week's vacation to nana's house.  Which leads to the absurd, but brilliant question of my four year-old daughter.  "Daddy, when do you get spring break?"  My initial reaction to her questioning was adults don't have spring breaks or summer breaks or winter breaks.  And the more I thought about it, we don't often get breaks at all.

At the ripe age of 35 (or nearly that) my spring breaks are not Panama City Beach parties, nor are they the week long high school baseball trips, nor are they even 7 days of riding bikes and sleeping late. Okay sure we have weekends.  Which are usually filled with work of another sort -- working in the yard, working with our kids, working at the church, working at whatever else fills our schedules that are already full.  Maybe a spring break is not such a bad plan after all.  Now must of us cannot afford to take a week off of work and spend it on the beach or even at nana's house, but maybe we need to be more aware of our need for breaks.

God took six days to create the earth and everything in it and then he rested.  A better expression is he stopped or paused.  For most of us the day to day grind multiplied with the weekend of non-stop on the run scheduling keeps us from the one thing we may just need the most, a Sabbath, a rest, a stop, a spring break of sorts.  This spring here is the challenge take a day or a weekend and stop everything or at least as much as you can.  Find time to be refreshed, to be renewed, to recharge because if you do everything else will benefit from it.  You will become a better spouse, parent, employee, boss.  Take a spring break!

The Quiet Life

My house is filled with the noise of the warring sounds of two televisions airing  Nickelodeon and Disney, a little girl singing songs she makes up, a fight over which Kickin' It character is which and small whimper about hating homework.  At this moment my life is filled with the white noise of other peoples conversations and carts bounce across a tile floor moving from one building to the next while NEEDTOBREATHE fills my earbuds.  Later tonight shouting and hollering and cheering for two boys as they swing for the fences and hustle around basepaths.  Only to be followed by the religion that is UK basketball that comes with hands raised, knees bents, shouting a pinstriped shirts and possibly weeping if things do not go well.

Life is noisy.

In the midst of the plan of this day is the challenge of what I read as a stole a moment away to find quiet.  (Take your guess where that was.) I ran across the verse that said to live a quiet life.  This tidbit of insight is tucked away in the first letter to the church at Thessalonica.  Paul was not addressing the outside noise, but the noise we make a Christians.  The challenge was to let your life speak on your behalf in order that those who do not know this God we serve will respect the way we live.

This got me thinking about all the times my faith has been noisy for no purpose other than just to make noise.  Now I believe, as believers, we need to take stands for justice and mercy.  But how often have we just been noisy to those who have no understanding of the noise we make?  How often has the noisiness of our faith been more of detractor than and attraction to those who do not know Christ?

"Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.  Then people who are not Christians will respect the way you live..."  I Thess. 4:11-12

I would love to hear your comments on this question: Is your life too noisy?

Tuesday Tune - Give Me Faith

Oftentimes when we think of faith, we think that the opposite is simply a lack thereof. While simplified the answer is yes, if we dig deeper what we find is that a lack of faith leaves us with an abundance of fear.  Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC released a song tied to a teaching series and book by lead pastor Steven Furtick entitled "Sun Stand Still".  The song title is simply a declaration and request of God to "Give Me Faith".

In recent days this has been an anthem of my heart as I have personally looked to overcome the fears of my life with the faith God gives. If your life has been overrun with fear and you need a double shot of faith in your life let your ears and heart be made glad with this week's Tuesday Tune: