The Skinny on Sin

So I was talking with a friend the other day who has been committed to a strict weight loss/exercise program. I was trying to talk them into eating my other double-steak cheeseburger, with every conceivable topping from Steak N Shake. I'd already eaten one, and was still trying to finish off my fries. Some friend I am! Trying to persuade this diligent friend to break their "vow"! In the end, they declined, and I, being the glutton I am, laid around in a comatose state for the next 16 hours due to my indulgence. But during our talk about dieting, while I was wiping the extra cheese, mayo, mustard, relish, and pickle from behind my ear, I couldn't help but remember something that was said. "Nothing tastes as good as being skinny feels.". Interesting thought. Now I love McDonalds fries like every other grease-loving American, but this deserves some attention. In other words, the determination to be healthy, to feel healthy, as well as it's effect on my well-being is of greater importance than the temporary "taste" of something sweet or fattening. I cannot understand this, because I have some crazy form of sickness that prevents me from having the normal American "extra" that helps my pants stay up.

Truth be told, that same concept can apply to other parts of our life. One thought that I couldn't get away from was how man's eating habits mirror man's propensity to sin. To clarify, sin is this: doing what I know I shouldn't, as well as not doing what I know I should. Scripture teaches that sin is bound within all of us....that we all have this inherent knack for doing something we shouldn't. But, through the example lived out by Jesus, and by His death that cleansed our sin, we can choose a "healthier" life style. This is my point: Though I have the freedom to go out and live an immoral lifestyle that gratifies my nature and flesh, nothing tastes as good as being "clean" feels. Clean in my soul, clean in my conscience, clean from the impurities that drag me down. Clean. Ever been really, really dirty after a long hard day? No, I mean so dirty that you could jump against a wall and stick. Ever felt so dirty that you went and rolled on the ground so you could spiffy up a little? You want more than anything to wash away the filth and have this sense of "clean". Our souls long for this too.....to be clean.

Anyone else ever felt guilty for obliterating an entire tub of Ben & Jerry's ice cream? Now that's good stuff. Phish food is by far the best flavor. Don't try arguing with me....this is my post and if you want to praise some other flavor then go make your own post! Guilt is a powerful emotion. Some people are trapped in guilt, and don't even know it. They live day to day mired down by their choices. I'm not saying guilt is a bad thing, because it's something God placed in us as a litmus test. But for the person that is constantly making poor choices, it is a heavy, heavy burden. Unhealthy eating habits lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. Unhealthy decisions also lead to an unhealthy lifestyle. So what does this have to do with sin and my double-cheeseburger? It is this: I love having a clear conscience. No sinful indulgence of this world is equal to the peace that comes with knowing that to the best of my ability I have tried to do what is right. Does this make me a better or more perfect person? By no means! I still have to deal with sin like everyone else. But just as the person that diligently sticks to a healthy diet is able to resist that chocolate double-fudge sundae, so can the Christian who daily chooses that which is better. The dieter looks at the sundae and says "that would be good....but feeling healthy is better".

The Christian looks at sin and says as well..."that would be good....but the peace that passes all understanding is much better". May you be a Christian that can turn away from the wordly desires....not by denying yourself, but rather by desiring instead that which is better. Because I can tell you with full certainty that being able to walk around without a load of guilt is 100 times greater than the dieter that has lost 50 pounds. It is a weight that has been lifted. It is a burden that Christ has taken for you. Choose what is right. Choose what is healthy. Choose what it is better....you'll be so glad you did.

God bless

A Highway Less Travled

Last night, I spent some time looking through some old picture books of my ancestors with my mom and dad and one of my brothers.

Books that had laid around all my life, but had never exactly picqued my curiosity. Photo books of people I'd never met and that looked frankly pretty boring. Life was a little different then.

Back then, when people talked about teams, it wasn't about which team won the super bowl. It was which team would be hitched up to disk the field. It was a time when Sunday afternoons weren't spent running to Wal-Mart for the week's groceries. It was spent at someone's house relaxing and talking. It was a time when

a man's word and a handshake were all that was needed for a sale. As I looked through these black and white photos, some so old they were faded and crinkled on the edges...I saw a hard life in those photos. Smiles were found in but a few of the pictures. They weren't unhappy.....they were just themselves. It'd be nice if

people today would just be themselves. No facades, no emotional roller-coasters, no back-stabbing and name-calling. Just me...being me.

Work was a four-letter word that everyone understood. Clothes weren't designed for attractiveness. They were designed for holding up under a 12 hour work day. Some of these photos were 100 years old. Most of them were 70-80 years old. I was afraid to touch them, for fear of damaging them. Overalls. Saw mills. Horsebacks. Schoolhouses. Life was most definitely different then.

And as I listened to the stories my mom and dad told me that had been told to them over the past 50 plus years, I began to realize how important the past is becoming to me. That past shaped who I am now. That past will shape the person I'm going to be. That past is shaping the man and women that my children will be one day.

It's called a heritage. The word isn't too far from the word inheritance. My family's roots run deep in this county. Our roots run deep, our pockets never have. But I still consider it all an inheritance. What it means to work. The importance of family. Respecting the land. Respecting your neighbor, even though he voted for the

other party, and listened in on the party line(anyone else remember what a party line is?).

So what's your heritage? Do you even know? Has life so consumed your time, that you have no

time to look forward....or backward? It's not a secret that life has sped to a breaking point for many people.

It's not too unlike traveling a highway in which everyone around you is going ten miles over the speed limit. You'd better keep up, or you'll get run over. Sometimes.....and more often the older I get....I'd like

to find a road less traveled, and a whole lot slower. Sound good to anyone else? A road where deadlines can die, along with the cellphone signal. A road where some quiet time is longer than 30 minutes at the end of the day. Enough quiet that I can hear God when He speaks. A place where my mind can sort out what's right and wrong instead of the media telling me. A place where I talk to my family, instead of talk about them.

Where I can smile because of peace, rather than the tv show that's on.

100% of Americans will tell you that life is better now than 100 years ago. I'm not so sure. Yeah, I love my microwave, my ipod, my fast food. But what I truly love is life. And I worry that this super-highway I'm on is making my life pass like a train-ride on one of those crazy Euro trains. It's a blur. I feel like a

dog chasing his tail, and I'm sure I look about as stupid too. Is this fast pace really life, or is it a mirage? Isn't it like a tv set, in which everything and everyone seem so real, but then the camera shuts off, the makeup comes off, and the set is torn down? I want the real deal. I want my life back. I think I'd like things a little more

simple and slow. I always hated getting behind and elderly couple (hmm, talked about this in my last post...). I was, and still am, always in a rush when I'm driving. The fastest way from point A to point B has been my motto and mojo. But what did I miss in-between? Of course, this is a foolish question, because I have no idea!

I was driving too fast!

I tell each of you reading this....Our life is point A to point B. Why are you rushing it? Why are you hell-bent on a satisfaction that money simply cannot and never will be able to buy? In fact, the rest of my life, I hope I get three F's. No, not like a grade. It is this: my family, my faith, and my farm. I think I can be pretty content enjoying those three things....and a box of Cheez-Its. But that doesn't start with an F. Get off the computer. Enjoy your family. Go for a walk(when it warms up:) Find a way to s...l....o....w.....d.....o....w....n. Maybe you'll take an exit off this crazy, super-paced highway and find a highway less traveled where the pace is a little more amiable. I'll be looking for you, cause that's where I plan to be.

God bless :)

Playing Christian

When my brother and I were younger, and when I say younger, I mean 20-25 years ago....we loved to get our toy trucks and tractors out and farm in the yard. We were too small to be out in the fields during haying season with the men, but there in the yard, we were all business! I'm not sure how many bare spots we made in the yard by pulling our "hay" up by the roots....that just provided us a spot for tilling later on. We had a perfect stump that was hollow where all the hay went. It was a nice setup. It's a shame it took the men so long in the fields. We could put up a whole stump full of hay in less than an hour. It usually took much less than an hour because something would easily distract us and we'd be off in another direction. Those were the good ol days. The pretend tractors, the "realistic" machine noises, the hand that suddenly turned into a grappling hook to unload a whole wagon of hay, the mach-10 speed of the vehicles, it was all real in our eyes. The imagination of a child knows little boundaries, does it? It's what we expect of our children, to play these pretend games. What adult would come and chastize us for such foolishness?

How many adults today are still playing those pretend games? As we grow older, we become quite adept at concealing our foolish actions. Just the other week, my 7 year-old and I were playing cops and robbers....I promise I was doing it just because he begged me to! What loving dad wouldn't? As an adult, I was getting absolutely no enjoyment out of it. OK, so I'll admit those nerf guns are still fun to shoot at a moving target even though I'm 30. No, the adult games I'm talking about are of a different sort. Adults are pretty polished in pretending to be something that may not represent who they really are, or for that matter, something that is not a reflection of the choices daily made. I worry that more and more "Christians" today are playing pretend. I see it in myself. When have I listened to someone and pretended to care, but was really wanting to get on with whatever I was doing? When have I told a lie and then found a reason to justify it? When did I lose control of my anger, but first made sure no one was around to see it? Widening the scope, there are Christians that attend church on Sunday, but justify a night of drinking..... that put a Scripture verse on their facebook page, but do not have one conversation with God in a given week.....that tithe regularly, and thus believe they can spend money on whatever indulgences they wish. In reality, none of these duties make us a Christian. It is the relationship with the Almighty God that defines us as a Christian. And it is the fruits of that relationship that will hopefully be evident in the life of a Christian. What fruits? God is patient, therefore I'm to be patient. God doesn't lose self-control, so I keep my mouth shut when the eldery person is going 25 in a 35 mph zone. God is faithful, so then I am faithful (jobs, spouses, loved ones, and of course to God). God is forgiving, so I, as well, am to be forgiving. Too many Christians want the benefits of Christianity without sacrificing the "stuff" of this world! They want to be saved and assured of Heaven, yet find that participating in the aforementioned "stuff" to be either of little consequence to their faith or of little consequence to others.
We are to be set apart, a holy people. Though we could choose to live as the rest of the world, we choose not to....we choose what is better. We shouldn't want to pretend, we should want to play the part for real! My brother and I could still get out those tractors, trucks, and wagons and "play" farm. Would look a little strange.... Anyways, we could. Or we could do that which is much more fulfilling and worthwhile. We could actually go out and farm! Drive a real tractor, put up real hay! Don't just play the part of a Christian....go out and really live it out! That's when life really gets to be fun. That's when life really becomes worthwhile. Well, that's when life becomes real.
God bless!

Removing All Doubt

As I ponder the multiple thoughts concerning speech and the freedom thereof, I question whether one more voice in the mix amounts to a hill of beans. Perhaps its like when you were in Elementary School and you were trying to make new colors with your crayons. After about 5 or 6 different colors, they all start to have that ugly brown look. Not exactly inspiring. So amongst the multitude of voices crying out from the radio, the internet, the newspapers (I guess a few people still read em) , and the celebrity that finds their popularity an avenue for spouting political views (gag)....do the tumult of voices really amount to anything other than a shouting match? Working with kids, I find it hilarious when a group of them try to get each other to be quiet. A room full of 20 kids all shhhing each other is just as bad as 20 kids running around pell-mell.


So I'm at odds about putting one more voice in the mix, one more blog that won't waste a tree(going green, right?), but might possibly waste time. I don't want to be one more person telling everyone else how quiet they need to be! Hopefully my blogs will be inspired not by my muted brown crayon creations, but as a Christian, inspired by truth. Truth is what we seek. Truth is what we need today. As we look about, is truth evident? Are we able to discern amongst the cacophony of voices that which is right? Do you find yourself wondering what you should do....how you should live.....why some things are wrong, but sometimes they seem right? Why evil exists, and seems to triumph? To all of these, truth is a champion. To all of these, if we follow the course of honest living and seeking truth, God will bless our efforts. He will, because God is truth. I am also mindful that the truth can hurt. Most assuredly, the truth can hurt. The truth can damage. The truth can condemn. Therefore, I must be cognizant of the fact that exposing the truth will not make people make the right decisions. In fact, Oscar Wilde put it this way: "if you want to tell people the truth, make them laugh. Otherwise, they'll kill you." Hilarious, because it's half-true, I still believe that truth given in love is what the doctor ordered. Truth needs to always be voiced, seasoned with care, flavored with good will. If truth is voiced, nay, if truth is exposed, then no one needs to worry about being heard. Truth speaks for itself. The voice of truth is always a welcome sound, a friend's bidding, a pleasant greeting. Mark Twain once said "tis better to remain silent and thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt." There's a lot of voices out there that are "removing all doubt". Are you able to pick out what's worthwhile, what's needed, what's good, what's.....true?

Here we go....

Well, I face the problem of what to discuss in my first blog....hmmm, something that I think will be important, but something that probably no one will read. Come on, Sam, face the facts....as much as I'd like to think people want to know what I'm thinking, it's an act of futility...and of vanity. To be quite honest, I think I'm setting this up for one, possibly two reasons. The main one being I feel I need to keep up with the Joneses. Joneses: "Hey man, did you read my blog on the need to have a blog?" Me: "uh, no....what's a blog?" Secondly, and the reason I'll tell anyone that asks me, is to have a blog for my work. Sounds like a good reason....right?
So I'll be trying to weekly post some thoughts on God, on life.... on whatever crosses this scattered collection of brain cells confined to my cranium.
And I love polls. I love people's thoughts, and what causes them to think the way they think. Hope you can take the time below to scratch my proverbial itch...or is it "itch my proverbial scratch?". Either way, you know what I mean.