Scott L. Moore's Blog, page 13

20,000 Days and Counting…

15,428 days. That’s how long I’ve been alive, unless you want to include the 9 months I was in the womb – and frankly, I think we should count those days, because I’ve watched my wife carry and give birth to 4 children and I think someone should get the credit for those days. Maybe she should get extra credit for those days. In that case, I’ve been alive roughly 15,704 days.

Why do you care? I’m glad you asked.

I’ve just read the first half of 20,000 Days and Counting: The Crash Course for Mastering Your Life Right Now by Robert D. Smith. Mr. Smith is the manager of my favorite author, Andy Andrews (if you haven’t read The Traveler’s Gift, get it now and start reading!). All I can say, by way of review, is that this is the perfect way to start off the New Year. I can’t wait to see what’s coming in 2013! Here are some of Mr. Smith’s insights that are smacking me in the face today:

“The sum of what I do today is more expansive and far reaching than I can comprehend.”

“To make dreams possible, act on them with open eyes.”

“Choose to be fully alive, purposeful, and loving today.”

- Robert D. Smith

“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” – Psalm 90:12

“No reserves. No retreats. No regrets.” – William Borden

 

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What Are You Doing That Matters In 2013?

It’s the first day of 2013!

Okay it’s the second day. I spent the first day with family, as I hope you did too. But now it’s 2013!

What are you doing that matters? Have you set big goals? Are you dreaming big dreams? You can achieve them. How do I know?

Because you matter! I know that God is the perfect artist and he created you. And nothing he creates is worthless. He doesn’t create anything without a purpose.

The only way you can be worthless is if you choose to be worthless. The enemy, the evil one, what some call the resistance, will tell you lies every day. The enemy will tell you that you are worthless. The only way you can be worthless is if you choose to be worthless, if you choose to believe the lies and act accordingly. Don’t believe the lies.

What are you doing that matters in 2013?

A Silent Night

Tears are falling, hearts are breaking, How we need to hear from God

You’ve been promised, we’ve been waiting, Welcome Holy Child, Welcome Holy Child

-         Welcome To Our World by Chris Rice

The world seems a bit darker this Christmas. Evil has struck another blow. Presents wait under trees for children who won’t be there to unwrap them Christmas morning. In some homes, the children will be there, but Mom or Dad won’t. As I reflect on recent events and their importance in the context of the Christmas season, I’m struck with two thoughts.

As I said, evil is still active in this world. Though many are seemingly shocked at this truth, I am not. In the history of the world, evil has not been absent. Calling it by a gentler name simply aids the evil one in doing his work. The world into which Christ was born was as frightening as ours, if not dreadfully more so. We have sanitized the story of Christmas to be a story of a cute little baby with some adorable Disney-like animals in a barn. When you imagine the Nativity, you can almost hear the animals talking, can’t you? But the birth of this cute little baby struck fear into the heart of the king, Herod. He had heard that this baby would grow up to challenge his authority and he felt threatened. So, he ordered genocide.

“When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under…” – Matthew 2:16

That is the world into which God sent his son. And that is the importance of Christmas. Gifts under a tree, a jolly guy in a red suit, and a bunch of reindeer might be fun, but they don’t have a thing to do with what God was doing at the first Christmas. God Himself was coming into the world He created to save the people He created from hell. And how did they respond? A few brought gifts. A few worshiped. A few followed. The rest saw him indifferently or as a threat.

God does that sometimes. He threatens our neatly organized world. He invades a people who have no idea they are dying to bring them life. He breathes life into dead things. Only, it doesn’t look like life to the ones who are content with death. It feels threatening.

Is God threatening your world this Christmas?

Help! I’m Stuck!

“Are you… feeling sorry for yourself? I do it all the time. It’s useless. Take that energy and go make something awesome…” – Andy Traub

Do you ever feel stuck? I do. Some days I wonder if there’s something wrong with me. Am I just so impatient I can’t wait for anything?! Most days I feel like I’m spinning my wheels. Like one day a few years ago, I pulled into a parking space at an apartment complex. There had been a big snowstorm the night before and the snow was piled all over the parking lot. The only parking space I could find had a small pile of snow spilling into it. Thinking it was no big deal, I parked there. When I went to back out, I discovered that I was stuck. So, I started spinning my wheels to try to get out. As you may know, when your wheels start spinning on snow, the snow turns quickly to glassy-smooth ice, and it gets harder, not easier, to get out.

Careers, jobs, and difficult relationships can all feel a lot like that snow drift. The more you give in to anger and frustration, even panic, the more stuck you feel. All you need sometimes is a different perspective and a slightly different plan of attack. When I stopped revving my engine and spinning my wheels and took a minute to walk around my car and look at it from all angles, I got a different perspective. I realized that my current strategy was going to keep me stuck right where I was, but if I started rocking my car back and forth, with short bursts of controlled motion and energy, I might get unstuck. So, I got back in my car and tried my new strategy. With a little back and forth effort to get the rhythm right, I was soon out of the snow drift and on my way home.

Another great way to get help getting unstuck is to seek wise counsel from a trusted friend. As Andy Traub wrote, You Are Not Alone.

How do you get unstuck?

Shelter From The Storm

“‘Come in,’ she said, ‘I’ll give you shelter from the storm.’” – Bob Dylan

When did ‘shelter’ become such a bad word? I recently read a blog post by one of my favorite writers, Andy Andrews, Raising Good Children in a World That’s Not Always Good (http://www.andyandrews.com/blog/raising-good-children-in-a-world-thats-not-always-good/), in which Andy takes a moderate stance on shielding children from the evils of the world – bad words and other objectionable parts of movies, etc. As I stated in my comment, I’m probably more permissive with my kids than he is with his (in reality). I was surprised at the number of comments that supported and took a stronger stance on permitting children to observe the world in an unfiltered manner. The funny thing is that many of the people commenting said something about “making good choices” or some similar idea, while stating categorically that they didn’t want to shelter their children. One person even went so far as to say that “protecting” children is actually harming them! Notably, that commenter is expecting his first child soon.

Is ‘shelter’ such a dirty word? Have we become so politically correct that the idea of shielding our children is so equated with intolerance that we can’t even suggest that it’s good to protect our children from anything?

I once talked to a dad who told me that he shared all the cuss words he knew with his teenage daughter because he wanted her to know what people were talking about. The problem is that there’s always a deeper level of depravity than we’ve experienced. So, where do you draw the line? I’ve had a few “sheltered” friends in my life that truly didn’t know what a certain unsavory phrase or word meant and, I have to say, it was joyfully refreshing! To find someone in his or her late teen or early adult years that doesn’t know what some disgusting phrase means is a delight!

I say, let my kids stay as innocent as possible for as long as possible. In our world today, there’s little danger of them being too sheltered. I want them to be prepared for the world, but I think the best way to do that is to train them up in the way they should go. Like federal agents being trained to detect counterfeit money, they don’t play with the fakes, they spend their time getting to know the real thing. If our children know the truth, detecting the lies won’t be hard for them. If they know love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, but they don’t readily recognize whatever sleazy phrase is cool on MTV right now – I’m sorry, but I fail to see how that will be harmful to them.

What do you think? Shall we shelter our children?

Zombie Apocalypse?

It’s hard to teach a 10-year-old to be content, especially at Christmastime. I remember wanting a red Schwinn 10-speed bike when I was 10. And, you know what? I got it. Looking back, I was really blessed as a kid. If my parents struggled financially, I didn’t know about it. I knew we weren’t rich, but I never felt poor either. Like most kids, I just sort of accepted my reality. I complained my fair share, to be sure, but life was what it was. There was a tacit acceptance of life. I don’t know that I could say I was content, though.

My kids are struggling with the same issues as they grow into the double-digit years. I wonder, how do you help your kids learn contentment? In this world where everything, even everything they could never want or use, is in front of our kids’ eyes daily, how does contentment survive? Here are my thoughts:

“I have learned the secret of being content…” – Philippians 4:12

Whatever.

That’s what most people think contentment is – sort of a Zen-like oneness with the universe, acceptance of whatever happens because there’s no stopping it anyway. Is that really what contentment is, though?

I have two thoughts on Paul’s statement on contentment. First, quickly, there is no “secret” of contentment. The “secret” is “being content”. Perhaps it’s better stated as “choosing to be content,” but there is no secret Bible code to which Paul was referring. If you read the rest of his letter to the Philippians, you’ll find him stating and restating his trust in God. And, don’t forget, this is a man who endured shipwrecks, beatings, prison, and was writing this letter while under arrest in Rome. He writes, in verse 13, “I can do everything through him who gives me strength,” and in verse 19, “And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus,” which brings me to my second point.

Paul was not just saying, “Whatever.” He wasn’t saying he’s learned the secret of killing his desires, his passion, his zeal, his heart. At the beginning of his letter, he said, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain,” (1:21). This is a man of deep passion on an extraordinary mission, not a “Yes-man” mindless robot in a suit, sitting in a cubicle saying, “Yes sir, Thank you sir, Anything for a raise sir.” Paul didn’t empty himself of all desire and passion. He longed to accomplish his mission.

Jesus didn’t come to create a bunch of zombies – brain-dead followers that wouldn’t argue with him because they couldn’t feel anything anyway. “I have come that they may have life,” he said (John 10:10). You can try the zombie apocalypse, if you want, but that’s not contentment.

The Power of Words (or RIP Zig)

The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit. ~ Proverbs 18:21

Name

“And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.” – Matthew 16:18

Have you ever noticed that people tend to become what they are told they are? Peter was anything but a “rock” when Jesus spoke his true name into his life. If you want rotten, stinking, filthy, lazy, good-for-nothin’ kids, just call them that. Don’t worry. Even if they’re not, if you call them that a few times, they’ll start becoming that.

Black Friday and Charlie Brown

“I can’t believe it. She must think I’m the most stupid person alive.” – Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Black Friday is a tradition in America. Normally peaceful citizens abandon civility in pursuit of the best deals on stuff that will be broken a few days after Christmas. That’s assuming they’re waiting to buy gifts for other people. I suspect Black Friday is becoming more of a self-serving holiday. Maybe we should change the day to “Me Day”?

To answer your question, yes, I have been out on Black Friday. My wife and I have found some good deals and we’ve also had our share of frustrations. The more I see of this tradition though, the more it reminds me of Charlie Brown trying to kick the football at the beginning of A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. Every year, we Americans lament how Christmas is becoming too commercialized and people are mean and greedy.

Then, Thanksgiving comes.

We belly up to the buffet, shove as much food in our faces as we can stand, watch some football, nap a little, wake up from our turkey-induced comas to the sudden realization that we have to go shopping now! Or we’ll miss the greatest deals ever! Just like Charlie Brown backing up to run straight to his doom trying to kick that football.

Well, what are you waiting for?!

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