Searching for the Spirit

What questions do you have?

I live with a preschooler, so I experience a number of questions every day.  This morning I was listening to a news announcer describe the 75^th anniversary of D-day, and my four year old was immediately filled with questions.  What was World War II?  Why did people fight?  Did people die?  Some of his questions were not easy to answer, but I could see him desperately searching for meaning as we talked about the troops who died in the battle of Normandy.  After thinking as deeply as he could, he finally said, “We need to pray for them, right?”

A little while later he brought up his grandmother.  She has been battling cancer and a few other issues.  He mentioned that we need to pray for her too…  Sometimes, I am not sure how much he really understands.  (Certainly when I try to get him to brush his teeth he does not seem to comprehend anything.)  However, I also believe that he is really trying to find God and search for Love in the midst of a chaotic world.

This week the church is celebrating the coming of the Holy Spirit in a festival called Pentecost.  God’s Spirit came to all people.  God’s Spirit arrived in spite of our imperfections and broken world.  Sometimes it can be hard to trust that God is working in some of our more troubling moments.  It is sometimes very difficult to believe that God’s Spirit is working in the midst of division, anger, war, cancer, and fear… but that is what God wants us to see. 

I think it is important to ask questions… I think it is important to struggle… However, God wants us to believe that the Spirit is moving inside of us.  When we are broken and when we make mistakes, God is there.  God is Love, and God will never give up on you!

Blessings!

Brian Ward

Who are you becoming?

What do you think of when you reflect on your life?  Where were you at one year ago?  How about ten years ago?  Thirty years ago?  How have you grown?

As human being we are constantly changing.  We are not the same people that we once were.  We learn.  We make mistakes, but we always have to go forward.

When I reflect on my life, I can think of a number of decisions that were terrible.  I have made poor choices and suffered some pretty bad failures.  However, all of these experiences changed me.  The defeats did not turn out to be the end of the world.  Instead, they were opportunities to grow… if I chose to learn from them.

There are times we can learn from others, but more often that not, we learn by experience.  Life has to be lived, and that can be messy.  It simply would not work for me to go back in time and tell my younger self to make different choices.  I needed to learn these lessons by experiencing them firsthand. 

 

Today, we are standing at the beginning of the season of Lent.  This forty day season remembers the journey of Christ to the cross.  It is also a season of introspection.  It is my prayer that we would use this season to pay attention to the lessons that life is teaching us.  I hope we can be intentional about growing and taking time to notice who we are becoming. 

In the end, Christ promises that there will be trials in this life, but Christ also promises that He will be with us.  There is love for you.  There is grace.  I hope we can take a few moments each day to let this good news wash over us!

Blessings!

Brian

Seasons!

What season of life are you in?

I love watching the seasons change… When I lived in Minnesota, I would crave the arrival of spring.  Flowers would bloom, the grass would turn green, and I couldn’t wait to hear the birds and observe the arrival of the first robin…

As summer approached, I embraced the first 80 degree day with passion.  Everyone would run outside to feel the warmth of the sun.  As it got even warmer, I would craved the first day I could jump in the lake to go skiing.

When Fall arrived, I cherished each moment with the colors.  As a kid, I remember running through the leaves in the cool crisp air.

Winter brought the cold.  However, I remember being so excited when I saw the world blanketed with a fresh white coat of snow.  I was driven outside with all my friends to build forts, go sledding, and experience a brand new landscape.

As I look back, I noticed that in every season, I felt driven to experience the moment.  I had to go outside and seize the day!  In Las Vegas seasons are a little harder to come by.  (We have super-hot and not so hot…) However, I believe we experience life in seasons.  As it says in Ecclesiastes 3:

There is a time for everything,

and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,

a time to plant and a time to uproot,

a time to kill and a time to heal,

a time to tear down and a time to build,

a time to weep and a time to laugh,

a time to mourn and a time to dance,

a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,

a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,

a time to search and a time to give up,

a time to keep and a time to throw away,

a time to tear and a time to mend,

a time to be silent and a time to speak,

a time to love and a time to hate,

a time for war and a time for peace.

Sometimes, I think we wish we could spend our lives in one season or another.  We never want to grieve, lose, or fall apart.  However, seasons are meant to be experienced.  Perhaps there are times it is important to feel sad, angry, or defeated… and that’s okay!

Today, I hope you can experience God wherever you are at.  I hope you can feel that Love is with you today, and I pray you would allow yourself to cherish every drop of this life!

Blessings!

Brian

Snow and A Fresh Perspective!

It’s snowing in Vegas! 

Just barely a dusting of snow, but we got
pretty excited... :)

This has been a pretty exciting week.  It’s not every day that I get to have a snowball fight in my backyard or see palm trees covered in snow. (Or at least lightly dusted with snow…J) Growing up in Minnesota, I have certainly seen a lot more snow in my life, but this week has still been fun.  I was talking with the kids at our first communion class on Wednesday, and everyone was buzzing with excitement over the idea of a snow day.  On Thursday morning, I got into the spirit as well.  We went outside to watch the snow come down with the neighbors.  I built a snowman with my family, and on my way to visit another family in Anthem, I was in awe over the fresh coat of snow blanketing the area!

In Minnesota, by this time of year, I was usually pretty sick of the snow.  I was sick of shoveling, driving through slippery streets, and walking through that dirty, sloppy slush.  However, there was something wonderful about seeing everything with fresh eyes.  Even if school wasn’t canceled, it was fun to see the kids enjoy the day!

Today, I hope you can take the time to see God’s blessings.  I hope you can see the world in a fresh way.  I pray the beauty of this world never becomes mundane or boring.  I hope you can take a moment to seize every drop, because this day is a gift!

Blessings!

PB

A new heart

Every week I wind up going on several walks with my three year old son.  We never go too far, but it always takes quite a bit longer than I expect.  He has to stop to explore everything…  “Look at this bug!”  “Look at that house!”  “Why is there a picture of cat on that poster?”  “What is that person doing?”

Taking time to enjoy the moment...

Everything is new to this child, and I constantly have to remind myself of that.  Sometimes I just want to say, “No more questions… we have to get home!”  However, he is taking it all in.  He wants to talk to the bugs, splash in the puddles, and give high fives to the neighbors. I am always focused on where we going and when we will be back.  I think it really is a blessing to see the world in a different way. 

Today our scripture passage comes from the book of Ezekiel chapter 36:

I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.

I love opening myself to a heart that loves stomping in the mud.  However, there are times my heart of stone gets in the way of forgiveness, grace, or love for others.  This is really what our scripture passage is speaking about.  As humans, we can become locked in cycles of anger, revenge, or hopelessness.  This scripture tells us to open ourselves to the bigger picture.  God is at work in the world, and God is at work in you.  However, we have to let God break our hearts of stone.  We have to take the time to discover what love is doing.  We have to take the time to really embrace all the blessings that exist around us.

Peace!

Brian

Searching for Strength

Not having any fun...

As I was looking at my calendar last Sunday, I thought this week was going to be fairly normal.  I had completed most of the planning for a few of the bigger events coming up, and my schedule looked fairly open.  However, by Tuesday I could tell it was going to be another busy week. J Normally, that wouldn’t be a problem...  In fact, it would be a surprise if things didn’t come up.  The real problem arose when my 5 month old baby came down with a virus.  It’s always miserable watching a child fight an illness, but I kept hoping things would get better.  Eventually, we took him to the urgent care, then back to his doctor, then nebulizer treatments, then steroids, and then who knows what else.  I hate being in a place where I am unable to fix anything.  It seems like no matter what we try, we still have a very unhappy baby! 

In the midst of all of this, I was reminded of the words of the Apostle Paul in Philippians: 

I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

Some days we feel blessed.  Other days we let fear, imperfection, and failure win.  However, the Bible tells us not to get lost in these feelings.  The Love of Christ will always be with us.  Are we remembering to share what truly matters?  Are we remembering to listen to God’s Love? 

  

Personally, I love having control.  I love to fix problems as they arise, and I love to feel like I have made a difference.  However, there are moments in life when we don’t have control.  Our health falls apart, money slips away, and babies get sick… We don’t get to control these things.  Instead the Bible tells us to believe that Christ is with us.  We are told to have faith that God is working, even if life isn’t... 

Today, I know that I don’t have control, but I do believe God is working.  I may be imperfect, but I can still love... and I can still hold that sick baby.  In many ways, there is nothing greater we can offer than love!

Blessings!

Brian

Love! Chaos! And Disneyland!

This has been a very busy season!  After Advent, Christmas, and a quick trip at the end of the year to build a house in Mexico, it almost seems strange to have things calm down a bit.  Last week, my family and I had a chance to go on a quick vacation to Southern California.  We saw some friends, went to the beach, and we took our kids to the magical land of the mouse for a day. J We had never been to Disneyland as a family before, and our 3 year old could not contain his excitement!

Ready for Adventure!

Just preparing to go to Disney was a process!  (I felt like I was gearing up for a winter expedition on Everest or something…) We knew it was going to rain all day, so we brought rain jackets, ponchos, sweaters, and we zip locked all our electronics.  We had spare clothes, a double stroller, waterproof boots, and enough food and snacks to feed an army… I think we knew we were bringing way too much, but with the price of the tickets we didn’t want to take any chances! 

Our 3 year old was amazed at the whole experience!  He couldn’t stop running from one place to another, and on the way to our very first ride, he ran himself straight into a metal pole!  (I guess next time we should remember to add helmets to our list of Disney gear…) We didn’t notice how bad it was until we got onto “A Small World After All,” and we saw blood dripping down his face!

If you look close you can see the gash on his
left eyebrow... :)

After we made it to the nurse’s station, we had to laugh.  There is no way to prepare for everything!  His first ride on “A Small World,” and he comes out looking like a bloody mess!  We did wind up having a great day.  However, it was interesting to note as we look back on this trip, and the busy season that preceded it, the greatest memories were formed from the people we met and the love we shared.  Yes, there were moments of unpredictability and chaos, but if we are taking time to love each other, I believe we are opening our eyes to God’s Kingdom.

You never know when chaos will show up!

As we look back at our lives, we can always choose to see chaos.  We can find things that didn’t work out right.  However we can also choose to see the miracles and blessings that took place.  We have a choice not to be defined by the chaos.  We can choose love.  Today I hope you take step back from the business of your life, and I hope you can take some time to appreciate the love that surrounds you. 

Blessings!

Brian