New Year, New Blog

2007 is here! Hard to believe that this year marks my first full year as a father, my third year of marriage, my fourth year at Jacksonville Chapel and my seventh full year of full-time ministry! It seems like just yesterday I was dreaming about teaching high-school choirs for the rest of my life (of all things!) and trying to find good excuses to sneak off to the music room and play around on the piano. Little did I know those seemingly non-committal appointments I had with that piano would, over time, develop into a life-long love that God would use to help people enter into His presence in worship. It was a silly little habit that became a lasting career.

It makes me wonder--what other harmless habits have I had that developed into regular love rituals?

Whether it is that trip to Wendy's every other day for some fries and a burger (don't I know it!) or hitting that snooze alarm that steals precious seconds from my morning, I have always struggled with turning a time-to-time luxury into an evil siamese twin of a must-have. For me, it comes down to rulers.

When I was growing up, I would have a monthly treat that I would look forward to incessantly. Once a month, my mom would splurge and I would be allowed to go to Burger King to get a simple Bacon Double Cheeseburger. We couldn't afford it any more than once a month. I had no say in it. I had no control. Once a month.

Sleep also was not under my control when I was a child. Mom said it was time to get up...it was time to get up. I would plead and beg, but usually there was no budging her. If I chose not to rise up, my blanket would be lifted and the cold air was all it would take to force my swift retreat to the warm shower.

As I got older, I realized that I had no mom there to limit my high-fat diet or my lazy snoozing. If I wanted a burger, I got a burger. If I wanted to sleep, I got to sleep. And so I ate... and I slept. It's good to be the king.

Except... I'm not the King. I sing to the King, I pray to the King, I worship the King... because He is worthy. I am far from worthy. I belong to the real King. Psalm 24 says, "The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it."

You know, maybe that is part of what it means to have faith like a child (Matthew 18:2-4). Maybe I could learn something from the young me.

This New Year I have decided to give up fast food. It has been over two weeks and I'm still going. I know, for some of you it is nothing huge. For me, however, it is monumental.

Now, if only I could stop hitting that snooze button...