Archive for June, 2010

Love…So, Who’s Afraid?

Posted: June 23, 2010 in Life
Tags: , , , ,
0

Perfect love casts out fear… 

It is amazing to me how one simple phrase can carry such power and challenge me so much. 

Perfect love cast out fear…

If you asked me if I am a person who loves…I would say, “Yes”.

If you asked me if I love people, I would answer, “Absolutely”.

Of course I love people.  Of course I want the best for others. Of course I want to forgive and grant people a second chance. Of course I want to show kindness. Of course I want to show love through my actions and my words.

Then…why does love so often escape me in the moments I need it most?

Why when I should offer forgiveness do I find myself wanting to judge?

Why when I should offer compassion do I find myself callous and cold?

Why when I should offer understanding do I find myself being critical?

Maybe it’s because, if I’m honest with myself, often I am afraid.

Afraid of being too vulnerable; afraid of being hurt; afraid of giving someone love when they don’t deserve it. Afraid…If I truly surrender all and love unconditionally that I will somehow lose some of who I am.

Then there are those words… “Perfect Love cast out all fear”.  So what is perfect love? 

This phrase comes from a passage of scripture in the Bible which reads…

15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. 1 John 4:15-21 NASU

Maybe I struggle with showing love because in and of myself, love is not perfected.  Maybe perfect love can only exist when I surrender to the one who made love…the one who is love; the one who gave His life to prove love.

The more I understand God’s love for me the less fear I have in loving others.  He showed the way in giving His all for me…for you.  For this I love Him…and because of this…I am not afraid…and because I am not afraid…I can love.

Perfect love casts out all fear

Random Thoughts on Dadhood

Posted: June 18, 2010 in Family, Life, Seasonal
Tags: , , , , , , ,
0

In honor of my father and in retrospect of being a dad, these are random words and phrases that captured my thoughts.

Smiles and frowns

Bumps and bruises

Lessons learned; lessons taught

 Incomprehensible love; unbearable heartache

 Asleep in the back seat; Awake at the wheel

Asleep in his arms; asleep in my lap

Diapers…

Late nights; early mornings

I love you dad; I love you too

Little hugs; slobbery kisses

 Remembering; Forgetting; Forgiving; Missing

Hopes and dreams; disappointments and heartache; hopes and dreams again

Unscheduled fun

Doctors visits; Dentist appointments; retainers; braces; an uninsured smile

Baseball; softball; soccer

Music He likes; Music I like; Music my kids like; Music we all like

Playing guitar; Playing piano; Playing together

Winning moments; painful losses

Homework he don’t understand; Homework I can’t comprehend; Homework that doesn’t get done

Learning to ride a bike; teaching to ride a bike; learning first aid

Christmas morning

Going anywhere with dad; going anywhere with my kids

Children’s movies

 Legos and tinkertoys… x-box and the wii

The little Rascals; Gilligan’s Island; The Brady Bunch – Dora the explorer; Spongebob; Hannah Montana

Teenagers; cell phone; texting; internet

Learning to drive; patience; dents; insurance

Dating; first impressions; broken hearts; crushes; first loves; a father’s hugs

Behavioral training; attitude adjustments; being grounded

Money saved; money spent…money spent… money spent

Vacations

Time lost; time found

School programs; music recitals

 College; Careers; Marriage; Kids

Life decisions

Praying together; Church together

Learning what matters most; realizing what doesn’t matter

Learning to cherish every moment, before the moments are gone.

Happy Father’s day dads.

Give Me My Chicken!

Posted: June 9, 2010 in Life
Tags: , , , ,
0

He looked me in the eyes.  I looked back. He licked his lips as he stepped closer.  I moved to the other side of the couch, and turned away.  When I turned back, he had disappeared. Then…

As quickly as I could turn around, IT was gone. My perfectly grilled piece of chicken had vanished…and so had he…our dog Shiloh.

A perfectly grilled piece of chicken is one of the things I look forward to in the summer.  I love to grill and I love chicken.  I have learned the art of marinating; using just the right amount of heat; timing the turning of the chicken at just the right time. And when it is done…the flavor is magnificent and the meat is tender. Unfortunately, Shiloh our dog also appreciates my grilling skills!

Like a tasty piece of grilled chicken, most things worth having in life require an investment of time, practice and dedication. And nothing hurts more than when you have invested yourself into something worthwhile, only to have it stolen, lost, or destroyed.  A piece of chicken can easily be replaced; but what about the things that really matter, like…relationships?

There may be no greater pain than investing your emotions, heart, soul, energy and all that you are into a relationship only to have it end. We have all felt that sting.  It can cause our hearts to be guarded and full of suspicion.  It can make us leery of any and all relationships. It can cause us to hold up bitterness and unforgiveness as heroic symbols of our pain and loss. It can keep us from trusting anyone ever again.

In the moment of greatest loss, pain, self-denial and suffering, Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” His closest followers had betrayed and abandoned Him. He was alone on the cross, giving all He had for all mankind, including the very ones who betrayed Him, left Him, and falsely accused Him.

His words in that moment could have been a diatribe of insults and accusations towards all who had put Him there. But instead, he once again did what few of us could do.  He looked past the pain of the moment and into the power and hope of the future.  His life was being given for us to have life; but even while he was giving His life away, he did not hold anything against those who brought Him his present pain.  Instead, he chose to love.

What an example.

May the pain of relationships lost cause us to be more like Jesus instead of being trophies of suffering that we keep as reminders to keep others at a distance.  God, help us to forgive and try again.

One last thing…if anyone has seen my dog Shiloh, please send him home, because that’s my piece of chicken he’s holding in his mouth. Father, forgive Him!

I Wrote A Book

Posted: June 3, 2010 in The Book
Tags: , , ,
13

This will not be a normal blog for me this week. Instead, I would like to ask for your help.  I have recently finished authoring a book entitled: UnWritten.  Unlike my blog, it is a work of fiction; though honestly, sometimes my life feels like a work of fiction…unbelievable!

I am working on having my book published.  One thing I have done is entered a writing contest that, if I won, would assist me in paying for some of the costs in getting the book to the written page.

You can help me out by voting for me at:  thepublishingmaster.com  My book is entry #5.  To get a feel for the book content, you can read the first two chapters and if you like it, go ahead and vote for me.

UnWritten, by H. E. Hobson

Let me know what you think! Also…consider becoming a facebook fan of Yorkshire Publishing.

Thanks again for your help.