Odds and Ends and thoughts

I know that I have been posting to my blog less frequently since I left full-time ministry. You can pretty much expect that pattern will remain. I'll try to get things on here on a regular basis as God lays things on my heart :)

So, a couple of things:

• First: April and I led worship last weekend at a friends church in Defiance. It was really, really weird for both of us. It felt so strange to be in someone elses church! Don't worry, we are still keeping our sabatical alive. We'd been promising my friend we were going to come and visit them. We wanted to go before the weather started turning so we had planned to make the trip Sunday. Saturday evening my friend texted me and saying perhaps we should reschedule as most of their musicians and singers were out of town for the holiday. So, I offered to bring a guitar and help them out.
• Second: God has really been laying on my heart just how broken and backwards humanity is. Think about this for a second. Have you ever noticed you can develop bad habits without even trying? It literally takes zero effort and nothing will stand in your way when you're doing things that are destructive to your life. But if you want to make some positive changes, my word, it's like everything gets in your way!! If you think I am wrong about that pick a day...any day....and set that date as the one you are going to start an exercise program.....so how long it sticks :)
  

So why is that? I think it's because we are broken. Sin has changed us and we are not the creations God originally designed. We want what we shouldn't want. We do what we shouldn't do. We desire that which we know is bad for us. Again, if you think I am wrong try not to think about cookies. I just made you think about cookies didn't I? I bet you're still thinking about cookies. Cookies are good....

I have just been reflecting on the Apostle Paul talking about always seeming to do those things he doesn't want to do....and not being able to do what he really wants and knows he should do and it hits me clearer than ever that it's because we are fundamentally flawed.

I know for many that seems like Christianity 101 simple stuff. But is it really? Do any of us really understand just how off base we are? Do you have a grasp of how off base you can be?

More on this later :)