Life in Words

To be insignificant. To live a life unworthy of notice. To simply be a vapor--here one second and gone the next without any other notice. I find that this fear of insignificance is a BIG one for many people. No one wants to be insignificant. No one truly wants to go through life alone. No one would pass up a moment of fame if it were offered to him. It is so interesting that deep inside us there is this need to be noticed and to be included. This is where comparison comes to taunt, hurt and manipulate us--making us wish that we were someone else. Comparison can create a desire to want to look like, sound like, act like and be like someone else. Yet, there are no two people exactly the same. Each one of us has unique fingerprints, DNA, mental processes, emotions, thoughts, hopes and dreams. There is no one who is not unique. Each one of us has something that no one else in the whole world has--your spirit. For the body is but an outer shell--a casing if you will. That body is not re

Life as a parent teaches you many things. In fact, I would dare to say that I have grown in my understanding of God and how He must view us, exponentially more than I ever did before I was a parent. After all, He is God our father. There are so many times as a parents that I think to myself, "why don't you listen to me more?"; "why do you insist on making the same choice over and over again?"; "why in the world world would you think that was a good idea?"; and lastly, "don't you trust me?" More than they know, I want my kids to go through life with the least amount of pain possible. I want them to be happy, content, healthy, smart, strong and safe. There is absolutely no part of me that ever wants to see them suffer. None. Zero. Yet, I know that if they persist in making a wrong choice, a painful consequence is inevitable. How do I know this? Simply because I have been around longer than they have and have already learned some life less

"But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed." (Luke 5:16) The word "lonely" stands out to me. It is a word that at a few different points in my life I would have used as the main adjective for my life at that time. It is a word that has a definite connotation to it. There is no apathetic reaction to this word. To qualify as being lonely, this area would have to have been desolate, empty, silent and far removed. Absolute solitude. This is what He sought when He needed to pray. Note that a few words before lonely, the verse says "often." Meaning that this was not a one time occurrence or even just a now and then, but something that happened on a regular basis. From my finite mind, this makes me think that Jesus might have been something like me--an extroverted introvert, or so I label myself. Someone who enjoys being around people and is not shy to make a public appearance but once that energy reserve is gone, absolutely needs to retreat to a pla