Here’s what’s in Dennis’ head…

There is way too much doing going on, and way too little “being”.  My wife and I were in Cancun last week on vacation, and were doing a really awesome job of just “being”.  We sat on the beach, took a few walks, napped a little, and really just enjoyed “being” with each other.  I talked to God a lot, and it was a calming and really enjoyable experience.

 Then we came back home and had to slide right back into the “doing” mode.  What a bummer.  Now don’t get me wrong, I am not a lazy person by nature.  I am however really tired of having to go, go, go, and do, do do all the time.  So many times God gave us great example of when he was pleased with people just “being” with Him.  Moses on the mountain, Elijah in the desert and on Mount Horeb, John the Baptist in the wilderness, Jesus in Gethsemane. It’s hard for us now.  We need to fight the urge to sign up for one more task, class, activity or trip.  We need to just plan to “Be”.  I get this picture in my head of maybe 40 or 50 years ago when whole families used to sit on the fron porch and just be together.  Sigh…, where did that go?  I really am trying to adjust my life to less “do’s”, and more chances to just “be”.  Pray for me that I am successful.

How about you?  Do you take time to just “Be”?  Leave me a comment, and I will pray the same for you!

“Since you call on a Father who judges each man’s work impartially, live your lives as strangers here in reverent fear.” (1 Peter 1:17 NIV)

I have never wanted to feel like I was “different” than those around me.  You know what I mean, it is the whole peer pressure thing that has become such an issue in society today.  It is so tough growing up as a teenager today, the peer pressure is incredible, and that process continues into life later on as we seek to be like others or please everyone around us. ”Be like Mike”, was a catch phrase a few years ago.  Why in the world would I want to be like Michael Jordan?  Money?  Prestige?  What is it that makes that attractive to people?

God wants us to be like Him.  Now there is a role model for you.  Jesus.  Just saying the name invokes awe in some, and fear in others.  Those fearful still see the awesomeness of the name and what it represents.  Jesus was a stranger.  He was misunderstood, mistreated, shunned by many.  So why then does history place such an emphasis on his name?  HE’S GOD — that’s why.  Just accept it, you don’t have to understand it.

God is way too big to understand, He is way too awesome to comprehend.  Understanding God is not a destination, it is a journey.  Walking through life is a daily time limited experience that will only ever scratch the surface of understanding no matter how much study, service, etc. we do.  It is a training period for eternity.  In our desire to understand God, we can get absolutely paralyzed by the expanse of the task.  How do we ever feel we will completely understand Him while on this earth?  Stop looking for a complete understanding and enjoy and experience the awesomeness of who he is not just every day, not just every hour or minute, but every moment.

God is that huge thunderstorm, earthquake or awesome event.  God is also that small voice in your head that tells you what to do if you learn to listen.  It is strange — I know.  It is a concept misunderstood and shunned by many.  Who cares?  It is real, and I do not have to explain it, I just get to enjoy it.

I have been way too wrapped up in making people understand me.  I think it relates to the peer pressure thing to a point, that desire to be accepted and not be looked at as strange.  God understands me, that’s is all that matters.  In the eyes of people around me, I do strange things every day.  Hehe.  Me and God are having fun with that.

I know, I am strange.  Thank God, I am getting stranger every day.

Here is how you can hear God speak to you.  Follow instructions carefully!

Say:

I love you God.

LISTEN (and you will hear):

I love you too Dennis.

Awesome.  It works every time.  Try it.

I only have two chapters left in my Experiencing God study.  It has been phenomenal.  I won’t try and explain it, it is something that you have to experience to understand.  I had others in my group who did not get quite as excited, but I know the experience was great for them anyway.  I enjoyed the interaction with them a lot.

So what do I do next to continue my discipline of studying and quiet time with God?  Not sure yet, I have a couple ideas, but am determined to keep feeding the hunger I have right now.  I need to integrate it into a way that I can share it with others, I have been enjoying doing that.

There are a couple of men on my heart that God is telling me to pray for.  I am going to honor that.  Jay also has been encouraging me in a couple of areas as well, so there are a number of ideas where to go next.

Experiencing God helped me make some decisions.  I needed to make a couple of changes in my life professionally and personally, and I am working through those now.  It feels good to get past that!

More later!