Contemplating A More Simple Life

Lex (left) and Arthur (right) at the 2015 Van Nuys' carnival.

My last post was nearly four years ago.

Wow! Long time no write.

AnyWHO, a lot has happened in the past few years. I won't bore you with all the details. Suffice it to say that it has been quite a journey. Two amazing children. An incredible wife. Job changes. Apartment moves. Even a SuperBowl win for my team. Plenty to celebrate along the way, but plenty to weep about as well. These past few years have been good. Bad. Fun. Sad. Up. Down. The road of life is filled with many unexpected turns; isn't it?

Someone asked me recently about adult life, and my response was that I knew adult life would be difficult. I never had any illusions or - probably more accurately - delusions that it would be less than tough. However, I thought that, even though it would be difficult, it might feel more worthwhile.

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm alone.

But I don't think I am wrong, and I don't think I'm alone.

Are you there? Is life weighing on you a little too heavily? Are you running so fast that you've lost all track of why you were running in the first place?

I don't believe it's a generalization to say that there are many people racing through their hours, flying through their days, and wondering where their years are going.

Why?

What are we running after? What is the proverbial carrot that makes us chase the wind so vehemently? Are we making the chase more difficult and less worthwhile than it should be?

Maybe this type of thinking was birthed out of the Enlightenment that so heavily influenced the early development of Western culture. I don't know, but I do know that there is an insidious ideology that says, accomplishment = meaning.

That mantra has also, seemingly, become a part of American ideology. Could it be that the highway we take for the "Pursuit of Happiness" is paved with good intention? Is this the dark side of Capitalism?

Look - I'm not trying to get political. I'm getting existential. I'm wondering if the subtle indoctrination of accomplishment that seems to be so prevalent in our contemporary culture is running us ragged and stealing what should be a more worthwhile life-journey.

I feel like I even see this accomplishment = meaning ideology creeping into the Church (capital 'C'):
"You can do great things for God!"
"God has huge plans for you!"
"Go ahead and dream big because that dream was placed in you by a big God."
Etc, etc . . .

It's even made it's way into how we talk to our kids. We tell children that they can be whatever want. We fill their heads with tales of fictitious superheroes, and we elevate the celebrity lifestyle to god-like status. All the while, we tell our children that they can chase their passions, and we tell them that the sky is the limit. We lift their ambitions to the stars above them before their feet are even firmly planted on the ground below them.

I wonder if we would be more content if we just chose a more simple life.

This is a radical line of questioning, and it begs many questions about everything we've ever known.

All these questions, though, can't help but make me think about Jesus.

I can't help but think He was about daily spending time alone with His heavenly Father. He was about simply BEING with people. He went from place to place seeing how He could serve - whether by preaching or healing. He really had no agenda other than to pour Himself into His disciples and into others. He is a perfect picture of everything opposite we do now. He didn't spend His time chasing great accomplishments . . . and He seemed fairly content. As a matter of fact, I might even say that He is the ideal example of true, Exceptional Living.

Think about what a more simple life might look like for you. Think about how simplicity might serve your contentment. Share this blog with a friend. Ask each other questions. Discuss. Take time. Contemplate your contentment.

Perhaps if we weren't so busy trying to accomplish something great, life might actually feel more worthwhile. Maybe if we took pleasure in the little moments, then the hours, days and years wouldn't seem to fly by so quickly. Maybe.

Jesus Could Have Used Some PR

It's a shame that Jesus never hired a PR firm to rep him in the field of public opinion. A slick group of marketing gurus could have helped Jesus' career exponentially.

Forget the Kardashians! Jesus' name could have topped all the major headlines in mags like STAR, US WEEKLY and PEOPLE.

There's even a good chance that, with the right promotion, Jesus could have been TIME Magazine's Person Of The Year circa A.D.32.

But...sadly...instead...

...Jesus left his Public Relations to a bunch of Old Testament prophets. People like Isaiah --- curmudgeonly old rejects with a penchant for painting dire pictures of the man who is, unarguably, the single-most significant celebrity in the history of humanity.

In verses 2 and 3 of the 53rd chapter of his prophetic writings, Isaiah said of Jesus, "...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering..."

Dude. Isaiah. Can you say buzz-kill...???

It's centuries before Jesus' arrival on Rome's red carpet, and you're responsible for promoting the King of Kings! The Messiah! The Savior of the World!

What is wrong with you?!?!?

How about headlines like, "King of the Jews Feeds 5,000 in One Sitting"...???
Or, for the more enviro-politically-conscious, how about "Jesus Walks Town-To-Town Promoting 'Green' Lifestyle"...???

With some better PR, Jesus could have been loved by the crowds of his day, instead of being "despised and rejected".

Plus, Isaiah, Jesus tells me that I'm supposed to be like him. However, I'll bet you didn't take me into consideration at all; did you?

Don't you know: you could have made MY life easier if you would have prophesied a more media-friendly, more celebrity-friendly, more financially-friendly lifestyle for Jesus? Isaiah, you should've listened to Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical ahead of time and prophecied Jesus as a superstar?

Couldn't Jesus have just followed a broader path to success? That would be so much easier on me!

The 11-11-11 Rorschach Test

July 26th was my last post...far too long.

Truth is: I don't know where these past several months have gone. I've been busy. Life is moving quickly. Lex is growing quickly. My hair? Not as quickly...except, the hair around my ears and eyebrows. Seriously!!! Why am I forced to trim my eyebrows once a week and my ears more often than that.

Do you understand how disconcerting it is to have whiskers on your ear lobes?!?!?

Anyway!

Today is November 11, 2011, or 11-11-11.

Prophets proclaim today as a day of Divine fulfillment.
Numerologists postulate that this is a day ruled by the sacred feminine.
Spiritualists say this is a day to connect to a higher spiritual plane as the 11's represent a tunnel between the seen and unseen.
I know some friends who are getting married today (presumably, to help their husbands remember the date, although we all know that he'll forget at least once).
One person I know celebrated today with an extra large Sweet Tea from McDonald's at 11:11am (I'm assuming because he felt there might be a significance in having to go to the bathroom at 12:12, 1:11 and probably even 2:22).
Then, there are others who simply think that 3 sets of 11's looks cool on paper.

For some reason, this date has struck a universal chord with, seemingly, everyone...not just the 99%. It means something to all. This date seems to serve as an inkblot of our individual conscious, a Rorschach test, of sorts.

What does 11-11-11 mean to you? Perhaps it reveals something significant about you or your belief system. Or, maybe you're like me...maybe it just feels like a Friday.

NEXT STEPS - "The Foresight Of Hindsight"

We've all heard the saying, "hindsight is 20/20", implying of course, that experiencing a situation provides us the best perspective for that experience.

That phrase is also used to optimistically whitewash our experiential failures due to our lack-of-understanding. It often makes us feel better because "how could we have known?" Hindsight serves to give us the wisdom and resolve for "next time" because "what doesn't kill us only makes us stronger," right?

But, sometimes hindsight becomes our scapegoat for lack of foresight. However, the Word of God offers us many opportunities to have the foresight of hindsight.

James 1:2-3 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance."

The author is prophetically giving us the foresight of hindsight. In essence, he is saying, "don't wait until the trials are over before hindsight gives you understanding of the meaning of the trial or the joy it can produce for you."

He is encouraging us to have the foresight, when our trials begin, to grasp the reason for the trial.
Rather than looking back on our trial and saying, "Hindsight is 20/20...I guess this is what the Lord wanted to teach us from this situation", we have an opportunity to look forward and know that, no matter what the trial, perseverance is developing in us.

That gives us reason to have joy through the circumstance! That gives us the opportunity to declare that Biblical Foresight is 20/20!

NEXT STEPS - "Take Two Of These..."

...and call me in the morning. A timeless prescription...a prescription that used to be for aspirin, now it's a cliche'. Take two of these and call me in the morning!

Ryan's excellent message on Sunday gave us a great prescription to counteract the venomous snake bite that most of us have received in this life, a snake bite that causes fear, worry and anxiety.

He told us how the snake bite can be countered by an antidote --- an antidote of faith, hope and trust --- that helps us to overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the Word of our testimony. This antidote gives us peace.

As Ryan explained from Phil 4:6-7, when we receive the antidote, the the "peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus."

The antidote is amazing, but don't forget your aspirin, too!

Philippians 4:4 also gives us two doses that can counteract the headaches you might feel from this venom. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" The Word is telling us that when we rejoice in the Lord, when we remember His goodness to us, when we allow our gentleness to be evident to all (v.5) we celebrate His marvelous ways, when we think on those things that are pure, noble, right, admirable, lovely, excellent (v.8), then even in the midst of fear, worry and anxiety, the "God of peace will be with [us] (v.9)

Celebrate God, focus your eyes on Him and His goodness, Rejoice in Him and see if that doesn't alleviate some of the headaches.

So, "REJOICE" in the Lord always, I will say it again: "REJOICE"... take two of these REJOICE and call me in the morning!

For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "You Are What You Eat"

When I was a child, I remember when those little candies, NERDS™, came out. I could buy a box of them for about 25¢ at the local milk store, along with 1¢ TOOTSIE ROLLS™, and 5¢ LAFFY TAFFY™ (my personal favorite was the Fruit Punch flavor)... do I sound like one of those, "I-used-to-walk-five-miles-uphill-both-ways-through-the-snow-to-school" kind of guys? HaHa!

Anyway, I say all that to say this: whenever any of us saw one of our friends eating NERDS™, we would inevitably shout out, "You are what you eat!"

Chuckle, chuckle, Ha, Ha...it still brings a little bit of a nostalgic smile to my face today.

I couldn't help thinking of that old saying, "you are what you eat" when Pastor Dave was speaking this past Sunday. Using the analogy of eating a cow (sorry to all my vegetarian and vegan friends), Pastor Dave drew an amazing parallel to how our stomach enzymes break down the essential ingredients of the meat, how our body uses those to build up our new cells, and how it equates to our spiritual diet. In essence, he was challenging us if, physically, "you are what you eat", then the same principle would hold true, spiritually.

Simple, honest, direct... and yet, I was very challenged by that thought!

Just as I try to pay attention to what I'm putting in my natural diet (let's be honest, my wife is doing much better at paying attention for me), I must also be aware of what I am feeding my soul and spirit. 

Think about it: if in the natural, all we ever eat is junk food, our cells will degenerate. We will be unhealthy, obese, sluggish, etc... The same applies in the spiritual.

If all we consume are the "things of this world", then our spiritual bodies will be unhealthy and sluggish as well. Our spiritual diet must consist of the healthy choices such as more time in the Word rather than in the television, more time in prayer than in play, more time in service than in selfishness. After all, if we are what we eat, who really wants to be one of the spiritual NERDS™?


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

A Letter To My Father

Happy Father's Day!

I thought it might be fun to post some great Father's Day quotes. Of course, none of them can fully express the honor, respect and love that I have for all those who bear the name "Father" --- namely my own dad, Dennis Amsden.

Dad, I adore you! I cherish the lessons you have taught, and I can only hope that I bear the name "father" with the same integrity with which you have worn it. Thank you for being you!


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~ Dad, you're someone to look up to no matter how tall I've grown. ~Author Unknown
~ The greatest gift I ever had came from God; I call him Dad!~Author Unknown
~ Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards.~Robert Orben
~ Making the decision to have a child is momentous.  It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body. ~Elizabeth Stone
~ Sometimes the poorest man leaves his children the richest inheritance.~Ruth E. Renkel
~ Never raise your hand to your kids.  It leaves your groin unprotected. ~Red Buttons
~ He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~Clarence Budington Kelland
~ A truly rich man is one whose children run into his arms when his hands are empty.~Unknown
~ Small boy's definition of Father's Day: It's just like Mother's Day only you don't spend so much.~Unknown
~ By the time a man realizes that maybe his father was right, he usually has a son who thinks he's wrong.~Charles Wadsworth
~ It's only when you grow up, and step back from him, or leave him for your own career and your own home—it's only then that you can measure his greatness and fully appreciate it.~Margaret Truman
~ Father! - to God himself we cannot give a holier name. ~William Wordsworth

NEXT STEPS - "Inventive Faithfulness"

This past Sunday, Paul put a phrase on the overhead that really punched me in the face, the gut and the head. (yes, a triple whammy that knocked me out)

The overhead read: "Patient Progress has given way to instant gratification."

We live in an era, just as Paul so humorously put it, where frustration easily sets in when our instant access to the internet gets deterred by a slight modem disruption or when waiting at a stop light takes longer than we had hoped. (side note: it is not the red light that bothers me, it is the yellow light that is just out of my reach and the knowing that I will then have to sit at the red light.)

Yet, I think of that phrase --- patient progress has given way to instant gratification --- and I can't help but imagine all the countless inventors who toiled for years in anonymity so that we might have the technologies of our modern world. From Galileo Galilei to Thomas Edison, from George Washington Carver to that guy who created TIVO, men and women who have given us amazing inventions that have enriched our lives (and sometimes "enabled" them) worked, failed, experimented, imagined and made PATIENT PROGRESS until they had a breakthrough.

Yet, their labors have led, by and large, to our current need for instant gratification. We EXPECT what they took countless years, and sometimes decades, to INSPECT. We must never forget that toil leads to progress. Patient faithfulness over the little things leads to breakthroughs in the big things.

This sermon series we have been on together, [Extra]Ordinary Living, has been a very practical, feet-on-the-ground series, that offers simple steps to experience so much more than an ordinary life. We have the opportunity to be faithful in our daily devotions, in our finances, in our time management. And remember: if all we experience is patient progress, that is progress, nonetheless. Quick, instant inspirations bring very little lasting reward. Instead, it is the inventive, earth-shattering faithfulness of praying daily, reading the Word, worshipping, loving, financial stewardship and proper time investment that will yield the greatest progress.

Let us purpose in our hearts to work, to be faithful, to be the ones who seek patient progress rather than instant gratification... after all, just like Edison once said, "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration."

For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "My Sword, My Money"

During the conversation this past Sunday, we mentioned several resources that are available to you with regard to seeking financial counsel and gaining Biblical wisdom with regard to financial stewardship.

From Dave Ramsey's financial advice to Kiplinger magazine's investment strategies; from Dr, Ruby Payne's study on understanding poverty to Crown ministries Biblical stewardship advice; we covered a huge topic in broad strokes - all in the hope that we, as followers of Christ would master our finances instead of allowing our finances to master us.

I want to share this brief story with you from the book, YOUR MONEY COUNTS, by Howard Dayton, founder of Crown ministries. I think it is a poignant look at how many people may view their finances with regard to submission to the Scripture.

On page 11 he writes, "When the Crusades were being fought during the 12th century, the Crusaders employed mercenaries to fight on their behalf. Because it was a religious war, the crusaders insisted that the mercenaries be baptized before fighting. As they were being baptized, the mercenaries would hold their swords out of the water to symbolize the one thing in their life that Jesus Christ did no control. They had the freedom to use the swords in any way they wished."

Dayton continues, "Today many people handle their money in a similar fashion, through they may no be as obvious about it. They hold their wallet or pursue 'out of the water', in effect saying, 'God, You can be the Lord of my entire life except for my money. I am perfectly capable of handing that myself.'"

Hmmm...Interesting story...

You can check out more resources from Crown ministries at www.crown.org.


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html

NEXT STEPS - "Back To Basics"

If you've ever aimlessly flipped through the TV channels, you've probably noticed a lot of infomercials for physical fitness. They all promote life-changing results in short periods of time with advertising hooks like: "Get the body you've always wanted in 90 days!"; "Ripped Abs in 60 Days!"; "Lose 30lbs in as little as 6 Weeks!"; "Drop 4 inches in 4 weeks!"; "Get in shape in 2 Weeks!"; "Get an amazing body in only 10, short minutes a day!"...

The list goes on and on and on... Endless promises through extreme programs. Well, I don't know about you, but I can personally attest to the truth that short-term solutions do not produce long-term results. Instead, lasting change comes from a deliberate daily discipline of eating properly and getting exercise. That's it.

The secret to long-term healthy living is very basic. Burn more calories than you take in and get the proper nutrients to fuel your mind and body. And, rather than crazy contortion exercises with goofy ab-rolling, sit-and-spin, row-boat, wonky contraptions that you may not fully understand, the human body needs basic cardio and moderate resistance exercises to thrive.

Now, I admit: when Ryan announced that he would be speaking on the Will of God this past Sunday, I was more than a little nervous. I couldn't help but think, "oh great, here comes someone to offer me extreme promises for my spiritual health... I get to hop into that crazy, ab-rolling contraption called the Will of God - a device I don't fully understand - in order to get in shape spiritually and understand God's Hidden Will.

However, I discovered, much like Paul's sermon last week, that what Ryan was prescribing was getting back to the basics of our faith. He laid out a very practical plan about the Revealed Will of God given to us in the Word. His exercise plan included a steady diet of the Word, Prayer, Daily Time with Jesus and Ministry to the Body. His Get-Fit program included being sanctified (1 Thess. 4:3); being joyful, praying continually and giving thanks in all circumstances (1 Thess. 5:16-18); and not loving the things of the world but striving to have the Love of the Father (1 John 2:17)...

Wow! Simple. Back to basics... Healthy, daily disciplines to achieve long-lasting transformation and to fulfill the Will of God in our lives!


For more NEXT STEPS, please visit: http://www.livingwaters.org/resources/next-steps.html