M&M-ology

A busy week has precluded my being at the "blog" table much this week. But while we're on the most recent topic, how do you eat your "M's?"

There is something about eating M&M candies that prevents me from popping a whole bunch of them in my mouth and just chomping away. It would appear there is a refined art to eating M&M's like there is to eating sunflower seeds (another favorite baseball pastime of mine). In my opinion, one can't merely slam a handful of M&M's into their mouth and chomp away. There is a better way...

Take your "M" and greet the "M" (there is only one M on each piece) with a smile of recognition and appreciation. Acknowledge its specific color and shape (not all M's are created equal by the way and some are downright mutant (those are fun to eat) but all still pack that wonderful flavorful experience. While appreciating the color, there is no truth to the rumor that difference colors have a different taste. Blind taste tests will prove this point.

Now comes the exciting part... to crack an M between your teeth and accomplish a "perfect split" is the best experience in M consumption. A "perfect split" separates the shell right around the radius of the candy and splits the candy coated shell from the milk chocolate on the inside, thus a "perfect split." Now stick the tip of your tongue in that empty shell side and break it against the back of your front teeth. Notice all the little pieces. Fun!

Next hold the exposed milk chocolate side of the M open side down on your tongue and let the milk chocolate melt onto your tongue. This is better than drinking chocolate milk... creamy, yummy, good!

If the other side of the shell is still in tact after letting the mild chocolate melt (a rare occasion) crunch that thing into oblivion and reach for another candy. Repeat the process!

If I gave this much attention to the subtleties of my relationship with Christ, how different would my walk with Him be?

Oh, by the way, how do you eat your M's?

The "Perfect" Candy

Never known for having much of a "sweet tooth," I can usually pass on most desserts or candies that come my way. I've taken a pass on some great looking cakes or other delicious delectables without much trouble. I'd love to say it is will-power, but it isn't. It is just that my palate doesn't beg for sweet stuff.

All my life though, I have enjoyed M&M candies. You know the slogan "melts in your mouth, not in your hand" (though that is a bit of a misnomer, because unless your hands are only slightly above the temperature of an ice cube, holding even a few for a moment will eventually result in a veritable "rainbow of color" in your hand). All-in-all however, I'm inclined to think M&M's may be the "perfect" candy. What can be better than rich milk chocolate surrounded by a hard candied shell? It is the best of both "candy worlds!" M&M's could possibly be the greatest candy ever created!

I ate so many packages of M&M's in high school, that a few people actually started called me "M" for short (thankfully that tag didn't stick). It was a rare day I didn't have at least one package in my possession and friends were always hitting me up "for some M's."I liked them because it was possible to "graze" on a package for most of the day (can't do that with your favorite candy bar). You could keep them in your bookbag and (if they didn't get exposed to heat) were "good to go" at a moment's notice. I also liked the fact that I could sneak them into my mouth even in classes where the instructor prohibited eating in class. That was always a bit of a challenge to see if I could get away with it. I'll generally take a good challenge.

M&M colors have stayed basically the same over the years (save the introduction of "blue" a few years ago) and there is a certain urban legend surrounding one other color in particular (I can neither confirm nor deny the veracity of the legend -- so let's leave it there). How many other candies can claim an "urban legend" surrounding it? That must account for something when it comes to being named the "perfect" candy, shouldn't it?

M&M's transcend all other candies because they have actually acquired certain existential qualities and status. Not only in addition to ordering specific colors or color combinations (a friend of mine once order thousands in a favorite sport team's colors), there is also "custom labeling" available so that now your M&M's can express your own personality (of course, it still has to fit on an M&M) and you can even create an M&M character to look like yourself. Click here to check it out! Does any other can have this kind of essence about it? That is status, baby! It has even been rumored scientists have located the M&M molecule! Snickers can't say that!

A few years ago, my Dad (a retired, but semi-professional woodworker) made a really ingenious wood and glass M&M dispenser. It now sits on my desk and I buy my M's by the pound (literally). All throughout the day, co-workers come by my office, say "hello" and then grab a few M's. The dispenser distributes a maximum of two per pull so it makes it easier to pace consumption. It is humorous, because I can always tell when someone comes by only for M's. People will say the lamest things to get to the "perfect candy!"

If I can go on about a simple candy which is realistically far from "perfect" (it only approaches perfection in my own opinion) imagine what can be said about the One who is, truly Perfect?

What is your "perfect" candy and what amazing thing about the Perfect One comes to your mind when you think about "perfection?"

"O praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect,
and all his ways are just."
(Deut. 32:4)

Pray the Paper

As initially moved as I was regarding the Virginia Tech shootings, I have not been true to typical form. In the past, when nationally known tragedy has struck, I've been glued to broadcast mediums to soak in as much information as possible. The East-Asian Tsunamis, 9/11, Oklahoma City Bombing, etc. have always sparked a deep curiosity in me and I have spent considerable time seeking information to somehow cope with the devastation.

This week, I've not had the energy or been able to afford the time to pursue similar information on the tragic events of Monday. I only know the number of people killed, that the shooter was despondent and of Asian descent, that one of the victims was a holocaust survivor but was found perished in the shooting and that today the university announced all the victims would be conferred with posthumous honorary degrees. Beyond these few details, I have no knowledge of the facts. But I have nonetheless been deeply moved by this occurrence.

The one thing I've found I could do is pray. Why it seems many Christ-followers turn to prayer as a secondary resource (or later), I don't really know. I've always held the opinion that there is nothing more powerful or effectual a Christ-follow can do than to pray. To evoke the power of the Almighty on any given situation is nothing to be reduced to merely a rote exchange of patterned language. Prayer can be a "verbal wrestling" with the God of the universe and can bring not only understanding, but powerful change as well. I've experienced the incredible transformation prayer can bring (sometimes instantaneously) and find myself thrilled by it.

Not having even a list of victims, this week I simply numbered these souls 1 - 33 (yes, even the assailant -- and I figured God could understand which was which) and have been praying for these unfortunate persons, their families, loved ones and classmates that the peace of Christ might dwell with their hurting souls.

Though it has been a long week for me, my week has been nothing in comparison to the fatigue and weariness the survivors must be experiencing. This week I'm strangely energized by this discipline of "praying the paper" (though I've not even taken the time to read the paper). I feel more productive in this discipline of prayer than merely knowing facts and recounting endless video loops on CNN or network news. Each time I see a flag at half-staff, I'm moved not only to mourn, but to continue praying. I've partnered with this event in a way substantially different than in the past.

If you were to "pray the paper" in today's daily, in what section would you begin praying?

Senseless and Wordless

Today our country witnessed the worse single incident shooting attack in its history. On the campus of Virginia Tech, some 32 people's lives were cut short at the hand of an apparently crazed gunman who then took his own life. It is a senseless tragedy. How can one explain something so mindlessly barbaric?

I am deeply saddened and prayerful for dozens of parents, spouses and friends who's day began like any other and ended like no other.

God bless those who grieve, mourn and wail. Though my tears have yet to fall on your behalf, I believe they will. Until then, I'm wordless.

Peace of Christ be with you.

Cool Spaces

It seems to me the longer God blesses each of us to live, the more we begin to appreciate the "little" things in life. The smile of a stranger, the scent of a bloom as we pass by, the first sip of a good cup of coffee or the gentle hug of a loved one. These "little" things are what seasons our life with beauty, blessings and joy.

One of the things I have come to really appreciate in the past few years has been "space." Not the "final frontier, to boldly go where no man has gone before variety" (though that really fascinates me and can consume a significant chunk of reading or net-surfing time for me), but the "living spaces" my life encounters.

I've been affective about my space for as long as I can remember. I recall the frequent times during my childhood when my mother would come into my bedroom and just "hang out" for a while because she simply "liked the space." The right lighting (ask my patient wife how crazy I am about lighting in our home -- it is the first thing that has be to "right" whenever we move into a new space and I'm always adjusting dimmers to "fit the mood") the aromas, the sounds all contribute to a space being "right" for me.

Some of my favorite spaces are out in creation, but living in a major metropolitan center, that is not always an easy thing to find. Therefore, I find myself finding "new interior spaces" that speak to me and bring meaning into my life. I have several but don't like to advertise them much due to their relative vulnerability at becoming something other than what they are for me.

As I write this entry today, I'm sitting in one of those spaces. Sitting in a dark corner, upstairs in a loft, I have retreated here for a great cup of coffee and in search of some creativity. There is something amazing about "space" in that it can either work against you or for you in any given moment. Today, this space is working for me and I have a wonderful sense of energy from it (of course, that might be the coffee, too).

The thought of going into the office with our current construction noises (we are in the home-stretch of a major facilities renovation), epoxy fumes, phones ringing, doors knocking and emails pinging (though in this space I do have the benefit of free Internet access -- how cool is that?) to get some of the day's deadlines met, I simply felt I had to seek some solace and proper space.

I think Jesus must have had the same need. In Gethsemane he went away to experience what would be the deepest moment of encounter with His Father He would ever face and it was apparently a pattern of his behavior to seek "solitary places" (Mark 1:35) where He prayed and restored Himself.

Today, I'll share a photo of this space I'm enjoying and give praise to God for all my "spaces" and for the power they hold in my life. This has been an incredibly productive and creative hour I've spent in this "space" and my hope is that if you don't have special "space" (or spaces) in your life, you will begin seeking it/them and allow it/them to bless your life in significant ways.

Peace and productivity be yours in the One who created space and may you "boldly go where no one has gone before."

Where You're Coming From

It has seemingly always been my fortunate circumstance to have been in churches where "recovery" (though we didn't always call it that) was a theme. Many people had a story of finding Jesus that was fairly dramatic and emotionally persuasive. Recovery from drugs, sexual exploits or other life abuse was a common occurrence to my recollection and I was always compelled by how moving these stories of life-recovery were.

Early in my college career, I remember one particular person "recovering" from significant life abuse and finding "new life" in Jesus with whom I became particularly close. We grew beyond typical casual acquaintance and conversations to begin sharing some of the "secrets" both of and to living life. I was always impressed with how clarified his story was and how emotionally compelling I found it. I was frequently moved to hear of how God had "saved him" from his own selfish destruction and I sometimes felt my own story was a bit "flat" and, honestly, a bit boring.

One day I confessed to him how I wished that the story of my own faith journey was as emotionally compelling, dramatic and as convincing as his. It was then that he shared something that has stayed with me through the decades. He said, "You are so fortunate... you've been in church since you were six weeks old. You had parents that not only taught you how to pray, but also listened to you pray. Your meals were family occasions where people shared life and love. You had a community of faith who looked out for you and cared if you knew Christ or not. You had Christian friends who walked in faith with you and picked you up when you fell down. And do you know what? From my point of view, that is an amazing testimony and I'd would trade for that story in an instant!" I was shocked at the persuasion of my own story as it came from the mouth of someone else and realized the reality of things really came down to a matter of perspective.

While lamenting my own lack of "dramatic testimony," this relatively new follower of Christ caused me to realize where I was coming from also "had some teeth" as well. It is an amazing thing when people are fortunate enough to find Jesus at a very young age. That day I came to know that we all have a story and it doesn't have to be a "Hollywood drama" to have validity and power. I guess it just depends on where you're coming from.

Sadly and regretfully, since that time so many years ago, I've managed to add some drama to my own faith adventure that I'd rather take back and "do over again" if I had the opportunity. In my own form of spiritual "recovery" I see God taking my mistakes and failures and making some Good News out of it through the grace of Christ and I can how see how my scars are being a blessing to the life of others. But the roots of my story still speak as well and if not for others, it still speaks a powerful testimony for my own life. I have been very fortunate and so richly blessed.

I guess it just depends on where you're coming from.

So where are you coming from? What is your story? The longer I live, the more I realize every story is amazing in itself and God's love is an amazing thing as well.

Trim the Wick

At what point candles moved from the center stage as light source to the center stage of affective aesthetics, I don't know but either way I am all about having candles in my world. You will find them in my office (both at home and on the church campus) in the bath, in the kitchen, in the bedroom. I buy them for my wife, I buy them for friends, I have several "stored" around just because you can't beat a good candle! There is just something "cool" and yet "warm" at the same time about them. Candles make my world just a little bit nicer (Currently burning: Candy Corn combined with French Vanilla. Yeah... my office smells like a bakery and I'm getting hungry!).

Like the old song lyric "I was country, when country wasn't cool" I feel like I was "into candles before candles were cool." I have burned candles since I was a kid. When I was young, I'd make my own candles with the guys across the street. We bought white wax and then melted Crayola Crayons to make the colors. We made "sand candles" and all kinds of cool things and thankfully, we never burned a house down. When I was a teen, I would light my candles and play guitar in the dim candle light for hours (yes... I had some "hippie" in me and I guess I still do).

Now, candles are all the rage! I have five acquaintances (no exaggeration here) who are in the candle business in some form or fashion. Two of those people run full-blown (pardon the pun) candle stores (full-time) and two others run their business out of the home on a part-time basis. That will explain just how popular candles have become in the public marketplace in the last few years. It is amazing, really. I have even thought about getting into the game myself if for no other reason than to simply save money on my own candles!

It is likely that I have a candle burning in my life (if I am stationary long enough) on any given day. There is just something peaceful about them. The warmth, the aroma, the light... it is a fairly compelling experience, really. Calming, serene, placid... somehow they tend to help keep me "grounded" in the midst of an otherwise chaotic existence.

The other day I lit a candle in my office and from a relatively small candle came a rather significant flame. Reaching well above the rim of the glass jar, I expected it to "adjust itself" in a matter of a few seconds. But it didn't. The flame just kept raging like some kind of towering inferno! Making a loud "pop" a couple of times gave me enough pause that it might become a hazard (as if a concealed flame is ever NOT a potential hazard -- the outer core (blue color) of a candle flame burns at approximately 2550 degrees Fahrenheit -- that's hot!!! And if you don't think candles are important, even NASA has studied the effects of weightlessness on open candle flames -- insert the collective audio "ooo-ahh" here).

As the flame rose to about 4 inches above the candle surface, I finally blew it out. Looking into the now blackened candle jar, it was then I realized how tall the wick was and how much "fuel" had gathered into to top of it (someone should write a book on "candleology" for there is much to know about candle maintenance and how to get the most life and efficiency out of your candles). The wick had grown too tall and wasn't managing the fuel available to it in the most efficient manner. So, it was time to "trim the wick."

True to my candle-lover status, I used one of my "uber-cool" 90 degree angled wick trimmers and within a few seconds had the wick and subsequent flame back under control and burning at optimum efficiency (trim to 1/4 inch with about a 45 degree angle in the wick -- it works well) and it got me thinking about how many times God has to effectively "trim my wick."

With so much busyness in my life, sometimes I feel like I'm running "Mach II with my hair on fire." Like a candle out of control, I'm giving off a big flame and putting out a mess of heat, but it may not be terribly efficient and might be smoking up the sides of the glass! Under those conditions, I recognize that I tend to "flame out" in short order and wonder why I don't feel fulfilled in my life.

My experience is that God is a gracious and merciful "wick trimmer." If you submit to His care, He will trim you into an efficient flame that will work in a way that may be more efficient than you could imagine and may just give off some pleasing aromas as well.

Is it time to ask God to "trim your wick" before you flame out?

"You are the light of the world... let your light shine before men,
that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."
Matt. 5:13, 16


"For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved
and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other,
the fragrance of life."
2 Cor. 2:15-16

Power of Rising

Yesterday was an amazing day for my home church. In a span of time covering four separate worship services, over 1,800 people came together to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the grave. The singing was great, the sermon was great, the brunch buffet and fellowship was great, all the kids hunting for over 8,000 Easter eggs was great... but there was something more.

Having been in ministry for a long time and attended and led more Easter worship services than I can remember, but yesterday brought a new quality for me. It was something deep within my spirit -- a longing that was touched in a new way. Could it be the power of rising?

The apostle Paul once wrote, "I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death..." (Phil. 3:10). Having read that passage thousands of times, preached or taught it hundreds of times, I'm beginning to wonder if I've ever really understood what Paul meant when he wrote it. Have I ever really been close to that power, the power that takes Jesus out of the grave? What would it be like to somehow live in that power on a daily basis. Could this have been what Paul was seeking? I hear him differently know. I hear his "wanting" in a way I haven't before.

To live life under the restriction of merely human power is so limited. Even those who claim to know Christ and believe in him as the Risen Savior try to live life and fight sinful tendency with human power. We pursue righteousness with human will, rather than accessing the spiritual power that brought Christ from the grave. There must be a deeper power that does not come from within, but comes from "beyond" and makes us the people of the resurrection. As the same author said to the Christians in Corinth, "if only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men" (1 Cor. 15:19).

Yesterday, something deeply touched me. It didn't come from a specific spoken word, or song or prayer. It was more a sense of "being" -- an awareness that something (or Someone) was so near and so powerful that I actually could feel Him near. For a fleeting moment, I wondered if perhaps I was getting just a little bit closer to what Paul was writing about. Like Paul, I want to know it and share in it, so that I might become something (or someone) more than I have been.

I want to know Christ and the power of rising...

Laughter and Good Company

Today is Thursday a day many reference as Holy Thursday. It is the day before Good Friday, the day of Christ's crucifixion. What (theologically speaking) is a sullen point in the week, has most Christ-followers thinking about the incredible sacrifice the Christ made for those the Father loves. In the following 24 hours, the Savior of the world will be betrayed, sold out, denied, scorned, beaten, mocked, crucified, run-through with a spear, buried and left for dead (permanently). From a spiritual point of view, it is a day of reverent preparation for what could have been a very dark day for humanity. Yes, today may be Holy Thursday, but as the old preacher once said, "It's Friday, but Sunday's a comin'!"

There is inherent joy, hope and even laughter because of the resurrection of Jesus. The "old has gone, the new has come" and we have been brought "from death to life" all because Jesus Christ rose from the dead! This is the biggest event in the Christian calendar and we are right and proper for making a "big deal" out of it! Without Easter Sunday, the other Sundays of the year just wouldn't make much sense (other than maybe sleeping in, mowing lawns or playing golf)! But because Christ rose from the grave on this coming Sunday... everything changes!

For those who perhaps have never worked in a church or been around the planning of Easter, it is likely the most hectic time of the year for those in full-time (paid) ministry. Attendance is significantly higher at Easter services than at any other time of the year (save Christmas) and the stress to "do things right" can loom large for any church ministry team. Considering church attendance for some is restricted to this day and maybe Christmas, putting the best expression of the resurrection of Christ and of the community of faith before all in attendance is priority one!

This year, our church is moving from our usual 2 service format to 4 services! We are serving brunch for all those who attend, offering two enormous Easter Egg Hunts for our children and their friends and all of this in the middle of a huge remodeling of our current facility. Especially with so many variables and things to consider, it can be a long stint getting ready to celebrate Resurrection Sunday (though technically Christ-followers celebrate the resurrection every Sunday of the year).

Today, our third floor offices were "humming" with activity. Every minister and staff member were busy taking care of all their assigned responsibilities and concerns. Even decisions that had been made earlier in the week were being "undone" and "reordered" at the last minute to get things "just right." But amid all that chaos and possible stress, this week I have heard more laughter and joy from the team with whom I am blessed to serve that I hear during most weeks. It is almost as if, in the midst of our busiest week, we have even more joy. Could it be that tomorrow really is "Friday, but Sunday's a comin'?" Somehow, I think that has something to do with it.

I am privileged to work with an absolutely incredible (no exaggeration, here) group of people. Talented, creative, hard-working and fun loving, it is a sad thing that more people are not as blessed to work with the caliber of people with whom I am blessed to serve. At times I must confess, I even feel guilty because I know other ministers who "kill themselves" (almost literally) in churches much different from the one in which I serve. Why am I so blessed to work with these great people? I can't fully answer that, but I can tell you why our team is so great. It is because each person consciously lives resurrection!

At the most stressful and busiest time of the year, our team is focused on the fact that we "can do all things through Christ who gives us strength" and we live it out together, in authentic community of faith and service.

So we laugh and enjoy each other's good company during the most demanding week of the year, because Jesus Christ is ALIVE and well and it is only a matter of our Father's time before Christ will return and take us home to be with Him forever, where there will be no tears and joy will know no end. Praise be to God for the power of the resurrection of Christ!

Happy Easter to all who believe!

Spring of Life

Having lived most of my years either in a climate that is perpetually green (southern California) or perpetually "brown" (central Arizona), living in the dynamic climate of northern Texas has brought new appreciation for the regenerative quality of nature.

Following winter's chill and resultant tan (dormant) grass, grey-barked leafless trees and bloomless flowers, it is a fascination of nature to "watch the world come back to life" (even at the expense of an over abundance of weeds). The grasses are green, the trees are leafing and the bluebonnets have sprung to life in a magnificent array of color in random patches across the landscape. Hope springs to life -- what once was a colorless void is now full of brilliance and beauty. Birds have returned to nesting, insects are doing whatever insects do (just try and guess how many mosquito bites I have from last night's softball games) and things just seem... "better."

This week is an amazing week in the Christian calendar. The week leading up to Resurrection Sunday is a week of transformative power transcending space and time. The days leading to the Cross were like the usherance of winter... a slowing down towards what appeared to be permanent dormancy. At the Cross, it was as if the world and time stood still. All the followers of Christ seemed to fall away like the last leafs of a great Red Oak until there were only three remaining at the foot of the Cross. Was all lost? It appeared as much, but then Sunday came!

With a rush of power beyond that which anyone can imagine, life broke forth from the grave and True Life was made abundant to all who believe. Beauty came forth as does life from all the bare dryness and dormancy of the soul's winter and burst forth into new life -- the old has gone, the new has come! It was the Spring of Life that reigns forever more!