Ranked high on my list of things I want to do before I was fifty happened last night. A fifth grade band concert. My daughter just had her first one last night. How did she do? I couldn’t tell you.
The top of her head was barely seen in the second row. The group ripped through 5 songs that lasted a total of about 2 minutes. On the way out I asked her how she did. (This of course is a stupid parent question to an eleven year old) “Dad you were there, why would you want to know how I did when you just saw the whole thing?” I couldn’t really here the flute amongst the other noise, so I thought it to be a logical question.
She began to then school me in the art of team play. I tell people all the time Together Everyone Achieves More, but at this point I wanted to take TEAM out of the equation. I wanted individual stats. Did she hit the notes? Did she really nail a certain song? Did she do better than the kid next to her?
Concerts, as we know, are not individual activities but team ones. The individual contribution of each person is vital, but the how the group sounds as a whole is what is most important. It didn’t matter to my daughter how she did, it only mattered how the group did. And that could only be heard from my vantage point.
If that was me last night on the stage I would have held a note out a bit longer. I would have really played one song louder than the other students. I would have stood and taken the bow before the rest of the group got up. Not her, walk in…sit down…sit up straight…play the songs…stand up…sit down…go home. No fanfare.
How are you doing on your team? Do you need people to hear you? Or are you fine with just being a vital part of the team? Do you need to be recognized for your individual contributions or are you most happy when the group gets recognized?
Man I really like 5th grade band concerts.
As many of you know we are becoming foster parents and the one (literally) thing I have been responsible for in this process is our families fire safety plan. That of course is really easy because we have all learned the simple technique as young children to do when we encounter a fire.
Stop-Drop-Roll.
This is also a very biblical thing to do. We read in Exodus 3 that Moses used a similar technique when he ran across some fire out in the field. Although slightly different, Moses’ fire plan has so much for us to learn as we journey together to find freedom in Christ. Anticipate great things this Sunday as we come together.
I must say that I haven’t been more excited to share God’s Word then this weekend (January 25). Let me encourage you to join us this Sunday. We are moving together to see God set us free from our issues, addictions, bondages and just feeling stuck.
See you this weekend,
Joseph
ps. Yes I know there many others things to know when you encounter a fire but this will be one that you won’t forget.
430 years of slavery and a great ripple happens. God says to Moses that He has seen the misery, heard the cries and is concerned with the suffering of His people. This reminds me of the Snickers commercial “Ain’t going anywhere, grab a Snickers”. Feeling stuck, wondering where the justice is, are you bound with an addiction or grieving a loss, grab the heart of God.We serve a God that is alive and wants to interact in our lives, we just need to cry out. It is the cry of Moses that saves him as a baby (Exodus 2:6) and it is the cries of the people that save them (Exodus 3:7). Crying is not just for little girls, but for everyone. Crying breaks into heaven and grabs the ear of God.What are you crying about? What are you questioning God about? Let us know so we can cry together.
If you missed my thoughts on how God hears the cries of the oppressed check the message out at www.southeverett.org.
Also join us for our new Wednesday Night Life Group. We are networking with LifeChurch.tv and looking at prayer for the month of January.
I have been playing my kids a lot over Christmas break on the Wii. Wii bowling, tennis and boxing. I am not too proud to say that my daughter can take me out in boxing, my older son takes me to the cleaners in tennis and well all them show me their stuff in bowling. If I play the computer, no problem. I outsmart the computer all the time with my thoughtful volleys and right uppercuts.But when it comes to the onslaught of my kids I am no match. After every game I sit dumbfounded. How can kids that don’t understand why the ball rotates the way it does or the difference between a left jab and a right hook continually take father down.
(I don’t offer this as a defense for my ineptitude) But, I think they win because they don’t over think it too much. When it is time to swing, they swing. When it is time to jab they jab. When they are up to throw the ball, they look at the pins and throw the ball.
This makes me ponder, what happened to my childlike attack on life. What happen to when I used to see a problem and just attacked it without much thought. What happened to when I used to just pursue God because that is just what you do. What happened to my faith that Christ would supply all my needs, because that is what He does.
What happened to when I would act and then feel and then think. Thinking is good, but when it gets in the way of attacking the opposition it can make you lose.
Why do I over think life? How can I renew my childlike approach on life?
Christy Fehlen – I AM the Vine
From the “I Am…” series
