The true GEOFF

parenting and spirituality

2008-08-19T19:40:00.000-07:00

This week I have been thinking a lot about my kids and the way that I interact with them and around them. At church on Sunday Timmy was talking about parenting and some of the things said really impacted me. I try to be the best parent that I can, but I know that I fail my kids and make plenty of mistakes. Timmy was talking about making sure that we provide to our kids a positive example. He mentioned how what we model to our kids will be lived out by them. Certainly not a new insights and certainly not the first time that I heard that insight. For some reason though i was incredibly convicted and I have since spent much thought on how I exemplify living to my kids. Would I be okay with my kids saying the things that I sometimes say, Would it be okay for my kids to talk to me or to others the way that I sometimes talk to them. I realize that I really need to take step back and review the example that I am laying before my kids. Parenting is tough and it sometimes reveals clearly some of my biggest weaknesses, but it can also make me a better person and help to make me less and less selfish.

The churc h of Oprah????? are you kidding me??

2008-05-01T21:21:00.002-07:00

I saw this video on line last week and I thought it was absolutely ridiculous. I think the video id called the church of Oprah, or something like that. Anyways, the video is all about this church on the rise and it's followers and how dangerous this new church or cult or whatever is. It talks about Oprah and isolates clip from different episodes where Oprah talks about spirituality and says things that aren't exactly in line with traditional evangelical beliefs or theology.
They then talk about the book "The New Earth" and how Oprah had in it her book club, except the video suggests that the book is basically Oprah's statement of faith and that she started an online church following the teachings of this book. In actuality Oprah said she really liked the book and then had it in her book club and then there was an online study of the book in her book club, as there is for several books. (No, I am not in Oprah's book club nor am I a huge Oprah fan)
It just really bothers me that the church that I love and I gladly represent, the church of Christ, is putting out such hateful and demeaning propaganda. That video rips on Oprah and rips on those who are "Oprah's followers". And, all this on the heels of Oprah's Big Give where each contestant had to give, give, give to others and the winner got one million dollars and had to give half of that away to others in need. And the next thing you know the church of the God who represents all that is good puts out a video trying to destroy someone who is doing good. I don't think that Christ would ever be apart of such negative propaganda. As I look at my savior, i see that he never blasted on those of his culture or the "worldly" people of his time. The only people that he approached and said "what the heck are you idiots doing, STOP!" to was those who were the "church leaders". The same people who created and distributed this video.

And, besides if you really wanted to discredit someone, elevating them to a church leader or goddess is not the way to do it. By calling the people who watch Oprah or are in Oprah's Book Club her followers or worshipers you are just elevating her to a higher level than she would ever acknowledge her self as. It just doesn't make sense.

Also if there was somebody out there that does like Oprah and watches her show regularly and goes to church casually, this video doesn't change their mind about Oprah, it makes up their mind about the church and turns them off to the church. I guarantee you that this video turned off more people about the church and its tactics than it did turn off people to Oprah. This video is nothing but destructive. To the church that I love and promote and to Oprah who is just trying to do good. It is okay to disagree with her theology or her beliefs, but lets as a body of Christ spend more time promoting good than we do opposing people that God loves.

If you see this video please don't send it to tons of people or promote, just pass it off as another act of ignorance and judgmental condemnation and go on about your way doing good and promoting good.

The churc h of Oprah????? are you kidding me

2008-05-01T21:21:00.001-07:00

The churc h of Oprah????? are you kidding me

2008-05-01T21:21:00.000-07:00

beneath the surface

2008-04-06T20:05:00.000-07:00

Lately in //epidemic we have been talking about faith, and we discussed the different meanings of the word faith. Today we explored faith as it represents a set of beliefs. I was so impressed Witt several of the students. We had an open discussion about our core beliefs, about what makes us who we are, and to be honest, I really expected that a lot of the students were going to give real generic and surface level comments. You know, "Jesus!" or, "I like sports" or "I'm a skater" etc... But I was wrong. we had so many kids that gave really good responses. They really got to the core of what makes then who they are, and i think it is incredibly important to be able to do that. We need to be able to identify that which we stand for and the definitive about our values. Those things that we wont compromise on.
Think about it, What do you stand for. What would other people say are you values? If we don't decide for ourselves who we are and who we are going to be, someone else will surely influence into who they want us to be. I am not telling anybody who they need to be, but I am saying to everyone reading this and everyone that comes into //epidemic, know who you are and who you are going to be and live it, breath it, be it.

myoooo-sick

2008-03-20T17:06:00.000-07:00

Music is awesome. It is, well at least for me, one of God's greatest gifts. I have to confess, that I have not been very good about spending quality devotion time with God, but i have found some really goo times that bring me back to God and sustain me, getting me connected to God. Those times are when i am driving to work and listening to some good music in the car. I can just put some good worship stuff on and next thing i know my spirit is being moved and i am connecting to God. It is so cool how i can connect to god so deeply and so intimately from the driver seat in my car. I love that about my God. I can be in a sanctuary or in my driver seat, or in a bathroom stall for that matter and connect as deeply and as intimately as I want t. He is always there and has no preference on location, just on the condition of the heart. He is just glad to have time with us and he is blind to our surroundings, but he is gazing ever so intently and passionately into our hearts. So, go listen to some music, or go sit on the toilet or where-ever it is. Spend some time with God there. He'll love it and appreciate it and so will you.

2008-03-02T12:53:00.000-08:00

It has been far too long since I blogged here, especially since i am supposed to be doing this at least once a week. Well, here I am anyways. Life is gooooood. I have a new son who is awesome and I adore, I have a new job at Farmers Ins. that is great, Baseball season is just around the corner, the Lakers are On Fire! I got a bunch of new music from Jack Johnson and Ben Harper and I LOVE my wife! I love life!
What new things has God been teaching me lately?
- Well, i don't know if it is necessarily anything new, but God has been teaching me about calling and purpose in life. I really like my new job at Farmers and there are incredible money making opportunities at Farmers and i have been getting myself back into the mode of getting up and praying early in the morning lately, and during those times I have been sensing God speaking to me about not allowing the almighty dollar to lure me further away from things at church, and reminding me that I have gotta get the youth ministry at church kickin'. I love those internal battles and conversations because they are such a strong reminder that there is most definitely a spiritual realm and There is most certainly a God at work that is speaking to our hearts if we are willing to listen.

That's my boy

2008-01-25T16:28:00.000-08:00

Wow! My son, William Geoffrey Lundy was born this week. It is so exhilarating. When the doctor pulled him out I was flooded with hundreds of emotions and thoughts, all good, of course. This is what life is all about. This is as good as it gets this side of heaven. To have an awesome wife and beautiful daughter and a perfect baby boy... Right now, I cant see how this could get any better.

If you like to experience new, adventurous, exhilarating things in life, have kids. Be there in the delivery room when your child is born. Help your wife after a C-Section. Help your wife breast feed your little tyke. Man, it feels like you're face to face with God. Talk about a worship experience. I can think of no better response when my son comes out healthy and gorgeous and my wife recovers great but to give thanks to an incredible God.

Great past couple of days.

I hope everyone gets to experience such things ... and my heart aches for those that long for such experiences but cannot have these experiences.

GOOD STUFF!

Worship

2008-01-18T08:42:00.000-08:00

As we have continued to talk about worship in youth group at church, and... well, I am ashamed to say that i have been very neglectful in my time with God. I haven't made time for my relationship with God and today as I reflect upon my time spent with God I am ashamed and kind of frustrated with myself for the brevity of time spent with God in the past week or so. I have had the time, but i chose to do other, way less meaningful and way less productive things (i.e. Madden). By the way, Louie, if you're reading this, i blame it on you for your trash talk that you would beat me in Madden, so I found it necessary to prove to myself just how good at Madden I really am, and i have concluded that you wouldn't stand a chance. But, anyways, even having proved more than capable at Madden, I've simultaneously proved myself incapable as a worshiper / follower of Christ. And, with all that said I sit here and reflect back to see what my worship experiences have been like this week and i see that there have indeed been some incredible time of worship this week. They are the times when i have been overcome by joy in the anticipation of my son being born, which will happen on Wednesday Jan. 23rd 2008. I cant wait and I just thank God and worship him for allowing me to be apart of such miracles as this. A son being born. That kind of summarizes my week, Anticipation for the birth of a son. Maybe some of you have been a part of similar miracles; the birth of a child or whatever incredible things you have experienced or will soon experience. Cling to those things and use them as avenues to worship God.
SEEK GOD!
In Christ,
Geoff

huh?!

2008-01-15T04:20:00.000-08:00

I am at work right now and i am trying to blog inorder to stay awake. I have gotten 3 hours of sleep in the past 3 days. I feel like I am in some kind of a daze. I wonder if this is what it feels like to be on drugs. If so, it really sucks. Well, this post officially sucks too. I have nothing to say and I certainly am not coherent enough to say anything that would make any sense anyways.

Experiencing God!

2008-01-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

At //epidemic we are sharing about worship and what worship is all about and why we worship and who and what we worship... so I wanted to just briefly share about some worship experiences. I experienced a true worshipful experience last night at work. Me and a co-worker were talking about spirituality and fear and overcoming bad experiences. In that conversation we both recognized God's presence in difficulty and how He casts out fear and brings us new perspectives about our "bad experiences". In that my heart, and I believe hers as well, told God how awesome we think He is and how thankful we are for Him. THAT'S WORSHIP!

Be all that you can be in the aa-aarmy

2008-01-08T02:57:00.000-08:00

I recently was talking with a friend and we were talking about some of my issues, my stupidity and my friends response was the ever-enlightening "that best thing that you can give to another person or do for them is to be the best you that you can be..." There is a great deal of truth in that statement and it really inspires me to do some things to get myself more emotionally and spiritually healthy, but something occurred to me the other day as I had my face buried in my downstairs T.V. watching/video game playing/ prayer chair. (that's my special chair where I like to go and pray and play video games and watch ESPN; all three are very important activities!) As I was praying and asking God to help me become the best Me that I could be and as I was confessing all my crap to God and apologizing for allowing so much time to elapse between our much needed visits, much needed on my part that is, I was struck. I realized that the best me that I can be isn't really all that good and that the people that I really love deserve more than the best me that i can be. I realized that I had not been retreating to God very often and that His Spirit, while available and present was not the core of my life. I realized that I have been trying to be the best me that i could be and that I was growing frustrated because it was still leaving those that I love hurt by me. I realized that the best me that i could be had nothing to do with my ability to be good. And, I know this sounds really Christianeese, but, I need to be the best me that God can make me.
I say that because when I go to God in prayer and really receive His Spirit and really seek out His Spirit in my Life and I am a different person. I am a more pleasant person. I am a more driven person, I am a more successful person, i am a more loving person...., things are just all around good. So, if you are reading this my apologies to all of you who i have offended or hurt or neglected in any way because i was not be a good enough me. I wasn't being the me that i can only be through true connection with God.

affirmation

2008-01-04T13:44:00.000-08:00

This week I have been reading a book by Brian McLaren called "A New Kind Of Christian" and it has been so awesome. There are things that are said in that book that just really confirm and solidify a lot of thoughts and feelings that I have been dealing with lately. Some of these thoughts and feelings have left me feeling guilty, or ashamed. Feeling like I was commiting heresy for thinking and feeling like some of what I have been taught in Bible School about God and about and about church is almost obsolete. But while reading this book things are becoming so much clearer and so much easier for me to come to come to grips with.
I would suggest that everyone read this book. It will either make you happy, or relieved or confused or angry or excited or... but it will surely make you think... and in a good way.

Seek truth
SEEK GOD

HIGHER POWER

2007-12-27T02:09:00.000-08:00

John 4:22-24
22You Samaritans worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth."

I work at a facility called Adolescent Center for Treatment (ACT) and we deal with drug and alcohol addicted teens. We teach many groups with the clients in attempt to lead them through treatment and most of these groups are developed around a 12-step program. We teach each kid the 12 steps and how to implement them and we encourage each kid to get a sponsor and we try to walk the clients through these steps on their way to recovery. As some of you may know, the 12 step model for recovery is very spiritual. It deals with many spiritual ideas and mentions God in over half of the steps, while every step focuses around getting right with God and getting right with people. (sounds an awful lot like Luke 10:27 huh!) Well, one of the groups that I teach is called “Upward Pathways” and it deals with coming to identify a “Higher Power” as they say in AA and NA groups. As I have talked with many students about identifying a Higher Power and the importance of that step in recovery, I have heard a confusing and disturbing response from several students on several occasions. The response is this; when being asked about who they would identify as their Higher Power many students have replied saying something to the effect of…”Well, I believe in God and all, but I wouldn’t call Him my Higher Power, I would say that my Higher Power is probably…” That shocks me every time, because in essence what they are claiming is that they truly believe that there is a being out there somewhere in the cosmos that is big enough and powerful enough to create this world in which I live and even create humanity and that this all powerful being is out there wanting to know them and be their “Higher Power”, to be their help, and they’re saying, “nah, I want my help, my “Higher Power” to be my sister or my boyfriend, or I have even heard one of these God believing clients say that their’s was their dog. I leave thinking, how can these clients make statements like that. I mean it makes no sense. I have actually put quite a bit of thought into this phenomenon. What I have come to realize is that these client have been told for years that thee is a God, a creator, or maybe through their own thinking and fathoming about our universe, our world they have come to conclude that there must be a creator, but they have never come to understand who God is. They have probably put very little effort into attempting to understand who God is. Their perception of God is that he is this great big magic character out there somewhere that created our universe and that there are theses weird people on earth that know some magic code and jump through all sorts of crazy hoops and follow all sorts of strict rules and so they kind of know God. That’s it! That is their understanding of God, which couldn’t be further from the truth about who God is. I truly believe with all my heart that if we could strip away all that we know or think or have seen from so-called God followers and strip away all that we think we know of God, and begin afresh with a true understanding of who God really is we would not be able to respond to him in any other way than to worship Him. Worship Him in spirit and in truth.

wwwooorrrrrryyy

2007-12-23T23:27:00.000-08:00

Why do we tend to be worrisome and stress ourselves out? or, maybe it's not a we thing, but a me thing. All I know is that I find my self getting worried about stuff all the time and it is so stupid, because all it does is mess me up and make me faithless and irritable and impatient and selfish. It makes me so unproductive. Isn't it crazy that when we prescribe to worry it is in response to some pressing issue that we are unsure or stressed about getting resolved and yet this very common response to such issues, disables us from actually resolving the issue at hand. It is so counter productive. That is why the master of wisdom (Jesus) said in Matthew chapter 6:
...25"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? 26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

There is also a song by a band called PAX 217 called "Free to Be and that song just soothes my heart and my mind when I feel stressed. I just put that song in and pump it out and say a prayer and I am on my way. The song is all about the idea that we are free to be with out worry. Like we wear worry like a set of shackles, yet we don't have to. We actually choose to imprison ourselves and hinder ourselves with worry. It doesn't make any sense, but I still do it almost every time there is any kind of dilemma in my life.
Not now though! I a, done worrying for today and hopefully for a long time and with the issue at hand, well, I am just going to have to trust and make sure that I do everything that i can to help resolve it. Worrying about it sure wont help. It just makes it worse! So, as my lovely wife would say, "EFF YOU Worry!.

In Christ,

No Haters... -Yo!

2007-12-17T00:34:00.000-08:00

This week I was talking to my wife about other people using blogs as a venue to bash others and how I dont want to be like that. I dont want to be a "hater" by "hating" on the "haters", but I just dont want to use my energy and time to complain about what I can identify that is bad or wrong around me, I would rather be the type of person that that uses my words, and my thoughts to indenify and point out that which is good and right. Well, anyways, with all that said, I caught myself several times this week complaing about others and things and even bashing on things that I really didnt know very much about. I dont want to be like that and it is so typical that as soon as I take the time to be like, "I hate it when people are always bashing on something and when they use blogs to be a platform for their hate and their complaints" I then start catching myself being the same way. I guess that just goes to tech me that I ought to be more occupied with myself and my behaviors that are innappropriate than with others. Jesus said to the Pharisees when they were trying to bash on God's people who werent quite godly enough, "Before you point out the splinter in your neighbor's eye, first remove the plank fron your own eye" Of course those Pharisees didnt believe that those unworthy and lowly followers of a man named Christ were even worthy of being called their neighbors, so they were okay with judging them. Or so they thought! Anyways, I guess I just write this to share with you how God works in my life. Maybe it will someday resonate with somebody, maybe not, but I'm gonns just try to keep looking up and trying to be open with God and with others.
-- SEEK GOD!--
- Geoff

REAL

2007-12-11T00:39:00.000-08:00

Real stuff is so cool. This past week at //epidemic we just had a few kids because the weather was bad on Sunday Morning. Anyways, I just kind of struck up some conversations and let them rum with some stuff, and next thing you know we stripped away all barriers and these kids were having real honest conversation. Kids talking and being honest about what kind of things they have done and what kind of things they see their peers do and where they draw the line and why they draw that line. Kids were actually being honest with their youth pastor with no shame about times they drank and did other stupid things. And it was so cool, the more I and the others didn't condemn and just listened, the deeper they went and the more honest they all got.
It was so awesome foe me because I have rarely had experiences like that. For some reason people have always had inhibitions about being open and shameless with me. Kids, especially, always seemed to hold back like they were afraid of what I would think or say to them and about them. In all honesty I guess that was all on me. I mean, I always said I was non-judgemental and I always felt like I was understanding and non-condemning, but there must have been something that was saying otherwise to the people that I talked with if they were afraid to be honest with me. Or, actually, now that I think about it, maybe it was because i always worked at churches that had a culture of hypocrisy and condemnation, and no matter how open or understanding I was as long as I was in the setting of those churches, that culture superseeded myself. Whatever the reason, all I know is that I didn't have it then and i do have it now and I like it alot!
All of us should strive to experince such freedom and honesty and openness in our conversations and relationships with others. We should try to develop and be a part of an atmosphere of honesty and acceptance. I ahve truly learned that people love when other people are REAL, but people will only be real when they know that their real self is going to be more than adequate for the person that they are interacting with. It is just so awesome to be apart of a community of people where this is a reality and not just an ideal, as it was in previous experiences.

fear...

2007-12-05T01:23:00.000-08:00

"Inside my skin there is this space... Ittwists turns it bleeds and aches. Inside my heart there's an empty room. It's waiting for lighting, it's waiting for you. I am wanting, I am needing you here inside the absence of fear. Muscle and sinew, velvet and stone... this vessel is haunted it creaks and moans. My bones caal to you in a separate skin. I make myself translucent to you in, for I am wanting, I am needing you here inside the absence of fear. There is this hunger this restlessness inside of me and it knows that you're no stranger, you're my gravity..."
that is an awesome song by Jewel and it speaks so clearly about what I have been thinking about so much lately. How many things can I identify in life that I am to some extent discontent with, sometimes insanely discontent, and sometimes appropriately discontent, that I leave unchanged. Things that I let go and let grow because of FEAR. I am afraid of the work and the pain and the potential offense to others that might ensue if I take action and try to change those things with which I am discontented.

God, give me the courage and the strength to overcome my fears and make the necessary changes in my life...

Right Here, Right Now!

2007-11-26T06:39:00.000-08:00

As we have been talking about prayer and seeking God at //epidemic this month it is cool to think upon God's presence in our lives. This morning as I was sitting on the toilet I was reading one of the books that I keep near the throne, called "Pursuit of God" by A.W. Tozer. In the section I was reading it was talking about God's presence and that God is here among us and always near us. It said " there is no place that one can go and be any closer in proximity to God or further in measurable distance from God and His Spirit." That is a cool thought. We often talk about seeking after God like it is some mischievous game of hide-and-seek. But that couldn't be further from the truth about who God is and how he interacts with us, his creation. He is not toying with us or even hiding from us, as if he who is lucky enough to stumble upon His hiding place wins. God is here and among us. His Spirit is right before our eyes, waving his hand in our face as if to say, yohoo, are you awake?! Like we would do to some one in a fixed daze. We are just not looking with the right eyes. If we just open our hearts and our minds to His Spirit and His eternal, immanent presence we will be amazed and overwhelmed by His glory and His splendor and the pleasure that He takes in us.
... Gotta run...

2007-11-20T10:55:00.000-08:00

Wow, I really love this time of year. The holidays are awesome and in times like these, more so than any other time of the year, the saying at the top of my page is true; "LIFE IS GOOD"! Actually, to be entirely honest what makes life the most good is those little things in life. Like today for instance, I'm driving my daughter to pre-school and she wants to listen to Jewel, isn't that weird, she's only four and wants to listen to Jewel. Well, anyways we're driving along and she starts singing as loud as she can "I will get down on my knees, and I will pray" Then I just smile and think wow, God, this is awesome. Life is good! Lets enjoy this time of year and just look for the reasons that life is good instead of the reasons that life is good, because I guarantee that we will find which ever we are looking to find.

Search me..

2007-11-02T13:07:00.001-07:00

In Psalm 139 its says "search me Oh God and know my heart, test me and know my anxious thoughts, see if there is any offensive way within me and lead in the way of everlasting" ( or something like that) Anyways, that has always been one of my very favorite passages in scripture because the application of the verse has done incredible things for me. To really be vulnerable and honest before God and say "here I am, search through me and show me all the areas where I suck and help me change those things" is a difficult things to do but it yields incredible results. God will do exactly as we ask in those situations. He will show us what we need to work on.
I was thinking about this because this last week my wife and I have been irritable with each other and have been getting into arguments. I driving in my car the other day after an argument and i was thinking and praying and asking God to fix things, all the while just getting more upset with Devyn, thinking she this, she that, and then I prayed this passage. i prayed it over and over, then, all of a sudden, I stopped getting upset with Devyn and like photographs on a cork board, I saw all of these sins that i had been living out recently and I saw myself being a jerk to my pregnant wife who I am supposed to be incredibly helpful and patient with. Then I knew what I needed to do. Gotta Go!....

Search me..

2007-11-02T13:07:00.000-07:00

Less Of Me

2007-10-22T11:19:00.000-07:00

I have been feeling like kind of a jerk lately. I feel kind of irritable and kind of faithless. I feel like some of my most important relationships have been kind of weak lately. I have just felt kind “not myself”. I was thinking about that this morning and reading and praying and then it came to me. The real problem is not that I have been becoming less like myself, but that I have been becoming more like myself. I have been kind of selfish and I have been missing my time with God, which in turn causes me to become less like Him and more like the me of the flesh. It’s like John the Baptist talks about in John 3:30. He said of his relationship with Christ, “He must become greater and I must become less”. I see that same principle play out in my life so often. When I stop investing my relationship with Christ and stop investing in my spirit I become less and less like the person that I want to be and more like the person I loathe being. I just need to remember that when I feel miserable or I notice that I am getting upset with others with great frequency, it’s on me, not on them.

Happiness

2007-10-08T10:59:00.000-07:00

This week in church the message was about something like"Are you Really Happy?" Something like that. I really dont know what was said because I missed the service due to a youth meeting (I need to go back and watch it) anyways It really made me think. I try to have the messages with the youth kind of follow the messages of the main service, so I thought about happiness and I talked with the students about that on Sunday. I concluded this; happiness is a strange thing and it is so hard to understand. What I can understand is this... It is good, we all want it, It is easy to obtain and for some odd reason some people just choose not to get it. They would rather feel sorry for themselves by looking at how bad things are and be unhappy about it. I know that sounds really cruel and insensitive to say, but that is the best way I can understand it. I'll say what I often say to my clients at work and what I got from a John Maxwell book; "Would you rather be a thermometer or a thermostat?" We actually get to decide that every time something starts to bring us down.

Bad Daddy

2007-09-05T11:17:00.000-07:00

As I journal this week I am thinking about what God has been teaching me. He has been teaching me so much. I have been so busy trying to get ready for the kick-off of //epidemic and working so many hours at ACT and I have been finding the lessons in our financial position. God has been teaching me so much, I just need to open my eyes to see them. The biggest thing I have been learning and having to work on this week though is my inadequate daddy skills. I try to be a good dad, and it kills me to learn that I fall short. I have been realizing lately that I am often too hard on Shaylee, and then my wife pointed it out as well. I make these expectations for her and hold her to such a high standard. I get way too upset with her when she makes messes. I expect too much from her in pre-school. God doesn’t do that to us. God loves us and accepts us for who we are, and helps us to be better people. I am reading through Paul’s response in Galatians to Christians who are trying to do this to new Christians. God, please don’t let me be like that to others, especially to my beautiful daughter.

Checklist Xtianity:

2007-08-27T11:59:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago my pastor and I were talking and he was asking for good ideas to put in his sermon about why we Christians sometimes suck. I told him Christians sometimes suck because we prescribe to what I like to call checklist Christianity. We make this long, or not so long, checklist of what Christianity is all about or how we maintain our “relationship” with Christ. For instance:

__ Pray at least once a day

__ Read my Bible

__ Go to church at least 3 times a week

__ Give my offering

__ Tell at least 2 people about Jesus

__ Have a Christian bumper sticker

__ Listen to Christian music

__ Act happy when in public

__ Read a Christian book

__ …

… and what ever else somebody might find to put on this checklist. Then we go out and live by this checklist that we’ve compiled. We get all these ideas and “formulas” of what others (pastors, videos, music, etc.) say Xtianity is supposed to be or look like and we make our checklist to live by. And we then fix our efforts to just go by each week making sure we can check off each thing on our list. The more “Christian” we are the more things we have on our list. And as long as we complete our task sheet we thing we are right on track with Christ.

And, it doesn’t stop there. We then proceed to look at our checklist and hold others up to that standard that we have adapted for ourselves. We see that some people don’t have a very long checklist, or that as far as we can tell, they aren’t doing these “very spiritual” things that are on our checklist. So we conclude that they must not be very good Christians; at least not as good as we are.

We have to be very careful to make sure that our relationship with Christ is not reduced to a set of ritualistic formulas that we check off of a list. Jesus never gave formulas for how to live for him or remain close to him. Please don’t misunderstand! Most of these things are very beneficial disciplines that we would do well to have as a part of our lives. But… not because it makes us measure up, not because it makes us better than others, not because it impresses God. Scripture makes it very clear that God looks only at our hearts, man looks at the outward. This checklist is all too often an outward thing, especially when the heart is not right with God. He only sees our hearts, and we as men can’t fully see another man’s heart, so let’s not judge their hearts. And, let’s not make checklists to follow. Let’s instead just follow our hearts and how God is prompting. Yes, develop spiritual disciplines, but make sure they are not part of an empty routine or checklist.

In Christ,

Geoff

2nd impressions

2007-08-15T09:45:00.000-07:00

Second Impressions!

I have been thinking for the past week about how people perceive us. As I was prepping for our Sunday morning youth service, in which we are discussing new beginnings and how we get a new start and a clean slate at the beginning of each new school year, especially for those students moving to new schools. God led me to the realization that some people have negative impressions of us for things we have done in the past or things they have heard and how sometimes that makes new beginnings difficult. There are people that have negative opinions of us. We typically have two responses to that; (1) people pleasing and trying to get them to change the way they fell about us, or (2) saying “well forget them, I don’t need people to like me or approve of me”. I don’t think that either approach is the way God would have us respond. As ambassadors of Christ we ought to strive to reveal Christ and all his goodness through our lives. We ought to strive to change people’s impressions of us by giving them a godly impression. After all that is truly what an impression is, something that is pressed onto a person’s memory. We in our humanity press a bad image of ourselves and the Christ we represent into people’s minds. We can change that impression though. I keep a painting that my wife painted in my office. It has no frame and is painted on a cardboard painting canvas. It has sat for years on top of a book case and leaned against the wall. After leaning for years it became very concaved and it makes they Tuscan countryside portrayed in the picture look distorted. So when we moved just recently, I took the picture out of it’s box and laid it flat for 2 months. The picture is now flattened again and the image is a beautiful as ever. We have that ability with the image of ourselves that is shaped in others minds. It may be distorted or unattractive but we can, through a long series of positive impressions shape a godly image. First impressions aren’t lasting, continuous impressions are lasting.

Diss - A - Plin

2007-07-16T13:29:00.000-07:00

God always has lessons for us. Yesterday in church the all wise oracle (Orin Borgelt) said something to the effect of "when God has a lesson for us he usually wraps it in a problem and if it is a big lesson it is wrapped in a big problem." I like that thought, it certainly echoes Paul's notion in Philippians when he was suggesting to rejoice in everything and especially in the "problems". Well i know that God has been teaching me some very necessary lessons lately, and it is actually not because I see this problem facing me, but it is because of increased responsibility and strategies and disciplines I am being forced to establish. Yes, forced.
My wife and I have been so blessed since moving back to Olathe, and it has been so wonderful. We really lucked out and got into an awesome house when we shouldn't have been able to do so, and since we got this house in a not so great financial position, we are now being told that we need to establish a very strict budget and account for all of our spending and prove that our financial position is consistently improving. Wow! It is difficult to do that and I really appreciate Orin's sermon series at just the right time and trying to execute something like that really makes me admire someone like him. So God is forcing me to learn a great deal of financial discipline in order to pull this thing off.
I am also being forced to learn new disciplines at work. I got a promotion, which is awesome! I have only been at this job for three months and technically am still in a probationary period, but that said that they have been so impressed with my work that they want promote we to a supervisor, even though there are people who have been there for years and years, some more than a decade, who have been waiting and working for this promotion. That was undoubtedly the favor of God in my life. Praise God. With this position though comes some serious responsibilities. I am kinda nervous and excited at the same time.
Now the most difficult thing is being a bachelor again for a while. My wife and my daughter went on vacation to stay with my family for a while. (isn't that awesome that my family is strong enough and close enough that my wife goes and stays with her in-laws without me. I wish i could be there too, but that is life sometimes.) Whenever my wife goes away for a period of time i am tempted to be a bum for a while. Just spend $$$ and play video games and get out of my routine. Today God convicted me about that, telling me to be a disciplined person and stick to a routine, maybe be even more strict about it.

The really cool things about discipline and learning discipline is that be learning discipline we are assured that we will be better people and be in a better situation later down the road in life as a result of our learned discipline. Welcome discipline. Seek out discipline and increased responsibility.

Hebrews 12:5-13 says...
5And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons:
"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline,
and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6because the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."^[a]

7Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. 11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

12Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees. 13"Make level paths for your feet,"^[b] so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.

Thats an awesome truth about God and about humanity.

Be cool!

Seek God!

In Christ,

Geoff Lundy

2007-06-19T09:24:00.000-07:00

1Corinthians 3:4-6

4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

I love this passage. It has helped me so many times through out my years in ministry. I am not naturally a confident or bold person so I often 2nd guess myself and I tend to get pretty insecure. (I know what a sissy, huh!) But, thats me and I hate it and I have to allow God to use me with all my insufficiencies. Since coming to Olathe Life fellowship, I have all the confidence in the world. I am confident that we will be okay, I am confident that OLF will grow and do incredible things for the Kingdom of God. I am confident that //epidemic will explode onto the scene and transform student's lives in awesome ways. I am full of faith and confidence, which is so uncharacteristic for me. But, I realize my confidence is so overwhelming because the Spirit of God is so overwhelming in what we are doing. OLF and //epidemic are doing God's work free from any restraints. No religious restraints, no tradition to consider. We are just calling on God asking for His Spirit and His direction and we are going. We are receiving vision from God and going in that direction with great confidence. Not confidence in ourselves, just in God and His Spirit.

Apply that principle in your lives and wow, what a difference it makes. It feels so good to actually be confident in what you are doing in life because you know you are doing God's will and you know God is blessing everything you do.

Seek God

In Christ,
Pastor Geoff Lundy

Life IS Good

2007-06-12T21:49:00.000-07:00

Life is so good. We are soo blessed. It is just ringing in my Head.... "Blessing and Honor Glory and Power be unto the ancient of Days". Can hear the inflections and the music going. Ever since our family has moved back to Olathe and started up with Olathe Life Fellowship. our lives have been filled with blessings and good things. God id so awesome and He has made himself evident in such amazing ways. When our family left here and went to Michigan things were so difficult for us. We had such a hard time and so many things seemed to go wrong for us and to go against us. I remember that there were so many of those Sunday school answer Christian-ease type people that would say to, "well that is how you know that you are doing God's will and that God is in this, because Satan is coming against it s strongly " They would say, "God's work is never easy and when things go wrong constantly and it seems unbearable that's when you know you're doing the work of God"
Well, now we have moved back to Olathe and we truly feel in our hearts, in the core of my being, that this is God's will for us and that we are truly involved in God's work, and things are going wonderfully for us. Each day I wake up with a smile and filled with joy. There are countless practical blessings that I can look at and rejoice. More than that I can rejoice and be filled with joy and peace and love and etc even when there arent material things staring me in the face to be thankful for.

All through the book of Philippians there is a theme of Joy. Even Joy in tough times. I am thankful for our tough times in the past because God has taught me so much and I thankful for this time of rejuvenation and blessing. Life Is Good.

I dare you, read the book of Philippians and then try to have self pity and sorrow. If you read it and open your heart and mind to it you cant.

In Christ,
Pastor Geoff