Act Your Age

I live by the motto, "Just because they make it in your size, doesn't mean you should wear it!" and "Dress your age." The creators of Forever 21 don't really believe that you will be 21 forever, that is just how many days that little shirt will last until it falls apart in the wash. The picture on the left is a fashion crime for lots of reasons...not the tattoos but the bra and zipper front skirt...so 2009. At least this lady is fully committed...looks like she doesn't do anything halfway. She won't have to worry about getting a tan to look great in her new bikini and she'll save tons of money not coloring her gray roots. It kills me cause I keep telling my daughter, Kristin, not to get a tattoo cause when you're old, you'll hate it.  This pic shoots down that argument!


I think I am pondering age stuff tonight because I just spent two days at a conference geared to reach the "emerging generation"...you know the entitled kids we all raised. It was called Catalyst and focused on the up and coming leaders in the church. I went with a team of people from my church and it was eye-opening. It was two days of non stop speakers, music, concert lighting, comedians, modern day poets, magicians, gospel choir and a partridge in a pear tree. It was very fast paced cause the emerging generation has a short attention span from all the X-box that they play. The theme was "Be Present"...cause most of the time, most of us aren't...no matter what your age. We are constantly on our iphones, ipads, facebook, twitter, and are trying to do two things at once (unless you are a mom, do not try this...we have it perfected.) They reminded us to put the electronics away and just listen but most of us kept our phones right on our laps, scared we might miss an important text from groupon or travelocity (I get a weekly update about air travel prices for my summer vacation.)


When I got home after the second day, I was exhausted. My senses were way over stimulated and just the sheer pace of the two days of presentations wore me out. It really made me think how different I am from this up-coming generation. Besides just being way older, I am way more practical, cynical, routine driven, skeptical, and judgmental. I just used six adjectives about myself that I am not proud of, YUCK....yes I am entering the second chapter of life and am hanging on to my ideal self by a thread. I read books from youngish authors that inspire me to address the world as they do but after spending 16 hours with 3500 "Catalyst" I fall way short. I need to be more loving, open, less sarcastic (wait....I take that one back) and depend more on God and less on myself. 


It's okay to act my age. There is a little wisdom I could impart and I learned that my best days may still be ahead of me cause God is not finished working through me until the day I die...so I got to get busy! I think this sums up the two days pretty well...

Live and live well. Breathe.

Breathe in and breathe deeply.

Be present. Do not be past.

Do not be future. 

BE NOW. 

-Kyle Lake-

King

Good Friday Art by Kate McRae

When I sat down at my computer today to write about Easter, I had every intention to write about "Sunday's Coming" and post that famous video of S.M. Lockridge's sermon. I love that video and we have used it in church more than once just to remind people that Good Friday was a sad day...a day where evil thought it won but "Sunday is a comin..." But like I always do when I sit down at the computer, I check my all-important facebook first. As I scrolled through my news feed, I noticed that Aaron McRae, our soon to be new pastor, posted this picture that his daughter, Kate, drew for Good Friday. I am no art critic but I think this little girl captures what today is all about. I was struck by all the black in the picture. It looks like all the evil in the world is crushing in on him but what looks like to be a circle of light at the top of the cross, looks like Jesus is still connected to his heavenly father. Jesus looks lonely in all that darkness. I also love that she wrote "King" at the top of the cross as that is historically correct as Jesus was known as "King of the Jews."

I recently read Tim Keller's, King's Cross. In it he says, "God created the world in an instant, and it was a beautiful process. He re-created the world on the cross- and it was a horrible process. On the cross, Jesus is getting what WE deserve so we can get what HE deserves." Keller also points out the irony of the whole crucifixion thing because here is Jesus, the one who will one day judge over the ENTIRE world, being judged BY the world. 


So why is this important to you and me today? Easter is a great reminder that death has no hold on the one true God. There have been many great prophets and teachers throughout history...great men of faith but not one of them conquered death. When their time on earth was finished, they were proved to be mortal. And since Jesus was our substitute sacrifice, we now can now share the same experience...life after death. Christ's death on the cross is our bridge to God. Tim Keller puts it like this, "If you actually get the thing you have been seeking you suddenly realize that it's not BIG enough for your soul. It doesn't produce its own light." All of us are searching for something to fill us up...relationships, material things, substances that alter our consciousness...after awhile, everything leaves us empty and then we search for the next best thing. Lots of folks live their entire lives searching and never fill up that empty place in their hearts. 


Someone who totally understands all of this is our featured artist, Kate. You see, she has been battling brain cancer for 3 years and she is only eight but she gets God. She understands that HE loves her personally, knows everything about her and knows HE is the one who is going through this journey with her. She knows that Easter is not a fairytale but Easter is her personal story of hope. A hope of a living God who loved the world, that he gave up his only sinless son, (don't tell me that God doesn't understand what you are going through....he made the toughest decision a parent had to make) to die for the sins of all of us. Because of this, you, me and Kate have a reason to rejoice. We are all just one "yes" away from knowing Jesus personally.


So today, they killed Jesus, put him in a borrowed grave, rolled a giant stone in front of the tomb and assigned a guard so his followers could not steal the body. On Sunday, two women will visit the grave to prepare his body and find the stone rolled away and Jesus gone. They will meet a stranger on the road who will ask, "Why do you look for Jesus among the dead? HE IS ALIVE!" There is a redeemer...do you know him???


Okay...couldn't resist...here's the video

For more information on sweet Kate, learn about her story on prayforkate.com


HAPPY EASTER