MMXI Resolutions

    So I apparently am weird in the fact that I actually take resolutions pretty seriously, probably because I can't stand letting another year pass without some sort of improvement. I like to do these publicly because that way there is some level of accountability and my list of resolutions actually happen. So here it goes…

• Continue last year's resolutions
  
• Read at least one book of my choice a month, including new nonfiction and old fiction
  
• Compliment one person everyday
  
• Make sleeping a daily habit (this is a big one)
  
• Finish all my credentialing education and be certified minister in the Assemblies of God
  
• Read the Bible through again
  
• Don't let my ideas of what God should be doing get in the way of what He is actually doing
  
• Maintain running shape as well as consistently work toward acquiring some upper body strength
  
• Keep old friends and keep making new ones
  
• Journal more frequently and write something productive every day
  
• Appreciate people and let them know about it
  
• Give at least an hour of my day every day to prayer about other people
  
• Develop a lifestyle in preparation for a life of ministry
  
• Continue mastering all the instruments and languages I have started learning
  
• Be content with what I cannot change but desperate for the things I can

December 26th- The Great Letdown

    An odd thing happened in the universe this morning.

    The Christian radio stations stopped playing Mariah Carey and the secular stations stopped playing Amy Grant. Stomachs around the country began growling at their owners on account of the perpetual stuffing of sweets that had been going on for the past few weeks. People began turning on the TV in a desperate attempt to watch a "normal" movie that doesn't have elves and lots of snow and someone in every family is inevitably asleep and snoring in their recliner. The biggest day of the year is over and this is the day after.

    I think it is weird how over the years we have started Christmas earlier and earlier but we end it as soon as possible. Most of the time, we are sick of Christmas by the end of Christmas day. We all hate that person who is still singing Christmas songs until New Years or the guy who keeps his lights up until St. Patrick's Day (unless you are like most people who live in Florida and are too old to ever take them down). We find ourselves in an odd paradox because the world is back to the way it was but your Christmas tree is still up and you keep finding bits of wrapping paper stuck to your feet reminding you that something big must have happened. It is a little anticlimactic to be honest.

    We have all seen the movies. Christmas is about spending time with family and being a good person. Everything is happy at Christmas if you just "believe." All the children of the world sing in the harmony of peace and friendship and everybody loves everybody. Miracles can happen now, because it is Christmas and all. Nothing could be better.

    Then it is all over the next day.

The world expects so much out of Christmas that it seems like the first chance we get we kick back and lower our expectations. You don't have to be the family loving, charitable, God-fearing and miracle believing person you have been for the last month and a half, Christmas is over. It is time to put Jesus and Santa back on the make believe shelf and get back to normal.

    I might be wrong here, but isn't the whole point of Christmas the fact that a baby came and changed everything so that we couldn't go back to "normal" after meeting Him. Everybody in your nativity scene was changed the night they visited that stable. Their lives were altered completely. If December 26^th looks the same as every other day of the year, doesn't it mean December 25^th wasn't real enough?

    Again, correct me if I'm wrong but don't homeless people need to eat on December 26^th too? Everybody does charity this time of year, but I understand. January is far too busy to keep spending time with your family and being nice to people, especially homeless people. After all, you have a whole list of resolutions you have to forget about by February and that is very time consuming.

    Imagine what the world would be like if we were the same people we are on Christmas every other day of the year. I hate that it takes a flood of media and tradition to get us to be who we were created to be every day of the year. I think we rob Christmas of what it was intended to be when we only celebrate it once a year. Now I am not saying we should do like that cheesy movie and have Christmas every day but we need to remember who we are capable of being on Christmas and apply that to every day. Sometimes we can surprise our self with how good a person we are on Christmas.

    The son of God came into this world of hate and rejection to change everything forever. Emmanuel means "God with us," not "God was with us." He is still here, changing everything no matter what day of the year it is. Let's do the same.

    

What I learned in 2010

It is that time of year when everyone reflects back on everything that has happened to them in the past twelve months. This has been one crazy year for me; the craziest I've had thus far. In one year I have graduated high school, left home, started doing ministry full time, lost a brother, and gained a brother. I have experienced the highest spiritual mountain and the lowest spiritual valley in the same week. The best things that have ever happened in my life as well as the worst things have happened in just twelve short months.

I have been reading through old blog posts and journal entries and am in awe of what God continues to teach me.

Needless to say, I have learned a lot. Here is some of it…

• Being a senior isn't as exciting as everyone says it is and graduation isn't really a big deal when you are more concerned with where you are going instead of what you are leaving
  
• The Department of Driver's Services really is out to get you
  
• People are in your life for a season but God is there for the long run
  
• Grief never comes how or when you expect it too
  
• I am not as smart as I think I am
  
• Insecurity is the first ingredient in the recipe for failure
  
• Pity parties aren't as fun as victorious celebrations
  
• Febreeze is absolutely necessary when 5 guys share one apartment
  
• God cares enough about me to mess up my plans and give me His own, which are far better anyway
  
• The ability to worship is an incredible privilege that none of us deserve
  
• Life may catch you by surprise but death shakes you even more
  
• Red Box is a gift from God to poor missionaries who love watching movies
  
• God will call you to the one area you tell Him you won't go
  
• Your pain today brings someone else's healing tomorrow
  
• Following Jesus is a balance between failing with insecurity and succeeding with pride
  
• "Our daily bread" only tastes good on the day it was given. I can't chew on yesterday's feelings when God has something new for me today.
  
• I can't have both hands to the plow when one hand is holding on to what I think God has for me
  
• They call it "peace like a river" because sometimes it flows continuously through you and sometimes you have to move where it is flowing. It is unpredictable and overwhelming at times but it is real. God really does bring unexplainable comfort when we think we need it and when we don't.
  
• Appreciate people, they may not always be there
  
• Sometimes a death can bring far more life than just living
  
• I will only be this age, in this place, with this much ahead of me once in my life- and it is right now
  
• No matter if I feel too young or too old, I am right where I was created to be
  
• Ukuleles are really fun to play
  
• A smile can change a life
  
• Every year gets quicker the older you get
  
• My whole life thus far has been preparing me for the rest of my life
  
• God can bring healing in ways you could never imagine
  
• The worst part about being away from home is not that they can't help you, but that you can't help them
  
• Life won't go the way I expect it to but it won't catch God off guard
  
• I have absolutely nothing to complain about
  

The Other Side of Luke 2

            Your job is to follow the man with the stick. Wherever he goes, you go- you and the hundreds of others around you. That is pretty much all you have to do so you have a pretty easy life. Once the man with the stick lets you and everybody else rest in a certain spot you are completely free to frolic around and eat as much grass as your heart desires.

            Oh I forgot to mention that you are a sheep. Anyway, you are a sheep, and consequently you are very stupid. It’s not your fault, all sheep are stupid and that’s not just being stereotypical, its fact.

            It is a rather chilly night tonight but thankfully you have a built in sweater. Usually, you and the guys spend your evenings telling sheep jokes and making fun of the shepherds that fall asleep every time they try and count you. Tonight, however, will be a little bit different.

            It started out with the blinding lights and the choir music that just completely disrupted your peaceful evening. Then, the men with the sticks decide to break camp and start moving. You are pretty ticked right now because you have been doing hard, strenuous, sheep labor all day and you have to rest your little sheep legs for the night before they collapsed from under you. Plus, you had some new jokes to try out on the guys and now you won’t get a chance.

            The men with the sticks led you out of the nice, comfortable pasture and into the busy city below. You hate the way people smell and you don’t want to be around any of them. Now you find yourself in an already crowded stable staring at some kid sleeping in a feeding trough.

            But wait! Something is different and you know there is something special about this baby. He isn’t like all the other smelly humans, he is like a lamb. Instantly you realize that this is far better than the evening you had planned for yourself. You realize that your rest, your needs, and your plans fail in comparison to this. The next time you feel like you are inconvenienced by your shepherd you remember that what he has planned for you is way better than sheep jokes.

           

            There are way too many warm bodies in here tonight. You don’t know why, but a whole lot of people came in to town yesterday and brought their stupid camels with them. Now they are all sleeping in your house, eating your food and sleeping in your bed.

            If that camel spits on you one more time, you swear you are going to stick a hoof where that camel doesn’t want it.

            Now there are people staying here and they brought a screaming one.

            You are not sure how long your patience can take all these stupid camels and their bad singing (“my humps, my humps, my lovely camel humps”) as well as this screaming woman. Suddenly a baby shows up, though you are not quite sure how it happened, and is placed right in your manger. Granted, you pride yourself in being able to chew the same piece of grass all day by spitting it up and swallowing it again, seeing as how you are in fact a cow, but you were ready to dig in to some fresh hay, but somebody dropped a baby in your manger and now dinner has to wait.

            Suddenly you hear the bleating of sheep and you know that your night is about to get worse. You hate sheep jokes. You can hardly move on account of so many animals being in that tiny stable and your frustration level is at an all time high.

            But then you see this baby smile and you know that this kid is not just any baby. You make up your mind that no matter how annoying your companions may be, how inconvenienced you might be, or how hungry you might be, seeing this kid makes it all worth it.

           

            You are an ass, but you prefer to be called a donkey.

            You are definitely a city donkey, and are very comfortable on the streets but you were not prepared for this. Your master has made you carry some heavy loads before on account of him being a carpenter and all but they were nothing compared to his fat fiancée.

            This girl was tiny a couple months ago but she has a growth on her stomach that seems to be a pain for everyone around her. No matter how hard you try, you cannot walk smoothly enough to get her to stop complaining. This journey is taking forever and you are not sure how much longer you can carry this load.

            You finally stop for the night only to find that the stable is full and that you will have no respite from the hormonal complainer tonight as she and her husband are sleeping with you. Great. Your legs are killing you and your back is stiff and all you can think about is how wrong it was for them to make you carry their load that long.

            Suddenly, the woman starts looking like she is in a lot of pain. She seems to be carrying a load much bigger than you were and you realize that her journey here was a lot harder than yours.  Now there is a baby and now you know exactly why you are here.

            After catching a glimpse of this baby you decide that no burden is too heavy as long as you get a reward like that.

            This Christmas your plans may have been ruined. Maybe you are surrounded by people who bring out the worst in you. Maybe you are tired and weary from carrying that load around so long. The only solution is to just catch a glimpse of your Savior and remember that it is not about you, but about what He did for you and is still doing for you. Remembering Him is the best way to forget your problems.

            Don’t let your expectations get in the way of God’s extra blessings. You have the privilege of taking part in something much bigger than your imagination as long as you are up for the journey.  

Saving Christmas, Again

Believe it or not but Christmas may not happen this year.
I had no idea either but apparently there is a good chance every year of Christmas not happening. If you don’t believe me just watch more Christmas movies, they will tell you all about it.
For instance, unbeknownst to the children of the world, the father of Christmas himself was very nearly prevented from making his annual deliveries on account of some blinding fog. Now, why Santa had not come into poor weather in the thousands of years he had been in the business or why he never thought of headlights before is beyond me. However, thanks to a mutant reindeer, who had to have been born near Chernobyl, and his rare gift (or curse) of nasal illumination, Santa was able to fly safely around the world and pervade the global spread of fog. The world would never have known about how Rudolph saved Christmas if Burl Ives didn’t write a song about it.
Later we find that Santa has gotten sick, for the first time ever apparently, as well as fed up with the greedy consumerism of today’s American child. He decided that he simply would cancel Christmas because he didn’t feel it was worth it. Incredible! One man decided not have Christmas so we almost didn’t. Luckily Mrs. Claus stepped in and with the help of two elves, Jingle and Jangle, went down to Summertown to prove that kids still needed Christmas after all. After a musical battle with the spoiled children of Mother Nature, Heat and Snow Miser, Mrs. Clause got the whole thing straightened out in true puppet fashion. I learned all that in “The Year Without a Santa Clause.”
Santa was accused of attacking a man on 34th street in New York, but thankfully a thrilling court case proved his innocence and Santa was free to return to his job at Macy’s and Christmas was saved again. In the nineties we almost missed Christmas on account of Tim Allen refusing to accept the undeniable fact that because the old Santa fell off his roof and for some reason he had been so compelled to wear the Old Santa’s pants that he was in fact, the new Father Christmas. In the next movie, Christmas almost didn’t happen because Santa found out he had to be married to continue being Santa.
I have seen tons of movies where Santa gets kidnapped and even one where he has amnesia. I just watched one movie where Santa’s time limit for being Santa had run up and he had to pick a replacement before the Earth split open in two and there would be some kind of rift in the space-time continuum or something. He chose Whoopi Goldberg to be the new Santa, and I am still trying to wrap my mind around that one.
With so much riding on just one night and one man, it is scary to think of how many times it almost didn’t happen.
It is a good thing Christmas isn’t about him. It is about a baby called Emmanuel, whose name means God with us, which means he will always be there.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”* Neither bad weather nor sickness, neither false accusations nor mistaken identity, will be able to separate Him from being with you this Christmas.

*(Romans 8:38-39 NIV)

The Mean Time

Everyone at some point in their lives will find themselves waiting. Waiting at the grocery store, waiting in line at Starbucks, waiting for the weekend, waiting for the Avengers movie to finally come out or waiting for a beard to magically appear on your face (those last two may have just been me).
When I think of waiting the most obvious place that comes to mind is a waiting room in a doctor’s office. It is a room built solely for waiting, hence the name.
These waiting rooms aren’t very exciting; most of the time they are just filled with sick people and old magazines.
A lot of us are waiting for something more important. We are waiting for something God promised us, freedom from the things that keep us down, or that person to finally be on the same page as you.
We find ourselves stuck in a waiting room hoping that the next name called will be ours.
I have been in waiting rooms a lot, and probably will be in more, and here is what I have learned. God always has more to teach you than just patience when you are waiting on Him. I think a lot of times we get this idea in our head that we are exactly where we need to be with God, that our butts are completely covered and all we have to do is wait patiently on the Lord and one day he will realize how awesome we are and remember to overwhelmingly bless us.
I call this going into martyr mode. Go ahead and get your sackcloth and ashes and wait until you have made God look like a bad guy for not blessing someone so righteous as yourself.
Don’t get me wrong, patience is one of those things that someone truly seeking after God must learn to acquire. It is absolutely vital to your walk with God. However, there is always more to learn. If you are still in the waiting room it means that you are not completely ready to leave. It isn’t like God is keeping you in a place because He didn’t expect you to make so soon and now He isn’t ready for you. He has things to plant inside of you, He has things that only this season of wait can prepare you for.
It is all about what we learn in the meantime. Notice it is called meantime and not “happytime.” More often than not the times in between are not pleasant or enjoyable, but they can be. Most of the time they are filled with questions like “OK God, what did that do?, What was I supposed to learn from that? Now what?”
The meantime is where we find time to read old magazines.
You may have read these magazines before, even multiple times, and you thought you knew everything they had to say. Sometimes what God has to teach us is an old magazine, a re-run, something you need to be reminded of or something you have never perfected but thought you had. Our prayer in those times of confusion should be “God teach me what I do not know, or help me remember what You have already taught me.”
The Israelites wandered for forty years in a big, hot, waiting room. Sure they were being punished for doubting that God could do what He said He would but why do you think God made them wait instead of just sending a plague or wiping some of them out like He did every other time? You see, the Israelites were coming out of the pagan nation of Egypt and into the pagan land of Canaan. These people had been raised under idol worship and polytheism. If there was no waiting room there would not have been any distinction between them and the inhabitants of the land. God used this time of wait to teach patience yes, but also to weed out everything that wasn’t Him, to teach them how to live the rest of their existence, and to set them apart as His holy people. They had a lot of old magazines to read, they had to learn some lessons multiple times.
If you are waiting it is probably because God is preparing you for what you are waiting for. This would be the perfect opportunity to learn how to worship God, and not where He is taking you. This would be a perfect time to go deeper with God than you ever have before. This would be a perfect time to remember everything He has done in your life. Read your old journals, they are like old magazines.

Let me be frank, or somebody else

Sometimes it is all about me. There are many time when the world does, in fact, revolve around me.
To be honest, most of the time I just want to better myself. I want to be the next C.S. Lewis, the next Billy Graham, the next spiritual giant. Unfortunately this becomes my motive for growing closer to God. I get in these places where I worship what God has promised me and not Him. I worship His presents not His presence. I forget that He is my destination, not my means of transportation.
I tell God that I will go anywhere and do anything for Him, but secretly I just want a good story to impress people. I want people to compliment me and talk about how much I inspired them with my words of brilliance. My pride is a drug and I seem to be a junkie.
It just goes to show that doing all the right things for the wrong reasons will fail. I have to ask myself if no one recognized how Christian I was, if no one read this stupid blog, or if I never was given the opportunity to speak in front of an audience; would I still be in love with my Creator? If God never gave me anything else, what He has done in my life already and in the history of this planet would be enough to deserve more than what a million “me”s could give Him. It can’t be about what I get in return. My relationship to the God of the universe should be more than me having a good reputation.
A thought came into my head awhile ago that my pride can’t handle the pulpit I was called to. Imagine if God looked down and decided to hold back on what He had promised and created you for because he knew that if you had it you would just use it to flatter yourself.
I hate it when God has to put me in my place.
I have had to ask for forgiveness because I was using the opportunities God has given me for ministry to make myself feel good. Even in asking forgiveness I have to question my motives.
Proverbs 27: 21 says “The crucible for silver and the furnace for gold, but a man is tested by the praise he receives.”
I failed the test. It became all about me.
You see, it isn’t my name that makes demons tremble. It isn’t my name that when called on can move mountains. It isn’t my name that brings life to the world and healing to the broken.
At the end of the day knowing me won’t change your life. Kyle Semple is awkward, insecure, and over cynical. Kyle Semple thinks way too highly of himself. Kyle Semple just recycles old jokes pretends he made them up himself. Kyle Semple is still speaking in third person even though he should have stopped awhile ago.
It is Jesus Christ who is worth following.
Greater is He that is in me than he who is just me.