from 30K feet

I am Buzz Lightyear

You have probably seen the movie Toy Story. If you haven't then you really need to see it. It is one of my favorite animated movies of all time. The comedy is great with lots of one liners for movie quotes to be used later.

But I think the reason I am drawn to the movie is because of the story line. It is ultimately the story of all of humanity. I have come to realize I AM Buzz Lightyear.

Why you might ask?

In the movie, Buzz thinks he is a great protector of the universe outfitted with awesome weapons and gadgets. He is no ordinary man! He can do things others can't do. He knows the world is a much better place with him around.

The story begins to change when Buzz realizes he is not everything he thought he was. He must come to grips with the reality that he is a created being made for the enjoyment of someone else. I am the same way. While I often think I am great, the truth is I am a created being made for the enjoyment of someone else. Much like Buzz, the sooner I come to grips with it the better I will be.

 

 

Planning Getaway

Sherry and I had the privilege of getting away for a few days to do some planning for this coming year. My parents came down and stayed with the kids Thursday and Friday while we went to the lake. A family in our church graciously loaned us their lake house over these two days. This was absolutely the perfect setting for a couple of reasons.

·         We were only 45 minutes from home – we didn’t spend much of our time just driving.

·         It was quiet with no distractions – we were completely alone.

·         The house and location was stunning – we were surrounded by God’s creation…very inspiring!

·         It was free!

 

We spent our time talking through the different areas of our lives from our marriage to how to spend vacation time. We allowed ourselves to dream but also talked and planned through the everyday practical things too.  We started several years ago using a four quadrant worksheet to set goals for each of the kids. It was great to look back and see how they are progressing and set goals for the future too. Here are the topics we covered during our planning getaway.

·         Our relationship

·         Each of the children

·         Home schooling

·         The house

·         Evenings / discretionary time

·         Finances

·         Church

·         Vacations

It takes some planning to pull this kind of getaway off but it is completely worth it.  We took a lot of notes and worked through some issues we almost never have time to discuss.

 

Experiencing Setbacks

Whether in positions of leadership or not, we all make plans.  Sometimes they are plans that extend through the day or maybe weeks, months or even years. But what do you do when what you have planned gets messed up?

I have found that as a child of God, when I submit myself too Him, my plans often get changed. This comes from the truth that the plans of a sinful, limited human are often different than those of a perfect, all-knowing God. So how do you handle it? How do you respond? 

I have started 2009 with excitement about what the year would hold. The year was already filled with plans both personally and in ministry. However, on Friday night I experienced a setback to all my plans when I ruptured the achilles tendon in my left leg.

When we experience these kinds of bumps in the road we must look for what God is doing, even if it is not apparent at first. In the end, I want to be able to praise God and be thankful for what I might have missed if His plans didn't include my setback.

 

Day 1: after the surgery