oh those crazy fads.

I am the type of person that can get fixated on something pretty easily. I mean really fixated. For example, a couple of weeks ago at my small group one of the members brought all the "fixins" to make smoothies... you know bananas, strawberries, yogurt, crushed ice, fruit juice... to be honest I had never really like smoothies before, but they looked really refreshing so I jumped in and had one. Ever since then I have been a bit obsessed with them. I pulled out my old blender, got the same "fixins" and began "smoothing"... I began stopping at places like Tropical Smoothie, Planet Smoothie, and any other establishment that advertised the cool, summer drink. They're delicious! And right now, I can't get enough of them.

Is this just a phase with me? A periodic fad in my life? Only time will tell... I mean I started drinking cappaccinos over a year ago, and that hasn't slowed down.

Working at church I see people using faith in that same way. They start coming to church and get really excited. They buy all the books, join all the classes, volunteer for everything. But then after a while something changes. For some people, the excitement wanes, but they keep at their faith with some level of commitment. They settle in and exercises in faith becomes a regular part of life. For others, things drop-off a little bit at a time. First, they stop volunteering for things, their Bible reading and prayer time are things of the past, they stop attending Bible studies, and their church attendance goes for consistent to non-existent.

When you first become a Christian it is natural to become extremely excited and then over time see that excitement wane a bit. The test is what happens next... Does your faith in Christ change from an anamoly to the regular focus of your life, or does it get filed into the fad category with hoolahoops and rollerblades?

In Luke 8, Jesus told one of my favorite parables about a farmer who goes out to sow seeds. In this parable there are four different types of seeds: One that fell along a path and was trampled or eaten by birds, a second that fell in rocky soil and began to grow at first but was unable to take strong root, still others fell among thorns and weeds and though the grew for a time eventually they were chocked, and a final type of seed that fell on good soil that was able to take root and grow. Alot of people that treat faith as a fad are like the seeds that either fall on the rock or among the thorns. Those on the rock hear the Word of God and get pumped and excited and volunteer and do all the things that "good" Christians do, but they don't take to the time to let God take real and lasting root. So, they burn out and fall away. Or they may be like those among the thorns that start strong, but financial worries, or family obligations, or work pressures, or hobbies cloud their view and they fall away.

Think about your life and those around you... where does your faith rank? Do you know people who have put their faith to the side and treat it more as a phase than a lifestyle? What is the remedy?

when the end doesn't feel like the end

Have you ever been in a place where you thought, "If I just reach this goal, or this milestone, or get past this date-in-time things will get back to normal. Then I'll get to relax"? What happens when you get there? Sometimes it happens. Sometimes the finishline is really a finishline. But what happens when those times are not what you had hope for?

Recently, I have had that experience... I came off a period of exams, and papers, and personal projects, and thought, "when all this is over, everything will be easier, I'll be able to relax and focus and regain my strength..." The problem is that it didn't happen as I thought it would. I had to get right back in the game and get ready for another intensive class and start working on other projects. It was kind of overwhelming and daunting. And really disappointing.

There have been times where I have had "push" periods (as I call them) and then rest periods. That is the regular cycle of work, and rest, and during moments of intense stress you have something to which you can look forward. But about when there isn't something like that.

In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul reminds me that even if we find rest here on earth it is temporary, and we should not expect anything to last, he says instead, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." The crazy thing here is that the "light and momentary troubles" that Paul was talking about was much more intense persecution, and stress, and suffering than probably any of us will face. So, what are my stresses to God?

This is not to diminsh our problems, because God knows even the number of the hairs on my head, so he cares about flat tires, tests, and work projects... But that is the point. If we look to Christ, look to God and the blessings that He has already given to us, then we might find we have more energy, and refreshing than we think.

In my own case, I am so blessed to have the opportunity to go to school. I am so blessed that I have a wonderful job and family that I care about and that cares about me... so much so that I stress about them. Even as I write this I realize that I should be and really am energized by the power that God has already demonstrated in my life such that my present "trouble" or stress does seem temporary.