aWake

I’m not a morning person. I sometimes pretend to be around the older crowd, but i’m not fooling anyone. For some reason I desire to get up early, though. I have this weird feeling down inside that if I wake up early, then I won’t look lazy.

Different eras in my life call for different sleeping patterns though. In elementary school, my mom would come in my room and wake me. In junior high, she would scream from the bottom floor (we slept on the second). In high school, it was sort of the same thing. I never used an alarm until college. My phone became my mom in college. It’s a lot easier to hit the snooze when the alarm isn’t your mother.

Dad woke me up differently. He would only wake me up occasionally if mom had left early or was out of town. He would quietly open the door, stand there for a second, and calmly say my name until I woke. It was as if it didn’t matter if I woke up, it was my choice. Sometimes, I would not even know he had opened the door. It was calm…refreshing…soothing…like sunlight.

I wonder what Jesus felt like when he was raised from the dead? He was fully God, yet fully human. I wonder if he felt the same way I feel when I wake up each morning? Did he slip in and out of dream like consciousness for a second? Or did his mind sort of just “click” back on? Did he rub his eyes? Did he yawn? Did he hear a knock on the stone? Or did God say in a calm voice, “Jesus…it’s time to wake up”?

What if God created us to go to sleep each night and wake up each morning to better understand the resurrection? It’s not entirely “out there” to think God wants to remind us of the most important day in history when Jesus was raised from the dead by allowing us to wake up each morning.

After college, I got to a point in my life where the sunlight would actually wake me up. I love the way the sun slowly but softly peeks over the horizon and trees. Then it simmers through the window. It calmly creeps in through each blind blade and says “Cody…It’s your Dad, wake up.”

Psalm 57:8- Awake my whole being, Awake, O harp and lyre! I will awake the dawn! I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises to you among the nations.

-God, wake me up with the Harp and Lyre. Help me rise each day to sing your praises loudly.

-Cody Van Scyoc
www.codyvanscyoc.tumblr.com

"Mom, Dad, Help!!!

It seems that the statistics just get worse. And if you extend them they get “worser”. Though that word usage is incorrect, it does communicate.

But you are wondering about what I am concerned is getting worser. This morning in my favorite meeting of our staff week, we discussed some statistics, trends and overall info from Religion Among the Millennials a report of the Pew Research Center. The report, dated February 2010, is most informative as to comparative trends among the US population and its generational components regarding worship attendance, religious practices, religious attitudes, etc. We intend to look closely at these over several meetings to glean what we can that might be helpful in shepherding our people.

Something additional was noted. Though not the focus of the report, we observed that the percent of people unaffiliated with a religion substantially at the beginning of adulthood was alarmingly increasing. For example, when boomers reached adulthood, 13 percent said they had no religious affiliation. When Gen Xers reached adulthood, 20 percent said they had no religious affiliation. As to millennials (those born post 1980) the percent is 26. This is startling!!

But what does it tell us and what should we do about it??

One conclusion that is easily reached is that whatever is happening in the home, the primary influence in early life, is meeting with dismal successes. Increasingly the effectiveness of the home is diminishing as it applies to the critical inclusion of religion in life.

What does that say mom and dad? It says, better redouble those efforts at living right before the kids and teaching them the value system that leads to success in life as measured by God’s word.

What does it say to the church today? It says that our shepherding must be directed in a significant part of teaching time and programming toward helping parents in parenting toward “Christ in my child’s life”.

Wow!! “I have no interest in Christ or anything thing about Christianity or any other religion. I’ll be fine without God.” This position has doubled in 30 years to over one fourth of our population at age 20. Amazing!! We’re not doing well!!

I wonder if we will just write about it, think about it and then . . . do nothing.

Ice Follies

It occurred to me how much I enjoy spending time at our local elementary school while it was closed last week due to all the ice. I experience some great teachable moments and of course there are many times when I am the one being taught while I am there. I enjoy watching the kids grow throughout the year and hear how their goals and dreams change over time.

While sledding with my youngest son during the day that I was home and ice bound last week, I realized something that had not occurred to me in quite a while. Am I encouraging my son or misleading him? Speaking the truth in all things is one of our family watch words. Have I been honest with my son or have I misled him? This thought hit me rather hard on this day.

My youngest son was born with a club foot, which required surgery early in life, and as a result one foot is two sizes smaller than the other. He can run, jump, and play with the best of them, but he can’t quite do everything that other children can do. Because of a lack of a tendon, he can’t stretch or point his foot downward very well at all. This has not slowed him down, but it might later in life.

After sledding, we spent the evening making Lego airplanes and my son said how great it would be to become a pilot one day. Having worked on, in, and around aircraft for over two decades, I told him that on most aircraft the brakes are at the top of the rudder pedals and it requires you to exert pressure on the top of the pedals in order to stop the aircraft. I explained to him that his foot may not allow him to do that. Was this a life crushing moment? I don’t think so. I told him it’s possible that he could still fly planes, just maybe not the ones that he is dreaming of.

This brings me back to the elementary school; I have attended many fifth grade graduations over the past three years and frequently hear about dreams. Each graduation ceremony the principle will tell the children that they can do anything and become anything they want to do in life. Is this true? It is certainly encouraging, which is what we should always strive to say and do, but is it true?

No one knows your child better than you. As parents, we steer our children into the direction of truth. We strive to encourage them and build them up. Paul speaks about spiritual gifts in I Corinthians 12, but it might just as well be an example of physical gifts. We may not be able to do the things that we dream about, but we certainly can encourage and build each other up in truth and in love.

A REAL Message of Love

When I was growing up, February 14 is the day to which I would look forward because I knew there would be a chance that one favorite person in my school class would hand me "a valentine". Do you remember those days?

Beyond the paper heart covered walls, the endless pounds of chocolate contained in fancy heart shaped boxes...or the small boxes of crunchy hearts carefully engraved with inspirational sayings like, "You're groovy", there was always that moment before the end of the instructional day when true love had the possibility to blossom via the arrival of a small folded card...

...a card that bore the picture of a Disney character or some other sweetly drawn woodland animal with a pronouncement of two words that made the innocent heart of a young man leap for joy:

"Be mine."

Life altering, love-filled words all delivered, of course, through a small opening carved into a decorated shoe box.

Those were the days, the days when sweet strains of "All you need is love" could be heard up and down the halls of J.E. Rhodes Elementary school, sung by boys and girls who didn't have a clue as to what true love really meant beyond the folded cards and the seating order at the lunchroom table.

Now, let's fast forward to the days of electronic living, life insurance, mortgages and just a little more grey hair.

Beloved, rather than going through the purported real history of St. Valentine's Day and it's connection to the church, what I would rather do is to remind you (and me) of a love that is really and truly mind-blowing. A message of love not found in the creases of a folded card, but between the covers of a well-worn leather bound book. A love expressed from eternity past and continuing through eternity future.

It's demonstrated by the One:

• Whom the Scriptures say "is love". (1 John 4:16)


• Who walked in the Garden called Eden in the cool of the day, looking in love for the man Adam and the woman Eve after they had disobeyed His commandment. (Genesis 3:8)


• Who sent His Son to be THE sacrifice, once and for all, to redeeem...to purchase...all those who would call on His Name. (John 3:16)


• Who rose again from the grave and ascended into Heaven where He now sits at the right hand of the Father. (Acts 2:32-33)


• Who said, "If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me..." (John 14:3)


• Who said, "I am making everything new!" (Revelation 21:5)

And here is His Valentine's message to you and to me:

Isaiah 43:1

"...Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, You are mine."

Now, that's a REAL Valentine's message of love.

Salvation

Here's a quick look at Salvation from the beginning of Romans. What do you think?