Blake Bouldin

It's Time To Get Out of the Pit!

"Hurricanes in Houston.  Tornadoes in Kansas.  Earthquakes in California.  Avalanches in Everest.  Tsunamis in Asia.  Welcome to life on our planet.  The same gravity that sticks our feet to the floor throws curve balls through the air.  One day we're well.  The next day we're sick.  At Christmas we get a bonus.  In January we're in debt.  If your victory depends on the right circumstances, you may as well wave the white flag and surrender to defeat.  Just go ahead and take that snort.  Gulp that fourth gin and tonic.  Binge and purge that pizza, a side of garlic bread, and a half gallon of mint chocolate chip.  Sleep with that jerk again.  Eat, drink, and be miserable.

OR...you could make up your mind that you're in with God, standing upon that rock, for the rest of your days.  Paul called it being found in Christ.  No matter how long it's been since you've seen me, He is where you can find me.  Whether my health flourishes or fails, that's where I will be. Richer or poorer, I've made up my mind.  In the light of day or dark of night, find me in Christ Jesus.  Spouse or not.  Kids or not. Job or not.  I have made up my mind.

When you've made that decision and given your heart, mind, and soul in all their fissured parts: and when you've given your past, present, and future to Him who is able to keep you from falling (Jude 1:24); and when you know you're absolutely in, come what may....congratulations!! You're out of the pit and your feet are on a rock."  Beth Moore

Thirteen Thoughts

Ok...this is crazy.  I just wrote several paragraphs on my blog and then all of the sudden they all disappeared.  It was almost like my hard drive crashed or something.  Anyway, here I go again. 

For those of you that read my blog, several weeks ago I said that I might post some of my favorite blogs so you can enjoy them like I do.  Today I have chosen to specifically blog about one and the person who created it.  Before I do, however, I just have to say that one of the things that I hate about certain blogs is when an individual only blogs about their own personal experiences and what is going on in their world.  I know that blogs are supposed to be like a web diary of sorts, but I think it is quite amusing when people think so highly of themselves that they think other people want to know everything that is going on in their life..all the time. Blogs that stimulate me the most are those which give accurate, interesting, stimulating information that occasionally evoke my emotions.  The one I am going to mention today does that.

www.thirteenthoughts.com is my brother Brent's blog.  Brent is 7 years younger than me and 30 years smarter.  Although he and I aren't close in age, we have always been relatively close in our relationship.  It isn't like we hang out all the time, but there is an understanding that I feel we both have with one another that when the chips are down, we can count on the other to be there.  Frankly, having a low maintenance brother is something that I have always appreciated.  Besides the personal accolades I have for Brent, I love his blog.  Not only is it informative, but it is just downright stimulating.  I can remember when he first let me know that he was going to begin blogging how I secretly thought, "well don't expect me to read it everyday."  But I do read it everyday.  And I don't read it because he is my brother, I read it because I learn from it and appreciate the diversity of information that is provided.

Having said all that, let me encourage YOU to check out this blog.  For those of you who are into blogs that aren't religious, you'll like Brent's.  For those of you who are interested in money, you'll like Brent's.  For those of you who aren't interested in somebody consistently writing about their life and their perspectives, you'll like Brent's.  I love www.thirteenthoughts.com   Here's to you Brent...great job!

PS..in case you are wondering who that little Bumble Bee is at the top of the page, that is Brent's little girl Bailey.  Adorable right?  I think so.

Is Your Load Too Heavy.....

                                                                                                

"Come to Me, all of you who work and have heavy loads. I will give you rest. Follow My teachings and learn from Me. I am gentle and do not have pride. You will have rest for your souls. For My way of carrying a load is easy and My load is not heavy."  Matthew 11:28-30

Pastor Power

"To have power in your life as a pastor, it is supremely important that you make it a first order of business for the rest of your life not to do things to impress people or gain a reputation or protect your reputation. It is very clear from the Gospels that Jesus is calling us to deny some basic things in our personality--things that need to die. Jesus says in Matthew 16:24 to deny yourself; take up your cross and follow me. And I think that means dying to our fleshly love of impressing people in this way for glory for ourselves."  Jack Miller

I Want More

For those of you who attend WCC you know that I have been doing a series called "I Want More".  This poem describes the impetus behind the series.  I hope you'll take the take to read it.

THE BONDING

A cold and listless season,

And full of cheerless cheer,

When hopes are raised and dashed again

And joy dissolves in tears.

The search for endless family

The search for one true Friend

Leaves questers tired, disconsolate

With questions without end.

Best find some potent pleasure quick

Some superficial thrill

Than search for everlasting love

When none can fill that bill.

So hide yourselves in shopping

And eating ‘til you burst,

Use endless entertainment

As shelter from the worst.

And hope at least for truce on earth,

Though warlords rattle swords

As if to kill could solve our ills

We seize our ‘just’ rewards.

Mistake some rest for lasting peace

And calm for ‘all is well’

And absence of activity

As year end’s victory bell.

But what if Advent is no quest

Despite the wise men’s star

What if Advent isn’t reached

By driving from afar?

What if Good News comes to us

From well beyond our reach?

What if love and peace on earth

Are more than things we preach?

What if a restless peace

Is what He did intend

Until we open up our lives

And let the stranger in?

What if a peaceless rest

Is not the Christmas hope

What if nothing we could do

Helps us truly cope?

What if there is a bonding

With one who rules above

Who came to us in beggar’s rags

And brought the gift of love?

The God shaped hole in every heart

Is healed by just one source

When Jesus comes to claim his own

Who are without recourse.

So give up endless seeking

Surrender is required

The one who is the Lord of all

Cannot be bought or hired,

He’s not conjured into life

By pomp and circumstance

By Yuletide carols boldly sung

By fun or drunken trance.

He comes unbidden, unawares

Fills crevices of souls

He comes on his own timely terms

And makes the sinner whole.

‘We shall be restless’ said the saint

‘Until we rest in thee’

And find that we have been reborn,

Our own nativity.

How silently, how silently

The precious truth is given

And God imparts to human hearts

The blessings of his heaven.

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Has Santa Come Yet?

I saw this picture and just had to post it.  Enjoy!

The Cost of Following Christ

"Faith is not about escaping the realities of this world but about grappling with them, and struggling with the harshness of this world. It is about abandoning our own desires and opening ourselves to God’s desire to give us himself and to change this world.

Being open to God means that we may find ourselves being led to places which are not comfortable, it doesn’t make us immune to the struggles and difficulties of this world, on the contrary for those of us who see with eyes of faith the brokenness and pain of this world and the evidence of the ongoing effect of sin is all the more apparent." Alastair McCollum

Cartoon by Asbo Jesus

You better watch out...you better slow down...

"Noise and words and frenzied, hectic schedules dull our senses, closing our ears to His still, small voice and making us numb to His touch." Chuck Swindoll

I enjoyed teaching on "time" this past Sunday because if ever there were something that I believe we all could do better at, it would be managing our time.  When we allow time to manage us what inevitably ends up happening is exactly what I said on Sunday, our souls get depleted and the result is we find ourselves running on empty. Most of us don't take this issue very seriously and yet we wonder why our lives don't feel very full, especially in light of the fact that Jesus said "I have come so that you might have life and have it to the full."  Empty, depleted, malnourished souls are not a result of God not doing His part.  They are a byproduct of people buying into the cultural lie that the more we do and the faster we go, the better of our lives will be.

Sunday I mentioned several key indicators that our lives may be moving too fast.  Here are a few more.  See how you measure up.

• You feel constantly physically, emotionally, and mentally drained.
• You really believe your options are constrained and that you can't influence situations in your life or even manage your life anymore.
• The glass always looks half empty-you are always pessimistic instead of optimistic.
• You're a spectator instead of a participant-instead of acting, you're constantly reacting to situations.
• You sense that life happens--or comes at you fast--instead of actively engaging in it.
• You feel burned out and no longer care about things that used to matter to you.

If I am honest, most of these could apply to my life from time to time.  That's why discipline is so important.  Discipline means the endeavor to create space in my life in which God can act.  It means being intentional about preventing everything in my life from being filled up.  It is diligently guarding my soul from the common intrusions that crowd out God.  This is the kind of discipline we all need.  Let me close this blog with a quote from Fil Anderson who offers these words of counsel.

"If the teeth are to be extracted from the relentlessly demanding pace of life, I must face the reality that the threats to my moments of solitude and silence are real.  Nothing less than an unswerving devotion to regularly returning to my little cell will do.  As long as I choose to maintain an active and noisy soul, my view of God will always be clouded.  But when stillness and solitude get to accomplish their work and usher me into the awareness of the presence of God, then I find that my soul is not only still and recollected but is overwhelmed in an act of reverence and worship by God's presence."

Thoughts on a long run

This past week Curt Hathaway and I ran the Thunder Road Half Marathon in uptown Charlotte.  It was exhausting and exhilarating all at the same time.  This is my second half marathon and in 1998, believe it or not, I actually did a full marathon in Chicago.  I am thankful I didn't have to do the full on Saturday because it wouldn't have been pretty!

Before I started running I always wondered what people thought about as they ran for hours.  Today I wanted to share with you some of the thoughts that I made note of as I ran. 

Quit!  It will feel so much better.

Don't quit.  You'll feel guilty for weeks.

You can do it!  Think about all those people who are suffering with life threatening illnesses...do it for them.

I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength!

Don't ever give up!

I have what it takes!

I hope my family is proud.  Especially my boys!

Quit!

Don't quit. You'll feel guilty for weeks.

If you survived almost 7 years planting a church, you can survive a 13 mile run.

Thank God I am not running the whole thing.

I wish I were only running a 10K.

Quit.

Last thought as I crossed the finish line: Thank you Jesus!!

Do you want to be healed?

One of the greatest questions Jesus ever asks is a question He poses to a man who had been an invalid for 38 years.  Here is the question He asks: "Do you want to be healed?"  Now that may seem like an utterly ridiculous question, especially in light of the fact that the man has been sick for such a long time, but the truth is sometimes people don't want to be healed. This is true about being happy too.  Some people simply don't want to be happy.

Question: Why wouldn't someone want to be happy? Well,there are a whole lot of reasons. Some people want to control other people.  Some people have a great need to feel pitied or want large amounts of attention.  Some people don't want the expectation of having to achieve and they think that people who are unhappy can't be expected to achieve much.  One huge factor in why people don't want to be happy is because it's easier to be unhappy.  You see it takes discipline to leave all your dependencies and to rid yourself of an unhappy state of mind.  It's hard work to leave behind all your excuses and take on the full responsiblity of life without complaining.  That's why God asked the question He asked.  He knew being healed wasn't as simple as just saying yes and then getting up and walking, no there was a price to pay for such a change in lifestyle.  There is a price to pay if we really want to be happy too.

So what if you don't want to be healed?  What if you want to stay unhappy the rest of your life? What are some qualities that might be present in your life?  Let me mention a few so that some of you might do some introspection and hopefully realize where change needs to take place. 

Here are some ways to people cultivate being in a constant state of unhappiness.

1. Insist that nothing ever meets your standard of expectation and be sure to tell everyone else how the food, performance, or service fell short.

2. Be a loner. Avoid developing relationships at all cost. Make sure that community building is not on your schedule.

3. Avoid excercise and physical effort.  Drive everywhere, and when you are at home, get off the couch as little as possible.

4. Cultivate habits that keep you stressed to the max.  For instance, if you are short on cash, charge up your credit card.  Of if you are busy at work, make sure you stay up late to watch Letterman or Leno.  If you have very little time for yourself, make sure you make complex plans that will take lots of time and errands to manage.

Jesus' question of whether or not we want to be healed seems like a no brainer but it's not.  Healing and happiness are a choice that we make.  The question we all have to answer is what does our life demonstate that we've chosen.  I think Abraham Lincoln said it best when he said, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their mind to be."  So...what's your answer?  Do you want to be healed?