Training to be Obsessed

ob·sess (b-ss, b-)

v. ob·sessed, ob·sess·ing, ob·sess·es

v.tr.

To preoccupy the mind of excessively.

v.intr.

To have the mind excessively preoccupied with a single emotion or topic.

Obsession is an idea that I have been learning about a lot recently. We have been going through a series on the Fruit of the Spirit in church, and last Sunday, the sermon was on 1 Corinthians 9:19-27, a passage about self-control. The analogy of an athlete training for a competition struck me in a fresh way. Our pastor asked us, "If you decided today that you were going to train for the Olympics, how would your life change during this coming week?" You would make changes in your diet, you would cut out activities that interfered with your training, because your eyes would be fixed on the goal. In the same way, we should have our eyes constantly fixed on the goal of sanctification, eternal life, and living the Christian life. Things that hinder us, even good things that keep us from the best things, must be sacrificed in order to attain the goal.

In my study group, we are going through Francis Chan's book Crazy Love, and the chapter for this session was The Profile of the Obsessed. Chan lists thirteen things that people obsessed with God display in their lives. It is challenging to look through a list like that and realize how little time I actually spend obsessed with God and the things of the Kingdom. However, I know that with the help of the Holy Spirit, I can become more conformed to His image, become more obsessed with him, and exercise self-control to attain the goal which is set before me.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV)

~Mac

Mothers Day: Let Me Count the Ways

It's Mothers Day again. The day when we remember that very special woman in our lives - the one who has more to do with who we are now than any other. How is my Mom special? Let me count (some of) the (many) ways:

- She brought me into the world. I wouldn't be here without you Mom! Thank you for all of your sacrifices and the discomfort and pain you endured to give me life :-)

- She helped to raise me in the nurture and admonition of the Lord through my formative years. Daily Bible reading and prayer were a part of my life from day one, and during the day it was often Mom who would read Bible stories to me and explain the things of God. Thank you for teaching me to know and serve the King!

- She models the characteristics of a Godly wife and mother. In her everyday life, in her relationship with Dad and with her children, she follows the principles of a helpmeet set down in Scripture. She serves us all - whether it's planning meals, shopping, balancing our expense accounts, resolving disputes, cutting our hair, getting me started on guitar :-) or just showing interest in our activities. She supports Dad in his calling - both in his vocation and as the leader of his household.

- She disciplines us. I know it's hard sometimes Mom, but you don't shy away from administering discipline when it is needed, and I am thankful for that. Without discipline I would definitely not be the person I am.

- She admits and confesses when she sins. Sorry, Mom, I have to be honest - you're not perfect! ;-) But when do you mess up, you make sure to confess and repent to the people you have wronged. That takes courage and humility!

- She counsels us and shares her wisdom. At my time of life, I am so thankful for all the wisdom that you have stored up over the years and willingly share with me. Thank you for being there for me when I have had to make difficult decisions and for giving me the help I need - giving me advice, walking me through options, or just being there so I can talk it out.

I could go on but maybe I'll save some more for later :-)

I love you Mom! And I am truly blessed to have a strong, loving relationship with you at the age where the situation is typically the opposite. I'm thankful that we have a day to remind ourselves of all you do for us and all you are - although you deserve more than just one day! :-)

~Mac

Perspective Check + Update

God's been teaching me quite a bit lately, and also reminding me of some things that I have forgotten. I thought I'd share a few of them:

1. Make God the focus and top priority of my life. It's easy to tell myself that I have many important things to do besides "Christian-y" things - school, work , time with family. All of these things are good, but they cannot be allowed to supersede God as number one. All of them should be done in, with, and through Him. My plans, hopes, and dreams will not ultimately satisfy by themselves; they must be submitted to God's will for me to achieve true contentment, peace, and joy.

2. Develop a hunger and thirst for the Word. I often don't feel like I want to get to know God better, and my Bible and prayer time suffer because I am distracted by other things. I need God to give me the strength to thirst for His Word, to be like the tree in Psalm 1, planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, and whose leaf does not wither. Staying in the Word is an act of the will (the new nature's will by the power of the Holy Spirit).

On another note, I passed Prinicples of Supervision DSST last week so I now have 78 credits! By the end of this month I hope to have three more as I am planning to finish my Film and TV Narratives as Public Communication class. I also was accepted at Thomas Edison, so I am planning to enroll sometime in the next few months! Besides school, I am staying involved in the music ministry and the live sound engineering at church and working on A/V installs and recording sessions as they come up.

God bless you all!

~Mac

.: HE IS RISEN! :.

I know this is a little late, but I want to post it anyway:

CHRIST IS RISEN!

55 “O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?”

56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 15:55-57 ESV)

Let us celebrate the risen Savior, not just on Easter, but every day we live our lives! Let us live in the light of His triumph over sin and death!

1What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.

5For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. 6We know that our old self^a was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7For one who has died has been set free^b from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. 10For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God. 11So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.

12Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. (Romans 6:1-13 ESV)

~Mac

God Died

As we prepare to celebrate Easter, we have special Lenten devotions that we go through as a family. During one of these, I was struck by two simple words:

God died.

That is a mind-blowing concept! An infinite, eternal, unchangeable, omnipotent, omniscient, perfect Being "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Phillipians 2:7) That alone is incomprehensible. Jesus, who had never experienced pain, fatigue, aging, or any of the effects of the Fall, came into this world and experienced all of them. Jesus, who had never had anything less than a perfect relationship with His Father, became the Object of His Father's wrath for all of the sins believers have ever committed in history. Jesus, who was with the Father before time, entered time and lived and died. And He did all of this for those He loves, those who have believed and will believe in Him!

Thank you, Jesus, for Your work of redemption on our behalf! Help us to live in light of that sacrifice, and to truly be thankful for Your precious gift of salvation!

~Mac

Working Up A Post + Blog Shout Out!

Well, I've been thinking about various things to post, but I haven't gotten any of them blog-ready yet! Fortunately, I have another blog to point you to: Leaves That Are Green, created by my friend Hattie! You can count on seeing some seriously creative creations, pictures, poetry, and artwork, as well as thoughts on serious and not-so-serious subjects ;-) In addition, she's currently running a contest for all of her followers! Go check out the blog - and maybe by the time you're done reading through all of her posts I'll have figured out something to blog on!

~Mac

23:59 Part 1 Online!

I know many of you have requested a link to "23:59", the movie that I scored recently. Well, the producers have just uploaded the first 12 minutes to YouTube! Enjoy! (the video is pretty low-resolution compared to the DVD)



If you like what you see and hear, I can see about getting you a DVD copy with the movie, a behind the scenes feature, bloopers, and interviews. They're selling for $5 at this point. I am also working on releasing the soundtrack (at this point, it'll be selling for $5 as well), so if you're interested in that please let me know!

~Mac