Are you living life to the full?

” I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

These words by Jesus are words every Christian should be living out, yet many aren’t.

Yesterday was my tenth wedding anniversary, and this weekend our boys are staying with Grandma and Grandpa, and my wife and I are enjoying life together for a few days.  As I think back over the past ten years, there have been a lot of fun times and I can say we definitely have lived life to the full because of Jesus.

There have also been times when we (mostly me) have not enjoyed life and lived it to the full.  There is always so much to do, whether with ministry stuff, kids stuff, career stuff, house stuff…  It is easy to get lost in it all and forget to enjoy life.

One of my best friends told me “slow down and enjoy my bride” this weekend.  Those are great words of advice.

Do you need to slow down and celebrate?  Maybe a marriage milestone, a ministry victory, or even just having fun for fun sake.  If you need permission to live life to the full, consider this permission.  You can’t enjoy life when it is going at 100 miles an hour.  Slow down and celebrate!

Christmas Busyness

Obviously the Christmas season is upon us, and with it comes some changes in our daily lives.  Mainly it seems that our busyness meter gets maxed.  We still have our regular lives to accomplish; work, family, church, etc.  Yet we add on top of it all many special events and parties and extra shopping and family traditions and…  Busyness is already at epidemic levels in our society and the holidays seem to add insult to injury.

A few days ago I blurted out a statement that I hadn’t really thought of yet:

“Isn’t it ironic that a holiday is supposed to be a chance to stop and reflect and remember, yet for most of us it just makes us busier?”

I have thought about what I said a lot more after I said it than before (this is one of my major faults I am coming to realize…).  I am not against Christmas parties and family gatherings, I enjoy them all a lot.  Yet I do realize that during the holiday season we are basically forced to do things we should be doing on a regular basis and don’t.

• I should shower those closest to me (like my volunteer youth staff) with praise and support and gifts.
• I should get together with friends and co-workers and family for no other reason than to have a good time.
• I should send notes and cards to most everyone I know.
• I should focus on the incredible gift I enjoy every day of a savior sent to earth for the specific purpose of dying on a cross so I can know God in a personal way.

I love the holiday season and all that comes with it, and I hope you do too.  As you we both navigate through the next several weeks attending parties, traveling, shopping, and eating ourselves into oblivion I hope that it is all truly a blessing.  And please don’t forget to take some extra time off and enjoy the holiday for what it was meant to be.  Turn your phone off, leave the email box un-opened, push the pause button on your blog or other projects and enjoy the holiday.

But once January 2nd comes perhaps we should not just go back to “normal”, but still celebrate the life we have on a more regular basis.

Merry Christmas!