September Newsletter article

Do you smell that?

I am different. Some maybe even think I am weird. I am picky about the food I eat and I like certain drinks in certain glasses. Weird, I know, but that is who I am. We all have weird things that we do or don't do. One of the semi-weird things that I do is burn candles. I don't know many guys that like to burn candles as much as I do. I really enjoy this one candle that is cinnamon and clove scented, it sets off a festival in my nose! It is a package of awesomeness that is rarely matched aromatically. In my office, I have a candle burner with four different candles that I rotate. So what you ask? Well there are two things I want to remind you of.


One, whenever I leave a certain candle burning in the office for an extended period of time, after a while I can no longer smell it. If I pull the candle up to my nose, then the scent is there. But overall, the scent is missing even though the candle is burning. How many times in our lives do we just do things because that is the way we've always done them? I mean random things like cook a certain food or watch a certain news channel. Things we do without even really thinking about why we are doing them. Things that we don't miss until we can't do them anymore. I love traditions. I love having the warmth of the familiar in my life. I love even more knowing why we do what we do. More importantly, what it means for me to take part in this tradition or that act. It is of vital importance to, as Hebrews 10:25 says, to "not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing..." However, it seems to me that a lot of Christians have become Spiritual Bulimics. They come sunday mornings, maybe sunday night, definitely not Wednesdays and get their fill of everything God. They serve, teach a class, fill this spot or attend a bible study and then do nothing to advance their relationship with God the other days. They binge on the spiritual and starve themselves the rest of the week. This should not be so. Being a follower of Christ is a daily thing. Jesus said that we must take up our cross DAILY. Sunday morning for too long has been seen as the "filling station" to get you through the week. It should be seen as the celebration station where we come together and share our victories and our defeats. Our joys and our sorrows. Each day we should seek the strength for that day.

Secondly, every candle smells different. II Corinthians 2 talks about how we are all a fragrance to God. So, what do you smell like? Now I know that there are times in everyone's life that we go through tough spells. Times where things just aren't going right and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. We all will have our bad days. However, for some it seems like they are having a bad month or year or ... What I am saying is that we simply need to be aware of how we are "smelling". How do we react when things don't go our way? How do we respond to those tough days? How do we relate to those around us when we aren't in the best of moods? We only get today once. There are no do-overs. So if you are a mother...be the best mother and wife and daughter and sister that you can be today. If you are a father...be the best father, husband or son that you can be today. No one else can fill those roles for you. You will be the only father, husband, wife or mother to who God has gifted you with. Don't come out smelling like a black licorice candle when you could smell like...well...roses!

"Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be." Abraham Lincoln