Things aren’t always what they seem, right? An event that appears horrible or at least annoying turns out to have a good outcome, when seen in the right light (and yes, that is a bit of foreshadowing – pun intended). The Bible says Christians should consider it pure joy when they encounter tests of their faith, because the testing is necessary to produce maturity. So I found this fascinating. John Muntean, A PhD in chemistry, has discovered this same reality via sculpture. His works of art only make sense when seen in the right light, at the right angle. This is his philosophy, as taken from his web site:

You are a three-dimensional being, locked into four-dimensional space-time.  Are you observing a universe that is casting shadows from a higher dimension?  If so, are you a projection that does not exist in any one “slice” through space-time?  How does this effect your perception of locality?  Are you like the prisoner in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, watching shadows and convinced you are observing the universe as it is?  Is it possible to break free and see the truth as the prisoner does?

Check out this video to view Muntean’s remarkable sculptures of light:

How curious that Jesus speaks in the same kind of way when describing how things really are. He says in John 3,

“This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God” (verses 19-21).

According to Christ, the light of God’s being reveals the real situation facing every human – the horrible nature of even our mildly bad actions in comparison with pure and righteous God. And this light also reveals that we need a transformation that comes from outside this world, or dimension, and comes from the one who lives in the 4th dimension and beyond.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).

I don’t want to belittle whatever trial you may be facing today. But I do want to encourage you that, from a different perspective, in particular God’s, your lopsided, nonsensical life may actually have a very important and clear purpose. He wants to share that with you, if you’ll just come into the light.

Eric Metaxas

Eric Metaxas is a New York Times best-selling author of the book Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy. In the video posted here he talks about his background, his conversion and his book. But one small comment he made stuck with me: “Life is hard.” You might not think a New York Times best-selling author would say something like that, but apparently Metaxas has seen some tough times. As a writer I understand how some of that goes. The person about whom Metaxas writes knew hardship and death for the sake of his faith.

An Evening with Eric Metaxas from Woodmen Valley Chapel on Vimeo.

In addition to writing I also teach at a community college in my hometown. My students range from advanced placement class takers in high school to convicted felons, now on the served-time side of prison. You’d expect the former prisoners to be banged up a bit, but even my honors grads show signs, as young as they are, that life can be tough. Most of my students, whatever their background have been humbled. I have single moms, single dads, divorcees, cancer survivors, job loss survivors. They admit in their papers that they once were not so humble. But even a few years after high school prom, Friday night football, and hanging with friends in the cafeteria, life has knocked these young people around.

I suppose that’s why we needed a savior from the school of hard knocks. Jesus could not really have related well to us as a pristine, riding-on-a-cloud redeemer. He was made just like us, suffered the same kind of temptations and devastations that we suffer, and then went way beyond to a gruesome death, which I frankly hope never to face. Which is one reason his resurrection from the dead – not a spiritual resurrection, but one in which he received a real, new infinite body – is so encouraging.

My students, my friends, and everyone one else in this world need a lot more than a new education, a new job, a new car, or whatever new thing we can imagine. Those all have their place. But when I consider the depth of our trouble, the looks of longing I see in my students’ faces tell me their putting more stock in their education than they ought.

We need a new hope, a new life, a new everything. Not just a new job or an education to solve our serious heart problem and separation from God; we need a new self. That happens at conversion and gets completed when Jesus returns. Then it’s no more hard knocks, no more life is hard. Finally, an answer that solves the hardest hardship of all: a life apart from God.

Today my daughter turns 16. This is one of those significant birthdays, at least in America, ever since Neil Sedaka sang “Happy Birthday Sweet 16.” I remember the day of my daughter Bethany’s birth quite well. Mainly because it was 2 in the morning when my wife alerted me that contractions had begun. We blamed it on the jambalaya we’d shared with friends the night before. No, this was something a lot more momentous than indigestion. Our little lady, perhaps spurred on by the double dose of pepper seasoning in the previous night’s meal, decided Jan. 20, 1996 was a good day to be born.

And so she came and Julia’s and my life has changed forevermore. With two boys, one on either side of our girl, we’ve seen the ups and downs of a boy’s life. But a little girl is a whole different story. I never would have known the joys of little girl hugs or giving voice to a Ken doll in her Barbie adventures or knowing the sweetness of a little lady that reminded me of her mom. Not to make this all joy and light, but you know, it is her birthday. So, as she enters ever more closely to that stage of life which she will inhabit the rest of her days, that stage called adulthood, I offer my dear girl this verse, which guided me to her mother:

Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised. (Proverbs 31:30)

May you be a woman who fears the Lord and brings forth beauty into the world from the storehouse inside where the Spirit dwells. Bless you my girl and happy birthday.

I’m fascinated by my support of Tim Tebow. Why would I, a lifelong Cleveland Browns fan whose team has suffered under the Broncos hooves, cheer for their quarterback and, henceforth, ”them.” Why am I excited about attending a party to watch the aforementioned Broncos football team play the New England Patriots? 

For years we’ve been hearing players thank God, thank Jesus, praise the Lord, etc. for the opporutnity to play, for the chance to do something special with their athletic gifts, for a big victory.

One of the most eloquent of these was Frank Reich, backup quarterback to Jim Kelly for the Buffalo Bills in the years the Bills played in four Super Bowls. Reich had just led the Bills to a completely unexpected victory over the Houston Oilers, who had an insurmountable lead of 35-3 in the middle of the 3rd quarter. When the game was over Reich gave credit for Buffalo’s victory to “Christ alone.” (For more on that game, check out this video: watch?v=MhASCL-3GwU)

“Any time I get an opportunity to tell him that I love him or given an opportunity to shout him out on national TV, I’m gonna take that opportunity.” (from USA Today, by Nate Davis, 11/23/11)

Why am I finding this so refreshing? Is it that I’m experiencing the joy of the Holy Spirit in the midst of my love of sports? Is it that for one of a handful of times in my life, I’m more concerned about the performance of a player, rather than my team? Is it that I sense God’s hand in this, somehow, someway. Who else has inspired people all over the country to look up John 3:16, just because he passed for 316 yards against the Steelers last wekeend?

However this turns out, win or loss, I pray Tim Tebow has the courage and conviction by God’s spirit to do what he’s been doing all season – pass the praise to the one who really deserves it.

Isn’t God’s timing fantastic? I think I was just writing about this recently . . .

By SARA PAUFF — McClatchy Newspapers
Posted: 3:00am on Jan 4, 2012; Modified: 8:12am on Jan 4, 2012

COLUMBUS, Ga. — When Adrian Weldon has a few minutes to spare, he’s probably going to use them to text.

“I came here to kill time and text,” he said, sitting at Lakebottom Park Thursday afternoon. “At least it’s not driving and texting.”

Weldon said he uses his phone mostly for texting, sending quick messages while he’s at work and can’t call people on the phone, and when he’s bored. If you ask him if he’s addicted, he says he’s not sure.

“My girlfriend says I am,” he said.

If Weldon is addicted to his phone, he’s not alone.

While addiction to apps or text-ing is not a recognized medical condition, there have been numerous studies produced on whether the technology causes more harm than good.
A study by Case Western Reserve School of Medicine found that teens who spend a lot of time on texting or on social media are also more like to use drugs or alcohol and get into fights.

Using a smartphone or computer just before bed can lead to sleep loss, according to a study from the National Sleep Foundation.

But ignoring your phone can be difficult.

A recent article in the New York Times by author and brand consultant Martin Lindstorm claimed the top three most powerful affecting sounds in the world are baby giggles, the Intel chime and a vibrating phone.

Weldon confesses to feeling lost without his phone. He never turns it off.

“Even when it’s charging, it’s on,” he said. “I left it once and went home on my lunch break just to get it.”

Smartphones also can be habit-forming, according to a study by Helsinki Institute for Information Technology and Intel Labs. Researchers found that smartphone users in the U.S. and in Finland checked their phone repeatedly throughout the day, usually for less than 30 seconds.

They observed that the checks are usually triggered by the same things – a person may always check email while commuting or always check the news when bored.

“It’s a boredom buster,” said Mary Virginia Wehrenberg. She said she typically uses her smartphone truly as a phone, but the apps and texting also poses a great distraction when you’re stuck waiting for something.

Sharlene Brown said she tries to ration the time she spends on her smartphone. She’s a fan of Words with Friends – a popular Scrabble-like game – and frequently plays using a dictionary app so she can check to make sure she’s using real words.

“I don’t win as often but I love it.” She said it’s easy to waste time on her phone, especially on rainy or lazy days. Her kids – ages 8 and 4 – like playing games on her phone, too, but she only lets them use it for 15 to 30 minutes a day. “I do limit the time,” she said. “Children shouldn’t have it all the time.”

But there are benefits to the apps and texting a smartphone offers. Brown said there are math and word games available for her kids, like Quizard, an app that lets you create your own educational flashcards. “It’s interactive. They get an immediate response.”

Texting also gives her more time with her kids, because she’s not always on the phone.
“It’s an easier way to communicate. You send them a quick text,” she said. “You don’t want to take away from time with kids.”

Read more here: http://www.centredaily.com/2012/01/04/3039920/studies-reveal-addictive-nature.html#storylink=cpy

I’ve wondered why teens and 20-somethings and so many others seem attached to their electronic devices like a Siamese twin. I’ve got a theory, and it goes back to how I use my computer and social networking sites. These things are addictive! If you’re feeling lonely, just tweet or text or check your Facebook account. If you’re feeling a little aimless, do the same and see what you can stir up or is getting stirred up by someone else. Instead of relying on our ability to stimulate ourselves, we’re constantly looking to the laptop, cell phone, or handheld device to entertain us or motivate us or at least keep us busy doing something instead of nothing.

But here’s something else I’ve noted. Such extreme dependence on being plugged in, instead of being a great way to build your friendships, is actually a negative. Note the word “extreme” in my previous sentence; there is a healthy way to use this stuff. I am not anti-Facebook or anti-Twitter or anti-cell phone. I use them all.

I have seen unhealthy dependence in my own life. Because of this I’ve made choices not to look at social media for a time because I was trying to get something from those connections that needed to come from my relationship with God or my face-to-face relationship with other human beings. Or I was using social media as a way to avoid some constructive endeavor, a project that would be healthy for me and fruitful for others.  Even now I got stuck for a minute about what to say and my mind instantly suggested, “Hey, you should check your email.” Nothing wrong with that, but I think use of these communication tools has to be reined in a bit. I don’t have to give in to every impulse to post a new status update or check out what’s happening on Yahoo.

I think about the Apostle Paul’s statement, “I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:26-27, NIV).  

Am I slave to my impulses? Have I got the ability to gut-check each thought and determine if looking at LinkedIn is a good decision right now or do I just need to keep rolling with this blog? I know God has given these things for our enjoyment but I shouldn’t be mastered by them either:

“From now on those who…buy something, [should use it] as if it were not theirs to keep; those who use the things of the world, as if not engrossed in them. For this world in its present form is passing away.” (1 Corinthians 7:29-31)

So, happy Facebooking, tweeting, posting, chatting, texting and everything else this New Year. May these tools be your servants for good rather than masters that distract you from God’s best.

Talked with a friend today about a rarity in family life that wasn’t a rarity a generation or so ago: children seeing their parents interact regularly and often with grandparents. Both of us have had the rare privilege and challenge of being an example to our children in this area.

A few years back my own mom was living in an assisted living facility. We’d see her at least once a week and usually take the kids along. It was mildly amusing and also bittersweet the way the other residents would react to David and Bethany, as if they’d never seen anyone younger than 20 before in their lives. They weren’t interested in a creepy way, but in an affectionate and lonely way. I don’t think many of those residents saw their own children or their children’s children.  

My mom came to live with us 5 years ago and I realized today that our interactions with my mom is offering my sons and daughter a blueprint for their future relationship with Julia and I. Of course, they aren’t robots who will only act in accordance with their programming. They will make their own choices about relating with us.

As I think about Paul’s comment that we should follow the example of Christ, it does make me pause. What kind of a template are we creating for the youngsters? Do  our children see us spending time with my mom, inviting her to things, listening, resolving disagreements, laughing with her or do they see us avoiding her, getting agitated, speaking poorly of her? Lord, I hope more the former and not so much the latter.

I hope, that in our own imperfect way, Julia and I (and the kids) are obeying the command of 1 Timothy 5:4,

But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. (NIV)

How interesting that church members’ interactions with aging parents was at the heart of Paul’s guidance about leading the church. How important is this area to God? So important that care for widows is one of the most talked about ethical issues in the Bible, Old and New Testaments.   

And it isn’t just about aging moms and dads. Paul goes on in 1 Tim 5:8,

If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for his immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.

Maybe you’ll visit an aging relative this Christmas, perhaps a parent, but maybe an aunt or uncle. Maybe it’s your dad’s cousin or your mom’s high school friend who became like family. Maybe you’re the last family tie this person has. Maybe, just maybe, this is a good time to reflect and pray on how the Lord may want you to bring the Christmas spirit into the rest of the year with this older person. Or maybe it’s a time to celebrate how God has helped you to love them and ask him for power and grace to stay faithful. Either way, happy Christmas to you and to all you love, both young and old.

I made a crucial decision yesterday afternoon: I stopped to watch a movie with my son. That may not sound like much, but like many of us I have that truly American mindset of “Go, Go , Go.” If I’m not going, then something isn’t getting done and if something isn’t getting done then chaos is just around the corner. We don’t want chaos now do we? OK, I exaggerate a little. But not much.

I’m between quarters as a professor at a local community college, so I’m doing things like reorganizing and straightening my home office, preparing for teaching new classes and various household tasks I’ve wanted to do or that are related to the Christmas season. But I sensed recently that in my ardor to be productive during this between-work time, I may have missed some chances to enjoy God’s rest.

It’s really the old Mary and Martha thing again. “Martha, Martha,” the Lord said to the sister who couldn’t stop preparing for dinner. “You are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” (Luke 10:41-42, NIV) Her sister, Mary, chose instead to sit and listen to Jesus.

Here’s what I discovered as I watched that silly movie with my son: we laughed together, we talked about lying (a major theme of the film), we talked about a paper he had to work on about white lies (how well timed was this movie?), and more than anything we just enjoyed being with each other.

I realize there’s a lot of preparation going on, presents to buy, cookies to make, decorations to put up and money to be spent. But did you ever think that one of the blessings of this time of year is just this: God wants you to stop and enjoy him and the people he’s put in your life. As the Westminster Shorter Catechism states, “Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever.”

This takes prayer. Stopping, in and of itself, does not mean we’re enjoying Jesus or others, especially if everyone is doing their own thing and not really being together. Even sitting around the Christmas tree with everyone may not bring true rest. Maybe God wants you to mix things up a bit: sing a Christmas carol, or have everyone share one thing they’re grateful for this holiday season. Or, maybe the craziest of all, pray together, and not just grace before dinner. I’m talking real meeting with God together to ponder the meaning of this holiday and listen for Him and love each other. Ask Jesus how he wants to bring his rest into your life this season.

Watched “Horton Hears a Who” again for the 4th or 5th time last night. Certain movies get alot of repeat time around the Boyd house. As my 9-year-old put it, “There’s a lot of good messages in that movie.” True enough. One of those is where Horton (voiced by Jim Carrey) tells the Mayor of Whoville (voiced by Steve Carrell), “Leave the freaking out to me.” The comparisons aren’t perfect, but in many ways the Mayor describes Horton the way we describe God, so making this bridge was easy for me.

Philippians 4:6-7 tells us we shouldn’t be anxious about anything, but instead give God the issues that are causing us anxiety. When we do present that stuff to the Lord, we’re promised a peace that surpasses understanding. In our society, anxiety doesn’t hit as much of a bell as “freaking out.” We all freak out. Some of us freak out more than others. Some of us keep our freaking out quiet but it shows up other ways: nervous habits; unexpected emotional explosions; various pains, spasms and other physical ailments. I twist and pull the hair on my arms and legs. It isn’t pretty. I purse my lips. I see it in off-the-cuff pictures of myself. There’s other stuff too.

In the spirit of the season that seems to evoke more freaking out than normal, I encourage you all to leave the freaking out to God. Whatever you’re freaking out about, give it to him this Christmas season and focus on the things you should really focus on, like Jesus, like loved ones, like spending meaningful time with people, like reflecting on the salvation God offers. Then you’ll get some of that peace God promises. After all, He meant what he said and he said what he meant. He is faithful, 100 percent.

I’m not one of those Christians who thinks you have to cite a Bible verse to back up every action. For instance, this video: mostly I think it’s just cool. However, just because God is cooler than I’ll ever be, he can use something like this to give me material to have a conversaiton or connect with someone (ala 1 Corinthians 9:22-23). So I can now say to someone I meet on the street, “Hey, did you see that crazy guy surfing the 90-foot wave?” or I can offer to my college students, “Did you see the picture of the cyclops shark?” (The most amazing thing gets about one second of video at 1:21: an actual house lifted in the sky by balloons like in the Disney movie “Up). And, as I’ve discovered over and over again, you never know where a little thing like that can go. So, enjoy, and maybe God will transform your little video view into something unbelievable today. He’s good that way.

www.yearinreview.yahoo.com/2011/blog/7045/the-most-astounding-moments-of-2011/