I watched the Emmys tonight. I can’t say it was the best three hours of television I’ve ever seen, but some of it was worthwhile.

I really like that the show Breaking Bad won in just about every major category for which it was nominated. And FYI, I’m late to the game but I’ve finally become an addict of the show– just as it’s ending.

I thought Bryan Cranston gave a great acceptance speech for Best Male Lead Actor in a Drama. He talked about how he had been tempted at various points in his life to settle for mediocrity instead of striving for excellence. Then he challenged his audience to seek to be their best. Only he said it way better than that.

Don’t settle for mediocrity and second-rate because it’s easy. The pain of regret will be far greater than and pain or sacrifice from chasing your God-given dreams.

That’s all I have this evening. Nothing new or original, but needed nonetheless. At least for me.

Don’t give up just yet. God will come through on His promises. Just you wait and see.

“Don’t run from tests and hardships, brothers and sisters. As difficult as they are, you will ultimately find joy in them; if you embrace them, your faith will blossom under pressure and teach you true patience as you endure. And true patience brought on by endurance will equip you to complete the long journey and cross the finish line—mature, complete, and wanting nothing. If you don’t have all the wisdom needed for this journey, then all you have to do is ask God for it; and God will grant all that you need. He gives lavishly and never scolds you for asking” (James 1:2-5)

Life is hard. You’re probably thinking, “Thank you, Captain Obvious. I wasn’t aware of that.”

But it’s true. Life is hard. People you love die, places you love go away, possessions perish. And there are those million and one disappointments.

But it will all be worth it someday.

I keep thinking how they took all the old wood out of the studio that used to be in our church building and repurposed it. Like my pastor said today, God is a master at taking the pain and suffering in our lives and repurposing it for something better, something good.

As he mentioned, the word endurance comes from the Greek word which literally means “to remain under.” Like when you give blood, the needle has to remain under your skin for the donation to be effective.

Still, you have to wonder. When dreams die and relationships end, it doesn’t seem fair. When the wait for what you long for is long and when desire gets denied yet again, you wonder how it could be worth it.

But then consider the words of Jesus Himself:

“And those who have left their houses, their lands, their parents, or their families for My sake, and for the sake of this good news will receive all of this 100 times greater than they have in this time—houses and farms and brothers, sisters, mothers, and children, along with persecutions—and in the world to come, they will receive eternal life” (Mark 10:29-30).

Whatever you give up and whatever you lose, it will be more than worth it not only by what you gain but Who you gain. You get Jesus and He alone is worth a thousand . . . no, a million times whatever you could possibly sacrifice or lose.

I think that’s more than worth it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the whole “Don’t judge” thing. In case you’ve been living under a rock lately, the most quoted verse anymore is “Don’t judge lest you be judged.”

I’m okay with that. It’s not my place to determine someone’s ulterior motives or salvation. That’s God’s job and He does just fine at it without my help.

I don’t need to take one isolated act and try to label a person based off that one incident. I don’t have all the facts. Heck, anybody could take something I said or did and make me out to be something totally different than who I really am.

What disturbs me is that so many hide behind the “Don’t judge” banner. They can do whatever they want, say whatever they want, and then quote the “Don’t judge” mantra when ever anybody tries to point out the inconsistencies and hypocrisies in their lives. They’re using it to avoid any kind of accountability at all.

I don’t want to be judged, but I do want to be held accountable. I want someone who will ask me the tough questions and not accept the bumper sticker answers I give when people ask me how I am.

I want someone who will point out in love when I step out of line spiritually, when I say or do things that don’t line up with my profession of faith in and love for Jesus.

My pastor has said that the world doesn’t hate Christians because we’re too different, but because we’re not different enough. Sometimes, there’s no difference at all.

You may talk all day long about how much you love Jesus, but your actions will drown out those words if you live differently than you speak. That same pastor also said that if you don’t live it, you don’t believe it. No matter how loudly you preach it, it means nothing if you live contrary to it.

But at the end of the day, I’m still very thankful for grace. Despite all my best intentions, I still act and speak in ways that don’t please Jesus. My actions don’t always match my words. But I’m covered in grace. Not so I can stay the same, but so that each day I can be a little more like Jesus and a little less like how I used to be.

And that’s a good thing.

Here’s a snippet of my day.

I did my eight hours and started home. It took me a little over an hour to get home from work, or in musical terms, it took me one and a half Carly Simon albums to get home.

That’s a long time. But at least I had Ms. Simon to keep me company.

After, I went to the Wilson County Fair. It just so happens to be my favorite of all the local fairs. Apparently, half the population of Middle Tennessee agrees with me, based on the number of people there tonight.

I had good food. I saw rabbits and chickens. I even saw a broom being made. I took pictures of the inside of a caboose. Yes, I’m deliberately trying to sound like I’m writing an essay for school entitled “What I Did This Summer.”

It was muggy and I sweated a lot. Also, I’m sure my hair was super frizzy and Screech-like.

I did make sure that I enjoyed the moments for what they were and not for what I wished they could be. I simply focused on the joy of being alive for another day, a privilege denied to many.

I am thankful for another day of grace. I will not take that for granted.

The end.

I confess it. I’m tired. I’m in bed at 9:19 pm and not ashamed. Not in the least.

It’s not like I haven’t been sleeping. I may not get in my full 8 hours, but I do get at least 6 most nights.

I have another confession. I had this blog lined up with the tag “Mondays are good again” and I had it all planned out until I realized that it was Wednesday. So much for that bright idea.

The problem is that it took me way too long to figure out that it wasn’t Monday. I must be tired.

The good news in all of this is that even when I’m bone-weary, I serve a God who never slumbers or sleeps, but watches over you and me ceaselessly.

That makes these tired bones very happy.

“A whole human life is just a heartbeat here in Heaven” (What Dreams May Come).

I saw this quote on a church sign on my way home from Radnor Lake State Park. It really puts things in perspective.

Life here is so very fleeting. You don’t get another chance to go back and do or undo your past. You don’t get to replay certain scenes in your life over like a kind of Choose Your Own Adventure book (does anybody else remember those?)

All the joys and heartaches, triumphs and failures in this life are but a heartbeat in eternity’s perspective. The blink of an eye.

Some days, it’s hard to remember that. The pain and loss seem so neverending. Yet the Apostle Paul said that all this suffering and pain and loss can’t begin to compare with the glory that’s coming. A heartbeat of loss versus a forever of love.

Even now, you and I get glimpses of what’s coming– a kind of celestial sneak preview. Sometimes, there’s inexplicable joy that comes out of nowhere, peace that makes its way into the midst of turmoil.

Wow. My brain hurts trying to wrap my head around eternity. But I do know that truly the best is yet to come.

But what do we do with this life? I’ve always loved this quote from Dead Poets Society:

“We don’t read and write poetry because it’s cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for. To quote from Whitman, ‘O me! O life!… of the questions of these recurring; of the endless trains of the faithless… of cities filled with the foolish; what good amid these, O me, O life?’ Answer. That you are here – that life exists, and identity; that the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. That the powerful play goes on and you may contribute a verse. What will your verse be?”

I’m too tired to be creative with a title. Plus, it’s late and I have be up at a completely ungodly hour tomorrow morning.

Sometimes, I’m forgetful in all my moaning and groaning about what I don’t have. I fail to remember all that I do have. I have:

1) A job. I’ll never take that for granted ever again. At least I hope I never do.

2) A great church family. We’re small but growing and the future is very exciting for us.

3) A fantastic community group. You guys know who you are and you make my life so much better.

4) A very lovable, semi-psychotic, very cuddly 14-year old feline named Lucy.

5) A veritable wellspring of movie, music, and literary trivia knowledge as well as a library of memorized quotes from songs, movies, books, and TV shows. You know, the important stuff.

6) Life. To be alive is still the greatest adventure.

7) Jesus. You really can have all this world and everything in it, but just give me Jesus.

I think that covers it. I’m so thankful that I’m not anybody else but me. That’s the best gift I can give is to enjoy being me and to bless others with the blessings I’ve received. So thanks to everyone who has ever been, is, or will ever be a part of my life, no matter how big or small. You are the best!

“I just wanted to know exactly what we both meant today about Aslan meaning no more than Tash. … You mean that there’s no such person as either.” (C. S. Lewis, The Last Battle)

The context is that one of the Narnian characters is discussing with another the notion that Aslan and the Calormene god Tash are one entity called Tashlan. He essentially says to hold both as equal and the same is to believe in neither.

I was perusing through a church bulletin. I noticed they offer a couple of interfaith outings, one with a Hindu temple and another with the Baha’i faith. While I believe it’s good to know what other faiths believe, by no means do I believe that all faiths are equally valid.

In my opinion, to say that all faiths are the same is to say that none of them are true. You can’t have two diametrically opposite belief systems both be true.

I had a visual image today. Suppose there is a mountain with many roads that lead to God. I know what Jesus said about being the only way, truth, and life, but bear with me on this.

While there may be many roads to God, none of them are passable. Some may get you further than others, but you still end up falling short. We’re imperfect people trying to get to a perfect God. We’re finite beings trying to reach an infinite Other.

As a pastor as said many times, the good news is not that you can get to God, but that God in Jesus has come to you. God has come down the mountain to seek and to save the lost.

It’s not about keeping enough rules or praying the right amount. It’s not about keeping the five pillars of faith or achieving nirvana or making pilgrimmages.

It is that God desires a relationship with you and me. It’s about God knowing us fully, even the parts we’d rather keep hidden, and loving us even more fully. It’s not a religion but a relationship.