I pose a question for all of you who have seen the movie Jumanji. By the way, this is a bit of a spoiler, so if you haven’t seen it, you may want to skip this one. How old were you when you realized that the same actor portrayed both Alan Parrish’s father, Sam, and Van Pelt, Alan’s dreaded enemy from the Jumanji world?

I was today years old. Ok, I feel like I should have caught on by now, having seen this film numerous times.

But isn’t it interesting that the game turned Alan’s fear of his own father into a character that was out to get him. Alan misunderstood how his father really felt about him, and that made him afraid. And isn’t that what most fear is? Just a misinterpretation of the situation?

I heard a pastor once say that FEAR stands for False Evidence Appearing Real. So many factors lead into fear. Granted, some fear is valid. But in my case (and I suspect in most of your cases), 99% of what I fear is not valid. It’s really just in my head, me envisioning scenarios that almost never happen, or when they do, they’re not nearly as bad as my fear made them out to be.

I love how Alan finally stops running and stands up to Van Pelt at the end. He faces his fear. Sometimes, that’s what it takes. You have to stand up to your fear, do the thing that you’re afraid of, and name it for what it is. Some fear is of the enemy, the devil, and it helps to name it and rebuke it out loud.

The Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of fear– that is, a mindset of anxiety that dominates our lives — but a spirit of power and love and a sound mind. That is a resurrection power, a regenerated heart, and a renewed mind. It is the indwelling God, the Holy Spirit, that overcomes fear.

“I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear” (Nelson Mandela).

Well, it’s the first day of Lent, and for me, that means no social media for the next seven weeks. So far, I’ve managed to “accidentally” check into Facebook a number of times before I remember that I’m fasting from it. There’s always a period of adjustment whenever I start this time of year. By the end of it, I don’t miss social media at all.

Hopefully, this won’t be just a case of giving up something for the sake of giving it up. My goal is to replace all the time I’d normally waste on Facebook and Instagram with constructive– and possibly spiritual– endeavors. I want to read more actual books, especially more of the Bible.

I was reminded that being a disciple of Jesus means being consumed with being like Jesus. Those twelve disciples spent every waking moment of three years with Jesus because it was a passionate desire and a daily commitment. They spent a lot of time misunderstanding what He was saying and didn’t really get Him or who He was until after He resurrected, but they were with Him, nonetheless.

If I really and truly want to be like Jesus, it can’t be five minutes a day. If I want to call myself a disciple, it can’t be an activity– it has to be a lifestyle and a habit.

That said, I’m praying that Lent will be a time of abstaining from things I like to whet my appetite more for the things of God. I want to remove the distractions so I can better hear the voice of God.

What are you giving up for Lent? I always like to hear from my readers and gain from their insights.

I just found out that Carman Licciardello passed away today at age 65 from complications from a surgery for a hiatal hernia. I’m feeling a bit in shock at the moment. It’s like a part of my childhood went with him.

Was his music cheesy? Yes. Was it overblown and completely over the top? Absolutely. Is is an integral part of my life as a child and a youth? Without a doubt.

Even today, after all these years, I could still recognize several of his songs. Especially ones like The Champion, America Again, Witch’s Invitation, and Addicted to Jesus.

I wonder what it’s like for Him right now. I’m sure he’s seeing for the first time with his own actual eyes what he saw for so long with eyes of faith. What he hoped for and trusted in for all those years is now reality for him. He sang faithfully about Jesus, and now He sees Jesus face to face.

I may just have to pull out the old CDs and rock a little bit of Carman at some point tonight in his memory. Rest in peace, Carman. You were a good soldier in the fight of faith. May you hear the words “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I thought about calling it Snowmageddon, but at this point, it’s been almost all freezing rain and sleet with very little actual snow. It looks like snow, but it’s much more treacherous to walk on or drive on. Thus, I’m staying indoors.

All the Northern folks are probably pointing fingers and laughing at all us poor and pathetic Southerners who don’t know how to handle a little bit of snow and ice. They forget that while this is a daily thing in the winter up North, it’s more like a once in a decade or so event for the South (or at least Middle Tennessee). We’re more used to the scorching summers with 110% humidity for weeks and weeks on end.

I myself am more middle of the road when it comes to weather. I like me some spring and fall. I tend to like summer and winter for about two weeks until the extreme temps have me pining for the next season.

Still, there’s something peaceful about a snowy landscape. Plus, it almost seems to glow on a night when the clouds hide the moon and stars. I think it helps me to sleep better.

I’m thankful for all four seasons. Each has its place in the natural cycle. Winter is a time of rest and restoration for the upcoming spring and summer. It’s a good reminder for all of us that we all need times of rest and refreshing in the midst of hectic schedules. There’s a reason why God made six days for work and play and one day for a Sabbath rest.

“God is the only comfort. He is also the supreme terror: the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from. He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion. Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger—according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way. . . . Of course, I quite agree that the Christian religion is, in the long run, a thing of unspeakable comfort. But it does not begin in comfort; it begins in the dismay I have been describing, and it is no use at all trying to go on to that comfort without first going through that dismay. In religion, as in war and everything else, comfort is the one thing you cannot get by looking for it. If you look for truth, you may find comfort in the end: if you look for comfort you will not get either comfort or truth—only soft soap and wishful thinking to begin with and, in the end, despair” (C. S. Lewis).

I think sometimes we want faith to easy and comfortable. It is simple but not easy. There’s peace to be sure but not comfort — at least not in the way most people think of it. Faith only grows through trial and testing. Many will fall away, but the true faith is the one that perseveres to the end. I believe God won’t lose anyone who has come to Him in saving faith. That’s what brings me great comfort.

“A lenten prayer to avoid entitlement from Richard Rohr:

‘Maybe we all should begin our days with a litany of satisfaction, abundance, and enoughness. God, you have given me another day of totally gratuitous life: my health, my eyes, my ears, my mind, my taste, my family, my freedom, my education, clean water, more than enough food, a roof over my head, a warm bed and blanket, friends, sunshine, a beating heart, and your eternal love and guidance.

To any one of these we must say, “And this is more than enough!'”

I’m sure I’ve posted this before — and it’s a bit early since Lent doesn’t officially start until Wednesday — but this is true no matter what time or season of the year it is. We all need a lesson from time to time in enoughness to avoid the trap of entitlement that so many have fallen into.

I still think if we spent more time giving thanks for what we have, we’d spend a lot less time being envious of those who have what we don’t (and what we think we need). It keeps us from the sin of comparison, which is the thief of joy.

Lord, thank you for all that I have — my health, my home, my family, my friends, my job, my car, and so many other things (not forgetting the grace and love from You that keeps me alive and that saved me). For all these, I say, “This is more than enough!”

This is a reminder to myself. I need Jesus.

I need Jesus more than I need a wife.

I need Jesus more than I need financial stability.

I need Jesus more than I need a newer car.

I need Jesus more than I need that next flannel shirt.

I need Jesus more than I need that next vacation.

I need Jesus more than I need to see “my people” elected into office.

I need Jesus more than I need to see everybody else abiding by the code of conduct that I decide is fitting.

I need Jesus more than I need coffee.

I need Jesus more than I need the next breath.

I need Jesus more than I need to be affirmed and acknowledged and loved.

I need Jesus more than any self-help study or any 10 steps to a better me program.

I need Jesus. Period.

“Words, words, words. Our society is full of words: on billboards, on television screens, in newspapers and books. Words whispered, shouted, and sung. Words that move, dance, and change in size and color. Words that say, ‘Taste me, smell me, eat me, drink me, sleep with me,’ but most of all, ‘buy me.’ With so many words around us, we quickly say: ‘Well, they’re just words.’ Thus, words have lost much of their power.

Still, the word has the power to create. When God speaks, God creates. When God says, “Let there be light” (Genesis 1:3), light is. God speaks light. For God, speaking and creating are the same. It is this creative power of the word we need to reclaim. What we say is very important. When we say, ‘I love you,’ and say it from the heart, we can give another person new life, new hope, new courage. When we say, ‘I hate you,’ we can destroy another person. Let’s watch our words” (Henri Nouwen).

The old saying that sticks and stones may break my bones, but words can never hurt me is a lie. Words spoken in hatred and anger have done more damage that all the sticks and stones put together. The damage isn’t always apparent. Sometimes, it doesn’t show itself to the naked eye. But people carry more grievous wounds from words than from any physical harm. Words can harm. Words can kill.

That’s why James talks about the tongue so much. He said that such a small instrument can cause a world of destruction or can bring healing and wholeness. He also said that you can’t say you love God and hate your brother. You can’t speak about love to God and then use that same tongue to defile and denigrate others.

Choose your words wisely. It is true that we have two ears and one mouth so that we listen twice as much as we speak. Let your words be full of wisdom and not wounding, for building up and not breaking down.

“May the words that come out of my mouth and the musings of my heart
    meet with Your gracious approval,
    O Eternal, my Rock,
    O Eternal, my Redeemer” (Psalm 19:14, The Voice).

“Be thankful for the smallest blessing, and you will deserve to receive greater. Value the least gifts no less than the greatest and simple graces as especial favors. If you remember the dignity of the Giver, no gift will seem small or mean, for nothing can be valueless that is given by the most high God” (Thomas a Kempis).

Sometimes, I wonder if we really even know what constitutes a small blessing versus a large blessing. I keep thinking about the story where thieves broke into a pawn shop, but they didn’t steal anything. Instead, they switched all the price tags, so that the big items went for pennies and the smaller items cost a fortune.

In the current culture, what we esteem as valuable and what we discard as worthless are sometimes mixed up and messed up. We hold entertainers very highly and make them rich off of our adoration, while we throw pennies at our essential workers– those teachers, doctors, nurses, police officers, firemen, and so forth who really are what hold the society together.

Is is any wonder we don’t get God’s ways? What He values and what we value are sometimes very different things. We treasure the temporary while God tells us to seek the timeless and eternal treasures that can never be taken away and that never rust or decay.

To be thankful for the smallest blessings is to begin to see through God’s eyes what matters most and what is really priceless in the grand scheme of eternity. To God, the value of one human soul is worth more than all the gold and silver and diamonds and rubies in the world. To God, that soul was worth dying for. And that soul was yours.

I’d amend that last statement. Someone is always watching when we go through our daily trials and turmoil. God sees and God knows, and that is enough.

I believe it’s one thing to die once for your faith in the literal and grand sense and quite another to die daily to yourself in a million small ways. I’d hope hat I could be bold enough to give my life for Jesus, should it be required, but I know that I experience a lot of little deaths every day in the form of inconveniences, sacrifice, discomfort, and other losses.

Maybe if you’re able to learn how to die to self in small ways, when the time comes, it will make the grand sacrifice possible. You see that the same grace that enables you to endure the daily trials will be with you in those final moments.

Selfishly speaking, I don’t want to see anyone called to lay down their lives for Jesus. I don’t want it to come to that. Yet I know in many places of the world, it does. To be a believer is to invite persecution and martyrdom.

Lord, help me to be faithful, no matter what. Help all your children to trust you, no matter what. Remind us of Your promise that you will be with us to the end . . . and beyond . . . no matter what.