“risk”

Our family trip over the past 10 days was an incredible time of bonding with the kids coupled with a lot of time for Gina and I to reflect on our marriage and just about every other part of our lives. We had family time each day and did things like zip-lines, ropes courses, a giant trapeze swing, tubing, etc. In the mornings, while the kids were in camp building some great relationships and being challenged physically, emotionally and spiritually, the adults had a time of learning with Mark Connelly, pastor of Mission Community Church and co-founder of a marriage ministry called 2Ignite. Mark, joined by his wife Kay, walked us through 4 of the 12 igniters for marriage. All these igniters caused us to look deeper at our marriage. Each had a specific point to cover, whether it was two-sweat (being physically active together); two-guard (making the marriage, not kids, the primary human relationship in the home); or two-drink (keeping the sex life healthy and exciting). And, each igniter had homework so you had to apply the message…praise God!

I encourage all of you who are married (and if you are not, you can get a head start if you plan to be married some day (just stay away from “two-drink” for now ) to check out their site for some great ideas on how to keep a marriage fresh and exciting. I love Mark and Kay’s hearts for keeping marriage an adventure and making your spouse THE most important human on the planet. When our relationships are in proper order, God first and our spouse second, it is amazing at how God will use that. I was challenged a lot over the 4 days that Mark spoke. Challenged to be a better husband, father and follower of Christ.

Ultimately, as I walked away from the week of messages and all the camp activities with my family, one theme kept jumping out at me: risk. Trust God and risk it all for Him. For the life of me, I really don’t know why Christ-followers don’t do this ALL the time. If you aren’t following Jesus, you get a pass. But if you are, your life isn’t yours anyway. And, besides, it is a vapor. “But a mist.” Why won’t we risk it all for the One who gave it all? Honestly, is it really a “risk” to give your life to the Creator of everything?  Life is far too short to be caught up in the material world, and by that I mean the world outside of the Kingdom of God. God’s Kingdom is the only thing worth building because it will last for eternity. I pray that God will strengthen me to live for Him and not waste time on things that are here today and gone tomorrow. I pray that for you too.