Farewell for now, Brennan Manning

April 13, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 0

It is with surprise that I woke today to hear that Brennan Manning has died.

It was only a few years ago  in which I was introduced to his writing’s on God’s grace, and he explained it in a way that I have never forgotten. While I have heard knowledgeable men teach Grace from their understanding of Grace, Brennan preached God’s grace through experience. He was a man who desperately needed (just like all of us) the grace of God, and he had a deep sense of the grace and love of our God. He proclaimed God’s grace wherever he had the chance. R.I.P. ragamuffin brother. Sad to hear that you’ve left us now, but glad that you’re in the arms of Jesus now.

An excerpt from Brennan Manning’s ‘Ragamuffin Gospel,’

“Because salvation is by grace through faith, I believe that among the countless number of people standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands (see Revelation 7:9), I shall see the prostitute from the Kit-Kat Ranch in Carson City, Nevada, who tearfully told me that she could find no other employment to support her two-year-old son. I shall see the woman who had an abortion and is haunted by guilt and remorse but did the best she could faced with grueling alternatives; the businessman besieged with debt who sold his integrity in a series of desperate transactions; the insecure clergyman addicted to being liked, who never challenged his people from the pulpit and longed for unconditional love; the sexually abused teen molested by his father and now selling his body on the street, who, as he falls asleep each night after his last ‘trick’, whispers the name of the unknown God he learned about in Sunday school.

‘But how?’ we ask.

Then the voice says, ‘They have washed their robes and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’

There they are. There *we* are – the multitude who so wanted to be faithful, who at times got defeated, soiled by life, and bested by trials, wearing the bloodied garments of life’s tribulations, but through it all clung to faith.

My friends, if this is not good news to you, you have never understood the gospel of grace.”

HOPE not HOCUS POCUS

April 10, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 0

Death no longer scares me. It used to, but not anymore. The days of worrying “what will happen to me?” are over. Following Christ has brought a confidence to where I am going, and the old fear has surprisingly been replaced with a longing. As they say, death has lost it sting.

With Christ there is a hope of what is to come, there is a hope that all things will be made right, there is a hope that when I die I will be with Christ. This is the HOPE that shatters fear.

I would be skeptical of all this if I didn’t see God at work in my life here and now. I might think it to be some hocus pocus feel good thinking to satisfy a concern of the unknown. But this isn’t the case, I see Christ here and now. I see him moving in my life. I follow after Him, and I see his promises fulfilled over and over again. I cannot deny his reality. For me to not follow Christ as this point would be an act of disobedience, not a crisis of not knowing if He is real. He is very real and very present.

With this said, this real God offers Hope. He offers Christ who gives us peace and joy and places eternity on our hearts. Without this hope I would be afraid. I would be absolutely terrified.

WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME…?

April 8, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 0

I heard a funny question at a party. A guy asked another When was the last time you sprinted as hard as you can? I stifled a laugh as I pictured the guy attacking the other until he sprinted as hard as he could out of the house. Unfortunately, no fight broke out, but instead they began rambling on about calories, cardio, and blah blah blah. I lost focus, but the question intrigued me as I got to thinking about last times. Here’s a list of good last time questions…..

When was the last time you had to be brave?

When was the last time you tried something new?

When was the last time you jumped on a trampoline?

When was the last time you made a new friend?

When was the last time you took a risk?

When was the last time you were over 15 feet off the ground?

When was the last time that you worked really hard on something?

When was the last time you were genuinely excited?

When was the last time you skinned your knee?

When was the last time you were inspired?

When was the last time that you drank expired milk?

When was the last time you broke a rule?

When was the last time you changed it up?

When was the last time you got bit by a dog?

 

STOMPED BY THE BULL

April 7, 2013 in This needs to be read. 0

 

“It’s better to be in the arena, getting stomped by the bull, than to be up in the stands or out in the parking lot.”

- Steven Pressfield, The War of Art

Comfort Kills Progression

April 6, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 0

What’s holding you back from moving forward? Could it be how comfortable you are?

Think of any of the epic movements forward, and you can usually pinpoint the drivers as men and women who were uncomfortable with the present. Deep down they wanted things to be different. They were sick of the here and now, and they dreamed of what could be, but even their dreams couldn’t relieve the dissatisfaction and so they took action. They started revolutions and movements, they wrote books and invented things, they experimented and researched. Like a climber they focused their eyes on the peak, and step by step they did the hard work of going up.

The idea that comfort kills progression came to me when, in a moment of transparency, my professor said that his biggest breakthrough came when he was at his lowest. He was so low that he only had two options. Embrace his uncomfortable position or make his way out. There were no other options.

I think for many of us we want change, we want progression, we want forward movement, but the comfort of our lives make it difficult. It’s always easier to crack open a beer, take a seat, and watch television than it is to study. We aren’t hungry, or poor, or oppressed, or in danger, so why should we sacrifice time, money and energy to move forward? In a sense, many of the great movers had no choice, but to play the game. Their circumstances only gave them two options: settle or move. Unlike us, they didn’t have the option to stand on the sideline and spectate, and so they play their little hearts out.

My question is: what if we intentionally made our lives uncomfortable? Would that spur us forward?

MUFFLED YELLS & SCREECHING BRAKES

April 5, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 0

I hit the ground hard. My head and shoulder slammed into the pavement, and all the energy that once propelled my bicycle forward was transformed into a screaming pain. The movies visualize crashes as slow motion ballets in which life flashes before your eyes, but that’s just Hollywood. Real crashes happen with such speed and with such intensity that they happen and they’re done. One second you’re all smiles, riding bikes with friends, the next second you’re sliding sideways across the road wondering if a car is going to run you over. If there is anything that flashes across your mind, it’s the moments of the crash. The feeling of your head hitting the ground. Catching a glimpse of your buddy ragdolling across the granite. The sound of muffled yells and screeching brakes. It’s all one big daze.

PROPER RESPONSE

March 25, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 1

me: how would you react if Jesus was right here and he told you go out and tell people about Him?

high school student: YOLO

 

A CAPTAIN & HIS BALLOONS

March 11, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 4

A local fancypants ranch is throwing a contest to hype up a bicycle race event that is held in Monterey. To join the contest people have to submit a photo of themselves with their bicycle. With the photography magic of my friend Brandon and my mediocre balance, we created this. I solicit you to go to this link and vote for us. Not because we’re eager for the prize, but because we’re eager for a photo with balloons to win.

BORROWING A GIANT

March 3, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 3

My friend Ben went over to Europe to discover his inner Tolkien/Lewis, and left this blue angel in my care. No offense to my precious continental, but this giant is hurricane cloud fast. The first time we went for a spin I had feelings that can only be described with phrases like “OH WOW”, “I’M GOING FAST!”, and “DEAR GOD, DEAR GOD, DEAR GOD.” In no way did I scream any of the above mentioned phrases as I screeched through neighborhoods.

EL PESCADO

March 2, 2013 in Time with Teh Lemonsmith 3

In case you were curious, this fish is the cheapest meat that you can buy at Safeway. $1.46 for the whole thing. Second cheapest meat was the giblets and gizzards. You learn something new everyday.

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