Today I celebrate my second year of marriage to by best friend, Michelle.

It’s sort of like a “second New Year.”

We take the time to write each other a letter, reviewing the previous year, and dreaming about the year to come.  As many of you readers know, Michelle and I do not taking living lightly!  As Thoreau said, we intend to “suck the marrow out of life.”  As Scripture says, “to live life to the full.”

Today I want to share with you the highlights of this past year of marriage.  For all you singles who think marriage is for old losers- I hope you’ll come to realize that some of us still know how to party  We’ve been blessed to live an INSPIRED year.

There are moments in life that MARK us for eternity.  They change the course of our lives, and more often than not, we don’t even seen them coming.  A total of ZERO milestone events that occurred this year were planned by either of us.  I hope this will inspire you to chase the goose.

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So we’ve learned that lust is a cancer, but it’s treatable and beatable.
Interestingly, the key to beating cancer and lust are one and the same.
And though it’s a lifelong process, it’s actually quite simple- you must starve it.

But you can just try to ‘be good’ and expect lust to go away.

And as I mentioned in this post on masturbation, if you can’t work your way into heaven, then the opposite is true: you can’t work your way out of sin.

We must feed our spirit if we are to develop that strong immune system that’s necessary for wards off the diseased attacks that constantly try to infect us.

As the old song goes, we need to “light the fire again.” It’s the only thing that truly purifies us.

Here are a few ideas…

1. Eat this book.
There’s a great quote about the Bible… “This book will keep you from sin, but sin will keep you from this book.”

Or as Psalm 119 says, “Your word I hide in my heart, so I won’t sin against You.”

Finding it hard to read?  Start by just Getting Your Calories.

2. Cuddle with a Dude.

Okay, not actually. But a pure life does require intimacy with Christ. Worship and pray in a way that draws you close to Jesus. The best way that I’ve found to personally draw closer is through writing and being in nature.

For you it might be rocking out and singing at the top of your lungs. For others it might me quiet times of solitude and meditation. For others it might mean serving the poorest of the poor. For others it might mean taking a long drive and yelling at the top of your lungs.

Figure out how prayer and worship will best draw you closer to the Lover of your very being.

3. Be a gold digger.
Proverbs suggests that we “Seek wisdom like gold and fine jewels.”

This might be books, podcasts, messages and sermons, even (gasp) blog posts.

The Apostle James once said, “Ask God for wisdom, and He’ll give it to you without finding fault. But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt.”

Start digging.

4. Buddies!
(anyone else LOVE the movie Heavyweights?!)

This is about intimate friendships and intentional community.

I’m talking Chicken Fried nights that turn into worship nights around a campfire.

I mean sleepovers that turn into all-night talks about things that matter.

I’m thinking dinner dates that inspire everyone at the table to take it to the next level in their relationship with God, their relationships with others, and their passionate pursuit of the dreams and calling that God placed inside them.

I mean living together and working together and ministering together.

5. Getcha Four-eyes On.
Now we’re talking about VISION. Seeing the unseen. Calling it out for what it is. Righting wrong. Being the dreamers of His dreams. The Apostle Paul suggests that we make our calling and election sure.

The disciple Matthew tells us that the kingdom of heaven is violently advancing, and that we should get on board.

As Rick Warren said at Catalyst two years ago, “if you want to receive God’s blessing, you gotta get with what God IS blessing!”

So put your spiritual glasses on. Wake up, wake up, open your eyes! As Jesus said to all those who are blind “Receive your sight, and sin no more.”

6. Get reminded.
My buddy Rich and I were sitting at his cottage once and he was explaining to me how Israel’s biggest problem was simply FORGETFULNESS. Do not forget the God of your youth. Do not forget the Saviour who rescued you.

Get accountability. Get people to ASK you the hard questions. And if they don’t… ask THEM why! Bring everything into the light, and keep it there until it’s radiated away. Return to your first love. Be called to account.

7. Stare into the distance.
Oh if only our generation would look down the road and see what’s coming. If we would but stop staring at trees and get a glimpse of the forest. God has plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future, life abundantly, and He PROMISES so!

Yet we grind and pay bills and fulfill visions and missions for others far lesser than those which God implanted on our hearts. To what end? To end life the same place we started, with little or no impact on eternity. Disgrace. Such waste. I suggest another way.

Surround yourself with godly elders, people of the faith who’ve gone ahead and made a difference. Climb on their shoulders and see further. Seek more territory for the Lion and His lands.

(that’s my ineloquent way of saying “get a mentor asap.”)

Okay, that’s my list. If you have any more to contribute, PLEASE comment below and help us out.

For the record, you don’t HAVE to do any of these things. But don’t expect to beat lust or have a fulfilling relationship with God without them. It takes INTENTIONALITY to become a man or woman of God. It takes conscious thought to truly live. Choose THIS DAY whom you will serve.

Michelle and I watched Dead Poet’s Society (on VHS!) last night. Always a good reminder.

As Henry David Thoreau said “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately, I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, To put to rout all that was not life and not when I had come to die Discover that I had not lived.”

Carpe diem- seize the day.

Or as the Bible says, “Teach us to number our days, that we might learn to live right.”

Do so, and you will LIVE.

Right now I’m in Costa Rica, working as a chef at an eco resort. It’s been fun. And a great learning experience. I love the people I work with.  Including the new guy.  He’s 27 years old.  And he’s gay.

This wouldn’t been super abnormal if I was back in Canada.  But we’re in Costa Rica, where being gay is still pretty discouraged. There are about 50 people on staff here.  They’re all locals who actually live at the resort in dorms.  So the new guy, the gay guy, sleeps in a room with 5 others guys.

I can’t imagine how hard this place must be for him.  He sits alone when he eats.  None of the other guys talk to him.  No one to talk to. Just work and sleep and be alone. And who knows what kind of temptations he feels being surrounded by hard-working Costa Rican men?

My heart is broken for him.  He’s so lonely. So alone.

It’s reminding me SO MUCH that Jesus loves PEOPLE- black people, white people, rich people, poor people, straight people, gay people.  I’m reminded that God came to bring people and love and grace and encouragement and lifechange and healing to everyone.

And so I’m making every effort to show God’s love.  I’m making every effort to live like Jesus. To be that healing grace. To be that friend to the lonely.  To be that encourager of talents.  It’s been an amazing two weeks.  I can truly say that we’ve become friends.  I can now say that I think I love a gay man.

Because it’s what Jesus would do.

Jay

I’ve never felt like this before.

I’ve never really ever felt prejudice against me before.  But it did this week in Panama.

Seems white people aren’t particularly liked down there.  Everyone wants our ‘gringo dollars’.  Especially the taxis.  One guy in particular tried to charge us $12 for a short taxi ride. We declined, and found another for $2.

In a fast food joint they took our order, and then we waited 10 minutes while they served another 4-5 customers.  We finally got our food, but not without a look of disgust from the server.

At another place, they absolutely butchered our meal.  We had ordered it based after seeing a few other people with the same thing.  Ours looked like a greesy plate of dog food.

We had to emphatically exclaim to almost everyone- “no Americanos… somos Canadianos!” But it was too late- the prejudice… pre-judgement… was already in.

I was hurt.  I was mad.   I was furious.  I felt awful… being white.

But it got me to thinking… how did blacks feel when they boarded a bus just 50 years ago?  How did the Jews feel when forced to wear a star?  What about when Japanese were rounded up and sent to camps?

And these were just the beginnings of prejudice and oppression… what about the African slave trade? Holocaust? Hiroshima? Rwanda? Darfur? Egyptian women and genital mutilation? Kids as child soldiers?

The prejudice against me made me mad, but it also made me realize how much worse it can get.  Obviously the answer isn’t to shut up and take it… no, it’s to ensure that MY life is free of prejudice towards others.  That I make sure I’m not pre-judging, racist, oppressing person.

I want to be loving of all people, welcoming those of other cultures, and allowing freedom to occur in the lives of everyone.

Sorta like my King does.

Jay

Actually, we’re leaving on an Airbus, which is way more awesome than a jet plane.  With the amazing help of Lea, Jess, Shelley, and Cody, we managed to do the entire move in 10 hours.

We have way too much stuff….  Read the rest of this entry »