"Making this Up as I Go"...Part 2

In order to get to this really good day, we have walked through some tough times together recently. 

A few weeks back I invited Carson to go with me to this IMAX showing of Indiana Jones as a shared experience in lieu of my recent 38th birthday. He was extremely excited about this prospect.

Leading up to the day of the event, I had told him that we would have some “fun” things to do together as we traveled to the movie. He didn’t seem convincingly excited about this prospect. 

Little did he know that the day I would pick him up from school, that my car would be full of IJones items including his stand-up lego IJ from his room, trivia questions, a “Mad-lib” game and a “Trumps” card set for us to play while traveling. And of course along for the ride with us was my 1981 IJ large action figure along with his more new-and-improved IJ large action figure acquired in recent years. With a smile on his face throughout the ride and amidst the blaring tunes on repeat of the “Raiders March” in the car, he continued to affirm me as his dad, in a way every Dad longs to be affirmed: "Dad, you know you’re crazy, right?” (see Photo of Car Seat full of Indy props attached)

So, how does all this relate to this walkaway truth I mentioned? One of the missing ingredients I see in many believers is an understanding of how the Heavenly Father waits to relate intimately to His children.  Our friendship with God is to be a delight where we willfully are obeying Him around every corner of life. And when we round those corners He often surprises us with Joy, even in the midst of life's toughest situations. He invites us up into adventures we could never imagine nor could be be prepared for if not steadily listening to Him along the way.  A large part of His love, because He is Holy and Just, is revealed in walking through tough times together often due to our own willful disobedience. Only then in that order can we be led by the Heavenly Father to the really good days. As a Father, I was able to extend this same grace to my own son in the simple form of offering to take him on a road trip centered around common interests.

Oswald Chambers, as with most timeless truths, once had something to say about this:

"Obey God in the thing He shows you, and instantly the next thing is opened up. God will never reveal more truth about Himself until you have obeyed what you know already...oh, the delight of the friendship with God"

To Be Concluded...

"Making this Up As I Go"...Intro Devo

JONES:..."I'm going after that truck SALLAH: "How?" JONES: "I don't know. I'm making this up as I go". 31 years after first hearing and seeing the above conversation unfold in the classic movie Indiana Jones & the Raiders of the Lost Ark, my son and I were able to experience the film together on not only "the big screen" but in an IMAX theater format recently (Sep 13th, 2012. See the Photos attached). That’s almost a “nuf-said” statement in itself.

It's been almost 5 months since I last blogged. Leave it to this shared experience to jumpstart my heart back into sharing insights from the journey so far. Writers block, for a thinker like me, mixed with being a student pastor, husband, & father of four is a tough load to bear. Without recapping the amazing movie experience itself (leave that to the movie reviewers) or divulging all the personal eventful moments of our trip, I’ve realized that there is a walkaway devotional truth here: as a Father observing and interacting with his son, I continue to realize more and more the possibilities of how the Heavenly Father waits to relate to His children. Additionally, our reciprocation back to Him is of equal importance in reckoning upon His smile. To Be Continued...