SMITCHing

Desire. One of the basic tenants of a heart-based approach to Christian spiritual formation is this: Desire overcomes desire. For example: Suppose I want to have sex with a girl to whom I'm not married, but I have a holy desire to honor her—and her creator Jesus Christ—because I love Him, and her, more than I desire having illicit sex. As a result, I don't sleep with her. Not because I grit my teeth and decline the physical act despite my desire for her, but because of the stronger and holy desire to honor her and God, my loving Father. Let's consider a more common example. I want to be praised for my brilliance, but because I love—really love God—I want to see Him honored more than I want any glory for myself. Hence, I exhibit a true, heart-motivated humility. Do you see in these examples how holy, God-given desires, or affections, trump the more base and selfish inclinations of the heart? I can imagine some nodding heads at this point. Now comes the tough part. A...

How many times do you say "no"? It's an interesting question. If we start with the premise that something has to die in order for something else to live, then saying "no" is a very creative act. I'll give you an example. If I don't consistently say "no" to work, then I sacrifice realtionship, health, even years of life. I die to those things in order that my career might live and flourish. But what happens if I do say "no"? I accomplish less. I don't get noticed. I don't get promoted. My career suffers, and maybe even dies, but if I wisely invest the time I gain by saying "no" in other things of signifigance, then my relationships thrive, my health is good, and I live more fully outside of work. The "death" of one thing makes space for another. Whenever anybody starts talking about these kinds of issues, the first word that comes up is balance. I think it's a smoke screen. A convenient dodge used by peo...

My daughter's company in SF preforming at Dance West: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nQUEVesWgY