Mirrors

I have to admit - I enjoyed the superbowl last night. Commercials were pretty funny and even though we opened our home for folks to come and watch the game with us - it turned out great. I got to spend some time with one of "MyKids" who I have not had the chance to spend much time with the last few months. Mom came and got her later in the evening and it was nice to be able to sit and chat to catch up in life. I am thankful for those moments and their friendship. Carol has a lot of chili left over so hopefully we can supply some folks with a meal the next few days. Hey Saints played well and I enjoyed watching Drew Brees and the story about his life the last few years. How New Orleans changed him and not him changing the city. He is a very humbled man and that is hard to find in a man these days. Pride seems to creep in so easily these days and it affects more than we care to know. My point being is that I am a pretty emotional person. I was always brought up that guys/dudes dont show emotion or cry over things. I can't remember as an adult ever doing so until my mom passed back in 2006. There is a spiritual mark in my life as Pastor Jimmy preached on that topic yesterday. Moms passing changed so much about me that i sometimes wonder if there is much left of the old me since then. I find it really hard to hold back my tears, my emotions when I am involved with something that includes my heart or my family or one of mykids. My heart just overflows. A few months back we had some of my clan over of teenagers and Carol and I watched the movie - My Sisters Keeper. It was all I could do to keep my face up and my eyes on the tv. Kids were laughing ... pretending to be tough and not show emotion. We all know what it means when you hear - Hey, I'm not crying... I have something in my eye. BOOHOO.... who really cares right? Hey they may not have shed a tear but I was not embarrasses for them to see me shed a tear. It wont be the last time for sure. I care too much and too deeply to fake it or pretend to be something I am not. To be honest though, this emotion thing used to bother me. Am I less of a man that I am supposed to be? Aren't I supposed to suck it up and not show any emotion at all? There are far to many bars in our worlds full of men drowing their feelings and not dealing with things. So as far as this goes - if I shed a tear or speak on a topic that is hard or emotional - hey its because i care and my focus is on you and not me. Thats a good thing. I also think that if Jesus wept for someone he deeply cared about and had shed tears for the people in his life ...then I can do that as well - it can't be that bad right?
I would rather have a tender heart than a heart that is stone cold with no emotion. Its ok that Kyle, my family and "MyKids" see this side of me from time to time. I for sure don't want them to think I am just some robot going through life but through my emotions and my connection with them - they may just see a clearer vision of God in their lives.

I have been giving it a LOT of thought lately on the topic of family ministry. Too often parents today think its up to the local church, pastors, youth leaders to teach their kids about Jesus. I am not sure where these thoughts and this vision is going but I do know one thing.
At the end of the day, the best way to touch my family, my students, MyKids - is to let them see how much Jesus has touched my life so that it may change theirs. We are the mirrors to so many around us. What is your life saying about you?

I will end with this today and it reminds me of all the special friendships I have with so many.

A wonderful bond exists between the person who invests and the one in whom the investment is made. This bond evolves from the heart of anyone who recognizes this investment and places such a high value in it. One mirror reflects to another.