My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you’ll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ’s love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God - Eph 3

This translation from the Message Bible captures the essence of how we were called to live. From a heart position based in His love toward us, not our performance driven mindset, we find a "home base" to explore life from. What is it we quickly find? We find our lives. Our stories. The story of your life is a novel both waiting to be told and one whose pages are being written every day. Our lives will never fully give us what we think it will - that is the nature of life. Life by its definition has it's ups and downs. It has it's challenges, it's set backs and it's mountain top experience. Each set back and each mountain top is equally valid and each equally important.

What is critical is perspective - God's not ours. By responding to his invitation to do life with Him we gain His perspective, His vantage point, and His companionship.

A much better perspective than the one's we create in our limited minds.

Fallen Heroes

The tears came freely and often today as I was surrounded by 20,000 others at the Oracle Arena as we gathered to remember four Oakland Police Officers killed in a senseless tragedy last week. It reminded me of the worst and the best of our culture. The worst - that four lives had been taken from us, fathers gone from their kids lives, husbands not coming home at diner time anymore. It reminded me once again about the fallen nature of man and what people can be capable of.

Yet as I looked into the eyes of Law Enforcement personal from all over the country I was reminded of the best of our culture. They talked of principles of honor, integrity, service to others, sacrifice. They talked of loss and grief and moving forward, but , mostly they talked by simply being there. They came from all over- Fresno, LA, Canada, New York - from large and small departments. They came and they came until close to 20,000 filled the arena. They came because it is their culture to do so - they came to demonstrate the value of family and standing together. They came to say to the widows and fatherless that their loss was not in vain. They came to remind those of us privileged to stand with them that age old concepts of honor, integrity, service and sacrifice are not history lessons but life lessons etched on their diverse faces and woven through the very fabric of their uniforms.

It was an honor to be with them today