Drew Boswell

a place for us to share ideas, talk about life, and learn together.

Steps of Grace; Genesis 1

Creation and My Mother

UnknownAs I sit in the waiting room while my mother is having surgery on her foot, I was reading through Genesis 1 in the Bible. As I read through the passage the following questions came to mind, “Why did God not just create everything in a single moment? Why spread it out over six days? Why not create the entire universe or ‘creation’ in a single instance?”

Genesis 1 “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. . . And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 And God saw that the light was good. And God separated the light from the darkness. . . . 7 And God made the expanse and separated the waters that were under the expanse from the waters that were above the expanse. And it was so. 8 And God called the expanse Heaven.3 And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. . . “ and so on and so forth for all six days of creation.

It could have been to show the importance of how the sky or heavens are above the earth, and therefore attach some kind of theological significance; or, to show the separation of light over darkness, etc.… But couldn’t we just discern these things from the completed creation? I think so.

I believe that God broke creation down into steps or days to show a process. He desires to move from one thing to another, from one moment to another moment. Time had never existed before creation, so His ability to show process is significant. He gives order and how elements work together in creation – but in time these elements change how they work together. In eternity there is the eternal present, and any reference to time is insignificant.

Creation Teaches Us About Relationships:

1)   Creation teaches us that every aspect of creation is important and significant. It is given its own day, or part of a day in the creation account. Each day therefore is important. Each aspect of creation is highlighted.  Man was created with a need for a woman. Creation was created with a need for something to have dominion over it. We are linked together, and each part is important.

2)   There is the development of marriage and relationships, which develop, grown, deepen, and change over time. Having been married for over fifteen years, I love my wife differently than how I loved her the day we were wed. My relationship with my mother has changed as well. She is still my mother, but how we relate to each other has changed over time. She was once my caretaker and provider, now she has moved to friend and dearly loved person that I find myself helping to care for.  Not only can you know a person (which is a great blessing), but at different stages of the relationship you experience life differently with them. We can only speculate as to what a perfect marriage would have been like, and how their love for each other would have grown deeper over time apart from sin. Or as parents and children would have grown to love each other in a perfect Eden.

3)   God would come in the cool of the day and speak with Adam and Eve. This shows that God intended for mankind (His children) to have an ever-changing relationship with Him as well. The time they would spend together would help them to love Him more, and to understand Him at a deeper level.  He has designed us to take in information over time, in segments, instead of some kind of instant download as in a Matrix movie.  In many ways the work we are to do in this life is the work of deepening relationships with others and our God.

4)   God, in this time with mankind in the cool of the day, would show them their purpose, responsibilities, and how to work for/serve God in such a way that brings Him glory. As a minister, parent, husband, friend, son, etc. I have grown in my knowledge of how to bring glory to God with my life. I am not as faithful to that knowledge as I would like to be, but it is true that God teaches you how to live for Him over time. There are even specific things that we need to learn at different stages of life.  Stages and processes allows mankind to learn, grow in depth of love for others and God, and to experience life differently.

5)   Lastly, I believe that God’s grace is shown to us in the creation account. There were seven days where everything was perfect, but it would not be very long before sin entered into the world. But the days don’t stop, the sun doesn’t stop shining, and the fish still swim in the sea. Life continues onward. Every day you get to start over. Every season you can plant again (even if the previous year was a disaster). Every year brings new opportunities to learn how to live life differently.

I am thankful for my mother, her provision, her friendship, and continuing love. I am also thankful for God’s Word and how it allows us to see life through His perspective. I am thankful for another season of life to know new people, and to experience the older ones at a different level.

 

 

 

Father Daughter Dance 2013

photo1Hannah-Grace had mentioned several times over the past few weeks of her excitement about the upcoming annual Father-Daughter dance. I joined in her excitement and we talked about her dress, how she would do her hair, and how I had a surprise of where we would eat dinner. But secretly, I have a love-hate relationship with this dance. I love that I get to spend time with my precious daughter. I hate it because it marks time and forces me to think about how many years I have left (with God’s grace) to go to this type of event. There will only be so many Father-Daughter dances. Our annual vacation is another example of seeing time fly by. It seems like just a few weeks ago I was putting on a suit to go to the dance, and packing another kind of suit to go to the beach.

Hannah-Grace this year was especially beautiful. I cherish how she still wants to be around her dad, hold my hand, and actually want to have conversations with me. We both got excited when Thriller came on, and she showed me how to do the latest dance moves (that I guess she learned at school.) She is getting good grades, is staying away from the boys, and is the star in her father’s eye.

Her day began early, when she “got her hair done” by a local beautician, complete with finger nails and toes. She came home put on her dress, we took pictures, and then were off to the dance. Upon arriving at the dance we walked through the crowd to see if any of her friends were there — and we talked to a few. We got a drink (Sprite for her, coke for me) and sat down. We did a slow dance or two, then it was time to go through the food line — pretzels, chips, mints, etc.

photo4By this time mom was texting asking for pictures, and the room was beginning to get very crowded with many other dads and their daughters. We settled into a spot with friends and danced to various modern hits, 80’s throwbacks, and it all culminated in the YMCA. I was a little uneasy at some of the song selections. It is hosted by a local Presbyterian church, but some of the music didn’t seem to reflect the morals that I am  seeking to instill within my daughter. This provided and opportunity for H-G and I to talk about the songs. But a few songs aside, the event was a very nice, and I am grateful for an opportunity to try and express my love for my daughter.

photo3Then it was off to dinner at the Ravine at Kinderlou Forest with friends. She fell asleep in the car on the way home, and I had another privilege of carrying her inside the house.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Big Ideas and Bumps in the Road (Part Three)

Drew Marathon pic 2012Race Day — Disney Half Marathon Jan. 12th, 2013

The race morning began with me boarding a bus from the Disney Animal Kingdom resort to the staging area for the race at 3am. I wrapped my feet, praying that I did it right, they were’t too tight, and that it would work. Having suffered the pain of Plantar Fasciitus I was concerned about not being able to finish the race. As I sat next to a stranger, and a bus full of runners, I thought about all the days of training and work and how it all had built to this day.

Running is a solitary sport. You race against others, but really it is a race against yourself. When you are tired, agitated, or even injured it is your mind that is your biggest opponent or your strongest advocate. It will cheer you on, or demand that you stop and not take another step. What I have learned from running is that you can train that voice to say, “I can do it.”

From the bus you walk to a place where you can store your belongings, and from that point on the only things you have are what you take with you for the race. I left my small jacket, iPhone, and energy bar behind in a bag marked with my race number. There were 26,000 racers packed into a holding area. There were so many people that you could not tell what was going on. Eventually, the mass of people began to make its way up a road where it eventually divided into “corrals”  which were areas of the interstate marked off with large letters A-G. I was in the E corral. The race began with the singing of the Star Spangled Banner, a wonderful display of fireworks, and Daffy Duck counting down 3-2-1 . . .”go!” Our corral waiting about 45 minutes until we finally made our way to the start line and my time officially began.

As I crossed the start line I reminded myself of my goals: 1) run a half marathon and actually finish 2)don’t be last 3) don’t get picked up because I couldn’t keep the slowest pace.

I ran the first mile way too fast. As a previous high school coach of cross country running, I was doing what I had cautioned my own runners not to do. I even asked myself, “Drew slow down, why are you running so fast?” There were bands playing, light shows, crowds of people were cheering, and the excitement was so thick in the air you would taste it. I weaved through the slower runners and by the second mile, I had settled down into a comfortable pace and felt wonderful. My feet were fine.

The miles rolled on until about six where I was kicking myself for running so fast a the beginning, but I was coming up to Cinderella’s Castle and the crowd bottleneck into a forced walk. I stopped and had my picture taken at the castle, and this served as a quick rest. I had managed to weave through the crowd but I had no way of telling how many people were in front of me or behind.

The Wall 

Then a couple of more miles until mile nine where I hit “the wall.” All the bands were gone, the excitement was gone, and the runners were very quiet. Chatty conversations had turned into quiet forced determination. Smiles had turned to sweaty frowns. I walked this entire mile. My feet were killing me, my energy was gone, and each step took effort. Even the Disney characters that people would stop and have their picture made with them were absent on this very lonely stretch of highway. It is at this point that the ladies make up is running, the hair is a mess, and you are covered with sweat. You are saying to yourself, “I paid over a hundred dollars to do this to myself!” You have to dig deep to ask yourself, “Why am I doing this to myself?” and “Why should I finish?” There are some things that you finish simply because you started. Who runs a race that has no intention to finish it.

disney half stickerWhen I got to mile ten, I found a renewed boost of energy and started running again. As I moved through miles eleven and twelve the realization that I was going to finish was beginning to fill my heart. My eyes began searching for the finish line, and I would run across it.

After hours of running, and months of training I crossed the finish line. They placed a metal on my neck and I was channeled into a place where we had our picture taken, picked up a boxed breakfast, grabbed my stuff, and boarded the bus to go back to the hotel. I had a huge sense of accomplishment. As I rode back to the hotel room I began to sense the pain that I was about to endure as we started our family tour of Animal Kingdom. With no time to rest the real marathon was about to begin.

Let me just encourage you to set a big goal, push through the difficulties, and train your inner voice to say, “I can do it.”

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On last thought . . .

The leader has to train himself to listen to the correct and healthy voices in his life. There will always be those that discourage, irrationally criticize, and are just negative. And there are those that give healthy criticism, and helpful suggestions. There are also that are encouraging, give energy to a situation, and add light to your life. Also, be aware that sometimes that negative critical spirit may even be you. So take some time and think about what you are hearing,who you are hearing it from, and intentionally surround yourself with people who will encourage you to go even further than you have ever been before. You can do it. I do believe that it is so important to reach a little further, and stretch yourself beyond what you feel comfortable doing.

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.“

*this is part three of three part series of entries. To read part one click here, and to read part two click here.

disney half

Reaching The Next Generation

28086ccc0b8b0b14ffdafbf23edb932b_lI just finished a book by Reggie Joiner, and in his book Zombies, Football, and the Gospel, he says,

“In pre-internet generations, information was scarce. Those who succeeded were the ones who could gather it the fastest. The company with the best data and the library with the most books won. But today, the rules have changed. Collecting information is no longer the goal. Now the greater need is to connect information, to sort ideas, to filter concepts and give content a better context. Those who win today are not as focused on collecting information as they are on connecting information.”[1]

It is interesting that there has always been mankind’s passion to tell and to hear a story. In my lifetime I have seen a swing in fascination of seeking to gather limited information to the next generation seeking to connect with limitless information.  This generation’s challenge is to sift through seemingly limitless information that has not been edited, is biased, and cannot for the most part be verified.  I still do not like to read a book on my ipad. I like the feel of the paper, the smell of the printed page, and the weight of it on my hand. But I know that my kids will end up not valuing my library as much as I do because they can access the same information on the internet for free, without having to dig through books, and without having to store them on space wasting shelves. The entire library of the world fits in palm of their hands.

Think of how our children engage in activities, especially when seeking new information. They have never lived a day where information has not been a couple of clicks away. They had some kind of information gathering device in their hand since they were old enough to hold it. Information about how to work a yo-yo, fold a paper air plane, or answer their questions like “what is dark matter?” is instantly available – complete with a high definition video, commentary, viewer comments and suggestions of how to do it differently or better.

So how do we reach our children who have access to limitless information? If they have an interest, couldn’t they just look it up?

Tell The Story Well and With Imagination

1)   We reach them with what mankind has always loved (and still does today) – a good story. We don’t teach and tell the story for the passage of information alone, but for showing how characters dealt with context. Today’s teachers must drawn them with curiosity and imagination. The Bible is so powerful because it reaches to the core of who we are and how we were made. But the storyteller must be prepared and put their heart into the telling.  We can deal with real life situations and put ourselves there to learn how to live.

We have all had a teacher who made us care, or cry with compassion, or dare to dream what we thought was impossible. And we have all had the teacher who had taught the same class, at the same desk, the same lesson, for so many years. The lessons felt dusty, stale, and inspired no one to greatness. The difference between the two was a good storyteller.

We live in a day of Disney, Pixar, ipads, and 3D televisions. People expect the story to be told with conviction, power, and careful thought toward details. Most of us do not have a Disney budget, but it is amazing how much imagination can be sparked with just a little experimented effort and boldness.

But we must also understand that how we tell the unchanging story must change. Jesus looked around and used grain laying on the ground, pointed to pilgrims walking in their white garments, and countless other teaching illustrations right there in front of the crowd. He was able to use their culture and surroundings to illustrate an abstract idea.

We must reach out into modern culture and into their worlds to teach them timeless true principles. Our children’s worlds involve books they are reading at school, movies they watch, video games they play, and technology they hold in their hands. As a teacher we must enter their world, not expect them to enter into ours.

Show Them How To Use God’s Word As A Truth Filter

2)   We use the Word of God as a filter to this limitless information. The word of God speaks to me as I take in (or should avoid) certain information. It throws up “red flags” within my spirit that alerts me to falsehood and deception.

Psalm 119:105 “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” God’s Word allows us to take our steps in this life with confidence, and with clear direction. Our children must understand that not everything they encounter on the information highway is true, right, or worthy of their time. They must know that God’s Word is paramount to anything else they may “learn.” So we take all gathered information and when it does not align with God’s Word it is thrown aside as falsehood.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.” One of the most challenging tasks of a teacher is to show students how to use the entirety of Scripture to focus the entirety of life.

iPad-KidTeach Them in the Context of a Loving Relationship

3)   Starbucks discusses the importance of a “third place.” There is home, work and the “third place” that Starbucks hopes will be where you buy their coffee and hangout. It is there that you laugh with friends, meet with business associates, discuss a book, etc. The church should meet people’s need for a “third place.”  We have to design our times together so that relationships can be fostered and developed, not simply a dumping of information with little interaction with each other.

Our ability to tell the story and to teach God’s Word is in the context of relationships. The old saying, “they don’t how much you know, until they know how much you care” is very true. When your students, children, neighbors, etc. know that you genuinely care for them then they will listen to what you have to say.

So how do we reach our children who have access to limitless information? We tell the story with excellence, showing them how to properly use God’s Word, in the context of a loving relationship. All of these three tasks have their own challenges, but the saints of old have overcome them and so shall we. The good news is that even if you need a pre-teen to set your DVR, that preteen still needs and desperately desires to be loved. Even though the children can access information and communicate via social media they still have been designed by their Creator to need actual loving relationships with other people. Let’s make the church the people and place where children can learn the truths of God and discover an eternal love from God.

[1] Reggie Joiner, Zombies, Football, and the Gospel (The ReThink Group; Cumming GA, 2012) 143.

Big Ideas and Bumps in the Road (Part Two)

UnknownThis is the second part of a blog entry; In order to read the first article click here.

I just got back from the YMCA and can hardly walk. But before I jump into all that, let set up the backstory. I went to the Academy Sports store last night and purchased KT sports tape ($9.99). After watching an instructional youtube video several times this morning, I wrapped my feet and was off to the gym. My step had a spring in it, and the pain I had experienced the night before had subsided. The first couple of miles were pretty enjoyable, but by mile four I knew I had a problem. At the eight mile mark My feet were killing me and I stopped at eight-and-a-half miles (not as far as I had anticipated running). The tape was partially coming off due to sweat, and so I removed it, took a shower and rewrapped my feet afterwards. As I sit in Starbucks writing this article, my feet are throbbing like someone hit them with a hammer.

My plan for next week is to cycle on Monday, to keep my endurance and cardio up, to try and run again on Tuesday. I have not given up on taping, but I am going to go with the cheaper white athletic tape we used when I played high school football. I never had my feet or wrists tapped then, but I watched them tape a hundred times. So, after I finish my vanilla latte, I’m off to the Academy Sports store again to invest even more money in seeking some relief.

t-minus seven days until the race. oh boy.

 

"For by grace you have been saved through faith." Ephesians 2:8

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