I have a friend named Earl Creps who is a church-planting/pastor/author/speaker, and over-all-really-cool-guy, who wrote a book entitled, “Off-Road Disciplines.” In the chapter “Learning: The Discipline of Reverse Mentoring”, he talks about his quest to learn, in a way that you wouldn’t think someone with a PHD would. He learns from those younger and more experienced than him. It’s not that he refuses learn from everyone and everything else around him, he just makes it a point to open his ears and heart to those who are often over-looked… and grow as a person. ----
In my past, I’ve been around people who wont listen (I mean, really listen to someone’s heart about God and their view of life) unless they are decorated by a degree in Theology or have attended a seminary. Matthew 23:8 makes it clear that the playing field is leveled because of what Christ did; we all get to play! It says, “… all of you are equal as brothers and sisters” (NLT). How incredible! ----
A few days ago, my little sister Allyson left to go back to Scotland after staying with us for two weeks. It was an amazing time of fun, conversation, music, dinners together, friends, etc., but as I think back on the short amount of time that we got to spend together, I’m left here a better person. These are just a few of the things I learned from her:

1.    Only the best of friends can stand silence when they’re together. You know that awkwardness of carrying on a conversation with someone new, and beyond that its not going that great?! It’s like nodding in approval to what the person is saying, but that 10% of your brain is being used to think of the next question you’re going to ask. You see their mouths moving, but all you hear is Charlie Brown… Wha, wha, wha. I think deep down I’ve always known this was a clue that you had a good friend. A memory I have from growing up, is with my friend Jason. We use to love the same music, so when we were driving around town, we would just listen to it and not talk. I don’t think it was a conscious effort, it just happened. We loved to hang out, and yet felt so comfortable around each other that we didn’t have to fill any of the silent moments with idle words.

2.    Someone loves Christ by their life of love and kindness – not by how much they read their Bible or pray. We’re so used to being brow-beaten from the pulpit about how we are failing because we aren’t doing all the right things. Ally brought up this point with me as she referred to our brother Christopher, and my brother-in-law Darrik. You don’t always see them carrying their Bibles, they don’t always talk about their morning prayer times, but they love and treat other people like Christ would. This is the mark of a true Christian – a follower of Christ. Matthew 7:16-17 & 20 says it perfectly, “You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit… Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.”  

3.    The best of times are not about entertainment, but about “quality time” with the people around you. We had a few opportunities to “go out” and live it up like rock-stars, but she chose to stay around with friends and family, and just… be together. This meant the most to me. Yeah, we could’ve gone and spent a bunch of money, but the time racing each other in a video game, or cooking some food on the grill was time spent - way better.

We joked about how she got the term “Genie” from our little nephew, and how she uses it to describe those few things and people she loves the most, but I understand why: just like in a cartoon, a genie always gave someone something they didn’t deserve. I think it’s an awesome name - although I’m sure some religious people will get their panties in a wad over it - but I get it. Ally, thanks for being you, and thanks for being everyone’s little “Genie”. No one deserves you.    

I know I've always had this perception of getting a massage... laying poolside on a massage table, relaxing. It's the image that marketing departments of resorts and cruise-lines pull you in with: pleasure, relaxation, included-in-your-package. Be warned... it's not free. A one-hour massage on our cruise was about 150 bucks, so when you see a couple getting a massage at the same time, while holding hands with the sun setting behind them... they have a different kind of money than the rest of us. ----
Recently, I've been seeing a chiropractor for pain in my neck and back for injuries that (I'm convinced) are from gymnastics at an early age. So, after my first visit, the Dr. tells me that next time, I'm going to see the massage therapist. I was pumped. I remembered my sister Amy's face after she had gotten a full body massage a few years back, and was convinced that I was going to be a new man. Boy, was I wrong. ----
I went in, and she (her name was Rebel, mind you) asked me to take my shirt off, and lay face down on a massage table (it was the kind that your face lays in, where you can see the floor). Anyway, the first 30 seconds felt great, where I'm assuming that she was surveying by back muscles to see where the problems were. Then all of a sudden, she found the different places where I had "scar tissue" and it all changed. It felt like the opposite of the movie Aliens, where the thing came out of the guys chest! Literally, it felt like she went inside my back and was shaking hands with the muscles and tendons underneath my shoulder-blade. I was squirming, to say the least. ----
It's a new metaphor to me, but I was faced with a decision that later reminded me of God being my Massage Therapist. It seems that I always want Him to change the messed up stuff in me in same way I would get a vacation massage; you know, taking His time, working on me while I feel better and better. But he doesn't seem to do that much. Maybe twice a year. Normally, it's face down and He's putting a considerable amount of weight on a scar that's deep, so He can break it up, and I can have healing.