Penn Valley Youth

Current Events: CNET's James Kim

I'm not sure how many of you have followed this story.  Last month James Kim and his family left home on a road trip like any other family might during the holidays.  Unfortunately for them they found themselves hopelessly lost in the Pacific North West.  Just a few days ago Jame's wife and two girls were found alive and well, while just about a day later James was contacted and located, but by the time the rescue teams made it to him he had died of exposure.  It is a sad story of tragedy and heroism.  You see James found himslef and his family in great trouble and decided to venture out to save their lives.  He walked for miles in search of help but in the end did not find it in time for himself.  My heart goes out to his family and friends who are facing such a tragic loss. 

I can't hlep but think what it must have been like for him.  Being stranded looking for help.  Hoping for rescue.  But then it isn't long before my mind starts to wonder what I would do in a situation like that.  Would I have known what to do?  Where to go?  How to survive?  I begin to daydream about what it would be like to have my families life hanging in the balance and venturing out in an effort to save them.  I know what I would like to think I would do.  I would like to think that I would somehow find a way to provide for my family and provide rescue for all of us.  Do you ever wonder about things like that.  What would happen if... 

Maybe you can identify with this one.  Have you ever been in an increasingly tense situation as an observer or participant.  Where you are on the edge of or near a major altercation.  You can see the blood boiling below the surface and you are wondering what little thing is going to tip the scale and set this whole thing off.  In the same moment you are playing the scenario our in your mind wondering what you will do.  If that person comes at me... if that person gets in trouble... if this goes that way... what will I do?  I find myself having these thoughts from time to time.  What would I do if? 

But it isn't long before my thoughts turn to the here and now with the same urgency.  What am I doing now.  Am I responding correctly to the situations I am actually living in?  If I am not heroic in the day to day, how can i expect to be so in the extreme situations.  If I am not consistent here and now, how can I expect to be when pressure is introduced?  Am I who I dream of being in the difficult moments? Or am I just a dreamer? 

The Bible tells me to be ready in and out of season.  In other words, I should always be ready to give an answer for the hope that I have.  In the heat of the moment, in the cool of the refridgeration isle at the grocery store, looking for a video to rent or navigating crowds at the mall.  I should always be ready to answer those who wonder about my faith, but even more than that I should always be ready to live out the actions of my faith.  The good life that adorns a life of faith.  So am I taking action to help, defend, seeking justice, loving mercy, being gracious and patient?  If I want to be that Guy in the moment, I have to fill the moments of my life with that kind of Guy's actions.  We can be joyful we have the Holy spirit working that very thing into our life, if we will only tune in, listen, and respond to his direction. It isn't so much a question of what would I do if... It is a question of what do I do when.

What do you think?

Locus of Control

I just read an excerpt from a study done by Julian Rotter.  The study looked at the way different people make decisions.  The idea "Locus of Control" refers to the where we believe the results in our life come from. In other words Rotter was looking at what people believe makes things happen in life and how those beliefs affect their behavior.  Listen to this excerpt from a study guide to a book called "the boy who believed in magic."

"One way of talking about locus of control is to say it reflects the connection (or lack of connection) we make between actions and outcomes - and that affects whether we believe our choices make a difference or not.  A person with an internal locus of control generally believes their choices play a big role in what happens next, while someone with an external locus of control tends to believe their life is happening to them and their choices don't matter much."

I think there are certianly folks who fall into both of these camps but wonder if some don't flip back and forth.  It is easy to feel victimized when we are in a tough situation.  We tend to look at things as if we are on the receiving end of a bunch of rough stuff, but sometimes we fail to look back on the series of events that led up to the situation.  I don't think we should necessarily conclude that we are victims until we have weighed the events and choices that led up to the present.  At the same time we cannot ignore God's hand at work among those who trust in him.  I am not one who believes that God introduces bad things into my life, but whether or not he introduces trials i can rest assured that he is working in them.  I am confident that God does not waste hurts or trials, but uses them to refine our character. 

Are you in a hard time?  Do you feel like a victim?  Have you contributed to the situation?  regardless, let me ask you this.  What is God desiring to do in your life through this trial?

My brother recently concluded an email to me with this verse, I offer it here to encourage you as it was a great encouragement to me.  Regardless of what you may currently be facing consider Pauls words and gain perspective.

1 Corinthians 15:58

^58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.

The Holy Bible  : New International Version. 1996, c1984 . Zondervan: Grand Rapids