What a Victory!
Joe Killian • October 7, 2014
This is Joshua, our high school senior, after scoring the winning goal in overtime against our biggest rivals. If we had lost the game our high hopes for this season would have ended. Josh's tradition this year has been to point to me each time he scores. Today, I pointed back, my eyes brimming with tears and my heart about to burst. In my mind I kept repeating, "Thank you Jesus!" A little background...
Each summer for the last 14 years our kids have attended Summer's Best Two Weeks, a Christian sports camp in Somerset county. The campers range in ages from 8 to 18 and are divided into two teams, Romans and Galatians, that compete against one another throughout the term. At the end of each competition the "winning" and "losing" teams cheer for one another. They conclude their cheer in unison answering the question, "Who gets the glory? JESUS!!!"
I admit I was thrilled that our boys were going to the playoffs. And yes I am incredibly proud of Joshua for that beautiful header that won the game. Joshua's acknowledgement brought a nearly indescribable feeling to me. It made me wonder, how proud is our heavenly Father when we win for His kingdom?!? I can only imagine that He smiles just as I am now.
What a victory!!! Who gets the glory? JESUS!!!
The story continues...I'm still working on the pondless waterfall in our front yard. I shared this project with you two weeks ago in Playin' In the Dirt. Since then I've had to rework sections of the stream three different times because we were losing too much water. I am now an expert on evaporation rates and excessive splash, two causes of water loss. This morning I tore the whole thing apart and I'm starting over.
Have you ever watched DreamWorks Animation's Kung Fu Panda? I stumbled across it recently and thoroughly enjoyed Jack Black's performance as a bumbling, noodle selling, kung fu enthusiast, giant panda named P o. Set in ancient China, it is more than a humorous slapstick comedy. The core message of the story jumped out at me as I have been focusing recently on the concept of being. Po is shockingly identified as the Dragon Warrior and he reluctantly enters training. The goal of the training is to receive the Dragon Scroll, which is believed to hold the secret to limitless power. Now I don't want to spoil the big reveal but I will say that what Po realizes is the same as what I speak to in the concept of being and authentic identity. So, where do we find the secret to our "power?" I praise You, because I am wonderfully made; wonderful are Your works! My very self You know. Psalm 139:14 God knows it; and we must seek Him with all of our hearts in order to find it. As it was in the movie, the answer is stunningly simple. Our authentic identity is already within us. The challenge for Po in the movie was in seeing himself accurately and not the way others saw him. Even his teacher scoffed at the idea that Po was anything more than an underachieving dreamer who overate when he was anxious. Po's problems are rooted in the fact that he believes the lie of his false identity much more than he does his authentic one. Is it possible that you do the same? Who could have imagined that beneath all of Po's girth lived the Dragon Warrior? What's hidden from view in you? Seek God for understanding as to who He created you to be. Spoiler Alert: the secret of your limitless power is already in you. God placed it there and He wants you to be who He authentically created you to be.
Maria and I have been playing in the dirt a lot recently. First we replaced our French drain and then we embarked on a creative project intended to change the entire look of our front yard. My brother Jeffrey and I installed a new front step.
