Living in a Lego World

A couple weeks ago, I went to the theatre with two kids and watched the Lego Movie.  I laughed so hard and had so much fun!  Throughout this movie, the song, "Everything is Awesome" was sung by the many glorious lego figures.  Not surprisingly, my son and I sang that song over and over again for the next few days until my wife nearly lost her mind.

As I keep thinking back to this movie and the joy and laughter that flowed out of that theatre, I wondered if living in a lego world is even possible?  Let's face it, the night news is 28 minutes of not-so-awesome followed by a 2 minute story of inspiration or humor.  So is Legoland only in California?  Is it only found on the carpet of our kids rooms?

I love the fourth chapter of Philippians where an amazing man named Paul said, "Rejoice and again I say rejoice!"  Cheesy?  Unrealistic?  Maybe at first glance.  But what's crazy is that Paul was sitting in prison with an uncertain future (possible death) when he penned those words two thousand years ago.  Where did this joy come from?  The knowledge that God is real, loves us unconditionally and wants a relationship with us.  So much that he gave is son Jesus Christ and had him die a terrible death so we could experience the pure joy of living without sin and shame.  Now that is awesome.

Maybe living in a lego world where "everything is awesome" is a little out of touch and slightly annoying (just ask my wife).  But trust me, a life surrendered to Christ and lived out with pure joy is worth building.

Attitude is everything

Today I had an unexpected phone call.  The organization that we collected food for was at the church and ready to load it all up.  One problem: nobody was there to open up the church.  I thought I would have a heads up on a time, but that was lost in the shuffle.  I explained to the driver that I would hurry over and help open up and get the food into the truck.

I have to admit that the unexpected interruption was one of many for me today.  I wasn't accomplishing any of what I had hoped.  So, what should have been a joyous experience was more of a "let's get this over with."  We have all been there, right?

Reflecting back on it, I realized that my poor attitude kept me from experiencing a real blessing.  The blessing of watching boxes and bags of donated food be delivered to the needy.  It reminded me of a passage in Philippians that says, "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.  Tell God what you need and thank him for all he has done."  What do I need?  A better attitude and a thankful heart.  Next time I'll remember that what I'm missing out it isn't nearly as important as what's in front of me.