INSANITY: Finding Peace in a 'Gone Nuts' World

One, two, three, four...keep counting at a one number/second pace. Keep counting and 31 years later you will reach one billion.

Take a one dollar bill, .0043 inches thick, and stack them a billion high and you will blow your way 67 miles into the atmosphere.

One billion is a massive number, and Americans pop over 1,000,000 Paxil and Zoloft pills a year, pills which help manage anxiety and depression. I'm not making a medication judgement call, I'm simply pointing out the reality, "One billion is a lot of pills!" In other words, America has an anxiety problem.

• Forty Million People in the U.S. will experience an impairment because of an anxiety condition this year.
• Of the 40 million, only 4 million will receive some kind of treatment
• Forty-three percent of North Americans take mood altering prescriptions daily.

We are overworked, over-scheduled, over-extended, overwhelmed, and over budget. As a result, we have a lot of anxiety to manage, so we run. We eat. We don't eat. We do yoga. We watch TV. We play video games. We creep on Facebook. We sleep...we do anything to harness our anxiety in order to push through another day.

Jesus does not want you to "make it through," to fall in bed exhausted yet unable to sleep because of the 1001 loose ends floating through your cranium. As THE life teacher, Jesus offers words that reach deep into the roots of anxiety. In his famous Sermon on the Mount, God's son takes on anxiety (Matthew 6:25-34) and offers insight on eradicating anxiety from your life.

Jesus' preaches a simple message about anxiety: "Stop!" Luckily, he does not end his teaching there. If he did, many of you would worry because you worry.  I sum Jesus' teaching about anxiety with this phrase: anxiety is regulated by your beliefs and your ambition. 

Regarding BELIEFS...what you believe about God and what you believe about yourself dictates the level of your anxiety. The more you trust God's faithfulness, the less anxiety will enter the door of your life (Matthew 6:30). If God takes care of the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, then do you not trust him to provide for you? Your anxiety depends on how emphatic your "YES!" Second, what you believe about yourself also determines your level of anxiety (Matthew 6:26). If you base your worth off productivity, people's opinion, or past sins then likely you believe the lie, "God would not provide for someone like you." And, perhaps you might take it further believing God punishes by refusing to provide for your needs. But, when you learn to see yourself through God's eyes you develop a healthy sense of worth.

Regarding AMBITION...the aim of your passionate pursuits has a direct impact on the amount of anxiety consuming your life. If you pursue the things of the world: wealth, power, notoriety, beauty, comfort, you will also find yourself chasing a life of anxiety. But, if you seek first God's kingdom and his righteousness anxiety has no place. Pursuing love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control will not lead to anxiousness (Matthew 6:33).  It breeds peace.

I'm unpacking this teaching on Sundays (September 9 - October 7) at TCOC.  If you are in the Downriver area, come join us. If not, and insanity knocks at your door, you can catch these teachings by subscribing to the TCOC podcast.

Memory Tattoo

Over the last year God has made it his business to show me his power. "Taylor," he says, "I realize you have enjoyed this resurrection story, the empty tomb, the no longer dead...but it's time for the story to rock your world. It's time for you and the Risen Jesus to dance." Dance we have and each one leaves a permanent mark on my brain, a memory tattoo!

One of those eternal moments came when my oldest son stepped in and said, "Dad, it's my turn to dance!" This is the celebration of his new life and his commitment to be a Jesus-follower.

Fast, Pray, Camp!

I lay sprawled out on my office floor fighting a fever, my head foggy as if someone had injected jello into my nasal cavity and my throat burning as if someone tried to scrape wallpaper from its lining. I never get sick, but this cold placed my solo decent to the floor of the Grand Canyon in jeopardy. No it didn't. I knew I would go, fever or not, and I did.

I spent the first cool night on the canyon rim curled-up in the fetal position in the only free lodging around, the back of my Nissan Sentra. It had plenty of room to spread out if you reside in Munchkin Land, but for an average 5'10" American, it simply provided a long night of waiting for the sun to rise. It did. It always does and when it did I began my 11 mile decent. I would describe the beauty of the journey, but I lack the writing skills to do it justice. Let's just say, even though I arrived with dried snot smeared across my face, exhausted from the ill-timed fever it was well-worth the discomfort.

As night covered the canyon, I sat alone outside my tent, swallowed by its grandiosity and God made me cry. He wasn't bullying me or making fun of my name. He simply whispered, "HERE I AM!" I felt him. I felt small. I felt peace.

Not everyone drools over the outdoors adventure like I do. Many people's idea of roughing it consists of a willingness to settle for a 4-star hotel, and while I do not want to rewire anyone's circuitry I do suggest camping as a spiritual discipline - yes, a spiritual discipline like scripture meditation, fasting, prayer, and anything else Richard Foster would suggest. Here are three ways I think camping forms our souls...

[Note: There are 1001 ways to camp, but I prefer, first, backpack camping where everything you need you carry on your person. Second, tent camping (usually done with my family)].

1. SIMPLICITY. Camping strips you of all life's bells and whistles and all its hustle and bustle leaving the basics exposed.  You have two concerns when you camp: food and shelter. Once you pitch your tent, your next major decision, "When do I cook lunch?" You do not need a day-planner. Automobile traffic is not welcome. If you are remote enough, nature renders your phone useless- no emails, checking the score, or crafting the next clever tweet. No drive-through exists to encourage you to hurry your lunch. Camping is simple and when your life slows down you become aware of the nuggets of life you normally speed past.
2. MEDITATION/CONTEMPLATION. When you camp alone, The Great Outdoors demands a vow of silence. You can talk to the squirrels, but it is always a one-sided conversation. The moment the squirrel talks back, it's time to return to the city. The vow of silence has a way of cleansing your system. After a few hours of worrying about all you are not doing back home, nature forces you to be honest with yourself, "How am I doing? Why am I afraid? Why do I behave as I do? Why am I so hurt?" When the squirrels refuse to engage in dialogue, you find yourself talking to God.
3. COMMUNITY. Solo-camping is not the only way to camp. I love pitching the 6-man tent, blowing up the air-mattresses (look out Hilton) and spending a couple of nights in the wilderness with my family or friends. With no TV to numb your mind and dull your conversation, with no rooms to compartmentalize your family, with no work or school to consume your thoughts, camping guides you back to relationship. When you camp with someone, you set up shelter, you cook together...and then you...uhhh...you just ARE together. Every night you gather around a camp fire and you do three things: you stare at the fire, "Fi-re!" You throw stuff in the fire. You talk. When you return to the basics, you often find yourself returning to what is most important: relationship.

Okay, so you're not Bear Grylls but camping can be food for the soul. Time in a tent could just make you more like Jesus.