15. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Redemption Discovered, A Future Begins

Have you ever thought about what led up to the encounter between Jesus and the woman at the well? I mean, what brought her there? Not just there, in the sense of that locale at that time, but “there” in her life. And think of the irony of the scene. This woman was so utterly bone dry, weary, and thirsty of soul, despite going to the waters time and time again (the physical waters of that well, and the stolen waters of corroding relationships).

But how did she get there? Francine Rivers book, Redeeming Love, tells the tale of a woman who wound up in a similar place. In this case, abandonment, sexual abuse, and a life given to finding healing in the arms of others left this “Angel” destitute emotionally, physically, spiritually, and financially. Sadly, she spent her life, at least the majority of it, imprisoned by the past, and chained to a present that left few options for her future.

I am tempted to think that, perhaps, this woman at the well arrived where she “was” in a similar manner. Some of her conversation with Jesus hints toward this. At one point Jesus levels with her. Essentially, He says to her, “Woman, your gig is up here today. Though you have hidden what is really going on from all the other men in your life, this Man can see right through you. Today, you have to face reality. From this point on you will be forced to acknowledge your past, present, future and what you have become. What you do with that reality and what you do with your life when you leave here is up to you.” Though the text does not read this way literally, this is the essence of what Jesus said to her that day when He spoke, “You are right…you have had several husbands, and the man you are now living with is not your husband”. Her response, “You are no ordinary guy, are you?” Jesus, of course, went on to tell her that indeed he was different from all the rest (in so many ways), and He offered her a different course, one which led to renewal, healing, perspective, and purpose. It was the course of redemption, freedom, and wholeness.

Great story, big drama, sex, love, redemption, prejudice, religion…all the big themes are there in this one! This could be a great movie or a great book, no? But what is going on behind the scenes? What are the critical truths that we must catch in this epic tale of redemption? I believe there are a few.

1. The way to a better life, a life with meaning, fulfillment, hope, and purpose begins when we accept our past as our past. There are enormous pains that have been inflicted (by self or others) upon us all. We must acknowledge them, but we must move beyond them. Jesus compassionately reminded the woman of her past, but He brought her to the present moment and offered her an optimistic view of the future. He insured her of the possibility that she could go and sin no more. The past does not dictate our future in the economy of God. Get some help, counseling, friends around you to help you, but sooner rather than later, leave it behind. The same issues should not and do not have to wreck our souls forever. Do not obsess over it for the rest of your life. Part of this woman’s going and sinning no more was her rejection of the constant focus and blame with regard to her past. The methods of dealing with her past, as well as the actions of the past had to be left behind. A new way was opened up. One of grace, truth, and movement forward.

2. The issue is bigger than your issues. This is of great importance as it relates to healing and moving on. In an American culture where “isms” and pathologies of all sort are on the rise despite our power, pleasure, and affluence, it is clear that we are obsessed with obsession. The cultural model, and to some extent the clinical model, seems to be, “If your past wounded you, spend the rest of your life in counseling and continually remind yourself of your past so you can deal with your obsession.” Can we see the fundamental flaw here? We cannot find release from those things which hold us by obsessing over them. I will attempt to explain this further.

Before you misunderstand me and assume that I am a “Praise Jesus, think happy thoughts and all is well” kind of guy, let me allay your fear: I am not. There is a time for counseling, and sometimes even medicines that can assist our healing. But, what troubles me, and this is just as prevalent inside the church as it is outside the church, is that so many just never let go of the past. That warps the present and secures for one a future of more misery. Transformation, the Biblical model for character and life development, is and always will be a process, but it must be a process of joy, hope, and freedom.

Notice, Jesus, did not tell the woman, “You were so mistreated as a child. So many sexually driven men hurt you. Those people who beat you up are carnivores and are to be hated. You have been given a bad draw in the game of life. Shame on your parents. Accursed be those religious brood of vipers.” He could have said all of that. And, maybe all of that could have been proven true. But, and this is a very large but in this case, He seems to focus the attention on, of all people, her. Are you kidding me! People in her place don’t get there because they are so bad! (We might say) Deep down, she is a good person! (We might say) Who can blame her! (We might say) But Jesus did not go that route. Why?

The most compassionate man to ever live, the most understanding and perceptive man to ever walk the earth, and the most gracious figure in all of history, focused the attention on the woman herself. Why? Because, the issue is bigger than the issues. That is to say, always, in the end, its about our heart. And Jesus is capable of healing any heart. He knows that despite the level of mess in a person’s soul, His offer for transformation stands good. That is, after all, the message of God’s redemptive story. This is the fundamental message of Biblical history! Out of all that incest, murder, violence, corruption, lying, scheming, bigotry, polygamy, and all the “isms”, God brings salvation!!!! Despite the tragedies of Biblical history, the theme is always hope! The focus is always forward. That brings release, joy, and passion, not depression.

We must hear this if we are to have a present and a future worth pursuing. Its not about your issues, its about the issue of your heart. It is about God’s heart for you and others. That issue is about transformation. God wants to redeem your life and bring you to wholeness. You get there, not by obsessing on all the ugliness, pain, mistreatment, and mistakes, but by taking God at His word and moving toward transformation and Godliness. This issue then, ultimately, is who God is in Jesus Christ. We must walk in such a way that we acknowledge that He is enough for us and that our loss does not define us. To live any other way is to refuse to embrace the truth offered to the woman at the well that day; Jesus is different from any other man (or woman that has ever lived).

3. This could happen to you. All of us arrive, metaphorically, at the same well and in the same way. We all have attempted to define life on our own terms and in our own way. Either we try self “ism” or pleasure “ism” or hatred “ism” or drug “ism” or religion “ism” or any other host of isms, and in doing so, we widen the gap between us and God, thereby increasing the likelihood of depression, addiction and destructive cycles. It is the story of history and its the story of our lives. When we attempt to fill the void with anything or anyone but God (career, sex, human love, kids, money, fame, porn, poker, pumpkins, or pee-knuckle…) we miss the life God offers. Did I really just writer porn, poker, pumpkins, or pee-knuckle? Hopefully, you get the point.

The great news is this: it could happen to you. You can find your way to the well today and stand before a man who has the ability to tell you everything you have ever done, thought, and hoped for, and you can look at Him in awe and recognize that He and He alone has the one thing you have always longed for. He is our everything.

Our greatest need, beyond sex or even hunger, is to be known and loved. That is part of the divine crafting of God. The reality, however, is that the deep hunger for love is only fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. That is why God allows us to be unfulfilled with all other loves. Until we find our way to Him, the wellspring of love and life, we shall be thirsty. In embracing the love of this Man, we find our sanctuary, our rest, our freedom from the demons of the past, and the grace to willingly and passionately and purely love others who are in our lives. It happened to the woman at the well. She went on to “sin no more”. That is to say, that she went on to live with a different heart, purpose, and focus. She found joy. She was not perfect from that moment on, but in embracing the perfect One, she found her source, the wellspring of hope. That gave her the passion to pursue others, to live differently, and to let go of the past. For her the future became the prize, a future walking toward a greater understanding of and desire for a life of Godliness. Don’t we all want that?

This Love could happen to you,

Bruce Smith

Optimuslife.org

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14. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Good morning bloggers! I wanted to point you to a couple of helpful tools today. It seems that many of us continually fight the battle with daily life. While we know what we believe, and while we know in Whom we find our hope, daily life has a way of crowding out our deepest longings. The tyranny of the urgent pushes our spiritual ambitions off the radar all too frequently.

In an effort to aid you in a very practical way I would like to point you to two resources today. The first focuses you upon the big picture and demonstrates why it is so critical to keep the big picture outlook in front of us at all times. The big picture sets the course for the daily run, after all.

This first resource is actually a presentation I gave a few weeks ago. The message, entitled “Life to the Full” (www.soulstormsite.com/assets/multimedia/Life_to_the_Full-48kbps.mp3) is an attempt to demonstrate how we all tend to thirst for the “Beverly Hills” lifestyle, why it is alluring, how it captivates (deceives) us, and what the outcome is. The message looks closely at the lives of some of the super famous and super rich, demographic studies on American life (consumerism, mental health, …), and chronicles how losing focus on what is critical to living a full life can have devastating effect.

In the end, the presentation “Life to the Full” offers us the hope found in restructuring our lives around a Game Plan that works. The presentation is a call for us to build our lives around a handful of principles which lead us to much fuller, joy filled, and contented lives. Take time out of your lunch schedule today or tomorrow, or during your morning routine, and give it a listen. Here is the link again:

www.soulstormsite.com/assets/multimedia/Life_to_the_Full-48kbps.mp3

If you have trouble with getting the link to your browser, just go to optimuslife.org, click on the media page and then click on the tab entitled “Life to the Full”.

The second resource for helping you live your daily life to the full is a book by author Jay Payleitner. The book, which is entitled The One Year Life Verse Devotional, is a compilation of one pagers which highlights biblical verses which have inspired people to live the life God offers. Chuck Colson, Kurt Warner, Josh McDowell, James Dobson, Francine Rivers, Elizabeth Elliot, Joni Eareckson Tada, …and an unknown by the name of Bruce Smith (November 13 entry) are all featured in the book which has just been released.

I think you will find this book a great daily tool to get you quickly focused on what matters and why it matters, and I believe you will find direction and hope for the daily battle. The link to purchase the book at Amazon.com is below:

http://www.amazon.com/Year-Life-Verse-Devotional-Book/dp/1414312628

In the near future, we will make the book available at Optimuslife.org

Stay blogged in over the next couple of days, as I am excited to be tackling some issues which I believe are of great relevance to all of us. Particularly, if you have ever asked along with the rest of us, “Why am I not fixed yet?” or “Why am I so messed up after all these years?” then tune in Friday for the second issue of Dear Bruce Weekly.

Grace, Peace, and Hope in your daily life,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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13. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Finding Bliss

As I write today, I am sitting in Starbucks, sipping coffee and listening to the tunes being piped through the sound system. Many, if not most, of the songs coming through the speakers deal with love, relationships, peace, harmony, and other quests for “bliss” in this life. The pictures painted by the various lyrics are very inspiring, and often ethereal. Some of the songs speak of living within this idealized state of bliss while others wax on about the quest of finding this state of satisfaction. Great lyrics and phat rhythms, however, seldom capture what is reality for the average human being. Our music today often calls us to consider what it is like to know someone fully, experience rapturous love, feel ecstatic sensations, right the wrongs of the world, and live in a state of bliss.

The chasm between these ideals and our everyday reality, for most of us, is rather large. This is true for the rich, poor, young, old, male, female, successful, and the not so successful. While we all like the idea of having the “world on a string”, very few of us feel as if this is the case most of the time. And too few of us are passionately involved in righting the evils of our world. So what gives? Is bliss obtainable? Can we find our bliss? Does our life count, really, in the grand scheme of things? Can we, do we make a difference at all?

Find your bliss! Have you ever heard anyone say that? If so, it was probably a motivational speaker, leadership coach, or some other “talker”. It’s a great thought, isn’t it? How can we possibly make it reality? As foreign as the goal is to many, I would like to suggest that this idea is central to the living of our everyday lives. While we cannot and will not ever reach a problem free Utopian state here on earth, it is possible for us to obtain some sense of passionate recognition of our place and purpose here on this planet. Further, the extent to which we find that sense of place or calling, largely determines the quality of our lives.

As recently as this morning, before 9am actually, I have had two conversations with individuals who have seen success, career, and life leave them less than fulfilled. I run into the reality of “bliss-less” living more often than one would expect. Living in an affluent suburb where many run or own their own businesses, it seems that the fulfillment quotient remains alarmingly low. This morning and quite often in my consulting and leadership coaching, I advise people to consider how their heart will look ten years from now if they are still doing the same thing they are currently doing. I encourage folks, not to consider what the bank account will look like, but rather, what they as a person will look like internally. More often than not what I hear is the following, “I am so miserable doing what I do that I’m not sure I will last ten years.” Or some will say, “This just is not me. What I really want to do is… .” Then they ask me, “How do I do that?”

One of the practical realities in finding the life your were meant to live is simple really. Think about it…and do SOMETHING. When I find people who want a way to break free and find the life they are meant to live I get them to make a simple list. I will tell them, “If you could design a life that would make you most fulfilled what would it look like? What would you be doing.” Then I encourage them to think in terms of dream fulfillment. “If you were granted one wish, ” I offer, “…were promised you could not fail, were assured of complete success, were given all resources needed for success, and given your current strength and weaknesses…what dream would you pursue with the rest of your life?”

Every time I present this little bliss test, the dream factory kicks in and people’s countenance soars. Just thinking about what we can BE seems to lift our hearts. Just consider what DOING that which we were created to DO could accomplish relative to our bliss quotient if we lived according to who we really are and what we are most passionate about.

So, today, I offer the same advice to any of you who may be looking for a greater “quality” of life. By the way, that is all of us at one point or another. Most of us move in and out of that place periodically even when we are in tune with these realities. It is a constant creative process. Ask yourself today, “Am I living in a state of maximum fulfillment?” “Am I living the life God has called me to live?” “Is there something MORE God is offering me?” Once you answer those questions, take a step of faith and move toward your God-given vision. You may have to walk (or run) away from some things, and you may have to walk (or run) toward other things. Remember, along the way that “In Him (God), we live and move and have our being”. Until and unless we find our selves in Him we can never know why we were created and what we were created to do in this life. The road to your bliss begins in a relationship with your Creator, the Giver of true bliss.

For more on developing the kind of life you long for see the link below:

http://optimuslife.org/html/gameplan.html

Pursue your bliss,

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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12. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

The Wilderness of the Soul

I hit a wall yesterday. You ever been there? The wall I hit, yes on the Sabbath, was an emotional, psychological, spiritual, and relational wall. After weeks of many intensely taxing situations I had come to a place of exhaustion. After watching one catastrophe after another in recent days and after weeks of “counseling” others on various issues (suicides, broken marriages, people throwing their lives and families away, health issues, career issues, …) I had come to a place where I had little left in the tank.

My response to finding myself in this state of mind was to finally withdraw from it all. What I need, I thought, is some down time, some me time, and a good movie. Sometimes that really can be a good thing, other times it is a cheap substitute for reality. The thinking goes along these lines, “There is so much brokenness in the world, so many dysfunctional people and relationships. I think the answer is to just go it alone for awhile and ‘find myself’”.

I think this occasionally, and I hear this an awful lot from others. Just days ago someone I know, and individual who has seen a great deal of difficulty and loss in this life shared with me the desire to just “remain alone” for the rest of the run (ie. the rest of this person’s life). In this case, the thinking was, “I hear too many stories of relationships falling apart…I think I will just avoid them all together and not risk the pain and heartache”. Sounds like a good strategy at first glance doesn’t it? After all, if relationships mean pain, then the avoidance of such relationships equals a pain free life. Right? Maybe not.

O.k., back to my own pity party. In taking my “time away” I found myself sitting in a movie theater longing for some adventure and stress free entertainment. Unfortunately, I found myself staring misery and brokenness in the face on a huge silver screen. The context of the film could not have been more ominous, brooding, emotionally taxing, or relevant as it turned out.

The film I wound up watching was Into the Wild, which is the story of an Emory University Graduate who had grown up in an affluent and academic household amidst a great deal of dysfunction and pressure. Through the years, Alexander SuperTramp, as the character had renamed himself, had become disenchanted with life, relationships, and family. Upon his graduation from a prestigious school and after contemplating Harvard Law, SuperTramp made a decision to run from the emotional and physical abuse he had seen in his own home and which had grown like cancer in his own soul, and he decided to abandon all relationships and human interaction. His goal: set out for the wild. SuperTramp, who would eventually embrace his true name in the end, had decided that the way to healing, the true self, was to be found in being alone and free from all societal, familial, and human interaction. The depth of his internal pain, he had decided, could only be healed in running into the wild of Alaska and away from the people and pursuits that had so afflicted him.

Most of us, if honest enough, would have to admit that we have taken a similar approach at one time or another. The child who was abused, abandoned, or neglected by a parent is tempted to think that everyone, including God, will eventually abandon them. The wife or husband who remained true and engaged in a marriage only to watch in horror as a spouse turns from God and family wonders if they will ever find a relationship that “works” again. This is especially true for those who really made an attempt to be the kind of husband or wife God called them to be. The quest to find another “whole” human being can seem nearly impossible. While we are all certainly broken to some extent, it seems that in this culture of affluence, entertainment, and prosperity, very few, or so it appears, pursue life in such a way that it leads to a sense of emotional, relational, and psychological stability. Indeed, in the last two decades, despite the roaring increase in wealth, we find a culture that is more addicted, more depressed, more suicidal, more work obsessed, and more unhappy than ever. As the book Affluenza (by John De Graaf and others) shows in vivid detail, our quest to keep up with the Jones had led us also to a loathing of ourselves, our lives, and that of the Jones we seek to match ourselves to.

Well, let me get to the point. What I was reminded of as I went into the wild and tried to get away from it all, was the same lesson SuperTramp learned out in the wild of Alaska. Actually, he acquired his wisdom all along the way as he set out for Alaska hitchhiking across the country and living as a nomad; it merely was crystallized for him, albeit too late, in the wilderness of his own madness as he lay alone, starving, and in the throws of lunacy and physical pain. The last words he penned just as his “expedition” was expiring unfold the truth he found in the end, “…happiness, if experienced, comes only when it is shared”. SuperTramp, as he lay dying in the back of an abandoned bus he happened upon in mountains of Alaska, spent his last moments finally understanding the meaning of life and what it means to live life to the full. As he rolled back the tape and remembered the moments of happiness in his life, he was profoundly awakened to the reality that each of those moments of bliss was experienced in the company of others. While he recognized that much in his life had been less than ideal, he was equally aware that the moments of truth, goodness, and beauty were experienced as he was in community with other less than perfect people, people who like him, also had their own pains, failures, and questions.

In one particular moment SuperTramp stood atop a mountain with a fellow traveler he had happened upon. As the elderly man shared his love and concern for SuperTramp, and as he voiced his concern that Alexander would never find healing until and unless he embraced forgiveness for those who had hurt him, God shined his light upon them, literally. The two of them had climbed their way to the top of a mountain under an overcast sky to see the view. Just as the man was telling Alex to embrace love, forgiveness, and the truth of God, and to allow the “light of God to shine in”, the skies cleared up and Alex and his friend were enveloped in the intense glow of the sun. They both shrieked in astonishment and joy, and broke out in teary-eyed laughter as they marveled at God’s timing and the power of truth to enlighten their lives.

So, here is the deal. We are all broken. We all get tired of the race. We all are in need of offering and experiencing forgiveness. We all are in need of experiencing and offering vulnerable, pure, and Godly love. AND, we all find it in one place, and one place alone. The only real healing any of us will find, and the lasting peace we can offer to others is found in the person of Jesus. Unless we have a source of love that both exemplifies and offers love and forgiveness to us, we are without hope and destined to run into a wall. If we are to escape the fate of lunacy, madness, and loneliness, we must find the fountain of truth.

In Luke Chapter 4 Jesus offers us His mission statement. As He stands before His audience and quotes the Old Testament (Isaiah 61:1,2), He tells them that in Him this truth finds its reality. This freedom, this life, this hope, this release, this healing, Jesus tells the world, is found in Him. There is no amount of teaching, reading, counseling, programming, chemical consumption, or any other human approach that will bring us the deliverance we seek. Life, life to the full, is found in one place. The healing of lives, relationships, and hearts is found in this mission statement. Our pasts are redeemed here, and our futures unfold here, as we embrace these words, this Man. There is no other escape. Jesus speaks these word to us today,

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives
and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty those who are oppressed

Friends, if you are looking for your true self, you will not find it in an attempt to invent yourself. God has a life for you to live, and He wants to write His name on your heart. You will not find yourself alone. Aside from Him you have no hope of anything but greater darkness, stronger captivity, and more oppression. Any amount of acquisition, success, power, or pleasure will serve only to deepen your emptiness. He alone can set you free. And once you experience that freedom you become free to love and to offer your heart to others. And that, my friends, is where happiness is found.

Hoping and praying that you find your hope, your heart, your rest, and your future in Him,

Bruce Smith

Optimuslife.org

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9. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Bloggers, welcome to the first issue of the Optimus “Dear Bruce” advice column! In the tradition of “Dear Abbey” and inspired by the recent movie, Dan in Real Life (go see it), each Friday I will feature a letter, request for advice, from some of you, and make a valiant effort at offering you good counsel on important life issues, events, and situations. If you have a burning question and need some input…this would be the time and place for you to tackle it. You can submit your letters at any time as a comment to a blog or send them to my email address at soulstormwriter@yahoo.com. Just indicate “Dear Bruce” as the subject, and who knows, your letter could wind up in the blogosphere (is that really a word?).

Enjoy the first issue as you read on.

Dear Bruce,

I would like your opinion on my situation. About a year ago I was offered a job that looked very good. I have lived in one town all my life, and was not sure about making a move to a new town with my wife and kids. After much prayer and many discussions with my wife and friends we decided the move would be a good one and the opportunity would be great professionally.

So, about a year ago, my wife, three kids and I picked up and moved to a new place to begin a new life. We love where we are and can’t imagine leaving for another place so soon, but the new job has fallen through. The company has experienced a downturn and I was one of the casualties. I knew the risks of going with a new company when I signed on, but thought the potential was so good that it made sense.

At this point in my life, with kids in high school, and little clarity on where to go now, I am wondering how I should approach this challenge. Do I look for work somewhere else, or do I restrict my search to our new town?

The other thing you should know is that for many years I have not been content with my career. I have made good money, and our family has enjoyed many benefits. Yet, I have been unfulfilled, and have dreamed of doing something else that makes my heart beat. I am not so sure I want to continue in the career path I have been in for the last ten years, but I know that I will have a secure income if I do. What do I do?

Sincerely,

 Aloha

______________________________________________________________

Aloha,

You have a number of issues at play in your situation. First, I applaud you for making a courageous move and taking a risk in order to build for your future. You took a shot at something outside your comfort zone, and that is more than most would do. Well done.

It seems like you knew the risks going into your move and you were willing to take those risks. Risk presents us with the potential for great reward, but also opens the door for setbacks. I believe in taking calculated risks, and stepping out in the direction of one’s passion. Anyone who finds the kind of life worth living must take risks. Mediocrity, while comfortable, never leaves us fulfilled.

In your situation I think it would not make sense to uproot your family again with kids in high school. My guess is that they are just getting comfortable with the recent move and are beginning to make connections with friends, activities, and various relational networks. I would try your best to remain where you. I also suspect that your wife would not be so thrilled with another move so soon either.

If I were in your shoes I would do everything I could to use this time to find my passion. Sit down and write out a top five list of things you are passionate about. Then force yourself to rank those top five. Once you have done this consider what life would look like if you could pursue the top two or three passions on a daily basis. How would pursuing your passions affect you emotionally, spiritually, and financially? Then weigh the risks. If you are significantly more “ignited” when you consider following your passions than you are when you consider remaining on the same career path (which does not seem to fit your passions) then you ought to strongly consider taking the leap in a new direction.

Practically, you need to consider the financial part of it, and you need to know that your wife is behind you taking that step toward a new path. If your passions, and your financial considerations, and the support of your wife all line up—GO FOR IT. You will, no doubt, need some time to study, educate, and strategize your plan, so make sure there is a financial net in place to cover this time. Then begin to network and build every relationship you can with those who are carrying out similar visions. Along the way keep an eye out for those who God may be bringing your way to team up with you in your new venture.

Remember, living life to full is about finding God’s plan for your future and then running to it and thriving in it. No career path, regardless of the financial rewards, will ever replace the feeling of knowing you are doing what you were created to do.

Go get ‘em,

Bruce Smith

Optimuslife.org

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8. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Greetings Bloggers!

I wanted to make you aware of a couple of exciting things. Earlier today I had the privilege of being interviewed on one of the major New Orleans talk radio programs. The Jim Brown show on 99.5fm is one of the most listened to morning drive shows in the area. The interview link is here for your listening pleasure!

http://www.soulstormsite.com/assets/multimedia/JimBrown2007-11-08.mp3

Also, tomorrow morning the blog will feature the unveiling of something I am very amped up about. It will be the first installment of what will be a regular Friday offering, and I am hopeful that many of you bloggers will be equally amped up about the nature of this new venue. You will have to get your blog on to see just what it is, so get up early, have a cup of Java, and log in!

Have a great evening!

Bruce

optimuslife.org

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8. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

The Dance

November 8, 2007

Not too long ago I was asked to lead the prayer time in my local church. I was given the platform and was encouraged to not only pray, but to “set” the stage for the prayer time and the subsequent message. The general charge for the day was to pray for marriages.

The timing of this privilege, as always, was particularly divine in its orchestration. Though I am part of the planning and creative team for services, I had not been in on the planning for this particular service, and only knew that the topic of the day would be a continuation of the current series on sexuality.

The evening before the service I had the thrill of taking my eight year old daughter to the ballet for her first time. It was a fantastic evening and one of those occasions to remember. As we watched the dancers, and as I watched my eight year old take it all in, I could not help but think, “God calls us to dance”. Captivated by the creativity, beauty, expression, and grace of these dancers I began to think on the reality that too few of us know what it means to dance in our souls before the Lord. All too few of us know the ecstasy of dancing as David danced when he totally lost himself in worship and abandoned all (including his wardrobe!) but his desire to exult in the presence of God.

As I sat in worship service that Sunday, preparing my heart for prayer, I was struck by the choice of songs for the day. Almost without exception, each song alluded to “dance” in one way or another. The connection between the ballet the evening before, what God was stirring in my heart, and the worship songs that morning totally altered how I would lead prayer that morning. On a dime, it was as if the Spirit of God was saying to me, “Lead them to hunger for the dance” in relation to marriage, sexuality, and life.

When it came time for me to speak and to pray I simply called attention to the fact that God desires that we might know Him so intimately that we might have a sense of being swept up in His arms, and a feeling of being captivated as we live a life dancing with and before Him. As we prayed, we asked God that He would restore this life of dance to those who had lost it long ago, and that He would spark it in the lives of those who had never experienced it. Many of us, due to the events of life, have long lost the wonder and beauty of our walk with God, and merely grope before Him. Broken marriages, dark addictions, severed emotions, and deep regret leave many, if not most, without any sense of the divine dance.

Worse, many have chosen to dance in the lap of Satan and have thereby found themselves chained to a life which leads to greater emptiness, depression, and frustration. When we choose the dance of carnality, even as we cut that rug, life feels more like a march of madness. This reality came to roost a number of years ago when a close friend, who was struggling in a marriage, told me of a decision to take dancing lessons in a local night spot. My very strong advice was, “I am not against dancing, it has its proper place and time, but in your situation, with your marriage struggling, and considering the nature of the night spot and what people will be looking for there, DON’T do it”. Sadly, my advice fell on deaf ears, and in a short amount of time, this individual found themselves involved in an affair with someone in the class. The twosome danced themselves into a life of deceit, corruption, darkness, and total brokenness. They should not have had that dance. We see the effects of such decisions around us everyday in the countless tales of divorces, suicides, abuse, murder, and on and on.

So here is the question for the day, “Shall we dance?” The answer is “yes” and “no”. God has called us into a relationship with Him that can send our hearts and souls dancing in delight. We should take Him up on His offer to dance. We must also be aware that there are many other opportunities to “dance” in this life. These invites, if taken, turn quickly from dance to darkness. In actuality, when we choose to dance in the lap of Satan, we find ourselves crippled by the steps which unfold. This tango leads to a tangled web of pain and purposelessness.

Have you known what it means to dance in your spirit? Have you lost this passion to dance? Are you placing yourself in places, relationships, and settings which offer you partnerships which will actually lead to your downfall? Consider your dancing partner!

Embrace the call to dance before Him! Allow Him to lead. Follow the steps He has set before you. In doing so you will find the life you were meant to live.

Now get out there and dance!

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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7. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Suicide. The taking of one’s own life. Here are my reflections on the recent loss of a friend of the family to suicide.

On Death

November 7, 2007

A few days ago my two oldest children and I attended a funeral service held in memory of a friend of the family who had just committed suicide. While standing there in a room filled with people I could not help but recall the poetry of John Donne, particularly his sonnet on death. Sadly, as I thought about Donne’s powerful poem, I realized that too few of those in the room on this day could claim the message of Donne’s words, “Death be not proud”. In this particular setting, on the occasion of the death of a beautiful, financially secure, fit, and “together” forty-six year old woman, death’s grip was clearly winning the day. Indeed, the prevailing theme of the service was clear in the words of the deceased’s sister, “How do we make sense of this event?”

That question will, no doubt, haunt many of those in that room for years to come. When it came time for the funeral home’s minister on hire for the day to give a “message” to those in attendance, it was clear he had no real connection to the woman that died or to those in the room. To me, this somehow brought an even deeper sense of tragedy to the situation. I could not help but think to myself, “God, I truly hope that at my appointed time people are able to make a strong link between the meaning of my death and the purpose of my life, and I hope that someone who really knows me preaches my send off.”

This death, in this way, at this time, has somehow served to remind me of just how empty and void of meaning life is apart from a knowledge of God. Without an intimate relationship with Him, it seems clear that the meaninglessness of life is too much to handle. The horrors that surround us on a daily basis, the darkness of our own souls, the fragility of our psyches, and the pain of our past are too ominous for us to overcome without a divine compass. What do we do when pain so fills us that we cannot seem to find the strength to continue another day, another moment? Where is our hope to live when God is not in the picture? If this is all there is, then, and if the going is good, GREAT! But what do we do when the going is too tough? Why not just end it all? If this is all there is and the reality of our lives is largely pain and sorrow then what is the meaning of continuing on? It’s a logical conclusion isn’t it? Be done with it.

Death has a way of bringing life into view strangely enough. In witnessing deaths, it seems that those of us who are the onlookers are forced to really consider what makes a life worth living. Clearly beauty, success, fine homes, picket fences, boats, cars, and the pursuit of the American dream don’t make us whole. There must be something more, something beyond what we see, buy, accumulate. This death of a friend, and examples of others who have lost hope despite all the perks of a life of plenty (Owen Wilson for example), have served to remind me that above all my greatest need is to walk in relationship with my Creator.

There will be moments of triumph in my life, and no doubt, there will be moments of intense misery, failure, and pain. Amidst all of these, I find my balance, my purpose, and my hope in my walk with God. As I walk with Him even death does not have the last word in my life. In hopes of reminding you of this reality I leave you with the words of John Donne as he speaks to death. His words are for all of those who have embraced a life of hope in relationship with a God who offers us the ability to overcome. This ability to overcome empowers us with the courage to live another day, and ultimately secures our souls amidst our greatest foe, death itself. And these words are a clarion call to those who have nothing to live for beyond what they can see, feel and touch. Our hope in this life, and in the life to come, is found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. John Donne writes,

DEATH be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for, thou art not so,
For, those, whom thou think’st, thou dost overthrow,
Die not, poor death, nor yet canst thou kill me.
From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,
Much pleasure, then from thee, much more must flow,
And soonest our best men with thee do go,
Rest of their bones, and souls delivery.
Thou art slave to Fate, Chance, kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,
And poppy, or charms can make us sleep as well,
And better than thy stroke; why swell’st thou then;
One short sleep past, we wake eternally,
And death shall be no more; death, thou shalt die.

Praying and hoping you are finding your rest in Him, even Christ Jesus. For it is in Him alone that our souls find rest.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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6. November 2007 by BruceSmith.

Between the Lines.

This is where all drama in sport comes to life. Think about it. If there were no lines drawn for the basketball court would any of us realize just how great Michael Jordan really was? If the football field did not have boundary markers for the sidelines or the endzone, could the game be played? If Roger Federer played Tennis on a piece of ground with no lines drawn, no boundaries, would he be recognized as the master of the game that he is?

The same applies to life. Without boundaries, the game of life cannot be played with any sense of meaning or purpose. The idea that no rules exist, and that we can create our own rules as we go defies the laws of logic, sport, and life. God has given us boundaries which, contrary to popular opinion, offer us life and abundance. The view that God restricts us from a fulfilling or fun life is false and originated in the Garden of Eden where Satan tricked Adam and Eve into questioning the boundaries set in place by God. Once we take the bait and begin to question whether or not God intends good for us, the trap is set.

In making decisions in this life we must look toward Biblical truth in order to find the boundary markers which open life up to us. Within the lines of His truths all of life opens up to us. Within the playground of God’s precepts, life and life abundantly unfolds.

John 10:10 reads, “I have come that you might have life and life to the FULL”. Those are the words of Jesus. If we are to find a life worth living, it will be found as we walk in this reality.

Think about it.

Bruce Smith

optimuslife.org

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5. November 2007 by admin.

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