A Kemp Family Fave

Our family has really gotten into the Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender. It is well-animated, witty, is filled with cool martial arts sequences and has a great story-line. The world of Avatar is built around an Asian-like culture, so the worldview reflects eastern influences, but it is well worth checking out.

Feeling Kinda Blue

I'm feeling kinda blue today. The world does not feel an awful lot like heaven just now. I just found out yesterday that one of my best friends, Brick James, has had a reoccurence of cancer. Brick was first diagnosed with melanoma seven years ago. He has had several surgeries and treatments over the last several years. Yesterday he learned that a tumor in his brain was growing back, that there was a tumor in his neck, and that there were now cancer cells in his spinal column. There is not much to do now as far as surgical options go, so he will be undergoing chemotherapy to try to at least slow the progress of the cancer.

Brick is one of the most authentic followers of Christ I have ever met. He is an awesome friend, an often mentor, a sometimes counselor to me, someone who holds me accountable and who isn't afraid to get in my face and be really honest. Please pray for him.

Christian vs. Christ-follower, Part 2

Oh, man, this is funny!

More on Life and the Trail

I opened this blog with some thoughts on life and the trail. I had a few more thoughts on the connections between life and hiking that I never got around to posting. So, here they are.

First, every hiker understands the value of traveling lightly. Hikers are fanatical about reducing every ounce of excess baggage like drilling holes in toothbrush handles, using ultralight gear, reducing the amount of food you have to carry. Every extra ounce of weight can be a hindrance that slows you down and keeps you from going on further.

Wise people in life understand that we are just passing through life. Life is a journey, so why get weighted down by things that keep us from moving ahead? Our goal should not be to add on more weight, a bigger house payment, more car payments, more gadgets and toys and possessions, greater credit card debts. Our goal should be to reduce the weight and keep moving as pilgrims and strangers on earth.

Second, hiking is purposeful. It's about putting one foot in front of the other and keeping on going, even when it is difficult. Success in life is moving forward toward the goal. God's desire for us is to make us more and more like Jesus Christ, and that means that we keep moving forward in life. Sometimes life is difficult. Sometimes life doesn't make sense. Sometimes your best friend dies at 35 in a car accident. Sometimes your wife has a miscarriage. Sometimes your husband walks out on you after twenty years of marriage. But you don't stop. You keep moving ahead.

You're not always going to understand what God is doing in your life. You're not always going to be prepared for everything that comes along. The same is true on the trail. You cannot prepare for every eventuality. Sometimes you encounter the unexpected on the trail. Sometimes what you come across on the trail does not match what the trailguide in your hands says. But you just keep moving, putting one foot in front of the other, knowing that things are going to get better.

A couple of years ago, my wife and I lost a child in the tenth week of pregnancy. As we went through that experience, I asked God a lot of times to help me understand why this had happened. I never got an answer to that question. But what I did come to understand was that I don't have to always understand what God is doing for me to trust Him. I just keep walking the trail.

Loving My Wife

I readily admit that there was a time when I was the village idiot when it came to expressing love and affection to my wife and being a romantic Prince Charming. I'm the guy who offered to take my wife out to a movie and eat at Taco Bell afterwards on our anniversary (Ouch!) But somewhere along the way, by the grace of God and with the help of my awesome wife, I figured it out.

Let me just say, my wife is a total hottie! There are many days that I look at her and think, "Dang, how'd I get so lucky?" One of the joys of my life now is continually thinking of new and meaningful ways that I can express my love to her.

Last Friday we went to the Trinity School of Dance and the Arts in Durant, OK, and took the ballroom dancing class. We learned the waltz, the foxtrot, the rumba, and some Irish/cowboy line dance thing. It was a blast, and my wife thought I was the biggest stud in all the world.

Guys, let me offer you a revolutionary piece of advice: Husbands, love your wives. It's amazing how many men just don't get this. Focus on expressing love to your wife in ways that are romantic and meaningful to her and do it regularly and you will never regret it.

Dear Abby (revised),

At the birth of each of my children, I have written a letter to them. I have been a little slow about getting one to Abby. Time is more and more at a premium with four children. So, here, finally, is my letter to Abby.

Dear Abby,

You are the fourth incredible blessing that God has given to us. I cannot begin to tell you how much you mean to your mother and me. Your birth has once again brought joy into our busy home. You are a cherished possession, a special treasure, a beautiful gift from God.

You have been born into an incredible family with the most beautiful and awesome mother in the world. She is the love of my life, and I feel blessed every day to have her as my wife. Your brother and sisters are terrific kids, and they already love you with all their hearts. You cannot know right now just how wonderful your life is to be loved by so many people.

Abby, as your Daddy, I promise you that I will always love you unconditionally. I will value you and treasure you as best I know how on a daily basis. Most importantly, I will always try to point you to Jesus Christ and give you an example of following him in my own life. I cannot give you riches or fame, but I can give you Jesus, and he is the best thing in all the world.

I pray for you daily. I pray you will know just how much I and your mommy love you and how much God loves you. I pray that you will one day become a follower of Jesus Christ. I pray that you will live out God's vision for your life. I pray you dream big dreams, live great adventures, and love the world, life, and other people. I pray you will find someone to share your life with who will love you with all their hearts and who will love Jesus even more.

You mean the world to me, and I thank God every day for the gift you are to us.

Love,

Daddy

Cowboys' Woes

Not much new to say here. I still stand by my previous posting on the QB controversey. All I can say now is thank goodness the Bill Parcells era is over. I know, I know, he's a hall of fame coach, but his four years in Dallas have been nothing more than mediocre. I am ready to move on, although I am nervous about how Jerry Jones is going to fill the head coaching position.

Heaven in the Real World

I've been doing a lot of thinking lately about the world, culture, society, and other people. I've been asking God to give me his perspective on all these things and to enable me to see the holiness of everything, to be able to see the hand of God all around me.

You see, I think the standard conservative Christian position on the world, culture, and other people is that they are basically and fundamentally irredeemable. Oh, sure, God can and does occassionally change some people, but as a whole, society, culture, and people are growing worse and worse, are going down the tubes, and as a result should generally be avoided.

A far cry from the life and ministry of Jesus whose overarching message was the coming of the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Jesus' life and ministry was very much about the kingdom of heaven invading and transforming the kingdom of the world. His miracles were evidence of the coming of the kingdom. His teachings were about life in the kingdom. His death, burial, and resurrection were about the kingdom of the heavens being firmly established in this world and redeeming a people who are citizens of that kingdom and who will continue to carry forward that kingdom here on earth.

So, I ask the question, what would the world be like if Christians really believed that heaven were possible here on earth? How would we see the world and culture and society and other people differently if we saw them all as basically and fundamentally redeemable? How would it change our approach to life if we looked for the hand of God in every moment, every conversation, every interaction? Would our actions and attitude be different if our perspective on heaven was not some pie in the sky by and by approach, not some retreat from life in the real world, but if we understood that the kingdom of heaven is at hand right now in the world around us? What if instead of wishing for something better, we made the world better? What if, whenever we saw places in life that weren't quite heaven, we chose to do something about it to bring the life of the kingdom of heaven to reality here?

Think about it. Much more to come.

Christian vs. Christ-follower

Really good really funny video passed along to me by Michael McMinn.