So I am about to go to Golden, Co for the first time. Now I have been to Colorado many times before, and one of those places has never been Golden, and one of those times has never been in the summer. I can't wait to see God's Majesty in the Mountains, and scenery when not covered with snow. I look forward to exploring this town during the day wishing Lisanne could accompany me, but she has class. So I will make the most of it, taking pictures, walking, and drinking plenty of water. The high is 83 and the low is in the 40 and 50's. What a nice, nice, nice break for us from the weather. I am meeting Lisanne there, and our little guy Sammy will not be with us. Sammy flew when he was a little older than one, and let me tell you it wasn't fun for us or for him either. I learned something on that trip though. The only reason why he didn't like it was because it was unfamiliar, uncomfortable, and simply not what he wanted. These feelings and emotions are completely warranted at his age.
For some reason I started thinking back on the flight to and from, and remembering thinking "OMG, We are that family, and he is that child." At the same time I remember thinking hopefully people will understand. They did, we survived and got to spend time with family in Florida in the process. See I relate this to my own life and faith in this. I start with a question: What do I do when I am out of my omfort zone, unfamiliar with my surroundings, and don't like exactly how things are happeneing around me? I act like a 1 year old on a plane in a cramped airplane, with no escape. Sammy wasn't constantly moving around, he settled for a while, he slept (which was good) and looked out the window some. All in all he ultimatly knew that we had him. He was able to sleep because we were there with him.
God gives us peace in these tough times. He is there, he sees our fits, he sees our struggle, yet he is calm and no matter what we do he never changes.
I can't say I was calm with Sammy, I was not successful in being the patient, shinning example of a parent. I got quite flustered, and when I did Sammy could tell. This caused him to react more adversly.
This is the beauty of God, God knows, sees, and is aware of all. He isn't surprised. A good friend once told me, when I went through a divorce 7 years ago, that God was not surprised by my circumstances, that I would have to simply walk through it. Nothing I could do, can, or will do can ever change God's place in every situaiton that goes on around me. So why do I constantly act like the 1 year old when I know that isn't producing results. If God has my back, and never gets stressed then why do I worry.
I will tell you why. I constantly let my flesh come through, I don't do the battle daily like I should. I simply get comfortable, and that is a bad thing. Comfort is good, but not so good that you forget your purpose in life. God has this grand plan for me and every single person, and he despreatley wants us to experience it. What he won't do with that is force us to live it. He wants our whole heart. So God gives us our children as a gift, as well as an avenue to learn more about Him.
SO my question to you is, How comfortable are you? When is the last time you stepped out in faith? When is the last time you kicked and screemed because things were not exaclty as you pictured them?
May God be with you in all you do.
Brett Chancey
Jeremiah 29:11-14

This summer has been an opportunity to grow, and I have to admit, I am not sure that I have taken full advantage. One thing I have done, is look at myself from the inside out. What I see is not pleasant at times. I remind myself of someone who knows what to do, but doesn't end up doing it, which is dangerously like the man mentioned in James 4. I am doing what I can to alleviate that guy, and have been doing some reading. C.S. Lewis at the end of Mere Christianity says this: The more we get what we now call "ourselves" out of the way and let Him take us over, the more truly ourselves we become....our real selves are all waiting for us in him...The more I resist Him and try to live on my own, the more I become dominated by my own heredity and upbringing and surrounding and natural desires." He goes on, I may share more later.
What struck me here was the fact that C.S. Lewis says something that should be known by all those who are Christ followers, and when I look at myself it seems like something so foreign. The fact of the matter is I think we are so focused on making ourselves better, that we accidentally remove Christ from the equation. Currently I am back in training mode for another 1/2 marathon, as well trying to ease into P90X. Those two are a recipe for disaster (at least for me), and it is tough. See I want to get in shape for health reasons, I want to be able to run a sub 3 hr 1/2 marathon, I want to try and extend my life on earth so I can love my family and share the love of Christ with others. So the question is: Why am I doing all this stuff? Well at first it was selfish, and for many others it is selfish. Not for everyone, but all this helps make my point.
If all we are doing is striving for personal goals, financial freedom, better pay, more stuff, faster times, cooler vehicles, bigger houses, more notoriety then we have missed the point. Maybe the reason so many people fail to find real satisfaction is because they look to themselves. They trust their intellect, they trust their accolades.
So how when Paul said, "He of all people had reason to boast, but the only thing worth bosting in was Christ", how can we claim these things as our own.
Back to Lewis; Simply put search for Christ in all that you do, search him and he will be found by you, take your talent, abilities, knowledge, money, and stuff and find him in those things. If you can't, get rid of them, throw them out. When we get to the end the man who dies with the most toys.....JUST DIES. I don't want to be that guy, I want to be the Husband, Father, Son, and Friend that seeks Christ identity in everything I do. I am not perfect nor and I quit where I want to be.
But I will be damned if I am going to let Satan have a field day with my heart anymore. Have a blessed weekend and we will talk again soon.
In Christ,
Brett E Chancey