The last two Wednesday night’s at Bible Study, Mrs. Laurel has been talking about marriage. That is a weird topic for someone like me, who is divorced and single. I do hope to be remarried one day though, so I went and took plenty of notes. This whole topic is what jumped out at me last night. A LOT of marriages end because someone “Isn’t happy.”  Well, guess what? You weren’t created to be happy anyway!  Mrs. Laurel said, “Happiness is a by-product of what God created us to BE, not DO. When you make happiness your purpose, you don’t feel like it’s enough once you reach it.” Happiness is based on circumstances. That’s why it doesn’t last. It can go away quickly. For example, maybe you want a new rug for your home, or new shoes, or to be a certain weight, or to have your hair a certain way, or spicy Chic-Fil-A nuggets, or the latest tech gadget…. you just KNOW you’ll be happy when that happens. Right? Wrong! Once you get whatever it is you think will make you happy, you almost immediately start thinking about the next thing that will make you happy. What we should be striving for is JOY! Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Joy is actually already inside of you if you are a Christ follower. It’s not one of the things that God gives to certain people. Gifts and fruits of the Spirit are two different things. In my Christine Caine devotional book “Living Life […]

Read More

Today’s Post Take a Break is a Guest Post by my friend Nic, this is his second guest post on SecondIron, where he talks about our need to take a break and getting much-needed rest. Nic is a geek dad, a professional nerd, and a pop culture junkie. He is drawn to any conversation about music, movies, theater, architecture, comics, and theology. You can follow his thoughts about parenthood, corporate life, and the intersection between faith and pop culture at his blog, The Faithful Geek. You can also find him on Twitter and Instagram. Enjoy his guest post Take a Break. Growing up in church with weekly Sunday school lessons, you grow accustomed to Bible stories. They become familiar enough that even people with little to no religious affiliation know how the stories play out. Noah’s ark, Moses and the exodus, David versus Goliath, the birth of Jesus, the crucifixion and resurrection. If your background is similar to mine, you can probably tell these stories without reading directly from scripture. Unfortunately, my favorite Bible story was not one I learned in Sunday school. It is not typically told by children’s workers or youth pastors. In fact, it is a story buried toward the end of Acts that most pastors skip over when teaching about the early church. I cannot remember hearing a single sermon referencing this passage. In case you missed it, I would like to share it with you. Acts 20 summarizes Paul’s travels through Macedonia and Greece after a riot in Ephesus. He caught up with his entourage […]

Read More

Once again as I prepare for my upcoming graduation I am handing the reigns over to a guest blogger. Today’s post is by Tom Swan, who usually blogs at ask Tom Swan. Take a moment and welcome Tom to the conversation and read his contribution. Capes and matching red tights not required Ask any child under the age of three what they want to be when they grow up.  Most likely they will tell you they want to be a super hero.  You might even be lucky enough to hear about all of the super powers they will have. Somewhere between the age of three and adulthood, we stop dreaming.  We lose the belief that we can be a super hero!  We trade in our capes and super powers for student loans, a mortgage payment, credit card debt and a 401(k).  We may or may not get married and start a family. Before we know it, the life we dreamed of as kids is nothing like the one we are living now.  We say things like, “There are just not enough hours in a week.  How am I supposed to get this all done?” We trade our time for a paycheck.  Maybe we are lucky enough to be doing something we love, but for the most part, we do the work that pays the bills.  When we’re not at work, our days and evenings are filled with PTA meetings, soccer games and dance classes. We get home just in time to fall into bed, so […]

Read More