Life Is Change... Growth Is Optional

     "Life is change, growth is optional" is a quote from someone unknown, but one that I think has a lot of relevance in our lives. There is no doubt that life is change, whether we like it or not. Some changes we can control if we choose to while other changes are out of our hands, but we can handle how we encounter those changes and most importantly, grow from them. 

     I will be the first to admit that I am not always a fan of change. Sometimes change can be a good thing while other times change can make things more challenging or less appealing. I will admit there are times that I wish I could just freeze things and leave it how it is. Yet, I know that isn't how life works and eventually things will be different whether I like it or not. I constantly remind myself that change is all part of the journey of life and that life would be boring if there wasn't any change. Like William Feather said, "One way to get the most out of life is to look upon life as an adventure". Part of that adventure in life is change and learning how to overcome the challenges and difficulties that come with those changes. I can say that this is true in farming as there always seems to be some type of challenge that could end up changing what we do or what we planned. The same is true in life, we may plan on something happening but then life decides to change those plans and put us on a different path. If you are like me, you probably had your life planned out and then had your plans altered. 

     So life is full of change, so what? It happens, but the most important piece to this is how we handle and grow from those changes. Unlike change, growth doesn't have to happen if you choose to not let it. We are the ones that decide how to handle the outcomes of changes. When changes happen and we don't like them, we can either be bitter and negative or we can choose to take the change head on and grow from the experience. Sometimes we may look at change as being a bad thing when it could actually be beneficial to us and our lives. It can make us grow as individuals by pushing us outside of our comfort zones and making us do things we thought we could never do. When we choose to grow from the changes life deals us, we become better employees, friends, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, boyfriends and girlfriends, as well as husbands and wives. Growth from change doesn't necessarily change who we are, but can change our priorities in life and refocus our energy into more important things such as our faiths, families, and friends. 

   Yes, life is full of change and it is often out of our hands. Yet, we get to choose how we handle the changes that life deals us. The only one who can decide whether or not to grow is yourself. You're the one that holds the reins to that decision and the only one that can make it happen. So when life changes, be the one to decide to grow from that change. Be the one that decides to grow into the better person. You're the one that holds to the key to opening the door to growth, so choose to turn it! 

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope. - Jeremiah 29:11   

Don't Expect Perfect

     Have you ever caught yourself saying "this is perfect"? You probably have, and I know I have said it more than a few times before too. It is a common word that we use when it seems like we find the right job, item, relationship, home, or even life. The dictionary describes perfect as " having all the required or desirable elements, qualities, or characteristics; as good as it is possible to be". However, I have to say I greatly dislike this word perfect because is there really anything in this life that is perfect?

     In my bible study this morning we talked about Exodus 3:14 as God tells Moses to go to the people of Israel in Egypt. As we continued our discussion, we ended up talking about the need for God in our lives and how God would fit into our lives if everything was perfect. I then really started to process the thought of "perfect" and having that perfect life. However, I realized that there is no perfect person, perfect job, perfect relationship, OR  perfect life. There are good people, good jobs, good relationships, and good lives but none of that equals perfect. If everything was perfect, what would there be to strive for? If everything was perfect, where would God fit into our lives? In today's world we strive to be perfect and to have the perfect life, job, relationship, and etc. When things don't seem "right" or "perfect", we end up doubting what we have and the things/people God has placed in our life. We start to think that what we have isn't good enough anymore and decide to give up because it isn't perfect. We tend to forget that great things take time and that nothing will ever be perfect 100% of the time. There will be great moments and there will also be challenging times. Now, some people have that luck of having things fall into place all at once, but out of the 7 billion people in this world there are very few that have that kind of luck. Even when it may seem like they have that kind of luck, sometimes we don't realize the other challenges they might be facing in their life.

     So what do we do when things aren't "perfect" in our life? Well, first stop expecting things to be perfect and start looking at the good things in your life. Stop looking at other people's lives and then comparing yours to theirs. Take a look at what God has blessed you with in your life. Embrace the people and the things that God has put in it. When things don't seem to be going right, don't give up! Identify the areas that need to be fixed, rebuilt, or completely overhauled. Self evaluate yourself and where you want your life to go, but also use God and his guidance. I always find it unfortunate to see people who have the potential to do great things but give up. They give up because it's not "perfect" or they let fear and doubts creep in. Sometimes the greatest things come when we throw out the idea of "perfect" and cross the bridge over our fears and doubts. Sometimes it just takes faith and God.

     So this word perfect..... yea it's just a word. It doesn't have any true meaning because nothing is actually perfect in this world. So don't expect perfect in your life unless your are striving to have a perfect relationship with God. That is the only thing that can be perfect in this world because God is the true definition of perfect!

"You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect" - Matthew 5:48

    

Fix My Eyes On You

Over the last couple of months I have been listening to a song called "Fix My Eyes" by a contemporary christian band called For King and Country. I must admit that I don't always pay attention to the lyrics in a song, which can be both good and bad at times. However, the lyrics to this song really stood out to me, especially the chorus. It made me take a step back and think about the things that were happening in my life, our country, and world..... and with that you are probably wondering what this chorus is, so I wrote it below.

"I'd Love like I'm not scared

Give when it's not fair

Live life for another

Take time for a brother

Fight for the weak ones

Speak out for freedom

Find faith in the battle

Stand tall but above it all

Fix my eyes on you"

Now I challenge you to put yourself in these lyrics. Have you found yourself not loving because you were scared.... maybe scared of being vulnerable... or have found yourself not willing to give because you didn't think it was fair.... or maybe not living life for another because you were more worried about how people would look at you.... or not taking time out of your day just to say hi or smile at someone who could of been having a bad day.... or not standing up for the weak ones that maybe can't stand up for themselves because we were afraid of how society would view us. If your like me, we all have probably fallen short in one or more of those areas. 

But then the chorus goes on to say "Speak out for freedom, find faith in the battle, stand tall but above it all, fix my eyes on you". That speaks volumes to me and I hope to you as well. We must make sure we aren't just "mediocre" christians but instead standing above all the jealousness, pettiness, greediness, hatefulness that the world deals us and instead fix our eyes on him, our Lord and Savior. By fixing our eyes on our Lord, he will guide us through the challenges life gives us and will comfort us during the times of struggle. We need to make sure we aren't fixing our eyes on ourself and focusing on what we want, what we think, or how others will look at us. When we fix our eyes on ourself, we end up missing out on what God is guiding us to or what God has planned for us. So often we are given opportunities everyday but don't often see them because we focus our eyes on what we want or how we think it should be. Fixing our eyes on ourself will make us miss out on opportunities that could change our lives or the lives of others. 

Right now there are people all around the world who are dealing with some of the toughest challenges in life. They may be dealing with an illness, death, relationship breakup, loss of a friendship, financial troubles, addictions, divorce, or just feeling like they aren't valued. However, I hope and pray that they fix their eyes on the Lord and not themselves so that they don't miss out on what God has in store for them. 

So just remember to love like your not scared, give when it's not fair, live life for another, take time for a brother, fight for the weak ones, speak out for freedom, find faith in the battle, stand tall but above it all, and fix YOUR eyes on the Lord! 

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me." Phillipians 4:13

For those who want to listen to the song "Fix My Eyes", click here! 

The Future is Ahead and God's the Driver

Do you ever wonder where your life will be at in 20 years? Most likely you do, and I am sure you probably are wondering where your life will be at in one year or maybe even tomorrow! The future is something we have all thought about since we were little. We have wondered what career we would have, who we would marry, where we would be living, and so on. Thinking about the future can be both fun and frightening. The reason it can be fun is because we think about the things we want and the things we want to do while at the same time it can be frightening from the fact that we may not always succeed, or get what we want.

I have always found myself in this predicament when thinking about the future. I look at all the could be situations but then remind myself of the could not situations as well. Sometimes I get frustrated from the fact that I can't predict the future nor the outcome. Yet, then I remind myself that God has a plan for me. That plan may not necessarily be something that I thought of or wanted, but could end up being something greater than I ever thought.

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God." - Romans 8: 18-21

As Christians, we need to put our worries in God's hand and remind ourselves that the ultimate plan is for us to end up in his Kingdom. When I look at my future, it is full of different dreams and passions, but in the end I see myself spending eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven. God doesn't care what job I have or how much I get paid, but he does care about my journey through faith. He cares about the struggles I go through as well as the times of joy and excitement.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you." - Jeremiah 29:11-13

So the next time you worry about the future, whether that is tomorrow or ten years, remember that God is the driver of your future and to give up your worries to him through prayer. He cares about you and loves you and wants you to spend eternity in the Kingdom of Heaven!

Faith and Animal Agriculture

When your eating that tender steak or delicious burger, do you ever wonder if you are committing a sin? Usually when I am eating a steak, that thought doesn't even come to mind and I am pretty sure that doesn't come to mind of most individuals that are involved in the agriculture industry. However, animal right's activists are trying to instill this thought in consumers minds, making them think twice about what they are eating.

A couple days ago I read an article in the Drovers Cattle Network that said animal rights activists are starting to change their tune a bit and are starting to use faith as a way to push their anti-meat/anti-animal agriculture agenda. However, this wasn't the first time I heard about faith being used to convince consumers that eating meat is unethical. When I was down at the 2012 Commodity Classic,  I attended a learning session that also pointed out that these activists are starting to use faith as a way to convince people to stop eating meat. In their view, they see eating a steak or pork chop as committing a sin. They think that God did not put animals on this earth for our consumption and that God gave us plants to consume instead. Yet, one of the scriptures in Genesis suggest otherwise. "Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. And as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything." Genesis 9:3. This was when the Lord spoke to Noah after the great flood. So my question to the individuals that claim producing and eating meat is ungodly is why would the Lord tell Noah that everything on the earth that moves is food but in today's world it is wrong and unethical? It doesn't make much sense to me and the message about everything being food doesn't change throughout the bible.

However, not everyone realizes that eating meat is NOT a sin, and this is why it is important for the agriculture community to make sure that anti-animal agriculture groups don't start misusing faith as a way to further their anti-meat agenda. Over 78% of the nation's population belongs to the christian faith, so just imagine what could happen if these anti-animal agriculture groups started to convince Christians that eating meat was bad and against the Christian faith.

Those of us in the agriculture industry need to make sure that these groups against animal agriculture don't take advantage of faith and use it to further their agenda. I want to leave you with a passage that I found that I think makes a good point. We shouldn't judge those who don't eat meat and those that don't eat meat shouldn't judge us. The only one that has the authority to judge is our Lord.

"One person believes he can eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgement on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him." Romans 14:2-3