Boxer In The Ring

Having lived a life filled with many mistakes, some victories too, but many mistakes, I haven’t questioned whether I believe in a loving and merciful God. I have for most of my life believed that his love for me was unending and thankfully that his mercy was new for me every day of my world. Yet another aspect of faith has in my heart eluded me for some time. Perhaps it’s the guy in me who wants to make it on my own, or more likely it is simply a wrong belief.

That belief is that while God loves me; “YES”, I must fight through this life for myself. Yet recently I’ve had a change of view. Not meaning we don’t have a part to play, but rather the viewpoint of whose the fighter in all of it. Who stands in the place of the champion boxer who will go round after round for the life that we live, ensuring that victory is the outcome.

I was having a conversation with my sister Kristi recently regarding some areas of life that I fight with, and she showed me that very likely since my childhood I have believed that God loved me, yet didn’t believe that he would fight for me. I had never consciously thought of it before I guess. Yet when she said it, it was like one of those; ” ding ding ding bells went off in my head. It was true. I had always lived my life believing it was me that had to fight all the battles that I had to face. And looking back, I hadn’t done a great job of winning them, to say the least.

Over the last few days I’m realizing that I don’t have to fight anymore. Not meaning I just sit around and do nothing of course. Rather that the source I look to in a battle no longer needs to be me. Instead it is God who will do the fighting for me. I just need to trust that he can do it and stay out of his way, and go in the directions he has for me to travel in. I’m sure this is such simple understanding for most. Even when I heard it at first I said to myself; “Ya, I know that!” However, when I examined my history I recognized that for the most part I would give God control for a little while, then pull it back to me when I saw fit to do so. Yet as it says in Exodus 14:14  (NLT) “The LORD himself will fight for you. Just stay calm.” Examining the many weights I carry on my shoulders and knots that have built up to hold them, I see that the vast majority of them need not be there. One by one I can hear him saying; “That’s not your fight!”

In Matthew 6:33 Jesus said;  ”Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (NLT) That’s our part to play. To know him more. To seek his face more than just his handouts. He takes care of the battles, and all the other aspects of life we need as well.

Kameron Lombard © 2012  work in progress

My Girls

So often my daughters help keep me sane. This is a bit of a tribute to them. I once thought that I wanted boys. Yet when my girls arrived, I was melted beyond recognition. They have me through and through. They are simply amazing. I can come home from a hard day of uncertainty, and see their shining faces and all the concerns of the day simply fade away.

It is said that children are a blessing of the Lord. They are angels sent in disguise to change our world for the better. Are they always perfect, of course not. But they are perfectly mine. I adore everyday that I get to spend with them. They are a great source that exudes joy into many spheres of my world.

Coupled with an amazing wife, who lights up my day when I get home to see her. She is amazing. I am truly grateful to have ALL of my girls in my life. My two princesses, and my queen. I love my family.

Kameron L. 

Life Maps

Life happens. Are you ready? We often have the illusion that success is supposed to be an upward trajectory towards our greatness of purpose. That there is this line of success that when we make the decision, begins to move upward with a constant moving flow. Yet, in my YOUNG age of 34, yes I like to still think of myself as very young, I realize that real success looks nothing like a continual upward trajectory.

The reality is often that life is a flat line that runs across through time. It moves upward as we make choices to guide us in such directions that better ourselves, our families, and those around us. Then sometimes something happens that we didn’t expect. A hick-up of sorts comes and there is a choice. At times these are quick phases, or at others such disturbances last for a longer season.

It is at these hick-ups that we have choices to make once again. Like a fork in the road with no sure GPS to give us our next destination a decision must be made. The decisions we make will either take us upward, flat-line us for a while, or send us a little downward. What I’ve seen in my own world is that these hick-ups are sometimes avoidable, while others are un-avoidable. Unfortunately we live in a world where negative things happen and that is part of life. Yet the valleys help us also enjoy the peaks. Yet we should remember that we must climb a mountain to enjoy the expanse the summit allows us to see.

Our maps in life sometimes have to change. What worked in a previous season may not work in the season we live in now. What we thought was going to last for the entirety of our lives, we may find has ended and a new drawing must be created. This is sometimes a hard reality to face. Whether it be in relationships, career, or otherwise, the re-drawing of our life map takes time, discipline, and a lot of hope.

Yet chapters are written and finished. New chapters are meant to be born. We ought not be afraid of the new maps that must be drawn at times in our lives. It is a chance to re-invent ourselves. To see life and direction in a new way that can be exciting and full of great adventure. So when we find ourselves in such seasons. Don’t worry. Pick up the pen, and begin to draw a new map for this wonderful gift called life.

Kameron Lombard © 2012

 

Merry Christmas

Just a quick post… I want to wish everyone a great Christmas and Happy New Year! I hope you all have had a great year and wish for you an even greater year in 2012.

Kameron L 

No Comparison

We all want to be somebody, but sometimes don’t want to be just ourselves. We look at others and compare ourselves with damaging effects, rather than find out who we were meant to be and live in the now of such a life. We will never be anyone but us no matter how hard we try. The beauty is that no one can be “US” either.

In America it’s a struggle at least, and perhaps in other countries as well, to not compare with those around you. It’s easy to see someone doing just a little better, having a little more, or being a little further along. Hard is it to find balance and peace in just being… and enjoying where we are.

The other day I made it a grateful one. I just looked at all I was grateful for. As the day went on, the list grew long. Too long for me to compare myself with someone else, as I saw so much goodness in my own. Perspective has an amazing power in our lives. Someone always has more, but someone always has less. Yet it’s not about that anyway.

Can we find happiness in the world we live, for it is the world in which we’ve been given. We can change certain aspects of it and respect the place of the others we can’t, in its sphere. We make the most of where we are, and as time moves forward, we find ourselves in new places. The day-to-day becomes months to months, and destinations to destinations.

I had a great memory the other day and realized life is made up of such things. We remember the memories. What amazing memories are we creating in our world?

Life is more than comparison. Life is our living! Living it to the fullest of the dreams in which we possess. In such a way to not live in the disappointment of present realities, but rather present gratefulness. Because life changes, so also will our circumstances. From good to bad. From bad to good. Over and over again. The valleys help us grow. The valleys help us appreciate the peaks.

Smile. Enjoy your season.

Kameron Lombard © 2011

Goal Monster

In my own world around this time of year I begin looking at the coming year and what needs to be accomplished. I just turned 34 the other day and in all honesty, was a little down. I know you’re supposed to be up on your birthday and all, but I wasn’t. I was looking at the glass half-empty. Looking at my age and wishing I was further along in my journey then I am right now. I call this my annual “goal monster” that likes to come scream at me. This funk stayed with me for a few days.

Just today I was visiting with a friend of mine who has been able to observe me over the last year. And what she told me was very encouraging. “Thanks Ms. Rita.” She told me that when she looked at how I was a year ago vs. now it’s like talking to two different people. I’d grown she said. Sometimes it takes someone else’s perspective to see our lives a little differently then we see them ourselves.

When we look at the goals of the coming year, it’s also of extreme importance to look at the triumphs and victories we’ve had of the year we are living. No matter how small they may seem, most of us can find these little victories. These are to be celebrated! We are all works in progress no doubt, filled with more potential to be realized. We just have to remember that the beauty is in the journey and not get so down on ourselves. Or perhaps I just have to say that to me.

One of the greatest aspects of God’s grace is that it’s free. He always looks at us as his friends. I love in the New Testament how he wanted to be known as “Abba” or “Daddy.” Painting us a picture of a loving Dad who always is in love with his kids right where they are. The beauty of Grace is that it is a finished work, and a free gift for us to receive. Finished work!!! Let that sink in. We never have to do anything else but learn to rest more and more in his grace. His grace gives us the ability to live the great life he dreamed for us before we were ever in our mother’s womb. So, when we are feeling anxious, down, fearful, afraid of the future, worried, and so on, we are going against the grace that God has given us. He says; “Cast all your cares on him for he cares for you.”

You are loved! You are amazing! You are beautiful! Because God loved you (and I) enough to send his son to pay a final price for our freedom. So receive his love and have an amazing day!

Kameron Lombard © 2011

Not Perfect

We live. We learn. We grow. We live again. The lines of success being an upward trajectory of one point to another are never true. Life runs on a plain. We come to a set of circumstances. At which point we have some choices to make. We can either stay stagnant, learn from the experience, or demise from its existence. We then travel on the spectrum of life upward or downward from each point.

Success in life is never a one way path upwards. At least not in my experience. Rather it is an ongoing totality of various experiences that result in both growth and demise in the ever-changing journey of life. We live, and our hope is that we grow. Sometimes we don’t. Yet sometimes we do! That is the beauty. That sometimes we grow.

We are all imperfect beings. We make great strides of greatness, but also we fail. That is our humanity. Anyone who says otherwise is only lying to themselves and others. Our beauty is in such a journey that allows us to both grow and to fail in the same  frame of a day. We help and we hurt. We hope that we help more than we hurt.

The fruit of the Spirit found in the Bible is; Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 

We live to hope that these attributes are the greatest aspect of ourselves. Not just in a moment, but in a daily life that we call our own. A tapestry of tasteful fruit that rolls on into eternity. We all want to be remembered for things that are good. What good did we create today?

Kameron Lombard © 2011

Make Your Own Mold

The abyss of life is often in struggle, 

To keep oneself from falling to rubble.

Into the vast chasm of what others want of us,

Betraying our true selves in belittling fuss.

Only to find we’ve lived the greatest lie,

Lying to ourselves all the time before we die.

Gone the dreams from young to now,

Gave our lives to someone else’s burgeoning scowl.

One’s life is unique, one of a kind,

Cut from an original mold from an original mind.

To live life in the land of dreams within,

Awakened into reality is one’s life, to be forgotten is a sin.

So wake up to the you that is you,

Push hard to paint with the brush of your life’s beautiful hue.

Make your own mold or be forced into one,

For you are a one of a kind, you are a ONE!

Kameron Lombard © 2011

Just a Glimpse

Perhaps you have realized this, and I’m realizing it again today. Often times God doesn’t give us long-range binoculars to see into our own future. Wouldn’t that be great though! If only we were able to close our eyes and see down the line, even a full five years of every step we are to take, every obstacle that will come up, and every triumph we can expect to have. But where would the faith be in that I suppose. As much as I’ve prayed for it, or even begged for it, I’m usually never given very much long-range foresight. Not talking about dreams we each possess, as often we do have the ability to imagine those coming to pass in the future. Rather all the steps it will take to get there. Or what the journey will look like along the way.

What I’ve found is that He is faithful to show us the next few steps. I think in many ways He uses this to build up the strength of our own faith. Not to mention that if we were to be able to see all the obstacles that might come up perhaps we would choose not to walk along the path He’s designed for us. So what are we supposed to do about this? We desire to live the life God designed for us to live. We deeply want His best for our lives. We have dreams and goals that have been planted in our hearts. What are we supposed to do? Simply stated; Just take the next step, and enjoy the journey. Both of these aspects take a lot of faith.

Sometimes the next step is a scary one. Or we wonder what will happen once we take that step. Or we wonder what the next one will be, so we fail to enjoy the beauty of the step we are taking, too worried about what we might have to do next. One of my favorite small passages in the Bible which I’ve carried since I was very young is Proverbs 3:5-6; ”⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. ⁶ Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (NLT)

I’ve quoted it a million times, and yet many times failed at truly walking in it. By failure I mean that I haven’t had the faith to truly trust that He is taking me along the right path. So, many times I’ve trusted in my own way of thinking and picked out my own path, only to find it lead me in a circle back to the one next step I knew I should have taken in the first place.

Do you trust God enough to take your next step? A question I’ve asked myself many times, and perhaps you should too. If the next step is leading you towards something good in your life, what is there really to fear? That something good might happen! Or the worst of it, that you will fail at trying something that is good! Wouldn’t really be much failure in something like that. So trust God! Don’t get into worry! And take the next step!

In regards to enjoying the journey. Now that’s where fear likes to come knocking at the door. Filled with all sorts of unnecessary questions put to us to cause doubt, fear, and lack of peace. Questions like; What if this doesn’t work? How am I going to make enough money? Is this really the path I’m supposed to walk on? What will I need to do next? What will others think about it? And you can add your own list of questions that come up I’m sure.

Yet Jesus talked about how our great and loving God cares about us and how we should view each day of our journey. In Matthew 6  beginning in verse 28 he says; “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, ²⁹ yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. ³⁰And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith? ³¹ So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear? ³² These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. ³³ Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need. ³⁴ So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.” (NLT)

Our lives are meant to be lived on purpose and the journey to be one we enjoy. I struggle with it, and perhaps you do at times too. Yet it takes faith to live out the best life we are meant to live, taking the next steps, and enjoying the journey along the way. The beauty is always in the journey. It takes faith to have peace in the midst of it. Let God’s peace be your constant state as you walk out your own journey.

Philippians 4:6-7 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷ Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

Kameron Lombard © 2011

Confessions of an Irritated Husband

Once upon a night last week everything was going great in the Lombard home. My wife and I had a good evening with our princesses and enjoyed our time together. Then something happened. Something that happens to a lot of couples at times I suppose. A small fracture of a rift occurred. The rift was nothing major and should have been something that was sewn up as soon as it showed up. However, being two intense type A personalities living under the same roof this sometimes is not the case. I became irritated. I did what I’ve done at times before, and I dug my heels in determined to win the round.

That night we went to bed ticked off at each other and I of course got very little sleep. Because I just don’t sleep well when we are out of sorts in any way. Awaking the next morning to eyes of my own that were not seeing red anymore, I realized just how stupid it was to let such a mole hill become a mountain. While I was spending some time in prayer and meditation that morning I asked God what in the world had happened. How could I have let something so insignificant become something large enough to rob us of our peace-filled relationship.

I got a picture in my mind of a bowl of fruit that I had decided to dump out all over the floor. It was an odd picture until I realized what it really meant. The Bible describes a type of fruit that is evident in people’s lives who dwell in the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.” 

Instead of choosing to eat from this fruit I chose to dump it out and fill the bowl with selfishness, irritability, strife, and anger. Then there’s that Dr. Phil question; “So how’s that working for you?,” sticking in my mind. The fruit tasted rotten. I repented to my wife for being a bit of a jackass and she lovingly forgave me.

So often in relationships when disagreements come up we choose our own way rather than God’s way of handling things. His way always leads to a desire for peace and reconciliation, whereas often our own selfish desires just want to be RIGHT! When in fact many times we are not. Rather we just want to WIN! Furthermore, oftentimes it doesn’t matter who is right or wrong but rather is it a battle even worth fighting for. We’ve all heard the words; “Choose your battles.” However, is that even really God’s best in a relationship. A relationship of battles. Rather we should choose peace and reconciliation.

If we approach our relationships in such a way as to look at them through the filter of eating the fruit of the Holy Spirit in every possible situation, the outcomes of disagreements can be building blocks for deeper levels of intimacy, rather than building blocks for walls of resentment and bitterness.

The lesson I learned was to not dump out the fruit of the Spirit in my relationship EVER! True we will often come up against disagreements in relationships. We are different individuals with different ideas on everything. Yet these ideas or stances should not be allowed to come in between having true intimacy and harmony in the relationships we cherish so much. I love that God’s grace is big enough to let me continue to grow, and learn along the way.

“Don’t sweat the small stuff. Don’t make mountains out of mole hills. Don’t lose your peace over an insignificant battle.

Enjoy living and eating from the fruit of the Holy Spirit in every aspect of life.

Kameron Lombard. © 2011