Jon Nungester-Living from the Inside Out

Last week I heard Pastor Mat Garcia give a message on the difference between success and significance.  He used the analogy of having times when your kids are young and how fast the time goes until you look back and realize how fast your kids have grown up.  I really want to treasure the times I have with my daughter and cherish each moment.  I understand that there are diapers to change right now and temper tantrums that go unended, but even through those frustrations I want to spend as much time with her as possible before she is too old to hang out with dad.  Here is a shot of the two of us hanging out at home.  Both with crazy hair.

Just thought I would post something today.  The clouds are out and I feel really sleepy.  Lots of stuff to do, but wanted to write a little about the day.  That’s all.

I have been thinking about this idea of LOVE.  It is such a huge idea, such a huge concept, my mind has a hard time grasping it.  I LOVE lasagna, but at the same time I LOVE my wife and daughter.  How is this possible?  I was reading through 1 Corinthians 13 and trying to understand what LOVE really is and isn’t.  If we actually LOVE God, are we patient and kind?  If we actually LOVE God, do we abstain from envy, boasting, pride, rudeness, selfishness, anger, holding grudges?  If we truly LOVE God, do we delight in the truth?  Because God says He is LOVE!  He always protects, always hopes, always perseveres!  He is awesome!  He is the true definition of LOVE and I have a long way to go to actually understand LOVE.

The American Dream is all about someone with little gaining a lot and being wealthy and secure in the work that they do.  The American Dream is owning a home and growing old in it with grandkids running around.  The American Dream is about bettering oneself and making more with what you have.This seems to be backwards from what Paul teaches about being led by the Spirit.  Do we really believe that God would want us to have more just so we can keep it to ourselves?  Do we really believe that He wants us to have homes that are too big for us to clean that we need to hire others to come in and clean it for us.  Does this seem backwards to anyone else?   

Got up this morning in Delaware to go fishing with my bro-in-law. Woke up to 38 degrees with a 20 knot sustained wind. After 5 casts, our hands were frozen and we called it quits. Maybe we will get out later today or tomorrow for more fun.

So, I was driving into Jamba Juice the other day and saw a guy outside asking the cars for help.  I have seen this guy throughout the Conejo at different restaurants asking for money.  I have been going through the book of James with my students and really felt like I could no longer just “walk on by.”  So, I rolled down my window and asked if I could buy him lunch.  We met up at the sandwich shop and were waiting in line together. The guy behind the counter asked if we wanted it for here or to go.  I let Richard decide and he said here.  When I said here as well he looked at me kind of strange.  We got our lunches and sat down.  I then asked him for his story and he went on for the next hour and a half sharing his life story of growing up in LA, being in the Air Force, and ending up on the streets in the Conejo Valley.

It was an awesome afternoon and it seemed like Richard had never been cared for or asked about his life.  I hope to have more lunches like this.

So, tomorrow I will be running in a 5k to raise money for the Breast Cancer Foundation.  My wife, daughter, and I will be in Pasadena for this even tomorrow.  Should be fun.

Have you ever seen a little kid eat ice cream? The wonder and excitement that they have when they receive this forbidden treat! The first taste that they take and the upper lip covered by the delicious cream. They get so much joy from this experience. They take their time with each bite and may take bites that are too big for them to fit into their mouths.

I recently took my 2 year old daughter to Golden Spoon and got her a strawberry frozen yogurt. She LOVED it! I got a vanilla frozen yogurt with some fudge on it! Yummy! But, as far as I could tell, Katie seemed to enjoy her ice cream much more than me! Mine was good, but I didn’t squeal with excitement! Why was this? Was it because Strawberry is superior to vanilla? Was it that mine had fudge and somehow diluted the taste and enjoyment of the ice cream? Or was it that my senses have been diluted over the years and that the trip to the ice cream shop no longer has the “experience” factor that goes along with it?

I believe it to be the latter. I think we treat church like this sometimes. When I was five I was so excited about church that I told my pastor that I wanted to be like him someday. Wow, those were the days. Do we get up on Sunday mornings and head to church with excitement or has it become a weekly ritual that leaves you wanting more? Many of us blame the pastor or the worship for not making us “feel good.” But, maybe it is our hearts that we need to examine and see if church has become as common as vanilla with fudge.

so today i am hanging out with my daughter.  she is actually sitting next to me, thus the no capitalization on this post.  there is so much excitement in her life.  she gets excited about every noise she hears: sirens, horns, trash trucks, etc..  she wants to know everything about the world around her.  shouldn’t we have the same desire and awe when it comes to our faith? shouldn’t every new thing we here or read absolutely amaze us?  i want that desire more than anything, but sometimes i feel like i know it all when it comes to my faith, but my faith should never be something that is stagnant.  just like a workout, you can never get fast enough or strong enough.  so with our spiritual lives we need to be more like children and search to find out new things about our faith until we are strong in our awe of the almighty. 

Recently, I have been tired even after waking up from a long nights sleep. I have actually been working out and losing weight and not getting the energy that I would expect. I even went to the doctor’s office, which for me never happens, and had blood taken and am now waiting for the results.
Spiritually, I see this weeriness constantly, in the pastor that gets tired of his wife and sleeps with the secretary, or the pastor that gives up all they have done to go sell used cars. Many people have come up to me and asked me how I can have a full-time job as a pastor. they ask, “what do you do with your time?” I think through all of “things” that pastors do. From counseling, hospital visits, sermon prep, event planning, youth group nights, church choirs, worship bands, etc!!!
However, with all of this said, I read Galatians 4-6 this morning and came across this passage, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Gal. 6:9)” This was such an encouragement! Out of all the “things” I do, God is calling me to not become weary in doing good things! I just pray that he will continue to give me the strength to see it through, because He is faithful and will see the good works through until their completion!