kylegilbert

When I hang out with my kids, we like to try to find new things to do.  This morning, we decided to do a little origami. We started out with a paper cube, then origami balloons, and finally paper hats.

But the best part was the skull and crossbones that my daughter drew on her doll’s paper hat. Awesome!

I doubt many would be surprised to hear that I have a special place in my heart for technology. I love the way our church websites, Internet Campus, and online groups extend the ministry of our church and allow me to connect with people I wouldn’t have met otherwise. I love that I can stay in contact with many people by reading their updates via Facebook, Twitter, and their blogs. I love that I can use technology, like Skype and Facetime, to connect with my family and have face-to-face conversations even though we are geographically distant from one another.

But along with this amazing gift of technology, our society, and maybe much of the world, has now also taken on the mantle of hyper-criticism. I see it in the comments of many blogs I read, I find it on Twitter, and I’ve even watched it creep into our church’s online social spaces. Our ability to interact and give feedback has brought many to the point where they can’t seem to turn off their own commentary. And now, everywhere I look, I’m surrounded by criticism. Someone is ripping on a airline for bad customer service, or they’re tearing down a celebrity for the dumb choices they’ve made, or they’re complaining about the quality of some product. Everywhere I look on the web, someone is pointing out somone’s mistake.

We’ve taken the platforms of web technology and social media and turned them into our pedestals. Our opinions have become the commodity, and we have become self-important. We take everything personally, refuse to extend grace, and dish out negativity.

This can’t be healthy. Not for us, and not for our society.

I think it’s time for many of us, especially those of us who claim to follow Jesus, to take a different path. It’s time to climb down from our pedestals, remember that we’re flawed like everyone else, and begin using our influence to lavish grace and love on those around us.

Here’s a video of my nearly five-year-old daughter and two-year-old son practicing driving nails into a block of wood with their little hammers.  I love these little things that make our free time together so fun.

I haven’t finished the last five books I’ve started, but now I’m on to the next.

But this one is different.  This one was written to women.

And I’m not a woman.

Even still, I don’t know that I’ve ever read another book (outside of the Bible) that has taught me so much about myself and the sickness inside all of us that is trying to destroy our lives.  It’s shed helpful light on why I do some of the things I do, why I’m tempted in some of the ways I’m tempted, and why I often feel like I’m on an emotional roller coaster:

“I feel everything.  My joys are huge, and so are my sorrows.  If I”m mad, I’m really mad, and if I’m despondent, I wonder how on earth I’ll go on.  Then, I get up, pour some coffee, and move on to the next emotion and forget how depressed I was an hour ago.” (Kindle Location 1177)

Other than the coffee part, I completely relate.  And I’m discovering that it’s not just my sensitivity.  It’s the exploitation of my sensitivity: insecurity.

“Are we honestly going to insist on drawing our security from people-men or women-who are oblivious to the inordinate amount of weight we give to their estimation of us?  Seriously?” (Kindle Location 261)

“We can think we’ve murdered that monster once and for all, and then it rises from the dead and it has grown another head.” (Kindle Location 283)

“Loss of favor and approval and harmony is excruciating to people with insecurity.” (Kindle Location 400)

I wish that every woman and most of the men I know would read this book.  I think it would be transformational in the lives of many.

The name of the book?  So Long Insecurity, by Beth Moore. (Don’t judge me.)

For the past couple of years, the topic of the Sabbath has fascinated me.  It’s clearly an important concept in the Bible, but I’ve never seemed to get a solid hold on how it should translate into my weekly calendar.  Honestly, the thought of it seems a little boring.  I mean, where’s the challenge in doing nothing for a day.

Then, a couple of weeks ago I started reading Sabbath by Dan Allender.  This book has caused me to totally reconsider the presuppositions I’ve made about the Sabbath.  Rather than taking the path of legalism, this is a book about delight.  In the author’s words, “We are driven [in the work we do] because our work brings us power and pride that dulls our deeper desire for delight.  …We are far better at handling difficulties than joy.”

Although I’m only half way through, it’s already the best book that I’ve read this year (and I’ve read some great books this year).

If you decide to read it, let me know.  I’d love to hear your thoughts.

P.S.  – This is my 300th blog post.  Hurray!

Last week, I had the opportunity to make a quick trip to Dallas with Justin Petrowski, Heather Burson, and Kyle McClain to attend the Echo Conference. It was a fantastic conference, and we had a great trip.

Here are a few pics:

I’m currently near the end of a week-long vacation with my wife and kids at Fripp Island, off the coast of South Carolina.  We visited here last Christmas, and from that visit we hoped to come back and try out the beach in the summertime.  It’s been a fantastic vacation – the island is a nature preserve, and we’ve frequently seen deer, racoons, and even alligators (one was over 6 feet long) in close proximity to the house where we’re staying.

Yesterday we decided to rent a 17′ Carolina Skiff to navigate the marshes and make our way out to an uninhabited island to look for shells.  This was pretty adventurous for us, since I’ve never driven a motorized boat by myself, our destination was an hour away from the marina at full throttle, and Keri and my shared lack of navigational sense.  There was a sense of anticipation and excitement – even from the kids.

Without a doubt, the boat ride was a highlight of the trip, especially since we came across several groups of dolphins swimming near our boat.  It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen.

Then, in the middle of our beautiful and adventurous day, I did a very silly thing.  I put my iPhone into my swimsuit pocket to have it ready for taking photos.  I knew when I did it that it was a bad idea, but I did it anyway.

Just for the record, you should never put a cell phone in your swimsuit pocket.  The odds are against you.

When we found the island beach we were looking for, I jumped out of the boat to carry the kids to shore and keep the boat pushed out far enough that it didn’t get stuck with the falling tide.  It wasn’t till about 20 minutes later, when we were all back in the boat, that I reached for my iPhone and realized that I had created a very expensive paperweight and an even more expensive boat ride.

Concluding Thoughts:

1. Even with the submersion and death of my iPhone, it was still worth the great memory my family created on the ocean yesterday.  There was much more to the story, including Keri having to drive the boat at a moment’s notice two different times and my 4-year-old daughter simultaneously screaming at her that she couldn’t do it.
2. Just before the boat ride, I emailed a few photos to my email account so that I’d have them for a blog post.  Otherwise, I would have lost most of our photos from the trip.
3. I miss my iPhone tremendously.  It’s been less than 24 hours, but any time I think about needing a map, checking email, or taking a photo, my heart is stabbed with grief.
4. Rumor has it that the new iPhone will be announced in just a few days.  Perfect timing!

Early tomorrow morning (Wednesday), my mom will take the next step in her colon cancer treatment and will have the first of two surgeries.  I’m heading to Houston tomorrow morning to spend a few days with her, Dad, my brother Phil, and his wife Emily.

We would all appreciate your prayers for her – that the surgery will go well and that God will give her a quick recovery afterwards.

About two weeks ago, during our staff retreat at the Cove in Asheville, God impacted my heart in a huge way. I can’t exactly put my finger on what is happeneing in my soul, but I feel a new work of God happening in my heart.

I feel a new sense of urgency in prayer and an increased passion for the ministry He has called me to.  At the same time, I have a clearer understanding of my my brutally selfish nature.  In opposition to it, I’m asking God to expand my capacity for service without recognition.

Some of what I’ve seen in my heart bothers me, but other parts give me great hope in the future. As I battle against my flesh, I’m praying that God will use this time to draw me even nearer to Himself.  I’m praying that He will work through me in a way that earns glory only for Himself.