I hate golf

When it really comes down to it, I hate golf! Here is what normally happens... I will get up extra early, get out on the course at 7 in the am, get my stretches in, wait for my dad and brother to arrive, trash talk, and go to tee #1. Everything has been great up to this point...

Then the hooks start... the slices... the swings that take up more dirt than back hoe.... the shots way past the green.... and the putts that I miss that Ray Charles could have made.... and then I get in the car and wonder why I just spend $30 to get mad??

My dad use to say that if he wanted to get mad, he stomp his toe and save the $30 dollars. haha. We call that a "dad joke" in our family.

So the other day, I was determined I was going to turn into the next Phil Mickelson and hit the driving range. I remembered my old baseball days and our coaches always yelling at us to practice the fundamentals... slow everything down and practice each step slowly to make sure that you have proper form, stance, and follow though. I thought that would be genius to try on my golf swing....

I WAS WRONG

I could not even hit the ball with my driver! When I would slow my swing down, I could do nothing...

And it hit me. How many of our Christian lives are so similar to my golf swing. It is not to bad when I just swing fast but when I break it down, it falls apart. So many of our spiritual journeys seem to be going just fine because in the chaos of life, we still make it to church on most Wednesdays and Sundays, pray at least 3 times a week(when we need something) and read the bible about once a week. Our spiritual life is great! We think....

But when we our honest with ourselves and really look at our fundamentals of our Christian lives, it is falling apart.

One verse that I keep meditating on and going back to is one of the most fundamental verses in our lives.

James 1:22
"But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves."

Read the word and do what it says.

That is elementary Christianity that the majority of Christians leave out. As all these authors come out and right these books on being "Radical" and having "Crazy Love," they are just teaching what the bible has said for thousands of years but because of the shape of American Christianity, these ideas seem radical and crazy... but they are just as fundamental as the proper way to hold a baseball or how to stand while hitting your tee shot.

Slow your life down and see how your fundamentals are in your pursuit towards Christ. Chances are, you will be surprised at what you find.