spirituality – Adventure With Brendan

The First 101 Days Of The Year

April 13, 2013April 13, 2013Brendan Scott

I can’t believe that it’s already April. Last year for the first 100 days of the year my mom and I did burppies every day. It was a great challenge, one I decided not to repeat. I decided to take on a different challenge this year. Go to the gym every day for at least the first 100 days.

Well, I made it through the first 103 days of the year without missing, and technically I’ve gone 104 days in a row as I went to the gym on New Years Eve.

Going to the gym came easy, its what happened when I wasn’t at the gym that has been a different type of challenge.

The first 30 days flew by. Other than making it to the gym on January first, when I felt too tired to do anything, it wasn’t difficult to make it to the gym every.

Even though I thought making it a week straight would be the real challenge, as 6 days in a row was my previous top, but I set my mind to it and January turned into February. But as you may have read, my year came crashing to a halt on day 45. If you do the math. you’ll know this was Valentine’s Day, the day my Pathfinder died.

But this didn’t stop me from going to the gym. Still in shock from the accident, I made my way to the gym late on the night of the 14th.

Two days later, when I was preparing my house for my birthday party, I nearly ran out of time to go to the gym, but while the pork was marinading and the rice was cooking, I dashed off to the gym and did a quick 100 sit ups (my goal was to go to the gym every day, not have an extreme workout every day, and every little bit counts).

After those hiccups, it didn’t seem like anything could stop me.

Well, not a huge blizzard that canceled worship at The Neighborhood Church on March 3rd, day number 62 of the year.

Then the gym closed. But did that stop me? No, I didn’t let 24 hour fitness’s decision to remodel their Kipling location hinder my workouts. From the 8th of March to the 13th I drove to the other 24’s in my area. I thought about taking that time off, but since I’d made it when my car was wrecked and when I had hardly any time, I couldn’t let the inconvenience of having to drive 15 minutes stop me.

Heck when I lived in Guatemala I used to walk 45 minutes to get to the gym. I guess that’s how I managed to make it all the way to 100 days in a row without missing a workout.

On the way to 100 Days I bought a car to replace my wrecked Pathfinder. My car insurance really helped me recover from that wreck. And then just as I passed 100 straight days at the gym, on day 101, my new car died on me. It’s not fixable either. That Thursday night, frustrated about my car problems, I found myself at the gym. I didn’t want to be anywhere else.

Well, maybe in Guatemala where I didn’t need a car. But I couldn’t go to the gym everyday there, as my gym in Xela was always closed on Saturdays. But something I could do in Guatemala, and I’ve continued to do every day here in Colorado is read my Bible and trust in God. This is something I’ve tried to do every day for the last 8 years.

And that part of my day, the time in prayer and the Bible, is what really helped me make it through the first 101 days of the year.

Spending time with God every day made going to the gym easy. If my eyes are focused on him, my true prize, running, biking, and lifting will come easy. The hard part is trusting God when everything seems out of control. Like when my car died.

But here is what I read out of the Jesus Calling that night after going to the gym to burn off my frustration over the loss of another car, “This is the day that I have made. Rejoice and be glad in it. Begin the day with open hands of faith, ready to receive all that I am pouring into this brief portion of your life. Be careful not to complain about anything, even the weather (or cars in my circumstance), since I am the Author of your circumstances. The best way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them. This act of faith frees you from resentment and frees Me to work My ways into the situation, so that good emerges from it.

To find Joy in this day, you must live within its boundaries. I knew what I was doing when I divided time into twenty-four hour segments. I understand human frailty, and I know that you can bear the weight of only one day at a time. Do not worry about tomorrow or get stuck in the past. There is abundant Life in My Presence today.”

Going to the gym helps me feel good. I like how I feel right now after setting aside time to be active each day, but spending time with God, reading his word, and praying to him, gives me true hope for a future filled with Joy, because he is in control.

He will redeem this day and he just might do it while I’m at the gym.

What To Do When It Snows

February 24, 2013Brendan Scott

I woke up to the sound of my phone, church had been canceled. My parents are flying back from Tulsa today, and if their flight get’s canceled it will be due to an act of God. So, can you say God canceled Church?

After I made a couple phone calls to let the rest of the people at The Neighborhood Church know it was okay to stay at home and worship at home, I decided to figure out what to do with my snowy day.

I decided to attend Lifechurch.tv online and read a devotional, the same devotional I quoted when I wrote about my worst Valentine’s ever. Here is what Sarah Young has for us today,

“Be still in the Light of My Presence, while I communicate Love to you. There is no force in the universe as powerful as My Love. You are constantly aware of limitations: your own and others’. But there is no limit to My love; it fills all space, time and eternity.”

God’s love seems to be as big as the snow storm that is howling outside. His love, according to Craig Groeschel, is also big enough to forgive our sins. If I have been forgiven, then I need to forgive as well.

Snow days are a great reminder of forgiveness. When the snow covers the ground in a fresh white layer, it always reminds me that God can cover up my dirtiness and brokenness.

Today seems to be a great day to be still and know that God loves me and has forgiven me.

It’s also a great day to take a couple of pictures.

I tried to use the snow-blower, but it is still broken.

So I had to shovel.

I hope you all enjoyed the pictures, and if you are here in Denver, stay safe, and be still and know that God loves you and will forgive you.

Why I’m Still Celebrating Christmas

January 9, 2013Brendan Scott

I know that it is January 9th and that my parents have taken down all of the Christmas decorations in the house. They’ve piled up all the boxes in the basement and now the house looks drab, well as ordinary as a house looks after the most festive season. But I am still celebrating Christmas.

Christmas day is a special day in my house. We wake up early, open our gifts, eat a spectacular breakfast that the woman of the house prepare and then enjoy each other’s presence. Christmas in my house is a day for true joy and I love it so much that Christmas is no longer going to be a one day celebration in my life.

It’s not even just a 12 day celebration. Did you know that traditionally the twelve days of Christmas actually mean something more than just whatever that silly song suggests?

All I know is we passed through each day of the twelve days of Christmas. We’ve already celebrated day 6 of Christmas, where we received six geese a laying, which means we are to remember to give thanks to God because he is the creator and caretaker of our world.

I know that the Epiphany already happened. The magi have already given their gifts to baby Jesus, and that even the most Orthodox Christians are already putting Christmas behind them.

But I am not done celebrating!

No, this does not mean that I am still listing to Christmas music. I am not one of those people (Although my sister and her oldest kid are both as Christmas Crazy as it gets)!

I’m still celebrating Christmas because it’s the only way I can make sense of the world.

2012 was a hard year for many people. I have many friends who spent the year struggling with health issues. Two of my friends had a year from hell. They moved to Denver in early 2012 only to find out that their new apartment was infested with bedbugs. Then the wife found that that she was allergic to the bug spray, so they had to move out, breaking their lease. Their year got worse, and yet they weren’t alone.

Here in Denver, on July 20th, a madman entered a screening of “The Dark Knight Rises” and killed 12 people. That day, going to the movies lost their innocence. Later that year things would get worse. I remember going to bed on December 13th praying that God would keep all the people safe who were at the premier for the Hobbit, only to wake up to find out that another mad man had forced his way into a school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing innocent little kids and heroic teachers.

I’m still celebrating Christmas because Christ gives me hope. I cannot make sense of why these tragic events took place this last year. I do not know why my friends had such a hard year. I do not know why people would want to kill, especially innocent little first graders. All I know is that I can set out to be different. To love the people around me and treat everyone with respect.

Not everyone tries to treat people with love and respect. There seems to be plenty of hate in our world. We might never know why those two tragedies occurred, but I think what may have been wrong with the killers is a microcosm of what is wrong with the world. It’s a loss of love and hope. Instead of loving our neighbors, we’ve decided to live selfishly.

We have become a me first society and so when people need help, they are more often than not, pushed away, which makes for a sad and lonely world. I do not know why my friends had a year from hell, but I do know they experienced Christ’s love and provision throughout all of their struggles. They weren’t alone.

See, I’m still celebrating Christmas because I have decided to live differently. I don’t want my friends to feel alone. I’m going to live in hope and I’m going to try to share that hope with my friends.

I can have hope because God is my provider. He gave me, and the rest of this broken world, Jesus. So even when everything seems to be crumbling around me, I can have hope because Jesus “heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. He counts the stars and calls them all by name. How great is our Lord! His power is absolute! His understanding is beyond comprehension.”

Christmas is not over because Christ is working in our lives. So even when things get rough this year, remember that God is our provider and that Jesus has come to heal your broken heart.

Today the Christmas tree has been tossed out into the back yard, waiting to be mulched, the boxes of Christmas decorations are piled up in the basement, but those seasonal reminders of Christs grace and God’s provision, do not have to fade away.

What if we all lived a little differently and celebrated Christ year round? Would we then start to see all that Christ is doing in our lives. Would we see Christ’s love during the joyful times as well as the sorrowful times?

Let’s find out together!

Join me this year in living differently, living completely engaged in all that God has for us. Living Spiritually.

Coming Up Roses

May 20, 2012May 21, 2012Brendan Scott

I’ve been doing yard work again. I don’t have much of a green thumb, more like a brown thumb. I tend to pull more weeds than plant bushes. Despite my lack of talent in the field of botany something really cool happened this last week.

To explain what happened I need to back up my story a little bit.

For the last couple of years a nasty weed has been growing near the mailbox. Oh, you guys know what a mailbox is, you know the box at the end of your driveway that magically receives junk and the occasional birthday card from your grandma that always has the two dollar bill tucked inside.

Anyway, this “weed” never really looked like a weed. Last summer it bloomed a beautiful white flower, but it also took over wherever it grew. (It also made it hard to back out of our driveway) So I decided to transplant this “weed,” still thinking it was a normal plant, to a more advantageous location. But when I started to dig it up I realized the job wouldn’t be worth it. What I thought was one plant was five or six different weeds. This monster was growing crazy and choking out everything around it.

After talking to my dad, we decided to rip this weed out. We dug and dug, for about ten minutes, making no progress. Then my dad had a brilliant idea. “Why don’t we rip the roots out with my truck,” he said. “Heck yes!” I replied. Two hours later, after a lot of grunting and other man stuff, we’d pulled the monster out. The roots looked more like alien tentacles.

That’s the kind of weeding I like to do. Honestly I didn’t expect anything good to come from it. But then yesterday I went over to the mailbox for the first time in a couple weeks, really I only check my mail on my computer, and was shocked at what I saw. The bush, which had been growing resolutely between the monster weed, had always been deprived of its nutrients because of the weed. But now everything had changed. A perfect yellow rose had bloomed.

Because I took out the weed the rose bush is now blossoming amazingly!

It made me think about how God works in our lives. Sometimes he takes things away from us. Sometimes those things are bad like weeds. Sometimes those weeds even look good, but in fact they are choking out something that God wants to nurture in our lives.

So I have a question, what do you think God wants you to give up or get rid of so that you can experience an amazing blossom?

As we live spiritually we need to trust God. He has a plan for us, even if that means letting go of things we think we need. Let God help you produce roses, let him work in your life.

Are You Broken?

April 4, 2012April 10, 2012Brendan Scott

God made me into a masterpiece. And yet, like the broken volcanic rock I’m standing on in this picture, I’m a broken masterpiece.

I’m a broken masterpiece who’s enamored with a kids movie. When Hugo came out before Christmas I was blown away by its beauty, but as I’ve watched it again and again, I’ve seen the true elements of God’s grace and redemption weave their way through the story.

In the movie, Hugo Cabret, the main character, loves fixing things. As the story progresses he realizes that everyone around him is broken. Just as Hugo realized that the people around him were inventions who needed fixed, I realized that fact is true to life. We are all creations who have been broken.

I’ve been writing a lot about my recent mission trip to Guatemala. During the first part of March 2012 I led a small team down to Xela (Quetzaltenango), Guatemala to help out with a vacation Bible school program and a high school and middle school retreat.

Now, if you have been following my blog you know that the week was quite an adventure. You also know that you are God’s masterpiece. You know that God created you for a reason.

But what happens when you mess up. When you feel broken. Does God just toss us away? Can we mess up so bad that even God wont take us back?

During the retreat, once we’d made it down to hotter than hell Reu, Guatemala, I asked my students if they knew what the word redemption meant. We were packed into a small dining hall for games, worship, and a message. Going along with the theme of creation I asked three boys to create something with Hot Tamales. First they had to chew them up and then build something artistic.

The game failed. I’m pretty sure all of the students were bored during the game, which wasn’t how I pictured it. I’m glad it was just a game. But then, somehow the games failure fit into my talk. How often do our lives not go as planned. If we are inventions we sure tend to break down a lot, and sometimes it’s our own fault.

In my last blog I talked about how God chose a little shepherd to be king of Israel. David was the smallest in his family, but he had something God desired. An open heart. But let me tell you the rest of David’s story. If he was a man after God’s own heart, he was also horribly broken. Once David becomes king he stops following God’s plan for him.

If I think I’ve messed up, well at least I haven’t skipped out on God’s job for me so that I could commit adultery. David did that. But wait, there’s more. David finds out he knocked up the woman he slept with, and wait, she’s married. So, after he tries to pin the baby on her husband, which fails miserably, (as is what happens most of the time when we try to hide our mistakes) David has the man killed. So, David has gone from a man after God’s own heart, to an adulterer, to a murderer. I am sure when he woke up the morning before all this happened, he didn’t write on his to do list, sleep with a married woman and then kill her husband.

No. We never plan on making mistakes. As I shared this story of David with my students, I wanted them to realize that even great biblical figures mess up. If someone in the Bible screws up royally, then what does that mean for us normal folk?

And so I opened my Bible and shared with them how David responded to God. Yes, at first David hid from God, tried to cover up all his wrong doing, but then he does something us normal folk should do. He admits his wrongs and asks God to redeem him. In Psalm 51 verse 1-12 David writes:

¹ Have mercy on me, O God,

Christ on the Cross — The Cost of Redemption

according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
² Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.

³ For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
⁴ Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
⁵ Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
⁶ Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

⁷ Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones you have crushed rejoice.
⁹ Hide your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquity.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
¹¹ Do not cast me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation
and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

David was a broken invention. God set him on a path to be king of Israel and David messes things up. We are God’s masterpieces, but if you are like me you have messed up. The first step to redemption is admitting to God how you messed up.

I have found that when I am open with my faults God tends to redeem them. Redemption doesn’t mean erasing all that we did wrong, but fixing what is broken. Like David said, create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. He didn’t say take this all away as if it never happened, he asked for God to fix him.

That is exactly what God did on Easter through Jesus. He sent Jesus to fix us. But that can only happen if we admit that we’re broken and need someone to repair us. If we do, our story will be as meaningful as Hugo’s, probably even more so. Because when we are living out God’s plan for us our stories turn into grand adventures.

As I finished giving my message I prayed that each of the students would keep their heart open to God and know that, no matter what they’d done or will do, they could never separate themselves from God.

I hope you know that too. That this Easter is a time to celebrate redemption. I urge you to join me, and my dad, Eugene Scott, in Living Spiritually. We have set this year and hopefully our lives to keeping our eyes and our hearts open to God. It has been an adventure so far and it would be amazing if you joined us.