I love Angry Birds.  This past summer I took my iphone to the Apple Store because of a faulty volume switch.  Even though I was eleven days out of warranty they gave me a new phone, which was great!  However, all of the work I have done on my games the previous year were gone, including getting three stars on every level in Angry Birds.  I spent hours upon hours flinging different color birds at wood, ice, stone, and green pigs to reach the ultimate .

Trying to regain my Angry Birds Crown I have played Angry Birds starting from level one.   I have learned important faith lessons.  Here are three important faith lessons on how Angry Birds has helped me become a better follower of Jesus.

1.  The Levels are always the same

Like the books of the Bible the levels on Angry Birds are always the same.  However, every time I play a level I learn something news about it — just like when I read the Bible.  I can read 1 Timothy 4: 12  ”Let no one despise your youth, but set the believers an example in speech and conduct, in love, in faith, in purity.”  and I can interpret that passage many ways, it all depends on where I am at in my life, what I am thinking about, what I am reading and what my view on the world is currently.  On Angry Birds, I see different levels a different way every time I play.  There is a different angle I can use with my yellow bird – or I can use the black bird another way.  But John 3: 16 is always going to be John 3:16 no matter how I look at it and Angry Birds 3-16 is always going to be

2. I need to seek help when I get stuck

I have gotten stuck many times playing Angry Birds.  Sometimes I feel lucky to get even one star on a level!!  When I get stuck I have tried to look up hints online or through another app. Continue Reading…

There has been lots of talk about Steve Jobs and the effect he has had on technology and on everyday life.  I know since getting my iphone my life has been changed (for the better).  Sociologist Gerardo Marti, who has studied the emerging church movement, weighs in on the influence of Steve Jobs on the world which I think all church leaders should think about:

Over time I have seen how Steve Jobs became the patron saint of non-denominational church leaders who value creativity, technology and persistent vision. Jobs accomplished what few are able to do: connect with everyday lives, enrich people’s aesthetics with evidence of beauty, and offer tools for exercising personal gifts and talent. Jobs had a single-minded vision for the varied media he designed, making complicated technology supremely accessible and — more importantly — desirable. People wanted what he had to sell. He promoted his own genius while striving to bring out the genius of others. And his dedication to his vision was a testimony to unrelenting pursuit of promoting personal standards in the service of others.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” – John 15:7

Yes, dandelions are weeds, it is true. People spend so much of their time during dandelion season trying to get rid of these pesky little things. But if you stop and think about it, God made these two. And He loves them for one reason or another.

When you were a kid you had no idea that those yellow flowers were weeds. If you were anything like me, you picked bunches and bunches of them for your mother and told her it was a bouquet of flowers. And then for the next 24 hours she was forced to put them in a glass of cool water and set them at the middle of the dinner table while they quickly drooped over the side of the glass. And then bright and early the next morning, you go out and pick a bunch more and the day starts all over again!

I don’t know how old I was when I learned that dandelions were weeds; but I remember knowing at that time that weeds were considered to be a bad plant. Yet no matter how I tried to manipulate my mind, I couldn’t help but love dandelions. The beautiful sunny yellow in contrast with the bright green of the grass is one of the most beautiful things I can think of! But not nearly as beautiful as when all those dandelions turn from yellow, to a whispery thin white.

I truly believe these weeds are God’s gift to people. Have you ever walked past a white dandelion without thinking of all those wishes you made as a child? Have you ever felt like making one now? These wishing weeds are here on this earth to remind us of our blind trust in whatever invisible force we would wish to as children. When we were little we put our trust in something we thought was a flower! We would make a wish for things such as a pony for Christmas or a night at the amusement park with ice cream to follow!

As much as we put our trust in a flower, imagine what can happen when we put our trust in God!  He is the only one that can make our wishes come true. God is all around us, even in those weeds that no one wants littering their perfect lawn. So don’t think of those weeds as pesky, think of them as a chance to wish for something from God. God wants us to be happy, He wants us to trust Him, and He wants us to ask things of Him.

Keep God in your heart, always. Bring His love and joy wherever you go and use it your everyday life. Do this, and your wishes will be given to you. God takes care of those who serve Him and live their lives for Him. So go do it! The next time you find one of these wishing weeds, pick it up, make a wish or send a little prayer to God, and blow those seeds off. By spreading these seeds you are spreading God’s love.