Growing up is never easy. I think that is why I've always related best to kids. Until now I've always worked with children on some level or another, usually as my profession. From education to summer camps, I love connecting with the high pace of youth and the mad sense of adventure that comes when learning life for the first time. There is no better tour guide than the one that steers youth from future danger.

It is in these same thoughts that I recently finished celebrating my 5th anniversary of marriage and my parents' 40th. Both monumental and very grown up. I spend my time (more than I should) reconnecting with old friends online and keeping up with recent ones through social media avenues that tend to cater to the youth. It is through these that memories of days gone by stay fresh on my mind.

Tommy Nelson spoke recently on what happens to Christian young men once they get married to a group of DownLine alum. As the world tries to disqualify them to share the Gospel, he warned that Satan loves to keep these men with their eyes in the rear view mirror. The thought that if these Godly men could only focus on the "best of days" as the past, then they would never be successful in the present, much less the future. That while they dive deep into their families and work, they will lose track and become ineffective in sharing the Gospel with those around them. They grow up and out of fellowship with those that once spurred them on to the cross. It is all to common to find men in this place in life.

Simply put... They outgrow Jesus.

While morning the loss of adventures past, we have a tendency to forget the current call to live in the present and fight for the rewards of the eternal. While heavily involved in ministries/church in high school and college, once we turn the corner on life we settle down on more than just relationships. It is my prayer that I never settle. I long for adventures that jump starts my faith and never allow me to outgrow the one I was created for.

Growing up is tough.

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Thanks Herman for posting the video and waking me up on a Monday.