Okay So Here's My Problem......
So my wife could probably tell you this could be a long post.......
So here's a small struggle I have. You know how Paul often writes that we are aliens in this world and this is not our home and we are not of this world, etc., etc., etc. Sometimes it seems like if we're truly pursuing God's Kingdom that this life should have no pleasure for us because we so deeply long to be with God in heaven.
Well here's the problem......I like my life.....no, I love my life.
I love my wife. I love my kids. (I even like our dog.....)
Tonight I had a wonderful dinner here in Louisiana. I often have a nice dinner at the end of a long trip to "celebrate" that I survived another equipment installation. So I had cajun food here (LOVE cajun food). I started with crawfish etoufee, and then a main course of chicken with cajun spices covered with crab meat in a bearnaise sauce, twice baked potato and a glass of (mediocre) wine. It was fabulous! The only thing missing way my wife wasn't there to share it with me. (Don't worry, she was probably eating Wendy's in the car with the kids after picking up Annika from gymnastics so she had her own version of culinary bliss....) I've eaten at Alligator Soul in Everett. It's good, but it just doesn't compare to the real thing down here in Louisiana.
I love moments like this. I love sitting in a courtyard in old town Tours, France with my friends from the Tours Vineyarde on a beautiful warm spring Sunday evening, eating, drinking wine........I love sitting on our back deck with Cacey and our kids with a fire in our fire pit with Kiah sitting on my lap looking at the stars trying to find satellites and shooting stars. Then sitting with Cacey after the kids go to bed, just being together enjoying the warm summer night.
The thing is, many of the things I love are "pleasures of the flesh" to use a legalistic term. Food, wine, yes, even that "other" pleasure of the flesh....... which I can't talk about here because some of the people here will go WAY beyond the boundary of good taste.....;-) In fact, there's probably many Christians that would call me a glutton and a drunkard.
On one hand I wonder if my enjoyment of earthly pleasures take the edge off my pursuit of God's Kingdom. On the other hand, I can't help but think that God gave us this life, not just to have relationship with Him, but also to enjoy it! I don't think our life on earth is intended to be 80 years of purgatory until we finally die to go home to be with God.
I guess I'm not necessarily looking for advice, just wondering if anyone else out there thinks about this. | 
