^{Philippians 3}

⁷But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. ⁸What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ ⁹and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ-the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.

When Jonathon and I went to pick up the Nick Nooks last week from the vocational school, I was a little surprised to see "this" sticking out of the dumpster right next to the building..

When I walked nearer to get a better view, I knew  I had to take a picture or two!  After all, I had just written about me and Olivia dumpster diving the day before and this poor leg seemed to be attached to one overly excited trash collector. 

This "extreme dumpster diver" seemed to be saying, "I've taken my hobby a little too far!!!"

As I looked back through my photos and gave some thought to my new "friend," it occurred to me that many times in life I'm diving for the wrong things.

Acceptance

Approval

Earthly Happiness and Peace

And the list goes on and on..

On the days I find myself headfirst in my "dumpster of despair," I can just about point straight to the root of my problem and I believe this is it:

Knowing Christ and being "found in Him" is for some reason not surpassing my desire for personal gain.

And even more than that...any personal gain should be seen as "rubbish" in comparison to knowing Christ, and sometimes it is not.

So, I guess tonight as I reflect on these photos and the memory of the day they were taken, I want to remind myself to be sure and wake up tomorrow "diving in" with the right priorities.

Knowing Christ!

Considering Everything Else as Loss..as Rubbish!!!

That's what I want to dive into!

Just tonight as Olivia lay in between me and Tim in bed, she began asking questions about how we knew for sure that God is real...she asked some really tough questions..and at one point she said, "It just doesn't add up," as she asked about what color Jesus was and why God didn't have a wife or a daughter.  It was hard for me and Tim to keep a straight face.  Olivia was so serious.

As I look at her sleeping now, I can't help but think that her little time of questioning was part of her journey into "diving to know Christ better!"

What are you diving into today?