Today's post is going to be one of those "post as you go" type of blogs. I have had a bunch of random thoughts running around in my head this morning and I am hoping that by the end of this they will have worked themselves into a coherant group of thoughts.
I woke up this morning and the main thought that was buzzing in my head was "Faith vs. Fear". As many (of the thousands and thousand who read this.. lol) of you know I have recently taken a step of faith in my life regarding employment. I am embarassed to say that I feel it has been a long time since I have stepped out into the realm of faith as I perhaps should have. Bills, responsibilities and safety took over my thinking and I lost a boldness that was part of who I am and was made to be. The "practical" became common place in my thinking. Not that there is a problem with practical as I believe God has given us a brain in our heads to use, but if practical gets in the way of obedience to God then it is problematic. So hear I am. Trying to seek out God as I believe He's directed me to step out. In this step I am feeling a great excitement as I reach out to some amazing people and do what I can do to bless them and be in life with them. This also excites me as I realize that if God directs there is a need for the ministry of BOAZ in any community so if God called me to move someday this career does not change. Yet as I feel all this excitement I regret to say that I feel anxiety and fear. I know I should not, but if I'm honest I do. The only thing that causes this is the big "F"... finances. Before you start throwing awesome quotes and Scripture at me, I know. :P
God is bigger... He has not given me a spirit of fear... He cares for the birds, so He cares for me... If it's the King's will, it's the King's bill... what God wants, God pays for or provides for..
I wrestle with this even as I type it. I know what I know and yet I still feel what I feel. I ask myself how this lines up. Perhaps it doesn't and I need an alignment.. again. Yet I just take the next step. I've shared with many over this past year that we need to be a people who when God asks us to step out we do it even though we don't know where our foot may land. Guess I need to live out what I speak. So again, here I am.
One thing I do see happening on an increased level is some amazing conversations where fellow believers challenge me at the core of who I am. Admittedly I spend too much time on facebook and need to tone it down, but as of late God seems to be redeeming my conversations on fb and people have blessed me with their words as they challenge me with my faith, patience and other areas. For this I am grateful.
So as I end this post today I have to admit that I am a bit annoyed that I can't seem to tie it up in a neat little bow as I would like to, but here is where my heart is. I want to live in the place God wants me to... today and tomorrow and the future will be awesome when they arrive. I am praying for crazy blessings that I could never accomplish living on my own means. I want to increase the amount of people (believers and non believers) that I am in community with to bless, challenge and help come to know God better daily. I want to be an awesome man of God, dad, husband, step dad, brother, servant, and many other things as God leads me. May my legacy be that I was obedient even if I looked crazy. ;)
I want to leave this song. It's by John Waller. I've been searching through more of his music as I am getting excited about the concert that Jo is putting on in Woodstock and I found this gem. It speaks to where my heart is. Yes I have my personal dreams and desires that I would someday like to see, but ulitmately I want to do something so big in this life that if God doesn't show up I'm in trouble.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HiS-Aj2-7U
Blessings all,
Wednesday, 25 July 2012
Tuesday, 24 July 2012
A bicycle built for two or tow???
Good morning all...
Two days in a row posting a blog??? Unheard of... I know right??? ;)
As I was driving to work today I was crossing the bridge and saw an image that resonated with me immediately. It was simply a father and son riding their bike across the bridge. What's the big deal right? Here is a little more specific description of how this was playing out. The father was riding his bike across the bridge and there was a bar extended from the back of his bike and it connected to a make shift bike type of thing that his son was sitting on. It had handle bars. It had a seat. It had pedals. It def appeared like it was a bike by how it looked, but the son was not controlling where and how fast they were going. It was actually cute because the son was pedalling as if what he was doing was making a difference, but in reality it did not.
As I observed this (while keeping my eyes on road of course) the thought dawned on me, "Isn't this like our walk with God?" We pedal and pedal and pedal and yet without our Father's guidance, it is hard to say what kind of trouble we'd get ourselves in. We plan, we strive, we push... we get tired.
God says, "Hop on, let me pedal and get you where you need to go." "I love you and I am sufficient for you." Yes He blesses along the way with amazing experiences, people, and gifts that we are so unworthy of, but ultimately He is our source of strength and our well of living water that causes us to thirst no more.
As I drove by the image of this boy realizing he wasn't doing much came to mind. I could just picture him saying, "Wait a second. I can do more. I can do better. Let me up there dad." I picture the son trying to climb across the bar off of his bike to His dad's bike that is clearly way too big for the son and not to mention IS STILL MOVING. What kind of disaster could this of ended up turning into? How much pain would this have caused? Don't we do that though?
"Hey God. I know you're God and stuff, but if you could just do this a little different that would be swell."
I can almost picture God saying, "That's cute son. Why don't you stay on your bike and let me lead you? For I know what's best for you. I know where you need to go and my ways are best for you."
So for today. Are we letting our Father lead us or are we trying to do more than our "bike" will allow us to do. Admittedly the future is hard to not plan for. We do it everyday with our everyday actions (dating, saving money for various things, etc), but have we decided to let God lead. I had this conversation last night and my comment was that I am in a place where I am doing what God wants... today.. The person I spoke with called me out on this then put it in perspective a bit. This quote stuck with me.
Anything else is just spinning my tires... (groan.. ) ;)
Blessings,
Two days in a row posting a blog??? Unheard of... I know right??? ;)
As I was driving to work today I was crossing the bridge and saw an image that resonated with me immediately. It was simply a father and son riding their bike across the bridge. What's the big deal right? Here is a little more specific description of how this was playing out. The father was riding his bike across the bridge and there was a bar extended from the back of his bike and it connected to a make shift bike type of thing that his son was sitting on. It had handle bars. It had a seat. It had pedals. It def appeared like it was a bike by how it looked, but the son was not controlling where and how fast they were going. It was actually cute because the son was pedalling as if what he was doing was making a difference, but in reality it did not.
As I observed this (while keeping my eyes on road of course) the thought dawned on me, "Isn't this like our walk with God?" We pedal and pedal and pedal and yet without our Father's guidance, it is hard to say what kind of trouble we'd get ourselves in. We plan, we strive, we push... we get tired.
God says, "Hop on, let me pedal and get you where you need to go." "I love you and I am sufficient for you." Yes He blesses along the way with amazing experiences, people, and gifts that we are so unworthy of, but ultimately He is our source of strength and our well of living water that causes us to thirst no more.
As I drove by the image of this boy realizing he wasn't doing much came to mind. I could just picture him saying, "Wait a second. I can do more. I can do better. Let me up there dad." I picture the son trying to climb across the bar off of his bike to His dad's bike that is clearly way too big for the son and not to mention IS STILL MOVING. What kind of disaster could this of ended up turning into? How much pain would this have caused? Don't we do that though?
"Hey God. I know you're God and stuff, but if you could just do this a little different that would be swell."
I can almost picture God saying, "That's cute son. Why don't you stay on your bike and let me lead you? For I know what's best for you. I know where you need to go and my ways are best for you."
So for today. Are we letting our Father lead us or are we trying to do more than our "bike" will allow us to do. Admittedly the future is hard to not plan for. We do it everyday with our everyday actions (dating, saving money for various things, etc), but have we decided to let God lead. I had this conversation last night and my comment was that I am in a place where I am doing what God wants... today.. The person I spoke with called me out on this then put it in perspective a bit. This quote stuck with me.
You believe in the future. You've just given up control.
You're willing to go anywhere.. but you do have an idea of what you think your future will look like.
So do I/we willingly stay on our bikes and allow our Father to lead us or do we try and do better? It's my prayer that I will be found faithful to go where God wants me to go, to be where He wants me to be and that I would stay in my proper position and keep God in His so that I can follow His lead daily. Anything else is just spinning my tires... (groan.. ) ;)
Blessings,
Monday, 23 July 2012
"The Almost..."
In today's post from the mind of Scottie (terrifying thought I know) I want to quickly touch on something that I wrestle with often. This often seems to be the case with what I write, but hey it's how I roll I guess. I hope that people are ok with me being human and being honest with that. If not, another website is just a mouse click away. :P
I titled this post "The Almost". As I read that it kind of sounds like the name for a band, but that isn't quite what I am going for. Though if I ever was in a band again I may use that. Squirell!!! What I mean by saying "the almost" is that in my life there are many areas where I have some potentially exciting things around the bend so I and others have called them "almost" moments. Again if you've known me for more than 5 minutes you recognize that I may be a touch high strung at times (though I am learning how to relax and love it!!!) and tend to wrestle with my focus. All this to say God's blessings to come are awesome, but we/I must not allow ourselves to be so consumed by the blessings of tomorrow that we forget about how God has blessed us yesterday and is probably in process of blessing us right now. In my lack of focus sometimes I allow myself to get discouraged while I wait for tomorrow's blessings in spite of the fact that I may be possibly sitting in the midst of God's favor today. This is fact for me. God has great things in store that I need to be thanking Him in advance for, but I must also be grateful for what He offers right now and obediently be walking in that blessing.
It is easy to slip into an ungrateful attitude of impatience while waiting for God's blessings to come all the while what God is doing in the now is enough to knock our socks off. This is such a subtle thing that the enemy can use to redirect our minds from being grateful to God in the now. Ultimately this has the ability to shift our focus to an ungrateful, entitled attitude which could even result in our "almosts" that are to come disappearing. It's a common sentiment, but it's true when people say to us that we need to be grateful for what we have and not mourn what we do not. We do in fact live in a blessed society that is pretty spoiled and it is easy to get entitled, but my prayer is this.
~Lord makes me grateful for how You've blessed and protected me in the past. Lord make me grateful for Your blessings and opportunities today and Lord make me grateful for the "almost" moments of blessing that are to come.~
Don't let the "almost" moments overtake and distract us from God's blessings today. Each day is a blessing and each day is filled with opportunities to bless the one who gave us this day as well as others around us who are in dire need of being blessed.
Two links to share. The first one is a song that speaks to where my/our hearts need to be as we walk day by day. "While I'm waiting." Amen!!! In fact, if you want to see this artist in concert he will be in Woodstock, New Brunswick on Friday, September 21st, 2012. Call (506) 325-0109 to inquire about tickets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-M7oGrOa2I
The second one is a link about a video I watched last night and it spoke to me big time. I don't know how many days I have left, but that's not what it's about. It's about what I do with what I have left.
This is a 5 part video that can also be located at the phone number I gave you. Check it out and be challenged. Ed's Story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tHKbIO6XHg
Don't miss out. Good things are happening and good things are to come. Thank God! ;)
Blessings y'all!!!
I titled this post "The Almost". As I read that it kind of sounds like the name for a band, but that isn't quite what I am going for. Though if I ever was in a band again I may use that. Squirell!!! What I mean by saying "the almost" is that in my life there are many areas where I have some potentially exciting things around the bend so I and others have called them "almost" moments. Again if you've known me for more than 5 minutes you recognize that I may be a touch high strung at times (though I am learning how to relax and love it!!!) and tend to wrestle with my focus. All this to say God's blessings to come are awesome, but we/I must not allow ourselves to be so consumed by the blessings of tomorrow that we forget about how God has blessed us yesterday and is probably in process of blessing us right now. In my lack of focus sometimes I allow myself to get discouraged while I wait for tomorrow's blessings in spite of the fact that I may be possibly sitting in the midst of God's favor today. This is fact for me. God has great things in store that I need to be thanking Him in advance for, but I must also be grateful for what He offers right now and obediently be walking in that blessing.
It is easy to slip into an ungrateful attitude of impatience while waiting for God's blessings to come all the while what God is doing in the now is enough to knock our socks off. This is such a subtle thing that the enemy can use to redirect our minds from being grateful to God in the now. Ultimately this has the ability to shift our focus to an ungrateful, entitled attitude which could even result in our "almosts" that are to come disappearing. It's a common sentiment, but it's true when people say to us that we need to be grateful for what we have and not mourn what we do not. We do in fact live in a blessed society that is pretty spoiled and it is easy to get entitled, but my prayer is this.
~Lord makes me grateful for how You've blessed and protected me in the past. Lord make me grateful for Your blessings and opportunities today and Lord make me grateful for the "almost" moments of blessing that are to come.~
Don't let the "almost" moments overtake and distract us from God's blessings today. Each day is a blessing and each day is filled with opportunities to bless the one who gave us this day as well as others around us who are in dire need of being blessed.
Two links to share. The first one is a song that speaks to where my/our hearts need to be as we walk day by day. "While I'm waiting." Amen!!! In fact, if you want to see this artist in concert he will be in Woodstock, New Brunswick on Friday, September 21st, 2012. Call (506) 325-0109 to inquire about tickets.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-M7oGrOa2I
The second one is a link about a video I watched last night and it spoke to me big time. I don't know how many days I have left, but that's not what it's about. It's about what I do with what I have left.
This is a 5 part video that can also be located at the phone number I gave you. Check it out and be challenged. Ed's Story.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9tHKbIO6XHg
Don't miss out. Good things are happening and good things are to come. Thank God! ;)
Blessings y'all!!!
Monday, 18 June 2012
Meh.
This post is going to be a combination of my personal journey as of late, my thoughts of late and a devotional that I read this morning. Amazing all are on the same line of thought. Pretty cool God. Like He's trying to tell me something eh?
For the two or three people who read this it goes without saying and none of you are surprised when I say that I may be a little high strung and wound a little tight. This I believe is something that can work for my benefit, but more often than not as I lose control of it, it becomes a major detriment to me, my relationships, my ministry and ultimately the plan that God has for me in many areas in my life. I've been asking God a lot lately why I am the way I am. Don't get me wrong, I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God's masterpeice and all that jazz, but I've been wrestling lately with this as I can see some of it's damaging effects if I lose control of it.
One evening over the weekend it was impressed on my heart "to be anxious for nothing" so I asked how do I do that. The response was simple and quick. Read the rest of the verse. So here is what I was given:
Phl 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Phl 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phl 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
So I pray. I offer thanks even though my brain takes me to "other" places and attitudes. I realize that God's peace is beyond what I understand or comprehend so I don't have to get it. Then I focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. This is what I intentionally think on. So I guess if I have "other" thoughts enter my brain I let them go or ignore them. With God's authority in me... I can do that.
Then there was this morning... One devotional took me to Psalm 119 and God's Word being my source. This is how I have the strength to ignore or reject those "other" thoughts... By having God's word firmly planted in my heart.. Awesome!
Then God went a step further and took me to another devotional and into the book of Colosians and the topic was "peace". I'm thinking I'm a little thick and need some major repetition to get things. LOL.
Colosians 3:15-17 says this:
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
2 quick observations from this passage. Number 1 is that it says "let the peace of Christ RULE in your hearts.. ." It doesn't say let the peace of Christ "exist" or "influence" in your heart. It says rule. Rule says that it's an all encompasing master and not just a part that is allowed to peek in and visit once in a while when it's convenient. The peace must be there to stay and have dominion of our hearts. This appears to be an act of submission on our part which could explain why so many of us are restless and not at peace. We don't like to submit to anything or allow anything to have rule in us that we don't create.
The other observation that caught me was the amount of times the word "thanks" or various forms of that word were in this passage. I count three times and that tells me that the peace of Christ (which we don't always understand or have to for that matter) comes out of an attitude of gratitude. If we are thankful for God's blessings, God's favour and what He's already done in our lives it's hard to complain about what we don't have. Isn't that where our lack of peace comes from at the core? We complain about what we don't have, what we would rather be doing, or what others get that we don't and all the while we get ourselves spun so tight that our words turn into a life of unrest, and definitely not a life of peace that Christ offers.
I'll admit that this is a struggle with me as the little things and insecurity loves to creep into my mind and get me spun, but I am grateful that Christ is patient and is offereing me His peace and I don't even have to understand it. To know that it is there and I can and will abide, live, rest and be ruled by His peace is a comforting thought. I very much want to be a "meh" kind of person who is able to let the small things slide and be ruled by the Prince of Peace and by God's strength and guidance of His Word... I will get there.
Grateful to God today.
Blessings and Love to you all...
For the two or three people who read this it goes without saying and none of you are surprised when I say that I may be a little high strung and wound a little tight. This I believe is something that can work for my benefit, but more often than not as I lose control of it, it becomes a major detriment to me, my relationships, my ministry and ultimately the plan that God has for me in many areas in my life. I've been asking God a lot lately why I am the way I am. Don't get me wrong, I am fearfully and wonderfully made and God's masterpeice and all that jazz, but I've been wrestling lately with this as I can see some of it's damaging effects if I lose control of it.
One evening over the weekend it was impressed on my heart "to be anxious for nothing" so I asked how do I do that. The response was simple and quick. Read the rest of the verse. So here is what I was given:
Phl 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Phl 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Phl 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things.
So I pray. I offer thanks even though my brain takes me to "other" places and attitudes. I realize that God's peace is beyond what I understand or comprehend so I don't have to get it. Then I focus on whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. This is what I intentionally think on. So I guess if I have "other" thoughts enter my brain I let them go or ignore them. With God's authority in me... I can do that.
Then there was this morning... One devotional took me to Psalm 119 and God's Word being my source. This is how I have the strength to ignore or reject those "other" thoughts... By having God's word firmly planted in my heart.. Awesome!
Then God went a step further and took me to another devotional and into the book of Colosians and the topic was "peace". I'm thinking I'm a little thick and need some major repetition to get things. LOL.
Colosians 3:15-17 says this:
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. 16 Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. 17 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
2 quick observations from this passage. Number 1 is that it says "let the peace of Christ RULE in your hearts.. ." It doesn't say let the peace of Christ "exist" or "influence" in your heart. It says rule. Rule says that it's an all encompasing master and not just a part that is allowed to peek in and visit once in a while when it's convenient. The peace must be there to stay and have dominion of our hearts. This appears to be an act of submission on our part which could explain why so many of us are restless and not at peace. We don't like to submit to anything or allow anything to have rule in us that we don't create.
The other observation that caught me was the amount of times the word "thanks" or various forms of that word were in this passage. I count three times and that tells me that the peace of Christ (which we don't always understand or have to for that matter) comes out of an attitude of gratitude. If we are thankful for God's blessings, God's favour and what He's already done in our lives it's hard to complain about what we don't have. Isn't that where our lack of peace comes from at the core? We complain about what we don't have, what we would rather be doing, or what others get that we don't and all the while we get ourselves spun so tight that our words turn into a life of unrest, and definitely not a life of peace that Christ offers.
I'll admit that this is a struggle with me as the little things and insecurity loves to creep into my mind and get me spun, but I am grateful that Christ is patient and is offereing me His peace and I don't even have to understand it. To know that it is there and I can and will abide, live, rest and be ruled by His peace is a comforting thought. I very much want to be a "meh" kind of person who is able to let the small things slide and be ruled by the Prince of Peace and by God's strength and guidance of His Word... I will get there.
Grateful to God today.
Blessings and Love to you all...
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Writer's Block
So let's begin with the typical "I know. I has been too long. Blah, blah, blah." Good? Okay, let's move on. :)
I've been thinking a lot about the story God wants to write in and with us again lately. I love how God uses our lives, which includes the joys and pains (pump, pump, pump pump it up... sunshine, what else? rain! sorry.. squirell!!!) to tell a story and ultimately lead others to Him. It never ceases to amaze me how God uses our story and without us even know most times, He interweaves our lives with others whom we can use our story with or they can use their story to bless ours. The creativity of this I may never understand, but I find it unbelievably awesome. Poor sentence I know, but how God does this totally wrinkles my brain. I see my youth group (whom I love dearly) and I see a number of young people who have had a difficult story with which I can connect due to the struggles of my past. Do I love dealing with hurts, seeing kids hurt and digging up my junk again? Not so much. Do I love that God can use my hurt and my junk to bring peace into young lives? Oh my word yes!!!
So about this story thing. My thought is this. How many times to we take the pen from the author? I am speaking out of a recent experience where I was in the midst of an amazing story that God was writing and yet for some reason I felt to take the pen and inject my little ideas in and see how things might go. So people gotta learn the hard way I guess. Sheesh. Yet we do this often don't we? Isn't it annoying when we show someone a picture that we've drawn, a song or poem that we've written and they take our pen or pencil and say, "Oh this is good, but..." or "Just let me change this and it would be great..." Kind of makes you want to punch them doesn't it or as we Christians say, "Lay hands on them.." I always hated in school when someone would do that to me. It's a different story if I've asked for help, but them changing my story, song, poem or art without me asking is just plain annoying. Yet again, I/we do this with God don't we?
Long story short, I did this and as anybody could have predicted I fell flat on my face. I fell hard. So again I found myself brushing off the dust, licking my wounds and asking God what just happened. Thankfully it became quickly obvious what I had done and the good part about being flat on my face was that it was a short trip as to where I needed to be before my God and the Author of my story.
I think I must be getting old or maturing or whatever that is called because it has not taken as much time, as much whining or whatever else my routine use to be for me to get back on my feet, find my first love and give God back the pen and let Him continue writing my story. Reality is only He can write the only story that matters in my life. Only He can write the story in my life that will impact others. Only He writes the story in my life that offers hope, peace, strength and love (true love) in the midst of a world that offers me temporary fixes, chaos and disappointment.
Who's writing your story? Who has the pen?
Blessings...
swl
I've been thinking a lot about the story God wants to write in and with us again lately. I love how God uses our lives, which includes the joys and pains (pump, pump, pump pump it up... sunshine, what else? rain! sorry.. squirell!!!) to tell a story and ultimately lead others to Him. It never ceases to amaze me how God uses our story and without us even know most times, He interweaves our lives with others whom we can use our story with or they can use their story to bless ours. The creativity of this I may never understand, but I find it unbelievably awesome. Poor sentence I know, but how God does this totally wrinkles my brain. I see my youth group (whom I love dearly) and I see a number of young people who have had a difficult story with which I can connect due to the struggles of my past. Do I love dealing with hurts, seeing kids hurt and digging up my junk again? Not so much. Do I love that God can use my hurt and my junk to bring peace into young lives? Oh my word yes!!!
So about this story thing. My thought is this. How many times to we take the pen from the author? I am speaking out of a recent experience where I was in the midst of an amazing story that God was writing and yet for some reason I felt to take the pen and inject my little ideas in and see how things might go. So people gotta learn the hard way I guess. Sheesh. Yet we do this often don't we? Isn't it annoying when we show someone a picture that we've drawn, a song or poem that we've written and they take our pen or pencil and say, "Oh this is good, but..." or "Just let me change this and it would be great..." Kind of makes you want to punch them doesn't it or as we Christians say, "Lay hands on them.." I always hated in school when someone would do that to me. It's a different story if I've asked for help, but them changing my story, song, poem or art without me asking is just plain annoying. Yet again, I/we do this with God don't we?
Long story short, I did this and as anybody could have predicted I fell flat on my face. I fell hard. So again I found myself brushing off the dust, licking my wounds and asking God what just happened. Thankfully it became quickly obvious what I had done and the good part about being flat on my face was that it was a short trip as to where I needed to be before my God and the Author of my story.
I think I must be getting old or maturing or whatever that is called because it has not taken as much time, as much whining or whatever else my routine use to be for me to get back on my feet, find my first love and give God back the pen and let Him continue writing my story. Reality is only He can write the only story that matters in my life. Only He can write the story in my life that will impact others. Only He writes the story in my life that offers hope, peace, strength and love (true love) in the midst of a world that offers me temporary fixes, chaos and disappointment.
Who's writing your story? Who has the pen?
Blessings...
swl
Friday, 17 February 2012
"I can't look Daddy... I'm too scared!!!"
So this week I was given the incredible opportunity to take my son (Vaughn) to Montreal so for us to watch our first Canadiens game together. This was a great time and despite the score it was a wonderful game. Vaughn was a lot of fun and I was so blessed to have another opportunity to invest in my little man and hopefully place more nuggets of God and how a man of God is suppose to act and treat people in his life. This is truly a high calling and I am blessed to be able to have this calling in his life.
On to the point. While we watched the game Montreal was down by two goals at one point, but incredibly came back to tie the game in the third. In the last few moments of the game the intensity level was at a high and all in the stadium were on the edge of their seat. As each team skated back and forth and had many different scoring chances Vaughn would bury his head in my chest and say, "I can't look!!! I'm so scared!!!" At this point I said to him that this was not scary, but it was awesome. He continued to act this way. I put my hand on his chest and his heart was pounding so hard I could feel it pumping through his sweater very hard. So being a nomination for the "Father of the Year" award I told him that being eaten by a bear is something that is scary and a hockey game is definitely not. As I explained the difference between a legitimate thing to be afraid of and what we were watching this thought dawned on me, "How often have I done this in my walk with God?"
In life how many times have I said, "God, I can't look!!! I am too scared!!!" Simply put, what is there that I cannot face with God's help? What do I need to fear when the creator of the universe is on my side? Knowing in my head that it is not my strength that I run in and God is greater than the circumstance I am going through somehow often falls short when I don't apply it and walk it out.
So the question isn't "What am I facing today that I can't handle?" The question is "What am I facing today that God can't handle?" The answer to these two questions differs drastically and that is awesome!!! The answer to the second question opens the door to freedom, from fear and all that it wants to do to consume my mind, and take me out.
I looked at my son and said, "This is irrational" but I wonder how many times God looks at me and says, "Scottie, you know me and somehow you still live with fear. How can this be? This is irrational."
Scripture says that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but has given us a Spirit of power, of love and a sound mind." (paraphrased) "Perfect love casts out fear" and God is that perfect love. Real quick I want to think on what God HAS given us.
Spirit of Power - We have authority by God's Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us when we accept Him into our lives. If that isn't power and that doesn't give us authority to to walk victoriously in this life and it's struggles, then I don't I don't know what is and does. Simply put, there need not be such a thing as wimpy Christians. We are given power!!!
Spirit of Love - We just celebrated Valentine's day and I have to be honest. It was the best one I think I have had... ever. Now don't get we wrong, I was prepared to go it alone and be okay with that, but within the past two weeks God has blessed me with a gal who is simply put, amazing. As we spend time together we push each other toward Jesus and as we experience His perfect love it creates a deeper love for Him, His people and each other. If we are living in fear it is tough to love. It is tough to love the unlovable, those who we do not know, those who hurt us and those who do love us, but we are fearful of being hurt again. God says cast away that fear because I offer you a perfect love and I want you to live in that love giving that love without fear of anything.
Spirit of a Sound Mind - This is perhaps the most difficult aspect for me. It is so tough for me to shut of my always spinning, never quiet, constantly over thinking mind. As a thought pops in my head it is hard to not analyze it and pick it apart until it totally consumes my focus. As it consumes my focus it then in turn distracts my mind to an unhealthy level. If then allow it to get to this point it is likely that it affects my actions which often manifests itself in fear and doubt. But God says, "Because of the power/authority that I have given you, you can confront this lie, fear or whatever it is and command it to back off because I my desire for you is sound mind. (peace)" Don't get me wrong, peace isn't the absence of crisis, but the prescence of Jesus in your life. When crisis comes we have peace because of who Jesus is. Do we have peace or do we have fear?
So here's my challenge: Like my son was at the game, are we consumed and overwhelmed by the irrational fears in life or are we living in "power", in "love" and with a "sound mind"?
I am grateful that I/we do not serve some distant diety that says, "Work it out/hug it out/rationalize it out" but rather says, "I care and I am here." This is my peace and the way I want my life to be lead.
What say you?
On to the point. While we watched the game Montreal was down by two goals at one point, but incredibly came back to tie the game in the third. In the last few moments of the game the intensity level was at a high and all in the stadium were on the edge of their seat. As each team skated back and forth and had many different scoring chances Vaughn would bury his head in my chest and say, "I can't look!!! I'm so scared!!!" At this point I said to him that this was not scary, but it was awesome. He continued to act this way. I put my hand on his chest and his heart was pounding so hard I could feel it pumping through his sweater very hard. So being a nomination for the "Father of the Year" award I told him that being eaten by a bear is something that is scary and a hockey game is definitely not. As I explained the difference between a legitimate thing to be afraid of and what we were watching this thought dawned on me, "How often have I done this in my walk with God?"
In life how many times have I said, "God, I can't look!!! I am too scared!!!" Simply put, what is there that I cannot face with God's help? What do I need to fear when the creator of the universe is on my side? Knowing in my head that it is not my strength that I run in and God is greater than the circumstance I am going through somehow often falls short when I don't apply it and walk it out.
So the question isn't "What am I facing today that I can't handle?" The question is "What am I facing today that God can't handle?" The answer to these two questions differs drastically and that is awesome!!! The answer to the second question opens the door to freedom, from fear and all that it wants to do to consume my mind, and take me out.
I looked at my son and said, "This is irrational" but I wonder how many times God looks at me and says, "Scottie, you know me and somehow you still live with fear. How can this be? This is irrational."
Scripture says that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but has given us a Spirit of power, of love and a sound mind." (paraphrased) "Perfect love casts out fear" and God is that perfect love. Real quick I want to think on what God HAS given us.
Spirit of Power - We have authority by God's Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us when we accept Him into our lives. If that isn't power and that doesn't give us authority to to walk victoriously in this life and it's struggles, then I don't I don't know what is and does. Simply put, there need not be such a thing as wimpy Christians. We are given power!!!
Spirit of Love - We just celebrated Valentine's day and I have to be honest. It was the best one I think I have had... ever. Now don't get we wrong, I was prepared to go it alone and be okay with that, but within the past two weeks God has blessed me with a gal who is simply put, amazing. As we spend time together we push each other toward Jesus and as we experience His perfect love it creates a deeper love for Him, His people and each other. If we are living in fear it is tough to love. It is tough to love the unlovable, those who we do not know, those who hurt us and those who do love us, but we are fearful of being hurt again. God says cast away that fear because I offer you a perfect love and I want you to live in that love giving that love without fear of anything.
Spirit of a Sound Mind - This is perhaps the most difficult aspect for me. It is so tough for me to shut of my always spinning, never quiet, constantly over thinking mind. As a thought pops in my head it is hard to not analyze it and pick it apart until it totally consumes my focus. As it consumes my focus it then in turn distracts my mind to an unhealthy level. If then allow it to get to this point it is likely that it affects my actions which often manifests itself in fear and doubt. But God says, "Because of the power/authority that I have given you, you can confront this lie, fear or whatever it is and command it to back off because I my desire for you is sound mind. (peace)" Don't get me wrong, peace isn't the absence of crisis, but the prescence of Jesus in your life. When crisis comes we have peace because of who Jesus is. Do we have peace or do we have fear?
So here's my challenge: Like my son was at the game, are we consumed and overwhelmed by the irrational fears in life or are we living in "power", in "love" and with a "sound mind"?
I am grateful that I/we do not serve some distant diety that says, "Work it out/hug it out/rationalize it out" but rather says, "I care and I am here." This is my peace and the way I want my life to be lead.
What say you?
Wednesday, 8 February 2012
Random thoughts. (Great title I know)
So apparently it's that time again. I woke up at 5:00 this morning and could not get back to sleep so instead of fighting it and getting frustrated, I quickly came to realize that this must mean it's time for another blog post. See? I can learn. To be honest, I love starting my day this way as it really helps to get my focus in the right place from the onset of my day. It's just too bad that the day has to start at such an early hour, but I am not God so I will not tell him how to do his job regarding this.
I have to say that God has definitely been speaking to me about refining my focus as of late. In our youth Sunday school class we have been talking about worship and what it is. The past two weeks we've discussed "acts" (the how) of worship and "objects" (the what) of worship and the good things that we make gods (small g) in our lives. One thing that has been impressed on my heart very strongly as of late is that "If the devil can't make you really bad, he will make you really busy." It doesn't matter what it is that we do as long as we can be distracted from what God's best for us is. That definitely applies to me in a lot of areas and it needs correction ASAP.
God has been reminding me of the process that He has. "Seek Him first and He will give us the desires of our heart". So of course I am naturally thinking, "OK God, I'm seeking you. Now where's my Lamborghini?" Not quite. As I seek God, God meets me intimately at my inner most core. As I experience His presence and goodness I fall in love with Him and His ways again. As I fall in love with Him more I want to do what He desires from me because I realize my ways are so minute to the plans that God has for me. As I walk in His ways it becomes that my desires were not really my desires, but a temporary buzz, or high or whatever.
I'm so grateful that God has brought me from a place of distrust, whining, complaining, and being very dependant on another person in a relationship to a place of trust, rejoicing, seeking and being OK with just me and what He has for me. There is a football player in the NFL name Terrell Owens and one of his funnier quotes over the years has been, "I love me some me." Now his angle with this quote was probably from a place of pride and perhaps a touch of arrogance. God has inserted this quote in my head for the purpose of me getting okay with who He has me to be and not counting my worth as who I am with. I spoke in an earlier post about the seasons in my life and in the season of solitude, God has taught me that I am OK because He says that I am ok and I need to be content with life even if that means its just me and Vaughn in it serving Jesus. This Christmas Vaughn and I spent it alone, just the two of us here in the city and only had a couple hours in passing with my mother and her husband. Beyond that we had no Christmas with my family and despite my fears of this being the most sucktastic Christmas ever, it was one of my favorites. What I feared, God made awesome. What I was dreading, God made special.
To be honest I am now in a place where "I love me some me" and who God made me and the ministry that He has called me to. I wake up in the morning and I do not pine (or whine) for what I do not have, but I try my best to say thank you for what I do have and what God has provided.
FYI, we teach our kids "please and thank you" and with God that is backwards. "Come into His house with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise.." As we approach God let's say thank you for His blessings before we present our laundry list to Him. (side note ended)
Back on topic. It seems that as I've reached that place of contentment and God has said, "Now I can take you to the next level of my blessing" and I am pumped to see what He has in store. (We'll leave it at that)
All in all I hope this made some sense or connected on some level. The long and short is this. God is good, I am grateful and His blessings are unending as we bask in his presence. May we not be so busy that we miss out on what it is He wants to do in and through us. Let's be world changers y'all!!!
Blessings,
Scottie
I have to say that God has definitely been speaking to me about refining my focus as of late. In our youth Sunday school class we have been talking about worship and what it is. The past two weeks we've discussed "acts" (the how) of worship and "objects" (the what) of worship and the good things that we make gods (small g) in our lives. One thing that has been impressed on my heart very strongly as of late is that "If the devil can't make you really bad, he will make you really busy." It doesn't matter what it is that we do as long as we can be distracted from what God's best for us is. That definitely applies to me in a lot of areas and it needs correction ASAP.
God has been reminding me of the process that He has. "Seek Him first and He will give us the desires of our heart". So of course I am naturally thinking, "OK God, I'm seeking you. Now where's my Lamborghini?" Not quite. As I seek God, God meets me intimately at my inner most core. As I experience His presence and goodness I fall in love with Him and His ways again. As I fall in love with Him more I want to do what He desires from me because I realize my ways are so minute to the plans that God has for me. As I walk in His ways it becomes that my desires were not really my desires, but a temporary buzz, or high or whatever.
I'm so grateful that God has brought me from a place of distrust, whining, complaining, and being very dependant on another person in a relationship to a place of trust, rejoicing, seeking and being OK with just me and what He has for me. There is a football player in the NFL name Terrell Owens and one of his funnier quotes over the years has been, "I love me some me." Now his angle with this quote was probably from a place of pride and perhaps a touch of arrogance. God has inserted this quote in my head for the purpose of me getting okay with who He has me to be and not counting my worth as who I am with. I spoke in an earlier post about the seasons in my life and in the season of solitude, God has taught me that I am OK because He says that I am ok and I need to be content with life even if that means its just me and Vaughn in it serving Jesus. This Christmas Vaughn and I spent it alone, just the two of us here in the city and only had a couple hours in passing with my mother and her husband. Beyond that we had no Christmas with my family and despite my fears of this being the most sucktastic Christmas ever, it was one of my favorites. What I feared, God made awesome. What I was dreading, God made special.
To be honest I am now in a place where "I love me some me" and who God made me and the ministry that He has called me to. I wake up in the morning and I do not pine (or whine) for what I do not have, but I try my best to say thank you for what I do have and what God has provided.
FYI, we teach our kids "please and thank you" and with God that is backwards. "Come into His house with thanksgiving and enter His courts with praise.." As we approach God let's say thank you for His blessings before we present our laundry list to Him. (side note ended)
Back on topic. It seems that as I've reached that place of contentment and God has said, "Now I can take you to the next level of my blessing" and I am pumped to see what He has in store. (We'll leave it at that)
All in all I hope this made some sense or connected on some level. The long and short is this. God is good, I am grateful and His blessings are unending as we bask in his presence. May we not be so busy that we miss out on what it is He wants to do in and through us. Let's be world changers y'all!!!
Blessings,
Scottie
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