blessing

Thankful for You

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I’m thankful that you are you and not me. Don’t get me wrong. I’m thankful for me, too, but I’m glad there is only one of me. I’m not sure the world could handle multiple Gregs running amuck and causing all kinds of chaos.

I’m thankful that you are fearfully and wonderfully made in the image of God and that you carry His signature on you. You are not a mistake. You are not an afterthought. You are not a copy of anyone or anything else that has ever been or will ever be. You are uniquely you (try saying that five times fast).

Just as unique is God’s plan for you. Don’t get caught up in comparing your life to someone else’s. Maybe you’re not married. Maybe you’re still living at home with the folks long after you thought you would be. Maybe you’re still wondering what you’ll be when you finally grow up.

That doesn’t make you a failure. It means you are not satisfied with the status quo, but you are wanting to find out what you were born to do and what makes you come alive.

Be patient. God’s promises may not happen according to your timetable, but they always happen in His perfect timing. I believe that if you can hold out a little longer, you will be surprised and amazed at what comes next. God is anything but predictable. But I know it’s gonna be great.

Remember that no matter what happens today, no matter what anybody else says to you or about you, no matter how impossible your life seems right now, that I am thankful for you. I’m rooting for you. So is God. And like I’ve said before, what seems impossible to us is not even remotely difficult for God (thanks to Pete Wilson of Cross Point Church for that one).

 

 

My New Daily Prayer (Stolen from Mother Teresa)

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“Dear Jesus, help me to spread Thy fragrance everywhere I go. Flood my soul with Thy spirit and love. Penetrate and possess my whole being so utterly that all my life may only be a radiance of Thine. Shine through me and be so in me that every soul I come in contact with may feel Thy presence in my soul. Let them look up and see no longer me but only Jesus. Stay with me and then I shall begin to shine as you shine, so to shine as to be a light to others.”

Things I’m thankful for

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If you’ve been keeping up with my facebook posts, this might be a bit of a re-run for you. At least most of it.

I’ve compiled an extensive list of things I’m thankful for, some frivolous, some serious, some in-between. You be the judge. I’m thankful

1) For orange tic-tacs (ever since I saw the movie Juno).

2) For unending and unfailing grace.

3) For the tortilla soup at Chuy’s that I can’t get enough of.

4) For God’s track-record of faithfulness, especially in the times when I’ve been faithless.

5) For chai frappachinos from Starbucks with caramel drizzle (and cinnamon sprinkled on top as an added bonus).

6) For friends who have stood by me when others might have given up and written me off as a lost cause.

7) For coconut water, because once you’ve tried it, you’re hooked.

8) For new mercies every morning.

9) Chocolate in all its wonderful and glorious forms– and yes, I am aware that today is National Milk Chocolate Day.

10) The day Jesus rescued me.

11) That it’s currently not 111 degrees outside. And for air-conditioning inside.

12) That one day God will make everything right again and turn the world right-side up.

13) For spam in a can, ’cause it’s brilliant.

14) That I’m not who I was and I’m not yet who I will be.

15) That every time a bell rings, an angel gets his wings (attaboy, Clarence!)

16) That every time I fall down or fail big, I get a second chance and a clean slate.

17) For the chicken cobb avocado salad at Panera Bread on Old Hickory Blvd in front of Target.

18) For every single word of encouragement or blessing or edification or correction spoken over me by family and friends. You didn’t realize it, but God was speaking through you to me to make me more like Jesus.

I could think of about a 1,000 more reasons to be thankful, but I’ll save those for future blogs. When you live with eyes and heart and hands wide open, you can’t help but be grateful and thankful all the time. You can’t help but see blessings everywhere.

So what are you thankful for?

It’s The Little Things

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I’ve come to a few conclusions in my time. One of them has come to me recently.

I’ve always been a fan of the epic movies like Lawrence of Arabia or Braveheart or Gladiator, with big battle scenes behind a massive soundtrack and bold and daring actions. Life is sometimes like that. But most of the time it’s not.

Most of the time, courage isn’t the absence of fear, but being afraid and still taking the next step of faith anyway. It means shutting your ears to what those fears are telling you and choosing in the moment to believe what God has been telling you all along about yourself, your friends and family, and your circumstances.

Most of the time, faith isn’t doing incredible deeds like leading masses of people to Christ or flying halfway around the world to be a career missionary. It’s going next door and doing a small act of kindness for your neighbor. It’s moving out of your usual circle of friends and sitting with someone who looks lost and lonely.

Sometimes, belief isn’t supreme confidence that you know everything there is to know about God and His ways and how He will act. Sometimes, it’s a very small mustard seed. Sometimes, it’s the wavering confession amidst doubts that says, “Lord, I believe. Help my unbelief.”

It’s not about big faith in God, but faith in a big God. The saying goes that it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, but the size of the fight in the dog. I say that sometimes, it’s about showing up even when you don’t feel up to it, when you feel utterly powerless and weak, when every part of you is telling you to throw in the towel and quit.

Those are the times that God shows up. When you are weak, the Bible says, that’s when the power of Christ is made perfect. Paul even goes so far as to boast in his weakness because he knows that God shows up strongest in our weaknesses.

Keep believing. Keep taking the small steps of faith. Keep holding on to that quiet courage that says you can try again tomorrow. After all, it really is the little things, the small things done with love that really matter in the end.

Awake and Alive

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“My father says that almost the whole world is asleep. Everybody you know. Everybody you see. Everybody you talk to. He says that only a few people are awake and they live in a state of constant total amazement” (from the movie Joe vs. The Volcano)

The Apostle Paul urges us to not be asleep, but to awake from our slumber. He doesn’t mean to never sleep at all. He means to be alert and paying attention to what’s going on around you. To not have your head buried in the sand and to know the signs of the times. To always be ready for Jesus to come back at any moment.

To be awake is to not sleep-walk through life. It’s to not be so focused on getting stuff done and accumulating stuff and titles and trophies that you miss life. So often, life– real life- is in the small details that we overlook in our rush to get to the next big phase of our existence. We’re either so focused on what’s next or on what in the past we could have done better that we miss what God is doing right now.

I heard a beautiful illustration today about the parable of the virgins waiting on the bridegroom. In the parable, some were ready with their lamps filled with oil and some were not. In that day, the husband-to-be would go away and prepare a place for his bride-tobe, usually adding an addition to his parent’s house. When he was done,  he would come back for her and take her there.

She didn’t know when he was coming back, so she literally had to be ready every single day. She had to be made-up and adorned in her wedding apparel in case today was the day he showed up.

We need to be ready in the same way. We need to be living the faith we proclaim now. We need to be loving people radically and both demonstrating and declaring the supreme goodness of Jesus right now. We need to be Jesus to those around us who need Him desperately right now.

Most of all, we need to live with eyes wide open (as another song I heard once said). Those who are really and truly awake can’t help but see God in everything and see His blessings at every turn. We will be the most joyful, most content, most alive people the world has ever known because we really have seen the glory of the coming of the King.

The question for you and for me is: will we continue to sleep-walk through our existence and wonder at the end what it was all about, or will we come alive to God’s calling and purpose and live in the complete joy of being exactly where God wants us to be living out God’s dream for us?

My Last Day on Earth

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I was thinking about the shootings at the movie theatre in Colorado today. Not in a morbid way. I was thinking what if I was one of those 12 people who went into the theatre to see The Dark Knight Rises, never realizing that my life was about to end.

What if I knew that today was my last day? How would it change how I lived?

I know I’d be more forgiving and understanding of others, far less quick to pass judgments and far more eager to give grace and the benefit of the doubt. I’d be more forgiving of myself when I do and say stupid stuff.

I’d spend less time getting the to-do list checked off and much more time hanging out with the people who matter to me.

I’d be braver and take more chances. Probably not sky-diving or bull-riding, but I’d do at least one thing that I’d been scared of doing before.

I’d appreciate the people in my life who have really been my friends and family and who have loved me when I wasn’t too easy to love and supported and encouraged me when I needed it most.

I’d make every effort to let the people in my life know how much they meant to me and how grateful I was for them, because no tomorrow is guaranteed for me or for anyone else. I would never assume that people know how special and uniquely-created they are; I’d tell them.

I’d be a lot more thankful for the little things in my life like the sun rising every morning, the flowers that bloom every spring, the sweet scent of summer air that takes me back to my childhood. I’d say “Thank you, God,” a lot more and really mean it.

What if I lived every day of the rest of the life God gives me as if it were my last day?

 

It’s a Beautiful Thing

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It’s a beautiful thing when you are grateful for waking up each morning and fully appreciate all the blessings you have been taking for granted.

It’s a beautiful thing when you can raise your hands in worship as fervantly in when life is falling apart as when life is going great.

It’s a beautiful thing when you’re in love with someone who doesn’t feel the same way and you realize you’re perfectly content to be friends with that person and to be the best friend you can be.

It’s a beautiful thing when you can release your child to be all God made him or her to be, even if that takes him or her half a world away.

It’s a beautiful thing when you see your marriage as a chance for you to love your spouse unconditionally like Christ loved the Church.

It’s a beautiful thing when you have no reason anymore to hope, but hope remains.

It’s a beautiful thing when you’ve fallen for the thousandth time, but you get up one more time, thankful for Grace that never gives up.

It’s a beautiful thing when you say goodbye to friends but hold them in your heart at the same time and know that distance is no great barrier for those God has brought together in friendship.

It’s a beautiful thing when you can say “Thy will be done,” even if it means saying “All my dreams and plans and desires be undone” at the same time.

It’s a beautiful thing when you can pray, “God, use me however, wherever, and whenever you want. I give you my money, my time, my body, and my very life for Your Kindom.”

It’s a beautiful thing when you stop praying for blessings and start praying to be a blessing.

It’s a beautiful thing when you become a conduit for God’s power and love to flow through to the world and God can see people with your eyes, go to them with your feet, touch them with your hands, and love them with your heart.

It’s a beautiful thing indeed.

Random Tuesday Thoughts

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Someone asked me how I was today and my answer was “Blessed.” Normally, I say, “Fine” or “Okay”, but for some reason I felt compelled to say “Blessed” tonight.

Maybe it’s because I am blessed. I may not have a job and I may be perennially stuck on being single, but I have some great friends and I serve an even greater God who chose me and called me by name and loves me in spite of all the dumb things I do on a daily basis.

I think about Peter and how Jesus called him out to walk on water. Most people fault Peter for giving into fear and sinking, but the fact that Peter took a huge step of faith toward Jesus has to count for something. At least with me.

I’m thinking about something Mike Glenn said at Kairos tonight. He said you know it’s really God calling you when it’s something that you can’t do on your own. Like walking on water. Or going halfway around the world to serve as a missionary. Or just being faithful to Jesus where you are.

This season has been rough for me, but I have found healing and grace like I’ve never known before, both from the people around me and from God. I have seen shackles of fear and doubt fall away and found how awesome it is to walk in freedom, no longer captive to the need to please others.

I have found that the best moments in life aren’t the ones you plan for, but those you never would expect. Like the old song says, “You can’t always get what you want, but you find sometimes you get what you need.”

The more I live the more in awe of God I am. The more I see my desperate need of everything He is. The more I can truly lift my hands in worship. The more I can hold the people and things in my life with open hands and not clenched fists.

The more I know that everything will be fine in the end. If it’s not fine, it’s not the end.

 

Judging

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Have you ever felt like someone passed sentence on you and wrote you off based on something you said or did? Have you ever felt condemned by another because you messed up once too many times?

Then you know not to judge another in the same way.

You never know what a person’s been through. You never know the whole story of the journey that person has been through and all that God has called them to walk through. If you did, you would probably celebrate how far they’ve come instead of passing judgment.

I’ve been guilty far too often of judging. I’ve thought, “This person really needs to read this or hear this” or “I sure wish God would convict them of this particular issue.” Would I want someone else thinking the same about me?

I know I’ve done and said and texted and posted enough to get me booted off people’s Christmas card lists. I certainly have done enough to warrent being voted off the island and having people write me off and give up on me. That’s why I never write anybody else off or give up on them.

Mike Glenn spoke at Brentwood Baptist Church this morning about how everybody’s got a list of people the world would be better off without. Before you make your list, remember that you are most likely on someone else’s list.

I love what Max Lucado said: “I choose gentleness… Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself.”

Who knows? Remember you may not have done as well in someone else’s shoes. You might not have survived. And you may still yet be facing someday what that person has already faced and overcome.

So, I choose gentleness and grace and understanding over judgment and condemnation. I choose to bless rather than curse, to encourage rather than to criticize, and to be a blessing to somone instead of seeking blessings from that person.

What will you choose?

Praying on the Armor of God

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I had an epiphany recently. Well, more of a “duh” kind of moment. I realized that I had been neglecting to pray on the armor of God every morning and I could tell the difference.

I was vulnerable and easy prey for the enemy to attack, particularly in my mind. So I started back praying on the armor. I cannot urge you stronly enough to do this EVERY morning. Here’s how I pray the armor on:

“Lord, I take on the belt of truth today. May Your truth hold me together and tell me who I am, not what I’m feeling or thinking at the moment or what my circumstances or other people say.

Lord, I take on the breastplate of righteousness. May Your righteousness be my covering today. Protect my heart and my emotions and keep them centered in You, so that I am not swept away by every feeling or fear that comes my way.

Lord, I take on the shoes of the readiness of the gospel of peace. Help me always be ready to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope I have and may I be able to share Your Gospel with at least one person today.

Lord, I take on the helmet of salvation. Protect my thoughts today from the evil one and help me take every single thought captive and bring it under Your Lordship. Fill me with Your thoughts so that there is no room for thoughts that are not of You.

Lord, I take on the shield of faith. Protect me from the assaults of the enemy today, whether they be physical, mental, spiritual, or emotional. Be my Fortress and Shield and Mighty Defender today, because without You, I will certainly fall.

Lord, last but not least, I take on the sword of the Spirit. Bring Your Word to my mind at every possible moment and help the Bible not to be words on a page or nice sentiments, but Words that transform and change me in a radical way. Help me not only to read them, but obey them.”

You may pray something different. You may physically act out putting on the armor as you pray (I do that sometimes when I feel especially under attack). The important thing is to pray these things on at least once a day if not more.

The battle is real and if you’re not ready, you will be overcome. Choose this day to live as an Overcomer and Conqueror in Christ.