“God says, ‘I am offering you life or death, blessing or curse. Choose life, then, so that you and your descendants may live’ (Deuteronomy 30:19).

‘Choose life.’ That’s God’s call for us, and there is not a moment in which we do not have to make that choice. Life and death are always before us. In our imaginations, our thoughts, our words, our gestures, our actions … even in our nonactions. This choice for life starts in a deep interior place. Underneath very life-affirming behaviour I can still harbour death-thoughts and death-feelings. The most important question is not ‘Do I kill?’ but ‘Do I carry a blessing in my heart or a curse?’ The bullet that kills is only the final instrument of the hatred that began being nurtured in the heart long before the gun was picked up” (Henri Nouwen).

Choose life. Choose words that are a blessing and not a curse. Choose to build up and not to tear down. Choose life, so that others may live, but most of all, so that you may live.

“The prayer of a Christian brother who was in prison for years in Romania during the difficult years of the cold war. He prayed:

‘Lord, I look forward to the great day I see you and your family in heaven. I look forward to seeing the great evangelists standing before you. I look forward to the day I see all the missionaries coming home rejoicing with their sheaves. I look forward to hearing all the great singers of the world praising you. I look forward to seeing the great preachers of the ages standing before you.

“But Lord, I have one special request. When that day comes, allow me to be there in the clothing of a prisoner. I want to praise you throughout eternity in my prisoner’s clothes to always remind me that I was a prisoner for you.'”

I can’t imagine how I’d ever pray that prayer if I’d been imprisoned for years solely for my faith. In my own strength, I know I couldn’t.

But as Jesus promised, when that hour of testing comes, He said not to worry about what we’d say but that the Holy Spirit would give us utterance and the right words to say in the right moment. And perhaps the right words to pray as well.

Some days I wish I could switch places with my cat Peanut. Let her drive the red Jeep to work and spend 8 hours in front of a computer. Let me lounge around the house all day in my birthday suit, napping whenever the mood takes me and eating whenever I get the least bit bored or hungry.

The best part of being a cat is that the fatter you are, the more cuddly you are and the more people like you. You have extremely low expectations, so when you do anything at all remotely interesting, it’s either cute or funny or amazing. You can spend time with your people or you can be alone, and either way, your humans will understand.

You never have to set an alarm. You never have to pay taxes. You never have to sit in traffic that inexplicably won’t move even though there’s no wreck.

All in all, being a cat isn’t a bad life in the least.

Yes! My first pumpkin spice sighting!

It’s not so much that I’m the biggest fan of the pumpkin spice flavor (although I do like it from time to time). I equate pumpkin spice with the arrival of Autumn, so this sighting means that fall is drawing nigh.

I’m ready for all things fall. I’m ready to wear flannel and roast s’mores on bonfires. I’m ready to see some leaves changing colors.

I’m not naive. I understand that here in Tennessee, fall is usually a bit late in arriving. Just because the calendar says it’s the Autumnal Equinox doesn’t mean that the weather will cooperate.

In all likelihood, there will be more days of hot muggy sweaty stinky humidity to come. But for me I know that the end of all that is in sight. I can hold out for cooler temperatures and crisp breezes.

Until then, I drink pumpkin spice and dream of fall.

“Are you severely troubled right now? Are you afraid and confused? When we are awakened to the realities of life, true inner peace is impossible unless it is received from Jesus. When our Lord speaks peace, He creates peace–a peace that comes from looking into His face and fully understanding and receiving His quiet contentment. Lay everything out before Him, and when you are faced with difficulty, bereavement, and sorrow, listen to Him say, ‘Let not your heart be troubled’ (John 14:27)” (Oswald Chambers, My Utmost for His Highest).

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid” (John 14:27, New Living Translation).

I had the privilege tonight of celebrating a friend going to the mission field. She’s leaving in a few days for Honduras for almost three months. Me and some others were able to hear her story and pray over her as she prepares to step out in faith in a big way.

I didn’t voice my prayer out loud, but I prayed something like this:

God, go before her to all the places her feet will land and to all the people she will meet. Even now, may You be already at work in the hearts and the lives of the women she will encounter.

Jesus, you promised that we shouldn’t worry about what we should say at any given moment, because you promised that your Holy Spirit would give us the right words at just the right moment.

Be with my friend and anoint her words so that not one falls to the ground but that every one accomplishes the purpose for which you sent it forth.

May your anointing and protection be over her from the moment her plane takes off on day one to the moment it lands on coming home.

Give her mother a peace that passes all understanding during this time and be with her in a tangible and real way to know that you will take care of her daughter.

As always, be glorified, and may Your will be done in Honduras as it is in heaven.

Amen.

One of my favorite groups that probably few people know about is Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. They are a kind of retro-soul band, a throwback to the late 60’s and early 70’s Stax and Motown era.

Sharon Jones, the lead singer, served at one point as a corrections officer at Rikers Island before getting her big break in music. Sadly, she passed away from pancreatic cancer at age 60 in 2016.

This kind of music is as far from the cafeteria-style bland pop music of modern radio as you can get. It almost feels like stepping into a time machine (or a Tardis) and being transported back 50 or so years into the past.

I honestly can’t remember where I first heard about this group, but I suspect it was back when Starbucks used to have music as well as coffee and scones. Hearing that soulful voice backed up by a tight rhythm section and horns, I was hooked.

Whenever I hear good music, I like to share the wealth, so here’s a link to one of their albums.

https://www.amazon.com/Sharon-Original-Motion-Picture-Soundtrack/dp/B01I6PY2EK/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1535081378&sr=8-10&keywords=sharon+jones+and+the+dap+kings

It makes for good driving in the car after work (or anytime) music. I recommend it and give it two enthusiastic thumbs way up!

I think we all struggle to some degree with fear and anxiety. There’s some area of life for each of us that gives concern and causes us to worry.

I’ve learned that every time that I let fear and anxiety rule, I end up imagining a future with no God in it. I picture a world where all the solutions to all my problems must all depend on me. That’s a scary place.

But God never ends. His love never runs out. His mercies never come to an end but are new every single morning. Every day that I wake up I see how great is the faithfulness of God.

So fear ends when faith begins and worry runs out where God’s love never does.

I heard something tonight that may have changed the way I view the calling of God. Basically, the speaker said that God’s call isn’t so much about a profession as it is about a person.

Jesus’ call to the disciples was to come and follow Him. That’s the primary call He gives to us today. We may have gifts and talents, but the primary call is to follow Jesus.

As the speaker put it, if my calling is to be a football player and I blow out my knee, then my calling becomes null and void. If my calling is to be a singer and I lose my voice, then my calling no longer applies.

But if my calling is to follow Jesus, that will last forever. Everything else that I do will be as a result of my obedience to Jesus’ first command to all of us– follow Me.

As I write these words, I’m still processing this in my head. It means that I’m no longer what I do (or don’t do) for a living, or how much I earn or how many titles and degrees I have, but I’m who Jesus calls me to be. I’m a follower of Jesus.

Mind. Blown.