When I was a kid, my family would spend summers in Christiana, Tennessee, a small unincorporated town on the outskirts of Nashville. There was a little general store called Miller’s General Store located on the main drag– the only drag– in town.

I remember the old and warped wooden floors that creaked and groaned under my feet. I remember Mr. Miller, the owner who seemed to me like he was older than dirt. I remember that you could pick up essential grocery needs, bait and fishing tackle, and rented movies, among other things. It was like something out of a movie like Fried Green Tomatoes.

One of my favorite memories is of my sister and me riding to Miller’s in the back of a flatbed Ford and getting to pick out soft drinks out of the iced cooler they kept up front. They weren’t in cans. These were in glass bottles– the good stuff. They had Nehi, Cheerwine, Kick, and Sundrop, as well as the standards like Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite. That was a real treat.

Fast forward a few years and this little general store is now a thriving restaurant. They have the typical meat and three menu with some of the best desserts you will ever put in your mouth. I look forward to every time I go there for good food, good atmosphere, good people, and– sometimes– good music.

I guess that goes to show how beautiful it is when something is redeemed and repurposed instead of lost or destroyed.

“If my sinfulness appears to me to be in any way smaller or less detestable in comparison with the sins of others, I am still not recognizing my sinfulness at all. … How can I possibly serve another person in unfeigned humility if I seriously regard his sinfulness as worse than my own?” (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

“Don’t pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults— unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It’s easy to see a smudge on your neighbor’s face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, ‘Let me wash your face for you,’ when your own face is distorted by contempt? It’s this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor” (Matthew 7:1-5, The Message).

God, I know I’m sinful, but . . .

You should really see that guy who voted for Biden last week.

You should take a look at that dude with all the Trump 2020 flags in his yard.

You should really look into those people not wearing masks.

You should pay more attention to that girl with that glass of wine in her hand seemingly all the time.

You really need to judge those people who don’t believe in a literal 7-day creation . . .

And on and on it goes.

It’s easy for me to justify myself when I compare my sins with those who sin worse than I do. And who decides which sin is worse? Me, of course.

It’s easy for me to forget how much I’ve been forgiven and how much grace it took to cover over my sins and scars and failures because my sins don’t show like other people’s do.

I may not look as broken as the next guy, but I am. Sin is sin in the eyes of God and every sin is an act of rebellion against God.

When I point the finger at anyone else, I make myself instead of God the standard of right living. I say that I know more than God who deserves mercy and who does not.

Remember, it wasn’t the man who fared better in comparison with the tax collector who was justified before God. It was the tax collector who KNEW he couldn’t point the finger at anyone else but himself who went home forgiven.

The prayer we all need right now is still, “Lord, have mercy on ME, a sinner.”

I can’t think of anything better to describe my heart’s desire right now.

I’m too foolish and selfish most of the time to know what I want or what’s good for me.

I’m like a child who wants ice cream every day for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, not realizing that it will eventually make me sick.

I can only see a fraction of my life and a fraction of the road ahead of me.

I need someone who knows me better than I do to tell me who I am.

I need someone who knows the way to show me where to go.

I need someone who knows my story from beginning to end and how my story fits into the bigger Story to show me how to live.

Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life” (John 14:6).

“Life is what happens to youWhile you’re busy making other plans” (John Lennon)

I think that sums up 2020 rather nicely. Think about it. When you were asked back in 2015 what your life would look like in 5 years, did anyone guess 2020? I’m fairly certain that’s a question everyone got wrong.

But here we are. It’s 2020. Full of surprises, to say the least, and a “gift” that keeps on giving– that pandemic. I’m beyond ready to be in a post-pandemic world, but that’s another topic for another day.

I still think 2020 is what you make of it. If you give in and give up, you can count it as a lost cause. But if you still choose to make the best of it and see with a glass-full optimism, then you can make 2020 great again (sorry, couldn’t resist).

Faith looks for the best in circumstances and people. Faith holds fast to the conviction that God still works all things — even pandemics– for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. Faith sees beyond the temporary trials to the eternal weight of glory that will soon be revealed in us.

Maybe you took an unexpected detour this year, but that doesn’t have to mean the year’s a bust. You still can make it count by how you choose to see it– through fear or frustration or faith.

“And now I bring you this charge before God and Jesus the Anointed, the one destined to judge the living and the dead, at His glorious appearance and His kingdom:  go out and preach the word! Go whether it’s an opportune time or not! Reprove, warn, and encourage; but do so with all the patience and instruction needed to fulfill your calling  because a time will come when some will no longer tolerate sound teaching. Instead, they will live by their own desires; they’ll scratch their itching ears by surrounding themselves with teachers who approve of their lifestyles and tell them what they want to hear. They will turn away from the real truth you have to offerbecause they prefer the sound of fables and myths. But you must stay focused and be alert at all times. Tolerate suffering. Accomplish the good work of an evangelist, and complete the ministry to which you have been called” (2 Timothy 4:1-5, The Voice).

That’s the phrase that caught my attention: Be ready. Gospel conversations happen when you’re prepared and ready, and not before. I can pray all I want for gospel conversations, but if I’m not doing my part of preparation along with prayer then they won’t happen.

You don’t have to be a preacher to preach the gospel. All you need is a changed heart and a story to tell. As I’ve said before, people can argue with you about theology and doctrine and methodology, but no one can argue with a transformed life. No one can refute your own personal testimony backed up by a renewed mind and spirit.

I always felt like I needed to be a lawyer to share the gospel. I needed to be able to prove the existence of God and why the Bible is true and all that. But the Bible calls me to be a witness, not a lawyer. All I need is to tell what I saw, what happened to me, how Jesus changed my life. That’s all. God will do the rest.

My job now is to get ready so that I will be ready when the time comes, because as my pastor has said, when the opportunity comes, you won’t have time to get ready– you’ll have to be ready.

You ask me what my first response to the news that Joe Biden is the President-elect? Pray for him.

Yep, I plan to pray for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. They’re going to need prayers, as much as President Trump and Mike Pence did previously, as will the next two after.

I hope and pray they do well. I hope America does well. Wishing for the country to fail because you don’t like the President is like hoping the flight you’re on crashes because you don’t like the pilot. News flash– you’re on the same plane.

I’m also hoping that the American church can be less of a political voice and more of a prophetic voice. We’ve lost our way a bit recently, trading our gospel mandate for making a country great by voting for the “right” people.

We’ve alienated some of the very people we’re called to love through our politics. We’ve driven away the people for whom Jesus died by labeling them as the enemy (even forgetting that Jesus commanded us to love and pray for our enemies).

The message of the Church should be that no one is beyond saving. No one is too far gone or too bad for God to love and heal and restore and redeem. What matters above anything else is your identity, and beyond anything else — race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, income level — is knowing that you bear the image of God and are a child of God. Being in Christ is the ultimate identity of any believer.

Believers need to repent of putting their trust in Presidents, political parties and platforms. To adhere wholeheartedly to either of the main parties is to commit idolatry and betray the calling to share the whole gospel with the whole person any time, any place, anywhere.

May God bless America, even though we by and large deserve anything but God’s blessing. May God show us His lovingkindness once more.

“Dear Lord, I’ve got this wandering mind —
wants to keep hiking off to climb some worries,
or meander of into some ‘what ifs’
or detour through a patch of burrs & these messy feelings of
constantly failing,
And there You are tonight, real close, arms outstretched:
‘Stay. Just Stay right here — Just Stay resting right here in this
curved indent in the palm of My Hand, right here next to the
lulling thrum of My never-sleeping heart —
Just *Stay* & let nothing move you from Me —
I will keep you in perfect peace
when your mind is *stayed* on Me — because this is how you
trust Me.’ Isa. 26:3
And we whisper it: Stay, Mind, just stay —
We only stay safe — when our minds stay with You” (Ann Voskamp).

#SharingRealHonestPrayer#StayMindStay

If only I could teach my mind to stay with Jesus like Mary stayed at Jesus’ feet, concerned only with His presence.

If only I could keep my mind from wandering into the realm of “what if” scenarios, 99% of which never end up happening.

If only I could shut off social media, turn off the noise both outside and within, and be still.

If only I could quit listening to the media and to the talking heads and to Twitter and Facebook and focus on the voice of Jesus speaking over me.

Lord, keep your people in your perfect peace as we stay positioned in You. Amen.

I had several thoughts about tonight’s post.

I was going to write something about the election and how if your faith allows you to hate and jeer those who disagree with you politically, you might want to rethink what you believe. Maybe later.

Then I thought of writing about some of the great music I’ve been listening to that helps lift me out of the current state of chaos and transport me back to simpler times.

I finally decided to give yet another update on Peanut and her special foot.

Judging by the picture, I think she’s rather fond of that mismatched foot. Plus, what is more peaceful and stress-relieving that a sleeping cat?

Enjoy.

It’s easy to lose your identity in these crazy times. You get labeled and you take on titles and names for yourself.

Black, white, gay, straight, Republican, Democrat, conservative, liberal, left-handed, right-handed . . .

The identity that matters most — the only identity that truly matters in the end — is that of being a child of God and being in Christ.

That trumps all others. Your allegiance belongs above all else to Jesus.

Allowing anything else to supersede or be equal with that is pure and total idolatry. Your core value and worth come from the name Jesus gives you and who He says you are. Not from anything or anyone else. Period.

Let the God who knows your sin call you by your name.

When I wake up in the morning, regardless of who the President is or if we even know who it is, I will be thankful.

The sun will be shining (eventually) and I will be able to see and hear and smell and taste and touch the world around me.

There will be a thousand little gifts waiting for me to enjoy that I didn’t ask for and have taken for granted in my obsession over the few things I asked God for that He chose to withhold for a time.

I will still be loved and I will still be held and I will still be a child of God. No election can change that.