Today is Veterans’ Day, honoring all those who have served in the military, not to be confused with Memorial Day, honoring those who died while serving their country.

I found this prayer from an unknown soldier that beautifully applies across all walks of life, though it seems especially poignant in light of a soldier whose life has been affected by injuries sustained in combat.

This prayer highlights that God often doesn’t give us what we ask for but what we need. He gives us not happiness but joy. He gives us not what we want but what our hearts desire.

The idea of blessing isn’t getting everything I’ve prayed for. In fact, sometimes, God not giving us what we pray for is a blessing because we don’t know what we pray for at the time.

The real blessing is knowing that there is no gift from God apart from God Himself. What we really need more than God’s provision is God’s presence because to have everything apart from God is defeat, while having God and nothing else is victory.

If you were like me and grew up in church, then you know the Lord’s prayer. If you’re old school like me, you probably know the KJV version that starts off like “Our Father, who art in Heaven . . .”

You also know the part about Thy will being done on earth as it is in heaven.

I’m all for God’s will prevailing. Until it conflicts with my will. Until it means that what God wants trumps what I want, and God’s plans trump my plans.

If I’m honest, what I really want is for God to rubber stamp my plans and give me the green light for every desire and wish of my heart.

But deep down part of me knows that is not healthy. Especially when I look back and see what I thought I couldn’t live without. Or better still, trying to remember what it was that I lost sleep over all those years ago because it didn’t go the way I wanted.

I believe that if I knew what God knows and saw the whole picture of history and my existence (as opposed to the fragments that I can see and understand), then I would absolutely want what He wants and desire what He desires. I would probably also appreciate what I already have instead of always lusting and craving after what I don’t have.

In the end, it’s God’s will. Nothing more. Nothing less. Nothing else. The end.

“God never fits His word to suit me. He fits me to suit His word” (Oswald Chamber).

I remember reading something profound in a Francis Chan book a while back. Basically, the idea is that if we say that God would never do something because we would never, it’s setting us up as the standard by which God must be judged. It’s making us the arbiter over what God can and can’t do.

Lately, I see quite a few who want to modify their beliefs to make the faith more palatable and Jesus easier to follow. I seem to remember something Jesus Himself said about the road to eternal life being narrow and few finding it versus the road to hell being broad and many find it, but that’s not a quote people like to bring up about Jesus. It’s more like, “Don’t judge” and all those more seemingly inclusive sayings.

If you change God to suit your feelings and your moods, you end up with another gospel. You end up worshipping a different god (and not the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob).

The idea is not for me to change what God says to accommodate my sin, but for what God says to change me. God isn’t the one who changes — He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. I’m the one being changed and transformed and being made into a new creation.

If God could change, I could never trust anything He says. His promises could change. My hope of salvation could one day be secure and the next day not so much. I’d never be able to be sure I was in right standing with God.

But since God is unchanging, so are His promises. So is my hope. So I will let God’s word have its way and do its work in me because I’m the one who needs to change.

I endorse this message. That’s really the heart of the gospel. God loves you. God is on your side. He is coming after you. He is relentless.

That is what God does in bringing someone to salvation. That is what God does every day after from the moment of salvation to the moment of glorification.

The love of God doesn’t always look like we think it will.

Sometimes, it’s a warm and comforting love that reaffirms our identity as children of God.

Sometimes, it is a tough love that refuses to indulge our selfishness and sinfulness but chastises us to lead us to repentance and renewal.

But it is always love. It is always pursuing us. It is truly relentless.

I read this earlier today and found it such a well-stated encapsulation of a lot of what’s wrong with this social media-obsessed society, including yours truly. I heard once that so many of us spend our lives trying to look good and feel good rather than to do good and to be good.

The joke goes that they’re called selfies because narcissistie is just too hard to spell. I am not opposed to selfies, but it can be an indicator of self- and me-obsessed thinking that looks at the world and all that happens in it through the lends of only how it affects me.

It’s a bit longer than my typical post, but it’s worth the extra time:

“It’s such a strange time in which to live. There was about a 5-year period around the first decade of the 2000’s when a convergence of sorts happened: We turned the camera back towards ourselves and the modern-day selfie was born; it seemed to almost cap off the self-empowerment movement that so many daytime talk show hosts guided us through (Yes I can, The power is in me, etc.).

I think selfies are harmless, by the way, but I also feel that they somehow symbolized the full arrival of what started when I was in my 20’s: an almost absolute elevation of self and preoccupation (to a fault) of our own happiness and well-being. It’s been the norm in American culture for so long, that it’s hard to remember a time when it wasn’t as prevalent.

I’m trying to walk a fine line on this topic – because the fact that mental, emotional, and physical self-care have become more important and more talked about is a good thing. It has surely saved many lives. I get that self-care is an investment, I really do. I’m more talking about the reason behind it all, the endgame. If we’re only caring for ourselves so that we can then care more for ourselves, etc., etc. . .

What is self-improvement for if not to then in turn help someone else? I’ve heard that you can’t pour from an empty pitcher – and I think that’s true; but I do think it’s imperative that we do actually pour – pour ourselves into those around us, into something bigger than our individual selves. I feel like our culture would have us make sure the pitcher is full just so the pitcher can feel better about itself and gain affirmation and likes from other pitchers.

As I get well into my 50’s and care less and less about impressing anyone — I look back and realize that I spent SO much time, especially in my younger days, just focusing on myself. I once heard Rich Mullins say that even thinking of oneself in an overly-negative way can be a way of thinking too much of ourselves. In other words, good or bad – I need to just think of myself less (not think less of myself, mind you. . .but think of myself less). I need to have a true and proper evaluation of myself, but not more than that.

As much as any generation tends to lament and accuse the next one – I actually think the generation or two coming up under me is doing a better job at this than mine did. Yes, there are still spoiled, self-obsessed teens and young adults, and yes, there are some who like the idea of helping others more than actually doing it; but I think in general the younger generation is showing great promise in their capacity for compassion and service. As they grow older and gain more resources, I’m optimistic that they will do well on the follow-through.

I can’t look at any profound topic without shining it through the lens of faith. Although I don’t always hit the target, I’ve chosen to align myself with the Bible, Christ’s teachings, and his example while he was here on earth; and while I do believe that the Christian life can result in a deep, abiding sense of joy and peace, I’ve never seen where Jesus’s goal was his own personal happiness. However, in our culture I dare say many Christians, much less the public-at-large, would say that one’s own happiness is one of the only things that gives life true meaning; but I’m just not sure that’s the truth (at least from the Bible’s point of view).

Perhaps equally miraculous to Christ’s more ‘popular’ revelations of his power was the fact that he chose to spend his roughly 3 years of ministry on earth as a lowly servant – living a life of no means with a ragtag group of guys and gals – when he would’ve had every right to just lavishly set himself up as a more traditional ‘King of Everything.’ His own personal happiness isn’t really mentioned much in scripture. He wanted to do His Father’s will, and frankly, that wasn’t always a feel-good place. He was poor, misunderstood a lot, rejected by pretty much anyone who was highly regarded at the time, and was eventually killed. Now, I know the end of the story, so it’s for sure not all bad; but I dare say that during his time on the earth – the part that we’re supposed to exemplify today – he was tons more focused on serving God and pouring himself into others than he was self-affirmations and ‘feeling good.’

I’m going to wrap this up now, because I could ramble on (if I haven’t already), and I’m not sure what to do with these thoughts. There’s just some kind of humility that comes with having lived more than half your life. It’s caused me to reflect more on how I’ve lived the last 50 years vs. how I want to live the next 30. In some mysterious way, I think happiness comes about as a byproduct of not focusing too much on it. Come to think of it, maybe that’s it: There’s a joy that surprises you, comes “out of nowhere,” when you give yourself away – and it supersedes the shallower happiness that comes from personal achievements, a pile of stuff, and striving for the affirmation of others.

Again, not sure if this resonates with anyone else – maybe I’m just getting more pensive, but I’m hopeful there was a point in there somewhere:-)” (Carey Dyer).

“Good to let the ugly past rest in the hands that have scars” (Rose Marie Miller).

I went to a training about how to have Gospel conversations with trauma in mind. Basically, it’s all about how to share your faith with someone who’s dealt with PTSD in the past.

I’m not suddenly an expert on PTSD. I’m not sure I fully understand all the ins and outs of how past trauma can affect present day emotions and behavior. I’m not sure I’d even know what to say to someone who’s dealing with it.

But I do know that Jesus still has nail-scarred hands. No one in history ever experienced more trauma in one 24-hour period, much less a life time, than Jesus did from the time of His arrest to His crucifixion. No one suffered more physically — not even counting carrying the sins of the world on His shoulders — than Jesus.

I think about Job and his friends. They were at their best when they sat with him in silence. They weren’t so hot when they opened their mouths and tried to explain his suffering. They got even worse when they tried to blame him for his misery and even pointing out what possible sins had let to his trauma and tragedy.

I think the key is empathetic listening. Not listening with a view to correct or to fix, but simply to understand. I believe that God promises that when we are attuned to the Holy Spirit and in submission to His will, He will give us the right words to say when the time comes. It won’t be my wisdom or cleverness but my obedience that will matter.

I’m looking forward to another season of Room in the Inn starting next week. Maybe I’ll be better at having conversations with the men that come through on Monday nights. I’m praying for me and all the other volunteers that we will see God’s healing hand through us all throughout the next 5 months.

It will be in good hands. It will be in nail-scarred hands.

Tomorrow begins my staycation. It’s like a vacation, but you don’t go anywhere. At least nowhere that involves extensive traveling and overnight stays. You stay at home. Hence the name.

Sometimes it’s nice to be able to sleep in for a week. While I do love a good vacation and seeing places and things, it’s relaxing to not have an itinerary or schedule but to go places on a whim and to be spontaneous.

I can finally use that gift card to the coffee shop that I got last Christmas. I can visit that record store that closes at 5 pm. I can stay up later without having to worry about being a zombie at work the next day. If I choose, I can do absolutely nothing all day. The options are endless.

It’s fitting that I just finished listening to The Hobbit on Audible. The story is about an unexpected adventure taken by one very set-in-his-ways hobbit. I plan on having a few unexpected adventures myself (hopefully of the good kind).

I will let you know of any hijinks or shenanigans that ensue.

Daylight Savings is a mystery to me. I know back 100 years ago, it gave farmers and such more daylight to work in, hence the creative name. But I’m not sure what purpose it still serves, other than to make people sleepy and/or an hour late in the spring and an hour early in the fall.

I heard that possibly daylight savings could be coming to an end. Probably it will take effect after all the clocks are digitized to the point where we no longer need to manually advance them an hour or turn them back an hour. Some of you who were born after the 1900s are probably wondering what I’m talking about and if I’m off my meds (which the answer to that is yes).

I’d be okay with not having to adjust to the time difference twice a year. I’m sure there are smarter people who stay up late at night thinking and studying about these things who would disagree with me and would probably prove me wrong in any kind of debate.

I’m just saying that I’d rather stick to one or the other. Either put the clock forward an hour for daylight savings and keep it there, or don’t. Either way I’m still going to need a nap later.

I was reminded of a morning prayer a friend taught me that has helped me and changed my perspective: “Lord, I come to you with empty hands. If all I have today is You and the next breath, that will be enough.”

I remembered something else about this little prayer. It helps if you say it with open extended hands, palms up. Basically, you’re letting go of control, because it’s impossible to grasp and clutch with fingers open and extended.

It’s not a prayer asking God to take away everything you hold dear. It’s saying that God is enough. Not God plus my spouse. Not God plus my children. Not God plus my career. God and God alone is enough, and even if all those things went away God would still be enough.

It’s also a reminder that life isn’t automatically guaranteed. No one is promised the next breath, much less the next day or week or month or year. Each moment is a gift from God, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not.

Here’s the prayer again if you need it:

“Lord, I come to you with empty hands. If all I have today is You and the next breath, that will be enough.”

I hear more and more about professing Christians and churches that are letting go of Biblical doctrine in order to be more accommodating and relevant. You will hardly ever hear a sermon any more with the words hell or sin in it.

I wonder that we aren’t letting the culture transform us instead of us transforming them. A good pastor once said, “Don’t let the world teach you theology.”

That’s exactly what so much of the American Church has done. We’ve let culture tell us what to believe on so many issues instead of letting the Bible inform us. The end result is that we look so much like the society we’re called to reach that there’s hardly any point for us to exist. Our message is so watered down and diluted that it hardly has any hope left in it.

But Jesus always told the truth. Yes, He spoke it in love with compassion, but He always told the truth. He also met people were they were, but He didn’t leave them that way. All those prostitutes and tax collectors and adulterers weren’t prostitutes and tax collectors and adulterers after they had encountered Jesus. They were followers of Jesus willing to lay down their lives for Him and for the gospel.

May we never lose the gospel or preach a different gospel than the only one that has ever saved anyone and ever given anyone new hope and new life.