frustration

My Mac Fund

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macbook-pro

Note: the following is in jest. I hope you won’t take any of this seriously (unless you’re feeling REALLY generous).

I’ve started my Mac Book Pro fund. Obviously, the idea is for me to FINALLY buy a Mac and end the days of PC frustration forever. Also, I will be 20% more hip. Alas, me not being able to grow a proper beard cost me 20% hipsterness so these would cancel each other out.

I accept all major forms of payment (and even the minor ones, too). I accept Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Checks and (most of all) CA$H. I do like CA$H.

I’m hoping that writing these blogs on a Mac will make me 20% more creative and witty and (hopefully) profound. I’d be able to get my Mac on (and not in a super-creepy stalker-y way- nooooooooooo)

But seriously, what I want for Christmas is to be content with what I have. To live in gratitude and thanksgiving. To know that if I have God and nothing else, I have as much as if I had God and everything else.

I’d also like some whirled peas. Think about it for a minute and you’ll get it.

 

Things Lost and Found

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Recently, a few of my things have gone missing (including quite possibly my mind). Here they are:

1) My very purple Camelbak water bottle
2) My Lowepro camera case that serves as an iPhone 5 case
3) My sanity
4) Until recently, my little book on the Biltmore Estates

I don’t know if you’ve ever lost anything or had it go missing. If so, congratulations! You’re now part of a select few who know how frustrating it can be to look everywhere you know to look and not be able to find it. It can be almost maddening.

I’m thinking about the stories Jesus told about people who lost things and who went to great lengths to find them. He spoke about a lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son.

Those of us who have known loss can relate to the shepherd leaving his 99 sheep to find the one, to the woman tearing her house apart to locate that coin, and especially to the father anxiously peering down that dusty road in hopes of seeing his wayward son returning home.

The point of each story is how God the Father went to such great lengths to search us out and find us when we were lost. Not that He for one moment lost sight of us or where we were. But we had.

I’m glad that God didn’t give up on finding me like I have a few times. There were a couple of times when I found the missing object when I was looking for something else. But that’s another story for another day.

My point is to not give up on those missing people in your life or even those AWOL objects. Heck, I’ve even prayed about a few of my lost possessions.

Sometimes, I’ve even known what it’s like to lose my way or even lose myself for a while. You’ve done the same. But God is far more eager for us to find ourselves and get back to our true calling than even we are.

I love that about God.

So, if you got anything out of this rambling narrative, it’s this: don’t give up on what’s lost, even if it’s you. That’s all.

Back to Loving Being Me

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It really is okay to love yourself. After all, the Bible does say to love your neighbor as yourself and you can’t very well do that if you’re not too fond of you. I think there’s a kind of false modesty that gets passed around where we have the “aw shucks” mentality and downplay any compliments that come our way. I can tell you for certain that kind of thinking doesn’t come from God or the Bible.

God made you. He created you exactly how He wanted you to be and no matter how many scars and breaks and bruises and messes you may have accumulated along the way, He still loves the work of His own hands– you. No matter how you may have been rejected or friend-zoned by girls or guys, God is enraptured and enamored and captivated by you. He is completely and totally crazy in love with you.

I’m loving being me. I can say that I’m not like anybody else out there. That doesn’t make me odd. That might make me eccentric. What that does make me for absolute certain is unique. There is no one in the whole wide world quite like me, and I like that.

I love that I can be socially awkward at times. I love that I can be overly enthusiastic in my friendliness and sometimes be perceived as coming across a little creepy.  That’s okay. Aside from maybe needing to visit Decaf-land from time to time, I’m fine if not every single person likes what I have to offer. Many people were turned off by Jesus.

I love that when God sees me, He sees Jesus. He sees beauty and perfection and wisdom and strength beyond measure. He sees my very best self, the one only hinted at in my best moments of selfless devotion. He sees the finished product of who I will become.

As of this moment, I refuse to take on myself any names other than the ones He has given me. Not from family or friends. Not from co-workers. Not even from me. I don’t have to be defined by words spoken in frustration or anger or resignation. I am no longer the mistakes I’ve made or the chances I’ve missed or the good intentions coming up short.

I am Forgiven. I am Set Free. I am Redeemed. I am A New Creation. I am Blameless.

Of all the names God has given me, my favorite is this: I am His Beloved Son in whom He is well pleased.

My hope and prayer for you tonight is to let go of all the names you or anyone else has called you out of hate or anger and embrace the name given in love by your Creator and Redeemer and Savior. Listen to Him calling you His Beloved Child. Hear Him singing His delight over you and smiling over you. Let your life be defined by God’s pleasure over you instead of people’s disappointment in you.

I truly hope and pray that you will come to the point where you can truly and honestly say that you love being you.