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Lent 2018

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“Lent is the season in which we ought to be surprised by joy. Our self-sacrifices serve no purpose unless, by laying aside this or that desire, we are able to focus on our heart’s deepest longing: unity with Christ. In him– in his suffering and death, his resurrection and triumph, we find our truest joy” (from the devotional Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter).

That’s the reason for all the fasting. For me, it’s been a tradition for the past few years to fast from social media. This year, I’m adding Netflix to the mix.

I don’t want it to be merely an exercise in going without. I want that space normally filled with Facebook, Instagram, and all those Netflix shows to be spiritually useful.

My prayer for all you who participate in this Lent season is that you will find Jesus in all the space normally given to television or food or social media. I pray the deprivation will open your eyes in a new way to what Jesus is saying to you in the days and weeks leading up to Easter.

May all of the sacrifice of Lent lead to an Easter where our hearts are captivated all over again by God’s own sacrifice in sending Jesus to us and for us.

Amen.

Dangerous Prayers II: The Sequel

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I was just going to call this blog post Dangerous Prayers, but then I discovered that I wrote one with the same name back on July 24, 2012. Here it is, in case you’re suddenly interested.

https://oneragamuffin.wordpress.com/2012/07/24/dangerous-prayers/

But today during the prayer time at The Church at Avenue South, Amy Bryant (the wife of teaching pastor Aaron Bryant) shared that her mentor challenged her to pray at least one dangerous prayer every day.

The one Amy offered to us today was essentially “Lord, take all the pieces of my life and consume them all, having your way with every part of me and my life.”

It reminded me of the prayer I wrote about way back when, “Thy will be done,” which implied that my will must be undone.

Those prayers are dangerous because they’re scary. They both involve giving up control and letting God take over. It’s Jesus, take the wheel.

For me, the fear comes that God won’t really do what’s best for me. That comes from a place where fear overrules faith. That fear says that God is untrustworthy and that I really shouldn’t give up control.

It’s the same lie the serpent told Eve in the garden that started with “Did God really say . . .?”

Every time I pray those dangerous prayers, I move closer away from fear to faith. I declare to God (and more to myself) that I trust Him completely to do what’s absolutely best for me.

I believe that you can be scared out of your mind and still pray these dangerous prayers. After all, courage isn’t the absence of fear but the dogged determination to proceed in the face of all these fears, no matter how daunting.

Lord, take all the pieces of my life and consume them for your glory. Take what’s left after all that is unworthy is burned away and use it however You will, wherever You will, whenever You will for as long as you give me breath.

 

 

 

 

Forgiveness at 1:44 AM

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“Forgiveness is the answer to the child’s dream of a miracle by which what is broken is made whole again, what is soiled is made clean again” (Dag Hammarskjold).

I can’t really add much more to that, and not just because it’s an ungodly hour of the night and I am dog tired. That statement really says it all about forgiveness.

Forgiveness is a miracle and you become a miracle worker every time you exercise the choice to forgive instead of holding onto bitterness and anger.

While bitterness against another is like drinking poison and expecting that person to die, forgiveness is like southern sweet tea (the best drink I could think of at this moment) that refreshes your soul as well as the soul of the forgiven.

One last thought: I still believe that sometimes the person most in need of your forgiveness is yourself, and that’s often the hardest to both and extend and receive it.

Good night.

Missing the Old Gal Again Tonight

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When I came up the stairs tonight, I caught myself looking for my old cat Lucy in one of her familiar napping spots either on the couch or on top of the chair. It took a second before I remembered that she’s been gone since June of last year.

Even though I had her in my life for 17 years, I still wish there had been more time.

It seems that with our loved ones, we get greedy (but in a good way). No matter how much time we have together or how long they live, it never seems like enough. Even if they live to be 105 years old, it still will be too soon for them to say goodbye.

I don’t have an answer for how to learn to be content with the amount of time we or our loved ones are given. I do think that it’s important to take all the time we have with those we love and redeem it to its full potential.

There will probably always be regrets after the fact of missed opportunities and wasted time. There will be days when things overtake people in your priorities.

You can’t go back and undo yesterday’s missed opportunities or go forward to make sure you do right.

You can only use what time you’re given in the time that’s called today, the gift of the present.

You can choose to be fully present to those who love you and whom you love.

I know to some it may sound crazy to grieve over the loss of a pet, but I don’t regret my tears. I see how the memory of her passing is giving way to all the memories of the beautiful moments we had.

Plus, I have Peanut to help continue to heal my heart.

As the old saying goes, don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.

 

Under Construction

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“Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way the hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of – throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself” (CS Lewis, Mere Christianity).

There’s a building under construction in the square in downtown Franklin. I pass by it periodically and it still looks half finished. Lately, it looks as if little to no progress has been made on it.

Yet I know that sometimes the most important parts of construction are the parts that you really can’t see, like wiring and other stuff that probably only other people in building and construction would appreciate.

God is always at work in us, recreating and remolding us into His image. Sometimes, it feels like we look and act the same and there’s little to no difference in us. Maybe in those times God is working on those small but vital parts that will lead to bigger and more noticeable changes down the road.

Take heart. Don’t give up. God has promised to finish the good work He started in you and me. And God is never slow in keeping His promises.

 

Always Open

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One of my favorite things is the open sign. I know, it sounds weird and a little like “maybe they should make pills for this,” but I have a reason.

The open sign means that I’m welcome inside.

There’s few things more frustrating to me than wanting to go somewhere, buy something, see something, and not be able to get in because the place is closed.

I’ve mentioned it before, but one of my favorite places is an Episcopal church that is open 24/7. I love to go inside and sit in the silence and pray, meditate, or just be still.

I believe that if Heaven has a sign, it’s the open sign.

God’s throne room is always accessible to those who have need or to those who simply want to adore and say thanks.

God will never turn away anyone who seeks Him in faith and repentance though Jesus. Never. He will never shut the door in the face of anyone who earnestly desires salvation.

That’s why I love that neon open sign. It’s a reminder to me of a God who invites me to come before Him boldly at any time and a Heaven where the inscription on the entrance could read “whosoever will,” meaning that God’s salvation is for whoever will trust in Jesus and believe.

The Bible closes with an open invitation:

“The Spirit and the Bride: Come.

And let everyone who hears these words say, ‘Come.’

And let those who thirst come.
All who desire to drink, let them take and drink freely from the water of life” (Revelation 22:17, The Voice).

Why I Love Coffee

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I’m a big fan of coffee for several reasons. A few of these are:

  1. It helps me do the walking and talking and forming coherent sentences thing.
  2. It’s a good source of warmth on a frigid winter’s day.
  3. Coffee is a bean, and beans go in salads, so it’s kinda like drinking a salad every day.
  4. I feel more adult when I drink coffee.
  5. There’s almost nothing like the feeling you get when that first gulp of coffee hits your soul.
  6. Coffee = not sleeping on the job = not getting fired for sleeping on the job =  more money to buy more coffee.

I’m not a coffee purist, one of those people who drink their coffee black as midnight with only the teensiest bit of sugar. I often say that I like my coffee well-disguised with lots of creamer and sugar. In other words, I like it a latte.

I’ve discovered that if I’m forced to drink coffee as is, I do better with a light roast– along the lines of Starbucks’ vanilla blonde roast.

I like the saying that goes something like this: I think 75% of my personality was just coffee. All it takes is that one cup, and all your problems seem a whole lot more solve-able.

I also like tea, but that’s probably best left for another day when I’m less sleepy.

 

Blowing Up Your Prayer Meeting

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“Imagine that Jesus is calling you today. He extends a second invitation to accept His Father’s love. And maybe you answer, ‘Oh, I know that. It’s old hat.’

And God answers, ‘No, that’s what you don’t know. You don’t know how much I love you. The moment you think you understand is the moment you do not understand. I am God, not man. You tell others about Me – your words are glib. My words are written in the blood of My only Son. The next time you preach about My love with such obnoxious familiarity, I may come and blow your whole prayer meeting apart.

Did you know that every time you tell Me you love Me, I say thank you?’” (Brennan Manning)

If you’ve been around the church long enough and you’ve heard the hymns, choruses, and Bible verses enough, you might just stop really listening to them. You might just stop paying attention to what you’re singing and speaking. It’s all become rote and ritualistic.

From there, it’s not so far to the place where you’re taking God and faith for granted. You quit being amazed by the love of God and come to expect it. Entitlement replaces gratitude, and duty replaces grace.

Maybe God needs to blow up some church services. Maybe God needs to blow up your theology if what you believe becomes more important than how you live it out. Maybe you and I need to go back to when our faith was new and find that love for Jesus that we had at the first.

That’s my prayer for all of us– to be captivated all over again by that relentless tenderness of Jesus and the reckless raging fury that they call the love of God. That’s what will captivate others to know Jesus.

 

 

 

 

Exhale Relief

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This little reminder showed up on my Facebook memories from 3 years ago. It’s funny how these things remain very much appropriate and needed, no matter how much time goes by or how circumstances change.

Whatever mess I’m in, Jesus will carry me through it. He won’t, as a pastor once said, pick me up and toss me over to the other side of it. He will go through it with me. He will carry me through it.

Some of you needed this. I pray you feel the strong and everlasting arms of Jesus underneath you when you have no more strength to stand. When your faith is weakest,  Jesus is still strong enough for the both of you.

Even at 11:04 pm on a Monday night with a full week ahead of you, you really can exhale relief knowing that the God who never slumbers nor sleeps is watching over you.