god

TGIF

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If you’re reading this, you’ve made it through another week. Congrats! Your reward is getting to read this post.

Maybe you felt a little beat up after a long week where you started off two steps behind and were struggling to catch up for the next five days.

Maybe you felt a little overwhelmed at times by the task list that never seems to grow any smaller and that mound of papers that only seems to multiply.

Maybe you had anther one of those existential moments where you wonder if you’ve completely wasted your life and if there’s any chance that things will get better.

Here’s something to remember: God is still on His throne. God still sees you. He has not forgotten. He has not ceased watching over you with ceaseless vigilance. He is still in the business of working all things together for your good and His glory.

And tomorrow’s Saturday. You get to sleep in. Hopefully.

It also helps to keep the big picture in mind. Where you are right now is not the end of the story. As Frederick Buechner famously said, the resurrection means that the worst thing is never the last thing.

It also helps to bear in mind that God’s redemption story is way bigger than you or me. It’s about redeeming and restoring a fallen creation and setting the universe right.

I recommend during this weekend that you find a moment or two where you can be alone with your thoughts and God. Find a quiet place where you won’t be interrupted and take fifteen minutes to sit in God’s presence, not to make requests but simply to bask. Adore. Gaze. And listen.

I plan on doing that tomorrow in Franklin when I visit my favorite church building. I also plan on visiting my favorite street. But that’s beside the point.

Who you are is not your to-do list or your schedule. Who you are is not your job performance or your salary. Who you are is who God says you are– Beloved. Above all, remember that.

 

2,115 Posts? Really?

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“One of the most satisfying aspects of writing is that it can open in us deep wells of hidden treasures that are beautiful for us as well as others to see” (Henri Nouwen, Bread for the Journey).

This July will mark six years since I started writing these blogs. For me, that’s a long time. There have been very few things that I have done consistently for that long, outside of eating and breathing and such.

Part of me still hopes that one day my posts will blow up and my readership will escalate into the millions and I will be able to retire from my job and write blogs exclusively. Part of me still hopes that chocolate is low-calorie and fat-free. You can’t have everything you want.

Even if this never becomes anything more than a hobby and a release, that’s just fine with me. These have been extremely therapeutic for me and helpful for many of you. That’s enough for me.

I said it before quite a few times and I say it again– I’d write these blogs even if I were the only one reading them. I really really would.

I have enjoyed writing them much more since I finally got my Mac Book Pro. I do feel a bit more hipster-y and cool, though I am still a goober at heart (in case you were beginning to get worried).

Faith will always inform everything I write on here, whether it’s overtly faith-based or not. That’s who I am. That will always be who I am.

2,115 posts. It does boggle the mind. Well, it boggles MY mind. At an average of 300 words per blog, that comes to over 634,000 words. That’s more than the word count in the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy. I should know. I just looked it up on google to be sure.

My next goal is one million words. But as always, my main goal is to be authentic and encouraging and (sometimes) challenging. Maybe one day I’ll finally break down and write that novel. Maybe.

 

Remembering May Day Six Years Later

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“When you go through deep waters,
    I will be with you.
When you go through rivers of difficulty,
    you will not drown.
When you walk through the fire of oppression,
    you will not be burned up;
    the flames will not consume you” (Isaiah 43:2, New Living Translation).

It’s hard to believe that it was six years ago that the historic 1000-year floods hit Nashville. I remember sitting in front of the television seeing news broadcasts featuring images that looked like they could have come from the latest disaster movie. It all seemed too surreal to be real.

I also recall not being able to go into work that day because of the flood waters that made the street out of my subdivision impassible.

Most of all, I remember that even though there was much property damage and even a few lives lost, we survived. In many ways, Nashville is better and stronger than it was six years ago.

For me, it continues to be a reminder that my real treasure isn’t here on Earth where thieves break in, where rust corrodes, and where flood waters destroy. My real treasure isn’t things. It’s people.

My most treasured possession is Jesus because I know that I am His. I am overwhelmed in a flood of a great affection that is stronger than my fear and doubt and shows no sign of abating. That’s still the love that keeps me going.

There is no famine or flood or fire that can separate me from God’s love in Jesus. There’s nothing at all that will keep Jesus from getting to where I am and meeting my deepest need at that moment.

The best news of all is that this love of God is still available to anyone who asks. This Jesus is still willing to come into the heart of anyone who seeks Him by faith. Remember that when those proverbial flood waters overwhelm you.

 

God Makes Miracles out of Messes

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“Now to the God who can do so many awe-inspiring things, immeasurable things, things greater than we ever could ask or imagine through the power at work in us” (Ephesians 3:20, The Voice).

“God makes miracles out of messes.”

That was on a church sign that I passed on my way home.

How many of us have felt like we’ve made a mess of everything– careers, finances, relationships?

How many times have so many of us reached a certain point in life and looked back and wondered if we’d done anything of significance that might leave a lasting influence?

God makes miracles out of messes. God takes chaos and brings out of it a new creation.

There is nothing and no one too far gone, too messed up, too broken beyond repair for God to use for His glory.

There is no such thing as too late for God to begin His transformative work.

Maybe that gives you renewed hope.

Maybe that’s a lifeline for you to cling to in a sea of voices that are telling you that you’ve wasted your life.

God makes miracles out of messes.

Let that be your mantra as you fall asleep tonight, knowing that God never ceases watching over you and working in you for your good.

 

Mr. Irrelevant Strikes Back

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They’re baaaaaack.

That’s right. The NFL Draft has returned, and all those wonderful commentators have come back to give their pick-by-pick analysis all the way from the very first player selected in the first round to the very last player selected in the final round (ignominiously known as Mr. Irrelevant).

There have been some great picks (like Denver selecting Paxton Lynch in the first round) and some head-scratchers (a kicker in the second round?)

If you’re actually paying attention to all this, you know that we still have rounds 4-7 left tomorrow. Then last but not least is Mr. Irrelevant himself.

I love that in the kingdom of God there’s no such thing as Mr. Irrelevant. Every person is important because every person matters to God.

Many of you probably know what it’s like to feel irrelevant. You can be in the middle of a group and feel totally left out of a conversation. Or you could be the only one not invited to a get-together where later everyone who was there shares photos through all the social media outlets.

I love the fact that when God chose you, it wasn’t because you were the only one left. It wasn’t like He got you because He was stuck with you, like the team captain with the last pick in kickball.

God was intentional and purposeful when He made you. He was just as deliberate in choosing you. God wants and desires a relationship with you that will bring out your very best self.

There is never a moment that goes by when you are not on God’s mind and in God’s heart. Never. Remember that when you feel forgotten and abandoned by everyone else in your life.

As for Mr. Irrelevant, some actually ended up making an NFL team. A few even ended up in the Super Bowl. Not bad for the last man chosen.

 

Yet Still More Randomness on Hump Day

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Every now and then, I come to write these blogs and I really don’t have a theme. I have lots of ideas in my head that are all disconnected (and 95% of them are song lyrics or movie quotes).

The one theme that keeps reemerging like the chorus of a song is grace.

There are days when I feel confident and suave. I feel like my life’s going well. I’m able to truly appreciate how very blessed I am and I have all the confidence in the world that God is truly in control and that He’s got my future in good hands. Those days are grace.

Then there are days when my latent dorkiness comes to the surface. Just about every conversation feels awkward. All those old fears about people not wanting to be around me once they really get to know me come back. Those days are also grace.

Every day I wake up is grace. Every day I wake up I need God’s grace, both the good and bad days. There aren’t days when I can get by with a little less. I always need as much as I can handle (and then some).

Grace means that it’s okay that you’re not always okay. Grace means that you can celebrate brokenness because you know that’s where the light gets in (and where God’s light gets out).

So maybe I did have a theme after all. Who knew? I didn’t until I started typing.

Grace has certainly been the theme of my life. As much as I need it, I’m not always good at extending it to those who disappoint me. Maybe I even need grace to be able to give grace.

God never tires of being gracious with me. He loves me with a holy love that meets me where I am in my mess yet refuses to leave me where He found me.

I’m also thankful for that on a Wednesday night at 10:40 pm.

 

You Matter

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If you haven’t heard it from anyone else all day, hear it from me: you matter.

Even when you feel alone and neglected in the middle of a crowd, you matter.

Even when it seems no one wants to bother to get to know you or your story, you matter.

Even when you don’t feel like you have anything to contribute, you matter.

Hear it again– you matter.

God made you with a unique blend of talents and passions and designed you to play a part that no one else but you can play.

You have a story to tell that at least one somebody out there needs to hear– even if some days that one somebody is you.

Even in the midst of your worst pain, God sees you. He has not forgotten you. He has not abandoned you.

Even when it seems no one notices or cares about you, the right people will. There will always be someone who will encourage you and support you (and even sometimes rebuke you in love if needed).

Maybe your job is to look up and look around. Look for the ones on the periphery who look out of place. Look for the ones on the outside who don’t feel like they have anybody on their side or anyone who even knows they’re alive.

Perhaps all it will take is a smile and a kind word. It could be that simply sitting and listening is all it will take.

Remember that as the body of Christ, we’re all in this together. If I don’t work right or you don’t work right, we don’t work right. It’s that simple.

So to be obnoxious and repeat what I’ve already said, let me say it again– you still matter. I will keep repeating it and restating it until you finally start to believe it about yourself and those around you.

You matter.

 

Radnor Lake and the Sovereignty of God

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I ended up back at Radnor Lake State Park. This time I walked with a friend and we both chose one of the more difficult trails. Halfway though, I was seriously huffing and puffing like the fat hobbit from The Lord of the Rings. It wasn’t pretty.

When I was able to catch my breath and take in my surroundings, I was reminded again how very small I am in the grand scheme of things. I am a vapor and a mist in the perspective of eternity.

How dare I make myself or my feelings the standard by which I judge all other things? How dare I question God when He acts contrary to how I in my very finite wisdom think He should act?

A theology based on my feelings will be a very unsteady one. If anything I read in the Bible or hear from someone disturbs my equanimity, I dismiss it out of hand. I will end up with a very vague and toothless doctrinal system that has all the form of godliness but none of the transformational power. I end up with a gospel that is not the Gospel at all.

When I read my Bible and something offends my sensibilities, perhaps the error lies within me. Maybe I’m the one who needs to change. It could be that I need to step back and look through a much larger lens at the grand story authored by God that is unfolding in and around me.

Nature has a way of reorienting me when I get my priorities out of whack. Being out among the trees has a way of reminding me that I’m not the one calling the shots and running the show. I didn’t make any of it and I don’t sustain any of it. God did (and still does) it all.

Nature is so much more patient than I am. I am most thankful that God remains unceasingly patient with me through all my selfishness and fear and doubt.

 

Be Still My Soul

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“Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend
Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Be still, my soul, though dearest friends depart
And all is darkened in the vale of tears;
Then shalt thou better know His love, His heart,
Who comes to soothe thy sorrows and thy fears.
Be still, my soul; thy Jesus can repay
From His own fulness all He takes away.

Be still, my soul; the hour is hastening on
When we shall be forever with the Lord,
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul; when change and tears are past,
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last” (Catharina von Schlegel, translated by Jane Northwick).

Matthew Page spoke at The Church at Avenue South from Philippians 4:8 about overcoming anxiety by focusing your mind on Jesus. Whatever things are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, and  commendable, dwell on these things.

That came at the perfect time for me. I, like so many others, need to be reminded from time to time that God’s got this. It’s not ultimately up to me to make my life work and figure every single detail out.

God has already won. Jesus has already conquered all those things that I fret and worry about. That’s where my mind should rest. That’s where my thoughts should dwell.

Hopefully, you needed this reminder, too.

 

We Can Be Heroes

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“Everyday a champion dies. We only hear about the popular entertainers.” A friend of mine posted that comment on one of my posts about how many celebrities we’ve lost so far in 2016.

It does seem to me that a disproportionate number of famous people have died this year as compared with previous years. It also seems like just as we’re getting over the shock of losing one, another passes away.

But think of this. Every single day, unsung heroes pass into eternity. They may not have sold millions of records or grossed billions of dollars on box office receipts. They may not be household names or have instantly recognizable faces. Still, their names are in the lamb’s book of life and their faces reflect the glory of God.

They are mother and fathers. They are grandmothers and grandfathers. They are Sunday School teachers. They are Scout troop leaders. They can be next-door neighbors.

They are the ones quietly influencing the world around them and changing the lives of those they encounter. They are the ones who live out the gospel daily with words and deeds.

They are the ones whose life and deeds will most likely go largely unnoticed by the world but who will receive the best accolade of all with the words “Well gone, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Master.”

They are the ones whom future generations will rise up and call blessed. They are the ones whose legacy of faithfulness will live on long after they and their names have been forgotten.

I’ve known a few of these that have profoundly impacted who I am today. I can recall a grandmother, a piano teacher, a few Sunday School teachers, and so many more who have gone from this world but who still live on in the lives they radically influenced.

I truly believe that ultimately the real heroes aren’t the ones making music and movies or writing books. They are the ones who are faithful with what they’ve been given where they’ve been planted with the people God has entrusted to them.

Those are the real heroes.