Blog #1,845

August 9, 2015 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“It’s in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for. Long before we first heard of Christ and got our hopes up, he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone” (Ephesians 1:11-12, The Message).

I think I’ve mentioned this before, but bear with me. Sometimes, you can read a passage out of a familiar translation so many times that you stop seeing it. You stop really taking in the meaning of the words and merely recite words.

It’s good to take a different (unusual, quirky, eccentric) translation like The Message to bring a freshness to what the Apostle Paul is saying. Like I’ve said before, The Message doesn’t always get it right, but sometimes it really does. Like here.

What is my identity? Is it my paycheck? Is it my occupation? Is it my bank account? Is it the initials after my last name (or perhaps the initials in front of it)? Is it how many responses my social media posts get? Is it how many views my blogs get?

No. No. No. No. No. No. No.

My identity is in Jesus. Who I am is solely based on Whose I am. My purpose is based on Whose I am.

I’m part of something much bigger than me and my little problems. I’m part of what God has been doing since before time began up until after it ends. God is about redeeming His creation and I get to be a part of it.

Oh, and I get to be a part of the “creation getting redeemed” part. I get redeemed. I have supreme value, not because of how talented or witty or handsome or charming I am, but because Jesus thought I was worth dying for. That and that alone determines my worth, my identity, and my purpose.

That’s who I am and what I’m here for.

Reminders for When That Mid-Life Crisis Hits

April 6, 2015 / Ragamuffingospelfan / 1 Comment

Maybe it will hit in the middle of the night.

Maybe you’ll wake up and wonder where your life has gone and what you’ve done with it.

Maybe you’ll have that pounding in your chest and that overwhelming anxiety, scared that you’ve wasted your one and only life up to this point.

Maybe, just maybe, you feel like it’s too late to make anything of yourself and that you’re doomed to mediocrity.

Remember this: not everything that pops into your head is from you. The father of lies can be incredibly sneaky about pushing little fabrications into your mind about your identity and your purpose.

If you let him, he’ll have you believing that you have no purpose or worth. That your life doesn’t matter. That it’s too late to change and become who you might have been, that best self you always dreamed you might be.

Let your Abba Father speak truth over you. Hear Him call you Beloved, not out of anything you’ve done to earn special merit or out of any outstanding character traits that you possess, but simply because you are His.

Let your Abba Father remind you that you have supreme worth because you are created in the image of God and because Jesus paid the ultimate price for your redemption.

That’s what counts in the end.

Not salary.

Not titles.

Not awards.

Not accolades.

But simply living out of being the Beloved of your Abba and letting that love define who you are and what you do. If you end up with everything you could possibly want, everything the world says you need, and miss out on God, you have nothing. But if you end up with God and nothing else, you will have found everything that truly matters in the end.

Just think about that for a while.

Things I Love 19: Yay, I Finally Finished the Book!

June 30, 2013July 31, 2013 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“…the secret to joy is to keep seeking God where we doubt He is” (Ann Voskamp).

I’ve probably quoted half of the book on my facebook page by now. I’m sure I’m in serious violation of some copyright laws somewhere, even though I did give Mrs. Voskamp credit for every single quote. I’m sure my friends are probably either sick to death of this book or waiting for their own order of the book to come in through amazon.com. That being said (and it was short and pointless), I start out with #481.

481) The smell of coppertone suntan spray.

482) Remembering my uncle for the amazing father he was (and wishing I could hug his neck once more).

483) My eternal optimism that one day I will get through Candy Crush Saga level 33. I’m not defeated just yet.

484) Not getting what I deserve, especially what I think I deserve, but getting something so much bigger and better.

485) My bathroom air freshener that smells like oranges.

486) My friend (who will remain nameless) who always encourages me and listens to me when I talk crazy (especially that night after the Sounds game).

487) That my spiritual gift seems to be always leaving something behind wherever I go.

488) The unusually cool night that was tailor-made for sand volleyball.

489) All those things Julie Andrews sang about in that annoyingly cheery song from The Sound of Music.

490) The way my cat still wants to sleep in my lap after I’ve stepped on her tail, made disparaging remarks about her weight, and let her food bowl run empty yet again.

491) A full moon on a clear night.

492) That insanity doesn’t run in my family. Rather, it strolls through, taking its time, getting to know everyone personally (stolen from something I saw on pinterest).

493) Unquenchable hope in an undefeatable God.

494) All of my family including aunts, uncles, cousins– and all those who are related not by blood but by a common Father.

495) That I’ll never be normal but I can be extraordinary.

496) Those extremely offensive and very politically incorrect Helen Keller jokes.

497) Writing this blog while watching a Golden Girls marathon.

498) 20 second of insane courage and embarrassing bravery.

499) Ross ending up with Rachel in the last episode of Friends.

500) Being halfway through my list of 1,000 things I love.

501) The “It’s Jake from State Farm” commercial. Cracks me up every time.

502) The smell in the air of people grilling out.

503) People who like me for me.

504) Happy endings in movies, books, TV shows, etc.

505) That I’m looking forward to my ultimate happily ever ending in the Kingdom of God.

506) A warm glass of milk late at night.

507) People who respond to texts and posts every single time.

508) Writing because I want to and not because it’s due Friday.

509) Every time Joey Tribbiani says, “How you doin’?”

510) Never having to get lost again thanks to GPS.

511) All my teacher friends who work insane hours for ridiculous pay to make a difference in the next generation.

512) Long hair on an older woman.

513) All those cat mystery books by Lillian Jackson Braun (except maybe that last one).

514) The days when every single problem could be solved in 30 minutes (23 not counting commercials).

515) That pirates can’t ever remember the alphabet because they always get lost at “c”– think about it for a minute and you’ll get it.

A True Legacy

October 9, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

“What I do you cannot do; but what you do, I cannot do. The needs are great, and none of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful. . . . We can do no great things; only small things with great love” (Mother Teresa).

We’ve been force-fed a view of success that is numbers oriented. Like how many zeros are in your salary or your bank account. Or how many sales you’ve completed. Or how many followers you have on your Facebook or twitter account.

But I think that real success, the kind that God looks at as success, comes on a much smaller scale.

It’s about showing up every single day with a teachable spirit, an open heart, and willing hands. It’s about figuring out how you want to be remembered after you die and living that way now.

Real success is about people who are better because they knew you. It’s not so much that your name is engraved on a plaque on a building or on a street sign, but on peoples’ hearts.

I keep thinking about a lady named Jestine, after whom the restaurant Jestine’s Kitchen is named. She never made millions of dollars or had a #1 bestseller, but she left a mark on the people who knew her. Even now, 15 years after she passed away at age 112, she is still missed by so many.

Ultimately, the success I want is not so much that people will remember my name fondly, but that because of me, people will understand a little bit better who God is and how much he really does love them. That people will know that they are specially and uniquely made by their Creator.

I’m reminded of the saying from the Talmud that if you change one person, you change the world. I know because I’ve been that one person.

A Good Reminder to Myself

September 1, 2012 / Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

I talk to myself sometimes. Out loud. I tend to use a British accent so it’s more fun and less creepy.

Sometimes, I have to remind myself of certain things. Repeatedly.

1) You are not your job (or lack of one). You are not your salary. You are not a title or a profession. You are exactly who God made you to be. And He said you were good.

2) God’s in the past where you messed up and where you got hurt, healing your wounds so they no longer bleed into your present (thanks to Mike Glenn for that one. He’s right there with you in your present. And He’s already in your future, waiting on you with plans that will blow your mind.

3) It’s okay to feel scared and unsure. It’s okay to have doubts because faith by its very nature comes with doubting. If we knew with 100% certainty, we wouldn’t need faith.

4) If you are loved and if you have friends, you are not a failure. If God loves you and calls you friend, then you have already won.

5) Whatever happened today, be it good, bad, or ugly, tomorrow is a new day filled with fresh possibilities and a clean slate. You can start over.

Maybe you’re having a great day and you’re loving life and everything is going your way. That’s wonderful. Maybe not. But everybody will at times go through storms. Everyone will go through deserts where your faith seems dead. Everyone will go through dark nights where God seems impossible to find.

No matter what your feelings or senses tell you, no matter what your circumstances tell you, God is there. He has not left you. He has not forgotten you. And He never will.

By the way, this blog is best read with a British accent. It sounds so much more sophisticated that way.

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Reminders for When That Mid-Life Crisis Hits

Things I Love 19: Yay, I Finally Finished the Book!

A True Legacy

A Good Reminder to Myself