Time to be THANKFUL

I came across a video this morning that perhaps you’ve seen. It’s of a beautiful, young woman named Sarah Churman. She has been deaf and through the grace of God and the wonder of modern technology she has been granted the ability to hear for the first time. Due to my own history with hearing problems, this video greatly affected me. I don’t usually share stuff like this, but felt that this was powerful enough to do so this time. Before reading further, please view the video now:

Sarah Churman video

Awesome, right? Sarah blogs about her experience and it’s great reading. Here’s an excerpt that was pretty neat:

“…We stopped to use the restroom and gas up and the toilet in the gas station about gave me a heart attack! The nurse warned me of this but I had already forgotten and totally freaked. Oh, and this reminds me, earlier when they first turned it on and I burped, totally freaked me out. I’ve been given a remote and I’m supposed to turn it up a notch every 4 days. Right now I’m at a low setting and they said if they were to turn it on full force my brain would freak. It’s like cold water in a pool… gotta slowly acclimate I guess? Oh, and on a sidenote… Lady Gaga sounds horrible on the radio! Just sayin. Sloan just kissed me good night… kisses sound all smacky like… weird… As I sit here beating the keys on the keyboard (not really, it just sounds that way), Skittles the Lovebird has been chirping, it’s so cute J I guess I’m keeping her up. Well, my hubby is in bed… guess I should join him. I’m thinking I’ll leave the device on and listen to him snore. I have to be the only wife that’s looking forward to that. God IS good. Thank you to everyone who has kept up with me on this journey… thanks for the prayers, support, etc. Can’t wait to get up tomorrow and hear the girl’s giggles.”

You can read Sarah’s complete blog here.

This story has so encouraged me to be thankful for the smallest of things today. Hearing birds, giggles, and even snoring… I’m just blown away. We have so much to be thankful for. Life is truly what we make of it. This lady will, I imagine, be expressing her gratefulness for a very long time. May we never neglect to appreciate all the incredible blessings that often go overlooked in our lives. What if we viewed each and every moment and ability as a precious gift from God?

Thanks for reading.

Personal Day Revelations

I'm called to be a disciple of Jesus. Although that word is familiar to the 'Christian' world, it is often not completely understood. Perhaps another word would make more sense?

Believer. Pupil. Student. Supporter. Devotee. Follower.

A disciple is really all of that, I think. One thing that I'm becoming more and more convinced of is this: Whatever a disciple is, it is 'that'... consistently.

Tuesdays are my day 'off'. This week, my Tuesday was like a fifteen-year-old broken-down Kirby vacuum... it sucked bad. Things just went wrong from the start. Stuff broke, I didn't feel good, and it couldn't end fast enough.

Then, Tuesday night the Elders of Desperation Church had planned an appreciation dinner for my wife & I and the other staff pastors. I wasn't even wanting to go, because of how bad my day had been, but I'm so glad I did. It was awesome. Not only were we fed great food, but we were prayed over and encouraged with God's Word in a very special way.

As I went home that night, reflecting on the horrible day I'd had, followed by the inspiring night, I decided to go through with my idea of taking Wednesday off as a 'personal day'. My goal was to work outdoors all day and get some much needed tree trimming, wood chopping, and various other odds & ends buttoned up before winter settles in. I did.

Something happens when you're all alone for 16 hours and you're doing nothing but hard physical labor. I chain-sawed branches, then cut them up, then carried logs and brush to the wood-pile for hours and hours. I dug enough dirt to fill my truck-bed up and make three trips to the dump. I built a new recessed fire-pit, with real stones and everything! Actually, when I think about it... I got a lot done. But much more than physical work got accomplished yesterday... yesterday, I had time alone with God.

I probably did most of the talking - some of it was yelling, as I swung a hatchet into some of the hardest wood I've ever seen - but God was there... and He was listening. And when I gave Him the chance... He even whispered a few things back into my stubborn heart. I don't know... maybe it was during one of the numerous times I had to take apart the chain-saw to tighten the chain, or when I broke the ax-handle because I kept missing the awl, or that time I had to pull over on the side of the highway and pick up a bunch of limbs that had fallen off the back of my truck ... but somewhere during my 'personal day'... I began to notice that even when things weren't going perfectly... I was okay.

This is BIG for me.

You see, to grasp the fact that "stuff happens" to us... regularly... and still we are to maintain an attitude that is Christ-pleasing and Jesus-like, is something that my head may know quite well, but my heart and flesh are still struggling with constantly. Truthfully, if I added it all up, more "bad" stuff happened to me on Wednesday than on Tuesday. However, my heart was different and my spirit was refreshed and hungry for the presence of God... so Wednesday was so much better.

There's something about just being quiet with God... alone with God... real with God, that is absolutely transforming. It is in the quiet times... the 'secret place'... that God reveals so much to us. Stuff about Himself. Stuff about ourselves. I'll be sharing some of what I'm learning about all this, this weekend at DC.

I've got a list, a reminder of sorts, that I want to share with you. I need to keep myself honest with the Lord and the world around me. My flesh and selfishness can squelch the Spirit within me and even crush those around me. In an instant, I can bring pain and sorrow to my life. This list serves as a guide for all that I am and all that I need to be. It reminds me what it is to be a radical and consistent disciple of Jesus:

• A disciple doubts.
• A disciple denies.
• A disciple forgets.
• A disciple fears.
• A disciple changes lives.
• A disciple denies himself.
• A disciple believes Jesus is Savior.
• A disciple heals.
• A disciple sometimes rants.
• A disciple leads.
• A disciple is human.
• A disciple hides away at times.
• A disciple loves.
• A disciple protects.
• A disciple sometimes cuts off ears.
• A disciple is radical.
• A disciple is lost.
• A disciple is always seeking.
• A disciple is being healed.
• A disciple leaves his life.
• A disciple follows Christ.
• A disciple dies for faith.
• A disciple messes up sometimes.
• A disciple is called to be a disciple.
• A disciple prays.
• A disciple leads others to Jesus.
• A disciple sometimes falls away from Christ.
• A disciple gets in the grill of others.
• A disciple asks for forgiveness.
• A disciple forgives.
• A disciple tells the truth.
• A disciple sometimes lies.
• A disciple will teach.
• A disciple will write.
• A disciple has no attachment to religion.
• A disciple has friends.
• A disciple is lonely.
• A disciple doesn't try to win the approval of men (Gal.1:10).
• A disciple sometimes cares too much what men think.
• A disciple fasts.
• A disciple questions.
• A disciple hopes.
• A disciple gets angry.
• A disciple does not worry.
• A disciple sometimes worries.
• A disciple doesn't worry about money.
• A disciple likes money way too much.
• A disciple gives up.
• A disciple perseveres.

My hope every day is to add and take away from this list. Today? They all pretty much fit. Tomorrow? God only knows. I do know this: I'm so not interested in being a great leader. I am very interested in being a great disciple.

Pew Potatoes Will Hate This!

"What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith, but does not have works? Can his faith save him?" - James 2:14 (HCSB)

I think James hits it out of the park in this verse. He's asking a legitimate question: can you have faith that saves you outside of deeds? Well? I'm not so sure. When we live our lives devoid of deeds, of doing things for others, we leave ourselves spiritually paralyzed. We've got nothing to do, thus, we've got nothing to say. Who wants to listen to someone who supposedly has the answers, yet lives a boring, self-obsessed, stationary life? Not me.

I struggle daily with small concepts about faith, but the one I can hold on to is this one from James: do. Just do. It's that old saying, "Fake it 'till you make it." "Deeds" equal "you getting completely out of yourself," and when you step up into another's life, you are fulfilling a law of Christ.

The Church must grab hold of what I'm talking about here. We must force ourselves to understand living beyond ourselves everyday. Deeds will connect us to one another and cement ourselves to God's will.

The world sees people who go to church, living fulfilling functioning lives, making money - having relationships, getting it done - and everyone has a big, toothy grin doing it. It does look good. However, what if what we really need to show the world is life-changing functionality? We need to mirror Jesus in all our activities. This doesn't mean we wear robes, travel with a bunch of ragtag crazies, speak differently and live poor. It means we come clean about the sin in our lives and live out our faith... faith that is "seeable".

Inaction is a big deal. James tells us to help widows and orphans (James 1:27). Translation: get up and out and help people. We have become consumed with what faith looks like instead of what it is doing. God says the religion He wants comes in the form of helping people, not playacting with flat, empty, good-looking smiles filled with selfish desire, wrapped around nothing to say or do. He needs us in the trenches, thinking about others and leading them to the Master.

Yesterday I spent some time talking with some widows and single mothers on the phone. Many of these precious women just cried as I described how our church community was planning to invade their homes this Sunday and practically help them. One lady is legally blind and has a large tree that has fallen in her backyard. Neighbors are complaining and she can't even see what to do to fix it. She's blind and in a bind. When I described how we were going to take care of her problem, she wept and wouldn't stop thanking and praising God. Another single mother of two has issues with her gutters. She doesn't know how to clean them. Last year she said her full gutters led to water running onto her front door and it totally froze. She was stuck in her house, because she was literally frozen in! She also can't mow her lawn, because her mower stopped working. The 'city' is complaining and she can't afford to get it trimmed. Another single mother described a hole in her ceiling that simply needs to be patched up, but she's been unable to figure out how to get it done.

Each of these ladies, and others this Sunday, are going to be the recipients of a mass-movement of God's gang simply "doing". Isn't that awesome? Isn't that what abundant LIFE is really all about? Isn't that fulfilling the law of Christ in a way that causes this world to see, and maybe even thank and praise HIM?

I kinda think so.

Tweeting

For this week's blog, I would like to invite you to read a friend's blog.

You can find it here:

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Our God Reigns

Last night I led a new Discipleship class at Desperation Church. Only nine folks showed up, which was a bit disappointing (especially since three of them were in my immediate family and four others have been walking with the Lord for years and years). There were two people who are new to this Christian walk, however, and I was reminded of why I love Jesus and those who, with child-like faith, have fallen in love with Him. I pray that, as this bi-monthly class continues, the numbers will grow and better reflect the many who have begun this journey to know God in our community.

I've decided to briefly share, the following day, what our discipleship class conversed about. Last night we discussed what discipleship truly is... and what it is not. We talked about how a disciple is more than just a 'learner' or a 'student' of something or someone, but one who has abandoned all in order to learn from AND radically become like the one they are following.

As disciples of Jesus the Messiah then, our goal is not to gather together only to gain more and more head-knowledge, but to begin to discuss and discover ways in which we can literally be those that are becoming transformed into the very likeness of Him.

Practically what would that look like?

Would we say 'no' to a job opportunity that paid well and seemed great, if it required us to do something, even a small something, we felt was against what God was desiring of us? What if we had to work during corporate worship times? What if we had to be slightly dishonest in our sales-pitch?

If we were a teenage athlete, would we approach our coach and ask to get out of practice early on Wednesday nights so that we could attend Youth Group at church, because our relationship with God and God's people was vitally important to us? What if they said "no"? What if a scholarship were on the line?

Would we sacrifice a better life-style, in order to be a person who could give more, serve more, and love others practically to a greater degree?

What does it REALLY look like to be a disciple of Jesus - to be someone that actually abandons everything in order to walk in obedience to His Spirit's whispering?

We then talked about what the central truth, or the central message, of a disciple of Jesus really is: The universal reign of God. In other words, a true follower of Jesus is one who lives as though Jesus is in charge... of all. He's the King. He's the Boss. We may live in America, Australia, Africa, China, or anyplace else... but in REALITY we live in a Kingdom that is not really of this world - the Kingdom of God. And in His Kingdom, Jesus is King. He reigns.

I know... we've all heard that before, right? "JESUS REIGNS!" is a popular slogan and lyric for many of us. But do we live like it? Truth is, just taking a quick look around,... it sure doesn't seem like Jesus reigns. When I see the pain of the abused, the judgement towards others unlike ourselves in appearance or sexuality, and the corruptness and darkness of a world that has rejected God... I don't get visions of Jesus wearing a crown or sitting on a throne and smiling.

Why?

Because Jesus doesn't reign. Unless you and I let Him.

A disciple is one who announces the universal reign of God... with their words and with their lives. They are gaining head-knowledge, sure. However more than that, they are those that are becoming like Jesus. They are those that understand He is the King and what He says goes. They understand that what is actually taking place is a transformation; A Kingdom of princesses and princes who were once gutter-bums and ragamuffins are changing and becoming incredibly different than what they were... they are becoming Christ-like.

Today, may you and I be those that pronounce to this world that we have abandoned the passions of this culture and are pursuing a King Who loves us enough to die for us and then allows us to join Him in an incredible adventure by calling us to follow in His radical footsteps.

"How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of the herald,
who proclaims peace,
who brings news of good things,
who proclaims salvation,

who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" - Isaiah 52:7 (HCSB)

Odd Tuesday

Usually my day off is Tuesday, however, yesterday being Labor Day, I took it off instead. I have been in the office all day, with a small exception of being out in the front lawn of the church for about 20 minutes working on a project. During that 20 minute span of time, a woman I have never met approached me and began telling me her story.

Her name is 'Abigail'. Her husband died four months ago. Two of her children have passed away. She is a lonely widow that occasionally attends another church in town. Last night she was driving on highway 152, when she passed a young woman walking, stumbling, and crying on the side of the road. Much like she felt she was to park her car and come speak with a sweaty, tattooed guy in a T-shirt working on a park bench in front of a church, she pulled over on the side of 152 highway to ask a young girl if she was okay.

Abigail picked this girl up. Her story now included a brand new character: 'Tina'. Tina is 19, homeless, hungry, sick with pneumonia, and desperately looking for a place to live, a place to work, and a place that will enable her life to improve. Abigail got Tina to a hospital and purchased food and medication for this hurting girl. However, now she didn’t know what to do.

Abigail introduced me to Tina. Now my story has two new characters in it: Abigail and Tina.

I spent a couple of hours on the phone with every local agency I could find, only to be extremely disappointed. As it turns out, to be homeless and get significant help is near impossible… but not totally. Unfortunately, Tina has been through the ringer. She’s dealt with alcoholism since she was eleven and endured the horrors of rape and severe abuse physically and emotionally.

She’s been hardened.

Religion and religious people are not anything that concerns her. She feels God is not ‘knowable’ and absolutely doesn't care about her or her situation. Life’s experiences have left Tina an agnostic to her bitter, hardened, hurting core. My words of ‘comfort’ were as useful as a screen-door on a submarine.

But today Tina’s story, Abigail’s story, and my story… all merged. Why?

I am reminded that I’m really just a tiny part in something much bigger than I often realize… God’s story. As I spoke with these lovely ladies, my heart broke for both of them. As a matter of fact, things got a little awkward when they each saw tears running down my face. After making numerous phone calls securing shelter for Tina, we simply sat down and talked. Each and every idea that I came up with would be shot down by this 19 year old, worldly-wise, un-knowingly desperate girl. She told me how she’d never go to any type of homeless shelter again, because the “people that work in those places treat people like me like we’re lower than dirt”. She said, “I may not have much, but I have my pride and my dignity and I won’t go to a place like that”. She was frustrated. Frustrated at her situation, at her helplessness, and at all those that said they wanted to help, but simply didn't. She then turned her frustration towards God and religion and began a line of questioning that would make a well-versed theologian with a few doctorates quake in their boots. My humble responses were, apparently, less than adequate and I, truly, felt more helpless than I've felt in quite some time. Physically, she would not let me help her. Spiritually, I was trying to be sincere, but came off ‘preachy’ and was absolutely not understood. Complete failure?

For all these reasons, my heart broke.

If these were my feelings, I imagined what God must feel when He sees His creation hurting like this. As things were unfolding, I also imagined how God’s heart must break each time He sees a child choose unwisely. We often talk about God’s power. I think that God would HAVE to be “all powerful” to endure the level of hurt and pain He must tolerate each day He has to look down upon our bad decisions and rebellion.

I'm also reminded that, like three out of the four 'soils' in Luke 8:4-15, sometimes people miss out on the 'good seed' of God's words because of their various negative responses to it. I guess I just never thought of how discouraging that might be for the 'Sower' of that seed. Truly, our God is all powerful and awesome to remain loving, when so many of us continue to not understand and willfully rebel.

Today has been odd. Not one of my favorite days, for sure. However, it has caused me to pause and view some things... and people... through the eyes of God.

I should do that more often.