I am a living manifestation of God who exists to know God and express God and His kingdom! This is the status on my wall. Its a statement I read in a book some time ago and began thinking about it again earlier today so I just had to post it. To be honest its something I have been thinking about for the last several weeks. Different facets of this thought have been brought up in multiple places. I've learned in my time on this earth when I see a pattern that I need to slow myself down and go deeper until I find the nugget for my life. This is one of those times. It's not the first time I've mined this thought and I hope it won't be the last. I want to get all I can out of it for this season of my life but still be able to mine it later too. In Christ I have access to the richness of God and I love to seek after the veins of understanding that flow through His person.
I remember the first idea of this manifestation was that of coming to the place where God turned the statement, "Its all about Jesus" around on me and said, "Its all about Mike." That rocked my world for several months as I dug deeper into that revelation. I know! This has to be totally wrong or at least that's what I thought. I really thought I'd understood something wrong... I must have misunderstood what the Lord was communicating to me... Right? To go back to my roots I grew up hearing, believing, and preaching the statement, "We're just sorry sacks of mud saved by God's grace." I want to be clear on the the part of being saved by God's grace. That is the most amazing truth of my life! The part that is absolute pooh is the sorry sacks of mud part. Even before I came to Christ I still had unfathomable value to God. At no time in my existence was I ever a sorry sack of mud. I was a sinner and separated from God because of it but not anymore! Now before you go getting your panties in a wad and calling me all sorts of names hear me out on this. I'm not saying that I sin any less now than then, I'm just saying what God is. "I'm a new creation... old things are passed and all things have become new." Don't take my word for it... dig this out for yourself. It will mean more to you that way.
What makes this so vital is the impact it will have on your life. Its the mother of all paradigm shifts and one of the most vital aspects of transformation. I'll put it in different terms to shed light on what I mean. In sports if a player steps on the field of competition believing he's already defeated then its no big surprise when he steps off the field defeated. There is a scene in a Harry Potter film where Harry pretends to put a potion in his friends drink to make him lucky on the field. His friend is unstoppable in the game and seals the victory with his effort. After the game Harry reveals that he didn't put the potion in the drink. What changed? Certainly not the physical ability of the friend. It was his confidence. He believed he could do it and he did. Now we just need to translate this idea into our lives as Christ followers. Why? Because of all the Christians I know I would sadly have to admit that upward of 85% live defeated lives that produce little fruit for God's kingdom. Most walk drably through life with a self-righteous false humility believing that attending church every week and giving their tithe is doing their Christian service. BS! That's not gonna cut it for me! I want to experience the Christ-life I read about in the Bible. I've had my fill of this whatever the hell it is coming from the American Church. It grieves me that to see more Kingdom messages and fruit coming from Hollywood than from the pulpits of churches. The self-absorbed message of building our kingdom is killing us. Back to my original thought (got carried away there but I'm not sorry). Translating the belief that we will do greater works than Jesus into our lives is vital to God's kingdom. I didn't sat it... Jesus did, but sadly that's not the case for most of my life. To be honest I still feel the pull of dead religion urging me to line up and don't make any waves. That's not me though. To do that is to deny who I was made to be and I refuse to fit that mold any longer. I will do greater works than Jesus because He said I would, empowered me through the Spirit, and I am just strong willed enough to believe Him. Here's how it looks in simplicity. As I learn to surrender my will to His and become obedient to Him, He then turns the tables on me and begins the process of revealing to me the best me I can be. That's what I mean by Its all about Mike. When He has your heart then He knows He can trust you to give Him the glory so He puts the spotlight on us as His sons and daughters! When people speak highly of my kids it fills me up! Where do you think I got that from???? I'm made in His image not my own! He gets the glory from me being a manifestation of Him in my world. Every time someone appreciates something about me that God put in me its to His glory.
Here is an example of that false humility I mentioned earlier. Picture a conversation. I am telling someone about a time I laid hands on a person, prayed for healing, and saw them healed. False humility is what makes me feel guilty enough to throw in the statement, "It wasn't me that did it, but God." When I do what I sense the Father is compelling me to do then I am giving Him the glory. I don't have to tack that statement on to make sure he gets it. He knows my heart for crying out loud! We make statements like that so that we don't get labeled as whatever by the ones hearing about what happened. I've come to the place where I'm not concerned by what the Pharisees around me have to say or think.
To bring this all to an end I am once again at the place where Daddy is giving me more understanding of who I am in this season of my life and how that relates to me being that manifestation of Him and His kingdom in Conway, AR. Who I am doesn't change but the application of who I am is being custom fit to the work and calling of the body here. I am excited for the relationships that are being birthed in the process as well as strengthening of the relationships born long ago in this place. I will do great things for God in this place and abroad as I am a living manifestation of God who exists to know God and express God and His kingdom.
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Monday, November 7, 2011
What's My Purpose
Over the last month there have been multiple times I've been involved in conversations about purpose/identity. I was at a retreat and that was the topic and the others were conversations with different individuals. This is a difining part of our lives yet I'd say more than ninety percent of the people I've talked to over the years have absoultely no idea what theirs is or how to go about figuring it out. What's the big deal about this? Simply put... life is really boring and pointless without it. I've been on both sides of this topic and I say with much passion that life is way cooler knowing who I was born to be. It has revolutionized my life and the way I interact with others.
Looking back over the years of my life that I didn't realize my purpose I see how easily I was moved by the influence of others. I also see how I took my identity from what I was doing instead of letting who I was identify what I did. It goes even deeper. I look back at my teenage years and realize that because I didn't know who I was I was willing to do a lot of things I wish now that I hadn't. I know the old saying that hindsight is 20/20 but that's not what I'm getting at. I submit that the driving force behind those teen blunders was trying to figure out who I was and where I fit. Becuase I didn't know my identity I would do different things and then based on how they felt or the response I got from others I would either continue in that pattern or try another one. It's kind of like trying on different costumes to see which one I and others liked the best. The one that got me the most satisfying response was the one I worked to keep despite the feeling of emptiness it brought. This may be something most people never really process through especially when they are teenagers, and this is a great tragedy because of the impact this has on a person's life. We were formed and born for a purpose with special gifts and abilities that are uniqe to us. I realize that others have similar abilities but there's a reason I believe that no two people have the exact same DNA or the exact same fingerprints. There's something deeper to life than just getting by. What is it? How do I find it? Those are questions that set us on the greatest adventure of our lives. Are you in? Do you want something more than what you have now? If so there's no better time than now to get started!
Where does a person start this journey? What will it look like? Where will it take them? All these are valid questions to which there are some simple answers and some that aren't so simple. My journey has been easy and hard at times... mountain top experiences to be sure but also plenty of time in the valley too. I remember seeing a sign outside a little church in the country one time that said, " Mountain tops are for scenic views, but fruit is grown in the valley." I love it and hate it all at the same time. When I began this journey a really great friend asked me a simple question that I had no answer too at the time... If money was no object, and you could do or be anything you wanted, what would it be? It took me almost a year to answer that question and by the time I realized it was being answered I also realized I was well into my journey to become the person I was created to be. I am still on that journey. Not to know who I am but to reach the depths of who I am. Its a treasure hunt and the jewels are priceless! To begin this journey you might start with the same question I was asked. If money was no object and you could do or be anything, what would it be? Know that you're going to be frustrated because as you find one answer it will lead to more questions but don't be discouraged because the answers you'll find to those questions are those jewels I was talking about. What it will look like and where it will go I can't answer. Its a mistery filled with adventure and suspence. I can promise though that it is worth it!
Looking back over the years of my life that I didn't realize my purpose I see how easily I was moved by the influence of others. I also see how I took my identity from what I was doing instead of letting who I was identify what I did. It goes even deeper. I look back at my teenage years and realize that because I didn't know who I was I was willing to do a lot of things I wish now that I hadn't. I know the old saying that hindsight is 20/20 but that's not what I'm getting at. I submit that the driving force behind those teen blunders was trying to figure out who I was and where I fit. Becuase I didn't know my identity I would do different things and then based on how they felt or the response I got from others I would either continue in that pattern or try another one. It's kind of like trying on different costumes to see which one I and others liked the best. The one that got me the most satisfying response was the one I worked to keep despite the feeling of emptiness it brought. This may be something most people never really process through especially when they are teenagers, and this is a great tragedy because of the impact this has on a person's life. We were formed and born for a purpose with special gifts and abilities that are uniqe to us. I realize that others have similar abilities but there's a reason I believe that no two people have the exact same DNA or the exact same fingerprints. There's something deeper to life than just getting by. What is it? How do I find it? Those are questions that set us on the greatest adventure of our lives. Are you in? Do you want something more than what you have now? If so there's no better time than now to get started!
Where does a person start this journey? What will it look like? Where will it take them? All these are valid questions to which there are some simple answers and some that aren't so simple. My journey has been easy and hard at times... mountain top experiences to be sure but also plenty of time in the valley too. I remember seeing a sign outside a little church in the country one time that said, " Mountain tops are for scenic views, but fruit is grown in the valley." I love it and hate it all at the same time. When I began this journey a really great friend asked me a simple question that I had no answer too at the time... If money was no object, and you could do or be anything you wanted, what would it be? It took me almost a year to answer that question and by the time I realized it was being answered I also realized I was well into my journey to become the person I was created to be. I am still on that journey. Not to know who I am but to reach the depths of who I am. Its a treasure hunt and the jewels are priceless! To begin this journey you might start with the same question I was asked. If money was no object and you could do or be anything, what would it be? Know that you're going to be frustrated because as you find one answer it will lead to more questions but don't be discouraged because the answers you'll find to those questions are those jewels I was talking about. What it will look like and where it will go I can't answer. Its a mistery filled with adventure and suspence. I can promise though that it is worth it!
Sunday, October 23, 2011
Walls
"My reality is clearly defined by the fences put up around my mind. I saw them thicken into walls over time. Higher than any border line... And I asked when is the revolution?" These are lyrics from a Brent Dennon song called I Asked When. I've been thinking about the different aspects of walls over the last week and what to do with them. Not literal walls but the metaphorical ones in out lives. I guess I'd have to say in simplicity that some are good and some are bad. Some need to stay in place and others torn down. Another simple aspect of walls is that they're there for protection or defense. They are usually there to keep something out more than to keep something in. That leaves me in a quandary that just wont satisfy my pondering so I go deeper.
My first question would be why is that wall there or what caused me or someone else to feel the need to build the thing in the first place? I find that most walls are built after a deep wound and are there to keep whatever or whoever caused the wound from ever being able to get close enough to hurt us again. Before I go further let me be clear that in this place I'm not talking about boundaries that are good and healthy. I'm talking about the ones that come from something like a divorce, or abandonment, or some type of abuse, be it verbal or physical. Those are the walls that I'm looking at right now. I just came back from a weekend that was all about the tearing down of those kind of walls and have spent the better part of the last five years of my life tearing down the walls in my life. I am awestruck at the amount of walls that I've encountered over the years that were instigated from one Christian to another. Aren't we the ones that are supposed to be the living breathing examples of God's love to one another? Wasn't that one of the commandments... wasn't that the one that Jesus said that all the commandments hung on? What in Hell's honor are we doing to one another? Can we continue this trend and ever be the shining city on a hill that Father hoped we'd be? As I begin to consider the walls of wounding then I can't just stop there and say shame on us for building the walls... I have to plunge ahead to dig into the cause of so many walls in the lives of the people I love and know. How many of those walls have I caused to be built? I have to begin with personal responsibility or I'll never be able to see those walls come down. That is the goal right? To see the walls come down and relationships healed and restored. That's what it always been about to God. He wants a healed wall free kingdom where we dwell in peace with one another because we are all considering others more highly than ourselves. Utopia isn't what I'm talking about where all things are perfect because the only thing recorded in the Bible as impossible is for us to live in relationships without causing offenses. It just can't happen. Our problem is that when we do or are offended we seldom ever deal with it so it becomes the first brick in the wall being built between that person and ourself. Then another offense comes so we add another brick and so on until that relationship is walled off. I know that seems to keep the pain away but more than that is begins to isolate us from the vital relationships God has for us.
One thing that has greatly helped me in the tearing down of my walls is that of Identifying my core fears. These are deep seated and very real. Most of my walls have been built around the fear of being invalidated. I know others who's walls are around failure or abandonment...etc. Dr. Gary Smalley has put out a great book called The DNA Of Relationships where he talks about a whole list of core fears and how to deal with them. The simple process of this happens when someone makes me feel invalid... like I don't even matter. When I feel that way I usually lash out in anger, which is always a secondary emotion and predominately secondary to fear, at the other person which how I don't know but usually hits their core fear dead center and they react back at me in kind. So we go round and round getting more and more wounded by one another with the outcome being a wall. That's where personal responsibility has to come in... someone has to break that cycle. Sadly this seldom ever happens and a relationship is torn apart. I have watched this scenario play out many times in my life and in the lives of those around me. Again... what in Hell's honor are we doing to each other? Will we ever grow up enough to break the cycle? God help us!!!!
How many walls are in my life? What about in your life? I've made a decision that I'm going to tear them down in my life so that I can be a more healed, whole person that lives in deep covenant relationship with others. I need the gifts, experiences, encouragement, and wisdom they have in their possession and whether they know it or not they need mine. It's the way God made us... It's the way He meant it to be. How do I know? Genesis 2:18: The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone... That's pretty clear. Not a lot of room for argument. We are not made to be alone yet know more than any other time in history, even though we have the most communicative technology ever, people say they feel absolutely alone. Why? Fear of being hurt! Though I have my heart crushed again and again... I will yet rise up to love again and again. The joy of relationship far outweighs the pain caused by them. We have a saying, "NO PAIN, NO GAIN". Nothing more true could be said of being in relationship. So, what will you do with your walls? begin to tear them down, leave them alone, build them higher? The choice is ours and ours alone to make.
My first question would be why is that wall there or what caused me or someone else to feel the need to build the thing in the first place? I find that most walls are built after a deep wound and are there to keep whatever or whoever caused the wound from ever being able to get close enough to hurt us again. Before I go further let me be clear that in this place I'm not talking about boundaries that are good and healthy. I'm talking about the ones that come from something like a divorce, or abandonment, or some type of abuse, be it verbal or physical. Those are the walls that I'm looking at right now. I just came back from a weekend that was all about the tearing down of those kind of walls and have spent the better part of the last five years of my life tearing down the walls in my life. I am awestruck at the amount of walls that I've encountered over the years that were instigated from one Christian to another. Aren't we the ones that are supposed to be the living breathing examples of God's love to one another? Wasn't that one of the commandments... wasn't that the one that Jesus said that all the commandments hung on? What in Hell's honor are we doing to one another? Can we continue this trend and ever be the shining city on a hill that Father hoped we'd be? As I begin to consider the walls of wounding then I can't just stop there and say shame on us for building the walls... I have to plunge ahead to dig into the cause of so many walls in the lives of the people I love and know. How many of those walls have I caused to be built? I have to begin with personal responsibility or I'll never be able to see those walls come down. That is the goal right? To see the walls come down and relationships healed and restored. That's what it always been about to God. He wants a healed wall free kingdom where we dwell in peace with one another because we are all considering others more highly than ourselves. Utopia isn't what I'm talking about where all things are perfect because the only thing recorded in the Bible as impossible is for us to live in relationships without causing offenses. It just can't happen. Our problem is that when we do or are offended we seldom ever deal with it so it becomes the first brick in the wall being built between that person and ourself. Then another offense comes so we add another brick and so on until that relationship is walled off. I know that seems to keep the pain away but more than that is begins to isolate us from the vital relationships God has for us.
One thing that has greatly helped me in the tearing down of my walls is that of Identifying my core fears. These are deep seated and very real. Most of my walls have been built around the fear of being invalidated. I know others who's walls are around failure or abandonment...etc. Dr. Gary Smalley has put out a great book called The DNA Of Relationships where he talks about a whole list of core fears and how to deal with them. The simple process of this happens when someone makes me feel invalid... like I don't even matter. When I feel that way I usually lash out in anger, which is always a secondary emotion and predominately secondary to fear, at the other person which how I don't know but usually hits their core fear dead center and they react back at me in kind. So we go round and round getting more and more wounded by one another with the outcome being a wall. That's where personal responsibility has to come in... someone has to break that cycle. Sadly this seldom ever happens and a relationship is torn apart. I have watched this scenario play out many times in my life and in the lives of those around me. Again... what in Hell's honor are we doing to each other? Will we ever grow up enough to break the cycle? God help us!!!!
How many walls are in my life? What about in your life? I've made a decision that I'm going to tear them down in my life so that I can be a more healed, whole person that lives in deep covenant relationship with others. I need the gifts, experiences, encouragement, and wisdom they have in their possession and whether they know it or not they need mine. It's the way God made us... It's the way He meant it to be. How do I know? Genesis 2:18: The LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone... That's pretty clear. Not a lot of room for argument. We are not made to be alone yet know more than any other time in history, even though we have the most communicative technology ever, people say they feel absolutely alone. Why? Fear of being hurt! Though I have my heart crushed again and again... I will yet rise up to love again and again. The joy of relationship far outweighs the pain caused by them. We have a saying, "NO PAIN, NO GAIN". Nothing more true could be said of being in relationship. So, what will you do with your walls? begin to tear them down, leave them alone, build them higher? The choice is ours and ours alone to make.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
The Beauty of Frustration
I'm so frustrated!!! I just feel this tension inside my being like something is getting ready to change and I don't know what it is. I'm just not in a comfortable place in my life and I don't know why. These are a few of the statements I've heard over the last few weeks from different people in different places... I've even had the thoughts rolling around in my head and heart lately. When I find myself in this place then I began to search back through my database of experiences to see if I can find a lesson or some application that will help bring back a measure of comfort and seeming sanity to my life. One lesson that I've heard and learned and was reminded of the other night while watching the movie Cars was, "If you want to know where you're going then look where you've been." At first glance that seems just as confusing as the frustration I'm feeling now, but as I simplify it then I find that it brings a lot of peace to my heart about what's going on in my life.
I am surprised by how I have a pattern to my life... a circle, if you will, that I go around and around in my life. No matter what my geographical location I see the same pattern in affect. At first I saw this as bad and something that needed to be broken or changed, but I have come to have a different perspective on it the last few times around. That brings out another nugget that I have to keep in mind as I feel this frustration... "My perception is my reality." How I perceive things to be is how they are to me no matter what others think or say. I can change my perception though and in that my view of this frustration begins to change and take on a beauty. Back to my circle thought. As I viewed this as something wrong and in need of changing I was always in a state of frustration. I saw that as something that was hindering me from being the best me that I could be instead of realizing it was there to help me become just that. My pattern as I now see it is my sphere of influence... its part of my purpose... my destiny... however you think of it. It's where I have a measure of authority, understanding, and influence. I find that as I have embraced this perspective I notice that I have aligned myself with others that are older and wiser than myself that move in a similar pattern and they have become a life coach to me. I also realize that others have done this with me. So I realize a truth about life... I am always a student and a teacher at the same time.
So how does all this help with that frustration? As I look at the whole instead of the immediate then I see that my frustration has always been about my growth. It's what brings me to a place of new and deeper understanding of an aspect of the circle or sphere of my life and the journey I'm on. I also see another aspect to this... that I am in the near future going to be able to help someone else get through a similar spot of frustration because I've walked there before and I can see the terrain with eyes of hindsight instead of foresight. I also know and realize the people in my life that are able to give me the same help and I embrace that fact. In fact I search for those people. We've all heard the saying, "hindsight is 20/20." I don't know if its that good but it does enable us to see more clearly. So as I find myself in that place of frustration again and again I can have peace in that because I am going to grow through it and be a better me than I was which is what this journey of life is about. Growing up... maturing. Church lingo aside... its the natural pattern of life in all things. I don't have to see this frustration as a destination or a place that I'll always be in because its not about the destination of it, but rather the step it becomes to allow me to go higher than I've ever gone before.
We love the views from the mountain top. I know this by my own experience and I also work on a mountain that overlooks a valley with Petit Jean Mountian as a back drop. One hundred percent of the people that come there love that view! There has never been an exception to that. This one is an easy one to get to because it requires very little personal work to get there. You can drive a car to the front of the lodge and walk out on the back deck and there it is. If people had to climb that mountain the number that get to enjoy that view would greatly diminish because of the effort required to attain the reward. I see here a great analogy to the frustration in my life. I really want to see the view from a higher place but I really don't want to have to work to get there. Too bad! If I want the treasure I have to dig for it. I have to make the investment or the reward doesn't mean as much to me. When I embrace the frustration I am feeling and determine that I'll put forth the effort to make the change in my life its pushing me towards then I not only achieve the vista but I enjoy it more and am able to guide others there in the future. It becomes mine... I have owned that experience and will always be able to draw from it as a reminder to myself and a help to others. That's what this whole thing is about anyway... being the best me I can be and helping others in their journey to the same.
I encourage you to embrace the times of frustration and shift your perspective to see it as a time of growth rather than something that's going to crush you.
I am surprised by how I have a pattern to my life... a circle, if you will, that I go around and around in my life. No matter what my geographical location I see the same pattern in affect. At first I saw this as bad and something that needed to be broken or changed, but I have come to have a different perspective on it the last few times around. That brings out another nugget that I have to keep in mind as I feel this frustration... "My perception is my reality." How I perceive things to be is how they are to me no matter what others think or say. I can change my perception though and in that my view of this frustration begins to change and take on a beauty. Back to my circle thought. As I viewed this as something wrong and in need of changing I was always in a state of frustration. I saw that as something that was hindering me from being the best me that I could be instead of realizing it was there to help me become just that. My pattern as I now see it is my sphere of influence... its part of my purpose... my destiny... however you think of it. It's where I have a measure of authority, understanding, and influence. I find that as I have embraced this perspective I notice that I have aligned myself with others that are older and wiser than myself that move in a similar pattern and they have become a life coach to me. I also realize that others have done this with me. So I realize a truth about life... I am always a student and a teacher at the same time.
So how does all this help with that frustration? As I look at the whole instead of the immediate then I see that my frustration has always been about my growth. It's what brings me to a place of new and deeper understanding of an aspect of the circle or sphere of my life and the journey I'm on. I also see another aspect to this... that I am in the near future going to be able to help someone else get through a similar spot of frustration because I've walked there before and I can see the terrain with eyes of hindsight instead of foresight. I also know and realize the people in my life that are able to give me the same help and I embrace that fact. In fact I search for those people. We've all heard the saying, "hindsight is 20/20." I don't know if its that good but it does enable us to see more clearly. So as I find myself in that place of frustration again and again I can have peace in that because I am going to grow through it and be a better me than I was which is what this journey of life is about. Growing up... maturing. Church lingo aside... its the natural pattern of life in all things. I don't have to see this frustration as a destination or a place that I'll always be in because its not about the destination of it, but rather the step it becomes to allow me to go higher than I've ever gone before.
We love the views from the mountain top. I know this by my own experience and I also work on a mountain that overlooks a valley with Petit Jean Mountian as a back drop. One hundred percent of the people that come there love that view! There has never been an exception to that. This one is an easy one to get to because it requires very little personal work to get there. You can drive a car to the front of the lodge and walk out on the back deck and there it is. If people had to climb that mountain the number that get to enjoy that view would greatly diminish because of the effort required to attain the reward. I see here a great analogy to the frustration in my life. I really want to see the view from a higher place but I really don't want to have to work to get there. Too bad! If I want the treasure I have to dig for it. I have to make the investment or the reward doesn't mean as much to me. When I embrace the frustration I am feeling and determine that I'll put forth the effort to make the change in my life its pushing me towards then I not only achieve the vista but I enjoy it more and am able to guide others there in the future. It becomes mine... I have owned that experience and will always be able to draw from it as a reminder to myself and a help to others. That's what this whole thing is about anyway... being the best me I can be and helping others in their journey to the same.
I encourage you to embrace the times of frustration and shift your perspective to see it as a time of growth rather than something that's going to crush you.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Judgment Sucks!
I've been thinking about judgment the last few days. I was reading through the posts on FB and came across one that brought me back to a determination I’d come to several years ago that is a part of everything we do. The thought is simple… “Judgment Sucks!” The statement itself reveals the absolute seemingly unavoidable cycle of it all because to make the statement is in itself a judgment and the cycle is repeated again and again. I’m going to share several thoughts on this dilemma and see where I end up.
The first thought that has made itself more and more clear to me over the years it that I am simply not equipped to judge. For a judgment to be fair it has to be based solely on truth. That’s where the problem begins… I at all times only have a limited understanding of truth. I can’t see the whole picture from where I am. So from that viewpoint all my judgment is off to begin with. To compound the dilemma I usually find that we don’t even consider the amount of truth we do have in making a judgment. The majority of our judgments are grounded and released from our feelings of the situation we are judging. What I mean is that if I like something or it makes me feel good then I predominantly will judge it as good or right, but if I don’t like it or it makes me feel bad it’s bad or wrong. The post that brought this thought back around was on smoking outside a café. In AR there is no smoking in public establishments… but outside its usually fair game. A person was sitting outside wanting to enjoy the fresh air and someone else was sitting outside to enjoy a smoke… So who’s right and who’s wrong? The responses that were posted fell in the feeling category. They were all based on the likes of dislikes of the person making the post. I know there are probably a lot of experiences, memories…etc that drive those feelings or emotions but the bottom line is the judgment flowed from that stream. Some hate smoking because of the suffering of a loved one due to lung cancer while others have the experience that it gives them a headache… those are examples of what I mean.
So why would I say or “judge” this as a dilemma? I’ll tell ya… When I really dig in and get to the point of being honest with myself then I end up at this place… When I make a judgment like this I am shirking my personal responsibility in the situation. What I’m really perturbed about is that my comfort is being inhibited by the actions of another and “I’m” really upset that “they” won’t change “their” behavior to ensure “my” comfort. You see I really like feeling good and being comfortable but I also don’t like having to do the work to maintain that comfort because that doesn’t feel good and I have to endure being uncomfortable for a time to reestablish my comfort. Now that we’re getting into the pattern this brings as a dilemma… which sadly when I type this out becomes a judgment. Oh the condition of we humans! It’s easier and more comfortable for others to make a change than it is for me. In the post that started this rolling through my mind, the question that begs to be asked is, “If you didn’t like the smoke then why not move somewhere else?” That would be in fact taking personal responsibility in the situation… even if I was there first. I’m the one with the dislike… not the person smoking. Because he or she has in fact taken some level of personal responsibility in this matter in that he or she really wanted to smoke and couldn’t do it inside so they endured the discomfort in order to obtain a level of comfort. That’s a question that usually ushers in the emotion of anger thus revealing another side to this whole process. When I am angered then I have made it impossible to make a balanced judgment because I’ve lost my balance. It also points out a human tendency we often like to dismiss about ourselves. We are selfish! Now that sucks, right… can’t we butter this up where it doesn’t make us look so bad or immature? We could but that would bring the circle back around to where we are shirking personal responsibility. None of us like to be judged and in general don’t really like this whole circle when we’re confronted with it but usually will not take our part of the responsibility to stop it. I could go on and on with the different examples and one would surely apply to us all on numerous occasions but the fact of the matter is I’m getting tired of typing and your probably thinking I need to be doing something else so I’ll bring this to a close and leave the rest for you to ponder through.
There is a statement made in a book that I really love that reminds me that I should consider others more highly than I consider myself. Think of the revolution that would occur with the adoption of this concept into our lives and situations. This is personal responsibility on steroids, but brings a joy to life that few ever find. My hope and goal for myself is to let people be themselves. To stop trying to bend them into the person I think they should be or manipulating them to act like I think they should act and learn to appreciate and enjoy them for the amazing person they are. If I don’t like what I see, the change is mine to make because I am responsible for me and that’s it!
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Its gone to the dogs!
I've been sitting on the deck this morning just listening to what all is going on in the world. I was listening to the rain fall in the darkness and the different noises it made as it fell on different surfaces. I was listening to the flocks of black birds as they flew over on their trek south for the approaching winter. I was also listening to the kittens as they chased their tails and each other all over the deck. I was and still am listening to some calm music on the iPod. I was excitedly listening to Cindy as she told me about her plans for the day. And in the midst of all that I've even been listening to what Daddy is saying to me about all that I'm hearing this morning. The ability to listen and hear is an amazing sense. I've grown to appreciate it more and more over the last few years as I've learned to hear God's voice in the day to day experiences of life.
The main thing that began to come to clarity this morning was the difference between my cats and my dogs. We are blessed to have three of each ya know. I really love the dogs and tolerate the cats or kittens, as they are now. My favorite dog is doing what she loves the most even now... laying beside me in the recliner as I type this. Her name is Bandit for those interested, she earned that name for two reasons. 1. She has black mask around her eyes and 2. She steals my heart with her love and devotion to me. I rescued her last winter from behind Panera Bread in Conway. She had been run over and was laying on the side of the street with the temperature hovering in the low 20's. I put my gloves and coat on to pick her up and I'm glad I did. She bit me more times than I could count as I moved her from the ground to the back seat of the truck. It took over a week to get to the place of being able to pet her without being eaten. I spent a lot of time just sitting in the floor beside her talking to her and giving her treats to let her know that she was safe and that I wasn't going to hurt her. You're probably wondering why that's important to this blog and with that I'll convey what it is that Daddy was so excited to tell me this morning.
Drawing, wooing... we use those words to describe our actions or the actions of another to gently and patiently convince another to come to us. That's the first lesson He was reminding me of... that He is always drawing me to Himself. Sometimes for some lap time, other times its for discipline, others for some direction, others for some teaching, and still other times just for the joy of being together. That's an awesome testimony of God's work to me! I, for so long viewed my relationship to Him as something official and devoid of emotion or feeling. NOT ANYMORE! I am so glad to be able to say that! He's my Daddy and He loves spending time with me! I hope you, the reader, can say the same thing or are at least coming to that place of realization.
So why is it that I miss this drawing so often in my life? That's where the difference between my dogs and cats began to sneak up on me. Side-note... God's got another name that wasn't ever listed in the Bible... Jehovah-Sneaky! He has this amazing way of sneaking some pretty cool truths into our lives from the simplest of things... sneaky I tell ya! Anyway, back to my thought... Jackie, one of the other dogs rescued, our Jack Russel and Bandit were both sitting in my lap on the deck this morning and I was simply amazed at the attention they were paying to my movements. They followed my hand with their eyes and when it stopped they would position their head near it for some scratching and loving. Jackie just came and got in my lap again... not because I called her but because its a place she loves to be. This just keeps getting more juicy. I am their master, their owner... the one they trust. I've invested the time in them to make it so and they respond to me in a manner that brings a smile to my face. The cats on the other hand are more interested in their own agenda. They won't come no matter how I woo them. They pause long enough from their endeavor to glance my way and then go back to playing. The dogs have learned something the cats have not... the master's touch makes life better! The scratching, the petting... its just awesome!
Now I am faced with a stark reality in my life... there have been a lot of times when I was more like those cats than I was the dogs. I am, however, learning the same lesson the dogs know... life is awesome when your in the Master's lap with His hands expressing the love that is flowing from His heart. That's what His touch is all about... the manifestation of the love He has for me and you in His heart. So what do I do with this revelation of sneakiness? I press forward asking for an increased desire in my heart to spend time in Daddy's lap and I pray for ears to hear the voice of my Father as He draws my attention toward Him. I can't dwell on the times that I missed the drawing because of my agenda or my soul will despair and that is counter productive to God's work in my life. No! I press forward with a new found desire to go boldly into Dad's throne room so I can sit in His lap and be loved on! That is what steals His heart ya know. Want to come with me?
The main thing that began to come to clarity this morning was the difference between my cats and my dogs. We are blessed to have three of each ya know. I really love the dogs and tolerate the cats or kittens, as they are now. My favorite dog is doing what she loves the most even now... laying beside me in the recliner as I type this. Her name is Bandit for those interested, she earned that name for two reasons. 1. She has black mask around her eyes and 2. She steals my heart with her love and devotion to me. I rescued her last winter from behind Panera Bread in Conway. She had been run over and was laying on the side of the street with the temperature hovering in the low 20's. I put my gloves and coat on to pick her up and I'm glad I did. She bit me more times than I could count as I moved her from the ground to the back seat of the truck. It took over a week to get to the place of being able to pet her without being eaten. I spent a lot of time just sitting in the floor beside her talking to her and giving her treats to let her know that she was safe and that I wasn't going to hurt her. You're probably wondering why that's important to this blog and with that I'll convey what it is that Daddy was so excited to tell me this morning.
Drawing, wooing... we use those words to describe our actions or the actions of another to gently and patiently convince another to come to us. That's the first lesson He was reminding me of... that He is always drawing me to Himself. Sometimes for some lap time, other times its for discipline, others for some direction, others for some teaching, and still other times just for the joy of being together. That's an awesome testimony of God's work to me! I, for so long viewed my relationship to Him as something official and devoid of emotion or feeling. NOT ANYMORE! I am so glad to be able to say that! He's my Daddy and He loves spending time with me! I hope you, the reader, can say the same thing or are at least coming to that place of realization.
So why is it that I miss this drawing so often in my life? That's where the difference between my dogs and cats began to sneak up on me. Side-note... God's got another name that wasn't ever listed in the Bible... Jehovah-Sneaky! He has this amazing way of sneaking some pretty cool truths into our lives from the simplest of things... sneaky I tell ya! Anyway, back to my thought... Jackie, one of the other dogs rescued, our Jack Russel and Bandit were both sitting in my lap on the deck this morning and I was simply amazed at the attention they were paying to my movements. They followed my hand with their eyes and when it stopped they would position their head near it for some scratching and loving. Jackie just came and got in my lap again... not because I called her but because its a place she loves to be. This just keeps getting more juicy. I am their master, their owner... the one they trust. I've invested the time in them to make it so and they respond to me in a manner that brings a smile to my face. The cats on the other hand are more interested in their own agenda. They won't come no matter how I woo them. They pause long enough from their endeavor to glance my way and then go back to playing. The dogs have learned something the cats have not... the master's touch makes life better! The scratching, the petting... its just awesome!
Now I am faced with a stark reality in my life... there have been a lot of times when I was more like those cats than I was the dogs. I am, however, learning the same lesson the dogs know... life is awesome when your in the Master's lap with His hands expressing the love that is flowing from His heart. That's what His touch is all about... the manifestation of the love He has for me and you in His heart. So what do I do with this revelation of sneakiness? I press forward asking for an increased desire in my heart to spend time in Daddy's lap and I pray for ears to hear the voice of my Father as He draws my attention toward Him. I can't dwell on the times that I missed the drawing because of my agenda or my soul will despair and that is counter productive to God's work in my life. No! I press forward with a new found desire to go boldly into Dad's throne room so I can sit in His lap and be loved on! That is what steals His heart ya know. Want to come with me?
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Coming to and thru the crash!
I'm sitting on the couch this afternoon relaxing and restoring my other laptop because it crashed. I don't know why it crashed it just did. It was very inconvenient when it did and was frustrating too. So while I was sitting here I began to think about how sometimes in life my whole system seems to crash and has to be restored. That really got me to thinking which I know seems to be far fetched but it does happen from time to time. I really enjoy sitting and thinking about all the different angles of life and even enjoy trying to go past the surface level of life to get to the deep motivations of the heart. That seems to be what has me pondering this afternoon... What has led me up to my system crashes, and what differences did they make in my life.
I'll say right off that I think some of my crashes have been the greatest things in my life while others weren't so much. What I really want to focus my heart on now is the good stuff I've gotten from them. What's going through my mind is the life lessons I see between the two. The first place my mind goes when I think about the computer crash is a lot the same as when my life crashes... what did I lose? What if I can't get it back? In this case I didn't lose anything significant because I haven't been using my laptop lately. In life though, crashes usually mean the loss of relationships or at least some stress added to them. I've had two of those crashes in the last 6 years. They were very painful, frustrating, and awkward to say the least and not just for me. I believe those feelings were mutual on both sides of the crash. I realize a nugget of truth here... the documents that are most important are backed up and so are the deep meaningful relationships in my life. They are backed up with a lot of time invested, grace extended, forgiveness applied, and love lavished from both sides. That is after all what makes them the most important isn't it?
Another nugget of truth that is beginning to be uncovered is that there are times on my computer when all the old files begin to hinder and even stop the progress. My hard drive is full and it will not hold any more information no matter how good it is, no matter how hard I've worked on the document... it just won't go forward. That describes a lot of the things I've believed in my life. Some of it was just junk and should have never been stored on my heart drive. Some of it was good for the season of life I was in at the time and should have been removed when it's shelf life expired. On the other hand some of it was core. By that I mean it was just as valuable then as it is now. It's value is deep because of the investment that was poured into it. Where I've gotten into the trouble that brought me to the crash was that I was unwilling to dump the useless stuff or to get rid of the out of date stuff until it caused a crash. That's where I am now... formatting my hard drive so that I can reload the operating system that will make it work the best. That's what I realize as I look back on the things that God has asked me to leave behind. It's not that it was all bad it was just keeping me from being the best me I could be. Some of it was information that I had accepted as truth while some of it was people that I had aligned myself with. I'll be clear that it wasn't that they were bad or wrong or anything like that... just that we we no longer going the same direction. We are prone to do what has been called the crab effect. When those around us try to go another direction we tend towards holding them back. We do this in part because of concern for their well being, but the other part of that is we try to hold them back because their new found freedoms tend to make us uncomfortable and we don't like that so we do what the crabs do when one tries to crawl out of the cage... we grab hold and don't let go. I know this because I've been on both sides of this dance and for both reasons. If we continue to hold onto the old outdated information or choose to remain in the relationships where there is no unity then we cannot move forward on our journey making the statement, "One of the greatest hinderances to our current or future success is our past success." This is also known as being in rut and the only difference between a rut and a grave is that one has the ends knocked out. I would also add that when a system restore takes place in my life the goal is not to destroy the relationships with people from the past but I have come to realize that most of the time we as Christians are too shallow to remain in relationship with someone who doesn't see things exactly like we do. This is to our great disadvantage but it is none the less a truth.
Man this process seems to be taking a long time! The computer has come back up but now all the applicable drivers are being loaded and all the automatic updates are downloading and installing. Then after that there will be the time spent loading the programs. Thinking about that reminds me of what life looks like after one of those crash events. Our last one, my family and I, led us to what we called the wilderness where we didn't really spend a lot of time in relationship with anyone for a period of three years. This was a time of reflection just like I'm reflecting now on how I wish I would have taken a little time to clean off the old stuff so there was room for the new on the computer. It was a time where I reflected on how I had related with the Church as an institution, how I had related to others based on what they believed or didn't believe... etc. As I look back there are things that I noticed that were screaming for a change but I ignored them just like I ignored the slowing of the applications on my computer. I can't go back and undo what is done so I don't waste time doing so, but I do learn to be more attentive to the signs now. I become more attentive to the directions I need to be going and the ones I don't.
Another nugget that I am picking up is that my operating system has been updated. I'm not the same as I was. I don't think like I used to think. I'm not focused on the things I used to be focused on. I'm different and have to have a different operating system than I started with. I need different programs than I used to as well. I no longer do the same things I once did so I no longer need those programs on my hard drive or my heart drive. Just as they take up unneccessary room on my computer they take up unneccessary room on my heart. When my heart is full of the junk then I can't get the good, life giving stuff in that I need to continue forward.
I should probably wind this thing down. There are probably a lot of other truths or nuggets that a person could get out of this whole process and to be honest if you find yourself thinking about those then the whole purpose of this blog has been accomplshed. Sometimes it takes the physical things in life to make us see the spiritual ones. As much as I wish I could get this thing called life figured out and running smooth, deep down inside I know that its these crashes that cause me to slow down enough to see just how unbalanced my life has become so I can make the adjustments that will bring me back to a place of optimal performance.
Enjoy the journey!
I'll say right off that I think some of my crashes have been the greatest things in my life while others weren't so much. What I really want to focus my heart on now is the good stuff I've gotten from them. What's going through my mind is the life lessons I see between the two. The first place my mind goes when I think about the computer crash is a lot the same as when my life crashes... what did I lose? What if I can't get it back? In this case I didn't lose anything significant because I haven't been using my laptop lately. In life though, crashes usually mean the loss of relationships or at least some stress added to them. I've had two of those crashes in the last 6 years. They were very painful, frustrating, and awkward to say the least and not just for me. I believe those feelings were mutual on both sides of the crash. I realize a nugget of truth here... the documents that are most important are backed up and so are the deep meaningful relationships in my life. They are backed up with a lot of time invested, grace extended, forgiveness applied, and love lavished from both sides. That is after all what makes them the most important isn't it?
Another nugget of truth that is beginning to be uncovered is that there are times on my computer when all the old files begin to hinder and even stop the progress. My hard drive is full and it will not hold any more information no matter how good it is, no matter how hard I've worked on the document... it just won't go forward. That describes a lot of the things I've believed in my life. Some of it was just junk and should have never been stored on my heart drive. Some of it was good for the season of life I was in at the time and should have been removed when it's shelf life expired. On the other hand some of it was core. By that I mean it was just as valuable then as it is now. It's value is deep because of the investment that was poured into it. Where I've gotten into the trouble that brought me to the crash was that I was unwilling to dump the useless stuff or to get rid of the out of date stuff until it caused a crash. That's where I am now... formatting my hard drive so that I can reload the operating system that will make it work the best. That's what I realize as I look back on the things that God has asked me to leave behind. It's not that it was all bad it was just keeping me from being the best me I could be. Some of it was information that I had accepted as truth while some of it was people that I had aligned myself with. I'll be clear that it wasn't that they were bad or wrong or anything like that... just that we we no longer going the same direction. We are prone to do what has been called the crab effect. When those around us try to go another direction we tend towards holding them back. We do this in part because of concern for their well being, but the other part of that is we try to hold them back because their new found freedoms tend to make us uncomfortable and we don't like that so we do what the crabs do when one tries to crawl out of the cage... we grab hold and don't let go. I know this because I've been on both sides of this dance and for both reasons. If we continue to hold onto the old outdated information or choose to remain in the relationships where there is no unity then we cannot move forward on our journey making the statement, "One of the greatest hinderances to our current or future success is our past success." This is also known as being in rut and the only difference between a rut and a grave is that one has the ends knocked out. I would also add that when a system restore takes place in my life the goal is not to destroy the relationships with people from the past but I have come to realize that most of the time we as Christians are too shallow to remain in relationship with someone who doesn't see things exactly like we do. This is to our great disadvantage but it is none the less a truth.
Man this process seems to be taking a long time! The computer has come back up but now all the applicable drivers are being loaded and all the automatic updates are downloading and installing. Then after that there will be the time spent loading the programs. Thinking about that reminds me of what life looks like after one of those crash events. Our last one, my family and I, led us to what we called the wilderness where we didn't really spend a lot of time in relationship with anyone for a period of three years. This was a time of reflection just like I'm reflecting now on how I wish I would have taken a little time to clean off the old stuff so there was room for the new on the computer. It was a time where I reflected on how I had related with the Church as an institution, how I had related to others based on what they believed or didn't believe... etc. As I look back there are things that I noticed that were screaming for a change but I ignored them just like I ignored the slowing of the applications on my computer. I can't go back and undo what is done so I don't waste time doing so, but I do learn to be more attentive to the signs now. I become more attentive to the directions I need to be going and the ones I don't.
Another nugget that I am picking up is that my operating system has been updated. I'm not the same as I was. I don't think like I used to think. I'm not focused on the things I used to be focused on. I'm different and have to have a different operating system than I started with. I need different programs than I used to as well. I no longer do the same things I once did so I no longer need those programs on my hard drive or my heart drive. Just as they take up unneccessary room on my computer they take up unneccessary room on my heart. When my heart is full of the junk then I can't get the good, life giving stuff in that I need to continue forward.
I should probably wind this thing down. There are probably a lot of other truths or nuggets that a person could get out of this whole process and to be honest if you find yourself thinking about those then the whole purpose of this blog has been accomplshed. Sometimes it takes the physical things in life to make us see the spiritual ones. As much as I wish I could get this thing called life figured out and running smooth, deep down inside I know that its these crashes that cause me to slow down enough to see just how unbalanced my life has become so I can make the adjustments that will bring me back to a place of optimal performance.
Enjoy the journey!
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Livin life together
I went on a kayaking trip this weekend with some people I've met through meetup.com. These are people from different places and from different backgrounds. As we sat around the fire talking I was simply amazed at our deep need to be accepted and a part of something larger than ourselves. My background is that of pastoring churches for 14 years and trying to grow them. What I've realized is that its not about trying to make everyone fit into the same mold, but rather allowing people to be who they are and encouraging them to find others in the church , in this case, who share the same interests as them and form relationships with those people instead of trying to fit in somewhere they weren't made to fit. When we try to put others in molds that weren't made for them we rob them of their identity and in essence eradicate their gifts, talents, and abilities from ever becoming a benefit to the whole. When we allow this to happen then we never become as strong a people as we can be.
Life is about relationships! Plain and simple. I absolutely love being in the lives of other people and I love them being in mine. I am a richer person because of the relationships in my life.
Life is about relationships! Plain and simple. I absolutely love being in the lives of other people and I love them being in mine. I am a richer person because of the relationships in my life.
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