People Are People

 

The sun is glorious in one way, the moon is glorious in another way, and the stars are glorious in their own distinctive way; for one star differs from and surpasses another in its beauty and brilliance.  1 Corinthians 15:41

As our two sons continue to grow up (way too fast, I might add), the differences between him and his older brother are astounding.  For instance, Elliott, while a great athlete on his terms, is into music much the way I was at his age.  Elijah, on the other hand, likes music, but is a natural athlete, just like my younger sister was.  Elliott who celebrates his 16th birthday today, still only enjoys vanilla ice cream just like his mother; Elijah, on the other hand, will eat any flavor; but prefers chocolate ice cream, just like me. Point in case, we are each uniquely made and thankfully created by God to be different from one another.

To truly live the lives God intended us to live, we are to accept who we are as individuals and fit into His great plan rather than comparing ourselves with others and trying to fit into everyone else's plans.

Each of has been uniquely made to fill a need and we are ALL part of God's master plan.  Make it a personal goal of yours to find out what you are individually supposed to be and then succeed at being yourself.  It's okay to be different, in fact, God made you that way!

Catch And Release

 

Now to him who by the power that is working within us is able to do far beyond all that we ask or think, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen  

Ephesians 3:20-21

Several years ago, the boys gave me a fishing pole for Father’s Day and I recalled taking Elliott and Elijah down to the creek in our neighborhood to try out my new gift.  Fishing is an activity that requires a good bit of patience and just sitting on the bank of the creek with my sons, provided me with some great father/sons bonding as well as another analogy about the control we try to maintain in our lives.

We used a frozen biscuit as bait and I honestly didn't expect to catch anything on our first fishing expedition together. Of course, with it being Father's Day, I certainly wanted to catch a fish and punch my "man-card."  We found a pretty deep spot in the neighborhood creek and could visibly see fish swimming.  To my surprise, I felt the fishing line tighten and actually caught a fish on my fourth attempt.  It was pretty cool, and the boys were pleased that we caught a fish, but it got me to thinking about how different the afternoon would have been if we never got a bite.

Our lives are much the same and often times we stress over things in which we have absolutely no control over.  We must learn to spend more of our precious time glorifying and enjoying our loving Father rather than trying to maintain the structure of our daily lives. 

When we keep our focus on God and allow him to prepare each day for us, we begin to enjoy living in the peace of His presence.  Thanks be to God!

Advice For The Young At Heart

 

Oh, how I love Your law!  It is my meditation all the day.  Psalm 119:97

Our two sons are very independent and sometimes (EDIT: ALWAYS) stubborn (sheesh, I wonder where they got that from!?)  For instance, our oldest is having trouble pulling his car up our steep driveway without bottoming out or spinning the tires.  I have tried to teach Elliott how to follow the outside path of the driveway to avoid all of this but despite my advice, he took the driveway at the steepest part, spun his tires and was extremely frustrated with me the other day.  

Anytime we are facing important issues or decisions, we should always seek our loving Father’s advice.  There truly is no topic to big or small that we cannot seek God on.  One of the best places to begin looking for advice is the Word of God, but often times, we seek other people’s input and advice and do not seek God in the process.

We must learn to read and study His Word and then learn to apply it to our lives, regardless of what issue or decision we are facing.  In doing so, we tap into His infinite wisdom and can learn how to respond to any and all situations that we will face during our lifetime.

Promises, Promises

 

God is not a man, so He does not lie.  He is not human, so He does not change His mind.  Has He ever spoke and failed to act?  Has He ever promised and not carried it through?  Numbers 23: 19

I recall making many promises over the course of my lifetime that were never fulfilled.  Some of them, I am thankful never saw the light of day, while others were disappointing because I never saw them through.

As we grow in our faith, it is important to clearly distinguish God’s promises from frail human promises and lies.  If we cannot trust that God’s promises will come to fruition, then we can’t believe His Word.  If we can’t believe His Word, then we shouldn’t believe in Him at all.  If we don’t believe in Him at all we lose all hope and there is nothing to look forward to at the end of our lives.

Being a Christian, we are promised life after death and it will be greater than anything we can wrap our human minds around.  Take comfort in knowing that you can believe God’s promises, His Word and that He loves you.  You can believe because all of His promises will be carried out!

Willin'

 

“Not as I will, but as You will.” –Jesus, Matthew 26:39

I certainly live up to my namesake as I am determined and admittedly quite stubborn.  And so it is with my relationship with God.  I have really been working on my prayers lately, trying not to focus so much on the content of my prayers and petitions, but more on being obedient to what God is asking me to do in my life.  I assure you that it  has not been easy for me to give up the control , but things have been much smoother at home, work and in my relationships.

God’s ultimate goal for His beloved children is that we live in complete harmony with His master plan and yield to His will.  Jesus gave us all the ultimate example of yielding to God’s will that fateful night in the garden, moments before He was captured and crucified.

His plan for you and me is to move us to the same obedience of and willingness of Christ so that we can someday say “Not as I will, but as You will.”

Heavy Things

 

And let us not lose heart and grow weary and faint in acting nobly and doing right, for in due time and at the appointed season we shall reap, if we do not loosen and relax our courage and faint.  Galatians 6:9

It’s amazing how you can be on top of the world one moment and then have the weight of the world on your shoulders the very next moment.  Think back to when Jesus was baptized….immediately after He was filled with the Holy Spirit, Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan.

Jesus handled every situation in His life much more gracefully than I would have; He never complained once, or became discouraged, or depressed.  He faced each test and stood victorious when it was all said and done.

What if Jesus complained about the mobs of people that came to see Him to be healed or had a negative attitude about the gruesome death He faced on the cross?

We can all face any adversity in our lives with the same attitude that Jesus had; keep the mind of Christ and live victoriously! 

My Soul

 

God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him. Genesis 1:27

We are all concerned with our image to some extent.  I make it a point to exercise daily by either running, resistance training, rowing, or swimming,  so that I can stay healthy and fit into the occasional spandex super-hero costume.  I am not alone in my quest to look and feel great, in fact, many people spend countless hours every week in the gym or participating in some sort of exercise because they are concerned with their image.

The Bible tells us that we are created in God’s image.  This not only means our outward appearance, but our spiritual and emotional being as well.  When you think about it, we put a lot of emphasis on our physical bodies, these temporary dwellings, that will be transformed when we leave this earth to spend eternity in heaven.  Our spiritual being, or souls, are with us forever and when neglected, we are neglecting the most important part of what God created each of us to be.

Our spiritual well-being is the most vital part of our being; don’t  forget to take care of your soul too!