Conscious of God or Consumed with Your Gunk?

A friend of mine was recently recounting the struggles he's been having, primarily at work.  He has one of those jobs where he works 12 hour shifts and because of some miss-management by those in authority he and his co-workers have been working 70+ hours a week for nearly a year now.  And if  that weren't bad enough his shifts vary each month from nights to days!  If I were him I think I'd be getting pretty sick of that schedule.

I'll bet you could come up with at least one crummy thing that's been going on in your life in the next 30 seconds... did you think of something?  There's at least a chance that you had your crummy situation thought of even while you were reading that first paragraph!  For some reason we're conditioned to be consumed by our gunk.  The negative situations and circumstances we flow in and out of on a consistent basis.  We think about them.  Worry about them.  Wonder how we're gonna survive them and often say things like, "If one more thing happens I'm going to lose it!"

My friend could have focused on his crummy hours, the loss of time with his family, the irritation of his co-workers and anger toward those in authority.  And he could have justified his feelings.  But that's not where he chose to focus his energy.  Instead he was able to look at all that God had provided for he and his family over the last year.  My friend loves Jesus and was able to give more to God because he had more to give.  He loves the outdoors and was able to purchase a camper (which he's wanted for a long time) and a new truck and even make some much needed improvements around the house.

It's easy to get consumed with our gunk.  It seems to be prevalent.  It's annoying.  Sometimes there is a lot of it.  But when we're consumed with our gunk we can't be conscious of what God is doing.  Every time I've gone through a difficult time in my life I have found that God is also working overtime.

When we focus on our gunk we see more of it.  It's a universal principle in every area of our lives:

• Think about the things you don't like about your spouse and you'll start seeing more of them... and you'll get more upset because "you deserve better."
• Make a list of what you don't like about your job and there will always be one more thing to add.
• Focus on the "problem areas" of your body and soon those will be all you see. 
• Constantly grip about your aches and pains and they will miraculously get worse.
• A new car will be close behind when you start cataloging all the problems with the one you have now (like, it doesn't have cooled seats).  

Focus on your gunk and there will be more of it to occupy yourself with.  But you'll miss all that God is doing.  But here's the beauty of this principle, it works the other way too!   When you're conscious of what God is doing and around you you'll start to see MORE of it!  

• Make a list of what you like about your church and there will be more to like!  
• Consider all the best qualities of your spouse and your attitude toward them will begin to shift.
• Look at what your crummy job provides for you and your family and you'll start to feel better about going to work everyday.

You can either be conscious of God or consumed with your gunk - you can't be both.  It takes effort but it's worth it!  

We'd love to hear how you stay conscious of God in the midst of your gunk - please share! 

From Autism to Awesome - Don't Let What You Can't See Keep You From What Can Be

This week part of my family and I have been in Milwaukee, WI at the Autism Society of America national conference.  We came to host a booth selling my son, Trent's, art.  Last year (July 2016) a video of Trent drawings animals on our trampoline went viral and has now been seen by over 51 million people worldwide.

So in the last year we've created a website selling all kinds of items with his art on them.  He has 2 coloring books, T-shirts and ball caps, Tumblers and occasion cards as well as framed art prints.  But I'm not telling you this to talk about Trent, but about God.

When Trent was diagnosed with Classic Autism at the age of 2 we were devastated.  What took place over the next 10+ years was the biggest struggle of our lives.  As Trent got older he also got violently aggressive.  It got to the point that Trent could not be home unless I was there because he could over-power everyone in the house except me.

During those years of my wife and I taking turns staying up most of the night in the living room to keep eye on Trent - who didn't sleep, or fighting with him, or having to explain to our other children why he destroyed their favorite things, or never knowing what was going to set him off, we couldn't see beyond just survival.

During a spiritually difficult time in Israel when Ahab was king the prophet Elijah showed up and announced God was going to stop the rain.  3.5 years later Elijah said to Ahab, "there is the sound of heavy rain."  The only problem was that it still hadn't rained.  Elijah went and prayed, SEVEN times actually before the rain came.

Those years when Trent was at his worst were very difficult.  Difficult on our marriage.  Difficult on our kids.  Difficult on our finances. And I'm sure, difficult on Trent (did I mention he has very limited verbal abilities and can't tell us if he hurts, or has a headache or a splinter?).  It was difficult to see that things could ever be different than they were right then.  But God had other plans.

When this post goes public we'll be on our 4th and final day at the conference and as I write this (Monday morning) I'm not fearful or worried about the trip or about how Trent is going to do.  God has been so faithful to us and Trent has almost no physical outbursts, he is compliant and easy-going most of the time (unless you mess with his radio on the way to school in the morning).  He laughs and makes jokes, kind of, and is a usually a joy to be around.

He's been on a mini-midwest tour already with a company, GroVia that turned his art into a cloth diaper and we've sold his art and items all over the world.  We didn't think any of this was even a possibility but we're so grateful to God and His sovereignty and providence.

Here's why I'm telling you about our story - I don't want you to let what you CAN'T see, keep you from what CAN be.  I know you may be struggling right now, but you won't always.  I know it's difficult now, but it won't always be.  You may not have the same outcome as we have, though we wish everyone could, but you have a promise that, this too shall pass.  I have a friend who likes to say, we're gonna be dead a lot longer than we're alive.  I think our real life will begin when this life ends - but however you want to think of it, there will come an end to your struggles, to your pain, to  your sorrow.  One day we'll see him face to face - that's a fantastic promise, no matter how bad it is now, God's got this.

Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean God can't make it happen.  Don't let what you can't see, keep you from what can be.

What are you having a hard time seeing?

If you want to see Trent in action you can check out www.drawingsbytrent.com

God Doesn't Play Probabilities

I have a friend who enjoys gambling.  He's pretty good at it.  He goes with a limit to spend and knows when to say enough.  He's won many times and is generous with his family and others when he does.

I am not good when it comes to gambling.  I'm terrible at calculating the odds in my head, on the fly, at least when I'm sitting at a blackjack or 3 card poker table.  But you get me in my normal everyday life and I can figure the odds with the best of them and I'll bet you can too.

-The odds are pretty small that she'll get pregnant it it's just one time...
-I can speed here because there is almost never an officer around so I can get away with it...
-No one will notice just one missing...
-Everybody does it, I won't be the one getting caught...

We play the odds in our heads at least a couple times a day I'd guess.   For me, it's more like, what is the likelihood that my wife will smack me if I say this, or if I pat her on the rear one more time?

We may play the odds in our lives, marriages, speed or as a husband, but God does not play the odds.  He's not interested in probabilities.  God has never been the underdog and the odds have never caused Him any concern.

Whether it's Elijah facing off with 850 prophets of false gods, Peter stuck in prison, the Israelites pinned between the sea and the advancing Egyptian army or Jesus in the tomb, the odds have never mattered to God.  In fact, when the odds are stacked against Him the glory for the victory goes to Him!  No matter what you're up against God is bigger.  You may not be able to see how but God can! Take heart in that and walk in His strength knowing the odds are NEVER against God!

One more thing...
Would you like to know who IS interested in the odds?  Satan.  He is ALWAYS playing the odds.  That's why he's constantly tempting you, always watching to see when you might be at your weakest. He's playing the odds.  The probability that you'll give in to his temptations goes up when you're tired, when you haven't spent time with God in bible study or prayer, when you've been skipping out on church, so that's when he's gonna give it a try.

Has there been a time in your life when you thought the odds were against you but God showed up and got the victory?  I'd love to hear about it!

Mom Told Me No. I Did It Anyway.

Have you ever done something you knew you shouldn't have just because you wanted to?

For my senior prom I wanted to stay out all night with some friends.  We had a great plan that involved the after prom party, a walk on the beach, a hot tub and finally breakfast at a local restaurant.  But my Mom said, "No."  So I went anyway.

I still remember walking into the front door of the house to find my mom awake, eyes red and bulging, sitting in the rocker.  She was not happy.  But you know what, I had a good excuse.  I was nearly 18 had never gotten into trouble or done anything wrong... well, anything serious.  My cause - staying out all night with my friends - was more important to me than my Mom's command.

Have you ever done something you knew God had commanded you not to do because it conflicted with your cause?

-God instructs His followers to avoid debt (check out these verses from whitepaperbible.com) but often my cause, a bigger TV, a nicer car, new clothes, etc., is more important than His command.
-God's desire is that marriage be a once-for-life event (see Matthew 19:3-9) but many find good cause to ignore God's instruction and seek divorce - abuse, infidelity, got married young, I'm bored, I don't love them anymore.  (Notice I threw some legitimate causes - in my opinion - in with some not so legitimate ones because we can make them all sound legitimate.)
-God warns of the dangers of sin, murder, sexual immorality - including homosexuality, the slave trade, lying and perjury, (see 1 Timothy 1:9-11) but we almost always have a good cause for stepping over the line.

I always have a good excuse for ignoring God's command and doing my own thing... well, at least I convince myself of it at the time.  But whatever my cause, whatever reason I have for ignoring Him it's not good enough.  God's commands were made not to limit my life or keep me on a short leash, they are there to protect me, to help me look more like Jesus, to limit the negative effects of sin in my life.  And when I ignore them, whatever my cause, I only end up hurting myself and those I care about.

Whatever your cause.  Whatever reason you've got that you think trumps God's command.  You're not the first one to be in your position.  You're not the first one to come up with that specific argument.  Yours is not a special case or circumstance.  God's command is always more important than my cause, or yours.

When my Mom said I couldn't stay out all night after my senior prom isn't wasn't just because she said so - even though that was the reason she gave me - it was  because she knew that the likelihood of me getting into trouble physically, sexually, accidentally, was high and she wanted to spare me.

Honestly, that night could have ended much different than it did.  But as I told my exhausted mother when I came through the door, "I didn't do drugs, I didn't have sex, I didn't break any laws.  I'm tired and going to bed.  I'll be at church at 9:30."

I'm glad that God gave me the strength to get through that night.  I'm glad I had parents who wanted to protect my future, even if they weren't real good at articulating that, at least, that's how I remember it.  And I'm glad that God has given me parameters for my life to protect me from harm, from evil and from myself.

Whatever your cause right now, consider God's commands more important.  I think in the long-run you'll be glad you did.

God a story or an insight?  Share!

God's God a Purpose, You've Just Got a Plan

Let me tell you a little secret about God... He is way more interested in His plans being accomplished than your plans.

I believe that if it's important to us it's important to God.  If you love your dog or cat and they pass that's important to God because you are important to God.  But if God has to choose between your plans being accomplished and His plans being accomplished you're gonna lose every time.

God himself said, "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isa 55:9).   That means that what we think we know, we don't really know.  Our plans are based on what we think about the future and quite often they are at lease a little selfish.  God's plans are based on His perfect purpose knowing exactly how everything is going to go.

Isn't funny, knowing that God knows it all, how we get upset when God interrupts our plans?  He knows everything about everything!  He knows exactly what each person will say, what they will do and what they are thinking right now... and now... and now...  But if God interrupts our calendar, our schedule or our financial plan we get irritated.

There is a story in 1 Kings 17 about the prophet Elijah and a widow.  Elijah shows up at the edge of town and finds this widow out collecting sticks and twigs.  He asks her for a drink of water and while she is going to get it he also asks her to bring him back a piece of bread.  Her reply is stunning and saddening.  She reveals her very devastating reality - she has only enough oil and flour for one more small cake of bread.  After she and her son eat it there is nothing left for them but death.  That was her life plan, gather sticks to make bread.  Eat the bread.  Die.  Of course that doesn't happen.

What does happen is nothing short of miraculous.  Because she obeys Elijah (who is speaking for God) and makes the cake of bread for him instead of her son and herself the oil in her jar doesn't run out and there is a continuous supply of flour from her canister until the drought in the land comes to an end.

But she would have never experienced this miracle of supply if she refused to change her plans in favor of God's plan.   She chose life over death when she chose to obey and change her plans.

The same principle is at work in our lives too.  You have to change your plans to see God's purpose.  When we rigidly hold to our plans, financial plans, schedule, calendar and aren't willing to change we're saying to God, "I got this."  "My plan is better than your plan."  That is called Pride and I remember hearing something about it leading to a fall.

You may not think you have enough to accomplish God's purpose - the widow didn't think she had enough flour and oil - but it's not what you have, it's what God can do with what you have.  I'm thinking of fish and bread right now for some reason, must be lunch time. But because the widow was willing to change her plans she was able to see God's purpose - His purpose was to save her, her son and Elijah from the drought.  Had she held to her plan instead of God's purpose she and her son would have died and God would have used someone else to provide for Elijah.

Have you ever thought you didn't have enough so you ditched God's purpose in favor of your plan?   Maybe you didn't think you had the financial resources to give what God asked but what if His purpose was to supply your need through your obedience?

Have you ever decided to change your plans and then got to see God's purpose unfold?  I'd love to hear about it!  Please share in the comments!

Narcissists Beware (the rest of us be aware)

If you want to be significant in the Kingdom of God you've got to be humble.  I heard years ago that humility is recognizing the truth about yourself and God.  The truth is, we can do nothing on our own.  The very breath we take is allowed by God.  That heart-beat in your chest you're not even aware of (until right now) has a limited number of beats left, God knows how many.  The strength in your arms, your mental capacity, all come from God.  Without his care and concern you would cease to be.  Humbling, isn't it.

But here's the amazing thing about humility, our personal humility is proportionally honoring to God. The greater your level of humility, the greater God's level of honor.

Noah built a boat.  It was a humiliating project for him.  He lived in time when no one had ever seen it rain.  He was constantly ridiculed for what he was doing.  No one believed him.  And while all that was going on he was building a massive boat that there is no way he could have accomplished without God's help.   The door to the boat was so massive he couldn't shut it himself!  If God didn't show up,  all that work and all those animals, let alone Noah and his family, would have been lost like everyone else.  That's a humbling place to be as the water was rising and the door still opened (I believe God waited until the last minute for any who might repent and join Noah).

Elijah stood on Mount Carmel and had the alter of God doused with water over and over again.  He had just witnessed over 800 prophets of Baal beg their god to light the fire of their alter but all they got was silence.  Now it was Elijah's turn.  If God didn't show up Elijah would have surely been killed and Baal would have been the god of choice for the Israelites for many years to come.  That's a humbling place to be, alone in a hostile environment with your life on the line.

For both Noah and Elijah God showed up BIG and changed the timeline for generations to come.  God was honored because Noah and Elijah were humbled.

The same happens in my life and yours.  When I start to think I can do it myself God starts to pull away.  When I recognize the truth, that any good thing that has come to me or through me has been by the hand of God alone and not my ability, smarts, strength or financial ingenuity then He is honored through my life.

John the Baptizer said it this way, "He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:30) and Jesus said to the Apostle Peter, "My power is made perfect in weakness" (2 For 12:9).

If you want to accomplish something significant for the Kingdom of God you've got to recognize this truth about yourself and God - YOU won't be accomplishing anything at all - God will see it happen and if He chooses, will use you.   This is a tough lesson for those who struggle with narcissism.

It's easy to start thinking that I'm important to God's plan but really it's God's grace that allows me to play any part at all!

Do you have any strategies for reminding yourself about the truth of who you are and who He is?  How do you stay humble when God is using you?  Share so we can all benefit!

Significance follows Obedience

No one ever accomplished anything significant for the Kingdom of God without obedience to the call of God on their life.

Let me be clear:  You can't earn your way to Jesus.  Their is nothing you can do to make God love you more... or love you less.  He loves you.  He doesn't love you more than someone else, or less.  He doesn't stop loving you if you mess up.  He doesn't love you more if you get something right.  He just loves you.

That being said, no one ever accomplished anything significant for God without obedience.  Obeying God is at the core of our faith.  How can you love Him if you won't obey Him?  The very first step of obedience for a believer is baptism but it shouldn't be the last.  Obedience is how we build trust in God, it's how we develop the spiritual muscle to trust Him in even greater ways, it's how we show Him love.

• Noah built a boat because He was obedient to the call of God on his life.
• Abraham left his home and the way of life that he knew and was obedient to God's call to go.
• Jonah was ultimately obedient, after some swift discipline and a whole city was saved.
• Moses went back to Egypt - where he surely thought he would be killed - out of obedience.
• Peter preached forgiveness and hope to a family that could have resulted in his death just for stepping foot in their house!  But he was obedient.  
• Jesus was obedient to death, even death on a cross.  

If you want to be significant in the Kingdom of God you've got to be obedient.

And obedience always starts out small.  It has to be learned.  Obedience has it's foundation in trust.  When I told my youngest son to jump off the top of a very large tractor at the State fair years ago he obeyed because he trusted that I would catch him.  That trust had to be developed over time and it started out with little things.

Here's a short personal quiz you can take to gauge your trust and obedience levels

Are you giving time to God each day?  Yes  -  No
To know God is to love Him and if you love Him you'll obey Him - It's hard to obey if you haven't built that relationship of trust.
Are you using your abilities and aptitudes for God's glory?  Yes  -  No
God gave you your gifts and abilities for His benefit and glory not just your own.  Obedience in this area means you use what He's given to benefit Him and not just your self.
Are you giving financially to God what He has asked you to give?  Yes  -  No 
I believe God asks us all to give 10% consistently, off the top.  But I know He also asks us to give more at times, above that, and sometimes, only the tithe, but always at least the tithe.

How did you do?

So many followers of Jesus dream of doing some significant thing for the Kingdom of God but if you aren't obeying in the less-significant areas of your life, how can God trust you to be faithful and obedient in the bigger things He may have for you?

Obedience doesn't earn you a place with God, but it does set you up to be used by Him in more significant ways.  Is there a place in your life where you aren't being obedient to God's call?  What steps are you taking/can you take to learn to obey and be ready for God when He's ready for you?

I'd love to hear about how God is using you - please comment!