A New Year's Prayer

A New Year's Prayer
(Anonymous)

May God make your year a happy one!

Not by shielding you from all sorrows and pain,

But by strengthening you to bear it, as it comes;

Not by making your path easy,

But by making you sturdy to travel any path;

Not by taking hardships from you,

But by taking fear from your heart;

Not by granting you unbroken sunshine,

But by keeping your face bright, even in the shadows;

Not by making your life always pleasant,

But by showing you when people and their causes need you most, and by making you anxious to be there to help.

God’s love, peace, hope and joy to you for the year ahead.

The Importance of Encouraging Words

This weekend I saw "The Pursuit of Happyness", starring Will Smith and his son, Jaden. Will plays Chris Gardner, a down on his luck salesman pursuing his dream of becoming a stockbroker. Plagued by financial hardships and tired of Chris' dream chasing, his wife moves to New York, leaving Chris to raise their five year-old son, Christopher (played by Jaden), on his own. Through a series of mishaps, Chris and his son find themselves homeless, living in shelters and at times in subway bathrooms. Still, Chris continues to pursue his dream. (Warning: This movie is a definite tearjerker--bring kleenex if you see it!)

While the movie provided lots of food for thought, one scene in particular really stuck with me. Chris and his son are playing basketball, which little Christopher loves to do. Chris tells his son not to expect to be a great ballplayer, because he was only an average player, so Christopher would most likely follow in his footsteps and not be a standout player. Although Chris means well (i.e., doesn't want to get his son's hopes up), Christopher is immediately discouraged and doesn't want to play basketball anymore.

Realizing the effect that his words have had on his son, Chris turns to Christopher and tells him not to listen to anyone--including his own father--tell him that he can't do something.

Honesty in any relationship is extremely important to me. It's vital to have friends who "speak the truth in love" and who are willing and able to tell you what you sometimes need to hear, even though it may not be what you WANT to hear.

I believe it's equally important to have people in your life who believe you can do anything and who encourage you in that. My success in life is due to the support and encouragement of family and friends, people who love me, and their willingness to show that they believe in me. That doesn't mean I haven't failed--believe me, I have, many times--but knowing that they are on my side helps me pick myself up much faster and try again.

We can all probably think of times in our life when we really needed to hear someone say that they believed in us, and we heard it. And there also are probably times when we didn't get the encouragement we needed.

Take inventory of the people in your life. How many believe in you? How many encourage you? Are you spending the majority of your time with people who encourage or discourage you?

And how are YOU showing the people that you love that you believe in and encourage them?

Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. (Proverbs 12:18)

New Year's Revolution

I'm not big on making New Year's resolutions. Certainly, I'd like to get in better physical shape, save more money and spend less, and build stronger relationships with God and people in the coming year, all the typical resolutions.

But rather than resolving to run 20 miles a week or spend two hours in daily Bible study, I'm boiling my goals down to one. Essentially, my aim is to spend less time telling God what I want, and more time asking Him what He wants.

This, of course, spills over into every aspect of my life--my health, my finances, my work, my relationships.

God has been gently (and, in some cases, no so gently) impressing on me the importance of total surrender to Him. Some areas I can easily submit to Him--other areas are much harder. I fully expect Him to continue the process of transforming my heart so that it can be one of complete surrender to His will, no kicking, screaming, whining or complaining.

Of course, how can I expect to know His will for my life unless I ask Him? So that is my ultimate New Year's "revolution", not only for the coming year but for the rest of my life--seeking HIS will above mine. Certainly, I will stumble and fall along the way, and my selfish ways will rear their ugly heads from time to time. But I'm counting on God's transformative power to make those times fewer and farther between as I mature in Him.

Random Thoughts

Spent the last couple of hours playing around with Blogger, trying to find a new template that I really like. Still searching, but since I haven't eaten dinner yet (!) and my eyes are glazing over, I'm settling for this template for a while. By the way, I did switch to the new version of Blogger, and so far I'm finding it easy to use. Time will tell...

I received the following quote in my email today. I've heard variations on it before, but it's always a good one to be reminded of:

We must be willing to get rid of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is awaiting us. -- Joseph Campbell

This is a message that I've been ruminating on a lot, especially over the past couple of months. More on that later...

Fun Website for Geeks Like Me

If you're a big geek like me, read on. If not, you might want to skip ahead to the next post.

I'll admit, I'm a big learning nerd. I love the History Channel and the Discovery Channel. I am all about learning how Modern Marvels were created.

And now I've discovered a great new website that tells How Stuff Works. You can read about the inner workings and technicalities of all kinds of stuff--from Air Force One to iPods to skydiving.

Pretty cool for a geek like me!

Gift Giving

If you were going to receive an unlimited gift card to any store or retailer of your choice, what would you choose?

For me, it's a toss-up between a local day spa (so I can get weekly massages and pedicures) and Amazon.com, where I can get everything else.

I know that some people are anti-gift cards, but, personally, I rather like them. I don't think they're impersonal or an easy way out of gift buying (although that may indeed be the case). It's fun to get a gift card to a favorite store, go shopping and pick out just what I want. No worries about having to return a gift because it's the wrong size or not my style.

Of course, gifts are not necessarily meant to be exactly what the receiver wants. Rather, they are meant to be what the giver wants to give. Now, I've received many presents over the years--for birthdays, Christmas, graduations, etc.--that were not what I would have chosen for myself. Some gifts were not my style. Then there were other gifts that were more extravagant than I would have bought for myself. I've even received some gifts that I didn't know I wanted (maybe didn't even know existed), but once I got them, I couldn't imagine not having them.

God is not in the business of handing us gift cards and telling us to pick out the life or blessings that we want. Truth be told, most of us would be thrilled if He did that. But if He DID allow us to choose our own blessings, I think that, rather than get greedy and pick out too much, most of us would pick out far less than what God intended.

Even the "gifts" that He gives us that seem like bad gifts at the time turn out to be good. Sometimes He withholds one gift that we really want in order to give us a better gift down the road.

When someone gives me a gift, even if it's one that I'm not thrilled with, I smile graciously and say thank you. And yet, how often do I react graciously to the gifts that God gives me? How many times do I forget to thank Him? Too often, I'm afraid, I find myself immediately thinking of how I can return this "gift" and try to get Him to give me what I really want. Talk about ingratitude.

Although I may not understand God's gift-giving decision making process at the time I receive His gift, I know that ALL gifts that He gives are for our good.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!" (Matthew 7:7-11)

Awesome Reassurance

Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

When the poor and needy search for water and there is none, and their tongues are parched from thirst, then I, the LORD, will answer them. I, the God of Israel, will never forsake them. I will open up rivers for them on high plateaus. I will give them fountains of water in the valleys. In the deserts they will find pools of water. Rivers fed by springs will flow across the dry, parched ground. I will plant trees – cedar, acacia, myrtle, olive, cypress, fir, and pine – on barren land. Everyone will see this miracle and understand that it is the LORD, the Holy One of Israel, who did it. (Isaiah 41:10, 7-20)

Unprepared

Last night I had a crazy dream, which is not unusual for me. This one involved one of my best friends and I taking a ski trip. Now, neither of us have been skiing in real life, although I'd like to try it sometime. Apparently in my dream we were skiing novices as well, because I dreamed that we were on the ski lift in our regular clothes and tennis shoes, not decked out in appropriate ski wear (not to mention no skis, no poles, no snowboard--nothing!). As we rode the lift, I realized that, unlike the rest of the passengers, we were totally unprepared to jump off the lift and ski away.

I began to panic over our fate. Would we just jump off, fall down in the snow and become doormats for the following passengers as they jumped off after us? Would we have time to crawl away before someone fell on us?

Thankfully, the ski lift happened to take a route through the lobby of the lodge we were staying in, and we both jumped out in the warm lobby before the lift proceeded to go back outdoors. Crazy dream, don't ask me WHERE my mind came up with that one!

But to put a spiritual spin on it, perhaps my dream was God's way of showing me that there are areas of my life that I want to move forward with, take a big leap, but am really unprepared for. Maybe He's trying to tell me that before I can "ski", I need to equip myself--which usually means more time in His Word, more time spent in prayer, seeking His counsel (and counsel from wise people in my life).

So many times I make up my mind that I want to do something and I proceed without consulting God or measuring my preparedness. Maybe this dream was meant to show me the importance of prayerful planning before taking a big leap.

Tracking God's Progress

This weekend I completed my Christmas shopping, and even finished wrapping all of my gifts--except for one. I'm awaiting the arrival of one more gift (thanks, Amazon!). Normally when I place orders online I can use the tracking number to chart the order's progress in transit. I can see when the order was shipped, which cities it will travel through, and when it will supposedly reach its destination.

Today, when I checked the status for this particular order, however, it only told me when it was supposed to have shipped. For some reason, there's no intinerary for this package, no record (online, anyway) of where the package is or if it's been delivered. Since I took this past Friday off from work, I'm hoping that the order will be waiting for me at the office tomorrow.

Sometimes I think it would be great if we could consult a website and find out the estimated time of arrival for certain blessings and promises from God. It would help calm our nerves and ease our fears if we could see that, indeed, God is going to send that unexpected insurance check on Tuesday, or that He's going to send that much-needed encouraging phone call on Friday, or that He's going to erase that cancer before we go back to the doctor next week.

But while we might think having a God-tracking system would be a good thing, God knows better. It's in times where we don't know when (not to mention how) God is going to come through for us that our faith is really built. When we can't conceive of what He has planned for us, when we think we can't endure one more minute in the fire, He alone knows what we need, and when we need it.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. (Psalm 130:5-6)

Servanthood

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you." Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." "How will this be," Mary asked the angel, "since I am a virgin?" The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God." "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said." Then the angel left her. (Luke 1:26-38, emphasis mine)

One of the most humbling and challenging verses for me in all of Scripture is Luke 1:38. The angel Gabriel has just paid a surprise visit to young Mary, telling her that her plans to marry Joseph and live a typical Nazarene life have been radically altered. Now she will become pregnant, out of wedlock, and not even with her own fiance's baby but instead with the child of God Himself.

Although it takes a moment for the angel to convince her of the validity of this news, Mary does not try to argue her way out of it. She does not throw a hissy fit over this change in plans, nor does she seem to be fearful of what this pregnancy will do to her (and Joseph's) reputation.

Instead, she says, "I am the Lord's servant...May it be to me as you have said."

How I long to have that reaction to the Lord's leading in my life! I really wish that I could approach every challenge and change of (my) plans with the attitude that Mary had. I do not believe that this attitude came upon her in an instant, right when Gabriel appeared at her doorstep. I believe that she had cultivated this servant attitude throughout her young life, not knowing the magnitude of the plans that God had in store for her.

There have been many times when I have not reacted graciously and with a servant's heart when God announces a change in plans. I am trying to practice surrendering to Him in every aspect of my life, even the little areas, so that He can prepare me for bigger plans.

Bibles for Soldiers

Few people know more about danger and facing the enemy than the men and women serving in the military, particularly in war zones such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Although I don't have any immediate family members serving in the military, I know many others who have loved ones who have or are currently serving overseas. With Montgomery being a military town, I've also known many people who have served overseas, and I've always had a heart for the men and women who literally put their lives on the line every day in order to protect and preserve our freedom.

Campus Crusade for Christ has been distributing Rapid Deployment Kits (RDKs) to military folks overseas. These kits contain a New Testament (in camouflage, how cool!), a 90-day devotional, and a booklet explaining the Gospel.

I can't think of a situation where faith is needed more than when your life is in constant danger. Who knows how many men and women will come to know Christ through these RDKs. What a great ministry!

If you'd like to read more about RDKs (or make a donation to support the ministry), click here.

He Keeps Me Coming Back for More

Prayer, at times, is a big mystery to me. Sometimes God answers prayers in the way that we want Him to, or in even better, grander ways. Other times He says NO to our prayer requests. Or NOT NOW.

At times it seems like others around us are having every prayer answered in a positive way--solid marriages, healthy babies, financial prosperity all seem to drop into their laps effortlessly. Meanwhile, our own earnest prayers, asked in faith, may at times go unfulfilled.

I can't explain why God seems to be inconsistent in how He handles prayer requests. As Jesus said, He causes rain to fall on the just and the unjust. Sometimes the good guys win. Sometimes the bad guys win. Sometimes nobody wins. I can't explain it.

However, I do think one reason for this seeming inconsistency is that it actually fosters relationship with God. If He never answered any of my prayers, then I'd likely give up my faith. If He always answered them just the way I wanted Him to, on my timetable, then I might take Him for granted and eventually think I did not actually need Him.

Prayer is not easy business. Sure, some days the words flow effortlessly from my lips, words of praise and thanksgiving. But on some days they spill out tearfully as I pour out my heart to God in distress and disappointment. Many days I'm wrestling in prayer, unsure of exactly what to pray for but feeling a deeply-rooted need to pray anyway.

Sometimes I am so focused on seeing results to my prayers that I miss out on the greater purpose in prayer, which is fostering a relationship with God. I'm trying to not focus on seeing results from my prayers, but rather focus on deepening that relationship.

Beware of Imitations

Recently I set up a Paypal account for work so that we could collect transactions for online registration for our various meetings. As the Paypal administrator, all Paypal-related emails come directly to me.

Occasionally I'll get email that appears to be from Paypal, but in fact it is from someone else imitating Paypal. In some cases, the differences between the faker and the real deal are quite obvious. In other cases, however, you have to look and read pretty carefully to distinguish whether the email is authentic or a hoax.

Satan operates in much the same manner. He doesn't usually try to hook us with blatant sin (although he's had success in that area). Rather, he focuses on being an imitation of God, plying us with promises and possessions that seem to be good but that are actually evil in disguise.

As if there weren't already a zillion reasons why we should stay in the Word on a daily basis, here's another one: to help us discern real life that we have in Christ from the imitation life that Satan offers.

Talking to Yourself

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 42:5-6)

One of my favorite radio broadcasters is Nancy Leigh DeMoss. Last week she presented an excellent lesson entitled "Talk to Yourself". It highlighted the need for us to remind ourselves of God's goodness in times of trouble or discouragement.

She based the talk out of Psalm 42 and 43, psalms that are written in a time of distress. Yet the psalmist keeps returning to the refrain above, reminding himself to put his hope in God.

In her broadcast, Nancy said, "Talk to yourself. Tell yourself the Truth. Tell yourself what you know to be true. God is sovereign. God is wise. He doesn't make mistakes. God loves me. He's not going to bring anything into my life except that which would be for my ultimate good. Keep counseling your heart according to the Word of God. Tell your heart, “Hope in God.”"

You can read or listen to the entire broadcast here.

The Impossible Made Possible

I've been focusing a lot on the topic of surrender, namely surrendering my will, my desires, my life to God for His purposes. I'll be honest, it is not an easy feat. I don't think it's a one-time action; for me, anyway, surrender is a daily, sometimes several times daily, act. And even then I sometimes find myself kicking and screaming along the way.

It is especially difficult when what I desire is (in my opinion) good and righteous and yet seems to not be what God desires for me. Intellectually, I know all the verses about God's ways being higher than my ways, and about His having plans to prosper and not harm me, to give me hope and a future. But there are many, many times when my heart aches for something else, and I can't imagine how I will be able to completely surrender these desires to God.

This morning I was reminded of Jesus' conversation with the rich young man who quizzed Him about how to obtain eternal life. Jesus advised him to give his wealth to the poor and to come follow Him. This was more than just giving away his gold and cattle. This was asking the young man to give up his status, his place in the community, the influence that his wealth brought--as well as his desires for all of that. Basically, the young man needed to give up his very life in order to have the life that Jesus desired for him.

After the young man walked away dejected, unwilling to surrender his life, Jesus remarked that it was very difficult for the wealthy to enter the kingdom of Heaven, saying that it would be easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for the rich to enter Heaven.

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, "Who then can be saved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible." (Matthew 19:25-26, emphasis mine)

Giving up my dreams and desires, indeed my very life, seems like an impossible feat, and indeed I cannot do it on my own. It is only through God's power working in me that I can give these over to Him. I am learning more and more to lean on Him rather than trying to do it on my own.

Steering Problems

Two days in a row I've gone Christmas shopping, and both times I've ended up with shopping carts that were...shall we say...difficult to manuever. Apparently I have a knack for selecting defective carts. Even if I put a bum cart back and select another, I still somehow end up with a less than desirable cart.

When I get a "difficult" cart, my travails up and down the aisles don't go as smoothly or as easily as I would like. I often have to keep a tight grip on the cart in order to make turns or keep it from drifting to the opposite side of the aisle. Yesterday in the parking lot of one store, I loosened up a bit and my rebellious cart went off course, heading straight for another car. Luckily, I recovered the cart before it could do any damage.

I wonder how often God has to tighten His grip on our lives because we are difficult to "steer". Our reluctance to follow His lead, to go where He wants us to go, may cause Him to have to push us harder. Sometimes, like a runaway cart, we run away from God's steering and end up careening into someone else, causing damage in their lives as well as ours. If only we'd loosen up a bit and just do what He says to do and go where He says to go, our journey would be so much smoother.

Funny how God can teach me things even while I'm out shopping...