True... Not Fake News

When you got up this morning, did you feel like a masterpiece? When you spoke to your wife, did you say the things that should be said to someone who is highly valued by the Creator? When you addressed your imperfect child after they proved their imperfections, did you treat them with the honor due the workmanship of Almighty God? When your husband came home, did he receive the love and respect you would give to God’s work of art?

Dr. Neil Warren cites that research shows that “the average person has up to 1,300 words of self-talk per minute. These self-talk words are the brush strokes that paint pictures in our hearts. These thoughts are seeds we plant in our hearts that grow and produce” (Johnson, 2013, p. 286).

Most people that seek help to overcome stressful situations and anxiety in their lives, are struggling to think of themselves or others as God’s handiwork; His masterpiece. Rather, our minds seem to have a default setting of negativity.

I would encourage you to begin an exercise that can turn your life around and make your heart more pliable in the hands of The Potter… The Creator… your Master Designer… so that you can realize the masterpiece that is looking back at you in the mirror. It will help you see what is the truth, in God's eyes, and not settle for the "fake news" that Satan propagates. It is simple, but requires you to focus and be disciplined and dedicated. It will cost you nothing, but gain you everything.

1.      1)  Take the thoughts in your head at any given time. Picture yourself throwing a net over them and making them your captive.

2.     2)   Bring those captive thoughts to the foot of the throne of God and lay them at His feet. Now they are His to do with as He sees fit. If they are pleasing to Him, He will give them back to you to plant in the soil of your heart so they can grow into what will bring positive things into your life. If they displease Him, out they go!

3.     3)   Replace all the false beliefs and thoughts that have been discarded with thoughts that are true, according to His Word. Let me help you with that…
I I am his masterpiece.
I was created in the image of God and God is love, therefore I am made to love… everyone…always.
 Because God made me to love, He enables me to do so.
I am covered with an amazing grace, because my commitment to follow Jesus covers every shameful, negative memory and behavior and makes me lovely in God’s eyes.
I am loved so much by my Creator that He left heaven to make the ultimate sacrifice for me.
I can become the person He created me to be.
I can do whatever God calls me to do because He is my strength.
My children are a gift from God and I can cherish my time with them and treat them as such.
My spouse is loved by God and I can give them the love and respect that is pleasing to the One who loves them best.
I was made for a mission and listening and following Him will prepare me for that mission.

4.      4)  Repeat 1-3, daily… or hourly, if needed.

We are all a work in progress and every negative thought that we allow to take root in our heart slows that progress. I don’t want to waste my time and alter the legacy that God wants me to leave behind. I want to take advantage of the Power that is available to me through Jesus and allow Him to transform my thoughts. I believe that our behavior is guided by our thoughts, so if you don’t like what you hear coming out of your mouth or the feelings stirring in your heart, do something about it. Your legacy is your choice. Start today. Three simple steps that become your daily routine can change your life. 

Trivial Pursuit

It is a true statement that we are all pursuing something. As I write this it is Monday morning. Families all over America are frantically pursuing library books, backpacks and lunch money. Some are pursuing peace and quiet after a crazy weekend, while others are back in the workplace pursuing financial security and career advancement. Some are seeking approval, validation, love and commitment. Regardless of who you are, where you live, or where you come from, you are seeking to fulfill some need, or perceived need.

Perhaps your days may seem routine and mundane, and you don’t feel you are “in pursuit” of anything, but just trying to keep your head above water and put one foot in front of the other. If you really want to know what you are pursuing…  ask your kids. They have a way of breaking things down to the simplest form and cutting to the heart of the matter. As they watch how you spend your time and money and hear the words you frequently say, what do you think is their impression of what you are after in life?

Here are a few questions to consider that may indicate what you are inadvertently teaching your kids about what you value enough to pursue...

Do you find yourself rushing around and feeling frantic and panicked? Or do you have time every day to relax and just listen, laugh and live?

Are you spending more time at home looking at a screen or looking into the eyes of your child?

Is it more normal to miss worship than to miss practice?

Is the focus of bedtime pleading, or praying?

Does your menu indicate that your focus is building healthy bodies or just filling bellies?

Do you pay more attention to a clean room or a pure heart?

Does your calendar indicate that athletics trumps altruism, self-sacrifice and goodness?

Is home a haven where order is king or is ruled by haphazard chaos?

Is your primary "go to" scripture or Google?

Are you concerned more with grades or learning?

Are you more likely to surrender to avoid the conflict or do you teach the way out of the crisis?

Is there more consideration about what people think or what God thinks about your choices?

Are you living with too little margin in the budget or the calendar to reach out and help someone in need regularly?

We all want greatness for our kids. We want them to make the team, choose the right friends, learn from the best teachers, get good grades, make National Honor Society, win the game, use their talents, develop great skills, make wise choices. We want them to succeed. We want them to be noticed and awarded for their success. When the mother of two of Jesus’ disciples, seeking the best for her sons, asked Jesus to place them at his side as He rose to what she thought would be a mighty kingdom, he had a very interesting response that we can learn from today. 

Jesus pretty much tells this mother to be careful what she wishes for because being at His side was going to mean letting go of all that success and all those dreams and learning to live or die serving others. Wow! How many parents do you know that spend their parenting years teaching their children service over success? If it is important enough that Jesus told a mother of two very important men in his life, then perhaps it should be more important to us.

Finding balance and wisdom in raising children is not an easy task. Sometimes we get it right and sometimes we fail. The important thing is to know what is important to God and make sure that you don’t lean so far into what has no eternal significance that you end up supporting what has no value to the One who created them for His divine purpose... which is in some way wrapped around loving and serving Him and those in need around us.

Think Big!

I like to play it safe. I am not an adventurous risk taker. If it is outside of my comfort zone, I can rationalize all the reasons that I shouldn’t participate. I know how to play to my strengths and avoid dealing with my weaknesses. I can become crippled with fear at the thought of having to do something that seems nearly impossible to me and, probably not so very different from you, I can easily choose to live in a safe little world of serving God. I don’t look for opportunities to be in the limelight, but am perfectly content to sit in the shadows, giving support to those who will lead well. That is me. And I like me! Me is a comfortable and happy place to live. Me is content. Contentment is good. Right?

Contentedness is a paradox. It can be a blessing or a beast. Often it keeps me in a safe place, but what if God is calling me to a place where I would have to depend on Him, and not myself and my gifts. Sunday, Pastor Chris quoted Mark Batterson, “If your prayers aren’t impossible to you, they are insulting to God.” I haven’t been able to get that out of my mind. What could I really do for Jesus if I would be open to the impossible?

I have experienced times when I had to step way outside of my comfort zone. Like when our daughter, Emily, was in a research hospital in Chicago for 5 months. Driving in Chicago was WAY out of my comfort zone. Learning to speak medical-ese and ask lots of questions that probably that probably made me look like an idiot; challenging the decisions of the experts just to make sure they were really doing the best for her; having to ask for care for Justin, our younger son, so that I could be with Emily; depending on others to carry my load at home. All those things were completely out of my comfort zone and you can probably guess what happened in me as a result of leaving my comfort zone.

Then there was the call to lead elementary children at a church of nearly 2,000 people. I had only served in small churches, where I could know everyone and love on them and guide them into leadership. Now I was surrounded by strangers every week trying to know them like I did in a much smaller setting.

And I did fly to the other side of the globe to develop Children’s Ministry leaders at a Church Plant in Australia. Before then, I had never traveled outside of Indiana on my own. Now I was going to a place I had so little knowledge of, learning a different culture, loving on some amazing people who drove on the wrong side of the street, and trading the Indiana deer for the Queensland kangaroo. That was WAY out of my comfort zone.

In all those “discomfort zones,” I began to find a new me. There was growth and a broadening of my comfort zone. I learned so much that I can barely remember what it was like to be the me that played it safe. I learned that God is able to transform me into who He needs me to be at any given time, if I simply let go and allowed Him to direct my path.

But… that was five years ago and more. As I continue to mull over that sermon in my heart, I know that it is always time to pray bold prayers for God to use me in whatever manner will fulfil His plan. I must KNOW that my contentment is because I am in the center of His will, and not simply because what I am doing comes so naturally to me that it has become simple. My God has a big plan. Not a simple one.

Maybe it is time for you to join me in praying bold prayers and asking God to do big things in and through you. Maybe it is time to stop hiding behind the fear that we like to identify as humility. “I am just not good enough, I am not fast enough, I am not knowledgeable enough, I am not skilled enough… to do any more than I am already doing.” With all those “I” statements, are we really all that humble? We are totally focused on ourselves. When we compare ourselves to others, who are we thinking about? Ourselves! When we hide from new challenges, who are we thinking about? Ourselves.

Humility is NOT thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself, less. Maybe it is time to let go of all the false humility and allow God to take us to a whole new level of following Him. Imagine the fulfillment of actually taking your hands off the wheel and letting God steer you to new heights. Be bold and audacious as you pray for His will to be done in your life and you will see growth like never before! Who knows? He may even throw in the bonus of a few kangaroos!

Ambition

Have you read Luke’s account of the Last Supper that Jesus shared with His disciples? Remember the part where they argued among themselves about who was the greatest among them? It looks pretty ridiculous to us, because we know that Jesus was about to face a horrifying experience by any standard, and all they are thinking about is themselves. Keep reading and you find that Jesus didn’t condemn them for their pride issue. Perhaps His mind was reeling at their blindness, but at the same time He realized that the sacrifice He was about to make would provide atonement for such things. How did he respond? He reminded them that greatness, in God’s economy, comes from a servant’s heart.

So let’s bring that home. Where are your relationships sitting right now? If you are struggling to find the win, can I just toss you a lifeline right now and encourage you to take heart… find hope… come up for air?  Take a look at what is driving you. It is entirely possible that you have lost all your ambition to make the life you always dreamed of because your investment, to date, has been about your dreams for yourself. Step back and look at how that would change if your heart’s desire was to build up your husband, rather than shutting him down… or out. Guys, what if your joy came from meeting her intimacy needs rather than your own?

Often times our relationships are crowded with our ambitions to have our own needs met. Relationships typically begin because we have a void and he or she fills that void… until they stop… for a vast variety of reasons. We struggle to know what love is, because we see it as the feeling we get when our needs are met. That has to be the all-time win in the field of deception. The Bible tells us that God is Love and since God is God, he has no “needs.” He is, in fact, the supplier of needs. Love, then, is active and full of selfless ambition. When we love as God loves, we present ourselves as a living sacrifice to be used by Him to fulfill His plan.

Let’s face it. We compare ourselves to others way too much. “I do way more around the house than he does.” “I have to plan everything.” “I am far more giving…”  That is the absolute wrong path to be traveling. When the disciples of Jesus began to compare and wonder who was the greatest, Jesus told them that the one who serves is the greatest. If your motive is to serve, do it in love… and burn your scorecard!

Make loving selflessly your greatest ambition. “For God so loved the world that He gave…”  Believe that the God who gave the ultimate gift is able to supply your needs and learn to love as He loves… not for your benefit, but for the benefit of others. “For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice” (James 3:16). Not the “reward” I am looking for in this life. And I’m sure you don’t want to reap a harvest of disorder and evil, either.

Father, guide me down the path of servanthood and help me to kick selfish ambition out the door!