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That Empty Basket
I remember when schools would recognize and celebrate Easter. That’s how old I am!
One year my elementary school was going to have an Easter egg hunt with a prize for the student that collected the most eggs. Now my mom and dad were frugal people, certainly by necessity and equally by choice. Their Appalachian Kentucky upbringing has instilled in them the values of a dollar and ‘living within theirs means.’ For the Easter Egg hunt, each student needed to bring a basket to collect eggs. Roger. Check!
As the Easter Egg hunt came closer, I was peppering my mom with reminders that I needed a basket for “the hunt.” As a kid, if ‘hunt’ was in the name of the event, I was all in. Back to the frugal living and the multi-use basket. The day before the hunt, my sweet mother remembered we had a basket that I could use. My sister, Teresa, had been a flower girl some time prior to this event and I could use the basket she had used. Okay, let’s go!
So hunt day came and I was sizing up the competition. There was a glaring difference between my basket and the competitors baskets. Mine was open on either end, while theirs were round and about 4” deep compared to my 2” on the sides basket, remembering again the open ends. Hmm, I thought, this may be a competitive disadvantage, but I will overcome. I have always been a glass half-full kind of guy and in this case the glass was half empty.
“On your mark. Get set. Go!” The great Easter egg hunt of first grade was under way and man I was shot out of a cannon. I was finding eggs like a madman, driven by want, need and expectation. I wanted those eggs! I needed that acknowledgement of ‘champion.’ I expected glory and accolades for the job well done. What I wanted, needed and expected never came.
As quickly as I would find an egg and place it in my open-ended basket, that same egg would tumble out and break (these were the days of real eggs, colored for the occasion). To my horror and ultimately utter disgust, after finding what seemed to be hundreds of eggs, my basket was empty. The fruit of my labor lay scattered all around that Arlington, TX elementary school playground. My heart was broken, because my heart was focused on wrong things.
Through the years and decades, I have no idea who won that Easter egg hunt. I have tears in my eyes and am literally laughing as I remember my beautiful mother doing her best with what she had to prepare me for that event and this event called “life.” I remember the roars of uncontrollable laughter with my family as the pain of the moment gave way to the incredible joy that resulted from the event. I wanted to destroy that little flower basket with my baseball bat and my dad and mom did not allow me, knowing that my view of that old basket would change from anger to love as I ran across it through the coming years.
Today as I view that old cross, where my beautiful and perfect Savior bled and died, I view it with love, gratitude and eternal thanks. You see, that cross was so ugly, soaked in innocent blood, holding the only perfect person to ever walk this earth, with shouts of accusation and horrid sounds of mourning filling the air. Then that cross was empty as Jesus was removed from its sadistic confines and laid in a new tomb, carved out for purposes that its owner could not know. That cross became the symbol of death and life. The physical presence that now represents hope and life. That old rugged cross has become a source of light, love, joy, laughter. Like that little flower basket, the cross moved from failure to ultimate victory.
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross,so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” 1 Peter 2:24 (NIV)
There is purpose in this day between. What you may be viewing as defeat today, may be preparing you for the victory that comes in the morning.
“So I’ll cherish the old rugged Cross
Till my trophies, at last, I lay down
I will cling to the old rugged Cross
And exchange it some day for a crown”
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The Day Before
“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out. before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16 (NLT)
The day before. The day before Jesus’ death, he knew. The day before his death was filled with purpose as was his entire life. He met and spent time with those that he had spent the last three years with, ministering, serving and praying one last time. He did this knowing that those gathered around this evening’s last supper would abandon him in those horrid hours that would lead to his death on that cross.
“And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe.” John 14:29 (NASB)
Jesus foretold his death at least 3 times in each of the Gospels. He referenced his death in Mark chapters 8, 9 & 10, as well as Matthew 16 and Luke 9. He did this for the benefit of those following him, so the surprise and horror of Friday would not be a total shock to his followers. It was! We so often hear what we want to hear as opposed to what is said. Need proof? Why do we worry? Why do we pursue fleeting happiness instead of living a life of purpose? Why are we not committed to ensuring that every person we come in contact with understands that life on earth is but a few years? That Heaven or Hell are eternal and where we will spend our eternity. That the value of the person in front of us is so much more than all work and material possessions can ever deliver. Why do we work 2/3rds of our life in order to spend the final 1/6th of it pursuing gratification in things that don’t satisfy? I still cannot find the “retirement” chapters or references in the Bible. I find next.
Were told in Isaiah that King Hezekiah was allowed 15 more years beyond when he thought he was going to die. I wonder did he start a countdown of those 5,475 days? We’re told that he lived more slowly and I interpret this that he was present in the day, the hour, the moment that he was in. We see Hezekiah go from an inwardly focused human to an outwardly expressing man concerned about living a life of faithfulness, desiring to reflect a godly man to the generations that would come after him.
The awareness of a finite amount of days for each of us is a life gift. I marvel at the impact Jesus’ 32 years on earth set into motion, that continues today. At age 12 he was in his Father’s house with the elders discussing scripture and seemingly surprised that Mary and Joseph did not know that is where he would be. He directly says to his disciples “who is my family,” when they mention that his mother and brothers are there to see him. Jesus teaches us that time is precious and limited. He teaches us that purpose and sharing the hope of eternity is our greatest assignment. He teaches us that rest is imperative but not at the cost of righteousness and example.
This holy day before the World’s greatest injustice, the lesson is clear. Time matters. Time is limited. Purpose is powerful. Hope reigns eternal. Our days are limited. How we choose to live and spend our days is a reflection of our heart. Self gratification must surrender to lives sharing the only Truth, that is Jesus Christ.
Make today count. It’s one more off of the calendar that is your life.
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Angel Tears?
Were there tears shed in Heaven as God’s only son arrived in Jerusalem?
“Most of the crowd spread their garments on the road ahead of him, and others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. Jesus was in the center of the procession, and the people all around him were shouting, “Praise God for the Son of David! Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord! Praise God in highest heaven!” The entire city of Jerusalem was in an uproar as he entered. “Who is this?” they asked. And the crowds replied, “It’s Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee.” Matthew 21:8-11 (NLT)
Father, your mysteries are magnificent and your gifts too numerous to count. As your beloved son rode that donkey into the city of his death, were tears being shed in Heaven? Father, why did you give us tears? You tell us in Genesis 1:27 that we are created in your image? In Genesis 6:6 you tell us that you mourn the wickedness of humanity. John 11:33-35 tells us that Jesus was weeping with those mourning the death of Lazarus, with 11:35 simply, completely and profoundly stating “Jesus wept.”
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Psalm 56:8 (NLT)
As I write this I was amazed to learn scientists have found that tears release toxins associated with grief. I also learned that only humans, formed in your image, have the ability to weep and release tears, associated with emotional or spiritual events. Your other animals have tears to water their eyes but only those of us formed in your image the ability to cry emotionally.
So Father, on this day of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, were tears being shed in Heaven? Was the knowledge or what was to come so overwhelming that tears flowed from your angels? Were they tears of sadness that Jesus was to be unjustly killed at the behest of the mob, who on this day were celebrating his entry into the city? Were they tears of joy that humanity, your beloved children so broken and far from you, would in a few short days have a direct pathway to you? Were the angels mourning the suffering that was coming for your son or did they see the emptiness in your eyes caused by the separation from your earthly children? Or Father, did they see in you the understanding that the forthcoming death of your son would bring life allowing Heaven to be populated with your children formerly separated from you by unreconciled sin?
“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)
Father, today and every day we worship you. Today we celebrate your beautiful, sinless, perfect son who willingly rode that donkey carrying him to his death. Today, Father, I can write, pray, talk and seek you directly because your sinless son rode over those palms laid on that dusty street. Thank you, Lord, for Palm Sunday.
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Hello?
“Look at me. I stand at the door. I knock. If you hear me call and open the door, I’ll come right in and sit down to supper with you. Conquerors will sit alongside me at the head table, just as I, having conquered, took the place of honor at the side of my Father. That’s my gift to the conquerors!” Revelation 3:20-21 (MSG)
We have three (yep, three) rescue dogs. All mutts. All different in size, shape and personality. ‘Rosie’ is the oldest and a Chiweenie. Part Chihuahua and part Dachshund. ‘Pennie’ is the middle dog and was rescued by our son from the dog pound. We have no idea what her genetic makeup is. ‘Remington’ (Remi) is the youngest and was found under and overhang of our neighbor’s barn, cold, wet and a young puppy. He is part Great Pyrenees and part Golden Retriever.
A dog’s life at our home is a pretty good life. Two square meals a day. Treats any time you come in from going to the bathroom (outside) and treats if one of your fellow dog mates goes ‘potty.’ Couches to lay on and systematically destroy. Toys to play with, squirrels to bark at and chase, UPS, USPS and Amazon drivers to greet with resounding barking of welcome…maybe! Human food to share. Acres upon acres of land to run and if you’re Remi, a pond to swim in and chase the fish. Life is good as a dog here.
Then there’s the front door. The conduit to the outside. The outside full of adventure and relief. Smells, sounds, escape from the mundane. Risk. Did I mention risk. The front door is also the riskiest part of being a dog in the Mullins house. (Megan is not convinced that the three are dogs. She prefers to elevate them to human status as she talks with them and asks them questions, to which I ask her if they ever answer? “They know what I am saying” is her response.)
You see, the front door is the gateway to the great outdoors for our dogs, but also the barrier to the inside of our house. Truth be known, the door is the likeliest place that our dogs will not be heard and will be forgotten during to busyness of life occurring inside the house. Pennie will softly and systematically scratch until we let her in, standing there as long as it takes to be heard. Remi will start off softly scratching and ratchet up the intensity of his scratching until someone lets him in. Rosie starts off with intense and insistent scratching the minute she wants in and in truth, is the hardest to forget about or ignore. The bottom line is the door is our dogs gateway to freedom and barrier to the comfortable climate of care and showers of love.
For some reason as I read my Bible this morning, I was overwhelmed with the awareness and comfort that we do not have to knock more than once or loudly on Heaven’s door. The Father always hears us the first time. The Son died so that we might be heard always and ensured eternal life the minute we ask, the first time, without the need for continual knocking. The Spirit invades us when we simply, quietly and completely surrender our body, our mind and our life to Him. It only requires one knock and a step.
“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; the one who seeks finds;and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8 (NIV)
We love our dogs and they love us. They are marvelous gifts from our ever-loving Father in Heaven. They are a training ground for our children and a source of unconditional and limitless love if we care for them as they deserve like all precious things entrusted to us in this life.
“So I say to you: 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; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 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 the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Luke 11:9-14 (NIV)
God’s door is always open and our knock always heard. He hears you. He invites you in. He unconditionally loves you and forgives all sin and failings. He is the Restorer. He is the assigner of purpose. He forgives and he forgets. He loves beyond our human ability to understand. He greets with arms wide open. Just knock once and He will let you in.
You’ve got this.
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Believe It!
“Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die.”
I have read Romans chapter five hundreds, if not thousands of times. This morning verse 7 stood out, glaring at me with the fact that our selectivity of scripture likely leads to a life allowing scripture in when relevant, versus a life conforming to what the Bible teaches. “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:2 (KJV).
We live in a tenuous time of scriptural selectivity to fit our lives and align with what our heart desires and mind chooses to believe, versus acceptance of the whole body of scripture, perfectly written as a guidebook for living and the assurance of eternity.
I love that God does not burden me/us with the responsibility of vetting people. I love that he alone determines who is righteous. Who is good. What is relevant. What is noise and deceiving, versus what is important and true. I have often heard someone say “they’re a good person,” when the fact is one equally broken human is assigning what can only be assigned by the Creator of all things. True value. True worth. Righteousness.
John 1:1 (KJV) says “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” There are few more definitive statements of the truth, the value and the inerrancy of the God’s word than John 1:1. I was recently with a group of men struggling with a book in the Bible that does not necessarily align with today’s modern viewpoint of gender, roles, gender responsibilities and gender assignments. God’s Word being diminished by a desire to align it to our desires, subtly eroded through decades of male verses female that have brought us to the precipice rejecting the truth of the inerrancy of all of God’s Word. And the acknowledgment that His Word was gifted in physical form through humans that he supernaturally delivered what always has been. The Word.
One of the men in the group made a profound and true statement “that it is a slippery slope when we (humans) decide which books are relevant in the Bible” versus which can be discounted or ignored because they do not align with modern Christianity. In Matthew 22:31-32, Jesus argued with the Pharisees over the tense of a single word. Then in John 10:35, Jesus said that “the Scripture cannot be broken.” In 2 Timothy 3:16 we are told that “All scripture is God breathed”
When speaking I often use the example of entrusting one of my family member’s life to a surgeon that requires a textbook to learn the surgery needing done. While my loved one is at risk of dying without the aforementioned surgery, I choose not to entrust them to a person not ready to perform what is needed. My point is this through this illustration is this, we must be ready, full of knowledge, understanding context, and delivering the true hope that is found only in the entirety of God’s Word, versus risking delivering a false doctrine based upon Biblical selectivity. I expect the surgeon to be learned, skilled and capable of performing the needed surgery with a precision and ability gained from years of learning, practice and expertise. So too does God expect us to pursue righteousness gained through surrender, study, learning and complete acceptance.
“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:6-8
Context! I rest peacefully in the knowledge that ‘God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’ I accept that he knows what I need better than my limited human mind can ever comprehend. I choose to trust His Word. A trust that has and continues to come through the reading and seeking the truth that only comes from His Word.
Faith leads to trust. Trust to hunger for knowledge. Knowledge that many things are beyond my ability to understand. Which leads me back to trust. Which surrenders to faith.
Trust that God’s Word, the Bible, is the only source of truth in this World. Lighten the burden of life by surrendering to the truth that God has gifted us through His Word. It is more than enough!
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Boldly Brewed
We are out of synch at the Mullins house. Somehow after many years of guarding timing, we have managed to need coffee on the odd weeks when it is not on sale. Troubling!
“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.” 1 John 3:1 NIV
We drink Costco Kirkland Pacific Bold brand coffee. About every 3-4 weeks this coffee will be on sale for $6.00 off on the Keurig-style pods. It is normally during that time, we jump and buy our next box. But….somehow, we are now needing the replacement on non-sale weeks. Troubling!
I suspect this issue has arisen because Megan has begun drinking more than one cup in the morning, resulting in our OCD life have yet another challenge. I am praying. 1) Possibly require Megan to return to one cup per day? Hmm, very painful idea in many, many ways. 2) Reduce my daily consumption to 2 from the current 3 cups. Yeah, right! 3) When “the sale” occurs next, buy two boxes to right the ship and get back on schedule. Or 4), thank the Lord that this false issue that pales in comparison to the issues being faced by so many around me, and turn my heart and help outward to those truly in need of the hope that is Jesus Christ and the help, we as his children are commanded to deliver.
“Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:9-11 ESV
I write this to illustrate the pettiness that I allow to enter my life of great purpose. My life that is to introduce others to the only hope, that is Jesus Christ. My life that is to illustrate love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. My life so immeasurably blessed that I should never, ever expend energy or surrender gratitude and joy to petty things. My life that is his son, surrendered to the King of all kings, deserving of my best. My life, forgiven through miraculous grace and mercy too marvelous to understand, only to accept. My life, a gift from the Maker, responsible to reflect Him in every thought, action and deed.
You are the beloved creation of the Creator of all things. Walk joyfully. Live purposefully. Surrender willingly. Accept blindly. Give boldly. Love completely. You are the hope of the person(s) who will be standing in front of you. Reach out and touch them and tell them, ‘this too shall pass’ and this too is just not a big deal when laid at the feet of the Father. Show them that they are loved.
So Costco, you are getting $6 more that I have been willing to pay for coffee. Enjoy the financial windfall as I enjoy that beautiful black and bold blend each morning. It’s worth the extra $6 bucks.
You are worth so much more than you know. Gratefully accept God’s valuation of you. It is the only one that matters.
You’ve got this.
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Count it all Joy
Joy, the great heart healer and mind protector.
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13 NIV
A good friend, Pastor and spiritual mentor recently sent me a short video of John Piper discussing Psalm 51 and the power of joy. He sent this to me because he knows that I often write about joy and that I believe wholeheartedly in the spiritual truth of joy and the metaphysical impact of joy.
I recently completed writing a book whose structure revolves around Galatians 5:22-23, the Fruits of the Spirit. As I wrote, it became clear to me that of the nine attributes of fruit from the Spirit, it was not just random placement but prioritization of joy coming after love before peace. The recognition that joy cannot exist without love and peace not truly experienced without joy was an amazing revelation to my limited mind.
We simply cannot experience the joy that comes in the morning, without the love that we were instructed toward the only God and our neighbor as was outlined numerous times throughout the Bible, and concisely affirmed by Jesus to those trying to trip him up. “Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:37-40 NIV
As we all know, there has direct correlation between physical healing and one’s mental state. Zig Ziglar said it really well, “we all need a daily check up from the neck up to avoid stinkin’ thinkin’ which ultimately leads to the hardening of attitudes.” When we allow joy to invade our hearts, minds, actions, life, we remove the hardening of the attitudes by replacing fruitless thinking with the hope, acceptance and trust of lives surrender to Christ through faith and understanding.
“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Proverbs 17:22 NIV
The truth is as I have gotten older, I simply do not want to be around people who don’t emit joy. Life’s short and our purpose too important to wallow in the travails of an Eeyore, from Winnie the Pooh, life approach. Eeyore’s famous Joy sucking quotes including among many “If it is a good morning, which I doubt” and “The sky has finally fallen. Always knew it would.” We are forgiven through the grace and mercy of a benevolent God whose love never ceases. Whose gifts are endless and whose patience without measure. The joy that results from this assurance should be boundless and without restraint. Tell someone today that the storms of life are marvelous gifts that result in new growth and greater purpose.
How do you respond to rain? Another day of mud, umbrellas, wet shoes and footprints tracked in the house? Or refreshed air, watered earth resulting in greener grass, more vibrant flowers, the refilling of our life-dependent water table. Life’s greatest joy always follows a life that loves and precedes the peace that follows the storm.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds.” James 1:2 NIV
When life gives you lemons, make lemon meringue pie, lemonade, lemon cookies (Ham’N Goodies Knoxville) or plant their seeds and grow trees that form a business focused on lemon requiring products. Find the joy in the lemon sitting in front of you. Deliver the joy that life’s lemons can and will produce if only you let them.
I love and often sing to our kids the song, “Joy, Joy, Joy.” Simple, life giving, purpose affirming, approach defining words written for children, too often lost by us in adulthood. Today accept joy. Recognize the love that is all around you, given by a Heavenly Father whose mercies surround you and are delivered by the Spirit that invades you. You were created to be the example of hope that boundless joy delivers.
“I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Where?
Down in my heart!
Where?
Down in my heart!
I’ve got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart
Down in my heart to stay”. Composer Unknown – I know Who put this in the composer’s heart.
“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.” John 16:24 NIV
You’ve got this.
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I AM’s Kid
I found myself in a discussion with our son the other day where in the heat of the moment I said, “you are a ‘Mullins’ and we give every ounce of effort to do our best.” Fail!
Since that discussion, moments of frustration and allowing myself to become angry where grace and mercy were needed, my Father in Heaven has reminded me that my son is the son of I AM and his earthly father is also I AM’s son. I often tell our kids that their education funds may well be needed for therapy funds. What an amazing title “the daughter or son of I AM.”
“God replied to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM. Say this to the people of Israel: I am has sent me to you.” Exodus 3:14 NLT
I so desire for our kids identity to be completely in Christ. I desire this for my own life and for Megan’s life as well. As I write this my inclination was to write ‘I want A PART of their identity to be in Christ.’ My prayer, my plea, my hope is that their complete identity is solely in Christ alone. Why, because it is the only identity that matters and the only identity that creates within us a life of purpose that properly places value on the only thing of real value that matters, people. God’s beautiful children. Satan’s target for destruction.
When I am speaking I often say that I want Satan to hate me and encourage all to consider their threat to Satan and his legions of evil. Yet, after boldly making that statement, I question why I feel under attack at times. I encourage my children to live lives that honor their family name. Their earthly family name. Their identity as a Mullins, versus their only identity that matters and will stand through time. God’s beloved son or daughter. Thankfully, God has provided me a wife and children who love me despite, not because.
“But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9 NLT
I cannot remember what we gave our kids as gifts for Christmas last year. I can remember when I listened to all three of our kids ask Jesus into their heart. I cannot remember mistakes made last Summer but I do remember the sweet voices of our kids saying, ‘I love you, momma’ and their prayers of gratitude to their ever-loving Father in Heaven. I see in them all that is good and all that is hope and I see in them the sinful nature that only God can, will and does forgive and remove…if only we ask.
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Ephesians 2:10 NIV
So I seek to instill within our kids the value and identity that I seek for myself. An identity rooted in Jesus Christ. An identity free of guilt and shame. An identity that accepts what is freely given. An identity that cannot be earned. An identity assigned through Grace and Mercy by the Creator of all things, ‘who knew us before we were in our mother’s womb.’ Less of ‘Mullins’ and all of ‘I AM.’
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5 ESV
Our identity in Christ is a shield to repel all attacks. Our identity in Christ is a fuel to embolden us to live lives of example that shares hope. Our identity in Christ is a safe harbor from the storms of life and this World. Our identity in Christ is simply and completely, enough.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15 ESV
You’ve got this.
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Do your expectations match the ability of the Giver?
“Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who “worry their prayers” are like wind-whipped waves.” James 1:6 MSG
I must admit that I often limit a limitless God by bowing before him and meekly asking for minimal things and then weakly expecting. When preparing to eat I ask for the food to be blessed without asking for health, ability, mental acuity and stamina that food can deliver. As I go through the day I ask the Lord to watch over me and my family and those that I love, without asking for God’s marvelous grace and mercy to shine through me to others and for my life to shine so brightly that it would cause others to run to him, desiring what lives in me. In the evening as I thank my Father for his goodness for another day completed, I fail to see and praise him for the miracle that is my life and the miracles that formed my day.
I have a propensity to become desensitized to redundant things. The gift of water that is provided by simply turning a knob when in many cultures, women will spend 40% of their life hauling water for the families. I can position myself in the seat of one of our several vehicles and simply turn a key or press a button and be whisked away to a destination in minutes and hours that until a few short decades ago would have taken days, weeks or even months to complete. I have the ability to pick up the device in my pocket and talk with people, see the person on the other end by video, access hundreds of millions of data facts, calculate within seconds what on paper would take hours and check my vital signs. All things until 25 years ago, hard to imagine. All things to people just a few generations removed, incomprehensible.
I become desensitized to the miracle of heated or cooled air. The ability to maintain milk, vegetables, meat for days and weeks. The ability to order a need or want and have it delivered within the next day and in some cases, hours. I am desensitized by health that most enjoy and shocked when someone I love or am close to deals with sickness because modern medicine protects me from what used to take so many in adolescence or youth. I take for granted the innumerable gifts of my Father in Heaven. I am desensitized to the miracles that compromise my life.
I love the melody, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me.” Powerful words from Matthew 6. The God of the Universe watches over you and me. He loves me and you. He created us. He assigned us a royal identity as the daughter and son of the King of all Kings. His desire to bless us limitlessly. His longing to walk with us, never ending. His ability deliver the desires of our heart, eternal. His expectation that we have only one God who is placed above all else and is absolute.
“But ask the beasts, and they will teach you; the birds of the heavens, and they will tell you; or the bushes of the earth, and they will teach you; and the fish of the sea will declare to you. Who among all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10 ESV
I love that I have a Father who is never desensitized to my needs and who always delivers what is best for me. I love how he allows me to stumble but catches me before I fall over the edge. I love that my Heavenly Dad doesn’t mind a son who perpetually has the grime and stains of sin and is willing to wash me white as snow. I love that God has given me a life of abundance, measured by his standards and not the temporary standards of a desperate World.
I love because his Son showed a love so deep, so wide, so everlasting that never becomes desensitized towards me and all who seek him. I live because he loves.
I’m going to ask for greater things through a smaller me. More of Him. Less of me.
“He must become greater; I must become less.” John 3:30 NIV
You’ve got this.
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Would You Have Listened?
My dad became infinitely strong in my eyes, when he became most vulnerable through confession to me.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV
I choose laughter. I choose joy. I choose gratitude. I choose to live expectantly and take the life experiences, both good and bad to shape my future. There is hope for the future that comes from the life-limiting or life-empowering historical moments that shape our future. I choose empowerment and I pray you will too.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV
When my mother was promoted to Heaven almost 25 years ago, my world was devastated. She was my rock. My greatest supporter. My lifeline. My encourager. She was my protector. And maybe, she was my enabler. Whatever descriptions that I use for my mom, she was the purest form of love that I knew on this earth. Then, she was gone.
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14 ESV
I remember asking my dad, “why didn’t you say anything?, when I was sharing with him about accepting God’s Grace & Mercy, about surrendering my whole life to Jesus Christ, about the realization of the Homy Spirit living within me. My dad responded, “would you have listened?” It was in that moment of that profound response by dad to my question that God opened my eyes to the value of the earthly father sitting in front of me. The truth is, ‘no, I would not have listened.’
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14 ESV
You see for decades I had chosen to focus on the failings of my dad in my childhood. I had chosen a victim’s mentality versus a mature recognition of the value of the man in front of me. My dad was not perfect by a long shot. But man o man, he was a great father. Through personal life trauma, through decades of professional disappointment, through the rejection of his son, through the loss of his beloved and cherished wife, through it all, he stayed. He was steadfast. He provided. He prayed. He loved.
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 ESV
So when my father asked those life illuminating words of “would you have listened,” he followed up with, “so I prayed for you.” And he had, for decades. I can only imagine those lonely days, weeks and even months where he did not hear from his son. His prodigal son. His immature, selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic son, who avoided the mirror by focusing blame outwardly where introspection and personal responsibility was needed. Then God said, it is time.
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Ephesians 4:13 ESV
I found joy and reconnection after the devastating loss of my mother. I miss her every day, but with joy in my heart and thankfulness that she did not have to live how her life would have been. I found purpose in her leaving through the reconnection with my dad. There I am old cliche that says “be careful or you might get what you ask for.” When I asked my dad about his childhood and life, I wept as we spoke that Tuesday afternoon over the phone for over 3 hours. As he shared, I realized that ‘my dad has been so much better than his dad, and his dad’s dad, and on and on.’ My dad was the next link in a chain of generational curses and he was doing his best to hacksaw through that chain. And he did!
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 ESV
For the 23 years that I had my dad after my mother’s passing, he became my best friend. He became the father to me that he consistently was while his immature boy blamed and ran. His steadfast love for me amazing me to this day. My dad went from a father, to a friend who was my dad. He became a my closest source of guidance and encouragement. He guided me as a father to young children often teaching me to not repeat the broken things of the past. He was my spiritual guide, theological source and most beautiful example of what a godly man should look like.
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV
Why do I write all of this? Because I work with men and young men on a daily basis whose live have been derailed. I write this because these good men and young men that I work with have and are living lives devoid of a father. Sometimes lacking a mother in their life but almost always without a father. My Father in Heaven gave me a great dad, through whose example I now express the hope of a future, the purpose of a man, the role of a father, the love of our Dad in Heaven. My dad’s example compels me to pray. To observe. To love. To walk alongside. But more than anything else, to pray.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 ESV
Whatever you have been through, there is purpose. Wherever you are currently, there is hope. Whatever road you are currently traveling, the Father sees you, the Son died and rose again for you and the Holy Spirit desires to abide within you. Just ask and receive.
“Thank you, dad. I am listening.”
You’ve got this.
My dad became infinitely strong in my eyes, when he became most vulnerable through confession to me.
“When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” 1 Corinthians 13:11 ESV
I choose laughter. I choose joy. I choose gratitude. I choose to live expectantly and use the life experiences, both good and bad to shape my future. There is hope for the future that comes from the life-limiting or life-empowering historical moments that shape our future. I choose empowerment and I pray you will too.
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” James 1:2-4 ESV
When my mother was promoted to Heaven almost 25 years ago, my world was devastated. She was my rock. My greatest supporter. My lifeline. My encourager. She was my protector. And maybe, she was my enabler. Whatever descriptions that I use for my mom, she was the purest form of love that I knew on this earth. Then, she was gone.
“But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:14 ESV
I remember asking my dad, “why didn’t you say anything?,” when I was sharing with him about accepting God’s Grace & Mercy, about surrendering my whole life to Jesus Christ, about the realization of the Holy Spirit living within me. My dad responded, “would you have listened?” It was in that moment of that profound response by dad to my question that God opened my eyes to the value of the earthly father sitting in front of me. The truth is, ‘no, I would not have listened.’
“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” Hebrews 5:12-14 ESV
You see for decades I had chosen to focus on the failings of my dad in my childhood. I had chosen a victim’s mentality versus a mature recognition of the value of the man in front of me. My dad was not perfect by a long shot. But man o man, he was a great father. Through personal life trauma, through decades of professional disappointment, through the rejection of his son, through the loss of his beloved and cherished wife, through it all, he stayed. He was steadfast. He provided. He prayed. He loved.
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 ESV
So when my father asked those life illuminating words of “would you have listened,” he followed up with, “so I prayed for you.” And he had, for decades. I can only imagine those lonely days, weeks and even months where he did not hear from his son. His prodigal son. His immature, selfish, self-absorbed, narcissistic son, who avoided the mirror by focusing blame outwardly where introspection and personal responsibility was needed. Then God said, it is time.
“Until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,” Ephesians 4:13 ESV
I found joy and reconnection after the devastating loss of my mother. I miss her every day, but with joy in my heart and thankfulness that she did not have to live how her life would have been. I found purpose in her leaving through the reconnection with my dad. There I am old cliche that says “be careful or you might get what you ask for.” When I asked my dad about his childhood and life, I wept as we spoke that Tuesday afternoon over the phone for over 3 hours. As he shared, I realized that ‘my dad has been so much better than his dad, and his dad’s dad, and on and on.’ My dad was the next link in a chain of generational curses and he was doing his best to hacksaw through that chain. And he did!
“Brothers, do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature.” 1 Corinthians 14:20 ESV
For the 23 years that I had my dad after my mother’s passing, he became my best friend. He became the father to me that he consistently was while his immature boy blamed and ran. His steadfast love for me amazes me to this day. My dad went from a father, to a friend who was my dad. He became a my closest source of guidance and encouragement. He guided me as a father to young children often teaching me to not repeat the broken things of the past. He was my spiritual guide, theological source and most beautiful example of what a godly man should look like. He prepared me.
“So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good.” 1 Peter 2:1-3 ESV
Why do I write all of this? Because I work with men and young men on a daily basis whose lives have been derailed. I write this because these good men and young men that I work with have and/or are living lives devoid of a father. Sometimes lacking a mother in their life but almost always without a father. My Father in Heaven gave me a great dad, through whose example I now express the hope of a future, the purpose of a man, the role of a father, the love of our Dad in Heaven. My dad’s example compels me to pray. To observe. To love. To walk alongside. But more than anything else, to pray.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” 2 Peter 3:18 ESV
Whatever you have been through, there is purpose. Wherever you are currently, there is hope. Whatever road you are currently traveling, the Father sees you, the Son died and rose again for you and the Holy Spirit desires to abide within you. Just ask and receive.
“Thank you, dad. I am listening.”
You’ve got this.
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