Friday, September 20, 2013

disappointments abound

Isaiah 58 has been my life verse for nearly 15 years now, nearly half my life. Part of it says this:

“Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen:
to loose the chains of injustice
    and untie the cords of the yoke,
to set the oppressed free
    and break every yoke?
Is it not to share your food with the hungry
    and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter
when you see the naked, to clothe them,
    and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?
Then your light will break forth like the dawn,
    and your healing will quickly appear;
then your righteousness[a] will go before you,
    and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.
Then you will call, and the Lord will answer;
    you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I.
“If you do away with the yoke of oppression,
    with the pointing finger and malicious talk,
10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry
    and satisfy the needs of the oppressed,
then your light will rise in the darkness,
    and your night will become like the noonday.
11 The Lord will guide you always;
    he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
    and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
    like a spring whose waters never fail.
12 Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins
    and will raise up the age-old foundations;
you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls,
    Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.




This is how i have chosen to live; daily, almost daily, i invest in people hoping to bring them out of the darkness, give them some, hope, or just make their general day to day life better. I often do not see the results of this. I hope for the best and God does the rest. I rarely feel disappointed in any of the young people that I work with when they do not succeed to the level that I was hoping they would. Thee are some that have disappointed me; but most I view on a different level, and i am aware that they are making these decisions for success or failure. 

it is another event altogether when i have a perceived idea of someone, a friend, and they disappoint you. i only say perceived idea because i may assume they didn't change, but were always the way they now appear. As a christian we have many choices before us, many paths to choose, many items to take up, many items to put down, and a life to live for Christ. (i'd go so far as to oppose the view  that says God's ultimate joy is seeing humankind doing whatever they find brings them pleasure). 

by god's help i will not be a disappointment-(tell me if you think i am; i will do something to change it).

Monday, September 16, 2013

Trust in the Lord

I do my best not to lean on my own understanding and in all my way acknowledge God.

The Church on a Swaying Bridge

" people aren’t willing to embrace the challenges of a lifestyle of obedience to Jesus as emphasized by the sound teaching in the New Testament" -Mike Bickle



"Some believers don’t hunger to grow in righteousness in their daily life. Rather, they seek to know how far they can go in sin and how little they need to talk with Jesus to keep their salvation intact." -Mike Bickle

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Where are you?

God I am thankful for where I am right now.
So many times and so much time is spent trying to get to where we want to be or where we are going.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
This house, this land, this country, this earth.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
This job, this income, these material items.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
So many of us envy to be others or to be like others; feeling jealousy continually.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.
There are people in our lives for a reason; don't take them for granted before they are taken.
God I am thankful for where I am right now.


Just yesterday I spoke with a few individuals that I hadn't seen in a little while. Each of them may have a tough time saying "God I am thankful for where I am right now", maybe not- but listening to them made me say it.

The first guy I hadn't seen since December. He had taken a trip to southern Ohio to live in a community of Juggalos (not to be confused with gigolos). He came by and said hi with his traveling backpack and a girl with bright pink hair. He said he plans on being around permanently.

The second guy I hadn't seen in about 3 months. He had been staying at an out of town shelter and working long days as a roofer for the summer. I will say he looked like he was in better shape than the last time I saw him. I surmised he probably made good money seeing that he didn't have any bills at the shelter. He said he only had a couple hundred dollars saved and was thinking of moving to Georgia with some nice people he had met at the shelter.

The third guy I hadn't seen in about four months. He is a pretty hyper active guy and it really is hard to follow his conversations; they are always so emotional as well. But I did get that he had been traveling with the carnival for the past few months. He told me that he met a lot of people who had warrants out on them and they were keeping on the move. He mentioned that he didn't particularly fit in so he came back to stay with his parents; whom he usually doesn't get along with.

The fourth guy I had seen about a month ago. He only lives a short distance away (by car). He has a medical marijuana license so people let him live with them (though I don't see what it would matter if they didn't have a medical marijuana license). He didn't say much other than the fact that he had to be going to get the bus soon (he told me the time to the minute).

People everywhere are living their own lives. Some may appear better than others, some may appears worse than others. But, God I am thankful for where I am right now.


 Timothy 6:6-11

New International Version (NIV)
But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Tuesday, September 03, 2013

Tyranny of the Urgent, Again.

This morning I took a shirt trip to Sams Club and bought a couple items. Sams Club brings a mixture of people; those who are meandering and carefully looking at items, while they lean on their over sized carts, and there are those who are buying for business with their flatbeds and lists hurrying about and looking determined.

I found myself shifting between the two today; only speaking or making eye contact when a collision ensured, but moving slowly and taking in the different products and people purchasing them. It wasn't a particularly busy morning in Sams Club. I got into a lane where a couple who appeared Chinese in ethnicity were finishing up their purchase. Their change was a dollar and some cents. I handed my card to the young lady who had multiple visible tattoos and she asked me to leave the heavier items in the cart. Items were scanned and she told me the total. I paid in several twenties and she was meticulously counting them; rubbing her fingers together, making sure I didn't over pay her (I'm not sure if that's the reason). But she was over zealous and tore one of the twenties right in half.; right don the middle. She looked shocked and repeated that she had ripped a twenty in half a couple times and told me not to worry about it (i wasn't). She finished the transaction; she was still holding the twenties, all of them. The receipt printed and she handed it to me and I started to leave; as if i was in a hurry. She said, oh don't forget your change as she was holding a half of a twenty in each hand and the others were strewn around the checkout counter. I said, oh that's right, as I realized that I really was not in a hurry. So I backed up and waited for her to get the change out of the drawer as we made small talk about ripped twenties: "it's like two tens" "wish i had some tape" "maybe i should put it i a special spot in the drawer" "money is money".  I noticed her name tag (mostly because I just read a couple pages from a book my wife was reading from her work about customer service), told LaayLaah to have a nice day and went to get my items inspected and marked by security on the way out.

It is so easy to get caught up in the importance of  "our time" and be hurried about what we are doing to get t the next thing that we will be doing.You know, it isn't only busibodies who succumb to the tyranny of the urgent. The lazy do the same thing: waiting until the mail comes then rushing to get it, waiting for the W-2s to spend the refund as quick as possible (like the money is on fire and it would burn if put into your pocket). Hurrying to watch a show impatiently because the one they wanted to watch is on next.
STOP.
Stop recording shows to make you think you are controlling the urgent(though I am sure that some people do manage this well), only to get home and watch everything you have recorded as fast as possible.
STOP.
Meditate on the goodness of God in the peace and quiet.
Sit and do nothing for a couple minutes.
Stand and look around you at the store; what's happening?
Listen to the leaves fall (in Michigan).
Listen to the cars drive, and as you quiet yourself listen to the tires, the fan belts, and even the people or music inside.
Feel the cold (or warmth depending on where you are).

Doing this will help clarify what is urgent and what is important. Breathe.