PROMISED FEASTS

We’ve been in our rental home now for just over three months.  In that time, we’ve come to know our neighbors to the east fairly well.  We haven’t been as good as I would have liked with getting to know all of our neighbors (even with our neighbors to the east), but we have had quite a number of interactions with them simply by being outside at the same time.

One of the things that Heidi and I really struggled with in the parsonage was that we didn’t have any “neighbors”.  Living at the back of the five-acre property didn’t allow us to sit on the front steps and talk to people as they walked by on the sidewalk (we didn’t have a sidewalk there either).  So, moving here, that was something that we had talked about often.  Unfortunately, we haven’t done that enough (please hold me accountable by asking if I’m reaching out to our neighbors every once in a while).

However, the one area where we have been “great neighbors” is in the stereotypical way.  Our neighbor to the east has been to our house twice now looking for the proverbial “cup of sugar”.  The first time it was for a couple of eggs; today, it was for a couple of cups of flour.  Both times we gladly gave of what we had; both times were for her famous fried chicken.

When she borrowed the eggs, she said that she would pay us back with a fried chicken dinner sometime.  Today, it was: “Could I borrow a couple of cups of flour?  Dinner will be ready in an hour…don’t eat anything.”

Wow…it was more than just empty words.  I don’t want that to come across as untrusting or anything, but sometimes people say things just to say them or to be nice.

And that got me thinking…the Lord doesn’t just offer words to say them or to be nice.  When He says something, He means it.  He always follows through with what he says and He never breaks His promises.

Today’s dinner situation reminds me of one of those promises of God:  Malachi 3:10 says, “‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.’”

Heidi and I have long been convinced that we have been blessed financially because of our decision to give the first 10% of our income and more.  We have offered a little and the Lord has indeed thrown open the floodgates of blessing in our lives.  He never fails in His promises.

Our chicken dinner tonight was fabulous—fried chicken, mashed potatoes with chicken gravy, and corn.  Oh baby…I can still taste it all.  It was an amazing meal and we have some left over for lunch tomorrow.  We offered a little—two eggs and a couple of cups of flour—and we were blessed with a feast.

The same holds true for the Lord.  Trust in Him and He will be faithful.

SPECIAL PAPER

Today was a good day.  I had praise team practice this morning with a good friend of mine.  I am playing bass at Grace Evangelical Church tomorrow.  I really enjoy playing and haven’t really had opportunity to play since resigning from my former church.

While we were practicing, his wife and little girl got together with Heidi and the boys and went downtown to the Central Library.  So, when we finished up with our practice, we had some time on our hands.  For both of us, it felt like a lazy morning, so we decided that it would be best to simply sit around in his living room and talk.  It was a great time just relaxing and reclining while we talked about life.

When he called his wife to see when they were planning on coming home, they decided that our family would stay for lunch…but we (the men) had to throw something together for when they got home.  And let me tell you…we threw it all together.  We had such a hodgepodge of stuff it was incredible.  We had frozen pizza, spaghetti, salad, tater tots, dill pickle slices, sweet pickles, and olives.  Now I know that doesn’t sound all that appealing, but it all worked well together…and we fancied it up.  We had toothpicks for the olives and pickles and we put the paper napkins in fancy cloth napkin rings.

 And that got me thinking…we all are as ordinary as a paper napkin.  None of us are any more special than the next.  The 12 disciples were chosen, not because they were special ones with amazing gifts and talents…they were chosen as ordinary men.  The apostle Paul was an ordinary man.  What made them special was their relationship with the Lord Jesus.  They were just ordinary paper napkins…with a fancy napkin ring.

We all are ordinary…and yet so special to the Lord.  None of us are cloth napkins…we’re all ordinary paper.  But that doesn’t mean that we can’t become better.  Allow Him to come into your life and fancy you up.

WAKE THEM UP!

Today was my last day at my current survival job.  I knew that this job would be ending because it was only a temporary thing, helping out in the front office of the company.  Being that I was at the front desk, I needed to dress professionally—luckily, it only required business casual.  But even though today was my very last day, it was also my first Friday working there.  So…I didn’t realize that we could dress down and wear jeans on Friday.

When I got in the car this morning with my driving partner, she said, “Today is “jean day”…you can go back in and change if you want.”  She went on to explain that she didn’t want to call and wake the boys up since we leave so early in the morning.

And that got me thinking…do we not tell people about Jesus and the salvation He brings because we’re afraid that we will wake someone up?  If so, we have to change our thinking.  We NEED to wake some people up.  This news is too important to worry about how others “feel”; this news is too important to worry about offending someone.  Tell them about the love of Jesus whether they like it or not…because there will come a time when it’s too late.  When I stepped out that door this morning, it was too late—there was no turning back to change for “jean day”. 

As great of a day as it would have been wearing jeans…it wouldn’t have even come close to what it will be like on the Day of the Lord.  As saddened as I was to not get the news early enough for “jean day”, it pales in comparison to how those who don’t know Jesus will feel when He returns.

Don’t be afraid…wake them up!

ESSENTIALS FOR GROWTH

I’m sitting at our kitchen table as I write this.  It’s dark outside the patio door and the only light is from the glaring 60-watts overhead in the ceiling fan.  But earlier today—between the hours of gloomy skies—the sun was shining through the patio doors, filling the kitchen with a glorious warmth.

Next to me on the table is a small flower pot and inside are seven emerging sunflowers.  You can’t tell that they are sunflowers yet, other than some of them have yet to shed their shell.  It’s an interesting process to watch.  Two days ago, they were only about four inches high; today they are already approaching six.

The plants are from our Parenting Class that we are taking.  We planted the seeds, were given instructions, and went home.  In order to keep the sunflowers alive, there are certain things that they need.  They need water, good soil, and plenty of light.  This is where it gets fascinating.  We have the sunflowers on our kitchen table where they will get plenty of light from the patio door.   They are getting the light they need, but because of where we have them, they are bending and leaning toward the light.

And that got me thinking…we need to be like those sunflowers.  There are certain things in life that we need to grow—food, water, nutrients, etc.  And then there are certain things in life that we need to grow spiritually.  Those certain things can be grouped into one essential thing: stretching out and leaning toward the Light.  Each and every day we should be leaning in toward the light of Christ, trying to be more and more like Him.  The more we’re in His Word, the more we talk to Him, the more and more we become like Him.

Stretch yourself toward the Light.  It may cause you to change direction from the way you were heading, but you will grow.

WHO’S VOICE?

Heidi was extremely tired today and decided to take a nap while the boys were down for their naps.  As I had figured, the boys woke up before her, so I decided that the boys and I would watch a video while Heidi slept.  Watching television is something that we don’t do very often, so it’s a treat for the boys when we do…plus it’s one of the only things the boys can do for an extended period of time and stay fairly quiet.

Braden decided that he wanted to watch “Piglet’s Big Movie“, which was nice.  I haven’t seen that one in quite a while and really enjoyed it.  The movie has a great message of acceptance of others, but what I concentrated on mostly during today’s viewing were the voices of Pooh and Tigger.

This past week, Heidi’s parents were down for the Easter weekend and we watched “The Tigger Movie“.  Heidi’s dad kept asking, “Who’s voice is that?” referring to Pooh.  He swore he had heard the voice before in another cartoon character.  So, I watched carefully at the end of the movie and found that the same man is behind the voice of Pooh and Tigger—Jim Cummings.  If you read his filmography from the link, you will find that you have most likely heard his voice as well through many different cartoon characters.

And that got me thinking…who’s voice are people hearing when you speak?  Who’s voice are they hearing when you act?  Who’s voice are you projecting in everything you do?  Are you allowing the Lord’s voice to come through you…or are you simply talking with your own voice?

Something that I wish were true for us is that a cartoon character cannot speak without the voice of the voice actor.  The voice actor changes his voice for each character, but there is still some resemblance between voices for it comes from the same person.  Hearing that voice we can say, “That’s Winnie the Pooh.”  But it also allows us to say, like my father-in-law, “Who’s voice is that?”.

Let people hear the Lord’s voice through you.  We should live our lives like a cartoon character…silent unless the Lord’s voice speaks for us.

DAILY ROUTINE

Well…it’s been over a week since my last post.  It started out as simply being too busy and not feeling well the first couple of days, but then it became a task to even think about writing because I was out of my routine.  It was hard to get started again once I took a couple of days off.  I started writing a few of the days, but I just couldn’t finish.  Each day, there was something that I could have written about…but it didn’t happen.  A few of you even emailed me to encourage me, saying that you were missing the daily blogs; you felt like you were missing a major part of your day.  Thank you for that encouragement.

And that got me thinking…how often do we get out of routine with our relationship with the Lord?  Other things get in the way; we get busy; we don’t take the time.  Even getting sick or having a bad day is not a good reason—those are the most important times to take time to be with the Lord.  It is so important to have your time with the Lord and to have a routine for it…otherwise it’s so difficult to keep at it.

So, let me encourage you with a word from the Lord: “I miss your daily times with Me.  When you don’t spend time with Me, I’m missing a major part of My day.”

Don’t put it off any longer; make it a daily routine.  For more on this subject, see my post YOUR PLACE.

STAY CONNECTED

I spent most of the day at Panera Bread working on church stuff.  I like working there because I can really concentrate for some reason.  It doesn’t matter how many people are there or how loud it gets…I can concentrate.  It also helps that they have free Wi-Fi; I can stay connected to people and am able to do research on the internet.  Not to mention that I can buy a cup of coffee and get refills all day long.

The only problem that I’ve found is that I get booted off the Wi-Fi about once an hour.  I don’t know if they do that on purpose with their system, or if it’s just a glitch.  Either way…it was frustrating.  I’d go to send an email—no connection.  I’d try to look up something for research—no connection.  I started listening to music online and after awhile, the music would shut off—no connection.

And that got me thinking…how often do we lose our connection with the Lord?  How often does the Lord try to give us instruction, wisdom for a situation, or an answer to a prayer…but we’re not connected?  We’re too busy; we’re not focused; we’re simply not listening.

I have no doubt that if God really wanted to, he would be able to get the message across…and sometimes he does, and it feels like a 2 x 4 across the side of the head.  But for the most part, God wants us to be open and receptive to His instruction.  God is a gentleman and doesn’t force Himself on us.  We need to be connected.

And so, in my cheesiest thoughts…we need to forget Wi-Fi connections and focus on our Thy-Guy Connection.  Stay Connected.