tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-62734065620187149132024-02-20T13:20:53.195-08:00BranchesReflections on living connected to the Vine, musings and messages from a life of recovery that hopefully provoke us to think and, if we're lucky to laugh. www.branchesrecoverycenter.comPoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.comBlogger78125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-24158117889377193162013-02-05T19:20:00.001-08:002013-02-05T19:20:24.876-08:00What Do You Do With The Old Stuff?
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I
get this question a lot. Does God not heal the addict completely? Am I doing
Him a disservice by bringing up that old stuff all of the time. I got an email
today just as I was getting ready to write. Never one to waste effort (translate
that..lazy) I decided to kill two birds with one email.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hey
Mike,</span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
my devotional time today I was thinking about you because I was reading from
the Life Recovery Bible. I struggle with the fact that you categorize
yourself as an addict and that you still go to 12 step meetings. I guess
the questions I have are:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does
this negate the idea that God can bring ultimate healing?<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Does
it not bring all the negative junk back every time you go to a meeting?</span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">In
Christ,<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">XXXXXXXX<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Hello
XXXXXX, <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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let me say you have better things to think about during your devotions than me.
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<o:lock v:ext="edit" aspectratio="t"/>
<w:wrap type="square" anchory="line"/>
</v:rect><![endif]--><span style="font-family: "Segoe UI Symbol","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But...thanks
for thinking.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPwhdYARnsA/URHLxb0v5TI/AAAAAAAAAlw/zgg9B5U2ZiA/s1600/IMG_1875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iPwhdYARnsA/URHLxb0v5TI/AAAAAAAAAlw/zgg9B5U2ZiA/s320/IMG_1875.JPG" width="240" /></a><span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">It’s
a good question and I always answer it on two levels. As a Christ-follower and
a student of both scripture and theology I say “I am a new creature in Christ
Jesus. Old things are passed away and all things have become new.” (2
Corinthians 5:17) <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am not an addict any
more. My heart and my identity have been changed.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">That
does two things. It frees me from the shame of my past and it also allows me to
look at my life honestly, filtered through the mercy of God. King David
said, “My sin is ever before me.” Then he said, “Create in me a new
heart” (Psalm 51) He did not say take my past away but change my heart towards
it. So in my mind, the redeemed addict gets almost more benefit and blessing in
remembering his sin and recognizing how much God has done for him than in
trying to forget it.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Probably
should stop there but.....as a <u>recovered</u> addict let me say, the 12
Steps, and the idea of never forgetting how dreadful your “before”
life was, has worked for a lot of people for a very long time. And if it works…..
I’ll wear a pink tutu and whistle Dixie 24 hours a day if it keeps me
sober. So I go to meetings with my head held high. Thanking God that He
changed me and I am no longer who I was. But also remembering that I am
just one slip away from being back there again. There is tremendous grace
in both sides of that equation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Now,
get back to your devotions.</span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 12pt; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-hansi-font-family: Calibri;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mike<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<o:p><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> </span></o:p></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-25696275557362699632013-01-15T09:27:00.001-08:002013-01-15T09:27:34.308-08:00New Years Step 1<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4acjErCgFA/UPWRdUa4p4I/AAAAAAAAAlc/YC8q8ZJT00M/s1600/scales.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_4acjErCgFA/UPWRdUa4p4I/AAAAAAAAAlc/YC8q8ZJT00M/s1600/scales.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">We are two weeks into the New Year. For most of us the
holiday weariness is just passing and we are starting to get our traction again
for the winter days ahead. Maybe we are reevaluating our New Year’s resolutions
or 2013 goals. I was going to read through the Bible this year but I’m already
30 chapters behind. I was going to lose a little weight and so far I’ve gained
4 pounds. For me, the first two or three weeks of the year are the time when it
takes every ounce of discipline I have to even keep looking at the track, much
less stay on track.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">It occurred to me this morning that goal setting is a lot
like living in recovery. We have to be clear about where we are headed. We need
some accountability and support. And we must break it down into small chunks or
it is just too overwhelming. To use my 12 Step language, I have to take it one
day at a time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">If that is true (and it is) then it might be a good idea to
rehearse the recovery mantras while I’m trying to make this year productive.
The 12 Steps are not the roadmap for the path to recovery from addictions,
character defects, or sins; they are also super tools for achieving our goals
and accomplishing the mission that we believe God has set before us this year.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">So….let’s top and revisit Step 1 today in this first period
of the New Year. Step 1 says “We saw that we were powerless over our (you fill
in the blank but for today I am going to say WEAKNESS) and our lives were out
of control. We saw that we were powerless over our weakness an our lives were out
of control. Listen, I am not a goal accomplisher. I don’t have it in me to do
great things or even stay steady in the race. I am weak. I am lazy. I am
selfish and self-centered. And when it gets right down to it, I would rather
enjoy an extra slice of pie today than pay the price to be more healthy in six
months. I am powerless and I have a long history to prove it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Well, that should cheer you up. Okay. Good luck. God bless.
Have a great day!.......Wait a minute. That’s not the end of the story. It is
all true but it is not all of the truth. I (and I believe you) are pretty
helpless when it comes to overcoming our weaknesses and making ourselves
better. Oh, we can read the books, join the gyms, make out the plans, and they
work for awhile; but in the end, nothing has really changed in us. Praise the
Lord for Steps 2 and 3. We’ll look at those steps over the next few weeks. For
now, the great news is that I am powerless but I don’t have to be in charge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Remember what Paul says to us in Philippians 4:13, “I can do
ALL things through Christ who gives me strength.” Is that good news or what? I
am powerless. I can’t stick with this diet. I can’t accomplish my goals. I
can’t make myself get up and run. AND I DON’T HAVE TO. I just put it in God’s
hands. And with His help I can do it all. Man, I feel better already. Hope you
do to.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">One of my goals for 2013 is to be faithful about writing
every Tuesday morning a brief word about recovery. In fact I’m thinking the
blog will be “Learning Recovery - Living Redemption.” So stay tuned, lay off
that donut, and let’s make it to the next step together.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Growing,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mike <o:p></o:p></span></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-21862375337015299132013-01-04T12:32:00.002-08:002013-01-04T12:32:49.372-08:00Timing and Mr. Tumbles
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGkTZNOmKQ8/UOc8Wm6-jnI/AAAAAAAAAlE/FbzFjUGKZkI/s1600/1420.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-HGkTZNOmKQ8/UOc8Wm6-jnI/AAAAAAAAAlE/FbzFjUGKZkI/s200/1420.jpg" width="150" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">Mr. Tumbles is my little hideaway cabin in the woods of
Tennessee. It’s not much to look at and pretty austere on the inside. There are
bunkbeds, a propane heater (nice to have), a tiny bathroom (even nicer), a
kitchen area with a little gas stove, and a bookcase full of some of my
favorite books. Actually the best thing in Mr. Tumbles is not in Mr. Tumbles.
It’s the front porch that looks out over a little meadow and the hardwood
forest that leads down to the Harpeth River.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I confess that about Thursday of every week I start thinking
about a trip out to Mr. Tumbles. I don’t get to go very often but just knowing
that it’s there, and a possibility, gives me a little solace in the middle of a
hectic week. Cold weather or warm, there is nothing better than sitting on the
front porch of Mr. Tumbles and watching absolutely nothing happen.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">I went out last week for a night or two to do some writing
and a little planning for the new year. It was cold, really cold. It got dark
very early. And it was quiet. (Not the peaceful, get-some-rest kind of quiet
but the what-was-that, did-you-hear-an-axe-murderer kind of quiet.) One thing I
learned is that it is hard to write when you are shivering inside a sleeping bag
with all of your clothes on and a butcher knife in your hand. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Another thing I learned is that the front
porch is a lot more fun on a warm summer evening than the middle of freezing
winter night. I stayed one night and came home the next morning.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">As I begin the new year I am thinking about timing. Not so
much mine but God’s timing. I am absolutely convinced that God always has my
best interest at heart. (And yours.) His promise to Jeremiah for the children
of Israel is valid for us today. “I know the plans I have for you, says the
Lord. Plans to bless you and give you hope.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>(Jeremiah 29:11) St. Paul’s encouragement to us in Romans 8:28 “And we
know that all things work together for good for those that love Him and are
called according to His purpose” is as true today as it was when Paul was
sitting in a prison cell. God is large and in charge and He loves us with an
everlasting love.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But life is about timing. Not every horizon holds out smooth
sailing. Not every morning promises clear skies. Remember Peter wrote “And AFTER
YOU HAVE SUFFERED A LITTLE WHILE the God of all grace will restore you and make
you strong.” (I Peter 5:10) Let me make a prediction for your 2013. There will
be a lot of beautiful, sunny, summer evenings sitting on the porch watching
nothing. I promise you that God has some amazing and wonderful days for you in
this next year. He has promised that His goodness and mercy will follow you
every single day. (Psalm 23:6) He says He will meet every single need that
arises this year. (Philippians 4:19) He says if we trust Him He will direct our
every path. (Proverbs 3:5-6) All of these things are true for you in 2013. I
know it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">But, I am also sure there will be few cold nights when the
best you can do is crawl in a sleeping bag and hold on until morning. You will
be disappointed this year. There will be some heartbreak in 2013. I am pretty
sure you will suffer some loss and say some goodbyes. Even those things God
promises to use to make you better. (James 1:24) The key is to remember God’s
timing. Morning always follows midnight. Spring always comes after winter.
There is always a front porch waiting after you’ve gone through some dark,
lonely nights. God’s timing is always right. So this year look for His
blessings. Don’t get stuck in the trials. And while you are planning, plan a
few evenings out on the front porch watching nothing. It will do you good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mike <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: Calibri;">(I’ve attached a sheet from my friend Joan Collier that
prompted these thoughts. Print it out and keep it in your Bible this year)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">What can you expect God to do in your life in
2013? Some pretty incredible things. You can expect:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l7 level1 lfo1; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God’s mercies to <u>follow</u> you, and <u>pursue</u> you,
every every minute of every hour of every day. “Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. ” (Psalm 23:6)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l6 level1 lfo2; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to meet <u>every single true need</u> that should arise.
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in
glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l3 level1 lfo3; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to <u>lead</u> you, <u>counsel</u> you, <u>guide</u> you,
and <u>give</u> you wisdom. “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do
not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and
he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo4; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to <u>freely forgive</u> your sins each time you repent.
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l4 level1 lfo5; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to wonderfully <u>correct</u> and <u>discipline</u> you if
you should stray into sin. “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and
chastises every son whom he receives.” (Hebrews 12:6)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l5 level1 lfo6; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to continue working <u>powerfully</u> in you as you pursue
holiness. “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling,<b><sup> </sup></b>for
it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
(Philippians 2:12-13)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo7; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to help you <u>overcome</u> patterns of sin that have
plagued you for years. “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you
are not under law but under grace. ” (Romans 6:14)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l8 level1 lfo8; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to use trials in your life to <u>refine</u> and <u>purify</u>
your faith. “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)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<ul type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo9; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; tab-stops: list .5in;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God to give you <u>every good</u> thing. “No good thing does
he withhold from those who walk uprightly.”<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin: 0in 0in 10pt; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-bidi; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">God has promised to do all these things, and
many more. His promises are sure. 2013 is bursting with blessings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-4774279906567919782012-12-19T04:14:00.000-08:002012-12-19T04:14:06.991-08:00Regifting
<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqm-wDSMmRQ/UNGvWS8LiVI/AAAAAAAAAkw/aZydqYtq6tg/s1600/sock.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Aqm-wDSMmRQ/UNGvWS8LiVI/AAAAAAAAAkw/aZydqYtq6tg/s320/sock.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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We have a new word that a few years ago did not exist,
regifting. It is the act of taking a gift given you and giving it to someone
else as if you chose it especially for them. A number of years ago Doris was in
a panic on her way out the door to a wedding shower for our friend Kim and her
husband-to-be Eric. She had no gift. Another good friend, Sharon, wife to our
friend Pete (you know where I’m going with this) reached in the top of her
closet and brought down a still wrapped gift from her own wedding shower a few
years earlier. “Give them this,” she said. “Pete and I have never even opened
it.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt;">
What a great idea! Until Kim opened the gift and found a
card on the INSIDE, “Congratulations Sharon and Pete. You are a wonderful
couple.”<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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Regifting is especially pronounced at Christmas time. We get
busy. There is yet another party to go to. The budget is stretched so we grab a
present from under the tree, rewrap it, CHECK FOR OLD CARDS, and off we go. My
mother has more than once actually given the gift back to the person who gave
it to her in the first place. Hey, we’re all trying to live green and recycle.
This takes it to a whole new level. Maybe we should just establish a finite
number of gifts and keep reshuffling them across the world every year. No, that
wouldn’t work because when I got Donald Trump’s Rolex, or Warren Buffet’s
Mercedes, I stop the regifting cycle.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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There is one gift that we get over and over at this time of
the year that is very appropriate though, the Gift of the Christ Child. Every
year the nativity scenes come out, the Baby Jesus ornaments get hung, and we
sing Away in a Manger. We receive again the gift we got last year, and the year
before that, and the year before that.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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This gift, however, is one that was designed in the heart of
God to be regifted. Somehow in His wisdom God knew that it would take us about
a year to get cynical, distracted, or afraid (especially this year). Somehow,
at the beginning of time God knew that we would need an annual reminder of His
endless devotion to us. And so He gave the gift that keeps on giving. (another
shameless Christmas cliché that comes attached to the jelly of the month card.)<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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In this case though, the regifting of the Christ Child not
only keeps on giving, its the whole point of the thing. When I am sure that life
is meaningless, that there is no hope, and that all of my efforts are futile, I
carefully unwrap this precious bundle and remember that this Baby changed the
world. I remember that this Baby changed me. I remember that every good and
perfect gift was and is compressed into this tiny, wriggling little infant and
God really is with us. I open this gift again and again and know that My Savior
is not some ethereal, mystical being but He lived and breathed, and walked
among us. And I can go on for another year.<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
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<o:p> </o:p></div>
<br />
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We don’t put our nativity set in the front yard or on the
mantle to memorialize some event that happened 2000 year ago. We celebrate the
Baby in the Manger to accept one more time the gift of joy, and hope, and peace
on earth. So…in the middle of your hustle and bustle this last week before
Christmas don’t forget to do some regifting. Give the Baby away again. Remind
one another that Christ not only did come, He is here, now, with us, in us. And
those socks I gave you last year….keep them.<o:p></o:p></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-69300552711954852542012-12-14T19:58:00.002-08:002012-12-14T19:58:45.763-08:00Mary Did You Know?
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fa0kqE5nBXg/UMv1RRUputI/AAAAAAAAAkY/PcBEZoAD53k/s1600/Grieving-Mother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fa0kqE5nBXg/UMv1RRUputI/AAAAAAAAAkY/PcBEZoAD53k/s320/Grieving-Mother.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">As an evangelical protestant I am never sure what to do with the Virgin Mary, even at this time of the year when her story is so much at the
center of our story. Oh, I have a great appreciation for her. I have even added
praying the Rosary to my personal spiritual practice of disciplines, so at
least several times a week I recite, “Hail Mary, full of Grace, the Lord is
with thee. Blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb,
Jesus.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Still, as I set up the manger scenes and read the
Christmas story to my grandkids I don’t know exactly how to describe her. My
wonderful Catholic friends call her easily <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">mater
Theou</i>, the Mother of God. I believe that is true in some sense and yet my
desire to keep Jesus fully God, there before time began, makes it hard for me
to wrap my little head around that name, Mother of God. Then a few weeks ago I
came across another designation for this blessed woman, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos</i>, the God bearer. The God bearer, the one who carried God
to us. Now that’s a name I can grasp.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I sat down early this morning and wrote a blog that
began with those two paragraphs. I went on to talk about our responsibility to
be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos</i>, God bearers; to those
people we come in contact with. It was a fine little blog. And then I turned on
the news and began following with horror the all too familiar unfolding of the
tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. Somehow my
little blogging seem so irrelevant so I took it down and deleted it. Except for
the first two paragraphs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">I have been singing this Christmas season that Mark
Lowry song that has become a classic, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mary
Did You Know</i>? Remember those words?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt 0.5in;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Mary did
you know that your baby boy would someday walk on water?<br />
Mary did you know that your baby boy would save our sons and daughters?<br />
Did you know that your baby boy has come to make you new?<br />
This child that you've delivered, will soon deliver you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">There were other things I wonder if she
knew. Did she know that He would suffer the way He did? Did she know about the
beating? Did she ever imagine the cross? Mary, did you know that you would
outlive your precious little baby and watch them carry His lifeless body from
the top of a hill to a hole in the ground? Did you know the price you would pay
to be <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos</i>?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">This morning as I sat in front of the TV
and wept and prayed for those broken families in Newtown, for those frightened,
helpless children, for those unimaginably wounded mothers, I began to think of
Mary, the God bearer, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos.</i> She
may not have known then but she knows now. She knows the pain of being a mother
that lost her child. And perhaps, in some sense, just as her Son carried the
pain of the whole world, she carried the pain of a thousand generations of
wounded mothers. Perhaps she was not only <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos</i>
then and there but she remains the God bearer now for those families that face
a Christmas season that we cannot fathom.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Two things seem to bring some comfort in
those moments when the loss is so devastating that we cannot breath. One is
some meaning or purpose. “My son gave his life in the military protecting our
freedom.” “My daughter died on a mission field doing what she loved.” It
doesn’t ease the sadness but somehow I think it helps with the pain to know
there was some reason, some rhyme to this madness. Try as I might, I can find
no meaning, no purpose to bring any kind of solace to the senseless act today.
There is nothing that I or anyone can say that will help us to understand this
morning in Connecticut. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 10pt;">
<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">But the other thing that helps in some
small measure I believe is to know that I am not alone in my grief; that
someone, somewhere, has been through this before and knows what I am going
through. I know the Scripture says that Jesus was “tempted in every way like we
are.” And that “He was acquainted with all our grief.” But it doesn’t feel like
Jesus knew about this kind of loss. I am pretty sure that even God doesn’t
understand this pain. Enter Mary, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos.
</i>Is it possible that God in His Wisdom said, “I’ll start the whole story
with a young mother that knows the pain of all mothers, everywhere. She will be
the God bearer?” Is it possible that on a Christmas Eve 2000 years ago God
foresaw the blinding tragedy in a small school in New England and said, “They
will need someone to carry God to them. They will need <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos?”<o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
<br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">And so I rewrote my blog. And I wept and
prayed for 20 young mothers (and fathers and brothers and sisters) that I have
never met and never will meet. I prayed that God would send someone to them to
comfort them, to carry God to them and them to Him. I prayed for <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">theotokos. </i>And I will be honest, I
prayed to the Mother of God.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Hail Mary, full
of grace, the Lord is with thee.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Blessed art thou
among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt;">Holy Mary,
mother of God, PRAY FOR US sinners both now and in the hour of our death.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-13249638519767031682012-12-10T05:30:00.003-08:002012-12-10T05:30:46.583-08:00Maintaining Your SPIRITUAL Diet<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--hK1XYoP9A4/UMXj2Hf8cII/AAAAAAAAAkI/GY4fjqMvrLM/s1600/imgres.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/--hK1XYoP9A4/UMXj2Hf8cII/AAAAAAAAAkI/GY4fjqMvrLM/s1600/imgres.jpg" /></a>It is a universal complaint, at least in our opulent, obese,
western culture. “I was doing pretty well on my diet and then the holidays
hit.” Or, “I lost 12 pounds this year and gained them all back between
Thanksgiving and New Year’s.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A similar, though reverse-image difficulty is often found in
our spiritual walk during this time of the year. The packed schedules, the
change of pace, the frantic focus on the family gift list, takes us away from
our hard fought devotional time and our disciplines fall by the wayside. “I was
having my quiet time every day until the kids got out of school.” “I was in
pretty good shape on my Bible reading until the late night Christmas parties
started.” We lose our traction so easily and especially when the schedule is
thrown into a tizzy.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So here are a few ideas to maintain the spiritual side of
things during the holidays:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Eat a lot of smaller meals. It works with food,
it will work here too. Maybe you can’t find that 45 minute block of time you
had before to read, pray, and journal. The kids are home from school. There is
another concert to attend. The gift list is only half done.</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;"> </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Take advantage of the few minutes here and
there you get to pray quick prayers, read short devotionals, quote a familiar
verse to yourself. </span><i style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Jesus Calling </i><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">is a
fantastic and very SHORT devotional book that takes only a couple of minutes to
read each day.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Lay off the junk food. In the summer when I’m
running and active I might be able to justify a cupcake here and there (or 3 or
4) but during the winter I have to work a little harder at avoiding the sweets.
In the same way, when my spiritual schedule is good I can watch an extra
episode of NCIS or play a few games of Solitaire on the computer. During this
season I work a little harder at using what time I have to get in touch with
the Father. My quiet time moments are too precious to waste.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Symbol; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Get plenty of exercise. Most of the time our
dieting is really only as effective as our exercise regimen anyway. The same is
true here. If I’m struggling to keep my prayer life current and my Bible
reading up to date I have found that getting out of myself and helping others
makes all the difference. This is the season for that anyway so look for new
and fresh ways to be Jesus to others. You may find that the spiritual diet
takes care of itself when you do that.</span></li>
<li><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">Don’t beat yourself up. Last thing, when my diet
goes to pot and I look in the mirror and get all depressed about the shape I’m
in, I usually go to the fridge and get a bowl of ice cream to console myself.
Beating myself up only spirals me downward. I just start over again and try to
do better tomorrow. (Or in January.) Same here. God’s grace and His love for me
is not based the number of chapters I read or the amount of time I spend in
prayer. Letting myself have it over my failures only makes me feel more distant
from Him. So….I accept His forgiveness, I acknowledge His love, and I do better
tomorrow. I am hungry to be closer to Him.</span></li>
</ul>
<br />
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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And speaking of hungry, there are some Christmas sugar
cookies with my name on them……<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Mike<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Don’t miss a note. Read all Mike’s blogs and subscribe his
RSS feed at www.branchesblog.com.)<o:p></o:p></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-83488216645103093832012-12-05T13:48:00.001-08:002012-12-05T13:48:32.076-08:00<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
GIVE ME THAT MOUNTAIN<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</v:imagedata></v:shape> I woke up early
this morning to a burning project. You know how every once in a while something
pops into your beady, little brain while you are sleeping and you wake up
thinking, “This is the most important thing in the world. I’ve got to get it
done today.” Well, here I go. I’ve got a project and I’ve motivated to finish
it. I am writing out my 30 year plan. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I was reading last night before I went off to sleep about
planning, goal setting, and dreaming big. Donald Miller, author of <u>Blue Like
Jazz</u> says you should live your life as if you were writing a movie script. Maybe that played into it but at 4:45AM my
eyes popped open and something in me said, “You’ve got a 90<sup>th</sup>
birthday coming up. You’ve better start planning.” Hence, my 30 year plan.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now I’m just starting so I don’t want to share any details
just yet but I will let you know, there will be a big shebang and you are all
invited. I plan to run 5 miles that day and if it’s not too hot (in mid-July.
Put it on your calendar.) play a little tennis. I also want Doris to get her
hair done and put on something kind of cute. (Sorry, TMI) The point of the
whole thing is, I’m making some plans. And it will be here before I know it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The truth is that real emotional, spiritual, and mental
health involves staying in the moment, living one day at a time, and treating
each day as if it were your last. But it’s not. Or at least I don’t know that
it is. What I do know is that there is a lot of Kingdom work to be done. There
are hurting people that I know that still need to hear that Jesus loves them. I
have kids, and grand kids, and by that time, maybe great grand kids, that I
have some influence over and responsibility to. “For the gifts and calling of
God is irrevocable." (Romans 11:29) There just isn’t a place for me to pull down
the sign, hang up my cleats and say, “I’m done.”<o:p></o:p></div>
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Now that can be a little discouraging. Don’t get me wrong,
sitting on the beach in the Bahamas or lounging by the pool in Bimini sounds
good to me. But is also incredibly exciting. God will not be finished with me
until the very day He takes me home. He has things for me to do and the energy
and resources to do them. So….<o:p></o:p></div>
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I’m making out my 30 year plan today. And if the next 30 is
as adventuresome as the last, I can’t wait to see it. “Now therefore, give me this mountain… Joshua
14:12” (Caleb at age 85.)<o:p></o:p></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-53257422766731338052012-11-30T05:25:00.000-08:002012-11-30T05:25:20.564-08:00Happy Sucking<br />
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7vSWwSkCXQ/ULiyQltDcSI/AAAAAAAAAjo/SbGjR8kw7xg/s1600/017.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-F7vSWwSkCXQ/ULiyQltDcSI/AAAAAAAAAjo/SbGjR8kw7xg/s320/017.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We sat last
week in the very back of a local, quaint restaurant called Miller’s Grocery. It
was years ago a one room, general store, nestled beside a railroad track and
next to the Post Office in a tiny, Tennessee village. Today it has been
converted into a “must eat at” tourist kind of venue known for its squash
casserole and dessert buffet. And it is a popular place for Thanksgiving dinner
for those families who either don’t want to cook or don’t want to stay at home.
We were in the latter crowd.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This is our
first holiday season without Mom and we just wanted to do something different.
Doris and I and Jacob, my step-father Sammy, and my sister Chonda, picked
through dressing and gravy, shoved pieces if turkey around on our plate, and
made tunnels in the mashed potatoes. They were out of the squash casserole. We
tried to talk about meaningless stuff. We made jokes about the people that were
eating around us. But like moths drawn to a flame we found ourselves talking
about Mom and shedding tears in our sweet tea.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">One of our
favorite stories about Mom is the phrase she invented when she was writing her
little memoirs. She was describing some of those events that we all face that
drain us of our joy; those unavoidable chapters in life that take the laughter
from our hearts and the smiles from our faces. She said those are “happy
sucking” moments because they suck the happiness from us. I know what she was
trying to say but the phrase just didn’t get it. “Happy sucking” somehow moves
me to giggles rather than convey the somber, sober subject that Mom was trying
to express.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We made it
through the meal but I spent a lot of time thinking about the countless number
of other families that are facing the holidays with an absent place at the
table. Maybe this has been the year of a divorce, a death, or a deployment. For
whatever reason you are wondering how your will endure the present opening
around the tree or watching alone as the ball drops on New Year’s Eve. Well,
here are some suggestions that seem to be helping us:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> - </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First,
don’t be afraid to change some traditions. Do something you’ve never done
before this season. Eat out instead of staying in. Take a trip. Buy Christmas
for a needy family. Just do something completely different this year to change
the pace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> - </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly,
embrace the emotions. Rather than trying to avoid those tearful moments or hide
from painful memories, welcome those times. Get it out. Talk about it. Cry a
little bit and then go on. I think you’ll find healing comes much more quickly
when you allow yourself the freedom to be sad instead of feeling like you have
to stuff it down.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> -</span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Third,
slow down a little bit. Take some of the stress out of the holiday this year by
easing up on the activities and expectations. The office party will be okay
without your famous sugar cookies this year. You don’t have to finish all of
those hand-made birdhouses for every neighbor on the street. This holiday
season make sure that you take time for you.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-bidi-font-family: Symbol; mso-fareast-font-family: Symbol;">·<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 7pt; line-height: normal;"> </span></span></div>
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<!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- -Finally,
keep it simple. That sounds a lot like number three but I mean more than that.
Let this holiday season really be about the simple message of a baby in a
manger. Focus on the simple truth of Emmanuel, Christ with us, and let that be
enough. The blessed side of that emptiness in your heart is that it creates a
space for Jesus to come in and comfort you. And He will.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">We finished
the last bite of banana pudding, argued over who would leave the tip, and then
raised our tea glasses and in one voice said, loud enough for everybody in
Miller’s to hear, “Happy Sucking!” It was a good day. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">
Mike<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-15656592367039371072012-10-31T05:05:00.000-07:002012-10-31T05:05:06.132-07:00Politics<br />
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I confess that I am not a political person. Oh, Doris and I vote faithfully. We watch the debates and then the debates about the debates. We are very proud of our sons who follow the political scene and voice their convictions. But for me politics has always been a necessary evil. I get no pleasure out of pulling for a party like I was rooting on the OSU Buckeyes. I don’t watch with dismay as one political party takes sway over another. Nor do I bounce with glee when “my group” acquires a controlling voice in one legislative body or another. I am just old and cynical enough to wonder if it is really going to matter.</div>
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I guess I would describe my political affiliation as Judeo-Selfish. I have a vague sense that there is some moral objective to the whole government thing but what I really want to know is how is it going to benefit me. Will my taxes be lowered? Will my sons be kept from war? Will I be able to afford health insurance? Can my grandkids get a good education and find a good job? Most of the planks of my political platform point right to me and my house. What do we need out of this election?</div>
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Now some of you are saying, “Right on, (if anybody says right on anymore) Preach it brother, that’s exactly the way I feel.” And I know others of you are so mad you could spit right now. You are mumbling to yourself about responsibility, personal action, and national apathy. I get that. And I didn’t say I was right in my thinking. I am just confessing my approach to the whole election season.</div>
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But, I am also an ever more devoted follower of Jesus Christ. I am trying to take more seriously His call to “live holy and Godly lives.” I am (hopefully) becoming more mature in my desire to know and apply the word of God to my life in everything that I do, my work, my play, my parenting, and even my politics. If Jesus does not go with me to the ballot box I have no right to vote or to call myself a Christ-follower. However divorced I may feel from the democratic system, the Lordship of Christ in my life demands that He be considered in every decision, from what kind of car I drive to who I vote for for president.</div>
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So, it seems to me, in my feeble mind and humble opinion, that all of the talk about the economy, national security, and the failing social security system, while interesting and informative, does not give me the mandate I need as a Bible believing follower of Jesus to cast my vote. I often rant and rave (okay, that’s a lie. I never rant and rave) but I do often quietly comment that we have allowed the arguments about the direction of our nation to be moved to the wrong arena. We as Christian Americans should be saying after every political advertisement or rally, “But what does the Bible say?” We believe the Bible to be true and to hold all that we need “for life and godliness through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.” 2 Peter 1:3 Therefore we must allow it to be the determining factor in our opinions, our convictions, and our actions.</div>
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It may appear naïve. It may lack the philosophical sophistication that we think is necessary. It may even be offensive. (Think of that, the Gospel offensive?) But it is an irrefutable logic. I believe the Bible is true and the Bible says I am to live this way. Now you may disagree with me about whether or not the Bible is the word of God. You may agree that it’s the word of God but differ from my interpretation. But you cannot deny the logic, the common sense that says, “If I believe this is God’s direction for all of life then I have to act (and vote) accordingly. In fact, to do anything else would be illogical.</div>
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If all of that I true, and it is, then what does the Bible say about the way I vote? Listen closely, this is as powerful and political as I am ever going to get. In fact, I’m surprising myself as I write this. Here are the mandates of the Holy Word of God for me when I head off to vote:</div>
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Love the Lord your God with all your heart and Love your neighbor as yourself. That’s it. That’s as good as it gets. Do you want more? Don’t fuss at me. Fuss at my big, brother Jesus. He said all of the law and the prophets (and the constitutional amendments) were summed up in these. Love God. Love each other.</div>
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So as I vote this week I ask myself, which candidate, which party, which person or platform supports my ability to love and honor the God of the Bible. Is there a history or a record for either man that makes me believe he (or she) will do anything that will diminish the place of Jehovah God in an already frighteningly secular society? Hey, I am not voting for a candidate. I am voting for Jesus.</div>
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And secondly I ask which direction do I vote to honor and protect my neighbors? All of my neighbors. The ones who look like me and the ones who don’t. The ones who are in my general socio-economic class and the ones who aren’t (both poorer and richer.) The ones who can speak up for themselves and the ones who can’t. Especially if it is because they are yet unborn and have no voice.</div>
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To me, everything else is secondary. Hey, I want low taxes. I want free health care. I want my Cincinnati Reds to get back to the World Series. But more than that I want my grandkids to live in a country that honors God and respects life. I did. Maybe if I get more political they will too. Mike</div>
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{if you want to read more of Mike's blogs, subscribe to www.branchesblog.com. If you like what you've read here please consider reposting it or sharing it on your Facebook page.}</div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-59420178195274614932012-10-23T04:20:00.001-07:002012-10-23T05:48:40.070-07:00God Peeks<br />
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</v:imagedata></v:shape> Jakson cheats! Well,
maybe not cheats so much as he lets his unbridled enthusiasm and his wonderful curiosity
get the best of him. When we play hide-and-seek he can’t keep his eyes closed.
I say, “Okay Jakson, Poppy C is going to hide. Cover your eyes and count to
374”. (I cheat too.) And he always peeks. He wants to know where I am going. He
just can’t wait until that moment when he finds me stuffed between the washing
machine and the dryer and we all yell and roll in the floor and then start the
thing all over again.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I wandered on to this verse the other day. 2 Chronicles 16:9 “<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320;">The eyes of the LORD search the whole
earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to Him.” I
know I’ve read it before but this time it struck me that God can’t keep His
eyes closed. His unbridled enthusiasm for us, and His wonderful curiosity
causes Him to peek. All the time. At me and you. He is so crazy about you that
He just can’t wait to find you stuffed between the washing machine and the
dryer and pull you out and bless you in some way that just knocks your socks
off. (That is a profound theological expression.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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I think that most of us have this picture of God as a grumpy,
old grandfather who really is just a little irritated at us all the time. He tolerates
us as long as we stay out of His way but He really wishes that Jesus would come
and get us out from under His feet so He can go back to the important business
of making sure the sun rises and telling the ocean how far to come in on high
tide. Okay, maybe I confessed too much. Maybe that’s not your picture. Maybe it’s
just mine.</div>
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In either case, I am beginning to believe that it is not
true. I am starting to figure out that the God of the universe is head over
heels in love with me. Not in some generalized, all encompassing way, but in a
personal, let’s laugh and have some fun together way. God peeks. He looks over
the edge of heaven and says, “I can’t wait to bless that guy today.” “I am so
excited about what I am going to do for her right now.” “Hey, angels, Watch
this. I am going to do something so cool for that family that it will knock
their socks off.” (I told you!)</div>
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One of the awesome things about God’s love for us is that it
comes at the most surprising times. Often in moments that seem dark to us. When
we are wedged between washer and dryer and can’t figure out how to escape. When
life is crashing in and we are about ready to give up the game. God has been
watching us the whole time and He shows up. If we keep looking we will see Him
bouncing around the corner saying, “I knew you were here. Now let me get you
out of this tight squeeze.” Just a few verses earlier, in verse 2, the writer
says, “<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320;">For God says, "At just the right
time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you." Indeed, the
"right time" is now. Today is the day of salvation.” (2 Chron. 6:2)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Back when Doris and I were at our
very worst place we started playing a game with God. It was hard to do at
first, I don’t think either one of us thought He was really very interested in us.
I sure didn’t feel like I deserved any favor from Him. I was living in Florida
and Doris was in Tennessee. We didn’t know if our marriage would continue and
everything that we thought mattered was pretty much taken away. Probably out of
desperation as much as anything else, Doris began to pray each day, “God, show
me one thing today to let me know that you love me.” She shared that with me
and I began to pray the same way. And here’s the deal! Everyday God would do
something to remind us that His eyes were still on us and that He “loved us
with an everlasting love.” Sometimes it would be as big as a check in the mail
or a call from an old friend. Other days it would be a parking place up front
at Walmart. But every day we would find evidence that God loved us and was showing
Himself to be strong for us “at just the right time.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Two things became clear to us and
still are. First, we have to keep our eyes open too. We have learned to look
for God’s blessing on our lives. We still do today. Listen, His goodness and
grace is all around us. His mercies are new every morning. We have to
intentionally seek them out, I admit when I am hidden in a dark closet and the
whole world seems to be against me it is not easy to see God’s best. But it is
there. Look. Open your eyes. Recognize it. A simple sunrise. A puppies kiss. A
song on the radio. A card from a friend. Learn to look everyday for the
blessings of God in your life.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">And the second thing, when He
finds you, admit you’ve been found. Say it out loud. Tell somebody else.
Acknowledge the love of God in your life at that moment. The more we confess
His blessings the more attune we become to what He is doing in us and for us.
We express our gratefulness to Him and He just starts the thing all over again.
I would get a call from a pastor friend and I would say, “Thank you God. I
believe you did that just for me.” Doris would find a five dollar bill in the
bottom of her purse and she would say, “Lord, I know that you love me today.”
And the more we declared His grace, the more grace we saw to declare. We still
do that today.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: #F9FDFF; color: #001320; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">I know you may be going through
tough times. I am sure it seems like everyone, including God, has taken their
eyes off of you. But God always peeks. He knows where you are and He can’t wait
to do something so good for you. Look for it. Say it out loud. And the game is
on. Try that today. I promise you He will amaze you with His love. Now, close
your eyes and count to 374…. Mike</span><o:p></o:p></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-5711968746382649312012-10-14T08:12:00.003-07:002012-10-14T14:16:14.489-07:00The Fog<br />
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</v:imagedata></v:shape> Carl Sandburg wrote
the little diddy, “The fog comes on little cat’s feet and sits looking over the
city on silent haunches, and then moves on.” I have no idea what that means but
I do know what it is like to have the fog setting right down over me and to
pray that it would move on but it doesn’t. I have been in an extended season of
fog. This summer, actually, this entire year has been a year of unceasing
heaviness, unending crisis, and mind-numbing burdens. Don’t get me wrong. I
would not take back one minute. Every heavy moment was a chance to minister to
and love on people that were very precious to me. But the cumulative effect has
been a weariness and exhaustion that doesn’t end with a good night’s sleep. It
is a fog that hovers, wisps in and out but never fully disappears. </div>
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Counseling, administration, development. These tasks have
been done only with the greatest of effort and the minimum effect. I have
spoken to groups out of the slim reserves of emotional grit. And writing, well,
writing has been completely nonexistent. The stress and strain of this summer
has been as overwhelming as anytime I remember. The fog has come to stay.</div>
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Perhaps you have known those seasons, those weeks or months
of demand and despair that seem endless and empty but could not be escaped. Caring
for a dying loved one, dealing with a failing marriage, praying over a wayward
child or a waning business. Pastors, parents, and people of all walks have
lived in the fog.</div>
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So what do you do? How do you survive those days when all
there is to do is survive? I have always loved Paul’s admonition in Ephesians
6:13 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand.” Sometimes to still be standing at the end is about all
we can ask for. In fact, forget standing, I’d settle for curled up on the
corner of the couch in a fetal position with one eye open and still breathing.
The fog of life makes even that feel like an impossible goal.</div>
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Well, I’ve remembered a few lessons during the fog that
might be beneficial. Here are some ways to survive the fog (I think). First,
keep moving. It seems to me that the things that get in trouble during the fog
are the things that stand still. Ships wash up on the rocks. Cars get rear
ended. People get jogged down! When we
were living in Mt. Vernon a friend of mine was jogging in the early morning
hours and it was blindingly foggy. He said he heard somebody running behind him
so he stopped and a lady jogged right into him. You can get jogged when your
fogged. The point is, you can’t stop. Just keep making progress. Put one foot
in front of the other. The recovery community calls it “doing the next right
thing.” </div>
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During this season with mom there were times I wanted to
just pull down the sails, batten the hatches, and hide below the deck. But that
would have only allowed fear and doubt and anger to catch up so I just kept
trying to keep moving, another meeting, one more counseling session, my
devotions one more morning. When you feel fogged in don’t just sit there. Keep
moving.</div>
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But, the second thing I remembered was to move SLOW. The fog
is not the time to race ahead, barrel around corners, or make sudden changes of
direction. The fog requires slow, careful, prayerful movement. Movement but not
much movement. This is not the time to change career paths, decide about
relationships, or write your will. If all I can see is the fog I’m probably not
going to make a good chose or wise decision. I move but I move slowly.</div>
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Josh was in the 9<sup>th</sup> grade and we let him go to a
friend’s New Years Eve party. I picked him up shortly after midnight and was
driving him home in my Jeep on another horribly foggy night. Going too fast on
a country road that I didn’t know well enough, I knew we were approaching a T
in the road where our road came to a dead-end onto another road. Josh and I
were talking when he said, “Dad, was that a stop sign that just whizzed by?”
Slammed on the brakes. Slid around backwards into the front yard of a house
where all of the people were out on the front porch singing Auld Lang Syne. I
put it in 4-wheel drive, Josh and I rolled down the windows and said, “Happy
New Year” and then drove home. I remember now that when the fog is all around
me, I need to go slow.</div>
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Here’s the last thing I remembered in the fog. Carl Sandburg
was right. It does move on. It may feel like forever. You might think this fog
will never lift but it will. Everything comes in seasons. Even the wise man
said, “There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under
heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to
uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, ….a time to weep and a time to
laugh.” (Ecclesiastes 3) This fog will not last. God loves you with an
everlasting heart. He works all things together for good. The Son will shine
again and the fog will leave. I promise.</div>
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Doris and I got back this Monday from an amazing week away.
We went to a cabin in the woods in Kentucky and did nothing. We took our Bibles
every morning and sat out on the deck. The sunshine painted the trees with gold
and crimson. The deer and turkeys slipped out of the woods and sipped from the
pond that was not too far from where we were sitting. The ipod played soft
worship music. And the fog left. God is faithful. Listen to me. God is ALWAYS
faithful. And this season of your life will pass. “I lift up my eyes to the
hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of
heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip—He who watches over you will
not slumber…nor sleep. The Lord watches over you—the Lord is your shade at your
right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. (Nor the
fog anytime) The Lord will keep you from all harm—He will watch over your life;
the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” Psalm 121</div>
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So don’t get fogged down. Go slow but keep moving. And if
you hear me running behind you, just move over. Mike</div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-44667632450426842002012-09-04T03:43:00.001-07:002012-09-04T03:55:43.324-07:00Healing A Diverse Community<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://egoexisto.com/author/jacobcourtney1/" style="clear: right; color: #2585b2; display: block; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"></a><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IzNsIuk6aGU/UEXbTgQjqbI/AAAAAAAAAic/8D5NOEslbp8/s1600/images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-IzNsIuk6aGU/UEXbTgQjqbI/AAAAAAAAAic/8D5NOEslbp8/s1600/images.jpg" /></a></div>
(This is the presentation I made a few days ago to the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee. The topic was Healing A Diverse Community. The people before me spoke about racial inequality in Middle Tennessee and the conflict over building a new mosque.)<br />
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HEALING A DIVERSE COMMUNITY</div>
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My grandson is 4. His name is Jon-Mical. He lives next door to his best friend Cameron who is 5. They play together all the time. They ride bikes in the driveway, toss the ball in the backyard, and sneak out off to the park next door to their house. They get along great, except when they don’t. The other day Jon-Mical came in and said, “Cameron is stupid. I am never playing with him again.” His mom and dad would have no part of that. They marched him over to Cameron’s house and sat down until they patched things up. His parents sought reconciliation for Jon-Mical because it is good, it is right and they believe it is healthy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Most of us are old enough to remember the Rodney King incident and the <st1:city w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Los Angeles</st1:place></st1:city> police in March of 1991.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The videotaped beating of Rodney King by three policemen because an overnight world must-see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The subsequent trial and acquittal of those policemen sparked a maelstrom of demonstrations and riots that divided not only LA but the nation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever side of that debate you were on, most of us resonated with Rodney King’s plaintive call in an interview that followed his arrest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Why can’t we all just get along?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He pleaded.</div>
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Last week we watched (or we didn't) the Republican National Convention detail the faults and failures of the current administration. Sometimes with civility but usually not, they derided and decried the economy, the safety of our country, and the moral decline of society in general and laid all those things at the feet of the president and the other party. And next week we will watch (or we won't) the Bizarro world replica of that event when the Democrats say the same exact words, use identical facts, and draw the exact opposite conclusions.<br />
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the unbelievable effect on our world of the internet and instant access to almost every event on the planet, we are clearly in the most polarized and divided global culture that has ever existed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have always had differences but the accelerated awareness of those differences has driven us to an emotional frenzy as a society that is unprecedented.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The more we learn from psychological endeavors and neuro-science, the more we understand that we as human beings are emotional not rational beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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The problems of most of modern history we have tried to resolve with rational thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Descarte, the rationalist philosopher who opened the door to the Enlightenment period, led us to believe in the power of the rational, thinking mind. <u>I think, therefore I am</u>.</div>
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From his philosophy came the weight that we now give to Empiricism and scientific study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This has deeply influenced English and American law, foreign policy, and economic theory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our whole approach to life is based on the assumption that we are rational people dealing with issues in a rational way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To be irrational is to be something less than human.</div>
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The truth is that we are coming to understand we are about 98% emotional and 2% rational.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I sit in my office with a husband and wife deeply divided I always want to say “Now let’s just think this through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What would be the rational thing to do right now?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never say it because I have learned both clients would punch me in the nose.</div>
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My guess is that all of us in this room understand that the preponderance of feelings and emotions in almost every situation demands that we work to resolution from an emotional perspective rather than a rational one. If that is true on a micro scale in our offices, I believe it is true on a macro level in our society.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I believe it places even more onus on the mental health professionals to be agents of reconciliation in a divided society.</div>
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Reconciliation is an admittedly Judeo-Christian term; Latin, meaning literally “to bring together again.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my mind it describes a state of willingness to co-exist and remain engaged in conversation with those that appear to be diametrically opposed to what I think, believe, or feel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reconciliation is just sitting at the table with the hope that some point of agreement will present itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is not unity. It is not compromise. It is not even cooperation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Reconciliation in the context of this discussion would be Islamic leaders and Christian leaders saying, “Our survival dictates that we engage one another as a means of emotional healing.”</div>
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From this perspective, I suggest four objectives for the divided community.</div>
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<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><u>An assessment of value.<o:p></o:p></u></div>
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Douglas Noll is a peacemaker and mediator for the <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:placetype w:st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename w:st="on">Oregon</st1:placename></st1:place>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He writes this:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">To understand how our brain deals with conflict, consider a simple emotional model. In this model, conflict starts with some problem. The problem is serious enough to cause anxiety, reflected in a feeling of insecurity. When anxiety or insecurity is first experienced, we have a choice between reactivity and reflection. If we do not make a choice, our default mode is to be reactive. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">By being reactive, we might reject the problem, give up, or feel inadequate to deal with the problem. If the problem is persistent, we might struggle or exit. As the conflict develops, we perceive it as a threat, and we may blame, attack or withdraw. These behaviors constitute our fear reaction system. I like to call it our self-protective system. The brain systems associated with fear reaction are very, very old, dating back to the earliest vertebrae animals. Although highly adaptive in the uncertain and dangerous environment of 20,000 years ago, the system is largely maladaptive in our modern, complex culture. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.5pt;">If the choice for reflection is made, we have learned to reflect, relate, and relax. The insecurity arising from a conflict situation is recognized as pointing to a pathway of growth towards greater peace and self-realization. We are led by our curiosity to discover something new, find what is lost, or complete unfinished business. Success leads us to wholeness, authenticity, power and wisdom. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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In other words, part of what we offer as Mental Health professionals is the idea that there is value in engaging and we as people will benefit more from coming together than pulling apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>The second objective is <u>establishing hope</u>. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Because we are emotional and not rational, we respond to the anxiety and insecurity that Noll cited, particularly on a global scale, by retreating into overwhelm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We lose hope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our dreams of a civil society, a utopian society have died and we say with Peggy Lee “Is that All There Is?” A revolutionary Punjabi poet, Avtar Singh Sandhu wrote.</div>
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“Being robbed of our wages is not the most dangerous.</div>
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Being beaten by police is not the most dangerous.</div>
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The most dangerous is to have our dreams die.” </div>
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I often tell my clients, “I will hold the hope for you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As a society, perhaps in the counseling profession, we do just that. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>3. The third objective is to <u>provide coping skills</u>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While it is true that we are emotional creatures, we do have within us as individuals, and as a society the ability to make choices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One blogger wrote:</div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana; font-size: 10pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Arial;">Training, habituation and commitment are an important part of our makeup. How did so many very ordinary black people during the 1950-60s Civil Rights movement in the South manage to practice nonviolence? All were threatened, some were beaten, some killed. No doubt they were mortally afraid--and sometimes very angry. But they practiced nonviolence--together. Genetically we're social beings and we draw strength from healthy relationships--for thousands of years these were the foundation of human survival. We CAN choose--and in our era choosing behavior that keeps us emotionally and physically alive together is a crucial element of our future.</span></div>
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To use a football analogy, I see myself as an offensive coordinator standing on the sideline calling out plays.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those whom I influence have the responsibility to access strengths, read defenses, judge their own fatigue and make the appropriate audible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I still want to supply a list of possible plays that I believe can work.</div>
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<span style="mso-list: Ignore;">4.<span style="font-size-adjust: none; font-stretch: normal; font: 7pt/normal "Times New Roman";"> </span></span>Finally, we <u>recognize worth</u>. </div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The emotion of the battle, the passion of the cause, the fire of the fight too often produces myopia in us so that through a dark tunnel I only see worth in one point of view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As counselors, spiritual leaders, mentors, and clinicians our role is to recognize the worth in all human beings and diverse societal perspectives.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Without that, we are reduced to stomping on an opposing player’s head or burning down a mosque.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My objective, as a reconciliator, is to say there is some measure of intrinsic worth in every person that I come in contact with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Understanding that, I have no choice but to engage. </div>
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We face complicated, convoluted, critical issues in our villages and in our universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Far better minds than mine have come to an empass time and again when seeking resolution.</div>
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I do not begin to imagine that I have the answers in me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In addition, the issues are burning with the bonfires of emotion, anger, fear, insecurity, and hurt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Frankly, I don’t know what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I do believe that to do nothing is not an option, that I have a moral responsibility as a healer and a human to continue to work for reconciliation and engagement.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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I know that this little ditty is far too simplistic on a geo-political level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But, it just seems to ring true for us today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It just feels right.</div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top the graduate school mountain, but there in the sand box at nursery school.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">These are the things I learned. Share everything. Play fair. Don’t hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don’t take things that aren’t yours. Say you are sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are food for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw some and paint and sing and dance and play and work everyday.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out in the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why. We are like that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">And then remember that book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK! Everything you need to know is there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation, ecology, and politics and the sane living.</span></div>
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Tahoma; font-size: 9.5pt;">Think of what a better world it would be if we all, the whole world, had cookies and milk about 3 o’clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put thing back where we found them and clean up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out in the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Dr. Mike Courtney<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">References:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Douglas Noll<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“Why Can’t We All Just Get Along?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><a href="http://www.mediate.com/"><span style="color: blue;">www.mediate.com</span></a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Theory and Practice of Counseling and Psychotherapy<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Gerald Corey<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Brooks/Cole Publishing<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">“All I Ever Really Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Robert Fulghum<o:p></o:p></span></div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-33184022090730722562012-09-04T03:34:00.000-07:002012-09-04T03:34:03.804-07:00ego existo a blog from Jacob<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background-color: #efefef; border-bottom-color: rgb(221, 221, 221); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #0088cc; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 1.6em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left; width: 600px;"><tbody>
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New post on <strong>egoexisto</strong></h2>
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<a href="http://egoexisto.com/2012/09/04/faith-in-a-foreign-land/" style="color: #2585b2; text-decoration: none !important;" target="_blank">Faith in a foreign land</a></h2>
<span style="color: #888888;">by <a href="http://egoexisto.com/author/jacobcourtney1/" style="color: rgb(136, 136, 136) !important;" target="_blank">jacobcourtney1</a></span></td></tr>
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It was cold. Much colder than I’d thought it would be. I was only wearing a t-shirt and zip-up sweatshirt. I had been cold since I left my hostel in London that grey and rainy morning. I made my way to Waterloo train station and asked for a ticket to the next place a train was headed. The lady at the ticket window expressionlessly handed me a ticket to Brussels, Belgium without being the least bit impressed with my spontaneous sense of adventure. Even though I was excited, I was still exhausted from jet lag and quickly fell asleep on the train. A few hours later I was jarred awake by two uniformed officers yelling “Reisepass” at me. I was terrified and trembling because I had no idea what they wanted until I realized they were pointing at my passport. I showed them my passport and then began to gather my things. I stepped into the Brussels train station with my giant backpack and guitar in hand. I was still cold and now hungry. I made my way to an ATM to withdraw money so I could get some food and then take a taxi to the nearest hostel. When I put my card in, it was declined. It troubled me for a moment because I had called the bank just a few weeks ago and they said that I’d have no trouble using my bankcard in Europe. As I walked away from the ATM I began to take account of my situation. I was cold and hungry. I had absolutely no money that could be used in Belgium. I had no place to stay. And I had a cell phone with a dead battery (although I had no idea who I’d call since I didn’t know anyone within a 3,000 mile radius). I began to pray (after panicking.) I then found a 2 Euro coin on the ground which was just enough to take a bus to the nearest hostel. I praised God! And when I arrived at the hostel and found out they accepted credit cards, I praised God again! My excitement and relief was shortly lived because the girl working at the desk quickly informed me that there was no vacancy. I was back to square one of being cold, hungry, broke, homeless, and friendless. And that’s the night that I learned about faith.</div>
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The three men who taught me about faith were Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah, better known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. Their’s is a familiar story. They defied a king. The king then commanded them to bow down to a statue or be thrown into a furnace. This was their response to the king, “…we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.” That is one of the most beautiful statements of faith I’ve ever heard. But I’m not talking about the first part, the “[H]e will rescue us from your hand” part. I’m talking about the “but even if…not” part. I think another way of saying it is, “even if not, He is still God.”</div>
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These men taught me about the foundation of faith that up until that moment sitting homeless in Belgium, I had not understood. Faith begins and ends with God. I would put my faith in outcomes or my own understanding of God. Therefore, if the outcome was different from what I wanted or if God did something I didn’t understand, my faith was rocked. These men taught me the foundation. God is God. If the outcome doesn’t come my way, He is God. If I don’t understand what’s going on, He is God. That is why we sing songs that state, “A Mighty Fortress is our God” and “On Christ the solid rock I stand”! He and He alone is the only foundation stable enough for our faith to rest upon.</div>
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I went out into an alley behind the hostel and made a bed out of cardboard boxes I found in a near by dumpster. The sun had been down for a while and it was even colder. I walked back into the lobby of the hostel and asked the girl if I could just sit there a few more minutes and get warm. She said that was fine. I began to pray and ask God to give me strength to make it through the night and for his protection over me as I slept in an alley in a strange country. When I finished praying I grabbed my backpack and guitar and started to walk out the door. As I was walking out, the girl at the front desk was on the phone and began waving for me to walk over to her. She was speaking German on the phone so I had no idea what was going on. When she hung up, she told me that they just had a cancellation and that one bed would be free. As Wesley once said, “my heart was strangely warmed”. It took me being on the brink of homelessness in a foreign country to hear what the Lord wanted to teach me about faith through a story that I heard hundreds of times as a kid. I’m ashamed for that level of stubbornness in my life, but absolutely thankful for a Lord that loves me so much he will not stop trying to teach me of His love.</div>
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Father, as Beth Moore says, “you are who you say you are”. And I fully believe that. Thank you for your lessons that continually show your faithfulness. Forgive me when I begin to lose faith because of circumstances or outcomes that I don’t understand. Just as you did with Peter, please lovingly remind me to fix my eyes back on you. Help me to center my faith there. I don’t know what tomorrow holds, but I know who hold tomorrow. You are my Mighty Fortress. Thank you</div>
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PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-78050914530292601462012-08-20T03:52:00.002-07:002012-08-20T03:52:59.056-07:00The Ministry of Presence<br />
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">"More and more,
the desire grows in me simply to walk around, greet people, enter their homes,
sit on their doorsteps, play ball, throw water, and be known as someone who
wants to live with them. It is a privilege to have the time to practice this simple
ministry of presence. Still, it is not as simple as it seems. My own desire to
be useful, to do something significant, or to be part of some impressive
project is so strong that soon my time is taken up by meetings, conferences,
study groups, and workshops that prevent me from walking the streets. It is
difficult not to have plans, not to organize people</span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">around an urgent cause, and not to feel that you are working
directly for social progress. But I wonder more and more if the first thing
shouldn't be to know people by name, to eat and drink with them, to listen to
their stories and tell your own, and to let them know with words, handshakes,
and hugs that you do not simply like them, but truly love them." </span></span><span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></span><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
<span class="copy">- Henri</span><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="copy">Nouwen<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">My mother died two
weeks ago. I promise that I will not begin every blog from now on that way but
today it seems appropriate. She had surgery on a Tuesday night and never really
came back to us. For seven weeks she stayed in a hospital bed and we stayed
beside her, my sister, my step-father, my wife and me. At first we all wanted
to stay but then the economy of energy began to dictate that we take turns. We
would work in shifts like factory workers passing in the courtyard. My
step-father came faithfully every morning, though most mornings Mom did not
know that he was there, or if she did, who he was. Chonda would come just after
lunch and spend the afternoon and evening combing Mom’s hair, making the nurses
laugh, cleaning soiled bed sheets, and playing Doris’s CD for Mom. And I usually had the graveyard”
shift. I would come sometime after my last appointment, 8 or 9 when the
hospital was starting to get quiet and the rooms were dark. I would just sit,
reading the Psalms to mom, talking to her about the Olympics playing out on the
TV, or telling her what latest yard project Sammy was doing at their little
home. I don’t know if she heard me much. Some times I would decide to leave at
midnight if she was sound asleep, many times I stayed until Sammy came in the
morning with a cup of coffee and a ham biscuit from Hardee’s. We would spend a minute catching up
and then start the process all over again.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">During that time we
came to appreciate the ministry of presence, those people who stopped their
busy schedules for only a moment, entered the hospital room and just sat. Most
did not do anything particularly memorable, some stayed too long and talked too
much, others only flitted in and out with a mumbled prayer and a quick handing
over of a casserole, like the Olympic relay team passing the baton on the
flickering TV over our heads. Some seemed comfortable in this “visitation”
role, others were very ill at ease and made me nervous. But they came. They came
and sat and when they came they brought Christ with them. That’s the ministry
of presence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Now don’t get me wrong,
I am grateful for every text, every FaceBook post, even every email and phone
call. These people were making an effort to connect and I am thankful. But
there is something about presence, physical presence, the warm bodied, looking you
in the eyes, not sure what to say, presence that allows Jesus to enter the
scene in a new way. That presence sustained us and encouraged us through seven
grueling weeks. And even at Mom’s funeral, the ministry of presence is what
ministered to us.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I have never been one
to go to parties much, or sit long hours with elderly people on a Sunday
afternoon, or take the time to drop in on a friend that is sick (or hurting.)
For one thing, guys don’t do that. For another everybody is so busy, they are,
I am, busy. We have modern conveniences to help us with that, texting,
voicemail, FaceBook. I usually make sure I do that and send a nice card with a
little check in it when the time is right….. I have missed it. If I get too
busy doing the Lord’s work to BE the Lord in someone’s time of need then I have
misunderstood the Gospel. Jesus always went to feasts and funerals. He never
turned down an invitation to eat or mourn. That was where some of His best
stuff happened. Water into wine. Loaves and fishes.” Little girl, get up.” “Lazarus,
Come forth.” Jesus was all about the
ministry of presence.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="copy"><span style="background: white; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I am determined to do
better. A friend of mine was in the hospital last week, It was a busy day. Counseling
all morning. I had two meetings in Lebanon in the afternoon. It was supper time
when I was driving back to town but I decided to stop by the hospital. We sat
and talked for 45 minutes. We told stories and laughed. We hugged and showed
pictures of our kids. In a little while I prayed a not too profound prayer and
left. Not much to it. It was the closest I was to Christ all day. Mike</span></span><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-64626917005466856862012-08-13T06:07:00.000-07:002012-08-13T06:07:02.626-07:00Holding On, Letting Go<br />
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It is one of the great challenges of life, how long do I
hold on and when do I let go? A few years ago we were fishing and swimming and
just chillin’ at the little lake on my sisters farm. The kids, including my two
sons were swinging on an old rope swing and dropping with a kerplump into the
middle of the lake. In between every jump they yelled over at me, “C’mon Dad,
you try it.” Now I am a wise, mature, solid thinking older gentleman so of
course I got up and gave it a whirl. Amazing, exhilarating, a real adrenalin
rush. And that was just climbing up on the platform so I could reach the rope.
I grabbed this wet, muddy object of so much activity, took a death-hold grip
and sprang out like a gazelle into the upper atmosphere somewhere just above
the water and under the leaves of the trees.</div>
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Let’s leave our hero suspended in mid flight to discuss
holding on. It’s not a bad idea. There are certainly some appropriate times and
places to hold on. Walking along the rim of the Grand Canyon comes to mind. The
handlebars of your sons Harley Sportster is another good place. I can think of
a few more. When my grandson wants to get quickly from the car, across the
parking lot to Toys-R-Us it is a good idea to hold on, tight. When my wife
comes and sits on the couch next to me, even when it is the fourth quarter of
the Titans and New York Jets, I have learned the hard way, that’s a good time
to hold on.</div>
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In fact holding on is the stuff legends are made of. How
many tales do you know of explorers that were ready to turn back but they held
on a little longer? Or inventors that held on for one more experiment and then
they broke through? War heroes held on against all odds. The rags to riches
success models that we follow are all about holding on. Even scripture is full
of admonitions to hold on. I Thessalonians 5:21 says to “Hold on to what is
good.” Hebrews 10:23 says to “Hold unswervingly to the hope that is within us.”
We grew up with Sunday School lessons and youth camp sermons about “holding on
to Jesus.” And our favorite spiritual poster is that cat gripping desperately
the end of a rope with some applicable Bible verse underneath and the caption,
“When you get to the end of the rope, tie a knot and hold on.” You KNOW that is
profound!</div>
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Holding on is just what we do. It is woven into our DNA. I
give Jakson, my one year old grandson, a new toy and he holds on. Jon-Mical,
the four year old plays in the evening outside in the tree house until he is so
sleepy his eyes can barely stay open and his head drops, but he holds on. We
hold on to jobs when they are less than fulfilling. We hold on to habits that
we have promised to give up. We hold on to our kids long after they are out on
their own. And we hold on to the false confidence that we can fix things when
we know we can’t. My mother died this past week. I stood by her bed and held on
probably long after I should have let go. On the other hand, she seemed to hold
on until some special moment or circumstance that we can only guess, was in
place. Holding on is as natural as breathing.</div>
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And speaking of holding on, what about the hero of our story
suspended between earth and sky on the rope swing? We forgot about him. He (me)
is still holding on. In fact that is exactly what I did. I held on while the
swing made a glorious arc out over the beautiful, sundrenched lake. I held on
as it paused for a moment, imperceptibly shifting directions, in that second
free from the bonds of gravity. I held on as it started its rapidly increasing
descent back towards the place from which it had come. And I held on while it
whacked me against the muddy bank of the pond and then dropped me
unceremoniously into the shallow, moss covered edge of the water. I lay there enveloped
in slime, breath knocked out of me, hand throbbing (found out later it was
broke), thinking to myself, “Self, you held on when you should have let go.”
And there’s the rub. When do I let go?</div>
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Well the bad news is, I don’t know. The good news is you do.
You know if you listen to the heartbeat of God, if you tune your desires to the
Holy Spirit, if you take on the mind of Christ, you will know when it is time
to let go. You will recognize that sometimes letting go is not only the best
thing to do. It’s the only thing. You will understand that if I have any hope
of holding on at all I am going to have to let go. There will come a time when
you will see that holding on is going to cause more pain and letting go will
bring freedom. Does that make sense?</div>
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Let me give you three times that come to mind when letting
go is better than holding on. First, when you are holding on to hurt. We have
all had those moments when we have been so wounded, so unjustly treated, so
betrayed that the anger and hurt of that seems to hold on to us as much as we
hold on to it. We process it, rehearse it, relive it, analyze it. We hold on to
it, sometimes rightly so, to make sure it will never happen to us again. My
wife speaks often to other wives who have been betrayed by their husbands. Doris
will say to them, “You have to forgive but not today.” There is a benefit is
holding on to hurt for awhile to help you establish boundaries and keep
yourself safe. But….there comes a time, and you know it, when holding on to
that thing is strangling you. The death grip you have on that perceived wound
or unfair treatment is really a hold around your own heart. You HAVE to let it
go. The situation may not be completely resolved. You might not feel fully
vindicated. You may not have received the full apology that you desired. But it
is time to let go and move on. Holding on any longer will only create more hurt
and rob your life of joy.</div>
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The second time to let go is in a relationship that has
become toxic. Listen, there are people that I have loved that in the long run
were so unhealthy for me I had to let them go. We’ve all had those, an abusive
father, a controlling mother, a legalistic church, a wayward child. Now I don’t
mean for any of those that we desert or abandon them. God is a God of
reconciliation and Paul says He has given us “the ministry of reconciliation.”
We never stop loving. Never stop praying. Never stop believing that God can
make things right. But there comes a time when we do that from a distance. When
that connection with a sick person is beginning to make me sick too it is time
for me to let go. God hates divorce. Our kids will always be our kids. We are
to honor our parents. I don’t know exactly how all of this plays out but I do
know that in some relationships there comes a time when the right thing to do
is to let go. (And trust God!)</div>
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Which leads me to the third time of letting go. We did it
this week. It was not easy. Still isn’t. As my family stood by the hospital bed
of my mother who had battled for so long, it became apparent that the time had
come for us to let go. My sister whispered to her, “Mom, to be absent from the
body is to be present with the Lord.” In one way or another Mom had given each
one of us that last smile and tender goodbye. She was ready and we, as much as
we would like to have had one more day, or one more minute, knew it was time to
let her go. And you know what? When we did God reached down to her and said,
“Here Nanny, Take my hand and hold on.”</div>
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Subscribe to more of Mike's blogs at www.branchesblog.com.</div>
PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-63332566588255220952012-08-09T19:54:00.003-07:002012-08-09T19:54:47.769-07:00She's There Now<i>Got this text conversation from my son, Josh with his 4 year old son, Jon-Mical last Tuesday, the evening my mother died.</i><br />
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I told Jon-Mical that Nanny died. He immediately asked if she was flying now.<br />
"Flying?" I asked.<br />
"Yes. Is she flying up to heaven?" he responded.<br />
I told him she was.<br />
He looked up and asked, "How far is she?"<br />
"She's already there." I said.
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<br />PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-68800240430173534672012-08-05T18:23:00.001-07:002012-08-05T18:23:06.663-07:00God Far Away<br />
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I need God
and He is far away. That desolate, desperate cry is not some philosophical,
poetic metaphor from ancient literature or the pitiful plea of the
fundamentally fearful. It is my testimony for right now. The words from my
lips. The echo of my heart. It is the true, simple, unadorned and undeniable
condition of my spirit in this stage of my existence. I NEED GOD AND HE IS FAR
AWAY. And interestingly enough, (to me at least) I can speak it without
trembling emotion or paralyzing fear. To coin a phrase (again) it is what it
is. I need God, simple enough. And He is far away, maybe not simple but
certainly understandable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For one
thing, the panic is removed from that conditional announcement when I remember
that I am not the first. Moses wandered and wondered on the “back side of the
desert” before he had a close encounter with a burning bush. I do not know
where the back side of the desert is but I have been there often in the last 2
months. Abraham may have felt that as he led the donkey full of firewood, and
his son Isaac up the mountain to prepare a sacrifice. Have you ever felt like
you were being asked to give up or let go of something so precious to you that
sure God could only ask you by shouting from a far, far distance away? Of
course, King David is the poster-child for abandonment issues and reactive
attachment disorder. Listen to a few of his familiar laments. “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long
will you hide Your face from me?” Ps. 13:1. “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken
me? Why are you so far from saving me?” Ps. 22:1. In fact those words remind me
that even Jesus felt this eternal, fraternal separation when on the cross He
quoted David, “Elohim, Elohim, lama sabachthani.” My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Come on tell
the truth, have you ever felt that? Maybe sometime in the last 24 hours? When
the police call and say we have your son in custody? Or worse, you’d better
come to the hospital? When the boss walks in with a cardboard box and a
security guard and says, “Sorry, there have been budget cuts?” When the couple
that lives next door that loved your kids and ate your barbecue pulls up in a
U-Haul van and tells you they have taken a job in Alabama? When you’re cut from
the football squad? Left off of the guest list? Given the cold shoulder at
church? Unfriended on FaceBook? All of us at one time or another have known the
pain of personal rejection and made the leap from the loss of a comfortable
situation to the abandonment of God. Even if only for a moment.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">If you have
read my FaceBook Mom-Updates you will guess that my moments have come at 2am
sitting beside the hospital bed in ICU. The night is anything but silent. It is
punctuated by rattling bedpans, the incessant beeps of IV pumps, and the
groans, the groans of a dozen people who perhaps deep in the recesses of their
subconscious are asking, “Why have You forsaken me?” I have watched the spark
of intelligence and acuity that was my mother flicker and almost go out over
the last 2 months. I have felt her pat my hand and smile at me with the same
smile she would give the waiter at Shoney’s or the boy who delivers her paper,
asked her questions like my name only to have her turn away in embarrassed
confusion. And I have asked God where He was in all of this. How far away? I
need God and He is far away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">So what help
is there in recognizing I am not alone in my dilemma. Is “misery loves company”
enough to satisfy my detached heart? I don’t think so but I do find other
solace in thinking through these examples of spiritual loneliness and
isolation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">First, I
recognize that sometimes the abandonment that I feel is a result of my own
behavior and is necessary for my purification. Remember Moses. He rose up in
anger and killed the Egyptian who was abusing a Hebrew slave. As noble as his
motives may have been his action was wrong. Moses fled into the wilderness and
spent 40 years letting God burn away the selfishness and control issues in him.
Isn’t it possible that what was really burning in the middle of that bush were what we call in CR character defects? Moses
felt far from God so that some of his hurts, habits, and hang-ups could be
placed under grace and he could emerge a leader for his people. So, there are
times that my separation from God is for my own healing and my own good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Secondly, as
with Abraham, God often has another plan. Who knows? Maybe His plan is even
better? Let’s see. Go up the mountain. Build a fire. Kill my only, my dearly
loved son and place his lifeless body on the fire as a gift to God. Or…look up
and see a ram that God has snared for me, long before He even asked me to come
up onto the mountain. So he closes the door on that job only to give me one
closer to home. He allows my relationship to end and suddenly a new person, the
right person comes on the radar screen. He tears me away from the First Church
of Comfort and plants me in a place where His fire burns brighter in the eyes
of people that I have ever seen. Many times the isolation I feel from God is a
result of Him working behind the scenes to make something different, better.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And finally,
like David I remember that He is not far away at all. My emotions get the best
of me. It’s just that time of the month or that time of my life. I am fragile
and frazzled, over stressed and under appreciated. I am a legend in my own mind
and no one else seems to acknowledge that and God seems so far away. I am an
emotional creature. God made me that way. And the more I can express my
emotions, be honest about my feelings, the healthier I will be. But my emotions
are not the metrics for the way things are. In fact, most of the time my
emotions bear little correlation to reality. I feel what I feel and that’s okay
but that doesn’t mean it is true. Listen, I feel like I’m going to shoot a 70
every time I step on the golf course. I feel like this is the year for Ohio
State to beat the SEC and win the National Championship. (every year) I feel
like one more MacDonald’s Sundae won’t cause me to gain weight. I feel like I
can afford that new BMW I’ve had my eyes on. All of these feelings are real but
the facts they point to are not true. (Well, except the ice cream sundae
thing.) God is not far away. He has not moved. He is as close as my next
prayer. And even when I cannot feel it I know He says, “I will never leave you
or forsake you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Which leads
me to the last thing, Jesus on the cross, seeming to decry the abandonment of
God. “My God, my God WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?” Jesus knew the whole story. He
knew about the incomplete sacrificial system and the holiness of His Father. He
knew the demands of the law and the plan of God. He knew about the crucifixion
but also about the resurrection. He knew that after Friday, Sunday was coming.
His cry was the reflex response of His mother’s side of the family. It was His
human nature identifying with our human nature. We will cry. We will feel lost
and alone. We will struggle with abandonment and question our faith. We are
human. That’s what we do. But that is not who God is. HE IS THERE. Even in the
hospital room at 2am, He is there. He loves us with an everlasting love. He
knows the plans He has for us. He will never leave us or forsake us. He invites
us to come to Him when we are weary and heavy laden. He is there.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">I need God
and He FEELS far away. But He is not. That’s good.<o:p></o:p></span></div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-7405566112269234362012-07-24T05:36:00.004-07:002012-07-24T05:36:50.477-07:00Jesus in Aurora<br />
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My youngest grandson Jakson is goofy cute. Jakson is 1. He
has too many teeth for his little mouth. His hair is so blonde that you can see
through it. And his head (to accommodate that powerful brain of his, I’m sure)
is three sizes too big for his body. It looks like a pumpkin on a broomstick.
But there is something about his smile that lights up a room. And when he
waddles though the mall heads turn to enjoy him going by. I know I am anything
but objective about this but Jakson has a beauty in the midst of all of his
awkwardness that captures your attention. At least it seems that way to his
PoppyC.</div>
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This week I sat horrified in front of the TV as the news
unfolded of the massacre in Aurora, Colorado. You know the story of a lone
gunman walking into a crowded movie theater and opening fire. At least 70
people were shot with a dozen fatalities. Like most of America, I wept for the
families of those senselessly slain young people. I prayed for the soul of one
so depraved that he could unleash that kind of inhumanity on his fellow human
beings. And I groaned for the brokenness of a fallen world that created the
backdrop against which this all too familiar tragedy played out. A cafeteria in
Texas, a high school in Columbine, a classroom building at Virginia Tech, over
the last 30 years in our country alone we have rehearsed this gruesome and
grotesque scene until we can describe the players almost before the gunfire
ceases. Yet, as often as we have experienced it we are each time in utter shock
that this would happen again. Horrible. Ugly. Terrifying.</div>
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If I am not careful I can succumb to the horror and
hopelessness of those stories. I begin to see only dark, demonic, destructive
forces at work in my world. I recoil from the anger and awfulness that surely
must possess an individual to drive him to such an act. I begin to look at
everyone around me with suspicion and fear. And I only see the ugliness that we
have become as a people, as a planet. The cruelty of one human being to another
has been a theme of our reflection since Cain slew Able. We are no longer
surprised at the capacity within our own kind to unleash damage and devastation
on, well, on us. And it is no consolation to remember that this kind of
nightmare is not exclusive to America. Mosques and churches, busses and
embassies all around the world have witnessed such hellish moments. There seems
to be no limit and no end to the atrocities that we commit. It is all I can
see. If I am not careful I go there. But I can’t.</div>
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For one thing, I don’t believe we can survive as a culture
or as individuals if we allow ourselves to sink to that level of despair. King
Solomon came close to that point when he wrote in Ecclesiastes 1, “Meaningless,
meaningless, utterly meaningless. Everything is meaningless.” To begin to believe
that this is all there is, that the world is now populated and permeated only
with death and destruction, that all that is good about life is either gone or
so overwhelmed by evil that it is irrelevant is to leave no space for hope or a
willingness to work for change. I think the purpose of chaos is to cause us to
quit and to only see the horror makes me want to do that.</div>
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Secondly, more importantly, it just isn’t true. When I begin
to only see the awful, terrible, ugliness I am seeing a false image. God is
good. His creation is good. There is redemption still at work and “greater is
He that is in us than he that is in the world.” The wanton wickedness that we
see is the exception and not the rule. In fact the very shock and sadness that
it brings up in us is proof that this is not who we are, this is not are
nature. We are better than this as a people and as persons. The lie of the
enemy is that what happened at that movie theater is symbolic of all of society
today. Not true! Not true! Not true! Good not only still exists but it still
reigns, and always will because the One who reigns is good. Like the goofy
beauty of my grandson, there is still something good and right and noble about
the world we live in. The positive still far outweighs the negative. We, the
people of God, must, we must, proclaim there is still Good News and not
surrender our message of redemption to the violent, viral You Tube clips, or
the scandalous sound bytes if the evening news.</div>
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So, how do we find hope in the hopeless? How do we avoid the
doom and despair that screams at us from the headlines and from our hearts?
Where is the beauty buried beneath the bloodbath of last week or the terrorism
of tomorrow?</div>
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First, we step in to look closely at the miracle moments of
the event in front of us. Several years ago we had the widow of Todd Beamer
speak at our church. Todd was one of the heroes of Flight 93 on September 11,
2001 who apparently charged the cabin of that doomed flight and caused the
terrorists to divert in to a rural field rather than the supposed target of the
White House. Last night I watched the stories of at least three young men in
that Aurora theatre that used their own bodies to shield their girlfriends,
giving their lives for others. Stephanie Davies stayed with her wounded friend
and applied pressure to her bleeding neck the entire time the gunman was
walking up and down the aisles of the smoky theatre. She saved her friends
life. Jarell Brooks ran back to up the aisle to help a terrified mother and her
two young children escape. Out of almost every story of murder and mayhem
arises an even more powerful one of heroism and sacrifice. It is as if the good
is saying, “You cannot win. I will use your blackness to illuminate the fact
that people are still good, that love still triumphs.” In fact, in some ways
the more atrocious the evil the more brightly shines the good. That’s what we
hold on to in moments like these.</div>
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Secondly, we step back to look carefully at the context of
our faith. We live in a fallen, frightening world but it is undergoing the “birth
pains of redemption” as Paul says in Romans. God is victorious over evil from
the Garden to the Grave. At the fall of Adam and Eve God clothed them and gave
them a promise. When Cain killed his brother God gave him a mark to protect
him. All through Old Testament history God works for the redemption of His
people. Until finally in the New Testament, at the Cross and that horrible,
ugly moment when even His Son is the victim of evil, God raises Him from the
Grave and gains the ultimate upper hand over the darkness. These awful moments
in time remind us that this is the very reason Christ came. The wickedness of
the world only serves to prove the significance of the Savior. The event in
Aurora, and all the other mind numbing, hope shattering events of our day,
focus our faith like a laser beam on to the only One who can make a difference.
As someone said, “A messy world like ours obviously needs a messiah.”</div>
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When it gets right down to it, we see in these horrific
moments what we are looking for. If we are looking for hopelessness and
despair, it is certainly there to be seen. But if we have our “eyes fixed on
Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith,” we see God still at work, still
redeeming even in the darkest of nights. It’s like Jakson. You might see a
goofy little fellow with head too big and teeth too many. I see the most
beautiful little guy in the whole world. That is what I am looking for. And today,
even in the horrible headlines and the numbing nightly news, I am choosing to
look for Jesus.</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-40208507972850438222012-07-17T10:38:00.000-07:002012-07-17T10:38:38.272-07:00Dancing The Soul Salsa<br />
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I grew up in a home that did not dance. Just the mere
mention of the word was anathema. My mother called it foot fellowship. She
taught us that dancing was the root of all evil and was the portal through
which every other vice imaginable entered. “Don’t ever dance,” she said. “All
of that closeness leads a boy and a girl to other wicked things like smoking
and drinking beer.” We didn’t dance.</div>
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At the end of the school year when the area high school held
the annual prom our tiny little church would plan a “prom alternative,” a
miserable little affair when all 3 of the teens who went to my church would
meet in the basement of the Sunday School area to celebrate the fact that we
did not dance. There would be balloons, crepe paper tablecloths, and cardboard
stars thumbtacked into the ceiling. A half-dozen matronly, old women would
hover around us as we sat at the table, filling our plates with sweet potato
casserole and baked ham. We tried to look excited about what was going on, and
to ignore the 5<sup>th</sup> graders that had been invited to make the room
more full. We would listen to records of Gene Cotton and Andrae Crouch (the
contemporary Christian musicians of that day) and at the end of the evening the
preacher (usually my dad) would bring an inspiring devotional message about how
much better off we were because we did not dance.</div>
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So imagine my surprise when I discovered one day that the
Word of God is laced with invitations to dance. Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is
a time to dance. Psalm 30:11 says, “You have turned my mourning into joyful
dancing.” And in II Samuel David danced before the Lord “with all of his
might.” The most amazing dance note is in John 10:10. It is a very familiar
verse where Jesus says, “My purpose is to give life in all its fullness.” The
Greek word for fullness is <i>orkaomi</i>.
It is the root word that gives us rejoice or dance. Jesus was saying “My
purpose is to teach you to <b>dance</b>.”</div>
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I love John Ortberg. In his book <i>The Life You Always Wanted </i> he says, “We will not understand God until we
understand this about Him: ‘God is the happiest Being in the universe.’ God
also knows sorrow. Jesus is remembered, among other things, as a ‘man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief.’ But the sorrow of God, like the anger of
God, is His temporary response to a fallen world. That sorrow will be banished
forever from His heart on the day the world is set right. Joy is His eternal
destiny. God is the happiest being in the universe.”</div>
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You see, life is Christ is to be <u>enjoyed</u> not <u>endured</u>.</div>
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Life is Christ is a <u>party</u> not a <u>pity</u>.</div>
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Life in Christ is a <u>dance</u> not a <u>drudgery</u>.</div>
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Now I don’t know how to dance but if I did, I would dance
the salsa. I got the idea from Leonard Sweet.He says of the salsa, "it is fire and ice, precision and passion, delicate beauty and
dominating athleticism all at the same time. The salsa comes from the Caribbean
where it finds its African roots and its Spanish rhythm. It embraces the
majesty of the royal court and the grit of the street. It has strains in Harlem
in <st1:state w:st="on">New York</st1:state> and in <st1:city w:st="on">Mexico City</st1:city>. In short, the salsa is the dance
of the whole world." And the soul salsa, well that’s the dance of the universe.</div>
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I am in a season of my life where dancing the salsa doesn’t
seem to be very likely. For one thing my knees are creaky and my back is out of
wack. When I stand up it takes me a minute to get my balance and to get my
joints all moving in the right direction. Let’s face it the salsa is a young
man’s dance with zest and zeal that we old folks gave up a long time ago. But
that’s not what makes the salsa, or dancing in general, hard. Right now it’s
hard to dance because life is happening. There is sickness to contend with, the
economy is tight, I’m a little worried about the state of the nation, and the
check engine light has come on in my car. Stuff just builds up all around me
and I forget to dance.</div>
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In fact, I am coming to believe that this is the time when
dancing is most important. Dancing, spiritual dancing, rejoicing in Jesus,
enjoying the Spirit, soul salsa dancing brings life back into the heart of
those of us who have been beaten down. The ability to dance is fights back the
fears and frustrations of the foe and defeats the difficulties and destruction
of the devil. Dancing is not only allowed us who call ourselves Christ
followers, it is mandatory. While it is not exactly a dancing verse I am
thinking of the prophet Joel quoted in Acts 2:17, “In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions, and your old men will dream dreams.” That
sounds to me like somebody is going to bust a move. Dancing is getting ready to
break out.</div>
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So, the next time you find yourself in the basement of life,
eating sweet potato casserole and baked ham, the next time your problems are
telling you that you can’t dance, forget that. You crank up some Gene Cotton,
hang out a few stars, and salsa your way into the life that God has designed
for you.</div>
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Mike</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-80289955570117285162012-07-12T19:17:00.000-07:002012-10-23T04:21:16.849-07:00FOLLOW ME<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Here is a flagrant, no-holds-barred, begging on my knees plea for help. In fact I have two pleas. The first is very small. The second....it's a doozy. I have been reading a book, Platform, by Michael Hyatt. It's a good one. It deals with the social-media culture of the day and the tools necessary to use that modern day media for good. I am not so much about advancing me (though I certainly have my moments) but I am recognizing the stewardship involved in promoting the Branches story and using my gifts (such as they are) to further the Kingdom of God.<br />
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With that in mind I plan to become much more intentional about things like blogging, writing, mentoring, etc. So, here's the first little favor. If you have followed me on this blog <b>will you follow me over to my new blog site and subscribe there.</b> The new site is <u><a href="http://www.branchesblog.com/">www.branchesblog.com</a></u>. It was put together by my good friend Jody Webster at websterville.com and hopes to be simple, straight forward, and helpful. I don't know that I see myself as a mentor type person but I seem to have gotten old and with that comes some wisdom on how to live life better. I plan a weekly post on lessons about faith, practical ways to stay connected to the Vine. We will try to find balance in life, look for ways to engage the world and each other, and hopefully recognize the grace of God in all of life, even the "yukky" parts.<br />
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Now for the biggie, flagrant self-promotion. This change to a new blog is a great excuse to ask, <b>will you help me by sharing my blog with as many people as you can.</b> Put it on lists. Refer to it in your postings. Just help me kick-start this by getting the word out. To the person who does the best job there will be a huge cash reward. (That is not true! I just got desperate in trying to motivate you.) Actually there is nothing in this for you except my deep appreciation and the satisfaction that you have shared some things that may have been meaningful to you along the way. In return you have my commitment that I will work consistently and with integrity to present a "product" that you can be proud of and God will be glorified in.<br />
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Well, enough grovelling. You are probably here because you are a friend. Be sure I am grateful for that. Now "follow me, as I follow Christ." Let's see where He takes us.<br />
MikePoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-55697893150857101552012-04-28T03:56:00.000-07:002012-04-28T03:56:07.959-07:00Variety<br />
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Jesus is pushing His way through the crowd and a women who
has suffered with bleeding her entire life touches the hem of His cloak and is
healed. A young boy that was beset by demons was brought to Jesus and fell on
the ground convulsing in front of Him. Jesus reached down and took his hand and
lifted him up and he was healed. There
was a crippled woman that was bent over for eighteen years. When Jesus saw her
He “put His hands on her” and she was healed. By the pool of Bethesda a man was
crippled from his birth. Jesus says, “Pick up your bed and go home,” and he was
healed. When Jairus, a man that Jesus did not know, came and told Jesus that
his daughter was dying Jesus left and went with him immediately. When they told
Him that His best bud Lazarus was dying, he waited two more days before He
went. (Healed them both by the way.) Bartimaeus the blind man yells for Jesus,
“Son of David, have mercy on me. Jesus says, “Go, your faith has healed you,”
and Bart can see. Another blind man comes and Jesus spits in the mud, wipes it
on the guys eyes and says, “Go wash this off.” When he does, he can see. Still
another blind man, (Where did they get all of these blind people?) comes to
Jesus and Jesus spits directly on his eyes. They guy says, “I can see but not
clearly. Men look like trees.” Jesus touches his eyes again and 20/20.</div>
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Jon-Mical, my grandson, goes to a Methodist church
preschool. I take him every morning and pick him up at noon. One day someone
had painted a big cross on the parking lot. Jon-Mical said, “Look PoppyC. Jesus
painted a cross on the parking lot.” Then he said with all the innocent
affection and admiration that a three year old can muster, “That crazy Jesus.”
Now whenever Jesus does something special for us, (and He does a lot!) we all
say, “That crazy Jesus.”</div>
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Jesus used a lot of different ways and words to bring about
healing. In fact, it hardly seems He ever healed any two people in exactly the
same way. One time He speaks, another time He touches, and sometimes they even
touch Him. Once when the disciples were
in the boat and it was stormy He spoke, “Peace, Be still.” Another time He just
decided to walk out to them…ON THE WATER.</div>
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It seems to me that if Our Lord was not confined to one
treatment pattern, if He did not stick with one single modality, then it
behooves (I love to be behooved) us to, as Paul says, “become all things to all
people so that I might save some.” God
seems to make a point of variety, look around you, and He may desire that we be
willing to be creative and varied in our attempts to bring healing to others.</div>
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Listen, I am as much a rut person as the next guy. I go to
and from work the same way every day. I park in the same place. I eat the same
oatmeal for breakfast every morning. I have one really comfortable pair of
jockey shorts (but let’s don’t go there.) I’m just saying I can get very
comfortable with my routine. And that’s okay. When I do the same thing over and
over I know it better. I am prepared for all eventualities inside my routine. I
can explain it better to others. And I have faith that my routine works.
Someone comes in for counseling, I do an intake, I ask them about their family
of origin, we go over their APS Temperament profile, and we’re off to the
races.</div>
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But maybe, just maybe, God is saying that we are all
“fearfully and wonderfully made,” that we all bring unique and complex issues
to the table and those things get all intertwined in a way that is a little bit
different for everybody. Maybe God is saying, “If you trust me I will show you
a new way, maybe several new ways, to bring healing and hope to the broken-hearted.”
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That is the model that Branches is built on. We believe
healing comes just one way and only one way, God does it. But having said that,
sometimes He uses EMDR, sometimes talk therapy, sometimes inner-healing prayer,
and sometimes deliverance. You know what, sometimes He heals and doesn’t even
use me. THINK OF IT!</div>
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A few weeks ago I talked to a guy that I had seen a few
times and then he didn’t come back. He came up to me in a store to thank me for
the amazing changes in his life and how I had helped him so much. His wife was
there and she said, “Since he met with you he has been a completely different
person. We could not be more happy.” Cool. I’m feeling great so I asked him,
“What did I say that made the difference?” He knew immediately. “I can tell you
exactly,” he said. “When you said this…..it changed everything for me.” I
thanked him and they went on. You know what? I did not say what he said I did.
Never have. It’s good. I might start saying to people but I didn’t say it to
him. The Holy Spirit comes and He says what needs to be said and He uses what
needs to be used and He heals in the way He desires.</div>
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So, get out of the rut. Trust God. He might bring healing to
you today in new way that you never imagined. Or He might break through at last
using the same old method that you have tried a hundred times before. I do know
this. He will come. And He will heal. That crazy Jesus. He loves you like that.</div>
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Mike</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-82673474619704030472012-04-19T14:00:00.000-07:002012-04-19T14:00:13.596-07:00The Spirit Principles # 6 in the Abundant Life Series<div class="MsoNormal"><v:shapetype coordsize="21600,21600" filled="f" id="_x0000_t75" o:preferrelative="t" o:spt="75" path="m@4@5l@4@11@9@11@9@5xe" stroked="f"> <v:stroke joinstyle="miter"> <v:formulas> <v:f eqn="if lineDrawn pixelLineWidth 0"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 1 0"> <v:f eqn="sum 0 0 @1"> <v:f eqn="prod @2 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="prod @3 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @0 0 1"> <v:f eqn="prod @6 1 2"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelWidth"> <v:f eqn="sum @8 21600 0"> <v:f eqn="prod @7 21600 pixelHeight"> <v:f eqn="sum @10 21600 0"> </v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:f></v:formulas> <v:path gradientshapeok="t" o:connecttype="rect" o:extrusionok="f"> <o:lock aspectratio="t" v:ext="edit"> </o:lock></v:path></v:stroke></v:shapetype><v:shape alt="IMG_3282.JPG" id="Picture_x0020_0" o:spid="_x0000_i1025" style="height: 102.75pt; mso-wrap-style: square; visibility: visible; width: 136.5pt;" type="#_x0000_t75"> <v:imagedata o:title="IMG_3282" src="file:///C:\Users\C0BA4~1.MIC\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image001.jpg"> </v:imagedata></v:shape></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23KRbTH4-vg/T5B8ojUmoCI/AAAAAAAAAcw/5UOsXpKa3pY/s1600/IMG_3282.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-23KRbTH4-vg/T5B8ojUmoCI/AAAAAAAAAcw/5UOsXpKa3pY/s320/IMG_3282.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Spirit Principles<o:p></o:p></span></b></div><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;"><b><span style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal">(I was thinking the other day I never posted the 6<sup>th</sup> blog in The Abundant Life series. Sorry about that. Here’s the last one.)</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Lawrence J Peter, author of the famous and now forgotten business textbook called The Peter Principle said this, “In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.” In other words, we keep getting promoted because we are doing a good job until finally we are promoted to a job that is just more than we can handle. There we stay, dissatisfied and unfulfilled, until we are fired, we die, or we are demoted back down to something we can handle. Now that’s encouraging. It may even be true. I’ve sure advanced a few times (like now) way beyond my abilities.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">But maybe there is another way of looking at it. Maybe I become increasingly less dependent on my own abilities and ever more dependent on the Holy Spirit in my life. Maybe one day I wake up and realize that He was driving the boat all along and I have only been along for this marvelous ride. Maybe the principle I need to follow is the one modeled by that other guy named Peter who stuck his foot in his mouth every time he leaned on his own resources but changed the world on the day he finally trusted the Holy Spirit of God.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Acts 2:38, Peter who has failed, fallen, and really fouled up, denied Christ, ran from adversity, been hiding in an upper room for 40 days, steps out in front of the crowd in Jerusalem and says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Do you get the impact of that? This mob is the very group that yelled for Christ to be crucified a few weeks earlier. They are the same guys than ran through the streets with torches looking for more Galilean followers to string up. And now, in their face Peter says, “This Jesus whom YOU CRUCIFIED is both Lord and Christ.” And 3000 of them are saved. Put that in your pipe and smoke it Mr. Promoted Beyond Your Ability. Of course, he was. Peter couldn’t have confronted that crowd on his own. The Holy Spirit did it in him.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We have been talking for 5 weeks now about the abundant life, the life that is more than we are living, greater than we can imagine, and available to us when we really surrender ourselves to the Holy Spirit in us. On this final day I want to suggest some principles to live by, I call them the Spirit Principles. These are the things that I think come out of a life dead to self and alive in Christ. Do I do these things well everyday? Nope. Do I think it’s even possible for me to accomplish any of this? Nope. But when the Spirit is set free to work in me, and when I set my heart toward the Spirit Principles, God does things in me that….well, are just way beyond my pay grade.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">The first word is PURITY. Galatians 5:16 says, “So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” The Bible is chock full of reminders that we live by grace. We are saved by faith. We are seen by God through the blood of Jesus and our “goodness” is not of ourselves but comes from Him. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">It is just as full of calls to holiness, holy living, righteousness and commands to live pure and Godly lives. It seems to me there is a principle here. <b>In every area of life there is a price to be paid for greatness.</b> I’m not talking about some legalistic duty or obligation to live a certain way. Christ has already taken care of that. But for those of us who desire to be sold out, on fire, devil defeatin’, Jesus freaks, tend to go the extra mile, pay the greater price, make the deeper commitment. Not because we have to but because, by the Spirit living in us, we want to. It’s true in all arenas. Michael Jordan in basketball, Luciano Pavorotti in singing, Mother Teresa in charity, Billy Graham in evangelism, Doris Courtney in playing the piano (she told me to say that one). People who have done great things have gone beyond their gifts, wonderful as they might have been, and paid the price for greatness. Let me be blunt. I don’t usually do it well but my desire is to be great for God. </div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Second word, POWER. Having said you have to pay the price let me remind you that that is not enough. You can’t do it on your own. Christ in you, now that’s another story. II Timothy 1:7 says. “For God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” Listen, when you answer the call of God to use your life for His glory you can be sure that He has and will put everything in you that you need. You got the power. (Something in me wants to say, “Can I get a WITNESSSSSSS?) Here’s the principle. <b>The power of God within us is ALWAYS greater than the circumstance of life around us.<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">You see part of the reason that I fail to pay the price is that I get overwhelmed. I give up. I’m defeated before I begin. I wrestled in high school. Once when I was in the 9<sup>th</sup> grade I went to the district level and wrestled a kid that was a 4<sup>th</sup> year senior. (It seemed like that to me.) He must have been 26 or something. All I know is when he grabbed me the first time his chin hit my chest and he had stubble, a two day bristle. I remember thinking, “He’s got a beard. I’m a kid and I’m wrestling a grown man. He will kill me.” And you know what? He did. I was beat before I started. Listen, we fight a defeated foe. We have the power, not him, and we can’t lose.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">That leads me to the 3<sup>rd</sup> principle. <b>Great people are captivated by noble desires. </b>The word here is PASSION. The Holy Spirit, among other things places a vision within us that moves and motivates all we do. If you don’t have that in you go back to number 1. Start living the life and I promise you God will begin to set a fire in you that won’t be put out.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">My young friend Renee Chambers is a hero to me. God put a vision in her to work with at risk teens in our community. She went out to California and enrolled in an apprenticeship to equip herself to follow her dream. After just a couple of months they cancelled the program. So what? Renee did not and has not quit. She has fought and scratched and stayed faithful. She has moved from office to office and printed out flyers with her own money. She has the power and the passion that can only come from the Holy Spirit and today she heads a strong, effective ministry in our town called SOZO. Here’s what Joel said about the Holy Spirit in 2:28, “I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams and your young men (and women) will see visions.” That will put some passion in you.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">Well, I’ve got to quit so let me give you one more. (There were seven in the original lesson I taught. Make me write a book about these.) Word number four is PURPOSE. And the principle is this. <b>A great life is a life lived on purpose.<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">I’m almost back to principle # 1. You don’t stumble in to being significant for Jesus. You don’t accidentally live a life of surrender and sacrifice and super-natural influence. Remember, all of the power comes from Him. Everything we do we do in and through and because of Him. Apart from Him we can do NOTHING. BUT…we start. We decide. We move. We make up our minds. We determine. WE DO WHAT WE DO FOR CHRIST ON PURPOSE. Paul says things like, “Make it your aim.” “Let this be your goal.” And in my life verse, Philippians 3:10, “I want to KNOW Christ…” Then, “I press on.” There is purpose there.</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNoSpacing">We are people of grace. Our old selves have died. We have been crucified with Christ. But we have in us the ability, and hopefully the desire, to set our steps toward Godliness and spiritual greatness. And that only happens on purpose. My father-in-law is one of those Godly and great men. Never accomplished a lot from the worlds perspective but he has been such a man of God that his life has influenced generations of men and women for Christ. He is a saint in every sense of the word. I have heard him pray hundreds of time down through the years. He prays as he lives, directed by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, full of the Holy Spirit. I don’t believe I have ever heard him pray when he did not say this, “Only one life will soon be past. Only what’s done for Christ will last.” That is a great life. That is a principle worth living by.</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-37497227871235995322012-03-05T17:46:00.000-08:002012-03-05T17:46:18.194-08:00Wait A Minute<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUO3XL6-zFc/T1Vr-hS4UhI/AAAAAAAAAcc/ZqcizlAD1wc/s1600/waiting+room.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-yUO3XL6-zFc/T1Vr-hS4UhI/AAAAAAAAAcc/ZqcizlAD1wc/s1600/waiting+room.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">I am writing from the WAITING room at the hospital. In the last few months I have logged quite a bit of time in WAITING rooms. Hospitals, doctor’s offices, Medicare benefit departments; all have their WAITING rooms where we go and...well, wait. If you are like me, waiting is not high on your list of favorite activities. To go and sit and twiddle my thumbs while someone I care about is poked or prodded or put through the wringer is less than an ideal way to spend a morning. I much prefer the DOING room, or the LET’S GET BUSY room, or the TAKE ACTION AND MAKE STUFF HAPPEN room. But like it or not, waiting is a big part of life. We wait for the bride to come down the aisle. We wait for the baby to be born. We wait for our kids to start school, to finish school, to pay for school. We wait to get in places and wait to get out of them. We wait for life to catch up with us and we wait to catch our breath when life flies by. We wait to live and in many ways, we wait for the day that life as we know it will end. WAIT.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">So if we have to wait anyway what do we do while we wait? Actually waiting is not all that bad and there is some real benefit to slowing down a little, getting off the treadmill and out of the rat race, and just waiting. The prophet Isaiah said, “They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will mount up with wings as eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) Then the songwriter added, “Teach me Lord. Teach me Lord to wait.”</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Here are some things I am trying to learn to do while I wait. I am trying to learn to listen. It is amazing what you can hear when you just get quiet and listen. I hear the murmurs of despair from the little couple across the ER room from me. I hear the grumbling of dissatisfaction from the old man in the booth behind me at the restaurant. I hear the hushed giggling of the innocent children playing in the lobby of my office. And if I really listen, I hear the whispers of God reminding me that all of those people need Him.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Which leads me to another thing I do while I wait. I pray. I was on a bus many years ago travelling from Columbus, Ohio to Nashville, Tennessee. It’s a long story how I got there but just let me say you meet a whole new strata of people on a Greyhound bus at 2 am. A young mother was sitting somewhere behind me and I could sense her tension as she tried to keep her infant baby from screaming through the night. Something prompted me and I began to pray for her. Immediately the baby became quiet and I assume went to sleep. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the young mother put her head back with a relieved sigh and doze off herself. True story. In about an hour we came to her stop. She got off of the bus and as she passed me, turned and smiled at me. Praying helps.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Finally, while I wait I am trying to remember to talk. Now talking is not a problem for me but when I am wrapped up in my own frustrations and irritated at having to wait I usually forget about those around me. I am trying to respond to the voice of God that I hear as I wait and look for places to be an agent of His presence. I stop by the young couple and pat them on the shoulder and ask, “Can I pray for you?” I turn to the grumpy old man in the restaurant and find out how lonely he is when I ask, “How is your day?” I go out into the lobby where the kids are playing and sit down in the floor with them for a few minutes and tell them a story about Jesus. Talking while I wait, especially talking on behalf of our Savior, redeems the time and maybe makes a small difference in someone else’s life.</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Psalmist said, “I waited patiently for the LORD; He turned to me and heard my cry. <sup>2</sup> He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. <sup>3</sup> He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in Him.”(Psalm 40:1-3) What if His plan all along was to use you and to use me to ease the pain in others while they wait? I don’t know for sure but it just may be that this waiting room or this season of my life is exactly where God needed me to be. And it just may be that the most significant stuff in my life happens while I wait. John Lennon, that great theologian did get this part right when he sang, “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy doing other things. So, listen to what God is saying. Pray for His direction. Speak out what He says to speak out. Just wait a minute….</div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal">Mike</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-51148201996500996102012-03-04T06:38:00.000-08:002012-03-04T06:38:49.152-08:00BEING CHANGED!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4r5jq8ECbc/T1N73m_HFxI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/UrhS-MPeDC0/s1600/statue.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-V4r5jq8ECbc/T1N73m_HFxI/AAAAAAAAAcQ/UrhS-MPeDC0/s200/statue.jpg" width="148" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">There is an ancient fable that is told about a wonderful king who had no son. His heart’s desire was to produce a male child that he could love, mentor, and someday leave his kingdom to. Sure enough, as fables go, he finally had his son. But very quickly, to his dismay, it became apparent that the boy was physically challenged. His spine was not developing properly and the older he got the more stooped and deformed he became. While the king loved his son, his heart broke for the ridicule and pain that he knew this deformed prince would surely endure.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The year before his son’s 12th birthday, the king said to his son, in one year you will be 12. What gift can I give you now in anticipation of that important day? The stooped son very quickly replied, “A statue of me. A marble statue of me in the center of the garden standing straight and tall and strong.” The old king was crushed. How cruel it would be for his beloved son to be reminded everyday of what he was not, to see the stone image mocking him for his misshapen figure. But he kept his promise and had the statue built and placed in the center of the garden.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Every day, for hours on end, the young, deformed prince would go out into the garden and stand in front of the statue. He would, with great effort, contort his back and neck, strain with all his might, trying to look up into the face of the boy whose image he wished he could be. Day after day, rain or snow, the lad would stand and strain and stare. The court people whispered. They shook their heads sadly but he was undeterred. Towards the end of that year an interesting thing began to happen. As the boy strained each day to look into the face of the statute, muscle and sinew began to stretch. Calcified connections to bone and spine began to give way. Every day the young boy would look up and almost imperceptibly, up would not be as far away as it was the day before.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On the day of his 12<sup>th</sup> birthday he invited his father out into the garden. Surrounded by friends and family, he took them to the center of the garden to stand in front of the statute. Then, to their amazement, he arched his back, stretched his neck, squared his shoulders and like a conquering hero, through his arms in the air in celebration. He was tall and straight and looking the marble statute right in the eye. And from that day he never had to bow his head again.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Isn’t that a neat tale? We are on week 5 of a 6 week look at the Abundant Life. Today the passage that comes to my mind is II Corinthians 3:18. Paul says. “</span><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: #001320; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;">The Abundant Life is a life given by and lived in the Spirit of God. It is a life lived above fear of failure and with courage over our circumstances. It comes with His presence and His power and we do not somehow survive as Christ followers, we thrive. We are “more than conquerors” and we “can do ALL things through Christ.” Good stuff!<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">But I am thinking today that maybe the most significant offering of the Abundant Life is the passion of the Spirit to make us like Christ and the power He possesses to bring us through the process of daily change into His image. One translation says we are being changed from “glory to glory.” In small increments, little improvements at a time, like the prince looking at the statute, the Holy Spirit is transforming us into the likeness of the Christ that we adore. That process, that change is the very life of what it means to walk with Him. We do not adhere to a bunch of rules and regulations. We are not slaves to structure and institutional faith. We are learning and laughing and falling down and stretching and becoming more like Him every day.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;"> The 15<sup>th</sup> century theologian Erasmus said this, “</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">The Glory of God is always found in movements of love, in communication of life, never in static outline, cramped piety, thoughtless repetition, conventional observance of religious acts. Those things become the letter of the law that kills, the tyranny of the sinful self. The Spirit by contrast is wind, fire, light, water, Glory; the unexpected, the transforming, the self-communicating, the self-outpouring power that shapes by embracing and not letting go. The way of the disciple is necessarily a way of discipline because discipleship is a living school in which we learn to be like Christ by intimate association with Him.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">We are being changed by the Spirit of God. Fantastic! And that change is about joy, and peace, and power, and enthusiasm. And best of all, it comes from Him. We simply relax in His presence and let Him work in us. But…what do I do while I relax? How do I live so that I am most receptive to the formative freshness of the Father flowing in me?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Here are some practical suggestions for putting yourself in the best place to be changed:<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 1. </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Remember His love. Every day, in every way, I focus on the grace and mercy of Our Amazing God. I see His love for me in a thousand examples from my daily walk, the laughter of my grandchildren, the beauty of the sunrise, the warmth of our fireplace; all singing reminders that He loves me. He is crazy about me. In fact, that is what the Word is about. It is a love letter from Him to me. I read the Bible everyday not to get new marching orders but to be reminded that HE LOVES ME. Wow! Paul prays in Ephesians 3:18-19 that we “<span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><b><sup>19</sup></b><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.”</span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 2. </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;">Invite His presence. That is why I pray. Now I know that the Spirit of God lives in me. That’s what this Abundant Life stuff is all about. But I have come to believe that He needs to hear me invite Him again into the activities and affects of my life. He is a gentleman and He does not force Himself into my day. I begin the day saying afresh and anew, “Lord, this day is Yours. Guide me as I try to be more like You today.”</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 3. </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;">Learn His voice. “Be still and know that I am God.” I’m not very good at either one of those things. Mediation is a foreign idea to me. But as He is changing me I find great value in mulling over every morsel of scripture, in contemplating the King of Creation. By waiting quietly without rushing into my list of, “And God do this” stuff I am becoming increasingly familiar with His language and the lilt of His message to me.</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="text-align: justify; text-indent: -0.25in;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> 4. </span></span><!--[endif]--><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; font-size: 10pt;">Finally, follow His steps. I know this seems a little redundant but part of the way I become like Christ is by doing the things that Christ does. It forces me to be aware of my choices. It requires me to exercise my faith. It enables me to see my influence at work. And it creates in me a passion for His people. Take a minute and watch this clip today. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;"><br />
</span><a href="http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.html#/video/living/2012/02/11/eds-story-my-garden.cnn?iref=allsearch" target="_blank"><span style="color: #1155cc; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt;">http://www.cnn.com/video/standard.html#/video/living/2012/02/11/eds-story-my-garden.cnn?iref=allsearch</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt;">. It’s called Ed’s Garden.</span><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mahatma Gandhi said, “I like your Christ. I do not like your Christians. They are so unlike Christ.” I think he was right but it doesn’t have to be. Go out in the garden. Pull yourself up straight and tall and look into the face of the One who is making you like Himself. You will be amazed at how you’ve grown. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mike<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 0.25in; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(Read all six thoughts from the series on Abundant Life and more blogs by Mike at </span><a href="http://www.branchesrecoverycenter.com/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">www.branchesrecoverycenter.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"> or subscribe to </span><a href="http://www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com/"><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com</span></a><span style="font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">) <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
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</div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6273406562018714913.post-7618698711568552052012-02-28T02:30:00.000-08:002012-02-28T02:30:52.304-08:00YES!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fGRQSvFxo-M/T0ysznrfQjI/AAAAAAAAAcE/EvA9pic-1iI/s1600/Balian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-fGRQSvFxo-M/T0ysznrfQjI/AAAAAAAAAcE/EvA9pic-1iI/s1600/Balian.jpg" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal">There is a powerful scene near the end of the movie <i>The Kingdom of Heaven.</i> Orlando Bloom plays the part of Balian, a blacksmith turned knight that has come to defend Jerusalem against the Muslim hoard that seeks to overthrow the Christian held city in the 12<sup>th</sup> century. All of the other knights have either fled or been killed and he is left to fight for the holy city with a few hundred old men and teenage boys against the thousands and thousands of warriors of Saladim, the Muslim war lord. They have prepared the walls as best they can, fortifying the gates, putting cauldrons of boiling oil on top of the parapets to pour down on the attackers, and now they wait for the battle of their lives.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The priest, who is the weak, cowardly character in the movie says to Balian, “We must surrender the city. We cannot defend it. We have no knights.” Balian turns to a frightened teenage boy in the center of the ragtag band of men. “Kneel,” he commands him. And then to the whole group, “Kneel.” They sink to their knees with the priest and the scared women and children looking on. Balian bellows to the entire band the oath that he had taken as a blacksmith just a few months earlier. “Be without fear in the face of your enemies. Be brave and upright that God may love thee. Speak the truth always even if it leads to your death. Safeguard the helpless and do no wrong. That is your oath.” Whack! He backhands the teenager across the face and says, “And that is so you will remember it.” Then he screams at the boy and at the group, “Rise a knight. Rise a knight.” You can see the change come over the face of this motley crew as his words sink in and they stand with a courage and character inside them that was not there before.</div><div class="MsoNormal">The naysayer priest is not satisfied. As Balian is walking off he yells after him, “Who do you think you are? Will you alter the world? Does making a man a knight make him a better fighter?” Balian spins around and glares at the priest and then at the brave band of men that he has just addressed. He looks back at the priest and in one word, almost a whisper he says, “YES!”</div><div class="MsoNormal">The Holy Spirit comes to us to do many things. Perhaps the most powerful of those things is to remind us of who we really are in Christ. We are sons and daughters of the King. We are children of God. It does not matter where we have come from or how heinous our past. When we are baptized in the blood of the Lamb “we are new creatures in Christ Jesus,” (II Corinthians 5:17) and “His Spirit bears witness with our Spirit that we are the sons of God.” (Romans 8:16) Whack! Don’t you ever forget it. God has done something deep inside of you if you have given your life to Him and you are no longer who you used to be. You are now who He says you are. That is amazing. I don’t live in fear about the future. I don’t cower in the face of my circumstances. Finances, relationships, physical ailments are nothing compared to what the Holy Spirit of God is doing in me. I am somebody. You are somebody. You are a knight or a knightess or whatever…. You are filled with the power and presence of God. </div><div class="MsoNormal">Beth Moore has done such a great job of teaching that message with her five fingered object lesson. She starts with her thumb and holds up one finger at a time. (Do that now. Go ahead. Nobody is watching.) </div><div class="MsoNormal"> 1. God is who He says He is. </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">2. God can do what He says He will do.</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">3. I AM WHO GOD SAYS I AM!</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">4. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13)</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">5. The Word of God is living and active in me.</div><div class="MsoNormal">Whack again! Rise a knight. I’m ready to battle the world after saying that. Aren’t you? “<span style="background: #F9FDFF;">I tell you the truth,” Jesus says, “Anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.</span>” (John 14:12) The Holy Spirit is saying to you right now. “You are a world changer. You can overcome this event in your life. You will be used greatly by me. YOU ARE A CHILD OF GOD!”<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: #F9FDFF; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Yea, yea, that’s all well and good but what difference does it make. It’s just words on a page. I’m not sure it changes anything. Does saying I can do all things through Christ make me a better person?<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: #F9FDFF; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">YES! YES! It does change you. So say it. I can do all things through Christ…now rise a knight.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: #F9FDFF; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">Mike<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><span style="background: #F9FDFF; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;">(To read more messages by Mike and to be get his weekly blog sign up at <a href="http://www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com/">www.mikecourtney.blogspot.com</a>) <o:p></o:p></span></div>PoppyChttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13756710577329068172noreply@blogger.com0