Our church community talked today about the things we are thankful for, focusing on the past year of our lives. Many of us are thankful for each other and who we are as a group, our jobs, our families, our children.
Kate agreed with all of those, but also said she was thankful for me. Obviously, I am thankful for her as well, but she focused on the qualities of mine that I do not dwell on or even believe that I have.
I owe all of that change over the past two years or so to God, but some credit is due to the men I meet with on a regular basis that those of you who read this are probably tired of hearing about. But meeting with them, walking through life together and working on our junk has given me a mission for my life and a focus for who I am in Christ and how to be that man every day.
One of the many things I am thankful for is the ministry I have with those men, which has been sparked by the two weekend getaways we held this year, which resulted in the transformation of the lives of nearly 40 men. Every time I experience one of these weekends (four now), I come away amazed at the power of the Holy Spirit to move and work actively in people's lives. Witnessing the Spirit work, as it is happening, is one of the most incredible feelings I have ever had. Knowing that this happens daily blows me away.
I got to see the Spirit move this weekend, as well, watching Kate preach the gospel to 500 high school students at a Young Life retreat. I knew she could do it, and I have heard her give the same message before, but God spoke through her in ways I haven't seen, giving her the courage to speak truth and the words that kids needed to hear. I want to go on and on bragging about her and how proud of her I am, but I also know that it was 100 percent God using her to send that message and change the lives of dozens of kids.
I suppose the point I am making is the same as Kate's message to the kids this morning, that God is alive and active, in the form of the Holy Spirit that he gives each of those who have committed their lives to Him. He does amazing things, performing miracles every day, including softening my heart and making me a man excited to serve others, especially my wife.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Friday, November 4, 2011
Transformation
I used to think people who hung out at places like coffee shops were weird, but I have spent the past two hours of my Friday night at Panera drinking green tea and sitting by a fire and it has been great. I've been reading and writing, but maybe more importantly, I have been relaxing. As an introvert who works in a very extroverted profession of service, I need my alone time to recharge and gather my thoughts.
I have also been preparing for the men's weekend that my small group and I are staffing next week. When I attended the same weekend more than three years ago, I went into it thinking I would meet some guys from church and maybe make a new friend or two. I did make some friends, but I got much more than I bargained for. Since then, I have been meeting with about 10 of those men at least twice a month, plus the time we spend together just because we want to.
More than that, I saw the man God wants me to be and the obstacles that stood between me and that man. I'm still not there, but I believe it was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said something to the effect of “I’m not the man I ought to be and I’m not the man I want to be, but thank God I’m not the man I used to be.”
I now have a mission and a purpose that I am working toward. I spent a lot of this Panera time revisiting that mission and how I am going to live it out. I am going to love God, lead my wife and family to serve the Lord and share the gospel by living my life in such a way that God can not be denied.
MLK also said, "If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."
Jesus tells us in Luke 17 that at the end of that day of streetsweeping (or for me, serving chicken sandwiches) "when you have done everything you were told to do, (you) should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’"
My desire is to pour myself out daily, serving God with all I am, knowing I have only done my duty in service to my Lord.
I have also been preparing for the men's weekend that my small group and I are staffing next week. When I attended the same weekend more than three years ago, I went into it thinking I would meet some guys from church and maybe make a new friend or two. I did make some friends, but I got much more than I bargained for. Since then, I have been meeting with about 10 of those men at least twice a month, plus the time we spend together just because we want to.
More than that, I saw the man God wants me to be and the obstacles that stood between me and that man. I'm still not there, but I believe it was Martin Luther King, Jr. who said something to the effect of “I’m not the man I ought to be and I’m not the man I want to be, but thank God I’m not the man I used to be.”
I now have a mission and a purpose that I am working toward. I spent a lot of this Panera time revisiting that mission and how I am going to live it out. I am going to love God, lead my wife and family to serve the Lord and share the gospel by living my life in such a way that God can not be denied.
MLK also said, "If a man is called to be a streetsweeper, he should sweep streets even as Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music, or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, here lived a great streetsweeper who did his job well."
Jesus tells us in Luke 17 that at the end of that day of streetsweeping (or for me, serving chicken sandwiches) "when you have done everything you were told to do, (you) should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’"
My desire is to pour myself out daily, serving God with all I am, knowing I have only done my duty in service to my Lord.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
I still write sometimes
I have read the gospels plenty of times, but every time something different pops out at me. Luke 8 gives the warning that we can't hide anything from God, and I think it is safe to say that we can't hide anything from those closest to us either. "No one lights a lamp and hides it in a clay jar or puts it under a bed. Instead, they put it on a stand, so that those who come in can see the light. For there is nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, and nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open."
Scary, but true.
However, the next verse is the one I never saw before: "Therefore consider carefully how you listen." As if I needed any more conviction, my wife and one of my co-workers both told me in the same day this week that I don't listen. And this verse doesn't just say listen. It urges me to examine with a fine-toothed comb how I listen. Jesus said these words, and he doesn't just want me to listen closely. He wants me to thoroughly contemplate and reflect on the way I listen.
As someone who doesn't listen, I guess I understand why I skipped over that in the past. I don't even know why I don't listen. My mom says my dad doesn't listen because he is too busy thinking about what he is going to say next to have time to listen. My dad says it is because he has significant hearing damage. I don't think what I have to say is all that important, so I can't use my mom's reasoning for my dad. Maybe I just don't care that much about other people's opinions, or that I just assume I am right so there is no need to listen. That's what Kate says. I guess she would know, since I am the biggest non-listening offender toward her. On the other hand, she says she listens too much because she thinks she is always wrong. Seems like the perfect combination to me.
Scary, but true.
However, the next verse is the one I never saw before: "Therefore consider carefully how you listen." As if I needed any more conviction, my wife and one of my co-workers both told me in the same day this week that I don't listen. And this verse doesn't just say listen. It urges me to examine with a fine-toothed comb how I listen. Jesus said these words, and he doesn't just want me to listen closely. He wants me to thoroughly contemplate and reflect on the way I listen.
As someone who doesn't listen, I guess I understand why I skipped over that in the past. I don't even know why I don't listen. My mom says my dad doesn't listen because he is too busy thinking about what he is going to say next to have time to listen. My dad says it is because he has significant hearing damage. I don't think what I have to say is all that important, so I can't use my mom's reasoning for my dad. Maybe I just don't care that much about other people's opinions, or that I just assume I am right so there is no need to listen. That's what Kate says. I guess she would know, since I am the biggest non-listening offender toward her. On the other hand, she says she listens too much because she thinks she is always wrong. Seems like the perfect combination to me.
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