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Come to the Party!

March 5, 2015 by

Number 35 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

I’m giving up okra for Lent.  I’m all in.

Of course I don’t like okra anyway. That’s why I’m giving it up for Lent. And after Lent also.

 

Photo Credit: Antonio Delgado

Photo Credit: Antonio Delgado

 

Frankly, I don’t get the whole Lent thing. I mean does God really care that I like chocolate? Really? So the vitality of my relationship with him is dependent on giving up say chocolate for a few weeks?

See, I think we all have enough real issues. I find the world downright scary, frustrating and depressing all on its own at times. I don’t feel a need to add a layer of irritation to it.

Yet, isn’t that what we do often with religion? We make up rules to impress God that don’t impress him and only make us miserable.

And the folks outside of the church? They look on and think, “Yeah, no thanks.”

 

And the saddest part? That wasn’t what Jesus showed us.

 

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Filed Under: Happiness, Heaven Tagged With: ,

Discovering God Apart from Religion

March 3, 2015 by

Number 34 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of Jesus that show us the awesome blessings we can experience each day. I hope it encourages you!

 

I talk often with people turned off by religion. They view it as trying to following a bunch of oppressive rules to impress a God they’re not sure exists. So they really have little interest in it.

Frankly though I see an opposite and more insidious perspective. Religious people who attend services regularly and follow the rules “at least better than most others.” They’d never admit it but they really don’t see a need for God’s grace.

 

Photo Credit: Mani Babbar

Photo Credit: Mani Babbar

 

Yet, both miss the relationship with God. No, I’m not making judgment calls about who’s saved and who isn’t. I’m just saying they miss out on the intimate relationship they could have with God and the soul peace that comes out of it.

 

And frankly, I don’t speak from a distance. I’ve lived both extremes and experienced the emptiness they bring.

 

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Filed Under: Happiness, Heaven, Love Tagged With: ,

Discovering True Healing

February 25, 2015 by

Number 33 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

When I pastored I can’t tell you how many times I talked with people struggling with unresolved guilt.

 

Photo Credit: Hartwig HKD

Photo Credit: Hartwig HKD

 

Regret over actions which broke up their marriage. Words they spoke which estranged their children. Destructive behaviors which ruined their health. Poor choices which led to financial collapse.

Frankly, I look back occasionally with regret at things I’ve done, in some cases decades ago. I’m still haunted at times and wish I could undo a word or action but I can’t.

Then compound that with so often the religious response to someone struggling. “I wonder what they did. Boy they must have done something really bad. Wow, God must be punishing them for something big.”

 

No wonder we’re left feeling helpless and hopeless at times.

 

And the real tragedy? It so often keeps us from finding the real healing that releases us to move forward into the amazing life God offers.

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Finding Confidence to Weather a Storm

February 19, 2015 by

Number 32 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

I come from a long line of worriers. My family could take worrying to a new level.

I remember one weekend when our daughter was driving back to college. My mom called her and said, “Let me know when you’re leaving so I’ll know when to start worrying.” And she was serious.

 

Photo Credit: Ken Douglas

Photo Credit: Ken Douglas

 

So I grew up worrying constantly. And I’ve spent a life time learning how not to.

Yet, I’m not alone. A whole lot of people struggle with worry.

In my profession I see people filled with fear at times. Terrified to stay invested yet afraid to miss out.

I’ve watched friends stay in a job they hated because they were afraid to try something else.

Many of us have worried about a suspicious report from the doctor.

 

Yet, fear leaves us paralyzed which causes us to respond irrationally often. And frankly it’s just a horrible way to live.

 

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Filed Under: Happiness, Success Tagged With: ,

Freed from Religion to Really Live

February 17, 2015 by

Number 31 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

I enjoyed the church I grew up in as a kid. I hung out with my buddies, talked with cute girls in our youth group. I mean what’s not to like?

When I was really young I didn’t have to go to worship services which I thought was pretty cool.

But then as I grew older I had to attend the services. Singing hymns I didn’t understand. Not a catchy tune in the bunch. Rituals that seemed mysterious. And sermons delivered with fervor yet somehow detached from my life.

 

Photo Credit: Eric Magnuson

Photo Credit: Eric Magnuson

 

So after high school I left. I set out to find my life apart from religion and I did.

 

Yet, eventually it became a bit messy.

 

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Looking Forward to the Best That’s Yet to Come

February 10, 2015 by

Number 29 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

Recently a long time friend sent out a group email with a poem about how fast life goes by. Not sure I’m really thankful for  that reminder.

 

Photo Credit: Peter Kurdulija

Photo Credit: Peter Kurdulija

 

When we were in high school life stretched out forever. Yet, now in the blink of an eye many of our friends are retired.

The endless days of raising kids somehow turned into having grand kids for many.

Most of us have lost parents and some siblings and friends.

And I stop and wonder sometimes, “Where did the time go? How did it go by so quickly?”

I find we all deal with it in a variety of ways.

Some speed up activities. If they just stay busy enough they avoid thinking about it.

Others seem to deny it hoping it’ll all go away, I guess.

 

Yet, for all of us when we lose another loved one we stand face to face with our own mortality and how brief this life really is.

 

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Surprised by Gifts in the Midst of a Storm

February 5, 2015 by

Number 28 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

We all get slammed by storms we don’t expect. That’s just real life. And it happens whether you’re a believer or not.

 

Photo Credit: Roy Wangsa

Photo Credit: Roy Wangsa

 

A medical report that punches us.

A marriage blowup and blowout.

A note in our work mail slot telling us we’re no longer needed.

The sudden unexpected death of a loved one.

Storms that slam us and tear us apart.

And how do we usually react?

Often with denial, “This can’t be happening.”

Or with anger, “How could this happen to me?”

Or with guilt. Christians are really good at this one. We tell ourselves and each other, “Well, it must be something you did.” Or, “If you just had more faith.”

But the problem with all of those?

 

None give us the ability to calmly and rationally deal with the storm. And they often leave us worse.

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Filed Under: Happiness, Success Tagged With: ,

Finding Peace When Faced with Death

January 29, 2015 by

Number 26 in the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

My father-in-law passed away a few days ago.

No matter how many times I’ve faced the death of a loved one I’m still always blindsided. Partly by grief and partly by the doubts that assail me. Doubts I thought I’d already dealt with.

 

Photo Credit: Beverly

Photo Credit: Beverly

 

“Will I see him again? How can I know for sure? Is Heaven real? Who’s there? Will I be there?”

I know, coming from a spiritually focused writer and ex-pastor, you’re shocked perhaps. I mean I’m supposed to have it all together, right? Well, not always.

I find the love expressed by friends and family tremendously supporting. But I also often find the platitudes given do little to calm the storm.

 

So I wrestle again and try to find that peace.

 

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God Rocks #20: Finding Release from Worry

January 6, 2015 by

Part of the series “God Rocks: 101 Amazing Everyday Gifts!” Stories and promises of the awesome blessings God gives us each day. I hope it encourages you today!

 

An epidemic of worry is raging.

Sales of anxiety and depression medication have increased exponentially over the last several years. Today they drive billions in revenue.

And that’s only a slice of those suffering from worry and anxiety.

 

Photo Credit: Leonard Farshore

Photo Credit: Leonard Farshore

 

What about just your garden variety? Worrying about losing your job? Worrying about your struggling child? Worrying about the questionable results of your lab report? Worrying about how to keep your marriage together?

And how do we fix those? Sometimes a little too much alcohol. Staying absorbed in way too much TV. Racing from church service to service. Working ourselves to a frazzle. Or just trying to ignore the problems.

 

But at some point when the buzz and distraction wears off the problems still loom and the worry creeps in again.

 

I know I’ve lived there. Heck, occasionally I still live there. [Read more…]

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Advent #3: Healing for the Hurts of Christmas

December 23, 2014 by

A short series in Advent focusing on a few significant snapshots of the Christmas story and the amazing gifts they reveal.

 

Christmas Eve is both joyful and difficult for me.

After we were married and had children we celebrated Christmas Eve with my family.

 

Photo Credit: Ian Muir

Photo Credit: Ian Muir

 

Early evening we attended candlelight service at church then went to my parents home. We were greeted with eggnog and appetizers. Then in the family room in front of a blazing fire we’d open gifts. Christmas was big for my mom so she always bought lots.

Our kids giggled with excitement and loved grandma’s.

After gifts we ate dinner and dessert.

What great memories.

When my parents both died in 2004, it left a hole that quite frankly still has never been filled up.

 

I understood firsthand how people struggle so much with Christmas.

 

Missing the fond memories or mourning never having had them. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Happiness, Heaven Tagged With: , , ,
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