2 Decades of Good Times

"What a crazy ride it has been!" 

In these words I sum up twenty years of my Christina walk. I never dreamt that God would take me around the world preaching the gospel when I said yes to Jesus. I never dreamt that God would have me pioneer ministries, teach in a Bible College or pastor at one of the greatest churches on the planet (which I believe is the greatest but I am a little biased). I never dreamt that God would bless me to have the family that I do. I look at my wife and children in amazement. 

All of this is not to brag. All the praise goes to God. I couldn't have done any of this by myself. At best I would have been playing guitar in a coffee shop somewhere hoping someone would like my version of an old song and they would give me a tip with paper money rather than coins. How miserable. 

Every morning I wake up with the words 'thank you' on my lips. I think God smiles when we say thanks. He knows He is good but loves a grateful heart. The words 'be thankful' occur on several occasions in the New Testament. I guess we have to be reminded. If you look around you will see the hand of God on your life. 

I could tell stories of how I should be dead. How people on my street pulled guns on me and my friends while we were playing basketball. I could talk about car accidents that never happened and I don't know how they were avoided. To be honest there was one time in San Timoteo canyon I closed my eyes when a truck crossed over the double yellow lines on to my side of the road and when I opened them again I was just fine. Or when I rolled my car in Reche Canyon and told God on the way over "Here I come!" (That accident did happen but I was fine. Maybe I should stay away from the canyons?!)  

As I look forward to the next twenty years I wonder at what God will do. What victories are in store and what tragedies will be avoided or withstood with grace and joy? No matter what comes good or bad I do know that two words will be on my lips; "Thank you!" 

What has God done in your life since you said yes to Jesus? How grateful are you?

Day 359 - Merry Christmas

"It is Christmas Day! When we woke up I stayed in bed and prayed for a while and read the Bible and then went down where everyone was. Breakfast was in full swing and the smell of bacon was in the air."

This was the ideal Christmas morning. It started with prayer and the Word and then for breakfast was bacon. Anyone who has been to our men's ministry meetings at our church knows that there is a special place in a man's heart for bacon. Even the vegans chant 'bacon' with us though they won't partake. 

As much as I love bacon and Christmas and the fun of family and friends it is nothing compared to my love for the Lord. I am amazed at the care and sacrifice Jesus gave for me. He gave everything! 

I think about Jesus in Heaven, looking down on the earth and the corruption of sin. The Father knew from the beginning what had to be done. He ordained Jesus as His Son, the only begotten, and sent Him to earth on a rescue mission. Jesus had a human body that started as a fetus and became a baby in the womb of Mary. He was born through the natural process. His first breath was probably laced with the smell of animal urine and feces. Here he was in a manger. Surrounded by the animals He had created. 

Quite different than our Christmas with the smell of breakfast and the laughter of family and friends. Here was the one who named the stars and stretched out the heavens contained in a human form. It is a mystery and yet altogether wonderful in every sense of the word. 

Lets purpose to take a moment in the midst of the sights and smells of the festivities and remember our Humble King who came to save us. He sacrificed it all so that we could be his children and brought to life. Express the gratitude of your heart in prayers and celebration for all He has done. 

What are your favorite Christmas sights and smells? What are some ways to stay grateful? 

Day 331 - Gratitude

For today's thoughts from last year I thought it best after reading my journal to offer some leftovers on the day after Thanksgiving. Instead of starting with the quote today I will end with the quote. Feel free after reading it to offer some thoughts of your own in the comments section. Enjoy. 

"We have so much to be thankful for. First of all for Jesus and His blood. For open invitation to the feast at God's table and new mercies every morning. For the rising of the sun to setting of it God gives us beauty in life. In family and friends at the table. In divine appointments and graces we wouldn't have known until after we experienced them and looked back at the fingerprints of God all over it."

Day 330 - Thanksgiving

"Today was supposed to be light and easy."

Thanksgiving. I often picture the Norman Rockwell paintings of a dad setting the turkey down in front of his family. Everyone at the table is happy. They all are dressed well and look like the meal they are about to share will only reflect the perfect lives they are already sharing. It looks effortless. 

That picture doesn't look like my Thanksgiving. There will be turkey (and ham and spaghetti and enough food to feed a small army) and the family will have that wonderful moment when we are all around the table with our plates piled high with food and we pray and thank God for our many blessings. Where we stray from the picture is the before and after. 

It takes a massive effort to do Thanksgiving. There are a minimum of three stores just to get the one meal. There are plans and conversations about menu, arrangements, timing etc. there is cleaning of dishes, kitchen, table, dining room, kids toys around the house since parents told them to go play while we clean and they went and made a mess. 

All that would be enough without the added stress of relationships and trying to keep the family together in love. You know what I am talking about because you experience it too. It can be hard to keep it together and the ones closest to you can hurt you the most. You endure it though because they are family. 

If you look at your Thanksgiving table and it looks more like the battle scenes from Braveheart than the Norman Rockwell paintings it is okay. I would venture to say that most of us have felt like that or do feel like that. You are not alone.  

Keep some things in mind as you prepare to be with family: 1) They are your family. 2) God loves them and you can let His love work through you. 3) it is worth it in the end. 

It may mean you have to bite your tongue while biting into that turkey. You might have to work alone to clean because no one is picking up your hints at needing some help while they talk and laugh. Love and family are worth it all. 

Let's count our blessings and be grateful we have Jesus and that we have each other. 

What is your favorite Thanksgiving memory? What are you thankful for?

Day 283 - Where We Came From

"I still remember the despondency he had when he first came."

As Christians we don't look back to see the glory days nor do we look back longingly. We look back to learn and to remember where we came from. We learn from our mistakes. Hindsight is truly 20/20 as they say. 

When we can look back and remember where we came from it helps us. First of all it helps us appreciate our salvation. It gives us a heart of gratitude that God would send Jesus to take our punishment. It makes us thank God He saved us and took us out of the bondage and sin we were in. 

Second it helps us stay humble. No matter how great or small we thought we were before salvation we were lost and couldn't help ourselves. Some of us didn't even know we needed help! But God knew. So we see our need and it sends us humbly to the feet of Jesus. That is what true humility is; total dependency on God. 

Finally it helps us look forward. We keep our focus where it needs to be when we are humble and grateful. We can tell others of how God saved us and gave us real life. 

I think of the guy I was talking about in my quote from last year. Caught up in all kinds of sin. He and his wife were cheating on each other and he was was ready to end his own life. We prayed together in the foyer of the church and he cried all over me. His life hasn't been perfect since but he is following the Lord and trying to be the husband and father he should be. When I last met with him we looked back together. In the midst of his current problems he had a smile and was in faith for his future. 

As we look back let's be grateful, humble, and look forward with eyes of faith. 

What does looking back do for you? How does it help you to live now?

Day 162 - Saying Thank You

"The interns said thank you to the staff at prayer and blessed us with a special video that touched our hearts."

One of the simplest ways of blessing someone else is simply by saying thank you. The fact that someone would take the time to come back after an event of a gift or something else to say thank you is a blessing. I know when someone expresses gratitude to me I appreciate it. I also know when someone is ungrateful it is disappointing. 

There are lots of ways to express gratitude. The simplest is with our words. A note, card, gift or act of kindness can be great ways to say thank you. As long as it is heartfelt it will be well received. 

I know I have been working at expressing my gratitude more and more. I have the verbal expression down. I try to follow back with a call or text. I fall short in the note and card department. I love the idea but haven't yet got it down. (Like Christmas cards, I would love to send those out but never do!) 

Let's all work on this together. The most compelling reason we should is that God commands us numerous times to be grateful. So... thank you for reading!

Did you ever have someone say thank you in a memorable way? What are some other ways to say thank you?

Day 153 - An Unprofitable Servant

"Inspired from Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening Devotional for the day: They laid Jesus penniless in a borrowed grave. He had nothing in death. Friends had to purchase cloth to wrap him and lay him in their grave. How then can we pride ourselves against Him when He would stoop so low for us. Father forgive me for my presumptuous sins. I presume that I am too high and so great in faith that I forget what You gave for me. How rich I am at the expense of Christ! And yet would I hold on to anything?! Here Lord take all for your service. It is my reasonable service and all I have you gave me therefore I am an unprofitable servant. Let me only attend to your needs, wants, desires and pleasures."

Just this morning I was thinking along these lines and echoed King David's prayer: Who am I? And who is my family that You are so kind to us? 

God is so gracious and good that words fail to express how great He is. His goodness requires no less than my all in return, yet even my all is not sufficient for His kindness. 

What emotions come when you think about what God has done for you? How can we express our gratitude to Him? 

Day 146 - Honor

"We got going to the pool at around 11 and the kids didn't stop swimming until around 6." 

I wrote this on Memorial Day last year. It is so striking to think that for seven hours my kids were able to swim all day because there were brave men and women who gave their lives to protect our freedoms. 

I am an idealist I guess. I still believe that the United States is the greatest nation on the planet. I enjoy our freedoms and I am grateful that there were others who thought the same and were willing to die for that ideal. 

If you're reading this and you have served or your family has served in our armed forces, thank you. Thank you for the sacrifices you have made. Thank you for protecting our freedoms. Thank you for the safety we feel and for the opportunity we get to live the way we do. 

What did you do on Memorial Day this year? Do you remember last year? 

Day 123 - Work in Progress

"Thank God He is gracious and kind and isn't finished with any of us yet."

God has forgiven us and with that forgiveness cast our sin as far as the East is from the West. While we live in this present truth we also know that there is still a war in the flesh against the spirit. In 1 John we are told that if we say we have no sin we are liars. Thank God He offers not only past forgiveness but also present forgiveness if we confess and repent. 

Knowing this isn't enough. We must live in it. If God isn't finished with me then I know that tomorrow is going to be better than today. I also can forgive myself and strive to do better with every life lesson. 

If God isn't finished with others then I can be patient with them, just as God is patient with me. I also can extend the same forgiveness that God gave me. 

Finally if I know all this then I should be the most grateful person on the planet. He who has been forgiven much loves much. A thank you should be on our lips every moment of every day. 

Have you seen growth over the years while God patiently worked with you or others? What other applications do you see that we can live in this truth? 

Day 116 - A Grateful Heart

"Oh that my praise and thanksgiving could match the blessings that The Lord has poured out on me."

Try. 

I dare you. 

In the same measure that you are blessed... praise the Lord. That is the challenge.

Eventually you will run out of words. There are always more blessings than ways to say thank you. Maybe that is why the psalmist gave instruction to praise Him with instruments, loud shouts and applause. It is not the words that God hears anyway, it is your heart. 

So go on. Try to praise God more than you are blessed. I promise you will still have an abundance of blessings and run out of words. That is where you simply give your heart to the Lord and let Him listen to the inaudible praise that comes form the deepest part of who you are. 

Have you ever tried to praise the Lord more than He has blessed you? What other instructions on praise do you see in the Bible?