Day 357 - Turn It Up

"The volume level was up past 11."

It is the time of the year for family, friends and food. We all could probably compare the volume levels of our family activities. Even my side of the family which is a total of eleven people and has a few introverts gets loud. 

It is also a time to linger and talk or just hang out. Some like to watch the game or a Christmas classic. 

And the food...dinner, snacks, desserts, baking and the list goes on! I have to detox after the new year starts. Thankfully we fast in January to seek the Lord but it also has added health benefits. 

All of this is an opportunity to turn up another level. It is an opportunity to talk about what is truly important. It is a time to patch up relationships and restore what was lost. It is a good time to pull someone aside and say "I love you" "I forgive you" and anything else that needs to be said. It is a good time to breach subjects that matter. 

Keep the motivation love and look for appropriate timing. But take the opportunity when it is presented. Pray and ask the Holy Spirit to open the door and then be on the lookout for His leading. 

Too many bad things have happened on the holidays to ruin them for years to come. Purpose this Christmas and New Year that it will be different. Turn up the volume on your life and love. 

Have you ever been able to repair a relationship at Christmas? What are some other things we can present this season? 

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 279 - The Story of Your Life

"On our way out we encountered and older couple who both happened to be tour guides for the mission. He asked us what we learned and I responded that we were big babies. He then asked about if we knew when the cross became the official symbol of Christianity and proceeded to tell us the story of Constantine in 330 A.D. and the visions he had of the cross in his dreams. The guys life was interesting. We probably talked with him for a half an hour. He was Catholic and grew up in Rome right near the Vatican. He remembers sitting on the base of the statue Michelangelo had carved of Mary and Jesus before they placed it behind the bullet proof glass. Also he told of a story about the Monks who all their life were making beautiful copies of the Bible and in their lifetime they would hand copy a Bible. It went off in my spirit that it was a picture of every believer that we are writing the story of God with our lives and at the end it will be the beautiful picture of God's grace and a living letter read by all men. He also spoke of a time he was in Jerusalem after the six day war when a bomb went off by him and a priest he was with. If they would have been 20 seconds longer they would've been dead. Jess felt like she was with family and he reminded her of her grandpa Rudy. He was refreshingly blunt but definitely a Christian."

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthians and told them that they were living letters. The Holy Spirit is writing the story of your life. You are known and read by everyone who comes in contact with you. God has written His Divine law of love on our hearts and in it He has a love letter to the world. 

The couple we met last year left a lasting impact on us. They were genuine. They couldn't be someone else if they tried. They were also unapologetic. There are many people who would have walked away from a conversation with them offended. There was nothing politically correct about them. Their lives were open and bold. 

We should be no less as Christians. Engaging, bold, open, honest and loving. When people leave our presence it should leave a lasting impact on them. They should feel as if value was added to their life from being with us. Not because we are so cool or wonderful. Not because we have interesting backgrounds. But because we genuinely love God and love people. That is a story worth telling and people will read it! 

What does it mean to be genuine? How can we guard against insincere interaction with others? 

Day 272 - Ignoring God

"From Spurgeon: “A wife may when her husband is upon a journey, abide many days without holding converse with him, but she could never endure to be separated from him if she knew him to be in one of the chambers of her own house.”

This struck me because of how often we ignore the presence of God in our lives. We should be with the Lord as we are with family and friends. Ever aware and wanting to be with Him."

There are verses in the Bible that can easily be overlooked and misunderstood. One of them is "Pray without ceasing". If all we did was pray then we would never fulfill the commission to go and make disciples. Obviously to pray without ceasing means something other than don't do anything other than pray. What it really means is to keep the lines of communication open. We should always be in constant contact and aware of the presence of God. 

How different would life be if we lived more aware of God's presence? Would we speak to others the same way? What would we watch or not watch? Where would our attitudes or opinions change? 

I believe that this is how God wants us to live. He desires to be 'our God' and we 'His people'. He wants to 'dwell' with us. God's intent is that we live in His presence behind the veil. You see, in the temple there was a thick veil that separated man from God. No one could enter except the High Priest and he could only enter once a year on the day of atonement. That was the day that the sacrifice for sins was made. After the priest did his duty he had to leave the presence of God. 

The good news is that we are not living in those times any more. The way has been opened for us. Jesus has made the way for us to live in God's Presence behind the veil God now lives in our hearts. He has given us His Spirit! We have constant access to Him. 

We should never ignore God. He should be our first and last and everything in-between. Remind yourself that the Lover of your soul is always with you and desires your company. How awesome is that?! The Creator and King of the universe wants to be with you! 

Pray without ceasing...

What are some ways to remind ourselves of God's presence? How different is life when we live with the reality of His presence? 

Day 83 - Sincere Love

"They were sincere and genuine in their love and care for us."

We know fake. We have been fake. That is why we know when someone else is being fake. It is like a plastic donut. You wouldn't take a bite no matter how good it looks. 

Love was never meant to be faked. It is meant to be lived. The Bible tells us that God is love. That means that if God lives in us then we have the most powerful force in the universe at our disposal. Love as the ability to break down walls, empower the believer for service, open the door to forgiveness, cover multitudes of sins and so much more. 

The problem is that we get messed up with how we have been trained when it comes to love. The popular stories we see in movies and television and read of in books give the impression that love is not a choice. It is as if you love because the impersonal force of attraction is so strong you have no other choice or ability. Similarly, if you 'fall out of love' you no longer have the capacity to be around or rekindle the relationship that once was motivated by love. 

Real love is different. Real love is sincere. Real love overlooks offenses and forgives quickly. Real love is attractive, compelling and desirable. 

Let's make sure we are never fake. That doesn't mean hurt people because we don't feel like loving them. That means we make the choice to love. 

(1 Corinthians chapter 13 is a wonderful description of what this looks like.)

How do you stay away from being fake when it comes to love? What is a good way to express genuine love?

Day 69 - Really Good People

Today's thought from last year is so simple I almost missed it. I was writing about some friends of ours and said:

"They are really good people."

What made these people good in my opinion was their hearts. They are genuine. Real givers. Sincerely interested in others. Prayer warriors. Truthful. I could go on but you get the point. 

We all should not only find people like this to hang around but also endeavor to emulate their best qualities. The Bible tells us that bad company corrupts good morals. It is so important to choose people who are more than their outward appearance. If we only were around the popular and the pretty we might become someone we hate. But if we get around sincere people we will become sincere ourselves. There is a Proverb that says those who walk with the wise will become wise. 

I have very few friends, true friends, who I can really open up to and trust to speak into my life. But I am okay with not having a bunch of shallow relationships. I would much rather have a few deep ones.

What are qualities you look for in a friend? How can we be a better friend?