Day 39 - God is still God

"A couple at church from our prayer teams prayed for a girl and all they heard her say through her sobbing was “My…mom…” So when he prayed for her mom she started speaking in tongues clearly and loudly. We found out later she had never prayed in tongues before. We were all amazed."

Moments like these remind me that God is still God. This couple was praying for a girl's mom and thought they were praying for one thing but God was doing another thing. 

We see this in the Bible when Peter was preaching to the household of Cornelius. While Peter preached they were all saved and filled with the Spirit and started to prophesy and speak with tongues. Peter was amazed and said that if the Gentiles had been given the Spirit that they should also be baptized in water. 

We should never put God in a box. He is God! He can do whatever He wants. I still see that girl who was prayed for in our church. She is there every week faithfully. God has done great things in her life. I believe in that moment when she was so broken over the situation with her mom that God gave her the gift of Holy Spirit fullness to strengthen her so she could endure. 

Keep your eyes open and look for what God is doing. Let Him lead and follow what He is doing. 

Has God surprised you lately? What do you see Him doing?

Day 38 - Late Night Parenting

"The kids stayed up later then they should and were besides themselves by the time we got home. Just another reminder why we as parents stopped staying out late. We reminisced about the days where 11 pm was our starting point. Of coarse that was before kids and a lot of responsibility. Times have changed."

I don't care what anyone says, routines are a parent's stability and sanity. The baby stage of life prepares the parent to be tired so that they appreciate putting the kids to bed at a decent hour. I have heard a lot of trendy talk about breaking out of the routine. I get it...I do it from time to time when needed and with certain things. But when it comes to enduring tears and rage from my children I would rather have a 'bed time'. 

Some of the most freeing verses in the Bible for me contained the simple words "as was his custom". These words refer to both Jesus and the apostle Paul. If they had customs then it may not be a bad thing to have a routine. I believe God works with us. Think about it; God created all the systems of earth, space, time, biology, etc. 

God also created parenting...and sleep. 

What systems or routines help you from day to day? Why?

Day 37 - In a good bind

"From the Word today Abigail's words ring in my soul, “bound in the bundle of life with The Lord”. We had a fire drill today and it shook up a lot of us. I could tell that our staff was frustrated that they did not have the specific direct solution to what they were supposed to do with the drill. Can we predict the path of a fire or devastation from ground shaking? This would be unstable except for that we are bound in the bundle of life with The Lord. God is for us. He is our sun and our shield. He is the strong tower we run to and are safe."

It is good to be bound in certain circumstances. If I am bound may it be in a good way. May my boundaries be for my safety and blessing. May the fences set around keep my heart from wandering from my God. May the ties that bind me hold me near to the Lord. 

Since I am bound to Lord I am secure. It is the bundle of life and not death. I can be confident and cast of fear for I know Whom I am bound with. He never fails and I am bound to Him! 

Can you see a binding force that is for your safety or your good? What does the saying "Bound in the bundle of life with the Lord" speak to you?

Day 36 - Compassion

"There was a guy that wanted to wash our windshield on our car for money who I found out was in the process of an SPT at church. I invited him back to church and then watched as the employee asked him to leave the parking lot. We minister in a tough city. It is interesting to me how many people pass through our church. And probably not just our church but all the churches."

Tonight my wife preached a great message about Good Works. We don't do good works to be noticed or to feel good but because we are displaying the love of God. I found it appropriate that this was in my journal from last year on this day. 

One of the motivations for our good works is a compassion for people. I remember talking with this guy in the parking lot and really wanting him and his wife to get back to church. I knew he would grow and be helped if he would put in the effort to come. It broke my heart to watch as an employee of the store we were at ask him to leave. 

Church is a place where all are welcome. We open the door with loving acts of service. In other words, good...works. 

How can we have compassion on others? what are some practical good works we can do to reach others? 

Day 35 - I Just Don't Care

"I had bean dip and chips for dinner. Not sure how healthy that is or is not but whatever."

Often on busy days and some lazy ones an attitude of "I don't care" settles in. That is not always bad unless you think having chips and dip for dinner is bad. My wife confesses that when I stay long at the office she and the kids have cereal for dinner. I don't mind that if they had eggs and bacon for breakfast. Somehow in my mind it makes a well rounded set of meals. 

We have to pick our battles. There are things worth fighting for and things worth fighting. The attitude of "I don't care" is a tricky one. You can't turn your back on it too long because it may start with dinner, go to bath time, and end with a late bed time. With kids though they don't always sleep in when they have had a late night. Their internal clock still wakes them up before dawn. Then later in the day they may be irritable because they are tired and fighting or whining may ensue. 

Can I be honest? This isn't just with kids. Sometimes (and I'm being polite with that word) adults can play into the trickery of an "I don't care" attitude and cause all kinds of irritation. We need to fight against it where it counts. And when it doesn't matter, go ahead and have the bean dip for dinner. 

Do you find yourself fighting an "I don't care" attitude? What is a funny dinner food you have eaten because you didn't care?

Day 34 - Manufactured Memories

"We all went to Disneyland for Chloe's Birthday. I was thinking about it, I don't really have memories of Disneyland. There is a lot of activity but not much happens. I think we remember more of the fights and temper tantrums and bad experiences than we do the good experiences. Maybe it is because the good experiences are manufactured by the rides and shows. Oh but I could show you the patch of concrete where my son climaxed his one hour fit that started in the restaurant. I could point out the chair under which my son's diaper overflowed. And finally I could bring you to the handrail where my daughter fell off and hurt her arm and it later resulted in a midnight ER visit."

Disneyland is the self-professed 'Happiest place on earth'. I have had lots of great days at Disneyland holding my children's hands and seeing smiles on their faces. It has been a place I can go and turn my brain off and just enjoy a nice day outside walking around the park. 

That being said I couldn't tell you specific happy moments. Just that we were happy while there. The real memories I have are the ones mentioned above. We laugh about them now but they made real impressions on us. 

The point of all this is that I think we have to work at remembering good. We have to strive to be positive. Negative comes naturally. Maybe that is why Paul told the Philippians a laundry list of things to think about that were positive. If you don't do it on purpose you won't do it at all. 

In thinking about happy experiences at Disneyland I do remember when my friend was going to propose at the castle with the fireworks going off. A friend and I drove down with no money and begged the lady at the gate to let us go and see him propose. She had mercy on us and let us in. We raced to the castle during the fireworks show and were franticly looking at everyone while they looked at the fireworks to see if it was our friend. The show ended and they started ushering everyone out of the park. We finally found a payphone (What? This was fifteen years ago!) and got ahold of our friend. He had proposed hours earlier and was eating dinner at a nearby restaurant so we met them there. That night still puts a smile on my face.

Are you like me and find it harder to remember the good than the bad? How do you keep your mind on the good?

Day 33 - Just Ask

"Just before Chloe was born when Jess was still pregnant the church staff had a raffle to win a overnight stay at a time share on Coronado island. Jess prayed and asked God for it so when they drew my name she was jumping up and down praising God. We got it because she was the one that asked."

This thought from last year actually is a memory from over a decade ago. What brought it on was that a lady in our church had prayed to receive a free overnight stay at a resort our church was giving away as a prize for people who came every week to our marriage series. That night she won. She jumped up and down praising God. Her husband told me later that she prayed for it and then practiced her praise dance she was going to do when she got the prize. He also shared she did the same thing when they won a trip to Hawaii. I remembered how My wife Jessica had done the same thing with the timeshare stay on Coronado island. 

The point off all of this is that we need to ask. Even if it is petty or silly in our thinking. Just ask! The Bible says we have not because we ask not. Don't be shy, God knows you want it. Just ask! How many things have we missed out on because we thought God was too big to ask? Just ask! 

Have you had an experience like this where you asked in prayer and God handed it to you against the odds? Taking some time to pray and ask right now!