Update #143 - Heart Wall

"But if we hope for that which we do not see, we wait for it with patience." Romans 8:25

My Pops and me - isn't he handsome!

There is a story of a young man in search of his destiny, his purpose, his path; he takes “time off” from life and backpacks through Europe hoping to gain clarity, understanding and wisdom on how to move his life forward. At the point we join the story he is riding a German train into Berlin and about to alight at the station.

He is disillusioned. The lucidity of thought he was anticipating this journey to bring isn’t apparent. The escape from distraction is indiscernible and understanding of his life’s aim is even less perceptible than when he left the States three months previous. His relationship with God is in tatters due to a mandated university philosophy class that raised more questions than answers. The twenty-two year old feels like a small raft adrift on a huge ocean.

As he steps off the train onto the station platform, his backpack secured at his hips and chest, he is depressed in spirit, seriously contemplating the futility of life itself, and is overcome by the grayness of the world around him; the cement floor, the colorless posts, the overcast sky and low hanging clouds. The atmosphere is as dull and bleak as he feels.

Sighing, he shifts his backpack into a more comfortable position and starts trudging toward the exit. The crowd slows his progress and for the first time he looks at the walls surrounding the open air platform. And he sees it.

Graffiti; lots and lots of graffiti. In the middle of the brilliant display of color he sees his name. He stops, blinks, rubs his eyes, binks again and stares at the wall. His name is still there emblazoned in orange, red, yellow and many hues of blue and green. He cocks his head to one side staring – the crowd fluidly moving past him like water around a river rock.

He stands rooted for ages. Following his name were three dots and two simple words; two words he felt were directly from God. For the first time in weeks he stands fully errect, takes a deep breath and smiles. Two simple words changed his entire outlook and appearance. He feels confident, bright, and nay say, even happy? With an altered attitude he leaves the platform, exits the station, turns right and happily hums his way to the hostel.

We all have down days; we all have drab, lifeless, uninspiring, melancholic moments where we wonder the effectuality of our lives.

God has written messages all around us. He has left us reminders of himself and his purpose and plan. We just have to notice them. To be honest, most aren’t inscribed in bold brash colors to grab our attention – they are a bit more subtle.

There are also things written on the wall of your heart, promises God has made that reside and remain no matter what we do, where we go, or how far we may wander.

• I will wipe away every tear from your face (Isa 25:8).

• Nothing in all creation will ever separate you from My love (Rom 8:35-39).

• Cast your burdens on me and I will look after you (Ps 55:22).

• I will strengthen your inner being by the power of My Spirit (Eph 3:16).

• I will provide what you need every day (Matt 6:11).

• You will have perfect peace if you keep focused on Me (Isa 26:3).

• I have made an everlasting covenant to only do good things for you (Jer 32:40).

What is written on the wall of your heart? What is written there to remind you of who you really are and what you really stand for? What will it take for you to believe what is written? What will it take for you to live out the truth inscribed in your heart?

Update

• Work – Training starts this Saturday, recruiting is in full swing (18 committed 10 on the bench – pray those that are watching would want to join the game), and we are planning several upcoming forums, webinars, and events: http://inst.net/events/index.html

• Travel – I took a short trip to LA about a week ago to visit a co-worker. 70 degrees in January is a very nice benefit of southern California! It looks like Egypt, India, South Korea and possibly Nigeria are on the radar for this Spring – my life ain’t boring!

• Life – I am resurrecting (at Megan Cox’s impetuous) Craft Night. It used to happen monthly up in Seattle – so ladies, if you are interested in eating, chatting, and working on whatever – my place on the 5th!

Requests:

• Work – for the warm recruiting leads to become HOT and sign onto the training, for our calendar to sort itself out so we can do all things God has planned for us, and for our staff to stay healthy. Please also pray for our upcoming events – they would be well attended and would generate other work.

• Time – with all that is going on around here that I would be able to prioritize correctly, hear God’s opinion on how I should be spending my time (and the obedience to do what he says), and see my friends more than just occasionally.

P.S. To find out more promises that God has made to you visit www.365promises.com – you can have them sent to your email, RSS the blog, or order your own copy.

P.P.S. The engagements keep happening! Whoo Hoo to Candy Spradling in Seattle and her fiancée Rick Young!

P.P.P.S. Slight pause to remember Craig Boytler who on January 3rd, after a lifetime of health issues, passed away of a heart attack in his sleep. He was 48 years old.

Update #142 - Scent of the Familiar

“Teach me to do Your will; for You are my God; Your Spirit is good…” Psalm 143:10

Zoo Lights - Tacoma, WA

When I arrived home for Christmas I was greeted at the airport by my parents and their two dogs…one an old lady and the other a puppy who in her excitement usually ends up tripping over herself, landing flat on her back and wiggling with excitement as you acknowledge her and rub her tummy.

My dad pulled into the garage; the dogs jumped out of the car and ‘helped’ me with my bags. I turned to go upstairs and was smacked in the face with the most delicious smell - cooking lasagna! My mouth started to water, and all of a sudden I realized how hungry I really was. Within an hour we were seated feasting on the piles of pasta, cheese and meat sauce – my taste buds were happy, my tummy was full, I was sated, and ready for sleep. My mom is a really good cook.

Funny thing is, after the first whiff of the lasagna, I couldn’t really smell it anymore – my nose had become accustomed and negated it as “not new” and “not needed to smell / acknowledge” any longer. When I went outside and came back in, I could smell the deliciousness once more, but staying within the confines of the house nullified the scent within minutes.

This made me think about things in our lives – things that are ever-present but rarely, if ever, acknowledged. These “things” are so apart of our world we accept them as routine, usual, standard, ordinary, typical…common. But, if we really took a look, a hard long look, we would realize these “things” aren’t normal at all:

• The anger flare when cut off in traffic, the grocery line, or the return counter.

• A manipulative technique used to get our way.

• Automatically assuming the worst verses the best of a person’s motives or actions.

• Gossip or slander of another.

• Playing up illness or inconvenience to illicit empathy / sympathy from others.

• Expanding upon a story to make it “more interesting.”

• Playing upon others weaknesses to make one look more talented / successful.

• Asking questions as a guise to actually teach and share an opinion / point.

Some are so accustomed to anger and its manifestation, life without them would be unrecognizable; same with manipulation, lying, or control. In “spiritual language” these are entitled “familiar sprits.” God’s sprit is all about good, true, pure things – when something anti his nature is apparent he isn’t the source.

How do we get such things in our lives? Well, they can be learned (Dad had a temper and responded that way, so I do too.), taught (Mom always got her way by doing this…), as a result of being hurt (I’ll never let that happen to me again, so I’ll…), or a decision (Aunt Sally was successful and she did this, so I will too.). Some assimilation of these “spirits” are conscious, but most are unconsciously morphed into our lives and their appearance is treated as normal.

It isn’t until someone points out where God’s plumbline for anger falls and where we are standing (20 feet to the left) we realize we aren’t quite where we should be. Sometimes it is when our actions are revealed for the manipulative control measure they really are we realize how ungodly our actions have become.

The holidays are a perfect pressure cooker for bringing the “familiar” to the surface (he / she is always that way). Family, close friends, spouses are mirrors walking around showing us the “ick” in our lives surfacing under pressure, pain, or impolite circumstance.

As you reflect back on this past holiday season what “familiar” attitudes / actions aren’t following God’s plumbline. What revealed “ick” revealed do you need to deal with? What ways can God help you to become more like himself and his son?

If it is not God’s character – it isn’t God.

Update

•Work – We just finished our five day planning retreat on Thursday night. My favorite parts were listening to what God has in store for 2011, and listing out all the incredible things he did in 2010 (over 110 of them)!

•Heath – I am back to normal! Whoo Hoo! All the sleep at my parent’s house as well as Mom’s good food kicked any viral bug right on out of my system! Yeah Mom!

•Travel – I am home for the time being – but looking forward to a year of gallivanting around the world with my boss, his wife and our teams… Nigeria? South Korea? South Africa? India? Indonesia?

Requests:

•Work – We are gearing up for our upcoming training cycle – orientation on the 19th, Kick-off on the 29th.

•Life – in 2010 I made a list of five things I wanted God to answer – 3 of the 5 were all about me (all resolved – WHOO HOO my condo sold!!!), one involves another (still outstanding) and the last is for a corporate entity (still waiting). I am still standing in faith that the outstanding items on my list will be answered – will you stand with me?

Happy 2011!

P.S. Congratulations to all my recently engaged friends – Jodene & Shawn, Ruth, Steve, Cliff, Jessica & Bart.