A Prayer Revisited

Recently, I was sorting through the notebooks I use to write down my writing ideas, favorite scriptures, etc.  As I was sorting I came across a prayer I wrote some time ago.  It reminded me of why I'm grateful to God, why I love Him and how I hope to serve Him with my life.  Sometimes in the hustle and bustle of life it's good to be reminded of what we're really here for.

It's been a while since I've actually written down a prayer but as I read this one it seems like a good idea to do it more often.  Writing them down can give us a wonderful snapshot of our faith (how it struggles - how it grows) through the years.  In our low moments we can look back and see the strength of our faith.  In our high moments we can look back at how God got us through those lows. 

Today I thought I'd share my prayer with you.

Dear Heavenly Father, 

     I praise you.  You are exalted above all else.  Thank you for your love and your continued commitment to me. Thank you for making me worthy of your love and grace.

     One of the most amazing things to me is seeing you work in someone's life.  Whether you choose to do so physically, emotionally, financially or spiritually it is always fun to watch you work. You are truly an awesome God.  I am thrilled to be in your family.  And further - I am thrilled to be able to pray for other members of your (our) family so I can continue to see your glory shine.

     Father,  I want to give my life to you.  I want to be your servant - to live my life as you would have me live it.  There is no other master I would desire to serve - not even myself.  For in your care there is no lack - no need - no want of anything.  You bring ultimate peace and joy.  Father, I pray that I can take the love you have freely given me and use it for your glory.  I pray that I can give that love to others in a like-fashion. You are a wonderful teacher.  All I have to do is live by your example.

    Father, thank you for all that you have done for me - for the many, many blessings you have bestowed on me.  I cannot earn nor do I "deserve" to be so blessed and yet you lavish me with your love, goodness and grace anyway.  I am truly thankful.  With all my love...Amen.

Intentional Living

I don’t remember where I heard it – could have been a sermon or in something I read – but the gist of the idea was to live "intentionally".  It’s not a new concept or one that should have rocked my world but it kind of did.  So much so that I typed the word and its definition in a pretty font and printed it out on card stock so I could frame it and hang it on my wall as a daily reminder (which I haven’t done). 

 

I looked at the word and saw a call to action.  It was a call to live out my faith "intentionally".  I mean there are plenty of times when I don’t feel like I’m an intentional Christian.  If I'm honest, I'm not "intentional" about much of anything.  Life happens and I usually end up playing catch up.  If I'm not careful, one day can bleed into the next without much substance.  And then I'm left to wonder how (or if) my faith entered into the picture.

Sure, I’m intentional about going to church.  But that’s not what it really means to live a Christian life.  Talking about the Bible is not the same thing as living the Bible.  I want to be someone who lives my life intentionally - meaning actually making the effort to live and walk a Christian life.  I can’t just say I’m a Christian. Being a Christian means being compelled to do – to serve – to love – to give.  If I don’t make an effort to think about and do these things, there's the danger of going through each day without doing any of them.

As life lessons go, living intentionally seemed to apply to more than just my Christian walk.  You see, I’m the kind of person who comes up with a new organizational plan every few months.  Why?  Because I try and then I fail at them.  The other day I was bemoaning the fact that I was, yet again, failing another plan when it hit me.  The reason I've failed in the past is because I haven't been intentional with any of them. 

If I have a list of things that need to be done then I must be intentional about getting them done.  If I make a plan, I must be intentional about completing it.  If I want to raise a Christian daughter, I need to be intentional about teaching her.  Intentional living is not about having good intentions.  It’s about the commitment to follow through with those intentions.  

Speaking of which – I think I'll hang my “Intentional” sign on the wall now. One more thing completed (intentionally)!

The Trouble With Anger

I didn’t catch the news until late in the day yesterday.  When I did I heard the sad news of the bombings at the Boston Marathon.  Such senseless violence in my eyes.  Although I wonder if the person or persons who carried out this horrible act thought it was senseless.  Probably not.  Anger tends to have its roots in reason.  Sadly if given the opportunity anger can morph into something beyond reason and rationality.

It got me thinking – wondering how someone can have so much hate inside of them that it leads them to kill people who don’t have anything to do with the core of their hate.  Innocent victims.  Tell me that and eight year old child deserved their wrath or any of the victims for that matter.

As I thought more about this tragedy the reality is this: anger feeds anger and then gives birth to hatred.  Who of us hasn’t become angry?  Have you ever caught yourself hanging on to situations, having angry conversations with someone in your mind, or felt the need to share your anger with mutual friends.  There is something instinctive inside of us that wants to feed on the negativity - the poison.

 

For the vast majority of us, our anger may not get out of hand but it does take up valuable space in our hearts and minds.  A situation occurred recently that has me a little perturbed.  And yes, the human nature side of me wants desperately to be snide – to involve others in my annoyance.  But the Holy Spirit in me is telling me to let it go.  He’s telling me that by wanting others to be as annoyed or angry as I am, I would merely be feeding the anger.  I would be fanning the flame and creating a bigger problem (but misery loves company, right?).  In reality I would be doing the devil’s handy work.  

I admit, it gets hard to change the path my mind takes when I get angry.  But experience has taught me to redirect my thoughts – to turn away from the negative.  Praising God is a good method of redirection and reading His word is a good antidote for the disease.   We may have to fight human nature but I’m pretty sure that if more of us did – we’d have a lot fewer tragedies like what happened in Boston.  

Here is my take away:  Decide whether you want to be an angry person or not.  You can choose to feed on love or choose to feed on anger.  Only one of those has a good outcome.  

Being A Conduit (Part 3)

This week we conclude our discussion on "being a conduit".  There is nothing I want more than to receive God's blessings and to allow them to flow through me to bless others.  To me, it's one of the ultimate purposes of our lives.  It's kind of like a continual celebration of getting and giving.

I was totally on board with this "giving" thing when it occurred to me I was only on board conditionally.  You see - it's easy to "want to give" to those whom we perceive have a need (the underprivileged, the struggling, etc.)  But what about when God asks you to give to someone you think has a lot or even "enough"?

I ran into that issue a few weeks ago.  I encountered a situation where I had the opportunity to be a conduit - to bless someone with my blessings.  But my heart instantly went into a mode of judgement.  I admit it - it wasn't pretty.  But this person didn't need what I could give.  This person had plenty of money - plenty of stuff.  How could I really bless that?  My conduit was closing.

Thankfully I felt God pointing out and correcting the error of my thinking.  He showed me that being a true conduit for Him doesn't mean doling out the blessings according to my own human-based value system.  I can't pick and choose.  God wants to bless all of His children with all different types of blessings.  He knows what each individual needs far better than I do.  And in this particular case, maybe the need was mine.  Maybe I needed to know who the real giver of blessings is.  And who am I to stand in His way? 

Being A Conduit (Part 2)

Last week we began looking at being a conduit with a focus on allowing God's blessings to flow through us so we can be a blessing to others.  The interesting thing about a conduit is that in order for it to function properly it has to have openings on both ends.  If nothing is coming in then nothing can flow out.

It may seem like a no-brainer but we must allow God to bless us.  If our conduit isn't open to receiving the good things God offers then nothing can flow through us.  For some accepting things isn't hard.  They receive a gift, are immediately grateful, and say "thank you".  There's no guilt, no attitude of unworthiness, no need to try to repay the giver.  For others receiving can be a difficult thing and doesn't come naturally.

Somewhat recently God showed me I've been a guilty receiver.  Sure I took the blessings God gave me but I lived with guilt because of it.  I couldn't understand why He was blessing me when I felt I hadn't done anything to deserve it.  And that's when it hit me.  God doesn't give because we "deserve" His gifts.  He gives because it brings Him joy.

When we give something to someone else do we expect anything in return?  Do we want the receiver to feel beholden to us or to feel undeserving. Of course we don't feel that way when we give from our heart.  The purpose of giving is to bless someone - to lighten their load or simply to make them smile. 

Have you ever tried to give something to someone who tries hard not to accept your gift.  And even if they do accept it, they end up making the situation uncomfortable by not being able to accept it with joy?  After awhile you kind of stop wanting to give to that person.  I wonder if God ever feels like that.  If we continue to refuse His gifts or try to somehow make ourselves "deserving" of them, we miss the point. He gives because He wants to give.  He blesses so we can bless others.