lifehouse “everything” skit
It's not easy to use theater to convey such a heavy message, but I feel like this particular rendition along with the sound track is especially powerful. Every time I watch this is wrecks me and I find myself just wiping away tears.
my daily _______.
I went to bed last night expecting today to be just awful. I was away from the office for the last five days. I left last week amidst chaos. It's only natural that I return to chaos. I woke up today fully expecting that. So the first thing that came to mind this morning was this prayer "Give me today, what I need today, to get through today" a la Matthew 6:11. Give me strength. Give me food. Give me endurance. Give me grace. Give me patience. Give me emotional fortitude. Give me clarity. Give me reprieve from discouragement. Give me You. I must've repeated that prayer out loud a few dozen times before I even left the house this morning and a few more times in the car for good measure. Today was going to be brutal and I knew there was no way I was making it through the day in good spirits if God didn't show up.
I got to work, booted up my machine, plugged in my headphones and hunkered down for Monday. Well, late morning rolled around and no fires! No salesmen flipping out because we can't deliver the unicorn fairy dust they promised customers. No well intentioned bosses breathing down my neck. Thankful.
I'm pretty confident that God showed up in this relatively minor aspect of my week and today decided to go easy on me and make the work day bearable. No, it wasn't all gravy but it was all the broth and flour goodness I needed for this day. Not to mention the great music I found floating in my gravy laced Monday!
Beautiful Scandalous Night (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-zJjNucGqQ)
Alive Again (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CSTaVmDQP5s)
That music was just what I needed to get through today. There is no guarantee that tomorrow will be as pleasant as today (I pray that it is!) however I am confident that despite what may come, I will be equipped with all I need (physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually) to get through Tuesday.
can i get a pen!?
why is it so hard to find a decent pen? i have something i want to write. i have my journal. i have a plethora of average pens. but i don't want average right now, i want above average. i want quality. i want something that goes on smooth yet has a certain authority about it. something worthy of my pristine new black moleskin.
i've searched every room in this house. kitchen! surely there's something in the kitchen. that must be pen central, what with all the phone messages and shopping lists written there. bubkiss. i'm in the living room, rummaging through the assortment of pens, pencils, random exacto knives, and letter openers that my dad has collected there. c'mon! my mom inquires what i'm looking for. i declare emphatically, "i want a pen! i want a *good* pen!" being the person that she is she responds with "well, i have an *okay* pen upstairs by my bible. it's an okay pen." i love that woman; however, an okay pen won't do right now.
i might have to settle for an average bic or papermate. oh, how i hate papermate! this isn't looking good.
so here i am. on the floor. back leaning against the bed. typing away furiously about how i don't have a pen to write with. disappointed.
i wonder if i have one in my car.......onwards!
UPDATE: my car pulls through with a 0.7mm, silky smooth Bic VelocityGel........oh, mama.......
that time the israelites said “woah”
Yesterday I was perusing the interwebs and came across this:
http://www.webdesignerdepot.com/2009/10/the-weirdest-clouds-that-youll-ever-see/
awe inspiring. jaw dropping. no way uttering. "what the" questioning. God moving.
Neat, right? Then this morning I was listening to a sermon which briefly discussed the pillar of cloud that led the Israelites out of Egypt.
By day the LORD went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people. (Exodus 13:21-22)
Then I remembered this cloud picture that I saw yesterday:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MorningGloryCloudBurketownFromPlane.jpg
woah.
what’s your name?
I was challenged by the words in Genesis 32, where God asks Jacob for his name. Why did God ask that of Jacob? The name Jacob means "deceiver" or more literally "one who supplants." A fitting name because that's exactly who he was. That is, until he wrestled with God that one night when he found himself alone, scared and desperately seeking reprieve from the uncertainty swirling around him. It was after that match that his walk began to change (literally, what with the crippled thigh) and the transformation from Jacob to Israel began. The old name that defined him by his sin was being exchanged for a new one that defined him by his experience with God.
So I began to think, What's my old name? What sins have I been captive to? What sins have kept me from fully experiencing God? As Christian I am no longer fully captive to sin, but there are aspects of my old life that I am foolishly clinging to. There are aspects of me that are still called by their old names. Not because of my will power or determination but rather by grace alone my grip on the old is loosing and names are being changed. His grace is perpetually and consistently extended in the midst of my current struggles.
Maybe the reason Jacob was asked his name is because that is exactly what he needed to be asked. It wasn't until Jacob spoke his name and acknowledged the old that God gave him a new name. That has got to be a humbling experience having to admit, "My name is deceiver." At that moment, Jacob the long time proud became Israel the work in progress humble.
What's your old name?
What sins are you captive to?
What sins are keeping you from fully experiencing God?
Lust? Anger? Jealousy? Insecurity? Anxiety? Control? Selfishness? Power? Hatred? Bitterness? Envy? Vanity? Self-righteousness?
michael vick’s a jerk…and so am i…
The news of Michael Vick's return to the National Football League has been the buzz nearly everywhere for the last week or so, and has taken a life of its own since Thursday when the Philadelphia Eagles signed the man to a two year deal. My thoughts on Vick were less than glowing prior to his incarceration, and after he found himself in a heap of trouble for dog-fighting I really lost what little respect I had left for him as a person. There are some people you just don't like. Michael Vick is one of those people in my eyes. That's my sin and I need to rid myself of that. At the start of his animal cruelty legal woes he claimed to have become a Christian. In his words, "I'm upset with myself and, you know, through this situation I found Jesus and asked him for forgiveness and turned my life over to God..."
I'll be honest, I heard those words and I had a hard time believing him (still kind of do). When I first read that statement I questioned his sincerity, after all those words themselves are so very generic. If he used words like "transformational power of the cross", "sacrifice", "broken" or "humbled" I'd be more inclined to believe the guy. ...and therein lies the proof that I sometimes act like a self-righteous (yes, a bit legalistic) jerk. If only he spoke Christianese better, then I'd be able to buy into his finding Jesus claim. He could very well be lying through his teeth about being a changed man, but I'm convicted of how quick I am to judge that faith by measures that exist nowhere in Scripture.
This guy has a past riddled with "dumb"...there was the Ron Mexico ordeal, then the weed water bottle fiasco, his idiot kid brother Marcus, more weed issues... Just not what any semi-classy person would consider a role model. Then there was the dog fighting stories that made life for Michael Vick rather unpleasant. The things he did to those animals is just horrendous. He gave consent to have them hung by trees. He allowed them to be electrocuted. All because they didn't perform well in the fights. It's disgusting.
My natural reaction is to say: once a savage, always a savage and condemn him for ever. However, the idea of grace has been messing with me for a while. I way too often choose who is worthy to be shown grace. Since I profess to be a Christian I am called to reflect God's love and grace to others. I don't reflect that love and grace very well. I am taking a step to extend grace. I sincerely hope his claims are genuine. I hate to look like a fool, but if that's what happens so be it. He has a good man in his corner, Tony Dungy. Dungy's a man who has exemplified what it means to be a Christian man in a fallen world. He seems to believe that there is some part of Vick that desires to put off the old. My Philadelphia Eagles, an organization that has made such a strong stance on character, is sticking their necks out for this guy. My fellow fans are torn, but I'm pretty sure most will get behind him if he performs on and off the field. There are a lot of people invested in him right now. There's a strong possibility that he makes us all look dumb for giving him a second chance, but as Christians we're called to look dumb because the concept of grace and of unmerited love are so foreign to this world....it's bound to look like foolishness.
Do you despise Michael Vick? Do you feel he is unworthy of a second chance? Or a third chance? Or a fourth chance? Is there any end to the number of chances God gives us? There was that time you spat in His face and yet he didn't fry you to a heavenly crisp...there was discipline and another opportunity to try again.