The best kind of text

Have you ever received a prayer, specifically prayed for you, in writing? Isn't there something so moving about seeing that prayer and knowing the thought and faith behind it?

I recently received such a prayer via text from a sweet friend of mine. I had asked her earlier in the day for prayer, and she not only responded but allowed me to experience her prayer for me as she prayed it:

This dear friend and I regularly share me encouraging texts of verses and quotes. Of course, we fellowship face-to-face as well, but during a busy day at work or a late night on the weekends, sharing words that inspire and build up via text or social media can not only be experienced in the moment but in the next moment and a moment tomorrow and a moment down the road.

When people ask for prayer, do you demonstrate your faithfulness to pray? Do you call them so you can pray over the phone or pull them away from the crowd to pray together?

I know it can seem intimidating at times, but the Bible says the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Not the complicated or long or eloquent prayer. Not the drawn-out or super-holy or all-inclusive prayer. Not the well-planned or written-out or quotable prayer. 

"Prayer requires more of the heart than of the tongue." ~Adam Clarke

"The value of consistent prayer is not that He will hear us, but that we will hear Him." ~William McGill

As I write, I know I am addressing myself more than anyone else. Sometimes, I find it easier to pray for someone else than to pray for myself. I often rely on the fact that God knows my thoughts before I do, and then I don't take the time to articulate them to Him. Isn't that a selfish view? I'm more focused on myself and my time than on investing in my relationship with Him. Prayer is more about changing me than it is about changing God. It takes a conscious effort - just like our relationships on earth require dedicated, quality time.

My friend's prayer not only encouraged me in my specific time of need, but it encourages me to see how she communicates with the Lord, and it inspires me to strike up that conversation where I left off...

Private (please don't read)

It's more and more rare to meet someone who says they are a private person.

Social media has opened wide the door of self-promotion, TMI, and WTMI (Way.Too.Much.Information). Do you ever have those Jim and Pam moments from The Office when you just wish there was a camera there to capture your "I-can't-believe-they-wrote-that" look?

Somehow, sitting at our computers, looking at lit screens and tapping on plastic keys empowers us to tell all. Some people are all too honest, while others "pen" the life they imagine. I don't think all of us realize the longevity of our digital footprint. It's like a tattoo: You can try to remove it, but there is just no way to make it all disappear.

I remember when I first signed up for FB in 2004, almost a decade ago (wow!). I was so cautious of putting anything on my page. I'm pretty sure I put my name (with a hesitant "click" to submit my last name) and stumbled my way through posting a profile picture. There was no way I would fill out all of those "About Me" questions for the world to see.

And then, things gradually relaxed. More and more people joined FB, posting more and more things. When I saw someone post a few pictures from an event, I decided that was a good idea. Pictures are harmless, right? We all know where that can get people in trouble now, especially with tagging. When I saw someone post answers to the "About Me" questions, I rationalized filling out the template for myself. These sections can be tasteful or not...

As the years went by, more and more personal things were posted: relationship statuses, feelings about other people or work or school, opinions about political and social and religious issues, etc. Then, people started posting very personal and detailed status updates including personal hygiene, arguments and bad feelings, and complaints about how they were being treated.

Instead of chiming in, I decided to back away and focus on a few things: photos, keeping in touch with friends, and sharing (hopefully) encouraging articles and quotes. This evening, I was introduced to a new-to-me author, Emily Freeman. Something about her "voice" resonates with me. Despite being a blogger who discusses her faith and personal life, she has a very respectable sense of privacy in her words. You see into her heart and yet don't feel as though she over-shares.

A recent post of hers inspired my post tonight. In her entry entitled when it's good to keep your art a secret, Emily touches on her journey of learning the balance between over-sharing and right-sharing.
Regarding keeping the details of an upcoming book under wraps for longer than usual, she says, 

"There is a sweetness for me in keeping quiet this time, in holding my art close to my chest for a while, in sitting with my words and ideas in silence month after month before I begin to talk about them, in carrying my questions with a few people before I ask them in front of many."

How much could we learn during the silence, during the quiet moments when we ponder our thoughts and feelings before, if ever, broadcasting them? It's so easy to think something or feel a certain way, pick up your phone, open an app, and tap out a few words that could have lasting consequences. What if, instead, we forced ourselves to wait at least an hour? How many guilty consciences, relationships, and heartaches would be saved?

So, I challenge you: Wait an hour.

 And if you need a distraction, here are a few things you could do in that hour of waiting:

1. Write a thank-you note.
2. Pray.
3. Plan your grocery list.
4. Call your mom.
5. Read a book or magazine.
6. Fix yourself a snack.
7. Go on a walk.
8. Organize your email.
9. Encourage someone.
10. Plan your next service opportunity.

You can get a lot done in an hour! Psalms 90:12

I want to be a sponge

Seven months ago, I accepted a position at a company that, although it had been around for seven years or so, was really more of a start-up in terms of infrastructure. At the time, I was two years out of grad school and working on building my experience and moving forward in my career. The previous companies I worked for were large enough that I had the opportunity to observe experts in their respective fields but little personal opportunity to tackle out-of-the-box challenges and have any true influence on decision-making.

One of the main enticements for this new role was the opportunity to help build something - to be a part of a small team that would ultimately build out a department and support the whole organization from a human resources perspective.

Over the past seven months, I have done everything from making copies to implementing an HRIS system; proofreading offer letters to writing policies; filing paperwork to traveling to give open enrollment benefits presentations; counting employee time punches to developing marketing materials and working on executive compensation agreements. I have learned that you are never too experienced to "get in the weeds." It is so important to keep a pulse on the daily tasks that keep a department and a company running because only then can you make informed decisions about what needs to happen at a higher level.

I am fortunate to be on a team of well-versed experts in the field of human resources. I am by far the most junior on the team, so my goal is to be a sponge. My colleagues are former managers, directors, and VP's of other companies who have taken a step back from the large company opportunities, set aside egos and pensions, and dug their heels in to come together and create something great from the ground up. Recently, I traveled to Colorado with my EVP and a Director on my team, and I had the privilege of watching our EVP roll up his sleeves and sit down with a pile of new hire paperwork for hours to put it all in order. Nothing is too menial for him to work on, and this view of teamwork is so refreshing to me.

Each day has its new challenges. It seems there is always a fire to put out somewhere. The workload can be overwhelming, but I realize what an incredible opportunity this is to learn and grow.

So just remember: Each task you perform, no matter how small, is integral to your work, and your attitude makes all the difference!

The best recipe

What do you think of analogies, metaphors, allegories, and themes? I remember trying to find all of these in high school English texts, let alone understand their applications. Now, though, I see them in everyday life. Here's a recent example.

Yesterday, I baked bread from scratch. A few years ago, I tried it for the first time, and it was SO good! Sister and I just stood next to the oven after the bread had cooled and ate piece after piece with nothing on it - no butter or honey or jam. It was so fresh, and the aroma was intoxicating.

Fast forward a few years, and I realized it had been a long time since I baked those first two loaves. Why? Well, it's a time-intensive project. Is it gratifying? Yes. Is it nourishing? Yes. Do other people benefit? Yes.

So, it was time. Below are the fruits of my labor:

Recipe

Ingredients

Kneading

Rising

Doubling

Baked

Okay, time to make the analogy. This morning at church, Chuck compared the study of Scripture to baking. First, you start with a recipe (a passage in the Word). You make note of the ingredients, go shopping, and prepare according to the recipe (study the Word, make note of the principles and lessons, live it out). Then, you reap the benefits of preparing the dish according to the recipe (enjoy delicious food and experience nourishment and health benefits). Makes sense, right?

Now, consider what happens when you don't follow the recipe. Case in point: Before baking the bread yesterday, I attempted a new recipe from my aunt for almond flour crackers. I bought all of the ingredients listed (sea salt, basil, thyme, and flax), except for the almond flour. I thought, "I have plenty of wheat flour - I'll just substitute."

All you bakers out there, I can just hear you groaning for me.

Anyway, it didn't work. Not at all! The ingredients didn't come together to form a dough that I could cut into 2" pieces and place on the sheet tray to bake. It looked (and felt) like a pile of sand. Although I've heard it said that baking is an exact science and cooking is more free-form, it took this real-life experience to confirm it.

Can you make the analogy?

When we try to take shortcuts or make substitutions to the principles in God's Word, things don't go right. The Bible is not a list of rules set out to inhibit our lives. The Bible shows us how to live the best life. It is for freedom that Christ set us free (Galatians 5:1). Shane and Shane sing it well in their song Liberty.

So, when we study the Word and follow the "recipe," is it time-intensive? Yes.

Is it gratifying? Yes.

Is it nourishing? Yes.

Do other people benefit? Yes.

Free will is like chess

I am working my way through C.S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain for the second time and reading it with fresh eyes.

Confession: I can only get through 5-10 pages in one sitting because he goes so deep! Lewis does not mince words or waste time with fluff. Every word, every phrase has a purpose.

Tonight's gem jumped out at me from a passage about free will. Almost as an afterthought to a fairly comprehensive explanation, Lewis includes this final sentence that summarizes free will in a way that hit home to me:

"(...)the chess player's freedom to play chess depends on the rigidity of the squares and the moves" (p. 65).

If life is a game of chess, we humans long to have the freedom to choose which moves we're going to make. We have a strategy that we think will help us win the game. We don't question the fact that there is a bishop and a pawn, a king and a queen, dark and light squares. We play with the game pieces as they exist. We honor and abide by the rules. There is a code to follow, and it is respected. There are some serious chess players out there!

The analogy is an easy one. In life, there is freedom to choose within "parameters" and in relationship with other "game pieces" (people). These parameters aren't established to ruin our fun or make life boring or a list of rules. They control the chaos and create order. The game Creator knows that the game will work best when played by the rules. He wants us to enjoy the game - enjoy it together and learn from each other. How fun is it when you play chess with someone who makes up rules throughout the game that work to their advantage? We all know what that is like.

So, the next time you think about free will, think about chess.

Bobby Fischer said it best: "Chess is life."

It's safer in the deep end

"You are better off in the deep water with Jesus than in the shallow water alone." -Priscilla Shirer


An ancient Galilee boat. I took this picture on a trip to Israel in 2010. This is a historical find. According to our guide, this boat was excavated and dated to be from the time of Jesus' ministry. The fisherman who used this boat likely knew of Jesus.

This morning, I listened to a segment of a message Priscilla gave to a group of women recently. In it, she focused on Luke 5 - a passage that focuses on our friend Simon Peter, and his frustration with an empty fishing net. He and his fellow fisherman had worked all night with nothing to show for it.

"He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets”  (v. 3-5).

Isn't that just like us? When Jesus steps into our situation and gives us a chance to exercise our faith, do you ever catch yourself thinking, "Well, if You had been around, Lord, You would know I've already tried that"? As if He wasn't there with us through it all. Maybe the answer to our prayers isn't some outrageous new thing. Maybe it's something we've considered before (and even tried on our own), but now it will be done in light of faith in God to handle it and not in ourselves.

"When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him" (v. 6-11).

He was patient with Peter, and in the presence of His glory, Peter recognized his doubt.

As Pricilla said, wouldn't we rather be in the deep end with Jesus than in the shallow water without? I would rather face impossible situations with the One who makes the impossible possible than live an "easy" life solving all of my problems on my own.

Crayon wheels

Do you remember those elementary school crayon drawings you used to bring home from school and proudly hand to Mom, awaiting her gushing approval and the subsequent posting on the refrigerator?

Now do you remember looking back on those drawings as a teenager or adult, with a completely different understanding of how to draw a wheel or a car or an airplane or a flower? If you drew one now, it might actually resemble the real object!

I recently started C.S. Lewis' book The Problem of Pain. When mentioning my latest author of choice, a friend made the comment about how challenging it is to read some of Lewis' writings because of his vocabulary. As I read a few chapters this week, I found myself agreeing. However, one thing I greatly appreciate about C.S. Lewis is that he doesn't mince words and he doesn't fill the pages of his books with flowery, unnecessary descriptions. Every sentence has a point. It may take reading a few paragraphs down before the purpose of a particular point strikes you - and then it hits square on!

I came across this gem in my reading this week:

"Beyond all doubt, His idea of 'goodness' differs from ours; but you need have no fear that, as you approach it, you will be asked simply to reverse your moral standards. When the relevant difference between the Divine ethics and your own appears to you, you will not, in fact, be in any doubt that the change demanded of you is in the direction you already call 'better.' The Divine 'goodness' differs from ours, but it is not sheerly different; it differs from ours not as white from black but as a perfect circle from a child's first attempt to draw a wheel. But when the child has learned to draw, it will know that the circle it then makes is what it was trying to make from the very beginning."
- C.S. Lewis

How different our understanding of goodness is once we know the Lord and grow to know Him better. All the 'wheels' of goodness I used to draw are scribbles compared to the goodness of God.

I am thankful that God works out His goodness in our lives. His goodness is worthy of our praise. Everything He does is good. And when we do good, we imitate God.

Let us study His goodness, praise His goodness, and model our lives after Him.

Believing is an active verb

This morning, as I read my daily devotional in Beth Moore's study on John, I put something together in my mind and heart that really hit home: Just as salvation was a one-time act and is also a daily act, so believing was a one-time choice and is also a daily choice.

 

We cannot rely on our initial moment of belief to get us through each day. Yes, it took that very profound decision to change our lives, but we have to carry it out beyond that moment. It is a daily choice to actively believe Him - believe that He is good and that He is working out His will in our lives.

I don't want to believe like Thomas - only when I see Him and the ultimate outcome. I want to believe Him in every season of waiting.

And so, each day is another day to believe Him.

“Vision is the ability to see God’s presence, to perceive God’s power, to focus on God’s plan in spite of the obstacles.” ― Charles R. Swindoll

Something we all have in common

Waiting.

Just like the saying "everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time," we are all waiting for something. Waiting for that next birthday, or promotion, or paycheck. Waiting for a husband or a wife or a child. Waiting for a fun trip or news from a doctor. Waiting for healing or reconciliation.

It is easy to become consumed with whatever it is we're waiting for and forget that everyone is in the waiting. I was reminded of that today when I visited my sweet grandfather in the assisted living center. Over his favorite Sonic meal, he brought up his own cause for waiting. This man, who has walked the earth for 88 years and was married for 67 of them, who has lived through wars and disease and injuries and the loss of my dear Meemaw, continues to face a season of waiting. He hasn't outgrown it or graduated from it. Does he ever get impatient? Sure he does! Don't we all?

And yet, his conclusion today was that God knows what He is doing and we have to trust Him.

Waiting is not a childhood or young adult phase or a class you can skip or pass. It is something we all face for varying lengths of time and during which we experience varying levels of suffering or pain or loneliness or heartache. 

In the Bible, David writes a song about waiting on God. He asks God how long he'll have to wait. When you read Psalm 13, it is so easy to commiserate with David - easy to ask how long and why. And yet, this man in waiting determines in his heart that he will trust the Lord,

 

"But I trust in Your unfailing love;

my heart rejoices in Your salvation.

I will sing the Lord's praise

for He has been good to me."

Waiting is hard stuff, but it does not mean God has forgotten us. He is right there, facing it with us. So often what we need is a change in perspective. I got that from Peepaw today - a reminder that I'm not the only one in waiting. And there is comfort in that.

"Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work."
- Peter Marshall

"Trusting God doesn't alter our circumstances. Perfect trust in Him changes us."
- Chuck Swindoll

Love songs

In this season of acknowledging love, in all of its stages and forms, I thought I would share some of my favorite love songs – past and present.

The Bible has the best definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13: “Love hopes all things…”
1 Corinthians 13 (United Pursuit Band)

Love is a gift from God.
God Gave Me You (Dave Barnes)

Love is about seeing each other through the many seasons of life. It’s a sweet promise of loyalty and commitment.
I Will Be Here (Steven Curtis Chapman)
Love of My Life (Michael W. Smith)

The older I get, the more I see that loving a person is a choice – a daily act.
Loving a Person (Sara Groves)

Love is about truly knowing someone and choosing not to give up, no matter what.
I Won’t Give Up (Jason Mraz)

Love is a beautiful dance…even through the mine fields. That’s what the promise is for.
Dancing in the Mine Fields (Andrew Peterson) 

Be generous with "I love you" this week and make sure the ones closest to you know how much you care. We are only here for a short time.