Why do we have gifts?

I keep forgetting why God gives us abilities. 

      It is easy to think that we are good at something so that we can make money, after all that is what nearly every career aptitude test goes over. By knowing what you are good at and what you love you can make a better career choice. While this is a very effective way of choosing your path in life, I want to encourage you to stop thinking of your life's path as though it is all about you. In reality it has little or nothing to do with you. Think about how Joseph had those dreams early in life, and then went through all that crap. In the end it was so that God could use him to save everyone, both Egypt and Israel during the seven years of famine. God also had a life of trial for Kind David. It wasn't to hurt David, but for the sake of Israel. The trials they went through refined and prepared them for the great works that God had in store for them, and in being a blessing they were blessed. 
      In other words,(and I know this sounds cheesy) it's not that you have a gift, you ARE the gift. You are God's gift to the world. As you learn to fully become who you are called to be you will find happiness and fulfillment in being God's gift to whatever area you are called to influence and impact for his kingdom.  

A random thought

Discipline births Focus,
Focus births Gratitude,
Gratitude births Joy,
Joy births Favor,
Favor births Success

Does knowing what we believe and why matter?

I believe that we knowing what you believe and why is one of the most important aspects of a christian's life. 

      We must know what we believe, for without it we are anchor less and rudderless in life. We must know why we believe, or it will not stand when it is called into question. And it will be called into question (unless you live in a jar). We live in a world that is simultaneously yearning for and at war with God. Especially in America, we push God away with one hand and reach out for something to fill the void that we create by rejecting him with the other. Everyday what I believe is challenged, my values are challenged. It is impossible to live amongst unbelievers and not have to defend your faith, even if it's just in your own mind. When I was younger I knew what I believed, but I did not fully know why. This gave me the appearance of being saved, but without a solid understanding of God's heart for me. This led to me falling away from the Lord for a season. Now I know why, and this why has caused me to cling to God, even when I cannot see how a particular trial or season is going to turn out. It has kept em from turning away when I am hurt or offended by the world, the church, or even by other Christians. 

   "I believe in God the Father almighty. maker of heaven and earth and in Jesus Christ his only son our Lord. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried. He descended into hell; the third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father almighty, from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead."- The Apostle's Creed (partial)

I cannot find a better way to express what I believe about God that the apostles creed. As to why I believe this;

• I see undeniable evidence in nature as to the authorship of our world. I believe that it takes more faith to believe that our world and everything in it was a cosmic accident.
• I have tasted and seen that God is good. As I have learned to walk with Him, I have seen His blessing and favor on my life in giving me my wife, and our children. We have never gone without, even when money was very tight.
• I have personally witnessed God's power in changing my heart. I was a very selfish individual by nature, and over the years the Lord has caused me to care, not just about friends, but about the world around me. I am still a work in progress, but I would never have become the father and husband that I am today without the redemptive work of Christ.

I don't believe that you have to try to see God, I believe that you have to try to not see Him. 

Not knowing the end

      Today at church I was reminded that when we hear the story of Abram being called to leave his family and go to a new country, we forget that he didn't know what was going to happen. It makes a great story because we do know what's going to happen. But when it's our turn to step out in faith, it's often scary because we don't know how our own story is going to pan out. 

Or do we? (Rom 8:28)

Reflecting on past posts

      I went back and was reading some of my older posts, and was surprised by the amount of honesty that I was using in my writing. There was also an incredible lack of consistency. One day I'm writing about a faith affirmed, the next day I'm writing about being in despair. I was very tempted to delete the more emotional posts from the blog. But then I realized that the problem with many people is that we feel like we have to always present our best face to the world. We "keep calm and carry on", even when our world is falling apart. It's stupid. Imagine a drowning person telling the life guard, "Don't worry about me, I'm fine". I ran into a friend I hadn't seen in a while today, and when I asked him how he was doing he was honest. I loved that he shared what was truly going on, and didn't bother with the fake,"I'm great!" when that would have been a lie. Don't get me wrong I am not advocating for you to dump all of your problems at the feet of the first person to say hi to you. But I would encourage you to try and be more honest with your friends and family. No one can help or pray for you properly if you don't let anyone know when you're hurting.
      Read the Psalms, and see how many times David is one moment praising and rejoicing before God, and the next he is railing against what he thinks is unfair, throwing a poetic tantrum before God. I'm no King David, but I am inspired by his honesty.
   

What's this really about?

      I think we've all been there at one time or another. Something in life is kicking the snot out of you with great enthusiasm, and you're just trying to survive the day, week, month,(you get the idea). In times like these being an inspiration to anyone is the last thing on your mind. You don't have time to be a light, just getting out of bed in the morning is enough.
      But what if I told you, the simple act of surviving the storm is actually very inspiring to a lot of people who are drowning in whatever muck they're dealing with? What if your ability to keep putting one foot in front of the other is more than someone in your life is able to do?  The guy at work who knows you're a christian is trying to figure out where your strength comes from. The youth who looks up to you not because you're perfect, but because they see you still crawling towards God after you've screwed up. They want whatever it is you have that keeps you going in the midst of failure, frustration, heartache, or hardship. You may not think much of your ability to still be standing after the storm, but to a world aching for the love of God, it's everything.
     I was thinking of Edmond Dantes, from the Count of Monte Cristo. He was thrown in prison for (to him) no reason, and during his time there met an old man who had been trying to escape for years with no success. The old man may have been imprisoned, but he was alive. He still had heart, passion, and drive when most of us would have long since given over to despair. During their time together he taught Edmond much more than book learning, culture, and fighting. He gave the young man life, and the ability to live. The old man never escapes, he dies in the prison. That may seem a sad ending to a lot of people. But if the old man had not gone through what he did, Edmond would never have met him, and his story would have ended there. Edmond's life hinged upon his meeting with, and learning from the old man.
     When Joseph was sold into slavery, and imprisoned, I'm sure he didn't see how it was all going to turn out until the end. But because he did, thousands of lives where saved. He would never have been in a position to interpret Pharaoh's dream had life been "fair". Egypt's salvation hinged upon Joseph's suffering.
    We are often so focused on our own misery, that we think our trial, valley, situation is all about us. But what if it isn't? What if we give our pain over to God, not just for Him to move in our lives (which He will), but to let our season be used for His glory? We may not get to see the lives being changed, we may never know how far the ripples of our faith and actions go. But I believe that if we ask God to use our trial for His glory and the benefit of others He will.
     After all, there's no sense in letting a perfectly good "bad day" go to waste.

A year in review

      It's been a long while, (nearly a full year) since I've written last. I've been through some tough times, and while I wouldn't say that everything is better I have decided to make another attempt at this blog. So just to get you up to speed;

• I had a wake up call when after three weeks of working non-stop, I finally took a day off when my son was hospitalized after fracturing his skull. He said it was the best day ever because he finally had a whole day just me and him. The reality that he would consider a day stuck in a hospital bed all day was great because I was there made me realize that my life was way off track. We were not in a church, not tithing, and I almost didn't get into classes for the fall because I was so busy running my store. 
• I stepped down as manager from Starbucks
• I realized that I am well suited to teach, and that's what I wanted to do, so I've decided to pursue it. 
• I applied and was accepted into Liberty University, a christian college, with a major in education
• I now spend a solid 24 hours with my children each week, while my wife works part time. 
• We have started going to a church again on a regular basis

     Now that I have the beginnings of some focus, we'll see if I can't try my hand at writing again.