GaryMo Monday - How God Continues To Save Me

DAILY.

God saves me daily.

Every day I wake up, I have to remind myself that I am a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). 

Every...

single...

day.

I have to remind myself and let myself become that new creation because almost every day that old me creeps into something. A moment in the car when someone cuts me off. A moment at work when I let pride get the best of me. A moment at home when I let anger take control.

Some days there's more than others. Some days there's almost none.

But no day is ever pErfEcT.

I fail.

A lot.

Take this post, for example. when you get to the end, you'll see a tag-line that says "This is the 8th of 20 posts that I'm calling GaryMo Mondays." I started a project last year...and didn't finish it. Didn't even come close.

I failed.

It's a new year. I could let it go. Start fresh.

But I'm not going to. I'm going to keep plugging on these 20 topics until I finish the list.

I'm a new creation in Christ and He's not finished with me yet. Every day is an opportunity to keep moving towards the person He wants me to be. The person He's called me to be.

Thank you, God, for continuing to save me. For not giving up on me even when I want to give up on myself. Help me to follow Your calling for my life and to be the person You designed me to be.

Amen.

This is the 8th of 20 posts that I'm calling GaryMo Mondays.

For more background on this series, read this post.

GaryMo Monday - How I Handle Negative People

How do I handle negative people? The short answer is...not well.

The truth about me is that deep down...really deep down...I am a negative person. I don't think most people would say that about me, but I believe that those closest to me would say that I can definitely be negative at times. A grouch.

I hate that about me.

I've worked really hard to change that...to be more positive. To look on the bright side. To take pleasure in the little things. To not sweat the small stuff.

And to remember to turn things over to God because as Paul says in Philippians 4:7, "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I know that peace. I've felt that peace.


It's glorious.

Our pastor at The Crossing has been doing a series on Philippians since January. Last weekend his message hit me right between the eyes. It was about anxiety...worry. One of my biggest weaknesses. I sometimes worry to the point of paralysis. I let myself get so overwhelmed with anxiety that I don't know what to do next.

So...I often do nothing.


Except worry.

Paul tells us that we should not be anxious...we should pray...giving thanks to God and turn over our requests to Him. I realized last weekend that I haven't been doing that. Sure, I've been praying, but not the real, raw, from-the-gut prayers where I tell God what's really weighing on me...what I need help with.

Those are the prayers that bring wisdom, discernment, comfort...peace.

When I'm in that place of peace with God, I'm not negative...I'm not worried. I know God's got my back. I know He'll lead me and use me.

When I'm in that place, I handle negative people well. I don't let them pull me down into the hole...I instead lift them up out of it. I'm a light in a dark place.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

Paul's reminding us to be positive...to think excellent thoughts. To find joy in every situation...'cause it's there. Always.

Our attitude is a choice that we make. We can choose to see the crap in the world and let it pull us down or we can choose to see the glory of God in everything and allow Him to raise us up above the crap.

Which will you choose today? I'm going to choose to pray hard, think excellent thoughts and let the peace of God guard my heart and mind.


I hope you do too.

This is the 7th of 20 posts that I'm calling GaryMo Mondays.

For more background on this series, read this post.

GaryMo Monday - The Intersection of Art & Leadership

I spent the first part of this week at the Gurus of Tech conference in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. It was at the Willow Creek Community Church McHenry campus. It was a great 3 days spent with lots of other technical artists from churches all across the country. It's always good to connect with people and to take my online relationships offline and spend some face time.

One of the keynote speakers was Harvey Carey, the senior pastor from Citadel of Faith Covenant Church in Detroit, MI. He really had an encouraging message for all the technical artists in the room. But there was one question he raised that really resonated with me:

What would happen if you took your talents and asked the Holy Spirit to get behind you with your spiritual gifts?

I think this is the intersection of art and leadership.

I wrote several months ago about the difference between talents and spiritual gifts. Talents are the things we are naturally good at...things we have a proclivity for. Spiritual gifts are given to us when we surrender to Jesus and accept the Holy Spirit. They're different...and we all have different talents and gifts.

I have talents that I bring to my job with the production team at The Crossing. My creativity, my photography, my attention to detail, my technical skills...to name a few. My key spiritual gifts though are leadership, helps and administration.

When I let the Holy Spirit guide me, my talents become tools that allow me to use my spiritual gifts to serve the Kingdom and suddenly my job becomes my ministry.

I could use my talents in a lot of other places...and probably make a LOT more money. But I wouldn't be advancing the Kingdom, seeing hearts opened and lives changed. I'd just be doing a job.

I am CALLED to ministry.

I am called in this time and this place to use my art (my talents) to serve the Most High God (to lead His people).

The intersection of art and leadership.

This is the 6th of 20 posts that I'm calling GaryMo Mondays.

For more background on this series, read this post.

GaryMo Monday - What the Kingdom of God Really Looks Like

I took a couple of weeks off from GaryMo Mondays. I'm not sure why, but the words just wouldn't come.

February has been weird in the Lou'. There was the Snowmaggedon that wasn't, but it was COLD...really cold on Groundhog Day 'cause we spent the day with no heat in the house. It's fixed now. And now we don't need it because we're having unseasonably warm temperatures.

Oh...and my mother passed away on Groundhog Day too.

I don't mean to be flippant about it, but that's just kinda how it happened.

It just...happened.

I knew she had been sick. I knew it could be serious. But...I haven't spoken to my mother in over 4 years. And I just didn't know what to do. I was paralyzed. Numb.

Then I got word that she died.

I'm still generally numb.

I've been struggling with feelings of guilt and regret for the last two weeks. Some might think "Good...you should feel that way." But hold on...I'm not feeling guilty for the reasons you might think. I feel guilty because I don't feel...ANYTHING.

NUMB!

Maybe it's because we hadn't spoken in so long. Maybe it's because there were also 2000 miles that separated us. Maybe it's because my relationship with my mother changed dramatically over 10 years ago and I've dealt with the loss already.

I don't know.

Why am I writing all this under the heading "What does the Kingdom of God really look like?" Because while I've been dealing with this, my friend Katie posted her take on that question. As I read it, this quote struck me:

Quite simply: the Kingdom of God is His presence. It is a Holy God choosing to dwell in the hearts and lives of unholy people. It is love. It is grace. It is relationship.

She's right. I am surrounded by unholy people with the God of the universe dwelling in their hearts. And they have loved on me so well...and shown me the Kingdom of God.

In all my brokenness, with all my faults, whether they agree with how I've handled my relationship with my mother or not...they still love me. They still accept me. They've reminded me that guilt and regret are not from God. They've spoken truth to me about what I need to do now and how I stay true to the person that God has called me to be.

THIS is love. THIS is grace. THIS is relationship.

THIS is the Kingdom of God.

And I'm so thankful to be a small part of it.

GaryMo Monday - Let Me Introduce You to My Hero

he·ro

 noun \ˈhir-(ˌ)ō\

plural he·roes

Definition of HERO

1

a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or abilityb : an illustrious warriorc : a man admired for his achievements and noble qualitiesd : one who shows great courage

2

a : the principal male character in a literary or dramatic workb : the central figure in an event, period, or movement

3

plural usually he·ros : submarine 2

4

: an object of extreme admiration and devotion : idol

It's week #4 of GaryMo Monday's and I've been thinking about this topic ever since Gary posted his list. I actually started writing this post about 3 weeks ago and have really been struggling with what I think a hero is...to me.

Then this morning as I was reading through my Facebook news feed, I saw this:

"Heroes don't leap tall buildings or run around in capes. They bleed, they bruise, they listen, they love, they reach out their hand. Heroes are ordinary people who even if their own lives are impossibly knotted, take the time and care enough to help untangle yours."

Wow! That's it.

COMMUNITY!

Last week, I wrote that church = community.

I guess this week what I'm saying is community = heroes.

There are so many different people that I could single out that have been personal heroes to me...people who have picked me up when I was down or celebrated with me when things were good or cried with me when I was suffering. My heroes.

But these heroes don't do what they do to be singled out. They do it to be part of the community and to build and preserve relationship. They do it because they just can't NOT do it.

I only pray that I can be a hero to someone in my community...daily. Not because I want someone to think of me as a hero, but because I just can't NOT step into that story and have a positive impact. Because the Spirit won't let me not be a hero.

Who are your heroes? Who are you a hero to?

GaryMo Monday - Why Church Is Relevant for ME

rel·e·vant

 adj \ˈre-lə-vənt\

1

a : having significant and demonstrable bearing on the matter at handb : affording evidence tending to prove or disprove the matter at issue or under discussion <relevant testimony>c : having social relevance

This is the third installment of GaryMo Monday's where I take on the list of 20 topics that Gary wishes people would write about.

Relevant is one of those words that gets thrown around A LOT in today's churches. It's usually teamed up with authentic and humble. I feel a real butt-scrunch whenever I hear a church announce that they are relevant.

What relevant should mean when coming from a church is showing how the message of the gospel applies in our everyday lives. How we can live it out and spread the message of Jesus to the un-churched, the de-churched, or the over-churched...the lost.

What relevant increasingly means is providing a product that people will consume...something that is "hip" or "cool" or different than what people perceive church to be. There's nothing wrong with providing a different offering in church services, but when the gospel takes second place to the production value then the message of Jesus gets lost in my opinion.

I think authentic has become equally distorted and should mean staying true to the clear message of Jesus, but unfortunately too often means staying true to the what's-in-it-for-me mentality of today's society.

And humble? Well, that could be a whole post in itself, but suffice it to say, if someone is telling you they are humble...they aren't. Jus' sayin'.

So, why is "church" relevant to me?

I have a t-shirt that on the front says "Don't go to church." And on the back it says "Be the church."

Church is not a building. It's not a worship style. It's not a liturgy.

It's community.

A community of broken people doing life together. With all their brokenness. In all their messes. Through the good times and the bad. In celebration and in sorrow. It's people who aren't afraid to have someone else's mess splash on them a little. Who aren't afraid to speak truth, to love, to encourage, to support and who aren't afraid to have truth spoken to them, to be loved, to receive encouragement, to ask for support. It's people who gather together and humble themselves to worship authentically the God of the Universe.

It's what He made us for and it's what He calls us to.

And I am blessed to live in a community like that.

Yeah, it's messy and yeah, sometimes it splashes around. But somehow God moves through us and in us and He always gets the last word. And there's a peace in knowing that He's not finished with any of us and there's a joy in knowing that we are doing this together humbly and authentically...and that's relevant to me.

"Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you."

Romans 12:2 (The Message)

GaryMo Monday - My Prayer for My Daughter

This is #2 in my series of GaryMo Mondays, writing on the 20 topics that Gary would like us to write about. So, here goes...

A couple of days ago, I wrote about the big questions that my daughter had about God. Our time together exploring those questions and reading the bible together has been heavy on my heart since that day. I've been praying for all sorts of things with regards to my daughter.

I pray that she keeps asking questions.
I pray that she gets the answers she needs.
I pray that she always knows that it's okay to have those questions.


But mostly...

I pray that she knows the love that God has for her no matter what questions or doubts she may have.

And I pray that she gets a little taste of that love and how BIG it is...from me.

I didn't have a very close relationship with my dad growing up. It wasn't entirely his fault. He worked in the construction industry and was up before dawn and usually home after dark. I really only saw him on weekends and like most boys, I had stuff to do on weekends. Baseball, skateboarding...girls. The usual.

So, we didn't spend a lot of time together. We didn't talk about things other than sports or cars. Girls...not so much. Certainly never God. I don't even know if my dad believed in God. I'm pretty sure he wasn't a follower of Jesus.

I talk about my dad in the past tense because I haven't seen or heard from him in about 20 years. He and my mom divorced when I was 27 and he pretty much divorced me, too. I have no idea where he lives or if he is even alive. He has never met my wife and I'm quite sure he doesn't know he has a granddaughter.

I could look for him, I suppose. But, I won't.

I just don't want to be like him.

I want to be the father to my daughter that is ALWAYS there for her. That will talk with her about anything she wants to talk about...dolls,video games, fairies, boys (as my stomach churns)... and God. I want to sing songs with her and dance with her and go to all her talent shows and, and, and...

So, I guess my prayer for my daughter is that she has the father that I feel like I never had. And by the grace of God, I pray that I can be that father. And I hope that by being that kind of father, my little girl will get just a small sense of the love that our Eternal Father has for her.

Are you convinced of the Father's love for you? What shows you the love of the Father?

GaryMo Monday - The Most Difficult Thing About Working at a Church

So, it's GaryMo Monday and this is the first of my posts from the "Twenty for Twenty-Eleven." I've actually been struggling with this topic for quite some time. I've started to write about it a couple of times...but I always wimp out and delete it.


I don't know what I'm afraid of. I know and have said many times how blessed I am to work at the church I work at. It truly is one of the healthiest churches I've ever seen or heard of. I know because I've talked to folks who do what I do in other churches. I'm blessed. Really.


The difficulty I have has nothing to do with the job I do. I love my job. I can't wait to go to work in the mornings. I can't wait to be in the booth for the weekend services. I've never felt more at home at a job.


So, what is it that I struggle with?

If I'm being honest...I have trouble keeping my job separate from my spiritual journey.


Hey, I work for God, right? Isn't that enough?


I know the answer...it's obviously "No."


God wants more from me than the job I do at the church. He wants more from me than how I serve His people when I facilitate a class. He wants more from me than the way I lead and pour into volunteers.


And can I just say...I want more from Him too?


God wants MY heart. God wants to spend time with just ME. He wants to talk to me...through His word, through my prayers, through my family and friends. He wants me to hear Him.


I want to hear Him. I think.


But I'm too busy...and I stay busy...and sometimes I think I do it so that I won't hear Him. So, I won't hear the truth. A truth I already know.


I know I haven't fully surrendered to Him. I know I'm still trying to do some things my way...not His (even though I keep telling myself that everything I'm doing is FOR Him).


But I want to fully surrender...I want to trust Him. Completely. But I know that means I'm going to need to change. I going to need to let go. I going to need to let Him.

I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

John 15:5

What gets in the way of your spiritual journey? What kinds of things do you do to avoid hearing the still small voice of God?