Have you ever had a moment where your breath caught from watching someone serve unnoticed? (I know, if they are unnoticed, how do you notice them? Just go with me for a moment.)

Friday night, I attended Tampa’s National Day of Prayer at Legends Field.  The event was overseen and led by a couple who really have a heart for Tampa and the evangelistic approach to continue to bring Christ to this city.  It was pretty special to see so many people from GFC’s tech and worship band involved.  I am always so proud of our people and when they use their gifts to reach the community, it gets even bigger.  Casey and Katy led the worship team in a great time of entering into the presence of God.  The fact that it was in an open, baseball arena, made it even more special.  It is always humbling to see them use their gifts and a number of friends were gracious in taking time to share with us their love for them both.

In that whole back drop, let me tell you what blessed me the most.  Abby served at the event.  In fact, she served with a group of volunteers of diverse ethnicities and immediately became friends with some of them.  She served the pastors who were praying and speaking.  She ran and got water, she continued to walk around with peppermint candies the whole event, and even was the gatekeeper a few times.  I know, I watched from four rows behind her section.  And I shed a tear.  I don’t expect a speaker or a leader to stop and say a few words or even recognize her actions…they are focused on what they need to say.  None one came up to me and said how proud they were of her for serving.  I have been in ministry for 25 years and more of them have been spent in the back of the room, not on the stage.  I firmly believe that the people off the stage are just as important as the one on it.

For me, it fuels me in a big way.  It compels me to say “thank you” to any volunteer at GFC.  I don’t catch all of them on a weekend, but I strive to find someone serving and just say “thank you for giving of your time and energy when you could have done something for yourself.”

Abby never stopped smiling, never stopped looking for the next thing to do, never stopped putting others in front of herself.

Lesson learned…with a tear.

 

I get this question a lot because two of my children lead worship on the adult stage of their churches.  Taylor leads with her husband, Christopher, at a Grow Life Church in Wesley Chapel.  Casey leads at Grace Family Church, where I serve on staff.  Before she married, Taylor also led at Grace – so I have been experiencing this one for about twelve years.

It has been a pretty special journey as my kids have developed this part of their own ministry.  I remember the first time Taylor tried out for the Jr. High band.  Al Hurley was our Worship Pastor and he was hosting the try out.  The whole family went to the try out and sat in the last row of the gym while other people were taking their turn behind the curtain.  I didn’t mention the curtain.  Al wanted it to be “private” so there would be no distractions.  He closed the stage curtain so you could hear the music but not see or interact with the person trying out.  When Taylor’s name was called, my little girl with her glasses and braces made her way up the aisle to the curtain…and then disappeared.  We all leaned in as the other musicians began to play and we strained forward to hear anything that sounded like a piano.  When we did, every note was scrutinized with smiles and groans.  It was good but she had chunked a few too. Just as suddenly as she left, she appeared through the curtain.  Talk about group hug…we couldn’t get to her fast enough.  We all hugged and wept for joy of Taylor taking a big step forward.  Pastor Al called later to tell her she was in the band.  What a feeling of excitement that Taylor would actually get to play music for the Lord and lead others into His presence.  Casey went through the same journey – only he played drums.

They both played instruments for a while and were asked to sing. This launched a new era of excitement and amazement as they would began leading on the microphone.  What started in the Jr. High band, moved to the Sr. High band and then, weekend services at GFC.  I have been asked, “What did you do to help them move along in this journey?”  Simply – be their dad.  I worked really hard at taking the pastor hat off and really made it about them.  No different than if your child is into sports, a community group or other interest.  I want them to see me as their biggest cheerleader and not the pastor.  It has caused all of us to focus more on their gifts and relationship with God  than on their role or place at the church.

Today, when I see them leading, I am in a special place.  I do have waves of joy and pride in seeing them use their gifts.  I am not a robot – I feel just as excited when they knock it out of the park as you do when your child excels in something.  However, it is tremendously humbling to know they are leading me into God’s presence and I worship Him along with our congregation.  I focus on Him during the time of worship and cheer for them when we are at home.  It is one of the coolest things I enjoy as a dad of worship leaders.

NOTE:  Many people ask if Abby leads worship.  She does not.  Abby has a gift of serving people and especially with children.  If you ask me which makes me prouder, it would be a tie every time.  Taylor and Casey have a stage that gives them opportunities to reach the masses.  Abby’s “stage” is smaller, but her ability to reach people and kids, reflects the same heart that got me into ministry 25 years ago.  She still makes me smile and drop a tear when I see her in action.

 

This is my “catch up entry.”

Since my last post 97 days ago, I have not written my “next entry.”  Today, that is going to change.  If you wonder what has been going on in that time frame, let me give you a listing of items:

– Grace Family Church hosted a one day seminar for Tony & Lauren Dungy where 1600 people were ministered to.

– GFC hosted it’s 20 yr. anniversary at the St. Pete Times Forum where 12,000 people celebrated and had a phenomenal service.

 

–  GFC kicked off a six week series called the Daniel Plan that focused on mind, soul and body.  I got a lot more serious about my eating habits.  (I lost 9 pounds in the plan.)  Booya!

– My son got married – it was awesome!  I am sure there are more blogs to come out of this event.  It was a life changer for me.

 

– GFC is building out and planning on finishing our 3rd campus in a permanent location.  Projected to be able to have temporary CO in Mid May.

– Got to baptize our great friends – extended family, Travis and Amy Hafner!  What an amazing journey!

  

– Did the first ever Mud Run with my son, Casey!  We actually came in first/ second place out of 220 participants.  He beat me by a second and a half.

 

– Finally, I achieved a goal that I have been working on for 6 years.  I lost 25 pds since I began working out with a trainer, Jodi Labban.   I am at my lowest weight since I did my Marathon in 2004!

  

On top of all that, God has been showing me some great leadership principles along the way.  I am looking forward to jumping back in and sharing them with you.  To quote the wisdom of Ferris Bueller, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

More to come…

The picture above was on such a great day of victory for me.  I was finishing an Olympic Triathlon (swim 1 mile, bike 35 miles and run 6 miles.)  I trained hard and was so excited to finish that day!

Fast forward to the last two weeks of sitting and allowing  a daily walk to be my exercise.  It has been tough.  Being a pastor of a growing church, with a family who is very active and a schedule that is usually “on the go,” I have found that sitting is a lot more difficult than running at a fast pace.  Even after I was cleared for “lighter workouts” by my doctor, Kristin challenged me with the words, “I don’t want to go through this again – take it easy.”  She is pretty wise and knows that if I jump back into my workouts, I wouldn’t be happy going through “light exercises.”

This has been such an amazing learning experience for me because it has caused me to not only slow down, but to just enjoy life more.  Instead of hitting the ground running each day, I am getting more sleep.  I don’t require much but I am surprised that I sleep longer than usual.  I have enjoyed some great times with my new grandson.  Since both of us weren’t too mobile (he is 1 month old), it was a great way to hold him and speak blessings over him.  I read some great books and plan on implementing them with our staff.  I have enjoyed some beautiful, Florida days – not from a bike seat, a golf course or a car – but from the comfort of my living room.  It reminded me how blessed I am to have a home that allows me to see God’s handiwork.  I continue to find new things to enjoy each day.

A final story – retold from a Rob Bell sermon way back.  He told of a man who went on a spiritual retreat and was told on the first day to spend an hour in solitude.  He did and as he was sitting there praying, he started to feel pain in his back.  After the hour was up, he went about the rest of the days activities.  The next day, he got into his hour of solitude and felt even more pain in his back. Same thing happened on the third. When he got home, he went to the doctor and the doctor examined him.  He found out that he had two herniated discs.  The man asked, “how come I never felt that pain before?”  The doctor knew how driven the man was in his life and said, “You go so hard each day that you constantly have adrenaline pumping through your body and it masked the pain.  When you slowed down, you finally got to feel what was ‘really’ happening in your body.”

I don’t know if this is a true story but I do know there is a great truth in this story.  We all want to be busy and productive.  I wouldn’t want to get to the end of any of my days and not felt like there was growth and forward momentum.  However, don’t equate growth with a drive that numbs you to things on the inside, the situations on the outside and the relationships that make life worthwhile.  There is a value in slowing down and resting.  Find that balance between drive and rest – you will be so glad you did!

I am writing the day after I had inguinal hernia surgery performed on me.  It sounds rather horrific but basically I had a small opening in my abdomen that needed repair.  It wasn’t caused by too much exercise or excessive strain in that area – from what I understand it happens.  If you are wondering why I didn’t include any pictures, it is simple.  I don’t do selfies and me in a hospital gown, cap and booties should never be captured in a picture.

So what can I say about the  experience.  Let me share some random thoughts.

• God has created an amazing thing in the human body.  Although it is sore and tight from the surgery, it is so cool that it is already beginning to heal.
• Less than a day ago, 3 rods were inserted into my body.  What is painful today will bring health in the future.
• It’s amazing how much we use our abdominal muscles to do pretty much everything.
• I just coughed – used them again.
• I will not be able to work out for a while – that just stinks.
• I walked around the house a few times – I am blessed on such a cold day to have a home.
• I looked at a bunch of pictures on my computer – I am blessed with such an amazing family and tremendous friends.
• Grateful for the ability to eat, drink  – had to fast before and took a while after – some people need help doing this.
• All my kids came by to see me and help their mom last night…meant a lot.
• Coughed again – love them abdominals!

Not a profound entry…but looking back on my observations, I think it was.  The pain from the surgery will subside in the next few days.  My range of actions will be limited for a few days.  What is left are three small scars. But look what I have beside that – a healthy, strong body, ready to do whatever I or the Lord needs me to do. I have a great home.  I have enjoyed some tremendous life experiences.  And the people in my life are huge to me.  Finally, I have abdominals – which will remind me to stay humble.

Happy New Year!

Warning – This post may not sound pastoral…or it might…you make the call.

I was pondering the new year and how I have changed in my approach to the fresh slate of a new year.  In years past, I would sit down and set goals for each of the main areas of my life:  Spiritual, physical, marriage, financial, professional and family.  I would craft statements that would describe what a “win” was in each of those areas.  For the first three weeks, I would review them daily and make sure I was on track.  I bet you are waiting for me to write that, “then I fell off the wagon because life got in the way.”  Actually, I didn’t.  My fervor and tenacity in reviewing my goals changed but I kept with most of my goals.  In the end, I accomplished some, failed in some and others just didn’t seem to matter as much as they did at the beginning of the year.

Honestly, I love goal setting and developing a plan to achieve them.  I love straining toward the prize of achievement because it gives me purpose and a plan.  If you are trying to grow in any area of your life, then I suggest setting real, genuine goals on the journey of accomplishing what you desire in that area.  If you have lacked the discipline or desire before, a strong plan and support system is important for your success.

Here is my one caveat…don’t miss today for tomorrow.

That is the one lesson that I have learned in my recent years.  In the past, I would make the goals more important that what I was experiencing today.  I recognize that in some situations, we need to learn to sacrifice today for the reward of tomorrow. (Finances, addictions, growth planning.)  However, I have seen some people, (and I have been too guilty of this in the past), who have brushed through life events and opportunities because of their goals.  I have put people I love on the sidelines, missed life events and undervalued conversations in the name of “pressing on toward the goal.”  I am not proud of this…and a number of years ago, that all changed.

One of the most amazing and difficult experiences in my life was at the age of 28, I got mono.  (I know, make all the jokes.) I was new in Tampa, with a very young family and a church doing all it could to grow and reach people.  I remember getting one last appointment in before heading to the doctor because I was getting migraines and really tired.  I expected him to say I had the flu…not mono.  I left the doctor’s office with a prescription – “Get plenty of rest for two weeks, eat healthy and stay away from people.”  I did just that.  And I was miserable.  My push to grow and succeed in all areas cost me the ability to actually participate and enjoy all the things I value most in my life.  I remember just being able to drive somewhere when the doctor gave me the “ok.”  I was like a teenager getting the keys to the car for the first time.

With all that time, I had a great opportunity to make some good decisions.  One of them was to eat better and get physically fit.  Another was to value people more and enjoy my time with them.  I have learned the value of finding time to rest daily and over periods of time.  Finally, I decided that I would begin to “live in the moment.”  It has taken me a long time to get this one down.  I find that I do not make my goals my ultimatum anymore.  God is the final say in everything.  I set my goals and expectations and then I turn them over to God in prayer.  I will work as hard as I can to achieve them. BUT, not at the expense of my wife, my children or the people who come into my life that I feel compelled to reach out to in that season.  I have found great balance in this and the results have been amazing.  I am loving my family more than ever and seeing some great achievements as well.  I find that the striving isn’t what achieves the results.  It is trusting in God, a strong work ethic, defined communication, delegating and investing in others and a genuine attitude to choose the best in a situation.  Those principles combined with God’s grace has produced some amazing wins!

2014 lies before you…go get em!

I have never been  great at prayer.

In its most simplistic form, prayer is talking with God.

2013 proved to be the year that I took prayer back to that – a conversation with God that wasn’t burdened down with me trying to say the right thing or “be the reason for God to do something.”  Without really trying, I began a journey to pray at the beginning of the year that was transforming.  But I have been a pastor for over 23 years, why now?  I am not negating the times of prayer in the past.  In fact, I look back on those and realize that I have a strong foundation of praying through a number of life situations where only God could have been the answer.  I am grateful that God works mightily even when we have “chinks in our armor.”

Here is what I learned about prayer over the year.

It is not results based.  I am not supposed to pray so I can “get what I want” or convince God that my desires are what needs to happen.  In fact, on my prayer walk this morning, I was talking to God about one of my “no limits” prayers.  As I was pouring out all that I wanted to see God do, I made the following statement.  “You know, it isn’t me against You.”  As soon as I said it, I realized that I was pitting me against Him.  My will vs. His will.  Honestly, this is a big struggle for all of us. I was praying for something that was on my heart, that I wanted, that I felt was the best thing and that I wanted to see come to pass.  Lots of “I’s” in a two way relationship, huh.  As soon as I said it, I stopped talking and starting listening.  I realized pretty quick that God was saying, “I am never against you.”  

Last year, I took the Freedom class offered by GFC.  I really loved the class because I wasn’t pastoring, I was a student on a quest to get rid of the extra baggage in my relationship with God.  I loved challenging myself in the different topics.  I found out that prayer was one of those areas because I would be disappointed with God when I didn’t get prayers answered.  So I began to limit my expectations of what God could do or I would explain away why God didn’t answer the prayer.  God is not limited nor does he need me to defend Him when a prayer doesn’t go the way I thought it should.  It really showed me that i could pray based on God’s word and His promises and with full faith that He can do it.  If I approach prayer with that attitude, then the rest is up to Him.  I can truly approach God with a freedom, in faith, that allows Him to do his will without any baggage from me.

It is a conversation.  I had just finished one of my early Sunday morning prayer times in the  GFC sanctuary before the morning services.  I started that early in 2013 and I really cherish the times of just walking the sanctuary and praying each week.  I was going up to my office and I remember thinking, “that was a great time of prayer.”   As soon as I thought it, I felt God nudge me with this question – “Why was it so great?”  “Because I prayed everything on my list and it was expressed clearly and God heard my heart?”  Then the dart came from  Him “What did I say?”  I stopped walking…I could not think of one thought or nugget I received from God in my time of prayer.  I accomplished my list but God never had a chance to reply.

I read a great book early in the year – “Practicing the Presence of Jesus” by Wally Armstrong.  He shared the principle of praying like you are talking to Jesus, sitting in a chair across from you.  I began to pray like I was sitting next to or walking with God right beside me.  Such a small twist in my prayer life but it was transformational to me.  I found myself listening way more than talking.  In doing so, I would find myself with a thought or a nugget after my prayer time that would last throughout my day.  I don’t try to get through my list anymore.  Instead, I just pray a conversation and share what I feel about each of the topics that come up in the conversation.  I can sum it up in one phrase – “I learn (and grow)  a lot more when I am listening.”

I will not “check” it off my to-do list.  I am definitely one of those people who loves accomplishing tasks.  For so long, prayer and reading my bible became one of the things on my “to -do” list.  I took all the pressure off of myself this year to do this every day.  My wife is a great example of this.  She isn’t a task driven person – she is a pure visionary person.  She still accomplishes a lot of things but rarely beats herself up for missing a task.  Yet, she always hits her deadlines and deliverables.  I decided that God wasn’t up in heaven ready to take a swipe at me if I didn’t accomplish the daily task of praying.  By moving into a more relational approach, I find I actually do a lot of “short” prayer times throughout the day. I am talking and listening to God way more by just releasing myself of the pressure to do it.  Sounds nutty but it has refreshed my times of prayer in a big way.

Finally, I am totally honest and blunt with God.  I can’t say this has been a radical change for me this year but as a pastor, I get questions about how to be “honest” with God.  If this is truly a relationship, then I would hope that you are being truthful with God about how you feel, react, or view a situation.  God, who knows all things, isn’t going to be surprised by your feelings and emotions.  I look at the life of David in the Bible and he shared the whole range of emotions, victories and challenges in the book of Psalms and throughout his life story.  God credited him as a “man after his own heart.”  Prayer isn’t about a blind faith in God – it is vital part of an interactive relationship where you can share your inner most desires, challenges and aspirations.  For example, when my three kids were children, I wanted them to obey without question.  As they moved into the teenage years, there was a lot more dialogue about situations and we helped them make decisions.  Now, as grown young adults, Kristin and I have moved into more of a “resource” mode – they are owning their decisions and we give advice as we are sought out.  God’s word and truth never changes – it is the foundation for our relationship with Him.  I believe our relationship grows and matures in God and my interaction and dialogue should do the same.

Prayer is not as tough as we make it sometimes.  My hope for the New Year for all of us is a vibrant, growing conversation with the a Holy God who loves us enough to have a conversation with us today.

Christmas Eve!  It is one of the biggest days of the year for the church. More people are open to attending a service on Christmas and Easter than on any other day of the year.  It makes sense – they are the two biggest Protestant holidays.  Here are a couple of my thoughts from this years Christmas Eve services at GFC:

– Wow!  We had a lot of services.  We incorporated all of our weekend services (2 on Saturday, 3 on Sunday) into our Christmas Eve schedule, along with 1 on Monday and 3 on Christmas Eve.  It’s not that we like to have lots of services but it sure helps with people flow and parking.  Then you add our campuses in Temple Terrace and Citrus Park and we had 5 more.

– Yes, services are tiring even when you don’t preach.  Here is a shocker for some of you who know me – I am an introvert.  I have worked hard to develop good people and communication skills.  And I must admit, I love hearing a person’s story much more than when I was younger.  Yet, after a weekend of services, I recharge by reading or time alone.  By the time we finished all the Christmas Eve services, I was ready for a nice day of quietly puttering around the house, working out, and reading.  It isn’t really flashy, but that is me.

– I love seeing all the people.  (Ironic statement after the one before.)  I really have a deep love for the people of GFC.  I do not have any immediate family in Tampa and so many of the GFC family have stepped into some special relationships in my life.  I am humbled by the people who attend Grace and they are just fun to watch as they grow in their relationship with the Lord.

– The volunteers at GFC are the BEST!  If you were to ever watch people using their gifts and talents to serve other people, you would know what I am talking about.  I could take a long time telling you amazing stories but it would take too long.  This is the true heart of GFC.  Every Christmas Eve, I get to do the 11 pm candlelight service.  The people who volunteer to make that happen blow me away every time.  We are all tire and yet they serve so others can enjoy one of the most picturesque visuals of our Christmas season.

– My family celebrates Christmas “whenever.”  My family is used to celebrating Christmas whenever it is best for that year.  We have done Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and even a few days before or later.  I am blessed that all my children understand that the church services take priority in this season.  This year, I had to go back up to prepare for the 11pm service and found out that the kids opened their “Christmas pajamas” that Kristin makes ever year while I was gone.  The good news is this – we value the family time way more than the event of Christmas – we adapt, and enjoy the time together.

– The 11pm Candlelight Service is mind-blowing.  I am giving full credit to Pastor Mark Quattrochi for coming up with this idea.  When he first suggested it to us, I was asking “who would come out at that time of night?”  I am so grateful he did it anyway.  After he left, I volunteered to be the pastor of this service mainly because I wanted to give the rest of the staff the rest of Christmas Eve off.  Little did I know how much I would get out of this service.  It isn’t because it is one of the few times I get to speak.  It’s a lot of things – the last Christmas Eve service, the people who come back to serve and attend, Communion, traditional carols and worship, whole families sitting together and yes, the candlelight.  Watching a whole room fill up with individual candles and meld into one unified light really moves me.  The one word that comes to mind is hope.  That candle symbolized the light of hope flickering and then gaining strength.  This year we lit candles and worshipped to the song “Holy” by Matt Redman.  It was powerful.  I am so grateful that I get to be at that service each year.

Christmas has now come and gone.  The new year is only a few days away.  It is time to rest because the next wave of ministry is coming….2014 is going to be amazing!

 

 

As a pastor, you will face the full range of emotions and life situations.  

For yourself and for others.

I have been on the receiving end of tough situations.  Ironically, I seem to do better when I am on the receiving end then when it affects others.  I really do not like to see others in pain or struggling in life circumstances.  Sometimes people make choices and in doing so, they reap the outcomes that are difficult and challenging.  The one that I struggle with the most is when “it just doesn’t make sense.”  That is a subject for another blog entry.

On the flip side, there are some amazing things I get to celebrate as a pastor.  Two of them are weddings proposals and babies being born.  I have enjoyed both of these in the last three days in my own family and it is a tremendous rush of emotions and feelings.  Now that I have had  a couple days to ponder these life changing events, let me share some “bullets” that I have learned.

Babies and Proposals are fun!   Honestly, I think the hardest part of life is when it gets monotonous and routine.  When my niece’s fiance’ told me he was proposing the next day, I got such a rush inside that I was amped up when I woke up the next morning.  I told myself  to “play it cool” when I saw her before heading out.  I had that same surge when I left work that afternoon that Jaxon was born. I had to read a book to keep my adrenaline down while I was waiting.  There are a lot of ways to break up the routine in your life – these are two of the biggies!

Babies and Proposals remind me that “it’s not about you.”  (Shout out to Rick Warren for one of the coolest phrases ever!)  To watch my son-in-law bounce, and I mean bounce, into the waiting room to announce that he was a father and that his son was healthy and strong was so cool.  I remember that feeling every time Kristin and I shared the same moment with our three.  It truly reminds me that he and Taylor have their own family now and they will need to continue to build it the way they see God leading them to do so.  When Chloe came and showed me her ring, there was such an excitement for her as she is taking the next step in her journey.  Vicariously, we all get to enjoy the “other person’s” steps.  This happens with good and bad but the good times are so much more fun.

It Extends My Life.  In talking with one of my spiritual mentors, Pastor Dale Brooks, he shared this phrase with me and it really resonates.  You can either look at life like you are getting older and we all are.  However, just because my biological clock is ticking, it is my choice to stay young or get old.  To see this little baby breathe, stretch and respond to the touch on a cheek reminds me all over again that life is amazing. To see a young lady rush up to you with a tear in her eye and say, “Out of everyone in the whole world, he picked me!” (My words, not hers) I get teared up just reminiscing through those thoughts.  I am not old when I see that.  I am infused with a sense of wonder and purpose.  I want to see what happens next in both of these situations.

Joy…unspeakable joy!  I remember walking with Taylor as we neared the last door before we walked down the aisle.  (Another tearing up moment.)  I heard for weeks the thoughts of giving my “little girl” away.  I never thought that once as the day neared and especially as we walked to that door.  I was overwhelmed with a joy that is unmeasurable.  I knew she was marrying a young man who would love her more than anyone else and empower her to be achieve all that God had for her.  It was one the coolest moments in my life.  Until she had Jax.  I was so proud of her strength and resolve in giving birth.  It is crazy to see this young lady grow from the brace wearing, nervous, eye glass wearing artist into a young woman who is strong, confident and now, a mother.  Joy!  And the same for Chloe.  I have known her since the day she was born.  She isn’t the little girl who fell out of a camper during one of our infamous camping trips.  She is a young woman who is ready to write a new chapter in her life with a tremendous young man who will walk with her on this journey.  Joy!  Life is moving forward at such a pace that if we don’t recognize the “wonders” in life, it becomes just another day.  Joy!

Hope in the future.  For all the news about how bad young people are these days, these two experiences remind me that there are a lot more people doing good than the ones on the news.  In both these situations, there was love, honor, respect and growth.  Neither couple are perfect – they have enjoyed their struggles and battles like all of us.  Yet, in their endurance, they found a win.  I love that.  I hope all of us can vicariously enjoy their win and in turn, take some time to find some in our own life.  When you do, be grateful. A win in life is huge and just what so many of us need to keep growing forward.

 

As you can see, life changes pretty consistently in my world.  Today was a blessing…a reminder that God brings life and life abundantly in so many ways.  Find the win in your life today.

 

The Christmas holidays are hard.

As long as I can remember, people have always said that “Christmas is one of the most challenging times of the year.” It is really ringing true this year. I have heard a lot of stories from people this year who are dealing with financial stress, relationship issues, and the loss of a loved one as they are working through the holidays. Whereas these things all happen during the year, it seems to be accentuated during the holidays when we are supposed to be of “good cheer.”

What do you do? Here is not what I am not going to do…tell you to get over it.

Pain is there for a reason. It causes us to put our focus on something in our life that needs to be healed. And like a physical cut or wound, things that are close to us do not heal quickly. But they do heal and we can’t just sit and watch the hurt consume us. I remember when I went white water rafting in Wyoming with my son. The guide told us some profound advice for when we fell out of the boat (and he knew we would fall out.) He said, “It is your responsibility to get back to the boat and once you are there we will pull you out but you have to help us by kicking up with all you got.” I love that advice. We have to keep swimming to “the boat” and we have to keep “kicking” and working through our hurts.

As a minister, you know that I am referring to God. Here is what I would say to all the “eye-rollers” who say “Why does every answer have to be God.” Colossians 1:27 says, “To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” No matter what you choose to put your hope in, it will never match the infinite ability of God to do more. Programs, classes and life coaches are no match for God who knows you and desires the best for you. I know, then why did God let this happen or why does God let bad people and circumstances into your life? The straight answer to any of life’s challenges is “I don’t know.” I have endured many challenges in my life as well and I ask the same questions. In the end, I choose to put my hope in a God whose word says “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

What are some concrete things you can do that might help? Here are the steps I take and continue to walk through when I am challenged.

Acknowledge the pain and concern is real
Surrender my Expectations For God’s Will and Purposes (not an easy thing for me)
Repent of anything that I did to contribute to this
Forgive anyone in the situation that has hurt me
Remember the promises found in God’s word
Ask God to heal me and help me move forward

Sounds so simple…remember it is a journey and every path consists of taking the next step. If this is you today, I pray for you to have the strength needed to take another step and begin your healing journey.