Courage For Today

walk

View From the Top

Encouragement

“God…made us alive with Christ…And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus.” (Ephesians 2:4-6)

Many years ago, I was fortunate enough to visit Chicago on a business trip.  I was working for a financial company and was asked to visit a State Court there in Chicago to testify on behalf of my company.  This was my first visit to the Windy City (and so far, only trip) so I was not so much interested in the business purpose of my visit as I was seeing the big City.  I wasn’t disappointed and I have many fond memories of the beauty that is Chicago.

I remember being able to walk from my hotel to the courtroom.  It was only a few blocks walk and I was amazed at all the hustle and bustle and commotion.  Pedestrians walking everywhere.  Cars honking at every little thing. Mass Transit trains rumbling through the City.  Everyone was in a rush and speeding from one place to another.  It was an amazing–and nerve racking–thing to experience.

On the morning of the trial, I navigated through all of the chaos on the street, and finally made it to the courtroom. Of course, I had to go through the mandatory security checks and then on the elevator to the 33rd floor of the courtroom building.  I am not a fan of high places, but when I arrived at my floor, I decided to glance down at the street from my new view.  What had been chaos on the ground was now calm looking and silent from above.  What changed?  The only thing that changed was my view.

Whatever you may be going through in life at this time, I can tell you it is very easy to only look at your situation through your own eye’s view.  I know because I have done so myself.  When you look at your situation only through your eyes and your own perspective, the view is often like my view from the street that day in Chicago–hustle, bustle, and chaos.  Instead, I learned to change my focus through Christ and remember that, as a Christian, I am already seated on His right side.

Most times, it isn’t your circumstances that need to change; it is your view of the circumstances.  Changing your view from a ground level perspective to a Heavenly perspective makes all the difference in the world.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Designer Clothing

Self-Worth

“I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.” (Psalms 139:14)

I was traveling down memory lane the other day and thinking back on when my children were younger and the many memories I have of them growing up.  I could tell you story after story of the good times; the fun times; and the not so fun times.  But, one particular story comes to mind, involving my son when he was probably three or four years old.  At that time of my career, I was required to wear a suit and tie to work.  On one particular weekend, my son decided that it would be fun to wear one of my suits to play in.  He had managed to slip on my pants that were much, much too long.  He had wrapped one of my ties around his neck and was clomping along in my size 13 shoes, barely able to walk without tripping.  It was hilarious to watch.  He was so proud of himself that he had dressed up in Dad’s work clothes.  I “played work” with him for a little while and we both had a fun time pretending that he was dressing up and going to the office for a hard day’s work.

The funniest part of this dress-up day to me was that he was so determined to wear my clothing—–even though it was obviously several sizes too big for him.  In his three or four year old mind, he believed that simply wearing the clothes of someone else, even when they didn’t fit, transformed him into to that person for a brief moment.  Unfortunately, my clothes were much too heavy and too long for him and as well intentioned as he was, my clothing just ended up being a burden as he was trying to walk around the house.  He would have been much better off simply wearing his own clothes that fit him properly.

This long-ago memory reminded me of my own Christian Faith when, at times, I have tried to be someone I am not.  Over the years I have learned that God anointed each of us with our own set of “designer clothing.”  You are wonderfully made, in God’s image.  In fact, you already have “designer anointing,” custom made just for you.  Instead of trying to be like someone else or trying to fit into a mold meant for someone else, learn to be confident in who God made you to be.

In today’s pressure filled world it is so very easy to be jealous of what others have or the skills that someone else has.  I know; I’ve done it myself.  Take my advice and don’t try to wear what doesn’t fit you; it will only weigh you down.  Wear the custom fitted, designer clothing that God meant for you and allow Him to work in your life.  You’ll be surprised at the weight lifted off your shoulder.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

You Can Grow Where You Are Planted

Strength

One thing I love about beautiful spring weather is it brings the opportunity to finally throw away the chains of winter.  The birds sing louder, the sun shines brighter, and everyone just seems happier.  On one recent Spring Day, I was enjoying the opportunity to take a walk outside and enjoy the wonderful day.  As I walked down the sidewalk taking in the beauty of the day, I noticed several places along my walk where small stems of grass or weeds had somehow mightily pushed through a small crack in the sidewalk or, perhaps, somehow created their own small opportunity to spring forth under the most difficult of conditions.   It didn’t matter that the concrete sidewalk seemed impenetrable or that that the soil was not perfect or ideal for growing or that the grass had been stepped on and torn; somehow, the small blade of grass persevered and managed to grow anyway.

As Christians, we tend to live our lives in a world of “if only’s” and “what ifs.”  We believe that if only “so and so” had not have happened in my life, I could do more for God and be more successful.  We ask ourselves, “what if I could have done this”, or “what if I would not have done this,” I would be one of God’s chosen few.  We live our lives trying to convince ourselves that we don’t live more for God because we don’t have all the tools or benefits we need to get the job done.   Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth.

You’re not stuck where you are.   Despite the obstacles you may face; despite what may seem like an uphill climb, you can grow, you can change,  you can make a difference, you  can be more than you are today with God’s help.  Basically, as Christians, we have two choices.  You can constantly search outwardly for what you don’t have or what you think you may need.  This leads to discontentment and frustration because you’re always chasing something you will never catch.  I know, I’ve done this myself.  The second choice is to begin changing your focus to an upward focus toward God in all that you do and realizing HE is the source of all things in your life.  No obstacle will be too great.  No mountain too high to climb.  No desert too dry to grow.  I have to believe that the little blade of grass I saw that day was outwardly focused on growing toward the beautiful sun that so brightened everyone’s day.  Change your focus and you’ll grow where you are planted.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

The Power of Enlarging Your Steps

Strength

Sometimes, as a grandparent, I find myself doing things that I probably shouldn’t do.  I suppose it all boils down to love for the kids, but I think back on some of my adventures and suddenly realize that there is no way I would ever do some of the things I’ve done, if not for wanting to spend time with the grand-kids.

One of those questionable adventures occurred a couple of years ago at a local theme park.  The kids wanted to play on a rope course designed for children.  It was an exciting looking course filled with ropes, rope ladders, wooden beams and all sorts of things that would thrill a kid.  Like any good grandparent, I gave them permission to participate and off we went.  Only after getting to the entrance was I told the thrilling news that one of my grandchildren was too short to walk on the course without an adult.  I certainly couldn’t tell him “no” and allow him to sit and watch his big brother have a blast, so I agreed to walk the course with him.

The course started off fairly easy with simple and easy to navigate paths.  As the course progressed, the challenges got harder until eventually I found myself on a single strand of rope several feet above the ground with very little to hold on to.  Of course, the kids were far ahead of me.  They weren’t waiting for grandpa.  After some careful, step-by-step circus work, I was able to cross the more difficult single strand of rope and finish on a wooden platform where I could re-gain my composure.  After a few moments of resting, I managed to continue on to the next section of the course which involved much wider, wooden planks; much like a scaffolding or a ramp.  This was a piece of cake compared to the single wire I had earlier climbed.

God’s word says in Psalms 18, verse 36 says that HE has enlarged (or made wide) my steps so that I won’t slip.  How true this verse is in our everyday Christian lives.  God has a way of making things easy when the world views those same things as difficult.  God has a way of clearing a path for us when we see no way out.  You may be going through one of those times in your life when you feel like you’re walking a single tightrope.  Just remember, His Word promises that wider steps and a firm foundation are ahead of you.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Countdown to Your Victory at Sunrise

Strength

I’m convinced that I could live at the beach without too much persuasion if I could only afford it. There’s just something peaceful and relaxing about the ocean waves and the beach and just sitting in a lounge chair all day soaking up the rays.  In fact, I enjoy just walking on the beach along the water’s edge.  I can walk for miles, it seems, and not get tired, just watching the children building sand-castle masterpieces.

I remember one trip to Daytona Beach, years ago, with my family, when I was maybe 10 or 11 years old.  This was a family trip to the beach.  My parents went, of course, but so did my grand-parents and my great Aunt.  We all rented vacation cottages and were just having a blast.  My Great-Aunt loved the beach.  I mean, she loved the beach.  Sun-up to sun-down, she was on the beach.  This particular vacation, she decided it would be fun if I got up early one morning, along with her, so that we could walk down to the beach and watch the sun rising over the horizon.  For some reason, this seemed rather exciting to me.  I had never really gotten up at the crack of dawn just to see a sunrise, so I thought this would fun and something different.  My great-Aunt kept talking everything up and telling my how beautiful the sunrise was, so my curiosity was peaked.

The great event was scheduled.  My great-Aunt and I were to wake up at 5:00 AM the next morning, put on our swimsuits, and head to the beach.  I couldn’t wait.  I went off to bed and was so looking forward to waking up early the next morning.  Unfortunately, I was so excited I couldn’t sleep.  I tossed and turned all night long.  To make matters worse, I didn’t have a clock in the room and I didn’t wear a watch, so I had no idea what time it really was as I was tossing and turning during the night.  It seemed like an eternity.  Everyone else was sound asleep, but all I could do was lay in bed and wait until my great-Aunt woke me up at 5:00 AM.  I had no earthly idea how much longer that would be.  Without a time-piece, I couldn’t tell if the time was 2:00 AM; 3:00 AM, or perhaps closing in on 5:00 AM.  I don’t know if you’ve ever been in such a situation, but there is nothing more miserable than waiting in the bed for hours upon hours, knowing something exciting is just around the corner, but not knowing how much longer until the magic moment arrives.

Finally, 5:00 AM came and my great-Aunt woke me up right on schedule.  We both got dressed and walked the short distance to the beach and waited.  About 45 minutes later, we both witnessed the most beautiful sunrise I had ever seen or, in my case, probably the first sunrise I had ever witnessed.  It was gorgeous.  The wonderful yellows and oranges piercing the darkness and reflecting off the water was something I have never forgotten.  The agony and misery I had experienced waiting the night before didn’t matter any more.  It was all worth it.

I’ve learned over the years that our Christian Walk is very similar, especially when we go through trials and struggles.  I think most of us, as Christians, believe that God will answer our prayers and work in our situations, we just don’t know when.  It’s almost as if life itself is like the long night I experienced that time at the beach, without my timepiece.  I knew the sunrise was coming.  I just didn’t know how much longer during the night I had to wait for the time to arrive.

No matter what you may be experiencing now in life, you can have confidence that your “sunrise” is coming.  It won’t be on your timing. It will be on God’s timing.  You may be impatient and you may want God to act now; that is only natural.  Just sit back, wait for the beauty of the sunrise and you’ll discover that there’s nothing as beautiful as God’s timing in your life.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]

Avoiding the Shortcut To Trouble

Encouragement

I loved the neighborhood our family lived in during my Elementary School years.  Now, granted, this was in the 1960’s and times have changed, but it was a wonderful time and place.  All the neighborhood kids knew each other; even the parents knew each other.  We couldn’t get into too much trouble because other parents would call my parents and—well—–the rest was history as they say.  Times have certainly changed.  Most of us don’t even know our neighbor’s names today.

We would stay outside and play from sun-up to sun-down.  It was football, then basketball, then we would “play army,” then we might ride our bikes complete with baseball cards clipped to the spokes so we would sound like motorcycles.  No video games for us.  We had to entertain ourselves and didn’t ever seem to have any difficulty doing so.

One of the things my friends and I loved to do was walk from my house to a Shopping Center that was behind our neighborhood.  Occasionally, we got our hands on a shiny new Quarter or sometimes a Dime and you would have thought we had a million dollars.  At that time, a Dime or Quarter would buy a week’s supply of Pixie Stix or Hubba Bubba or Milk Duds, or maybe a Nutty Buddy or Eskimo Pie.  No one during those times had any reservations about letting a group of kids walk alone up to this Shopping Center for our shopping spree.

It was a fairly long walk from our house to the Shopping Center IF we walked the long way around on the major streets.  We soon discovered that there was a narrow storm drainage ditch that ran between two houses in the neighborhood that miraculously opened up in the back of the Shopping Center.  We would cut through this drainage ditch and be at the Shopping Center much quicker.  All we had to do was walk around to the front of the buildings and we were there!! Suddenly, the “shortcut,” as we called it, was the greatest discovery since Lewis and Clark went West.  You would have thought we had discovered Gold.  Being able to get to the all important Shopping Center within a few short minutes, as opposed to taking 45 minutes, when we walked the long route, was life changing for Elementary School kids.

It wasn’t very long after our great discovery that we began realizing the “shortcut” may not have been as great of a discovery as we first thought.  We began getting scratched by briers and cut by broken glass.  We sometimes ran into stray animals and neighborhood “bullies” who hid in the bushes waiting for us.  We tripped and fell. We soon became faced with a decision of whether we wanted to take our chances with the “shortcut,” not knowing what was lurking for us, just to save a few minutes, or go ahead and take the safer route, even though it was much longer.  Most of us chose the longer, safer route.  It just wasn’t worth the trouble.

Our Christian life is much the same way, or at least mine has been at times.  I tried to take the shortcut with my prayer life and only began praying when I thought I needed prayer.  I slowly realized that I couldn’t take a shortcut with my prayer life.  I tried to read my Bible only occasionally, mostly on Sunday’s when the Pastor asked us to.  I slowly realized that I needed God’s Word every day, not just once a week.  I discovered that there are no shortcuts with God.  He wants our all, ALL the time.  When we take shortcuts with God, danger is only a short distance behind.

Is your Christian Life taking too many shortcuts?  You can change that starting today.

Other Posts You May Enjoy

[pt_view id=”760f7e8uyf”]