this is my thanksgiving prayer

Happy Thankgiving North American friends! It has been a long time since I jotted down some thoughts here…. I suppose with facebook it seems a bit redundant to write about your life when it is already online… so anywhoo…. I have had two weeks of our daughters at home and I have loved it. I chalk it up to one of those special and rare occasions left as a whole family group before the end of school in about 6 weeks. My two oldest will be finished this chapter in their lives and so times like this may be on the way out with only a precious few left. Trips abroad are planned, schools are being checked out and North American summer plans are in the making. Meanwhile, our youngest Mackenzie is loving life, living large and enjoying being sweet 16. They all make me a proud
papa!
I have prayed and will continue to pray that they are as prepared for the real world as much as possible. I pray that they grow up to love their God with wisdom and passion and then turn around and do the same for the people around them. I know that my wife has trained them well to be young women and for that I am soooo grateful. I hope I have done the same for them as the two oldest begin the journey of finding that special someone to spend the rest of their lives with. I hope and pray I have shown them a picture of what a good and righteous man is all about. Not perfect but honest, not consumed with being successful but rather faithful to the road that God has asked me to travel. Content with a bit of mystery, as there are something’s that cannot be known, but eager to grow in my knowledge of God, people and world that God has created.
This is my prayer.

Rythym

Rhythm is powerful. I once read that a marching army will stop and stager there march steps before crossing a bridge. Apparently the reason for this is because if they march in unison the rhythm of their steps can actually cause the bridge to collapse. The way I understand it is there's a chance that their steps will coincide with the resonant frequency of the bridge and possibly cause the whole structure to come tumbling down.
In athletics rhythm is essential to victory. A championship team plays in rhythm. It is a finely tuned group that works in harmony with each other. In fact rhythm is more important than who is on the team. Lots of teams full of super athletes have been beat out by teams with lesser known players because of the rhythm they play at.
Even hit TV shows have come out in honour of rhythm as couples work hour upon hour to dance in perfect rhythm together to win the dance competition.
I'd say rhythm is really important to life too. Just as rhythm has the power to destroy a bridge being out of rhythm in our lives can really cause some serious damage as well.
I think we intuitively come to understand what our personal rhythm is. We get into a grove some people say or we're hitting the sweet spot if we golf. But when something comes along and it forces us out of our grove, breaks us out of our rhythm life can quickly get chaotic and fast.
Or if we ignore God's rhythm of creation, "six days you shall work but keep the seventh day holy", we can find ourselves falling apart. This something that far too many people have left behind and their broken down health, families and business are the fruit.
I like the way The Message puts it when Jesus says, "Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."
I really like that... the unforced rhythms of grace... God is Good All the Time

Beyond Dragons

I have found myself desiring a fresh sense of wonder these days. A wonder that is profound, a wonder that is deep and abiding and not a wonder that leaves me empty and feeling used after I have experienced it. I've been moved recently by Jesus standing in the temple courts at the peak of the feast of booths in John 7. He cries out with a loud voice; "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Rivers of living water will brim and spill out of the depths of anyone who believes in me this way, just as the Scripture says. (By this he meant the Spirit)"
I'm desirous of an increased flow of these rivers of life flowing out of my belly and I sense it is time to set aside a good block of time to seek the Lord for a fresh filling of his Holy Spirit. Today I listened to Ravi Zacharias on podcast and he used this illustrative story of trying to insight wide eyed wonder with his 3 children when they were ages 5, 3 and 2. To the oldest he said imagine yourself walking up to a mysterious door, as you approach you think you hear something and it makes you curious so you open that door and out lunges a dragon... her eyes widen! To the second he says imagine yourself walking up to a mysterious door, as you approach you think you hear something and it makes you curious so you open the door... her eyes widen! To the third and youngest he says you see a big door and you walk slowly up to it... and his eyes grow wide! The five year old needed a dragon; the 3 year old only needed to open the door and his 2 year old just needed to be able to get to the door! His summary thought from the talk he gave coupled with this closing illustration was that the older we get the more it takes to fill our hearts with wonder and only God is big enough to fill that void.
I think I need a bigger sense of wonder and the sooner the better!
God is Good All the Time

Murky

I remember as a boy growing up going to Bear Lake Bible Camp. Bear lake was really an oversized mud puddle. Im sure that if you tried open up a camp there in this day and age the Government would not allow you becuase of the dirty muddy murky waters of the lake. But I had some pretty awesome memories of that camp. It was a place God met me many a time. But the lake was impossible to see in because it was so murky.

Murky, I like the word, it is like one of those words that sounds like what it means almost onomatopoeic (that’s my big word for the day!) Murky according to the dictionary is obscure, vague, thick with mist, it can even mean dark and gloomy. Murky can also be spelled “Mirky” which I thought was kind of funny since the word means unclear and it is unclear which way to spell it is correct. Murky. Paul said that "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." There is a part of our faith which is murky. There is a part that is quite unknowable this side of glory. There is a veil, there is a reflection that is cloudy not clear like mirrors today but more like the reflection of off a broken piece of glass, or a polished piece of aluminum or tin. I think this is a vital part of our experience of faith in the here and now. We don’t have a corner on the truth. Any more than Paul didn’t have a corner on the truth. We can know certain things for certain but there is a huge amount of God that resides in mist, he is murky, unfathomable, unsearchable, unknowable. This keeps my faith fresh, my prayers earnest, my search for more understanding unending. It keeps my faith fluid and in motion and I am so glad for that.
God is also conscious of those not yet in faith who need to see him. To those outside the faith he is the exact opposite, he is clearly seen, his fingerprints are all over everything, his DNA is left behind for those who take the time and have the desire to know him. He has left behind a mountain of clear evidence that points to him. No fog or mist to hide him. As Paul affirms in Romans One, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse." So God in his mercy has made entrance into faith clear so that no one is without excuse and in his wisdom has made life inside of faith just murky enough to make us search to clarify, seek to have the Holy Spirit illuminate, ask questions to enlighten the truth of God’s word and our experience of him through his word.

God is Good All the Time.

Gandolf's Wisdom

I recently sat down and watched the first episode of Lord of the Rings. It was a bit like sitting down to a cup o coffee with an old friend. I hadn’t watched it for years. I still am taken aback by the profound wisdom in Gandalf’s advice to his young hobbit friend Frodo…
Frodo: I wish the ring had never come to me. I wish none of this had happened.
Gandalf: So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us. There are other forces at work in this world Frodo, besides the will of evil. Bilbo was meant to find the Ring. In which case, you were also meant to have it. And that is an encouraging thought.
Ever wonder about the "other forces at work in this world"? I’ve been wondering about them lately. I’ve been keenly aware lately of just how vulnerable we are to the attacks of forces beyond our sight. Thankfully the forces that pulsate behind the scenes are not just dark ones but they are also from the light and good!
I remember someone once told me that we too often act like its peace time in the middle of war time...and I believe there is a significant amount of truth to this statement.
We forget that there are forces beyond our line of sight and this can be to our own discouragement. If we forget then we can be under attack and unaware or we can also miss the forces that are at work for our encouragement which we so desperately need.
As the Apostle Paul wrote... we wrestle not against flesh and blood...
The problem can also be that we just wrestle not! Period! We skip along whistling in the dark unaware of forces both bad and good at work in this world.
How about you... have you been wrestling lately or are you just whistling in the dark?
God is Good All the Time.

Blinded

I had an interesting conversation the other day in a local book store. A complete stranger engaged me in a fairly one-sided conversation. It was one of those kinds where getting any more than an occasional grunt or mmmmm in sideways is all there was room for. Verbal diarrhea comes to mind; overly opinionated and reckless with his conversation he proceeded to move from issues of race, religion, politics and even conspiracy theories. It was rapid fire and I found it a bit shocking and even a tad bit rude.
I'm pretty sure that he mistook me for an avid fiction reader and things progressed from there. At first I went along with it, I even mentioned a new novel I had heard about thinking it was fairly new and that he wouldn’t have read it yet. Was I ever wrong! He not only had read it but had read several of the same author’s books. We danced around the books on the shelf as he picked one after another out and asked me if I had read it but never actually let me respond. He proceeded to tell me the main plot and a summary of several books.
At one point he got stuck. He looked at me for help as he tried to remember the name of a fabulous mystery author but I was of no use and so we went to the till and had the cashier do a search.
Finding little satisfaction at the till he led me off to the corner where the Divinci Code was and that’s when the conversation got interesting. He told me that he pretty much had to believe that Jesus was a real guy but that the miracles and stuff were just sleight of hand and the stuff of legends. He then proceeded to put all his faith in the fictional book that Brown had written. The Divinci Code was the real deal as far as he was concerned. I kept on mentioning that it was a fictional book based on conspiracy, conjecture and a pretty good imagination. But he was not about to back down. He preferred it that way. It was easier for him to dismiss the real Jesus and his claims and his miracles and completely embrace a wild fictional character whose name was Jesus and he had a sexual relationship with Mary Magdalene.
It was a fresh reminder that the god of this world has blinded the minds of those in this world from the truth. I walked away from that meeting a bit frustrated and even sad that this man would rather believe in crazy fictional conspiracy than the real deal Jesus Christ who rose from the dead!
Happy Easter Everyone!

Decisions

I've been involved lately with a very important decision. One that will have long term affects on my time, my family, my ministry but probably most significantly on me! When faced with an important decision I have noticed that I have changed over time. I think the change is for the better but what do you think?
How have I changed? Well, I think that I used to just make a decision, go for it and let the chips fall where they may. This worked sometimes but most times it caused significant stress on all those who were trying to work with me or walk with me through different circumstances. I believe I have been called a "bull in a China shop" to often when it came to my almost reckless approach to decision making. I also remember praying more for everybody who might be affected by my decision to "get along" with it and "move along" with it. Fairly selfish I suppose.
Over time, and I believe it is from maturing in my faith; I have taken a very different approach to making decisions. I think I try to see them from every possible angle, deciding who will be affected most, what that affect will be, how will I communicate the decisions being made. I also have noticed that I talk to more people, inviting them to participate with the process in coming to some sort of conclusion. The focus of my prayers is more on searching His heart and mind so that I do not bring disgrace to his glorious name. I think I focus less on what the outcomes will be and focus more on trusting God and trusting his work in me over time to enable me to make wise, spirit-directed decisions. The journey is as important as the decision.


Recently someone I know was having a very difficult time trying to make a decision. It was during this process that I noticed how important motivations are in making decisions. If your motivations are split then it seems that making the choice and sticking with it is also split. Can I trust myself, can I trust the advice of others, can I trust that I won’t make a decision I will regret later on? Not wanting to make a mistake can really hold us back from moving forward. It almost freezes us. Prayer seems more focused on one word, “help”!

Have you ever sat down and figured out just how you go about making decisions? Do you make them and then change them often? Do you make them and not change them no matter how horrible they may be? Where does God fit into this process?


God is Good All the Time!

Cyclone

Cyclone,
Hurricane,
Typhoon,
Monsoon,
call it whatever you want but it's basically just a big bunch of wind and water! From what I understand it has to do with hot air and cold air mixing which creates a circular ferocious and many times deadly wind. Of course of all this happens over ocean water and that's were the massive waves begin to smash anything that happens to get in their way! Truly nothing to mess about with, better to steer clear and run than to stand firm and face it! At least if you run you can live to brag about it another day!

And that's what our fearless captain did on a ship our family was sailing on a couple of weeks ago. When we came across a tropical storm called Cyclone Fiona we pulled anchor and skedaddled! We still managed to encounter 10 meter swells and at one point the ship pitched 10 degrees! It was a little bit like riding a GIANT roller coaster. I must admit I was a little surprised at how comfortable I was even through the worst of that stormy, topsy-turvy day and a night on the open seas.
Why so calm? I guess as I look back now I would say that I’ve had a life time of practice at trusting someone else with my life, sort of my personal life captain you could say. Yup, I've weathered a few storms in my day and all because I decided many years ago to ruthlessly trust in the Captain of my soul. It may sound funny but way down deep inside of me somewhere I've learned to let go of the ships wheel and let Him guide me into safe harbor when the storms of life hit!
I heard there were some on board who disagreed with the captain, who felt we should have gotten what we paid for, who thought he was way too careful in his judgment. I guess they must have trouble trusting the wisdom and understanding of a seasoned Captain.... Not me!
God is Good All the Time.

Unfinished

Looking long and hard at that word can fill us with feelings of failure or it could fill us with the thrill of unseen hope. Failure if we think of unfinished in the sense that what should have been done was not done. This has a way of making us feel guilty about what is unfinished. I've had plenty of that in my life, in fact, I would say I have had enough of that in my life. Or, on the other hand, unfinished has within it something that could fill us with a sense of hope. Hope if we think of it as the journey being unfinished, that there is still more ahead, more mystery, more to do, more to be done, it's just that it is unfinished.
I have been enjoying a book by Brian D Mclaren called the "The secret Message of Jesus". At the end of the book he quotes a poem written by a man martyred in 1980, the Archbishop Oscar Romero of El Salvador.

It helps now and then to step back and take the long view
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts,
It is beyond our vision.
We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of
the magnificent enterprise that is God’s work.
Nothing we do is complete,
Which is another way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us

No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection…
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.

This is what we are about:
We plant seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
Knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces effects beyond our capabilities.

We cannot do everything
And there is a sense of liberation in realizing that.
This enables us to do something,
And to do it very well.
It may be incomplete, but it is a beginning, a step along the way, an opportunity for God’s grace to enter and do the rest.

We may never see the end results….
We are prophets of a future no our own.

Restless

I recently watched a young woman as she told me a tragic tale of love gone astray. Her voice quivered, her legs jumped up and down and up and down at the knees as she worked out her saga of woe in the chair across from me. She shifted often in her seat, like she was nervous to be taking about something so close to her heart but having nobody else to trust she figured she might as well spill her heart and soul to me. She was restless; wondering if it was all going to work out ok!
I've been feeling kind of restless as of late too. Can’t put a finger on it just yet as to why or even why now at this moment but it is a restless feeling. Almost like when you know you are supposed to be doing something but you can’t remember what it was you were supposed to be doing! Restless.
As far as I know the only thing I have ever found that helped relieve this uneasy feeling is to read the word of God and to pray and one of my favorite things is to sit outside at night and look at the stars. They are magnificent! And somehow they relax my soul, put my heart at ease and calm my restless spirit. The heavens declare the WOW of God and shout his praise. Somehow, I get lost in that and when I emerge out the other side... restless has been replaced with resting. My God has everything in his mighty care, including me!
God is Good All the Time!