M.E. (Merely Existing)

Do you exist?
It's a crazy question isn't it? I mean, certainly if you are reading this….you are alive, you are able to function……you exist.

The real question is, do you exist to other people?

Are you real to other people or are you just like an extra in a movie, walking around in the background, not really contributing to the main story, just offering some random movements from time to time.

Or

Are you living your life in such a way that if you had to move to a different state, that when the moving trucks pulled away, there would be tears shed by every household on your old street?

Do you matter to those around you?
Do you invest in the lives of others that you have contact with on a daily basis?

I am not saying that our goal is to leave people sad when we move on, but I am saying that the way we live should produce that by-product.

Are you making a difference in the lives around you?

If someone received a package on their front porch with no card claiming who it was from, would you make their list of people who might have left the gift?

When the snow hits while your neighbor is out of town and they come home to find their driveway shoveled, would they automatically assume that it was you who did it?

Is the most important word in your vocabulary, M.E.?
Are you just merely existing?


If you're not now……..start existing to others.

Junkyard Jesus

Have you ever been to the junkyard?

I was at the landfill in a neighboring town the other day and right next to the landfill was a huge junkyard. Every kind of car imaginable is there.

It looks like a scene from The Book of Ely. Rusted cars, gutted cars, demolished and compacted cars. Some appear to be intact but there is nothing under the hood. For the most part, the cars are just shadow of what they once were when they were created.

When those cars came down the assembly line, they were beautiful. They were in mint condition. Painted to a high luster finish. All of the parts were in perfect place and the smell......oh yeah. That new car smell.

Then something happened.

Somewhere between the time that awesome new creation came off of that assembly line and the day I saw them at the junkyard, something went wrong.

Some were in accidents, some were vandalized, some just got old and the elements had finally taken their toll on them. Either way, they no longer have value.

Or do they?

There are people that frequent junkyards looking for spare parts. They search and search for the right make and model in the hope that when they find the car they are looking for, that it still has the component they need.

So there is still value in those old broken cars.

Did you know that Jesus loves the junkyard.

It's true.

We all started off in life as infants. Carefully crafted in the womb, unblemished and innocent.

However, somewhere between that birthday and today, something happened.

There is damage.

Some of us look like we are in great shape, until you look under the hood.

Some of us have just been demolished and it's extremely evident.

Some of us have been beaten down by the elements. Some have been physically abused, some have been raped, drug addictions, eating disorders, cutters...........outcasts.

Some of us have just found ourselves in the junkyard.

But there is hope.

Jesus loves the junkyard.

He loves to spend time looking for makes and models that have been stripped and tossed aside for scrap because He knows there is value there.

If you have gone through life feeling like you have been outcast, if you have been demolished by people or life's elements, I just need to tell you something...

You are valuable to Him. He specializes in damaged goods......

And He is looking for you.

Effin' changed

This post may be a bit raw. It's supposed to be, so if you're offended easily then don't read it.

Last week I was sitting in a room with this guy about my age.

He has spent the last 20 years of his life addicted to Crack and alcohol.

20 years.

I get frustrated when I struggle with something for 5 minutes. I can't even wrap my mind around 20 years of trial. This guy has seen his friends die from overdoses. He has seen his family destroyed from the effects of the drug abuse, and had been in and out of rehab facilities more than 15 times.

About 6 weeks ago, he walked into the doors of our church campus (which happens to be located in a bar). He revealed to me the night I sat down with him that the only reason he came to check out the church was because he was hungover and he thought he might be able to get a Bloody Mary during service. He was a little disappointed to find out that we didn't serve alcohol during church.

He described to me in detail how over the weeks following his first visit to our campus, that his life has done a 180.

These are his words......

"My life was a f***ing mess"

He began to well up with emotion and he paused.

"Something happened to me when I stepped into the church.......I have never clapped to a worship song before. I never really focused on a message before.......I even gave some money in the offering plate for the first time ever."

We laughed for a minute.

"Jesus has changed me and I don't have to feel sh*tty anymore."

"I am getting my sh*t together and I'm going to help other people find help and hope."

"I'm Effin' changed"

This guy was a Christian in the most raw form. Too young in the faith to care about his word choices. Too excited about what Jesus was doing in his life to care if his word choices offended me. Basically he lacked the artificial facade that some of us seasoned Christians have developed over time.

.......AND I LOVED IT!!!!!

Now......I don't swear, and if I am in a room of people throwing around swear words like it's going out of style, it usually doesn't take long for them to recognize that I'm not participating.

It's easy to get prideful about it too, so last week made me think to myself......

Would Jesus rather be in a room with me carefully selecting my words, or....

Would Jesus rather be fielding uncensored f-bombs from the excitement of the transformation that He alone is responsible for?

Reflection on this makes me want to thank Him that I am Effin' changed.

Walls

I remember in 1987, watching President Ronald Reagan speak from a podium and challenged Russian General Secretary Gorbachev to "Tear down this wall".

That was one of the most amazing speeches I have ever seen.

Walls are built for several reasons.

The Berlin was was built to keep East Germans from leaving for the West.

The Great Wall of China was built to keep the the Mongols out.

Dividing walls, retaining walls, walls, walls, walls.........

You and I build walls too.

Internal walls.

These wall are erected around our heart and we design them for keeping people out, for keeping our true selves in, and for separating us from things that quite possibly could damage our heart.

Those people in communist East Germany lived quite differently on the other side of the wall than the West Germans did, but in November of 1989 that all changed when the wall came down. There was a fresh beginning and free people began chipping away at the wall and pouring over it, culminating in a giant impromptu celebration that anyone alive at that time remembers.

When we keep our walls up, we rob ourselves of total freedom. You don't let people completely know you and you will never know people completely without tearing down walls.

I know it's difficult. I know it's hard to open yourself up to possibly being shred apart by someone that you let into your heart, but isn't it lonely inside of those walls?

Go ahead. I dare you. Put yourself out there. Open yourself up to possible rejection or humiliation. What's the worst that can happen?

"Mr. or Mrs. _________ ........Tear down those walls!!!"

Freedom is on the other side.

The gambler

I was out in Las Vegas for the first time a few weeks ago. I was there for business but I couldn't resist taking in some of what made this city famous.

Gambling.

Now, I am not a gambler. The most I ever risk is $5.00 once a year when my brothers, friends and my dad play a dealers choice game for a few hours. But this night I was going to throw down some serious cash. This night I was going to be a high roller!!

So I pulled out my green and traded the lady for a stack of chips and bellied up to the Blackjack table.

There it was in front of me……$40.00 in chips!

I told you…..HIGH ROLLER BABY!!!

I actually had more than $40.00 on me, but $40.00 was all that I was willing to lose. So by only gambling with $40.00, what I was saying was that it's not worth it to gamble with $50.00.
I had a limit. There was something I was willing to gamble with and there was something that I wasn't willing to gamble with.

Life and death are the same way for me. Some things in life are worth gambling on for me.

Betting lunch with a friend that the Browns are going to beat the Saints is worth it for me.
Betting that I can beat the train across the tracks is not worth it for me.

Death is not worth gambling on for me.

When it comes to whether or not God exists…..it's just not worth gambling on for me.
Whatever your reasoning might be for not believing in God, is it really worth the risk?

For those of you who read this that don't believe in God, or you're not sure if you believe or not, it is my hope that today you realize that you are a serious gambler……a high roller!

You are placing a bet far larger than any poker table has seen in Vegas.
In Vegas it's just money, but in the casino called "Eternity" it's much more than that.

May today be the day that you seek someone to help with your gambling problem.
I can give you the perfect referral.

His name is Jesus.

Hoist your sail

I was at a pastor's conference today and I heard something that struck a chord with me. The comment is common sense really, but the visual was awesome.

The pastor leading the discussion said, "If the wind blows and you don't have your sail up then you ain't goin' nowhere.

Preparation.

You might be a Christian, you might be an atheist, you might not know what you are today, but I think we can all agree on this.....preparation for anything is wise.

Think back to your school days. The kids that got the 4.00 grade point average didn't just show up for class and ace the test....they studied.....they worked at the grade.....they prepared themselves for the coming test.

Think about the hurricanes that whip through the Gulf. Which homes stand the better chance in surviving the winds? The ones that put the hurricane shutters on and built the houses to withstand the high winds. In other words, the houses that were prepared for the hurricane stand the best chance at remaining when the waters and winds recede.

See, you can have the nicest looking sailboat on the sea, but if you don't have your sails up when the wind kicks up, all you are ever gonna be is a nice looking sailboat going nowhere.

I think God has given some of us direction and has sent a huge wind, but we can't react because our sails have not been raised.

Maybe today you feel like your life has no direction and you are lost at sea.

Maybe you feel like your just not going anywhere.

Trust me on this.......The wind is blowing.....You just need to prepare to catch it.

Hoist your sail.

God has a plan for your life and will give your life direction.......you just have to be willing to receive the wind.

Dust, dirt, and ash

"…….For you were made from dust, and to dust you will return" -Genesis 3:19

Kind of an interesting thought isn't it?

I heard a report a while back that said most of the dust in our home is made up of numerous components, one of the major ones is dead skin.
We are made of dirt dust and ash.

You are a walking heap of ashes. Congratulations!

The reality of it all is this: To dust we will return.
Sooner or later, this walking pile of dirt and ash is going to return to the ground from where it came…….and what comes next?

You see, for me as a Christ follower, I believe that when this body comes to it's final resting place, that will be the first day of eternity for me….there is life after death.

For the atheist however, when the body of dirt and ash returns to dirt and ash, nothing happens….that's it…….there is nothing else……..the end.

Now, if I am right and there is a real place called Heaven and a real place called Hell, the day of death is going to be a bad day for those who don't believe.

Now, if I am wrong and there is no God or Heaven and no Hell, then when we all die, absolutely nothing happens.

So here is the point, there is nothing to risk by choosing to believe in Jesus and giving Him the leadership of your life. On the other hand there seems to be quite a bit of risk in choosing not to believe in Jesus.

Nobody is promised tomorrow. The people in the World Trade Center thought life was just peachy at 7:00am on September 11th.

Don't waste this day.

Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future, today is a gift…..that's why it is called the present!

When my walking pile of dust and dirt return to the ground, I am going to be present with Jesus.

You may not think He is real.................but don't bet your ash on it!

Christian

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The Carpenter

So, I was walking around some neighborhoods the other day, dropping off invite cards to church and I saw the most beautiful home I have seen in a while. Everything was immaculate. The grass looked like each blade was cut by hand. Not a single weed in the entire lawn. The house itself looked like a painting. Flower boxes on the window sill, a white picket fence, and the shutters painted to bring out the highlights in the brick walls.

This house could easily be on the cover of one of those Better Homes & Gardens magazines.

But the closer I got to the door the more I could see some issues. The back of the fence needed paint in the worst way. The brick mortar was cracking and falling out in quite a few places. The foundation of the house had shifted from age and was separating from the brick faces, and the flower boxes that looked awesome from the street were missing screws and very close to falling off of the house.

Here is why I mention this to you…..

All of us are just like this house. ALL OF US!

We all look good from a distance, but the closer the investigation, the more flawed we become. The more scrutiny our character comes under, the more chips in the paint are revealed. The closer the magnifying glass, the more dings, dents, and baggage is found.

This is true of every human to ever walk the earth……..except for one.

Jesus.

The closer you look at Him the more perfect you realize He is. The more closely you examine the Bible, the more you understand that there are no flaws. The more scrutiny you put Him under, the clearer it becomes that the paint is chip-free.

Good news: Jesus came to fix the broken.

Perhaps you are a mansion in fine condition. That's awesome, but I would bet on close inspection there are some boards out of place, or some paint chips, or a flower box that is close to coming undone.

If what I am saying is true, then Jesus is perfect and we aren't. We are all in need of some refurbishment. Who better to seek a fixing from than one who is perfect.

I am fairly certain He can repair your picket fence. Give Him a shot.

He was a carpenter after all.

Carpe Diem

Lewis Alpern
Jeannette Stuart
John Ber
Ira Greaves
James Herron
Max Henrici

What do these names mean to you?

Chances are absolutely nothing, but they are real people.

My wife and I got to watch a classic older movie the other night.......Dead Poet Society.
Robin Williams plays a teacher in a prestigious school for boys, who challenges the young men to look at life from a different perspective.

I was affected by a scene in the movie that I did not remember seeing before.
Robin Williams has the boys gather around a trophy case in the hallway. He told the young men to lean in and look at the photos of past young men that had attended the school a long time ago.

As they are leaning in, the teacher asks, "What are they saying to you".
The boys laugh at the uncomfortable moment, unsure of what the teacher means.

The teacher goes on, "...these men are all now fertilizing Daffodils".
He explains that the men in the pictures all waited too long to decide to do something great, and now they are just worm food.
"Lean in", the teacher says, "they are whispering their legacy to you", and in an eerie whisper the teacher says,
" .......carpe .......carpe......carpe diem......seize the day boys........make your lives extraordinary."

The people listed at the top of this post are all dead. You don't recognize their names because they led normal lives.
Right now, chances are that you are too.

I am.

But that changes tonight as I write this.

I am deciding that my family and I will no longer live normal.
We will seize the day.

I am not sure what that means right now, but we will not live a normal life.
Normal is boring and Jesus did not die so that we could lead normal lives.

He died so that we could live extraordinary lives.
He died so that we could do something awesome.
He died so that we would seize the day

There is a risk you are not taking tonight..........seize the day.
Right now, maybe God is speaking to you.........seize the day.
This very moment, you are aware of something big you want to accomplish.......seize the day.

You can do something great......make your life extraordinary.......right now.......seize the day.

CARPE DIEM!!!!!!!!!!

If you're blind, please read this

There is a story in the Bible about a man who was born blind (John 9). One day Jesus happens to be walking by the blind man and decides to heal him of his blindness. The interesting thing to me about the story though is that Jesus makes some mud and rubs it on the man's eyes, then He tells the man to go and wash off his face in pool of Siloam. The pool obviously was not right there because the Bible says that the man went and washed, and came back seeing.

There are plenty of examples in the Bible of Jesus healing people right where they are.
Why not this guy? Why send him with mud on his eyes to some pool?

Why even the need to make mud and rub it on the guys eyes?
There is another story in Luke (Luke 18:35-42) where another blind man is asking Jesus to heal him and Jesus says "What do you want me to do?"
The blind man says, "I want to see!"
Jesus responds, "All right, receive your sight, your faith has healed you."

So why all the drama with the mud and the and making the guy walk to a pool and back to cure his blindness?

Among other reasons, such as Jesus can pretty much decide to heal people how ever He wants to, I believe that making the man "go" somewhere and "do" something in order to receive the gift was something Jesus wanted us to catch.

Often times as Christians, I think we want to just throw up a prayer and ask God to take care of an issue or a problem and we think we have done our job.

We are disturbed by the images of hurricane Katrina, or mudslides in China, or learning of little girls caught up in the sex trade industry or little boys in the slave labor industry and we want to offer up a prayer on their behalf and then sit back in the recliner with our remote and a snack and think that we have done our job.

That cannot be the attitude in which we approach things.

We need to be prayer warriors for sure, but Jesus wants us to "go" and "do" the work that he has equipped us for.

What is it that bothers you? What do you see in this world that disturbs you? What gets your blood boiling?

Whatever that is, don't just pray about it and think that the work is done.

"Go" down to the pool and "do" the work of washing the mud off of your eyes.

How are we going to see healing take place and lives being saved if we have mud in our eyes?

Good News

I had a conversation with a friend the other day that went just like this:

Friend: "Why don't you ever post anything other than your blog with the Christian stuff on Facebook?"

Me: "What am I supposed to post?"

Friend: "I'm not saying there is anything wrong with it, but there is other stuff to talk about too."

Me: "Is there something more important that I should be posting about?"

Friend: "What about world events or politics or where you ate dinner that night?"

Me: "Like I said, is there something more important that I should be posting about?"

Friend: "Not everyone believes in that stuff."

Me: "That's why I post the blog."

Friend: "Most of the people probably never even read it because they know it is the same stuff each time. Has anyone ever told you that they found hope through your post?"

Me: "No, but let me ask you a question now. Have you ever played the lottery?"

Friend: "Sure, a couple times a month"

Me: "Did you win the million dollar jackpot yet?"

Friend: "No"

Me: "Then why keep playing? It's just the same thing every time you play."

Friend: "Right but there is a chance………..wow, walked right into that one."

I post what I post because there is nothing more important than knowing the options for eternity. People don't care what I had for dinner last night, they don't care where I am every 5 minutes. I am just not that interesting of a person.
If I have information that could give someone hope for a better tomorrow and I kept it quiet, then I would be a jerk. I have "Good News", and I just can't keep it to myself.

Martin Luther King Jr. said it this way:
“Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

……and that's the truth.

It's just one

"….for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies." -John 8:44

I think a problem some people have is that they believe in God, and they believe in cute little cherub angelic beings but for whatever reason they don't think Satan is a being that they need to contend with.

The reality is that he is the second most powerful being in the known universe.
And he's crafty.

He doesn't just bombard us with temptation. He chips away at our character with little temptations here and there.

It's just one joint.
It's just one night at a strip club
It's just one…
It's just one…

Satan knows that most of us would never go all in with him, but he also knows that humans have a natural bent towards sin. Which is why you never have to teach your children to do bad things. They just do them.

Satan knows that we are all inclined to head towards sin if it is in small doses.
We go to war with our own character by telling ourselves things like:

"It's not like I'm murdering someone…..it's just one….."
"I'm not hurting anyone else……it's just one…."
"I will make an exception in this case…..it's just one…."

He's crafty.

He makes sin attractive. It looks like a fun slide but it slices you.

Since the creation of the world, sin has had consequences. It always will.
Don't be deceived into thinking, "It's just one".

Everything starts with one. That is why some companies frame their first dollar from their first sale. That is where it starts. One. And it only goes up from there.

Train yourself to avoid the "one" and enjoy being consequence free!

'Nuff said

I usually write something lengthy once a week on this blog.

This week I am going to keep it simple.

I don't care how bad your week was.

I don't care what kind of problems or let downs you have experienced this week.

I don't even care if next week is going to be worse.

Today is a great day!

See picture at right.

'Nuff said.

Turtles

Most days in my life have been great. I am just happy most of the time. Happy to see my friends, happy to play with my kids, happy spending time with my wife. Just happy.

But there are days when I wish I was a turtle.

Days where I wish I had a shell that I could pull my head into and just hide from the world.
They are rare, but I have 'em.

There is an issue with pulling our heads into our shells and disappearing from reality for a bit though. It can start to become a comfortable place to hang out.

Being inside of your shell is safe…after all, you are the only one in there.
Nobody can say hurtful things to you.
Nobody can stab you in the back through your shell.
Nobody can stress you out in your shell.

That all sounds great, but here is the downside to hanging out in your shell.

Nobody can say hurtful things to you
Nobody can stab you in the back through your shell.
Nobody can stress you out in your shell.

You might think that it would be great to go through life without ever being stressed out, without anyone ever hurting you, or without ever suffering……..but you would hate it.

You would have nothing to compare.
You would never know how awesome it is to be stress free unless you have experienced stress.
You would never know how peaceful it is to have loyal friends unless you have been stabbed in the back.

To truly see how glorious the mountaintop is, you have to go through the pain and anguish of climbing up from the valley.

You don't want to be a turtle.

The shell looks cool and protective. But in the end, it's just keeping you from experiencing life. The good and the bad.

Life is calling you. Climb out of that shell.

Stop playing with your balls

Have you ever stopped to think and ask yourself, "How am I living the one life I was given"?

Most of us would most likely say something to the effect of, "I work really hard so that I can buy the stuff I want, eat the food I want, live the way I want and then I go to sleep. Then I wake up and go work really hard so that I can buy the stuff I want......"

We want the big house, and the nice car. We want the latest iPad or flatscreen T.V.

I saw a documentary recently on the "Dung Beetle". Yes, I watched a show about Dung Beetles and I enjoyed it! So what.

It was quite amazing. They take the most repulsive things known to us (poop), and they play in it. They roll it around on the ground until it is round, and then depending on the type of Dung Beetle, they either eat the ball or they make their home in it.

They are thrilled to death playing with, eating, and living in.....crap.

I think when God looks at us and the goals we have set for our lives, he actually is watching a documentary on Dung Beetles.

We are thrilled to play with, eat, and live in the equivalent of a ball of crap.

Sound gross huh?

What I am trying to say is that if you are spending your life trying to accumulate wealth and the largest house on the block and the fanciest car and the flattest screen and dining at the most expensive restaurants, you are simply rolling around balls of crap.

The biggest house has never saved a life.

The nicest car has never pulled someone out of an addiction.

The flattest screen has never done anything for the widow.

Dining at the most expensive restaurant has never pulled an orphan from the grasp of hopelessness.

Stop playing with your balls. They may look good up close, but from a distance they are nothing more than stinking balls of crap.

Bald Eagles and No See-ums (Lessons part 2)

Sitting at the water's edge of a secluded lake in the middle of nowhere at 5:30 in the morning all by yourself can be an amazing place to reset your busy mind. That is just what I was doing one morning on our trip to the Boundary Waters.

There is so much going on in my family's life right now that it feels like we're living in a blender.
I was just at a point that morning where I needed to feel God's presence. As I sat there, I read some passages of scripture and just prayed.

This is hard to say, but my goal with this blog is to be totally transparent, so here it is….

I prayed for a sign of His existence…...for Him to show me that He is real.
As I sat there watching and waiting, the most amazing thing happened…….

Nothing.

If you're reading this and you are a skeptic, you might be thinking to yourself,
"Ah-ha…see Tom, God isn't real."
And in response to that I would say, "Ah-ha….not so fast."

As I sat still and looked for Him and listened for Him for the first time in a very long time, nothing happened……and that's when everything happened.

In the silence of nothing, I heard the flapping of the dragonfly wings against the damp air.
In the silence of nothing, I heard the birds speaking to one another. I heard the scampering of squirrels and the splash from the fish catching breakfast off of the surface of the water.
In seeing nothing, I saw the morning mist rise through the towering pines. I saw the majestic soar of the Bald Eagle, and the flight pattern of the amazingly small "No See-ums".

I was sitting on the edge of a lake that was teeming with living creatures. My chair was on a gigantic rock formation shooting up from the soft earth around it, and I was watching a fiery ball in the sky, burn off the remaining morning fog.

How did all of this come to be? Who told the lake where to stop? Who placed the large boulder I sat upon? Who created the amazing Eagle? Who has ownership of the fine instruments used to create the infinitely small "No See-um"?

For me, I find that it is not the absence of the truth of our Creator's existence, just the suppression of it.

God knew that it wasn't a sign that I needed.
God knew I just needed to slow down and be still.

Sometimes we just have trouble hearing and seeing God because He is EVERYWHERE.

That morning, I was revitalized and I have felt a nearness to Him that I have not felt in a while. I have a new passion to drive forward in my endeavors that have made life like living in a blender for my family.

My family and I will have time to rest in eternity.

May you come to see that God is real. May you hear Him. May you see Him, and may you realize that God is EVERYWHERE.

Toe tag (lesson from the Boundary waters part 1)

Last week some friends and I were up in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. This place is so remote that there are no roads in, you can only canoe to get where you want to go. We stayed on an island the first night.

Pretty awesome stuff.

Depending on how far in you go, you may not see another human being the entire time you are up there. This means that your cell phone is completely useless.

No T.V.

No newspaper

No radio

No information whatsoever.

World War III could start and you would be utterly clueless.

When we got back to civilization, I was glued to a T.V. at Famous Dave's reading the ticker tape across the bottom of the screen to see what had been going on in the world for the last 5 days, and all of a sudden it occurred to me.......The World has gone on without us.

I know that sounds egotistical, but it really made me think about a couple of things.

1.) When Mother Teresa passed away, the World stopped.

2.) When Martin Luther King Jr. died, the World stopped.

These two people were just human like you and I. They possessed no special powers. They were just ordinary people who chose to live extraordinarily and when they were removed from the planet, it mattered to the whole planet.

So this is what I thought about on my way home from Famous Dave's....

Are my family and I living in such a way that there would be a void if we were gone?

1.) Would our neighbors be sad if we moved?

2.) Would our church feel a loss?

3.) Would our town be affected in any way?

4.) Our state?

5.) Our country?

6.) Our world?

If we are living the way Jesus calls us to live by loving our neighbors, putting others before ourselves, and being generous with what has been given to us, then there will be a void when you go.

If we can't answer yes to any of the questions above, then we need to examine how we are living.

Sooner or later we all get a toe tag. The question at that point is going to be:

Who is it going to matter to?

The Portage

So the guys are going on our annual canoe trip to the Boundary Waters tomorrow. Last year we spent the majority of our time on 1 lake and just took a couple of day trips to some other areas. In the Boundary Waters Canoe Area (BWCA), there are literally thousands of little lakes. The issue is that there is land in between them, so in order to get to the majority of the more secluded lakes where the good scenery and good fishing is, it requires work. You have to load all of your gear into packs and someone is going to be shouldering the canoe for possibly a mile or so until you hit the next lake. This is called a portage.

Last year we did 2 of them.

This year we are doing 38!

We caught some good size fish last year and we had a nice relaxing time, just talking and paddling around our lake, but this year we are being called to a bigger adventure.....an adventure that will be sure to bring us better fish and better stories.

Here is the thing...

I think God is calling us to do the same thing.

Most of us are just comfortable in life. We might get challenged once or twice and we think that we have really accomplished something if we meet those few challenges, but when the few challenges are over we are just comfortable spending the rest of our lives paddling around and talking to our friends.

God is calling you and I to the bigger adventure, but it means that there is work to be done.

God is telling you that there is better scenery if you are willing to put in a little effort...if you are willing to step out of your comfort zone and start your adventure.

God is telling you that you might have caught a few nice size fish, but you haven't seen anything yet.

There is something in your life RIGHT NOW that God is chasing after you to do. What is it?

What is it?

To quote my favorite movie of all time (Shawshank Redemption), "Get busy livin, or get busy dyin'"

I hope today you choose to take more portages, take the road less traveled, step out on faith and see if God does not simply amaze you with some huge freakin fish and an amazing new perspective.

Curveballs

I received a call from a very good friend of mine this week. His cousin has been in a battle with a life threatening disease for a while, and last Wednesday he lost. Probably one of the most difficult things to swallow was that his cousin was young. He just got married a year ago.

Curveball.

This same friend called me 2 days later to let me know that his grandfather has passed away as well. You could just hear it in his voice that the family is wrecked right now.

What do you say to someone who just lost 2 family members within a matter of days? How do you comfort someone in that mind state? As my mind raced for the right words to say to him, I just went blank. Seriously, what do you say?

I’m sorry?

What can I do to help?

They are in a better place!

For my friend, he is a man of God, he knows all of that already. So what do you say?

.......and then it became clear.

In times like these, when questions are flying through the minds of the grieving, what is needed is truth.

Experts in any field will tell you that when things don’t make sense, go back to what does and start from there.

For me, it just means that my friend needed to be reminded of where the starting point is.

He needed brought back to the truth.

Brought back to what we know for sure.

Brought back to what makes sense.

Brought back to the Cornerstone.

See, we don’t just believe that God is awesome when life is going great. That’s easy......anyone can do that. We believe that God is awesome when things go haywire.

We believe that the scriptures we read when life is a bowl of cherries, say the same thing when curveballs are being thrown to us.

Our circumstances don’t get a vote in the truth.

It’s when we are no longer able to answer our own questions that we truly begin to seek God’s answers.

My friend is solid and he is going to be just fine, but we can all stand a reminder can’t we?

I sent him a text message earlier today. It simply said “Romans 8:18”

I just wanted to throw another reminder out there to him.

1 Peter 5:10 says, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered for a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you”.

In this life, there will be suffering. Being a Christ follower does not make you exempt.

It is however, what you choose to see in that time of suffering that separates us from the world.

Choose to see that God is still good.

For no matter how dark the cloud, the SON is on the other side.

Peace to you my friend, and to anyone else dealing with pain or questions tonight.

The cupbearer

There is a fantastic story in Genesis about a guy named Joseph. To make a long story short though, Joseph ends up in prison. While he is in prison he gains a couple of roommates.
The chief baker of Pharaoh and the chief cupbearer of Pharaoh. The cupbearer back in those days was responsible for tasting the drink of the King first to make sure it was suitable for the King and also to make sure it was not poisoned. I'm not sure what the baker and the cup bearer did to end up there. Maybe Pharaoh didn't like how his guy sipped from the cup and his bread was moldy, the Bible doesn't say. It just says they did something that Pharaoh didn't like and so they got tossed in the cell with Joseph.

So the cupbearer has this dream and he can't figure out what the dream means. Well, Joseph has the ability to decipher dreams and so he steps in and informs this cupbearer that what his dream signifies and the cupbearer is so excited that he tells Joseph that when he gets out of prison (in 3 days), he will remember that Joseph helped him and see about getting Joseph out of prison as well.

He was so grateful to Joseph for his help that when the 3 days passed and he was let out of prison, that he completely forgot about Joseph……………..For 2 years!!!!

The Bible says 2 years later, Pharaoh had a dream that he couldn't figure out. He summoned all of the people that he thought could help, and none were able to decipher the dream. Then, all of a sudden the Chief cup bearer remembers Joseph.

I can't imagine the feeling he must have had in his gut when the image of Josephs face and the promise he made 2 years ago came back to his memory.

At that moment, the cupbearer is recorded as saying, "Today I have been reminded of my failure.”
He informed Pharaoh about Joseph and told him about the event from 2 years ago. Needless to say, Joseph was released from prison.
The Bible never mentions the cupbearers name. I think that is because it makes it easier to put our own name there.

Are you the cupbearer?

Maybe as you were reading this, a certain someone came to mind.
Somewhere along the line have you forgotten someone?
Someone that perhaps helped you through something or pulled you out of something?

Is there someone in your life that you owe something to?
An apology?
A thank you?

If so, may today be the day that you say, "Today I have been reminded of my failure.”
You might be thinking to yourself that it was so long ago, it will feel awkward to go back and right the wrong at this point.
It was 2 full years before the cupbearer righted his wrong with Joseph.

It's not too late for you or I.
Don't put it off any longer. Be the cupbearer today.

It's not about the whale

Most of us know the story of Jonah and the whale from when we were young, but have you read the story lately?

Jonah is told by God to go and speak to this group of people called the Ninevites. Jonah thinks about it for about zero seconds, flashes God the two finger peace sign and bolted in the total opposite direction. He hops on a boat that is heading out for sea and doesn't look back.

In an attempt to get Jonah's attention he sends in a ferocious wind. So ferocious that the sailors who no doubt had tons of experience sailing in storms, were freaking out. The Bible says that each one cried out to his "own god".

Then the sailors started questioning Jonah about who he was and Jonah said, "I am a Hebrew and I worship the LORD, the God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

Now the sailors were afraid for their lives. Not only was the storm great, but they had a man on the ship who obviously did something to make the real God upset.

The storm was getting even worse and the sailors asked Jonah, "What should we do to you to make the sea calm down for us?"
Jonah basically tells them to toss him in the sea or it is going to end badly for all of them too.
The sailors listened to Jonah and they picked him up and dumped his storm following rear end over the side of the boat.

Then the bible says that the sea grew calm.

Now, forget about the stupid whale this is the meat of the story.

Verse 16 says this, "At this the men greatly feared the LORD, and they offered a sacrifice to the LORD and made vows to him.

Don’t miss this.

God wanted Jonah to bring people into a relationship with Him.

Jonah ran the other way………..and people were still brought into a relationship with God. The sailors went from following their "own god" to following the "God of heaven, who made the sea and the land."

The point is this: You can run from God your whole life, and He is still going to get what He wants and you are only going to get troubled waters.

The other option is to run towards God. He will then get what he wants and you can avoid an untold number of storms.

I kinda like option 2.

Show me paint the fence

Recently our kids were introduced the "The Karate Kid" movie. It had been such a long time since I had seen it that I was actually looking forward to watching it with them. The end of that movie is great (and not just because Ralph Macchio is done acting). It's the classic underdog story. The wimpy Daniel vs. the more experienced and stronger Johnny. I can remember all of my friends thought they had mastered the crane kick that sent Johnny to the floor and Daniel to the winners circle.

I took something new away from the movie this time around though.

There is a point in time where Daniel asks Mr. Miyagi to train him in karate so he can enter a tournament and defeat the bad guys one by one.

Mr. Miyagi agrees.

Daniel begins getting frustrated because instead of learning karate moves designed to make his opponents liver bleed, he seems to be being taken advantage of by Mr. Miyagi, who has a never ending list of chores that need accomplished. Everything from sanding the floor to painting the fence to waxing his cars and painting his house.

Finally, Daniel can't take it anymore and he blows a gasket. Daniel begins yelling at Mr. Miyagi about how he hasn't taught him anything remotely close to karate. He follows Miyagi around the yard continuing his rant until Miyagi decides it is time to end the tirade.

Miyagi says, "Show me sand the floor". Daniel is surprised when the motion turns out to be a defensive block of a kick from Miyagi.

"Show me paint the fence". Again, Daniel whips up the defensive motion from the repetitive movement he learned while painting the fence.

"Show me wax on, wax off".

Then the moment comes when the light switch gets flipped for Daniel........and he gets it.

He understands right there in that moment that everything he has been going through, all of the pain, all of the confusion, was for a purpose.

So when the tournament day came, Daniel had already been through the trial....

And he was prepared to handle it.

You may be going through some garbage right now.

You may be at a breaking point in your life.

You may be struggling for answers.

You may even be questioning God about your circumstance.

You may be asking God, "Why me"?

You may be asking God, "Where are you in all of this"?

You may be asking God, "What is the purpose for this predicament I'm in"?

Consider this......

Maybe, just maybe......He is training you for the tournament.

Maybe, just maybe.....This trial in your life, this stage in your life that doesn't make sense to you right now is just preparation and character building within you, so that when the tournament comes and you wonder how you are going to make it through, God can say.....

"Show me paint the fence."

The number 40 and perfect circles

Last night I read a verse about how Jesus went into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights. It reminded me of all of the other times in scripture where I have seen the number "40" and I spent the rest of the night trying to figure out the significance of "40".

Noah was in the Ark for 40 days and 40 nights

Moses hung out with God in a mountain for 40 days and 40 nights

Elijah was running for his life for 40 days and 40 nights

After Jesus' resurrection he showed himself for…….you guessed it, 40 days

So why 40 days and 40 nights? What does it mean?

You can do an internet search for the reason, and you will find out that there are speculations from every angle. I should know….I spent quite a bit of time doing just that.
Let me share a true story with you and then I will tell you what I think the "40" means.


In the14th century, Pope Benedict XI was looking to commission an artist to create some paintings for Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. He sent a messenger to Florence to see a painter by the name of Giotto. The messenger asked for a painting to present to the Pope. Giotto took a canvas, dipped his brush in red paint, and drew a perfect circle. He grinned and said "Here's your drawing". The messenger took the painting back to the Pope. The messenger told the Pope how Giotto had painted this perfect circle unaided. Giotto got the job.

In Mark 12, there was a teacher of the law that approached Jesus and asked Him what was the most important commandment. Jesus responded by saying, "…..love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength….and over your neighbor as yourself".

The messenger was expecting to find a painter that would present this amazing masterpiece on the canvas. The artist gave him a perfect circle. The simplicity of the painting demonstrated the artist's understanding of the most basic element of art wonderfully well.

The teacher of the law was expecting to get a long, amazingly deep response to his question from Jesus. And Jesus dipped His brush in the red paint and gave the man a perfect circle.
Jesus didn't respond with a long drawn out response.

I bet if I was to be sitting in a room with Jesus and I asked Him what the significance of the 40 days and 40 nights is in scripture, He would respond by asking me if I am loving God with all of my heart and all of my soul and all of my mind and all of my strength.

What do I think the "40 days and 40 nights" signifies? Who cares!

I can't even keep that commandment for 5 minutes, but I want to wander off and explore the secret meaning behind the "40 days and 40 nights". I spent several hours in the last 2 days thinking about the meaning……..and it dwarfed the amount of time I spent loving my Creator.

So the next time I go off on some mysterious trail in search of some secret message in the text, I will remember the perfect circle......and spend the rest of my time practicing the basics……Loving God and loving others.

You can be perfect

Recently on two separate occasions involving two separate people, I have heard the following:
"I know I am going to Heaven, I'm a good person".

You might be reading this right now and thinking to yourself…..me too!!

So here is a story:

There were two brothers in a small town who were known as the town trouble makers.
One day one of the brothers died and the other brother began his search for a pastor who would do the funeral.
Knowing what kind of delinquent the dead brother was, it was hard to find a pastor in the small town who was willing to conduct the funeral. Finally, the brother approached a pastor that accepted.
The brother said to the pastor, "I have a favor to ask of you as well".
"What is the favor?", the pastor replied.
The brother said, "There are going to be quite a few important people in attendance, and I would like you for you to call my brother a Saint at some point during the funeral".
Knowing what kind of mischief the boy raised during his time on earth, the pastor hesitated.
The brother said, "I will pay you $1,000.00"
The pastor thought for a little while longer, and then finally agreed to the request.
At the funeral, the pastor began to speak about the deceased brother.
"Here lies a young man who was an atrocious citizen, he was a thief, a bully, a trouble maker in his community, a drunkard, and basically wretched in every way"
The brother sat stunned, staring at the pastor in disbelief.
The pastor continued, "…….but compared to his brother……..he was a saint!"

Here is the point: You might be a good person……but compared to who?

When compared to your neighbor or friends you might be a good person, but compared to the perfection of Jesus Christ, we are farther from "good" than the East is from the West.

Perfection is the only way we get into the pearly gates and in the presence of God and we cannot attain that perfection on our own. We are in need of something or someone perfect to pay our way in. That would be Jesus.

Does he dwell inside of you?
Do you know Him?
Do you walk with Him?
Does He guide you?

He is the only way to perfection. There is no other option.
And you can be perfect.

From the Whirlwind

Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind -Job 38:1

When I first read this I asked myself, "What the freakin' heck is a whirlwind"?


The dictionary says that a whirlwind is basically a tornado, or a wild storm over land or water. So, God answers Job from a tornado……...Interesting.

Why does God answer Job from the middle of a whirlwind? Let's back up….
Job was a man of God. In the very first verse of the very first chapter of Job, the Bible says that he was a man that was blameless and upright. Wouldn't you love to have that said about you? I know I would.

So to make a long story short, Job's life begins falling down all around him. Some of his livestock was burnt to a crisp, and some were stolen. All of his children were crushed to death when the house they were in collapsed. His body developed boils and scabs all over it and they itched so badly that Job used a piece of broken pottery to scrape his skin. His own wife told him to "curse God and die".

Job had some friends that came by to check on him in his time of distress. Through several exchanges with his friends Job breaks down and starts wondering why all of this bad stuff is happening to him. So he asks why me? And who could blame him, the Bible even says he was blameless and upright.

Now picture in your mind the footage you remember seeing from hurricane Katrina. It was a disaster. The wind and water. Roofs ripped clean off houses. Boats flying hundreds of yards through the air and being deposited into homes. There was pain, suffering, chaos and mass confusion to the tenth power.

Now think about Job's situation. Everything he had was taken from him within about 10 minutes. Think about losing a child. He lost 10 at the same time!!!
Job was in the middle of pain, suffering, chaos and mass confusion to the tenth power.
A tornado……...

A whirlwind.

"Then the Lord answered Job from the whirlwind"

Perhaps you are experiencing pain, suffering, chaos and mass confusion to the tenth power in your life today. I need to tell you something……
God loves you just as much as He loved Job. He took the same care to create you as He did Job.
God has not forgotten you or forsaken you.

God is in the whirlwind.

Be thankful for the whirlwind………...God is near.

Something free

I received a letter in the mail this week from the manufacturer of my car.
Dead serious, this is what the letter said......
You need to bring your car in so that we can fix this little problem that people have been experiencing on the same make and model and year as your car. The metal inflator inside of your airbag can potentially become too pressurized, causing your airbag to inflate with so much pressure that it will explode the metal inflator, SENDING SHARDS OF METAL THROUGH YOUR FACE!!!!!!

I have had more comforting letters arrive in my mailbox.

I would think that urgent news like this would not be trusted to standard mail delivery, but I digress.

After giving it some thought as I sit here in the waiting room for the car to be fixed, I realized that I am thankful for a couple of things.

1.) At least they told me that things could end badly for me. Someone took the time to send me that letter warning me of the danger that lay ahead of me.
2.) The service manager came in and explained that the work to repair the airbag was being done free of charge. The manufacturer was paying the price so that I did not have to be concerned about the danger of metal frags launching through my skull.

If you are reading this and you are a seeker or a skeptic, I want to share 2 things with you.

1.) Things are going to end badly for you. There is danger ahead. But………….

2.) The manufacturer of your soul has sent you a letter, it's called the Bible. He is telling you that the danger that's ahead of you is real, but He can remove the danger for you free of charge. It costs you nothing.

Simply by asking Jesus to come into your heart and giving Him the leadership of your life, He can remove the danger. The choice is yours to make but let me ask you this question....

When was the last time you said no to something free?

The balancing act

I am a freak when it comes to books. I only read non-fiction books though. If I am going to spend time reading, I want to be learning something. At any given time I am most likely reading between 3-5 books. I keep one in my car, one on the nightstand, one in the living room, and anywhere else I can squeeze in a couple of minutes to devour a couple of pages.

At the end of 2010 though, I made a decision. I will only read 2 books this year. The Bible and one other. Nothing else until the year is over.
This is why…..

John 1:35-42 "The next day John was back at his post with two disciples, who were watching. He looked up, saw Jesus walking nearby, and said, "Here he is, God's Passover Lamb." The two disciples heard him and went after Jesus. Jesus looked over his shoulder and said to them, "What are you after?" They said, "Rabbi" (which means "Teacher"), "where are you staying?" He replied, "Come along and see for yourself." They came, saw where he was living, and ended up staying with him for the day. It was late afternoon when this happened. Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, was one of the two who heard John's witness and followed Jesus. The first thing he did after finding where Jesus lived was find his own brother, Simon, telling him, "We've found the Messiah" (that is, "Christ"). He immediately led him to Jesus…."

There was a time when Andrew was face to face with Jesus and he learned from Him, and then there came a time when Andrew left Jesus to go tell another about Him.

The goal of our life cannot be to soak up as much information as we can without applying what we have learned. Equally true is that our goal cannot be to spend all of our time trying to introduce people to Jesus without sitting under teaching to help us grow in our own knowledge of Jesus.

There is a time for teaching and a time for reaching and time must be allotted for both.

In the end, both sitting under teaching and reaching out to people are key in pointing people to Jesus and that is what we as Christians have been called to.

In Luke, Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest man who ever lived.
Do you know why?
Because the only thing John cared about was pointing people to Jesus.

I want to be like John the Baptist.
I want to point people toward Jesus…..but I can't do that if all I am doing is spending my time soaking in knowledge and I don’t get to the place where I step away from the teaching and go and apply what I have learned.

So maybe you need to spend more time under the teaching of someone, maybe you need to spend more time reaching out to people in your community. Wherever you are in the balancing act, I hope you find the center.....and I hope it helps you point people to Jesus.

White knuckle Christians

"Rudy" has to be one of the best sports movies of all time. Even if you don't enjoy sports, you can't help but love a true story about someone overcoming huge obstacles to realize a dream. One of the most memorable scenes for me is when one of the football players pulls Rudy close to him to give him some useful advice. He tells Rudy that you can tell if a lineman is planning on charging in hard by looking at their hand that's planted on the ground. He says that if the lineman's fingers are flesh tone, then he is relaxed and not planning on blitzing, however if the knuckles on the hand have turned white, there is pressure on the hand and then you know he will be charging hard.

I think many churches are failing to reach the seekers and skeptics in their respective communities because we are in short supply of the white knuckle Christian.

That's why I love Isaiah.

Isaiah 6:8 says, "Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: "Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?" Then I said, "Here am I! Send me"

I love how he didn't say, "well let me think and pray about it" or "what's the game plan?"

Isaiah had some serious white knuckles. He was a man of action. "Send me!"

As soon as Isaiah says he will go, God gives him instructions.

So many times we as Christians want to pray about stuff, which is a good thing...we should pray constantly. The problem arises when we use prayer as a substitute for action on our part.

We pray that God will do something, or we pray that God will send someone else to do something, but when was the last time you said, "Here am I! Send me".

Give me a white knuckler over a flesh toner in my foxhole anytime.

That's who I try to surround myself with.....white knucklers. That is who I strive to be.

Send Me.

D.L. Moody was once quoted as saying: "The world has yet to see what God can do with and for and through the man who is fully and wholly devoted to Him."

What color are your knuckles?

The King and Karl

I saw an advertisement for the new 3D television that is out. This thing shows every show in 3D if you want to watch it that way. Every channel. Think about it.........ESPN in 3 freakin' D.

I was drooling.

We all want the next best thing if we are honest. I remember when the iPhone came out and the next day my neighbor came by to show me his new toy. My wife said my eyes lit up like the 4th of July sky. That was yesterday though. Now the iPad is out. Thing just keep getting cooler, and the truth is that things will always continue to get cooler and we will continue to be amazed..... until tomorrow.

There is no permanent satisfaction in the things of this world. Just temporary happiness.

In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon is basically talking about the same thing. He was the wisest man in the history of history according to the Bible. He also had enough money to buy the planet.

The Bible says that "The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart".

He had it all.

In Ecclesiastes, King Solomon basically is saying that with all of his wealth and with the ability he had to buy whatever he wanted, that it is a sham. The wisest man to ever live is telling you and I that the 3D television is meaningless. That our desire for the brand new is a waste. That our desire to keep up with our neighbors is pointless.

You might be reading this and saying to yourself that his guy Solomon is out of touch.

Things have changed since those days.

But have they really?

I read an article recently about a man named Karl Rabeder. He is a 47 year old millionaire.

He has everything you could want. Luxury cars and multiple homes.

I am sure he has an iPhone too.

The picture is his villa in the Australian Alps. Nice view huh?

It could be yours now.

He is raffling it off and selling all of his possessions and giving away every dime of it to a charity he created to help needy people in Central and South America.

He is quoted as saying:

"My idea is to have nothing left."

"Money is counterproductive- it prevents happiness to come"

"More and more I heard the words: 'Stop what you are doing now- all this luxury and consumerism- and start your real life' "

"I had the feeling I was working as a slave for things that I did not wish for or need. I have the feeling that there are a lot of people doing the same thing."

And I drooled at the 3D television ad.

I don't know if he is right about a lot of people doing the same thing, but he pegged at least one person correctly.

By the way, Karl is moving into a small wooden hut in the mountains when the sale is complete. At this point he has no plans to add a 3D television.

You might think Karl to be a little extreme, but if I believe the Bible to be true, and I do, and Solomon was the wisest man ever.......

Karl is a wise man.

God, help me to trust the wisdom of King Solomon, and help me to be more like Karl Rabeder.

Where are your hands?

Have you ever known someone that every time they came around, all they did was ask you for stuff? They ask for money, they ask for help, they ask for your time, all the while never making a deposit in the relationship?
It's draining isn't it?
I call 'em takers. Take, take, take. You're lucky if you even get a thank you when it's all said and done.
You probably have a mental picture of that person in your head right now.
We all know somebody like that.

Now, what if I told you that you and I are that person?
You are the taker. I am the taker.

Not with any of our friends, but with God.

Some of us take credit that belongs to Him.
Some of us take glory that belongs to Him.
Some of us take His money by not giving Him our full tithe and more.
Some of us take His time by praying to get us out of something that we behaved ourselves into.
We are takers.
And we wonder where He is when we are going through a rough patch.

He's hiding!!! (ok, not really but you get the point)

He sees us coming from miles away with our hands out.
He hears us coming from miles away shouting gimme, gimme.

Do you know who He loves helping out of rough patches?

Those who thank Him and praise Him and love Him
Those who don’t treat Him like a 911 operator.

The only time we think of the 911 operator is when we are in big trouble. Do you think about them at any other time? Don't even try it...... We only call 'em when we need 'em.

I think all too often we treat God the same way. We only call Him when we need Him.
Take, take, take.

I'm guilty of it.
God forgive me for being a taker.
I don't want you to constantly see me with my hands out….
I want you to see me more often with my hands raised up.

Where are your hands?

I choose God

I read an excerpt from a book called Kingdom Triangle by J.P. Moreland the other day. The excerpt was a true story about this guy doing mission work in a foreign country somewhere along the equator. He was there offering medical attention when a woman gave birth to a child and the woman died. Having no incubator to keep the baby warm during the cold nights, they had to depend on a hot water bottle. They only had one hot water bottle (how many of those do you need on the equator?), and it broke. To make a long story short, the man gathered some children from the local orphanage and they prayed for God to perform a miracle. They prayed specifically for a hot water bottle, and one little girl even prayed for a dolly for a sick girl among them. The very same day, a package arrives for the man. He gathered the children to help him open it. Inside the box was the typical items you would receive in a care package, and of course…..a hot water bottle and even a dolly. The package was mailed 5 months earlier from the man's church.

A good friend of mine and I were talking this weekend and he shared a story with me that happened to him last week. He was heading home from a long trip and had to drive quite a ways to get back. Normally he is an early riser and tries to get a jump on the driving that lies ahead, but not that day. He took his time getting up and ready and started on his trip a couple hours after he normally would have. The trip was a rough one due to weather conditions and he was going slower that he had hoped to. He pulled into a gas station to fuel up when he noticed a couple having trouble with their windshield wiper. They explained to my friend that the wiper was coming off of the windshield and due to the weather they could not clear off the snow and ice and it was to the point where they could no longer see the road. My friend had the same exact issue with an old Buick he owned before, so he goes into the gas station and buys some wrenches and fixes the wiper for the couple, who can now get home safely.

There can be a tendency to blow things like this off as coincidence. But a package shows up that is exactly what was prayed for. The package was shipped 5 months ago. It lands the same day the prayer was offered up. My friend just so happens to take his time for a change.
He experienced a wiper malfunction and learned how to fix it. He finds a couple in need of someone who has experience repairing a wiper malfunction.
Many would just say, "wow….what an unbelievable coincidence".
Now….there is a choice to make.

We can choose to chalk things like that up to coincidence.

Or

We can choose to believe God is not just some distant onlooker that doesn't interact with the very people that He created and loves. We can believe that He is actually with us, among us, and at work in us and all around us, and believe that He is orchestrating things like this to allow us to see how awesome He is.
I choose God.