P-E-R-F-E-C-T-I-O-N

Perfection is a thief who steals joy from my hands before clinching her claws tightly around my heart. Each day she slips her calling card in my pocket with printed letters that read "selfish" and "indulgent".
But when I lift my hands in surrender to the Lord, she cannot reach them. And one at a time the Lord pries her boney fingers from my heart.

What is gripping you?

Running

We cannot run from the things God places in our lives to shape our character. Running only breeds discontentment. And discontentment reveals that we know we have what we want but we sometimes wonder if we want what we have.

What is it you are running from today? Or what areas of your life show discontentment?

"But godliness with contentment is great gain." -1 Timothy 6:6

Change

Sometimes we live within the confines of a glass ceiling where we cannot think outside the box. It is a place where tradition speaks and history repeats itself. But in our own little glass house can we hear the pioneer's voice riding on the wind, begging us to forge a new trail? Or are we too comfortable with all that seems familiar?

Trap Doors

Sometimes we find ourselves looking for a trap door: a way out. Instead of thinking, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" we think, "I can't do this!" But beware because trap doors do not usually lead to long-term solutions.

A Doxology

An old familiar hymn sings from a memory in my childhood. It was birthed out of ritual and routine but still echoes through my heart today. Only, not in the way music echoes through the walls of a church, but in the way truth echoes through time.

"Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host;
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost!

Praise God the Father who's the source;
Praise God the Son who is the course;
Praise God the Spirit who's the flow;
Praise God, our portion here below!"
-Thomas Ken

The Sweater

It arrived in the mail a little bit early. A birthday card from a friend with a note penned, "Here's $50 go shopping". So when the day came I made my way to store where I normally just window shop. On a rack marked "sale" I found what I wanted: a black sweater with fancy ruffles on the front. It was the perfect mix of a classic touched by a trend. So I handed the clerk my money then waited nearly a month and this past Sunday I wore it. But not only that, I treasured it. And I kept the compliments I received tucked tightly in my heart.

When I returned home, I draped the sweater gently over a chair in my room instead of returning it to its proper place. Little did I realize that the sweater slipped from the chair and fell into the laundry basket until today when I pulled a little black sweater from the dryer. Ahh... I sighed as my heart sank with disappointment.

It was an expensive lesson learned that material things are fleeting and should stay tucked in a closet, not in a corner of my heart because when they do, they might try to shape my identity, puff up my pride, or steal the place of important virtues. Now my little black sweater can still be worn, but I shall never wear it the same way again.

"Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience." -Colossians 3:12

Answering the Call

If we come to a place in life where we can just coast then we better be careful. When we make more of an effort to maximize our own comforts, we tend to minimize God's calling on our lives.

I can guarantee that a life lived in hot pursuit of a God sized dream is action packed and full of adventure, not creature comforts.

So let's check our hearts today. Are we more concerned with the comforts of this life or the calling of a lifetime?

“Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.” -Matthew 4:19

A Poem

Winter came without a warning
on Wednesday morning
when a north wind ushered in the cold.
Word on the street is,
"fall is gone" or so I am told
by the leaves that go skipping by
along the ground
and the Christmas lights proclaiming,
"Tis the season to be jolly".
As I cherish in my heart
the coming celebration of my Savior's birth.

Water into Wine

In a day when Jesus turned water into wine, he met a need. He performed a miracle. And I cannot help but wonder today if Jesus would do the same for me and turn water into coffee? I think he would. But more than that, I think he would say, now that you have your coffee, come and let's sit together and talk. That's the Jesus I serve...not a stuffed shirt or a painted mural, but a relational God.

"On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim. Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him. "
-John 2:1-11