Each Day is a Gift.....

Roast of the Day: Medium

Can you believe that we are actually approaching the Christmas season in a couple of months? As such, I thought it only fitting that I blog about gifts.

Can you remember the excitement of Christmas back when you were a child? The anticipation of opening the gifts under the tree was almost unbearable. It didn't seem to matter what the gift was back then....only that someone loved us enough to wrap up something in pretty paper and give it to us. We would tear into that present with wild abandonment. We weren't concerned about saving the pretty wrapping paper or the bow. We just wanted to see what was inside the wrapping paper. Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we grew up...and opening presents became more of a tradition or ritual. We started neatly unwrapping the outer paper and folding it up, perhaps saving it for another use.

Our excitement and anticipation over the gifts has become diminished and our reactions to the gifts is, at best, predictable. Pleasantries and gratitude are still communicated, but true feelings and raw emotion are seemingly all but gone from the experience.

You've heard it been said that "each day is a gift." Well then, I wonder....how are you opening that gift each morning? Has it become a ho-hum ritual for you each and everyday? Do you neatly fold back the pretty wrapping paper and say your obligatory 'thank you' - all the while waiting for your next gift to be opened?

I, for one, believe we need to capture our childlike excitement once again. Imagine if we could wake up each morning and open our gift with the wild abandonment of our youth. Who knows what type of day is wrapped beneath that pretty paper, but the One who loves us and gave it to us.....Carpe Diem!

When was your last "I-exam"?

Roast of the Day: Medium Roast

I recently posted a summary of this blog on my Facebook "thankful" posts, but I still believe it is worth a read...

I still remember the day in the fourth grade when I received the news that I needed to get eyeglasses. Our class had just taken the mandatory eye exam given by the school nurse, and I guess I failed (I should have been listening closer to the person reading off the chart in front of me). Anyway, I remember coming home from school in tears, realizing that this one event was going to change my life forever. Okay...I may have been a bit over dramatic at the time, but what can you expect, I was in the fourth grade.

What I failed to realize at the time was that those eyeglasses would vastly improve my vision. It wasn't until I put on these new glasses that I truly understood how bad my vision had been. For any of you that have experienced this phenomenon, you know what I'm talking about. Everything instantly became clearer and crisper. I could make out all of the jagged edges on the leaves of the trees, my perspective of things seemed so much clearer, and even the colors seemed more vivid. At the time, it was hard for me to believe that I hadn't noticed what I was missing earlier.

I believe there is quite a parallel here to our faith. Many of us are walking through our daily lives in a blur and we don't even know it. We are so used to 'seeing' things from our current perspective and we are missing out on the perfect 'vision' that God can provide. When we make the decision to put our faith in Christ, it's like putting on those eyeglasses for the first time. Our 'vision' becomes so much clearer and crisper, which transcends all areas of our lives.

As I am learning, however, we cannot simply put on our first pair of eyeglasses and be done with it. Over the past 40 some odd years, I've had to continually get my eyes re-examined - because over time, my eyes grow lazy and my vision slowly deteriorates. Without those eye examinations and my new prescriptions, I would slip back into settling for vision that is less than perfect. So, I believe, it is with our faith walk.

If we want to continue to make a difference and 'see' things through God's perspective, we must take the time for our own 'I' exams. These 'I-examinations', as I have labeled them, should be things that challenge us in our walk, such as getting involved in a local church, becoming part of a small group, a commitment to read God's word, a mission trip, any number of things that will push us to 'see' the heart of God with more clarity and get His perspective.

So, I will leave you with this last thought to ponder, "When was your last 'I-exam'?"

Wisdom comes in small bites...

Roast of the day: Medium

What is wisdom? Can one equate intelligence to wisdom, or is wisdom something more?

I believe wisdom is the discipline of choosing the right path every time we are confronted with a decision. There's no doubt that intelligence can play a role, but it is by no means synonymous with wisdom. I've met highly intelligent people that have made some very foolish choices.

I once had the pleasure of hearing the well known author, Ken Blanchard, speak at a conference. He gave an amazing statistic regarding the number of decisions that each one of us make on a daily basis. Although a few of these decisions may be significant in nature, the vast majority of our daily choices could be labeled as mundane, or insignificant. If you're anything like me, you probably devote a great deal of energy and thoughtfulness into the major decisions that confront you - but what about the little choices? What about that car merging onto the interstate in front of you? Do you demonstrate courtesy and allow them to merge, or do you speed up to make sure you end up in front of them?

What if we all took the time to consider every decision we make and ask the question, "Will this response make the world a better place, or a worse place?" I know this may seem like a trivial exercise in some circumstances, but I truly believe it is a discipline worth pursuing.

Through discipline and discernment, we can exercise our ability to make the right decisions. With each right decision, we grow incrementally in wisdom.

A person does not become wise overnight. No, wisdom comes in small bites...

Gotta Work on My "IFs"

Roast of the day: Medium

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding. Seek His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6 (NLT)

If you're someone that is familiar with the Bible, I'm sure you probably recognize this passage. Like many of you, I've read these particular verses countless times. It's a Scripture passage that is both a proverb and a promise. It wasn't until recently that God revealed a new insight to me that I wanted to share.

Like many of the promises found in Scripture, this passage can really be broken down into an IF - THEN statement. If we trust in the Lord with all our hearts...If we don't depend on our own understanding...If we seek Him in all we do - Then He will direct our paths.

I think there are too many times that I want the "then" without the effort of the "if." I find myself asking God to help guide me or direct me in an upcoming decision without fully examining how I've been fulfilling my "if" requirements. Have I been trusting the Lord with ALL my heart? Is it possible that I've been leaning too heavily on my own knowledge and understanding? Have I truly been seeking His will in ALL I do? This is not legalism - this is showing love and devotion.

Lord, help me work on my ifs, before expecting the promises of Your thens.