May 28th - Need - Pray - Trust - Wait - Praise - Thankfulness - Peace

The story...

I've a prayer box where I place scraps of paper with recorded prayers that I'm trusting God with.  I hadn't opened it for a couple months and was surprised of what I saw when I opened it this week.  Positive and unexpected changes were happening with each request.   If I was a little god, I'd never have planned them to work out the way they did.  I'm thankful that I left them with God and resisted the urge to intervene and "help" them.

The only church in town would pray for their hopes and needs and trust God for outcomes.  Later, when they expectantly open their "prayer box" they'd find unexpected...   

Just for today...

"I have heard it said that the only valid comparisons are between myself as I am and myself as I used to be."  Courage to Change (p. 148)

"God, please help me be willing to be willing."  Hope for Today (p. 149)

May 11th - Be kind to you - take it slow

The story...

I greatly appreciate every opportunity to meet with a friend where we leave our guns and armor at the front door.  No agenda, just hanging out together, sharing what's going on within our inner man.  It seems that it takes years to develop that type of vulnerable and trusting relationship that I'm describing.  I've a few relationships like that and I greatly value each of them.

Sometimes a friend's struggling with their current condition, suffering, coping, dealing with those people, or their disappointment with themselves.  They seem to breathe a deep "cleansing breath" when they hear a message like: "Hey, come on, be a best friend to you, treat yourself nice. give yourself some grace man.  You know how long it takes for us to grow - be patient with you already."

God's second greatest commandment, "love your neighbor as yourself," validates the legitimacy of loving yourself as part of our foundation for living a good life.  Might I love myself as I am, not just when I am performing up to my imagined standard of who I oughta be?  YES!  Let's give ourselves a break already.  Show you some grace like the grace that God offers.

Meaningful and lasting change takes time. In my experience, it takes about three times as long as I'd expect to make fundamental life changes.  What kind of changes am I talking about?  Developing close friendships, fully engaging within the group, living in the present, avoiding obsessive thinking, truly seeking to understand before being understood, loving those I've little affinity towards, eliminating self-defeating behaviors, avoiding even the idea of changing another person, working out the greatest commandments...

My turtle friend, from long ago, took it slow - a patient sort.

The only church in town would be characterized as kind.  Kindness and love worked out amongst real relationships through the power of God. Whoa, who wouldn't want to be part of a group like that?

Just for today...

"I spend more time with myself than with anyone else. . . Today I will spend some time exploring the most intimate relationship I will ever have - my relationship with myself."   Courage to Change (p. 132)

"I will learn to relax my stubborn grip on sufferings and allow the solutions to unfold by themselves." One Day at a Time (p. 132)

April 29th - Be Patient with Me

The story...

The Patriarch Jacob seems to be a rascal whom God loved and favored.  Scripture says that God changed his name to Israel as he walked close to God.  He favored His people Israel on account of His love for Jacob.  Throughout scripture, God is patient with people groups and individuals as they work out their lives. 

We each have been created uniquely - needy and gifted.  I am so glad that God's people, who are models for our faith, are not do-gooders who never made a mistake - phew...  For me, real personal growth has been a slow process marked by step-function improvements, slow degrading drifts, and lasting growth that remains as part of my character.  A life that hopefully you and others can relate to.

Each person entering the only church in town will be different.  And, they will be within some phase of their life that'll likely change as life transforms them - fruitful and unfruitful alike.  The only church in town would show grace and patience with each person as they work out their life.  Hopefully, the attenders will be transformed into people who trust God, act justly, love kindness and walk humbly with God in Christ.  

Just for today...

"I grew up with guilt and blame . . . when past mistakes come to mind I tend to react with guilt, exaggerating the significance of my errors and thinking very badly of myself."  Courage to Change (p. 120)

"Unless we have first judged and condemned them for what they did, there would be no reason for us to forgive them."  One Day at a Time (p. 120)

April 12th - Enduring Change Takes Time - Be Patient

The story...

My life trajectory's improved significantly in recent years.  The changes came slowly and were worked out alongside other pilgrims.  Those who walked with me seemed more honest with themselves, more okay as they were, and less guarded.

It surprised me that meaningful change took months, rather than weeks, to become more habitual and part of my character.  For example, I learned that I often thought obsessively over problems, issues, and even new ideas.  Obsessive thinking restrained me from engaging in, and enjoying, the present - the "now" where life's actually lived.  Once I witnessed a better way, I assumed that I could change my behavior within 40 days at most - I've often heard it takes 40 days to establish a habit.  It actually took me about six months to actually be different.  I can still be triggered to start up a cycle of obsessive thinking; yet, I often, resolve it within the first 10 min. and return to living in the present.

I hope that the only church in town would accept people just as they are with grace and mercy.  The community would allow others to safely grow at their own pace.  Yes, real growth seems to take longer than expected and requires patience.  Over time, the Spirit of God will begin to bear fruit through their lives.  Some of their old defensive armor, needed to defend themselves, will be exchanged for the far better armor of God.

Just for today...

"You cannot create a statue by smashing the marble with a hammer, and you cannot by force of arms release the spirit or soul of man."  Confucius (551–479 BCE)

"Despair - how many of us suffer from it!  Yet we do not realize that it is purely the absence of faith." One Day at a Time (p. 103)