Living Unfiltered for God

Here we are... the final day of 2016. How is this possible? I would bet that each one of us has asked that question at least once in the last several days. If you're like me, and I would dare say like most people, you've also spent some time reflecting on the last 12 months. What did I accomplish? How did I respond to the challenges that I faced? Did I grow spiritually? Did I make positive memories? These are, in no particular order, just a few of the types of questions that I tend to ask myself each year at this time. It's a also a time to look ahead. I'm not one for making New Year's Resolutions per se, but I certainly do enjoy taking the time to set some goals and put together a plan for achieving them. (OK, maybe they are resolutions... maybe it's just semantics... but it works for me!) I want to share a couple of my goals for this coming year, particularly as the pertain to my faith and my quest to live "unfiltered for God." 1 - Actively...

Christmas Eve. Perhaps my favorite day of the year. The culmination of all of the busy preparations for the joyous arrival of Christmas, tomorrow. The excitement of what the morning will bring! As a child, I remember falling asleep on Christmas Eve with thoughts of what might be waiting under the tree. As an adult, I can't wait to watch our kids and grandchildren as they discover what awaits them! (And, of course, I still look forward to what might be awaiting me, as well!)  This morning as I was thinking about these things, sipping my coffee on our back porch before the sun came up, the song Silent Night was looping in my brain, providing the soundtrack for my thoughts. One line kept striking me - one that I've never given much more than a passing thought before, "Sleep in Heavenly Peace." In the context of the song, it's referring to the Baby Jesus, sleeping in heavenly peace, right after His Birth. It made me ask the question... What does it mean for us to ...

Here we are, eight days away from Christmas. The last full weekend before the holiday. There will no doubt be much shopping done in the next couple of days. Lots of other holiday activities, as well. Even in our household, my wife and I will be off in different directions this morning, participating in some of those activities. My prayer this morning though, is that with all of the hustle and bustle, we remember why we're celebrating. I'm probably thinking along these lines because I've found that I've lost sight of it myself, at times, over the last couple of weeks. One quick example... Our family has a cookie decorating party every year. Over the years it has grown to become our big Christmas get-together before the holiday itself. Family and friends gather, we share a meal and then get to the serious (yes, to some it is!) business of decorating Christmas cookies. The party was last Saturday. On Sunday afternoon I went into the Grocery store and I had this strang...

Over the last few weeks, our church has been doing a sermon series called "Wonder". It has been especially impactful to me, during this season of Advent, to "re-remember", if you will, all of those things that bring me wonder. Those things that just make me stop and say, "Wow, would you look at that?" Sometimes it's something I see, other times it's a situation, still others it's a memory that is brought to mind. I wanted to use this space today to record just a few of these wonder-filled moments for me over the last few weeks. I would love it if you would share some of yours in the comments, as well. Where have I found wonder lately?... ... I've found it in nature. The picture below was taken of the sunset on my way home from work the other day. It still doesn't quite capture the vividness of the colors. I saw and "wondered" at how God just shows off sometimes with His beauty in nature. When you look closely, it's alm...

Today, we are going to finish our discussion of St. Francis of Assisi's Peace Prayer. The last few posts have been spent looking at how it would look if we actually lived our lives they way he suggests in the first half of this prayer. What would it look like if we actually sowed things like love, pardon (forgiveness), faith, hope, light and joy into the world and the lives of those around us? We decided it would take looking like we're living life counter-culturally; living in a way that is not necessarily the norm for today's society. Today we will look at the second half of the prayer. To me, the unasked question that is begged is, " What are you seeking? " O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive,  it is in pardoning that we are pardoned,  and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. As I read t...

We are almost done with walking through the Peace Prayer of St. Francis and dissecting what it would look like if we truly walked out its message. As we've already seen, each component thus far has been much more easily spoken than lived out. And to live it out, you have to approach life in a much different manner than what the world would accept as typical or appropriate. So... let's look at the next two lines: where there is darkness, (sow) light; where there is sadness, joy.  This may be the easiest of the admonitions we've looked at so far. I say "easy" though, only in comparison to the what we've already looked at and also in the sense that it is easier to be a generally "happy" person than to be one that is quick to forgive, for example.  Many people who have been trying to live the Christian life for any time at all have probably heard the expression, "be a light in a dark place." I think it's interesting tha...

We've been looking at the  Peace Prayer of St. Francis the last couple of days (click here to see the entire text of the prayer). It seems that to really live this out, you have to live almost counter-culturally. Today I'd like to dive into the next couple of lines to see what that might look like. where there is doubt, (sow) faith; where there is despair, hope; These two lines just speak to me of encouragement and the importance of being an encourager to those around you. Faith and hope are also often inextricably linked as we read through scripture. The author if Hebrews even uses one as part of the definition of the other, "Now, faith is confidence in what we hope for..." ( Hebrews 11:1 NIV ). When we lose our hope, we've lost our faith and vice versa.  How often do you get discouraged and start to question things? How often do those doubts start to creep in? " I'm never going to be able to do this " or " This situation is never goi...

Yesterday we started looking at the Peace Prayer of St. Francis and what it would look like if we really did try to live it out. So much of it involves almost living counter culturally. Paul urged us to, "not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God." ( Romans 12:2, NKJV )  Today, I'd like to look closely at the first two lines... where there is hatred, let me sow love; It doesn't take long to find hatred in today's world. So, in a strange way that's good news, because that means we can sow love anywhere - wherever we find ourselves - and it will positively impact our surroundings. What do you think that means, though, to 'sow love'? For me, it goes back to Jesus being asked which was the greatest commandment and stating that, after loving God, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves ( Matthew 22:34-40 ). Easier said than do...

I have had several conversations with people lately about how it seems to be harder than usual for them to get into the "Christmas Spirit" this year. We've speculated about why that might be - but my focus here is not going to be on those thoughts and ideas. What I'd like to do is spend some time looking at how we might go about making it easier for those around us to find that Christmas Spirit - and maybe even hold on to it year-round. One of my favorite prayer/poems is the Peace Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy.  O divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive,...

There are some things you never think you're going to have to deal with in this life. Or maybe, you just never think about them - at least not for long - because the chances of them happening are so very slim. At least... you think the chances are slim. For me, you could classify, "having one of my step-daughters be diagnosed with Breast Cancer" in that category. Well, regardless of what the odds of that happening really were, here we are. What I thought could (or would) never happen, has happened. The details are hers to share, but the last two months have been a very emotional roller coaster ride for her and our entire family. And tomorrow, our daughter Michelle, will go through her first round of chemotherapy. While her prognosis is very good, the next few months will see her facing a challenge no parent ever wants to see their child have to endure.  From the beginning of this, I have held on to Romans 8:28 , " And we know that in all things God works for...

I don't know about you, but sometimes I need to hear something more than once for it to actually sink in. And when it comes to sermons, if I hear two messages that are very similar, yet from different sources and places, it really manages to get my attention! It's like my spirit stands up and takes notice and says, "Are you listening? Do you hear this? God's trying to tell you something here!" This happened to me recently with a talk I heard while we were at camp and then another a little over a week week later at my home church. While the two pastors that delivered the messages know each other, I'm sure they didn't coordinate their talks just for me! The theme of both talks was the importance of "digging holes and ditches", in faith, for the future and for those who come behind us. The first message was delivered by Jason Baumgardner at Florida Family CFO . Jason B. was speaking from Psalm 84:5-7 about going through dry places. The ma...

We just got back from our annual trip to Florida Family CFO ... the same place where, three years ago, God inspired me to start this blog. One of the things I got to do this year was lead the Communion service for the Youth. Every morning we would meet at 7:30 AM on the dock extending into beautiful Lake Yale in central Florida.  The service was never fancy. Just me and up to eight teens and pre-teens, sharing some time out in part of God's marvelous creation. We would chat a bit, listen to the birds, watch the alligators, read the Word together and take part in Communion. When I was preparing for camp and getting ready for all the things I knew I had to do, this was nowhere on my radar. I was not thinking at all about participating in this part of each day's events. There were Creative Writing sessions to prepare... Programs and notebooks to put together... Meetings to plan and organize... All sorts of things to fill my mind and plate that were not anything to do with...