Everyone's A Winner!

Did you buy a ticket in the recent mega-millions lottery? I heard that the odds of winning were somewhere in the neighborhood of being struck by lightning four times and surviving...It's interesting that given those odds that anyone would still participate! Apparently even the remotest possibility of us being a winner has a powerful draw on us. The siren song of the carnival barker seeks out such a hope in each of us. Playing on our vulnerabilities,our insecurities, boldly declaring that...

Everyone's a winner!

But who are the real winners in life?

My guess is that we all know at least one person who based on our own specific criteria we consider to be a winner. There might be a number of factors that cause us to view them as such or perhaps just one thing that proclaims success to us. Untold fortunes have been made by authors, ostensibly trying to help the rest of us to achieve our potential's and thereby enjoy the benefits of being a member of the coveted "winner" club.

I have my own theories as to what's most essential, they go something like this. It occurs to me that all winners have one very important thing in common. They all know in the depths of their being that they are loved! The most successful young adults I've observed are those who're able to remain focused on their life goals instead of being distracted by all of the misguided attempts engaged in by those around them to get this most important need met. Who can deny that this fundamental lacking is the source of many (if not all) problems in young peoples lives.

I've also noticed that people who have a winning attitude seem to fall into two distinct categories. There are those who believe that based on the merits of who they are see themselves as being quite deserving of the love they've received and then those who instead are humbled by the love which has been shown them despite who they are! What's interesting about that to me are the ramifications of these relationship dynamics. One party,believing themselves to be worthy often operates from a place of insecurity while the other,believing the opposite, draws their esteem based on the unconditional love of another which relieves them of the anxiety and insecurity of living up to expectations.Being a winner by the worlds standards can be a very difficult task for most people. I understand that all too well! But what's so wonderful to me is that I can be a real winner through my relationship with God The Father through His Son Jesus Christ! Because I know deep in my soul that I am loved! I'm not anxious about where I stand with Him because His love for me isn't about my worthiness...it's about His nature,it's about who He is, Who once you have an encounter with will end your own misguided questing for love a love that grows more real and true with every passing day!

It's also interesting to me that modern psychology teaches the former,

while Gods word teaches the latter...

I'm going to go out on a limb and make a few unqualified statements.

I believe that everyone wants to be a winner!

I believe that everyone IS loved!

Not based on transient things or superficial qualities,

but for no other reason than for just "showing up"

If only we could all know it...

That everyone IS a winner!

EVEN YOU!

Bless This Mess!

Have you ever seen a tongue and cheek petition like the one on the left displayed in the home of someone you know? Have you ever felt as if those words might be a pretty fair description of your own circumstances?

I know I have!

Sometimes the pace of the work in progress known to me as my spiritual life seems painfully slow or to even be moving in the wrong direction!Named among my numerous transgressions are things such as mean spiritedness or being judgmental and becoming quickly irritated or impatient with people or things I interact with daily. As much as I don't like those aspects of my personality, what's far more disturbing to me is my own tolerance,nay comfort with them!

It's a bit of a mess...

One the most difficult,and yet most important things about being a follower of Christ I've struggled with is how a Holy God could love a very un-holy sinner like me...There are exceptions, but for the most part Love as I've been able to understand it is about deserving or qualifying for it in some way.In this world we pick winners and losers,we analyze and judge people constantly choosing to love in others the "good" aspects we recognize in ourselves. At it's core it's selfish and based on lies fed to us via our own personal self-exhalation express the ego. We rationalize their validity based on societal dogma, which is nicely packaged and fed to us under headings such as self esteem and positive affirmation. The truth is the only real basis for "self" esteem any of us can actually claim is that we're loved by our omnipotent Heavenly Father!

That's it!

That's our "claim to fame"

And it's much more than enough!

Why?

Because it's a claim that's based on something real, real because it's unthreatenable! It doesn't change or cease to be for any reason. All of the things we esteem in this world will fade away or can be lost in an instant, but NOT Gods love!

Recently I read a status on FB which said that God works through imperfect people and circumstances to accomplish His purposes. My reply was,

"Is there any other kind?"

Our Father loves each of us Just the way we are...

Warts and all

But He loves us too much to just leave us that way!

His death on the cross was a victory over sin and death that was done on our behalf, that we may have eternal life. I also believe that the power of His shed blood gives Christian's the opportunity to claim that victory over their own here and now life circumstances

Truly, we're all a bit of a mess!

How wonderful is it then,that...

 Jesus is the Great Mess-iah!!

Emmanuel עמנואל, “God is with us” Part III

If we could, for even just a day, have our eye's opened to all of the many way's in which God intercedes for each of us on personal level perhaps we'd better understand Paul's seemingly impossible exhortation here...

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Rejoice evermore.Pray without ceasing In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.

Maybe that means keeping a deer from running out in front of your vehicle. It might mean keeping any uncontrolled cell growth which commonly exists within each of our bodies from becoming cancerous.

Recently, it was the job I didn't get that I'm thankful for!

I had applied for an over the road driving job with a smaller company who ran regional freight. During the ensuing interview which seemed to go very well I remember the owner telling me that because of how junky his equipment was I would have to drive around scales and that I would be paid on a percentage of what the load paid. Despite both of those pieces of really bad news I filled out the application he gave me and faxed it back to him ready to work if and when he called!

But he never did...

So I called another company that I had been considering who I knew ran first class equipment but who also ran a much bigger territory. I was hesitant about my ability to meet their expectations because it had been over four years since I drove on that level. The thing is,God didn't really leave me any other options! Getting back into the transportation industry with no recent experience is difficult so I was ready to take anything...

but I was also well...afraid!

I struggle with anxiety and fear quite a bit, it's one of the biggest areas my Heavenly Father is helping me to grow in! Mostly by protecting me from things that would overwhelm me totally, other times by just being close to me in the midst of any circumstances that I feel threatened by. What faith is to me is knowing that God had control of my circumstances yesterday, and so therefore also has my today and tomorrow under control as well!

Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.

That's what this verse means to me...It's also why I'm so thankful! There's nothing as empowering and fear squashing as knowing that the omnipotent God who created the heavens, the earth, and all that is,is with you and that He cares about YOU!

Does that mean nothing bad ever happens to me?

We all know that "Stuff Happens" don't we...

The question most people have is when does the "stuff" STOP happening?

It stops when GRACE happens! When we come to the place where we can truly say,

"Father, not my will but yours be done"

and mean it...

Several years ago I was driving along in my truck near Jamestown N.Y. on hyw 87 on my back west after doing four drops earlier in the day. I had heard that the D.O.T. was setting up in the rest areas inspecting trucks so I was very leery of being inspected. It was later in the evening, maybe 8pm,and usually they quit inspecting at dark so I thought I was home free…then I saw it,the flashing yellow lights on the roadside sign,”surely this is some kind of construction warning” I thought,but as I drew closer startled panic settled on me as the words “all trucks must enter” assaulted my unbelieving eye's! I was trapped and there was nothing I could do…no ramp to pull off of and “fix it” so with cold resignation I pulled off onto the ramp twoard the man waving his flashlight holding hand at me.What else could I do but accept the fact that I was screwed,perhaps my full cooperation and good attitude would as they had so many times before see me thru,I doubted it.As I pulled to a stop he stepped up onto my side step and spoke to me,

How’re we doing tonight? Oh,I’m doing fine I guess...What’re you hauling? Nothing, I’m empty. Well, have a good evening then!

And that was the extent of it, I hauled out of there on an adrenaline high that would entice any skydiver,or cause a lion tamer to stare curiously in wonder,not yet ready to dip my chip in the “crock of life” I’d just been handed,it just seemed un-real to me. Why did ‘nt he at least ask to see my log book? thats S.O.P. basic stuff,you look at the driver,gauge his condition,look at his book,and then if all seems right,you send him on,or if,as was the case here,you’re not at all busy,just send him inside anyway for the 3rd degree check,you know,wanted/warrents/unpaid tickets/child support un returned library books,lol really! but he did’nt,so I’m driving down the road thinking, WOW! that could have been a whole weeks salary down the tubes but for some reason which I can’t explain I just walked thru the fire without so much as a mark on me…Does the Lord work in mysterious ways? did he know that if I would have been shut down/fined etc…that it might break my spirit? someday I’d like to ask him.

Emmanuel עמנואל, “God is with us” Part II

Long before the first wisp of chimney smoke makes it's way up the flue and is carried along on the chilly November breeze to our olfactory senses, the preparations have already begun. With the passing of the oppressive summer heat and the previous vocational opportunities it afforded me I made new plans. It's fall,and so it's time for me to shift gears once again...

Literally!

Working in the logging woods is one of the cornerstones of the local economy where I live employing perhaps half of the local people in various capacities. In the past six years my involvement has been in nearly every aspect of it at one time or another.I've operated sawmills,skidded logs,hauled logs and sawed out products such as railroad ties and "cants". However,one thing I'd never done before was haul bulk logs on a "pole trailer" which is basically a very long piece of steel pipe with log stakes attached.

                                     looks like fun doesn't it?

Well let me tell you it's not...At least not for me it wasn't!

The reality of the dangerous nature of the work I was doing combined with the questionable mechanical integrity of the equipment I was operating was the source of much anxiety for me. Hauling the massive loads of logs to the local mills was also problematic in that I was sure any DOT officer worth his salt would certainly shut me down and ticket me based on the numerous safety compliance violations of said vehicle.

But what a blessing...I immediately made a renewed commitment to praying!

I did it before leaving,quite often during the trip,and then I thanked God after and despite all of the aforementioned complications I was able to be quite successful. From my perspective God was faithful to me in so many ways during this time. A specific example of Gods favor toward me was that despite the fact that I was carrying very heavy loads on some very thin trailer tires over roads full of sharp rocks I only had one flat tire! If I'd of had that flat on the state highway instead of on the gravel road where it did happen it definitely would've been a much bigger deal! It happened right in front of this old country church which gave me the opportunity to check it out and take some really neat pictures of it's interior! I've had people tell me it's a symptom of being delusional to place unwarranted significance upon chance occurrences or to read too much into what is most likely just coincidence and I understand that...but when you're hauling a load of logs down a two lane hilly,curvy road and you experience a sudden loss of power due to a lack of fuel and then at the last moment before you stall out in the road you see a perfect place to pull over it's hard to just brush it off as luck...over and over again

I wonder if they understand that?

Emmanuel עמנואל, "God is with us" (part 1)

That seems to be the only possible title for a post that endeavors to describe the many ways in which God's been faithful to me in the past year...I truly am the grateful recipient of His grace which is defined as the unmerited favor of God.

What else can I say?

He loves me!

It's the only way I can begin to understand how my family has once again very comfortably "made it" through another year! Especially a year like this past one in which so many were negatively affected. As it draws to a close and I look back on the many ways Gods cared for us I feel many emotions. First of all I'm humbled,and then I'm bewildered at His love for me. It's hard to truly understand what I mean unless you're someone like myself who is at times perhaps a bit more "human" than most in that I have a history of making more than my share of mistakes and bad choices. Most people find it pretty easy to explain away the "near miss" or disregard what could've happened under slightly different circumstances but I can't. I suppose that's because I've seen it happen so many times or perhaps it's because I've been "blessed" to see myself so clearly for who and what I really am without Him.

It's been quite a year for me, the job I had at the beginning of the year ended when the teenage girl I was working as support staff for flipped out one day and took an overdose of her prescription drugs. It was quite traumatic for everyone involved, afterwards everyone was put under investigation by the department of mental health. I was cleared of any charges of neglect,which is a very big deal and I was extremely relieved. I knew I hadn't done anything wrong but I also know that people get wrongly blamed for stuff all the time.

Thank You God!

My next job was a blessing in it's self. I worked over the summer for the Eleven Point River canoe rental outfitter in my hometown shuttling people down to the river to go on float trips!

It was a great experience for me to meet so many interesting people and to be able to play a part in their summer fun! Where I live is such a beautiful place and I never grew tired of introducing others to it's wonders. Oh,and on top of all that I got paid for it!

God...You're my rock,and you ROCK!

Among the things I'm most thankful for this year I have to include being invited to join a small study/worship group which meets at a friend's home nearby. For a while prior to that I had stopped going to church. I soon found the groups emphasis on study and open discussion as well as the great time of fellowship we shared to be just what was missing!

It's wonderful to come together with other Christian's and really be the church to those in need in your own community. That's what attracted me to become involved with an organization called One Hope Outreach located in my hometown of Springfield, Mo. They're focus is helping homeless people find permanent housing and empowering them to make positive changes in their lives. This photo was taken at a fundraiser which was held at a local restaurant.

Thank You Father for meeting ALL of my needs, both physical and spiritual! Thank You for giving my life meaning and purpose!

I Think You Know

I've always thought that one of the things I do best is to understand (and sometimes explain) abstract concepts. I'm certainly not a concrete linear thinker so that's all that's "left" right?

Today,as I reclined in my chair, lost in the serenity of the view outside my window Ihad one of those disoriented moments...It happened as I was making the transition. It was a moment in which the perceived insanity of this world seemed so clearly juxtaposed against the peace and tranquility of the world I had drifted off into,and like going from hot to cold the effects were magnified.

My next thoughts were analytical and seemed to question the authenticity of what I was experiencing and it's relevance to anyone besides myself but the case was quickly lost. I knew it was more than just my own egocentric flattery... No,the observance of this familiar topography was a product of months,perhaps even years, of subversive confoundment at the perfect storm of circumstances that seemed to not only be following me but hanging over the whole world as well!

One very dark cloud that's predominant characteristic or quality lies in the inability of anyone to put their finger directly upon it

I've noticed that everyday the water seems to get muddier. That with each new shocking headline or catastrophe I become a little more jaded. With the advent of each new previously unthinkable event we're forced to redefine what is reality.Have you ever wondered "What next?" And then,wanting to turn directly towards that roaring sound you hear creeping up on you, you begin to move only to be halted by your sternest inner parental tone barking out for you to do anabout face back towards "reality"? Often it's accompanied or supported by another inner voice espousing the convincing logic of continuity, the notion that what hashappened will always continue on and on,and to think otherwise is well...foolish

2 Peter 3:3-4

Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,⁴And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.

To me it's no mere coincidence that this is also the concept science bases much of what it espouses to be true upon. That this is the threshold of truth used as a platform for hypothesis and theory to explain practically everything. Be it carbon dating or that most sacred of scientific cow's "the speed of light" both of which have faced a re-examination in recent years. The crisis then becomes a cliche, it's almost like saying,

"What if everything you know is wrong?"

Am I being overly abstract even for me, painfully esoteric and annoyingly cryptic?

All apologies...

I've chosen to write this primarily for myself, if someone else gets it then great. It's simply a situation that's increasingly difficult for me to abide with and so my hope is that by exploring it here I can perhaps put a finger on it or give it a name. In the past I've railed against what I perceive as the hypocrisy of institutionalized religion that's become an "I've got mine" Christian social club or the pridefully motivated law keeping that would do the Pharisee's proud! But that's not really it. It's so much broader, and yet it can take the form of small annoying things that seem out of balance or somehow just wrong in your life...like living someplace where flies seem to outnumber humans by 10,000 to 1 or too much month left at the end of the money...

My annoyances and inconveniences seem petty when I look around and see the interminable struggle just to live that's faced by so many here on this blue and green spinning ball. Reconciling those realities is like trying to ignore some 800lb existential gorilla in the room or not be shocked at an emperor without any clothes. It's an out of whack reality that can unexpectedly slap you in the face evenin your favorite chair or anywhere that the illusion is strong enough, accepted as the norm or thought of as just the way it is...

I'm simply trying to relate how in one moment

I was startled to see through the illusion.

James 3:15-17

¹⁵This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. ¹⁶For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.¹⁷But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.

To some who read this what I'm saying will make little sense. Others may relate,acknowledging the new status quo of confusion and deception. It's probably not any revelation to many that this world is going to pot,

but what I'm pointing at is how, on a very personal level,

I feel the effects of what's happening!

How sometimes it still takes me by surprise.

like the frog in a pot eventually looking around as if to say,

"Isn't it getting hot in here?"

What in the world am I talking about?

It's really no great matter unless it leaves you different than you were before

Different in what way?

I think you know...

The Presentation

A young woman is introduced by the pastor and spends a couple of minutes talking about One Hope Outreach and then introduces me to the congregation using sort of a hesitant "despite my better judgement" tone. Music cue: (Gimme Shelter by the Stones plays) I walk on stage, take off my jacket and walk to the front, taking the microphone in hand I begins to speak.

Hello! Thank you pastor for allowing us to come today,I want to thank you young lady for that introduction and of course all of you for taking the time today to learn more about what's happening in your community. It's really great to see you all here, I mean, you have no idea what it's like to walk out here to an empty room! But I'm not here to talk about MY issues, instead the issues I'd like to talk about concern people in our community who for various reasons have no permanent housing, and what organizations like One Hope and others are doing to put an end to that. When I was first asked to do this I was excited at the idea of doing anything I could to help, but within a couple of minutes after I hung up the phone my excitement turned to anxiety..."What would I say? What could I possibly say that would raise peoples level of awareness or concern and perhaps encourage them to join us in our mission to make a difference?" As I sat there thinking I was reminded of a joke I had heard about a church congregation who were having services when a group of masked gunmen burst in brandishing automatic weapons and in a loud and menacing voice declared to the crowd...

"Alright, we're going to kill all of you except those who don't know Jesus and who aren't sure where they're going when they die...those people can leave!"

Well, about 90% of the congregation hurriedly got up and crowded out the exits and when they had gone the gunmen whips off his mask, turns and locks the sanctuary doors behind them and says

"Okay, I just had to do that...NOW we can really have church!"

I felt a sense of relief come over me as I began to understand that there are, and always will be, a certain percentage or group of people in the church who are committed to serving in Jesus' name, who're typically responsible for most of the real work done in the church. I felt much more confident knowing that nothing I could possibly say was likely to change that! No, that's not my job... My job is to talk to those people, the people who truly understand what Jesus has done for them, who know that He's the source of all their blessings, and who want to be the people He uses to reach out to those in need around them. I'm here to talk about solutions, and about beginning the process towards seeing changed lives for Gods Kingdom and His glory. I believe that process starts with understanding. Understanding that there's a harvest of souls right in our front yard waiting for workers to pick it! I know that the church already does a great deal to address dis-located people but when I look around I still see ripe fields, I believe the church could do so much more so what's the problem? Of course when I thought about that I began to recognize a familiar tactic of our enemy the father of lies that we should also understand! He's working overtime distorting the real reasons behind this problem, conspiring contempt and keeping people from feeling the compassion needed and from walking in the faith and trust of our Lord! No, he doesn't want that...and so today I'd like to take this opportunity to come against those lies by confronting them head on with truth!

Join with me in prayer that we will be the victors in this battle, in asking that our enemy would be bound and cast out of this place by the power of the blood of Christ, that eye's would be opened to the truth about the harvest before us that so urgently needs workers and that strongholds of hate,intolerance and willful ignorance would be broken Father in Jesus' name we ask it and for your glory to be shown through it...amen!

Going back to my preparation, I wondered how I could do this. I wondered how I could help people to better understand the causes of homelessness and dispel some of the misconceptions about people who find themselves without permanent shelter and I kept drawing a blank. I've always found that I learn quicker if I can see an example of something. And unfortunately, I also have a tendency to forget it unless it involves some sort of pain...you too? Well, I was still coming up short and as the time drew near to come here today I just decided to wing it, trusting that somehow the Holy Spirit would lead me into all truth so now I'm just going to wait on him.

well this is awkward...

I jam both my hands into my pants pockets and look around at the ceiling, pull one hand out and look at my nails, using both hands I hold them out to my side palms up in the non-verbal "I don't know" posture. I then reach out with my right hand and take hold of the podium and begin to lean on it which immediately collapses causing me to fall onto the floor of the platform.

I'm okay! I'm not hurt, boy that's the last made in China podium I'm buying!

You know, no one will ever convince me that God doesn't have a sense of humor or that He doesn't know how to get through to someone as dense as me!

Lets see, Illustrative example...check!

Pain involved...check!

Thank You Father!

Here's the message I got from that...

All of us depend on things to support us, not just podiums...I'm talking about jobs, relationships, maybe even a talent we posses or whatever! We lean on these things for years and then one day they go away. The job we had for 20 yrs, our spouse who provided for us so well leaves us or dies, things change without our permission! Situations we thought we had control over can leave us shattered by their abrupt change or disappearance. Many of us have experienced this type of circumstance in our lives and however difficult it might of been, we have, over time, and with the help and support of those who chose to come alongside us in our time of need made a recovery! If you've been through one of these life changing experiences I need not tell you the immeasurable value of a support network of friends,family,church,community, you may of even said it at some point "Well, I just don't know what I would've done had it not been for X" or "God only knows what might've happened had I not had the help I needed from Y" Friends, I invite you to stare into the abyss of "what could've been" for just a moment and see yourself without the benefit of a kind word spoken in love when you needed it. Without the "day saving" financing that kept you from disaster or imagine a life without the self satisfaction you enjoyed for all those years as a result of a "good job" you were blessed to have. Does the phrase "But for the grace of God, there go I" take on any new relevance for you? can you see the hypocrisy of our judgement's towards each other?You might say, "But they made bad decisions and need to suffer the consequences of them" Yes, they did! but no more than I did when I chose to lean against that podium, I did it based on it's previous history of an ability to support me and a gazillion other people! It seems pretty disrespectful  to those who stood in the gap for us and to the immeasurable grace and blessings of our loving heavenly Father for us to take that mantle of honor entirely onto ourselves as if we're truly some sort of "self made man"...What sort of hog-wash is it that enables us to look down our noses at others who's only crime was to have never been shown the sort of love that was shown to us? Or to have been born without whatever it is we posses which by it's use our lives have been sustained and enriched?

Don't misunderstand me, I do believe that we're all responsible for the choices we  make in this life but lets take a closer look at that word "choices".

What sort of a choice is it between apple or cherry pie for desert? simple?,qualified? informed? of little consequence?

As opposed to something like who we marry, or what we choose for a career, How about our friends? My point is we have to make some of the most important decisions in our lives when we're the least capable of doing so. Some people are just blessed with extraordinary common sense and need very little help to make good choices for themselves, but as for the rest of us, we owe a great amount to those who parented us,counseled us,mentored us,coached us,and inspired us to make good choices! We can honor the investment they made in our lives by paying it forward to someone else, we can choose to suspend our judgments about people whose lives we know nothing about and simply assume that no one just gets up out of bed one morning and says,

"How can I really screw up my life today?

No, that's not how it works...trust me, I know!

Because. .  technically. . . I am considered a "homeless" person.

I lost my home due to a foreclosure in 2009, but Iwas fortunate enough to be able to move in with a close relative. Due to the fact that I haven't been able to regain my financial stability since then I'm currently still living there with my wife and daughter. There are three common categories of homelessness, sheltered,unsheltered, or "doubled up". My living situation is the later.

I guess I am here to talk about my own issues after all...

Wintertime will be here in a matter of weeks, my family and many others who aren't as fortunate as us are in desperate need of overnight warming shelters where we can escape the cold winter night's to come...

Can you help?

Since it's beginning One Hope Outreach has been a grass roots organization whose mission it is to catch those people in our community that may of otherwise fallen through the cracks. They've helped many to find temporary shelter and recently even permanent homes and they really need your financial support to continue this work.

You may not know it, but  when we as Christians see an opportunity to help those in need and respond to it we're preaching the Gospel to our world. We preach this good news in a way that they can easily understand because we're using the universal language of love!

I urge you to let your actions speak loudly today!

Thank you.