Gulping in Grace

Finally the weather is cooler, the humidity is not so bad. Fall is on its way and I love it.  Early morning walks are in the dark but at least more enjoyable.

I have talked often on here about how I am not a runner.  I want to be.  I want to love it.  I want to be able to just walk out the door and take off running.  (That is another post all together about training and what you have to put into something that you really want.)

But, since it has been nicer and cooler and bearable outside I am trying to add more running, jogging really, to our morning walks.  So, this morning we started out jogging.  And it felt good.  I have learned I can do better on my breathing if I have a song in my head to concentrate on.  This morning that song was the simple lyrics from Matt Redman's song "Your Grace Finds Me".  The lyrics, "so, I'm breathing in your grace, and I'm breathing out your praise."  They fit well with simple breathing in air and breathing out air.  

They were working great.  Then I suddenly realized I had reached that point where I wasn't really breathing anymore I was gulping for air.  And it hit me sometimes that is how my walk with God is I am gulping for grace.  When things suddenly aren't going the way I had planned them out.  When the same thing sets off those feelings of bitterness, envy, or jealousy again for the umpteenth time.  When I let my reactions and emotions take over and I am no longer breathing out praise. Instead I am holding in grace just like holding my breathe when I jog.

But the solution for both is the same thing.  When I am jogging and find myself gulping for breathe, I go back to walking again until my breathing is back in a normal rhythm. Then I can pick up and start jogging again.

When my old self takes over I need to stop running, slow down, breathe, be thankful, think about the amazing creator who creates everything around me.  Think about the God who loves me, the one who sent his only son to die for me.   When I do that then once again I begin to breathe in his grace and breathe out his praise.

Are you gulping or breathing today?

   

As I read in Colossians this morning, I camped out on the following verse. Colossians 1:11 "We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need.  May you be filled with joy, always thanking the Father."

Paul knew this path would be trying.  He knew from experience that these people, these fellow believers in Christ would need endurance and patience.  He prayed those things for them.  What a great thing to pray for our family and friends, endurance, patience and joy.

As I read that verse this morning I sat and mediated on it a while.  I sat in my living room with the washer, dryer, and dishwasher all running and two dogs barking.  I remember thinking there is nothing quiet about this moment.  And God spoke to my heart and said the quiet isn't about the noise or lack of.  (Though sometimes that does make it easier.)  The quiet and stillness are about the condition of your heart.

Is your mind already running in circles?  Are you already stressed about the day?  Are you already making list in your head of what needs done today, this week?  Are you anxious, are you worried?  If so, no lack of noise is going to change that.  You have to find the quiet within, in the deepest parts of your soul.

I continued to think about that on my way to work.  I said God that quiet is easy to find here in my car, all alone, listening to christian music and talking to you.  But what about when I get to work?  When a phone call comes in with an issue I have to deal with.  When a driver doesn't like a run he is on.  When I brush up against other people and things don't go as planned.  When someone says something that I don't like or that hurts my feelings.

God said remember when Brittany and Chris were little and you would lay out their clothes for the next day?  How it made life easier because you didn't have to deal with those decisions in the morning?  God said I have already laid out your plan for the day.  Nothing is going to take me by surprise.  I already know what is going to happen, I have already laid out the day.  There is no reason for you to worry or stress.

My next thought was, what will I do all day with that time I would have spend worrying and stressing?  God said what I created you to do.  Worship and praise me.  Spend time listening to others.  Take time to notice others, to stop and give a smile, to be kind and grant grace to those around me.

I never thought about how much wasted time I spend each day worrying and stressing about things I really can't change or  have no control over.  Francis Chan in his book "Crazy Love" says worry and stress reek of arrogance.  What a true and convicting statement.

My goal this week to find the quiet.  Not the lack of noise quiet, but the quiet that comes from a life that not only says God I know you have this, but a life that lives that out.

"I QUIT" From The Mouth of Babes

First of all, I have to describe DJ to you.  He is about 3 feet tall, cute as a button, full of energy, the most expressive facial expressions I've ever seen, and a genius in my eyes.  Oh, and did I mention he is 4 years old, (I think).  Anyway, a couple of weeks ago I passed him and his Mom in the aisle at church.  I asked "DJ how is it going?" He replied, "I quit church!" His Mom explained that he had not gotten his way, and his response to that was that he was going to quit church.

I said "DJ, you don't want to be a quitter do you?"  He said "No but I still quit."

I laughed because DJ almost always makes me laugh.

But DJ's response has stuck with me over the last couple of weeks.  Different people have expressed that they were quitting things in their lives and I thought of DJ.

DJ's response was no different than most adults response.  When something doesn't go our way, when we are not happy with an outcome, when things get too hard, we simply decide to quit.  We quit on dieting, we quit on exercise, we quit jobs, we quit marriages, we quit ministry.   And even as adults like DJ we quit church.

But quitting is not what God calls us to do.  There are many verses in the bible that talk about not quitting.

    Colossians 1:11 "Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you 
    may have great endurance and patience."

   Galations 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a 
   harvest if we do not give up."

   James 1:12 "Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial."

God knew this life would be hard, that's why there are verses to encourage us not to give up.  

Think about it. I am sure there were times Jesus wanted to give up.  When the people were pushing in, the crowds kept coming, he was tired and hungry, but he didn't quit.  When the disciples spent years with him and still didn't get it, he didn't quit on them.  

Most important, the hardest trial in his life, the cross.  He didn't give up. He didn't quit. Even though he could have.  He saw it through, and because he did, you and I have the promise of eternal life.

What is it that you are contemplating giving up on right now?  Your job, your spouse, your health, your sobriety?  Don't do it! Don't give up!  Don't be a quitter!  

36 reasons I love my Husband

Mr and Mrs. Brett Sapp

36 years of marriage, and 8 years of  friendship before that.  Brett entered my life when I was 10 years old. I could never have imagined when I first met this blond haired, dark eyed boy, that  years later I would have spent most of my life with him.   But I have and it has been an amazing ride.  So, to commemorate those 36 years I am listing 36 of the top things I love about this man.

1.   That he makes me laugh every day.  Even when I don't want to.
2.   That he still has those beautiful dark eyes, that I feel  can see into my soul.
3.   That he is an amazing Dad.
4.   That he still says "hold me"
5.   That he is a man of integrity.
6.   That his hair is now salt and pepper.
7.   That he has great calf muscles.
8.   That he has a servants heart.
9.   That he loves the beach as much as I do.
10. That he knows how to say I am sorry.
11.  The laugh lines around his eyes.
12.  That he still thinks farting is funny.
13.  That he is a hard worker.
14.  That little kids, dogs and old ladies love him.
15.  That he sings in the bathroom in the mornings when he is getting ready.
16.  That he takes forever to brush his teeth.
17.  That he is a great leader.
18.  His passion for celebrate recovery.
19.  When he reaches for my hand in the car.
20.  Vacation Brett.
21.  The way he looks in a baseball cap.
22.  Sleeping next to him.
23.  The way he always tries to second guess what I want when we are making a decision.
24.  That his glass is always half full.
25.  That he is a cubs fan, so I know he will never give up on me.
26.  His smile.
27.  His obsession with making sure the yard is mowed.
28.  That he loves his Mamma.
29.  His desire to please God.
30.  His love of chips and ice cream, not together.
31.  The sound of my name on his lips.
32.  That he never says anything about how much money I spend or how much I shop.
33.  That he gets me a tea every Sunday morning on his way to church.
34.  That he is a very generous and giving person.
35.  The way he swings his arms when he walks.
36.  That he has made the last 36 years an amazing journey!!!!

Brett - Thank You for the young man you were 36 years ago on this day.  Even more thank you for letting God transform you into the amazing man and husband you are today.  I cannot wait to see what the next 36 years holds for us.  Love you to Pluto and back (because it is farther than the moon).  

1 Peter 4:8 "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins."

Bed Bugs - Yikes

Recently Brett and 4 of his leaders had the chance to attend the Celebrate Recovery Summit in Tennessee.  This is an annual training event to meet with thousands of other celebrate recovery leaders. A chance to share ideas, get recharged, hear great speakers, listen to a great band.  They all came back charged up with new ideas to take them into the next year.

Brett actually had a very new experience this year.  He encountered bed bugs at his hotel the first night.  The hotel was quick to move him to another room and give him instructions on how to get rid of them.  Needless to say I was not excited about the thought of him bringing any of his new "friends" home with him.

When he arrived home I did all but make him strip down on the front porch and throw away all of his clothes.  I wanted to do that, but didn't know if the neighbor's would think it was such a good idea.  He did immediately throw all of his clothes in the washer and put his suitcase on the deck for 3 days. Thank goodness for the 90+ degree weather.

While reading up on bed bugs I found some similarities between bed bugs and Satan.  Imagine that.

First, apparently bed bugs do not like the light and will disappear if you turn the lights on.  Think about it.  Satan hates the light.  When we shine the light of God's word on our lives, with the truth Satan takes off running.

Second, according to Brett you don't feel bed bugs biting during the night.  You only discover they were there the next morning when you break out with itching bites all over you.  Satan is also sly that way.  He bites with a lie, you might not notice the first bite but then you can't leave it alone.  It continues to itch and fester till you scratch it.  Leaving a sore and maybe a scar.

For me that can look a number of ways.

The lie - because some lady at a baseball game when I was 12 thought I was a boy I now look in the mirror and a lot of times don't like what I see.

The lie - jealousy - I want her life, I want her talent, that should be mine, why doesn't God give me what I want?

The lie - Finding my self worth in the things I do, or what people think of me.

You have to treat to get rid of bed bugs, we have to treat to get rid of Satan.

First step you have to remove the bed bugs.  You have to strip everything away and spray for them.  Same way with Satan you first have to strip everything away, admit you are a sinner and turn to Jesus.

Then you have to treat the bites.  You have to put some type of cream or salve on them.  Same way with the lies.

The lie of how I look - God says I created you, and you are beautiful to me.

The lie of jealousy - God says I have a purpose and a plan for your life that I have for no one else.

The lie of self worth - God says you are mine and I sent my Son to die for you.  Your worth is found in ME and ME alone.

Bed bugs are a horrible, crawling thing that scatter when the light comes on.  Satan is a horrible, crawling thing that scatters when we shed the light of truth from God's word on our lives.

Live in the light and you avoid the bed bugs.  Live in the light and you avoid Satan's lies.

Ephesians 5: 8-9 "for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord; walk as children   of the light - for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth."

Needless to say "Don't let the bed bugs bite" has new meaning at our house.