05.01.21 - week 102
i ruined mom’s birthday
‘the flowers died, mom’s birthday is ruined.’ - graham macdonald 8
2 Chronicles 6.8 - But the Lord said to my father David, ‘You did well to have it in your heart to build a temple for my Name.
so, my son graham is the 3rd boy. with two older brothers, he’s always trying to measure up + push for space + try to stand out. he doesn’t need to, as he has some amazing + special parts to his personality that his family delights in. but nonetheless, he wants to stand out.
for his mom’s birthday, he came up with the idea of picking some wildflowers from a field he saw on his route walking to school. he then put them in a vase + water under his bed. on the vase he wrote a note on a piece of paper that gave insight into his motives …
‘graham picked these flowers for mom’
the only problem with his plan is that there wasn’t very much water in the vase and it eventually spilled, leaving all his flowers shriveled and dead.
i took the boys to the store the night before mom’s birthday and they picked out a huge bouquet of flowers + lots of her favorite candy + a pair of sunglasses i had picked out and balloons. the plan was for carter (the oldest) to bring all the stuff downstairs and set it up before kristen came out of our room for the day.
so at 7.05a thursday, i was finishing leading a morning hour and i heard commotion. i walked upstairs to find grahams empty vase + the other boys filled vase of giant beautiful flowers. graham cried + cried saying mom would be mad that he ruined her birthday by giving her an empty vase.
inevitably, what actually happened is that kristen told him her favorite part of her birthday was that he thought ahead and without dad having to remind him, wanted to bless her with something on her birthday. it didn’t matter that the plan didn’t exactly work out, what mattered, was the heart behind it.
david the man after God’s own heart found himself in a quasi-similar situation, when after a life on the battle fields he wanted to build a temple to worship. he wanted to be the leader that moved people from the temporary to the permanent. God denied his request to accomplish this great task but yet in the verse above, gave him credit for the heart desire. even though he wouldn’t be able to do it, God was blessed by heart toward it.
i wonder how many parental + financial + ministerial goals in your life are similar … you wanted to make it happen, but for whatever reason your efforts have not or will not produce the outcomes you hoped and prayed for. simply, take comfort today that the God who doesn’t need our outcomes, but wants our hearts, take delights in what your heart desired even when it didn’t quite make it to fruition.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
Michael Phelps was fifteen when he qualified for his first Olympics. In the process, he has set 39 world records. Phelps has won 28 medals across five Olympic games which is the highest number of medals of anyone, ever! Twenty-three of those twenty-eight medals are gold which is the most Olympic gold medals anyone has ever won!
“His delight is not in the strength of the horse, nor his pleasure in the legs of a man, but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.” Psalm 147:10-11
Luke and I have been watching a fascinating documentary on Michael Phelps this week as he recounts his Olympic races and talks about what it was like as he prepared and became the best at his sport. What I have found most interesting is that his focus, his coaching and his preparation have as much importance as his swimming. In order to win all of these medals, he couldn’t put everything into just one race, he had to stay the course by intentionally staying properly hydrated and fed as well as making sure that he wasn’t distracted.
Then, I read this verse this week and as I thought about the human measure of greatness we think of this man who has been in the best shape of his life, who has dedicated many years of his life to becoming an Olympian. But, what I read here is that what the Lord thinks of as greatness can also take a lifetime of dedication but the disciplines are focused in a different direction.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “we never praise God better than by exercising faith in him.” Whether it is ‘fearing him’ or continuing in hope or exercising faith in the context of everyday life those are all muscles that take building but more often than not the growth feels invisible because you can’t necessarily see it. But, can I get an amen that sometimes you can feel the pain of the stretch the next day?! Each moment you exercise faith in prayer or in taking a big step you are exemplifying your trust in God! The people around you are watching and that very step of faith can encourage those around you in their own journey. When you have felt like you are faltering in hope because your circumstances look bleak but you wake up again today and do what God has put in front of you; you are exercising that hope muscle! And when you don’t do that thing that has tripped you up in the past because you fear God more than the brief pleasure that would come from it, you are building up a muscle that will reap discipline in what God sees. He knows when it has taken everything in you to fear him more than man today; even in the struggle he takes joy in your obedience because he sees what no one else does.
There’s more to it than just the here and now. I love the reminder in Philippians 3:20-21 & 4:1 which says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and my crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.” The inside matters: your focus and your intentionality are an opportunity each day to be purposeful in this life and to reap blessings in the next.
a thing on leadership
if you are feeling like small things upset you more than they used to... this may be why. whether it was a divorce or getting cancelled by your peer group or a bankruptcy or a long term illness or you were a pastor during the last year or you are from a minority community or or or ..... long term trauma makes you less able to properly right-size things. you are over-reacting, but it doesn’t FEEL like you are.
at a particular vulnerable time a few years ago i learned this concept .. i’m far from completely utilizing it to my benefit, but awareness for sure helps. your ability to cope or navigate situations is variable. if you have been through some difficult stuff, it’s likely you don’t have the full complement of emotional strength
blame it on your sin, the sin of the world, the sin of your least favorite political party, the sin of the hated celebrity du jour, people with gluten allergies, whatever you like … but believe this is true.
if your window of dealing with difficulty feels small, if you find yourself crying or yelling or withdrawing or screaming in traffic or jumping for a drink or mindless scrolling at increasing intervals … its probably because your window of tolerance has shrunk.
#thisisgoodnews #jesusisking #painisreal #listenandlearn #therapysession
#superchristianguy
book review
how (not) to read the bible : making sense of the anti-women, anti-science, pro-violence, pro-slavery and other crazy sounding parts of Scripture - dan kimball
this is a wonderful and timely book. rather than try to pretend certain elements of the ceremonial law or pauline writing in the Bible don’t sound strange to modern ears, dan kimball embraces it. he respects the bible and understands modern culture, bringing the two together brilliantly. i didn’t agree with every conclusion he draws, but he writes in a way that allows space for different views under the banner of biblical truth. he forces us by humorously engaging with meme’s that make fun of biblical content, to read the bible in it’s original context and see it for it is:
1. God written + without error
2. kind + compassionate to marginalized people
3. very logically in it’s progression if you choose to understand it
4. totally relevant for today
5. never something to be embarrassed about
if you are swimming in the water of deconstructionists and feeling a bit beaten down in your confidence in the Bible, get this booked and be helped.
stuff to click on
info on the michael phelps documentary kristen mentioned, we have really enjoyed watching it …
my friend brian sent me this song … man what a groove + lovely message,