Category Archives: peace

Some Days I Feel Like Singing

17 Friday Jan 2014

Posted by in Life, peace

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I love good singing.  Growing up in the churches of Christ, I have been fortunate to hear good singing.  At Abilene Christian University, they have a tradition at several events where the entire audience sings “The Lord Bless You and Keep You” and, with 4,000+ voices, it can be overwhelmingly powerful.

The good Lord chose not to bless me with a singing voice.  I think he knew that if I had a good voice, I’d wind up in a band like Motley Crue or certainly living the life of a rock star and all the bad that comes with that.  So, being in the churches of Christ, I was able to boast that I made a joyful noise just like the Bible calls for.  Woohoo!

Now don’t get me wrong.  Just because of grew up in a church of Christ background doesn’t mean I’m against instruments.  If you get in my truck, you’ll know I like my subwoofers turned up high.  I have worshipped many times where a band was used and found them to be incredibly talented.  I’m not against instruments but I am for voices.  I love the Sing Off, a voice-only show on TV.  I love The Voice where one person is initially judged solely by the sound of their voice.

All that to say, some days I just feel like singing.  I sing in the bathroom.  I sing in the shower.  I sing getting dressed.  I sing in the truck.  I sing in the office.  Yes, that one does draw some consternation.  And, when I’m singing, I find myself singing praise songs.  Today, 10,000 Reasons is on my heart.  I was fortunate to be able to worship with Matt Chandler last May.  It was a very uplifting experience and this has become one of my favorite songs.  I hope you will enjoy…and sing along with me.

10,000 Reasons by Matt Redman

Grace and peace.

Chaos

29 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Life, peace

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“Man has tended to make himself the measure of all things.  But man’s measure is too tiny to comprehend My majestic vastness.  That is why most people do not see Me at all, even though they live and move and have their being in Me.” – Jesus Calling

I tend to live in chaos.  I have more things on my to-do list than I can accomplish.  And, I see them all as priorities.  I operate in a messy environment because I jump from one thing to another.  And, I see them all as priorities.  I look around me and see a vastness of things I must do and accomplish and prove to myself and others so that I may measure myself good and worthy.

What I see as huge, God looks at through a magnifying lens to see.  Oh, not that He doesn’t see me clearly.  He does.  He only looks at the things I try to make important as small.  He knows who I am.  I struggle with remembering that most of the time.

I live in chaos because I focus on me and not on Him.  I live in chaos because I choose the small things to be my big things instead of choosing the Big Thing to be my big thing and letting the small things play out as small things.

I want each day to be more focused on God.  To be clothed in Him.  To be consumed with Him.  I want God oozing out of me so that each person I come in contact with gets God on them because I am overflowing.

I love to stop at fountains and be still and quiet as I hear the water running and feel the peace it brings.  A fountain is something that is overflowing.  There is more water than it can contain so the water comes flowing out to create a calm, a peace.

I want to be a fountain, unable to contain all of God that is within me, creating a place of calm and peace.

Grace and peace.

Quotes

01 Wednesday May 2013

Posted by in Faith, Life, peace

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I’ve read a couple of things yesterday that I want to post and have to go back to.

“The hardest thing in the world is to be where we are.” – Rowan Williams 

How true is this?  I want to be somewhere else most of the time.  When I had a job, I wanted to be somewhere else.  Now that I’m looking for a job, I want to be somewhere else.  I’m learning a lot about living in the present moment…and APPRECIATING the present moment for what it is and what God wants to reveal in it.  It reminds me of something a friend said to me not long ago, “the grass is greenest where we water it.”

I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
    apart from you I have no good thing.” – Psalms 16:2 

All that I have can disappear in a flash.  My house.  My stuff.  My relationships.  Oh, how I fear losing those things but what do they mean if I’m not walking with God in this present moment?  My struggle today is that I feel like I am putting my full trust and faith in God and may still end up losing some of these things but they are not important in the long term.  My relationship and faith in God is, however.

“This is where you are meant to live – in the present; it is the place where I always await you.  Awareness of your inadequacy is a rich blessing, training you to rely wholeheartedly on Me.” – Jesus Calling by Sarah Young 

Interesting that I read this on the same day I was reading Psalms 16.  Does God want me to get something through my head?  The challenge is that I believe I am living more and more in that dependency but I keep expecting to see answers to my prayers in that living.  Maybe I’m not fully dependent yet?  Or maybe I’m still in training.  I don’t know.  What I do know is that I want to live more like a disciple of Christ but, man, it is hard for me to do much of the time.

“Rejection is the most painful wound you will ever receive because it is the most painful wound God ever experienced.” ~Robert Morris -Gateway Church

Rejection.  Wow.  Rejection by employers.  Rejection by friends.  Rejection by spouses.  Rejection of ideas and hopes and dreams.  I like to tell myself I handle rejection well but I just bottle it up and put it on a shelf.  Then, when a situation comes up that reminds me of the old wound, I go open the bottle and drink from it so I can build walls and protect myself from the possibility of more rejection.  I’m so thankful God doesn’t deal with rejection like I do.  I pray I can begin to deal with rejection more like God does.

I’m learning to live a different life.  I’m learning to see things differently.  I wish I knew where it was all headed.  I’m impatient.  An old friend, Jerry Meade, once told me that God is slow…at least in our version of time.  One more thing for me to accept and work out in my own life.  Be patient.  Have faith.  Quit trying to fit God in my box of how things should look.  Tough stuff.  And yet, hope and faith are all I have right now.  All I have is hope in Him and His power to do great things through me.  Let that be enough for today.

Another friend gave me one of those rubber bracelets once that said “MY GOD IS BIG ENOUGH.”  I wish I still had that bracelet.  Instead, I will try to keep that thought in my head all day today.

Grace and peace.

22 Thursday Mar 2012

Posted by in John 16:33, peace, suffering, trouble

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“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” – John 16:33var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}


I want peace but usually find I am troubled.

Some people say I have trouble saying “no” (Hi mom!).  I suppose I do at times.  A friend texted me today to see if I could handle something for him at church this weekend because he has to be out of town.  Of course I said yes.  

I was talking to someone the other night and asked the question I often ask myself, “so what do I cut out?”  All the things I do are important to me so cutting something out means I don’t do something that is important, or at least worthy, in my own mind.  However, these choices do bring trouble.  Lack of sleep.  Periods of mental fuzziness.  Stress.  Tension.  

Eventually, my body will crash and sleep will be a necessity.  Eventually my mind will clear up.  Eventually the stress and tension and grumpiness will pass and I’ll be left remembering the choices I made to do the things I thought were worthy.  I hope in that time I will find peace.  

In this world I will have trouble.  Trouble with my decisions.  Trouble with other people’s decisions.  Trouble with temptation and dark forces.  Lots of trouble.  That’s what the world brings but Christ has overcome the world.  I will get through the good and the bad of this life but I continue to yearn for what lies ahead, for the ultimate peace the Christ has planned for me.

Grace and peace.

Smart

14 Tuesday Feb 2012

Posted by in denying self, disciple, peace

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If you get a chance to see Flower Mound Marcus play basketball this year, jump on it.  Marcus Smart may be an NBA player one day.  

I’m borrowing another gem from Rick Atchley.
“Athletes deny themselves things that are not wrong but are not smart. So do disciples!”
Denying myself is hard.  There are things I enjoy, things that make me feel good, things that brighten my spirits, things…and I want them and, at times, get them when I can.  However, denying myself at times would make me a better person and certainly smarter for the endeavor.  
I want to be a disciple. I want to follow Christ and his example and the desires of God’s heart for my life.
Grace and peace.

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R & R

05 Sunday Feb 2012

Posted by in Josh Hamilton, peace, reconciliation, restoration

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Peacemaking includes many facets.  A couple of those are restoration and reconciliation (R&R) and it’s something that, without God’s grace, most of us would not know.  Without R&R, there’s no peace.  var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}

I have only found peace learning to live in contentment with whatever my situation is but without restoration and reconciliation, peace is only partial at best.  I have lived for years without peace in my life because of conflict with God, conflict with people I have loved and conflict within me.  I trust that God has forgiven me and I am finally learning to live at peace with him.  I’m not there yet and that’s because I still have trouble forgiving myself and without being able to fully reach reconciliation with myself, it’s still difficult to have full peace with God when I’m not at complete peace with myself.  Finally, there are people close to me that I have been restored and reconciled to and live at total peace with them and others that it is still in process and there is no peace yet.  
This is something that Josh Hamilton is dealing with right now.  He’s a public example of what I often deal with – battling demons that call me to do things I shouldn’t do.  I’m guessing Hamilton’s failing jeopardizes his family relationship and certainly jeopardizes his work relationship (very secondary in this situation but more public).  His openness and honest way of addressing the problem has certainly made R&R appear more realistic in all his relationships and I hope it works out that he will be able to again know peace because of the grace of those around him.
I want to know peace.  I want to help others find peace.  It can happen but there has to be restoration and reconciliation to make it so.  That takes admitting fault and seeking forgiveness.  It also requires forgiveness and grace by others with God as the model for what true forgiveness looks like.  I hope I will be forgiven and I hope I will forgive liberally as God has forgiven me.  It doesn’t mean there will never be consequences to actions, it doesn’t mean that my way (or another person’s way) is always the right answer but peace can be found in all situations with people who put R&R above themselves.
Grace and peace to you.

Peacemakers

03 Friday Feb 2012

Posted by in Matthew 5:9, peace, peacemaker

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I want to be a peacemaker.  var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}

I have lived much of my life in conflict.  Conflict with God and his desire for me, conflict within myself and who I wanted to be and conflict with others who were/are close to me.  It’s hard to live in conflict as long as I did and even made harder by my inability to deal with conflict.  
When I started the program I’m working through now learning to be a peacemaker, I had to take a test to determine my conflict style.  The choices are: collaboration (win-win), accommodation (you win-I lose), compromise (lose-lose), competition (I win-you lose) and avoidance (nothing to win or lose).  I rated highest in avoidance and second highest in accommodation.  If I couldn’t avoid it at all costs, I would rather give in and let someone else get their way.  I have bad conflict resolution skills and it’s something I want to change for myself and certainly to help other people.  
I often wish I had known better a long time ago.  I think I would have been a better person, a better father, a better husband, a better employee, a better friend.  It’s hard sometimes wishing I could rewrite history but that isn’t going to happen so I press on, looking to the future, working to overcome my weaknesses and shortcomings, hoping the Lord will use me to bring peace to others so that conflict doesn’t tear them down, rip them apart and throw them aside.  
Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called children of God. – Matthew 5:9
Lord, make me a peacemaker and use me in your kingdom so that others will know the peace that only comes from you.
Grace and peace to you.

Peace 3

18 Wednesday Jan 2012

Posted by in peace, peacemaker

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And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: 23 “Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, ‘This is the way you shall bless the children of Israel. Say to them:

“The LORD bless you and keep you;
 The LORD make His face shine upon you,
      And be gracious to you;
 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you,
      And give you peace.”’
“So they shall put My name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.”
Numbers 6:22-27 (NKJV)
From these verses comes the “other” ACU school song, one sung after so many events and a song that always reminds me of an ACU event.  It’s a song we talked about in the closing ceremony of my Residency Session week at ACU last week.  The idea of the Lord’s face shining upon us and giving us peace.  I look forward to that day when I see the Lord’s face shining upon me, me in his presence, and I imagine the peace I will feel at that moment.  
In the meantime, I want to seek out ways to find that peace in the here and now and to help others who are in the storms of life find that peace.  
Grace and peace to you.

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Peace and More Peace

16 Monday Jan 2012

Posted by in peace, peacemaker

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When the way you live pleases the Lord, 
      he makes even your enemies live at peace with you.var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}

Proverbs 16:7 (NIRV)

I just spent a week at Abilene Christian University learning to be a peacemaker.  It is something I desire, something I hope to become and be in every part of my life.  Learning to live through my own pain, I have come to find so many people are hurting and think they are not worthy of love.  I am coming to know that God runs to all of his lost children, arms wide open, ready to embrace them for who they are – his children.  

I want to live a life that pleases the Lord.  Oh, how I struggle at doing it regularly.  I want to walk close to him but my mind wanders and my heart is pulled along with it too often.  Still, I desire to walk closer to God and in a way that pleases him so that even my enemies will live at peace with me, a child of his only wanting to be a peacemaker.

Grace and peace to you.

Peace

13 Friday Jan 2012

Posted by in Conflict Resolution, peace

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Peace.  var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”); document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src='” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”)); try { var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-12356560-1”); pageTracker._trackPageview(); } catch(err) {}

It’s such a calming word to me.
Peace.
I have learned it’s something I can have even in the middle of the biggest storms.
Peace.
It’s something I want to be able to help people find and embrace in the middle of their biggest storms.
Peace.  
Proverbs 16:7 – When a man’s ways are pleasing to the LORD, he makes even his enemies live at peace with him.
May I walk in the ways of my Lord so that all I touch will know peace.
Grace and peace to you.