Coming Clean

A few weeks ago, I made this comment on my blog—Peace Came in the Morning.

“My Echo thinks she knows me well. She said something like, ‘Since you listen to worship music, I’ll play the Amazon worship channel and Chris Tomlin.’”

I must come clean and retract the statement, “. . . she knows me well.” She does not know me at all! When I asked her a few weeks ago to play music, she made a very wise decision, knew what I liked to listen to, and offered to play it for me. All good until this past week.

She called me a dweeb!

All I asked her to do was turn off my music. Time to leave the house to go to work. She must have really liked my worship songs and wanted to listen longer. I can certainly understand. Chris McClarney is a worship pastor in the Nashville, Tennessee, area and a member of Jesus Culture Band. I listen to him many mornings as I get ready for my day. My Echo must have grown accustomed to listening to him too. She wasn’t happy with me when I asked her to stop.

Another area of coming clean is regarding my Healthy New Year blog. I strived to take baby steps to better health. The areas of improvement and results for January follow.

• Lose weight—exceeded my goal of 2 pounds a month.

• Exercise more—averaged over 7,600 steps per day which exceeded my 6,500 steps per day goal. However, there were two days I did not meet my goal of 6,500 steps.

• Get more sleep—goal was to consistently get 6½ hours each night as recorded by my Fitbit. Not successful—had 12 nights during the month with less than 6½ hours. Although, I did average over 6½ hours per night overall.

• Stress reduction—the one I like the best. But it’s also the hardest for me to track. As I stated on my, Healthy New Year blog, the increased walking and extra sleep helped along with continued Bible reading, studying, and praying. I also listened to a lot of worship music to help reduce stress. I did all the other items on my list as well, but not as often as I could have. This is my greatest area in need of improvement.

For February, I hope to continue my weight loss, bump my steps up to 8,500 per day, raise my average sleep per night to 6¾ hours, and continue to work on reducing stress.

How are your New Year’s resolutions coming along? Do you need to come clean too?

Thanks for reading!

Dog Tired

At first glance it appeared to be an enjoyable morning walk, but as I continued to observe, I witnessed something totally different. A dog trudged alongside its owner for several steps and then plopped onto the sidewalk. The owner nudged and pulled him to no avail until the dog was ready to walk again. This happened three times as I watched from my kitchen window. Possibly you can relate to the dog. I can.

There are times we get tired and need to rest. We scurry here and there to get everything done. Busy with our jobs, school and church activities, and balancing home life. At some point, we need to plop on the couch or bed for relaxation or sleep.

Possibly the dog had been chasing a cat around the backyard earlier and was exhausted. He needed time to be still and rest.

When I become exhausted, anxiety often raises its ugly head. In these weary times, I listen for God’s whisper reminding me to be still and know He is God. Posted at my desk is, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Philippians 4:6 NIV). This verse reminds me to take time to pray and be thankful.

Distractions often interrupt us. We start out focused on our purpose and then life happens. We find ourselves getting off track and going the opposite direction. Possibly the new way is the path of least resistance. Appears better or easier, but is that the best way?

Perhaps the dog was distracted by a bug as it crossed the sidewalk. Maybe, he wanted to spend time focusing on this curious creature.

Distractions cause me to get off course. I allow life to get in the way of growing closer to the Lord. I find myself focusing on the wrong things like pleasing people by trying to be perfect. My Bible reading dwindles, my prayer life fades, and I slip away into self-sufficiency. To refocus, I must turn back to the Word of God and spend more time in prayer.

From my viewpoint, it appeared the dog was exercising his selfishness. He didn’t desire to walk, and he wanted to make sure his owner understood. His goal was control.

In the end he honored his master and followed her home. He was too heavy for her to carry.

When we are tired, distracted, or self-seeking, God still loves us. He longs for us to turn from the things that keep us distant and instead draw near. The good news is, unlike the dog’s owner, God will carry us when we surrender to Him.

Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness

After lunch with my friend Katie, I pondered the similarities between her heart and the heart of Christ.

Katie left her husband, Shawn, twice during an 18-month period. He had anger issues. She needed to protect herself in case he became abusive. She went back to him the second time 10 days before our lunch.

Why didn’t she give up on her husband?

Katie loves Shawn. She desires to be with him. She wants to be adored by him.

She accepts him as he is. Katie hopes he will have a change of heart, honor her, and treat her with the love and devotion she deserves. She is willing to give him another chance.

Katie is also forgiving. No matter what Shawn has done, Katie’s heart is huge. She wants this relationship to work as if her life itself depended upon it.

Do you see the similarities? Let’s look at this once more substituting Jesus in for Katie and the word me in for Shawn.

Jesus loves me. He desires to be with me. He wants to be adored by me.

He accepts me as I am. He hopes I will have a change of heart, honor Him, and treat Him with the love and devotion He deserves. He is willing to give me another chance.

Jesus is also forgiving. No matter what I have done, Jesus’s heart is huge. He wants this relationship to work as if His life itself depended upon it.

And it did.

Because of His great love for us, He died. He rose from the dead to give us new life. Eternal life.

If we receive His gift of eternal life, He will accept us as we are and forgive us for all our sins. We first need to admit we are a sinner and believe He died and rose from the dead. We also must turn from our sinful ways and commit to follow Him.

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved” (Romans 10:9-10 NLT).

“Now repent of your sins and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped away” (Acts 3:19 NLT).

My hope is that Shawn follows through on the anger management counseling he agreed to and their marriage is restored.

The Greatest is Love

We all need love. According to 1 Corinthians 13:13, love is the greatest. The Message translation says we should, “love extravagantly.”

When I think of an extravagant gift, my thoughts go to something unexpected, way beyond what is necessary for the occasion, and more than I would typically receive or deserve.

If the best of the big three—faith, hope, and love—is love, and we are to love extravagantly, we should give unexpectedly of our kindness, forgiveness, and put others first even when we don’t feel they deserve our love.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 states: “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (NLT).

I’ve read these verses many times but often feel I’ve come up short. I’m sure I’m not alone.

Even though we love and serve the Lord, we sometimes allow negativity and discontentment into our hearts. This often shows up as sarcasm and bitterness instead of the love we desire to share. When I hear it come out of my mouth, I am convicted and sorrowful. On occasion, I’ve needed to apologize to a coworker or family member for snapping back. Would have been easier to respond in love the first time.

Our negative thoughts affect our intimacy with the Lord. How can we get on our knees and surrender our hearts in prayer and worship if we haven’t given Him our sinful attitude?

This negativity can also affect how we relate to others. I find it difficult to spend much time with someone who constantly berates the people in their lives. Are they trying to make themselves look better by blaming someone else? Sad truth is, I’ve done this myself. Maybe you have too.

We get caught up in the unfairness of our circumstances or listen to lies from the evil one. We begin to sulk and worry. Start to believe everyone is against us. What if we turn that all around and show God’s love? Instead of demanding our own way, what if we put the other person first? What if we choose to forgive? Maybe we could become more approachable and agreeable as well as learn to love extravagantly. Love beyond what anyone deserves. God’s love.