A Slower Pace

A friend posted this on Facebook and I just had to share. How cool and how creative!

Merry Christmas!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

The quote below was in the sermon this morning and resonated with me. It is reason for hope.

“God’s not finished writing your story”

And….. He just isn’t finished writing MY story, but He is also not finished writing YOUR story. How cool is that?

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

My previous post was an observation I made last Friday morning. I also made another one while walking down the sidewalk back to my car. It was of a large tree in the middle of the city where its roots were spreading out and had actually lifted up a section of the sidewalk. Now I know this is a common occurrence in cities and neighborhoods everywhere. In fact, when I was a kid and rode my bike to school, I knew where all these were — in one direction so I could jump off them like a ramp, and in the other direction so I could avoid them and not go over the handlebars.

But this particular tree root struck me differently. Maybe it was its persistence. Maybe it was the horizontal direction. Maybe because it was in front of the abortion clinic. But to me it was a physical metaphor for how the living Holy Spirit penetrates and breaks the hardness of our hearts. The tree is living and its roots provide life. The concrete appears hard, cold and immovable. Not unlike us. Not unlike the abortion center. Not unlike our fallen world. But God has provided the Holy Spirit life and persistence to break into our cold, hard hearts. And it, quite often, isn’t a sudden force — but rather like the work of the tree root, it is slow, gradual and persistent. But ultimately it wins in breaking through.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Amen!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman that God ordained for life. I have been extremely blessed by the gift God gave me in my wife. She not only completes me but the marriage has grown me into becoming the man God designed me to be. However, my wife is not my pinnacle, nor are my kids. While I love them as much as my heart can bear, I love God more – which is the proper order of things. And because God is love and He loves all of us more than we can fathom, He would not want anything that is not right for us which allows us to love each other as we need to.

NOTE: this is not the warped “love” that is defined by our society today (as in “I love beer” or “If you loved me, you would buy me this bass boat “).

This morning at my Men’s Challenge Bible study, a tablemate brought up a visual concept that really struck a cord with me. In a marriage, God should be at the pinnacle for both the husband and wife. Imagine a triangle with God at the top and the husband and wife at each corner at the base. As they grow in loving and knowing God they not only grow closer to Him but closer to each other. Of course, this is only the case if BOTH are growing closer to God.

I like visuals like this and this one really lays it out perfectly.

“For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.” – Genesis 2:24

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

This morning while reading devotions in Proverbs 15, I stumbled across two related and relevant passages in Psalms as I turned the pages. I haven’t quite connected the dots yet, but I believe they became a part of my devotions for a reason.

“I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. – Psalm 34:4

“He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD.” – Psalm 112:7

The common word in both passages is fear. And fear is on the other side of faith. Looking at Scripture, fear of the Lord is the only legitimate fear we should have. We should not fear evil, we should not fear the future, we should not fear the unknown, we should not fear spiders or snakes (the last one is more for those with phobias). We’ll see how these passages manifest themselves throughout the rest of the week.

“What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” – Romans 8:31-32

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

She jumped up as soon as she saw the surgeon come out of the operating room. She said: ‘How is my little boy? Is he going to be all right? When can I see him?’

The surgeon said, ‘I’m sorry. We did all we could, but your boy didn’t make it.’

Sally said, ‘Why do little children get cancer? Doesn’t God care any more? Where were you, God, when my son needed you?’

The surgeon asked, ‘Would you like some time alone with your son? One of the nurses will be out in a few minutes, before he’s transported to the university.’

Sally asked the nurse to stay with her while she said good bye to son. She ran her fingers lovingly through his thick red curly hair. ‘Would you like a lock of his hair?’ the nurse asked. Sally nodded yes. The nurse cut a lock of the boy’s hair, put it in a plastic bag and handed it to Sally.

The mother said, ‘It was Jimmy’s idea to donate his body to the University for Study. He said it might help somebody else. ‘I said no at first, but Jimmy said, ‘ Mom , I won’t be using it after I die. Maybe it will help some other little boy spend one more day with his Mom .’ She went on, ‘My Jimmy had a heart of gold. Always thinking of someone else. Always wanting to help others if he could.’

Sally walked out of Children’s Mercy Hospital for the last time, after spending most of the last six months there. She put the bag with Jimmy’s belongings on the seat beside her in the car.

The drive home was difficult. It was even harder to enter the empty house. She carried Jimmy’s belongings, and the plastic bag with the lock of his hair to her son’s room.

She started placing the model cars and other personal things back in his room exactly where he had always kept them. She lay down across his bed and, hugging his pillow, cried herself to sleep.

It was around midnight when Sally awoke. Lying beside her on the bed was a folded letter. The letter said :

Dear Mom,

I know you’re going to miss me; but don’t think that I will ever forget you, or stop loving you, just ’cause I’m not around to say ‘I Love You’. I will always love you, Mom , even more with each day. Someday we will see each other again. Until then, if you want to adopt a little boy so you won’t be so lonely, that’s okay with me. He can have my room and old stuff to play with. But, if you decide to get a girl instead, she probably wouldn’t like the same things us boys do. You’ll have to buy her dolls and stuff girls like, you know.

Signed with Love from God, Jesus & Me.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Yesterday was quite the unique day. I can truly say that I have never had a day such as yesterday. Let me explain why.

Some background first. Before we left home on Friday, we took my son to urgent care in Kentucky. He had a terrible cough for a week and a half and it wasn’t getting any better. It turns out he had bronchitis — just what you want to hear as you are leaving on a 10 hour road trip on vacation. But the service at the local urgent care was quick, nice and effective. Soon enough my wife had the prescriptions filled as I was finishing up getting cash at the bank (we were doing the whole vacation Dave Ramsey cash budget style — but more on that in another post).

Well, it seems that I have done a good job teaching my son values because he shared his cough with me. I first felt it Sunday during service at the local beach church. When Wednesday came along it was all I could do to keep the cough from going uncontrollable at times. I did not talk, did not laugh and did not take big breaths. After donuts at the local Donut Hole eatery, my wife and I headed to the local Destin urgent care. They, like the urgent care back home, were quick, nice and effective and within an hour we were out of there and had my medication in hand. So now I was relegated to rest in the beach house at least for the day as my body took the medication and fought the respiratory infection.

As I took a shower, I prayed that I would wisely use my day and even though I was sick, that I would make the most of it. And during my shower, I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me that I needed to be in prayer — and that I should pray for each person on my Facebook friend list specifically by name. And when I was finished I would post a status update to let each person know — believer or not — that they were spiritually covered in prayer that day. And what better way to spend a sick day on the beach.

So I grabbed my Bible, a tall glass of sweet tea, some Mission tortilla chips and my laptop and set up camp on the master suite balcony. I opened in prayer that I might be used as an instrument of God. That I might be obedient. That I persevere for however long it took. (I have 175 FB friends. At only 1 minute each, that would take 3 hours and I knew that if I were going to be specific and intentional with each beloved person on that list, it would easily surpass 3 hours and probably take up at least half the day.)

I then opened up my Bible to read specific Scripture passages on prayer. Below are a few that stood out to me:

” As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the Lord by failing to pray for you. And I will teach you the way that is good and right. But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.” — 1 Samuel 12:23-24

“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.” — Ephesians 6:18

And then at 10:45am Central time I begun my prayers, starting on my FB friend list alphabetically. Now an interesting thing about Facebook is who is on your friend list. Of course, I have immediate family on there — my wife, children, parents, sister, etc. For these beloved people it was going to be very easy to pray specifically. I know their dreams, needs, and walk with Christ and could probably spend a hour for each one of them. However, there are others on my FB friend list that might be old acquaintances or neighbors or long lost friends or someone you met on a plane once (yes, I have one of those). For those folks it was going to be more challenging. Some of these folks might not even know Jesus or believe in God. However, I felt it my calling to pray even more specifically for these knowing that God knows what I do not, and He would fill in the blanks, so to speak.

My prayers came easily for these were all people who were woven into my life at one point and for some reason. Some had merely a scrap woven into my tapestry while others’ dominated the pattern of my life quilt. It was a peaceful time and really allowed me to feel each person and to pour love onto them, their situation, their needs, and their walk with God. There were challenges of distractions, of noises, of the beautiful beach scenery, and of biological breaks but I was persevering through my group of friends and deepening my prayer life. At the end of the first hour I had covered 29 people specifically by name in prayer. And being the type of person I am quickly figured out that this was easily going to take two, three or four times longer than I had imagined. I wondered to myself, “Did I bite off more than I can chew?”

But my job was to pray and be obedient. I knew God would take care of everything else.

I did take a few breaks. One for lunch and a nice turkey sandwich. Another 10 minute break to fly a kite with my son and my Accountability friend on the beach. And a nice walk to the convenience store with my son so he could buy a candy bar. That might be another post because we were able to have a nice conversation about God and his commandments. I was even able to confirm to my son that we were doing exactly what God wants us to do — Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” — Deuteronomy 6:4-7

The afternoon was consumed in prayer as I continued along not only praying but in amazement at the interwoven paths God had placed all of these people on. As the afternoon surrendered to evening and dinner, I took a break to dine with family and friends. Returning to my home stretch of special people and prayers I ended my prayer time with the sunlight retreating below the watery horizon and in darkness as I asked the Holy Spirit to fill my heart and to guide the message I was going to send all these people as my FB status. In His words, not mine it read — I TRULY BELIEVE IN THE POWER OF PRAYER. Today I spent time praying for you specifically. I prayed for each name in my Facebook friend list by name. This is not a chain message cut and paste. I started at 10:45a and am just now finishing – from A to Z each one of you was spiritually covered in prayer today. Some of you might be encouraged by that. Some might be offended. Others might not ever see it because I am blocked. But I KNOW that my prayer got through because God hears all prayers. I pray this message arrives to you in God’s perfect timing and know that I love you and Jesus loves you.

I have received some beautiful comments from that post but must acknowledge that none of it was me. I was merely a broken vessel that God was using. My only act was one of obedience. I only wish it happened more often.

Jesus Loves You

To continue in the spirit of this post, please feel free to comment on any prayer requests you might have so that I might also pray for you. Or you can email me your prayer requests. I would be honored to pray for your needs.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

The best way to get back into the swing of writing blog posts is just doing it. So enough with the good intentions. Enough with wanting to catch up backlogs to backlogs. As the shoe folks say – “Just do it”.

Our family relationships are critical in more ways than one. Family are some of the closest folks that tend to know us best — good, bad and ugly. They are also the folks we have the biggest influence on. I can guarantee you that my wife, kids, parents and siblings have way more long term and eternal influence on me than any neighbor, boss, co-worker or acquaintances have. So it is very important we give these special God-favoring relationships much respect, honor, and credence. These family relationships will also tend to cross generations and have the biggest “chain” or downstream impact — positive or negative.

On the way home this evening from Scouts, I asked my son if he could do a huge favor for me. He looked over at me inquisitive and said “I think so”.

I prefaced the favor as saying it would probably be one of the biggest, most important favors I would ask of him. His eyes got big and he sheepishly said “OK” in confirmation — even if it was a bit hesitated.

Now thinking through a kid’s mind, he is probably thinking that this is beyond mowing the lawn, cleaning his room, or being diligent in home school. And it was.

I asked him if he would make sure to pass on the love and faith for Jesus Christ to his children. And then when they were of an age of understanding like he is that he would ask this same question of them. His look lightened up and he agreed to the fulfilling of my request, maybe because he then realized that it had nothing to do with his dishevled room.

I then proceeded to explain that it was critical that I pass on my faith in Christ to him and that he does the same for his children and that they do the same for their children. For our faith did not come to us accidentally but rather through our family’s obedient lineage. It is our duty and responsibility to ensure future generations are covered by the forgiveness, salvation and blood of Christ. And one of God’s most entrusted vehicles for that is the family.

As quoted in Deuteronomy 6:7 — “Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

It is extremely critical that we do not neglect this responsibility. It is a mission trip right in our own back yard. One that is ripe, one that is available, one with the greatest potential for acceptance, and one that often is overlooked.

Interestingly, I have recently begun praying for the spouses of each of my kids. While none of them should be getting married any time soon, their spouses are out there and will be 50% of the team that will be raising MY grandchildren. I pray God is preparing their hearts and minds so that when His will finally intersects their paths together, they are put on His joint path and are equally yoked pulling for His kingdom. Additionally, I have also begun praying for my grandchildren who are even farther down the family tree. But prayer is powerful and an integral part of a spiritual walk — my spiritual walk.

I look forward to referencing back on this post to see how God has grown our family tree for His glory. I also need to have that same favor-request conversation with each of my daughters.

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net

Almost two weeks ago, I blogged a post about God taking pain and broken pieces and creating something beautiful from them (see Aug 6 post here — God’s glory in broken pieces…..). Well, our church newspaper has an awesome, more in depth article on that whole story and how God is working His plan. It is just amazing and I encourage you to go read it.

Allowing God To Work — Southeast Outlook article

Have a great weekend!

…..Dan at aslowerpace dot net