Renovation Project

We haven't had television services at home for many years, but when we travel we end up glued to the screen watching home renovation shows. There is something incredibly compelling about the journey of seeing something transformed and repurposed. While there are a variety of different shows, the basic premise and story arc is the same.

It always begins with a vision and excitement about the potential at the beginning of the project. Once the work is fully engaged, however, there are always unexpected costs and complications. When the layers are pulled back there ends up being underlying damage to the structure that couldn't be previously seen. At some point in the project the owners will be frustrated and express their doubts about whether the renovation will ever be completed. There is always a turning point where things begin to come together and every owner is always amazed at how beautiful things turn out at the end.

I don't think this story arc is much different for the spiritual renovation work we do in our own lives. Any project we go through gets messier before it gets fresh and new. The complications we run into will most likely lead us into wanting to give up before it's done. This process also won't wrap up neatly into a 30 minute episode, but ends up taking longer than we may have initially projected. The good news is that we can gain some confidence in knowing that if we continue to push forward it will turn out better than we anticipated.

Learning to Speak Again

I have a fairly distinctive speaking voice. It’s a deep voice that I’ve learned to project through years of theater, working on athletic fields, and public speaking. There have been times I’ve walked into rooms and spoken with people who recognize me instantly because of the sound of my voice. I’ve even been told the that my voice is intimidating to some who may not have as strong-sounding a voice. I’ve grown to be comfortable with it as part of who I am and I have become attuned to using it in the right situations as I’ve aged.

We all have a voice that is distinctive. It may not necessarily be one that booms out from a stage or across playing fields, but each one is unique and has an important message to be communicated. Each of our voices is a key to who we are as it reveals our passions, fears, convictions, and perspectives.

There is a growth curve in learning to use it in a way that is helpful, however. We need a safe space to communicate and to know that it is okay for us to be who we are. When we are in places that stifle our voice and only want it to speak the script written by others, we are in danger of losing our identity and forgetting who our Creator has made us to be. Regaining that confidence can take time and will almost certainly require a monumental shift in what influences we allow into our own lives.

Our individual voices are needed as we speak into the greater collective of humanity around us. While the sound we make may be a little squeaky from under-use, we’ll find it gets easier over time as we use it more.

Speak up, my friends. Speak words of peace, kindness, curiosity, and grace. Speak up against those who hold you back from discovering and living out your true identity. Let your voice be as distinctive as it is already designed to be and don’t be ashamed of what it sounds like.

Toughest Love

I wrote yesterday about the honor of speaking at a drug court graduation. My intent was to share some motivating thoughts (and a little Jesus at the same time) and I spent quite a while thinking about what to say. My desire was to provide some benefit while being part of something larger than my small portion. I hope what I had to say helped someone there, but for me the most powerful things said were by the graduates themselves. Each person shared a letter they had written about their experiences and how far they had come through the program. There was power in all of these shared stories, but there was one comment in particular that hit home with me. It was shared by a graduate who said that they "had to become a person I could love again."

There is a ton of powerful, personal truth in that statement. I could feel their pain from where they had been and the poor choices they had made. There was also a sense of resolution from not wanting to return to that lifestyle. This transparency revealed the heart of a weary traveler who realized they had given up on themselves like so many others in their life had done. It also revealed how far they had come in walking down a better life path and reestablishing the person they wanted to be.

Self-loathing and negative self-talk are terribly debilitating devices. These can become heavy burdens which press down on us until we can't think about moving forward. When we are unable to love ourselves we lose our sense of worth and struggle with the idea of life transformation and redemption. It's in the middle of this terrible hopelessness that we need a lifeline. We need someone who is willing to love us no matter what we've done and where we've ended up. People who are willing to love unconditionally provide a hint of hope and a chance to be pulled out of the pit of dark desperation.

Are we willing to step into that role for people in need? Are willing to offer gracious love, hope, and help to people wanting to make life changes? As people start the recovery process they need to know they don't have to rediscover love on their own. We can stand together with them-as difficult as that may be-and continue to be a source of consistent love. It's the best way of helping people find the path of restoration.

Hunger Pangs

Our bodies let us know when we are hungry. Our stomachs will growl, we might get shaky, develop a headache, or become grumpy with people around us. It's our body's way of communicating to let us know we need nourishment. If we refuse to acknowledge it, we will eventually cause damage to ourselves from a lack of sustenance.

I believe we hunger for other things too. We were created to seek something more than just our current circumstances and have these hunger pangs within us that create discontent. Acknowledging this and searching for satisfaction is the beginning to easing our discomfort. We can ignore it for a while, but eventually we will cause damage to ourselves from a lack of fulfillment.

What are some of those things we are hungry for?

Comfort
Truth
Love
Accountability
Belonging
Conversation
Holiness
Peace
Purpose
Quiet
Healing
Acceptance
Forgiveness 
Mercy
Grace
Renewal

That’s a fairly lengthy shopping list of items to be looking for. It might seem to be too difficult to find in one place, but God designed His Church to be a refuge where all of this can be found. When we experience this and find our hunger satisfied, even for a while, it’s a beautifully fulfilling thing to be part of.

That's Different

The practice of discrimination is disturbing and divisive. It's the dehumanization of another person based on criteria that we have determined to be essential. I wish that I could say I am unaffected by it, but that would not be honest. The truth is that it affects us all and we are all also practitioners. Any time we categorize people and cast judgment based on those categories we are fostering discriminatory practices. While we tend to think of racial and ethnic lines as the most polarizing, we are all guilty of minimizing other people based on a number of other comparisons:

• Single or Married
• Liberal or Conservative
• Man or Woman
• Caucasian or Black (or Hispanic or Asian or Slavic or any other group)
• Jewish or Gentile
• Rich or Middle Class (or Poor)
• Coffee Drinker or Tea Lover
• Meat Eater or Vegetarian
• Gator Fan or Dawg Fan
• North Side of  Town or South Side of Town
• College Educated or Self Taught
• Spender or Saver
• Traditional or Contemporary
• Your Denomination or The "Other" Denomination

How do we stop this? It isn't by ignoring our differences, but in appreciating our uniqueness and realizing that each one adds value to us as individuals. Collectively our community is better when we are heterogeneous and not completely identical. Can we strive for this unity and appreciate what we each contribute to the beautiful mosaic of our lives? It's a focus that has to begin in the hearts of each of us before it can influence the rest of our community.

Downhill Run

I was part of mission teams to the Traverse City area of Michigan for several years as we helped lead a week of camp up north. The last few crews that I led up there were able to travel a day early and spend some time sight-seeing at Sleeping Bear Dunes. It's a phenomenal park that has a 450 foot sand dune leading down the shore of Lake Michigan. While we never went down the dune we did enjoy watching other people run down to the shore. The descent can be accomplished in a matter of minutes, but the return to the top can take an hour or more. It's obviously much easier to run down the sand hill than it is to trudge upwards.

It's the same with some of the decisions that we make in our lives. We choose to run after things that may not always be wise for us (relationships, addictions, possessions, short-term gratification) without considering how difficult it will be to recover from our choices. The descent into our decisions doesn't always take long, but returning to a place of health will certainly be a lengthier process. This doesn't discount the immediate grace that God extends to us. It is, however, a powerful reminder of the earthly consequences for poor decision making and the difficult task that awaits us as we seek to rebuild our character.

Verbal Attacks

Imagine writing down on a card the most hurtful thing ever said to you and the most hurtful thing you have said to others. These are the words that trap us in the damage of our past and prohibit us from moving forward in freedom. These are the words that have affected our lives and shaped the way we handle our relationships. 

How do we move past these jumbled letters that have afflicted us so deeply? We can take the first step by taking that card littered with pain and throwing it away. We replace those words of pain with genuine expressions of encouragement and forgiveness. We refuse to allow the past to be the only thing that defines us and we replace it with the graceful hope of God's future. The resonating gong of this verbal litter hitting the trashcan symbolizes our pain and regret being cast aside. It's the sound of the beginning of our healing. 

Rest Up

Tomorrow is my weekly day off. I look forward to this day even though I actually love what I do (most days.) My passion is fueled by the fact that I'm doing what I have been called to do-it's more than a job to me. In ministry there are multiple projects going on at once, future planning & implementation to work through, people to invest in and develop, personal enrichment opportunities, and the day-to-day demands of caring for people. It wouldn't take much to convince me to work hard seven days a week just to attempt to keep up with the pace of ministry. While that might make me feel better about accomplishing my goals and crossing off tasks, I actually believe that I would be less effective attempting this pattern of work.

I've discovered that this day of rest is absolutely essential for my mental, physical, and spiritual well-being. The down time gives me a chance to break my weekly routine and gain some rest. I don't always spend the day lazing around, but the change of pace helps re-energize & refocus me to jump back in with increased strength. I've discovered that I'm actually able to produce at higher levels by taking a day away instead of powering through an extra day of work.

I guess God knew what He was talking about when He told us to rest.

It Matters

I attended the ribbon cutting on a new garden and walking trail in a nearby community yesterday afternoon. It is in an economically depressed area of town that is seeing a resurgence as the members of this specific area are banding together to make a difference. The walking trail is open to anyone and people can choose to rent a small area to plant for their own garden. It has seen families, individuals, and community investors partner together to revitalize an area that has struggled for many years. Older men are working alongside young men to make a physical difference while having an opportunity to share life changing truths at the same time. Families are directly enjoying the fruits of their labor while they eat the foods they have grown themselves. The area has become a safe and enticing place to play for children again as well.

The best commentary was shared yesterday by a mother and her family. She said that this community felt like it had been asleep and it had finally been awakened again. That's the result that excites me and encourage me to find new ways for us to change other areas in our community around us. It's exactly why we get involved and will keep investing our resources to make a difference.

Stretched

“I am old, Gandalf. I don’t look it, but I am beginning to feel it in my heart of hearts. Well-preserved indeed!” he snorted. “Why, I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread. That can’t be right. I need a change, or something.” 

Bilbo Baggins, The Fellowship of the Ring

I will admit that there have been times when Bilbo's words might have been my own. The demands of life,ministry, and personal ambition can threaten the necessary stability I seek. These feelings are warning signs that my life has been thrown out of balance and an adjustment is necessary. This highlights my need for rest and reinvigoration on a regular basis if I am going to thrive. When I stubbornly ignore that peaceful necessity I eventually run out of emotional, mental, physical and spiritual resources. I am left feeling like a hobbit in need of great change when the solution to my craving is to simply rest in the calming presence of my King who rejuvenates me completely.

The gift of the Sabbath is the remedy for this malaise. While it is often used as a desperate recovery tool when things are out of control, it was intended to be a regular respite for our soul. It's the recognition of our limited abilities and our dependence on God that gives us the strength to endure by finding regular rest. It's one of God's great gifts to us-it's why Jesus insisted that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath.

Restoration

One of the characteristics of God that I find most appealing is His incredible desire to restore. It's a powerfully attractive quality as we discover the investment of God's energy in bringing us back from the dark side of self-inflicted damage, desperation, and sickness. The truth is that God has always been in the restoration business-it's the way He has told the tale of who He is from the beginning. 

The key to being restored isn't only found in God's willingness however. There has to be a readiness on our part to submit to God's work in bringing us back to a point of being right. Far too often we become so content with our state of sickness and brokenness that we are unwilling to have that removed. The change that healing will bring to our present reality frightens us and so we reject the perfect healing that God is ready to bring. It's a sad circumstance when we have accepted this wrecked condition as the height of the life we strive for. 

Being made right isn't just a reflection of God's ability to heal, but also our submission to His way for our life. It's the healing of our dependency that brings the greatest freedom.

No More Hold

As I was mowing yesterday (and getting some good meditation in at the same time) I found myself thinking about a song from NewSpring Church called, "Sin Has No More Hold On Me." There is profound power in that title and the implications for life.

I find peace in knowing that Christ offers release from the addictive powers of sin--especially those particular sins that we struggle to escape from. What God offers isn't just freedom from a sin that traps us however, but also a cleansing from sins of the past that threaten to hold us down. When we genuinely confess sin and ask for forgiveness, God cleans us up and sets us back on our feet. He removes the shame & guilt of past sin and provides a brand-new beginning marked by freedom in Christ.

God doesn't just forgive us--He restores us. How relieving is it to know that we can have the oppressive chains of repetitive sin removed as well as the burden of shame and inadequacy lifted?  That's a Father who loves His children unconditionally and wants to make us new.