What if we do Lent completely differently this year?

Hey there fellow traveler through these strange times. Tonight is Mardi Gras 2022. Mardi Gras - of course, means “Fat Tuesday” and it’s a tradition that goes by many names and forms all across the Christian world. The gist of Mardi Gras is to celebrate indulgent hedonism before starting the more aesthetic season of Lent with its traditional focus on fasting, almsgiving (offering and gifts), and prayer in preparation for Palm Sunday, Passion Week, Good Friday, and Easter (Resurrection Sunday).

Maybe you grew up with Lent and have your “go-to” thing that you do each year. Maybe you didn’t grow up with it and you’re thinking “Lent?”.

Just to make sure we’re all on the same page - the word “Lent” comes from a really old form of the word “lengthen” because this time of year is when we really start to notice how much longer the days are getting again. Traditionally, believers used the weeks leading up to Easter to dig in and grow spiritually. In the earliest days of the church, there was great concern that new converts, wherever they might live and worship, deserved to all hear the same truth and teaching. This time of year was also the time when it was easiest for families and communities to run short on resources - so a spiritual focus was a good way to redirect people and make the best of a tough situation.

These days, generally speaking, most of us struggle with abundance more than lack when it comes to food - and I think there have been plenty of things in our lives inspiring us to give and pray.

But you know what I think people are starving for? I think we’re hungry to feel deeply connected to our faith in a way that heals us, restores our souls, refreshes our spirits, deepens our love for God, God’s work in our lives, and God’s invitation for us to help others find more of these blessings in their lives. And unlike whatever your favorite food is, there is no downside to us feeling full of everything on that list.

So - here’s my challenge to you for Lent this year. Let’s do that. Let’s satiate our spiritual hunger and slake our godly thirst for more of all those gifts and blessings in our lives this Lenten season. Don’t worry if you’re not sure how to do that. I’ll be posting once or twice a week between now and Easter with some more short, but hopefully encouragingly provocative articles. I have some ideas already - but am hoping to grow more in these ways with you.

For now though - for this first day of Lent (or this first Wednesday of March if you prefer) here are a couple of questions to ponder.

• A long time ago I had a freshman ask, “I know God loves me because He’s theologically obligated. But does He like me?”

• If you were gifted a spiritual spa-day, what activities would you fill your day with?

• What if - like the first disciples - what if in six weeks - on Easter morning we could feel filled with more joy?

Whatever your plans are for tomorrow - I encourage you to dare dig in and take a bit of time to mull at least one of those questions over. Imagine yourself somewhere lovely - like this place below if you like as you reflect.

Talk to you again in a few days!

Gift Number Twenty Three

Yesterday i wrote about the Grace Habit which has made an incredible difference in my life. Over the last 7 years as I’ve engaged in that practice it’s continued to grow with me as has my understanding of the importance of Grace.

Back when I was in college, it felt really important to me at one point to make sure that I’d never forget what Christ did for me on the cross. So, to help me remember that I took a trip to Meijer’s Thrifty Acres near Michigan State’s campus and went to the hardware area and bought the BIGGEST nails I could find - and bought some. I started carrying a nail or two with me all the time. My mom would get so mad because of the damage these nails would cause all my jeans.

Back then, obedience was everything. I wasn’t too impressed with grace.

But now I understand that Grace is one leg and Obedience is the other. We’ll end up with a mighty weird walk with God if we only have one. It’s not enough to understand grace but not obedience. And it’s not enough to understand obedience but not grace.

The Grace Habit has also taught me that there are plenty of situations in my life that aren’t the kind of thing that I can just toss into the fire and release forever. You probably have some things in your life like that too. For me, it’s loved ones with health issues, concerns for their kids, or careers. Whatever it is, what I’m crystal clear about is that the more burden I carry, the less love and grace I carry, the more fatigued I feel. If I want to feel the way I want to feel spiritually - I have to carry only what’s best to carry. In fact, at this point, I’m certain that all we’re really capable of carrying without doing harm to ourselves is God’s love and grace. At least every time I have ever carried anything else, whether it was anger, stress, guilt, shame - whatever - it makes a real mess of things.

I don’t know about you - but I can’t just pretend I don’t care about what I in fact care about. So what do we do?

Let me introduce the burden canoe. A while back, when some pretty big things were happening in my life - they weren’t bad as much as they just were. It was my response to them that I really needed to let God work on, but the burden was just too much for me to carry - like at all. For instance - my Dad is getting older. There are just certain realities about that.

You might be happy to carry burdens all the time - but I know I’m not really made for that. And since you’re reading this I know you’re not made for it either. In our culture - we place such a high priority on having such unnatural strengths. No. Not unnatural. In-human. I mean that. Things that wear us down, exhaust us, sap our joy, drain away our hope, keep us up at night, make us feel overwhelmed, stressed, frightened, miserable - if these aren’t the very things that Jesus is referring to when He said, “Take my yoke upon you” (Matthew 11:29). Peter even goes so far as to say, “Cast your cares upon Jesus” 1 Peter 5:7. But this idea goes way back - the psalmist all the way back in Psalm 55:22 says “cast all your burden upon the Lord.”

I do the grace habit sitting in nature - so I suppose me tossing my burdens into a canoe that Jesus takes off in. Maybe you’d prefer something else - a moving van, a Conestoga wagon - or some other method altogether.

All I know - is none of us is meant to carry so much. None of us can have all God wants to give us while we hold onto to so much more than we can hold. Bonus - seven years of letting go of as much as I can every day - I’ve become much better at letting go.

Let your burdens go. He will take care of them for you. He longs to give you so much more of all His blessings. It’s not just what He wants to do for you at Christmas. He wants to take your burdens off your shoulders every day. It’s why He came as a babe - so we could be His carefree children - carrying nothing but His love and Grace.

Merry Christmas, my friend!

Gift Number Twenty Two

Many of you have heard me talk about the Grace Habit. Some of you haven’t. But the fact is - the Grace Habit is good to practice often.

As I’m sure you’ve noticed - all these gifts are intended to make walking a life of faith more meaningful, rich and healing. All of these gifts support one another. Each gift makes the next easier to open, if you will.

So, whether you haven’t done the grace habit in a while (or ever) this gift is for you.

Sit down somewhere comfortably quiet - at least for the next few minutes. Take a few deep breaths and with each one release a bit more of the stress and chaos of the moment. I like to imagine one of many spots on earth that remind me of the Garden - Garden of Eden, Garden of Gethsemane, garden of paradise - whatever pleases you. Go there in your mind. I like to imagine a little fire there - like one of the many campfires I’ve made.

I also really like to sit a beautiful place, with a cozy little fire, with some really great company. No better company in my mind than Jesus. Go ahead and imagine yourself sitting there with Jesus.

As you’re sitting there - go over the burdens you’re carrying. Anything that’s negative or heavy or hard to carry - go ahead and toss into the fire. The more you allow yourself to be in that space with Him - the more meaningful it is as you let each of those things that are too much to carry, too much to keep lugging about slip into the fire. Of course, when you toss fuel into the fire - the flames leap up. Sparks pop and snap. The heat intensifies.

Imagine all that heat coming off your fire as Jesus’ love and warmth flooding into your soul - into all those spaces that used to be taken up with all those burdens. Stress. Disappointments. Arguments. Losses. Whatever it is that’s wearing you out and weighing you down you can offer up there in that fire - and allow the warmth of Jesus’ Love and Grace to take its place in your soul.

Filling up with Jesus’ Grace is the only godly way to fuel obedience. If you try to fuel growth and transformation with laws, rules, “shoulds” and legalism you’ll get crushed. But fueling our walk with Jesus with His Grace will grow in us all the spiritual fruits in abundance.

When you’ve finished unburdening yourself - consider interceding for others and doing a little prayer-care for those in your life. We all know someone who’s had a tough year, or rough week - and everything in between. We all know someone who’s lost someone, or had some significant changes in their life. Lift them up.

You can do the Grace Habit as often and as long as you like. In the beginning I thought I’d never make headway at living life without stress and frustration - but then it all of a sudden dawned on me that the bulk of the fuel I was tossing into my little bon-fire on the beach were others’ burdens. Try it. Keep at it - and watch your burdens, frustrations, stresses melt away as Jesus uses His love and Grace to heal your soul and put everything into perspective.

Gift Number Twenty One

It’s not shameful for life’s circumstances to alter your plans.

I mean - I LOVE making plans - plans for get-togethers, outings, adventures, classes, projects - all of that. But so many of us are so hard on ourselves when the myriad details we want to plan out to the Nth degree derail. So many of us rush around in our lives with zero margins for error, a houseful of unpredictable babies - furry and otherwise. So many of us base so much of our happiness and our lives on so much go perfectly.

Here’s the only thing you can plan on perfectly … That thing you planned - it will not go like that. And, that does not make you less of a glorious Creation of God’s deserving of love, respect, and for the love of all that’s good - some occasional peace and quiet. Yes. Please!

Other than Jesus, death, and taxes, the only other certainty is plans going awry.

Yoda didn’t plan on that spaceship landing in his swamp.

Frodo didn’t plan on carrying the ring past Rivendell.

Lucy didn’t plan on finding anything past the back of the wardrobe.

Katniss didn’t plan to volunteer.

Luke planned on going to get power converters with his friends.

Sometimes - things that mess our plans up are the beginning of something really, really big. Sometimes even awesome. Sometimes our plans weren’t as great as we thought.

We’ve all had so much go so differently from what we’d planned, from what we’d hoped.

What I know about this Christmas is that it will not be what we thought it would be a month ago. But it’s not the stuff, the food, the decorations that make Christmas special - it’s the people we love - wherever they are. Maybe if we let go of what isn’t important, we’ll have clarity about what is important - about the big adventure of valuing what is valuable. If we let ourselves do that often enough - we can grow wise. If keep that up - we can find ourselves on a wonderful journey of throwing off unimportant stuff that weighs us down and complicates everything and embarking on what could be the most rewarding journey of our lives - the journey of becoming someone who helps others love the life God’s given them.

Gift Number Twenty

Christmas is just a few days away friends - but never fear - I have MORE gifts for you to unwrap.

Today’s gift is peace and calm.

Jesus is our Prince of Peace - and just remembering that, saying those words calms me and soothes my soul.

How does that work?

Prayer is calming. Usually, when we’re younger in the faith we excel at telling God what we want. The more we seek Him, and desire that He grow our faith deeper the more we listen as we pray and ask Him to tell us what He wants. I honestly think prayer is how God disciples us. The more we practice listening prayer, the more we see that though things might not be comfy and cozy to our way of thinking - more often than not - God’s timing and answers produce some pretty incredible results. Imagine that.

So prayer is pretty calming.

Scripture is also pretty calming - especially those go-to verses that are so tried and true. I don’t necessarily mean the super common ones that marketers plaster on all kinds of stuff - but rather the ones that are special between me and God. Verses like Psalm 27:4 for instance - which doesn’t hold some special promise - but it doesn’t have to - I just love it and it reminds me of everything I love about God and His word. Of course - there’s nothing wrong with loving Jeremiah 29:11 for lots of reasons too, right?

A while back during a really stressful season I did a little experiment - I wanted to have more calm - so I read up on some ways to reduce stress - and soon not only was I limiting how much time I spent on social media, but limiting how much time I spent in stressful situations, and how much time I allowed myself to feel that stress. It was also helpful to not rehearse, repeat in my head, vent, rant, talk about, or in any other way repeat that stressful moment in my head after the moment of stress itself. Let’s be honest - we can’t eliminate all stressful situations from our lives - but we can change how we respond to them. So, if I felt stress - I’d write it down (that was just what worked for me), and then review, re-read, listen to a few of my favorite scripture passages. I’d refuse to let the stress cause me to flip out though. Or at least that was the goal.

When I first cooked up that plan - I was unsure if it’d work at all.

You guys! It was SO effective. There wasn’t much change in the first week or so. But after that - big changes began to happen. Within a couple of months - it just kept getting easier and easier because new ways to keep stress at bay kept coming to mind - and a year or so later I realized that this process had made me resistant to stress.

And then I started noticing that there’s something really seductive about stress.

What’s more - our culture almost connects feeling stressed out and pressed to your limit - and or beyond - with success, importance, and being a meaningful adult. Think I’m kidding - imagine walking up to your friend circle and telling them that you’re not stressed at all. Eeek. Maybe don’t do that - but you know what would happen if you did. It might seem like this was a lot of work/effort - but it really wasn’t. Instead it was like going from living life with my shoelaces untied and then figuring out how to tie them. It made everything smoother. I’ll go into this more in posts in 2022.

Gift Number Nineteen

Imagine how different family, friends-circles, work, church, communities - all of it - would feel if instead of holding one another to impossible standards of gob-smacking beauty, the eternal physical youthfulness of an Adonis, the infallible mental quickness of Loki and Einstein combined , and bank accounts that would make Elon Musk’s jaw drop - what if the only standard we held one another to was that of basic good character.

So many of us are running around drowning in a sea of insufficiency. It’s exhausting. It’s merciless. There is no way to move forward - and it seems like the only thing left to do is give up - so we walk around frustrated with those God’s given life at this time to share this hurtling ball of rock with us. But in my experience the vast majority of people are frustrated with themselves.

So today’s gift is the gift of acceptance.

You were highly prized by Jesus - to the point of Him not shrinking from His work on the cross - before you ever even drew a breath, before you even appreciated what He’d done, and certainly before you could torture and contort yourself into “becoming worthy” of His work - a thoroughly unattainable goal.

As if all this Sisyphean struggle against the unattainable could accomplish any of the good we hope for. But worse than that insult is the fact that it actually leaves us disrespecting what it is about each of us that best reveals God’s thumbprint of craftsmanship in us - that thing about us that no one else has that makes - well - you the amazing you that you are to all those who just love being around you. That thing you do when you laugh, the way you care, the ability you have to solve that kind of problem as easily as you do. The way you make that amazing dish. The way you tell that joke.

If Jesus can deem us worthy of saving while we were still hostile (Read Romans dude!) then how can we keep going around refusing to accept ourselves? If we can’t bother to accept ourselves, how in the world will we ever accept anyone else? If we’re all running around slashed up, hurt and disheartened because we don’t accept ourselves or accept anyone else’s acceptance of us - attempting to live up to the one measure of goodness that is timeless - namely basic character.

So - be your wonderful, goofy, quirky, awesome weird-O self. FULLY! And you’ll find it far, far easier to be your best self too. After all - if Jesus deems us worthy of His grace - by what logic will you argue with Him? And good character - is attainable. Not only is it attainable - but it’s the path to all the good things we all want most all year long - not just on Christmas morning.

Gift Number Eighteen

Last Sunday I wrote about taking a break from negativity. Today’s gift riffs off that and takes it up a notch - because today’s gift is intentional positivity.

Before I started down this road - I didn’t really appreciate the power of not being negative. But there’s something even more powerful than that - and that is not just keeping your head, your thoughts, your heart out of negative territory (because, truly, that kind of thinking is incredibly limiting and exhausting), but positioning yourself so as much as possible your thoughts are oriented around positives.

Honestly - I think this power is accentuated profoundly by all we’re all experiencing right now. There are a lot of negative emotions running amok these days. Even people who aren’t typically negative are finding themselves easily overwhelmed by it. Meetings turn into opportunities to vent. Get-togethers become occasions for discharging all sorts of negative and stressful emotions.

There is another option.

Imagine how different you would have felt yesterday if you’d spent the few moments you’d had to yourself replaying a favorite memory, or a favorite song, or meditating on a favorite passage. There’s something abrasively exhausting about worry, complaining and rehashing - it wears us down. There’s also something just so positively hopeful and uplifting about having happy, spiritually nourishing things to occupy your heart, mind and spirit with when you’re walking to and from, or driving here and there, going about your tasks and chores and responsibilities.

I used to be really, really good at thinking about all the things that could go wrong (commonly known as worrying) - but turns out that this is a less than ideal strategy for dealing with grief, illness and trauma or any other negative thing you want to move beyond. So - I started replaying vacations - especially the best moments - in my mind - especially whenever I started to feel overwhelmed by stress, grief, etc. I mean - by all means - be a real human - and acknowledge what you feel. See it. Name it. Call it what it is. Reach out to a friend or loved one and ask them to help you process it. Help them process their stuff. But usually that exchange doesn’t take all that long. After that though - move on - and park your mind on something that will help you recover, re-center on God’s goodness, and heal.

Imagine - instead of carrying around a huge mass of negative thoughts, concerns, open-ended uncertainties from moment to moment - carrying thoughts that fuel, energize and restore you.

It is awkward at first - for sure. But the littlest clues can ben super helpful reminders. I like to to put another vacation picture on my phone’s lock-screen to help me remember what kind of thoughts I want to keep in my head - or whatever will remind me best. It’s so much easier to come up with better solutions to the pesky problems and irritations of the day when we’re not weighed down and burdened.

And isn’t this exactly what Paul’s telling us is good to do in Philippians 4:8 “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”

May your hearts, minds and souls be full of His Light!

Gift Number Seventeen

Yesterday I wrote about how I was struck by God’s perspective on us. Today I’d like to give you the gift of seeing your life right now through a different lens. Some of the hardest situations I’ve had to face - I couldn’t stand to face till I started praying for God to give me His perspective on those circumstances. If you’ve known me for very long - then you might know some of the situations I’m talking about.

Sixteen gifts of encouragement, hope, healing - and I stand by every single one. Today’s is a little different.

Today - I’m going to be your coach. Or - maybe you’ll feel like I’m your drill instructor.

Have you prayed for God to make you wise? Have you prayed for God to make you strong? Or have you prayed that he’d teach you how to walk more closely with Him. I only ask - because I’ve asked for all those things - plus humility, patience, and all that other stuff they say not to pray for.

Can I tell you one of the biggest barriers to growing our walk deeper with God? We take it personally when it’s not easy. It’s often not easy. That’s okay. It’s sometimes painful. That’s okay too. Sometimes, God putting us in circumstances designed to mature us is uncomfortably realistic in how it reveals that I’m not quite as awesome as I thought I was. Sometimes - His lessons reveal that I expected to grow wise and mature and capable - with a whole perfectly shiny, crisp, slick life devoid of my usual day-to-day embarrassing shortcomings.

Honestly - one of the worst barriers to my having the walk with God I’ve always wanted is me - and how I have this messed up idea that it’s glamorous, glorious, and perfect to walk more closely with Him.

Turns out that walking more closely with him - I’m learning - looks like holes in my socks, a less than perfect house, an older car - that probably needs something - relationships that aren’t “perfect” (whatever that might mean), a string of really imperfect days full of uncertainty, big questions, unanswered questions, problems I’m not quite sure how to resolve, some thing going on that leaves me wondering “how long can I keep doing this?! And a whole host of other similar stuff.

Yet - YET - in the midst of all that - still the lights are on, the house is warm, I end phone calls with “I love you” or “I love you too!” Some things get better. I keep asking God to show me His way through this wilderness - and in some tiny way - I feel like I should go, um, … that way. But most importantly - I celebrate the heck out of whatever the thing is that went okay - because THAT action is how you really start to grow real gratitude for what God is doing instead of what I do when I’m weaker - and I whine and whine about all that’s not “just so.”

You know - at this point - I think God and I have totally different ideas about what “just so” even means. And that’s okay too - especially as I step out more and more and take on His perspective on my life then it will be okay.

I think God likes it when I lean hard on Him and let go of all my expectations.

Perhaps for such a season as this - He is answering our most heart-felt prayers for growth, wisdom, richness of faith and all the rest of those things - and if we take a bit more of His perspective on this moment we can give ourselves some credit. We have all grown much.

Gift Number Sixteen (fixed)

Okay Team. One week from today - the whole planet will collectively go into another experience together. This one we’ve been celebrating together for millennia. It’s commonly known as “Christmas”. A holiday that is all about fulfilled promise, hope, restoration, and the Light of the World coming down to Earth and walking among us.

14 years ago I got to attend a Christmas service in the Balkans. I was at a church that was heavily attended by Christians from all over the world. There were so many people from so many parts of the world that the service was led by 4 different people - one for each of the most common languages in the church that evening. There were dozens of other languages that the service was translated into via an in-house audio system. There were more than a few languages that despite this incredible offering of translation services - had no translation available at all. Can you imagine?

As amazing as that was - the church was packed far beyond capacity. We were crammed onto the pews - jammed up against one another in a way that’s hard to imagine today. There were also so many attending for whom there was no room on any pew that they filled the aisles. These standing-room-only participants were present in much greater numbers than those who’d come early enough to grab a seat. Picture it!

As wonderful as all that was - the real beauty - was when we all began to sing Christmas carols. Familiar tunes blended with unfamiliar lyrics as those around me sang their hearts out, but you could tell that everyone in the room didn’t know that song.

Until, that is, we began to all sing Silent Night. What is it about that particular song? Everyone knew it! Everyone sang along - and knew every single word in their own language. I am just certain that heaven’s worship services will be the same - only we’ll all know what everyone’s singing. It was shocking to think that just a few hours before I’d been in the market with many of the same people - or at the coffee shop or enjoying the same walking trail - but we didn’t know what we had in common. They were all so precious to me in that place as we all sang together about that little baby born on that silent, night so long ago.

For so many reasons and on so many levels we’ve felt separated from one another - but I can assure you - for all we’ve all been through over the last 21 months - all of us preparing for Christmas - all of us especially who prepare our hearts for Christmas, who are so moved by that first Christmas miracle so long ago - without which there would be no Easter - God knows us all as His own. His children. And though we are not all in one building and accommodated with translations and language support - we ARE all in His sight. We are all why He came to live among us. What an incredible thing.

So - a week before Christmas eve - please, enjoy this gift of His perspective on us.

Gift Number Fifteen

Don’t you just love it when there’s something that you can indulge in all you want and there’s just hardly a downside to it all? You don’t have to measure, track, document … just dive in and enjoy. For instance - you can hardly go wrong drinking water. There’s almost no way to take a walk “wrong” - if you can go for a walk, it’s a win! Another thing we can hardly mess up is meditation - which is today’s gift.

Just a minute ago I went to BibleGateway.com and did a wild card search on meditat* (wild card searches - in short - let you search every form of a root word - so the wild card search I did today will pull up results for meditate, meditation, meditates, meditating … you get it). I did the search using the NASB 1995 version and that little search pulled up 24 results. 2 dozen. Easy peasy. I’ve done lengthier studies on meditation in the past in multiple versions and written lengthy word-documents on all I learned - but let me sum up.

The Bible - both in the New and Old Testaments encourages and assumes that we will meditate.

Meditation is one of the few things that we can do and which will - regardless of what we have going on with your or my particular brain, will improve it. Read that again. Whatever you have going on with your brain - meditation makes it better. Jumpy thoughts - meditation helps. Stubborn/stuck thoughts - meditation. Anxious - meditation. Clueless - meditation. Meditation is GOOOOOD for that stuffin’ up there in your coconut. I’m not saying meditation will in one go take you from where you are to some exalted, illuminated plain of bla bla bla … what I am saying is that the more we engage in this practice - the more we benefit.

Meditation stumps some folks - how to do it. There are so many excellent resources on how to do it - I can’t begin to do better than what’s already available out there. Some of you might still be influenced by fearful thinking about how dangerous meditation is - if you find yourself there - I’d encourage you to go to your favorite Bible search tool - whether that’s an old-school concordance (exhaustive - of course!) or an on-line tool - and read for yourself what Scripture says about meditation. The Bible has a LOT to say about when to do it (I’ll sum up again - “often” is the answer) and where to do it (summary: “everywhere”) … The thing we want most to find is how. For that I encourage you to take a page from Isaac’s book - who in Genesis 24:63 - went out into the field. Maybe you live where I live and this time of year is not the ideal time to go sit in a field no matter how great meditating is. That’s okay. Go in your mind. Recall a field - whatever kind of field you like - and sit somewhere with your thoughts there - and quiet yourself. Slow your breathing down. And then I suggest you just start by trying to hold an image of Christ in your mind. When I first began - just keeping my breathing calm was difficult enough to occupy my attention completely.

Successful meditation isn’t perfectly keeping only one image unwaveringly steady in your mind. You’re not a statue - and your mind isn’t a painting. Successful meditation is trying - and the more you try the more successful you can be. The more you try - the better you’ll get at holding your thoughts on one thing - instead of the infinite jumble we usually have going on. This will benefit you in more ways than you can imagine. Be patient with yourself.

In my experience with meditation, since I started doing it daily seven some years ago, meditation is a gift that keeps on giving and giving and giving. It is the greatest spriritual practice that is under-practiced.

Gift Number Fourteen

One of the greatest gifts we receive from Jesus is a new identity - we become co-heirs with Christ, Children of God, and a whole bunch of other new labels and positions, privileges, and responsibilities which are such a game-changing blessing. But so often it’s so difficult to really embrace and grasp that new identity. It’s tricky to find ways to really let that new identity sink in and soak all the way through - not just bone-deep, but soul-deep.

For some, a particular verse in Scripture hits us and a light goes on. For some, a particular worship song communicates in one hearing what a hundred sermons can’t. Sometimes - it’s a moment of service - or receiving help. I know for me it took more than one encounter of each of these types for me to start to even really see just how far the identity I brought with me into my faith was from the new identity Jesus was offering me. Actually - He’s already offered it. It’s mine. I have it. It’s like a whole new outfit - a makeover if you will - but then the next day I go back to my same-old-same-old. It takes work, and rest to really understand what it means to be His. These days I’m finding paradigm shifts, contemplative prayer, meditation, and the like very useful at helping me shift much more deeply into my identity in Christ - there is always more of it to understand, - particularly in terms of my perspective on things, my attitudes and behaviors. It’s humbling to think about how much I’ve worked to grow - and yet how much more growth I need. It’s also encouraging because the more I embrace my identity in Christ - the more I find myself experiencing a richer and richer version of the fruits of the spirit, spiritual gifts. This isn’t any kind of “horn-tooting” on my part - but a testimony to God’s graciously patient and long-suffering work on me. I”m not the creator of my growth - but the recipient of it.

I’ve also been the recipient of really great mentoring and discipling - and of really great teaching and information.

To that end, I’d love to share some of that with you. Today I have in my hands a poster of the image above - and if you’d like to have that poster - and are the first to contact me - I’d love to give it to you. You can message me on Facebook, you can email, text, or call, etc. (contact info is under the ministry friends tab of the JC’s website and scroll down) You can even DM me on Twitter. I’ll get it out in the mail to you. It’d be my privilege.

May we all daily open more of the gift of this new identity we have in Him! It’s a gift that keeps giving.

Gift Number Thirteen

Today’s gift is a LUCKY thirteen!

Yesterday I mentioned Dr. Brene Brown’s TED talks which went so viral. Today’s gift is the relief, the escape, the balm Jesus offers us when it comes to laying down the shame that life lays on us from time to time. Even if you’ve seen these videos before - they’re worth watching again. We’ve all been through a lot over the last 21 months. We’ve all had moments we’re fine with sharing with others. We’ve all had moments that we’d probably rather forget. Today’s gift isn’t just to talk about relief, escape and balm that Jesus offers us - the vast majority of the New Testament, never mind the entire message of the Gospel itself is a message of salvation from sin, and the scar - the shame of sin. Brene’s TED talk helps us see how to do that too.

So - It’s Taco-Tuesday - so how about you grab yourself a delicious taco, and enjoy a couple of quick videos! If you’ve never heard of Brene, or watched these videos before, you’re in for an eye-opening perspective and some of our most human moments.

Brene Brown’s First TED talk is here

Her second TED talk is here

Gift Number Twelve

A number of years ago I stumbled across Dr. Brene Brown’s TED talk that went so massively viral. Since then I’ve read everything she’s written and own quite a few of them. One of my favorites - that I’ve bought, given away, bought again and again - is her book The Gifts Of Imperfection.

Yesterday’s gift was letting go of negativity - today’s is letting go of what for many of us is one of the biggest (and most toxic) drivers of that negativity; perfectionism.

I feel like I get to speak about perfectionism with the expertise that people have when they were once gung-ho, over-the-top junkies on a particular thing - and then slam into a wall and come to realize that all the promises came to naught and you realize you went off the path you actually wanted to be on. I’ve sadly even had people tell me that I “gave” them perfectionism. Not sure it actually works like that - but perfectionism is a trap for sure.

Over a decade ago I began backing away from perfectionism - but when I hit those health troubles - it became crystal clear that perfectionism is a scam. We get told that if we have perfect lives if we buy the perfect things, banish all signs of imperfection and have all the perfect experiences - then we will finally - have … we’ll have … well surely we’ll be the envy of everyone and we’ll have the peace of mind that we are okay - or something. My perfectionism was driven by a desire, among other things, to not look like a fool or lead a stupid life. But the scam is that no matter how “perfect” you can get your life to be - there’s always going to be something else to “perfect” Perfectionism hounds us all - though I do think how it plays out differs by age and gender.

Regardless though - it’s a trap.

You are perfect now.

Let me rephrase that. You’re perfectly worthy now for Jesus to love, save and give all these gifts too.

So today’s gift is embracing imperfectionism, or better put - the beauty and strength of being alive which is to be a work of Grace in progress and as such to be a dynamic, growing, living, and breathing thing. If you have kids - you have a mess somewhere in your house. If you have pets - you have mess somewhere on your floors. If you have a family - you have things that need to be done and if you have a job, volunteer role, you have responsibilities to attend to.

I don’t know about you - but I’m happy to skip the perfectionism of perfect stuff and perfect social media. The victories - if they can be had at all - are way too hollow and fleeting.

Nope. Nope. Nope.

Give me the meaningful pursuits of relationships that are healthy and growing, of trust blossoming, of greater peace, deeper laughs, and ever greater awareness of Jesus’ love and grace rattling in my head instead of silly worries about perfect lawns, perfect cars, wardrobes, homes, and vacations and all that. Better to sit with a humble, grace-filled heart laughing over the phone at life’s laughable moments (most of which have a gloriously GOB LOT to do with imperfection) - with holes in my socks, and house chores to be done. I’d rather send another funny meme to someone I care about than empty my email inbox. Imperfection - especially the sort that comes about in pursuit of priceless things - is a far higher achievement.

This time of year especially - perfectionism can be such a crushing thing. Better a desire for more time with loved ones, despite an imperfectly clean bathroom. Better to grow that new friendship than to double down on the perfect decorations.

May your imperfect life be full of all that’s perfectly priceless and meaningful!

Gift Number Eleven

What if there were something you could do, or rather, NOT do, that could make your life - the exact same life you have right now - bump up in quality? Who wouldn’t want that?

If this were a commercial, this would be the moment where the shiny new product would appear on the screen. And in true 2021 fashion - it’d have a monthly subscription - right?

Of course, I’m not talking about a shiny new product or gizmo. I’m talking about relieving yourself of the awful burden of negativity.

I number of years ago I stumbled across a blog on a church website that told of one Lenten season when this particular church gave up complaining for Lent. They got little rubber bracelets made to wear to remind them to give up negativity - if they caught themselves being negative - they moved the little rubber bracelet from one wrist to the other. Simple. So they got to it.

In short order people in the congregation started talking about just how challenging they found this. They’d had no idea how much they’d been complaining. They generally thought that it was those other people over there who were too negative. Ha! Isn’t that the way that goes though? It’s US. It’s me.

So I started this too. My life was a mess at this point. I had some serious health stuff going on - and that was messing up my entire life. I thought, yeah, I’m definitely complaining about this too much - and I was completely clear that complaining was not helping AT ALL. I didn’t have their little rubber bracelet - but I did have a little rubber bracelet - that came home with me from the grocery store on my broccoli. It worked JUST as well.

In a matter of a week and a half - not only did I cut my complaining significantly - but it made me feel less awful, less stressed. I mean - I was still facing the same health issues, the same mess that they caused, but the complaining itself was making things - well - “worser” than they had to be. The complaining FIXED nothing but made me feel worse.

Even better - complaining less did for me exactly what it did for the people in that church’s congregation -

1. Complaining literally makes problems loom larger, weigh on us heavier, and leaves us more stressed. We absolutely FEEL better when we don’t complain.

2. It made it easier for me to feel less overwhelmed by the problems

3. Because I was less overwhelmed - I was better at making improvements - even if only tiny ones

4. BONUS! Not complaining made it easier to see the problems for what they are - and address them more effectively.

Okay - so for the low, low price of Nada-Ninety-Five YOU can go to your kitchen right now - reach into your crisper drawer and grab that little purple or blue rubber, Amy Jo-made “remember to not complain” bracelet and be on your way to feeling better! And it is OKAY to munch on somma dat broc while you’re at it.! Woo hoo!!!

And come back tomorrow for another gift. Trust me - you’ve earned it.

Gift Number Ten

When you get bumped - what sloshes out?

Let me explain what I mean.

Scripture says, “from the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.” This verse appears in a couple of gospels Matthew 12:34, Luke 6:45. They’re both spoken by Jesus. Usually, these passages get explained and taught that what we carry in our heart - even in our heart of hearts - will come out. It’ll come out in a heated moment. In a moment of passion. In that moment when that thing happens at work again, or your kid does that thing - again. It also means that the hobby you really love, or song you relish every time it plays - it will show.

There’s also that verse in the “Shepherd’s Psalm” that says “my cup overflows” Psalm 23:5c. Usually, this seems self-explanatory. The shepherd in the Psalm has made it through the valley of the shadow of death and now God’s spread a feast table out in front of him. Doesn’t it just mean that God’s gracious abundance means that the shepherd’s cup is filled to overflowing with water?

But what if it’s not just about God filling the shepherd’s cup to overflowing? What if it’s also about the abundance of God’s blessings - especially when we show up with an empty cup.

All the gifts we’ve opened so far - are gifts that directly reflect God’s incredible gracious loving abundance towards us. Humor, gratitude, rest, imagination, creativity, … and so much more. What if we can fill our cups - our souls, spirits, minds, hearts, and - really - our whole LIVES with all these gifts so abundantly that when we find ourselves in one of those moments when - as in Matthew 12:34 - from the overflow of our heart our mouth speaks - what spills or sloshes out - is gratitude, graciousness, humor, playfulness - or whatever other good things best reflect God’s wisdom and love at that moment. What if our spiritual hygiene practice can grow so robust that when we find ourselves pressed - what comes out is fragrant olive oil so to speak. Character, and humility, and dependence upon God to keep filling and filling our cup so full that we’re walking, talking, Jesus-reflecting storehouses of His abundant loving generosity. Not that we’re going to be perfect when we are in stressful moments - but rather that we reflect a different spiritual lifestyle, a different spiritual practice, a different habit of coming to Him daily and asking to be filled up. A different commitment to not running around full to the brim of stressed-out social media stuff, depressing news, frustrating fears from feeling that feeling again.

I started following Jesus and pursuing His ways when I was 18. In the beginning, I was all memorizing Bible verses, prayer times, Bible studies, growing through a deep commitment to community - and it changed my life. But sometimes - it felt like these weren’t quite enough. They were great. They were better than everything I’d done before - but they just didn’t quite cover everything. Slowly I started bringing the light-hearted, silly, playful and all the rest of those priceless human experiences into my spiritual practice - and that’s made such a difference. It’s been amazing.

I hope it does for you too.

Gift Number Nine

Here’s an idea: spiritual spa day.

Time to ex-grumpify that lil’ head o’ yours. First, we’re gonna go in the steam room and steam out all the stuff we can’t change. Then we’re going to go into the sauna and sit there and LIKE it, till we have all those chilly thoughts of self-accusations thawed out and melted away. After that, we’re going to go into that dark room that smells of weird incense and have all of those burdens that are not actually your burdens massaged away with one of those strange, unpronounceable massages that you’ve never heard of before - and we’re going to stay in there until we are so massaged-out that we could not possibly carry a burden that’s not ours ever again. What’s more - after this point - we would not even DARE to DREAM of even thinking about picking up something that’s not really our problem.

Then we’re going to get some of that acupuncture - and they’re going to put one of those little needles …

Okay. Maybe that’s enough spa description.

Maybe it’s also clear enough that I don’t know much about spas.

But I tell what I do know about … I KNOW that there’s something to giving yourself some serious spiritual spa-time and slaking off all the soil and toil of the day. It’s powerful to not just peel off your shoes at the end of the day, but peel off the things you thought that maybe fall somewhat short of the best thoughts you’ve ever thought. There’s something to putting God’s truth back into your head and re-orienting yourself to His ways after a day out in the world, working hard, tiring yourself out.

I bet you’d never consider putting in the garden or cleaning out the basement without planning some clean-up time for yourself when you’re done for the day. Yet so often we go through day after day after day of stressful, draining, situation after situation - and then the evening comes - and there’s dishes, and kids to put to bed - and aaalll the things - and before you know it the alarm’s going off and it’s time to start all over again.

It is HUGE to, as you peel your shoes off, to peel off that tense conversation. It’s SO VALUABLE to as you wipe the negativity, the petty comments, the toxicity - to wipe God’s warm love and gracious patience towards us into your skin.

I do this every day as I wrap up my workday and get ready to wind down before bed - I don’t think there’s a single, one way to go about doing this - but I consciously let go of all those things from today that I don’t want to carry over into tomorrow.

This isn’t something that’s only useful for days that are particularly grimy.

Everyone’s happy to shower and put on clean clothes after a day of volunteering at the camp’s anual clean up. But it’s just as nice to clean up after a holiday or just a day at the home-office getting things done. Yet - most of us only know about having quiet-times and prayer-times. Those are great - but there’s so much more. What if there’s more?

There’s so much more!

So - today when you get ready to leave work and go home - even if you’re just going from one room in your house to another - pause - and do a little spiritual spa-day, a little spiritual hygiene - so you’re refreshed, topped off, moisturized, energized and ready to go.

Enjoy!

Gift Number Eight

Ever meet a perfect person?

Me either.

The closest I come is what I read and know to be true about Jesus.

What I love about spending time with Him is how often it shifts the way I think and feel about everything else so much. Problems shrink from mountains down to molehills. And I often learn a little bit - maybe some days just a spec’s worth about how to be a little more resilient.

And really - that’s what all of these gifts are; nuggets of truth that I hope will brighten your day a bit. They’re all pretty powerful in my experience - at least I rely on them every day.

Can I confess something? When I was first starting out in my walk - a few decades ago - I really believed that for something to really change my life, it had to be BIG, and EXCITING, and ooooh so powerful. But who hasn’t tried to make some substantial positive change in their lives - only to falter or fall.

If you think about it though - big huge changes are pretty rare - and that’s not how we learn most things. Your career - you learned at the pace of one day at a time. Even the big things like marriage and parenting, we at least think about it for a while and then plan, and prepare. I don’t know anyone who opened their door to see their future spouse or child - on the doorstep.

Small is incredibly powerful. Get a spec of dust on your shoe - and you’ll never know it. Get one near or in your eye - and everything stops.

So today’s gift is the gift of the Nudge. The Nudge is the secret sauce to my self-discipline. I take the goal I want to achieve - and I reduce it down to the tiniest possible bit. I want to spend time with Jesus every single day, so I started with 15 seconds. An amount so small - it’s incredibly easy to achieve. Difficult to NOT achieve in fact. It was a long time ago when I set that goal - and it’s evolved into a full-blown rock-solid habit of growing my walk daily.

There’s a reason we plant tomato seeds - not full-blown tomato plants laden with tomatoes.

What good thing do you want more of in your life? Start as small as possible - and grow with that habit and it’ll feel stressless, fulfilling, hopeful - and hey - you’ll be so successful at it right away! This is a fair bit better than trying a little harder (again maybe) to do a lot better and/or different - which can too easily turn into an unsustainable goal as soon as something unexpected comes up.

I think Nudging is something that Jesus is so good at. He woos us closer to Him, reveals Himself to us and with masterful skill teaches us to follow Him better than we’d ever imagined.

Nudging is one of my favorite topics - so if you want to talk more about this - give me a shout. We’ll grab a cup of coffee and let Jesus inspire us completely to walk with Him every day.

Gift Number Seven

Some of you know that when not doing ministry with college students, church friends or the local jail ministry, I like to tell stories. As of this month I’ve been a member of Bluff Country Tale Spinners for six years. Stories are incredibly powerful. I absolutely see why Jesus used them so often in His teaching. They stick around in our heads so well.

There are a lot of things I don’t know about your story - but one thing I know for SURE - is that it’s not done yet.

Here are some things I know about unfinished stories

1. Between here and the ending - twists and turns are possible

2. Twists and turns are key to the greatest stories

3. .There are all kinds of heroes.

4. You are the hero of your story.

5. You get to decide what kind of hero to be - are you a warrior hero, a sage, a great leader, a peace-maker, a teacher, artist, … something new maybe?

6. What kind of hero we want to be has a big impact on how our story progresses.

7. YOU choose the next step in your story.

8. Most of our lives are at least trilogies if not multi-volume series. Where you are now may only be “book two of seven”

Have you thought much about where you’d like your story to go next? Maybe you’re at a highpoint - perhaps it’t time to spin a scene of celebration. Maybe something more somber is called for. Sometimes when I’m not sure how to respond to a situation I imagine lots of different characters from books and shows and Scripture in my situation - and see which ones feel like they fit best. Sometimes picturing an obviously “not at all like me” character helps me get unstuck - seeing in your imagination what you would never do can clarify what needs doing. This can also be an entertaining way to think while out on a walk.

Whatever kind of story you’re writing, may your story encourage and inspire many, my friend.

Gift Number Six

Playful. When were you last playful?

Remember when you were a kid and on a summer day you’d got to a friend’s house next door or on your block - and you’d smoosh your face into the screen on the screen door - and knock - and feel the knocking reverberate through your head? You’d catch a glimpse of your friend’s mom and you’d ask if your friend could come out and play.

You know - you’re still a great playmate. Whether it’s riding bikes, or making a hideout in the backyard, or inventing a game, or playing horse - you have a knack for play. You could even say that you have a gift for it.

Playfulness for adults makes us more resilient, more hopeful, more connected. It can energize and destress. There’s a spontaneity about play that’s just delightful. And play is so wholeheartedly loving-the-moment - it’s like a gummy vitamin for your soul.

We’re coming into that time of year when if the weather’s just right - we could get just the right weather for - a perfect day of sledding, the best snow for making a snowman, or maybe the warmest winter night we’ll have in a bit to go outside and playfully gaze up at the sky and search for constellations.

What were your favorite ways to be playful? Was it legos? Was it yo-yo? Remember the first time you played with an etch-a-sketch or a slinky? Thumb-wrestling?

Most of these gifts take no more time to meaningful engage in than it takes to read one of these posts. It’s not about complicating our lives - but rather freeing the best parts of ourselves up to be more in our lives - right now - with those we love most.

Who do you want to play with again? A sibling? A best friend from long ago - or not so long ago? Maybe there was a game or sport your loved to play with your spouse when you were first dating. Maybe there’s a way you love playing with your kids. Remember playing so hard that you just burst out into fits of giggles and laughter? Remember time flying by? Reliving those memories is almost as invigorating as playing again. Reliving them - over the phone - or whatever - we have so many ways to communicate - with our old play-buddy again is even better.

Take a well-deserved break from all the non-play things you’ve been adulting-through and spend a moment recalling a treasured moment of awesome play. Aaaah. What a time! Let’s do more of that!

I’d really love to keep writing about this - but I gotta go smoosh my face into someone’s screen door and see if they can come out and play..

Gift Number Five

Humor. Gratitude. Beauty. Rest.

Today’s gift is the gift of Imagination.

This is similar to the gift from Saturday (day 3) but what I’m proposing today is that you remember that once you were all about making and creating all the time. Maybe you drew pictures. Maybe you drew battles. Maybe you played your own covers of some music you liked on your band instrument, or while drumming on your desk at school. Maybe you made forts or lego creations. Maybe you created games to play with your friends. Regardless - once there was a whole world of imagination in your head - and you let it out all day long. Once - you engaged in imagination all throughout your day.

You know - as a child I thought it was “very adult” to feel frustrated about Mondays and to watch the news and tell the TV how terrible the news was. Thinking constantly about bills also seemed very adult. Playing make-believe was NOT adult at all. Not one bit.

Small wonder so many of us feel so nostalgic about childhood!

It’s very adult to use your adult mental faculties to imagine innovative solutions, make your work and/or home environment more convenient. It’s incredibly adult to shut off the news (by whatever means you get it) as soon as it starts to tank your mood. It’s okay to imagine getting essential information via whatever means is easiest to digest without affecting your mood for the day. Imagination’s power to help us find solutions to stress, nuisances, wanting to laugh more, helping others, communicating better, fostering community - or whatever thing we feel prompted to improve.

Imagine using your imagination to - lower your stress, or lift your spirits. What about using it to encourage a friend, or get yourself unstuck from a problem that’s been weighing on you.

Perhaps the best thing we can do with our imagination is to use it to help us grow our walk with Jesus deeper, wiser, stronger. I’m always amazed when I talk to someone who’s concerned that more of Jesus’ ways in our life could ever make our lives anything but better. Some folks imagine Jesus as some sort of Principle + Boss + Pastor combo - or whatever passes for intimidating to you. Jesus however - is the best ally you’ll ever find though - He loved you enough to die for after all. How often has anyone else done that for you? He’s the most skillful coach you could ever want. He not only got a solution to every problem but one that reveals more of who He is, illuminating how Good He is, unifying for families and faith communities, faith-building, and instructive in helping us not grow weary of serving Him.

My favorite way to imagine a new answer to an old problem is to pray about it, remember the times in the New Testament when Jesus and His disciples went out onto Lake Galilee just because - and imagine that I’m out in that boat with Him too. Then I go for a walk and pop him my question. That’s just one way. There are loads of ways - I’m sure you can imagine a few of your own. Whatever issue you might want to improve, I imagine you and He can handle it.