thankful: sleeping in (rest)

Today, I am thankful for being able to sleep in. It is one of my favorite things to do. I enjoy just lazily waking up in the morning. I enjoy it when I can take a full hour  to just slowly wake for the day (reading, praying, listening to music, scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed, sleeping some more). I especially enjoy being able to actually go back to sleep after I wake up for a bit: this is the best. Life can be so incredibly full and busy. I mean, most everyday I have lots to do and if I'm not presently doing something, I am planning and preparing for something in the near future. So when I get the opportunity to sleep in, I take it, without feeling guilty. I receive it as a nice gift from God to enjoy.

There's lots of places in Scripture that talks about rest. But, the one I enjoy most comes from Jesus. He says, "Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light" (Matthew 11:29-30 NLT). I love it! Jesus offers us rest anytime we are in need because He knows how desperate we are for rest. But, He offers us more than just physical rest for our bodies, He also offers us emotional, psychological and spiritual rest for the burdens of our heart, mind and soul. So, the next time Jesus blesses you with some rest, instead of filling the time with more busyness, but receive it as a gift and rest. 

thankful: my wife

Today, I am thankful for my wife. God has truly blessed me with a very thoughtful and supportive wife. She has a big caring and compassionate heart. When God put us together I knew that we were a good match, but each day  I am seeing more and more how great a match we really are. I love that she supports me in prayer and is my best friend in whom I can confide in. But who is also someone I can joke around and relax with. She helps me to be better. I know that we have only just begun our journey through life together, but honestly, I couldn't imagine life without her now. We are a team and my prayer is that we would grow stronger and stronger in our covenant to be partners for life.

In Genesis 2:18, God says, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (NIV). I am learning just how true these words are and when we wait on God to bring us to our spouse and our spouse to us, it is always on time and just right. Both of us have spent our fair share of time chasing after people, hoping that they would be right for us, that they would be suitable for us. But, each time all we found was a distorted and broken love. Then, we met God and He began filling us with His love and an amazing thing happened, our own hearts began to heal. And with the healing of our hearts we were transformed into the suitable helpers that each of us needed. God always knows what we need, even when we are clueless - God knows. Have you every prayed that God would transform you into the suitable helper for your spouse? God has someone very special for you, but we need to learn to trust that God knows who that is and that He will join you with that person in just the right time. So keep praying and trusting! God knows!

thankful: Cisco Webex

Today, I am thankful for the on-demand webinars that Cisco Webex hosts. I am currently in the process of compiling some teaching sessions for a church staff retreat and was glad to have these free resources available. I listened to a webinar: "Don't Let Your Ego Hijack Your Career" with David Witt and Randy Conely. The speakers spoke with great insight on the topic. I highly recommend spending an hour listening to this webinar from The Ken Blanchard Companies. 

Here are a few highlights. First, a quote from Ken Blanchard "The human ego gets in the way of people becoming their best selves." So true! Because the ego: 1) distorts relationships; and 2) separates people by getting in the way of people forming mutually beneficial relationships. Secondly, a key solution is increasing "self-awareness" while holding three attitude: 1) humility; 2) curiosity; and 3) veracity. And lastly, it is crucial that you "be kind to yourself while you grow because too little ego is just as bad as too much ego."  

Have you ever though about how your ego may be getting in the way of your growth? To be honest, I haven't ever really directly confronted my own ego. Sure, there are times that I wrestle with certain issues in my personal life or in some interpersonal relationships but I never really directly attributed this to my ego. I used different names like my pride, my selfishness, or even my sinful nature. What I enjoyed about this webinar is that it helped me gain a greater understanding of the place of ego when it comes to leadership and interpersonal relationships while helping me to see that my ego is more complex than I originally thought and most importantly that if you approach your ego honestly and humbly it can be directed (with God's help of course) towards our good. 

We really are fearfully and wonderfully made by God and very complex beings. But, also fallen beings distorted by sin. But, nevertheless God in His mercy still loves us and calls us into relationship with Him through Jesus Christ. Here is an excerpt from Psalm 139:13-16 (NIV): "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be."

thankful: The Book of Eli

In resurrecting my blog after a long hiatus, I've decided to begin posting each day on something I am thankful for. Today, I am thankful for the film, "The Book of Eli." It has been a while since I last watched this film, but in viewing it today, I was again impacted by the resolute determination of Eli to fulfill the mission God had given him. I think this is why I appreciate this film so much. I long to have this same kind of resolve as I also live to fulfill God's mission and purpose for my life. 

There are lots of good moments in the film. I especially like the part where Eli tells Solara that "All the years I've been carrying [the Bible] and reading it every day...I got so caught up with keeping it safe I forgot to live by what I learned from it." Such a good reminder that just knowing what the Bible says isn't good enough, we need to be living what the Bible says by applying it to our lives. 

Jeremiah 29:11 says, "For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope" (NLT). God has a plan and purpose for each and every person. But, in order to truly fulfill this purpose we need to fully commit ourselves to the plan and mission God has for each of us. Have you ever wondered about the reason you were put on this earth? Maybe today is a good day to start asking God to show you the plans and purposes He has for you while you live out the rest of your days here on Earth. 

Today, I am thankful for "The Book of Eli" and I leave you with his prayer: "Dear lord thank you for giving me the strength and the conviction to complete the task you entrusted to me. Thank you for guiding me straight and true through the many obstacles in my path, and keeping me resolute when all around seemed lost, thank you for your protection and your many signs along the way, thank you for any good I may have done and I'm so sorry about the bad. Thank you for the friend I've made, please watch over her as you have watched over me. Thank you for finally allowing me to rest I am so very tired. But I go now to my rest, at peace knowing that my time on this earth, I fought the good fight, I finished the race, I kept the faith."