IT IS WELL

Do you ever find yourself in a situation and say that phrase. It Is Well?  I hope you say yes, but I rarely say that.  There not many situations that I can for certain say that It Is Well.  Too often my life is loaded with stuff - not all good either. Stuff accumulates.  Stuff happens, am I right?  Too often I don't take time to say It Is Well and to slow down and breathe.  Be at peace.
I love the hymn It Is Well with My Soul.  Why? The words penned so long ago are words we still need to hear and be reminded of today.
Horatio Spafford led a tragic life- by the world's standards. Early in his professional career his business suffered a terrible fire (which he and his family never recovered from). But at least he had his wonderful wife, Anna, and his four beautiful daughters. His business ventures later took him to Europe. There was a change in plans and he had to send his family on before him.  While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank.  Spafford received a telegram from his wife - "Saved alone!"
WOW!  What a horrible experience and pain that he must have gone through.  He then traveled to meet his wife.  While passing over the area where the boat sank he felt compelled to pen the words of It Is Well With My Soul.
I am not sure I have this much faith.  He truly put his faith in God and decided to look to Him. My favorite stanza in this hymn is the first.  The third line of this stanza reminds us that whatever comes our way, we should look to God and be ready to serve and say, It Is Well.

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.

It's a hard day for many, me included.  However, I can still say It Is Well. I am loved. You are loved and be assured that it truly is a mindset to say It Is Well.  I am learning little by little to take time out for me and God, to cultivate that relationship. 
I mentioned in an earlier post about walking. Well, that's my time to commune - to be quiet and just be!  It's awesome.  During this time I pray, thank God for my life and those in it, and listen.  To listen is the hard part.  You sometimes hear what you don't want too, even if you know what you are hearing is best for you. It doesn't make it any easier.
So I am encouraging me and you to stop, listen, pray, and say It Is Well and this too is a part of life.  Whatever we go through, we don't go through alone but God is leading, we just need to listen.

Peace to you this day.

Here is a beautiful arrangement of It Is Well

Fat Elvis Is Leaving The Buidling

That's right, Elvis is leaving the building.  Ok, now that I have your attention, I will let you in.  I am losing weight- I mean, I am trying too. My cousin, Adam, is helping me.  In the course of the last year Adam has really lost some weight and I was so impressed, I was encouraged to do the same.
I have followed his plan (well, last night we had meatloaf at church, so I had to have that!), but otherwise, I have followed his plan.  I have also been walking about 40 minutes a day.  I would say that all in all I am doing a fantastic job.  Did I mention this is only day 3! 

If you are old enough to remember Elvis, you remember that when he was young he was trim, fit, good looking, and a wonderful singer.  You also remember that at the end of his concerts they would announce that "Elvis has left the building".  Well, I am trying to leave the building - my weight and my "old" self.  If you have tried to lose weight you know that it comes on faster than goes off. But, such as life.

2 Corinthians 5: 17 -Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Aren't we like this?  Aren't we trying to become new?  I am.  I am still trying. I don't mean just with my weight but in my entire life.  But, can you really become new if you don't shed the old?  I will not have new skin or a new mind by losing weight.  But, I will think differently about food, exercise, and about myself.
I am thankful each day starts new.  I can wake and decide to be different.  I can decide to be happy.  I can decide to make a difference in my life and to others (I wrote decide several times because that's what we have to do - DECIDE). 
See, I believe our newness doesn't come from just believing, but from deciding to make changes. 

One of my favorite stories is about the lame man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5).  By the time Jesus arrives on the scene the lame man had been in his condition for a long time.  Now, we don't know what is a long time.  We just know that this is nothing new for this lame man.  Jesus asks him, "Do you not want to be made well"?  The man answers; "sir, I have no one to help me to the pool and when I get there, many go before me".   This is interesting to me.  I often wonder if he wanted to be made well. I mean, if he went to the pool each day and others went in front of him that is frustrating but really,  EVERY time the waters would stir he couldn't get in?
This is what I mean that we have to DECIDE to be new. Things don't change because we will them too. God is working.  God has the power of miracles. But just like the lame man, we have to DECIDE we are going to the pool, jumping in, and being made new by the waters of new life in Christ. 

I have DECIDED to  shed some pounds.  Maybe Elvis would still be here had he done that, who knows? But I am jumping in head first to be cleansed.  You?

I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
I have decided to follow Jesus;
No turning back, no turning back.

 

Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
Though I may wonder, I still will follow;
No turning back, no turning back.

 

Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
Will you decide now to follow Jesus?
No turning back, no turning back.

Just a Closer Walk

It's been a long time since my last post.  But I'm back!


This past weekend I had a wonderful adventure. Hard, but wonderful.   I traveled back to Virginia to see my girls.  However, I did not take this trip alone.  My cousin rode with me.  I had a "mate" to travel with.  Before this past week, it had literally been years since I had seen my cousin.  What a wonderful time we had (well, at least I had a great time.  I talk a lot and he's quiet so, I'll just say it was fun for me!)
Even though I had him with me, it was still a very difficult trip.  I saw my girls, By the way, they are the cutest girls EVER! I also attended a wonderful gathering of friends from my previous church, and said some really hard goodbyes. The gathering was beautiful. We ate wonderful food, we sang around he piano, and most of all we laughed. But, it was still difficult and because it was difficult, I was and am thankful that my cousin was able to be with me.  He really didn't do anything extraordinary during the weekend but what he did do was show up and walk with me. During the rides and the long hours of the night and day, we talked, listened to music and just were.  There was silence. 
As we rode in silence for bit, I realized what a gift it was to have him there.  And, I wondered what the weekend would have been like if I had driven alone - very different. He was there to walk with me in the same direction, in unity, as I walked a very difficult road.


Proverbs 4:12

When you walk, your steps shall not be hampered, your path will be clear and open; and when you run, you shall not stumble.

When you walk with someone obviously you won’t be going in opposite directions. If you walk in a different direction you can’t listen to them, you can’t enjoy them, you can’t share things with them, and you won’t be able to understand them. When you walk with the Lord, your will is going to align with His will. Since you’re walking side by side with Him your focus will be on Him.

Life is hard and we need a walking mate. That mate, if we choose, is God. He is the one that has gone before us and cleared the path. After clearing the path, He then came back and is now taking us with him.

Are you taking him with you, daily? Are you helping to clear more paths of briars and other debris so that, you are walking undistracted and keeping your hand in God's and your eyes on the path that He has set before you?  I try.  I fail -most days.  It's tough to be with God and think that you are alone at the same time. 

So, go forth this week knowing that you are not walking alone. HE is walking with you and as He does - we are stronger.

Just a closer walk with Thee
grant it Jesus is my plea.
Dailing walking cloe to Thee,
let it be, dear Lord, let it be!

In Too Deep, But Not Deep Enough…

Crazy title?
I thought you would say that. 

Have you ever been in something so deep that you feel like you can't catch your breath -- only to realize that the thing that has you strangled doesn't really matter? For example, have you ever been so consumed by the details of ministry or life – that you’ve missed the fullness of God in the picture?

I am so guilty of needing time, needing people, and needing attention, that I get caught up and strangled by the things of this world -- and am not focused on the God universe.  The solution is not necessarily to abandon one and embrace the other – but to let the world help me see that I am loved.

I am worthy.
I am a child a God.

The details that consume me – can also be the things that remind me that I’m chosen and handpicked for this life and this time. I am His. 

So often our worship is about us.  What can I get from this? “I wish the music, sermon, prayer, etc. would have been a little shorter, louder, not so loud…”  We are programmed to be a people all about ourselves.  A people that live in a world where it says it is ok to focus on me, because after all, who will focus on me if I don't?

I have an incredible church.  I have an incredible wife.  I have an amazing miracle child and a new baby on the way. All of these things bring me joy.  But am I only focused on me – and how these joys affect my life? Could I instead focus on these joys – and how they help me worship a God who created love and joy in the first place? If these things are gifts – how am I doing at thanking the giver?

We come to worship week after week in a posture of selfishness. We are children of God – who are ultimately doing little as active participants in the disciplines of developing our relationship with God. We are doing little to develop our active worship (relationship) with God.

Yet – we expect 100% of the glory that is to come.

We are selfish.
I AM SELFISH. 

Thankfully – I’m also still in process. I know that I am a child of God -- loved and created to love and give.
My desire is to give more of myself, and not expect something in return for my efforts. My desire is to accept the love of others without fear or worry of manipulation/constraints.

I want to live remembering that the gifts that I have been given are far greater than I deserve – and yet my God loves me enough to bless me anyway.

I have been chosen by God and adopted as His child.

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding (Ephesians 1:3-8).

Rush

For those of you who don't know - Katie & I recently changed location.We moved from a very sweet small town in south Georgia to a very hectic, traffic filled small city in Northern Virginia. Wow, what a difference. Don't get me wrong, this place is awesome.  We love our new churches and we love being closer to family.  Olive loves playing with her cousins.  Simply put, it's great. But, gone are the days of leaving my house five minutes before a meeting; now it's more like no less than 35 minutes before the meeting.

This morning, like most, I ventured out and got on the road.  Again, I am only one out of thousands traveling even further in to Northern Virginia.  As I looked around, I noticed all kinds of things: a lady putting on make-up, some man singing his favorite tunes, a couple of people getting mad because they didn't leave early enough...again, and the list could go on.  It occurred to me we are all in a rush to get to work, the gym, or whereever it is that we NEED to get to so early in the morning. In the midst of the morning madness, I realized that there is no rush hour on Sunday morning (or whenever you may go to worship).  If there is a rush hour on Sunday, it's only to get to the buffet before the other churches get out.  If the service runs past noon, we get antsy.  Why? 

This season is Lent, a journey to the cross. A journey to love.  A journey that ultimately, if we are in the right spirit, completes us as Christians.  The disciples did not rush either.  Heck, while in the garden Jesus returns to them and finds them sleeping...not once but three times.  They knew that there was a "rush" because that very night Jesus would be taken captive.

I hope during this season you will rush to church, rush to love, and rush to the cross.  What an amazing sight if on your worship morning or evening there is a rush hour -- all because folks want to worship and remember the Savior who was on the cross and redeemed us. 

Christ has died. Christ has risen. Christ will come again.  Hallelujah! What a Savior!

God is a safe place to hide, ready to help when we need him. We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom, courageous in seastorm and earthquake, Before the rush and roar of oceans, the tremors that shift mountains. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God of angel armies protects us. River fountains splash joy, cooling God's city, this sacred haunt of the Most High. God lives here, the streets are safe, God at your service from crack of dawn. Godless nations rant and rave, kings and kingdoms threaten, but Earth does anything he says. Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God of angel armies protects us. Attention, all! See the marvels of God! He plants flowers and trees all over the earth, Bans war from pole to pole, breaks all the weapons across his knee. "Step out of the traffic! Take a long, loving look at me, your High God, above politics, above everything." Jacob-wrestling God fights for us, God of angel armies protects us.

-Psalm 46 (Message)

Where I Am Is...

I've been thinking a lot lately about transformations in life -- particularly transformations in my life. The question I've been asking myself a lot lately has to do with living the best life possible. Specifically, am I living the best life I possibly could? It's both a tough and easy question to answer. The answer is right in front of us --- and maybe that's what makes it seem so impossible.

My life has changed a lot lately. Same great wife, same amazing kid, but something altogether new. The big change for me can be summed up in one word: attitude.

Yep, that's it.
Just my attitude.

I have spent a lot of time being a pretty negative person. My negativity has made me untruthful, angry, and self-centered. My attitude has kept me from God for much of my life.

Oh I've done church. I've always done church. I was raised in the church, learned to play music in the church, and have led in the church ---- but it turns out that you can be a disconnected and negative person -- and can fit right in - in the church.

Being "in" the church doesn't mean you are "in" with God. (I'm not talking about salvation --- just relationship.)

I can't tell you how many times I have prayed that God would help me to change. I've had people pray with me, anoint me, talk with me, forgive me, give me second (third & thirtieth) chances --- and still was playing at it.
For some reason I wasn't ready to change.

I was trying to tell God that I was somewhere other than where I truly was.
I was probably trying to tell myself the same thing...

So the big attitude change for me is a result of me not wanting to fool God anymore. I don't want to convince God of anything (a ridiculous idea in the first place). I want Him to convince me of a ton.

Where I am, is just where I need to be.
It is not the scenery or the situations that make us closer or farther from God --- it is attitude.
Come, just as You are. 
Hear the Spirit's call.
Come just as You are.
Come and see, come receive.
Come and live forever. 
Life everlasting.
Strength for today. 
Taste the living water's and never thirst again. 

Be Quiet

This morning as I look out the window of my office (I can see everything from the second story), I can’t help but notice how quiet it is. Not only is there no discernable traffic, construction, or even wind from the other side of the window, the building is even quiet on the inside.

It is 7:40am – and I am alone in this amazing building. I love being here early. There is something so nice about being quiet, in a church, before the crazy world begins to buzz.

If you know me, you know I love people…and talking. My cell phone minutes are usually double or triple that of my wife. I’m not good at sitting still – and I’m not good at being quiet – especially when I know there are people around to talk to.

The balance for me is this time by myself. I enjoy my morning routine of getting my girls off to school– and coming into work around 7:30, before everyone else arrives. I can think – and sit in the middle of my music books, devotionals, and perch above Springfield to just look, be quiet, and think.

There is something about quiet that also brings gratitude. It’s hard to look out of a window and not see something in Creation (if not all of it) and breathe a quiet “thank you” to God. Psalm 46: 10a says, “Be still and know that I am God.” I think we often overuse that passage to talk about patience or perhaps we misinterpret it to mean idleness --- but the instruction to “be still” is still a good one. Reframing it as a question may be helpful. Can I know God if I am not still?

Can I listen if I am not still?

Maybe – but I know it is a lot easier to hear and focus when I still and prepare myself.

I have to admit that I am not always ready to listen. I like things my way. (I’m certain this revelation is shocking to absolutely no one.) In this season, I'm learning to be still and quiet…and grateful. 

There used to be an amazing tree outside of my office window. It was huge, with winding branches, a massive trunk, and picturesque moss hanging nearly to the ground. The tree was so “Savannah” that Katie and I were quite taken with it when we first visited the church. Once I was hired – and Katie saw my office – she described it as a “tree house” since it was nearly in the branches.

Every day I could look through the shade of this tree – and see all sorts of birds and squirrels – as well as the rest of the world framed through distinct bark, moss, and leaves.

The tree was removed a few months ago. Apparently it was dead on the inside (a metaphor for another time). It occurs to me this morning that I never really thanked God for that tree, or the unique view through my window. Perhaps I should have been still…

The thing I am aware of this morning – is that God is listening. My solitude and pause gives both of us a time to listen to one another – and just be.

Be still and know that He is God
Be still and know that He is faithful
Consider all that he has done
Stand in awe and be amazed
And know that He will never change
Be still
-          Steven Curtis Chapman

I wonder what is outside your window this morning. Write to me in the comment box below – and let me know about your picture into God’s world.
-Tommy

Be Still Music Video