12.21.19 - week 34
on self-perpetuating decision making
(i don’t have a political party. i don’t have anything helpful to add about our political system. i just see something happening that has a spiritual parallel)
who you already decided he was, defines how you process what he does.
my feeds are filled w opinions. the conservative mostly white midwestern world i grew up in, the younger woke-ish white people i have picked up along the way, and the new mostly black west coast world i’m currently living in … assessments/viewpoints/arguments/statements of fact
all about the vote this week in the house of representatives to impeach president donald trump.
and the thing i notice more than anything is the lack of movement to the middle or across the divide. i have seen HUNDREDS of posts and not ONE of someone saying they have changed their view. it’s because people long ago decided.
he’s honest or not.
the media is out to get him or not.
the channel i watch is the trustworthy one. or not.
people decide based on their assessment of character, not their understanding of a situation. people are sure that they see the situation clearly, yet see opposite things. WHY?
who you already decided he was, defines how you process what he does.
lane shift. lane shift. don’t panic.
trust in god must be rooted in his character not in our understanding of his current actions. so when life goes a different way than we thought it would or should or could, we anchor our emotions not in what we see, but in who he has been and is and will be. what you thought before is confirmed in what you see right now. if I am truly choosing his word to hope or to have safety under his wings, i am choosing to see my current distress through the prism of a holy and just and kind God. if the things that are happening right now aren’t holy and just and kind, then i simply need to continue to wait. to re-organize a Joel Osteen line, my current set-back must be a set-up for God’s presence and power to make a comeback.
who you already decided he was, defines how you process what he does.
KG Korner
(a few wise words from lady kristen macdonald)
We had just gotten the keys. Our kids were smiling ear to ear, they had a place to call home again. Luke and I deeply sighed, the one of partial relief and of overwhelming ‘we will get through this together’ knowing our stuff was being delivered shortly and we had a long day ahead. We and so many had prayed that God would lead us to the right new home, a provision for this new journey in California. We had only walked through the home once before we moved here but we both knew it was “it.” But as with most homes the closing process felt like endless hoops to jump through and it really came down to the eleventh point ninth hour.
As we walked through the house and showed the kids around there was one thing that caught my attention in the bathroom upstairs. There was a wall hanging left - the only thing left behind in the house! It reads:
“With God all things are POSSIBLE.” Matthew 19:26
And the tears began to fall. This came to my attention the other day because the friend of ours who had helped on us on moving day was over and she said, “you kept it up!” I don’t think I’ll ever take it down because this was a word from the Lord for me on move-in day and everyday since.
What I’m not saying: God is a genie. If I needed God to answer my prayers with all yes’s I’m limiting who He is and making myself God. That way of thinking is a complete dead end. Some of his greatest delays to me have been him changing me in the process of my prayers and becoming fit enough to receive what he had been preparing me for.
What I am saying: God doesn’t fit in a box. He is full of power and strength. He writes stories that don’t make sense in real time and then show only His way and timing and orchestration could bring the people and situations together to bring Him the most glory, that’s just how He works. It isn’t about us, it’s about Him and usually it takes us our whole lives to come to that realization on our own (at least I am still in process).
During the holidays I feel like much can feel impossible - the expectations (self-imposed, others imposed, or social media-imposed), the family dynamics, the finances of making it all work, not to mention the triggers that arise out of left field from past or current grief or pain.
But God. He meets you right there, when it feels impossible. He says I am enough. I hear your prayers. I love you sweet child, keep praying and believing and telling me when you’re struggling, because I am the God of the possible - there’s so much yet to see.
Cup of Leadership
if i could tell you the exact day on the calendar when that prayer would be answered what would change?
if you knew that on 6.3.20 the prodigal would return to jesus or that mr. right would propose on 10.13.24 or that your dream job would be offered to you 3.14.21 … or that the cancer is coming back and they will die 1.13.22
what about your attitude and behavior would be different? // less worry / less working / less praying / less self-reflection / less trusting / more sleeping (ok that one’s probably good) / more certainty / more anger (when the answer isn’t the one you wanted) // because we live in the shadow world of unknown, we tend to assume that things would be easier if we knew what was coming. but god likes what can be developed while we wait ... our cultural acts like more info is always better, but i have learned that what’s required of us during the ambiguity of the in-between is good.
Book Review
this book is as good as its cover is sad. it was textbook for me this semester and i loved it. the book takes on a simple premise, what if we took all of our strategy and values on how we teach people about jesus for the way jesus taught his disciples about himself? the results are nothing short of inspired. this book is chalk full of insight on every page. if you teach the bible in any capacity, including facilitating a group or instructing children, highly recommend.
Podcasts This Week
the listenership is slowly but surely growing. would love for you to rate/review to help us along.
1. weekly sermon – part 6 of my series on 1 thessalonians, fresh courage. this is a message about joy even when you don’t feel like it. something many people feel at christmas
2. tales from the 405 – i had a really good guest booked, then he didn’t answer at our appointed time. so i called my brother landon. and then we had technical difficulties. but we discussed the office, how long the irishman was, and general mockery .. a lot of fun
Verse of the Week
for where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. but the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. and a harvest of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.
james 3.16-18
Things I Liked This Week
1. if you have ever been an office fan . the full version of michael’s movie ‘threat level midnight’ is absolutely hilarious … i laughed out loud dozens of times.
2. some of our family’s favorite christmas music is from my friends jon + valerie guerra. this video was recorded on a MAGICAL nite downtown chicago a few years ago. i’m positive you will love it ..
3. i have sadly become a coffee snob, my favorite place in so cal (from the many many i have tried) is the boy and the bear. if you are looking for a last minute christmas something .. i can’t recommend more highly.