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You Are Not a Clone

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You were created – you are not an accident, an afterthought nor an experiment

You were created by God – just like everything and everyone 

You were created uniquely – DNA

You were created with purpose – without flippancy but with design

You were created for a purpose – like a puzzle piece, a body part, a team member 

Your purpose is found through relation with your Creator – no one knows you better

Your happiness is found through experiencing your Creator’s purpose for you – all other sources will fail

Your happiness and purpose are not found by blindly following the same sources and directions as the masses – you are not a clone

As a uniquely, purposefully created being, find your happiness by not living like a clone but by pursuing knowing and experiencing your Creator through a growing relationship.

A Letter to the Couple in the Movie Theater 

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To the couple who sat by me yesterday to watch the new Star Trek movie,

You had no idea how your arriving 20 minutes after the 4:20 start time put you in a certain category in my structured world. You also had no idea that I watched you ascend the steps toward me in the top row, corner seat, somehow knowing this wasn’t going to go in my favor. And then you had popcorn. You really had no idea.

The theater wasn’t even half full. But yet you somehow determined that walking up to the furtherest corner was the best move. It took me a while, but I finally figured it out. You, ma’am, had some sort of wrap on your lower leg. That drove you to my corner. You were looking for the best seat in order for you to prop your foot somehow. You had no idea that my plan was to raise the armrest when the movie started in order for me to prop whatever healthy part of me I wanted on the seat next to me.

Sir, I’m sure you had no idea when you sat down next to me that I seriously considered moving down to one of those dozens of seats you passed to get to one next to me that I also considered mine. And, I hope you had no idea that for about the first ten minutes of the movie God and I were talking a lot about you and your wife.

Actually, God was talking, and I was doing a whole bunch of listening; and you and your wife wasn’t what he talked about much to me at all. Although he did point out that you paid for one seat, actually two, just like I did. And the seats at Royal Palm are certainly not reserved, so you had every right to pick a seat wherever you liked or your wife needed. He also reminded me that some people enjoy the whole movie experience (refreshments, getting up to go the bathroom) unlike I do, and that is also perfectly normal, even acceptable.

After God pretty much told me to get over my introverted self, you had no idea that I started watching both of you. Yes, the distraction of your hands going in and out of the popcorn bag initially annoyed me, but I chose to appreciate that you graciously shared the popcorn between you. Ma’am, I watched you adjust yourself as quietly as you could throughout the movie to ease the pressure on your foot. And when you openly engaged with the movie by laughing and commenting, I moved from wanting to relocate to actually enjoying your company.

So, by the end of the movie, which I recommend seeing, you had no idea the lessons I had learned that had nothing to do with the content of the movie. It had to do with you, with how to enjoy any movie experience, and with accepting people for who they are, especially when they aren’t like you. Couple, thank you for coming to the movie and choosing to sit next to me. You had no idea.

More than an Imaginary Friend

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Some days of prayer are just jaw dropping. Or you might say evidence convincing. Sunday was one of those days. Here’s one example that illustrates praying is not just an exercise in talking to an imaginary friend.

Before leaving church, I was handed a cellphone that a volunteer left behind. I decided to take it to his apartment, hoping he would be home, on my way out of town.

I got there a little after 3. He lives in a new apartment complex downtown that is quite secure; pretty much just one entrance for visitors. That’s if the office is open. It didn’t even cross my mind that the office might not be open. I was just focused on getting him his phone before I left town for two days.

I walked up to the office door and read that the Sunday office hours were 1-5. Terrific. No problem, I thought. Tried to open the door. Locked. Not terrific. How am I going to get this guy his phone? And what’s with the door being locked during posted hours?

I stepped back toward the parking lot just staring at the complex. Somehow I’ve got to get in this building. Since God had already answered several prayers that morning, my immediate thought was to just tell him this situation. 

God, I really want to get this phone to him. He’s going to need it before I get back from GA. How can I….

Mid sentence, I heard someone behind me say, “Hey, I know you from church.”

I was a little stunned. I hadn’t seen anyone in the parking lot. I turned around to a guy walking toward me that I didn’t recognize.

“Yeah, we met at church a few weeks. How’s it going?”

“Uh, good…”

“You need to get in?”

“Actually, I do. Someone from church left his phone this morning, and I was hoping to get it to him before getting on the road to GA.”

“Yeah, no problem. I’ll let you in over here. We were just sitting here before heading out, and my wife saw you.”

I realized a truck was running, parked about six spots from me. Looked over, and his wife waved at me from the cab.

“There you go,” opening the door. “Glad I could help. Have a good trip.” And he was gone.

So I got in. Found his apartment. He was home. Phone returned.

Prayer Details:

  • First-time request
  • Two sentences
  • Immediately answered by friend in the lot who happened to be there at the exact time I came by unannounced, who for some reason hadn’t left the lot yet
  • One could argue that God already answered the prayer even before I voiced it

God is so much more than an imaginary friend.

Random Statements Re: Identity

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At your core, you are who God says you are.

Your job title is what you do not who you are.

Your bank account balance is what you have not who you are nor what you’re worth.

Your relationship status and history reveal your choices based on who you believe you are.

Anytime you identify yourself different from God’s identity of you, you may face hardship, confusion or regret.

When you wake up to a misplaced identity crisis, correction is as close as a prayer.

Could Spelling Save American Families?

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Watching the 89th annual Scripps National Spelling Bee, you saw more than just jaw-dropping spelling. Here are some of the adjectives used by the commentators describing the co-winners and their families:

  • Focused
  • Loving
  • Supportive
  • Committed
  • Trusting
  • Grateful
  • Respectful
  • Confident
  • Hardworking 

Throughout the broadcast, the cameras caught the mom’s and dad’s and sibling’s, even one grandmother’s, every emotion. The most prominent vibe was love. And for the third year in a row, co-winners were crowned. Yet, there was no sign of disappointment or bitterness. One father actually lifted up the other winner in victory-a heartfelt, celebratory, understanding gesture for what it took to achieve this accomplishment.

Maybe spelling itself won’t save struggling families, but couldn’t a family living this list of adjectives have hope?

Thank you to all the contestant’s families for showing America a model worth following. Congratulations!

3 Character Traits My Mother Modeled 

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My mother was widowed at the age of 43. She lost her husband to a cancer battle that lasted less than a year. In roughly 18 months, she went from being a pastor’s wife with four children living in Northeast Alabama to being a single mother whose oldest daughter was going off to college, who still had three children at home between the ages of 11 and 16, and relocating to Southeast Georgia to start a new job. I don’t remember ever hearing my mother complain or show bitterness toward God. In fact, she modeled many character traits that illustrated faith and reflected resilience.

Dedication

  • She doggedly determined to finish the job that she and her husband started in developing their children into followers of God.

Commitment

  • I don’t recall her ever missing work. What I do recall is her bringing home work in order to get things done, to be a committed and reliable employee.

Discipline

  • Regularly I heard my mother praying or observed her reading her Bible through her slightly opened bedroom door. She not only led us in family devotions, she was disciplined to prioritize her own spiritual disciplines.

I call my mother blessed. I thank her for modeling faithfulness and giving her children a rich spiritual heritage for which her husband would praise her (Proverbs 31:28).

God is Much Smarter than I am

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This is a good thing to say, to admit, and to do it often.

The link above is to a recording of the song the FBCBradenton choir did this morning in church. And here’s why I say God is smarter than I am.

This song, Mercy Tree, was slated to be done before or on Easter. We weren’t ready at that point, so we rescheduled it for today. In my head, it seemed like it could come across as a little too late, repetitive, whatever. And even at rehearsal Wednesday night, I still wasn’t sure we should do it. But God showed up this morning. 

Not only did He get the glory through this song, but unbeknownst to me, it spoke to our guest speaker and went right along with his message.

So thank you, God. You are more than amazing. Always on time. Infinitely smarter.

Today, I Witnessed Love

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I witnessed love today in a hospital room.

I witnessed love today as a dad pulled his son around in a red wagon on the hospital fifth floor distracting him from his hunger before his surgery.

I witnessed love today as that dad tried to find a chart to show his son’s flat line that finally got the doctor’s attention.

I witnessed love today as the mom who birthed this son one year ago tomorrow stood holding him until he fell asleep.

I witnessed love today as another mom and dad offered to carry the burden of their scared friends.

I witnessed love today as both mom and dad said, “This just got real,” after the doctor left the room before surgery.

I witnessed love today as this toddler was placed in the arms of His creator through prayer.

I witnessed love today when what was projected to take around two hours only took 30 minutes with a perfect outcome.

Today, I witnessed love.

Back in the game

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 Time

“It’s about time…”

“I need some time…”

“I’ve got time to kill…”

“Give it some time…”

“Take a timeout…”

“Time is running out…”

It’s been a few years since I stopped blogging. I knew eventually I’d return.

“It’s time to get back in the game!”