The Pursuit for Meaningful

February 12, 2012 2 Comments

This post comes from a weird place.  As I’m typing it, I am listening to David Crowder sing about his need for rest and strength in the presence of God.  Meanwhile, images of Diane Lane and John Cusack fill the screen in the background.  All have me thinking about purpose, love, and what I want out of life.

What’s great about the movie Must Love Dogs is it really pegs having a perfect picture of what is we want versus making compromises when it seems like something will never happen.  What a synonym of human nature.

I really want what’s meaningful, and I want God’s good, pleasing, and perfect will in my life.  But how many times do I try to speed things along or give up hope when growing impatient and start my own path toward something I know won’t be as satisfactory for the sake of instant gratification?

Sometimes, it takes seeing a reminder of my greater hope to realize my foolishness or detour from the will of God and remember there is something better out there than reaching for what I can easily grasp in the present.  God is so perfect that I don’t always want to wait for his perfect timing.  And that is a synonym of ridiculous.

Impatience often leads to faithlessness.

What I need to remember is pursuing the meaningful in life means following, obeying, and at times being still and knowing.  Why rush things?  Why substitute perfection for the current?  God’s got this.

May I always go after God wants most out of me in every moment, and not veer from the plan to make way for something less satisfactory.

I love God.  He loves me.  I want what he wants for me to happen to me.  That is all.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , ,

Anything Could Happen at Anytime

November 14, 2011 Leave a comment

I just had the thought come over me that anything could happen at anytime, and that’s a a total OMG moment!

(I’m a Christian raised in a Southern Baptist church, so we’ll just say that “OMG” means “oh, my grits!”)

It’s like… whoa!

I can dream.

I can set goals.

I can plan.

I can take action.

I can make progress.

I can be moving along just fine and then…

*BAM* Anything happens!

What in the world?

Cheese grits, that’s a tough one!

Where I live right now could change.

The church God wants me at could become somewhere else.

I could walk through a store and meet the girl I’m going to marry.

I could be saying, “peace out, Earth!” and called up into Heaven.

Anything… at anytime.

About the only glue that holds together the combustion thoughts like this can cause is knowing God knows exactly what’s going to happen with me, and knowing that as long as He’s in control, I have nothing to worry about.

Blessed is me.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , ,

Dreams

July 6, 2011 Leave a comment

I’ve had some of the craziest dreams as of late.  The weird thing about them is they’ve contained people from my present in roles of their past.  Even I was once again working in a previous position of grocery bagger (and I still had the touch, baby!).

Here’s the thing: I’m a present guy.  When given the opportunity to share one final message in the college ministry I was a part of, that message was “Live in the Now.”

So, what’s bringing on the trip in the wayback machine when I close my eyes?

Filed under Ponderings

Feet

May 18, 2010 Leave a comment

When I think about going, moving or even being still, feet often come to mind.  As I went to work today in my flip-flops versus the usual sneakers, I thought about how much my “dogs” were out in the open.  My feet were what brought me to work in the first place.  From a walk to the car to a foot on the pedal to making my way upstairs in the studio.  I relieved heavily on them, and they brought what I came with. 

Feet are talked about in the Bible.  You may remember Jesus washing the feet of His disciples as act of servant leadership. 

The Bible also says the following in Isaiah 52:7: “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns!” 

That verse in Isaiah makes me wonder what my feet bring with them sometimes.  What about you?  Is there something getting in the way of the Good News you have?  Where are you directing your feet?  How beautiful have they been lately?

I think we can all spend some time focusing on our feet a little more.  Our outcome to where they take us and what we bring may be a lot different if we do.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , ,

Through Your Trouble

April 10, 2010 1 Comment

There’s a verse sitting in the middle of the first chapter of Nahum that speaks volumes about who God is and what does for His people:

“The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in Him.” –Nahum 1:7

Even in your trouble, God is there, caring for you.  Think about that.  Wrap your head around that.  Need Excedrin yet? 

What this means to me is, no matter what I’m going through, God is still good, and He is still holding me together.  Not only that, He will be there through it all.  Amazing!

It’s when we’re most in need for God to intervene that we’re clinging to Him most; that is often the case.  However, God also cares for is when we’re not in times of trouble.

My question is this: how do you continue clinging to God when things are going well; when times aren’t tough and “life is good”?

And if you are in a time of trouble…

How does it feel knowing God is caring for you still?

Thoughts? (Click to comment.)

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , , , ,

Expect the Unexpected

March 24, 2010 Leave a comment

When it comes to God working in your life, you should always come expecting.  He has promised great things for those who follow Him.  That doesn’t mean the path will always be without obstacles, but God will prevail.  Our faith comes when we continue on a path with Him regardless of what our eyes behold.

Countless times I’ve expected to God to work, but my expectations did not exceed what I saw in front of me.  However, it’s hard to think of a time where God has worked exactly how I pictured Him doing so.   In fact, that may be impossible.  God knows what He has in store for me, and the way He leads me to it is on His terms, not mine.

With God, expect the unexpected.  He will show up in your life in ways you never imagined.  When you’re living for His glory, every day is part of a bigger adventure that goes farther than you can see.  And those obstacles?  Remember that God is bigger than all of them, and He is the only One with a big enough vision to lead you to a good, pleasing and perfect will.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , ,

What Gets You Talking?

March 3, 2010 Leave a comment

About a year ago, I was looking into making the switch from cable to satellite.  This left me having to choose between the two main companies as to where do my dishing.  I did web searches to read up on both, but was realizing there was a balance in reviews.  Then, I updated my Facebook status to see what my friends thought.  About an hour later, I had a healthy amount of opinions to choose from. 

Weighing in on which satellite company was the better choice is something that plenty of people were interested in weighing in on.  At least I think they were interested because they left comments.  I can think of plenty of times I’ve had an opinion about something in question, but didn’t really feel passionate enough about it to speak up.  Ah, there’s that “p-word.” 

Do you ever notice that?  We engage in things we’re passionate about.  If you ever want to know what that is, take a look at what gets you talking.  Our passions are a big part of everything we do.  My friends didn’t only tell me ‘Company X’ or ‘Company Y,’ they went into what they liked about their dishes of choice.  For some it was the football options.  For others it was the price.  For me, I ended up having trees in the way, so it didn’t matter in the end anyway.

What gets you talking?  If you’re someone who would very rarely or never calls into a radio station to share your opinion or offer some advice, what would be the thing to make you dial the number?  If you’re not big on promoting brands you use or wear, what are the ones that make you look past that in an effort to engage others in them?  What are your everyday passions?  What do they say about you? 

How about your relationship with God?  What gets you talking there?  How are you sharing this relationship with others?

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , , , ,

The Place We’re In

March 2, 2010 Leave a comment

You there.  What are you doing where you are?  How are you making a difference?  How has life changed as a result of you being where you are? 

There’s something very defining about the place we’re in.  Have you ever thought about the scene of a car crash?  Seconds before the wreck occurs, there was no scene.  Once the wreck happened, there was a time, place  and consequences. 

It only takes a few seconds for things to change where you are, no matter how long there’s been a status quo.  Maybe this should tell you that where you are and what you are doing will shape your future. 

What will the outcome be about the place you’re in?  What are you doing while you’re there?  What will come out of your being there?  How will your life change because of where you are? 

We are nowhere by accident.  Life is missional.  Everything you do counts–how it counts is up to you.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , , ,

Misconceptions

February 4, 2010 2 Comments

The other night, I was in Atlanta, GA to watch some wrestling.  While I was there, I came across some people who had my stereotypical wheels spinning.

One of these people was a street preacher.  Technically, I guess he was a parking lot preacher, but you get the drift.  He was across from Centennial Park, and I caught what I believe to be the end of his message.  He presented the Gospel and was telling any listening ear what they could do in order to not go to Hell.

I also came across a couple of people in the city with plastic cups in their hands looking for spare change.  Just change.  No big speech or build up. 

In both of these instances, I assumed the worst.  What were the endgames of the preacher and the other men?  Was one motivated by condemnation and the others by a need for a fix?  Those were the judgments I rushed to.

What if I was wrong in both cases–what if the preacher was answering his call to share the Good News of Jesus Christ and the men were trying to get something to eat?  What if I was right–what if the preacher was being condemning and the men were wanting money for drugs or alcohol? 

In either case, these people are creations of God.  In either case, something greater than the glimpses of them I saw motivated their actions.  In either case, I’m called to respond with love. 

It’s a horrible thought to think you’ll be associated with a preacher who is damning everyone who walks by or helping others damage themselves.  However, you have something to offer these people: love.  By loving them, you will never go wrong.  By loving them, you are showing them the light of Jesus.  By loving them, you are letting God take over–He can do more than your conceptions anytime.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , , , ,

God WILL Lead You

January 21, 2010 1 Comment

We’re all faced with tough life decisions.  Some of them present themselves as such.  Others will come with a feeling that change needs to be made.  Often times, our decisions are bigger than our present situations because they require us to go further than we ever have and venture into new territory.  God is bigger than our comprehension and current dwelling, and He is the right one for the job of leading us forward.  God WILL lead you.  Let Him.

Filed under Ponderings Tagged with , , , , , ,

← Older posts

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 246 other followers