lessons of 2010, resolutions for 2011

I love New Year's!! a time for reflection and setting goals for personal growth...I like it so much, I started thinking of my resolutions in November :)



Big lessons learned in 2010:



* run fullspeed to God, never stop!

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." ~Hebrews 12:1



* Christ is sufficient.

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." ~II Corinthians 12:9



* throw out false expectations, preconceived notions, & selfish ambitions - let God amaze me with His Creativity and Imagination that far surpasses mine.

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us," ~Ephesians 3:20



-don't put a limit on God. He is working innumerable stories in innumerable ways to bring all peoples to His glory.



* keep dreaming big.

-do not be discouraged by others, do not be ok with average. our God is not an average God, He is going to accomplish great things in and through His people.



"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." ~Psalm 139:13-14



"For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." ~Jeremiah 29:11-13



"And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ." ~Philippians 1:6



* trust God. He will always be faithful, and knows what is best for me now, next year, in 10 years, in 50 years... He wants my joy and His glory. He will never forsake His promises, and He does not intend to frustrate His children. He is taking care of me - providing for me and protecting me.

"if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself." ~II Timothy 2:13



"If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!" ~Matthew 7:11



"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." ~Ephesians 1:3



"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD." ~Isaiah 55:8



"For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." ~I Corinthians 13:12



* living in community with other believers is so important! we need accountability, companionship, encouragement; we are not meant to walk this journey alone.

"As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another." ~Proverbs 27:17



"Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." ~I Thessalonians 5:11



"Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God." ~Colossians 3:12-15



"Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not become partners with them; for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.Walk as children of light (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,

“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." ~Ephesians 5:1-21



* look before you leap.

* boundaries are good.



whew! ok. now for my resolutions:



* read through & study the entire Bible (might do the 90 day schedule)

* read 2-3 books per month

* run/dance/yoga/exercise 3-5 times per week

* up my Spanish, French, & Italian proficiencies, learn Swahili

* work hard on improving my piano & guitar playing

* summer mission trip to Naomi's Village orphanage in Kenya

* volunteer regularly in a few places, but don't over-commit!

* continue to prayerfully & diligently seek God's leading in career direction, and more Bible/missions training



Happy New Year my friends!! I predict GREAT things for 2011!!

love in action

"And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest,

and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them. But Mary treasured up all these things, pondering them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them."

~Luke 2:8-20


Do we get this?? I'm not convinced we do - the GOD of the Universe, All-mighty, All-powerful Creator of everything came to earth and put himself into a mortal body, the tiny human body of a baby, so that He would grow up and experience every pain and temptation and hurt the same as we do. It's utterly mind-blowing, incomprehensible that not only would He lower Himself to come to earth in human form, He put himself at the lowest places and with the lowest of people so that He would be accessible to all. (Shepherds were the outcasts of society, and the first to be told of Jesus' birth.) He was born in a stable full of smelly animals, slept in the manger where the animals ate their food - as one of my 3 year old's said last Sunday, "that would be UNcomfortable!" I don't think we get it - as much as we try to stuff our lives full of comfort, we forget that God purposefully made Himself uncomfortable for our sake. And yet we cannot bear to make ourselves vulnerable and uncomfortable, whether it's emotionally by being authentic and sharing in our struggles, socially by interacting with people outside of our normal social circles and sharing the Love of Christ boldly in our daily lives, or physically by either going to poverty-stricken places and showing the mercy & generosity of Jesus to others, or by doing without a few less material things in order to be able to afford to help out the neighbor down the street or sponsor the kid across the world.


"Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

~Philippians 2:4-8


I don't think that we get that Jesus lived His entire life as an outcast, a wanderer, mocked in the high places, unjustly thrown down, beaten, and brutally killed - all for our sake. I think if we daily remembered His sacrifice, we'd forget all our petty personal troubles and spend a lot more time bringing the gospel to others. I think if we truly understood the immensity of what it means that God became flesh, suffered & died for us, and rose again to give us eternal life, we could not stand to live quiet lives of normalcy. I think if we could wrap our minds around that profound mystery, our lives and actions would look a lot more radical! I pray God moves us all to action.


Christmas seems to be the time of giving - let it not be the only time you give. By all means, buy shoes and toys for the tots, coats and blankets for the homeless, volunteer at a soup kitchen; but don't let it stop there, convinced you've paid your due, done your duty. You're only being lukewarm, giving the least bit to ease your conscience, with very little inconvenience to yourself. Maybe money's tight - guess what, it's not a sacrifice if it doesn't hurt a little! We ought to be giving where it hurts. It helps us to remember that this life, this job, this money, is not about us. It's about serving the One who created us, sharing His glory and spreading His name. Nothing really belongs to us, we are just the morning mist given a little to steward well with the short time we have here.


Oh Jesus, work in us and through us. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Let our lives be moved to action as grateful recipients of your grace. Amen.

Lordship

It's really all about Lordship, isn't it? We spend our whole lives over-complicating things when it's really just that simple.

Yes, God gave us the capabilities and imaginations to dream big, He even implants in us visions, dreams, passions, desires; after all, He is the God of creativity, He created the universe and uniquely shaped and designed everything in it! But when we grasp onto our own personal dreams in order to build up our own personal kingdoms instead of His own, when we forget who is God and decide to be the gods of our own lives, that's when things inevitably go awry. Perhaps if we spent more time focused on the nature and character of God instead of trying to chart out an exact path for our lives to follow for the next 2, 5, 10, 50 years, we would more humbly and joyfully take our places as privileged stewards who get to be part of bringing God's glory to fruition instead of whiny, petulant children demanding the God of the universe to bend it to our individual plans and purposes. God's glory and kingdom are coming, there's no altering that - but it's our choice to be the willing instruments used in exactly the ways He designed us to be used, or to be unyielding and tossed aside.


And we don't have to be petrified about every little decision we make, after all, God is in control and He will open and shut the correct doors at the correct times. He won't allow a misstep. ALL things work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) He just asks us to step out in obedience and faith, He will be glorified. And though it's good to have a good grasp on your skills, gifts, and talents, and to have general goals and directions on where you believe you are called, it's more important to keep that line of communication open and be receptive to what God asks of you at the current moment. So many of us are in the "but what's next?" stage; what we really ought to be focused on is "how can I be faithful today, exactly where I am, in the places God has planted me? What does it look like to be a good steward of my time, money, talents, and relationships today?" - not next month, next year, or the sometime in the future.


He just wants us to be faithful. Even in the rough patches; sometimes it feels like God is saying "will you be faithful now?" "Ok, how about now?" "Well what if this happens?" "Ok, how about now?" "What if I take this away?" "What if I change your path in this direction?" Like Abraham's almost sacrifice of Isaac, I really think He does it more for our benefit than for His, to teach us trust and endurance, and unwavering faith regardless of circumstances.


It all goes back to Lordship. And each time acknowledging who the Creator is, and allowing Him to blow up our preconceived notions and expectations. Just let go and enjoy, and allow God to creatively surprise and delight you with what He brings next - I assure you, it will be better than anything you can conjure up with your own imagination!


(This seems to be a lesson I have to re-learn every 1-2 months. Let's hope it sticks this time.)



(I really think sunrises and sunsets are the best demonstrations of God's authority - I mean, really, come on, can you do this??)

The Chandlers: George Clooney on Sudan

The Chandlers: George Clooney on Sudan: "I'll be back soon with more from our trip to Sudan but in the meantime I wanted to share this interview with you:"