Overwhelmed by Prayer

I don’t know about you, but there are so many things I need to pray about… I think I could literally spend 24/7 in prayer if I actually had that kind of time and stamina. But in the course of an average day, does anyone have that kinda time? Wouldn’t it be nice if we could have “prayer siestas” programmed into our days? Siestas, of course, are afternoon naps and in places like Argentina, Iran and Malta businesses literally shut down in the middle of the day for 2-3 hours. So instead of a nap it would be great to have 2-3 hours per day to spend in prayer… and what the heck, let’s toss in catnap too! (smile)

Now, I’m not trying to sound like some super-spiritual Christian who spends every non-working moment in prayer… I am not built for that. I am not a prayer “warrior” by any stretch of reality or imagination. I’m so far from it that when people ask me to pray for them, I pray right then. Otherwise, I completely forget shortly after the request has been made. Sad, I know… but true.

Don’t get me wrong; I am a HUGE advocate of prayer. The older I get and the longer I walk with Christ, I realize how critical it is. Of all the power we may have as Christians, I believe prayer is our strongest tool. Sure, I talk to God throughout the day about situations and issues or family and friends who come to mind… but in reality – I’m overwhelmed by my prayer list.

There are so many difficult burdens pressing on family and friends… Our country is in a critical time – politically, economically and morally, as is our world…not to mention my own stuff… and praises for all the blessings. But if I really prayed – the way I’d like to - for every person and issue that is heavy on my heart I’d never get off my knees. It exhausts me just thinking about it!! If I’m honest, I avoid it. I’ll watch TV or read a book - anything to keep me busy so I don’t have to sit down and spend time with the Lord in prayer.

However, when I stop avoiding long enough, I realize the joy, peace and answers I’m passing up and squelching. Then I get angry with myself... How moronic to give up joy, peace and answers! I love my family, my friends… I care about this country and the world… the least I can do is pray for them. And so, I sit down in my comfy leather chair in the little “reading nook” I created in my little apartment and I have a great conversation with God. Amazing how once I get started the time flies… just like sitting with a best friend over coffee catching up on each other’s lives. Who is a better friend than Christ?

Truth be told, I don’t have to cover everything all at once. God knows my heart – He knows the concerns and desires and praises buried there. I don’t have to feel overwhelmed. You don’t get every single millisecond of a friend’s entire life in one sitting, do you? In reality you learn about them as you spend time with them over weeks, months and years.

So it is with Christ… He knows us so well we don’t need to cram everything in all at once. In fact, He knows our thoughts and words before we do. Besides, it’s more fun to spend the time, to have the get-togethers. You learn so much more that way. I need to remind myself of this every time I feel overwhelmed… Prayer, is simply spending time with my best friend… I can even grab a cup of coffee and a yummy muffin!

Condemnation vs. Judgment

These two words carry a lot of weight… by the way they are used or by the tone of how they are expressed. Condemnation and judgment are life-changing words, literally. We tend to use them synonymously; believing they mean the same thing. However, the latter, is misunderstood and should not be automatically paired with the other.

Dictionary.com defines them as follows:

Judgment: The mental ability to perceive and distinguish relationships; discernment. The capacity to form an opinion by distinguishing and evaluating. The capacity to assess situations or circumstances and draw sound conclusions; good sense.

Condemnation: The expression of strong disapproval. To pronounce judgment against; sentence. To judge or declare to be unfit for use or consumption. To lend credence to or provide evidence for an adverse judgment against. To compel or force into a particular state or activity or punishment.

So often we say “Who am I to judge?” “I don’t want to judge…” Even the Bible tells us “judge not lest we be judged.” And yet, when you look at their true definitions, you see how different they are. You see how judgment is actually a word that when put into action shows wisdom and maturity. Yes, the words can be interchangeable… but we need to be more conscious of their true meaning and approach situations and people keeping that in mind.

To function in this life we are required to make judgments everyday. We need to judge a course of action; if something is beneficial or harmful; if something is right or wrong. We are faced with judgments in our families and friendships, at school and work, etc. Some we make without thinking, others we have to struggle with for an extended time. Some judgments are spot on and others we need to rethink or change altogether. But it is not wrong to judge. Judgment is a good thing. It allows us to succeed and fail; to protect and care; it allows a civil society to survive… it simply enables us to function within our world.

Judgment takes a wrong turn when we tip the scales and slide into condemnation. That is what the Bible means - we are not to condemn someone, less we be condemned. In an everyday sense, it is not our place to “declare to be unfit” or “provide evidence for an adverse judgment against.” When it comes to condemnation – it is true – who are we to condemn? God is the only one with the power to do that, for He is the only one who truly sees the hearts of men.

I find that I often judge the behaviors and decisions of others. And I must confess that my expression of these judgments sometimes slide into condemnation. I’m not one who easily masks my feelings or opinions. It has affected some of my relationships and has limited others. I have been wrong and must ask forgiveness. I must seek to restore those relationships or at least free them to bloom with no restrictions.

We all have the right to judge and we must exercise that right. However, in dealing with others – especially those we hold dear – we need to be cognizant of how we are expressing our judgment. Are we making judgments from love or in condemnation?

No one is perfect, and we’ll often get it wrong… but keep on judging. Only strive to judge from a place of love.

One Foot In Front Of the Other…

The phrase “putting one foot in front of the other” has a negative ring to it – as if a person were burdened or defeated or is holding on by a thread and is only able to muster one step at a time. Yet, Bill Hybels uses those words to define faithfulness. And you know? I’d have to agree with him.

A measure of faith is given the moment a person believes… Because, let’s face it, it takes a huge amount of faith to believe in Christ and to believe the Bible word for word when you didn’t before. However, the day-to-day living out of this Christian life is another story, and very much requires putting one foot in front of the other.

Paul defines "faith" as the assurance of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen. (Heb 11:1) At first glance, this definition makes no sense at all. How can you have conviction about the existence of something (much less Someone) you cannot see with your eyes or experience with your other senses? And what of hope? That is one mighty big word when faced with the realities of life. Most of us can barely scrape up enough hope that we’ll get through our morning commute without killing or being killed, much less having the assurance that “everything will be OK.” It seems almost impossible for faithfulness to exist when hope is hard to find. Life can be grueling and often messy…

However, when I think about it, “putting one foot in front of the other” is actually a very hopeful statement… one that conjures up a picture of triumph and victory instead of defeat. I see individuals who overcome tremendous obstacles to become amazing human beings; children with disabilities who accomplish so much all the while spreading joy with their constant smiles; our soldiers on the front lines; everyday people who come to the aid of those far less fortunate… the pictures are endless and makes for great “Rocky” stories that lift the hearts of all within earshot.

On a more basic level, I picture individuals who go through each day determined to accomplish something – even if it is to simply get out of bed instead of burying their head under the covers. I picture a person who is working toward a goal – and whether planned or unplanned – each step moves them forward. So really, that statement bursts with action, determination, fortitudinous, ability, courage, perseverance and moving forward!! All these words make up the elements of hope… and hope is the foundation of faith.

Putting one foot in front of the other is a powerful demonstration of faithfulness! So let us keep on walking with our heads held high. And when our ability to be faithful falters, His faithfulness never fails.

"Be strong and brave, and do the work. Don't be afraid or discouraged, because the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or leave you until all the work for the Lord is finished.” (1 Chronicles 28:20 NCV – slightly paraphrased by me)

Boundaries

I’m reading Romans these days and the Apostle Paul often talks about the law vs. grace. From the beginning the Law was created for the sole purpose of pointing us to Christ. The Law shows us, that no matter the extent of human effort put forth, there is no way to meet every letter of the law at all times, 24/7. He even suggests that the “law” arouses sin (sin is simply breaking the law). At first glance that seems cruel and absolutely unfair. It’s as if we’re set up to fail. However, when you really look at it – it’s true!

You and I both know the tried and true cliché that “rules were made to be broken.” The minute we have boundaries (the law) we want to break through them. When our parents told us “No!” we found a way to make it happen despite them. We are so bent on breaking rules that questioning authority, bucking the system, finding the loophole is the first way to approach anything we face. We want to be FREE of restriction… Free to do what we want, when we want and how we want.

Yet boundaries are there for our protection… they are in place to allow us to grow and thrive within the boundaries. There is a natural order to things… we have to crawl before we walk, when we prove ourselves capable with X, we are given Y… when we can handle X & Y we’re given more. The relationship of parent & child is the perfect illustration of the benefits of boundaries. Even from the moment we arrive we’re swaddled up tight in a blanket – to prevent us from being hurt or hurting ourselves.

As humans who are hell bent on being free to do what we want, there will always be those who decide to make their own rules, to dictate or torment and torture those they are entrusted to care for. There will always be those unhappy individuals who just want to make life difficult and impose ridiculous restrictions on others.

But I’m talking in the general sense… Boundaries are good! Boundaries are needed to make the planet and civilization function properly. Without boundaries destruction is imminent and inevitable… within nature and within humankind.

Of course, taking the time to look beyond the first glance of boundaries – which usually just reveals the restrictions – is the problem. Again, as humans bent on being free to do as we please, we don’t want to take the time to stop and consider the bigger picture… the potential ripple effect of bucking the system… consequences always follow and often are not pleasant.

If only we would consider the bigger picture more often… For then we would see and experience the unlimited freedom that can come within boundaries.

Seeing… HEAR AND NOW

Channel-surfing Monday night, I came across HEAR AND NOW, a documentary by Irene Taylor Brodsky on HBO. I was hooked immediately! It’s a sweet, touching and at times difficult look at the journey of a devoted married couple - Paul & Sally - who decide at age 65 to have cochlear implant surgery. Both were born deaf and have lived all this time in silence. Irene Taylor Brodsky is their daughter and she chronicles this life-changing journey, interspersed with stories of their childhoods – where they met at The Central Institute of the Deaf (CID) in St. Louis; their reunion as young adults that led to marriage after only 6 months of dating; their successful careers (Paul was an engineer, Sally a teacher); as well as raising three children – all of whom can hear. Paul was even a key part of the development of the TTY machine that allows the deaf to communicate via phone through typing. Irene also includes interesting historical footage of the “Oral Method” taught at CID – which taught deaf children how to speak and pronounce English.

After you get to know these two amazing people, you’re invested and you’re just as anxious as they are to experience a life with sound. The concept of appreciating sound becomes an underlying theme. As their daughter so poignantly puts it… "They've been daydreaming about sound their whole lives," she muses. "But what if hearing ... disappoints us all?"

On the one hand you’d say, “If I was deaf and had the chance to hear – HELLO! the obvious choice is YES!” Yet watching Paul & Sally’s journey really puts you in the shoes of a deaf person and you realize it’s not that simple and it certainly isn’t easy. Imagine being able to articulate words, but never actually hearing those words. When someone says “eardrum” – you hear the sound, but have no idea that what you’re hearing is the word “eardrum.” Or sitting in a room with your family – hearing everyone talking – but not knowing whose voice is whose. Even simply taking a walk – all of a sudden you’re hearing footsteps, wind, cars, animals, water, voices, even the rustling of your clothes – all at once! We who hear are so used to tuning out the unimportant. It wasn’t easy for Paul & Sally…

I was so touched by their wonderful story. I was reminded of how we rarely ever truly consider what life is like in the other person’s shoes. Even when we try or think we are - we’re still looking at it through our own agenda, through our own thoughts of how it “should” be. We don’t want to consider life with a disability, an injury or a tragedy. We don’t want to consider life in a different skin color, a different culture, a different socioeconomic status or belief system. For that matter, we don’t even want to consider the other side of the story or the perspective of a person who has hurt us.

I was touched by their devotion to each other and their family. They have accomplished so much as individuals and yet have never heard a single sound their entire lives. I was reminded of what an abundant life I do have. How grateful I am for my hearing… my sight… my working body.

A lot of things/situations/issues are touching me deeply these days. I’m seeing and understanding more than the obvious – more than what’s in front of me. It has not been easy, some things have been downright hell. But it’s been exciting all the same. To really see the beauty and joy in life – no matter the difficulties… to see and understand that the biggest obstacles CAN be overcome - if we really want them to.

My heart is so full of gratitude. My cup overflows. Paul & Sally are a sweet reminder of that.

Disillusionment with the Church

I’ve just started reading Dear Church: Letters from a Disillusioned Generation by Sarah Cunningham. The disillusioned generation - twenty-somethings. The author presents some compelling and accurate points, but others are very naïve. I’m just in the first few chapters so I’m sure I’ll have many opinions about its contents as I go… but it sparked this initial reaction:

The author observes that “disillusionment” occurs when real life

does not live up to our expectations.

Christ is our only true expectation. He was without sin. In reality, we should not put any expectations on the “Church” – it’s made up of sinful people in need of Christ. However, the Church IS His representative until He returns. And it tends to get things wrong more often than it gets things right.

Even still the Church is in a no win situation… It’s damned if it does and damned if it doesn’t. We expect it to be “everything to everyone.” How is that even possible? How would that even look?

Like the de-clutter movement that has roared on the scene from those home shows like “Clean Sweep” – the Church needs us to help it get back to the basics. We need to help it get back to the living organism of re-born believers who exhibit Christ the way He asked us to in His Word. We need to get it back to how it looked in Acts 2:42-47... so we can breathe, grow and draw people in.

We all sit amazed and we condemn those messy “sick” homeowners who hoard and clutter and bury their families alive in “junk.” But as the Good Book says, we need to take the log out of our own eye before we go for the spec in someone else’s. The Church has accumulated and hoarded junk in every nook and cranny. So much so that it’s lost the credibility and honor it once held.

The Church has gathered its misinterpretations of Scripture, added its own rules & regulations, coated itself in its own need for control & power and topped it off with a thick dose of pride in thinking it is the “only way.” It has smothered us in "christianese" and trite platitudes; in programs and committees and events and shows… it’s even let the enemy in some rooms and allowed him to set up camp! If not for Christ, it would no longer exist.

In reality, the Church will never be perfect. The Church will always be a target of controversy. It will always make some uncomfortable and anger others. But that’s what Christ did. He was the biggest radical to ever live. If the Church doesn’t get the same reaction, then it truly is extinct. We, and therefore, the Church are to be salt and light.

Christ will not give up on us – we cannot give up on the Church. So let’s work together to de-clutter… renew… and restore!!

"It's Alright" - Third Day

Your letter said that You were leaving

But You didn't know how long

I have never stopped believing

That one day You would return

And though waiting is the hardest

Part of everything I do

I do confess it's getting better

Knowing I will be with You

It's alright

It's okay

I won't worry about tomorrow

For it brings me one more day

Closer than I was to You

Now the question isn't "will You"

What I want to know is "when?"

If it's one day or a million

I will wait for You 'til then

So I'm holding on to Your Words

And the promises You've made

There is not one You have broken

There's not one I didn't take

Your letter said that You were leaving

But You didn't know how long

I will never stop believing
I know one day You will return
By Third Day

Mind The Gap

This may be a sign on the platforms of London Tube stations… but oh the myriad of thoughts that come to mind when I read these three simple words.

Gaps are everywhere! Between generations, between job titles, between right & wrong, between family & friends. There are physical gaps and gaps in perception. There are gaps in thinking, in memory, in reasoning… even synaptic gaps. The most popular gap is a clothing store! Gaps are simply everywhere…

Some gaps will always remain – not matter the exhaustive human effort to eradicate them… they are rooted within the fibers of the planet. The gaps between cultures, race, gender, sex, politics and religion, for instance. There’s nothing wrong with these gaps - many should be embraced and celebrated… for they are what make life interesting and exciting.

The gaps between socioeconomic status; in basic civil rights and in opportunity… These gaps are not acceptable. Thank God, there are people who dedicate their life’s work to the bridging of these gaps. These “angels of mercy” should be applauded, for where would we be without them?

Some gaps will never be bridged this side of heaven. Pre-destination vs. free will - two seemingly opposing views, that in reality co-exist. It’ll be a question only answered when strolling through the garden with Christ. What of faith vs. doubt? Even with the Holy Spirit resident in my heart and my faith as sure as the rising & setting of the sun - I will always have moments, even seasons of doubt. There are issues I just can’t seem to reconcile in my mind; there are circumstances that are simply too difficult. How about the very basic gap between what I want vs. what is ultimately best? Paul describes it well in 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT): “Now we see things imperfectly as in a cloudy mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.” I can’t wait till that day!

In the meantime there are gaps that CAN be bridged – gaps that are bridged probably every hour of the day somewhere in the world. How exciting is that?

There are gaps that I can bridge personally – within myself, within my family and friends; in my work and community. If we all did our part to fill the gaps within our realm of influence… imagine the possibilities of a world like that!

Mind the gap.