Hammer on Anvil '

I am a Family Life Today junkie. Dennis Rainey and Bob Lepine's interviews with people whose lives have been touched by God in a big way are exciting and addictive.  Whether a prodigal returning to do the work of Christ or a grass-roots ministry doing extraordinary things in communities, the stories are always amazing. In the recent past I can recall hearing about the grandson of Billy Graham who abused drugs and broke relationship with his family, an associate pastor whose marriage was on the rocks for the better part of 10 years, and a man committed to purity whose first kiss was on his wedding day. All of these stories included redemption and grace-and an extraordinary life.

To be honest, 'amazing' doesn't even begin to describe the feeling these stories evoke. It's so uplifting to hear stories of how God is still working miracles in our time, and very encouraging to know that He is still using the weak to lead the strong and the sinner to reach the world with the Gospel.

There's just one thing that nags at me: if I am this kind of sinner who has been radically changed by God's love, why is my life so ordinary? I teach Sunday school, I sing in the choir, I volunteer in the youth group; but my story is not one that anyone would be interested to hear about on the radio. I have never started a ministry nor have I ever been part of anything particularly 'world-altering'. And I can't help but hope there's more out there for me. In fact, I NEED there to be more.

The cold truth of this situation is that 'amazing' is hard work, and I like my comfort. Just like millions of others, I enjoy air conditioning, television and quiet time. I value 8 hours (at least) of sleep, and wi-fi internet. I don't want to sacrifice my free time to do something physically or emotionally demanding.

Unfortunately, God's work is both of those things. He tells us outright in Luke 9: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me." Homelessness can't be fixed with a phone call. The gospel shared over Skype doesn't have the same impact as face-to-face. We can't serve others if we're too busy serving ourselves. We're also sure never to find God's passion for our lives if we don't go out into the world and try some ministries on.

God does not want us to settle for an ordinary life, and when we try to override His will for us, we will be left empty. Our hearts will always desire something more, and we will never be able to fully experience His peace and joy. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.-John 10:10.  It really comes down to a single choice: to follow Christ, or not to follow Him. The first path leads us to adventure and fulfillment (and yes-some hard work), and the second leads us to continually search for these things in vain. Which would you prefer?

I am so excited to be going away with students this weekend for the 2012 Winter Retreat. Even though my role is half teacher and half disciplinarian, I am always caught up in the energy of the students attending, and it almost always ends up being a retreat for me as well.

I can't wait to share vision with the students! This is my 'Year of Freedom', and I want to see teenagers impacted by the heart of what God has revealed to me. I've been reading a book called, "Searching For God Knows What", and it has put into words many of the things I've been feeling the last few weeks.

Freedom in Christ means we no longer have to judge ourselves by the standard of the world. No more comparing ourselves to others; wondering why this person is smarter than me, or wishing I was as pretty as that girl. I will give thanks to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are your works, and my soul knows it very well. -Psalm 139:14. David said, "You formed my inward parts; You wove me in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139:13) and it's true. We were created by God, and He is the only one with the right to define who we are.



The Apostle John referred to himself several times in his gospel as "the disciple Jesus loved". He didn't do this out of arrogance, although we know by the Scriptures that he was prone to this trait. He did it to remind himself of who he was, and WHOSE he was. He didn't want to forget that he was important enough to & loved enough by God that He would send His son to die in John's place.

Have you ever thought of yourself as "the one Jesus loves"? How does that perspective change how you categorize yourself?

Everything about us would change if we would meditate on those four little words. Say it to yourself-again and again. Think about all that it means-to you and to your Creator. Talk about living an empowered life!

"What do you think of someone who only does the bare minimum?"

...what you could put off to the day after tomorrow. A procrastinator's motto. Last month I was typing a post and my friend Jay was waiting on me so we could go eat/hang out. As I went back to edit something, he mentioned that there is a feature in which you can type the blog ahead of time and set the time for it to post. Without hesitation, I looked at him and said, "Every semester, in every class, I received a syllabus with the due dates for papers that I could begin working on whenever. Yet I still typed them the night before they were due."

Why is it that I did this (and continue to do so with other things)? For one, the sense of urgency gives me the motivation to stick with it and get it done quickly. True some of the quality is lessened in the mad rush to finish, but it still made the grade or wouldn't make much difference either way. This is where I get caught. Growing up I learned how to squeak by, how to do just enough. Should this be our aim?

Previously, I mentioned the Gains of Drudgery, the doing of unpleasant tasks/training in order to be able to compete well. Now I ask, should our goal be to do the minimum, to squeak by...or to pursue excellence? "Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord, and not for people..." Many might have expected I quote this (and I caught myself cringe when I started to) because it seems to be said so much. However, this is because it is necessary. What if instead of dismissing this verse, we actually tried to live and work with enthusiasm and excellence?

Brett