God is my Strength

I’m frustrated. I have to admit, I’m frustrated. Each day is getting harder and harder. The schedule I’m running is getting more and more hectic. I feel like I’m not focused on the opportunity I have to serve and more focused on the things I have to do. There are nights when I can’t sleep because my mind is constantly running through the schedule of what needs to happen the next day. It is frustrating. Yes, that is what I have been feeling the past few weeks. But then today, I was reviewing my song based on Hebrews 15:2. It says…

The Lord is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father’s God, and I will exalt him.

The Lord is my strength. The Lord has given me the ability to continue to work through all these things. He is the one that will guide me. He is the one that will walk with me and even carry me when times are tough. He is the one that will always be there, in good and hard times. The Lord; our strength! Because of His great love for us, because of His strength, I have nothing to do but praise Him…even in frustrating times.

A Little Bit of Work

I guess I'm going to write about volleyball again. Yes, again I have been preaching (so to speak) to the girls that the volleyball doesn't magically turn and come directly to you so that you can make the pass. I have been telling them over and over again that they have to move to the ball. This means, they have to work to beat the ball so that they can make that perfect pass. I know that volleyball would be so much easier if they didn't have to move for the ball, but unfortunately, that isn't how the game is played. So we practice and practice learning the movement. You know what...when they do move, they can make a wonderful pass. A little bit of work helps make the game a lot easier.

A little bit of work is required of us in worship. We can't just walk in to worship and expect it all to be spoon fed to us. We can't expect the word to always come to us. No, we have to work at keeping our focus on God; on the message. I know that there are people who can find things to distract them in worship. They look to see if others are praying or if people are singing along. All these things keep them from worshiping. To worship God, means you have to work to focus on the message. You have to work to hear and understand the Word. You have to work so that all the distractions around you won't keep you from the message. So when you are in worship, don't just sit back and expect it to come to you...a little bit of work helps make the message easier to understand.

Victories Will Happen

I have taken on the task this year of coaching high school freshmen volleyball. It has been an eye opening experience. Each girl has their gifts and talents, some of them are better at one skill than others, but each one is very much a vital part of this team. It was the first practice when I came in and starting talking about base position, defense, setter, ready position and other things, that I got that "lost in space" look from them. Many of them never heard of these volleyball terms, let alone even tried them. So the task of teaching has begun, one small step at a time. I have talked to them about "do the small things right and victories will come".

Doing the small things right and victories will come. How true in our Christian walk. There is a very, very (did I say very) small chance that any of us will save this world. There is a very, very (again, did I say very) small chance than any of us will save Oakland County or even Rochester. Our focus is sometimes on the big things that we should be doing, but if we do the small things, victories will come. Are we treating other with respect or are we talking about them behind their back? Are we willing to pray for someone in need? Are we willing to forgive? Are we willing to spend time in scripture so that our faith walk will grow? It is the small things that we do that will bring about victories for Christ. It will show others what we believe and how we want to live our lives. It is the example of Lord that we share and then...someday, sometime...victories will happen.

You Can Keep It Simple

I have my hands on my head. My eyes are closed. I'm sitting at the computer trying to write this deep thought that would bring about some spiritual sense to people and to myself. I'm suffering from writers block. Nothing is clicking. No deep thoughts come to mind. So I stand up, walk around, fiddle on Facebook, take a deep breath, anything to bring some deep thought to mind. But nothing...or is it something.
Sometimes we get so caught up in trying to have the deepest thought about our faith or try to share some sort of words that would sink deep into the hearts and minds of people. We try to use big words or make statements that sound "intelligent". We dig deep into the spiritual meaning of things, when all we need is something simple. Simple works. Everyone is at a different spiritual walk in life. To some, deep and intense thinking is what they are longing for, but for some, simple is best. Jesus did this. He spoke deep to those who thought they were the smartest or were higher than others. He spoke deep to make a point, then, for those who were trying to understand, it was simple. So as I was pounding my head for a great concept to write about, God was showing me that sometimes the simple message is just as important and makes a great impact. You can share God's love through the simple things. It just might be the way to bring others to see His love also.

Thunderstorms

I attended a meeting for the National Youth Gathering over this past weekend. The meeting was good. I learned a lot and the gathering is taking shape. Sunday was a travel home day for us. I left the hotel and headed to the airport unaware the Atlanta was getting hit by a major thunderstorm. This storm delayed my flight and canceled my connection home. When we finally landed in Atlanta, the airline had already rebooked me to the last possible flight into Flint. But there were 3 flights coming into Flint before that "last flight". So I talked with the airline and tried to get onboard an earlier flight. The lady I spoke with wasn't happy about working, in fact, didn't seem happy about anything. Everyone was in the same boat. Everyone wasn't happy. Everyone just needed to stop and relook at things. A day that was supposed to be smooth turned into a "thunderstorm".

There are so many days that "thunderstorms" play havoc with our lives. We expect life to be smooth. We expect everything to just go as we plan, but God has other plans. Tough situations come upon us and we must deal with them in a way that shows our faith in Christ. There were people yelling at the lady behind the counter to get their flight rebooked. I even caught myself getting frustrated with her, but I never raised my voice. It wasn't her fault, she didn't cause the storm. God's plan didn't really help with our perfectly smooth plan for the day. He had a plan for me to be involved in this. Maybe it was just to say "thank you" to the lady behind the counter as I got my seat on standby? Maybe it was show a calm voice to those who were yelling at her. I don't know why it happened, but it did, all to His glory. I got home, a little later than expected, but safe. Praise God for the "thunderstorm". It makes you stop and think of His power.