Saint or Superhero!

Even when answers slowly unwind, it's my heart I see you prepare....

The song lyrics from a song which always hits me to the core, "I Still Believe" by Jeremy Camp.  As I was getting ready this morning, I hear this song playing in the background and of course I start singing as I mosey around doing one thing or another.  When the line "even when answers slowly unwind, it's my heart I see you prepare" plays, I stop in my tracks and try to catch my breath.  Momentarily, I heard God.  LOUD as the music on the radio, clear as day!  I quickly realized that he is always preparing my heart; sometimes I'm ready for the preparation and other times, often times I'm not ready.  We look for answers and all along he's given one, just not the one we may be looking for, so we continue to search until we find one we like.  

When was the last time something took your breath away?  Was it an extraordinary event or maybe a catastrophic one? Go there with me now.  Has it been days? Months? Years?  How long did it take you to catch your breath again? Do you feel like you're still trying to catch it? When I coach, I tell my people to put their hands on their heads as they are trying to catch their breath to expand their lungs.  Most people tend to put their hands on their knees (which contracts your lungs making it harder to catch your breath and your recovery time longer), some even sit down in order to recover air to their lungs. Life has a way of knocking the air out of you, knocking us down so much so that sometimes we end up on our knees.  And that's ok!!! 


When we realize that the good fight doesn't depend on us, God will always give you what you need to stand back up again!  He tells us that "the one who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted".  There are going to be times in your life that you're going to battle, everyday you will battle.  The greatest thing is you never go to battle alone.  



In Ephesians 6:10-18 we are told every morning to draw strength from God and to strap on the armor of God.  Think about your favorite superhero; Batman, Peter, Clark. They all have armor and costumes that equip them to transform from Joe Schmoe to SUPERHERO. You too, have armor that is waiting for you; is it still in the package? Maybe it needs to be dusted off and brought out of retirement or maybe it has holes in it and you need to take it to the ultimate tailor so he can do some repairs!  Never seen it, that's ok it's waiting for you every morning!

What does your morning routine look like; a toothbrush and a shower maybe, definitely getting dressed and ready for your day!  I want to challenge you to take your morning routine a step further and invite God into it.  Don't just get ready physically, but strap on your armor, actively and intentionally every day.  Peter doesn't become Spiderman without his Spidey suit and you can't be a disciple of Christ without the armor of God! 

God doesn't call superheros, he calls simple, ordinary people to be his hands and feet in our world.  He knocks on the door of our hearts, he is the yearning in your soul; he is the thirst that you can't quench until it is quenched by him.  When you open the door, when you seek truth, when you invite him to be an active part of your daily life he will always be enough; he will always provide for you in ways that you could never provide for yourself and he will call you to do the same for those around you.

When you wake up, give God your day, the foreseeable and the unforeseen.  Ask him to give you his eyes in order to see where you're needed.  When you put your pants on and your belt, put on your spiritual belt of truth; invite God to give you the words to speak, to speak life and speak truth.  As you button up your blouse or put on your shirt, think of putting on the breastplate of righteousness.  Ask God to help you to be fair and just today.  When you step into your shoes, know that you are called to bring God's peace and the joy of the gospel to everyone you meet today.  As you look in the mirror to fix your hair, imagine yourself putting on the helmet of salvation; ask God to give you the knowledge that your worth, value, and dignity come from him and from his Son!  Lastly, as you grab your keys to head out the door think of your key as the sword (yes I know it's tiny, but it's mighty :)) of the Spirit, Word of God; that you may become God's vehicle of love in this world. 

So go ahead and breathe.  Take a deep breath.  And today let God surprise you, let him take your breath away by the ways that he loves you; in the simple and in the ordinary. You are called to be a saint...do the ordinary things of life with extraordinary love -St. Therese of Lisieux

--Live Jesus--

Loved beyond reason

"Life should be a series of daring adventures launched from a secure base"

As a military child, many of my years were spent establishing this secure base; daring adventures we definitely had, a secure base well that came much later...or so I had thought.  When I was young, I wanted to grow up and be a USMC F18 pilot who spent their time in the air soaring above all, on ships cruising throughout the world (when I wasn't flying) and constantly seeking new adventures!!  I desired to see the world, to see all of God's creation and people!  I still do, I just do it a bit differently these days.

There is always something calming about being able to look out onto the ocean and realize how small I am, how insignificant my problems are compared to this big ocean, and to recognize that I'm not alone in this world.  God told Abraham that his descendants would be as vast as the stars in the sky...my favorite time to go to the beach is at night; to look up and see all those out there struggling, surviving, thriving, loving just as I am.  I find peace there.  

SO where do these daring adventures come in?  They come in the ordinary, mundane everyday life.  They come in the heading to the airport and buying a random ticket to anywhere.  They come with a long itinerary that you throw out the window and just allow yourself to be.  In the book of Psalms we are told to "Be still and know that I am God". When you realize how unconditionally loved you are, when you accept that love and pursue that love; the ordinary becomes extraordinary.  

Love is your secure base.  It is something you can always take with you, it is something that you can always go back to.  When my dad would deploy, it was like love walked right out of the door.  We had to, like many military families, learn to adapt and overcome. We had to learn what it meant to let go of love, what it meant to not have him there for important times (i.e birthdays, holidays, major events).  We quickly learned that even though he wasn't there, his love still was.  Like our earthly fathers, we have a heavenly Father who loves us.  He truly loves us and unlike our earthly fathers, will never fail us (we're all human right, we're destined to fail at some point).

When I realized that my secure base was my faith, I quickly realized that it had been there all along.  I may not have always been strong in my faith, but God was always strong for me.  He was always pursuing me.  He chased after me when I had gone off on an adventure without anyone there to protect me or love me.  He chased after me like the one sheep that ran away from the other 99!  And he chases after you as well.  He is always with you, always waiting for you to call on him to save you, always ready to pour out his love and his grace into your hearts.  

Today, he invites us to participate in the Passion of Christ.  He leads us to the cross to show us that there is nothing that we can do to separate us from the love of God, not even death!  How awesome is that.  Today I hope that you take a moment to realize that you are loved beyond reason.

Make the jump, go off on a daring adventure, trusting that your secure base will never fail, never leave, and always be waiting with open arms!!!