Thoughts for the road ahead

Developing Gratitude

2011-11-16T22:10:00.000-08:00

The national situation has had interesting affects on our small mountain community. Many families have relocated to other communities in order to find jobs. Gasoline, coffee, and numerous other food items continue to rise, in price, placing a strain on food budgets. Others have felt the financial pinch of less buying power, as they struggle to pay their mortgages, utilities and home repairs. All these things create tension in our lives. The national polling shows that people are less hopeful in the future today than in any time in the last 20-30 years. Over the last few weeks, as I talked with people and listen to their stories, I was struck by how pessimistic people are. I started thinking about my attitude. God showed me how pessimistic I had become. He showed me how I was spending time worrying, unnecessarily, about things He had under control. Jesus’ words from Matthew 6 came to the forefront of my thoughts, “I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? . . . . your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Mt 6:25, 32-33 ESV).

My prayerful question was, “God, how do I change my attitude?” It was then that I realized that I needed to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Instead of looking at all that I did not have or what I could not purchase or how tight the budget was, I needed to focus on all that God has done for me and my family. Therefore, over the last few days I have been reflecting on my life and the changes that 2011 have brought. It has been interesting to meditate and reflect on all that had happen within our family this past year, we gained a son-in-law, witnessed Matthew graduate from Officer's Candidate School, our youngest son Ethan turned 21, our grandchildren
are growing up healthy, our oldest daughter is a wonderful single mom and excellent student, Sue started a new job and my work situation was radically altered this past summer. I also reflected on life in Cle Elum and the friendships we have made over the last 12 1/2 years. God has certainly taken care of us and provided for our every need. I am praising God for his generous love to us.

I had allowed myself to become pessimistic, instead of grateful, because I had allowed circumstances to overwhelm my view of God. Here are a few ways you can develop an attitude of gratitude this Thanksgiving. One friend of mine, at bedtime, reviews his day noting all the good things God did. One author and blogger, who I follow, carries a small smooth stone in his pocket. And every time he touches it during the day, he thanks God for whatever is happening at that moment. In the morning, wake up and thank God for the night of sleep and the day ahead. Another idea is to make a gratitude list and prayerfully review it regularly.

Here is my list:
1. My relationship with God and His constant presence in my life.
2. My relationship with Sue, the love of my life and God’s gift to me.
3. 18 wonderful years of marriage.
4. Sue’s encouragement and support, especially in stressful moments of life accompanied by her        words of wisdom.
5. My relationship with my children.
6. My wonderful Grandchildren
7. Our home/condo and its warmth and comfort. For it is truly God’s gift.
8. Our church and the wonderful people with whom we worship God.
9. The city of Cle Elum which is truly our home. It’s beautiful location that reminds me of God        who created it.
10. Friendships
11. Steak, eggs and sweet potato fries
12. Coffee especially with chocolate and raspberry in it.
13. Enough food to eat.
14. My health
15. My Leadership Learning Community, their support, their friendship, their prayers.
16. My Aunt Ethel.
17. My Grand dad Carlton Wadsworth Wilson I

What are you grateful for? I encourage you to make a gratitude list this Thanksgiving and regularly review it, so your heart will develop an attitude of gratitude.

The Movie Courageous

2011-05-04T15:55:00.000-07:00

On April 26, 2011 I attended a pastor only screening of the soon to be released movie, Courageous, from the creators of Fireproof.   The movie synopsis gives us the highlights of this well made production. “Four men, one calling: To serve and protect.   As law enforcement officers, Adam Mitchell, Nathan Hayes, and their partners are confident and focused. They willingly stand up to the worst the world can offer. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they're quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark.

They know that God desires to turn the hearts of fathers to their children, but their children are beginning to drift further and further away from them. Will they be able to find a way to serve and protect those that are most dear to them?

When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God ... and to their children?

Protecting the streets is second nature to these law enforcement officers. Raising their children? That will take courage.”

As I watched the movie I was reminded of the importance of father’s in the lives of their children. It reminded me that as a dad and granddad I needed to be involved in the lives of children and grandchildren. The statistical research is clear when fathers are absent, the family is in trouble.   Children with little contact or no contact with their fathers are more likely to live in poverty, drop out of school and become involved in drug and alcohol abuse; girls are more likely to become pregnant as teens; boys are more likely to be involved in crime, violence and destructive behavior.   Men, we need to be involved in our families. Our society needs us to step up and become the leaders in our homes as God desires.

As I drove home from the movie my thoughts turned to the approaching Mothers and Fathers day holidays and my parents. I reflected on my job as a dad and once again realized that my job is not done, it is never finished, I am a dad forever.   Then my thoughts turned to Sue and I realized that without her and her tireless work I could not be the father I want to be.   It truly takes both of us working together to build a strong Godly family.   Many years ago I made the commitment to lead my family into being a Joshua 24:15 family, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”   Men, I encourage you to be leaders of your home too. The movie reminded me of the importance of that commitment I made. It was a good reminder.   I want to encourage you to see the movie Courageous when it opens at the movies September 30, 2011.

Additionally, here are a few resources that can help each of you build Godly homes.
MOPS - for those moms of preschoolers, it is a place to find support and encouragement.
Focus on the Family Web site: focusonthefamily.com resources for both men, women & families

Family Life , marriage retreats, parenting ideas etc. web site: familylife.com
FamilyFirst.net is another web site that will connect you to resources to strengthen the family and helping you make family your top priority after God. They have a web site for mom called, imom.com, one for dad called, allprodad.com and one for the family called familyminute.com

The National Center for Fathering, fathers.com provides resources for men that will help them become outstanding dad’s.

I pray these resources will help you to build strong Godly families that love God.

Spring is coming

2011-02-22T14:43:00.000-08:00

As the signs of spring start filling the air, my thoughts are turning toward celebrating God’s love for us as seen in the newness of life that nature reveals. Each spring we watch nature visibly remind us that there is life beyond death and life beyond this sin-filled world. Psalm 19:1 declares “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His hands. ” (HCSB) Each spring we watch as the creation worships the creator and declares His glory.

As I think about the glorious ways the creation worships God, I am drawn back to the words of C. Welton Gaddy in his book, The Gift of Worship. “Worship is the most important work of the church and it is the most important activity of the people of God.” Gaddy continues this thought by stating that “worship is the source of the church’s power to carry out its mission in the world.” My friends, if we truly are going to be a church that does the mission of God in our community, we need to be connected to the source of our spiritual power, the Holy Spirit. Worshiping together is vital to our ability to hear God’s voice and joining Him as He works in our community. Jesus said, “The Father is seeking those who worship Him in spirit and in truth.” (John 4:24-25) This spring as the days grow longer and the beautiful smells and sounds of spring burst forth all around us, make the commitment to join your neighbors and friends on Sunday morning to worship God, allow His presence to fill you with His power to be God’s servant in our community. Think spring! Think worship! Let’s worship God together.

New Year thoughts

2011-01-11T13:26:00.001-08:00

Wow a new year has begun and another birthday has breezed right by.   I truly do not know where 2010 went. It seemed like it just started yesterday. Yet, as I review the year so many things that were unforeseen happened. I would have never believed that my granddaughters would be living four blocks away. At the beginning of the year I did not begin to imagine that Matthew would be off training to become an US Army officer. I never would have guessed that the Mount Pisgah Presbyterian church would remain unfinished now two years after the flood. It is hard to imagine that two years has passed since the flood.

One of the reasons that I dislike making a new year’s resolution is that you can never anticipate all the events that will affect your life during the year. In past years I thought I knew where things were going and I would make some new year’s resolution that I would resolve to achieve. But then a curve ball would come and life heads in a different direction leaving the resolution in the dust. In the past that has often made me feel like I was failing at something while in reality most of my resolutions were driven from my human perspective and not God’s will.

As I mulled over some thoughts regarding the new year I began reading the book, the Christian Atheist: Believing in God but Living as if He Doesn’t Exist.   Craig Groeschel, the author, challenges readers to put in proper perspective their attitudes toward Christian living. He describes three lines in the sand which represent Christian attitudes. Line 1 represents those who believe in God and the Gospel of Christ to benefit from it. Line 2 represents those who believe in God and Christ’s gospel enough to contribute comfortably from it.    Line 3 belongs to those who are willing to say I believe in God and Christ’s gospel enough to give my life to it. The question that immediately plopped into my mind was, do I give my whole life to Christ? Not in my words but truly live it in my daily activities? Or am I one who hangs around lines one and two but never fully trusts Christ with my life. That is the ultimate question for all of us who claim to be followers of Jesus.

Several Scriptures race to the forefront of my mind. “I have been crucified with Christ; and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. ” (Galatians 2:19–20, HCSB)

“But I count my life of no value to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of God’s grace. ” (Acts 20:24, HCSB)

“More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ ” (Philippians 3:8, HCSB)

Does everything I own in this world come second to knowing Jesus? Am I willing to sacrifice my will, my dreams, my aspirations, my agenda, my possessions for the cause of allowing Jesus to live in me fully? Do I believe God and Christ’s gospel that I am willing to give my whole life to His cause?   I, like many of you, still allow the hurts, the fears and habits of the past control my decisions or my attitudes instead of trusting in God’s guidance or direction. Why? Because the comfort of the known pain is often better than the unknown. Therefore, we live lives paralyzed by worry and fear that is marked by ineffective decisions.   How do we change? Craig Groeshel articulates the answer with simplistic clarity, “Everyday, we’ll choose to live out our belief in God instead of believing in the world or ourselves.” That is my goal and my challenge for you in this coming year. Will you live everyday of the year 2011 choosing to live out your belief in God rather than anything else, in order to allow God’s grace, acceptance and unconditional love to transform your life forever?

Christmas thoughts 2010

2010-12-01T10:49:00.000-08:00

Today, after the snow that has fallen, it is breath takingly beautiful here in the central Cascades. The pine trees all covered in snow and the cool nip in the air brings back memories of Christmas' past. There is always so much to do this time of year. Everyone is shopping to buy gifts for loved ones or decorating trees, baking pies and cookies, planning menus for holiday parties. The community choir continues to practice for their annual Christmas performances. Everywhere a person turns merchants are enticing them to shop in their stores. The hustle and bustle of the Christmas season is in full swing.

In the midst of all the Christmas preparations and celebrations I wonder if I don't lose track of the spiritual significance of the season. I love Christmas decorations and the smell of fresh baked foods that fill the air. I enjoy listening to Christmas music, especially popular old favorites like Silver Bells, White Christmas, Let it Snow, Grandma got run over by a reindeer, along with Christian Christmas music which stirs my heart. Christmas is the one season of the year that I would rather sit and listen to music rather then sing it. While I enjoy the season I wonder if I get so caught up in doing things that I forget that Christmas is all about a Savior who has been born (Luke 2:11). Then it dawns on me, "I haven't forgotten that Christ was born", but what I have overlooked, is how Holy Spirited-filled Christmas is.

The narratives in Luke point out the presence of the Holy Spirit. Zacharias filled with the Holy Spirit began to prophesy at the birth of his son John. Elizabeth was also filled with the Holy Spirit upon greeting her cousin Mary and began to prophesy. The baby in Elizabeth's womb leaped at the presence of Mary. Mary filled with the Holy Spirit burst forth into praise upon greeting Elizabeth. Mary was filled with the Holy Spirit in a unique way and conceived a child who would be the Son of God. Even after Jesus' birth Simeon, an elderly man, who was known to be filled with the Holy Spirit began to sing Messiah's praises. What I noticed during my reflections on this wonderful season, is the Christmas story has the finger prints of the Holy Spirit all over it. The Holy Spirit moved among people who allowed God to use them. My prayer this Christmas season is to not let the distractions and busyness of good things overshadow what the Holy Spirit wants to do in my life. Will you join me in that prayer? Will you allow the Holy Spirit's finger prints to be all over your life this Christmas?

Creation

2010-10-28T12:11:00.000-07:00

During our family vacation this past month we traveled up and down the Oregon coast. Our mission, to visit some of the Oregon lighthouses and explore quilt and knitting shops of the coastal communities. While leisurely driving I was able to enjoy the beauty of God’s creation. It got me to thinking how often do I truly appreciate the magnificence of our world, its beauty and its complexity. I wondered why did God create Sea Loins different from Seals? My thoughts ran to why would Harbor seals and Sea Loins share the same area? Is there enough food for both? I continued to read and discovered that each has a different hunting methodology and territories. One prefers shallower fishing areas closer to shore while the other has larger lung capacity and prefers deeper waters several miles from the shore line. I read materials on the birds of the coastal areas and learned similar things. That some varieties find their food between 12-15 miles from their inland nesting grounds while other species found their food nearer to the coast line. All this turned my thoughts to the vastness of God and His creation.

Have you ever thought about how creative God is? Did you know that he made 7,500 different varieties of apples? Did you know that the average oak tree has 200,000 leaves on it? Did you know that there are 350,000,000,000 galaxies in the universe? The majority of these galaxies were undiscovered until the Hubble telescope began its service. Why did God create so vast a universe with such complexity? I believe the answer is found in Psalm 19.

“The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, ” (Psalm 19:1–4, ESV)

Creation points us to the glory of the creator, the living God. God’s creation is intended to introduce us to God and help us reflect on who He is and what He is like. Francis Chan, author of Crazy Love: overwhelmed by a relentless God, writes “This is why we are called to worship Him. His art, His handiwork, and His creation all echo the truth that He is glorious. There is no other like Him.” Our response is to worship Him.

As vacation ended, I witnessed the power of God’s creation in the powerful storm that rolled in off the Pacific. The wind gushes hit 75 mph, the rain fell for hours and the waves hitting the beach grew larger and larger. It was in many ways breath takingly beautiful. As I watched the storm my heart rejoiced and my thoughts turned to God and I discovered that in the midst of the storm I was worshiping God. Creation drew me back to God. My challenge for you is to spend some time looking at our world and its beauty and to discover in those moments the majestic glory of God revealed in His creation and draw closer to Him

Prayer

2010-08-25T10:45:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of a study leave is to take time away from the daily routine of ministry. I wanted to spend extra time in prayer and review my prayer journey to see what God has been doing. While reading about prayer I came across the prayer of examen. Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556), founder of the Society of Jesus recommended to his brother monks a daily method of examining their lives so that they might better serve the Lord. It is this method that became know as the prayer of examen.

This prayer can take as little as 10–15 minutes. When you have extra time setting aside an hour to do this would be beneficial. The prayer draws us into the presence of God with the intention of discerning how God has interacted with us during the day or the week. It is not always a comfortable prayer as we must take time to allow God to challenge as well as encourage us. This is a prayer that requires a response from us. You should go to a place where you will not be disturbed. Bring along your Bible and a notebook to write in or something to jot down your thoughts.

The five steps to the prayer are:
1. Become aware of God’s presence.
Remind yourself of God’s presence with you and His desire to be with you. Consider praying for the Holy Spirit to help you be attentive to God’s presence all the time.
2. Looking over the events of the day with gratitude -
Begin to give thanks to God for the gifts of the day. After a few moments, begin to give thanks to God for the gifts of this day. Special pleasures will spring to mind: a good night’s sleep, the smell of the morning coffee, the laugh of a child. As you move in gratitude through the details of your day, remember that every single event has been God’s gift. Remember to thank God for each of the day’s gifts.

3. Inviting the Holy Spirit to help us evaluate our actions and attitudes with honesty and patience.

4. Reviewing the day making yourself aware of where Christ assisted your decisions and where you should have paused to receive his instruction.
Where did I love God or Others? Where did I fail?

5. A heart to heart talk with Jesus sharing your thoughts on your actions, attitudes, feelings and interactions.

I have discovered that the prayer of examen helps me to keep my attitude and heart right before God and people. It has made a difference in my prayer life. I encourage you to try the prayer of examen as part of your prayer life. I believe it will help you to discover how to love God more fully while developing your character as a follower of Jesus Christ.