Blessed for working?

There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, And he who waters will also be watered himself. The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it. He who earnestly seeks good finds favor, But trouble will come to him who seeks evil. (Proverbs 11:24–27 NKJV)

Wow, read that again. So much wisdom there. These are some of my favorite verses in all of the bible. Every time I have a choice of whether to be stingy or give, I can’t help but think of

There is one who scatters, yet increases more; And there is one who withholds more than is right, But it leads to poverty.

I would rather err on the side of scattering than withhold more than is right. However, that’s not what this is about.

I think sometimes when we talk about passion and God-given talents and our destiny and all of that we can begin to feel as if we don’t measure up. Especially if we work un an environment that is not especially creative or we don’t have a Christian job. We think that when God handed out jobs in heaven if we didn’t get to be creative, or a teacher, or a pastor, or in full time ministry that somehow we got the short end of the job stick. That we don’t get to use our passion and our God given gifts (be they compute, mechanical, engineering, whatever skills that we think of as “less than”). Well that thought just gets blown out of the water with one simple verse

The people will curse him who withholds grain, But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.

See the blessing is not on him who gives away his grain, but on him who sells it. And the cursing comes on the head of the one who withholds the gifts he has been given. So often we think that if we are a mechanic the only way we can be a blessing is to give away our services (please hear me, I’m not saying that we shouldn’t help those in need, see verse 24), but the blessing is just as great by doing good work for a fair price. Maybe you’re not a mechanic, maybe you work at In-N-Out burger. Make the best burgers you can make, Make them with a smile and worship God while you do that, and you will be just as much of a blessing as the pastor who preaches.

God wants to dismantle the lie that there are tiers of blessing based on your job. One of the people I know that has seen the most blessing in their life and has been the biggest blessing to me is an RF technician, he could view his work as jnsignificant, or he could see that he is instrumental in keeping an entire military base from devolving into chaos. I think he chooses the later. If we do not grasp that God has planted us where we are (no matter what job that is) we will continually seek better pastures. My advice, thank God for where you are, use all that you do to worship Him, and always be bettering yourself, because you never know when promotion is coming.

For too long the church has only been concerned with church, but God is beginning to raise up a generation that sees that there is value in the arts, in entertainment, in media, in social services, in politics. If we don’t rise up and have a voice to direct corporations and society away from greed and human rights violations, who will. And it’s hard to have a voice if we aren’t in a position to be heard. So become CEOs, start your own business (see TOMs shoes or Krochet Kids), don’t be afraid of becoming a manager, because God has called you into that realm of society to bring heaven to earth!

Mutual Extremists

It is not enough just to believe that things are “both and” not “either or”, we have to learn to be mutual extremists.

I believe that I am wholly the Bride of Christ and the Army of God. It’s no longer ok to just believe one or the other or even that we move between the two. We have to walk the tension of being both extremes at the same time. Slaves and sons; Child-Like and Fully-Matured; Family and An Army.

H/T to Brian for working through this at lunch.

"

You are not alone, either. Your sources of strength may be very different than mine, but you are never alone unless you willfully choose to be. There are always people who are concerned about you and want to help you. There are always people who will step up to the plate alongside you and walk with you on any journey that you may take.

Often, all you have to do is ask, and that’s often the hardest part.

The one thing to keep in mind is this: almost everyone respects and wants to help someone who is trying to make a positive change in their life, particularly when they already care about that person. If someone in your life doesn’t do that, then that means they only valued you for the negative trait you’re leaving behind, and that’s not a good foundation for a relationship.

You are not alone.

"

http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2012/01/03/realize-that-youre-not-alone-on-this-journey-2365/

"The implications bloomed in my mind. We aren’t stuck with the things we have now. We can make new things, better things. And it doesn’t take many people to do it."

John Siracusa on the team that made the original Mac, but I think it applies to all of us. ( http://arstechnica.com/staff/fatbits/2011/10/steve-jobs-a-personal-remembrance.ars )

Today I am thankful for

Today I am thankful for Josiah- the way of grace Jessica- a church that feels like a family Ayden- penguins, tonka trucks, Abigail, my cousins, and appointments with Grandma Emerick- Mimi

30DaysOfThankful #fb

"The real damage is done by those millions who want to ‘survive.’ The honest men who just want to be left in peace. Those who don’t want their little lives disturbed by anything bigger than themselves. Those with no sides and no causes. Those who won’t take measure of their own strength, for fear of antagonizing their own weakness. Those who don’t like to make waves—or enemies. Those for whom freedom, honour, truth, and principles are only literature. Those who live small, mate small, die small. It’s the reductionist approach to life: if you keep it small, you’ll keep it under control. If you don’t make any noise, the boogeyman won’t find you. But it’s all an illusion, because they die too, those people who roll up their spirits into tiny little balls so as to be safe. Safe?! From what? Life is always on the edge of death; narrow streets lead to the same place as wide avenues, and a little candle burns itself out just like a flaming torch does. I choose my own way to burn.” ― Sophie Scholl"

http://destinyinbloom.com/calling-all-reformers-to-report-for-duty/

A Month of Thankfulness

Our words create our worlds.

What if we all took one month and thought of a new thing that we were thankful for everyday? What kind of atmosphere could be created in our hearts, our homes, our offices? Well that is exactly what we are going to be doing this month. Following the lead of my friends Brad Kyle, Christy Polek’s 30 Days of Thankful, and Cross Point Church’s Better Days Challenge, we as a family have decided to turn breakfast into a time of thankfulness. Every morning as we eat breakfast around the table we are going to say one thing we are thankful for that day, then throughout the day when we are tempted to complain or look at something negatively instead we will say what we are thankful for that day.

I am going to be recording what we are thankful for throughout the month. I invite you to join along with us. Feel free to post what you are thankful for either on here or Facebook or wherever. Let’s create a better world one day at a time.

Today we are thankful for-
Josiah: that I get to eat breakfast with my family
Jessica: my babies, and my husband
Ayden: my penguins
Emerick: can’t really talk, but he sure loves blueberries

Old Time Religion meets the Hail Mary- Tim Tebow brings out introspection in all of us →

A fascinating look at one “unchurched” persons thoughts on Tim Tebow

A poverty theology parable →

One of the most moving modern parables I have read.

allisonjaye:

let’s write a song for us
and sing until we’re old and grey
forget me not, my dear, my darling
forget me not, my love.

i’m coming home real soon
please leave a light on for me.