Friday, February 27, 2015

The Impossible



On Thursday night the Toronto Maple Leafs were able to pull off the, "impossible."  Most Leafs fans don't care what goes on behind the scenes, they just want to see their team win.  But sports is big business.  NHL teams have what's called a salary cap.  To make it fair for everyone, all teams can only spend a certain amount of money on player contracts each year.  It keeps the teams with all the money from signing contracts with all of the best players thereby leaving nothing for teams with less money.   The problem comes when you sign a player to big money and they don't don't produce what you had hoped they would.  David Clarkson of the Leafs was one of those players.  He was paid a lot of money but just couldn't seem to find his way as a Toronto Maple Leaf.  The issue was with his contract. Not only did he make lots of money this year, but was supposed to make lots of money until the 2020 season.  So...most people thought that it be impossible to trade him.   But the Leafs did it.  David Clarkson is now a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.  Hopefully it works out for him and the Leafs.

I know it is a strange connection, but as I was reading my Bible I started to think about how God tends to make the impossible possible...often.  If you are facing the impossible right now, hopefully this encourages you.

~ Abraham was too old
~ Isaac was a daydreamer
~ Jacob was a liar
~ Joseph was abused
~ Moses had a stuttering problem
~ Gideon was afraid
~ Rahab was a prostitute
~ Jeremiah and Timothy were too young
~ David was an adulterer and a murderer
~ Elijah was suicidal
~ Jonah ran from God
~ Naomi was a widow
~ Job went bankrupt
~ John the Baptist ate bugs
~ Peter denied Christ
~ Martha worried about everything
~ Zacchaeus was too small
~ Lazarus was dead!


Friday, February 20, 2015

Cold

I have met lots of people who are fans of winter.  They love the snow, skiing, snowmobiling, skating, and hockey.  But you don't find too many people who love the cold (I mean the minus 25 and colder find of cold).  In fact, we could probably come up with our own list of, "It's so cold that..."  No joke.  Let's do it.  It's so cold that:

A bottle of Coke will go from warm to cold in 10 minutes outside.
Your car makes strange rattling sounds you never hear in the summer
Your nostrils stick when you try and breathe in the cold air
Dogs and cats only go outside for 60 seconds or less...because they have to (our cat used to groan before running outside to take care of business)
When you try to start your car, instead of the engine turning over it says, "Really???"
You buy a coffee or tea more to warm your hands on the cup rather than drink it.

I think this is a never ending list.  But the best part of it all, is how we brag about how tough we are when we speak with people from warmer clients.  Ha ha. Yep, I do it all the time.  Wind Chill Factor Survivors Unite!


Friday, February 13, 2015

Day One

On tv and in the movies they make starting over look so easy.  Criminal activities, difficult relationships, and just bad choices are often fixed in the witness protection program, by starting a new relationship or leaving the past behind.   But life isn't like that.  Is it?

On the surface, starting over can seem impossible.  Especially if someone hurt you or you did the unthinkable.  That is something that needs to be worked out through therapy and other healing processes.  That's what makes God's grace so difficult to understand.   Forgiving the unforgivable and forgetting the unforgettable just isn't a logical or fair solution.  But with God, He wipes away your past as soon as you ask.  It's gone.  Yes, we still have to deal with the consequences of our actions but usually the most difficult part of God's grace is accepting it.  Because by accepting God's grace we are forced to admit that we can no longer use it as a crutch in our lives.  We keep grace at a distance because it scares us.  But God knows that while vulnerability is uncomfortable for a season, the reward of freedom is exhilarating.  

Sometimes we need to wrestle with these ideas and let them roll around in our minds for awhile before we truly understand.  That's why I like music so much.  You can listen to a song thirty times before the message finally sinks in.  Other times, the message jumps up and hits you right away.  If you are having trouble accepting that free gift of grace from God, listen to this song...thirty times if you have to until you truly experience freedom.


Friday, February 6, 2015

A Life Of Purpose

I think it's safe to say that most of us us at some point in our life, if not all of us, are unsure of our purpose in life.  Sure, we can have a job, a family, good church, and still be restless.  So we search and explore, and sometimes agonize over life's possibilities and still come up empty.  I think that's why Rick Warren decided to write The Purpose Driven Life.  He knew that we all have a longing for something.  Unfortunately, so many of us never find it.

There is something called TED Talks.  They bring in special guests to give talks about creativity, productivity, leadership, motivation, etc.  I am always intrigued when someone I know is a guest, like Rick Warren.  In 2006 he was invited to speak.  This was the high point of The Purpose Driven Life book.  It had sold millions of copies all over the world and everyone wanted to know why Rick wrote the book.  His message is just over 20 minutes long, but hopefully it will inspire you for the first time and/or again to find your purpose.