What Makes Us "Run" Correctly?

If you have been following me you know we are in the midst of a home reno with many exciting plans ahead for the home. We have completely gutted it and this week contractors are working on the plumbing and electric. I walked in while the plumbers were taking pipes below a wall, underground, from one area to another. My mind began thinking about the process. In order for the flow of water to run properly through the house, pipes had to be rearranged. They were working before; but, in order to function better, work had to be done.

We were born a certain way. Our lives were set on a course to grow, learn and develop into the person God intended for each one of us to be. Our character is shaped by the environment in which we are raised. We learn to respect those around us. At some point most of us take a good look at ourself and do an examination of where we are and what we are doing with our lives. We realize that we are doing ok, but with a little adjustment we could be doing so much better. So the life we have lived up to this point has got us this far, but with our adjustment we are going to go farther.

Part of that adjustment is realizing we have lived our lives according to the way we wanted to live without thinking about asking our Creator, God for His direction. We adjust our way of thinking. Before we make any decision we ask God for clarity:

"Is this a good move?"

"Is this the person I am to spend the rest of my life with?"

"Will this job be best for my future?"

All these questions are great avenues of communication with God. He definitely cares about our lives and the choices and decisions we make. We get to know His direction and build stronger character by reading His Word. It not only gives direction but brings healing to our spirit and comforts our soul. The reality is, it takes the pressure off of us when making decisions. Why? Because we are relying on God's leading us to do the right thing. He speaks to us in a still small voice in our inner most being.

I can hear some say it is a lame way to live because we are not making up our minds ourselves, we are letting someone else tell us what to do. I am sorry, but that is not the case here. It takes a lot of guts, if you will, to allow someone else (God in this instance) to direct our lives. We are completely and totally trusting Him. Just like going on a ropes course. You have to trust your partner with your life. No hesitancy or questioning. Just trust.

Think about this today and ask yourself:

"Do I need to make adjustments in my heart or life?"

"Am I doing life my way or do I ask God what He would like me to do with my life?"

If we are doing life "my way" we are living selfishly and not thinking of others. The first sign of strong character is when we can trust God with our life and not worry about what we want. When we do this we will be surprised to find that God is giving us the very things and allowing us to do exactly what we love to do.

So, just like we had to make adjustments in our home, so water could run throughout the house better; we need to make adjustments in our lives in order to do life better.

Happy adjusting.

What Does Your House Say About You?

All of us have enjoyed driving through neighborhoods admiring homes we see and commenting on what we think...

"That yard is beautiful."

"I would love a house like that." You get what I'm saying.

We may do this from time to time; then, there comes a time when we are really looking for a home to purchase. We get in the car and drive through those neighbors we admired. We find homes for sale, call the listing agent and make an appointment to go look at some of them.

The first one we go see has almost all of the criteria we have on our list of wants and needs. We pull up to the drive, get out of the car and meet the agent inside. Once we walk through the front door we are immediately let down because it has not been updated and is in much need of attention. Not only is it not updated but it is not as clean as it should be, especially since it is on the market for sale.

Down the street there is another house for sale and our agent wants to take us there as well. We are hesitant because it does not look very appealing from the outside. Our agent assures us it is within our price range and worth a look. Reluctantly we go.

To our total amazement it is spectacular inside! It is updated in every room. Due to circumstances beyond their control the owners could not afford to do what they needed to the outside. We now want to carefully consider the pros and cons of both homes. It is going to be a tough decision.

Let's think about this for a moment in relation to our own lives...

Scenario One:

We may look really awesome on the outside. Our hair is the latest style. Our clothes are looking good on our body. People come up to us easily to talk and get to know us. Or, we find someone we want to get to know and introduce ourself to them. After chatting we make arrangements to meet again in a couple days at a local coffee shop. After spending time together we begin to realize this person, whom we thought was someone we wanted to spend time with, is not anything like we thought. On the surface, on the outside, they looked good, but once we got to know them we found out their values, their way of life, everything about them was not what we thought. At this point we make a decision whether or not to continue the relationship...

Scenario Two:

One day we are having a bad day. Sitting alone in a coffee shop someone notices the look on our face. They are a regular in the coffee shop as well and notice we are not as cheerful as normal. We have never talked to them before because, in all truthfulness, they just did not look like someone we wanted to get to know. Wouldn't you know? They are the very person we needed all the time...

Remember the two houses we liked and went in, just to realize they were not what we thought? I began thinking of all this when we purchased a home recently that we are renovating.

The home had been on the market for several months. I had driven past it several times and always said I did not want to even consider it because it really was UGLY. I am not joking! We looked at other homes in the area and nothing ever happened with the ones we considered. This "ugly" house finally got our attention and we broke down and walked through the house, just out of curiosity. After walking through it, we saw potential in renovating and making it a place of beauty. We placed an offer and negotiated to where we were comfortable. We are in the midst of that reno and many spiritual correlations come to mind. So bare with me...

We are working on the inside first. The inside had not been updated and it just was not designed properly. In order to bring the home to it's full potential we have to gut it and redesign it. It is going to be beautiful, but you wouldn't know it by looking at the outside.

A few pictures to see the progress:


Kitchen before reno

Kitchen during reno


The Apostle Peter tells us in I Peter 3:3-4 that we should be concerned with our inner beauty, not our outward appearance. He is not telling us to not care about what we look like on the outside; just be more concerned with what is going on inside. If we do this...work on our inner self, which the help of the Holy Spirit, we will not only become beautiful inside, but outside as well. Often we work more on our outer appearance. We want other people to accept us by our looks. It is much more valuable to be beautiful on the inside. Respect, love, concern, thoughtfulness all come from our inner health. Our inner self will reflect what is transforming in our lives.

Let's all take a look at our house. Do we only look good on the outside? What does our heart tell us? When other people look at us what do they see? A lovely "house" which is our body, or a lovely person that comes from the heart, making us beautiful inside and out?

My prayer is we will allow the Holy Spirit to come inside our house and begin renovations. Some of us may need a major overhaul, a total gut, down to the core. Other's just might need to update their house and refresh their spirit. Then there will be those who have never really started the process and will start from the beginning. It doesn't matter where we are, we just need to take the first step and begin the reno. Come on and join me. It will be worth it, I promise.

Thanks for reading and blessings to you.

ps. stay tuned for updates on the progress of the home renovation that will be used in the future for women's retreats once again.

True Character is Shown by Our Actions

We get up and begin our daily routine...dress, get kids ready for school (if they're still school age), have a quick bite to eat for breakfast, kiss our spouse goodbye, and head off to work. Life seems normal and good. We arrive at our job or ministry and realize the things we asked to get done by today were not done the way we had asked. The people in charge had weeks to prepare. There just isn't an excuse for their lack of commitment to the task. We are clearly upset and let everyone know about it. In fact no one wants to be near us because of our reaction. It doesn't matter that we have talked about being an example to others and setting high expections for others to follow. Those around us cannot hear what we are trying to say because our actions are so offensive and clearly do not represent what we are trying to get across...

Our children cannot listen to what we are saying about life and representing Christ because our lives do not reflect what we are saying. We tell them to be committed to church, volunteer to help the needy; but, they just don't get it. Why? Because we have spent so much time in church and helping the needy that we have neglected our children.

Don't get me wrong. Ministry, participating in church and helping the needy are a must in our society; but, within reason. Make sure what we are doing is a healthy example of how to do ministry, church and helping the needy. When we do this our children and fellow colleagues or employees will have a desire to honor us by doing a good job and representing us well. This leads me to the passage of scripture I want to bring to our attention.

As I opened my Bible to read today, the page fell open to a passage I had underlined previously in Ezekiel. Once again it jumped out at me.

Just that one little passage says so much. I believe if more people would read Ez. 20:22 of The Message, we would all get along so much better, accomplishing so much more in our world that immediately surrounds us.

God was fed up with the Israel. He wanted to let His anger and frustration loose upon them. He had every right to. They had disobeyed. They were doing what they wanted without consulting God. They knew how to live their lives better without God. But God didn't "vent." He said, "I thought better of it and acted out of who I was, not by what I felt, so that I might be honored and not blasphemed by the nations who had seen me bring them out." Ez. 20:22 MSG

The next time something doesn't get done the way we wanted; or our kids don't want to do something we have asked of them, remember this passage. God thought better of venting. He ACTED OUT OF WHO HE WAS not by how He felt. For some of us we will have to work a little harder to not act out of how we feel. As we work on it we will find it will be worth it. People will respect and honor us more for acting out of who we are.

May we all be committed to working on our character. Allow God to shape us into someone that is honorable. Don't take the easy road. Becoming a man or woman of character takes work, but it is well worth the effort we put into it. Remember, our lives are being watched. What are our lives saying to others. Let's be challenged today to act out of who we are in Christ, not out of how we are feeling.