Faith = Belief + Trust

What do a yardstick, a cup and a thermometer have in common? They are tools of measurement, and without them, life would be rather confusing. After all, how could we bake a scrumptious, chewy batch of brownies without measuring the ingredients we use to make them? (I’ll grant you, the bathroom scale is probably one tool we’d rather do without.)
    All too often I’ve heard Christians say, “Your prayer wasn’t answered because you didn’t have enough faith.” When I hear a statement like that I tend to ask myself, “How much is enough?” To calculate something we must have a unit by which to delineate it. But there exists no such thing as a “faithette” for measuring faith. Even Jesus never referred to faith in terms of exact size. I am positive Jesus did this on purpose!

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Let's play!

David was wearing a sacred linen apron. He danced in the sight of the LORD with all his might. ~ 2 Samuel 6:14

I went to first grade in Lake Oswego, Oregon. I had a lot of friends at school and loved playing with them,  but one day I noticed a girl from my class who sat alone on the other side of the playground...not joining in on our fun.
   I walked over to her and tried to convince her to come and play. A girl, who was watching from inside the building burst out the door.
  “What are you doing to my sister?”
   “Nothing. I just want to play with her.” I said.
   The older girl scowled, looking me over from head to toe. I smiled. "Alright," she finally said. "But you have to stay here by the door where I can see you and you can’t play with any of them!”
   I thought this was very strange but agreed, hoping to eventually draw the girl out to play with my friends. I wanted to get out of the sight of her mean sister who I thought was preventing her from participating in our fun.
   Looking back, I think the little girl had a developmental disability. She never said much, but she was beautiful and had a warm, inviting smile so I didn't mind staying by the door and playing with her even though I was never able to draw her out.

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Encouraging the encourager

“Dear children, let us stop just saying we love each other; let us really show it by our actions.” - 1 John 3:18 

Raise your hand if you know who Beth Moore is, read one of her books or participated in one of her Bible studies. Now, keep that hand up if you were fortunate enough to attend her simulcast this weekend.
   I had the honor to help our church be one of the host locations from around the world. I left in the wee hours of the morning before my kiddos were awake, left a ‘honey-do’ list for my honey and drove into our smoke-filled valley praying for a successful day for everyone involved.

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Let go and let God

“He renews my strength…” Psalm 23:3a NLT
Tears dripped on the waterlogged carpet. My anxiety increased with every squishy step —a looming layoff, overextended commitments, wacked out hormones—and now this.
   There, under the paint was a tennis-ball-sized bulge where the spring snowmelt had trickled beneath the roof shingles through the rafters to behind our bedroom wall. I stood on the wet rug with hands lifted up.
   “I can’t handle anymore.”

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Where did all my grace go?

Sometimes…not all the time, mind you…I feel overwhelmed by my old, sinful nature. The urge to throw a wild party and abandon all morality and decorum finds its way into my innermost thoughts. Other times, I am inundated with guilt over my past and feel like all my efforts at living a good life have been for naught.
   Whether I give into that temptation or not seems irrelevant. I develop a deep depression and worry that those secret thoughts are exposed to the world, and my shame is shouted from the mountain tops up to the heavenlies.

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Live...and in person

My mind’s eye can clearly see that quaint “Norman Rockwell” type street in Farmington, Maine. It was early summer, but still spring-like weather. It is joked that Maine has only three seasons, July, August, and winter. We were enjoying a typically Maine July day. The road was lined with eager faces, anticipating a glimpse of the distinguished five-star general war hero who now bore the title, Commander–in-Chief.

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Sphere of Ministry

In my coaching class, we recently focused on the sphere of ministry. Taken from the writings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 10, the sphere of ministry describes a pathway to purpose. This pathway includes what we do in life and the boundaries which define that direction. As Paul writes, “God who provides seed for the sower and bread for eating will also provide and multiply your resources for sowing and increase the fruits of your righteousness…” (2 Cor. 10:10, Amplified).
   Our gifts, abilities and experiences provide the boundaries which determine where and how we do ministry. Since we each have unique giftings, that also means we have a specific place and purpose that God has designed for us. Before the foundation of the world, he planned it out and wove all the details together.

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