2-Second Day Brightener

I went to Starbucks today after stopping by the doctor's office to have some blood drawn - I figured I deserved the treat! :)

While I was there I watched no fewer than three customers take their drinks from the barista (so fancy to know what they're called) without so much as a smile, a word, or even eye contact. Now, I know that you might not always find the best humor at a coffee shop prior to consumers receiving their desired product and having found time to consume it. However, when did it become okay to not even see that it was a human being handing out your coveted drink? You would have thought that these people were walking up to a machine and having it dispense their cup o' Joe.

So, my solution to this is to stop wherever you are served by another person and take two seconds, just two, to do the following:

1. Make eye contact.
2. Smile.
3. Say, "Thank You."
4. Say, "Have a good day."

All this can be done in two seconds and I guarantee that not only will the recipient respond favorably, but it will brighten your day too! Think I'm crazy if you will but I challenge you to try it and see if it doesn't just put a smile on your face too.

Also, let's not forget that those who serve us are also those that we're called to serve. Let's not find ourselves not giving them the acknowledgment that they deserve simply for being people that God loves!

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." - Proverbs 12:25

Weathering the Storm

Today my timing was off.

I stalled at my house thinking that whatever storm was turning my house to night and requiring me to turn on the lights to find my shoes would blow over before I had to leave. Well, after about 15 minutes I decided to try the other tactic and see if I could make it to work before the rain came down. I was wrong. I ended up trekking to work through the worst part of the storm which had not been my goal!

This was one of those storms that cut the visibility to almost nothing and was accompanied by lots of wind and many lightening bolts. I drove through it praying the whole time that I would safely make it to work and struggling to not let my anxiety grab hold too much. With a couple of narrow misses, I arrived safely and was able to get into my building.

While a storm is not an unusual occurrence, being face to face with this one made me think about how I always have a choice in how I'll respond when a storm blows into my life. Storms tend to arise in so many areas, whether physically appearing on the horizon and dumping buckets of rain or showing up in the spiritual realm and leaving me drenched in unexpected emotion and doubt. When each one comes, I have a choice to run around in fear, frantically trying to make sure that I'm controlling each aspect of my environment or I can choose to press on through it, holding tight to the Lord as my stable point in a shaky world.

I find that the more I take the second approach, the less phased I am by the storms I encounter. Sure, some of them knock me down and leave me reeling but I am seeing that through the years, my response to turn to the Lord is becoming more instinctual and I'm weathering things with more faith and less doubt. I think this is one area where practice does make perfect and while I doubt I'll ever get to the place where nothing can topple me, I do believe that the more I lean into the Lord, the more I am able to stand up through the winds. Today's storm was just another reminder of the fact that I can find peace in the middle of anything that may happen around me as long as I look up and not around.

I'll leave you with the lyrics to an excellent song that I've been hearing a lot lately by Mercy Me. It's called "Bring the Rain" and seems appropriate for today:

"I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You
Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain"

Full Circle

I've been challenged for the last month by many friends to come back to the world of writing - to not stay lost in Boston (as they have so eloquently put it) where my last post left me.

After some (ok, a lot) of thought, I've decided to return and see what I might have to share again as I move along my paths.

Blogging is a funny thing - you start it thinking that you're just going to send your words out into the world with no ramifications but at the same time, the fact that you're writing to the world without specific targets makes the entire proposition a little scary. Over the course of the last month I've had people discuss why blogs are both good and bad and I've read a couple of articles about blogging that have really made me stop and think. One such article comes from the Pulpit online magazine and I encourage you to read this if you're writing (or thinking of doing so): (http://www.sfpulpit.com/2007/04/25/the-blog-in-our-eyes-part-1/).

At the end of all this thinking, I've come to realize that blogging is an imperfect art. There's no guarantee that what I have to say will be well received or received at all. There's no promise of a solution to life's problems and there's no quick and easy fix for the struggles we all face.

However, for what it's worth, I still have the same aim that I had when I first sat down at this computer and began to write. That aim is to glorify God along my road and hopefully to lead each person who reads my words into a bigger understanding of who He is.

With that being said, if I ever fail at this point, I ask you to please contact me. I may not be able to control all the thoughts that you might think as you read this but I really hope that I might be able to be a friend on the other side of your screen and I'd love to be able to encourage you to walk in the truth and most definitely to answer any questions you might have.

So, I'll leave you now but I hope to share a new story soon and you can rest assured for the moment that I've returned safely from Boston and continue on with my daily life!

Big as the Ocean

For all the times I've been in Boston I've never ventured out to the beach where the ocean meets the land. I've only seen the Atlantic from a distance as I fly over it either coming or going from this city. Today, however, I rode the T (that's Boston talk for the subway system) out to Revere Beach and took in the wonder of the vast sea.

I definitely have a thing about the ocean - I don't necessarily like to swim in it but I love to walk beside it. I guess the reason behind that is because it reminds me of just how very big God is. The ocean goes on forever and God knows everything that's going on within it. There's no building to fence it in and no barrier to keep it out - it just flows on throughout the days.

I think my temptation is sometimes to think that God is just not capable of doing the things that I hope for when I stretch my hopes out from the safe little place I like to stand. I believe with all my heart that God can do anything in the lives of others but I struggle sometimes in believing the same of my life. A walk by the ocean reminds me every time that this God I serve is bigger than I can even begin to imagine and that the things that are important to me remain important to Him.

I'll never begin to understand how a God who made the ocean can look upon me and find me worthwhile but even as I hear the waves crash and look out all the way to an unmarred horizon, I know with all of my heart that He does. This God who made the vast sea cares about me enough to know the number of hairs on my head. This God is one who can exceed my wildest dreams and fulfill my greatest hopes. This God is the one who I gladly serve through all my days knowing that even as one small person, He gives me the ability to make a difference for Him. And that's why I love the ocean - it shows me how great my God is!

"I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. For great is your love, reaching to the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let your glory be over all the earth." - Psalm 57:9-11

Steps of the Saints

I spent the first part of Sunday morning standing in the cold, wet day handing out granola bars to some very surprised folks. I found more people willing to read the card and show appreciation for us being there today than I ever have before. Something about standing in the cold Boston wind makes people think twice about the reason behind you being there.

The second part of the morning was spent in the church service at Hope Fellowship. It was an amazing service with awesome worship and a great message from Curtis. However, the thing that really made me think was the reality that I was standing in the same spot where people have stood for almost 100 years worshipping the same God that they've worshipped over time. Through thick and thin this church on the corner has stayed strong, continuing to preach the Truth, and drawing worshippers to its pews. There is something about walking the path that you know others have travelled before that makes me stop and take notice. It greatly reminds me of the verse at the top of my blog which tells me of all those who witness what we do as we run this race. There are times when I'm just overwhelmed by the fact that my feet are able to grace the same wooden floors that the saints of the past have walked. It's such an encouragement to me to know that I'm running the race that so many others have run in the past and that as I press on I will be able to finish strong for the glory of God.

For those of you who have been to Boston, you know that the sanctuary here isn't spectacular; there are no stained glass windows or shiny wooden pews. The paint is peeling in places that it shouldn't and the floor is worn. However, in this little place, the spirit of God is felt as week after week, year after year, saints new and old gather to worship the one true God and seek His face.

"Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." - Philippians 3:13-14