The Constantly Miraculous

We  can all look back on times in our lives when we see the hand of God. There was the near medical disaster or the storm that didn’t blow us away or the financial disaster that didn’t materialize. We can see the special people that became part of our lives and without whom we would not be the same. We call these things, “miracles.” These are miracles because they show the intervention of a powerful God in the lives of ordinary men. But the real miracle is God’s constant intervention and involvement in our lives. We live in a state of perpetual dependence upon Him. We just don’t always recognize it. We don’t always see that every breath we take is a miracle. We don’t acknowledge that every bite of food is provided by Him. Saddest of all, perhaps, is we let slip by the miracles of opportunity that he serves up to us every day of our lives.  It is His plan for us that we live lives of perpetual dependence on Him. Nothing we do on our own is worth anything. Every good thing comes from Him. Surely there are big events that shake up our worlds, […]

Morning Routine

Our habits and routines are the frameworks of our lives. We don’t realize how much we are impacted by the things we do routinely every day. I am particularly subject to routine in the mornings. For years I have gotten up early, cleared my emails, checked Facebook and twitter and written my blog. I have been grossly out of that routine recently and it’s beginning to impact me. I haven’t posted to my blog in over a week and have done so only 6 times in January, even though today is the 21st. I have also abandoned my early morning habit of working out at the gym. I haven’t done that in weeks.  I think the problem is that I am not waking up as early as I have in the past and, I think, the reason for that is that I haven’t been sleeping as well as I normally do. Traditionally, I sleep like a rock. Not so lately. If that is the root of the problem, my analysis ends there. I don’t know why I’m not sleeping well. I do know that my blog posting and work out have become essential to my spiritual, physical and emotional […]

Disappointing Day

Yesterday was a bit of a disappointment. It was a Kairos Team training day. We were going to Angola for a mandated security briefing. I had looked forward to the ride there and back fellowshipping with my Kairos friends. I got the wrong word on leaving time and ended up driving alone. We also had a Advisory Council meeting set for after the training. Then I remembered that my three year term on the council has expired. I had no reason to be at the meeting.  I guess it was one of those cases of closing a chapter in your life before being able to move on to the next. I enjoyed serving on the council, but I need to move on to a different function within the ministry. On the good side, I returned home and had a wonderful afternoon and evening with my lovely wife. That was great.  A new chapter opens today as we meet to discuss prayer teams at Amana. I hope that it will turn out to be a fulfilling and useful ministry. Just because the weather isn’t great, is no reason to skip church. See you at services.  Be blessed. Nick

I just finished reading a great thriller. It was one of those page turner, hard-to-put down books. Although the book wasn’t huge it was broken into 100 chapters. Each chapter was well written and left you wanted to read the next one.  God organizes our lives that way. Our stories are broken into small chapters. God wants us to focus on the chapter we are in, not past chapters or future chapters. Satan, on the other hand, is the great historian. He keeps wanting to bring up the past: past mistakes, past errors, past stumbles, past fears. We have to get better about closing chapters in our lives.  God has written your story. The next chapter is always better. Dive in and Be blessed. Nick

Look into their hearts

It’s back to school and, for some, back to work day. The holidays are past and it’s back into the world. On Facebook this morning I saw more “Oh No It’s Monday” posts than usual.  Maybe we have had a vacation from dealing with people that make life hard for us: teachers, bosses, customers, folks with a chip on their shoulders.  We are coming off the season that celebrates love. Let’s start this working year off with a better set of spiritual eyes. When a person is gruff with us or unkind, let’s try to see beyond that to what might be going on in that person’s life that put that frown on their face. Let’s remember to pray before we react. Give a thoughtful, prayerful response to folks that seem bent on dragging you down. Saturday I spent much of the day in Baton Rouge at the first team training meeting for the Kairos which I will attend in February. It was great to see the faces of so many I love and to hug and get hugged. It was also great to “catch up” with what’s going on in the lives of others. But it served as […]