skin

Here is something you most likely didn’t know…
My belly button is not on right!
When I look in the mirror it seems like it is not in the centre. I thought they were supposed to be.
I kind of sits off centre a little. Weird!

My skin is also very pale.
I remember the day I got baptised for many reasons.
One being that it was a highlight of my spiritual journey.
The other being was that I was laughed at by nearly everyone there I think.
As I walked into the swimming pool area after getting changed, the first thing people noticed was not my angelic glow being so spiritual, but the glow of my Scottish heritage induced legs.

The reality is that we do care what others think.
At least a bit.
For many years I have heard people say “it doesn’t matter what others think” as though that it is a universal truth to live by...if you can ever make it that far and be the ultimate in maturity.
I now think it is only partly a good philosophy…

If you don’t care at all you will go around potentially unwashed, unkept...and unapproachable to others.
That takes the “it doesn’t matter” thing too far.

A better way to go is to have a better ‘point of reference’.
As humans we always care on some level what others think. It is part of our human condition, how we are wired.
But if you can change the ‘point of reference’, your opinion can change to be a little more balanced.

I have chosen to try and keep looking for the best ‘point of reference’ to compare myself to.
For me, that is God.
What He thinks about me is ultimately what I want to think of me.
God says that He made me to a specific plan.
He says that I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

My belly button position.
My glow-in-the-dark legs.
They are all part of what God designed for me.
They are all part of what makes me who I am and how special I am to God.

So even in the middle of winter I will wear my shorts to the gym.
I no longer have an issue with my leg colour.
My ‘point of reference’ is changing to be more in line with how God sees me.

I am happier in the skin I am in now than before.
What about you?

Something to think about…

evolved

We think we are so evolved don’t we?
We wear clothes that are way more ‘cool’ and functional then any other generation.
We have technology way more advanced then previous generations could have ever dreamed of.
And in the west we have access to resources beyond many other more desperate parts of the world.

But even with all that is going for us...we still have common struggles.
For many of us it is the relationships we have.
Family.
Friends.
Work.
Where ever this a human relationship...there always seems a chance for something to be wrong.

We get offended.
We get hurt.
Our expectations get dashed.

One of the biggest needs/desires in our heart is for love.
To feel it, to express it...to live a life enveloped in it.
We want to get along with those in our lives.

I think we get disappointed because we don’t understand what love is. We think love is all about feeling, when that is only ever a part of it.

The best example I could ever find is pretty extreme!
The Bible says that Jesus gave himself to be crucified because he loved us first.
I am convinced he wasn’t feeling all gooey towards us when he made that choice and when he went through his expression of love towards us.

Love for Jesus was expressed all in his actions.
Not on feelings and how it would impact his lifestyle.
Not on whether someone deserved to be loved or not...

There are times when you will feel all gooey, but that is not the definition of love and not the guarantee of good relationships in your life.
What I think works for us is love that is built on action, built on decision.
We get to decide to love.
It is not always some mystical thing floating in the sky!

Please choose this week to build your life and relationships on that foundation.
Love in action.
Choose to forgive.
Choose to let things go.
Choose to do the opposite of what may seem ‘logical’.
Give others the ‘benefit of the doubt’.
I know this is challenging…
It is a big call.
But you know it is the right way to go.

Doesn’t the Bible say that people will know God is real because of our love for one another?

Something to think about…

organs

Don’t you just hate that pit of your gut feeling when you find out you have offended someone?
For me it is like some internal organs have decided to move south in my body. It just feels wrong!

Do I offend people on purpose?
No way!

I think this happens all the time for people in this world.
Jesus even had something to say about offence when he said these crazy words “offences will come...”
He knew that there would be moments for all of us where offence would find a way to invade our lives.

Kind of like a game of tennis...you are either serving it up or receiving it.
And if you are naturally a sensitive type of person, you seem to cop more than your fair share of offence balls to your side of the court.

So what to do?
Can you avoid offending someone?
Probably not...but you can lessen the chances of doing so by making wise decisions.
Can you avoid being offended?
Probably not...but you will always have an opportunity to respond to it.

Whether you are the server or the receiver you are still in the same game.
We forget I think that there are always two in the game.
We aren’t all out to ruin people’s lives.
And we aren’t all perfect and well behaved 24/7.
A rule of thumb I try to live with is that you give everyone the benefit of the doubt.
Jesus even challenged us all to forgive.

Don’t hang onto an offence...it will just drag you down.
And if you offend someone...do what you can to make things right.

Something to think about…

sleep

I was so ‘geeky’ that just before I went to sleep recently I got on facebook and twitter via my phone just before nodding off…
Initially it was just to check for messages and comments. But then I had a little idea pop into my head...and posted it up on my profiles…

‘sleep is a good idea and a great invention...and us humans can't take any credit for it’

None of us invented sleep.
It is something that is both natural and learned.
Parents end up helping there offspring to do it.
Teenagers fight it until the wee hours and then sleep through out the other end.
Workaholics try to avoid as it seems like such a waste of time.

Apparently the world record for going without sleep is 18 days, 21 hours, 40 minutes while the person participated in a rocking chair marathon. The record holder did however report suffering from hallucinations, paranoia, blurred vision, slurred speech and memory and concentration lapses.

I am my own worst enemy with this.
While I like sleep while I am doing it, I tend to avoid it because there are so many other things I would rather be doing.
The problem is that eventually it seems to catch up with me and ‘cracks’ start to appear.
I start to get headaches and my moods change...that sort of thing.

One prophet in the Bible was told by God to get some sleep because without it, God know he couldn’t do everything planned.
If this person couldn’t survive or achieve without it, neither can we. Especially if we are wanting to do cool things for God!

As believers we all want to feel good about ourselves and right on the ‘inside’.
Maybe if you aren’t right now, you might just need some sleep?
Not more activity of entertainment...but more sleep.

Think I might start going to bed a little earlier?

Something to think about…

'word'

“word to yo motha”
I heard that phrase in an 80’s song that someone was performing recently...funny aye!
It actually comes from an old Vanilla Ice song.

Apparently the meaning is one of agreement.
If you said that, you were agreeing with a statement someone else had just made.
The other funny part is that it is commonly attributed to the Afro-American culture...not some skinny white guy trying to rap...very badly!

This week saw us doing this E100 Challenge reading to some similar sounding words…

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

On face value this can look as confusing as Vanilla Ice trying to be cool.
It is seemingly comparing God and words, and showing that they completely linked together in some way.

I now think that is point!

God is not like us in the sense that he operates exactly like us.
Number one, he exists outside of our time.
Number two, he can not lie.
Number three, he is perfect.
Number four, he is the definition of love.

With all that going for him, when you are talking about His word or what He says...it has a whole new complexion to it.

You see, God doesn’t just think about doing something…
He actually does what He says.
You don’t find references to God promising to deliver on something and not following through.
God ultimately has the power to stand by His word.
He can make it happen!
God’s words to you are powerful.
They are the only words you can fully trust in and never be let down by.
They have a history of proving their reliability.

So as you rock into the rest of your week…
May you remember what God says?
May you trust what he says will come to pass.
It is, and has always been...about His words.

Something to think about…