Big dreams?

With God’s power working in us, he can do much, much more than anything we can ask or think of. To him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus for all time, forever and ever. Amen. (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Do you ask God for big things? Or do you play it safe and ask only for the things you are pretty confident he will provide? Don't be afraid to ask for the big things because we serve a BIG God who delights in revealing his love toward us. What we don't want to do is limit God in any way. We want to remain open to the 'power working in us' that will 'do much' if we allow him access, are obedient to what he asks, and trust him with our whole heart.

In my youth I was a big dreamer. In fact, I was a bit of a daydreamer growing up. I'd drift off into thought about things way bigger than I could achieve right then, finding myself carried away in a world of imagined plans. It wasn't until I began to realize God has dreams for me that were being limited by the dreams, I concocted in my own mind that I began to let God show me the 'much more' he had planned for me. His power within me was aching to be turned lose, but I was limiting his actions by the limitations of my dreams.

With God's power working in us - this doesn't say 'when' his power is working within us - it says 'with'. The way we read this is important because we already have his power resident within us, ready to work not only within us, but through us. If we read just a few verses prior to today's passage, we will see Paul reminding us that God's plan is for Christ to live in our hearts, for us to come to experience his love, and that we should be 'filled with everything he has for us'. When Christ is in the center of our lives, his power is working within us - no matter what!

What are the 'big things' God has prepared for you? Today is a great time to find out. You won't know until you begin to ask! He can do much - we just need to be available to him. Maybe it is time to ditch some of our 'daydreaming' and listen to hear the plans he has prepared for us well in advance of us ever knowing he would do such things in or through us. Just sayin!

Planning to do good

Woody Allen always quipped, "If you want to make God laugh, tell him about your plans." So true, isn't it? We plan one thing but find something totally different unfolding. Some fool-heartedly believe we are the makers of our own destiny. We are indeed the 'makers' of our own consequences, but are we really the makers of our own destiny? Plans change as life happens. Life choices bring either good, or not so good consequences. A consequence is just the outcome or 'output' of something that was 'input' earlier. You've likely heard the saying, "Garbage in - Garbage out". Nothing could be truer about the plans we conceive and then try to bring to fruition without God's oversight and intervention.

If you plan to do evil, you will be lost; if you plan to do good, you will receive unfailing love and faithfulness. (Proverbs 14:22)

Plan to do evil - lose it all in the end. The consequences may not be immediate, but they will come eventually. Plan to do good - unfailing love and faithfulness are your reward. I don't know about you, but I would rather receive a reward more than a consequence! The more we plan, the less we focus on listening. Don't believe me? When was the last time you listened to someone else's input into YOUR plans? You might not realize it, but the more you plan one thing, the less likely you are to consider anything else. This isn't good when God is trying to get you to a place where he can move you into something new. Your 'plans' may actually keep you rooted in the present, unwilling to consider the freshness that will come when we move away from that plan and toward God's.

Planning to do good doesn't happen by accident. It is a purposeful action on our part, taken time and time again, with a set goal in mind. We want to embrace what God has for us, so we make him the first part of our day. We want to listen to what he has to say to us, so we get into his Word and ask him to show us what he has for us within those pages. We want to have meaningful relationships, so we make the effort to focus on them. If we want a meaningful relationship with God, we must focus on it, as well. Planning to do good means we make active choices all day long to keep God front and center in our lives. When we find our planning takes priority, we need to refocus so he is once again at the center of our plans. Just sayin!

Tested Faith

Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. (James 1:2-3)

How do we fair when things are a little bit too difficult or different from the 'ordinary' in our lives? If there is uncertainty looming, where do we turn? The answer to those two questions can show us a great deal about where it is we place our trust and on whom we 'rely' when the times are a bit challenging. Panic setting in, or a peace that seems to envelop you - which one best and most often describes you? 

When our faith is being tested, it is an opportunity for God to demonstrate his power and grace. If we face difficulties in 'panic mode', we frequently take things into our own hands. In other words, we jump right out of God's arms and attempt to take control of the situation, leaving God somewhere 'back there'. Get out ahead of God's power and you might just find yourself facing some pretty tough stuff without the wherewithal to deal with it!

Some things we should keep in mind:

- Our faith isn't tested because God has it in for us. It is being tested because God wants to strengthen that reliance upon him, not our reliance upon others or ourselves.

- The testing of our faith is an opportunity to grow closer to God than we ever have been before. If we embrace the test, we are likely to discover things about God and ourselves that we really didn't fully grasp prior to the test.

- Our plan may not always work when it comes to facing the hardships of life. The closer we get to Jesus in the times of testing means the less we rely upon our own plans and devices to work through those hardships. 

- Character is most frequently developed in the 'hard places' in life. It seldom comes when we aren't 'stretched' or 'stressed' a bit. Character is the result of a 'tested faith'. To resist the testing is to resist the growth God desires. Just sayin!

Eyes fixed, heart dedicated, and mind focused

But I am a worm and not a man. I am scorned and despised by all! Everyone who sees me mocks me.
They sneer and shake their heads, saying, “Is this the one who relies on the Lord? Then let the Lord save him! If the Lord loves him so much, let the Lord rescue him!” (Psalm 22:6-8)

Have you ever been under attack so badly that you imagined you no longer mattered - that your existence was like that of a worm, crawling defenselessly along the ground, only to be trampled underfoot? That is a pretty low view of one's life, isn't it? Here was David, the anointed king of Israel, bemoaning his life, feeling like everyone and everything was working against him. If the king could feel this way, what makes any of us think we can escape similar feelings on occasion? There will always be times when we face such hardships with a bit of doubt, frustration, and even some whining!

In these moments of deepest despair and depressing circumstances, we have one of two actions - either we give into them and allow ourselves to be beaten down, or we look to the one who will never abandon us or forsake his care over our lives. The outcome is based on the choice we make. There is a principle taught in counseling studies that suggests having a 'plan' to deal with troubling emotions and responses ahead of time will help when faced with those issues in real time. The 'pre-worked' plan actually gives us a means to dispel the worry and fear associated with the issue. If David 'had a plan' in this moment, it wasn't quite clear in the way he was talking, was it?

He is really just telling us how OTHERS saw his circumstances, but maybe he saw them differently. The very next verse begins to tell us exactly how David saw himself: "Yet you brought me safely from my mother’s womb and led me to trust you at my mother’s breast. I was thrust into your arms at my birth.
You have been my God from the moment I was born." (vs. 9-10) Thrust into God's arms at his birth - his God from the moment he took breath into his lungs. That paints a different picture, doesn't it? He might be feeling a bit beaten down by life and his 'foes', but he was never rejected by his God. We can be beaten down by all the things and people around us, but we should never begin to believe all THEIR actions outweigh God's!

David's 'pre-worked plan"? Trust God with his whole heart, even when the difficulties were mounting, and the future seemed as bleak as it could be. How? We only need look a little later into this psalm to see him "proclaiming God's names to his brothers and sisters" - not allowing anyone to think God's plan and purpose was being overturned. He would "fulfill his vows in the presence of others who worship God", because he had determined to not ever turn his back on God, even when he didn't see him or feel his movement around him. This is the 'pre-worked plan' - keep his eyes fixed, his heart dedicated, and his mind focused. Maybe we could develop a similar plan! Just sayin!

Lost Your Way?

Rollo May has reminded us, "It is an ironic habit of human beings to run faster when we have lost our way." Really ponder that reminder for a bit, because most of the 'running' we do in life is a result of having made choices that have led us down paths we would otherwise not have traveled. It also seems we 'pick up pace' as we run toward what we know we shouldn't be moving toward in the first place. We have chosen what we want over what we need.

No, the Lord is all I need. He takes care of me. My share in life has been pleasant; my part has been beautiful. I praise the Lord because he advises me. Even at night, I feel his leading. I keep the Lord before me always. Because he is close by my side, I will not be hurt. (Psalm 16:5-8)

God's plan is for us to pursue godliness - decisions that will promote and maintain his presence, peace, and power within our lives. Does it ever amaze you that the 'wrong direction' is the easiest one to pursue? I think the enemy of our soul knows if he made temptation too 'difficult', we'd never veer away from God's commands. The one who has lost their way will be the first to admit just how 'easy' it was to get off track with what they knew was right. 

What does it mean to be 'lost'? It can simply mean to be set 'adrift' - really having no purposeful aim in life. Not all of us are 'goal setters', but without a purpose, it is hard to set a course. It also carries the idea of being 'absent'. Too many times we can be 'present' but be totally and completely 'absent'. Our bodies may be there, but our hearts and minds are just somewhere else. 'Lost' people don't always realize they aren't 'present' in the true sense of the word. They just aren't all that aware of being 'absent' in the moment.

If we desire God's best in our lives, we will soon realize mindless drifting is just not what he has in mind. We all need a purpose - a path to follow. We all do much better when we have 'followed the directions' set our for us than we do when we have struck out on our own. Just sayin!

Adjustment needed?

We cannot change our past. We cannot change the fact that people act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. (Charles R. Swindoll)

Who is like the wise man? And who understands the meaning of anything? A man’s wisdom makes his face shine. The hard look on his face is changed. (Ecclesiastes 8:1)

What are we truly able to change? Many times, we think we can change others, but that probably hasn't worked so well for any of us. We have a hard enough time trying to change ourselves, much less another! We might think we can change the circumstances upon us, but most of the time we can just 'adjust our attitude' toward them. We sometimes believe we could have changed the world, but the world likely didn't want to be changed as we wanted it changed! Change is inevitable, but our attitude toward it is not. We choose the attitude by which we will face change as it comes. We don't change the past - it is already set. We don't change the future - it isn't in our control. We can impact the present - all by having the right attitude toward past, present, AND future.

Wisdom is what most of us actually need, but we seek other answers. We search for some 'truth' that really isn't there, all the while missing the truth that God wants us to see in that moment. We rally around events, people, and ideals we cannot possibly fully understand, but neglect to bring God into the plans around each of these. In the end, we wonder why things went so miserably wrong and why we feel so terrible over the matter or relationship. We left God out - we didn't make room for his wisdom in OUR plans. The fool trudges ahead, regardless of what God reveals, thinking he is wise in his own reasoning. The godly know they are foolish, regarding God's wisdom over their own in order to remain in the place of safety and godly protection.

Attitude is a choice. We can grumble against the plan of God - the place where we might find ourselves heading right now - but we all probably know that won't end as well as hoped. We can embrace it - thinking there has got to be a better way than the way God is choosing, but we know half-hearted commitment to God's plans isn't really what he is after. We can admit we are struggling with where God has us headed - honestly acknowledging our internal struggles with his plan - facing the circumstances with a commitment to see them through God's way, not our own. Which one do you think will bring us closer to God's desire for our lives? If you said the latter, you are probably right. 

God's ways may be hard to accept at times, but when we allow our attitude to be one of 'not my will, but thine', then we are likely to do more than 'endure' them. We are more likely to invest ourselves in his plan when we release our stubborn will and allow him to lead us. Attitude always determines altitude. Where we focus the most, and the 'attitude' we have within our hearts - that is what determines how well we will come through it all. Wisdom isn't always the same thing as understanding - we don't always need to understand God's plans to wisely walk within them. Just sayin!

Aspirations and Ambitions

An empty-head thinks mischief is fun, but a mindful person relishes wisdom. The aspirations of good people end in celebration; the ambitions of bad people crash. The speech of a good person clears the air; the words of the wicked pollute it. (Proverbs 10:23, 28, 32)

Ever said to yourself, "Now why'd I do THAT"? I think we probably all have at some point. We plunge right in and then in 20/20 retrospect, we wonder how we ever got as "messed up" as we did. It was probably because we had one of those times when we just didn't stop long enough to consider the consequences of what we were doing - the scripture calls this being "empty-headed". These empty-headed decisions are really not built on a solid foundation therefore they will not turn out well. Our conduct may be fun for a while, but eventually empty-headed decisions catch up with us. Mindful decisions are marked by attentiveness, awareness, and great care. These types of decisions make for a much better outcome - their foundation is a lot stronger and more enduring.

A schemer leans to the side of embracing the impractical - they have a plan, but it may not be well thought out. The developer leans to the side of development - allowing one piece to build upon another until they see the result of the finished work. Scripture promises the planner a much better outcome than the schemer. Why? There is a tendency for the planner to stop long enough to get God's perspective on the matter, while the schemer just takes off, hoping God will back them in their plan. I have been on both sides of the fence on this one! I can be the best of planners and the worst of schemers! I have had some of those empty-headed moments - but I'd like to think I have come full circle to becoming more mindful about my actions. A mindful person really has their "mind full", but with the right stuff!

The godly rest secure because they their plans are made and acted upon in God's sight. The fool might just make a few of their decisions under the cover of "darkness" - kind of like they hope to "fly under the radar" on some of them! It took me a long while to realize God doesn't need the radar! His powers of observations far outdo the radar - so there is really no "flying under the radar" with him! Mischief - ever stop to consider this word? It dawned on me it could be written as "MIS-Chief". In other words, the control (chief) in our lives is "misplaced". We determine to be "chief" instead of keeping God at the center. Anytime we do this, we are open to some pretty empty-headed decisions and actions! Mischief is really anything which will bring hurt or damage - getting anything but God at the center of our decisions is sure to produce both.

The goals or objectives of a godly man or woman end in celebration - because the desire, longing, or aim of their hearts is to please only one. The godly are contrasted to the foolish who don't have aspirations, but ambitions. Ambitions are pursuits which will result in a distinguished honor, power, fame, or even wealth. Some might think aspirations and ambitions are closely related - they wouldn't be wrong, but it is the "intent" behind each which determines if they are right for a child of God. If we really have no idea where God fits into the picture of whatever we are pursuing, it is likely an ambition and might just be one of those "empty headed" moments!

When the storm is over, there’s nothing left of the wicked; good people, firm on their rock foundation, aren’t even fazed. (vs. 25) When we allow our minds to be governed by the action of the Holy Spirit in our lives, we make better decisions. The "quality" of our decisions to act are based on a solid foundation. The result of the "well-planned" actions which are the result of having the right focus will end in better outcomes. We can have a lot of ambition and still totally miss the mark in the end. Ambition alone will not stand the test of time, or the challenge of testing. We need the desires of our heart to be filtered through the mind and heart of Christ. Until this occurs, we are just seeking ambitions - we never really move into aspirations. What stands the test of time is not the empty-headed decisions, but the well-rounded decisions of a heart willing to wait on God for his direction. Getting his perspective makes all the difference when the storms challenge our decisions. Just sayin!

Be a BIG Dreamer

For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘plans for well-being and not for trouble, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

If you were to hear those words spoken over your life today, what would you imagine yourself doing with the help and power of God actually guiding you to accomplish it? I think we 'dream dreams', but we seldom see those dreams come to full fruition. We have 'big plans', but they somehow fizzle out before they ever get finished. The more dream, the harder it seems it is to see those dreams become a reality. I dream of retirement and I am getting closer to that place, but today is not the day to accomplish that dream. Just because we dream something doesn't always make that dream come true - but if God is the author of our dreams, those things are already set in motion within our lives that will help to bring that dream to fruition!

Disney used to say all our dreams could come true if we had the courage to pursue them. I don't think he was terribly wrong, but I do think there are some dreams that require a little more courage than others. The dreams God has for us - the things he has planned for us - these may require a little more courage from us than some of the other 'run-of-the-mill' dreams we could muster up in our imaginations. God's dreams are "BIG" dreams - plans for our well-being and not for trouble. How many of your dreams could you say were going to enhance your well-being? Some of my dreams when I was a kid would not have done much to enhance my life, but I still pursued a few of them. Today, I find myself much more 'selective' about the dreams I pursue - because I have learned God's dreams for my future are much more reliable than my own!

I came across this quote the other day and wanted to share it with you: "The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all, the world needs dreamers who do." (Sarah Ban Breathnach) Dreamers who do - this conjures up the idea of 'putting feet to our dreams'. In other words, we take action. Too many times we know God has placed within us a 'plan' or a 'purpose' - we can feel it and sense it with each intake of breath - yet we don't act upon those plans or step our into that purpose. Dreamers who do are more than 'fanciful believers' - they are committed to the plan and know each step they take brings them closer and closer to the fulfillment of the dream. 

Dream big - there is nothing wrong with that. Give those dreams to God and ask him to sort them out for you - helping you to see which ones are the ones he knows will enhance our well-being and keep us out of trouble in life. Big dreams in the hands of an even BIGGER God have a way of changing the world! Just sayin!

It isn't useless

Just because something doesn't do what you planned it to do doesn't mean it's useless. (Thomas A. Edison)

Some actually said 'not so nice stuff' about Edison. In fact, if Edison had listened to what others labeled as his limitations in life, we'd have been deprived of many a great invention. Did you know he didn't start communicating until he was nearly three and a half years old? When he finally did start, do you know what he did? He started asking how everything he touched or saw worked! He had a mind that was curious to understand the inner workings of things - from the simple to the very complex. His constant curiosity did not endear him to his school teachers, though. In fact, they thought his constant questions were hard to manage and they actually said he had an 'addled' brain! I guess 'addled' may be another word for 'genius'! At the age of twelve, he undertook the task of reading almost every book in the public library! Why? He wanted to learn - he hungered for knowledge - his mind was seldom at rest. I wonder how many of us have a hunger to learn like he did? Maybe not all the scientific stuff, with the intent of helping us figure out how things work, but in the spiritual sense - trying to 'figure out' how things work as a child of God?

The fear of man brings a trap, but he who trusts in the Lord will be honored. (Proverbs 29:25)

The fear of man is kind of like one of those 'limiting influences' in life that would do nothing more than shut down our discovery of things God has planned for us. Man might want to say we haven't done what was planned for us to do - but remember that God doesn't see any of us as useless just because we haven't done what was planned for us! He sees us as capable of getting with the plan again! I am one of those 'why' kind of people in this world. I ask 'why' a whole lot - my mind just works that way, I guess. I don't think this is a bad thing, but others may find it annoying because they are just content to not understand the 'why' behind things in their lives. There is nothing wrong with asking 'why' - but if I let your shut down my discovery by your criticisms of my curiously hungry heart and mind, I am falling prey to your 'trap' to keep me from experiencing all that God has planned for me.

Most things we 'plan' don't work out exactly as the plan called for, do they? We get reasonably close at times, but there were quirks and bumps along the way that we didn't count on when we 'planned' to do something or see something operate a certain way. I do a whole lot of planning, but very little actual 'implementation' of the plan - not because they weren't good plans, but because others swayed me into believing the plan was flawed. Whenever we listen more to what others say than we listen to the voice of God in our lives, we run the risk of missing out on the implementation of some pretty awesome plans. Each of those plans could be a great moment of 'discovery' in our lives, but when we fail to ever experience the plan, we are shutting down God's work in us. Listening to the voices that tell us we 'cannot' or 'will not' succeed with the plan is nothing more than falling into the trap of defeat. 

Some are defeated even before they take the first step into the plan! They have listened for so long to the voices of others telling them their plans are not right, or dumb. They are 'shut down' even before they 'start up'. Trust in the Lord to develop the plan and then continue to trust in him to bring about the fruition of that plan! Stop listening to what others are telling you won't work, or isn't within your ability. I doubt Edison ever knew he could invent the telegraph, much less the telephone or the light bulb. He never let the 'limitations' others put on him, or the criticism of his plans get him to a place where he stopped trying. In fact, those criticisms may have done more to fuel his creativity than shut it down! God has plans for you - great plans - stop listening to the voices that tell you otherwise! Even the 'failed plans' aren't really failures - they are launching points for the next phase of work. Just sayin!

Make the plan - then work the plan

Are you a planner? Do you make lists, check them twice, and then adjust the lists to make even more sense? If so, you just could be a 'planner' of sorts. There are lots of things we plan - where we will vacation, what we will have for our dinner this week, what times to pick people up each day, or even what order to do our many loads of laundry in as we sort through the piles. Planning is a good thing, especially when we are planning in ways that will make us more productive, efficient, or help us save needed money. Planning is just a way to help us order our steps toward some goal. If we see the value in planning, we might just begin to incorporate a little planning into how it is we respond to others, what we will do with our time when we are together with them, and where we will invest into their lives.

Don’t those who work evil stray from the truth? Those who plan goodness experience unfailing love and faithfulness. (Proverbs 14:22 VOICE)

Goodness is actually something we must 'plan for' in our lives. We aren't always 'goodness-driven' individuals because we have our own niggling needs that seem to interfere on occasion, our fears that keep us from reaching out to meet a need when we see it, or our 'created stories' that tell us our contribution won't really matter. We must plan for goodness - that means we must take active steps to not only allow goodness to be poured into our lives, but to let it out for others to enjoy! Goodness begins with biblically-aligned morals. That means I don't choose my own way to live - I choose God's and allow him to align my values with his. Too many times we try to get this the other way around - we try to get his values to align with ours! Goodness has a beginning point and it is in right relationship with Jesus.

Did you ever stop to think about your responses in certain situations? I do this all the time - looking at the ways I have responded to life events, even the little ones, helps me understand how well my character is reflecting the character of Christ. It has been said that character is a set of traits or qualities that define how it is we will respond to life as it comes our way. I am not always that resilient in my character - there are times when I get tired, grumpy, down, and a little bit too emotionally focused. When I allow my fatigue to influence my responses, my character probably reflects things such as being snippy in my responses, having a lack of interest in what others are doing or saying, or even getting a little too withdrawn. When I allow my emotions to direct my behavior, my response to life is usually not all that reliable.

Goodness is indeed planned - in times alone with God, in those moments when scripture seems to cement something he has been trying to tell you, or even in those times when someone just hits the nail on the head by pointing out something you have been overlooking for way too long. We need to make a plan, then we work the plan. No plan is of value unless it is worked. We can plan till the cows come home, but if we never put the plan into practice, it was just good words without any action! How will you plan for goodness in your life today? For me, it might resemble an action like me taking my time with mom when I'd rather she'd hurry up with a task. This is but one example, but you can see that the action is relationship-based. First in my relationship with Jesus - then in one of the relationships I have on this earth that I value very much.

You can begin planning for goodness in your life, as well. Today is a new day - a new chance to change the ways you will respond to life as it happens. What will you plan today? Just askin!

The wise and the wisest

What action do you plan next? This is a tough question for some of us to answer because we just don't 'plan' our actions - we are more on the spontaneous side of things. Did you ever stop for just a moment to consider that even spontaneous actions are planned at some point? Yes, they are 'in the moment' actions, but we only do them because we have considered them either consciously, or deep within the recesses of our subconscious. All action is really based on some intensity of emotion combined with some belief we are to take that particular action. This is were things get a little complicated, because the intensity of our emotion may not always align with our beliefs! Sometimes they are 'way over the top' and just don't make sense in comparison to the action being enacted.

Form your purpose by asking for counsel, then carry it out using all the help you can get. (Proverbs 20:18)

If you have ever made a 'resolution' to do one thing, and find yourself doing another, it isn't that you didn't 'plan' the action - it is likely that some emotion overrode the original or intended action. There are indeed times when we don't have well thought out plans that are truly "actionable" and "realistic".
If there was one thing that was drilled into me over and over again in nursing school it was that our goals (plans) for our patients needed to be actionable and realistic - something they could actually achieve. In other words, we needed to be able to show how we planned to accomplish the care for our patient, each step outlined in detail, until the goal could be realized - not just through our action, but as a result of how the patient would respond to those interventions. Why was this so important? Simply put - a plan that was outlined with detail gave us guidance in establishing the best course of action that would get us as close to the results we desired to see for our patient's best outcome.

Our "purpose" (PLAN) needs to be formed by asking for counsel. Asking for advice when formulating our plan is important because we NEED the input of others - especially God. Most of the time, we set out on plans ourselves without seeking the input of others (especially God) because we think we have it all figured out. Others (especially God) may see things in a different way, lending a well-rounded approach to the plan. When we have the wisdom of a counselor (especially God) on our side, we may have more "actionable" or "trust-worthy" steps to our plan. The counsel we receive is only as good as the counselor we seek out. In other words, if we want to succeed in weight loss, we go to somehow who has walked the path before us. If we want to learn to invest our finances wisely, we need someone who can live on a budget and who is able to spend wisely. When we come for counsel, we are seeking the opinion of that other person and we are looking for them to give us instruction that will affect our conduct. So, it is important that we seek the best counsel as possible - but never at the expense of excluding God's counsel from his Word and time in prayerful silence.

Every goal has to have actionable steps - those itemized increments that will get us to the goal. No step in the process should be without some purposeful action. If we are just including something into our plan because it looks good or sounds good, but really has no real purpose in aiding in the accomplishment of the plan, it is wasteful - unnecessary fluff that will sap our energy, time, and attention. We spend energy on something that has no results. When we do this, we "burn out" on the plan faster and we don't realize our original goals - intent was good, but execution was poor. What plans do you have for this day or week? Have you sought wise counsel to assist you in formulating your plans (especially God's)? If not, you might want to heed the advice of our scripture. The plans of a righteous man are ordered by God - especially God. The plans of a righteous man are actionable and measurable because they have been submitted to the counsel of the wise - and the wisest. Just sayin!

The craftsman at work

I don't know about you all, but I have projects that were begun with the best of intentions, but just never really came to the place of really being 'finished' in the timeframe I expected. It took longer than I thought, was more involved than I imagined, or just cost a little bit more than I may have realized when I began the work. Sometimes I get creative and take on the design of something - like a new raised bed or the huge project of garage organization. No real pattern to follow - I just set out with a vision in mind. The problem with these types of projects is that we seldom understand the cost, intensity, or true outcome of the project. It is actually very freeing to have an example to follow - acting as a guide by which we formulate our work and direct our effort. Even in how we choose to live our lives, we want examples - at least one. When we no longer have to "figure out" what it is that we are expected to be, how we are to live our lives, or what our next move should be, it is quite liberating. Even if we don't realize it, we have a pattern for our lives established well in advance of each new breath we breathe. God decided long before you or I breathed our first breath on this earth what our lives should be like - he shaped the very fibers of our being with the purpose of living according to his purpose. There is a plan!

29-30 God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

(Romans 8:29-30)

When we really begin to grasp the reality of that statement, we can begin to live a transformed life - a patterned life.  You see, when we are no longer needing to decide the direction our life should take, we are free to pursue the purpose of one who already knows what the plan looks like!  It is also very satisfying to know that what God begins, he takes to full or total completion!  God isn't into making junk - something that serves a purpose for a time and then is discarded somewhere down the road - he finishes what he starts (unlike some of us). He is all about making works of art - things of beauty to be treasured for eternity.  God planned for us to be his kids - it was his ultimate goal that he should have us in his family. After making this plan, he sent out the invitation - our part is to accept the invitation. Once we have taken on the new "family name" (a child of God), he sets us up for all we need to walk according to his purposes. Now established on that strong foundation, we can be assured that he will complete the work of growing us up in his family. To be truthful here, there just isn't any room for us to deviate from the plan! I don't see any deviation in the plan, do you?  He does the work, we respond to the calling, he completes that which we were called to be - children of the living God.  We may fail to acknowledge his grace on occasion, even stumble and fall a little, but we are still part of his family, under his care, soon to be moving according to his plan and purpose again!

Woohoo!  We serve a good God!  Awesome in every way!  We need to celebrate the grace of God in our lives.  We need to enjoy (truly embrace) the plan of God - his working in us, making us into works of art!  An artist has an end in mind when he begins his work - it may not be evident when the first brush-stroke hits the canvas, or the first clump of clay is placed on the wheel, but he has a "vision" for the "finished-product". We sometimes get so "wigged-out" by the fact that we don't look like or act like a "finished-product" of God.  Don't lose hope!  God is still making brush strokes and tenderly shaping the clay.  Keep this one thing in mind:  He who begun a good work in you will be SURE to complete it! The plan is only the starting spot - the hand of the craftsman is what allows the plan to be worked into the finished product! Just sayin!

Prep, Execute, Learn

Send your grain across the seas, and in time, profits will flow back to you.  But divide your investments among many places, for you do not know what risks might lie ahead. 

(Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 NLT)

Colin Powell said success was the result of preparation, hard work, but probably most important was this whole concept of learning from failure. We will "try" things and not do as well as we wanted to when we set things in motion with whatever that was supposed to turn out like in the end. We will "try" to make things better in relationship, only to find we still don't possess the "right stuff" we thought we needed - causing us to reach out beyond ourselves if we want things to go any further or get any better than what they are under our own "trial and error" steps. We will "try" to learn to play an instrument, but soon find it takes much more than learning the names of notes on the paper or the location of those notes on the keyboard or strings. Prepare well. Put in the effort. In the off-chance you don't quite "hit the mark" as well as you hoped to, return to the preparation phase and begin again! You aren't finished just because you failed - you are just beginning something new!

No matter how well we plan or how significant our preparations are, we find ourselves committed to a whole lot of hard work to get to the results we desire. This is just part of what it takes to see a job done well, or a relationship knit together in such a deep fashion so as it won't fall apart with the first storm that comes your way. The three are integral in "building" anything that is going to last beyond the "dream" or "imagination" phase - we have to prepare, put in the effort, and realize we might fail - but if we take what we learn from the failure and apply it to how we prepare the next time, we might see different steps which must be taken in order to get different results. As the old adage goes - if we do what we've always done, we'll get what we've always gotten. We cannot expect different results if we don't learn how to alter our preparations and change the way we "do the work"!

While our advice from the scriptures today deals with "investments", let's not close our minds to the fact we have "investments" in much more than stocks and bonds, IRAs and 401Ks. We have investments in family, friends, work relationships, metrics by which we analyze the outcome of our work in our jobs, etc. There are lots and lots of ways we "spread ourselves" among the things we are invested in right now and where we will be placing our invested energies next week. We need to learn to make those investments count - not just spread ourselves so thin between them that we don't really put much into the preparation, execution, and observations we put into or take away from these investments. The more we learn to do a little up-front prep work, the better our execution. The couple who plans the date does a much better job of clearing the way for the date to be a success. The employee who maps our the workflow before undertaking a huge change with the process design learns what steps are integral to the "end result".

God isn't impractical in his "advice" found in scripture. It makes sense! It helps us to take the common, everyday stuff of life and put it into order, so we get the results we hope for in the end. If we don't get those results, either we need to adjust our expectations, or we need to adjust the steps we are taking in order to get them! Just sayin!

Planning requires a coach

Most of us walk some form of "path".  A path is some course of action - the way we conduct ourselves - which gets us from point "A" to point "B".  Ever get lost?  You think it simple going from where you are right now - but in the complexity of today, the uncertainty of tomorrow, and the muddle of yesterday, the path can get a little twisted!  By the very definition of a path, it some way which is trodden so frequently it becomes "worn" with the continual "passing".  Walk once over a spot and it shows evidence of you being there, but it soon fades with the next cycle of growth or cleaning cycle.  Walk often enough over the same spot and it shows signs of the frequent passing!  

When a person’s path draws favor from the Lord, even their enemies are at peace with them.  People plan their path, but the Lord secures their steps.  (Proverbs 16:7, 9 CEB)

I chose two verses from this proverb this morning.  One speaks of the path which "draws favor" from the Lord and the path which man "plans".  Let's begin with the latter.  Man does a whole lot of planning - reworking the plans to fit the present circumstances.  If you don't believe me, think about how often you have reworked your budget to fit your present earnings!  Solomon begins this proverb with the words:  "Mortals make elaborate plans, but God has the last word." (vs. 1 MSG)  Yep, we make all kind of elaborate plans - but no one has the last word until God speaks!  You know the colloquialism, "It isn't over until the fat lady sings"?  Well, I am not saying God is "the fat lady", but you get my drift!

A plan lays out our way of acting when certain things occur.  It is a kind of "cause & effect" diagram.  This presents itself, we respond this way.  We see this item on sale, we purchase it.  We hear a freight train blow its whistle as we approach the crossing, we stop while it passes.  We get hit with hostility when we approach a subject, we respond in hurt and anger.  One action leads to another.  Now, some of these occur by careful planning - such as waiting for the store to put the item on sale at a price closer to what we are willing and able to pay.  The others don't require such carefulness.  Some responses come by "learning" - such as knowing freight trains cross the tracks and cars don't do well if they don't heed the warning of the whistle.  Others come by stumbling into them - such as when we find ourselves smack-dab in the middle of an argument.

There can be degrees of "rigidity" in our planning.  For some of us, we are "planners par-excellence" - practiced in planning out each detail down to the little stuff.  For some of us, we are constantly reminding these folks to "lighten up" and "take a chill pill" because their "planned existence" is just too rigid for us.  The opposite is true of some - taking life as it comes - not really planning ahead in any real sense of the word.  These individuals like to call themselves "spontaneous".  I think this may just be a big word for impulsiveness!  If the opportunity presents, these people jump on it and follow the path wherever it takes them.  Don't get me wrong, spontaneity is important, but it is not a way of life.

Look again at our scriptures - man plans, God determines the game!  He knows the "players" better than we do - we need his "coaching" skills to give us insight into the plan which will cause us to have both a good defense and a strong offense.  Sandwiched right in the middle of our passage we find the word "secures".  Man plans - God secures.  Man may set out not to fail - only God has the ability to keep us from failing!  

When our path is marked by the "security" God provides, it makes our steps firm.  Where God directs, failure is less likely - simply because the steps are in his keeping.  Let me just say, God is not in the business of being our personal body-guard when we trudge ahead without any concern toward getting his insight into our plans.  He might keep us from being totally lost in the end, but remember the principles of sowing and reaping.  We sow - we reap.  We might not always find our plans producing what we hoped for.  

God's plans for our lives are not "liable" to fail.  In other words, our steps are not subject to the same twists and turns as when we trudge out on our own.  There are a lot of pitfalls we are susceptible to in life.  We fall into them because we do little "pre-planning" to understand how to recognize them.  To avoid them, we first have to recognize them!  No one walks into quicksand if they actually know how quicksand appears when they come upon it.  How do we get to the place of recognizing pitfalls in our lives?  I think it comes a variety of ways, but the most important way is through the Word of God.  As we learn more about God's ways and his intention for our lives, we often see choices before us as either lining up with these or not.  Even the "bad examples" we have in scripture - those who chose to go their own way and reap what they sowed - serve as examples!

We also have the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.  He is there as a constant companion - guiding us in our planning.  If we actually begin to obey the "nudging" of his influence in our lives, we might make fewer missteps along the way.  Obedience is deliberate, not accidental!  Just sayin!

Tomorrow: God's Plan

What you say goes, God, and stays, as permanent as the heavens. 
   Your truth never goes out of fashion; it's as up-to-date as the earth when the sun comes up.  Your Word and truth are dependable as ever; that's what you ordered—you set the earth going. 

(Psalm 119:89-91 The Message)

 ⁸⁹ Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness extends to every generation, as enduring as the earth you created. ⁹¹ Your regulations remain true to this day, for everything serves your plans.

(Psalm 119:89-91 New Living Translation)

We are about to embark on a new year - 2011 is coming to a close and 2012 is just ebbing its way into our view.  As I have grown older, time seems to pass faster.  The "ebbing" of a new day seems to be upon me before I even realize that the old one has passed me by!  There is one truth that endures through the passage of time - - God's Word is dependable!  For some, this goes without saying because they have adopted the Word of God as a standard by which they live their lives.  They have tested it and found it to be "a sure thing".  There is another truth that I think we might miss in this passage, but it is equally as important - - Everything serves God's plans!

As much as we can count on the "permanence" of God and what he says, we can count that nothing (absolutely nothing) escapes his purposes and plans for our lives.  This should give us hope that the events of yesterday prepared us for something we face today and the occurrences of today will prepare us for the challenges of tomorrow.  Sometimes we think events are "random", or that they could not serve any real purpose in our lives.  If we read what God says here, EVERYTHING serves his plans!

The most amazing thing to me is that we find the reliability of God's Word is often easier for us to trust than the assurance that God is at work in the midst of the present events of our day!  We doubt his "awareness" of our circumstances - - thinking that maybe these "events" have "popped up" without him really being "in the know" about them.  We can never forget the fact that God is divine - - he has no limitations when it comes to being all places at all times, knowing all things that are known, etc.  We have a hard time with these concepts because we are trying to grasp them from a purely "human" perspective.  

At best, we can catch a glimpse of the divine - - God giving us insight in a moment in time into the events, serving to bring us peace or assurance that all is in his hands.  We don't really "live in" the divine, so we have to learn to "trust in" the divine!  Trusting that he does have an awareness of everything that happens - - nothing escaping his plans.  

We don't know what a new year holds for us, but we do know this - - God has been in control all along, he remains in control today, and he has full control of tomorrow.  There are plans bigger than our understanding at work in our future - - all we can do is trust them to be "worked out" according to his "master plan".  We don't see the purpose in many things such as loss of loved ones, reduction in income, changes in friendships, or an unexpected illness.  In our "finite" minds we cannot conceive the plans God has in each of these events - - we can only trust the "infinite" perspective of his "BIG PICTURE" view of it all.

Here are some closing thoughts for our year:

- God has placed you in this season for a reason.  Each season serves a purpose.  Some are times of preparation, others are times of growth.  Still others seem like times of coldness and dormancy.  Even in those "dormant" seasons, there is work being done.  The ground of our hearts may seem cool and blanketed in darkness - - just beneath the surface, seeds have been planted and are just waiting to take root in just the right season.

- God has designed the friendships you have within this season.  They serve the purpose of helping you with the "labor" and the "rest" of the season you are experiencing.  You are not designed to face the seasons of life alone - - he has purposefully placed individuals in your life as companions in this walk.  

- God has provided for your future.  It may not be evident as you look through the "vision" of today, but he sees that "big picture" of what tomorrow will bring.  His "vision" is far better than Superman's - - he sees right through the present and into the future.  We need to trust the Lord to lead us by his hand.  He's marked out the path - - we simply need to follow it forward.

One Company Left

^19-22 Gideon and his hundred men got to the edge of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the sentries had been posted. They blew the trumpets, at the same time smashing the jars they carried. All three companies blew the trumpets and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the trumpets in their right hands, ready to blow, and shouted, "A sword for God and for Gideon!" They were stationed all around the camp, each man at his post. The whole Midianite camp jumped to its feet. They yelled and fled. When the three hundred blew the trumpets, God aimed each Midianite's sword against his companion, all over the camp. They ran for their lives—to Beth Shittah, toward Zererah, to the border of Abel Meholah near Tabbath.

(Judges 7:19-22)

The story of the battle against the Midianites has a couple of messages that might just help to guide us through our daily "battles".  Gideon was not a valiant warrior, tested on the battlefields.  In fact, he was a regular guy, minding his own business, working on the threshing floor one day when God calls him to be the leader of the army that would ultimately bring Israel out of their bondage to the Midianites.  I am encouraged by the fact that God uses ordinary people to do the  most extraordinary things!

I will encourage you to read the entire chapter, but for the purposes of the blog this morning, I will simply give you a run-down of the events leading up to the defeat of the huge, powerful army of Midianites camped all around Israel.  In the previous chapter, we have the account of Gideon having a struggle with the calling on his life - he did not see himself in quite the same way God saw him.  That is often the case with us, too.  We simply have a different "image" of ourselves than God does.  That "image" limits us - not because we really 'are' a certain way, but because we see ourselves as that way.  

Gideon goes through all kinds of back-and-forth dialogue with God - all in an attempt to come to a place where he actually believed that God was with him, involved in the calling on his life to go up against the huge army of Midianites, and that God was empowering him for the battle.  Admit it...we do the same thing!  We put God to the test - attempting to come to some "reasonable" conclusion that what we "think" we heard God tell us to do was really the voice of God!  When we finally come to that place of believing, it is time to take the first step.  Don't you know...we likely do it just the way Gideon did!

He takes a huge contingent of men with him to fight the battle.  The men are not the best trained warriors, but there is strength in numbers - right?  God "checks" him on that move.  He stops him short and tells him he has too many men to go up against Midian!  Ummm....God, have you actually seen the size of THEIR army?  So, Gideon has come a little way in his faith by this time, so he actually listens to God when he tells him to "pare down" the troops.  

The way God tells him to "pare down" the men is kind of humorous to me - he tells Gideon to ask who is afraid, or who has any qualms at all about going to battle against this huge army.  Twenty-two companies of men step forward and admit that they are afraid or in doubt!  That leaves Gideon with ten companies of men!  If you know anything about battle, a company of men is about 250 foot soldiers.  So, do the math - 5,500 leave and 2,500 remain!  He has essentially lost two-thirds of his troops in one fell swoop!

If that is not enough, God asks him to "pare it down" just a little further.  God has the men drink of the stream...those that kneel down, putting their face to the water are to go home.  Now, he is left with a little more than one company of men - 300 in total!  Why did God ask that his numbers be reduced so low prior to the battle?  It was simple...God wanted Gideon and Israel to know that it was God that won the battle, not them!  If he went out with 8,000 men to the battle, Gideon and Israel could begin to think that their own might, military prowess, or tactical skill resulted in the "win".  

God has our end in mind in every teachable moment of our lives!  For Gideon, this was a teachable moment.  He was being asked to trust in the impossible. So many times, God asks us to trust him IN the impossible and WITH the impossible.  Both are tremendously hard for us to do, but both carry a reward far greater than we'd ever imagine.  Gideon's 300 troops, in the hand of God, were more than sufficient for the battle.  The Midianites were routed!  And...God got the credit!

When Gideon speaks to his troops, he gives a simple charge:  Get up!  Get going!  God has given us our enemy!  When we are in God's timing, in his plan for our lives, it is much easier to respond to the call to "get up" and to "get going"!  Trying to do things in our own strength makes the battle much harder! Think about it...300 versus 8,000 men.  How much easier was it to rally the 300?  Significantly!  God's plan was "manageable"!  That is always the case!  God always has something prepared for us that is more "manageable" than what we'd concoct any day!

Gideon thought he knew how to take the enemy - God showed him he did not. Gideon believed he had the necessary tools (a huge army) - God showed him that a smaller tool chest was really sufficient!  In God's economy, more is not always better!  In fact, God says he takes the small things and uses them confound the biggest stuff in life!  God's economy lessons are definitely worth learning!

Actionable and Measurable Plans

¹⁸ Form your purpose by asking for counsel,
   then carry it out using all the help you can get.

(Proverbs 20:18)

As the New Year dawns and all good people begin to share their "resolutions", I am reluctant to believe many of them as I have seen the results of "resolutions" in the past.  Most of us start out well, fizzle by February, and bemoan our ill-fated plans by March!  What happens?  We don't have well thought out plans that are truly "actionable" and "realistic". 

If there was one thing that was drilled into me over and over again in nursing school it was that our goals for our patients needed to be actionable and realistic.  In other words, we needed to be able to show how we planned to accomplish the care for our patient, each step outlined in detail, until the goal could be realized.  Why was this so important?  Simply put - a plan that was outlined with detail gave us guidance in establishing the best course of action that would get us as close to the results we desired.

Our passage today indicates that our "purpose" (PLAN) needs to be formed by asking for counsel.  First of all, asking for advice when formulating our plan for the year is important because we NEED the input of others.  Most of the time, we set out on plans ourselves without seeking the input of others because we think we have it all figured out.  Others may see things in a different way, lending a well-rounded approach to the plan.  When we have the wisdom of a counselor on our side, we may have more "actionable" steps to our plan.

The counsel we receive is only as good as the counselor we seek out.  In other words, if we want to succeed in weight loss, we go to somehow who has walked the path before us.  If we want to learn to invest our finances wisely, we need someone who can live on a budget and who is able to spend wisely.  When we come for counsel, we are seeking the opinion of that other person and we are looking for them to give us instruction that will affect our conduct.  So, it is important that we seek the best counsel as possible.

Every goal has to have actionable steps - those itemized increments that will get us to the goal.  No step in the process should be without some purposeful action.  If we are just including something into our plan because it looks good or sounds good, but really has no real purpose in aiding in the accomplishment of the plan, it is wasteful.  We spend energy on something that has no results.  When we do this, we "burn out" on the plan faster and then we don't realize our original goals.

What plans do you have for this New Year?  Have you sought wise counsel to assist you in formulating your plans?  If not, you might want to heed the advice of scripture.  The plans of a righteous man are ordered by God.  The plans of a righteous man are actionable and measurable because they have been submitted to the counsel of the wise.  

Unfinished Products

^29-30God knew what he was doing from the very beginning. He decided from the outset to shape the lives of those who love him along the same lines as the life of his Son. The Son stands first in the line of humanity he restored. We see the original and intended shape of our lives there in him. After God made that decision of what his children should be like, he followed it up by calling people by name. After he called them by name, he set them on a solid basis with himself. And then, after getting them established, he stayed with them to the end, gloriously completing what he had begun.

(Romans 8:29-30)

It is very freeing to recognize that we have an example to pattern our lives after.  When we no longer have to "figure out" what it is that we are expected to be, how we are to live our lives, it is quite liberating.  Paul reminds us that we have a pattern for our lives established well in advance of each new breath we breathe.  God decided long before you or I breathed our first breath on this earth what our lives should be like - he shaped the very fibers of our being with the purpose of living according to his purpose.

When I really begin to grasp the reality of that statement, I can begin to live a transformed life.  You see, when I am no longer needing to decide the direction my life should take, I am free to pursue the purpose of one who already knows!  It is also very satisfying to know that what God begins, he takes to full / total completion!  God isn't into making junk - something that serves a purpose for a time and then is discarded somewhere down the road.

He is all about making works of art - things of beauty to be treasured for eternity.  Look at the progression here:

• God planned for us to be his kids - it was his ultimate goal that he should have us in his family.
• After making this plan, he sent out the invitation - our part is to accept the invitation.
• Once we have taken on the new "family name" (a child of God), he sets us up for all we need to walk according to his purposes
• Now established on that strong foundation, we can be assured that he will complete the work of growing us up in his family

I don't see any deviation in the plan, do you?  He does the work, we respond to the calling, he completes that which we were called to be - children of the living God.  I may fail to acknowledge his grace on occasion, even stumble and fall a little, but I am still part of his family, under his care, soon to be moving according to his plan and purpose again!

Woohoo!  We serve a good God!  Awesome in every way!  We need to celebrate the grace of God in our lives.  We need to enjoy (truly embrace) the plan of God - making us into works of art!  An artist has an end in mind when he begins his work - it may not be evident when the first brush-stroke hits the canvas, or the first clump of clay is placed on the wheel, but he has a "vision" for the "finished-product".  

We sometimes get so "wigged-out" by the fact that we don't look like or act like a "finished-product" of God.  Don't lose hope!  God is still making brush strokes and tenderly shaping the clay.  Keep this one thing in mind:  He who begun a good work in you will be SURE to complete it!