This is Your Blessing

JaVale McGee is 7 feet, with a 7’6½” wingspan and a 31½-inch vertical leap, unfathomable for a man his size. At 24, he can tap the front of the rim with his forehead. He can slap the top of the square with his palm. He can dunk a cookie in a bowl of milk 11 feet off the ground. When McGee was at the University of Nevada, an opposing player once explained to his coach why he couldn’t guard him: “He jumped over me.”

And as big, as strong and athletic as he is today, there was nothing he could do to save his own life in 1987.  You see JaVale’s mother had a decision to make, a decision she waited 23 years to tell her son.

On a Saturday morning in the spring of 1987, Pamela McGee sat on the shore at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles, 72 hours from a scheduled abortion. “Do you want to be pregnant?” the counselor at the clinic had asked her. “No,” McGee replied. She was a single, 24-year-old professional basketball player, and she could not take maternity leave. And even if she could, she couldn’t imagine hauling an infant to Italy and parking the stroller next to the bench. But as McGee looked out over the Pacific, she began to reconsider. “I prayed and prayed and prayed and felt like I heard a voice from God,” McGee says. “He was telling me, ‘This is your gift.'” The next day she went to Faithful Central Bible Church in Inglewood, and the pastor delivered a sermon about not aborting one’s blessings.O.K., God, McGee thought. You don’t have to beat it into my head. She called the clinic to cancel, and on Jan. 19, 1988, gave birth to a boy with physical abilities that would border on the supernatural.

The day after last year’s dunk contest in L.A., JaVale called his mother at 8 a.m. and told her he wanted to go to church. Pamela was exhausted, with only five hours sleep, and surprised. But she knew just the place. During the sermon at Faithful Central Bible, JaVale looked over at his mom, tears streaking her cheeks. “Why are you crying?” he asked. There, for the first time, Pamela told him about the clinic and the beach and the reason she cannot get all that upset about alley-oops gone awry. “For me,” she told her son, “you’ve been such a blessing.”

Credit Sports Illustrated, April 16, 2012 “JaVale Being JaVale” by Lee Jenkins

“We cannot diminish the value of one category of human life – the unborn – without diminishing the value of all human life.”  Ronald Reagan

A Grateful Perspective

Remember,
whatever you focus upon, increases.

When you focus on the things you need,
you’ll find those needs increasing.

If you concentrate your thoughts on what you don’t have,
you will soon be concentrating on other things that you had forgotten you don’t have-and feel worse!

If you set your mind on loss,
you are more likely to lose.

But a grateful perspective brings happiness and abundance into a person’s life.

― Andy Andrews

The Rolling Thunder

One evening, a man was enjoying a nice walk when a thunderstorm suddenly appeared out of no where.  A severe wind began to blow.  After the storm was over, the man looked out over the clear bay. He then heard a church bell in the distance and the words to How Great Thou Art begin to form in his heart, “O Lord my God, When I in awesome wonder, Consider all the worlds Thy Hands have made; I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder, Thy power throughout the universe displayed.”

Can you imagine what this Swedish pastor, Carl Boberg, felt as he formed these words? There was such calmness after the fierce storm he could only utter those words of peace.

Few songs have words as deeply significant as How Great Thou Art. Consider the world God has made… our earth, everyone on it, from the beginning of time to the end.  Scientists speculate that our galaxy has over 200 billion stars… they estimate that the known universe has over 300 billion galaxies, every single one created by the Hands of our God!

And across the vast universe, billions of galaxies, solar systems, stars and planets… He created us and loves us. “And when I think, that God, His Son not sparing; Sent Him to die, I scarce can take it in; That on the Cross, my burden gladly bearing, He bled and died to take away my sin.” Over  7 billion people on this planet and God, the God of the universe, sent His only Son to bleed and die for my sins!  Indeed, I scarce can take it in, I don’t deserve it, I can’t fathom it.

As if that weren’t enough, He is coming back.. for me and you!  “When Christ shall come, with shout of acclamation, And take me home, what joy shall fill my heart. Then I shall bow, in humble adoration, And then proclaim: “My God, how great Thou art!”

Like me, you may have had a bad day or week, month or year.  Perhaps you are down, feeling alone, sad, bummed out.  Stop a moment, think about God.  Consider all that God has done in your life.  Ponder His power, feel His love and let joy fill your heart.

“Then sings my soul, My Saviour God, to Thee, How great Thou art, How great Thou art!”

When my son was little, he called this song, “The Rolling Thunder” song.  Hearing thunder can be a scary thing, easy for a child to relate to. Experiencing storms in life is hard.  Wait on Him, the thunder will subside, the skys will clear.  The calming love of God helps us see things more clearly. Hearing God’s voice whisper to us in the storm can cause us to say… My God, how great thou art.

The Lumpy Rug

My favorite TV show for the past few years has been Modern Family.  It follows the lives of a diverse and seemingly dysfunctional family.  Each show contains some life lesson and I find them to be both funny and poignant.

One of the best came from season 2 in 2009 in an episode called, “Coal Digger”.  At a family get together feelings are hurt as the truth comes about about relationships.  No one was malicious in their intent but nonetheless, words can be painful.

The young man Manny says, “Way to go. Thanks to you, my mom and my sister are fighting.”  Jay (the dad and granddad) replies with, “This is why we sweep things under the rug: so people don’t get hurt.”

This would have been the response for many people… sweep conflict under the rug.  But the wisdom in this show is sometimes expressed by the bumbling Phil who tells his father in law, “Until you sweep too much under the rug, then you got a lumpy rug. Creates a tripping hazard, open yourself to lawsuits, and man you can go a long time without blinking.”

Lumpy rugs are everywhere and they can cause far more damage than tripping!  Our lives are often filled with relationships that have been damaged by reality avoidance.  Let’s face it, we won’t agree on everything, but that doesn’t have to lead to conflict.  Love should prevail, but this is not always the case.  We can’t ‘feel’ our way to peace.

Silence can be more damaging than words and is never a good communication strategy.  No healthy relationship can exist without open, honest communication.  Not having an ‘authentic’ relationship, or not facing issues creates a tendency for people to hide things.  Facing them when they are revealed later is always far worse than dealing with them in the beginning.

When Jesus tells us to love others, it doesn’t mean to buy them roses or whisper sweet-nothings in their ears.  It simply means to desire only good for them.  Notice that Jesus didn’t say to like them or that we need to feel love for them before we can do good to them.  That’s because love is clearly not a feeling.  It is a decision.

“Love is not affectionate feeling, but a steady wish for the loved
person’s ultimate good as far as it can be obtained.”  C.S. Lewis

Biblical love is an act of the will for the other’s well-being and good.

1 John 4:7-11 says “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

For us to truly love someone we must make an effort to communicate in an open, honest and authentic way.  God made us all different yet He loves us all the same.  He wants us to love and respect each other as well.  This begins with communication, facing issues and not sweeping things under the rug, hoping they will go away.  Things tend to grow under there, get bigger over time.  And then, when finally faced, can be far more damaging than they might have been otherwise.

So shake out those rugs, find the lumps and get to work… in love.

You can watch a clip from this episode here: Modern Family

Conflict is pervasive…

Conflict is pervasive. It inhabits every corner and crevice of this sin-stained world. Struggles and clashes are so common that only the most solitary among us will avoid them. And while we generally prefer to avoid disputes and difficulties, in conflict we also find opportunity. If we wish to learn the consistent practice of gracious living, we require the presence of others. People with different perspectives and values can challenge our ability to live with them in unity, peace, and love. Yet, as laid out clearly in Scripture, unity is the goal for believers. If we mean to work through our conflicts and live in unity, only a regular outpouring of grace and love will suffice.

From Insight for Living

It will begin happening now…

“Do not remember the things that have happened before. Do not think about the things of the past. See, I will do a new thing. It will begin happening now. Will you not know about it? I will even make a road in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.”  Isaiah 43:18-19

“Brothers and sisters, 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.  All of us, then, who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.”  Philippians 3:13-15

Loss and Gain

Loss and Gain

Every year has its share of loss and gain
Each season a measure of joy and pain

Such was the story of two thousand eleven
One loss on earth was a great gain in heaven

But God sees the holes in our hearts from above
He’s with us in loss and fills our hearts with love

Her ship met another then I could see her no more
Sailed beyond the horizon but I’m not alone on the shore

What Breaks God’s Heart…

This past week we went to the Casting Crowns concert.  While many of their songs speak to my heart, my friend Don reminded me of this one.  “Jesus, Friend of Sinners”.  It has a powerful and convicting message.

Have you ever stopped to think what breaks God’s heart?  Jesus came to save us and die for our sins.  When we don’t accept His love and forgiveness, and live with the same intent for others… we break God’s heart.

Jesus, friend of sinners, the one who’s writing in the sand
Make the righteous turn away and the stones fall from their hands
Help us to remember we are all the least of thieves
Let the memory of Your mercy bring Your people to their knees
No one knows what we’re for only against when we judge the wounded
What if we put down our signs crossed over the lines and loved like You did

Take a moment to listen and examine your own heart… after all, “we are all the least of thieves.”

Tom

The High Road

When faced with life’s uncertainties,
we have a choice to make…
We can suffer with anxiety,
or choose which road to take.

Let’s choose to take the high road
where God is waiting there…
To bind our hearts together
as one body, joined in prayer.

We can face what life delivers,
as long as we are strong…
And trust that God will lead us
to the place where we belong.

We can find the right perspective
and unite in one accord…
If we keep our hands together
and our eyes fixed on the Lord.

Jill Lemming

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
that you may be children of your Father in heaven.

He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good,
and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
If you love those who love you, what reward will you get?
Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 
And if you greet only your own people,
what are you doing more than others?
Do not even pagans do that?
Be perfect, therefore,
as your heavenly Father
is perfect.

Matthew 5:43-48

God doesn’t call the qualified…

Jacob cheated
Peter had a temper
David had an affair
Noah got drunk
Jonah ran from God
Miriam was a gossiper
Paul committed murder
Gideon was insecure
Miriam gossiped
Martha worried
Thomas doubted
Sarah was impatient
Elijah was moody
Moses stuttered
Zacheaus was short
Abraham was old
Lazarus was dead

God doesn’t call the qualified…

.                                                          He qualifies the called.