To Be Thankful

It's been a great day! We had originally planned to drive to my sister and brother-in-law's place sometime yesterday, but 9 inches of snow caused us to change those plans. We all had a really good time just hanging out, watching football, eating food, talking and sharing things we are thankful for. And there is so much to be thankful for! Health, nearly 40 years of marriage, growing to love a job, experiencing God bringing about a change of heart, new life, a new job and direction in life were all things that were shared by family and friends. And yet, as I sit here on the eve of one the greediest day of the year, I find myself being tempted to not be satisfied. After all, there are still so many other things I desire for in my life. Mind you, these are not bad or sinful things, in and of themselves for me to want. But there is a distinguishing line between having a desire for these things - marriage, kids, and a job to support them - and the priority I give these things in my life. As one pastor put it, "Idols are often things that start out as good things, which we turn into a god-thing, which becomes a bad thing to us."

Paul has much to say on the subject of contentment in the book of Philippians.
- "But everything that was a gain to me, I have considered to be a loss because of Christ. More than that, I also consider everything to be a loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. Because of Him I have suffered the loss of all things and consider them filth, so that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ - the righteousness from God based on faith. My goal is to know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, assuming that I will somehow reach the resurrection from among the dead." (Phil. 3:7-11)

- "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 4:4-7)

Here are two passages that I believe speak directly to our hearts and challenge us to question what, or more importantly, Whom, is the source of our contentment, joy and peace.

You see, as Paul points out, when we are focused on Christ, and truly strengthening our relationship with Him, we are completely sold out to Him. Nothing else in this life that the world can offer us can even come close to fulfilling our lives as a right relationship with Christ does. Can we honestly say that we consider even good things "filth" compared to the greatness of knowing Christ?

But don't think that means we should all just rid ourselves of all material things and move to a monastery or a cave out in the middle of no where. Because the very next chapter we find Paul encouraging us to bring our requests to God. Does he also then tell us, "After that just sit back and wait for God to give you anything and everything you ask Him for."? Of course not, but he does tell us that God will bring us peace. I believe Paul is echoing David in Psalm 37:4 which says, "Take delight in the Lord and He will give you your heart's desires." Again, the idea here is not that we approach God as this supernatural genie who is here to grant us all the wishes we want. The point is that when you and I truly "take delight in the Lord" our desires for our lives will align with His desires for our lives.

I hope that you all had a wonderful day with friends and family reflecting on the goodness and provision of God in your lives!

On a lighter note, how about those Eagles??!! Definitely one small thing I was thankful for today!

Why am I awake right now?

It's amazing, the things that will keep you awake. But I find even more than that, when nothing in particular does the trick. I suppose that may not be entirely true for me tonight, considering I just turned 30 three days ago. It doesn't really bother me, I don't feel any different than I did when I was still in my 20s. I do feel a sense of urgency that I haven't felt in some time, though, again, nothing to do with age. No, this has everything to do with the fact that I am one step closer to my goal of being done with Starbucks in favor of working full-time in a church. Four weeks ago I began a new job as the Communications Assistant ("Assistant Communications Director" if I wanted to Schrute it up a bit, haha) at Parker Hill Community Church in Dickson City, PA. It's been an awesome experience so far, and I'm learning a lot, and hope to learn much more (Photoshop and some other programs are on the list). But this sense of urgency has come from being reminded that my life isn't about me. Everything I have has been given to me, and what am I doing with all that has been entrusted? I think time is the biggest resource that we're given as believers, and consequently, the one we squander the most. Am I making the most of my time here on earth for the cause of Christ? As believers, we're called to "works prepared in advance for us (Ephesians 2:10)." I can think of no better way to live this life than to immerse myself in things that draw me closer to Christ, the natural outpouring of which, I believe would be to serve the church and reach out to the lost.

It's been a tough year. A broken (but healing) heart, an incredible amount of uncertainty about my future and a move despite not knowing where I would end up. God has challenged me to trust Him more this year, and probably within the last 6 months specifically than any other time in my life. And yet, He has provided in amazing and unexpected ways! I'm often reminded of the Attalus song (no eye-rolling allowed, I didn't even play on this one) "A Country Road in Two Seasons" and the line Seth sings, "The seasons have come, the seasons have gone / they've given this road a different hue / the winter and fall / I've walked through them all, but this road keeps leading me to You". It reminds me of God's sovereignty, in that no matter what I'm going through or dealing with, He is always leading me.

I'll admit it, I'm also thinking of ideas for a multi-church gathering that I've been thinking/dreaming of for churches in NEPA inspired by The Summit Church's "Church at the Ballpark" over a year ago. I think it could be a truly awesome thing to see the Church come together from a few local churches and focus on sharing the Gospel in a way that it maybe it hasn't been in this area in a long time.