My year in review

Just finished reading all my blog posts for 2008. One of the reasons I love blogging is the chance to capture what God has been doing in my life. What a difficult, incredible, and amazing year.

The tough things: Lost my father; sent my oldest son off to college; fire at my son's college (his dorm burnt done).

The amazing things: Europe with my family (the trip of a lifetime); my oldest son going off to Westmont College (yes, this is a good thing and a tough thing); sabbatical over the summer; some incredible times in God's Word; Kingdom Assignment project at church; the best wife and family ever.

God is good. God is very good. I can only imagine what He has in store for 09.

200 Sunsets

Tonight I watched my 200th sunset of 2008. Each one was different. Here's some samples of the photos I took. Below the photos I'll tell you why I did it and what I discovered.

December 30, 2008

At the beginning of 2008 I made several commitments. One was to watch 200 sunsets. My criteria for it to count was I had to be outside around dusk, either during, right before, or right after the sun went down. I also had to pause, take it in, and pray. I wrote down the date of each one in my PDA and tonight (a day early), grateful to God, I met my goal. Here's what I discovered.

1. No two sunsets are the same. I'm blown away by God's variety.
2. The colors are richer AFTER the sun goes down.
3. It is so easy to miss the change from day to night. You get busy and all of a sudden it is dark outside.
4. We tend to start our days when we wake up. But God set it up so the new day begins at sunset. It is AWESOME to end your day at sunset, and begin a new one with dinner, family, sleep and THEN work.
5. The colors in the sky change dramatically at dusk. It is a good reminder for God to do his transformation in me.
6. A few minutes to pause and reflect make a huge difference in my day.
7. Getting off the freeway to watch a sunset is a great idea.
8. The green flash is real.
9. My longest sunset was on a plane flying west from Europe. Although it didn't count because I wasn't outside (fortunately) it was awesome.
10. God seems bigger when I watch a sunset.

What about you? Have any sunset stories?

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More than we ask

God always does more than we ask.

Last week, as the ash was still settling form the firestorm, I gathered some leaders together to pray and respond. As we met, President Bush flew overhead in a helicopter to view the devastation in the neighborhood next to the church. He was there to see, understand, and offer help.

As we began to pray one of the leaders said, “God, the president just flew over our heads. But we are seeking help from a higher source.”

Whether it is the fires we have recently experienced, or any new struggle we face, what a comfort to know that the One we talk to in prayer controls the wind, waves, sea and air. He knows our needs better than we do. And His plans are much greater than we can even ask or imagine.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask… Eph 3.20

Wrestling in Prayer

As you can see on the right column, I’ve been taking a survey on my blog asking people which phase of the Lord’s Prayer they consider the most meaningful. The #1 choice so far is: Your kingdom come, your will be done…

Perhaps this is because as we wrestle with this phrase we often find ourselves struggling to put our priorities in the right place. So often in prayer, we want our castle, not God’s kingdom; our agenda, not His cause; our choice, not His will.

I believe so many of our seemingly unanswered prayers really are answered … they are just answered with the word, Grow. God wants to teach us to embrace His kingdom purposes for our lives.

Simone Weil said, “Isn’t the greatest possible disaster, when you are wrestling with God, not to be beaten?” Learn to ask the question, “Where do you want me to grow?”

_________________.

For fun, I’ve written a version of the Lord’s Prayer that sounds a lot more like I am sometimes tempted to pray:

My Butler, who is in heaven,
Hallowed by my plans.
My kingdom come,
My will be done,
On earth as it is in my mind.
Give me today enough surplus for a year (and here’s my list);
forgive me if I left something out.
And do all this in a way that I won’t experience anything uncomfortable;
for my little kingdom, forever and ever, amen.

Fresh Bread

It so easy for me to worry about the future, wondering if I’ll have the spiritual, emotional, or material resources I might need. It is then Jesus’ prayer becomes so instructive.

“Give us today our daily bread,” Matt 6.11.

But how come this bread delivery apparently never lasts more than a day?

I believe it is because God only promises to provide for the next step in our journey. He never promises bread for next week, or next month. Only for the next step. God doesn’t want us to store up a warehouse full of blessings and then not have to turn to Him for another couple years. Instead He wants us to trust him for new reserves every day.

I’ve been thinking about how committed God is to this principle:

· In the Old Testament wilderness, God provided Manna for His people – but only one day at a time. They woke every morning dependent.

· In Matthew 10, Jesus comforted His disciples saying if they were persecuted, in that very moment, God would give them the words to say. No words ahead of time, so don’t rehearse them.

· In Philippians, as Paul faced an uncertain future, he was confident that whatever he faced, God would give him sufficient courage at that time. Courage is only earmarked for the time it is needed.

In other words, when you get there, so will the resources. That’s why it’s daily bread.

Headed to a Marriage Conference

I'm making a quick trip to Bakersfield to teach at a marriage conference over the next couple days. It's just Friday and Saturday; I'll be back to preach on Sunday. thought I'd try out a few of the things I intend to say on you.

Some key points about communication:

• Good communication takes humility. We must let go of the need to be right and embrace doing right.
• Check what you hear. Don't assume you understand the question or the comment the first time -- take time to clarify what is behind the comment or question.
• Listen for feelings as well as facts.
• Learn to express what you desire. It gives your spouse the ability to be successful at loving you.
  

What about you? What have you learned about good communication?

Let someone else pay the "stupid tax"

A certain project has allowed me to meet often with three very wise men over the last couple months. I wish I had been writing down many of their words of wisdom. Recently one of them said, "Let someone else pay the stupid tax." It was his way of saying, "Learn from the experience of others." Read books, ask advice, observe the successes and failures of others. Why should we always learn the hard way?

How about you, heard any good advice lately?