Reject the Option

~ It's Thursday.. just reminding you that Father's Day Weekend is just around the corner.. whether you got your nifty gifty ready or not.. have you done something or written your dad a heartfelt letter or resolved something to say in the back of your mind.. to let him know what a great man, a great person he is, something he's done right, something that he instilled in who you are or taught you or sacrificed/chose for family above himself... something that has affected you in postive ways... you know his love language.. think it thru now and sieze the moment when God opens the door.. Dad's need encouragement, we so often overlook that, but not today.


~ Saw an incredible moment yesterday.. it happens a bahzillion times every moment, but yesterday, it walked right past me.. brushed by in the most unnoticed and small and quiet way.. but the future of the world depends on such moments..

I was working when a woman passed in front of me and said, "excuse us." And right behind her, without thought, her toddler toddled along following her lead thru th...e store and mumbled, "excuse us."

*speechless hearts - lots of them*

It's in those tiny glimpses of life, the simple, the seeming nothingness.. that our example affects others. She had set her course to be a thoughtful person (prolly taught by someone else as a child).. and now just by her being who she chose to be, courteous.. she thought she was just keeping up with her child and making sure he followed along.. but she was leading him thru life... as a courteous person.

Leading by example isn't taught in a big speech or humble lecture.. it's taught in the quiet, unnoticed, consistent moments of life. We as Christians would do well to stop talking about it.. and live it more often.. not to teach or make a point.. but just with genuine love so that goodness is like a sweet scent that lingers behind everywhere we go.. that's being like Jesus..

keeping in mind that that sweet scent is not just peace and kindness in quiet moments.. but justice and righteousness and sacrifice and blood, in times of warring for the innocent or for the faith. If we never set that side of the example.. we do not teach the gospel of Christ. Leading by example is living out both sides of that double edged sword that is our God.


~ Some ppl never live in a truly chaotic situation.. they never live with physical or sexual abuse, they never live in want or denial of their basic needs, they never live with an adulterous spouse and their secret "friends", they never endure daily rejection because of their heritage or appearance.. some ppl never know what it is to live daily under attack by one of these things, let alone all of them an...d more.. trying to protect the innocent and those they love.. some ppl get to live a life where molehills are their mountains (just as serious to them, I agree).. but they will always criticize ppl facing mountains, because they have never really had to climb one.

forgiving someone is sincerely praying God's best for them and doing what God convicts you of concerning them.. loving them despite their yuck.. making all efforts to restore peace and wholeness to EVERYONE involved.. but when you are in the heat of battle and they are attacking you and scheming to murder and destroy the ppl you love.. forgiveness doesn't always wear the same expression. Don't judge what you know nothing about, don't judge based on the rumors, don't judge by what you see... truth is truth, no matter what we think we know.

If only we would spend more of our time praying for ppl.. truly interceding and fasting and loving them across the distance that may separate us for what ever reason.. prayer ensures God's will rather than our presumptions and error.


~ Sometimes you don't get to quit.. sometimes you're in the game until your last breath.. so give it all for the glory of God.. it's the only way to ensure a win.


~ "Your grace is enough, more than I need
At Your word I will believe
I wait for You, draw near again
Let Your Spirit make me new

And I will fall at Your feet
I will fall at Your feet
And I will worship You here

Your presence in me, Jesus light the way
... By the power of Your word
I am restored, I am redeemed
By Your Spirit I am free

And I will fall at Your feet
I will fall at Your feet
And I will worship You here, oh Lord

Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered Your life upon that cross
Great is the love poured out for all
This is our God

Lifted on high from death to life
Forever our God is glorified
Servant and King rescued the world
This is our God."


~ “You lift me up where I belong
High above this atmosphere
And everything going on.
You lift me high above it all.
Seated in heavenly places with you
Seated in heavenly places with you
I will see things like you.

You’re pouring out a Father’s heart..
You’re pouring out a Father’s heart..
... We’ll see things like you do..
We wanna see things like you do..

We wanna do things like you do..
I wanna do things like you do..
I wanna hear things like you do..
I wanna see things like you do..”

(spontaneous worship)

~ When we speak as the Spirit of God leads us.. it scatters out like seed.. the Word of God.. it is carried along by the wind as prophecy and revelation into the past, upon the present, and into the future.. God can speak one thing and it will carry anointing forever, into so many different lives, into so many different situations.. hold on to every seed.. keep it in the back of your mind.. ponder it in your heart as Mary did.. and when God speaks life over it and calls it to break forth.. something beautiful will appear.. something that helps to sustain life.. life that sustains life.. this spontaneous worship was given back in spring of 2012.. and here it is bringing life and insight to us today over a year later.. God's word is not ink on paper or a breath in a moment.. it is forever.. it never returns void.. it is eternal Life.. we need to remember the breaking of the soil and the planting and the labor of nurturing it.. so that we don't miss the breaking forth of life and the beauty of the faithfulness of God <3


~ "The best way to FIND the will of God is to DO the will of God." (Pastor Mike)
"The best way to FIND the will of the Father.. is to DO the will of the Father.."

~ This is really good because so many men never truly understand their dads until they become fathers themselves.. suddenly you understand so much that seemed harsh, you realize he heard you and cared for you and nurtured you so much more than you realized.. by actually having to DO what a father does, you understand it on a deeper level. And at the same time, you find yourself doing things you never thought you would concerning your own children or ppl you mentor, you gain a passion to do what your father did because you have glimpsed the motive and reasons behind it. Such learning comes to us in many ways, we don't have to actually be parents, but we can find ourselves in that parenting role and having the same ah-ha moments.. but it truly is in the doing that we find such understanding and clarity and truth.


~ Perhaps that's why God has been speaking so strongly about encouraging fathers this year.. on a deeper level.. getting inside their heart and love language..

Perhaps, this spontaneous worship I ran across this morning connects alot of the dots.. along with the post by Pastor Mike..

Perhaps, by getting inside the heart and mind of our earthly fathers.. we will learn something about getting inside the heart and mind of our heavenly father.. I feel like that's just the surface of it.. but that God is speaking something that is about to bring revelation or calling or direction for the church in some way.

Idk.. but it's worth keeping in prayer.


~ "Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered Your life upon that cross
Great is the love poured out for all
This is our God

Lifted on high from death to life
Forever our God is glorified
Servant and King rescued the world
This is our God."

Are we just talking about this stuff cuz it's beautiful..
Or are we really willing to DO this stuff even when it gets ugly?


~ The option to quit is always there..

Until we reject it.

Then there is not an option to quit.
We're in the game til it ends.
Thru the pain to death,
Even if we never see the gain,
Not in this life.

... We know the risk, we choose to follow Christ's lead. Knowing that our death will be in vain for some, but we gave them every chance to live. Knowing by faith that our death will bring great victory to others, tho we walked a portion of this road alone after passing the baton.

There's a victory party waiting when it's all said and done.


~ "Men often hold on to their bondage and pain rather than yield to the pain of transformation by the power of Christ's power and grace." Sinclair Ferguson

Maybe the love of their child will help them to be free of some pain or bondage.. maybe it's in the love of their children that they will see the love of Christ and finally know freedom from that weight.. maybe it's time for children to lead by example a little more as they become adults.. even within their families.