Happy St. Patrick's Day!

St. Paddy's day, the Veggie way

Failings of the Future

God sees the worst of you and loves you still. Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise Him -- He sees them now.
And He loves you still.

I was reading Max Lucado's "Hope: Pure and Simple" (I HIGHLY recommend this book!!! All of his books, really..!) and I stumbled across this tiny passage. The magnitude of the message and the incredible-ness of the implications made me stop and think. And re-read it. Here, read it again:

God sees the worst of you and loves you still.
Your sins of tomorrow and failings of the future will not surprise Him -- He sees them N O W.
And He loves you still.

Take a deep breath and just think about this passage for a moment or two.

Being in high school, I'm having a lot of experience right now with interviews and applications. Think about an interview you had or an application you filled out: Was it about your successes or your failures? Your achievements or your mistakes?
We live in a society obsessed with pride. Listing our successes and hiding our failures. Lifting up people for their accomplishments and laughing at those who make mistakes. We are obsessed with constantly trying to justify ourselves, our lives, our deeds and live up to -- or exceed -- the expectations of others to succeed. We have this bizarre need to tell the world of our accomplishments and hide our failures.

I mean, just look at it -- your education, your acceptance in to colleges relies on all the good things you've done.
From every angle, this world is telling us, "You must be successful!! You are a worthy person when you succeed!"

Look at sports "heroes". Are people thrilled with them when they lose a game? Do fans look up to and admire an athlete who has failed over and over again?
Usually not.
In a sad way, people's love of sports heroes depends on their success.

Colleges only want you if you are successful; if you have achievements to list and reasons to be considered worthy.

Who would want a failure? Who could love a failure?

The One who sees the worst of you and loves you still.

You see, God's message is so very different then the world's. God says, "I know you are going to fail. I love you anyway. Just come to me and I will welcome you back with loving arms."

You can run as far as you possibly can from God, and He will still be right there waiting for you, with open arms and a hopeful heart, waiting for you to turn around and accept His love. There is nothing you can possibly do that will end God's love for you.
You don't need an application or an interview in order to be God's child. God already knows every solitary thing about you -- every achievement...and every single failure too.

And He still loves you. He still wants you.
And that is the most amazing and confusing and comforting concept, all at once.

Can you believe that there is Someone out there who already knows every single thing about you? Who knows every single mistake you will ever make? Every cruel word you'll utter, every angry argument you'll have, every attempt at revenge, every sinful thought and deed, every possible failure...
and that, despite all this, He loves you still?

In a world where it sometimes feels like you're not good enough for anything, there is a God who says you are good enough for Him.

Ever heard the story of the Prodigal Son? It's found in Luke 15:11-32.(Or, you can watch the VeggieTales version, The Wizard of Ha's)

It's about a guy who thinks he knows better then his father. He gets fed up with the hardworking life of his family on the farm, has a bitter argument with his father, takes his inheiratance money, leaves the family farm and runs off to have the time of his life.
And for awhile, he does -- everything he could ever want or need is his. Gambling, reading magazines of questionable content, X-rated movies, smoking who knows what, buying expensive jewelry and clothes and for him, life is going well. He is living his dream -- freedom, luxury, and all the wine he can drink.
He thinks he's happy, even. Until he runs out of money.
He is suddenly left with no friends, no money, no house, no job, absolutely nothing.
His new "friends" disappeared along with his last penny.
He's afraid to go back to his father because he thinks that his failures will cost him his father's love.
He has failed too many times, you see. He messed up. He sinned. Over and over and over. And now he's feeling unlovable, unworthy.
Eventually, the son realizes that there is no where else to turn. He decides to go back "home" and beg his father to take him on as a farm hand. He feels that his father could never forgive him for all his mistakes and accept him as a son -- but maybe he can get hired, and at least begin a life; something better then wandering the streets stealing food from pig's troughs.
So he begins the long journey home -- hungry, weary, dirty. Feeling more like a failure with every step. His thoughts are consumed with all of his failures and all his stupidity -- why? What ever made me think that was the right thing to do? And did I get so far away? Why didn't I realize how bad it was? And how could I have failed so much?
Hopelessness abounds.
Days later, he rounds the final bend, and can see his father's farm in the distance. Standing in the road is one lone figure. As he gets closer, he realizes it is his father. He stops for a moment, paralyzed by fear and shame. Any courage he had for facing up to his mistakes is rapidly diminishing.
But his stomach is growling, he hasn't eaten for days and he is exhausted from his journey. He forces himself to take one step closer. And then another. And then another.
He sees his father's eyes grow wide in shock.
What will he do to me? He must hate me. He has every right. I turned against him, wasted so much of his money and now, have the audacity to return?
Unable to look at his father, he looks down at the dirt road instead. Then, he hears his fathers voice, but he is unable to make out the words. He hears approaching footsteps; they start out hesitantly at first, and then grow faster and more impatient.
What will he do? What will he do?
He looks up, and sees his father sprinting toward him with the most unbelievable expression on his face.
Not hate. Not disappointment. Not anger. Not even annoyance.
It's joy.
Utterly baffled, he freezes in his tracks, but his father finally gets to him and throws his arms around him and says,
"My son."
"I'm sorry..." He begins, but the speech he'd been rehearsing flies out of his head, and instead he is left stuttering, "But...but...Dad...I...I...messed up! You should hate me!"
"Oh, no, my son, I don't hate you. You were dead to me, but now you are alive! You were lost, but now you've been found! You have been returned to me. I love you."
And they embraced.

Pretty unbelievable, huh?
Now what if I told you that THAT father is Our Father?

We fail. We repent. He forgives. He hugs.

He knows our every failure -- past, present and future -- and he will love us still.
No applications. No interviews. No list of achievements.
We don't have to win the game or be the best to be God's -- we just have to accept Him.



(For some contemporary thoughts and examples of the Prodigal Son story, see the lyrics to Casting Crown's "Prodigal" and BarlowGirl's "She Walked Away" -- two incredible songs!)

Step Out in Faith

I was reading an old issue of DevoZine magazine today, and it was talking about faith. Doing the unthinkable. And trusting God will be with you. In order to get the point across, it had a big picture of a shoe, and it said,

"Write the following on your shoe:

MAKE YOUR MARK ON THE WORLD -- STEP OUT IN FAITH

and whenever you are feeling unsure or inconsequential, look at your shoes!"


I really liked the thought of this. You can bet that as soon as I find my sneakers (they're currently MIA. Again) that I will be writing it!

But more importantly, it got me thinking. I've been struggling lately with a fear of doing something new for God. In a few weeks, I will be going on a mission trip. I was excited about it for a loooong time, but now the day is fast approaching -- and I'm scared. I'm scared that I won't know what to do, that I'll mess up, etc, etc.

And it's times like these when I need to be reminded that I'm doing this for GOD -- not for me, or my friends, but for GOD. God is commissioning me -- and if my heart is really in this, if I'm really doing this for His Glory -- He won't let me fail! God is calling me to go out there and do something I've never done before. To make my mark on the world.

And in order to do that, I've got to step out in faith.

It's a scary thing. I don't know what's going to happen and I don't know how it's going to turn out. I don't know if I'll end up changing the world or just doing some minute tasks that don't seem very important at all. I really don't know ANYTHING, except this -- I will step out in faith. I'll trust that God is in this.

Ever heard the story of Gideon? (I highly recommend the Veggietales version, "Gideon: Tuba Warrior". [Thank you Sancho] It's seriously one of my all-time favorite movies).

His story can be found in Judges 6-7. Here's a brief synopsis:

First, a little background info: The Israelites, after they'd (finally) made it to the Promised Land, were beginning to forget about all the wonderful things God had done and reverting back to their old, evil ways. They were giving in to temptations left and right, and God decided to teach them a lesson. He let the Midianites come in and take over the city for quite a few years. Seven, to be exact. And the Midianites made life miserable for the Israelites -- chasing them out of their homes and into caves, trampling and stealing their crops, taking their livestock, etc, etc. You get the idea. So after a while, the Israelites started crying out to God for help. God reminded them why they were being punished, but because He is God, He forgave them. God delievered the Israelites, and He did so through one little guy named Gideon...

One day, Gideon was doing his thing...cutting down wheat in his father's field, maybe whistling a song or two as he worked. Life was pretty good for Gideon, and he was pretty happy. Then, all fo the sudden, an angel appears. Gideon is, as you can probably imagine, pretty surprised by this! But get this -- he believes in the angel. Wow. I know I'd be just a little skeptical, but not Gideon! So anyway, he and the angel are talking and the angel starts telling Gideon that God is proud of him, and that he's found favor in God's eyes (WHOA!! THIS IS PRETTY AMAZING STUFF!). Well, here's where Gideon does get a little skeptical.

"What? That can't be. If God really did "favor" me and my people, then why is he letting these Midianites bully us? We're starting to feel a little abandoned down here...after all. He IS the God who led our ancestors out of Egypt. So why doesn't He do any marvelous works now and save us?"

"That's what I'm trying to tell you!" the angel replies. "God is sending you to drive away the Midianites."

Well, let me just tell you -- if I was Gideon, I would have burst into hysterical laugher right here. As it was, Gideon was a little...uh...flabbergasted.

"ME?!?! You must be NUTS! We're the weakest clan around!! I can't POSSIBLY drive out a huge, bullying army like THAT! All I do is cut wheat!!"

"God will be with you," the angel reminds him. "He will deliver you; He will guide you and be your strength."

Well, our friend Gideon is still (understandably), a little skeptical at this point. He decides that he needs a sign, so that he knows that God is really in this. And God gives it to him. So then Gideon decides he needs ANOTHER sign, and God, in His incredible patience, sends that sign to Gideon, too.

Finally, Gideon realizes that God is serious. Gideon praises God and sets about gathering and army. It's a small but might crew; not nearly compareable to the vast Midianite Army, but a decent size. And besides, Gideon reasons, I've got God on my side!!

Well, God says to Gideon, "You've got too many men! I want everyone to know that this is truly and Act of God; let there be no doubt, no chance that the world will think the power is in the army. Weed out your army."

Gideon's a little surprised, but he's learned by now to listen to God, so he cuts his army in half and continues training them. And then God says AGAIN, "You've still got too many people, Gideon!!" Well, Gideon's draw drops ...was God SERIOUS? I mean, really....he hardly had any folks as it was! So Gideon sent some more soldiers home, until he and a few friends (300, to be exact...more or less) were all that was left.

The hour of attack is finally drawing near, and Gideon was getting a little...giddy :) He was nervous, but God was still with him! God encouraged him, and Gideon found the strenght to carry out God's plan.

Even when every single odd was against him, Gideon believed that God would pull him through. He trusted that God would be with him, and that God would use him in His grand plan. Gideon stepped out in faith.

So did David, so did Jonah (after a little coaxing), so did Moses and a million other great Bible heroes...most noteably, so did Jesus... they all trusted that God would use them in His plan, that He would give them the strength and courage and whatever skills they needed to make their mark on the world.

"We're busy, busy, frightfully busy..."

Well...Thanksgiving is over! The long weekends, holiday breaks, and vacations are over, and life is starting up again at top speed! Suddenly, my days of staying up late, sleeping in, reading cozily for hours and ignoring my to-do list are over, and have now been replaced by deadlines, school projects, committments, work and volunteering, chores, resposibilities, etc, etc, etc... And, I'm thrilled, frankly! I get too bored when things are slow and relaxing; I much prefer the crazy hubbub of my life. I like to be busy busy busy; indeed, I THRIVE on being busy!!

However, there is, as much as I hate to admit it, such a thing as being *gasp* TOO busy. Can you believe that??? But we live in a society that encourages busy-ness, packed schedules, full calendars, and running a million miles a minute in order to do everything. Sometimes, when this is the message we're receiving from every single angle, it's hard to hear God's voice through it all:

"As long as it is day, we must do the work of Him who sent me." -- John 9:4a

My best friend said it perfectly: "Our society loves over-achievers. Nobody goes around saying, "hey! I didn't do a single thing yesterday. Isn't that great?" But everyone will tell you they can drive down the road while talking on the cell phone and making a grocery list at the same time... it's an addiction. You start to thrive on chaos and rushing and you begin to need to fill every second with three things or you are "not doing enough." There is a poster I have from a long time ago with two cardinals sitting on a snowy tree branch in a snow storm. Underneath it says, "What is life if, full of care, we have no time to sit and stare?" And it's true. God didn't make all of these amazing things so we could fly right by them with no time to appreciate them."

This goes back to what I said about snow, but it's worth repeating. God created this amazing world, and He gave us copious time to appreciate it and marvel at it.

"This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!" -- Psalm 118:24

So why do we insist on filling that time with things that can't -- and won't -- make us truly happy? How can we praise God for all He's given us if we don't even notice all the blessings we have?

Look at the song "Spending Time" by Stellar Kart:

Just so happens that my schedule is empty
But still there's no room for You
The time has come and gone
Things have come along that take me away from you

Don't take this the wrong way
You're so perfect
And everything tells me
You're so worth it

Spending time with You
Not a moment goes by that You're not by my side
Spending time with You
You're all that I want life is so hard to do

When we first met I remember
I'd do anything for You
But as the years go by
I let my attentions slide
And I'm pulling away from You

Don't take this the wrong way
You're so perfect
And everything tells me
You're so worth it

Spending time with You
Not a moment goes by that You're not by my side
Spending time with You
You're all that I want life is so hard to do

And, as if the act alone of filling up our time, to the point where there's no room for God, wasn't damaging enough to our relationship with Him....the things themselves that we busy ourselves with can bring us EVEN FURTHER from God.

My all-time favorite music group, Casting Crowns, also sums it up well in their song "American Dream":

All work no play may have made Jack a dull boy
But all work no God has left Jack with a lost soul
But he's moving on full steam
He's chasing the American dream
And he's gonna give his family the finer things

Not this time son, I've no time to waste
Maybe tomorrow we'll have time to play
And then he slips into his new BMW
And drives farther and farther and farther away

So He works all day and tries to sleep at night
He says things will get better;
Better in time
And he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

His American Dream is beginning to seem
More and more like a nightmare
With every passing day
"Daddy, can you come to my game?"
"Oh Baby, please don't work late."
Another wasted weekend
And they are slipping away

Cause he works all day and lies awake at night
He tells them things will get better
It'll just take a little more time
So he works and he builds with his own two hands
And he pours all he has in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are comin' crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

He used to say, "Whoever dies with the most toys wins"
But if he loses his soul, what has he gained in the end?
I'll take a shack on the rock
Over a castle in the sand

Now he works all day and cries alone at night
It's not getting any better
Looks like he's running out of time
Cause he worked and he built with his own two hands
And he poured all he had in a castle made with sand
But the wind and the rain are coming crashing in
Time will tell just how long his kingdom stands

All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You
All they really wanted was You

When the world is telling us to "Go, go, go", to "Do it all and work hard and fill your time with everything", we need to take a moment and thing about what we're filling our time with. And our motives. What are our goals? Why do we do the things we do? What are we gaining out of all of our busy-ness?

I deal with this every single day in my own life. Do I really need to do that research project right now? Or is it more important for me to spend some time in prayer? My friend just called and she really needs to talk -- do I listen, or cut the conversation short so I can go finish my monsterous to-do list? I have other committments on Sunday morning -- but, in the long run, are they more important then going to church?

And more importantly -- are all the things we are filling out time with bringing us closer to God, or taking us farther away from Him? We've got to look at our priorities -- are we furthering God's kingdom with all that we do? Or are we putting it on hold?
It's OK to be busy. Just make sure you're busy for the right reasons, doing the right things.

One final song, and I promise, it's short :) look at this song from VeggieTales. It's aptly named, the "Busy, Busy Song":

I'm busy, busy, dreadfully busy
You've no idea what I have to do.
Busy, busy, shockingly busy
Much, much too busy for you.

We're busy, busy, dreadfully busy
You've no idea what we have to do.
Busy, busy, shockingly busy
Much, much too busy for you.

'Cause we're busy, busy, frightfully busy
More than a bumblebee, more than an ant.
Busy, busy, horribly busy
We'd love to help, but we can't!

Is this the message that we want to be sending to the world?!?! I don't think so! Make room in your schedule for God today. Spend some time in prayer, read a passage from the Bible, or just listen to what He's telling you. You'll find that all those things you thought you had to do suddenly become less important, when you realize what is truly important.