Thursday, January 21, 2010

Our Family

People become family in different ways.

As I think about our life and where we are and where we are headed I can't help but thing about who is with us. I am speaking of family. You start creating a family nest with marriage. You have a baby with the man you marry and the three of you become a family. Your baby, the genetic "mashup" of the two of you, along with your marriage vows somehow melts the little trio together into a mess of love, irritation, sleeplessness and loyalty. What a beautiful thing that God created for us! Eventually, more kids come and then there is no turning back. This is your choice: you are a family.

But sometimes, very rarely, there are friends who become family.

Friends who love you before they’ve met you in person. They love your children, speak to them with gentle words and hold your one-year-old on their lap and rock her to sleep with pure affection at their finger tips. They laugh with you until midnight three nights in a row, invite you back even after you’ve made a mess, cook for you, understand your crankiness, and actually want to see you again. They are the ones who pray with you and hold you when life gets too tough. They are the ones who encourage you and remind you of God's love for you by their presence alone. They are the ones who would do anything for you, day or night. They are the ones who call you at 3am when you are on a road trip to make sure that you're still awake!
Your kids play together and really think that they are aunts and uncles because of the love that they feel and the example that their parents embody. You look at them while they are cleaning the kitchen and wonder if you will be friends when you older than dirt...You are sure you will. Friends like this, they open their home, their hearts and their vulnerable places to you with wholeness and say, “There hasn’t been enough time..” as you drive away. These are the friends that make your life more meaningful with each encounter and you drive away knowing that God has blessed you with their presence. These types of friends are family, and maybe family of the best kind.

Monday, January 4, 2010

Finding Your Gold Mine

I hope that in 2010 that you have a dream or vision of something greater than you have now. I am not talking about a "New Years resolution" or attaining more "stuff." In regards to our relationship with God, if we aren't thinking, hoping, or asking for anything, we are cheating ourselves. Ephesians 3:20 says God is able to do exceedingly abundantly above and beyond all that we could hope or ask for. For this reason, we need to hope for BIG things. One of my favorite Christian teachers, Joyce Myer, said "I would rather ask God for a lot and get half of it, than ask Him for a little and get all of it." However, I believe that it is unwise to solely ask the Lord to change circumstances or provide for you if you are not willing to give 110% of yourself. I have learned in my mere 25 years of life that most people go the "quick fix" route for every need or want that they have. As people we go for what feels good right now. That gets us into trouble. I know this from experience. I believe that there is a gold mine in every life and it is up to us to dig deep enough to find it...and when we do God pours out His blessings and provision on us. I know that I must keep digging because I have not hit "gold" yet, but I know that God has great plans for me and I must make goals and personal sacrifices to find them.