Eliminating words from my vocabulary
Good morning gang! I want to share a photo from BBN Radio's Facebook page this morning:
As I get older and I see the things happening in the world around me, I'm finding that my vocabulary to explain them is shrinking. I'm not talking about the words I seldom use that will every once in a while slip out; a guy showed me the absolute coolest thing last night on how to fix an airplane. It involved a pair of vise grip pliers and if I'd known this little trick years ago, chances are I would have used a lot less of those bad words. I did, though, in my exuberance, say,"I've been doing this s$%t for 25 years and..." Hey, it slipped out. I apologized for it.
The guys I work with look at me funny if I apologize for swearing. When I use language like that, it doesn't set a good example of me being the Christian man I want to be. By saying I'm a Christian, I invite scrutiny from other people, which is why I always apologize if I slip. I was just excited and forgot myself.
I had an interesting night. I was assigned to work another task separate from the guy who showed me the cool technique. But then... later on that evening, the guy who showed me that asked me a question that started with him commenting that I'm a real religious person. I told him I didn't know about being real "religious"; religion didn't save me, Jesus did. Church is what happens when we gather on Sunday or whatever day (church is gonna happen later on tonight and i wish I could be there for it) we gather to worship God. I told him that I was a believer and we had a pretty good conversation. It was cool.
But it was nice that people can see that I love the Lord and that's nothing I did on my own, trust me.
Back to vocabulary. I used to use words like coincidence, karma, kismet, etc... You won't find those words in use today, though. I don't believe in karma. I used to joke and tell people that you don't even have to get even with people; you just have to live long enough. I still believe that's true but understand now why it is. We have a just God who promises us that we reap what we sow. It's not karma; it's God's word in action.
God will sometimes use a little providence to get my attention. I didn't watch the video but saw this story last week on MSN.com. Long time-readers of the blog will know that "Smooth Criminal" is one of those things God uses to get my attention. Usually, it's the Alien Ant Farm version. Anyway,
Y'all know how I feel about coincidence. I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than I would to have the things happen in my life that do. And it's not just happening to me. I see it so much around me and I'm literally amazed at what God can and does do. He created the universe and still takes time out to direct my path. That's pretty humbling and extremely COOL! It's not coincidence, it's providence. We've crossed this territory before, but I think it's important for a refresher and it's a good segue to the next word that has been changed in my vocabulary. It's the word impossible.
There are lots of things that are impossible for me. I will never date Kathy Ireland. I will never own a 747. I will never be President of the United States, etc... Heck, I can't even get the weeds out of my yard. There is a universe of things that are impossible for me. But they're not for God. I want to say that again; they're not impossible for God.
It seems to me that the word impossible is the lid for the box we as humans try to put God into. And when you go looking for God and find Him, you quickly lean that He doesn't fit into that little box you've kept Him in because that's who you needed Him to be. And when we start to discover the potential He has to do things in our lives, our view of Him changes. As I reflect on what I'm writing, I'm literally in awe of how God can use things to make a point that in no way in the world would anyone see or know was coming; except God.
Shortly after the wheels started falling off the tricycle of my life back in September of 2010, when the whole blog thing happened, I found BBN radio. I can't really even remember how, but I remember that the first programs of Running to Win I heard were about what to do when you've blown it. And, Brother, had I blown it. Big time. They were part of a series of messages about making the best of a bad decision and I enjoyed them so much, I ordered the CDs. I can't find them, though. I either sent them to the Mrs like I was going to when she was in Indiana or I just forgot where I put them. I'm sharing this for a reason and later on in the week, I'll share why. It's just gonna be important for later so I'm sharing it now.
The story, though, plays into the fact that no matter how bleak our circumstances, nothing is impossible for God and I'm seeing that first hand. There are things that are unlikely and I recognize that. I also know sometimes we pray for things that aren't in God's plan. There are things that happen that I will NEVER understand and instead of them provoking anger or resentment at God, I have been given the wisdom to admit I'll never get it and accept that God knows what He's doing. And as much as I'd like to give it, He really doesn't need my help either.
I had an interesting day yesterday. You've heard the expression, the "day from hell"? Mine was anything but this. Mine was a day of revelation, a day of hope, a day of sharing. I spent time just praising God and Jesus for every blessing. I got reminded yesterday that I didn't wind up on this path I'm on by accident and as I've said before, it's been an incredible journey. Things I thought were impossible aren't now. I'd like to say I quit asking why but that wouldn't be true and the only answer I come up with is it's because that's what God wants for me. That's a good enough explanation.
I want to say this, too. It's a point I already made. If you look for God, you will find God. It's a wonderful thing and the best thing that ever happened to me. But when you find Him, you're going to find out that God is not who you thought He was; at least I did anyway. And one of the first things God did when I found him was to take an impossible man and break him.
Today is about praising God! It's about thanking Him for giving us Jesus as a sacrifice for sin and praise Jesus for leading me where I should go. He's always there beside me and always there for me. God answers prayers folks. He does the impossible. We just have to be willing to accept that what He wants for us is far better than what we could conjure up for ourselves.
And it's why I don't use the word impossible too much anymore. Here's a little video to watch that kind of puts my little journey in perspective. Remember, my little journey started with my dog running away and the people the found him calling him "Max". That's when I jumped off the cliff.
As I get older and I see the things happening in the world around me, I'm finding that my vocabulary to explain them is shrinking. I'm not talking about the words I seldom use that will every once in a while slip out; a guy showed me the absolute coolest thing last night on how to fix an airplane. It involved a pair of vise grip pliers and if I'd known this little trick years ago, chances are I would have used a lot less of those bad words. I did, though, in my exuberance, say,"I've been doing this s$%t for 25 years and..." Hey, it slipped out. I apologized for it.
The guys I work with look at me funny if I apologize for swearing. When I use language like that, it doesn't set a good example of me being the Christian man I want to be. By saying I'm a Christian, I invite scrutiny from other people, which is why I always apologize if I slip. I was just excited and forgot myself.
I had an interesting night. I was assigned to work another task separate from the guy who showed me the cool technique. But then... later on that evening, the guy who showed me that asked me a question that started with him commenting that I'm a real religious person. I told him I didn't know about being real "religious"; religion didn't save me, Jesus did. Church is what happens when we gather on Sunday or whatever day (church is gonna happen later on tonight and i wish I could be there for it) we gather to worship God. I told him that I was a believer and we had a pretty good conversation. It was cool.
But it was nice that people can see that I love the Lord and that's nothing I did on my own, trust me.
Back to vocabulary. I used to use words like coincidence, karma, kismet, etc... You won't find those words in use today, though. I don't believe in karma. I used to joke and tell people that you don't even have to get even with people; you just have to live long enough. I still believe that's true but understand now why it is. We have a just God who promises us that we reap what we sow. It's not karma; it's God's word in action.
God will sometimes use a little providence to get my attention. I didn't watch the video but saw this story last week on MSN.com. Long time-readers of the blog will know that "Smooth Criminal" is one of those things God uses to get my attention. Usually, it's the Alien Ant Farm version. Anyway,
Y'all know how I feel about coincidence. I'd have a better chance of winning the lottery than I would to have the things happen in my life that do. And it's not just happening to me. I see it so much around me and I'm literally amazed at what God can and does do. He created the universe and still takes time out to direct my path. That's pretty humbling and extremely COOL! It's not coincidence, it's providence. We've crossed this territory before, but I think it's important for a refresher and it's a good segue to the next word that has been changed in my vocabulary. It's the word impossible.
There are lots of things that are impossible for me. I will never date Kathy Ireland. I will never own a 747. I will never be President of the United States, etc... Heck, I can't even get the weeds out of my yard. There is a universe of things that are impossible for me. But they're not for God. I want to say that again; they're not impossible for God.
It seems to me that the word impossible is the lid for the box we as humans try to put God into. And when you go looking for God and find Him, you quickly lean that He doesn't fit into that little box you've kept Him in because that's who you needed Him to be. And when we start to discover the potential He has to do things in our lives, our view of Him changes. As I reflect on what I'm writing, I'm literally in awe of how God can use things to make a point that in no way in the world would anyone see or know was coming; except God.
Shortly after the wheels started falling off the tricycle of my life back in September of 2010, when the whole blog thing happened, I found BBN radio. I can't really even remember how, but I remember that the first programs of Running to Win I heard were about what to do when you've blown it. And, Brother, had I blown it. Big time. They were part of a series of messages about making the best of a bad decision and I enjoyed them so much, I ordered the CDs. I can't find them, though. I either sent them to the Mrs like I was going to when she was in Indiana or I just forgot where I put them. I'm sharing this for a reason and later on in the week, I'll share why. It's just gonna be important for later so I'm sharing it now.
The story, though, plays into the fact that no matter how bleak our circumstances, nothing is impossible for God and I'm seeing that first hand. There are things that are unlikely and I recognize that. I also know sometimes we pray for things that aren't in God's plan. There are things that happen that I will NEVER understand and instead of them provoking anger or resentment at God, I have been given the wisdom to admit I'll never get it and accept that God knows what He's doing. And as much as I'd like to give it, He really doesn't need my help either.
I had an interesting day yesterday. You've heard the expression, the "day from hell"? Mine was anything but this. Mine was a day of revelation, a day of hope, a day of sharing. I spent time just praising God and Jesus for every blessing. I got reminded yesterday that I didn't wind up on this path I'm on by accident and as I've said before, it's been an incredible journey. Things I thought were impossible aren't now. I'd like to say I quit asking why but that wouldn't be true and the only answer I come up with is it's because that's what God wants for me. That's a good enough explanation.
I want to say this, too. It's a point I already made. If you look for God, you will find God. It's a wonderful thing and the best thing that ever happened to me. But when you find Him, you're going to find out that God is not who you thought He was; at least I did anyway. And one of the first things God did when I found him was to take an impossible man and break him.
Today is about praising God! It's about thanking Him for giving us Jesus as a sacrifice for sin and praise Jesus for leading me where I should go. He's always there beside me and always there for me. God answers prayers folks. He does the impossible. We just have to be willing to accept that what He wants for us is far better than what we could conjure up for ourselves.
And it's why I don't use the word impossible too much anymore. Here's a little video to watch that kind of puts my little journey in perspective. Remember, my little journey started with my dog running away and the people the found him calling him "Max". That's when I jumped off the cliff.
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