It's ALL Grace

No matter how disciplined we get, we never move beyond GRACE

Brennan Manning, the author of the Ragamuffin Gospel, went to be with Jesus last week, so I read his biography, which is appropriately titled, all is grace.

I’m convinced he’s right. Everything is grace. And Jesus is the provider of grace.

The grace of Jesus meets me with love in my darkest hour and deepest sin. 

The grace of Jesus allows me to experience the pinnacles of righteousness and holiness. But it’s all grace. 

On your worst day, you’re never out of reach of God’s grace. 

On your best day, you’re never out of need of God’s grace. 

It’s his grace that transforms us from the inside out.

The closer you get to God, the more miserable things you will find in your heart. This is not a negative thing - God allows it to let you lose confidence in yourself. You will have accomplished something when you can look at your inner corruptness without anxiety or discouragement and simply trust God. -Francois Fenelon

It’s a grace so extensive none are fully excluded. 

It’s a discipleship so intensive none are fully included. 

Which means, we all need grace. 

If we find ourselves succeeding in spiritual growth and maturity…in applying the disciplines…that’s grace. 

If we find ourselves failing at some level or another in our thoughts or lives or relationships…grace covers us.

Grace carries us, grace fills in the gaps. The disciplines are grace, and the beauty surrounding us is grace, and the forgiveness that we are desperate for is grace, and the new mercies in the morning are grace. And for this, we simply thank Jesus. 

Everything is grace. 

As I'm prepping for the second message of our Changed for Good Series this weekend, I wanted to share a quick thought of the progressive, in the midst of change, feeling that I so often have along the road...

This Little Light

Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. Matthew 5:14 Message

People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within. -Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

Since it's sort of gray out today, I wanted to encourage you to let the LIGHT of God's love shine through you! Much love...Pastor Mike

WHO AM I?

After Sunday's message, I've had a few conversations about the foundation of our identity. I simply want to give you what God says about you, if you have placed your faith in His Son. And after you work through these passages I want to remind you that this is not your RESUME, it's your DNA! Here is the bit from Sunday, and it's in the Rooted Guide as well:

One of the common knocks against Christianity is that it’s just a bunch of rules. I hope by now, you’ve seen clearly that it’s all about a relationship with God the Father, through the grace and cleansing of Jesus the Son, by the power of God the Spirit. God loves us, saves us, frees us, heals us. He has made us in his image for a purpose, and now he calls us to live a life of high calling and huge impact. Since he is the author of life, his commands are not only for his glory, they are for our best. But we want to make sure that you understand the Christian life is not fundamentally about what you do for Jesus. It is primarily about who you are in Jesus.

 The Bible defines our identity clearly (and its quite incredible, really):
I am a child of God (John 1:12)
I am a son or a daughter of the Lord of the Universe (Romans 8:15,16)
I am Christ’s friend (John15:15)
I am a temple of God—His Spirit and his life dwells in me (1 Corinthians 3:16,6:19)
I am a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17)
I am a member of Christ’s body (1 Corinthians 12:27, Ephesians 5:30) I am a fellow citizen with the rest of God’s family (Ephesians 2:19)
I am God’s workmanship, born anew in Christ to do his work (Ephesians 2:10)
I am resourced with everything I need to live for Christ (1 Peter 1:3)
I am hidden with Christ, in God (Colossians 3:3)
I am a citizen of heaven and have a place in heaven right now (Philippians 3:20, Ephesians 2:6)
I am born of God and the evil one cannot harm me (1 John 5:18)
I am a partaker of Christ, I share in his life (Hebrews 3:14)
I am the light of the world (Matthew 5:13)
I am the salt of the earth (Matthew 5:14)
I am a member of a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Peter 2:9,10)
I am a joint heir with Christ, sharing his inheritance with him (Romans 8:17)

 And since we are in Christ, by God’s grace: I am completely forgiven and made righteous (the theological word for this is “justified”) (Romans 5:1)
I died to the power of sin’s rule over my life (Romans 6:1-6)
I am free forever from condemnation (Romans 8:1)
I have been given the mind of Christ (I Corinthians 2:16)
I have been bought with a price, I belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19,20)
I no longer live for myself, but for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14,15)

 What we do for the Lord will flow joyfully from who we are in the Lord. The closer we sense we are to our loving Father, the more confidence we’ll have in our identity. The more confidence we have in our identity as his son or daughter, the more his life will flow through ours—and the more people will be impacted by his love.

Understand your identity. 
Be intimate with him, and experience his power in your life.

Today’s response Look up a few of the passages above, and read them in context.
How often do you consciously remember that these verses are what is MOST true about you as a follower of Jesus?
How would your life change if you WERE more conscious of your identity in him?
Spend some time in prayer affirming these truths in your life and thanking Jesus that you are indeed a new creation by the power of his Spirit.

Preface (and HOPE)

This is a magic book… Not because it will give you hope that you can triumph in all things, although there is a bit of that. This is a magic book… Not because it will assure you that you are accepted and loved exactly as you are, although there is a bit of that. This is a magic book… Mostly because it empowers you with the truth: Whoever and wherever you are, God loves you and is calling you into something glorious. Even in the midst of your mess. No, wait. Especially there.

Glorious Mess is FREE!! Happy Father's Day!

I had a great time speaking in Restoration Church in Denver last weekend, as well as sharing at Northshore in Bothell a couple weeks ago! God is doing incredible things in and thru these churches, and it was an honor to spend some time together. I'll be in BelPres on July 1, sharing more about God's Relentless Grace for Imperfect People! My reason for mentioning my speaking schedule (not so you'll think I'm cool...although if you thought I was cool, I wouldn't count that a bad thing) is simply to point all these folks, as well as yourself if you're not at one of those churches, to a free gift today...Glorious Mess is being offered for free download on Kindle and Nook!! Not only that...but it's JUST in time for Father's Day! I polled my dad, and myself (a dad as well) and we BOTH thought that Glorious Mess would make the PERFECT Father's Day gift! That's two out of two polled! Those kind of stats are really hard to come by... SO, you're welcome. Download Glorious Mess for dad! You both will be glad you did! And celebrate that guy, because even though I'm guessing he's a mess like me, God's glory shines in, thru, and despite the mess...

The Rock Parable

I was asked by a friend to find a story that I had shared in a past message…it took me a while, but I found it. In it, Tim Keller quotes a parable that Elizabeth Elliot used to use…it’s in the form of a fictional PARABLE (in other words, it’s not in the Bible): “One day, Jesus asked the disciples to pick up a rock and to follow him on a journey. Peter picks up a pebble, like us, he’s thinking “What is the LEAST burdensome way to fulfill this command?”, and they journey all morning long, Peter is thinking: I nailed this one. Then, Jesus tells them to get their stones out, and he turns them all to bread…tells them: lunchtime! And each disciple’s stone turns to bread, of course Peter had only a small pebble, so that’s all the bread he got for lunch. Peter is a bit put out, and he’s hungry. Then, after lunch, Jesus tells them Pick up another stone, we’re going on another journey. So Peter…I’m gonna be starving by dinnertime, picks up a HUGE rock…boulder. Sweats and staggers under it’s weight all afternoon. Then, Jesus calls them over to the edge of a stream and has them all throw their stones into the river. Again, Peter is put out, sulking, and thinking: “What! No bread!?” Jesus comes to him and gently asks him: Peter, why are you upset? Who were you carrying the rock FOR?” Not once was Peter carrying that rock for Jesus…he was carrying it for himself! His motivation was completely for what he would GET! How can Peter take care of PETER? How often are we exactly like that in our devotion to Jesus? The challenge for all of us is that we do all that we do for Jesus. If He calls us to carry the rock, then we carry the rock for Jesus. We give, we serve, we share, we live for Jesus! We don’t give to manipulate God into giving us something. We give because Jesus models it and tells us to! AND as we give like Jesus, we realize that you can’t outgive God! We don’t serve because of the blessings we’ll receive from serving! We serve because Jesus calls us to serve! And then as we serve, we realize that we are blessed far more than we are a blessing…that’s just how it ends up working in God’s economy! And above all we love, because we are loved, and we are called to love! So love outlandishly today, and love for Jesus!!

From the Isle of Lewis

Got a GREAT email today (already wrote her back): Hi there- My name is Lida Glover and I live in the Isle of Lewis which is a small island off the north west coast of Scotland. I have felt prompted to email after reading the first few chapters of "Glorious Mess" by your lead Pastor - Mike Howerton. It was so encouraging to receive guidance with such humour, realism and honesty. When you are trying to be a Christian it is so easy to measure yourself against people who seem to have it all sussed and inevitably to feel like such a failure. Thank you for making me feel normal!! God Bless Lida

Northwest Christian Writers...ATTENTION!

http://www.nwchristianwriters.org This Saturday, I’m honored to speak at the Northwest Christian Writers Renewal Conference. I truly feel honored, because last year, I was simply an attendee, and I took notes like crazy. I literally put into practice just about everything that I learned in the sessions that I attended. Glorious Mess, my autobiographical book based upon the Prophet of Jonah (yeah, it’s a little confusing) was officially released in February. And now, I have the privilege of encouraging others afflicted with the desire to write, by sharing with them the good, the bad, and the ugly of a year of writing and publishing when you don’t have the ability to devote full time to it. My session is called A Journeyman’s Year at the Writing Craft, and I’d love to invite you to join me. If you’re a writer as well, feel free to register for the whole shebang at http://www.nwchristianwriters.org/ and let me know…I’ll look for you! It will be helpful, uplifting, and a true encouragement. You know that book that God planted in your heart…it’s time to dig it up and share it with the world!!

Let Me Know What You Think...

There have been a ton of great responses to by latest book, Glorious Mess, over the last few months…but I wanted to mention a few that have touched me especially. My friend Janie has given out 46 copies of Glorious Mess to her friends, and to folks she cares about. In her conversations, she’s listening to her friends, and if she senses that they’d be blessed by the book, then she gives them a copy. She’s told me that the only other book she’s ever done this with is the book Jesus Calling, by Sarah Young. Now I have to confess, Young’s book is AMAZING, and so Janie has given me the highest compliment ever, by placing my work in truly great company. My friend Mindi has been so complimentary, she’s asked if she could take a look at pulling out a bunch of Glorious Mess Quotes, one for each day of the year. I’m humbled, and I’m honored! I’m not sure if there are THAT many…(it’s not a very long book) but just the desire is incredibly touching. And just today, I got an email from Jason, a young man who was a part of my youth ministry over a decade ago. Now he’s charging life and career and family down in California, and he wrote to tell me how much Glorious Mess is speaking into his messy world. “And I don’t READ books!” he wrote. I just wanted to say thank you. Thanks Janie, Mindi, and Jason! I love that you’ve been blessed by the MESS! How about you? If you’ve cracked the book, is there any chance you’d be willing to waste a couple of seconds on feedback? I’d love to hear from you…

Glorious Crash

I ran over my dog with a snowboard.

It snowed last week in Seattle, and the only good thing about being house bound for a week is that we live on a hill. So in addition to the snow fort and the snowmen and the snowball fights, we were sledding and snowboarding on the hill in front of our house. It took about 8 minutes to hike to the very top, but if you did that, and got enough speed to clear the flat parts, you could get a really nice, long, snowboard run in for free. To me, that’s called a win/win. My kids were having a blast all week, but my dog, Scout, was going out of his doggy mind with joy. He loves the snow. He eats it. He rolls around in it. But mostly he loves running in it. So I would take him with me as I hiked to the top of the hill, and he would run behind me as I snowboarded down, sort of herding me ahead of him, and no matter how many runs we made, he was always game for another one. Oh, and he slept really good that week, too.

On Friday, we had the last day of snow before the great melt. And so we were all pushing to get our final runs in, and Scout was running after the kids sledding on the hill, and it was the typical chaos and laughter. So I took one last snowboard run, and Scout rushed at my heels, barking, joyfully herding me…toward a tree that had fallen over in the night. Not wanting to impale myself, I slowed, and tried to cut a path behind Scout. But the slowing startled Scout, and he jumped backwards, right into my snowboard. We collided. He yelped. From the sound he made, I could tell that he was hurt. Of course, my first emotional response was annoyance. Dumb dog. But then I saw the wound…where the edge of my snowboard cut the back of his forepaw. Deep. It looked like a whole chunk of his leg was missing. I immediately sat next to Scout and kept firm, steady pressure on his wound, and prevented him from bleeding out. Jodie got the car. We used a sled to transport him to the vet. They put him in emergency surgery. Now he’s in his third cast, with three tendons repaired, and muscle re-attached, and stitches holding the whole thing together. I’m hoping PETA doesn’t show up.

Overall, he’s doing fine.
Maybe too fine.

We need to keep him calm and slow and not bounding around and not chewing his cast and it is a challenge. Because he feels fine now, and he’s a high energy dog. And so we’re giving him doggy narcotic, and doggy sedative, and I’m mixing him doggy Nyquil cocktails…but he’s still a bounder and a jumper and a crazy “I want to run everywhere” kind of dog. Which means that he doesn’t know what’s good for him.

And I've been thinking that in these regards he’s a little bit like you and me.
We chase after things that are dangerous. Things that could wound us.
We injure ourselves in these pursuits.
And even after God bandages us up, and puts us back together, and gets us on the road to recovery, we’re still bounding, eagerly tearing around, wanting to engage in the same activities that got us into the mess in the first place.

You're a mess. So am I. Praying that you allow God's glory to shine through your mess this week...

Relentless Grace

I am a mess. I am a pastor. Somehow God's relentless grace breaks through and shines glory in the midst of mess. I pray this is profoundly encouraging to you today.

Recently, I made a list of the times I’ve put myself into glorious messes…the list was a lot longer than I’m comfortable talking about outside of my counselors office. Most were so shamefully stupid that I can’t believe that they actually happened to me, let alone I was responsible for them.

One story that is fairly safe to share happened in college, I got busted stealing a mattress. We were living off campus…I didn’t really need a mattress, my friend did, but I had the truck…you can see where this is going.

So I drove him on Pepperdine campus on the first day of school, when everyone was moving into the dorms, mass chaos, freshmen weeping, upperclassmen checking out the new crop of ladies, and we went to a dorm that was the “supply” dorm for the rest of them, where there was a pile of mattresses. My buddy and I went up, grabbed a mattress, and put it in my truck, and drove. Of course we were spotted by the fuzz. Not real cops, mind you, but rentals. They were called campus security…they were packing no heat, but they packed other things walkie talkies, flashlights, donuts, handlebar mustache, fondness for the word negatory.

And they gave chase, full siren, lights flashing, in their golf cart.

I’m flooring it in my 1.5 cilinder Nissan, going upwards of 30, 31 mph, when I realize it’s hopeless. My truck had no guts, I’m hearing sirens from all different directions, and Pepperdine only has two exits which both have gates, and I begin to see the absolute folly of our plans…it might comfort you to hear that I’m no criminal genius.

So I drive into a parking spot, hand my buddy the keys, and then we get out and sit on the ground with our hands on our heads just as 10 public safety vehicles surround us, helicopters, swat team repelling down from the Law School, K9 Units…Pepperdine is a pretty sleepy campus, so this was high drama…you would have thought that plastic mattress was worth its weight in diamond.

Busted. A glorious mess. No way out. I received more community service hours than it is possible for a human being to fulfill. I still head back there on weekends to pick up trash. My kiddos go with me, doing time with daddy.

Here is the good news about Mike Howerton…God didn’t give up on me then, and He didn’t give up on me when I ran my dog over with a snowboard (last week), or when I almost burned down Durango Colorado(it was an honest mistake), or when I did the other knuckleheaded things on my list, and God will never give up on YOU!

Facing Difficulty Today??

Sarah Young has written a book called Jesus Calling. I honestly can’t tell you how often Jesus has spoken to me through her work. Maybe it’s just because of the circumstances I face in leadership, or perhaps it’s the way that my personality works, but she has tapped into the truth of Scripture in such a personal way…that I sense Jesus’ words through hers.

Today I read this, and it was so refreshing I wanted to share it. These paragraphs are based on Psalm 89:15 and John 16:33, and from them, Young imagines Jesus saying:

“Approach problems with a light touch. When your mind moves toward a problem area, you tend to focus on that situation so intensely that you lose sight of Me. You pit yourself against the difficulty as if you had to conquer it immediately. Your mind gears up for battle, and your body becomes tense, and anxious. Unless you achieve total victory, you feel defeated.
There is a better way. When a problem starts to overshadow your thoughts, bring this matter to Me. Talk with Me about it and look at it in the Light of My Presence. This puts some much-needed space between you and your concern, enabling you to see from My perspective. You will be surprised at the results. Sometimes you may even laugh at yourself for being so serious about something so insignificant.
You will always face trouble in this life. But more importantly, you will always have Me with you, helping you to handle whatever you encounter. Approach problems with a light touch by viewing them in My revealing Light.”

Speaking of Dating...

This weekend at OCC, we are continuing our Crazy Love series, and I'm giving a message on Dating. I wanted to give two head's up:

First, this message will be SLIGHTLY PG-13, with the remainder of the messages in this series being strongly Rated M, for Mature Audiences Only. Parents are welcome to bring their kiddos into the Worship Center, but just be forewarned for the conversations that you'll be having on the ride home. At OCC we seek to speak frankly about all of the issues we face in life from a biblical perspective, without being crass or rude. In other words, if you want Pastor Mike to be the one to inform your kids about sex, by all means, keep bringing them through the series!

Second, when it comes to dating and intimacy, I want to begin with the conclusion: Jesus is the one who meets our deepest needs for love, companionship, and intimacy. End of story. Sarah Young, in her excellent book, Jesus Calling, writes as if from the perspective of Christ:

"Never take for granted my intimate nearness. Marvel at the wonder of my continual Presence with you. Even the most ardent human lover cannot be with you always. Nor can another person know the intimacies of your heart, mind, and spirit. I know everything about you--even to the number of hairs on your head. You don't need to work at revealing yourself to me.
Many people spend a lifetime or small fortune searching for someone who understands them. Yet I am freely available to all who call upon my name, who open their hearts to receive me as Savior. This simple act of faith is the beginning of a lifelong love story. I, the Lover of your soul, understand you perfectly and love you eternally."

Speaking of GRACE

God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant.
Romans 5:19-21 NLT


CNN has been running a story all week (in four parts) of a preacher’s family, Rev. Robert and Ramona Nichols, which was terrorized for 6 years, endured 10 bombings, multiple shotgun blasts at the house, and cryptic threatening letters. The terror finally culminated when a lone gunman entered their parsonage and shot the preacher and his wife multiple times in front of the seven year old daughter (Rebecca) and their two year old son. The wife died immediately, and the preacher never recovered. He died a few years later, in a psyche ward, at the age of 46. These events happened 30 years ago.

The reason it’s in the news today is because the daughter, Rebecca Nichols, wrote a book about it, called “The Devil in Pew Number Seven.” In her book, she forgives the gunman, and she forgives the men who were responsible for the terror.

Here’s how a CNN reporter concludes the story: “Rebecca's book has cracked open long-buried memories and forced folks to grapple anew with decades-old events they never fully understood. She's stirred emotions of sorrow, guilt, anger, loss. But she's also opened a conversation about faith and forgiveness.

After the shooting, Rebecca moved away from all that was dear -- her church, her friends, her school. Her father never fully recovered physically or emotionally. He died seven years after the shooting. Rebecca was 14; her brother Daniel, 9. They could so easily have been ruined.
Yet Rebecca found strength, in her faith, in her family that remained and in the love instilled by her parents.

"I wasn't going to throw the rest of my life away for anger and bitterness," she told me. "Just because my parents' lives were over, didn't mean that mine was, too."

I ask Rebecca: "Are you crazy to forgive?"

"I'll tell you how I respond to that," she says. "If I had not forgiven, I would be crazy in an institution somewhere. My parents had planted the seeds of forgiveness in me as a little girl: Pray for those who persecute you and bless those who curse you. Sometimes, when people forgive, they feel like they're saying what that person did was OK. That's not what it's doing. When you forgive, you're letting go of the pain and giving it to God."”

Do you "Dine and Dash" your church?

A friend passed this blog on to me, from a Pastor named Troy Jones. It gives a great challenge to one of the major problems in Churchworld…check it out:

Troy writes: “We all know what the phrase “Dine and Dash” means. This describes the action of going into a restaurant, sitting at the table, ordering whatever you want, eating and then leaving quickly without paying.
If you do this at a restaurant you are breaking the law and being a moron. Period. Few people will argue with me about this.
Why do so many people “Dine and Dash” their church?
Let that question sink in. Deeper!
National average is that only 3% of Christ followers tithe (give 10% of their income).
Over 50% percent of the members of any given Christian congregation donate little or nothing toward their church’s upkeep and ministries.
Most Christians don’t ever find a meaningful place to serve their church or community.
Ask me to get involved and serve…Pray for my pastor…Give to missionaries…Feed the hungry…Begin giving in a systematic way…Work the parking lot…Serve my community…Lead a growth group…Stay after to help with chairs…
Are you kidding me, Pastor? I would rather enjoy the music, let someone else take care of my kids and enjoy the message…in effect you are saying “Pastor, I would rather ‘dine and dash’…have a good week.”
The story gets worse in the church…those who dine and dash at church also whine the most…I am not getting fed enough, the music is too loud, my kids are not happy…Christians “Dine, whine and then Dash”…talk about pathetic. But true!
If you are a Christ follower and find yourself caught up in this “Dine, whine and dash” approach to your church…repent of this kind of sloppy attitude towards your church and pastor.
Start serving today!
Begin to give systematically!
Be bold and actually get involved with a discipleship setting!
Find a way to make a difference in your community!
Stop attending church and begin to be the church–everywhere you go be the hands and feet of Jesus to this world.”


What do YOU think? Why do so many Christ followers “dine, whine and dash” their church? (love to hear from you!)

Long, Joyful FAD of Adoption

You see, through our faith in Jesus, God adopts us into His family. He becomes our father, we become brothers and sisters…we’re rescued from sin, from bondage, from isolation…and we’re now in a forever family…free to love ourselves, to love one another, and free to love God…

So you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God’s Spirit when he adopted you as his own children. Now we call him, “Abba, Father.” Romans 8:15 NLT

John Piper says that adoption is bigger than the UNIVERSE. I think he’s right on. Bible is filled with references to care for the orphan and the widow…in other words, to care for those who’ve lost families (parents and spouses) by welcoming them into yours.

This challenge identifies with the very heart of God:
A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows, is God in his holy dwelling. Psalm 68:5 NIV
Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed. Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the cause of the widow. Isaiah 1:17 NIV

So we KNOW God cares about the fatherless, the orphan, the vulnerable children. But the kicker is that adoption has ALWAYS been on God’s mind…literally.

Long before he laid down earth's foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son. Ephesians 1:2b-4 Message

It was always God’s plan to adopt YOU into His family. It was always His plan to adopt ME.
Before the foundations of time. Before the foundations of the Universe were set. God had a plan, And that plan was adoption.

I can’t even talk about it without getting emotional, because adoption is the road that God has called my wife Jodie and I to walk, and I know that for many at Overlake, for many in my community, God is stirring adoption there as well! This is why we are thrilled to host a FREE Conference on September 24, called Wait No More! Because there are 1000 kids in Washington State who are ready to be adopted into loving homes! And you have one of those homes! Your heart identifies with the heart of God!

Let me give you one last picture of adoption: Pastor Josh and I visited an orphanage called ithemba Letu, in South Africa, and we got a chance to see a little boy get picked up by his forever family, and say goodbye to all his buddies. (He stayed in the rental car, holding hands with his new brother, while all of the other children from the orphanage came out and gave him a hug in the backseat of the car. He didn’t want to get out of the car, because he was afraid he’d be left behind). One of the practices of ithemba Letu is that they’ll ask the adoptive parents to send a photo album over with some pictures of their life that the child is going to be joining. So pictures of family members, pets, car, house, school, etc. are all placed in the photo album, and then it’s given to the child about to be adopted.

The director told us that when this particular little boy received his album, he wouldn’t put it down. He kept walking around with it, he slept with it, he’d keep it with him at playtime, he barely put it aside for bathtime. He just kept holding it tight, then he’d open it again and look at it, showing it to everyone at the orphanage again and again: “I have a brother! I have a dog! I have a bedroom! I have a new last name! I have a family!”

That might be the most powerful picture of adoption I’ve ever seen, with the most powerful connection to our faith. Because of the cross, You have a FATHER! Because of the death, burial and resurrection, You have a HOME! Because of Jesus, You have a new name! You have a family! You have brothers and sisters! You have a clean slate, a future! You have LIFE…abundant and eternal. Hold these truths close to your heart, just like that little boy, excited to walk the road of adoption.

God sent him (Jesus) to buy freedom for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. Galatians 4:5 NLT

God is the one who started this FAD. It's time for those who follow Him to get on board!

A Firefighter's Prayer

On 9.11.2011, Overlake Christian Church was honored to host special services focused upon the events of 9.11 and our response one decade later. If you missed it, I highly recommend viewing it at occ.org. As a part of these proceedings, two local firefighters, and members of Overlake, Rob Robertson and Phil Pierson, led the congregation in prayer. After each service we've received dozens of requests for the content of Rob's prayer. Here it is...offered in humility, knowing the heartfelt and heartache that it was written in:

"Greetings.

These class A uniforms that my brother Phil Pierson and I are wearing today are a symbol of the shared losses of fellow firefighters, police, military personnel and citizens’ of our country and especially to honor all who lost their life -- on this day - 10 years ago. Please bow, and join us now in prayer.

Father God, Lord Jesus,
on this anniversary of the horrific attacks on innocent men, women and children….

We are profoundly sorrowful…. remembering what we witnessed just one decade ago
We offer you our broken hearts…. and we grieve with all who were touched most brutally.
The orphans and widows, family and friends, that today, ache with fresh grief and loss…. yet to grow less painful.

Please draw each of these who mourn close to Your heart, so that they may intimately know Your unconditional love, comfort and hope. We are sobered by the staggering loss of life and the reality of the ill intentions that caused such travesty.

May we never succumb to reacting out of bitterness or giving way to hatred.

Fill us instead with the love that can only come from you, as you have commanded us to love our enemies.
We beg for your intervention in all that seems, to us, impossible to resolve.
And that your desires would become our desires, that we would trade our will for your will.

You are gracious and forgiving to all who seek You…. fill us with your love.

Open our eyes to any blind spots we may have in the complexities of all that enters into these global sufferings and adversities.
Please help us to have yielded hearts, that you might use us, as you choose, for your ultimate glory in all things.

In Jesus’ powerful name,
Amen"

Keeping

A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of
little minds,
its been said,
with great self confidence and gusto.
But a humble, thoughtful
consistency,
might be,
like the migration of a Monarch;
Bold, bespeckled, fluttering, fragile,
fraught with danger,
disaster,
distance,
and yet, in
the end,
filled with a quiet,
ultimate
triumph.

Wanderlust Tenant #3

After a summer of hitchhiking around Britain and sleeping out under the stars, I felt that I had a grasp of a third element of the appreciation philosophy...a sort of hack-job thought structure that was part "carpe diem" and part "love thy neighbor." Anyway, here is number 3, from the British Isles section of Miles to Cross:

The third pillar of this wanderlust appreciation philosophy is that life itself is a gift. You didn’t ask for your lot in life, and you had no control over your entry stall. Nobody did. So nobody (literally) has the luxury of complaining. Of course, work like hell to better your situation, and to get to the places that you feel called to go. You have dreams for a reason. Complacency has no quarter here. This is simply a recognition that complaining is the root of all evil. Complaining signals weakness. Complaining tips the hat to a selfish frame of mind. Complaints invite anxiety. Gratitude, on the other hand, destroys it. Being thankful for where you are, who you are, what you are experiencing now...this is more than a good idea. It’s a frame of mind that allows you an odd peace in the face of any circumstance. It’s a healthier way to live. Counting your blessings may be hopelessly old wives-ish, but it’s a good idea nonetheless. Notice things, know yourself, and never complain. These three tenants provide the moral fabric for a life on the road, as well as for the person whose travels consist of venturing to the nearest coffee house and back.

“Complaints wither the fragile fruit tree of your soul. Laughter waters it unto life. Abundance, or a sickness unto death? You choose.” –Japhy Tinyspear