One day, years ago, my friend’s wife died.  She was about 42 and seemed to have vibrant health.  But one night she went to sleep and never woke.  She left a wonderful husband and four great kids behind.  Before then I never witnessed a family grieve so hard.  She was a great wife, mother, and support to many and now she was gone.

Believe In The Goodness Of God

Believe In The Goodness Of God

As you can imagine, a loss like that can make your future look bleak.  I know each one of those family members had to wrestle with whether they could once again catch a vision for a hopeful tomorrow.

Every year I personally speak to scores of people who in suffering a loss or setback have begun to wonder if there will ever be a new horizon for them in their future.  They have felt so kicked while they were down, so un-favored over time, that they believe their future is bleak.

I know when I am worn down by a continuous stream of setbacks I get weary and tired.  No doubt you are the same.  Layer of hurt washes over consecutive layers of hurt to bring such a constant current of pain that your mind begins to think it will never get better.  It is like your brain accepts a new darker program of perception.

This is life’s great test of faith.

I had a friend who often would say, “Things are getting so bad, I’m about to lose my religion.”  How pathetic.

Think about it.  If your faith in God can’t sustain you through life’s trials, it isn’t a very stout faith.  If God is bigger than our problems, if he really transcends every reality, then shouldn’t our faith in him be strong enough to give us a persevering perspective over our problems and disappointments.

There are a lot of things that can drive you to think bleakly of your future…

You lose your job,

Can’t find a job,

Lose a friend,

A family member attempts suicide,

Get cheated on by a spouse or fiancée,

Struggle with chronic illness,

Endure through the ups and downs of a prodigal child,

Watch a loved one die,

Get your application rejected,

Get yourself stuck in an addiction,

Become frustrated in a loveless marriage,

Struggle with the pain of a heartbreaking divorce.

All these things and more can make your future hopes seem irreparably compromised.  God can seem distant and uninvolved.  You thought that a loving God was in the business of delivering you out of problems, but now he seems to you to be absent or literally leading you into painful difficulty.

So how do you trust God when the future looks bleak?

The writer of Proverbs tells us straight away…

Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)

The truth is “how do you trust God when the future looks bleak?” is really not a fruitful question.  It is not a matter of “how” but a matter of “that.”  It is a choice.

It is saying, I am hurt, I am disillusioned, I am frustrated and do not know how to fix things, but I am making the choice to trust in the transcendent will and divine love and perfect goodness of God.

It is a matter of not leaning “on your own understanding.”  It is about saying, I am confused in this situation, but I believe God is not in the least confounded.  It is choosing to believe that, even in the pain, God has a plan and that plan is for my good.

Paul writes in Romans, “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

When my friend’s wife died, I watched him go through all the stages of grief.  But I never saw him lose his faith.  The blow he experienced could have been a tragedy over which he might have “lost his religion.”  But he didn’t.

In the months after her death I heard my friend and others in our circle say something over and over again.  It was a statement of faith, a profession of confidence in a God who understood more than our little minds ever could.  I heard people say, “This situation is terrible, but God is good.”

In saying that they changed their perspective on what initially seemed like a darker future.  They chose a perspective of faith.  They chose to believe God had a plan even in horrible brokenness and that the plan was for our good.  Not that someone passing away was good, it wasn’t.  But God had a plan to display his goodness in the midst of it all.

So have you struggled, through very real personal pain, to see a horizon in your future?  Yes?  Then you are faced with a choice—to trust or not to trust in the goodness and transcendent plans of God.

I beg you today—trust in his goodness even when your circumstances are not good.

Question: How have you found strength through a choice to trust in God’s goodness no matter what?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

I am a white male.  For centuries most of America was viewed, imagined, and projected through eyes like mine.  But that is changing and changing fast.  Population demographics are in transition and America is looking different.  Because of this the church must view race and culture differently if we are going to bring the gospel to the culture in relevant ways.

Diverse in Culture, Unified in Christ

Diverse in Culture, Unified in Christ

Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau indicate that the U.S. is quickly changing into a plurality population.

Consider this…

The census projects that by 2043 “Americans who identify themselves as Hispanic, Black, Asian, American Indian, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander will together outnumber non-Hispanic whites.”[1]

In just ten years, in 2024, the non-Hispanic white population will hit its peak at 199.6 million.  After that the population of that demographic will begin to gradually decline.[2]

Minorities currently make up 37% of the population, but by 2060 that category will reach 57%.[3]

The fact is that the complexion of our world has been noticeably changing for some time and those changes will continue.  So what does this mean for the church, particularly the white church?

It means we need to stop seeing churches as white, or black, or Asian, or Arab.  We are going to need to see the church through the eyes of the gospel and not the eyes of race and culture.  Jesus died for man.  Not just our slice of the demographic.

He died for the sins of all men who descended from Adam.  Why else would Christ say that we were to preach this gospel to “all nations.” (Matthew 28:19)

And this is important.  For a long time white church goers have been very warm to the idea of taking the gospel to people of different races and different nations.  This has been a high value in the evangelical church.  Reaching people from the other side of town or the other side of the pond has been our accepted mission.  But that often is where the mission ended.

Most white church goers never imagined that those people reached with the gospel would actually go to church with them.  Oh sure they figured some would, but not in large proportion.  But this perspective must change in many places if we are going to relevantly reach our communities for Christ in the future.

It used to be that we would try to reach a community by reflecting the nature of that community in our church.  That more often than not cut along racial and cultural lines.  It made sense and was based on a principle called the homogeneous unit principle.

But now, in many places this is changing, for the community itself is becoming significantly more diverse.  The principle is still somewhat sound, but now to reflect that principle the church itself must become more racially and culturally diverse.

The local church I lead has been in such a transition for years.  About 20-25% of our congregational attendance consists of Hispanics, Burmese, and Karen peoples.  We are beginning to reflect the future direction of our culture.

Of course, right now these minority cultures hold their own services in our church.  We have five worship services in 4 different languages each Sunday.  Language and cultural differences still divide us in many ways.  But this will change in just a generation or two.

When the younger generations of these immigrants are educated in English and begin to assimilate into Western culture those ties to their cultural distinctives will weaken.  When that happens we will need to become more integrated in our church experience.

In the mean time it will be important that we begin crossing those cultural barriers as a congregation as fast as we can.  We need to view each other as brothers and sisters who are one in Christ.  We need to love each other in word and deed, not just in principle.

In the future, God will reach diverse communities through churches where the members have embraced one another’s cultural diversity while at the same time finding unparalleled unity in the gospel.

There are amazing days ahead for the church.  They won’t be easy, but they promise amazing opportunities for the relationally adventurous.  We will have to stretch ourselves and step out of our comfort zones.  But the opportunity to see our church and community through God’s eyes rather than the eyes of our provincial culture is so worth the risk.

Questions for Discussion:  What is it about this future that excites you?  What about it frightens you?  Do you have ideas for how churches can embrace the diversity of cultures in their communities?  Do you have ideas on how brothers and sisters in Christ from differing cultures can bridge relational gaps and find greater unity in their mutual love for Jesus?  Enter the dialogue and You can leave a comment by clicking here.



[1] “Urban Now:  North America’s Growing Urbanization Impacts Church Planting,” Joe Conway, On Mission Magazine, North American Mission Board, SBC, Volume 17, Number 2, p. 31.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

Fast Forward is a marvelous function on your DVD or DVR remote.  Push it and you can skip to the future of a story to see what happens before you have to live through the story.

Push Fast Forward

Push Fast Forward

If you want to see how the movie ends without going through all the drama, just Fast Forward.  Did you record the game, but you don’t want to spend the time watching the whole thing?  Just push Fast Forward and skip to the score.

Wise people use a kind of Fast Forward function in their minds to make wise decisions.  What do I mean?

Wise people use their logic and forethought to judge the wisdom of a decision by pushing Fast Forward and determining the logical outcome their decision will have in the future.  After all, we should all know that we are continually living out the consequences of our past decisions.

Robert Louis Stevenson said, “Everybody, sooner or later, sits down to a banquet of consequences.”

Some of those consequences are the product of wise decisions and are blessings.  Others are painful and the product of decisions you wish you hadn’t made.

Mark Twain wrote, “The man that sets out to carry a cat by its’ tail learns something that will always be useful and which will never grow dim or doubtful.”

Wisdom is thinking through the decisions of today with a forward view to that decision’s probable outcome.

Norman Cousins said, “Wisdom consists of the anticipation of consequences.”

It really is that simple.

Here is the point of this post…

When you are faced with a choice, be wise, push Fast Forward and consider the eventual outcomes of such a choice.  Then heed the warnings and make the wise decision.

This is most often how wisdom is attained…Pushing Fast Forward.

Proverbs 2:4 says we should search for wisdom “as for hidden treasure.”  Pushing Fast Forward is important.

When you are considering sharing that constructive criticism about the dress your wife is wearing…push Fast Forward.   Consider the logical outcome of your critique.

When you are considering the job you will pursue or the person you wish to marry, push Fast Forward.

When you are considering the time your kids devote to sports in ways that interfere with their participation in church, push Fast Forward.  What ultimate impact will your decisions have on their faith, on their commitment to the things of God, on their own commitment to church and even on how they will likely rear your grandchildren?

When you consider a financial purchase, push Fast Forward.  You won’t regret doing so.

When you are tempted to sin, push Fast Forward.  Is it not going to bring more harm than good?

What decisions are before you today?  Spend some time pushing the Fast Forward button in your brain and think through the future implications of the choices you could make.  Then make the wise choice.

Question:  What are suggestions you have for thinking ahead when faced with a choice?  Share them with us.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Yesterday I dropped off my oldest daughter at the airport to catch a flight to South America for a month long mission.  She will be working at a couple of orphanages, a school, and will prepare for a team from our church to join her the last week of her mission.  She will share the gospel and care for people in need.  I am proud of her and have confidence that she will do well.

Sending My Daughter On Mission

Sending My Daughter On Mission

When she was still in the womb my wife and I would pray for the daughter that would be born to us.  There is one prayer we prayed over and over again…

Oh, Lord, give her a love for the things of God!

There are many things for which I have prayed and not received the answer that I had hoped.  But this prayer has been answered many times in my daughter’s life and I am so thankful.

There is nothing I could want more than for my child to love the Lord.  Nothing!

That prayer shaped how we parented our girl and our other children as well.  We realized that we had to be a part of the answer to our petition.

We realized for our daughter to love the things of God we had to love the things of God as well.  Our affection for God had to lead us to love prayer, love the Scriptures, love the Church, love serving others, love giving, and love taking the gospel to all manner of people.

We certainly were not perfect in our example, but we were genuine.  Our kids saw us love God’s people, love and give to others, and saw us travel the world on occasion to share the gospel.

We prayed with and for our children, talked about God and prayed for people who did not yet know the love of Christ.  They caught the vision to do the same.

We realized that we could not afford to compartmentalize our faith at church.  We had observed many who lived out their relationship with God in the church house, but then said little about the Lord at their house.  We realized that God would have to be the central figure and most important Person of our home.

Don’t get me wrong!  We have made a boatload of mistakes.  We have failed miserably over and over.

But somehow through it all our kids caught the vision for themselves.  This was driven home for me once again as I gave my eldest child one last hug before sending her off to another country.

What is going to change the world?  A generation that loves the things of God.

Let’s pray for them this way, but most of all let’s live this out before them.

Question:  What are ways we can live out our faith before our children?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Yesterday in church I led my congregation in a minute of silence in memory of all those men and women who died in military service to our country.  Often I have thought that pausing in silence to remember a fallen individual was a rather lame way to show respect.  After all shouldn’t we do so much more?  But I have changed my mind.

Pause to Remember

Pause to Remember

As I led us to be silent for an entire minute, I felt the power of the moment.  I really thought about the hundreds of thousands of our Americans who died on the battlefield defending our country’s freedom.  I thought about the gravity of that sacrifice.  Of course there is the gravity of the sheer numbers of people, but even more than that it is the gravity of even just one of those lives lost for a country.

Those men and women actually fought for us and then they were shot or wounded in some way that caused them to breathe their last.  For some it all came in an instant…a blast and then eternity.  For others the wound was such that their death came slow.  They were able to think about what they were losing and why.

These men and women were giving up years of their lives on those battlefields.  They would never again hold spouses, play with their children, walk their daughters down the aisle, and so much more.  They did that for you and they did that for me.

I thought about all of that in that brief minute in church.  That is when I changed my mind.  Pausing for a minute of silence was powerful.  Very powerful.  I really did remember, gratefully remember.

So today, would you do just that?  Stop, even if for only a minute and think about what was done for you.  Really think about it.  Don’t just think about the hundreds of thousands of soldiers over the centuries.  Think about that one soldier and what he or she surrendered fighting for you and your way of life.  Think about how personal it was for them.

And then pause again, for another minute and remember what our Lord Jesus Christ did for us on the cross that day.  Soldiers died that we might have an American way of life.  Jesus died so that we might have life eternal, the Heavenly life.

Let’s remember.

Question:  Do you know someone who gave their life for our country?  Tell us their name and something about them.  Let us remember them together.  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

 

In recent days I have come to believe that the church is in need of revival.  Not only do I believe the church in general is in such need, but I believe my own local congregation is in such need.  Why?  It is because of the disease of spiritual dullness.

Revival is the Cure

Revival is the Cure

What is spiritual dullness?  Let me explain.  In Mark Shaw’s book, 10 Great Ideas from Church History, the author points to the Puritan Minister, Jonathan Edwards, for an understanding of when revival is the great need.

Edwards taught that spiritual dullness grips a Christian and even a church “when the realities of God and his gospel grow so dim, and unbelief and worldly affections so strong, that the heart of the church wanders to the lusts and rivalries of a secularized mind.”[1]

Dullness can be seen when Christians are in open sin for which they have no intention of repenting.  When believers cherish various vices or engage in unbiblical sexual relationships, pursue dishonest gain, participate in gossip, or transgress into thievery it is evidence that dullness has taken root.

This condition can also be seen when believers are engaged in the ritual and routines of religion without engaging their heart and their passions toward God.  How many of our churches are filled with people who mouth the words of hymns and prayers, but only out of habit with no heart or earnestness.  This too is an indication that dullness has invaded like a virus.

This isn’t complex.  When we drift from a surrendered, loving, and dependent relationship with God we are in need of revival.

Revival is the cure for spiritual dullness.

So what is revival and how do we experience it?

Simple!

Revival is returning to God.  It is repenting of the sin that caused you to drift from a totally surrendered relationship with him.  It is re-establishing an all encompassing relationship with the Lord through Jesus Christ.  It is getting back to the basics of scripture, prayer, and obedience to God.

Have you drifted?  Have you lost your first love for the God who loves you enough to send Christ to die for your sins? (Revelation 2:4)  Is it not time to confess your sin and re-surrender your entire life to God?

If so, why not right now come to Father God?

  1. Acknowledge that he has authority over your life and that he wants to pour his life into yours.
  2. Admit that you have sinned pushing God to the margin of your life.
  3. Turn from that sin and trust in the forgiveness of God made possible because of Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross.
  4. Surrender to God’s lordship and commit to being obedient to his commands.
  5. Give to him all that you are and everything you have.

Spiritual dullness is a grave spiritual disease, but revival (a returning to God and his ways) is the cure.

Challenge:  Come to God thoroughly repenting of sins that have caused you to drift and surrender afresh to the ways and commands of Christ.

Question:  What are indications you have seen which give evidence of spiritual dullness?  How do you suggest one pursues revival in their personal life and the life of their local congregation?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.



[1] Mark Shaw, 10 Great Ideas from Church History: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to Shaping Your Church, IVP Books, Downers Grove, Illinois, p. 116.

Jesus said, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24)  To follow Jesus, to live his prevailing life, we must deny ourselves.  How does the practice of self denial lead to a life that prevails?

I belong to God!

I belong to God!

We have gotten away from the talk of “self denial” in contemporary Christianity.  For many the term drudges up killjoy images of punishing the body or legalistic admonitions to live a life of morose austerity.  But the kind of self denial Jesus speaks about is something more fundamental.

When Jesus speaks of self denial he is speaking about the issue of ownership.  When you declare a life of self denial, you are professing that you do not have authority over your life, but another does.

For the follower of Christ it means that…

  1. We do not own ourselves, our lives, or our directions.
  2. We belong to God and are yielded to his will and plan.

I am currently teaching a seminary class on leadership.  We are studying many of history’s most notable church leaders.  In that study I came across a quote from the Protestant Reformer, John Calvin.  He said,..

We are not our own:  let not our reason and will, therefore, sway our plans and deeds.  We are not our own: let us not see it as our goal to seek what is expedient for us according to the flesh.  We are not our own: in so far as we can, let us therefore forget ourselves and all that is ours.[1]

By itself this idea might seem bleak, as if we are relinquishing life.  But there is more to the story that makes this idea rich and marvelous.  We are not only denying ownership of our lives, we are declaring that…

We belong to God!

We belong to the God who loves us enough to send his Son Jesus, to die on the cross atoning for our sin.  We belong to the God who created us for his glory and for loving fellowship in his eternal presence.  We belong to the God who gives us life that prevails.  Calvin further states…

We are God’s: let us therefore live for him and die for him.  We are God’s: let all the parts of our life accordingly strive toward him as our only lawful goal.  O, how much has that man profited who, having been taught that he is not his own, has taken away dominion and rule from his own reason that he may yield it to God.[2]

When we deny ourselves and surrender to the ownership of God, our lives become open to all that God has for us.  Yielded to him, we become his instruments, doing his bidding, living a divine adventure that we could never know if we doggedly insisted on being the captain of our own pitiful plans.

So as the Apostle Paul urged, “offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Romans 12:1)

Do you want to live the prevailing life?  Then lose your life to God’s ownership.  Be willing to surrender your present and your future to whatever God will call you to do.

Don’t be afraid!  He will stretch you, challenge you, and push you for sure.  He will call you into things you never thought you could handle.  He will lead you to trust him with your tomorrow in ways you thought you could never trust anyone.

But you will experience him and his power.  You will know him in his love.  You will find that in him your life prevails no matter what the circumstances.

Yes, self denial (the kind Jesus speaks of) opens the door to God’s prevailing life!

Question:  What are ways you experience God more fully when you surrender to his ownership over your life and circumstances?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

 



[1] Mark Shaw, 10 Great Ideas from Church History, IVP Books, Downers Grove, Illinois, 1997, pp. 50-51.

[2] Ibid, p. 51.

I have been blogging for about four months now.  I have published 46 posts so far.  I am grateful for hundreds of you who have become consistent readers.  You have been reading what I write, but now I want to hear from you.

I want to hear from YOU!

I want to hear from YOU!

So far I have written on subjects concerning the nature of God, how to follow and serve the Lord, as well as posts on family and leadership.

I have written on things that matter to me, but I would like to know what matters most to you.

Would you help me by giving me feedback?

What are the subjects that you most enjoy reading about and what are the kinds of posts you find most helpful…posts on the nature of God, personal discipleship, family, or leadership?

I want to know what helps you the most.

I would also like to know what questions you have about faith in Christ.  What are spiritual problems for which you would like scriptural answers?  Or maybe they are simply problems you face in everyday life and you would like to know how God’s Word can give you the guidance you need.

I want to hear from you so that I can focus my writing in ways that add greater value to your life.

I never set out to blog just to see my thoughts published.  I became a blogger so I could help you.

Help me help you.  How?  Simple, just let me know what subjects you most enjoy reading about and what questions you might like to see answered.  Maybe there is a subject that you have not seen me address that you would like to see me write on.  Let me know what that is.

So here is what I would like you to do.  Leave a comment to this post letting me know the kinds of things that you find most helpful on prevailinglife.com.  Then let me know what you would like to see me write about in the future.  Share questions or topics you would like to see me address.

I might not be able to address every suggested topic, but I hope to address many and I want to hear from you.

Seriously, I want to hear from you!  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

 

 

This week I led my staff in a protracted time of praying for personal revival.  We gathered on a Monday morning in our Sanctuary and just began pouring our hearts out to God, seeking his fresh wind and fresh fire.  This is where revival begins…on our knees reaching for a fresh touch from the Lord.

Pray for Your Revival

Pray for Your Revival

The truth is believers often need to be re-awakened to a fresh experience of the Lord.  Often we can allow the challenges and distractions of this world to crowd and stifle our passion for Christ.  This is deadly to our spiritual vitality and Christian effectiveness.

When we allow this drift, it is time we seek revival.

The good news is this…

God is ready and willing to answer our prayers for revival.  2 Chronicles 7:14 says, “If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.

When it comes to seeking a personal revival…If we will approach God rightly, he will respond to us generously.  Jesus said, “Ask and it will be given you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)

To Seek Personal Revival You Must Approach God Rightly…

  1. We must humble ourselves.  If you have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, then you are his, called by his name.  You represent the Lord and he lays claim to your life.  When you acknowledge this and “humble” yourself, you are acknowledging his lordship over your soul.  We get off track with God when we are prideful and determined to control our own destiny rather than yield to the expressed will of the Lord.  When we humble ourselves again before God our own revival begins.  No longer are we running from God or edging him out.  Now we are submitting to his authority.
  2. We must pray.  Here is where we expressly turn to God.  Revival is turning to God and this is done in prayer.  Call upon him.  Pour out your heart to him.  Express your need of him.
  3. We must seek God’s face.  What does this mean?  To seek his face is to seek to know and experience his character.  When you fall in love with someone you are prone to gaze into their face.  You want to know their thoughts and expressions.  You want to know what pleases them and what bothers them.  You learn this by observing their face.   Seeking God’s face means you give your all to getting closer to God.  Simple surface level experience of God is no longer enough for you.  You want more.  Don’t settle for inch deep faith, dive deep into the knowledge and love of God.
  4. We must turn from sin.  You cannot have a revival with God if there is the willful continuance of sin in your life.  You must turn from your sin.  Sinning against God drives you from him.  That is the problem.  To experience his refreshing you must turn from that which is driving you away from right fellowship with the Lord.  Turn away from the lies, from the greed, from the pride, from the bitterness, from the lustfulness, from the deception.  Turn away from spiritual apathy and a contentment with a weak commitment to God.  Turn away from these things and turn to him.

When You Rightly Seek Revival, God Responds…

How?  The Bible says he will hear your plea, forgive your sins, and heal your life.  You see God is ready and waiting to respond.  In fact he is doing more than that.  He is prompting you, even now, to pursue him afresh.

It is time to stop living a compromised or diminished spiritual life.  Get on your knees today and turn your life over to him afresh and a new.

Question:  What are signs in your life that God is calling you back to himself?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.

Today is Mother’s Day.  To all of you who are moms, thank you for all you do.  You might not always feel like what you do makes a difference.  But it does.  Your job is of uttermost importance.  You build up lives and launch futures.

Me and My Mom

Me and My Mom

When you pour out your life into your child, you are making an investment that will pay dividends generations from now.

I think of the things my Mom invested in me.  Those things shaped me and gave me the inner resource to build a life worth living, a life that makes a difference to others.

What did my Mom give me?  She gave me…

  1. Her loving, caring presence in my most formative years.  Mom stayed at home and gave me a very nurtured childhood.  She was one who fought for women’s lib and for females to have the freedom to pursue careers in the 1960’s.  But when faced with the choice to work or stay home with her sons, she chose her sons.  We were her career and that made all the difference.  When I think back to my youngest years, my memories paint a picture of an ideal American childhood.  Those early years under the constant nurture of my mother gave me an inner security on which I could never place a price tag.  Not every mother has the opportunity to stay at home.  Many must work and should never feel guilty for doing so.  None-the-less, I am grateful to have had my mom with me throughout each day.
  2. Faith to believe that what I wanted to do and was gifted to do I could do.  Mom believed in me.  She told me this continually.  She expressed great pride in me every time I did something that displayed some measure of ability.  I never wondered if my mom thought I could achieve something.  She was there at critical moments to express her confidence that I could to it.  I don’t think I realized how important this was until I grew up and started to achieve things that really mattered.  When I analyzed what made those achievements possible, my mind would journey back to things she had told me when I was younger.  Thanks Mom for believing in me!
  3. A kick in the rear when I needed to be encouraged to try something new and engage in an adventure.  I am more adventuresome now, but when I was a child I was resistant to trying new things.  I remember when I was 8 or 9 years old my mom encouraging me to take a community drama class.  I refused.  I was scared of meeting new kids and being in front of others.  We went round and round.  In the end, she just said, “you are going to do it!”  That experience was amazing.  I got to act a little, and though I was not very good, I gained a new confidence about being in front of people.  Now look at me.  I get up and engage crowds each week.  Thanks Mom for seeing the potential when I was not very cooperative.
  4. An inspiring example of how to rise above painful circumstances.  In my late teens, my mother and father got a divorce.  It was gut-wrenching for us all.  But especially for mom.  The pain for her was soul crushing.  I am not saying that she always handled it well.  But come on!  Who could expect anyone to handle such a thing perfectly?  Yet, I saw her forge a journey of self-reflection and healing that helped her rise above the pain and build a beautiful life.  That taught me.  I learned how life’s greatest crisis provides every person with an opportunity to choose to get bitter or to get better.  She chose to get better and that gave me strength.
  5. Loads of encouragement throughout every phase of my life.  My mom has the gift of encouragement.  She has granted me her loving blessing at every phase of my life.  Since I became an adult, she has let me live my life without offering much of her own direction.  But she has been generous with her praise and encouragement.  That was vital to me when I was young.  It gave me courage and confidence.  But it is still such a soul strengthening blessing even now that I am in my later forties.  It just feels good when you know your mom is proud of you, even when you are all grown up.  Thanks Mom!

Now listen, my mom is far from perfect.  But so am I and so are you.  Yet, one thing is for certain.  I have been given so much from her love and presence in my life.

What about you?  Maybe your mom is not perfect either, but what are those things that she gave you that made you who you are?  Today, let’s thank God for those things and celebrate motherhood.

Question:  What things did your mom do for you that helped to launch your life in positive ways?  You can leave a comment by clicking here.