July 30 - while I'm waiting

As I was praying this morning I really felt God speaking to me about being faithful in the waiting times. Sometimes, if you're like me, I tend to live from event to event. Today God was really reinforcing the importance of being faithful in the 'in between' times.

Think about how many 'in between' times there are in scripture where people just had to live faithfully during those many days of waiting.

Abraham - Got the promise of Isaac at age 75...Isaac was born when Abraham was...100! That's a lot of waiting.

Noah - was in the ark with all of those animals and family in close quarters for over a year!

Moses - tended sheep for 40 years in the desert before having the burning bush experience.

Jesus - we have virtually nothing from the time Jesus became an adult until age 30. That's at least 12 years (even longer with the Hebrew concept of adulthood).

So, my point is, people that have done incredible things for God often had long stretches of waiting...stretches when there aren't huge events going on, but yet they lived faithfully each day. That is what God is calling us to today.

Are you waiting for something? Live faithfully today.

Don't know when something's going to change? Live faithfully today.

Need some inspiration? Check out this great song. It totally nails it.

July 28 - 60/60

I really feel like God is driving a point home in my own heart and mind today. It's not some new revelation, just a renewed sense of importance. The idea is simply that our relationship with Christ affects everyone around us. The more connected we are with Christ (60/60...) the more it affects all of our interactions with people around us. When you really think about it, we create much of the atmosphere we dwell in simply with our attitudes and outlooks. I know that being close to Christ ALWAYS affects my attitude and outlook for the better.

So today, maybe we could think about it this way. We're not just doing the 60/60 for us, we're doing it to positively impact the people around us.

You can do it. Go for it!

July 27 - math review lesson...

Here are a few simple reminders from 'math is fun.com'

To remember which way around the "<" and ">" signs go, just remember:

* BIG > small
* small < BIG

So, just remember today, GOD > _________.

60/60 - July 25

For the past couple days the challenge has been...a challenge! Still I remember that anything worth anything takes work and the only losers are those who quit. Don't quit! His mercies are new every morning!

July 22 - 60/60

Not much feedback from people lately...I hope you're hanging in there. Tell me a little bit about how the 60/60 is going for you today. I definitely sense God's presence with me...extending grace...giving me peace.

How's it going for you today?

60/60 - You are Holy, great and Mighty...

Just wanted to share some simple but powerful thoughts today from Psalm 97.

The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.

² Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³ Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.

⁴ His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.

⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.

Meditate on those words as you listen to this incredible song by Phil Wickham:

July 20 - 60/60 CHALLENGE

Today is 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing and I just caught a bit of a live news conference with 7 of the Apollo astronauts. It was incredibly inspiring. A few of things really stood out.

All of these guys were in their mid to later 70's.

All of them were more incredibly passionate about the space program.

Many spoke very bluntly and not at all politically correct because their passion and experience trumped any concern for others not liking what they said.

All of them risked their lives for what they truly believed in and would do it again today in a heartbeat.

Absolutely inspiring. They were focused on exploring the unknown in space. May we be as focused on the One who created it all...the One who hung the stars, the moon, and Mars.

July 17 - 60/60 - spiritual leadership

Another one of my favorite quotes is from pastor and author Erwin McManus - he writes, "Isn't the essence of spiritual leadership someone who is willing to follow God first and closest?"

See, the people around us desperately need authentic spiritual leaders. It's tempting to give up on the 60/60 - especially if the people around you have given up on it. But think about that McManus quote...and be the one who is willing to follow God first and closest.

Make the commitment..."Whether others do or not, I will continue."

60/60 - July 15

You might have noticed that I like quotes. Found this one the other day and it seems to fit well with what we're doing with the 60/60.

"In the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins - not through strength, but through persistence."

Persistence. Perseverance. Determination.

Whatever you're up against today, keep going. Keep pursuing Christ and pursing transformation. Remember, there are no losers, no failures, except for those who quit!

We don't accept applications...only commitments...

Maybe you've seen this commercial and didn't realize that it actually has a spiritual principle behind it. Click on the link below to check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhuKV0Y--ZI

OK, so being a former Marine, I like this commercial anyway, but there's also a spiritual principle here. As we're about to wrap up the Basic Training series at our church I realized that if you really search the gospels and listen to what Jesus says over and over again, you realize that Jesus and the Marines have this in common.

The both don't accept applications...only commitments.

I think Marines only take commitments because there are going to be times that you just want to quit, but you can't, you're committed. They basically own you for the four years or whatever time you have committed to - the direct your steps (literally), they provide for you, they tell you what to do and when to do it, whether you want to or not. It all works because everyone knows the rank structure, and here's the spiritual principle: the prerequisite to commitment is submission.

True for us as Christ-followers too. Are you fully submitted to the leadership of Christ in every area of your life?

60/60 - July 11

Hey - we're almost half-way through the 60/60 CHALLENGE and it's possible that the alarm going off, or you looking at the clock for the top of the hour is getting a little routine for you. The danger is that the routine often changes to meaningless, but here's something that happened to me today. At one point today (probably more than one), in a particular situation, I realized how much change there is still to be done. I don't want to settle for status quo in my own life, my own personality, my own actions. I'm pushing forward - pressing on.

Don't settle friends - there are great things God still wants to do in us and through us!

July 9 - 60/60

Pressing on and pursuing Christ today in spite of obstacles and opposition...it's our calling, our challenge...our privilege...to live for and with the Creator of all things! I continue to be amazed!

How's it going for you today?

July 8 - 60/60

I want to share another 'letter' from Frank Laubach's book. It's incredible. Here it is:

The experiment I am trying [staying connected to God every hour of the day] is the most strenuous discipline which any man every attempted. I am not succeeding in keeping God in my mind very many hours of the day, and from the point of view of experiment number one [keeping God in mind every hour], I should have a high percentage of failure. But the other experiment - what happens when I do succeed - is so successful that it makes up for the failure of number one. God does work a change. The moment I turn to Him it is like turning on an electric current which I feel through my whole being. I find also that the effort to keep God in my mind does something to my mind which every mind needs to have done to it. I am given something difficult enough to keep my mind with a keen edge. The constant temptation of every man is to allow his mind to grow old and lose its edge [think comfortably numb...]. I feel that I am perhaps more lazy mentally than the average person, and I require the very mental discipline which this constant effort affords.

So my answer to my two questions to date would be:
1. "Can it be done all the time?" Hardly.
2. "Does the effort help?" Tremendously. Nothing I have ever found proves such a tonic to mind and body.

Such great thoughts from a man pursuing Christ in the 1930's. I love the answers to his two questions. Can we do the 60/60 perfectly? Hardly. Does it make a difference when we do succeed? Tremendously!

July 7 - 60/60

So last night I was mowing the grass at the church and picked up a soda can in the grass without realizing it was filled with bees. Two of them stung me and I can only imagine what it looked like if people saw me running and swatting everywhere (one flew up my shorts...enough said there). It must have been quite a sight! I would have loved to have seen it myself!

It's amazing how quickly these little bees can get our attention and immediately change whatever we're doing. Comparing that with how difficult it seems to be sometimes for God, the Creator of heaven and earth, to get our attention. Maybe sometimes that's why a little pain is good for us - it grabs our attention.

I'm not wishing any bee stings on you today, but I am hoping that we'll intentionally turn our attention toward the Creator throughout our day today.

July 6 - 60/60

Yesterday our Youth intern Eric Krause spoke on our Basic Training series and he did a great job. Here are some of the highlights I wrote down as he spoke (yes I take notes on every speaker I hear - I once heard someone say that wise people are constant learners and realize they can learn from anyone). Eric's talk was framed around three major ideas - Frequency, Intensity, and Mode.

He started out saying that most of the time when it comes to physical training people simply don't want to put in the work...so true in our spiritual lives too!

Frequency - the more you're into it, the more you want to be into it. This is true with prayer, reading scripture, serving, you name it.

Intensity - sometimes we can get spiritually sluggish. Hebrews 5:11-6:3 is a powerful passage we read yesterday. When we don't continue to pursue and up the intensity we become...comfortably numb.

Mode - sometimes we need to mix it up. This is a key point in spiritual disciplines because sometimes the passion we start them with fades and it turns into a meaningless going through the motions kind of thing. This can happen with the 60/60 too. Mix up the prayer you pray when your timer goes off - mix up who you're praying for - ask God for a fresh revelation of Himself or what He wants you to do.

Good stuff - Let's put it into practice (Matthew 7:24)!

July 4 - 60/60 Challenge

Today we celebrate Independence Day. Talked with the family this morning at breakfast about what exactly that means for us today and what it involved for people in the past. Thinking of all that has been suffered and sacrificed for our nation's independence and freedom. Yet there is something greater . . . the chance Christ gave us to experience freedom here on Earth and eternal life with Him. For as much as we WANT independence in this life, we NEED dependence on Him. I am reminded once again this week that He knows so much better than I can and He wants what is ultimately the best for me. ~ Stephanie

July 1 - 60/60 CHALLENGE

As I'm writing 'CHALLENGE' in the title space for this post I was just reminded that this spiritual practice is not so much 'challenge' as it is 'privilege.' Just reminding myself that the Creator of heaven and earth desires relationship with me! Amazing yet once again. The other day I heard my son singing quietly 'Amazing Grace' and I thought to myself, "Such and old song from the lips of such a young person........ maybe the song never really gets old."

May the 60/60 not be a 'challenge' but a privilege for you today and may the 'amazing' part never get old for you...PE