Crying in the Kitchen

This summer I was especially taken with the verses in Philippians where Paul declares, “I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.  I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ and be found in him.”  My heart resonated.  My soul cried, “Yes!  Christ is all I need.”  I made plans to simplify my life.  I stopped buying clothes.  I got more creative and made things I needed out of what I already had.  My gaze was set on knowing "Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.” 

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on vulnerabilities

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Often there are vulnerabilities in our lives that, looking back, we have had hints of along the way but they did not seem life-threatening. These vulnerabilities are exploited in different ways in different souls.

For some, vulnerabilities are exposed through rejection. For others, through the offer of longed-for-acceptance.
For some, stress and pressure. For others, time on their hands.
For some, disappointment and anger. Yet others are most vulnerable following great successes.  


How our vulnerabilities are exposed can give insight into how our vulnerabilities were formed.

When startled by our own vulnerability, it is a wise use of prayer space to ask Father God if we have struggled (knowingly or unknowingly) with a lack of mental discipline in the use of our imaginations.  

What I find personally and as a mentor is that we are all very vulnerable to using our imaginations to "relax," to picture a different, better, more exciting, more peaceful...reality when the one we perceive ourselves to be experiencing. We tend to think of these imaginations as harmless and perhaps even a form of stress-relief. But untruth creates deadly fault lines in our souls.

If our minds are used to going places that are not within God's current realities for us (which is a different matter than simply being visionary or planning for the future...), then when approached with a suggestion, our mental boundaries are porous--more like a colander than a fortress--and our past lack of mental discipline suddenly becomes a catalyst exponentially taking us down roads we never thought we would ever choose.

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My New Friend Vulnerability

We keep our distance. We put up walls. All because we believe vulnerability will come back to kick us in the behind, or even kill us. Something recently happened that changed my mind about my new friend vulnerability.

I used to write headlines for Bible Study Magazine. I don't anymore. But I didn't figure out that I stink at writing headlines on my own. In fact, I thought I was pretty good at it. I'm not. After some critique from leaders more skilled than myself, I decided to stop writing headlines. I turned to our artists and said, "I can't write headlines worth squat. I need your help." That decision made our entire magazine better. Our art is better. Our concepts are better. The narrative arc of our magazine is better. Everything is better. We now tell a story together.

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A Well-Scrubbed Version of ME

In today’s world, technology offers us a unique view of one another. I’ve recently been wrestling with this. I am a follower of Jesus Christ. I seek to live my life consistent with the beliefs that I hold from Scripture. There are times when I live incredibly empowered by God’s Spirit. There are times that I stumble and fail. I try to keep short accounts with my wife, short accounts with my brothers, and short accounts with Jesus.

None of this is really where the rub is, hopefully none of this should land as a surprise. Here’s where I’ve been wrestling lately. On my Blog, on my Facebook pages, in my messages, I’ve been offering the “well scrubbed version of me.” So, while I believe that today’s technology offers a clearer view of KNOWING one another from a distance than has ever been possible before, I also recognize the potential for hypocrisy that exists. That’s why I’m calling it out. And because confession is good for the soul.
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