Thursday, March 14, 2013
Choose your perspective
Many people believe you have to see something to believe it. They question God’s existence in this dark world. They doubt his ability to change people. Many try to avoid the possibility that someone else is in control. They rage at what God allows to happen. Make statements like- If there was a God…. I don’t see how he would…. Why…. Where is he… When I see him with my eyes…
Well here is my answer. Check your perspective! Chances are- He is right in front of you. I know this because I sat across the room from God last Thursday. I saw him with my very own eyes, heard him with my own ears, and hugged him with my own arms. I heard him laugh and cry, saw his smile, and his heart ache. Real as real can be. Now you are either reading this in disbelief or completely stunned. I’m serious though. I have found that the most amazing thing on this earth is experiencing God. And he is EVERYWHERE.
On Thursday I saw him in my friend Deb as she shared how he is working in her life. It’s amazing- he is transforming her right before my eyes. It is so beautiful. I listened to how he has interacted with her thru loss, celebration, anxiety, conversations, tragedies, and all the ups and downs of life. I have seen his love thru her more times than I can count. In her generosity, her hugs, her genuine love, her excitement, his love just radiates from her!
I think that is the beauty of More Than More. It has helped me open my eyes and really notice God. It’s amazing how he is everywhere yet I had such a hard time finding him anywhere for a long long time. I was not really looking. I was waiting. Waiting for him to do some obvious act or grand display. Challenging him to catch my attention. Questioning his authenticity. Demanding proof. Truth is I did not really want to be found. I was hiding. And I wanted to blame him for that. I wanted to control the circumstances. But I had to choose to see him. Choose to notice. And even once I found him I still tried to limit his access to my life, my heart, my children, my plans, my marriage, mine, mine, mine. It’s the love at More Than More that helped me change my perspective. Now I can notice God in everyday life in the strangest most interesting ways. I can see God working in the lives of those around me. I can trust God. I can trust others. I know he will not abandon me. I know he will provide for me. I know my children are his children. I know he loves me. I know he is transforming my heart and life. I know he is in control- don’t always like it, but I know it.
What does you perspective look like? Are you waiting? Running? Doubting? Controlling? Don’t. Choose to notice. Need a good place to start???
More Than More will be meeting Thursday March 21, 2013 at 6:45 pm at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. Love to have you join us. AMAZING childcare provided!
Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John 13:35 NLT
Monday, March 4, 2013
What Will Really Make a Difference?
Since November i have had many conversations about Obamacare, elections, politicians and government. So many times people have a tons of opinions about whether this particular politician or that one is good or bad - it always amazes me how so many people can believe so many different things about the same person! Many are asking me what i think of Obamacare and the future of healthcare and all. Aside from joking that i may end up being a government employee soon, my response is pretty predictable:
"I don't really know what is going to happen and for the most part i don't care."
sometimes mixed in with a
"I can and have taken care of people under a tarp in the middle of a field. I'm pretty sure i can handle whatever comes."
To some this seems to be a relief - they are reassured that i am not spazzing out at what might or might not happen.
To others this is insanity and they think i am either delusional or apathetic.
To still others this is infuriating and they are ready to nail me to the wall!
Then i usually try to explain myself...
You see, this response comes from the way i live my life. I am convinced that if anyone is going to really make a difference to the people that i encounter on a given day of my life, one person it is not going to be is Barack Obama. I am also pretty sure it will not be Joe Biden or Dan Coats (Indiana Senator) or Mike Pence (Indiana Governor), in fact i am so sure they will not be the "difference maker" that i had to look up their names to find out who was in those offices! - not Obama or Biden, give me some credit!
You know who made the difference in my life today? A friend. His name is Larry and he spoke with such genuine goodness and concern for me and my family that i went on with the rest of my day feeling as if i mattered more! Who else? My friend named Troy, who took time out of his schedule and met me for lunch - where he shared his recent experiences and i mine and i left that 45minutes strengthened - with new ideas and encouragement for the rest of my day. My children, my wife, my medical assistant...
You know what else, it is almost always these people who really have the profound effects on my life. It is almost never people i don't know or who are far away. I must admit now that there are authors, like Paul the Apostle and like Brennan Manning among other, whose works have changed my life, but the impact of those words always lands in the reinforcement of the relationships of my life and this is where their wisdom actually takes shape.
So, here's the point. Will healthcare change - yes, i'm sure it will. And some things will be better undoubtedly and some will be worse. But, i will not be changing who i am in the middle of it - and nothing will change what makes my life, my practice, and More than more, so special. You see, we in our family, and at More than more believe that the world is messed up and that most people go around believing that people matter a lot but they don't typically notice the people around them enough to really make a difference in their lives - they are too busy, too overworked, too rushed, too harried and dare i say, too self-focused. So, we rush around getting things done and we miss out on the real difference makers - all the while having all kinds of discussions about the people who really won't make that much of a difference anyway.
Now don't get the wrong idea, we get all distracted into ourselves a lot of the time just like everyone else, but we are striving, pushing, extending ourselves, intentionally to be more people who dare to notice the people around them.
If you are sick of life as usual in this country and would like to live in a world where people make a difference to people, rather than waiting to see what the politicians and policy makers do, we would love to see you Thursday, 3/7/13, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always there will be some kind of activity for all ages. We will notice you, that i can promise.
Hope to see you there.
"I don't really know what is going to happen and for the most part i don't care."
sometimes mixed in with a
"I can and have taken care of people under a tarp in the middle of a field. I'm pretty sure i can handle whatever comes."
To some this seems to be a relief - they are reassured that i am not spazzing out at what might or might not happen.
To others this is insanity and they think i am either delusional or apathetic.
To still others this is infuriating and they are ready to nail me to the wall!
Then i usually try to explain myself...
You see, this response comes from the way i live my life. I am convinced that if anyone is going to really make a difference to the people that i encounter on a given day of my life, one person it is not going to be is Barack Obama. I am also pretty sure it will not be Joe Biden or Dan Coats (Indiana Senator) or Mike Pence (Indiana Governor), in fact i am so sure they will not be the "difference maker" that i had to look up their names to find out who was in those offices! - not Obama or Biden, give me some credit!
You know who made the difference in my life today? A friend. His name is Larry and he spoke with such genuine goodness and concern for me and my family that i went on with the rest of my day feeling as if i mattered more! Who else? My friend named Troy, who took time out of his schedule and met me for lunch - where he shared his recent experiences and i mine and i left that 45minutes strengthened - with new ideas and encouragement for the rest of my day. My children, my wife, my medical assistant...
You know what else, it is almost always these people who really have the profound effects on my life. It is almost never people i don't know or who are far away. I must admit now that there are authors, like Paul the Apostle and like Brennan Manning among other, whose works have changed my life, but the impact of those words always lands in the reinforcement of the relationships of my life and this is where their wisdom actually takes shape.
So, here's the point. Will healthcare change - yes, i'm sure it will. And some things will be better undoubtedly and some will be worse. But, i will not be changing who i am in the middle of it - and nothing will change what makes my life, my practice, and More than more, so special. You see, we in our family, and at More than more believe that the world is messed up and that most people go around believing that people matter a lot but they don't typically notice the people around them enough to really make a difference in their lives - they are too busy, too overworked, too rushed, too harried and dare i say, too self-focused. So, we rush around getting things done and we miss out on the real difference makers - all the while having all kinds of discussions about the people who really won't make that much of a difference anyway.
Now don't get the wrong idea, we get all distracted into ourselves a lot of the time just like everyone else, but we are striving, pushing, extending ourselves, intentionally to be more people who dare to notice the people around them.
If you are sick of life as usual in this country and would like to live in a world where people make a difference to people, rather than waiting to see what the politicians and policy makers do, we would love to see you Thursday, 3/7/13, 6:45-8:00 PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. As always there will be some kind of activity for all ages. We will notice you, that i can promise.
Hope to see you there.
Thursday, February 7, 2013
The How of Change
In the post, we talked about that change really does happen. Yet, there does seem to be this part of us that we battle against, making the same mistakes over and over - frustrating, but not hopeless.
Here is what i have observed, may or not be totally on base, see what you think...
Much of the change that happens in us seems to come from:
1) our awareness of the need to change, to become someone better than we have been
2) a change in the way we view life, the world, and ourselves in it
3) a healing or change of the prompts, the things inside us that seem to drive us to make the same mistakes over and over again - this often comes with a recognition of these prompts, or broken places, and then flows from there- this mostly comes from having a relationship with God - the healing coming from God's acceptance of us, love for us.
4) having some safe relationships in which both knowing God and having some healing can take place, where people genuinely care for each other - the problem with this is that this is hard to find - there are just not lots of people out there who genuinely care for us, especially when we are at our worst - most of the people we will find are people who already know God and are broken like us.
(a side note - i just do not find very many people in the world who love like this, when people are a their worst, except those who have God working inside them - there are lots of people who are just nice people, they would do anything for you anytime, but many times it is to their own detriment, they give so many times out of guilt and the need to please, that they often find themselves empty of meaning and broken in their own right - this is not the type of love i am talking about, although people in this situation can change just like everyone else)
5) sharing outwardly that same acceptance with other people that we encounter who are broken like us.
Here is something else i have observed - again, totally up for discussion:
At More than more, we really did not go into the way we talk and hang out with some massive agenda - we simply saw the world as broken and did not see anyone providing love and care and help to those who we were so broken in it. We kept encountering hurting people and loving them and then we were not sure what to do next - so Mtm was born - almost 5 years ago.
But, we have this set of ideas that we try to live by and we talk about when we get together - it is mostly centered around 1 word:
Notice
a funny word to talk about a lot but let me explain:
We stop each time we get together and we notice the amazingness of the world we live in, the amazingness of who God is in us, in our bodies, in our world - we stop...and we notice. This begins to change the way we live life (#2 above - most everyone comes to Mtm already at #1) especially as we involve God in our lives in simple ways - this is not to say it is not a battle - we are deeply rooted in our dysfunction and broken places, in making those same mistakes over and over again - but we see them start to recede a little as we notice.
Then, we stop and notice people - how amazing and wonderful and complex and awesome they are...and how much they totally suck - they are broken, all of them, even the ones we think are larger than life. We notice that there is nothing in the world so worth our time and effort and care than people, and yet they drive us crazy a fair amount of the time. As we apply noticing people to our lives, we start to see #4, and 5 start to take place in us. We begin to love each other. We begin to see ourselves as loveable. The brokenness meets some healing. #3 seems to come from the combination or the overlap between noticing God and noticing people - in the context of truly loving relationships, we begin to and continue to, search and find the stuff in us that needs healing - you see, we do not want to hurt these people we love and we do, especially as we get closer to them. Plus we can accept from them loving guidance and feedback on the pain they see in us more and more the more we see their love for us, and God's love for us.
It's strange, it seems a bit like a formula and it really isn't. It is full of grief and pain, laughter and joy, embraces and hurts, dirt and grease and blood and sweat and tears. It is full of faces, hands, feet. It is full of memories, sweet and painful. It is full of life - real life - full life - life as it was meant to be lived. And life cannot be distilled down to a formula.
Plus, the #'s above are simply generally how it works - the thing is it looks different with each person - many many times we start and then stutter, we fail and then fall, we totally back out of the relationships because of fear or hurt or past experiences - it just feels like too much - we lash out or misspeak sometimes right into the pain of another person and wound them without meaning it. Most of the time it is not intentional when we struggle, even with the goodness of change that happens, it is because the pain and hurt is so big in us - the past programming and defenses are strong and we are weak.
the good news?
Mtm will be here. We truly do love. We truly are changing. We truly will accept you. We truly are trying to notice...
Hope to see you tonight, 6:45-8:00PM, 2/7/13, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler, Lafayette - as always there will be free, excellent activities for all ages!
Here is what i have observed, may or not be totally on base, see what you think...
Much of the change that happens in us seems to come from:
1) our awareness of the need to change, to become someone better than we have been
2) a change in the way we view life, the world, and ourselves in it
3) a healing or change of the prompts, the things inside us that seem to drive us to make the same mistakes over and over again - this often comes with a recognition of these prompts, or broken places, and then flows from there- this mostly comes from having a relationship with God - the healing coming from God's acceptance of us, love for us.
4) having some safe relationships in which both knowing God and having some healing can take place, where people genuinely care for each other - the problem with this is that this is hard to find - there are just not lots of people out there who genuinely care for us, especially when we are at our worst - most of the people we will find are people who already know God and are broken like us.
(a side note - i just do not find very many people in the world who love like this, when people are a their worst, except those who have God working inside them - there are lots of people who are just nice people, they would do anything for you anytime, but many times it is to their own detriment, they give so many times out of guilt and the need to please, that they often find themselves empty of meaning and broken in their own right - this is not the type of love i am talking about, although people in this situation can change just like everyone else)
5) sharing outwardly that same acceptance with other people that we encounter who are broken like us.
Here is something else i have observed - again, totally up for discussion:
At More than more, we really did not go into the way we talk and hang out with some massive agenda - we simply saw the world as broken and did not see anyone providing love and care and help to those who we were so broken in it. We kept encountering hurting people and loving them and then we were not sure what to do next - so Mtm was born - almost 5 years ago.
But, we have this set of ideas that we try to live by and we talk about when we get together - it is mostly centered around 1 word:
Notice
a funny word to talk about a lot but let me explain:
We stop each time we get together and we notice the amazingness of the world we live in, the amazingness of who God is in us, in our bodies, in our world - we stop...and we notice. This begins to change the way we live life (#2 above - most everyone comes to Mtm already at #1) especially as we involve God in our lives in simple ways - this is not to say it is not a battle - we are deeply rooted in our dysfunction and broken places, in making those same mistakes over and over again - but we see them start to recede a little as we notice.
Then, we stop and notice people - how amazing and wonderful and complex and awesome they are...and how much they totally suck - they are broken, all of them, even the ones we think are larger than life. We notice that there is nothing in the world so worth our time and effort and care than people, and yet they drive us crazy a fair amount of the time. As we apply noticing people to our lives, we start to see #4, and 5 start to take place in us. We begin to love each other. We begin to see ourselves as loveable. The brokenness meets some healing. #3 seems to come from the combination or the overlap between noticing God and noticing people - in the context of truly loving relationships, we begin to and continue to, search and find the stuff in us that needs healing - you see, we do not want to hurt these people we love and we do, especially as we get closer to them. Plus we can accept from them loving guidance and feedback on the pain they see in us more and more the more we see their love for us, and God's love for us.
It's strange, it seems a bit like a formula and it really isn't. It is full of grief and pain, laughter and joy, embraces and hurts, dirt and grease and blood and sweat and tears. It is full of faces, hands, feet. It is full of memories, sweet and painful. It is full of life - real life - full life - life as it was meant to be lived. And life cannot be distilled down to a formula.
Plus, the #'s above are simply generally how it works - the thing is it looks different with each person - many many times we start and then stutter, we fail and then fall, we totally back out of the relationships because of fear or hurt or past experiences - it just feels like too much - we lash out or misspeak sometimes right into the pain of another person and wound them without meaning it. Most of the time it is not intentional when we struggle, even with the goodness of change that happens, it is because the pain and hurt is so big in us - the past programming and defenses are strong and we are weak.
the good news?
Mtm will be here. We truly do love. We truly are changing. We truly will accept you. We truly are trying to notice...
Hope to see you tonight, 6:45-8:00PM, 2/7/13, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler, Lafayette - as always there will be free, excellent activities for all ages!
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Well, maybe...Yes...
Wow! I have been writing this blog/email list for quite some time and i am starting to think that i need to finish blog posts with questions more often! I received multiple beautiful replies...i do not have the liberty to share those as they were sent only to me, not to the blog or to the whole group, sorry.
Now, speaking to those who have responded and those who have not, let me give some follow up thoughts to the previous post.
Any of you who have spent much time around me know 2 of my basic tenets: 1)people suck - all of them and 2) notice people, they are the most amazing and wonderful thing that exists in the world and the only thing worth investing your life in.
Now, unless i am utterly insane( no comments please), i must believe that there is some hope for all the sucky people in the world, of which i feel like i have been the suckiest, otherwise why invest so much time and energy and passion and why adopt such an utterly hopeless life mission???
So, i will cut right through all of my lingo and tell you, Yes, Yes, Yes, people can change - people can become better (minimize suckiness, reduce pisstivity - that oneis for Jas) - they can develop more of the good traits and less of the bad. How do i know this? I have seen it. I have seen people who were selfish and hurting and broken and on the defense and non-trusting and beat down and even arrogant and self-serving change. I have watched them become something that at some points only faintly reminds me of the person they were when i met them. In fact, sometimes i think if they had known then what they know now, they might have spazzed out at what they would become...
Now, here is where it gets kinda more difficult.
So, a second question for you:
How does the change happen? Is there a magic formula? Maybe a potion of some kind? Maybe a step-by-step that we simply follow the sequence of things we have to do and we become better people?
Now, speaking to those who have responded and those who have not, let me give some follow up thoughts to the previous post.
Any of you who have spent much time around me know 2 of my basic tenets: 1)people suck - all of them and 2) notice people, they are the most amazing and wonderful thing that exists in the world and the only thing worth investing your life in.
Now, unless i am utterly insane( no comments please), i must believe that there is some hope for all the sucky people in the world, of which i feel like i have been the suckiest, otherwise why invest so much time and energy and passion and why adopt such an utterly hopeless life mission???
So, i will cut right through all of my lingo and tell you, Yes, Yes, Yes, people can change - people can become better (minimize suckiness, reduce pisstivity - that oneis for Jas) - they can develop more of the good traits and less of the bad. How do i know this? I have seen it. I have seen people who were selfish and hurting and broken and on the defense and non-trusting and beat down and even arrogant and self-serving change. I have watched them become something that at some points only faintly reminds me of the person they were when i met them. In fact, sometimes i think if they had known then what they know now, they might have spazzed out at what they would become...
Now, here is where it gets kinda more difficult.
So, a second question for you:
How does the change happen? Is there a magic formula? Maybe a potion of some kind? Maybe a step-by-step that we simply follow the sequence of things we have to do and we become better people?
Monday, January 28, 2013
Do People Change?
In the middle of this "land of opportunity" where people consume (after all the "consumer" is king, right?) as a way of life, i think we would all agree that there are some things in a person that we would describe as good. Things like generosity, kindness, self-sacrifice, love, courage, humility, character, hard work, loyalty, integrity...i think i would be hard pressed to find people in our culture, no matter their walk of life, faith-system, orientation, financial class, race, sex, location, etc that did not agree that these types of personality traits are inherently good in a person and the opposite of them (stinginess, selfishness, meanness, conceit, arrogance, deception, laziness, fickleness, betraying) is not good.
Here's the problem. For most of my life i totally realized that these were the good things in people. I realized that i wanted to be those things. In fact, i even tried...really hard...to get more of these things. I read about them and thought about them and regretted the times i was not them. But i could not seem to make any progress. No matter how hard i tried, i could not make any progress. I kept being selfish and stingy and even mean. I hate to admit it but i was a failure at becoming a good person. And i want you to know my attempts were not half-hearted. i spent so much time in pain for the person i was not and yet i could not seem to get out of it...
In light of this...
A question for you tonight:
Can people change? As you look into your life and those around you, good and bad, do you see them becoming more...good?
I know not everyone is trying, some of the people in our society still feel like making more money and buying more stuff and serving their own selves is going to be the way for them to live their lives out - party party party - indulge everything and life will be great. But, when we look at these people, they are icky - they do not live the goodness we all agree on. And, trust me on this one, there will be a day when they will feel their ickiness - when all their selfishness crashes in on them...
I'm actually talking more about the people who are actually trying - the ones who realize that they want to be more of the things above, but that they are not making it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Maybe i am by myself in this attempt to try to become...
Do those people who are trying to become more good...do they become more good? Do they get somewhere with it, or do they follow the path that i followed - are their stacks of self-help books as high as their stacks of regrets? do they circle back on the same dumb mistakes over and over?
Here's the problem. For most of my life i totally realized that these were the good things in people. I realized that i wanted to be those things. In fact, i even tried...really hard...to get more of these things. I read about them and thought about them and regretted the times i was not them. But i could not seem to make any progress. No matter how hard i tried, i could not make any progress. I kept being selfish and stingy and even mean. I hate to admit it but i was a failure at becoming a good person. And i want you to know my attempts were not half-hearted. i spent so much time in pain for the person i was not and yet i could not seem to get out of it...
In light of this...
A question for you tonight:
Can people change? As you look into your life and those around you, good and bad, do you see them becoming more...good?
I know not everyone is trying, some of the people in our society still feel like making more money and buying more stuff and serving their own selves is going to be the way for them to live their lives out - party party party - indulge everything and life will be great. But, when we look at these people, they are icky - they do not live the goodness we all agree on. And, trust me on this one, there will be a day when they will feel their ickiness - when all their selfishness crashes in on them...
I'm actually talking more about the people who are actually trying - the ones who realize that they want to be more of the things above, but that they are not making it. Does this sound familiar to anyone? Maybe i am by myself in this attempt to try to become...
Do those people who are trying to become more good...do they become more good? Do they get somewhere with it, or do they follow the path that i followed - are their stacks of self-help books as high as their stacks of regrets? do they circle back on the same dumb mistakes over and over?
Sunday, January 20, 2013
HEAVENS TO BETSY, HE LOVES HER MORE?????
So last night we listened to a country song "I Loved her First" by Heartland and it's messing with my head! What a beautiful song about a fathers love for his daughter. Jason said he thinks that is how God feels about us. So I started thinking about when I first held my baby girl Lucy- how instantly I was madly in love with her. How I could just hold her in my arms forever and felt no one could ever possibly love my girl more than I did in that moment alone. Or the first time she said "Mom ma" how she melted my heart with her sweet little voice. And the first time she giggled, crawled, walked, grinned, said "BOO" how everyday she amazes me and I am so stunned by her. Well God loved her first. And MORE than me….WHAT?? How is that even stinking possible. This little peanut has me wrapped around her finger smitten. Huh. Amazing- but my darn mind kept spinning. Hmmmm. If He loves Lucy that much- He loves me that much too. Me. Really?? As screwed up as I am? Huh. Not really sure what to think of that. Almost question His judgment- Uh Hello God do you see what a mess I am. "Yes, child I do." At least I think that is what he would say. See no matter how much my kids drive me bonkers I freaking love them. Even when I have to tell my son Drew to put his shoes on 20 times and still walks out of house without shoes, or my stepdaughter Ella wakes Drew up in the middle of the night and convinces him we should all sleep in the same bed-mine, even when my little Lulu screams bloody murder when I leave the room for a just a minute. No matter how they act I love them. And God feels the same way. Still loves me even though I have made bad choices. Still loves me even though I doubted His love. Still loves me when I'm being stubborn (which is rare.) So I started thinking bigger. If He loves me that much then he loves you that much too. Yes you! I hear you- “not me, not possible.” YES YOU!!!! YOU YOU YOU! He loves us all that much. So at this point I am feeling pretty warm and fuzzy- awe so much love. Sap. But my head keeps spinning- until crash. It smacked me in the face, stomped on my heart, tough love. This unconditional love that I am feeling is amazing, but there are so many people who don't know this feeling. Or maybe know of this love but do not feel or believe it. What a crushing feeling. I have this stupid complex that I have to solve the problem, have to fix it. But obviously there is no grand easy solution. I kind of wish I could just scream at the top of my lungs "WAKE UP WORLD! GOD LOVES YOU!" So although I would like to think I can take on the weight of the world- I can barely handle the weight of my own mess. Do you ever get like that? Have a problem that is just too huge to solve? Or a problem that just has no answer, cannot "fix" it. Well it makes me angry. My coworker has one of the "easy" buttons from Staples. It's quite a grand idea- simply press a button, problem solved, and a friendly voice says "That was easy." Well I don’t have an easy button or easy answer. But I have a real answer. On your own you cannot solve it. Gee thanks for the encouragement- right? However, if you allow God in your heart, your life, your problem- there is NO limit to what He can do thru you. So I cannot wake the entire world up to the good news of Jesus Christ and Gods unconditional never failing love on my own. But I can allow God to use me to share this with whomever He wants. He can use me thru all my faults, all my mistakes, and all my stubbornness. And He can you use too. So no matter who you are or what you have done or not done- He loved you first. Always has, always will.
Meg
We will be hanging out again this Thursday night, the 24th of January, McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette, 6:45-8:00PM. I you are interested in living life in a new way, betterm than what you see around you, please join us. We hope to see you there!
Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Same Kind of Broken
So I was listening to Jason Castro's new CD with my
stepdaughter Ella and found a new favorite song. I cannot recall the
exact lyrics, but this part stuck in my head.
We all need someone to love us where we are
What if we all took a minute to lay our differences aside, we would find we are the same kind of broken.
How true is that! I'm sure everyone can agree sometimes we just need to be loved where we are for who we are without all the criticism and judgment. And God does exactly that. He loves us- as we are no matter what! He does not require us to change to be loved by him. There is not list of requirements to earn his love. He does not stop loving us when we screw up. He does not abandon us- EVER. He just loves us. And when we love Him back and follow Him- truly amazing things happen. He becomes part of us. Before you know it you are doing things and making choices you never thought you could or would. But notice the most important part of this. He teaches you to treat others with the same love he shows you. Notice those around you- your friends, neighbors, coworkers, the little old lady who calls to make an appointment but quickly forgot why calling and really just wants someone to talk to, someone to listen. Maybe that person has no concept of what love really is. How awesome would it be to just love them for who they are. Because you know what. They are the same kind of broken as you. We are all the same kind of broken. No matter what breaks you- anger, addiction, greed, fear, divorce, abandonment, loss, money, depression, no matter what we are all the same kind of broken. The problems we face may vary. But bottom line we are all screwed up in some way or another. None of us are perfect. I personally have let control, judgment, and pain drag me away from what I know is the truth. I have ran when I should have stayed. I have clung tightly to my son when I should have trusted God. I have hid when I was grieving. I have pushed friends away when I feared judgment. But what I am learning is that God has loved me and stuck with me through all of it. Did I always feel like he was there- NO, did I yell at him when I was upset- SURE DID, but truth is he never abandoned me. And if he has not yet- then by golly I believe he won't ever. And not only did He love me but He put people around me that loved me in my mess.
At our last more that more gathering we had the joy of sharing changes we have noticed in each other. How awesome to hear and see the difference God has made in our lives. Yes we are all still broken and still have a bunch of problems- but we are surrounded by love. We get to remind each other just how awesome God is and where we notice Him in our everyday lives. We get to see things differently then most of the world. Maybe you have never came to More than More. Maybe we sound like a goofy support group. Trust me More than More is not just a support group. We are a group of people who are the same kind of broken as you and will love you for who you are. We are a group of people who notice God everywhere and want you to notice it also.
Come notice with us Thursday 1-10-13 at at 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. Awesome childcare provided for all ages.
We all need someone to love us where we are
What if we all took a minute to lay our differences aside, we would find we are the same kind of broken.
How true is that! I'm sure everyone can agree sometimes we just need to be loved where we are for who we are without all the criticism and judgment. And God does exactly that. He loves us- as we are no matter what! He does not require us to change to be loved by him. There is not list of requirements to earn his love. He does not stop loving us when we screw up. He does not abandon us- EVER. He just loves us. And when we love Him back and follow Him- truly amazing things happen. He becomes part of us. Before you know it you are doing things and making choices you never thought you could or would. But notice the most important part of this. He teaches you to treat others with the same love he shows you. Notice those around you- your friends, neighbors, coworkers, the little old lady who calls to make an appointment but quickly forgot why calling and really just wants someone to talk to, someone to listen. Maybe that person has no concept of what love really is. How awesome would it be to just love them for who they are. Because you know what. They are the same kind of broken as you. We are all the same kind of broken. No matter what breaks you- anger, addiction, greed, fear, divorce, abandonment, loss, money, depression, no matter what we are all the same kind of broken. The problems we face may vary. But bottom line we are all screwed up in some way or another. None of us are perfect. I personally have let control, judgment, and pain drag me away from what I know is the truth. I have ran when I should have stayed. I have clung tightly to my son when I should have trusted God. I have hid when I was grieving. I have pushed friends away when I feared judgment. But what I am learning is that God has loved me and stuck with me through all of it. Did I always feel like he was there- NO, did I yell at him when I was upset- SURE DID, but truth is he never abandoned me. And if he has not yet- then by golly I believe he won't ever. And not only did He love me but He put people around me that loved me in my mess.
At our last more that more gathering we had the joy of sharing changes we have noticed in each other. How awesome to hear and see the difference God has made in our lives. Yes we are all still broken and still have a bunch of problems- but we are surrounded by love. We get to remind each other just how awesome God is and where we notice Him in our everyday lives. We get to see things differently then most of the world. Maybe you have never came to More than More. Maybe we sound like a goofy support group. Trust me More than More is not just a support group. We are a group of people who are the same kind of broken as you and will love you for who you are. We are a group of people who notice God everywhere and want you to notice it also.
Come notice with us Thursday 1-10-13 at at 6:45-8:00PM, at McAllister Recreation Center, just off 20th and Schuyler Ave, Lafayette. Awesome childcare provided for all ages.
See ya soon,
Megs
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