God is good!

Life can get you down, but God can bring you up.  Subtitle for my blog, yet often we know the truth, but settle for less.  We let life get us down.  We refuse to let God bring us up.  So today, I just wanted to exercise my gratefulness remembering some of the ways God has blessed me.

I have a wonderful extended family.  We don't all see each other as much as we would like, but it is a joy to know each of them, and to know that each of them is there for whatever need.

I have a wonderful family that lives with me.  From my wife down to little Jonathan, God has blessed beyond measure.

I have a wonderful church family.  The blessing that they are to me and my family could fill a blog post in itself.  They love and care for us in a way that really shows the love of Christ they have for us.

He meets my needs.  I had clothes to wear, wood to heat the house, food to eat, utilities to make life more comfortable, a roof over my head, a vehicle to drive (and cart the whole family around), and several blessings that go far beyond need (working appliances, comfortable furniture, books to read, toys for kids and for adults . . .)

I am able to enjoy several hobbies.  I can run.  I am able to garden.  I can enjoy music through my guitars.  I can play games.  I can play around with wood working.  I have tools to work on my van.  I have plenty of food to cook / bake.

I have more money than I need.  (Please notice that if your definition of need is different than mine, you may get an unrealistic view of my finances from this statement)

I have hope.  Not the kind of hope that is a pie in the sky dream, but real, literal hope.  I have a security that my sins have been forgiven.  I have a security of being "In Christ," I have been crucified with him and raised with him to a new life.  I have the hope of heaven, Jesus has gone to prepare a place for me.  I have the assurance that the difficulties of this life cannot compare with the greatness of the joy that is to come.

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us."

- Romans 8:18

Looking up, and away from the plate.

Have you ever gotten a double whammy of conviction?  You know, found something in God's Word that hit you hard and then found the same lesson in a totally unrelated place in the Bible?  I know, all of the Bible is related, but I got hit several times by the same conviction over the past 2 weeks.  And that in an area I had already started to work on!  Of course, I had started to work on that area in the physical arena, and was neglecting the spiritual aspect of the battle.

How many times do we try to 'conquer' some area of our lives only to fall short?  With New Year's Resolutions, many people have already done that this year.  "I'm going to be more organized", "I'm going to get in shape", "I'm going to spend more time with my family", "I'm going to lose weight", "I'm going to read my Bible more", "I'm going to have a better attitude", etc.  And we put on our best 'game face' and try to accomplish it solely in the flesh.  And we would think we are doing the right thing because my organization, my schedule, my weight, and my health are all physical areas of concern.  God showed me that my weight is no where close to a physical area in my life these past few weeks.  Let me tell you how:

We are reading through the New Testament together as a family and as a church this year.  This involves reading 1 chapter a day on Monday through Friday.  The first week we read about the temptation of Jesus in the desert.  When tempted with food after 40 days of fasting, Jesus says "Man shall not live by bread alone."  I have always looked at food as something I needed desperately - several times a day!  How can Jesus deny himself something that his body needs like that?  I realized that Jesus placed his love for his Father above his desire for food, as Paul tells us "I buffet my body" to bring it into subjection.  I was challenged to work on the spiritual discipline of fasting.  No month long fasts for me, but baby steps means that I have skipped meals with the purpose of controlling my appetites, of subjecting my appetites to my love for God.

Last week, we came to the passage of "No man can serve two masters".  I was so glad I wasn't chasing after money the way Judas did at the end of Matthew.  You know, where he decided to betray Jesus after the waste of costly perfume that could have been sold.  Judas tried to serve two masters and failed.  He thought he could serve money and Jesus.  When he heard that Jesus was convicted, he 'repented', that is, he changed his mind about betraying Jesus.  He went and gave back the money and hanged himself.  His repentance did not lead to salvation, but he realized he had made a mistake.  I believe he thought he could earn some extra money and Jesus would get out of the trap as Jesus always escaped the religious leaders.  He thought he could serve two masters and win.  My master wasn't money, my master was the appetite for food.  I like to eat, I love to eat.  And I love the flavors that I can enjoy in my mouth.  I love the texture of a flaky pastry, the creaminess of cheesecakes and chocolate.  I love the satisfied feeling of a fully belly.  But I cannot serve this appetite and God.  God wants me to be a good steward of this body.  God tells me I can't live by bread alone.  God tells me I need to subject all my desires to him.  Even food.

In preparing for yesterday's opening sermon in the book of Ecclesiastes, Solomon taught how pleasure cannot satisfy.  Pleasure is vanity.  And it hit me again.  If I eat for pleasure, I have no reason to stop eating.  As weird as that sounds, I've been there.  When things aren't going right, or when I was looking for satisfaction in food rather than God, I would eat almost all day.  I felt unhealthy, I knew I was getting heavier, I just felt bad most of the time.  But that food sure felt good going in.  I learned that I need to be careful not to eat for pleasure.  Am I taking seconds because I need more fuel for my body, or because it tastes good?  Am I reaching for a snack to keep my body in balance, or because I crave the joy of tickling my taste buds?  Don't get me wrong, I still want to enjoy what I eat, but my purpose in eating should be to strengthen my body, not to energize my taste buds.

For me, this is a battle that has gone on for years.  (Well, actually off and on for years)  One that I do not think will ever go away completely.  But, with the Lord's help, an area that I can live in victory when I follow God's plan.  If no one can serve two masters, I have to make sure the master I serve meets all of my needs.  The only one that does that is God.

"Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you"

- Matthew 6:33

Whose Expectations?

There are times when expectations can be a wonderful thing.  We all love overwhelming someone's expectations and going beyond what they thought was going to happen.  Going the extra mile to help a friend.  Taking the time to make something extra special for someone.  Even just showing up when they expected to be alone.

The other side of expectations is that they can be a miserable master.  Almost no where in life do we find a place where expectations are used as the basis of what gets done.  The weather isn't metered out on some complex algorithm based on what people expect.  Businesses cannot possibly meet everyone's expectations.  If a business runs a promotion to give something away, people expect that they should win.  So if they don't, the business should give more things away until they win.  Expectations keep moving forward.  It does not take long for something that was just what someone wanted to become far less than ideal because of changing expectations.

How do we deal with such changing expectations?  If what is perfect today will tomorrow be less than perfect, and next year be completely wrong, how do we make decisions?

A business that succeeds will not look to meet every expectation.  It will focus on providing it's service to the best of its ability.  The truth is, to succeed, it will miss some people's expectations.  Even Apple does not meet everyone's expectations.  Some expect that they should get a free or less expensive price because of buying a product right before the new version comes out.  Some expect that prices shouldn't be quite that high.  Apple ignores some potential customers because they understand that they cannot meet everyone's expectations.

As Christians, we may face the problem of expectations from time to time.  It hurts when we find that we have failed at meeting someone's expectations of us.  So, how do we look up as the title of the blog suggests?  Easy, we do just that.  We look for what God's expectations of us are.  I have not been placed on this earth to please everyone, but to please God.  The expectations of others should have an impact, but much more important are the expectations of the God who loved me, called me, saved me, and is preparing a place for me.

I hope your day is joyful in the service of the King today!

Busy days . . .

In the 3 months since Jonathan was born, it seems like the days have moved at a rapid pace.  Just about a month after his birth, we had Vacation Bible School at the church.  We've had gardening, canning and freezing chores, a few small building projects and a long to do list that doesn't seem to get much shorter.  As soon as I get one item crossed off, several more have sprung up.  I've been doing some work on the van to get things in proper working order, which seems to be a never ending process as well.

In the midst of it all, God has been very good!  He continues to meet our needs as He promised.  He continues to grow, stretch and develop us.  He continues to surprise us with His goodness.  Want some examples?

Jonathan has been a better sleeper from early on than any of our other children.  What a blessing to have rest.

The garden hasn't produced well, but it has provided plenty of fresh food.

We got over 2 bushel of pears off our tree this year.  (Looking forward to when all the trees are producing)

Our KitchenAid mixer died, under warranty, and we get a new one delivered shortly.

Our KitchenAid food processor had a recall (11 years ago), I just found out about it and called to get a replacement blade.  They are shipping us a new food processor.

We picked over 3 bushel of apples this morning even though our trees only have a couple of dozen apples.

We are able to pay our bills.

We have plenty on our table, and even enough to share.

We enjoy the cooing & crying of babies every Sunday in church.

And on the list could go.  Even with the hustle of life, it is good to be constantly reminded of God's goodness.  I was challenged not too long ago with the question "What if all you had today were the things you thanked God for yesterday?"  I'm glad God doesn't keep track like that, and grateful for the added blessings I never asked for, and often forget to thank Him for.

Don't forget to notice His goodness today!

Looking up - Thankful for God's Blessings.

Just a short blog update after an extended gap on the blog.  It's hard not to look up and be thankful at the birth of a new baby.  Jennifer always impresses me with her strength and the switch from sorrow to joy is always a reminder of God's promise that (loosely translated) 'Sorrow is for the moment, but joy comes in the morning'

Jonathan Wayne Hadley 

Born June 23, 2011, 5:41 AM

8 lbs., 10 ozs.

20 1/2 in.

- Until next time,
Kevin

A Time For Everything

Our lives are filled with events each day, each week, each month.  Some we enjoy, some we try to avoid.  This week has been full for me of events.  Just over a week ago, a 39 year old man was killed in a motorcycle accident on the local highway.  His mother, who goes to our church, called to see if I would do the funeral.  On Friday, I met with this dear family to prepare for the services, and to grieve with them in their loss.  On Saturday, we found out a young lady in our church had gone into labor, and her husband and her were anxiously anticipating the birth of their first child.   On Saturday, the weather was clear enough to run the tiller through the garden to break it all up to start getting ready for planting in the coming days and weeks.  On Sunday, we celebrated what Christ has done on the cross for us in the Communion service, and through our regular services, rejoiced in our God.  On Monday, I went to the hospital to be there for the couple who were still awaiting the birth of their first child.  I stayed until I had to leave to get home and finish preparing for the funeral.  We returned Monday from the funeral to hear that the baby had been born.  On Tuesday, I was required to report for jury duty, and remembered that there is an importance to justice being done - whether through conviction or acquittal.  Yesterday, I was reminded of the need for rest.

I don't know where your day is, or what events will find you today, but I want to remind us all of the words of Solomon.

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;

A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;

A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;

A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;

A time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;

A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;

A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

Ecclesiasets 3:1-8

So what do we do with all these times and seasons?  I'm glad you asked!

Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.

Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

I suppose, if I was clever, or consistent in my blog, I would have posted this yesterday, and called it Wisdom for Wednesdays, or Wisdom Filled Wednesday.  So I guess this must be Truth for Thursday.  I hope you have a great one!

Still blogging

I know.  I've made it a whole month without a new blog entry.  Not quite a record for me, but since I've sat down a number of times to try to write, I can only assume that I have writer's block.  I usually have plenty of life experiences that I use to show how life can sometimes get us down to apply God's Word to to point our focus up.  This last month has just slipped by without something jumping off the page for me.  I wanted to share some of the thoughts that have been a part of what I've been learning and mulling over this past month or two.

Isaiah 40:27-31, I Corinthians 1-3.  Don't worry, I'll give some explanation as well.  Having just started a series through I Corinthians, I have been impressed by the need to glory in the Lord (ch.1), Paul's example of how he did that in Corinth (ch.2), and the reasons why glorying in man is foolish (ch.3).  In between the first two chapters, we interrupted with a message from the personal growth series - growth in dependence from Isaiah 40.  Together, they have continued to impress me with our need for God on the one side, and the utter foolishness of trusting our own strength on the other (or the wisdom / strength of any man).

My problem is that I have always tended toward an independent spirit.  I don't like to ask for help.  I have been working on being a gracious recipient over the past few years with mixed results at times.  Yet my need is constant, and no amount of pushing, or driving on my part will meet that need.  Maybe my slowness to write a blog entry on this topic has had to do with my slowness in growing in this area.  What I do know, and have seen to be true, is that we are to glory in God.  When we look to him for strength, he provides it.  When we work for his glory, he is glorified.  Step by step, and day by day, the challenge for God's Word for us is to keep looking up.

I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, 

from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the LORD, 

which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: 

he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel 

shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The LORD is thy keeper: 

the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, 

nor the moon by night.

The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: 

he shall preserve thy soul.

The LORD shall preserve thy going out 

and thy coming in from this time forth, 

and even for evermore.

- Psalm 121