Day 219- A Meditative First

A few days ago I was reading a blog by this guy that is pretty unusual and kind of interesting in an odd way. In his blog, he mentioned that meditating has helped him to keep his focus and concentration on what's really important to him.  He wrote that he had downloaded an app that had really helped him in this area of his life. I've read a number of studies that say meditating is good for your mental health, helps concentration, and even improves compassion.  So, I decided the year of "firsts" was a good time to try it out. I downloaded the app the guy mentioned and tried a guided meditation for my "first" today. OK, in the interest of being honest, I tried this yesterday and did it again today.  Today, I drove to La. to see my family and did not have much of a chance for a "first." I guess I could say I did this 2 days in a row for my "first" since I've never done that before either. Anyway, this is new.

It was little weird.  As I expected, the voice on the app that led the meditation was very calming and soothing. He also had something of a British or Australian accent. That would be my guess; Laura is much better at guessing accents.  I think that's probably a better voice to try to meditate with than a redneck voice.  The app had a 10 minute session for the first two days.  After a week or so this particular app starts charging you for using it. I am not a prophet, but I predict with a fair amount of assurance that will be the end of my meditating with this app if not before.

It was kind of cool.  It is quite relaxing to sit quietly and listen to a soothing voice telling you to relax and breathe deep.  It was not anything weird or cultic; just some suggestions for relaxing, breathing deeply, and paying attention to your body and breath.  After 10 minutes or so, I did feel more relaxed.  I felt more at peace.  This lasted for about 5 more minutes or so and then the pace of the day picked up.  The studies I've read say this is healthy for your brain. I'm not sure I'll continue this, but it was relaxing for a day or two.

Me meditating (or taking a silly selfie)

Deeper meditation

 

 not me

still not me

I thought about Joshua 1:8 today as I thought about meditation. That verse says, " Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful." What many people try to do when they meditate is empty the mind. Some try to calm the mind.  Christian meditation is different. When a follower of Jesus meditates, he/she is to try to fill the mind with God's word.  We are to try to take God's word and turn it over and over in our mind and think abut what it means.  We are to seek to understand what that word means for me today.  It is helpful to emphasize different words in a verse to see if that helps you get at the meaning God has for you in that verse.  Sometimes saying the verse out loud a few times or reading it in several different translations is helpful.  It is usually a very good idea to the read several verses before and after the verse you are meditating on to help you get a clearer picture of what God is saying.  If you have a Bible dictionary, looking up what some of the words in that verse mean can be enlightening.

So, whether you need to calm or relax, we all need to fill our minds with God's word.  I think emptying my mind is what has gotten me into trouble in the past...

Thinking on the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. The ability to think
2. Bible dictionaries
3. Bible commentaries

Day 218- A Restroom First

Today had an interesting turn or two. I went to Wal-Mart and decided (with good reason) to go to the restroom.  When I walked in, I heard a flushing sound from the stall and a lady in a dress walked out.  My first thought was that I had walked into the wrong restroom. However,  a quick look at the plumbing equipment on the wall assured me that I was in the correct restroom after all. She smiled and said the sign said that this was a family restroom.  I smiled and said something that I'm not sure was really intelligible. I can remember making sounds, but this situation sort of threw me. I'm not sure my sounds formed any actual words. She continued to say something and I simply cannot remember what because she then went to the sink and started washing her hands. I think I said something like, "Take your time, I'll just wait till you get through." She did not seem to be in too big of a hurry.  She was clean; she seemed to do a good job of washing her hands and then drying them off on a paper towel. So, I had a conversation with a lady in the men's restroom at Wal-Mart for my "first."

When I left, I decided to look at the sign to see if, for some unknown reason, it said family and not men's restroom.  I was pretty sure it said men because I've been in there before and the before mentioned plumbing equipment.  On my way out, I looked and it did indeed say men's restroom.  Underneath that, it said family restroom located in the back of the store.  If you are a female and reading this, it is important to note that the family restroom is in the back of the store, not in the back of the men's restroom.

I have to admit that after she left I waited a minute or two before engaging in any further activity just in case she may have forgotten something and came back in.  After a few minutes, I had my back to the door (I'm trying to be delicate here) and someone else came in and went into a stall.  I finished, washed my hands, and left before they came out and I had another awkward conversation. Who knows who may have come in this time. I had all the awkward restroom conversations I really wanted to have for one day.  For me, any conversation in the restroom is pretty awkward.

I did not think to take pictures of this "first." It did not cross my mind and being arrested may have been a possibility if I had. We'll just have some random non-bathroom pictures today.

Puzzle progress

Hannah Grace made Reese's peanut butter cup fudge 

 

Often I will try to make a spiritual point of my "firsts."  What came to me today was that you need to read the restroom sign carefully before entering.  I know that's not too spiritual, but I still want to say it. The Bible says that we are to be always ready to share the Word. I was not in this situation. If it happens again, I probably won't be then either.  I guess I could make the point that we need to read the Bible with care also.  You can casually read or listen to others and really be misled.  You can end up in a place where you really don't want to be. It is important to listen to the Holy Spirit and ask Him to be your teacher anytime you read or listen to the Bible being preached/taught. If you just haphazardly listen (or not listen at all), you can miss God's purpose for your life and you can miss eternity with Him.  He has said some things in His word that we need to take seriously.  I really don't want to miss God's purposes for my life and for eternity.

There seems to be a lot of explaining away of what the Bible really teaches.  People will say things like, "I know the Bible says this, but I know God wants me to be happy."  Or, "I know the Bible says this, but everybody is doing that."  Let's be sure we are adjusting our lives to the Bible and not trying to adjust the Bible to our lives. Matthew 7: 21-23 are a few verses that let me know we need to pay attention to what God says- ²¹ “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. ²² Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.’

So, let's pay attention to God's word and restroom signs.

Paying attention to the Word for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. My own indoor restroom at my own house
2. The availability of the Bible
3. Shrimp salads

Day 217- A Legislative First

Today, I went to the Andalusia City Council meeting for my "first."

I have never been to an Andalusia City Council meeting before.  Today, they were honoring the Andalusia Swim Team that Hannah Grace was a member of.  The swim team did well this year and a number of the swimmers were able to go to the state meet and do excellent.  It was very thoughtful of the City Council to recognize them at their meeting.

Hannah Grace thought this was pretty cool.  When it came time for them to be recognized, the mayor came down and shook all their hands.  Hannah Grace feels pretty special that she got to shake hands with the mayor. Then, he stood with them and took a picture.  Because Hannah Grace was standing on the end, he stood next to her.  She thought that was pretty cool as well.  It has been a while since the season ended and so it was good to see some of our friends again.

Joel's friend

When we found that that Hannah Grace was invited to go to the City Council meeting, I knew this would be a good "first."  Laura said something  like, "Yes, that will be good.  You can write about a Christian's civic duty.  That's a great idea except that I feel a bit like a hypocrite doing that.  For you see, I don't even live in the Andalusia city limits.  I only went to the meeting because they were honoring the swim team that Hannah Grace was on.  I did nothing that really had to do with my civic duty; just a supportive Dad. When they finished recognizing the swim team, they said anybody that wanted to leave was free to do so. I left. As far as the city council is concerned, I was a hypocrite.

This can happen in our Christian lives as well.  We can show up for "Christian things" without really doing anything Christian.  We can go to things like church, Bible study, Christian concerts, or get-togethers and go out of a poor motive.  Our motive could be very selfish. It could be I just want to gain friends or receive something (like approval, inspiration, or a feel good feeling).  We could have the motive that we want to be seen and thought of as "spiritual."  There is the possibility that we are motivated to show up at a "Christian thing" because it may help our business or job opportunities.

These motives are all less than the motive of glorifying God and loving Him.  That's the motive God is looking for.  When "Christian things" have a lot more to do with something other than Jesus, they really cease to be very Christian.  Jesus said in Matthew 15:8, "‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me."  Ouch, I really don't want the Lord to say that about me, but I know very well He could have at times.  Even in something like Bible reading, my motive can be less than knowing God and more about learning or trying to have a good day.

It might be good for me to pray regularly Psalm 139: 23-24- Search me, O God, and know my heart;
Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.

Trying to be less hypocritical in the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. He loves oddballs and goof-ups
2. Hannah Grace's swim team and the adults that worked with them
3. Our city leaders

 

Day 216- A Puzzling First

Today, the family and I started working on a 500 piece puzzle for my "first."

We've had puzzles in our house before. I think the last one we worked on had like 15 pieces.  We think that doing a 500 piece puzzle as a family qualifies as a "first."  We've talked about doing this before so today seemed like a good day.  We were in a Lifeway Bookstore a few days back and saw this puzzle titled "After the Flood."  We liked it because it has lots of animals in it and we are hoping that will give us good clues on putting the puzzle together.

The other thing I like about this "first" is it gives us an opportunity to work on something together as a family.  Hopefully, a good bit of that time will be spent working on the puzzle at the same time, but also a family member can contribute whenever they have a little time. Honestly, I was probably the least excited about this "first" but the idea that the rest of the family thought putting a puzzle together would be fun was plenty enough reason for me to use this for a "first."  I don't know if the "After the Flood" theme will put the fear of God in us or not, but at least it will be fun to work on a puzzle.

 

Off to a good start



As we were working on the puzzle for a while tonight, we were asking for the box pretty regularly. You probably know why.  The box has the picture of what the puzzle is supposed to look like.  By looking at what the finished product is supposed to look like, it helps us a lot in gathering the pieces together. We started by grouping the edges in one pile and the rest in a different pile. I hate to bring up negative stuff, but someone put some edges in the wrong pile. I don't think it was Daddy.

As followers of Jesus, sometimes our life can be a bit puzzling.  We may not know why some events are happening or what their purpose is.  It is helpful at these times to remember what the big picture looks like.  The big picture is that God is glorified by His people loving Him with all their hearts and loving their neighbors as themselves.  We can know that every situation in life is an opportunity to glorify God by loving God and others. That understanding will help us keep the pieces of our lives in the right place.  Romans 8:29 says, "For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren."  God is about making us to be more like Jesus.  I should study Jesus' life, heart, and feelings and allow the Holy Spirit to make me like Him.  That will end up being a better picture than anything I can come up with on my own.

Putting the pieces together for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Puzzles
2. That God knows everything
3. Ephesians 2:10- For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

Day 215- A Spray First

When we got home from church tonight, I quizzed my family about my "first" for today.  There was a thing or two I did today that I asked them to see if they qualified for a "first." They were not crazy about my ideas. Hannah Grace said, "What about when you sprayed the Lysol during the sermon?" Joel and Laura agreed that they thought that was a "first."  That had not occurred to me.  I sprayed Lysol and Magic Sizzling fabric finish during my sermon for my "first" today.

I did this as a sermon illustration. I actually had seen Andy Stanley use this so I was borrowing from him.  I was talking about how to respond to people who ask "How can you believe in in a good God when there is so much evil and suffering in the world?"  You can ask the question, "If you could push a button and eliminate all the bad and unjust things in the world, would you?" Before you agree to push the button, you might want to consider if you have ever done anything bad or unjust.  You might ask if your child or grandchild has ever done anything bad or unjust. So, if you push the button, you will end up eliminating yourself and/or people you love.

Andy Stanley said what we really want is a can of injustice spray and a can of bad spray.  We would like to hold that can and spray the unjust and bad things we want to eliminate (this is where I sprayed the cans). The only problem is that we want to hold the cans or we might be eliminated. We have all done bad or unjust things.  So, if we have a reason to not eliminate all the bad and unjust things in the world, then God probably does as well.

I ended the sermon ended by saying that the reason God does eliminate all the bad and unjust things in the world is because He wants us to come to Him in faith and repentance. That way, our bad and unjust deeds can be forgiven and redeemed.  Then, there will be an end to the suffering. There is a solid confidence that Christ will right the wrongs one day. 

We can say to those who say "How can you believe in a good God when there is so much evil and injustice in the word" this statement- If God removed all the evil from the world, he would have to remove me. But I believe God entered the world through His Son to forgive me rather than remove me. 

I heard Andy Stanley present this and I thought it was pretty insightful.  In fact, it gives me a reason to praise God. I can praise Him that He would rather forgive me than remove me. He will end the suffering one day for those who belong to Him.  We will get the chance to spend eternity in close relationship with Him.  All heartaches, illnesses, crying, and death will be over for those who belong to Christ. That's worth a hallelujah.  Romans 8:18 says, "For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us."

Celebrating that the abundant life is eternal life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. A book recommendation by a church member
2. God's providential wisdom
3. God would rather forgive me than remove me

Day 214- An Intercessory First

We went and picked Hannah Grace up from camp today.  She's been there since Monday and we've not been able to talk to her or see her since then.  She had a blast at camp and we were so glad to see her.  This is not a "first," but just a happy Daddy being happy.

Awards won at camp

Today, I went and prayerwalked a different church in town for my "first." 

Prayerwalking is a lot like it sounds.  It is when you walk and pray.  The advantage to me of prayerwalking somewhere is that as I walk around I'm reminded of different things for which to pray. For example, I can pray for our church at home and that's pretty good. I can go to the church and walk around it and pray. When I do that, I think of some many other things to pray for: the nursery and nursery workers, each Bible Study class, the musicians, the offering, the sound system, and I love to pray in the parking lot that when people drive on the grounds of the church they experience the presence of God. Prayerwalking often helps me to pray more effectively and more specifically.

I've prayerwalked at our church a lot. The idea came to me to go and prayerwalk a different church on Saturday evening.  They won't know about it.  It's kind of fun to do some secret praying.  I know that putting it on my blog loses a bit of the secrecy, but that church doesn't know that someone was there walking around their parking lot (I chose not to break in and walk around inside) praying for them to experience God in a deep way. It is pretty cool to know that they have no idea when they arrive at church that someone has already been there praying they would experience God deeply that day.

As I did this "first" I was convicted of how selfish even my praying can become.  I pray a lot for Hopewell and rightly so. It is the church that I pastor and love dearly.  God wants me to pray a lot for Hopewell. God is pleased when I prayerwalk around Hopewell.  Yet, there are so many other churches around that love God and preach Jesus. It is convicting how seldom I pray for them.  I know there are many faithful men and women who serve God faithfully in these fellowships.  God has allowed me the privilege of uniting with them in their service to Jesus by means of prayer.  The more they love God and each other, the more the kingdom advances.  God wants me interested in His kingdom and not just what is going on in my little world.

It was pretty cool to ask the Holy Spirit to lead me as I prayed.  I prayed for them to experience God as they drove in the parking lot.  I prayed for the Holy Spirit to lead them into a deep time of worship and that people would get wrapped up in Jesus and not just what was happening in the worship service.  Truthfully, I prayed for them the kinds of things I pray for our church.

As you pray for your church each week, don't forget to pray for other fellowships as well. All true believers are brothers and sisters in Christ. The more they experience and share Christ the more reason we all have to rejoice.  Let's battle the enemy together and never each other. 

C. H. Spurgeon wrote, "If you want that splendid power in prayer, you must remain in loving, living, lasting, conscious, practical, abiding union with the Lord Jesus Christ."
E. M. Bounds wrote, "Prayer is not learned in a classroom but in the closet" and "Talking to men for God is a great thing, but talking to God for men is greater still." E.M. Bounds

Praying for others to experience the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. Hannah Grace's great camp week
2. Church members who pray faithfully for me
3. Automobiles

Day 213- A German First

I went to Dothan today.  I've noticed when I've traveled to Dothan that there is a German bakery on the way there. I've thought about going in to see what is in a German bakery but I never have.  Well, this is the year of "firsts" so today I went in to a German bakery and bought some German baked goods for my "first."

I really was not sure what to expect.  What I found out was that I went at the worst time of the week. The bakery is open Tuesday - Friday and so they try to sell out by 4:00 on Friday afternoon which is when they close. I arrived at 3:30 on Friday afternoon. Ooops.

So, the selection was not as big as it would have been on other days, but it was plenty for me.  I bought some German Rye bread.  It was a complicated formula I used to decided between that and the other kinds of bread.  The lady was showing me the different kinds and said this was their best seller so I said I want one of those.  My view is to buy what people are best at or at least are well known for.  Don't buy shrimp at a fried chicken place.  That is what caused me to arrive at this conviction.

I also bought some pasty kinds of things.  They had an apple cake kind of thing (I hope these German terms are not too complicated), a lemon/apple cake thing, and some doughnut kind of things filled with strawberry or chocolate. I was hoping for some baklava but it was sold out. That's a good reason to stop by again some time.

We had some of this for supper.  We ate some of the bread with our meal and then a few bites of the pastries.  I'm no expert on rye bread, but it was pretty good; definitely different.  Laura said the pastries were better than she thought. We've learned that American pastries are typically sweeter than the pastries from the other countries we have visited and so we had that in mind. They were not as sweet as a Krispy Kreme doughnut, but they were definitely worth trying.  They will be eaten at the Wilkinson household.

 

The thing that I took away from this "first" was the sweet (appropriate for a bakery) lady that helped me.  She asked me if this was my first time to shop there and I said it was. She then apologized that on my first time there it was Friday afternoon when the selection was not as big.  I know this is the end of her work week, but she took a lot of time to explain to me what they usually have to offer.  She was very patient with my questions. Her explanations of what each item was helped me to know what I wanted. She was extremely courteous and helpful.  I felt like I was being treated like a valued customer and that she really wanted me to come back.  In fact, her kindness made me want to go back and I probably will (got to try the baklava).

As she was helping me, I thought that this is the way new people who come to our church need to be treated. I could tell she really wanted me to come back. She tried hard to help me find things that I would enjoy even though she was probably tired (she sure didn't act like it, but it was Friday afternoon). It is true that we don't get a second chance to make a good first impression.  Every person that comes to our church (whatever church you go to if you go) is someone that Jesus loves deeply.  In fact, every person that comes to our/your church is someone that Jesus Christ died for.  If He died for them and He did, they are at least worth our time, attention, and love.  Occasionally someone will tell me that they visited a church somewhere and were hardly even spoken to or acknowledged.  That truly grieves my heart.  We are to go to the world with Jesus' love and message.  When someone new walks into one of our churches, they should be swarmed with love.  They should know that we love them and want them to come back. After all, as good as German baked goods are, they can' t compare with finding salvation in Jesus Christ which is what we are supposed to be offering.

The next time you are at church, look around for someone you don't know. Let them know that you are very glad they are there and want them to come back. Look for some way to show them the love of Jesus. Watch for God to open a door to tell them what Jesus has done for you. You might even think about someone new at your church and give them a call and let them know you are glad they came.  Don't be surprised if you get blessed in the process.

Now, where did that strawberry doughnut thing go....

Tasting the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. German baked goods
2. Different cultures
3. Jesus died for everyone