"Nudges"

Often when I'm preparing for a concert or sermon or even a coffeehouse, I get these little God Nudges... It's usually only a line or two . But I've learned to listen and delight in them. So here are a few nudges I've received over the years. And probably 99% of the time, God is really trying to tell me something as well. I hope and pray I keep listening.

Now the other side of that is those "nudges" that are well...perhaps sometimes less than reverent. Still they seem to be funny little things that leak into my creativity..or whatever you want to call it. Are these from the same place? Oh I don't know.But if it's part of who God has made me to be.....well I guess I can't take all the credit....and I never imagined God to be all thunderbolts and booming voices anyway. Speaking of that..his image that is. I realize no one really knows, but the whole white hair and long flowing beard thing...well it just doesn't seem right that God would be so old and show age. I have no way of knowing mind you...not yet anyway. But whatever that image is I wonder if there is much more youthfulness in his appearance. Anyway I guess I'll put those under "other nudges"  and you can decide what you want to read....depending on the mood you are in. Sometimes we feel all spiritual and tightly connected and then there are times when we are wound a little too tightly. I've seen both ends of that rope.

So maybe you'll cry some, maybe laugh some...you might even roll your eyes at me. But hey, that sure isn't the first time....and it won't be the last!

 

 

GOD Nudges

 

Trees

1 Corinthians 10:13-15 -   New Living Translation

 The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience.
And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you
can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can
endure. So, my dear friends flee from the worship of idols. You are
reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true.



It's a time of year where there are still a few leaves left on the tree.
They don't all fall off at once, but they do fall away individually. The
tree chemically cuts the leaf to release it. If you look at the stem end of
a leaf that has fallen, it is not withered. It is not a ragged edge where it
was torn away. Most times it's a very crisp clean cut.

The tree does this to preserve itself. If those leaves stayed on throughout
the winter in the north, the snow would be trapped and the added weight
would break the branches. We have seen many examples of this with an early
snow. The other thing to remember is that even when all the leaves have
fallen, the tree is not dead. We often associate spring as the time of new
life for the tree. But the tree does not die every winter. Even when it
becomes dormant it grows. But it's a different kind of growth. It's an inner
growth preparing for the yet unseen season ahead.

These are two very important things for the tree. The releasing and letting
go of its leaves and being dormant.  And so I wonder, what about us? We need
to release things that are burdening us in some way. Are those leaves
pockets for sin to hold on? To wear us down..to snap our branches? If we
release we have a new start. Dormancy can be a good thing as long we
remember that we don't remain there. It's a time of gathering inner
strength; the kind the God surprises us with, the kind God supplies.

So let go of that which is tempting you. "God will not allow the temptation
to be more than you can stand". He will help you drop your leaves and usher
you into dormancy. But a dormancy where He resides..with you. "You are
reasonable people. Decide for yourselves if what I am saying is true." I
pray that you welcome the opportunity to release that which you were never
meant to hold in the first place. And that the growth rings in your life are
vital, strong and filled with God's Spirit in ways you never expected.


The Mirror

It's almost impossible to find a perfect mirror, especially for our typical use. It always distorts in some way, and it doesn't accurately reveal that which is being reflected. Perhaps that's not so bad after all. Because if we spend all the time looking in the mirror thinking about what We think things look like, then maybe we're not spending enough time seeing the reflection of God in our life. The mirror doesn't really show us perspective. Only God does. After all, we are made in His image.

 

To Carry The Puzzle

A puzzle piece is an often used illustration to our life, and perhaps sometimes overused.  But for a moment let’s accept that each part of our life sometimes feels like a puzzled (!) piece and we are trying to gather it together to become whole. Have you ever tried to pick up and carry a puzzle with just your hands? It kind of flops and inevitably pieces come apart. But how different when we put some kind of support or foundation behind it? So if you welcome God’s Spirit to be that foundation , it is so much easier to carry your puzzle to a new place. Perhaps that new place will let you work on that corner of the puzzle that has been troubling.  And maybe your puzzle is SO big that it can’t be carried at once. For most of us that’s probably true. So don’t try and carry the entire thing. But at least now when you move part of it, it won’t fall apart so readily. God’s Spirit is invisible and boldly visible all at the same time, and is always bigger than the pieces you are carrying.

 

Rinsed

Scripture uses the language of being washed by God to cleanse us. It’s a good image and we even have songs that remind us of this. But I wonder if we miss one part in that. When we wash the car, or clothes, dishes, or ourselves we use need some suds, which is usually evidence of soap. But we almost always need to rinse with clear water. We have areas of our life that certainly need cleaned, they need washed. It could be an old heart-ache, it could be a new one. It might be something you’ve held in denial. You have to name it for yourselves. See, sometimes we think we have washed but something still lingers and we don’t know what that is. It’s the residue that’s left behind. We didn’t fully immerse ourselves in God’s rinse cycle! It’s not that God isn’t aware of “Lather, Rinse, Repeat”…it’s more likely we haven’t asked him to rinse away the residue as well. It does not mean we will entirely forget, but at least that part of our life is wearable again, it’s useable. It does not have to be in the back of the closet. It’s part of our life fabric.

So allow yourself to be rinsed. Jesus is waiting with a cup of water….or a bucket …or even a river! Cleansing you beyond all.

 

Lamenting

I wonder sometimes if we don't lament enough. I know that may sound odd, and I'm not implying that we should be more depressed or anything like that. Not at all. The reality is, I wonder if we even understand the word anymore. The defintions are "to wail loudly" "to regret strongly" "to express sorrow, often demonstratively". I suppose none of these sound real appealing, because it means we're willing to acknowledge being vulnerable for a time. So we stay clear and try to find another way around, perhaps a safer way. But I think God likes a genuine lamenter. If you really lament something, there can be a wonderful cleansing that happens with that. A great release. But, you really have to acknowledge what it is that's broken your heart. And that can be especially difficult when you've broken your own heart. Ouch! Still, that's a perfect place to lament. And you can enter in to that place, knowing that God has already prepared for this moment. Jesus, more than anyone else, knows the depth of lament. So why not go to the One that not only can understand your lament better than anyone, but has the healing power to restore you. So go ahead, lament...clear away some of your regret and rise up again.

 

The Raging Sea

………it’s been a little rough as of late………things kind of stacked up……one thing was that I didn’t expect that I would miss a good Pastor friend of mine quite so much…..or at least there were things that he took care of, that got dropped…and for some reason I was expected to do them……and I didn’t know that……and then at the last congregational meeting.......I conveyed some of my honesty to the congregation ..it was very quiet in the room…..

 

 On Sunday, I was leading the morning service and was asked at the last minute to play for the offertory………well I hadn’t really prepared anything…..but by now I can usually come up with something…… I had figured I’ll just do an instrumental or one of my songs…… so the service is moving along…..and then the congregational singing is over and I’m sitting to the side…waiting for the announcements and the slot for the offertory……I open my little binder that was still stuck in my backpack from Friday night’s gig… and I’m looking for the words to one of my songs……well it’s not there……and I look again ..no……not in the binder…and then the page opens to ”In God Alone”….by Andrea Brubaker…….and I get the little chill that happens very frequently…..when God is leading me to music or a word I should share…..and I say…well okay………

… now it’s time…….”will the ushers please come forward to receive the offering”……..I’m at the piano………there’s no need for any words of introduction…… (I’m actually just hoping I can remember all of the chords…because I have not practiced this or played it for awhile)…..and so I start…as simply as I can….. I sing through the verse and the refrain…….going good……little instrumental section…..some new chords that are unknown are played…..they fit…..  maybe something like a Fm9 b13 – dim2 omit 3rd…….and probably never to be played again….. anyway……I go back to the beginning to sing and play through it one more time….I’m through the verse …I’m fine….. and then the chorus…….until…….. “I find safety in the …..raging….sea..”………and time stops……the raging sea…..grabs hold of me like when you stand in the surf and suddenly your pulled in a another direction………….and again…. It was very quiet in the room………and I was washed……as only God can do………through tears….and a halted voice….I manage to finish the song…… but from now on…….the raging sea….will have a new meaning…..a new place in my heart…..because the raging sea is not just being tossed about relentlessly…..sooner or later…it does pass or you do wind up back on land……the storm……no matter how long…or how long…..does eventually pass….and what I choose to remember and be blessed by is how I’m also cleansed by that very same raging sea…..

 

…and I’m incredibly grateful….and thankful…that I have a wonderful sister in Christ…one whose name is Andrea….one day she sat at a piano….God whispered….”write these words”……and she did……and the harvest of that seed continues……in a place and time that only God…and God alone can gently bring together….even “in the midst” of a raging sea.

....Thank you seems weak…for someone reached out unknowingly and anointed my wounded heart……..just when God knew I needed that.

 

Here is the text to the song as well as a link to Andrea's website

 

In God Alone  - by Andrea Brubaker (2007)

In God alone, I place my trust

To Him I cling, on Him I lean

He is my rock, where I can stand

Protected by, His mighty hand

In God alone

In God alone, God alone

I find safety from the raging sea

In God alone, God alone

He's my everything, He's all I need.

 

Take a Hike

Hike:

• “to take a long walk in the mountains or the desert, usually for pleasure”.
• “to raise the amount of something”  -  like in prices….
• “same as snap”  - as in putting the ball in play in football
• “pull something upward” – to pull or raise something with a sudden strong movement.

I really like all of these and they serve as great reminders as sort of “life hints”…you know, those things that help you realign when things go a bit astray. But let’s look at them a little closer see where those hints are leading.

 

• “to take a long walk in the mountains or the desert, usually for pleasure”.

Your long walk could be on a bicycle or even in a wheelchair, or it could be on your own two feet. Whatever your mode of transportation, it’s more important you are taking your mind and soul for a hike. The usually for pleasure part, well……that means that not all the time is it for pleasure. Sometimes it’s a necessity. Your hike can be that journey in which your environment changes at least for a time to allow you to see things differently. To clear your head, maybe think about just simple things. Get yourself outside of the door you’ve been hiding behind. To start and accept that God has something vastly different for you than what you now know. And the hike will help you discover that.

• “to raise the amount of something”  

Usually that means to increase taxes, prices, or the level or quantity of something suddenly and by a large amount. What about the second half of that? The raising of the level or quantity part? What if you were raising your level of things you needed to ….repent and relent. Could it be time to say….”Jesus, I’m so sorry…..I’ve travelled this road as my own personal hike, in all of the ways that I want to do things…..and I’m tired of fighting, I’m tired of being stubborn in my ways. I need to really release this spirit of figuring out MY PLAN. Will you raise my level of thinking and hope? Your ways are higher than mine, and well it’s obvious that my ways aren’t working.”

 

 

 

• “same as snap”  - as in putting the ball in play in football

Putting the ball in play……There are supposed to be 22 players on the field on every play, eleven for each side. And while yes, there can be some movement by some players before the snap, in general the ball does not move until the snap. And there’s no pass, no handoff, no punt, field goal, tackle…….none of that can happen until the ball is snapped or hiked. See that’s the thing about a hike. You have at least started to put things in motion. You are no longer stagnant. You have started to move. Psalm 46:10 says “Be Still and Know that I am God”……and while it may initially seem like a contradiction, I’m thinking more along the lines that God is saying to put down your busy-ness and be reminded that there is much more out there than what your mind holds. Additionally God is encouraging us to have a deeper knowledge of GOD. So put the ball into play and start to explore how Jesus can be deeply integrated into who you are.

• “pull something upward” – to pull or raise something with a sudden strong movement.

It could be that on your hike, you will encounter someone. Maybe they need to be pulled up, or they might come across you, one who is stuck  and you are the one who needs to be raised up. There is a M*A*S*H episode where Father Mulcahy has the idea of getting Charles his childhood toboggan hat. In a time and place where nothing is sane or familiar he brings to Charles a piece of home and Charles responds with these words. “Father you saved me, you reached down into the well of my despair and you raised me up”. That’s it in a nutshell. We are either doing the pulling up or we are the one being pulled. Either way, we are both extending our hand. And one of us is strong. In the show those are just lines of script for the characters, but oh what a bounty of truth is held there. “Jesus, you saved me………you reached down…….into the well of my despair….that part of my life stained with sin…..and you raised me up”. There are undoubtedly things in your life that simply don’t belong. You may not want to admit it, but it’s true. You can reason yourself around them, but sooner than later…..it will bite you in the ass. So be pulled UP and raised….above those things that are dragging you down.

So go ahead a take a hike…..you need it more than you realize.

 

 The Downspout - 2010

 

Recently I more or less tripped over the downspout on our house....okay it was more. But it got me thinking. With the downspout I'm always trying to direct the water away from the house....which is important for the foundation.  But what it I get in that rut of always directing things away from me. And forget about changing the flow inward. What is the connection I am making to Jesus and what I am doing in this world? Am I simply going to church and then I'm done with my faith for the week? I hope the downspout is opening my thoughts AND actions to new things that God would have me doing. Changing things that I ought NOT to be doing. And embracing the flow of both as God works in and through me.

I had a friend recently write to me about the struggle of perfection or rather not attaining it. I am glad to call him a friend and well, neither one of us is perfect. Yet his words made me think about how many of us struggle with this idea of getting every single thing right, every single time, in every single situation. He has inspired these thoughts.

There is a whole performance/presentation aspect to most anything that we do that is public and in front of people. I've been in front of people since I was about 2 years old. And while it's not exactly the same when you are 5 as when you are 50, you are still putting yourself out there. People sit in an audience or group and listen to your thoughts of what you have prepared. That might be a teaching, a song, a workshop...whatever the case may be. But you are putting out there what was once a private individual thing. There is the quietness of preparation. Sitting at the desk, computer, bible, piano, guitar, easel, there is no one there but you and the work before you. It is very internal and makes a LOT of sense in that time and space. It can also be beautiful and daunting at times. But there is not much outside influence.

The big change happens when it becomes the presentation. It's uncovered, sometimes raw and even if its' a "finished" work, this is the first time you see reaction from others.....both good and not so good. And sometimes we ourselves see the flaws that were somehow not apparent the day before. Topping it off is all the emotion that is now tied to it. Not only has the work been uncovered, but so has the creator of this work. And so welcome or not, the critiquing starts. And that can be tough to absorb.

I use the word absorb because if feels like that's what is expected of us as presenters & artists. We seemingly are wearing a big giant sponge and any words tossed our way, we are supposed to just let it bounce off, or suck it up. But you see a sponge has a lot of openings and holes and more gets through than you might think. Or it gets heavy laden and just hangs on us because we forget to take it off.

After the fact there is a natural tendency to say of someone's work, "oh you should do this!".....About our own it can be "Oh s#*!.... I really screwed that up" When it happens in the middle of it all, the mind starts racing..... sweat...... the thoughts of "I sound like an idiot" ......the people staring at you with a blank stare or worse....engaging in conversation because you don't seem interesting enough...... IT'S A LOT TO DEAL WITH.

If you have raised the bar so high to what you think is perfection, it becomes even more frustrating. The bar is set at 8'....the highest I have ever jumped is 6'5".....I try and jump and all I do is smack my head on the bar, causing it to fall. Or I miss completely, landing in a crumpled heap knowing that EVERYONE just saw how badly I missed.

None of this is to say we don't keep trying to do things better. But long before we jump, we need to look at our footing, our launch point. What have we done, long before we take off running. But if we miss or land badly, that does not mean it’s all over.

Recently there was the whole thing about the missed umpire call that didn't allow the pitcher to receive the statistic of a perfect game. Everybody was up in arms about reversing the call..... putting an asterisk in the record book. The truth is the way the umpire and pitcher responded to the mistake was much closer to perfection than what happened during those 9 innings of the game.

Even instant replay does not allow us to go back and do it over. We just see a recorded version of the event. In some sports we change or reverse the call, but that's not evidence of perfection, that's just changing it to something that's agreeable. Does the pitcher throw a strike for every single pitch? Not likely. If none of the batters ever hit the ball, it's not a perfect game for them. If every batter gets a hit every time they are up, is that a perfect game for the offense? Well the team in the field won't think so.

These are all very public ways in which we see the flaws in our quest for perfection. The private interactions we have in relationships is not all that different, it's just that not as many people see it. But we all experience the knee-jerk reaction to something somebody says or writes. The comment sections of blogs are full of imperfect scrutinizing. And probably not a day goes by we don't recall an experience that was less than flattering in how we handled something.

It's a reminder that perfection is really not attainable for us on our own. But don't remove the bar or set it so low that it becomes not even worth the effort. Regroup, prepare differently, and reflect on your past attempt. Just don't sit and look at the bar and think, well, that's it. I quit.

I recognize and embrace that there is something far beyond the reaching of my own understanding of what perfection is. For me that has long been my faith in the everlasting life of Jesus. When I look up perfection, it’s Jesus that I see. For I by myself am a desperately flawed person. From the stumbling words that spill out of my mouth, to the short-legged, round body, odd hairline, thick-necked, creature that is I just walking on the planet. Even with all those self-perceived shortcomings, God loves me for who I am, and desires that I become more of what God intended. Slower to judge, kinder with words, and a little more gracious about giving myself a break when I stumble. That at least is a step towards perfection, and perhaps one I can live with.