5 Ways to Serve in a Selfie-ish World

Short & Sweet: Me, Myselfie, and I!

What is wrong with these vacation pictures? I asked myself as I was scrolling through the news feed on Facebook a couple of weeks ago. These vacation pictures don’t seem like vacation pictures. They seem more like … more like selfies.

When I was growing up, we took vacation pictures like every other family—beautiful vistas of Lake Michigan beaches, rolling sand dunes and ancient forests. Sometimes, a few small, barely recognizable people were also captured in the photograph. Lovingly tucked in photo albums, the pictures have faded and yellowed with age and love. Vacation photos were all about where we went, what we did and who we were with. Not anymore.

We live in a selfie world.

Now a days it’s all about how I feel and how I look. Modern vacation pictures are often just another version of a selfie. No longer can we vicariously enjoy the beautiful scenery others capture on their vacations because landscape is just a backdrop for another selfie or a groupie (is this a word?). Whether you vacay in The Alps, Disney, or CoCoa Beach doesn’t matter. The destination is unrecognizable. Imagine the money families could save. Forget the pricey getaway—just take selfies at your local beach or campground. Me, myselfie, and I.

Love your neighbor as yourself-ie.

How does all this selfie-ishness line up with God’s word? It doesn’t. God says the first shall be last. Galatians 5:13 reminds us to “serve one another humbly in love. “Romans 12:1 says, “offer your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Luke 6:38 states, “Give and it will be given to you.” 1 Peter 4:10 offers this selfie-less advice, “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.”

You see it’s not all about selfie, its about serving. Selfie-ness leads to emptiness. It drains, compresses, and stagnates our heart, soul and mind. As we constantly tend to our every want, need and desire, we become so myopic that eventually we only see our selfies and miss the needs of others.

What can we do to combat selfie-ishness?

Plan Think of a current situation in your life. Purposely plan a way you will be unselfie-ish in this situation and serve others.
Sacrifice. Today, or whatever day you choose, let everybody else go first, choose the restaurant, set the temperature on the AC, pick the movie, dessert, or activity etc.in everything you do. Ouch.
Deny. Give up a favorite food, drink, activity, or dessert etc. for a specified amount of time. Double ouch.
Ask. Ask God to change your heart; to give you a heart like His. Ask Him to open the eyes of your heart to your own selfie-ishness and the need of others.
Hide. Hide God’s word in your heart. Memorize verses such as the ones posted above and pray them into your life.

Leave me a comment and let me know how you do with your resolutions to lose your selfie-ishness. I will be struggling right along with you.

Copy right 2016

Short & Sweet: 2 Ways to Grow Your Gifts

One of my constant prayer requests is for God to expand my gifts.

I continually ask Him to gift me greatly so He can use me deeply. Recently I discovered we have a responsibility in growing our gifts—it’s not all up to God. There are two things we can to do to help grow our gifts.

Use them.
Give them.

While both methods closely related, they have subtle differences. Using your gifts requires planning and training, while giving your gifts requires responsiveness and obedience.

Use your gifts.

14 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. 15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. 16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. 17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. 18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.”

When the man returned from his travels, he rewarded those who used their gifts, but to the last servant the master said,

” ‘You wicked and lazy servant … take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.’ ” Matthew 25

What happened when the two servants used their gifts?

They were doubled. Wow! Who wouldn’t want to double gifts? I know I do. Imagine being twice as good teacher/speaker/writer/principal/secretary/designer/builder than you are now. We can grow our gifts by using them. Saving or burying our gifts and talents keeps us small, dark and cold. Only dead things are buried.

Use or lose.

What about the last servant? He lost what he would not give.

As modern Christians we neglect our gifts when we bury ourselves in fear, busyness, apathy and laziness. Don’t wait until you feel ready and don’t give up when the going gets tough. God wants us to push through negative emotions. The start of a new project is very exciting! But bumps in the road are bound to come and discouragement can set in. Set backs do not mean God’s calling has been revoked—quite the opposite is true. When passion and motivation dwindle, disregard the lassitude and continue working. Take a step of faith and get busy.

People need what you have to give.

Give and gain!

4 Now the Passover, a feast of the Jews, was near. 5 Then Jesus lifted up His eyes, and seeing a great multitude coming toward Him, He said to Philip,“Where shall we buy bread, that these may eat?” Phillip answered, “There is a lad here who has five barley loaves and two small fish, but what are they among so many?”

10 Then Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves, and when He had given thanks He distributed them to the disciples, and the disciples to those sitting down; and likewise of the fish, as much as they wanted.” John 6

Feast or Famine.

Compared to the size of the need, how big was the boy’s lunch? Did the size of his gift stop him from using it? What happened when the little guy gave his lunch? Jesus multiplied it—exponentially. Having raised two hungry sons, the fact the boy gave his lunch is a miracle itself. Giving always requires sacrifice. Like the boy, we have a choice.

Keep gift for self. Small. Safe. Unfufilled. One person benefits.
Give gift to others. Big. Scary. Amazing. Everyone is filled. Leftovers!

If we keep our gifts, others will go hungry.

Give your gifts large or small, no matter the size and watch them grow. Your gifts may be small, but you Savior is huge. Give what you have and watch your gifts grow! Use and give.

Action Points:

Risk! Admit it. There is something you’ve been waiting to give, but you think it’s too small. Walk by faith and give it today.
Look! See it. Ask God to make you hyper-aware of opportunities to give today. A kind word, $2.00, a single flower, a short note. They are not too small. Do it.
Unbury! Face it. You have some buried gifts, dreams, skills that need exhuming. Take a step today to dig them up and use them for God’s glory.

Pray

Father, we give You our talents (Matt. 25), our widow’s mites (Luke 21), out last drop of oil (1 Kings 17), and our brown-bag lunch (John 6). Please help us to use what You have given us and give what you have entrusted to us so we me greatly impact our world for Christ.

Amen.

Short & Sweet: Mirror, Mirror

Ma—You’re so bad at the alphabet game!

My youngest son teased as I epic-ly (is this a word?) lost, yet again, another round of the famous Car Alphabet game. I was struggling on “J” as my three men shouted “Z” at the same moment. Yep. I stink at Car Alphabet. Why?

It’s all about the eyes.

From chronic conjunctivitis, blocked tear ducts, light sensitivity, tracking issues, letter reversals, astigmatism to a torn retina, my eyes have always been an issue. I don’t ever remember being able to see well. By the time I was in middle school, I was legally blind without corrective lenses. But, I have always been very thankful for my glasses and the fact I could see at all.

Aside from the obvious visual side effects, my vision challenges have also affected my self-esteem. Not being able to clearly see what I look like has caused me to lack confidence and as a result to avoid looking people in the eye. Who can be confident not knowing if ones eye makeup is applied correctly or hair is combed smoothly?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall.

Then came the mirror. Recently, my oldest sister introduced me to her latest purchase, an amazing techno-mirror complete with magnification and motion-sensitive LED lighting. Wow. Snow White’s stepmother would have been envious.

Within a few days I bought my own. I can see!

Make-up is smoothed to a flawless finish. Rogue eyebrows are brought under control in seconds. Dirty smudges are wiped away. The greatest transformation the mirror brought about though is how I feel about myself.

Knowing the truth about how I look has brought me wonderful freedom and peace.

The Bible does the same thing—it give an accurate picture of what we are really like. Please read the verses below.

23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; 24 for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. 25 But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does. James 1:23-25

The mirror of Truth.

Interesting to note in Biblical times mirrors were not made from glass but metal—strong, tough durable—sort of like the Bible. The word used for mirror in James 1:23 is derived from optanomai, which means, to allow oneself to be seen.

Like my sister’s amazing techno-mirror, the Bible allows oneself to be seen,. It gives an accurate picture of the heart. Bad habits and character flaws are brought to light as we see ourselves reflected in the truth of scripture. Doing life with an obvious character flaw is like walking around with spinach in your teeth. Embarrassing! Everyone sees it except you. Like a real friend who tells you the truth, God has given us the mirror of His word so we can clearly see ourselves. He loves us too much to let us continue in our sin. When we clearly see our sin, we can ask God to wash us clean and makes us as white as snow.

Action Points.

Look in the mirror. In the morning, before you do your hair or brush your teeth, look into the mirror of God’s word. Spend fifteen to twenty minutes meeting with God each morning in the pages of scripture
What do you see? What is God showing you? What needs to change? If you can’t see anything that needs improvement you need to turn on the light or jack up the magnification on your mirror.
Remove it. When God shows you a flaw, don’t pull out the concealer. Instead, pluck it out with prayer and God’s truth. Find a scripture that applies to your problem. Memorize it. Meditate on it. Pray it. Speak it. Keep it up until your problem is under control.

Life is sweet. Take a look in the mirror.

Short & Sweet: Re-purposed

28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.

Romans 8:28-30

Reduce. Reuse. Recycle. Re-purpose.

We feel so good when we set our eco-green recycle bins by the curb. Cubicles full of soda cans, mayonnaise jars, and plastic milk cartons are sent on their way to an useful afterlife. Our carbon footprint is reduced from size 15 EEE to a petite little 5.

My grandparents were so pro with re-purpose/recycle movement. Like many immigrants, they were not familiar with the concept of trash. Why? Because they didn’t throw anything away.

Plastic packaging did not exist.

Food was homemade—no jars, no boxes.

Sacks were turned into dresses.

Boxes were used to make furniture.

Table scraps were fed to the dogs or the pigs.

People who survived the Great Depression, plus two world wars knew how to be resourceful. They re-purposed everything.

Cleaning out the house.

When my beloved grandparents passed away, we cleaned out their basement and root cellar (Google it). We found barrels full of twist-ties, pencil stubs, steel wool, marbles, tools, nuts, bolts, books of matches, half-used notebooks and rags. My grandparents reused and recycled everything. Nothing went to waste. If it couldn’t be re-used, it could be re-purposed.

Re-purpose: to change (something) so that it can be used for a different purpose

The story of my life written by God.

My purpose before B.C. (Christ Christ) was to please myself. This resulted in sin, sorrow and brokenness. Then He called into my darkness and showed me how to use my gifts and skills for their real purpose—His glory. God re-purposed my life, He changed something (me) so it could be used for a different purpose.

He re-purposes for His purpose.

God can re-purpose anything and anybody at anytime. That’s how strong He is. He promises to use everything for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. Good, bad, ugly, beautiful, hurtful and sinful things. All things. Don’t ask me how, but I know He does. We turn and trust. We follow and obey. And He recycles, reuses, re-purposes everything for our good and His glory.

Adult bookstore to Christian bookstore,

Crack house to coffee house,

Tavern to church.

Beauty for ashes.

Grace for guilt.

Righteousness for wickedness.

All things are re-purposed for good.

Action Steps:

Give it to Him. Are you holding something back from God, some trash from the past? Open your hand and give it to him.
Ask Him to re-purpose it. Ask God to use that thing, no matter how terrible, for good. Quit letting Satan have a foothold in your life. Make his defeat complete. Ask Jesus to re-purpose your past mistakes for future good.
Give Him thanks. Thank God for how He will use that issue for your good and His glory. You can tell the Enemy all about it too.

Life is sweet. Re-purpose.

Short & Sweet: an old prayer

9 In this manner, therefore, pray:

Our Father in heaven,

Hallowed be Your name.

10 Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

On earth as it is in heaven.

11 Give us this day our daily bread.

12 And forgive us our debts,

As we forgive our debtors.

13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Matthew 6:9-13

Our Father who art in heaven …

When I was a little girl, I had the privilege of attending a church that valued the Lord’s Prayer. We said it. We prayed it. We believed it. I can’t remember a time when I did not know the Lord’s Prayer by heart. While there is great value in committing Scripture to memory, like a well-loved song, words memorized often become words overlooked. With memorization can come a false sense of knowing a portion of scripture.

Like a wet towel wrung dry, I thought I had squeezed out every last drop of meaning from the Lord’s Prayer. Because the words were so familiar in my head, I no longer listened with my heart. After 48 years of knowing the Lord’s Prayer, what else could I learn from it?

The unfolding of His word.

God is eternal, therefore His word is eternal—it continuously delivers. Meaning upon meaning, deep upon deep, precept upon precept endlessly opens to those who seek with all their heart. In a recent Bible study, Looking For Lovely by Annie Downs, God downloaded fresh meaning from the Lord’s Prayer straight to my soul.

Thy kingdom come, thy will be done.

First, God showed me the heart or key motivation of all prayer. It’s found in verse 10. Read it again.

Thy kingdom come.

How is God’s kingdom established on earth? By prayer. Ponder this for a moment. Prayer establishes God’s kingdom on earth. This leads to a question: What should we be praying for? Not my will. Not your will. God’s will. God’s will and God’s kingdom are connected by prayer. Prayer is not about us being happy, getting our way or being comfortable. The goal of every prayer is for God’s will to happen.

Every prayer. Every time. Period.

Second, God showed me as Christians we play a vital role in establishing God’s kingdom on earth. We are able to focus on this valuable work by praying for God to supply three basic needs:

Food: Our daily bread (physical and spiritual)
Forgiveness: Our forgiveness (salvation) and the grace we need to forgive others
Focus: Our purpose (keeping our mind focused on Him not our temptations)

When we are not overly consumed with worry about obtaining our daily bread, earning our salvation or creating meaning and purpose for our lives, we can focus on establishing God’s kingdom on earth. God confirms this later in Matthew 6:33,

“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

The Lord’s prayer is not a formula: say this and you will get this. It is a model for how to pray and for what to pray. We focus on His will and He’ll provide for our welfare. All of this is accomplished through prayer. And when His kingdom is establish in this world, it will be heaven on earth.

Action Points:

Pray. No matter how little, insignificant or unimportant, take everything to God in prayer. Prayer changes things.
Pray God’s will. This one can hurt. No matter how much you want the job, the house, the boyfriend, the car, ask for God to work your situation according to HIS will.
Pray for God’s Kingdom. A kingdom is territory ruled by a king. Since the Fall, we have given Satan a foothold on this earth. We take down the enemy and reclaim our schools, neighborhoods and communities one prayer at a time.

His kingdom come. His will be done.

Life is sweet. Pray!

Short & Sweet: Living by the Numbers

Facebook. Twitter. Snapchat. It’s all about the numbers. How do you rank?

1 Now Satan stood up against Israel, and moved David to number Israel. 2 So David said to Joab and to the leaders of the people, “Go, number Israel from Beersheba to Dan, and bring the number of them to me that I may know it.”… 7 And God was displeased with this thing; therefore He struck Israel. 8 So David said to God, “I have sinned greatly, because I have done this thing; but now, I pray, take away the iniquity of Your servant, for I have done very foolishly.”

1 Chronicles 21: 1-2, 7-8

David was stressing about the numbers.

Were they big enough, strong enough, tough enough to stand against their enemies? David was listening to the enemy. Ironic isn’t it? The Enemy tempts us to worry about our enemies. Eyes off God. Eyes on our enemies. Fixating on the numbers causes big trouble.

In David’s case—death.

In our case, death of our peace, health and at times even our witness.

I have been there with David.

Placing my worth, my value, my success, my strength on the numbers—the likes on my memes, the hits on my posts or the views on Youtube. Like us on Facebook, follow us on twitter, snap, tweet, post, hangout, Skype, join our tribe, brand it. YOLO baby. It’s all about the numbers!

Why doesn’t God want us to focus on numbers? Because with God numbers don’t matter. You, plus God is a majority no matter the opposition. It’s David against the Philistines. Gideon vs. the Midianites. Elijah in a throw-down with the Prophets of Baal.

Life by the numbers.

If we focus on the numbers, we are like a wave of the sea, driven and tossed by the winds of popularity. When our numbers are high, we are riding a wave of happiness. When they are low, we are in the deep.

With Jesus success is not based on numbers—it’s based on obedience.

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The need to constantly count numbers indicates a lack of faith. It is walking by sight and not by faith. We make decisions based on manpower and God is left out of the equation. No miracles. No glory.

Numbering keeps us wandering.

Satan wants us to focus on and measure our success by the numbers. If we are obsessed by who’s following us, we will no longer be concerned about Who we’re following. Our eyes are off God and on the people, what’s trending, and the hottest viral video. The ring of a notification eclipses the Still Small Voice. But, it’s not about followers it’s about following.

With God, only one number matters: ONE

The One and only Living God.

The One True God.

The Holy One.

We can all count to ONE.

Action Points:

Unplug. Turn off the media. For one day let Facebook and Snapchat go on without you.
Obey. Pray and ask God what HE wants you to do about a situation you’re facing. Don’t check what’s trending, what’s popular or going viral. Do what God says.
Be. Be yourself. Be free. Be who God created you to be (Note: this will never go against His word).

Life is sweet.