Treasure Found

  We were watching The Voice last weekend. We record it, so we're a bit behind, still on the Blind Auditions. One thing we kept noticing about a particular coach, was every time they were giving their pitch to get the contestant to choose them they always talked about their successes and experience as opposed to speaking more on the talents of the contestant. Once we picked this out we heard it every time and it became a bit annoying. It makes me think how we as humans so easily focus on ourselves. We want the world to know what WE think, how WE feel, what WE'VE been through, as if our trials and triumphs are so incredibly unique. Don't get me wrong, each of us are unique and precious, created in God's image and no two people are exactly alike, but so often we get so caught up with our own stories that we don't even bother to learn about someone else's journey. The great C.S. Lewis said, " Humility is not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself...

  If you say it loud enough, do you think you will be able to convince yourself? When you share your passionate opinions around heavy topics on social media, what is the purpose of this is? I ask this because of all the shared posts, memes, retweets I have seen, zero percent of them have caused me to change my mind on any matter and I would be willing to bet that the same percentage have changed your mind as well. If I am wrong, I would truly love to hear your story about how a meme you saw on social media changed your mind or heart about a serious matter (shoot me a message). Don’t get me wrong, some people share their personal stories, some hard stories, stories that they have lived through and these experiences can and should give us pause and we should listen to people when they share their stories, really listen. What I am really addressing is the regurgitated thoughts being shared out there and sometimes people sharing one meme after another on the same topic. You have come t...

We have experienced a very difficult couple of years. I don’t know anyone that hasn’t been met with trials or opposition over the past two years. It has left us feeling isolated, exhausted, misunderstood, afraid, hurt and for many even depressed or hopeless. I continue to hear from others and to see many social media posts that reveal the struggling that people are still facing. A common theme through these struggles is that they have been hurt by other people. They have given of themselves and not received back in return. I think we can all agree that when we are giving of ourselves but not being poured back into, our well of love and care will run dry and we will be left feeling empty and having little or nothing to offer anyone else. That leaves us feeling helpless and inadequate. It’s a vicious cycle. I cannot emphasize enough though, the importance of not relying on other people to fulfill the needs of your heart. All people are imperfect. We are broken and flawed. Our intentions ...

  Recently, something stood out to me on social media, as things often do. What is it about social media that pushes our buttons? Lol. It’s not all bad though, is it? We can really use that platform for good and I am always seeking out ways to do that. Anyway, what stood out to me today (and has popped up many, many times) was a seemingly very innocent and positive post. I use the word seemingly, because it was meant as a positive post, but it was generally about how we can do great things if we believe in ourselves and that we are the only ones that can make things happen in our lives, or something to that effect. I do believe that there is some nugget of truth in this. We cannot rely on others to make changes for us, right? Just like, we are not responsible for making anyone else change anything in their lives. Each of us is responsible for ourselves, for our attitudes, how we respond and react to situations, etc. This I can get behind. Accountability and Integrity are extremely ...

 I was reading yesterday from the book Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People's Hearts the Way Jesus Did by Randy Newman. In the couple of pages I was reading he was talking about judging. Oftentimes people will quote Matthew 7:1 if they feel a Christian is trying to talk to them about a possible wrong-doing, or if they see someone headed down a bad path, “Do not judge, or you too will be judged." In Randy's book he spoke of the original wording used in this passage and that though it was translated to "judge" (and that is a close translation), it's really more of a "condemning judgment" that was being referred to. Jesus Himself has pointed out sin. It isn't that we shouldn't call out sin or try to help someone if we see them going in a wrong direction. We should however not judge others from a place of self-righteousness, but out of love and concern. In Luke 6:42 Jesus says, "How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take th...

And they lived Happily Ever After... Except they didn't. Until unhappiness do us part... We look for happiness in all of the wrong things...or perhaps our first failure is that we look for happiness at all. Do you want to be happy? I do. I think everyone does. We love feeling happy. We tend to do many things with the sole purpose of feeling happy. We spend time with people who make us happy, do activities that make us happy, even eat foods that make us happy. Yet, even when we have many moments of happiness, we are bound to have moments of unhappiness. Some of these moments might add up to be hours, days, maybe even months of feeling this way. I think in part, this is because we rely on things or people to make us happy. Things break, get lost or stolen. People break, get lost or stolen. They say and do things that are hurtful, they break our trust, they let us down. We do the same thing to people we love. Is it because we don't care? No, it's because we are human. We...