Lessons from a pan

Sometimes our greatest lessons can come from a simple house chore.  We live in a systematic world, which means lessons can be around every corner if you allow your heart to soak them in. Often those every day lessons can turn into something your heart needs to hear.  This morning I was doing the dishes a task I do majority of my mornings. Sounds like a fairly mundane task right.. And it was until I got to this one pan. You know one of those expensive pans you decide to splurge on. The type that nothing is supposed to stick to, the type that cooks everything more truly. Ya that pan. The problem was I was scrubbing and scrubbing and struggling. "This should not happen, not for this kind of money." I let my mind wonder like I so often do. I recall hearing, reading cook on "medium to low".  That is just a suggestion right? What can it really effect, besides I don't have time for that. I didn't prepare, my daughters hungry, we have to be somewhere in half an hour,... Whatever the excuse is and there seems always be one.  What am I getting at? What if our spiritual life is like that? What if what God wants to cook up in our heart , desires for it to cook slowly. To chew on, dive, in , letting it sink in letting it soak deep down to the darkest parts of our heart. Could it be that maybe some of our struggles in our journey is because we throw the temperature way up and want the instant meal and gratification. We are to busy, to bored, to uninterested to really let it simmer. To really allow ourselves to understand and grab hold of.  In Romans it says

http://bible.com/59/rom.2.6-7.ESV He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;

What if it isn't about a list? Or what we do but how we seek it and what we desire out of it?
Will you let it seep into your whole story? Even the parts maybe you have hidden away. What does God want you to want? Will you prepare a space will you set aside enough time to really let it simmer. I think if we do we will be pleasantly surprised in the difference.

Thank you for your journey and being a part of mine. Feel free to pass this on and share it. For his glory and his alone.

Life's a whale :our response

      Tonight as I sit here and ponder what Jonah must have thought when he reflected on what had happened in his life. Living a life that so readily heard the will of God but also chose not to follow it. Being swallowed up by a whale and eventually crying out to God . Reflecting on finally obeying the  of God. To seeing the miracle of Ninnevah repenting and turning to the Lord, for him only to become angry.

    This summer began for me with audacious hopes and dreams which also lined up with a calling. Like Jonah I wanted things done my own way, I wanted to take my path. Eventually I got swallowed up by my own selfishness and distractions. I think God often allows us, his children, to be swallowed up by our own desires. Only to eventually get spit out because we start to recognise the joy that it steals, the intimacy that is lost, the light that is wasted. When we do things our own way not only does it hurt us but it also robs others of the opportunities God desires for them. We walk away from what we were created for. We will all get swallowed up at some point in attempt to block, numb, dull and blind us of our calling. The true test is when we get spit out which road do we turn.

Today is a day that I choose to surrender all again. To surrender; my guilt and shame, my hopes and dreams, and my pride and my ego. I choose to take a step towards his plan and his vision. To turn around and go back to where he has called me one step at a time. To hear his voice and respond. To trust and obey.

 http://bible.com/59/rom.1.17.ESV For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Today I choose to live.

Thank you for your time please feel free to share and retweet.

Open letter to America

I want to start by apologising for any spelling or grammatical errors as this is from my phone but I had to write.

 I want to start off by saying black Americans, Muslims, immigrants, homosexuals, transgenders ,Christians, those stand up for sanctity of marriage, and countless others I am sorry, sorry for the hate, the malice and the injustice. "United we stand" sounds so far away and sadly it is only drifting farther and farther away. As so many fight for equality, fight to be seen and fight to be heard so often the lines of division only seem to deepen.
We act as if we can be objective and I'm quite sure that in situations like Ferguson, South Carolina and Baltimore that is quite impossible.

We justify the actions of so many others where deep down I am not even sure we believe our own justifications. We stand so loudly against "them" that we engage in verbal assaults with anyone that comes close to taking a stand with "them" We fight to be right, we fight to not be wrong, we fight to be heard with any means necessary. I ask you this is that what we should be fighting for? Should we not be fighting for unity? For each other? For accountability of actions. How can we sit back and see Fergusen, Baltimore, south Carolina and the hundreds of other places around the world and not demand accountability.

Please stop justifying police brutality. There is an obvious need for a reform in the system of accountability in law enforcement. Those who think that are not anti police. Rioters it is never okay to react in anger and violence. Very rarely is the path of least resistance a wise choice. So why are not both these sides of any of these issues not being held accountable. I am not talking about judicially. I truly believe the ones closest hold the most weight.Citizens of America it is not okay to disrespect of the Citizens of this great country Ever. Male, female, child, black , white, Asian, homosexual, transgender it does not matter. If they breath the deserve your respect. If you do not think so it is time to step up and fight for AMERICA. Not "your" country.

Where the Men go so will society. Men it is time to stop acting like boys and putting you in front of the rest of the world. Your rights stops where the rights of others starts. Stop enforcing power that isn't yours, stop taking, stop bullying, stop stealing, stop manipulating, stop striking fear. Who is at the forefront of almost all of these situations Men and quite sadly "boys". You do not have right to show and release your frustrations, doubts and anger in any fashion you desire. That is what boys do. Men they fight for something bigger and someone bigger than themselves. They fight for a nation, for a people, for a neighbour. United We Stand. But that cannot happen until Men Stand United and lay down our boyish ways.