Can’s Open, Worm’s Everywhere!

Ever have one of those moments when you stop, breathe in, realize that it is all going to be okay, and smile? Well, I had one today.  I’m loving life and life is loving me back.  No, I didn’t hit the lotto and no all the stuff that had me in a funk isn’t gone, but I realized something today… I broke my previous record of consecutive days I’ve stayed alive, so I must still have destiny to walk out.

Haven’t been here in a loooong time and it feels good.  I can complete a thought in more than a 140 characters. There’s so much I want to say but I am choosing my digital words and thoughts a little more carefully lately. So, I’ll probably be real random, lol. I just had to take some time and write, clear the cobwebs, and vocalize my thoughts to someone besides me. So, welcome to this WILD ride.

I have a new philosophy for 2012, “Life isn’t always perfect, but when you wake up breathing that’s a great start to ANY day! ” I’ve lived too long waiting for Ashton Kutcher to jump out and tell me “You’ve Been Punk’d!!” The last few years have felt like my whole life was one big tornado warning: Should I run to safety, just in case? Or should I open the window and see where this twister takes me? There is no life if you don’t live it and you can’t live life if you don’t love it. So love life, live life. Look at life like coloring, sometimes it’s okay to go outside the lines.  It’s the experience of no boundaries that counts.  Live life to the fullest!!!

I am learning that life is as random as the weather. You can’t change what’s headed your way, but you can prepare and survive whatever comes your way. Life is a gift, no matter what you are doing, enjoy it you control that. It’s your life and you need to love it, live it, and most importantly… ENJOY it! We walk around pretending to be happy, hoping people believe it so we stay within the norms. Somebody gave me some great advice one day, “Your not really living if you have to pretend to be happy. So kiss slowly, love deeply, and don’t let your past rob you of your future.”  Thanks, Shannon glad you picked up the phone that night, your words ring in my head often.

If you don’t remember anything else from this post remember this, “Whatever you want in life, start today. Not tomorrow-TODAY. Let it be a small beginning or a big one, just take a step. Your happiness depends on starting today- every day!” People quote this a lot but I am living it out, “laugh until you can’t breath, smile as wide as you can, dance like no one is looking, sing like no one can hear, and live like there’s no tomorrow!”

So, let’s face facts, you’ve been misled. Life is not a box of chocolates. It’s a tin of mixed nuts at best. So, why not step out on the edge and choose to jump in with both feet taking life by the handlebars and ride it ’till the wheels fall off. Y’all stand back…It’s about to be amazing!

Inspired by the FUTURE… Guided by the PAST…

LIVING the present the BEST way I can…

Out With the Old, in With the New

Food guidelines recommend 2-4 servings of fruit per day. We are taught that fruits are rich in vitamins and nutrients and daily consumption of fruit is considered necessary for a good health.  But, there is a difference between eating moldy (old) fruit and eating fresh fruit.  Nobody I know likes rotten fruit. There is nothing appealing about it. It stinks and is slimy, and it attracts flies and other unsightly insects and mold. A couple of weeks ago as I sat in our Friday Nite Live service the words of the message hit home.  It made me think about my current spiritual place. It was a call to stop and take a look at my spiritual growth. Am I personally overcoming sin in my life? Could I sense a forward motion in my Christian walk? Or did I seem to be stuck in a rut, stagnate, going nowhere. Was my fruit growing old and moldy? I was going to church, but I felt disconnected.  I was saying the same prayers I always had…God thanks for this, God I need this, God help me in this area, God I need some money, Thanks God, amen. I said my prayers and attended bible classes and church like a good lil solider, but I found myself going through the motions. Eventually, I just stopped going, stopped reading, and stopped praying.

We all go through it, but have you ever stopped to think why that is?  For my spiritual life to become stagnant meant that something had taken my attention away from the spiritual practices that made my spiritual life possible.  Many times our lives become unfruitful because of stress, worries, wrong priorities, and the cares of this world.  Through the message on that Friday night Bishop reminded me of things that keep my fruit fresh and when I continually miss one it begins to effect the others.  Prayer, reading the Word, church fellowship and giving/tithing are essential to keeping my fruit fresh.  “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”  John 15:4.

You could say my spiritual rut came about by being lazy and complacent when it came to my spiritual life. Or I stopped growing because the routine of my life began to consume me. Maybe I fell into a rut because of a false sense of guilt and shame for not living up to the ideal I had of what it means to be a Christian. It could be one or all but I was trying to live off moldy rotten fruit and something had to change. To get out of a rut takes change, strength and perseverance. I was living in brokenness. I had to face facts and admit to God that no matter how long it takes, God, I am committed to the process. So, I had to make some changes, I needed to grow, I needed fresh fruit.

I heard a guy say once that he wished our spiritual lives could be in a step by step manual. That it would be nice if we had a manual that told us how often we need to go to church, how long we should pray, what we should read in the Bible and for how long, etc. But we all know that book doesn’t exist (and no, the Bible is not that book). Even if that book did exist, our faith would be more about following a schedule and routine than living out authentic faith.  Since that handbook doesn’t exist, what do we do when we get into a spiritual rut? What do we do when our fruit seems a lil moldy?

As I listened to that Friday night message again today I realized this, we have to remember what it was that made you feel so alive when you first met Christ.  That feeling came from relationship with Him. To get back to that feeling, you must get back to that relationship. Stay spiritually disciplined, but don’t make that just a practice, make it a daily passion. God wants us to be passionate in our pursuit of Him. He wants us to be hungry, thirsty and desperate for Him.  Getting out of a rut and getting back on track is a continual process. God’s will is going to be done in your life, but He never said it was going to be easy.  Each one of us will experience failure and setbacks in life. But, we shouldn’t allow our failures to become excuses for giving up on God’s plans or living on old fruit. So if your fruit bowl needs a pick me up, seek God’s forgiveness for your doubts or indifference or fears that keep you from following His plan for your life. Pray for God’s strength to help you overcome those hurdles so that you can continue your faith journey.

What the caterpillar perceives is the end….

…to the butterfly is just the beginning

“therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 KJV

The butterfly is a symbol of the amazing transformation that takes place in the life of a Christian through the power of Jesus Christ.  The Word replaces the old self with the new self, it is a complete metamorphosis, as with the butterfly.  The life-cycle of a butterfly  is a fascinating series of changes, we tend to overlook that the butterfly is the result of a  journey. A journey that is quite different from that of many creatures on this planet. Before it reaches maturity it must undergo a series of remarkable transformations.

Starting as an egg, the butterfly-to-be grows inside the egg for several days before it reaches the larval stage, then it begins a time as a caterpillar. Caterpillars do not stay in this stage for very long and mostly, in this stage all they do is eat.  As believers we must do the same, we must eat the Word. To eat the word speaks of the believer reading, meditating, and applying it to our daily life and experience. In this stage the caterpillar repeatedly molts, adding a new skin and shedding the old so it can continue to grow. We must take the Word of God into our hearts and lives, let it change us, and with our lives being changed by the Word we just like the caterpillar molt and grow.

The caterpillar is then ready for the next stage of its life as a chrysalis, or pupa, it enters it cocoon. Sometimes as we are moving from one season in life to another we experience a time where we feel like we are alone, isolated, and in the dark. Because it seems like no one and nothing is available to us, our worlds seem to become confined…we are in a tight place.  This is what happens to a caterpillar when it enters its cocoon.  It enters into a tight space,  I am pretty sure it is dark, and maybe even uncomfortable.   In this space, the caterpillar can’t move and may feel constricted, frustrated, and stagnant. It is in this place that we must rest in the fact that God has it all under control.  He is protecting you here, hiding you while you are in the vulnerable phase of transformation.   In this place, He is restoring you, fortifying you and strengthening you to be able to handle your next season and He is changing you, transforming you, and manifesting destiny within you.

In this stage the caterpillar hangs upside down, usually from a twig or branch, and encases itself in a protective cocoon. Upside down, wow that can be a scary place. You are disoriented, you’re scared and this is place most of us give up. We think its too hard but we don’t realize that we are at the brink.  We are almost at our destination, if we abort here we emerge incomplete. Here, over about 10 to 14 days, the caterpillar undergoes the most  amazing transformation. At the end of this stage its protective shell becomes transparent, and a adult butterfly emerges.

Its metamorphosis complete, the butterfly starts its new life. This new creature is nothing like what we saw before. As it matured it changed in many ways. It transformed into something far different. Its end result is far from its beginning.   The caterpillar liquefies inside the chrysalis and reforms into a butterfly.  I read this morning that even after years of research, all the details of this journey, are not completely understood.  God does the same thing with us.  He transforms us into totally different creatures.  It is a transformation from the inside out.  Who but God could transform us from the filthy rags we are into vessels of honor fit for the Master’s use.

The caterpillar was never designed to remain just a caterpillar.  It was created to eventually spread its wings and take flight! So don’t fight the process.  Rest in His embrace; enjoy the peace of His protective silence; and prepare for the beauty of change.