Iron Sharpens Iron

As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another. 

– Proverbs 27:17

I am convinced that there are hundreds of athletes who woke up today sore and fatigued from yesterday’s Half Ironman triathlon here in Boulder, CO.  Swimming 1.2 miles, biking 56 miles, and running 13.1 miles will make anyone hobble a bit.

I’d like to design my own triathlon.  I’d swim two laps in a heated pool, relax in a jetted hot tub, pedal a mile or two on a cruiser bike with a huge padded seat, then rest on a porch swing with iced tea and a dear friend.  Want to race?

The two thousand triathletes this past weekend didn’t get long rests.  Instead, they swam in cold, murky water, climbed steep and rolling hills on their bikes, and ran a half marathon in 92-degree sunshine.  In order to finish, the athletes have to take every step of the way by themselves, without any help from friends or family along the way.

All we, as the crowd could do was clap and cheer.  So we did!  We yelled words of encouragement to men and women of all backgrounds, ages, shapes and sizes. Some triathletes ran through the crowds smiling ear to ear.  Others suffered in silence.  Some grimaced in pain.  Some ran in memory of a loved one.  One man ran by wearing a t-shirt with these words written boldly on the back, “IRON sharpens IRON.”  I wanted to stop him and ask him, “What does that mean?”

It turns out that “Iron sharpens iron,” is in Proverbs 27:17.   The Bible classifies Proverbs 27 as “Wisdom for Leaders.”  The advice from this verse is to surround yourself with strong people who will challenge you and spur you on to learn more, become more, and strive for more Godly wisdom and knowledge.  

Just like the triathletes!  Each one crossed the finish line alone but they couldn’t have accomplished their goal without the help from coaches, friends, and family members who had trained with them and encouraged them to keep going when they wanted to quit.  

Every day you are “running a race” too.  It’s your faith race.  Are you growing closer to God and running toward Him?  Or, are you asleep in your faith, and growing further away from God?  We need to spur one another on to become stronger, wiser, and bolder. 

One day we will all get to the end of our race and met Jesus face to face.  Until then, though, we need other “Irons” to walk and talk and share our faith with.  Whose faith can you sharpen?  Who can sharpen you?  Be an Iron Man or Woman by inviting someone to discuss these daily devotions with.  Grow stronger together.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Sunday Ain't Supposed To Be Saturday

Sunday used to be a day of rest.  Does it seem like Sundays are often just an extension of Saturday’s sports, chores, and to-do lists? 

Today, let’s keep it simple and focus on one of my favorite passages.  Read it slowly, maybe more than once, and really focus.

A Psalm of Thanksgiving

Psalm 100 

Shout joyfully to the Lord, all the earth.
² Serve the Lord with gladness and delight;
Come before His presence with joyful singing.
³ Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

⁴ Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.
⁵ For the Lord is good;
His mercy and loving kindness are everlasting,
His faithfulness [endures] to all generations.

• How is God speaking to you through this Psalm?

• What are you thankful for today?

• Praise God for His mercy and loving kindness!

• Pray for your family and future generations to come.

• How will you share your faith in God with others?

• Rest, relax, and remember what the LORD has done for you.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Heads, Hearts, and Hands

Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – THINK about such things.  – Philippians 4:8

When your 3pm alarm sounded today, what were you thinking about?  Were your thoughts noble, right, pure, and lovely, or were they the opposite?  Be honest!

Would you agree that what we think about over and over again significantly impacts our mood and attitude?  I know for me, that when toxic thoughts circulate in my brain, I start to feel awful inside.  When I focus on giving God thanks and think of His beautiful creations around me or His good gifts to me, I feel so much better.  What about you?

Remember singing “heads, shoulders, knees, and toes” as a child?  As you’d sing the song, you’d tap the corresponding part of your body, usually going faster and faster until you’d collapse into a jumble of laughter (ah, life before video games).

I used to use a similar exercise called “head, heart, hands,” to teach my elementary school students about the connection between thoughts, feelings, and actions. The lesson was that our heads tell our hearts how to feel, then these feelings tell our hands how to act.  

God wrote in Proverbs 23:7, “For as a man thinks in his heart, so is he.”  God cares about our thoughts because He knows they will control how we live our lives.  We must first decide in our heads to be close to Him.  After this, our hearts will love Him, then our feet will follow Him.  

Let the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call from God capture your mind every day and move your thoughts in a positive direction.  Believe with me that our true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, praiseworthy thoughts can catapult our hearts, hands, feet and lives into the wonderful direction God has planned for us.  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Love, Respect, And A Job At Google

What are the two most important ingredients for successful relationships?

I love to listen to podcasts!  I especially enjoy making connections with what I learn and God’s word.  I find it fascinating to see how His word is being taught, often unintentionally, in the world around us.

I listen to at least a dozen podcasts a week.  The topics range from church sermons to why there’s no such thing as a free appetizer.  I love the learning and the distraction makes laundry, dishes, vacuuming and general house de-cluttering go by a lot faster. 

Yesterday while pulling weeds, I learned from the Hidden Brain podcast some of the things Google looks for when interviewing job applicants.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they no longer only stop at the Ivy League schools, but instead actively recruit from over 450 different colleges in the U.S. and around the world.  They also spend a great deal of time at colleges with an increased racial/ethnic minority representation.  (An interesting tidbit: high academic achievement only predicts job success in the first two years of employment.  Beyond that, how well someone did in school says nothing about their ability to succeed).  

Google asks potential software designers to rank themselves on a scale of 1-5.  They prefer women who rank themselves a “5” because it shows confidence. Interestingly, though, they prefer men who rank themselves a “4” because Google perceives this as showing humility and a willingness to be open to new ideas. Without realizing it, Google is aligning their values with God’s.  Look at these connections:

• The Bible encourages us to approach God with confidence and receive His grace and mercy. (Hebrews 4:16)
• God warns us. Pride comes before the fall. (Proverbs 16:18)
• God crowns the humble with victory. (Psalm 149:4)

Today’s podcast, while cleaning the house, was a talk on relationship research given by a visiting pastor at Saddleback Church.  His sermon made scrubbing toilets almost delightful (almost).  I learned the two key ingredients for a successful marriage!  

At the University of Washington, a team of scientists conducted relationship studies with 2,000 couples over 20 years in “Love Labs”.  (Who signs up for such a study?)  They found that the two most important components of the healthiest, happiest, and most successful relationships were LOVE and RESPECT.  God told us that a long time ago, didn’t he?

• Husbands love your wives. (Colossians 3:19)
• Wives respect your husbands.  (Ephesians 5:33)

This week, I challenge you to look for God’s word and values all around you.  Notice them in songs, advertisements, other people, even the news.  By making “God connections” in your everyday life, you will be reminded of His character and closeness and give Him thanks more often.

Enjoy!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Grumblin' and Complaining

Do all things without grumbling and complaining.  – Philippians 2:14 

It may be that living in a house of teenagers out of school for the summer has tuned me into this, but it seems like I’m hearing more grumbling and complaining lately.

Just yesterday, for example, the man behind me in the grocery line grumbled aloud about the long wait, the soccer mom whose child didn’t make the “top team” complained about the soccer club, and my teenager daughter complained about…. everything.  I too am guilty of grumbling about the wailing peacocks next door.  Reading my Bible today, Philippians 2:14 popped off the page and landed “kerplunk” in my heart.

Why do you think God dislikes grumbling and complaining?  Do you think Jesus grumbled or complained?  If you go back to the beginning of Philippians chapter 2, the author Paul is encouraging the church at Philippi and all Christians today to become more like Jesus.  

Paul writes:

“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 

Who, being in very nature of God, 

did not consider equality with God, something to be grasped, 

but made himself nothing, 

taking on the very nature of a servant, 

being made in human likeness.  

And being found in appearance as a man,

He humbled himself

and became obedient to death-

even death on a cross!” – Philippians 2:5-8

Now go all the way back to the beginning of chapter 2 and Paul explains that we are to be “like-minded” with Jesus. What does that look like?  Paul explains:

• Love like Jesus loves – love others, all people (even the grumbling ones)

• Be united with the Spirit – invite the Holy Spirit to rule, reign, and guide your life

• Serve others with humility – put aside your ambitions and humbly serve others

Here’s my “take away”: If we ask the Holy Spirit to lead our hearts and minds, we will love and serve others more, and grumble and complain less.   Sounds like a better, brighter, and more joyful life.  By the way, the title of Philippians chapter 2 is Joy In Serving.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

The Sleep Stealers

Make a Joyful Noise to the Lord! 

Years ago, before children, a mortgage, and big monthly bills, my husband and I spent a summer hiking the Colorado Trail.  We started just outside of Denver and hiked every day for six weeks until we hit Durango, some 425 miles away.  The heat, sweat, stink, blisters, and freeze dried food took some getting used to, but after a week or so, I fell in love with the whole experience.  I loved being in God’s wilderness and the refreshing simplicity of life on the trail.

Boy could I sleep on the trail.  I napped every day at lunch and would usually fall asleep right after dinner, even before the sun set.  Early one morning we were startled awake by the staccato chattering of a nearby chipmunk.  I rolled over and interrupted my husband’s groaning complaints with a well-rested smile, saying “Boy, that little fella sure has a lot to say!”  We burst out laughing.  Time to make the coffee.   

I wish my first response now was like that young gal’s on the trail.  Today, I’m much more irritated when something or someone steals my sleep.  Right now, that something happens to be a peacock who lives next door.  Who knew that peacocks wailed like a newborn all night long?  I slammed windows shut and turned on the fans, but nothing drowned out that screeching bird.  By three am, I was plotting its death.  

By 5:30, sleep was a fleeting hope, so I got up and angrily started the day.  Stomping around the house, I saw a copy of Corrie Ten Boom’s book The Hiding Place.  During the Holocaust, Corrie’s family was caught housing Jewish people behind a wall in their house. They were imprisoned in concentration camps where everyone except Corrie died.  In her book, she attributes faith in God and her consistent search to find the good in every situation as the keys to her survival.  Wow!  What an amazing example Corrie sets for all of us… especially the sleep deprived peacock haters.

There will always be joy killers and sleep stealers in our lives.  Most of them we have little to no control over.  What we can control, however, is our first response.  What if our first response to any situation was to say “Thank you God”?  To give Him thanks for being close, loving, helping, guiding, renewing, restoring, and saving? We can give God thanks for who He is in the midst of anything, anytime, anywhere.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Divine Encounters

We have this HOPE as an anchor for our soul, firm and secure. – Hebrews 6:19

Do you believe in divine encounters?   I certainly do.  Let me tell you about the one I had today.

Yesterday, after fifteen hours of moving boxes, bins, and bedding from one house to another, I crawled into bed utterly exhausted.  When I woke up this morning, stiff and sore from head to toe, I asked God for peace, quiet, stillness, and a little more sleep.  He gave me some much needed rest, but He also threw in something much more valuable: the chance to renew my perspective on thankfulness.     

I took our teenagers out to lunch to celebrate the move.  At their request, we went to our favorite hole-in-the-wall burger joint.  It’s the kind of place where the juicy cheeseburgers, loaded with bacon and avocado, always seem to slide out of their wax paper wrapping.  The onion rings are homemade and the milkshakes are thick and rich.  As we pulled into the parking lot we noticed a young woman holding a sign that read “I’m Hungry.”  My daughters saw her and said, “Mom, we should buy her a burger.”   

While the teens waited in line, I walked around the building to the young woman.  As I approached her, God, as He tends to do, “upped the ask” in my mind so, instead of just offering to buy her food, I invited her to join us for lunch.    

Her reaction was priceless.  Ashley, I'll call her, first looked over her shoulder to make sure I wasn’t talking to somebody else.  Then she smiled, tossed her cardboard sign aside, and almost skipped to the picnic table where we waited for our burgers.  There, Ashley shared her life story.  She had been given up for adoption at birth, but had just recently met her biological mother.  She didn’t elaborate, but the disappointment of that meeting showed on her face.  She was a recovering drug addict who had recently lost custody of her two-year-old daughter. Ashley was determined to get back on her feet and rent the two of them an apartment of their own. She recognized that, in her early twenties and homeless, she was at rock bottom.  

Ashley mentioned several times that she was homeless.  Somehow it had become her identity.  She described life on the streets, the sleeping outdoors, and the fears she faced night after night.  Sitting at that picnic table, Ashley reminded me and my children of how blessed we were.  Looking into her eyes, we could see that we had given her a little hope that life can change for the better, and with God’s help, we can overcome life’s hurdles and hardships.  We parted from this divine encounter as friends.  I will see her later this week at her new job in the gas station I fill up at all the time.  Thanks, God!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Trading Peace For Chaos

May the Lord of peace give you peace at all times and in every way. 

– 2 Thessalonians 3:16

I hope you are enjoying peaceful days so far this summer, that your work schedule has slowed, and you’ve got at least one vacation planned where you can relax by the pool, the lake, or the beach.

Yesterday, I worked for 15 hours straight moving our family out of our mountain house and into a rental house in the Boulder city limits.  Sounds nuts, I know.  This time of year the Colorado mountains are breathtakingly beautiful.  It’s ten degrees cooler up there, and the wildflowers are blooming pink, yellow and blue.  The unusually wet spring has turned the grass a brilliant shade of green rivaling that of Kentucky’s bluegrass.  It smells heavenly when it’s blown by the breeze.   

As I stood on the deck yesterday, mesmerized by the mountains, I felt a deep longing for peace, and quiet, and stillness.  As I packed cars to the roof with bedding, pots, pans, and food from the pantry, I asked God to let me take His peace with me into town.  

I know the rental house is going to be busy and loud with doors swinging open and closed, teenagers coming and going, dishes piling up, wet bathing suits and towels hanging over railings, and cars driving in and out of the tiny driveway.  Can peace be found in that kind of chaos?  

My husband and I are trading our peaceful mountain space for tight quarters with our teens.  Why?  Because we see the years with them flying by.  In fact, our time with the two oldest is almost over.  Love is motivating us to trade peaceful isolation for chaotic proximity.  We pray and believe that the Prince of Peace can show up in our midst, no matter where we are.  

Where do you need more peace in your life?  Ask God to join you during long work days, exhausting tasks, and confusing times.  Turn your focus to the One who gives peace freely and let His peace rule in your heart.    

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Summertime!

You, God own the day, You own the night;  You put stars and sun in place.
You laid out the four corners of earth,  You  shaped the seasons of summer and winter. - Psalm 74:16-17

Thank you God for summer!  Summer means eating sweet corn on the cob, jumping off the dock into the cool lake, and running barefoot on the beach.  Feel the salt water splash your legs and the shore breeze tangle your hair.  Summer has a way of reminding us of childhood. 

If I asked you how old you feel inside, would your answer correspond with your actual age?  Mine wouldn’t.  When I recently asked an eighty year-old friend this question, she sweetly blushed and proclaimed, “I feel like I’m thirty!”  What!  That’s a fifty-year difference.  Wow, that changes the way I see my wise friend. 

When I was growing up in Indiana, summer was my favorite time of the year.  We’d visit my aunt and uncle’s farm, swim in their pool, and make homemade ice cream in a tall wooden barrel.  I remember taking turns on its large metal crank for what seemed like forever, until the ice cream was finally ready.  Food, family, and fun were the ingredients of the secret recipe for a magical summer.       

What are some of your summertime childhood memories?  As I recall mine, I feel younger and somehow reconnect to little girl I once was.  I can close my eyes and see myself on Aunt Jan’s and Uncle Bob’s farm, climbing up the wooden ladder in the red barn to play basketball in the hay mount.  On my way up once, I knocked into a bee hive and unleashed a torrent of angry bees.  Scrambling back down, I was stung dozens of times on my head, neck, shoulders, and chest.  That may be why I’m allergic to bees today.

On that same family-farm I can see us playing water games in the above-ground pool.  My grandma and I would proudly perform our made-up synchronized swim routines.  During one performance, too many enthusiastic family members jumped in at once, causing the plastic walls of the pool to split. A few seconds later, we were all flushed out on to the grass, sliding uncontrollably toward the corn fields.  Our laughter could have been heard in the next county!  That’s probably why the farm house now has an in-ground pool.

Thank God that we’re at the beginning of summer.  What childlike adventures do you want to plan now so you can enjoy God’s gifts during this delightful season?  Where do you hope to spend some time this summer?  Are you longing for more summer sun, sand, oceans, lakes, beaches, mountains, pools, breezes, walks, hikes, bikes, dinners under the moonlight, or more relaxing days?  All of them sound wonderful!  Let’s give thanks to the One who created summer then let’s go out and enjoy our summer days. 

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Nothing Can Separate

Nothing can separate you from the LOVE of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

– Romans 8:39

Do you remember what it felt like when you first fell in love?  Were butterflies fluttering in your stomach before you’d meet up?  Was it hard to fall asleep as you replayed your time together over and over?    

Romance fascinates me.  I’m guilty of staring (just ask my kids) when I see couples walking together, talking, and holding hands.  I am happy for them.  Recently, I watched a young family trying to get ready for a hike with their newborn son.  The two parents juggled the squirming boy back and forth as they tried to figure out the how to fit him into the myriad of straps and buckles on front carrier.  In the midst of the struggle, the young dad put his arms around his family, squeezed them tight, then leaned over and kissed his wife.  I almost jumped up and burst into applause for their overflowing love.    

I’ve not always wanted to clap while witnessing love, however.  Watching love vanish, for example is almost unbearable.  I’ve walked with friends through divorce, death, and enormous disappointment.  My heart can not hold that depth of despair.  But it is in those times, though, when I’m clearly reminded that no one on this planet can love me like God does.  

God is love and His love never changes.  Nothing, nothing can separate us from His all consuming love.  No matter what we do, say, or become, God continues to love us.  God’s loving arms wrap around us even when we don’t deserve deserve it, even when we offend Him or others, even when we make mistakes that will follow us and potentially change our destiny. 

As I’ve watched teenage love fail, marriages end, and health deteriorate, I thank God that His love carries us through all of life’s ups and downs.  

What about you?  Think of a time recently where you’ve seen love expressed publicly.  How did it make you feel?  When was the last time you knew that God’s love was surrounding you?  How could you share God’s love with someone close to you this weekend?  

Thank you God for loving us unconditionally.  You are such a great example of true to us.  Help us love others more abundantly.   

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement