Encourage one another and build each other up, 

just as in fact you are doing.  

– 1 Thessalonians 5:11

Today a woman in my Bible study arrived early with a beautiful bouquet of lilies and a thank you card.  To my surprise she handed them to me.  As beautiful as the flowers were, the card touched me the most.  It said, “I am so thrilled that when you were called to use your gifts in this area, you listened to God’s will.”

She had no idea how much I needed to hear those words.  All week I’d been doubting myself and questioning my purpose.   When I was on staff at a start-up church, I had a team, a boss, clear expectations, and a Sunday morning deadline.  Working on the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call has been completely different.  Although I work with Dan and our son Evan, there is no set agenda and every day I’m expected to figure out where we’re headed.  I know that God is my boss and that He can be quiet at times, but lately that’s led to self-criticism and doubt. 

Sometimes God uses the people around us to encourage us to continue in the direction we’re headed.  Sometimes a few words or hugs is all it takes to build us back up and launch us back out there to do what we know God has called us to do.  

Let’s pass on my friend’s encouragement today.  Who can you build up or spur on in the direction they’re headed?  Is it your child’s teacher, a tired spouse, or a friend who just started a new job and might be overwhelmed?  Find one person to build up today.  Maybe putting your encouraging words in an email or a hand written card is exactly how you can be used by God today.

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

You Gotta Be Smarter Than Your Coffee Maker

Blessed are those who find wisdom, those who gain understanding. – Proverbs 3:13

Dang it!  I was outsmarted by the coffee maker again this morning.  Where did I put those directions?  

 I’ve always bought cheap, easy to use coffee makers. Recently, however, I had coffee at a friend’s house that tasted like it was from a coffee house.  How was that possible?  My teenagers, who complain that my coffee is awful, explained that good coffee can only come from a good coffee maker.  So when my latest machine heaved its last breath and leaked coffee all over the countertop, I decided to see if they were right.

.

The machine I just bought is more like a computer than a coffee maker. Each night while setting it up, I fumble through a menu of options I can’t understand, guided by a series of warning beeps that I can never seem to please.  So far, I’ve come downstairs in the morning to find either; no coffee, cold coffee, coffee dripping onto the floor, water instead of coffee, and today, one cup when I wanted a full pot.  Ugh!  I should be smarter than a blasted coffee maker!

Aren’t you glad God gives us His word to make us wiser?  Aren’t you glad God gives us other people to help us when we are struggling to understand difficult things?  

My son, Evan designed our Wake Up Call website.  How? I haven’t a clue.  My friend, Susan is brilliant with bookkeeping.  She’s also a killer baker.  So if I need help balancing the budget or cookies for my daughter’s class, I know who to go to.  

Think of people in your life who possess strengths or skills you do not.  Now survey your own strengths and skills.  What do you give to the people around you?  Isn’t that a beautiful, blessed exchange.  Isn’t God amazing for designing us unique but also in need of each other?

Today, let’s be thankful for our friends and family who enrich our lives and share their strengths with us.  What a blessing it is to discover wisdom from God and others!

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

"In Christ" While "In Crisis"

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near. 

– Ephesians 2:13

This past month, my women’s Bible study has been working through Beth Moore’s latest book, Audacious.  In it, she discusses how everyone endures pain and suffering.  It hits our lives, often out of the blue, despite our best efforts to safeguard against it.  She then goes on to encourage those who are “in crisis”  to remember that being “in Christ” is the best way to weather the storm.

I’ve found this to be a fantastic perspective.  We’ve all known people who are absolutely gorgeous on the outside but lonely and afraid on the inside, or people who have more money than you can imagine, but are trapped in depression and despair. Crisis knows no class or color.

Having kids enter middle and high school is a great way to invite crisis into one’s life.  Three times so far, police or paramedics have called me to the scene of an accident: cars totaled, bikes broken in two, but bodies only bruised.  Thank you God. 

I’ve been rushed to the emergency department because my symptoms led doctors to believe I could have a bleed in my brain.  Trapped in the confines of the MRI’s hammering noises for over an hour, my head felt like to was going to blow off my body, I prayed and clung to God the entire time.  He gave me peace and reassurance in the crisis.  Thank you God. 

I cannot imagine going through these crises’ without God’s loving arms around me.  I am convinced that the only way I could stand “in crisis” was because I was “in Christ.”  I was not alone. 

The next time a crisis crashes into your life, be thankful you are not alone because you too are “in Christ.”  Cling to Him. 

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

That'll Leave A Mark

He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds we are healed. 
– Isaiah 53:5

In high school, I was frantically getting ready for a “hot date” I had that night. Singing aloud to Madonna on the tape deck, I was ironing my blouse and dancing around, dreaming about the night ahead.  All was humming along great … until the phone rang.

Just so you know, I had one of the coolest phones of the eighties.  Shaped like a circle, with a big hole in the center, its receiver could be snatched off the base just as it rang.  (Better to keep my parents unaware of the late night phone calls).  I was well-practiced at the quick answer, so when it rang that night, I reached for it reflexively.  Music blaring, lost in anticipation, I quickly brought the receiver to my ear, realizing too late that instead of answering my cool phone, I had answered the piping hot iron.

Screaming, I dropped the iron and ran straight to the bathroom to throw cold water on my face. When I looked in the mirror, I was horrified to see the bright red burn mark, throbbing and painful, streaked from hairline to chin.  So much for my “hot date.”

When I showed up at school on Monday morning, a group of boys walking past broke out laughing, “Ring, Ring, Laura you better answer it!”  How did everybody know? I’d only told a few friends. (I thought I’d learned the gossip lesson in middle school)

Today, I’m reminded of all the ways we receive scars from other people, from circumstances beyond our control, or from our poor choices or regret.  Do you know the One who took your shame and guilt was scarred for life?  His hands and feet were scarred for our transgressions.  Nothing you have done is too bad or too stupid for Jesus to wipe away and heal.  Isn’t that incredible?  Let’s thank God today for Jesus who can handle all our scars.

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

Multiply With An "Attitude Of Abundance"

Jesus said, “You give them something to eat.”  The disciples answered, “We have only five loaves of bread and two fish.”  – Luke 9:13

Two days ago we looked at the two fish and five loaves story in the Bible.  I return to it today because I just learned something new and exciting.

Last Saturday, I am so grateful I was able participate in Priscilla Shirer’s Simulcast.  Priscilla is an amazing, on fire for God, Bible teacher who travels with her husband and three young boys around the globe sharing her love for Jesus and real life stories of how the power of prayer can change lives.  Priscilla is one of the main characters in the movie, War Room that came out last winter.  If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a “must watch.”  

When the Simulcast began, we were informed that our small group in Broomfield, CO was joining 70,000 other people around the world for a day of worship and Bible study.  Yes, 70,000 people (mostly women) in the United States, Canada, Australia, Jamaica, and Saudi Arabia, among others, were stopping their busy lives for one day to spend time worshipping God and learning from His word.  I’m sure God smiled upon us all, His children of different colors, on different continents, all united to praise and thank Him.   

Priscilla taught on our passage two fish and five loaves story.  She highlighted a different angle I hadn’t thought of before.  Jesus told the disciples to feed all the people.  They thought Jesus was crazy!  They didn’t have enough food or enough money to buy the food.  They suggested Jesus send the people away and get rid of the problem.  Jesus refused.  So the disciples had to believe the impossible was possible and gave Jesus what they had.  In His hand, their “not enough” was blessed, given back to them, multiplied in their hands, all ate and were satisfied.  Amazing!  There were even twelve baskets of leftovers, one for each disciple.

A question dawned on me.  Do I, like the disciples, have the “mentality of lack,”  thinking I’m not enough, and that what I can offer isn’t sufficient?  I’d much rather have an “attitude of abundance,” where I recognize that God can take my little and turn it into a lot.  

What about you?  Do you give God what you have and watch as He multiplies and blesses others through you?  Today, let’s have an attitude of abundance” and give all we have to the one who promises that all things are possible.

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

Reality Check Ahead

Glorify God with thanksgiving.  This will please the LORD. – Psalm 69:30-31

Yesterday, I talked about Rick Warren’s book, The Purpose Driven Life.  If you haven’t read it yet, I would put it on the top of your “Must Read” list.  The book starts off with a bang, the first sentence declaring “It’s not about you.”  Isn’t that audacious?  In our culture today, to tell anyone that they are not the center of the world is a crazy advertising move. 

Ads tell us, “We deserve a break today,” or we can, “Have it your way.”  Most of us, as high school students, would never have taken “selfies, “shared them with friends, and asked for “likes,” for fear of being labeled “conceited” or “stuck up.”  The times have certainly changed.

Thankfully, God’s word never changes.  Words written thousands of years ago, are still true today.  God created us to please Him.  It is pleasing to God when we thank Him and decide to not to have it our way but to go His way, when we recognize that we don’t deserve anything good in our life, but that all good things are instead gifts from Him.

Simply put, our daily thanks and praise pleases God.  When God gets the credit for our good gifts, excellent talents, and great successes, He is glorified, and lifted up.  Then we are in our right place and in a right relationship with God.   From this place we can understand that, “It’s not about me.”

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

Live Out Your Faith To Change Your World

Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, Jesus gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.  They ate and were satisfied. – Matthew 14:19-20

Did you know the famous story of Jesus feeding five thousand people happened while He was mourning the loss of his cousin, John the Baptist?  Jesus had been trying to escape to a desolate place to be alone with God after hearing John had been killed, but large crowds followed Him.  In the midst of His pain, He still had compassion for the sick people in the crowd and decided to heal and help them.  Amazing!

Rick Warren, author of the best selling book The Purpose Driven Life, and the pastor of Saddleback Church in California, was interviewed after his adult son, Matthew took his own life.  Obviously in pain, Rick shared publicly that he and his wife intended to spend the rest of their lives equipping churches around the globe to help people struggling with mental illness.  What the enemy planned for evil, they would use for good.  Amazing!

Just as Rick and Kay Warren are following in Jesus’ footsteps, so can you.  When you are hurting, disappointed, sad, or simply caught up in the busyness of your life, take a few seconds to focus on the compassion that lives in your heart.  Look up to God, give Him thanks, then look around for someone to help and bless. 

Who can you serve?  Who can you bring a meal to, help with yard work, or call to cheer up?  Change your world today: Stop, Look Up, Give Thanks, and Live Out your faith in God.  Go!

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

How Can We Bring Joy With All These Rules?

My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. – Psalm 28:7

Some people, especially children, exude JOY wherever they go.  They bring it!  And everyone around them benefits from it.  

My husband and I were having a “date night” at a local pizza place.  After dinner, we sat outside in a fenced in grassy area the restaurant shares with our favorite ice cream shop.  This combination of pizza and ice cream attracts a lot of families.  One young mom showed up with her three little girls dressed in colorful tights and adorable dresses.  The first thing the girls did was kick off their shoes, spin, twirl, and run in circles.  Joy and laughter immediately filled the whole yard.

The mom watched her sweet ones grinning from ear to ear and squealing with delight.  Their joy was contagious.  She giggled out loud until her eyes fell on one of several signs throughout the space: “NO RUNNING!” A frown replaced her smile and our eyes met.

I quickly spoke my mind (I’m guilty of that often) saying to her, “Isn’t that sign crazy?  This space just screams run and play, have fun and explore!”  Her smile returned, and she chuckled, “The kids can’t even read, anyways.”   We silently agreed that now was not the best time to teach them, and went back to enjoying their joyful energy.  

Who brings joy into your everyday life these days?  It is your grandchildren?  A neighbor down the street?  A clerk at your favorite grocery store? Stop and thank God for people who share their joy with you.  Could you be joy-filled today and lift someone else up?  Give it a shot!  Bring it!  Then watch how others benefit.

By the way, there are even MORE rules:

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