Self praise is no praise

I've got to start with this. My photo has nothing to do with the rest of my post.... I just love cookie dough and want to tell you about junked food co. in Toronto where you can get a full cookie dough cone. Now we can move on :P

Growing up my family was, well you could say... close. If you know me, you're probably chuckling because my family was and is perhaps oddly close. I'm 26 and talk to my parents and brother everyday twice a day and we live in three different provinces. Haha.  

Anyhow, growing up, my dad would always say, "self praise is no praise." And when I read 2 Corinthians 3 this morning, I was reminded of just that. Here's what Paul writes:  

"Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on our behalf? Surely not! The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. Clearly, you are a letter from Christ... this "letter" is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts." 

The challenge here is this; Paul says that CLEARLY WE ARE "LETTERS FROM CHRIST" ... are we?  

Is my life clearly a letter of love from Christ to all those around me? That's my thought for the day, the week, and the rest of my life.  

Let's focus more on who we are BEING rather than what we are DOING to write the letter of our lives. And hey, the good doing always follows the good being.  

Ash  

bit and bridle

Psalm 33:8-9

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control." 

I read this verse this morning and thought, wow. How often in life are we the horse or mule, lagging behind in hesitation and unwillingness or jumping ahead with lack of wisdom and patience? 

When we tend to be the mule or the horse to an unhealthy degree, I think it comes back to a lack of trust.  

If we are unwilling to step out into what God is asking us to do... there is a lack of trust. We somehow don't trust that God has our back, that he will lead and provide, we somehow don't trust that God actually has our best in mind.  

When we are unwilling to stay, be still, and patient for he Lords timing and instead jump ahead.... there is a lack of trust.  Again, we'd rather trust in our best effort of "making something happen" than God's beautifully timed plan for our lives. 

The latter is often times me, in the KOLBE personality evaluation, I have a 9/10 QuickStart....  

I love what Brandon Richardson communicated this week at The Embassy. He said something to the effect of... when we try and make something happen on our own terms, that very thing will most likely end up being our biggest hurdle to what God actually wants to do.

 Its great to remind ourselves and have firm founded faith and hope in this: (as the psalmist writes...) 

The Lord says, "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you."

Today, do you need to move to action in an area of your life, or perhaps be still?  

Ash

What if it's not all about you?

When things happen to us in life, both good and bad, Scripture tells us that God actually takes EVERYTHING, all of it, and weaves it together for our good. 

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. - Romans 8:28

We know that difficult times in our lives actually help develop our character and perseverance. 

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -- James 1:2-4

Ultimately, God does work through everything happening in our lives to draw us closer to Him, to love us, and see us become more and more the person He created us to be. However it doesn't end there.

Here's a thought... What if it's not all about us?

What if what you are going through, whether the BEST time of your life, or the WORST, is not about you, but instead is about showing the world around you God's love, faithfulness, grace, forgiveness, goodness, love, provision and the list could go on. 

Whether it's the best or worst season of our lives, what if we asked ourselves these questions:

- how can this somehow help those around me?
- how can I show God's love in a powerful way despite my circumstance?
- how might my hope and perseverance in spite of trials actually be a testament to my real relationship with God?
- how might my generosity and selflessness in this season of fruitfulness and blessing show those around me God's heart for them?

In all situations and circumstances, we are called to be salt and light. 

“You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot."

"You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." -- Matthew 5:13-16

What if whatever you face or receive today, is really to point the world around you to the ULTIMATE hope... Jesus!

Ash

GIVE

John 3:16  

for god so loved the world that he GAVE...  

God is giving, He is generous. He looks to pour out blessing, promise, fruitfulness in our lives.  

I started thinking this morning about why we give, and why we don't give.  

When we are giving to others, we aren't focused on ourselves, we are focused outward on those around us. We are often putting others before ourselves and caring for their wellbeing.  

When we refrain from giving, we are often focused on ourselves, looking out for "#1" putting ourselves first. This is a small way to live impacting only yourself.  

When we live looking to impact others with goodness and generosity through giving, our world becomes so much larger! All of a sudden you are seeing lives around you blessed, more full of life, and you are connected and a part of that joy and relationship! All of a sudden your generosity has lead to connectedness and community rather than isolation and selfishness.  

As we take on this week, may we focus on being generous, with our time, talents, treasure, with our lives, so that we may bless others with goodness growing in love, community and connectedness!  

Why are you giving? 

Why aren't you giving?  

Ash 

STRIP OFF

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. - Hebrews 12:1

It's incredible the lengths that athletes will go to ensure that when they run a race, they are running as fast as possible. They ensure that they have done absolutely everything possible to do their very best in their race. Do they HAVE to in order to be able to run the race? Well, not necessarily, but they DO because they have a DESIRE to do their best. Some runners shave their heads, armpits, and legs, every hair so event the friction their hair would cause wouldn't slow them down. Not to mention they train vigorously in preparation!

If we apply this to our lives spiritually, it's an interesting evaluation. When it comes to certain things in our lives, it may not be required of us to "strip off" in order to be loved and accepted by God...But would it benefit our lives, make our lives healthier, more fruitful and ultimately more Christlike helping us live our lives to our full potential, meaning most like Christ. 

What are some things in your life that perhaps it's time to "strip off"? Running our race as best we can, emulating Christ, is ultimately best for us, best for those around us, and most importantly will point people to Jesus. 

- Ash

HARMONY

1 Corinthians 1:10

I appeal to you, dear brothers and sisters, by the authority of our Lord Jesus Christ, to live in HARMONY with each other. Let there be no divisions in the church. Rather, be of one mind, united in thought and purpose. 

What is harmony? 

:the combination of simultaneously sounded musical notes to produce chords and chord progressions having a pleasing effect.

:agreement or concord

Being a musician, there is really nothing worse than hearing people sing off key. Haha. (I'd actually rather everyone sing no matter what than not sing, but let's go with it...) DISCORD musically isn't appealing, it isn't pleasing to the ear, it makes you cringe. 

BUT, when you hear two people singing at the same time, but different notes, harmonizing perfectly, it's amazing. They are singing two different notes, at the same time, but are perfectly complimenting one another, supporting one another, and making the other sound even better!

The same goes in life. We can be different people, doing life together at the same time, in different ways, but perfectly harmonize with one another, complimenting one another, supporting one another, making the other "note" sound even better. 

In what ways today can you harmonize well with those around you? How can you compliment them and what they are doing? How can you support them and help them to sound better with you, than without you? 

--Ash

Distractions

"I will see this season through, I will fix my eyes on you, ONLY you." 
- Lyrics from: You Are More (Hillsong Worship)

It's funny how when we go through seasons or periods of life that aren't necessarily our favourites, we often times try and distract ourselves with as many things as possible just to get to the other side of that particular season. 

But what if distracting ourselves, is actually distracting us from the lessons and growth opportunities at hand. What if the "distractions" we have put in place with good intention, are actually blinding us from the character building that God actually wants to do in us through an uncomfortable season. 

When we reach difficult seasons in life, or even a difficult day, let's look to God, FIX our eyes on Him, not looking to the left and right, and we will be refined, strengthened,and made more like Him. 

They often say in fitness, "When it hurts, it counts" -- because that's when you're going to see the most growth and result in your fitness. Sometimes, the same goes spiritually-- often times during the more difficult seasons in life, our trust and dependance on God produces the most fruit and growth in our lives. 

Just some food for thought :) 

Today, fix your eyes on Jesus, don't look to anything else to get you through-- it ultimately will let you down. But Jesus, never will. 

Ash

MOVE

I'm a morning person, but sometimes it's still hard not to snooze the alarm clock a few extra minutes, sometimes I'm just SO comfy. But, the EARLY BIRD gets the worm right? So I recently challenged myself to get up an hour before I usually do... this is out of my comfort zone, and some of those mornings I go get on a cycling bike at the gym for a spin class.... not as comfy as my bed, but has definitely proved to be a GREAT way to start my day. "Moving."

As Eugene Peterson said, we are pilgrims, but we are also disciples—always moving and always learning.

Always moving, always learning. 

Sometimes we master our daily coming and goings, we get really good at our day to day life. To the point where, it becomes our comfort zone. When we are living within a comfort zone, our focus often turns to how well we are doing, it's a space of life focused on "me".

When we find ourselves at this place in life, we're not doing the "moving" that Eugene Peterson is referencing in this passage... it's not the type of moving that stretches, challenges and grows us. The type of moving Eugene is talking about is the kind that finds us getting OUT of our comfort zones, and learning. More importantly, it's the kind of moving that requires total dependance on God for strength, guidance, wisdom and direction. It's a space of life where we can't afford to look to ourselves because we'd fail, we NEED God to do what only He can do. This is when we start living the life God intended us to live-- dependant on Him!

It's when we venture out to "move" in this kind of way that we will actually see God do what only He can do... because the dreams and endeavors at hand, are ones impossible on our own. 

Today, ask God to put a "movement" (deed, action, dream, desire, attitude) on your heart, that may be outside of your comfort zone. Trust Him, and act! You'll see amazing things happen when you move outside of your comfort zone into God's zone. 

What does stepping into "God's Zone" look like for you today? 

- A