Links

Happy Birthday

This is the day the Lord has made; let’s rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24

Saturday was my birthday.  Now wait.  That isn’t a hint for a gift.  It isn’t an invitation for a bunch of comments.  It is a statement of fact—and fascination.  You see, 70 years ago I was born.  I don’t say that because I remember, I say it because I am here…now.  I am amazed that over seven decades have come and gone since Leslie, my Momma, said to Alston, my Daddy, “It’s time.”  She had already done this birthing thing seven times, so I suppose it was just another day at the office by then.

Since the day I was born, I have been alive 25,567 days.  That means that 25,567 times the sun came up in the morning and went to bed at night.  It means 25,567 times God faithfully gave me a wakeup call.  One of my favorite verses in the Bible is the one that says this is the day that the Lord has made, so we should find joy in it and be glad for the opportunity.  25,567 times.  25,567 love notes from God that said He thinks life should go on.

Now there are a bunch of those days that I don’t remember.  In fact, these days I don’t remember what happened yesterday. I find some humor that as a pastor I have to pause and think about what I spoke about last week.  Sometimes it just slips my mind.  Oh course, the good news is that most people can’t remember what I said either.  One day all I will need is one sermon.  Together we will just hit the replay button.  But that day is not today.

As I look back, I am so filled with gratitude with the incredible journey that God has allowed to play out in my life.  Not every day has been that good.  I mean, the days I woke up with the stomach flu didn’t make the top 1,000.  But it has been a great journey.  My childhood, or at least the part I remember, often causes me to smile.  The more I think of my Momma and Daddy, the more I appreciate them.  They were ordinary folks but at the same time they were just extraordinary.

I think about the night in 1974 when I walked into that church in Valdosta, Georgia and saw “the girl” and I am grateful.  I have shared almost 48 of my 70 years with her and boy am I glad I decided to go to that church that night.  Our journey has been and is one adventure after another.  I’m hoping God decides to let us grow old together—it’s gonna be a hoot for sure.  Throw in the mix the kids (including the ones who stole our daughter’s hearts) and the grandkids and, well, it is awesome.  Perfect? No.  But who said life must be perfect to be amazing?

And, then there are the everyday people I have met and bumped into, especially as a teacher/pastor. If life was a giant scoop of vanilla ice cream and people were the toppings, it would be one fantastic, multi-flavored, rainbow-colored sundae.  You know those things kids love to sprinkle on ice cream—all the different colors and flavors mixed?  Well, that’s life and that’s people and that’s what makes it wonderfully unique.  Yep, it’s been a good ride.

It seems that life is like a long stint in school.  Someone said all they needed to learn they learned in kindergarten.  I think that really is life—one big, long day in kindergarten—learning, playing, living—with a few skinned knees along the way.  I know this and yet I am still learning this.  Life is not a destination—it is a journey.  There is not some magic place we are going to arrive at one day and feel all warm and fuzzy and complete—well, unless you count heaven.  No, the joy of life is the journey.

There it is. That is why we need to wake up every day, thank God for another love note, another opportunity to make an impact and be impacted.  That is why every day, regardless of how it plays out, is a gift.  The hard days are opportunities to learn those hard, but very valuable, lessons.  The good days when things just go amazingly well are like recess—or lunch.  The trick is learning to be grateful for both, because both are valuable.

At any rate—I’m grateful that at t-minus nine months Alston and Leslie decided one more couldn’t hurt.  I’m grateful that they decided I was a keeper—even if the table was a little full.  And if it isn’t your birthday today, go ahead and celebrate anyway.  Today is God’s decision that life should go on.  Today is His way of saying I love you.  Today, regardless of the circumstances, is an opportunity to believe that He is good, that He is faithful and that He can be trusted.  It is just one more opportunity to believe, “He’s got this.”  Bro. Dewayne

Please note each blog has a graphic which does not attach to your email. To view the blog with the graphic, please click on http://www.gritswithgrace.com to view the blog as posted each day.

“Spaghetti Ice”

They called it “spaghetti ice.” I called it heaven on earth. When Judy and I were married I was in the Air Force. About a year later we received orders to serve in Sembach, Germany. Let me just say it was an amazing time. We were newlyweds living in a beautiful country of hills and mountains, lush valleys, incredible evergreen forests and fairy tale castles. Like I said, it was pretty amazing. And it got better when I bumped into spaghetti ice.

We discovered spaghetti ice cream with some friends from church. “It” lived in a small town called Landstuhl. It was about a 15-mile drive to the place that sold this small piece of heaven. It was worth every mile. “What is spaghetti ice?” you say. Well, let me try and describe it to you.

First, imagine (I’m already drooling) a rich vanilla ice cream, pressed through a mold. It goes in looking like ice cream and comes out looking like a four or five-inch mound of spaghetti. Then right in the middle of the ice cream sat a big dollop of incredible whipped cream. Can someone say “amen?” But wait, I’m just getting started.

After its journey through the press they would lavishly cover the ice cream with a strawberry berry sauce. The crowning jewel was an ample sprinkling of finely ground coconut. I’m about to shout “hallelujah!”

Ready to buy your ticket to Landstuhl? The thing that amazed Judy and me was the fact that something so not spaghetti could look like spaghetti. It’s like your eyes were seeing one thing and your tongue was tasting another. The way they pressed it and dressed it make it look like something that it was not. Wait, I think that is what the world wants to do to us.

You see, regardless of the circumstances, there is a constant pressure from the world to press us and dress us like them. We are pressured to think like the world, dress like the world, do business like the world. Shortly after that we start being bitter like the world, hating like the world and fearing like the world. That could be why so many believers are fearful in these corona virus days. They are seeing life and circumstances through the eyes of the world.

But the deal is God says we are different. While He was praying for us, and how cool is that, Jesus said, “They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Check it out. It’s recorded in John 17:16-17.

That word sanctify is a word that simply means “to be set apart.” When we became one of God’s kids He set us apart from the world. We live differently, speak differently, and do life differently. Now wait. That doesn’t mean we are better than anyone but we are to be different. And that different is to be the magnet that draws others to Jesus.

So, like the ice cream is pressed and dressed to look like spaghetti we will be pressured to be like everyone else. And when we are like everyone else we lose the ability and privilege to share the hope of Jesus. That’s why Paul writes in Romans 12:2 “Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”

Don’t let the world put you through the press rather let God’s Word renew you to look like Jesus. People need hope today. People need Jesus. If that is going to happen we have to resist the urge to become “spaghetti ice” in a world that needs truth–that needs the real deal. Don’t be afraid to be different. Whether the fear comes from the corona virus or being different–we can rest in Him. After all, He’s got this.