second chances

Not many people ‘get it right’, whatever ‘it’ may be, on the first try. I’m sure I’m not alone in that I feel like some days I just can’t do anything right. Some days, weeks, months, years, I have felt off kilter, out of place or like I’m going the wrong way down a one way street. It is times like these when we humans need grace the most and I thank God that He is the God of second chances.

Actually, if you think about it for a second, you may notice that He’s not only the God of second chances, He’s the God of third, fourth, and infinite chances. That’s really great news to people like me, who constantly messing up. I’d like to think of this life as a trial run, and I’m thankful for that.  I’ll take what I learned from this and maybe I’ll get it right the next time. God’s grace means that he’ll always let me have a ‘next time’ and that there is no shortage of forgiveness available when I fall short.

No matter what I do, I will inevitably fail at being the best me I can be many times over in my life. In these times, I have learned that it is best to rely on God’s promise that there is nothing I can do that will ever or can ever separate me from my God, because he is the God of hopeless cases and, as I said yesterday, has the power to restore me to my full potential when I foolishly short-change myself.

“high or low, thinkable or unthinkable – absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” –Romans 8:39

from soles to souls

I read a devotional today in which the author spoke of taking her old, worn-out, leather boots to be repaired at a shoe shop. After many failed attempts of her own to repair the shoes, she finally broke down and took them to a professional, someone who knew everything about anything concerning shoes and shoe repair. When she received her old busted up boots, she was amazed that they had been repaired and polished and were better than ‘as good a new.’ She describes her shoes as being ‘reborn’ by the work of this master artist and creator.

As I read, I couldn’t help but see the metaphor for the amazing restorative powers of Christ. We, like the author or this story, often try to fix the brokeness in our lives by ourselves, accepting that we’ve been ruined and attempting to just make the best with what we have. It is a good idea, after all, not to lament what you’ve lost and to be resourceful in trying to move on with your life. But I think it is important to note the key words in this broad analogy, words like ‘reborn,’ ‘renewed,’ and ‘repaired.’ To me, this story is sending the message that there are many things we can do to ‘mess up’ our lives but not much we can do to put them back together without the help of a professional, some One who knows everything about us, how we are made, why we have stumbled, and what makes us good as new again.

I truly believe, and so I am passing this on to you, dear readers, that nothing can restore us like grace of God. It’s more than asking forgiveness, it’s understanding that we can’t do anything without the help of the creator; we certainly can’t mend our own broken lives, hearts, spirits, relationships, etc. without consulting the One who has made heroes out of slave boys and matriarchs out of loose women.

He has the power. All we have to do is ask for his help and then let him take over.

sing it out

“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free” –Sister Act

Singing makes me happy. I sing because it feeds my soul. That sounds really silly, now that I write it out, but there just isn’t any other way for me to explain it. Basically all I want to say today is that being able to carry a tune gives meaning to my life, it makes even my worst days worth living and it makes me happy. And I sing because I’m happy.

my broken heart

I am so lucky that I am one of those people who loves having their dream job. My dream job includes mentoring, nurturing, teaching and knowing young adults. These precious people (little children in disguise, really) break my heart on a daily basis. It is a unique break though; I can honestly say that the first time I experienced it I knew that my heart had never broken in quite this way before.

It may be a triumphant break, when one of them acknowledges me as their helper and not just an enforcer. It may also be a sweet break, when one of them looks me in the eyes and tells me that they finally understand it now. And it may also be a sad break, when I find that one of them is or will be slipping through my fingers and that there is no longer anything I can do for them.

Regardless of the reason, it is always a good break. It gives me feelings of accomplishment or love or inspiration to do better than my best, or sometimes all of the above.

Here’s to having my heart broken in a good way, for once!

part 2

‘Never Alone’ by Barlow Girl:

“I waited for you today
But you didn’t show
No no no
I needed You today
So where did You go?
You told me to call
Said You’d be there
And though I haven’t seen You
Are You still there?

I cried out with no reply
And I can’t feel You by my side
So I’ll hold tight to what I know
You’re here and I’m never alone

And though I cannot see You
And I can’t explain why
Such a deep, deep reassurance
You’ve placed in my life

We cannot separate
‘Cause You’re part of me
And though You’re invisible
I’ll trust the unseen.“

i know you’re here with me

These two posts are related but they are both song lyrics and they are very long so I’m cutting them into two.

When the silence is deafening, sometimes all we can do is trust that God is there and He cares, even when we feel like we’re not holding on to anything. Sometimes we’re too deep in our own mess to see a way out or to see that there is a light at the end of the tunnel or that the sun will rise again in the morning. A lot of times we can’t hear God because we have our proverbial ear plugs in and not because God isn’t speaking or listening.

“If there is anything at all
Coming in between our love
Please show me
Cause I am barely hanging on

Can anybody hear me
The silence is deafening
Why do You feel so far away
I know You’re here with me
But I just need the faith to see
Nothing can separate me
From Your love

Believing what I can’t see
Has never come naturally to me
And I’ve got questions
But I am certain of a love
Strong enough to hold me
When I’m doubting
You’ll never let go of my hand 

I will trust in You
Even in the moments I can’t find You
I will hold onto
Your promises, Oh Lord
You’ve never failed before”

–Can Anybody Hear Me by Meredith Andrews

the best laid plans of mice and men

What do you do when your plans fail?

The best idea is to make the best of it and make new plans. If one choice is eliminated choose another, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah–easier said than done.

But what about if your new plans aren’t as good as your old ones? What then? While it’s better not to lament to old, ruined plans, it is not so easy to welcome a ‘change of plan.’

This is one of those times where you may just have to ‘fake it til you make it.’ It’s like what they say about confidence: if you act like someone who has confidence then you’ll eventually gain confidence yourself because you’ll trick people into thinking that you have believed in yourself all along. It’s the same with accepting a change of plan. The fact is, reality is not what we’ve planned but what has actually gone on, whether we planned for it or not.

You’re here, in this moment, and whether or not it resembles your best laid plans, it is your reality. How do you wish to remember today? As a failure or as an unexpected opportunity to find the silver lining in your rain cloud?

don’t ever ask a teacher what they make

“What Teachers Make” a poem by Taylor Mali

You want to know what I make?

I make kids work harder than they ever thought they could.
I can make a C+ feel like a Congressional medal of honor
and an A- feel like a slap in the face.
How dare you waste my time with anything less than your very best.

I make parents tremble in fear when I call home at around dinner time:
‘I hope I haven’t called at a bad time,
I just wanted to talk to you about something your son said today. 
He said, “Leave the kid alone. I still cry sometimes, don’t you?”
And it was the noblest act of courage I have ever seen.’

I make kids wonder,
I make them question.
I make them criticize.
I make them apologize and mean it.
I make them write, write, write.
And then I make them read.
I make them spell definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful, definitely beautiful
over and over and over again until they will never misspell
either one of those words again.
I make them show all their work in math.
And hide it on their final drafts in English.
I make them understand that if you got this (brains)
then you follow this (heart) and if someone ever tries to judge you
by what you make, you give them this (a fist).

only one

I’m finding that it never hurts to hear the story of Jesus’ sacrifice in a new way. What I mean is that this story is so important and there are so many crucial parts of it that there are so many ways it can and should be told. I find that every time I hear the story I learn something new and special about it. Here is an example of what I’m talking about:

How many kings step down from their thrones?
How many lords have abandoned their homes?
How many greats have become the least for me?
And how many gods have poured out their hearts
To romance a world that is torn all apart
How many fathers gave up their sons for me?

Only one did that for me
All for me, all for you.

This is a Christmas song from the band ‘downhere’. I first heard them at a Christian music concert at a local amusement park probably about 8 years ago now. I was thrilled to hear that, years later, they have made it onto the mainstream Christian music scene and will be playing with my beloved Alli Rogers next month.  These guys are so great, and this song is just one example. If you like the lyrics, go listen to the song on their website, downhere.com.

When you put “the greatest news of the world,” as my good friend Malcolm used to say, into new and interesting words and make it more relatable it becomes more powerful. The story should be relatable to all people because it is a story about, and relevent to, all people but sometimes people have trouble understanding just exactly what it all means. That is why it is so important for those of us who do understand to make sure no one is left out of this wonderful gift because of any miscommunication.

there’s still magic

Alli Rogers, one of my very favorite ‘underground’ Christian artists, is going on tour this December for the first time in about two years. It is a joint Christmas tour with Mark Schults and the band Downhere and I am for real excited.

I may have mentioned this before on this blog, but Alli Rogers’ music just speaks to me in such a way that I can’t explain. It’s like God speaks to me through her music and lyrics and that is why I’m looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime concert. Here is one of the Christmas songs that she’ll probably be performing  next month and a good example of why I love her artistry so much:

“I know the holidays can feel
Far from anything that’s real
If the truth, it’s only in part
The story like a serenade,
The stable set up like stage
doesn’t even speak to your heart

I’ve been to the department stores
And from the ceiling to the floor
All red and green and silver and gold
Painted like a candy store
Charming us in through the door
As if hope were something to be sold

But I haven’t given up on the holiday just yet
Cause there’s something about the eve of a day that
Brings a surprise, and sparkles the eyes of children
There’s something about the lights up on the houses
Shining through snow and letting us know
Things are gonna be okay
Oh it’s almost Christmas day
Underneath the grand affair
I think there’s still magic there

There’s something about the birth of a baby
Two thousand years and still we are here believing
There’s something about the star up in the sky
Drawing us close, and letting us know
Things are gonna be okay“

–There’s Still Magic, by Alli Rogers