Frustrated? Take a Look Back

Hello Emmanuel,

When being a Christian feels really difficult, don’t forget to look back and see why it’s so worth it.

My family and I received an invitation to attend a celebration on March 30^th.  In 2004, Ansonia UMC finished building a $700,000 multi-purpose facility which included a large kitchen, a carpeted fellowship hall and 2 classrooms.  I was appointed to Ansonia just as they were breaking ground.  It was a lot of hard work and a significant commitment for a church of 80 people to make such a leap of faith.  What followed was a whole lot of God stuff. 

It is 10 years later and I got the invitation to look back with Ansonia and see why it’s so worth it.  Story after story of churched and unchurched people flowed through that new addition and were impacted by God’s grace in various forms.  It will be interesting to meet with the people of Ansonia UMC again and talk about how God has been so good.

The lesson I’m learning is to not be so easily frustrated with ministry.  We want to change the world and the world doesn’t get changed.  However, what does happen is one village gets changed or one neighborhood gets changed or one family gets changed or one individual at a time gets changed.  Over time it all adds up to God having a plan of one sort or another.

We are on this earth for 90-100 years if we are lucky.  In God terms, that is a miniscule snapshot of a much bigger picture.  Truth is we don’t even see things from a 100 year perspective.  We often reduce ourselves to thinking about how our day went.  If it went well, then we think things are well.  If the day went bad, we think things are bad.  With this mindset, it is no wonder we interpret life as a rollercoaster.

I wonder how we would evaluate our life if we could look back 1,000 years and compare where we are to where we were.  I suspect we would be much more optimistic.  I know that as I look at where Ansonia was 15 years ago I get all warm and fuzzy.  Not that they didn’t have their down days or even down years, but over the course of many years God was clearly working among them.

When you get frustrated with your day or week or year, consider taking a look back and seeing where you have been.  I find that most people do make strides forward even if it was a bumpy ride.  And I also find that people of the faith who are committed to listening to God’s voice generally finish up stronger than when they started.

And if you don’t, then look back even further.  Who you will find is the life and sacrifice of Christ who makes anyone’s rough years look gentle.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Are You Suffering?

Hello Emmanuel,

So hopefully I’m on the backend of the flu.  I got the ‘b’ strain this year.  Last year I got the ‘a’ strain.  While variety is the spice of life, I don’t think I’ll take the chance of getting the ‘c’ strain next year (even though there is no such thing… yet), so I’ll likely be getting the flu shot come next Fall.  I shared this with the nurse at the Little Clinic--which I’m convinced is named such to make it look like suffering from the flu is no big thing—and she looked at me as if to say ‘duh’.

So now Kim is getting paranoid, thinking she is getting sick.  It certainly is a possibility.  Pray that it isn’t the case.  Poor kids.  Not much fun in our house lately.

So do you ever have those days or weeks when you just feel like you are in survival mode?  Physical sickness can do that for you.  I know that a big part of me just wanted to get through worship with voice intact.  My sermon delivery is never at its best in such circumstance, but that’s why it’s called ‘survival mode’.

How do you get through those times when you don’t feel that thriving is an option; when it’s all you can do to get through the day in one piece?  And maybe it isn’t because of a physical illness.  Maybe it is because of a spiritual sickness?

It’s generally easy to identify when we are physically sick (i.e.102 temp, sore throat and congestion).  What if survival mode is because your spirit is suffering?  Do you know when that is the case?  Have you ever felt hopeless?  Unfulfilled?  Not at peace?  Restless inside? 

Consider getting back in touch with God.  I’m not necessarily talking about tasks of being religious like going to church or being in a Small Group.  I’m talking about getting serious about what God wants you to do (which includes being part of a church…. Really being a part).  Being a disciple who is only in survival mode isn’t God’s intentions for you.  He wants you to thrive; to fill a purpose; to reach others; to love others; to hope for others.  If He wanted you to just be a survivor, then He would’ve just died for you, saved your soul, and left no instructions on how to move forward.

We all have our moments when we just want to get through our day.  However, if that is your big, overall picture on life, then I’m here to say that something isn’t right.  Make it right.  Tell God you want to live for Him and He will show you a path.  You may or may not struggle with that path, but it won’t be a path of survival.  It will be a path of purpose.  God didn’t make you to just survive.  He made you to do something for Him.

Now I need to go check the medicine cabinet…. Just in case Kim needs to just survive this week.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe

Omelets, Burritos, Stir Fry and Pasta!!!

Hello Emmanuel,

It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

Kim and I are back from our cruise.  You know what that means, right?  Yep… time to lose weight.  If there was ever a time to preach on gluttony as one of the 7 deadly sins, it is on a cruise ship.  I could go into detail (like describing the omelet bar, stir fry bar, burrito bar, pasta bar and the bar bar).  Let’s just say at no point during the 7 days (not to be confused with the 7 deadly sins) that I was never really truly hungry.

So it is time for my daily regimen of the get-back-in-relative-shape routines.  This involves walking a mile or biking 10 miles; a minimal amount of push-ups; and not eating after supper.  As much as it irritates my wife, it is an automatic loss of 10 pounds.  It isn’t difficult.  It just takes a small amount of self-discipline…. Which brings me to the topic for this week’s MMP.

Do you have balance in your life?  It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

I find that when I have self-discipline, it brings balance to my life.  In a typical person’s life there is work, play, family time and self-care (yes, this is an over simplification, but just go with it, okay?).  When I have no self-discipline, I find that I work more than I should or I play more than I should or I don’t take care of myself like I should.  My life gets out of balance and that can cause me to get grumpy (much to the demise of those who live with me).

For example, those who work too much sacrifice other aspects of life.  It is no different for clergy.  In fact, the West Ohio Conference tells us annually how clergy are at or on the bottom of the list of professionals in terms of self-care because clergy tend to spend too much time caring for others (or they go on too many cruises).  As a result, the average life-expectancy among professions for clergy is 2^nd worst to that of a firefighter.  Weird?  I thought so too.

But God wants you to live well.  God wants you to be balanced.  He has blessed you with more than a few aspects of life.  However, each aspect leans on other aspects to create a balance.  Balance opens a bigger window where you can look out and see God working around you.  Are you balanced?

If not, can you bring yourself to get in balance?  No one else can do it for you.  It might take some self-discipline.  Consider how it is with your relationships.  That will sometimes tell you if you are out of balance.  Are your kids hungry for more of your attention?  Maybe it is time for family game night.  Is your job performance suffering?  Maybe it is time to focus more on your work.  Are you unhealthy or feel bad about yourself?  Maybe it is time for better self-care.

As for me?  It’s time to go exercise.  I’m in the worst shape of my life… quite literally.  I hope you find balance in your life.  It’s much easier to see God working around you when you have good balance.

God is Good,

Pastor Joe