Four things to do when Life is Out of Control..............

Life can seem so smooth and things tracking just like you have planned and then SUDDENLY, in the twinkling of an eye everything is out of control. Total chaos! What? What just happened? And you realize you were never really in control at all.

That’s just what happened to me two years ago in July. I went to get blood work for a routine checkup with my doctor. If you had asked, I would have told you I was forty. I felt great and Life was Good! However, the blood work revealed all was not well. It was some time before the Docs could figure out what was wrong....hate the unknown!
Turns out a strange blood disease was attacking my body. One that there is little known about, only shows up in every twenty to thirty thousand people.And there is NO cure. Enter a Great Storm! What? What just happened?

Reminds me of the passage in Mark 4:35-41 when Jesus and the disciples were on the sea of Galilee and a Great Storm arose. The boat was filling with water and sinking! What? What just happened here? Their response....Master don’t you care we are perishing! Ever felt that way? Maybe today? If not maybe tomorrow......

So, here are four things I am learning to do when Life is out of control?

I- Remember what He said in the beginning of the passage.

Verse 35 “Let us cross over to the other side”. There was no contingency or bail out plan. "They" / we are going over to the other side.

II- Remember, your eyes and ears will lie to you!

We see Jesus asleep as in our passage and think He is off the job. NOT! He is NEVER off the job! Hebrews 13:5 tells us “He will never leave or forsake us”.

III- Recall the trust, faith and passion you began the journey with.

Never give up in the dark of the storm what you embraced and believed in The Light! In verse 40, Jesus asked the question “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?”

IV- Pay attention to the end of the story.

Verse 39 “And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, "Peace! Be Still!" And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm”.

Yes, theirs and ours is a Great Storm. However Jesus brings Great Calm. Just Run to Him in your storm. I am with you.......

Jesus calms the storm!

So, tell us about your storm.............

My Father's Day Experience

I had an awesome Father’s Day with my kids! Went to church with all of them at The Oasis in Loganville. As Pastor Tim Cash unpacked 1 Timothy 4:6-7 regarding Spiritual Fitness he said this “I see myself as a Life Coach”. I almost stood up in my seat and screamed. What if we had millions of Leaders like that???? And it gets better. I have had a flare up of the blood disease in the last couple of weeks...lots of Doctor stuff. There were half dozen people approached me and said “how are you? We have been praying for you” ...That included Pastor Tim. The others I did not even know and one great big guy named John grabbed me in a bear hug and said lets just pray right now. And Just when I thought it could not get any better my kids knowing I don’t wear ties, gave me a Swiss Army watch for Father’s Day......they also know I like to be on time. I am so Blessed!

Confessions of an older Dad............

I don’t know what your status may be. Maybe you are a Dad of some years, a younger Dad or maybe you are not a Dad. That would make you a son or daughter...sometimes the girls sneak and read the Masculine Soul and that’s OK.

I recently wrote about being a work in progress. There were times in my early years as a Dad that I was more a piece of work and lacking in the progress area. When my first son Rob, was born I was seventeen. That’s right seventeen....”so what was you plan as a Dad you may ask”. I did not know there was a plan and there was no one in my life to lead, mentor,disciple or even encourage me. I was almost twenty-one when Phillip came along...still no idea...

Yes, I did the best I could with what I had to work with but botched the job in many respects. As a result, though they never said it, they really could not wait to get out of dodge once they were old enough. There were several years that our relationship was shall we say less than what I would I have desired. As I began to finally realize my responsibility I launched a campaign to discover just where I had missed it. That led me to some face to face conversations where I had to say “I was so very wrong when I
( You can fill in this blank )  and I need to ask you to forgive me. Easier said than done I might add. And then again though, it was never said I think there was a sort of probation period for me. Oh, they heard what I said but I think they were waiting to see if I would live it. After several years we have a Great relationship now and enjoy each other immensely.    

So, why would I share this “stuff” with you. First to remind you that we are indeed a work in progress. If you are a younger Dad, ask God to teach you and to put someone in your life to encourage you and as a role model. But perhaps more importantly to urge you to cultivate that great relationship you have with your kids or with your Dad. And if you don’t have such a great relationship whether you are a Dad, a son or both or even a daughter young or old. I want to urge you in the strongest terms possible to pursue it. Get face to face with your Dad or that son or daughter or on the phone if necessary and ask or receive forgiveness. Express your love and begin working to build mutual respect. You will never regret it I haven’t.

Happy Fathers Day!

Here is a must read  book for Dads or sons!

Healing The Masculine Soul

By Gordon Dalbey

Why “Just say “Stoppit” still does not work!

Because we work with people we are constantly confronted with the question “why can’t I just stop it”. Now you fill in the blank...stop what? What is it in your life that you have struggled with for perhaps years? You have prayed, promised and who knows what.....
Oh, it may have disappeared for a while but, at last, there it is a gain. So you begin to ask all kinds of questions like why doesn’t God change me? What am I doing wrong? You may have come to the place of asking what is wrong with me? Or you may have reached the place of believing there is something wrong with you. This often shows up as “I just must not be saved”. While this may be a possibility, it is most likely not the answer. And can only lead to a frustrated Christian life. The problem is more likely that you have been attempting the Christian life from a “Law Based” perspective.

Law says, you must not, you should not or just say “stoppit”.
I call this the Law of Prohibition:
A law or decree that forbids. “Opposed to Grace”
Laws by nature tend to be negative “Do Not”. Any Law we establish as an “I will not” causes us to “focus” on the “negative” or issue whatever it may be. It magnifies and increases my desire for (you fill it in) by activating the Power of Focus. The continual struggle to “stop” or “refrain From” in fact makes it my “Dominant Thought”. We only get what we want, not what we don’t want.
So, how is that working for you?
The answer is found in Galatians 5:16
“But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh”

Have you experienced this?
Leave a comment........


Suggested Reading:

Classic Christianity 
By: Bob George

Warning! Feelings Buried Alive Never Die

Fifty years ago industrialists thought they could just bury toxic waste and it would lie safely and quietly forever. We have since learned it doesn't just lie there. It causes all sorts of problems. Oh, it may take a while before it shows up but it will. It begins to eat away on whatever “safe” container it may have been placed in. Eventually a “meltdown” will occur contaminating water, crops, and the soil. Left unattended it can cause disease or even death to animals and humans. Feelings Buried Alive react much the same way. They never die! And “Self” is simply not equipped to handle them.

Some of the feelings we attempt to bury alive are guilt, (real or imagined), anger, resentment, inferiority, loss, rejection, worthlessness, insecurity and the list goes on. We typically try to bury them in one of two places. I am really not sure which is most popular, the mind or emotions. The truth is, neither is a good place for such storage. Any attempt to keep Feelings buried Alive will result in a meltdown. We often see on containers (batteries for example) must be disposed of properly. Burying feelings Alive is NOT proper disposal. Meltdown usually begins in the mind or emotions but will eventually find it’s way into the body. The mind, emotions and will comprise the soul. The soul works like a link between the spirit and the body. When Toxic Waste contaminates the path from spirit to body through the soul, it hinders communication from God. That hindrance of flow from spirit to body can result in emotional disorientation, mental fog, a false perception of life in general, destruction of interpersonal relationships, various types of acting out and a multitude of physical symptoms.

Proper disposal? More on that later..........

Suggested reading:

Handbook to Happiness
By: Charles Solomon