Your Story Matters

Our lives are amazingly intricate.  They are filled with twists and turns, mountains and valleys, moments of abject failures and soaring triumph. 

And then there's the living: the daily grind of going through our day-to-day.  Sometimes we feel as if our lives don't matter or make little difference, especially during our seasons of normalcy.

The reality is all that we are is wrapped up in the roller coaster that we call life.  Hair-pin turns, towering climbs, death defying drops, hills small and great.  And yet, my favorite part of my favorite roller coaster is the moment when you've crested the last little hill and everything smooths out and for a moment you get a little break in the action, a momentary respite for your heart to recover, and then you race down the gangplank to rush around to the entrance, to do it all over again.

I am convinced that most of us, if we're honest we think that our story is of little value. Who wants to hear from me?  Who needs what I have to offer?  And yet, I believe it is our day-to-day existence, our times of strength and struggle, OUR STORY that God uses most.  The revelation of who we are, of our seasons of the mundane and the monstrous, the tragic and the triumphant, the normal and the nearly- impossible-to-believe - God uses those seasons, those moments, when shared, to bring hope to someone who's hurting, to bring peace to someone who's in chaos, to bring a ray of sunshine in the midst of a thunderstorm, a rainbow in the clouds, stability in the midst of an earthquake.

You see Paul describes this amazing process of comfort in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 RPV - He says (RPV? - that's the Rodney Pavie Version - look for it in a blog near you😁), "Blessed be the God of all comfort - who takes care to provide comfort to us when our world is turned upside down, so that when ours hits the sweet spot of normalcy again, we can share our story with those whose world is being turned upside down and provide comfort to them in the same way that God comforted us. . ."  It's like riding that roller coaster with someone who has been on it before, who can let you know that everything is about to smooth out and over the next hill you should find a season of peace, comfort, safety.

In other words - your story matters.  How God helped you through whatever chaos or struggle or failure or turmoil or tribulation you've been through - NO MATTER how large or how small, has a purpose.  Because when you make yourself vulnerable enough to share, ultimately you are helping other to know they are not alone.  They too can make it BECAUSE with God's help you did!  Your Story Matters!  If you're really spiritual, you can call it your testimony.  It's really just an eyewitness account of the roller coaster ride we call life.  AND IT MATTERS! 

Mastermind - A Look Back

Back in June, I had the privilege of sharing a three-part series entitled "Mastermind", with the overarching theme, "Change your thinking, change your life."  This morning I was revisiting that series in my mind, and I began to think just how much it impacted me and the way I think.  

In the past, I have been quick to many times judge a situation based on my current circumstances.  If life is going good, its easy for me to think positive thoughts, dream big dreams, and explore grand possiblities of the future to come.  But when things are tough, when money is tight, when life is handing out lemons instead of birthday presents, I have generally pursue a more negative line of thinking.  But since the Mastermind Series, I have really been striving to reframe my thinking.  To see the good in all situations, even if the good is something that I'm learning never to do again.  

I'm not naive.  This approach to life is hard.  It counters every line of thinking that we've been taught.  Yet as hard as it is, it is God's approach to our life.  Whatsoever things are good, lovely, praiseworthy, etc., think on these things.  As a man thinks in his heart so is he.  Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.  All things work together for the good to them that love God and called according to his purpose.  So as we face life, how we respond is directly related to how we think, and if we are striving to shape our thinking positively, positive things should flow out of us.

I haven't got it licked yet.  Do you?  Everyday is not perfect, but I'm better today than I was and each day I'm striving to be better.  As a way of reminder, I encourage you to make declarations over your life.  Declare God's Word and God's plan for you.  This is what I declare each day as I begin my day.  If you don't have any personal declarations, feel free to use this one OR edit and make it your own:

• Jesus is first in my life.
• I exist to serve and glorify Him.
• I love my wife and I will lay down my life to serve her.
• I love my children and I will do everything I can to show them how to love God and to serve him with their whole hearts.
• I will nurture, equip, train and empower them to do more for the Kingdom than they thought possible.
• I am a recipient of God's amazing grace.  My past is redeemed and I walk in renewed mercies everyday.  As a result I will extend grace and mercy to others.
• I love people and I believe the best about them.
• I am disciplined.  Christ in me is stronger that the wrong desires in me.
• I am growing closer to Jesus everyday.
• Because of Christ, my family is closer, my body is stronger, my faith is deeper, my leadership is sharper.
• I am creative, innovative, driven, focused and blessed because the Spirit of God dwells within me.
• I develop leaders.  That not something I do; it's who I am.
• Pain in my friend.  I rejoice in suffering because Jesus suffered for me.
• I bring my best and then some.  It's what I bring after I bring my best that makes the difference and I declare, the world will be different and better because I SERVED JESUS TODAY.

I hope you have a great day, and continuing striving to MASTER YOUR MIND.