Our Daily Bread

When Jesus was giving instruction on prayer, one of the phrases I believe we take for granted is "Give us today our daily bread" (Matthew 6:12). For many years I considered this a figure of speech until I began to work in countries where families didn't just pray for their daily bread, they begged for it.

I am more and more convinced that we have taken the really challenging teachings of Jesus and watered them down so we won't feel bad in our bloated western culture. We have so much food in our house that we have a special pantry in our garage to handle the overflow. At least we were honest enough to give it an appropriate acronym - the PIG (Pantry In the Garage).

This past week I was reading the story of the Exodus when a stunning, yet simple realization came over me. God's people, a nation of three to five million were dependent upon God on a daily basis. Listen to what the text says in Exodus 16, "I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather the other days" (v. 4, 5).

God was going to test his people to see if they trusted Him to provide for them daily. Those who trusted always found there was sufficient food. Those who lacked faith had their bread filled with maggots and had to deal with the stench of disobedience.

The lesson for the Israelites should not be lost on us. God still demands that we walk daily by faith and that includes our material posessions. Look forward a few verses in Matthew 6 and consider what Jesus says, "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (vs. 19-21). Do you really think it is a coincidence that Jesus teachings are similar to those of God in the wilderness? Store up treasures for yourself here on earth and they too will will suffer corruption.

Give us this day, our daily bread - a figure of speech?  I think not! It is time for each of us to return to a daily dependence on God.

For my children . . .

What  would you sacrifice for your children? I have been guilty of the same platitudes that we all engage in at times (i.e. There isn't anything I wouldn't do for my children). I know I have said that more than once, but sadly, the truth is that I haven't always lived it. If I truly would do anything for the good of my children, I would have:

•  been a better example to them in life and conduct.
• I would have set higher standards for them to live by.
• I would have set aside my own interests if I knew it was for their good.
• I would have been more careful about thier friendships and the influences I allowed in tieir lives.

What is the old saying, "Hindsight is 20-20." It sure would be nice at times to go back knowing what I know today. I remember an older lady who took me aside when I was a new father and gave me some really good advice about raising children, just two or three simple instructions that guided a lot of my philosophy through the years. At times other more mature individuals added to those teachings and in almost every case it was good advice (mostly because they were lessons they learned by experience).

We all would change things if we had the opportunity to go back in time, but if I had one thing to change and one thing only it would be this - I would seek the counsel of those who had raised faithful, dedicated Christian children. Experience is a great teacher, but who says we have to learn from our own experiences (or even our own mistakes). I often plead with my children to learn from my mistakes, don't repeat them.

So to parents everywhere, especially those of you who truly love your children - seek the counsel of older, wiser and more experienced Christian parents. They have so much to offer and most of them are simply waiting to be asked.

When prayer falters and doubts ensue . . .

Most of you who read my blog know that I am an optimist - sometimes even to the point of being irritating. Most days I can overcome any obstacle thrown in my path, or put a positive spin on a lousy day. I am convinced that working in regions of the world where there is hunger, want and extreme poverty has a lot to do with being thankful for even the simplest things.

All that being said, where does the optimist go when he is having a really bad day? How do I muddle through when my prayer life feels weak and doubts are swirling all around? For most of my life this is pretty unfamiliar territory. That makes it that much harder when I have those moments of extreme weakness and doubt. I really don't exercise those spiritual muscles very often.

I share these thoughts with the world because I know I am not the only one who has these struggles. I learned a number of years ago that transparency not only brings about personal healing, but it encourages others to fight on. I am weak, sinful, and sometimes just a walking contradiction looking for some clarity.

So here I sit asking God for answers to some really hard questions in life and wondering what answers will come - if any (told you I had some doubts). He must really get tired of all those WHY questions we ask. Why is this happening to me? Why is life so unfair? Why don't you do something with this crazy mixed up world we live in?

There are no answers in tonight's blog. No placebo's to get you through a trying day. No five point plan to a successful life. Just a fellow pilgrim on a long and winding journey wondering what tomorrow will bring.

Insights into human nature

I love to watch people. I don't mind going to the mall with my wife because I can just sit in the walkways and watch people pass. While it is interesting to see how couples go together (or at times wonder why they are together), the real entertainment comes in watching how people interact with one another.

Every day we give people insights to our character. It may how we react to a difficult situation, or something as simple as a comment we make about a television show. We often reveal our values without even being aware that we are doing so. This morning Fox News was doing a story on how men and women appear more intelligent the more modestly they are dressed. During segment the camera's where showing pictures of scantily clad women when one of the male reporters literally lost his train of thought. Amusing as it was, it was also revealing (no pun intended).

What do we communicate by the heroes or heroins we choose to immulate? What does our casual conversation tell other people about the things we value? How much time do we spend defending positions that are indefensable? We spend a good amount of our time communicate thoughts, ideas and belief systems without ever realizing the message we send to others. The real tragedy is that we communicate those messages because our value systems are all out of whack.

Roadmap to Success

The best advice I ever recieved was from a dear friend who shared his secrets to success. At the end of each year he would evaluate each area of his business model to determine what was productive. After a careful review he would take the bottom 20% and remove it from his business plan for the coming year. It wasn't always that these areas were unproductive - they simply were the least productive areas of his business. Once that was accomplished he looked over new opportunities and selected what he believed where the best areas to add to his existing plan. Over a period of a few years my friend went from owing over six-figures to the IRS to being, well let's say - VERY COMFORTABLE.

Now it is time for me to take the same approach, not only to my business, but to my life. At age 52 I have become much more interested in the quality of life than I am the quanitity of things I can acquire. So as I look forward to 2012 I have to stop and ask myself what areas of my life are bringing me the most joy, and which areas are just taking wasted space in my day. These may sound trite and obvious - but it is amzing how quickly I can lose sight of my priorities and get caught up in the mundane.

Most Productive:

• Time spent in Bible Study & Prayer
• Time spent with my family
• Time spent with friends and loved ones
• Time spent in forwarding the mission of African Christian Schools
• Focusing on diet an:d exercise

Least Productive:

• Watching Television
• Playing on Facebook
• Playing Angry Birds
• Worrying over things that won't make a lick of difference 50 years from now.

Things to incorporate into the coming year:

• More time writing my blogs & books
• More time spent in exercise
• More time spent in reading good books that will improve my mind.

It all sounds really profound as I sit here on the first of November mulling over the past and making plans for the future, but it is amazingly difficult to implement. Plans are wonderful, goals are essential but EXECUTION is the key to success. So now I start the painful process of trying to execute my plans for Roadmap for 2012 - how about you join me for the ride?

The Gulf Between

I have lost count of how many times I have given myself some of the following advice:

• Don't give other people control your emotions.
• Make a choice to be happy regardless of the circumstances.
• Live pro-actively (i.e. make affirmative choices on how to live your life, not reactionary ones).

I know that ultimately I have to take responsibility for my feelings, emotions, frustrations and the degree to which I allow others to influence me. When I am tired or frustrated with those close to me I can choose not to carry that burden, or I can feed those aweful demons of bitterness, anger and hate. I KNOW WHAT I NEED TO DO, so why is it so hard.

There is a great gulf between our intellectual understanding of a principle and our ability to live it. Not a day goes by that I don't try cross that vast ocean of hard decisions to land on that peaceful shore of pro-active living. Despite my best efforts, I still allow others to capsize my little ship and leave me flailing in the waters of bitterness and discontent.

So how do we navigate through those tricky waters. Isolation won't work because most of us couldn't stand to live alone. Retaliation doesn't work - it only causes the tempest to grow more severe and dangerous. Apathy doesn't work unless we enjoy drifting blinding across the oceans of life with no course or destination.

CHOICES - just our personal choices. That may sound over-simplified, but we choose our attitudes, emotions and which feelings we surrender to. I want to blame someone, I want others to feel responsible because I feel bad - doesn't work. At least todayI am choosing to sail confidently through troubled waters and find contenment that I can still navigate my ship though storms raise up around me.

The Blacksmith's Blow

"A piece of iron can only become what the blacksmith decides it to be." Nigeria

I cannot begin to count the number of times I felt the blows of the blacksmith's hammer as He has tried to shape this twisted piece of iron into a useful tool of service. Each time the steel grows cold I am thrust back into the furnace of affliction as the hot coals purge the impurities and dross from the metal of a man I am becoming.

How foolish to resist the blacksmith's hand - to war against the purpose the master craftsman has designed. Each edge is sharpened by the hammer's blows and every imperfection is tried time and again in the fire.

I am left with a choice: to remain brittle and unpliable forcing the blacksmith to cast me aside in a pile of scrap iron; or to allow Him to mold me and shape me into a purposeful instrument, a sharpened sword, or plow. Only the blacksmith knows what this shapeless piece of iron is destined to become.

"You cannot hide the smoke of the hut you set on fire." (Burundi Proverb).

For the next series of blogs, I plan to center my thoughts on some African Proverbs I have been introduced to. While I was in Namibia this last year some of the locals used figures of speech and idioms that often made me smile. Upon returning to the states, one of our board members used a series of African Proverbs to lead our devotional at the August board meeting. Now it is my turn to share a few with you.

You cannot hide the smoke of the hut you set on fire, or in Biblical terms - "be sure your sins will find you out." I was recently reminded of just how transparent our lives really are when we stop long enough to take inventory. I was recently doing a little "sluething" on the internet and was shocked by some of the things that people allow to be posted online. Some people don't care, others simply don't stop to consider the consequences of their conduct.

Regardless of how carefully we try to cover our tracks - eventually someone will see the smoke from our burning hut. I can only imagine how King David felt when the prophet told him the story of ewe lamb. Outraged and indignant it must have been quite humbling when Nathan said, "You are that man."

When your weary . . .

I try not to make important decisions when I am weary! I have found that things are rarely as bad as they seem when you are over-tired and worn down, and things are rarely as great as they appear when you are on an emotional high.

I doesn't really matter what the circumstances are - it always better to ACT with a clear head. There are few decisions in life that require immediate attention (despite what a client, child or even the IRS might tell you). We often speak of time as our enemy, but time can be a great allie when used effectively.

One of the things I love about traveling to Africa is the pace of life. Everything seems to slow down. This irritates a lot of my American friends when I take them over, but I encourage them, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." When you want to eat - food has to be prepared (from scratch). Fish have to be cleaned, eggs have to be gathered, bread has to be baked - so you learn to wait.

Today I am tired. Not sleepy, tired. I have a lot to get done this week, but I also realize my most effective work will not be accomplished just because I sit down at a computer and begin putting words on a page. So rather than produce a sub-par product, today I will organize my work load for the week, outline the articles for the newsletter and prepare myself for a period of peak efficiency later today.

Every day brings us a different challenge to address. Learning how to manage our bodies, our moods and our responsibilities will help us achieve a higher standard of productivity.

Legacy

On Sunday we started a series at church on Legacy. What is it we hope to leave behind? At times I struggle with pursuing the trappings of a successful life and miss the real substance of what it means to "leave a legacy." I may shout and rage against the machine, materialism and injustice in this world, but the truth is I like my creature comforts and parting with them is often harder than talking about parting with them.

I was reminded this morning just how important those daily acts and teachable moments are in our lives. I was scanning my children's facebook pages when I ran across a thread on my son's page. The conversation went something like this:

Gina: "What was that quote you said your dad was always telling you? You can't always have what you want, but you can always do what is right?"

Tristan: My dad used to say, "I can't always feel the way I am supposed to feel, but I can always act the way I am supposed to act."

So I sit here this morning with a little pride, a little self-satisfaction, but mostly with a strong reminder that our children are listening. It may not all sink in! It may take decades for some of it to bubble to the top, but they are learning something from us. They will learn from our negative behaviors and our positive examples, but any way you look at it - we are leaving a legacy.

I get down on myself a lot in areas I feel I have failed as a parent, a husband and a friend to others, but little moments like the one I experienced this morning remind me that someone is always watching and someone is always listening.

So, what is your legacy going to?