Take a Leap With Me!

This past Friday night, my husband and I were enjoying dinner at a new restaurant in our area. During our conversation, I asked him for help on my "Start Up" topic for this week. I had been mulling over writing on Leap Year, but was struggling with where to go with it. Well, need I say more to my engineer-scientist husband….. "We have leap year because the earth is slowing down. If we didn't have a leap year, sooner or later Christmas would be in the middle of summer, because every 4 years we have to add an extra day…. And Galileo, as he studied the planets….." It was at Galileo, I started yawning.

 

I kindly asked if he had any other helpful ideas. Ben then suggested that everyone reading this should take a leap. What do you mean by that, I cautiously asked? A jump? "Not all at once, at least, because that might knock us out of orbit and then we wouldn't need Leap Year at all."  OK. Whatever. When he goes scientific on me, I just nod in agreement.

 

I really did like his idea that we should take a leap. A leap of faith. Let's consider this for a moment. Many of us say we believe in God yet fail to really LIVE like we believe in Him. If we believed in God, why do we struggle so much with fear and anxiety? If we believed in God, why would we allow so many other things/people to become way more important than God? If we believed in God, why wouldn't we allow Him to reign fully in our lives? If we believed in God, why wouldn't we be more loving and kind to others? If we believed in God, why wouldn't we want to take a leap of faith?

 

I think we like to make God who we want Him to be. We like a safe god. A god that's there for us when we want Him to be. A god that blesses us with all we want. A god that keeps bad things from happening to good people. A god that keeps life going the way it should go. Schedules go routinely. Work gets done. Relationships that are peaceful. Painful stuff packed neatly away. Children on right path. No one gets cancer…. Yeah, that kind of life, the not-for-real life. God calls us to a life of faith amidst the good and bad things that come our way. All through the Bible we are called to believe and trust God and reminded that He was, is and will always be faithful. Who else can we count on like that?

 

What if God gave you this extra day to take a leap of faith? Honestly, how long has it been since your faith was really, really stretched? You can spend plenty of time stretching your muscles because you value exercise. But, what about your faith? When have you had to stand up for your faith? When will you take that courageous step and deal with your past stuff? When will you decide, once and for all, to end your addiction? When will you give up your anger and bitterness? When will you decide that un-forgiveness is no longer an option? Might God be calling you to leave something behind and step out of your comfort zone? When will you decide that it's finally time to change? 

 

Don't keep using the same ole' excuses to keep you from growing. Now is the time. Take a leap of faith. Take a leap into God's beautiful outstretched arms. He is there for you and waiting to catch you. He will never let you go. Go ahead and take a leap with me! I'm going, will you go to?

 

 "Safe?" said Mr. Beaver, "don't you hear what Mrs. Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? "Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you." –C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

 

 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him." Hebrews 11:6

 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Let's Not Lose Sight of What's Important

Many of you probably heard about Oklahoma City Thunder assistant coach Monty Williams losing his wife, Ingrid, in a head on collision after the driver of an SUV lost control of their car and swerved into her lane. Monty recently gave a very inspiring eulogy at his wife's funeral. He ended his speech with this:   "I'm going to close with this, and I think it's the most important thing that we need to understand. Everybody's praying for me and my family, which is right. But let us not forget that there were two people in this situation. And that family needs prayer as well. And we have no ill will toward that family. In my house, we have a sign that says, 'As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.' We cannot serve the Lord if we don't have a heart of forgiveness. That family didn't wake up wanting to hurt my wife. Life is hard. It is very hard. And that was tough. But we hold no ill will toward the Donaldson family. And we, as a group, brothers united in unity, should be praying for that family, because they grieve as well. So let's not lose sight of what's important."   When bad things happen, we don't always respond like Monty Williams. What is demonstrated here is a man of faith that trusts God in the good times and the bad times. He challenged those at his wife's funeral and all of us to a different way of life….a life of faith. Monty wasn't able to respond like that because he was a "strong" person. I'm sure he's shed plenty of tears and will continue to. It was God that helped him have such poise and grace after just losing his wife. It was God that gave him such confidence to speak with conviction and passion. t was God who helped him bring up the topic of forgiveness. You see, many of us reading this might not respond the way Monty did. The person driving the other car made a horrible mistake and that mistake was costly. Two precious lives. But, it did not deter Monty from choosing a heart of forgiveness, even asking others to pray for the Donaldson family.    Monty Williams is right. Life is hard. Who knows when tragedy will strike? Who knows when something will happen that will shake our world? How do you keep your perspective in a world wrought with such tragedy and pain? I believe God used Monty Williams this week to remind us what's really important.   Williams stated "This is hard for my family, but this will work out. And my wife would punch me if I were to sit up here and whine about what is going on. That doesn't take away the pain, but it will work out because God causes all things to work out. You just can't quit; you can't give in."   Lots of lessons for today! Choosing forgiveness when someone wrongs us. Courage in the face of grief. Let's not lose sight of what's important. God is with us in good times and horrible times. He is a breath away and there to support us through the fiery trials that weigh us down. No one will miss fiery trials on earth. They will come sooner or later. Will we be men and women of faith, convinced that God will see us through, no matter what?   3)"Fear not, I am with thee, oh, be not dismayed, For I am thy God and will still give thee aid; I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause thee to stand, upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand. 4) When through the deep waters I call thee to go, the rivers of sorrow shall not overflow. For I will be with thee thy troubles to bless and sanctify to thee thy deepest distress. 5) When through fiery trials thy pathway shall lie, my grace, all-sufficient, shall be thy supply. The flames shall not hurt thee; I only design. Thy dross to consume and thy gold to refine." (Verses 3-5 of How Firm a Foundation, by John Keene) Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Awkward Family Super Bowl Moment

The Monday after Super Bowl always brings varied reviews about all aspects of the big game. Who didn't have something to say about the Super Bowl? Rating commercials. Old and young Quarterbacks. Fumbles and fall out.  Pre-game show. Half-time show. Post-game show. Oh, and we can't forget that the old man comes out a winner. Hooray for Peyton! I didn't really care who won, so I was quite happy to sit back, enjoy good conversation with friends and family and halfway watch it.

 

Winner of Awkward Family Super Bowl Moment: Eli Manning!!!!  So, the Manning family probably can't hide at the Super Bowl. Bless their hearts. So, when things began to look like a Denver win, the whole family began doing flips in the press box. Everyone except Eli Manning. Poor guy. He looked kind of sad, like he had just woken up from a long winter nap.

 

Today, I happened to see the clip of Peyton Manning and Jimmy Fallon. Peyton got why Eli wasn't going crazy like the rest of the family when it was 24-10.... Eli was analyzing the game and thinking about it as if he were playing. He had his game face on. Then, Jimmy and Peyton began to ask questions of a life-sized cutout of Eli, with his expressionless face. Too cute.

 

I hope Eli was able to chuckle over his sudden Super Bowl popularity. Most of us probably wouldn't appreciate photo shoots when least expected. I suppose we wouldn't enjoy being the object of all these jokes. Finally, as an introvert, I'd much rather watch the game with a small group, without the whole world popping in on my family gathering.

 

Why do we care so much about the opinions of others? I love this quote from Ed Welch, who wrote "When People Are Big and God is Small." "Too often, we value the opinions, statements, and encouragement of others more than those of God himself. When people become more important than God, we crave seeking their acceptance, their value and their love. When that doesn't come, we're disappointed." Welch says "Liberation from the fear of man has three components: We must have a biblically informed knowledge of God, other people and ourselves." How has people become big and God become small in your life? Whom do you fear? How has it affected your life and relationships?

 

Now is the time to free yourself from this paralyzing issue. Fearing others more than God is debilitating. As we come to fear the Lord, we will no longer need to fear people. Simple truth, but it takes discipline, determination and prayer to change.

 

"Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe." Proverbs 29:25

 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Trusting God With Our Stuff

As a living breathing human, you and I have stuff going on in our lives. Everyone has stuff. No one has all their stuff together. How do we define our stuff? Let’s just say all those things we got going on today that could cause us to be anxious, worry or fret. It’s the things that just aren’t aligned perfectly for us today. Ok… let me give you some examples. Car in the shop. Sick baby. Issues at work. Relational strife. Family member that is sick. Loss of a loved one. Some physical issue that is causing you grief. Stuff. What stuff do you have going on today?

I think I am often prone to carry my stuff so as to look like I can manage it all by myself. Well, honestly, I can’t. When I try to manage all my stuff, all sorts of things transpire. Sometimes I get a headache. Other times I just fret myself into a tizzy. When I wise up, I go to God. Yes, God is extraordinary with stuff. We only need take our stuff to Him. Big stuff. Scary stuff. Small stuff. Cranky stuff. Fearful stuff. Angry stuff. All kinds of stuff. No one can have all their stuff together…even if you try to make it appear like you do.

Jesus gives us great words to live by: “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?” (Matthew 6:25-27) It looks like Jesus is an expert with what to do with our stuff!

So, as you start this day, did you consider that you could give God every little bit of your worries to Him? He’s got your stuff! He’s got you covered! Did you not know you were far more valuable to Him than the birds of the air? God is our place of rest. He is trustworthy. Whether you’re dealing with health issues, grief, relational challenges or work crises this week, God’s got your back. As we lift the burdens off our own necks and just hand them over to God, He is able to take each one from us. There is no need to be anxious when we are close to God. We think our biggest need in life is being free from all the stress and busyness. Our biggest need, dear one, is more of God. 

What burdens are you carrying today that aren't meant for you to carry? Will you unload your stuff to the One who is for you? God is present and loves you ever so much. Let Him walk with you and carry your stuff

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.

Sharing Emoticons

I love being a girl. We are privy to having hundreds of different feelings and emotions all in a 24 hour period. No joke. In one day, I can be full of excitement, miserable, impatient, mad, sad, angry, joyful, loving and thrilled. This was one of those weeks. It started last Monday with the Spurs-Warriors game. Insert sad face here. Good thing we have emoticons to express our feelings. I can't imagine what I'd do without emoticons. Meh.

 

In a week's time, you probably go through some significant emotions too. It can be a myriad of things that cause such emotions- anything from losing a loved one, conflict at work, winning free tickets to a concert or an exciting new work endeavor. Life is full of stress that can lead to emotions getting the best of us. These feelings can well up in your spirit to the point where you can lose your cool. Of course, none of us have done this.

 

Emotions are present in our workplace. In relationships. In parent-child relationships. In marriage. Commuting to work. We often just assume we should just stuff feelings and emotions. Our emotions aren't bad; they're actually a gift from God. He wants us to fully experience life and created us with emotions. Some of us, recognizing we can't "show" our emotions fully at work, decide to just stuff them indefinitely. Sooner or later, this will significantly impact your relationships with God and others.

 

Consider these questions…. Do you have a habit of hiding your emotions? Do you periodically feel unglued emotionally? Do you come across stoic and always "appear" together? Are you able to admit your struggles? Do you tend to stuff your emotions or explode? Do you wear your emotions on your sleeve? Are you able to take an honest assessment at how you manage your own emotions? Would others consider you emotionally healthy? We could benefit from reading and learning more about our own emotional health.

 

I love how God created us with emotions! But, if I don't allow the Lord to deal with emotions that are negative, these emotions will deal with me and those I serve. Because our emotions are so hard to figure out, I need help from God to handle them. I bet you do too. Let's start this day with a prayer: "Dear Father, Help me know more of myself so that I might better know you, God. Your Bible says that I am to be still and know that you are God. Today, I need you to be my God. Lead me to a greater vision of who you are in my life. In doing so, help me to see myself, my true self- the good, the bad and the ugly. Help me not to deny the pain, losses and feelings that I have in life, but to be free to be me with you and others. Help me not to react quickly but act rightly with love. Let love be my greatest aim. In Jesus' name, Amen."  Have a great week!

 

"Self care is never a selfish act-it is simply good stewardship of the only gift I have, the gift I was put on earth to offer others. Anytime we can listen to true self and give it the care it requires, we do it not only for ourselves, but for the many others whose lives we touch." Parker Palmer.

 

"The Bible does not spin the flaws and weaknesses of its heroes. Moses was a murderer. Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Peter rebuked God! Noah got drunk. Jonah was a racist. Jacob was a liar. John Mark deserted Paul. Elijah burned out. Jeremiah was depressed and suicidal. Thomas doubted. Moses had a temper. Timothy had ulcers. And all these people send the same message: that every human being on earth, regardless of their gifts and strengths, is weak, vulnerable, and dependent on God and others." Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality

 

Nancy Abbott is the Chaplain for the YMCA of Greater San Antonio.