The kids are here and all is well. As I wrote yesterday about Faith and it being the substance of things hoped for, I have not been able to get it off my mind. Last night I met with the small step study group to do lesson 6: Action. A couple of the questions the participants were to answer/respond to hit squarely on the topic of having Faith. We are to rely on God’s Power to help us overcome our Hurts, Hangups and Habits. I was asked how is it possible to have Faith in God’s Power? In the narrative one reads ahead of answering the questions it says we are to surrender our willpower so God’s Power can be in control. So what does this look like?

As we pursued the topic it became clearer that to surrender willpower we need to confess to “someone we trust” that we have have been trying on our own and failing. Keeping this secret only supports the failing of our willpower. Yes, in surrendering our willpower to God, we do so with God and then we need to confess this to someone who can hold us accountable to it. This seems to be the substance side of Faith. James 5:16 tells us to confess one to another so we can be healed. When we don’t confess our weakness, we fall back into denial and often relapse. 

Faith as a substance, needs to be followed by what the scripture tells us. Man’s power in the flesh doesn’t match at all what God’s Power will do once we confess to God and then to one another. The humility to do this helps conquer man’s willpower so that the strength in humility is then found. God helps us do this one step at a time, one day at a time.

Today our Oklahoma kids will be arriving just before noon. This is always a blessing. Getting to see them and be with them is nice, but this year I look forward to having them and seeing Kathy responding to family as they offering their assistance with her recovery process. I’m not sure what this entails, I just look forward to the experiences forthcoming.

My bible reading this morning was from Hebrews 11 & 12. It started with verses 1&2 of chapter 11. It reads: “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” I cannot tell you how many times I’ve read this over the years but this morning the bold words were bold to my listening ears. Faith is substance and evidence? In the flesh faith is an intangible. The scripture says faith is what we hope for. Well, what we hope for is never tangible until it comes about and we have the evidence. But, the scripture says that faith is also the evidence as well as the substance. Awakening my flesh to God’s Spirit is a daily task and often needs reminders several times in a day.

Maybe this is all part of getting “old”, but I need to quit questioning different things about faith. I want to live in the confidence of faith and believe it is the substance and evidence. In so doing this I show my own evidence to God that I place my confidence in HIM and not in tangible items I can only touch right now. God is incredibly amazing and I do not want to question His Greatness as I live out each day. I will put my faith in Him and believe!

My brother-in-law and I were talking yesterday morning about some of the ones we work with in the counseling world. It is easy to fall into the thinking that they could improve much more quickly if they’d only let some of their behaviors/beliefs go and “stick with the healthy plan”. We got into the topic of Judgment vs Discernment. It is so easy to jump into judgment when someone doesn’t see things or do things similarly to oneself. 

I have a brother where it has been easy for me to quickly step into judgment. He and I rarely see life through a common lens. He is 12 years older than me so our lives never had a common path until I entered into the adult world and he moved to Idaho. His profession is the same as mine so I thought we’d have much in common. That didn’t prove to be true. Over the years I’ve fallen into judgment more than once with him. It would either be him judging me or vise versa. 

When we were having the conversation yesterday about this topic of judgment I realized just how much I have judged. I needed to see this and this morning I’ve confessed it asking for the gift of discernment to replace it. Judging builds walls and this I don’t want to be a part of doing. God is never done awakening us to our flesh. I just had my own awakening!

My mind continuously flips from one thing to another that should get done before all of the kids arrive Wednesday this week. In the past the presents are wrapped and there are always an abundance of them. Kathy does the grocery shopping for a week of feeding 15-20 folks each day. I think we’ve got to get all of this done without Kathy’s leadership! Then, I remember why all of it isn’t done and that someone else will take care of it. Kathy is making progress slowly, and my role is to keep things as smooth at the house as I can so she continues to heal easily. This is my one and only real job. I’ve never needed to be who I am right now, but I’ve never needed to be until now. God is amazing how He helps us do just what is needed when it is needed. 

What presents there are, I will get wrapped. I kind of like doing that. The groceries we need to have in the house we will get when the kids arrive this Wednesday. It all works out just fine when I sit back and let everyone help. Families are amazing! I sure thank God for mine!

My wife’s younger brother arrived last night. He is the one who lost his wife a year ago about now. It is so nice to have him with us for a few days. He is the brother-in-law who made us aware of Celebrate Recovery over 16 years ago. In more recent years he is the one who planted the seed in me for thinking about counseling. Even though he approached me about doing such a thing, it wasn’t until I was approached by our pastors to start a counseling program that I reached out to him to find out how he got equipped to do this. He has been a mentor and great friend throughout the past 40 years. I thank God for him often. 

Physical health is something that can easily deter us from God’s focus in our lives. This has been an issue for my brother-in-law. However, I’ve watched him not give up on his counseling work in spite of being hit by more than one health issue. He has been nudged by God to not quit and he sure hasn’t. His fortitude is encouraging to me and I’m sure it must be so for those who work with him, know him from church and more. He is truly a torch carrier of God’s Light for those who have struggled to find it. 

I thank God for you Dwight!

It is always amazing and sometimes fun watching how God works. A couple of weeks ago I couldn’t see how this week which is now coming to an end, would work out for Kathy and me. Yet, it has not only worked out, I have been able to see so much progress with Kathy from the stroke’s effect on her. The personality and independent side of her is showing signs of emerging. This really makes me smile. Secondly, her desire to do some things is starting to emerge. Words will be an issue for some time, but the therapy gives many great ideas for ways to work with this need. I had been at a place thinking all of these Christmas events would need to simply not take place for us, yet we are going to almost all of them and it is so fun to watch these adjustments showing up.

God has so many ways of showing Himself and His love for each of us and all of us. I must say that this particular way of showing His love just makes me so grateful! How I do LOVE HIM!

I met a man yesterday who wanted counsel. He’d like to restore his marriage. He has been unfaithful a couple of times in the past 6 years and he was booted out of his home with a couple of children now with their mom. As I was questioning him about his relationship with Jesus it was obvious he had asked Christ into his life. Christ is Savior. 

As he talked about his beliefs he wanted me to know what he believed regarding the Word of God and what he thought was hyperbole. I wasn’t going to enter into that arena at this point. It was a first session. I just wanted to know where he was coming from. I asked him if he considered himself one who asked Christ to be Savior as well as Lord? This reality hadn’t been given much, if any, thought. However, it seemed to help him see some steps he was needing to take. He is wanting to reestablish trust in his marriage if his wife will allow him to return home. We trust Jesus because of His faithfulness to us. Man destroys trust when we are unfaithful. 

Jesus introduces himself to us first and foremost as our Savior. This is a beginning. I’ve lived through the days when I wanted Jesus to be Lord but I feared what that meant so I’d step into this arena with trepidation. Today, there is no fear in having Jesus as my Lord. He has abundantly shown me His Faithfulness in everything He nudges through His Holy Spirit. Helping others to find this trust in HIm and surrender to His Lordship, is a foundation to this present assignment of counseling. Allowing Jesus to be Lord is an everyday choice. Today I choose Jesus to be my Lord!

“When peace like a river attendeth my way. When sorrows like sea billows roll. Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say: ”It is well, it is well with my soul.” These words of verse one in the great hymn, “It is Well”, were given to me this morning as Christ asked yet again, “How is your soul?” 

Until the last few years of my life I’ve never liked to look inwardly. Even today when I’m asked, “How are you?”, I quickly respond, “I am old and special.” In truth, I do this because not so many years ago if I did take a look inwardly, all I would see were the ugly effects of abuse and how I thought God saw me. It is so much easier to be friendly and humorous on the surface while trying to be “competent” in any work I do. God’s Holy Spirit has been drilling home the importance of soul searching. I’ve said before that I have the statement “Eyes on Christ alone” written at the top of my prayer list. 

This morning as I was praying for my dear friend who is losing the battle to cancer, my soul wasn’t at peace. Christ had asked me the question I wrote above and then the words to the song came to me. So, “when sorrow like sea billows roll”, I am to still find peace, assurance, confidence. I only can do this if I bring this sea billowing struggle to Christ alone. Only HE can satisfy my soul when I keep my eyes on Him and not on “the sea billowing rolls”. As I did this, this morning, the tears came as they do again as I write this; for my soul can only be at peace when I give ALL of this to HIM–CHRIST JESUS. 

I’ve considered myself a well-disciplined individual (in the eyes of man) and I’ve tried to help others with this for themselves. Setting up healthy habits is always good. I know the discipline it takes to do this but the long-term payoff is worth it. Keeping this in mind, this morning’s message in scripture and devotionals hit me squarely. 

Yesterday I wrote about loving self and taking good care of self so that one is able to care equally so for his neighbor. This message stayed with me through most of the day and the day went very well with the counseling and a couple other events in it. As I began this morning and I journaled I asked Jesus the same question I do each day. His response asked me why I expect the clients I counsel to listen carefully to what I share with them when I sort through what I hear from Him? The discipline of obedience to Christ doesn’t allow for choosing what I want from what I don’t want. Yes, His Grace does forgive, but my growth in Him is stymied when I become selfish.

The book of James is little, but it powerfully hits home in addressing the struggle of living fully committed to Jesus. Jesus asks me to listen well to Him through His Word and then respond fully to His Spirit’s leading each and every day. My flesh sometimes wants its way, but my heart’s desire is to daily live out the discipline of obedience. 

Today as I was finishing my journaling to Jesus, I asked, as I always do, “What do you want me to know from you for today Jesus?” He instantly asked me how it is with my soul? This question has been asked quite often of late and so today my response was to ask Him why He kept asking me that question? What was amazing to me was that while I was writing my response to His question, the reason He was asking me became clear. He was asking because He wanted me to self-examine. I had written that He already knows how I am so why would He ask me so often? He knows I do not self-examine naturally. I live out each day taking care of what needs to be done and doing it as well as possible and adding a little flavor (humor) to it as often as I can.

As I went from journaling to reading the two devotionals and then the Bible (the scripture was from James) I found what Christ was wanting me to find. James is writing to the churches which had begun. He was reminding them, in part, to love their neighbors as themselves. This is exactly what Christ had told His followers when they asked Him which commandments were most important. In order to love your neighbor well, one has to be anchored in their love for self. That would mean they take care of self so they can take care of their neighbor.

Today I have 6 counseling appointments in a row. I have things ready for them, but Jesus was wanting to to know if I am personally ready for them? Have I surrendered Kathy to HIm for today instead of worrying about leaving her alone; have I surrendered the unknowns I would worry about to Him, have I made sure I am anchored in who I am in Christ? Well, now that I’ve walked this path, I have done this. Amazingly, having walked the path of self-examination I find it leaves me humbly assured. There is no arrogance (as my dad would accuse) in loving self as Christ told us to do. Thank you Jesus!