Coffee CubBuster

When I was in high school I was a certified lifeguard for several years, and I will never forget the intense training required to work for a certain pool company. While I appreciate their serious standards, the former training coach had been a California beach lifeguard, which I can only assume is a much more serious job than relaxing by an almost empty pool in Marietta, Georgia. As such, many potential applicants were denied employment in 1999 due to his rigorous application practice. I distinctly remember having to tread water in the deep end of a pool, holding a large brick over my head for at least two minutes. While it may not seem extreme on paper, I can assure you this was a very heavy brick for a fifteen year-old girl, and if you lowered the brick even slightly below your nose-line, your time started over. My legs were on fire by the time I completed the exercise, but I now see the great analogy between this life-saving task, and my current life. Most days feel like I am trea...

It is as easy to use a label maker on objects as it is people. Defined boxes, outstanding balances, or situations that have remained unchanged for decades tend to give off a stench of impossibility. Too often parents and grandparents wonder if we are "scarring" our little ones or if the window of opportunity for long term influence closes after a certain number of years. I can safely say, never say never. I've seen in my own life how people change, relationships change, and circumstances radically change. Recently a wise woman at our church said she prays that she'll never be a "stumbling block" to her grown children. She went on to explain that it may take a terrible situation, a seemingly obvious disaster, or even an immoral experience that brings her sweet offspring to know Jesus. By trying to intervene as loving family members when it seems appropriate can actually hinder the great story God is doing through their lives. Its not up to us to define parame...

I've said many times that our ability to control anything in life is equivalent to that of us controlling the weather. Just as it can be fourteen degrees and snowing one week in Georgia, and a week later hit seventy degrees with beaming sunshine, so our life can go from one extreme to the other in a matter of minutes. God is ultimately in control of everything , and those who disagree wonder what the point of living is if we have no control. Graciously, we weren't created to be puppets or robots, so there is one thing we can control: ourselves. Now this may seem a bit oxymoronic, since I've repeatedly stated God's ability to direct our steps, change our circumstances, and guide our lives. However, in keeping within His Spirit, we are given fruit, which is exactly how you can tell whether someone really does follow Jesus or just claims to be a Jesus-follower. We are all evident by the fruit that we bear. You can claim to follow a team, but without true loyalty, you proba...

Every day offers hope- if you know the Spirit that brings new mercies, no hope, and newness of life every single morning. You don't have to wait for a new calendar year to "start fresh" or to have renewed hope if that same Spirit resides in you. While it's a nice marker of time, and I believe God ordained the essence of time by setting boundaries for the sun and moon, boundaries for work and rest, and boundaries for our good conduct, we do not have to wait for January to have hope.  Every night their can be hope that you will enjoy a long night of sleep, but if it doesn't come, every morning brings hope of unexpected joys and smiles yet seen. Every doctor's appointment can offer hope of progress, or in some cases, hope of regression. Every person can afford hope of a new relationship ordained by God. Every hardship brings hope of new depth of soul and new closeness to your Creator. Every child shines hope of innocence and truth. Everything can feel hopeful ...