Mornings with Jeff & Rebecca

We won't always know exactly what our purpose is for each day, but that doesn't mean we don't have one. When we seek God with all our hearts, we will walk in His purpose. It's not a magic equation to ensure we follow the right steps to fulfill our purpose, but seeking God will point our hearts in the direction of that purpose.

Our faith is not irrelevant or unimportant, but it should never be the focus of our attention. Our focus is on a great God who can work even when our faith is small.

Considering that many people are taking their vacations around this time of the holidays, we wanted to highlight an app called iExit which tells you what's at upcoming exits when you're on the highway! It utilizes your device's location to determine where you are on the highway, and then displays upcoming exits in real time!

Earlier this year when we got the news that my mother in law had cancer and didn't have much longer to live, we didn't understand the purpose of the chapter of the story we were in. To top it off, when she passed, we definitely didn't understand what was happening.The same thing happened earlier this year when my wife had to go to the hospital as she was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes (insulin dependent) at the age of 53.One thing that I've found to be true is that we're in all a story. The book is being written chapter by chapter and there are moments in those chapters that we just do not understand why they are happening. It's like if we were a character in a book and had the ability to understand what we were going through. Whether we admit it or not, we have all questioned the author and why He is doing what He is doing. Of course, we haven't seen the end of the book yet.However, maybe that's the situation you find yourself in today. We rarely understand the purpose of our current chapter until we're in the next chapter. But how we live in this chapter determines what occurs in the next. That's kind of a paradox because it's the hardest time to trust in Him. It's the hardest time to take the next step and do the next right thing. But it's also the most important time to do so.The best news despite that is that God doesn't leave us alone in those times. He doesn't give us the answers necessarily, but He does say I'm going to walk with you through this.

When the promises of God seem powerless to quiet our fears, soothe our grief, lift our worries, or motivate our obedience, we need to do more than simply hear his promises again. We need to behold the God who gives them.

It can be easy in the mundane parts of our lives to forget our significance. Especially in these times, we often forget that continually showing up and being there for people makes more of a difference than we realize.

Whatever you may be feeling, just remember that God is near and desires to be involved in the fears and failures, the loss and laughter. His Word reminds us to feel and to be free from the false kind of faith that negates the weight of raw emotions. Let us continue to seek after God, training our hearts to find rest in the truth, and knowing that God does care about our feelings.

When the Roomba came out, did you think it was the coolest thing in the world? Wait until you see this!

Being compassionate and empathetic with people is not about being right or correcting emotions. It's about entering in a burdensome place with people and choosing to bear it with them to help them through it.

Admit it to yourself – you are not a perfect Christian. No one is perfect, and no one ever will be. You will run into situations where you doubt Christ, where you feel like God isn't there, or you sin against Him. This is all normal for Christians to go through, and doesn't make you any less a child of God.

No matter where you are today or what burden you're carrying, remember God sees you. When he looks at you, it isn't with disdain or disappointment over the things you've done. He sees you with a perfect and holy love we can't begin to imagine or understand. His work in you isn't finished yet.

Though the whole world might be quick to say, “Shame on you,” and “You ought to be ashamed of yourself,” but in Christ, God has something entirely different to say.

Often during the weeks leading up to Christmas, we can get so caught up in the practices of shopping and decorating that we forget to reflect and connect one what the holiday is really about. We can be so rushed that we miss the very moments that we've been anticipating all year.

Freeprints understands how important it is to preserve life's special moments. Having physical photos of your favorite memories means so much more than having them stuck on your phone.

I want you to imagine something real quick:You have $86,400 in your account and someone stole $10 from you. Would you be upset and throw all of the remaining $86,390 away in hopes of getting back at the person who took your $10? Or move on and live?We'd move on and live, right? We may not think about it like this but each morning, the bank (God) will credit your account with 86,400 seconds, which you will be free to spend or invest as you please. But every night, your account will close with a balance of zero. It will carry no balance from day to day, meaning that you must spend or invest the deposit each day or it will be wasted. I think if most of us had such an opportunity, we would manage to find a good use for the $86,400 every day!Psalm 90:12 reminds us to value the time we've been given when it says:"So teach us to count our days that we may gain a wise heart." If you can remember anything today, don't sweat the small stuff. Life is so much bigger than that! 

Somewhere in the midst of all of this craziness, remember that you can accept that invitation to rest in God this Christmas. I'm not sure what you have going on stress wise, but if it's burdening you, make sure that you: remember His goodness, express your neediness, seek His stillness, and trust His faithfulness. 

Did you know that not all gold is pure gold? A lot of gold has other metals and impurities mixed in with it and in order for it to become pure, the gold has to go through the refining process.How that works is that a refiner will heat the metal to a really high temperature—roughly around 2,000 degrees. The heat makes all the different metals melt and separate and what's left behind is pure gold. The gold has to go through that extreme heat to come out better than it was before, and sometimes we have to do the same in our lives.

It would be ridiculous to say that there isn't one person out there who has never had a financial emergency. There might have been people who were more ready for it than others, but at the end of the day, we all run into unexpected expenditures. Whether it's our cars breaking down on us or a random thing around our house that needs immediate repairs, the idea that we can avoid these moments is unrealistic so it's best to prepare for them just in case.

This innovative cane includes built-in speakers, voice assistance, Google Maps, a Bluetooth system that makes syncing to other devices possible, and high-end sensors that alert the user through vibrations when above chest level obstacles are within proximity—something a regular cane cannot provide.

If people treated their Bibles like they do their cell phones, this world would be a much, much better place (Psalm 119:11). This isn't a knock on cell phones, but rather a reminder to spend time with the most important item in our possession. Our Bibles are a precious gift from God (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Let's treasure them!

Life doesn't always turn out the way that we want even when we are accomplishing God's will for our lives. The pandemic taught us that quite well. We have been wrongly taught that if you obey God he will bless you with what you want. That is not true. God is God. He does what he wants even when we would prefer that he would do something different in our lives.

Apple's glasses are said to make use of augmented reality, which is the technology that overlays digital images on top of the real world. The company has supported augmented reality on the iPhone for several years, but computerized glasses have the potential to open up even more uses for the technology.

It is truly the most wonderful time of the year and as we close out Thanksgiving and head towards Christmas, we wanted to give you some ideas of some really cool Christmas light displays and events going on in your area of the metroplex!

If you're married or in any relationship for that matter, the sentence "I told you so" is never a productive thing to say. Saying "I told you so" after someone has suffered the consequences of their foolishness, is usually a blatant "in your face" kind of statement people say in order to lord over another person's failings. Fortunately, this kind of statement is not reflective of the character of God. Do you know why?God will get us out of situations that we got ourselves into and won't hold it against us. God's faithfulness is greater than our failure. His love and grace are greater than our sin and lack of trust in His promises. He doesn't hold grudges. He never throws our sin back in our face. He wipes the slate clean. He wipes it clean for one reason which is because Jesus died on the cross and He was raised from the dead.Also, it's important to remember that God is always right and He knows it. So the idea of telling us "I told you so" provides nothing valuable to Him because He has nothing to prove to us. The God of the Universe doesn't need human affirmation in order to get His point across. God doesn't rub our sins in our noses or remind us of our sins to shame us. He lavishes us with His love and His grace. When we fall, we come to Him in humble confession, accept His forgiveness, and then move forward.We're reminded that God doesn't condemn us in Romans 8:1-2 when the Apostle Paul says:"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death." - Romans 8:1-2God forgives completely, and we can rest in that. Like Paul, we can "forget what lies behind and strain forward to what lies ahead, we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:13).If you remember one thing today, know that God is not an "I told you so" type of God. 

Let's face it. Life can be tough. From work to home and everything in between, new worries fly at us every day from every direction. Natural disasters, atrocities of all kind around the world, and an ever increasing atmosphere of conflict here in the United States seem to be front and center in our minds.Couple these concerns with your own personal fears and insecurities, and you have the perfect recipe for anxiety.However, we make a mistake when we perceive how God must feel in the midst of all of this conflict. A lot of us suffer from small thoughts about God because in an effort to see him as our friend, we have lost his immensity. In our desire to understand him, we have sought to contain him. Of course, we know that the God of the Bible cannot be contained. He brought order out of chaos and created creation itself. He consulted no committee. He sought no counsel.In fact, He said in Isaiah 46:9:“I am God and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me."- Isaiah 46:9 From His perspective, God can see past, present, and future all at once. That should give us great confidence in God. It's comforting to me that he knows everything that is going to happen in my life. He not only knows about the future, he's also there in the future. He not only walks with us day by day, he can also walk in our future.God is already prepared for everything you're going to face tomorrow, next week, and next month. What the future holds may surprise us, but it doesn't surprise God. Nothing ever catches him by surprise or makes him say, “Oh, really?”1 John 3:20 says:"If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." - 1 John 3:20What God knows is what God will do. The future is not some kind of freewheeling reality separate from God's will that he is trying to catch on to and adapt to. He knows the future because he plans the future, and he is never surprised by what he plans.Rest assured that no matter where you are or what you are going through, it is not a surprise to God. 

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A.W. Tozer once said, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Most of us seem to believe that God tolerates us, but we have a hard time believing he is truly glad to be with us.Think about this idea for a moment. God not only loves you, He likes you! He loves the sound of your laugh, the smile on your face, and being near you. Scripture tells us that we were made to be with God (1 Samuel 12:22), and that he delights in us as we delight in him. (Psalm 147:11) You cannot make God like you less through disobedience. You cannot make God like you more through obedience.While I know that the word “like” is a much weaker word than “love”, there are countless amounts of people who would agree in a second that God loves them, but who do not for a second believe that God likes them.So this is your reminder to slow down, stop being so busy, and take time to enjoy today with God and all of His blessings in your life because He actually likes you!"For the Lord takes delight in his people; he crowns the humble with victory." - Psalm 147:4

For one, you're probably wondering what AR (Augmented Reality) even is so let me give you a brief overview of what it is:"A technology that superimposes a computer-generated image on a user's view of the real world, thus providing a composite view." (Oxford Dictionary)Sounds like science fiction doesn't it? Basically what these contact lenses do is give the user the ability to not only see clearly, but it also can translate languages in real-time, tag faces and remember people's names for you, as well as highlight facial expressions/non-verbal cues!

Today, we're going to face a lot of things that we would call negative. Things like negative emotions: fear, anger, sadness, etc. A lot of us would call those negative emotions and call it a day. Other times, we might make it our goal today to avoid being angry, avoid being sad, or avoid having fear. But how realistic is that?Emotions are a part of the human experience so instead of trying to deny a part of our design, let's instead reframe our perspective on these difficult feelings. Instead of looking at them as negative emotions, trying looking at them as difficult. When something is negative, it by definition has no benefit in having contact with it. However, when something is tough, it only makes us stronger as we're reminded that God grows us through trials and tribulations (James 1:2-4, 12). It can be a difficult emotion to aim towards God in prayer and to one another in confession but it helps to process these when we're finally willing to say:"I am all in on God. He's my joy. He's my strength, but I still get sad. I still get mad. Sometimes I still get frustrated, but that's okay."To bring all of that in and take all that in all of the realities that we face every day straight to God and acknowledge that before Him is a sure pathway to true spiritual wholeness and fulfillment in Him. 

Many of you may not be familiar with G.K. Chesterton so if you don't, he was prominent Christian author in the early 1900's who is well-known for many works. Also, a fun fact to know about him is that he mentored the late great C.S. Lewis. However, there is a story that involves him that I recently heard that I absolutely had to share with you.

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Christmas shopping on it's own can be a hassle in it's own right but when you add on supply chain issues and labor shortages, it takes on a whole new level of struggle. As most people get ready to approach Christmas shopping as usual this year, there are few things you may want to remember as these unique economic challenges could very well impact your holiday.

Two years after partnering with autonomous vehicle startup Gatik AI to get goods delivered using autonomous vehicles, multinational retail giant Walmart Inc. said it is beginning to use fully driverless trucks to deliver online grocery orders in Arkansas.

Recently, I came across a post on social media by Chad Bird that just stopped me in my tracks and I wanted to share it with you:Paul is on a roll in Romans 8. He's adding up all the things that can separate you from the love of God in Jesus Christ.And the total? Nothing, zilch, zero. Not death, not life, not anything in all this vast creation where good and evil coexist.This is the math of mercy. God's nothing.But still we continue the list:What about my deepest, darkest, most shameful act?What about the years I spat in heaven's face?What about the terrible things I've done to other people?What about all the ways I've led others into iniquity?What about this, what about that?Write your list. Use up every drop of ink, cover every sheet of paper, go on and on and on with the innumerable screw-ups in your life.When you've finally finished that exhaustive list of all the things that you think can separate you from the love of God in Christ Jesus, add them all up. Take that number and multiply it times God's zero.All your sins x God's zero = zero.This is the math of mercy. God's nothing. Your everything in Jesus Christ, who is bigger than your sin, more loving than your hate, more faithful than your infidelity.

The phrase “do not be afraid” is mentioned roughly 365 times in the Bible. Countless pastors, authors, and speakers have put that number in their arsenal of quick-witted Christian responses, pulling it out in conversations like a cheap party trick.“Don't worry. Just pray.”This Bob Marley approach to the issue is sadly in line with what a lot of Christians and even some pastors still tell people in the midst of people sharing about fear.Since the first bite of the forbidden fruit, we've often used scripture as a rug, sweeping under it anything and everything we can't explain, using God's name in vain, treating it as a manifest destiny barrier between us and the uncomfortable.But that phrase means something entirely different than what we've been told most of our lives.Being told "don't be afraid" in terms of a command or "don't worry" is extremely unhelpful because what this saying isn't referring to is getting over an emotion. That's not what it's saying at all.Rather, this is an invitation to see Jesus even in the midst of that fear and to see that He is with you and for you always. Something happens if you've got a fear in front of you and then you start to focus on Jesus. Just like with anything else, the more you focus on something, the bigger that object or person gets. So if you focus on Jesus in the midst of your fears, His presence and His love, fear begins to shrink.In the end, let's put away the guilt instead say, "God, I'm afraid. But I trust in you despite that." As the Scripture says in Psalm 56:3:"When I'm afraid I'm going to put my trust in you." - Psalm 56:3

Judas' infamous betrayal of Jesus made him one of the best-known Bible characters of all time. Even people not familiar with the Bible reference him as an example of treacherous behavior. His reputation is even sadder when we consider what the Bible says about his time with Jesus.However, recently I read something from Pastor Nic Burleson who wrote something very powerful that we often don't consider in this story:Think about this for a second. Jesus knew. He goes into that room with His disciples. He knows He is going to be betrayed. He knows it is Judas who will turn against him. He knows that He has been sold out for a handful of silver. Stabbed in the back by one He has poured His life into.Yet, in that room, hours before the death of Jesus, Judas ate too. Jesus fed Judas too. Jesus prayed for Judas too. Jesus washed Judas' feet too. I struggle to fathom that kind of love. A love that would feed the mouth that deceived you. A love that would wash the treasonous feet of the traitor. A love that could forgive even the vilest of betrayals.I honestly struggle to comprehend it. And then, suddenly, I realize that I'm Judas. And in that moment, I'm so thankful & altogether overwhelmed that Judas ate too.

Here's the thing, people don't come to church on Sunday for us to sit in and quietly judge them.People come to church because in their deepest, darkest, most painful moments they heard about a man named Jesus that could save their soul and they'd like to know Him.

The saying "the struggle is real" has been around for a very long time and it's kind of a catch all for when things are tough or when we're making a joke about how that really aren't tough seem tough.Sometimes we were serious when we say it and other times I have to check myself on this. Sometimes the question I have to ask myself is:Am I in a situation that's tough because I've made it tough?Of course, I want to immediately remind people that grace is always there for times like this. However, I have found that some situations that I've messed up are straight up the result my fault, not simply a product of misfortune in life. In the case of the Prodigal Son, he was literally wallowing after splurging his inheritance, but he knew that what he was experiencing was his own fault. But then he came home and found mercy and grace from his father. I want to encourage you today that if you're in a mess that you've made on your own, it's okay. It happens. We all do this at some point. But the first step to get out of it is realizing that we are in fact the one who created this mess. Elizabeth Elliot once said:"A whole lot of what we call struggling is simply delayed obedience."There are so many times in my life where I have been on the fence about something that I didn't want to do, but I knew that God really wanted me to do it. That was the source of my problems because I wasn't following where He was telling me to go; where I knew I needed to go.Sometimes struggles come along and they get us so we end up having to deal with it. But in other times, we've got to make a choice. We're either going to fight God every step of the way as we seek to do what we want to do with our lives or we're going trust God with a next step and obey him. Even if it's scary, even if it's hard, we know it's the right thing to do. It's the best thing for us. That's the first step we can take on this pathway to peace.

Self-talk is the ongoing conversation we hold with our self in our mind. It includes thoughts about ourselves (“I'm worthless” or “I'm not good at this”) as well as thoughts about our circumstances (“I'll never get out of this slump” or “This will completely ruin my day”). We all hold these kinds of ongoing conversations with ourselves, and although we might not always be aware of it, these conversations have a significant impact on our mood and our behaviors.This starts with taking the thoughts we do have and reframing them so that we allow grace for ourselves and have healthy mindsets about challenges. So repeat after me:If think think this: I can't do this, it's too hard.Think this instead: I can do this by breaking it down into smaller steps.If you think this: They are doing better than me, I'm a failure.Think this instead: I admire their success. What can I learn from them?If you think this: I hate my body and the way that I look.Think this instead: My appearance does not define my worth. My body lets me do the things I love.If you think this: I should be further along in my life by now.Think this instead: I am on my own journey. What can I do today to move closer to my goals?If you think this: I'm so stupid. I shouldn't have made that mistake.Think this instead: I was doing the best I could at the time. What can I do differently in the future?Long before psychology came around, God said our thoughts determine our feelings and our feelings determine our actions. If we want to change our lives, we have to control the way we think.In Psalms 42 and 43 (usually associated together), David actually is talking to himself on three separate occasions with the same basic premise. These words were likely written when he was in exile after being banished by the betrayal of his son Absalom. In the context of Psalm 42:5, He is far from home and close to despair so he says to himself:"Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." - Psalm 42:52 Corinthians 10:5 is the strategy we are given to have victory in this area as Paul says: "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ."There isn't a better thing you can do for your mental health and self-talk than to start believing what God says about you. Always remember that you are valuable, significant, forgivable, and loveable. Let God renew your mind (Romans 12:2) because your life is shaped by your thoughts (Proverbs 4:23).Remember that as you are talking to yourself that you are talking to somebody made in the image of God. Somebody that God loves so deeply that He died for them. Accept the grace and forgiveness that God has already offered you and start believing that what He says about you is true. After all, you are talking to God's child.

This may be hard to understand but God has already lived your future. He has seen where you are, where you've been, and where you're going.God is not bound by time. Revelation 1:4 tells us that He has always existed and always will. Some of us mistake the word “eternal” to mean that God will continue into the infinite future. However, thinking like that assumes that God is bound by time: that there is a part of God that has not happened yet; a time that He has not yet experienced. Of course, this is incorrect.Instead, we know that time is something God created. Because God created time, He is therefore not subjected to it's limitations. Not only that, but everywhere he is present he is fully present. He is not engaged in some cosmic game of Twister, trying to stretch himself between an infinite number of locations. Rather than a small part of him occupying each place he inhabits, all of God is present everywhere, all the time.Theologians call this his immanence. To put simply, there is no place or time where God is not.Time doesn't "happen" to God, He happens to time. Because of this encouraging truth, we can take comfort knowing that He has everything under control.Psalm 139:16 even reminds us that He not only is in the future, but He's in the past as well:"Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be." - Psalm 139:16Whatever we face in the days to come, may we remember: Fear not the future, God is already there. Even when we can't see what is ahead, we can trust who is already there.

Maybe you can relate to this but sometimes I'll say things to myself out loud in order to actually hear something in my own ears, even if it's my own voice. Usually it's my thoughts, but sometimes vocalizing things that are true helps me never forget God's promises.Of course when life happens whether that prayer wasn't answered the way you hoped or you were anticipating something and it didn't happen, regardless of your disappointment, always remember that your feelings are not indicative of God's character. All those things that disappoint and frustrate us often make it super easy to draw conclusions of who God is based on how those circumstances go. In fact, it's almost a natural human tendency that we have to prevent from happening because if we're not careful, we'll begin to think incorrectly about the nature of God. Often, we need to remind ourselves of how often our feelings have let us down. I'm by no means saying that feelings are not important because they are. Feelings matter a lot because God designed us with emotions. However, they never should run the show because they let us down a lot. I can attest though that one thing that has never let me down is God's character. It's not always easy to feel it but in those moments, I like to verbalize my trust to go with God's character over my feelings. If there's ever choice put in front of me, I'm choosing God's character every time. 

How full is your cup right now? Have you been telling yourself that you're just fine, because you're used to (or even addicted to) being busy, productive and perpetually on the edge of exhaustion?We spend so much time caring for other people that it's easy to forget that we need to rest as well. When we try to pour out of an empty cup for too long, we'll find burnout. Truly, we cannot be who God is calling us to be unless we are resting ourselves.The Bible says in Matthew 11:28-30:“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30Even in the life of Jesus, we see that He took the time to remove Himself from the crowds and His disciples to be alone with the Lord and to pray (Luke 5:16). God tells us to come to Him, just as we are. We don't have to be perfect, or feel like we have it all together. If you are tired, if you are worn out, if you feel burned out, let Jesus be your rest. It's okay to take a moment and just hit pause.Start today and begin to cultivate the habit of checking how full your cup really is. You might be surprised by how low your reserves have gotten—far better to realize and remedy this now, than later.In order for us to really love our neighbor as ourselves (Mark 12:31), we first have to in fact, love ourselves. This involves making sure that our needs are met. Don't be ashamed of taking care of yourself. After all, you can't pour from an empty cup. 

What is your favorite book of the Bible? For me, I probably would have to say either Ecclesiastes or Philippians. Specifically regarding Philippians, I love the message of this letter since one of the main overarching themes is joy.At the very core of Paul's teaching in this book, Jesus is revealed as the humble servant who meets our every need and therefore, this is our source of joy! Often we can make the mistake of conflating the terms joy and happiness into meaning the same thing but in reality, there is a big difference between the two. Happiness is about a certain set of circumstances whereas joy is about a certain set of attitudes. There's nothing wrong with happiness. I'm by no means saying that happiness is bad, just that it's limited and based on the situation entirely. Joy is not. Philippians 4:4-5 says:"Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon" - Philippians 4:4-5Something that might interest you about this book was that even though one of the main themes is joy, this book was written when Paul was imprisoned under house arrest. It's such a beautiful reminder that while circumstances seemed dire, his joy remained unharmed because it was rooted in Christ. If we put our joy in Christ alone, it doesn't matter what our circumstances are, we will always have joy because Christ is unshakable. At the end of the day, we come to realize that the world didn't give us our joy so therefore it can't take it away. Your circumstance does not determine your joy. 

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Recently, I went to the Dermatologist to get an annual check-up at the request of my primary doctor since Skin Cancer is a condition in my family. My grandfather died of melanoma and my mother deals with Psoriasis as well as had one diagnosis of a basil cell carcinoma. Everything began to look great until the doctor caught sight of a small mole on my back that was discolored so she thought it would be best to get a biopsy of that particular spot to see if it was an area of concern. Of course, as soon as I heard that, my heart dropped as the possibilities began to flood my head as worst-case scenario after worst-case scenario followed suit. My wife and I are having our first child in just a few months. What would happen if I wasn't there for them? To top it all off, they told me it was going to be 5 business days before I would know anything so naturally, that week was going to be a very hard one to get through emotionally. But despite the mental struggles of thinking about "what if", God really reminded me of what His Word already says in Matthew 6:34:"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." - Matthew 6:34I know it sounds stereotypical but it really spoke to me to remember that I really shouldn't stress about what I don't know. A lot of us think of worry as we're preemptively putting a down payment on the worry or stress to come, but in reality that is far from how it works. Fear doesn't stop death and it definitely doesn't stop worry. It stops life. It stops us from living in the moment and enjoying what we have and who we have. During that week of waiting for the results, I came to realize that worrying doesn't take away tomorrow's worries, it rids today of it's peace. Lamentations 3:22-24 remind us that: Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”God doesn't operate with us like a Costco or Sam's Club membership. He gives us just what we need when we need it. He is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path (Psalm 119:105). Tomorrow has enough troubles of it's own so let tomorrow be it's own thing and instead, live in the grace and peace that God gives for you today. They are new every morning. Also, I'll be happy to update you that the biopsy came back benign and that there was no reason for concern. But I would be remiss to say that I didn't learn a whole lot about God and His love for me during this struggle for my mind. 

Today, I want to challenge you to see if there's somebody you can breathe hope into today because I am convinced that everybody has at least one person in our lives that is basically is dying to hear the words:I still believe in you.I still believe in the good in you. I still believe that person is going to shine again. You might have given up on yourself, but I haven't.Right now, there is probably somebody that's coming to your mind in your life for whom that's true. The trajectory of their life is such that it seems as though they've given up hope on themselves and maybe we can be the one person the first person in a while to remind them that you're not going to quit on them. God is definitely not going to quit on them.Who is it that we can breathe hope into today? That's something we're thinking about something worth praying about.

It would be remiss of me to think that there is anyone in this world that has never had an enemy. Much less, somebody that they have actively rooted against or wished they failed. Sadly, no one has escaped these thoughts and while Jesus has specifically called us to love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), what does that look like exactly? A recent quote from Dorothy Day really has convicted me when she said:"I only love God as much as I love the person I love the least."Ouch, right? It's a staunch reminder that the way we love others showcases our love for our God. I'm also reminded that I can't truly say I love God and then go on to hate my brother or sister (1 John 4:20).Proverbs 24:17 also reminds us specifically:"Do not gloat when your enemy falls, and do not let your heart rejoice when he stumbles," - Proverbs 24:17In Matthew 22, Jesus outlined the two most important commandments in the Bible which was to love God with all of your heart and then to love your neighbor as yourself. The reason I love this is because I believe it conveys priority in how to accomplish this type of love in our lives. In order for us to love our neighbors and our brothers/sisters, we have to love God. If we try to love these people without loving God first and foremost, we won't love them properly or at all.If I'm rooting for the demise of a person rather than the demise of a problem, it reveals a lot about the state of my heart because like Dorothy Day says, "I only love God as much as I love the person I love the least." Our goal for loving those around us should always be to love others the way Christ loves us and that includes having the humility to understand that we don't deserve grace anymore than the next person, regardless of the difference of sin.Truly loving our enemies doesn't simply mean that we don't acknowledge hatred, but it goes a step beyond that to wish for the very best for them. That God's will for their life would be realized and accepted by them. That God would prosper and flourish them as they seek to follow His leading in their life. Whether they are a Christian or not, our hearts should never root against them. It should desire to see them the way that God does. 

North Texas isn't known for its burritos. The region has excellent tacos, but usually when I think of burritos, I think of West Texas. The Permian Basin and El Paso each have their own distinct burrito style—the former is as fat as a dachshund and packed with a daunting number of ingredients, while the latter is smaller and usually has only one filling.Happily for those of us who don't live out west, these options are starting to spread to other parts of the state. Some of the best are at Taqueria Los Angeles in Plano. Its burritos are rolled-tortilla gold.However, there was one more surprise in store, their food is delivered via an autonomous robot cart, a sort of BurritoBot 3000, if you will.

If we've ever been insecure in a relationship, we might find ourselves asking the other person questions like, "Do you still like me?" or "Do you still love me?" However, when it comes to God, we can rest assured that his answer hasn't changed. When we've sinned or disobeyed God, God doesn't stop loving us, nor does He love us any less. There is nothing you can do to make Jesus stop loving you. There is no sin that can trump God's love for us. In reality, we can't surprise God because even before we were created, he knew everything we were going to do (both good and bad) and still decided to create you despite all that! You can lie, you can steal, you can turn your back from Him, and what does He require of you? To love Him and believe in Him. What a life-changing thought!"But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” - Psalm 86:15Our sins have been washed away. God knows that we are broken. He knows that we needed saving. He knows the choices we are going to make before we even make them. He would not put us through anything that we could not come back to Him from.In my life, it has truly been my lowest brought me that much closer to Him. It made me want to do better for Him because He loves me so much. Beyond anything we could ever deserve!So even though we've given God a million reasons not to love us, none of them have changed His mind. And He never will. 

A number of years ago, the Orthodox theologian, Fr. Thomas Hopko, composed 55 maxims as a guide for the Christian life. Although many of them are helpful, here are ten that stood out to me.Be always with Christ.Have a short prayer that you constantly repeat when your mind is not occupied with other things.Be an ordinary person.Be simple, hidden, quiet and small.Don't compare yourself with anyone.Don't seek or expect praise or pity from anyone.Be merciful with yourself and with others.Have no expectations except to be fiercely tempted to your last breath.Endure the trial of yourself and your own faults and sins peacefully, serenely, because you know that God's mercy is greater than your brokenness.Get help when you need it, without fear and without shame.While these themselves may not explicitly be stated in Scripture, they certainly are based in biblical values and are super helpful as we learn what it looks like to follow Christ in our everyday lives. 

Many of can get caught up in the belief (explicitly or implicitly) that we are supposed to clean ourselves up before God can accept us.However, Romans 5:8 reminds us that "while we were still sinners Christ died for us." Also, when we read what Scripture says in regards to repentance, we know that we can't take any credit for it. Plus, we have no ability to clean ourselves up which is why God had come down in the first place. The healing and the fixing have to come from outside of us.Pastor Daniel Dickard puts it beautiful when he says:"The false gospel says: God will love you if you change. The true gospel says: God will change you because He loves you, so believe in Christ. The former makes you think that God's acceptance is based on meeting certain conditions. The latter affirms that God accepts you because of what Christ has done."Even repentance on it's own isn't a work you do, but rather a response to what God has done in you and for you. Repentance doesn't start with us. A person can only change their mind about God if God draws them near to Himself (John 6:44)Repentance isn't something we do to earn salvation, it's an indicator of true and right belief/faith in Jesus in regards to what's He done for our past sin. It is something that God gives and it is only possible because of His grace (Acts 5:31; 11:18). Simply put, no one can repent unless God grants repentance.Like Jonathan Edwards once said:"The only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary."As important as salvation is, it is not the goal of the Christian life; it is just the beginning. Salvation restores God's purpose into your life. Redemption returns you to the purpose for which God created you: to be a bearer of his image and an agent of his kingdom. He did not save you for your purposes; he saved you for his purposes.