It's Okay Now

Brace yourself because I am about to blast a very, very secret recipe across the world wide web for the first time ever in history. My friend and I created it when we were little… The name?  Friendship Blue.  For obvious reasons: We were friends and it was blue.

RECIPE: Water, sugar (lots of it), mint leaves (from the backyard) and blue food coloring.  Delicious.

We tried our best to only use these special ingredients in each batch of Friendship Blue (wouldn’t want to mess up this killer recipe with unknown variables), but if we had to substitute something, we could make that work as well.  These days Friendship Blue has become a bit too elementary for me. In fact, my formulas have gotten a lot more complicated… in everything.

The Problem with Formulas

Well, they kind of don’t work… and that sucks.  Here’s what I mean:

• Job: You are trained and qualified for a job + the job is a perfect fit = they’ll hire you.  Nope. Not always the case.
• Relationship Formula (one of many): She thinks he’s cute + he thinks she’s cute = they’ll date.  Nope. Not always the case.
• Calling/ Purpose: You feel you are supposed to go into ministry + you are following after God and active in community at church = you’ll begin full-time ministry right away. Nope. Not always the case.

Beyond the Formula

Greater than the ability to work a formula is the ability to look at all of the variables and create something far better.  God works beyond our formulas.  He sees the variables we don’t see. He is the greatest strategist, understanding how each piece effects the other. He understands the story beneath the story.

I’m not sure about you, but I am horrible at knowing “the right time to say the right thing, do the right thing, or be the right kind of person.”  All I can do is live and trust God with the variables.  Because in all honesty, I am usually clueless anyway.

Psalm 20:7-8

⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.

⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
but we rise up and stand firm.Tweet

What do I believe about God?

I believe in God who loves with more love than we could ever fathom.
I believe in God who redeems hearts and people.
I believe in God who fights for the concerns of the orphan and the slave.
I believe in God who through his Son set all of our hearts free.
I believe in God who offers peace and joy beyond circumstances that warrant it.
I believe in God who interrupts life with blessings.
I believe in God who fights evil and teaches us to stand for Truth.
I believe in God who is just and whose love demands justice.
I believe in God who knows the best outcome for my life, even when I cannot see it, nor understand it.

I believe in a personal God.
My God who speaks to me.
My God who turned my sadness into joy.
My God who set me free from fear and hate.
My God who provided for my needs when all logical thought provided no way out of the pit I was in.
My God who has given me purpose.
My God who has given me hope.
My God that gave me Jesus.
My Jesus that provided for me salvation… salvation from my sin. Salvation from my own worst self.  And my Jesus that provided for me the Holy Spirit.

¹⁴For this reason I kneel before the Father, ¹⁵from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. ¹⁶I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, ¹⁸may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, ¹⁹and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.  – Ephesians 3:14-19

What we believe about God matters. Faith isn’t about what you are believing in but it’s who you believe in…

What do you believe about Jesus?  Who is God to you?

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It’s not every day you get to do yoga in a 98 degree room with 60% humidity. It certainly isn’t every day that you get Demetri as your teacher.  Disclaimer: He’s quite possibly the sweetest guy on the planet. However, after 90 minutes of time spent with our sweet Demetri… I’m still not sure what just  happened.

Remember Charlie Brown’s mom and every adult in the cartoon for that matter?  Well, imagine Mama Brown (but a dude), in yoga shorts, and with an Irish accent (or maybe don’t…).  All I can say is it sounded like “dote-dee-doe”… and hold…  “dote-dee-doe” … and hold… If I hadn’t been taking the class for a while, there would be absolutely no way that I would have known what to do.

The Flexible Scottish Man’s Lessons

Lesson #1: You can actually tell someone’s character without them saying a word.

I have no idea what Demetri has ever been saying when he’s spoken to me. However, his character shines. He is warm and kind and you can tell.  Lesson?  Love with your life and your countenance, not just with your words.

Lesson #2: Sometimes you’ll just know what to do.

Once you’ve been in yoga for awhile, you know what the next move is.  Sometimes when I’m asking God direction on an issue, I’m not sure what the next step is for me to take.  However, I’ve been in class for awhile listening to the best Instructor, so I trust that when the time comes for me to get into position, I’ll know what to do.

Thanks Demetri… Both for the lessons and for not wearing the stretchy shorts today.

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