Frustration in the Digital Age!

Don't get me wrong... I love computers and gadgets. In fact I have lots of them; a laptop, an iPod and PDA... oh, and don't forget the cell phone! However, when things go wrong, they go really wrong!

I was going to take my PDA and move it to my home computer, but when I docked it on the newer computer, it erased my SD Card! That translates into two years worth of journal entries lost! Here's the lesson... always back up your data!!

My thoughts on this... so what! It's just journaling and it's not like my "memiors" are going to be published some day. I'll just pick up where I left off... let the past be the past. Do I still appreciate my gadgets... you bet I do!

Blessings and Joy,
Jimmy

Annette is Recovering

Hospitals are always an interesting place. Talk about a "ground leveler!" It's like the airport, Wal-Mart or a funeral home... everyone has to go there eventually. We were blessed with a great nursing staff... very helpful and very supportive.

Annette is home and resting. She is in a lot of pain, but it will pass. We have been so encouraged by the outpouring of love and support. It's humbling, but wonderful. Spiritual family is more than a "core value" it's a way of life.

I will be home with her for a few days; doing what I can to make her more comfortable as well as make her rest. Annette has a tendency to not rest... you can't keep a good woman down! So my work is cut out for me.

Thanks for the prayers and the love....

Blessings,
Jimmy

Hospital Bound...

We will head to the hospital by 8:30am tomorrow. It's a sobering time. We are not overly concerned, yet we spent some time this evening getting things together i.e. account numbers, passwords for her work computer, important information... like I said, a bit sobering.

I'm so thankful for my family in times like this... actually I'm always a pretty thankful person. God has been and continues to be very good to me... whether I think I deserve it or not. I will report back on her condition tomorrow or Tuesday. It will be a good report!

We had a wonderful and fun day in church today. I spoke on "Affirming Words." It's one of the Five Love Languages. The word "encourage" means to inspire courage. What a great definition! When we encourage another person we are actually inspiring courage in them!

Blessings,
Jimmy

More Practicing His Presence in the Crisis

This week we found out that my wife, Annette, needs to have surgery first thing Monday morning. She is having two vertebrae in the cervical area of her spine fused and a bone spur removed from her spine. It's been causing chronic pain for a long time.

I flew back early from Palm Springs to be with her. We spent Friday going through the pre-op procedure. It is a sobering time for us. I would lying if I said we were not concerned or even a bit fearful. Anytime you go "under the knife" it is disconcerting.

What is my answer? To simply practice the presence of God throughout the whole ordeal. If PHP doesn't work in the crisis as well as the "normal" times, then what's the point? I am confident that God is present and I sense his "near-ness" even as I type this note.

Please pray for us. We will get through this with our faith and our joy in tact. I will keep you posted on our progress.

Blessings,
Jimmy

In the Springs

I'm in the springs... Palm Springs that is! I am here for a national gathering of pastors from Every Nation churches and ministries. Yesterday was an all day travel day... tiring! We arrived at night so I was not aware of my surroundings.

I got up this morning and opened the curtains of my room and... wow! The view of the sunrise over the desert mountains was spectacular... the glory of the Lord covering the earth! It immediately set the tone for the day.

I'm here by myself. Typically Annette travels with me, so it's a bit odd not having my best friend alongside me. However, I intend on spending this week Practicing His Presence. I want to take advantage of this "alone time" to sense God in every movement in every detail. I want every movement, every act or deed done to be an act of pure and sincere worship.

More later.

Peace in the Midst of Chaos

"It's a jungle out there!" There is a lot of truth to that statement, however there is another element that we don't often recognize and it is this, "It's a jungle in here." What I mean is this, it's a jungle in our heart... in our "inner man." The longer I'm in ministry and serving people the more I realize how few individuals truly walk in the "peace of God that passes understanding."

We rush from activity to activity and event to event and in the madness and the chaos we tend to miss the "still small voice" of the Spirit whispering to us "be still and know that I am God." Dallas Willard made a short but profound comment in an interview with Jan Johnson. He said, "Hurry is unfaith." That statement resonated deep in my soul.

I'm one of those people who does not like to be late... anywhere! So I tend to get out the door early and arrive at my destination early. The other day I was running late... normally I would get bent out of shape and begin to rush (and speed) to get where I was going. However, I had been thinking about this statement, "Hurry is unfaith," and decided to slow down and savor the drive. The result? Peace. Calm. Joy. God's presence.

Are you experiencing the peace of God or the chaos of the Enemy? Slow down. Be deliberate. Be intentional... sensing God in every movement... making it an act of worship. Enjoy this moment and experience His peace and His presence.

Blessings,
Jimmy

More Practicing His Presence

I have been sharing this simple spiritual discipline with several people and the results have been amazing. I am getting feedback that God is bringing his peace that passes all understanding to those who will by an act of the will give their mind and their actions over to God.

Everything you do can become an act of worship by simple doing it for the love of God. Brother Lawrence made this comment, "I will not but pick up a twig off the ground except it be for the love of God." At 4:47am I made a pot of coffee "for the love of God." Even that simple mundane act became a holy thing as I gave it over to God.

I taught on this last night at MSCC. Here are some simple steps to Practicing His Presence. May the God of peace draw near to you as you draw near to him.

1. Seek God's Presence: Maintain Purity - it is the clutter of sin and the shame of failure that keeps us from throwing ourselves into God's arms. We run from him when we should be running to him. Thomas Merton wrote, "It is true that we make many mistakes. But the biggest of them all is to be surprised at them: as if we had some hope of never making any." Embrace His Grace! Acknowledge your sin and receive his forgiveness... Face It, Fix It and Forget It!

2. Do Life in God's Presence: Do all for the love of God - this applies to everything you put your hands to, i.e. preparing a meal, washing your car, dressing your child, taking out the trash. All tasks become acts of worship when you do it for the love of God. Frank Laubach wrote, "Any hour of any day may be made perfect by merely choosing. It is perfect if one looks toward God that entire hour, waiting for his leadership all through the hour and trying hard to do every tiny thing exactly as God wishes it done, as perfectly as possible."

3. Speak in the Presence of God: Conversation with God - this is so simple we miss it. This means having an ongoing running conversation with God. Inviting him into literally everything we do. It is having an "Interactive" life with God. As you are reading an article or surfing the web, invite him into your "inner" dialogue. He wants to speak with you and he wants you to speak with him.

4. The Result of Practicing His Presence: Peace - this is a win/win situation. You get God and his peace and God gets you! Which is all he really ever wanted in the first place. Read Phil 4:7 in The Message Bible: "Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life."

I hope this will help you on your journey of faith. It has helped me to recover my peace.

Faith, Hope and Love,
Jimmy
www.morningstarabilene.com

Practicing His Presence

I have recently re-discovered a spiritual discipline that I used to exercise a number of years ago. I was introduced to this profound discipline many years ago while reading a book by Gordon McDonald called Ordering Your Private World. The author quoted two men, one was Brother Lawrence and the other was Frank Laubach.

I actually found a book that was a compilation of both their writings called Practicing His Presence. This little book revolutionized my walk with Jesus. In fact I found a pdf file link where you can download the whole book for yourself! Here it is:

http://www.mindspring.com/~nattyrosa/Bakti/PracticingHisPresence.pdf

I encourage you to give it read... in particular the section titled The Game with Minutes by Frank Laubach. Try it and give me some feedback.

I have found great peace and a sense of well being by Practicing His Presence. I would like to hear of others experiences with this wonderful discipline.

Blessings,
Jimmy

2006 We Get a "Do-over!"

It's the first hours of 2006. Yes, a new beginning... a fresh start. I love fresh starts and new beginnings. It's like you get a "do over"... a chance to get it right this time. It's amazing to me and I'm in constant awe of God's grace toward us who believe. He lets us have fresh starts and do overs every minute of every day. For me, that's one of the compelling components of grace.

New Years Resolutions. Every year I say I'm not going to have resolutions... it's perhaps an ill attempt at not failing. Yet, every year I sit down and forge out resolutions. I just reviewed my "Top 10" from 2005 and I was surprised to find that I hit just about all of them with some degree of accuracy... amazing!

This year I have one true resolution: To grow in my "friendship" with God. At first glance this will sound pretty basic, however, this involves an intentionality on my part that will require great effort and will. Friendship requires intimacy... intimacy requires vulnerability... vulnerability requires TIME. There are no shortcuts here. Just an attitude of constantly "drawing near" to God.

Read carefully the words of Frank Laubach:

"To be able to look backward and say, “This, this has been the finest year of any life”—that is glorious! But anticipation! To be able to look ahead and say, “The present year can and will be better!”—that is more glorious! I have done nothing but open windows—God has done the rest. There has been a succession of marvelous experiences of the friendship of God. I resolved that I would succeed better this year with my experiment of filling every minute full of the thought of God than I succeeded last year." (from his personal journal dated Jan 3, 1930)

That's it for me. Simple. Basic. Life-giving. How about you? Can you simplify your New Year's Resolution down to one basic statement? What is the "win" for you for 2006? I would love to hear from you.

Grace to You,
Jimmy