Coaching & Discipline is Life Giving

I have been reminded this last week the power of people in your life.

Hear O’ Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is One. Blessed is the name of His glorious kingdom for ever and ever. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 

Gratitude seems to come easy when things are going exactly the way you want them to. At certain times of the year, in certain seasons of life it really is the easiest th ing in the world to thank God for everything that is going well. But what about when it isn’t? What about when we’re in seasons of transition? When our landscape is changing and doesn’t seem like it will slow down any time soon? I’ve recently decided to retire from a 12 year running career. One that took me to college, allowed me to check the professional athlete box, brought me to so many amazing places, and led to lifelong friendships and mentors. While I am wildly proud of the career that I’ve had, I can’t help but think about what could’ve been. What would’ve happened if I didn’t get injured? What if I stuck it out and kept going? But biggest of all, who am I without the sport? A passage that has been very encouraging to me as I make this transition has been Philippians 4:11-13. With verse 13 being possibly the most popular verse in athletics ministry, the lead up often gets forgotten about. But, I find a lot of encouragement in Paul’s contentment and trust in the Lord. “Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” The Lord is constant and faithful. Continually just and fair. Loving and kind. And a provider in our time of need. I find myself thankful for the career that was and incredibly excited for what is to come. Knowing all the while that if the Lord was faithful then, he’ll be faithful now and again. Thank you Jesus for who you are. Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at FCA, we are praying for a wonderful and blessed time with family. And yes, there is a correct time to put up a Christmas tree and lights.

One of the nursery songs I would listen to as a young girl was “There’s a Hole in my Bucket” and in case you’re unfamiliar with this song or are dredging it up from the recesses of your mind, here are some of the lyrics: There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, dear Liza, There's a hole in the bucket, dear Liza, There's a hole. Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then fix it dear Henry, dear Henry, fix it. With what should I fix it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what should I fix it, dear Liza, with what? With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With a straw, dear Henry, dear Henry, with a straw. But the straw is too long, dear Liza, dear Liza, The straw is too long, dear Liza, too long. Then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, Then cut it dear Henry, dear Henry, cut it! With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, dear Liza, With what shall I cut it, dear Liza, with what? With an ax, dear Henry, dear Henry, dear Henry, With an ax, dear Henry, an ax. But the ax is too dull, dear Liza, dear Liza, The ax is too dull, dear Liza, too dull. The song continues on with Henry then needing a whetstone to sharpen the ax, but his stone is dry so needs water to wet the stone but can’t get the water because he has a hole in his bucket. I always thought this was a very silly song and always wondered why Henry didn’t go and get a new bucket, or use a bowl, or at least use duct tape! Now, after completing my first 9 months in vocational ministry, I’ve realized there’s a hole in my bucket and I’m wondering, Do you have a hole in your bucket? Recently, pastor Rich Villodas, from Queens, New York visited my church and led a leadership training. There were many great pieces of wisdom gleaned from the hour, but what I’ve been chewing on for the last week is this: “Our doing for Jesus must be sustained by being with Jesus and the greatest gift we give to others is our ongoing transformation in Christ.” This statement was followed up by the encouragement to be “mindful of using God-activity to run from yourself or intimacy with God.” Alas, therein lies the hole in my bucket. Somehow in the last nine months, I’ve been using all the good God-activity, my doing for Jesus to become a to-do item rather than an opportunity to allow Christ to transform me. Somehow, in all the Bible Study preparations, the service activities, the prayer and worship times, I’ve missed out on the opportunity to grow in deeper intimacy with God. The bucket that I use to water others has a hole in it, but I’ve been moving so quickly to pour it out on others that I’ve failed to notice that I’m ineffectively serving others. Over the course of the last week, I’ve slowed down and realized that my bucket is draining out the bottom and it needs repairing. Unlike the nursery song which ends in deadlock, our buckets can in fact be mended. First, I think it’s important to regularly stop and evaluate our spiritual health. For weeks I’ve been pretending and ignoring that my spiritual life is the way that it is. It looks good on the outside, but internally not so much. Rather like taking a bite of a sour grape. Maybe you don’t have a hole in your bucket, but are there weak spots? Are there areas in your life that you’re missing out on intimacy with Christ because you’re too busy doing things for Him or in His name? Second, let us confess the truth of what we find in our bucket. Proverbs 28:13 says, “Whoever conceals their sin does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.” I am so grateful for a God who is merciful and full of grace. That God desires to be in relationship with each of us. This last week, I found that confessing the state of my spiritual health to God, even though he already knows, brought such relief and freedom. I did not encounter a God full of hate, but full of love, mercy and grace. I encountered an invitation to put my bucket down and let the finished work of the cross wash me once again.  In this nursery song, Henry keeps asking Liza what to do and Liza offers solutions to Henry on how to fix his bucket which all requires more doing by Henry. How often do you look to other people, other activities, or just keep on going in hope that our bucket will get fixed? Our invitation from God is that when we find a hole in our bucket, we put the bucket down and sit at the foot of the cross and let Christ’s finished work wash us and transform us.

“All the trees are losing their leaves, and not one of them is worried about it.” Donald Miller

“Remember my affliction and my wanderings, the wormwood and the gal! My soul continually remembers it and is bowed down within me. BUT this I call to mind, and therefore I have HOPE. The steadfast love of the Lord NEVER ceases, his mercies are NEW every morning. Great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, therefore I WILL hope in him. Lamentations 3: 19-24 In the last 9 months I have found myself in a season of complete newness as a new mom. I love being a Mom to my daughter Laine but it is also one of the hardest things I have ever done. Almost everything in my life now looks different. As soon as I feel like I have this whole thing of being a Mom figured out Laine learns a new skill or two in just a day's time and leaves me feeling like I am back to square one and I really do have NO IDEA what I am doing. But I also know that God has fully equipped me to be Laine’s Mom even when I struggle to trust him. God is so near to me in the sweet moments of giggles and hugs and the really hard moments of teething, middle of the night wake ups and fear. With a new season I have found myself in a season of lamenting, lamenting and grieving what life as I knew it looked like and the easy comfort I found while also having so much joy. What I have found to be true is God’s deep desire for his children to draw near to him in those moments of doubt, fear and confusion.  We serve a God who is always near and full of grace, but in those moments we have a choice to make, will we trust him and draw near or will we attempt to “fix it” all on our own? I am thankful we serve a God who is in the hard, messy moments of life with us in our broken world and that we can have hope in Jesus! I pray that we would remember the Gospel of Jesus Christ daily and that it would change the way we live!

Saying yes to God isn't about perfect performance, but rather perfect surrender to the Lord day by day.

In our walks with the Lord, I find that there isn’t such a thing as luck or coincidence, but rather it’s God’s divine fingerprints all around us. Recently this month, I felt it in my heart to open my Bible to 1 Kings, and dive deep into the life of Elijah. Amid my early morning studies of Elijah, I happened to grab a book called Whisper by Mark Batterson while at a regular discount store. I merely picked it because I love Mark Batterson, and his writing language & saw it hanging on the edge of the bookshelf before checking out. Both the stories of Elijah and Mark Batterson’s book graciously talk about hearing the whisper of the Lord. The Holy Spirit is such an awesome teacher, and coaches us in different avenues to try to perk our attention. Clearly, I picked up that He wanted me to better understand the whispers of the Lord & I would love to pass it along to you all for encouragement! “The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. (1 Kings 19:11-13, NIV).” Of all possibilities, the Lord chooses a gentle whisper to Elijah to present Himself. Not a great fire, wind, or earthquake, which He has the absolute power to do. But a gentle whisper. As Mark Batterson explains in his book Whisper, when someone speaks to us in a whisper, we must stand very close to understand. Mark’s point is that God whispers, so we purposefully have a deep intimacy to stand close to hear the voice of the Lord. The Lord is the Lord of all, and He is omnipresent and omniscient, however He chooses to whisper. So that we must draw near and sit still to hear the frequency of our Father. It requires us to act in obedience of stillness & void of daily distractions and busy to-do lists. As I was studying Elijah, the Holy Spirit illuminated this phrase “and the word of the Lord came to him” that is repeatedly found in Elijah's journey as a prophet. We see it when the Lord instructs Elijah to leave & go to the brook (1 Kings 17:2, NIV), when the Lord directs him to go to a widow for food (1 Kings 17:8, NIV), when Lord orders him to tell Ahab what he has done to Naboth (1 Kings 21:17, NIV). “The word of the Lord came to him.” Do you believe you have the Word of the Lord? The answer is a mere yes. The Bible is His Word. We may not always audibly hear the voice of the Lord, but in the power of His Word, we will recognize the gentle voice of our Shepard. His Word is already written out for us; poured out onto paper and the Holy Spirit will help bring it to life.  Through our willingness to sit close with Him & know His Word intimately, we will be able to fine-tune to hear the whispering voice of the Lord amid the static of our lives.

Walking with Jesus on the daily can be such a sweet thing and at other times challenging and even discouraging. My prayer for us as believers is to find our team Jesus around us, to encourage us, hold us accountable, fight with us in prayer and rejoice with us. All for the sake of growing in an intimate relationship with our Savior! I’m praying for you to find your team! ! I hope this model from FCA is an encouragement in your life to get others around you to love and support your walk with Jesus and then in sharing that intimate and powerful walk with others. Proverbs 3:21 "My son, do not let wisdom and understanding out of your sight, preserve sound judgment and discretion; they will be life for you, an ornament to grace your neck. Then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble. When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. WALKER This is you. This is your personal relationship with Jesus. You are the only one who determines whether you move closer to or farther away from Jesus. Pursue Him with everything you have. WATCHMAN This is a mentor, like Paul to Timothy. This is someone who is a season or two ahead of you. They love you but aren’t impressed with you. They call you to be faithful to your gifting and speak wisdom into your life. WORKMAN This is a disciple, like Timothy to Paul. You simply pour into your Workman what God has poured into you. You don’t necessarily need to make more time for your Workman; you bring them with you in what you’re already doing.  WARRIOR This is a peer, like Barnabas. This is a friend or two who you will do life with, shoulder to shoulder. These are people who love you enough to hold your feet to the fire and help you pursue your purpose. They encourage you on both hard days and great days. They also remind you that God is the one doing the work and that He desires for you to be a part of it.