Abundant Gifts

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”–2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV

I’ve been told that the proper translation for “cheerful” in this verse is “hilarious.”

I thought of that today as I was paying bills.

It was a task I’d been putting off a couple of days because right now, there seem to be a LOT of expenses. Seems like “education” even for public schools is a bigger and bigger piece of the budget. Not to mention, I now have a child in college (who thankfully did get a major scholarship–provision!).

When I finally knuckled down and wrote the checks, I also wrote one for our church and the ministries we support. I thought about “hilarious giving.”

It seemed to fit.

As in:

“Get ahold of this. I wrote a check for my church, which brought my bank account to zero. So I said,

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Today I saw one child off to her first day of high school, and another to his first day of college.

I baked our favorite chocolate cake and we ate together, for the second night in a row, something we hadn’t done in it felt like weeks. (If you comment on this blog, I’ll send you the frosting recipe that always gets raves and makes ANY cake extra special.)

A friend pointed out, “This is a milestone for you as a parent.”

Yes indeed.

I am grateful for the opportunity to invest in these two young lives.

I am grateful that they will still be around together for the next year or two. (Son got a full scholarship to local college, an offer too good to pass up in this economy.)

Most of all, I am grateful for

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One of the most enlightening exercises one of my mentors, Alex Mandossian, had us do in a training was figure out what verb describes our essence.

Buckminster Fuller said, “God is a verb.” That is biblically accurate. When God revealed himself to Moses, he said he was the ultimate “be” verb: “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14).

God’s verb is “I AM.”

Descartes is famous for saying, “I think, therefore I am.” His verb was “think.”

What is it you do, that encompasses the essence not only of what you do, but who you are?

Your verb may come to you in a flash … or you may have to think about it for a while.

Most people I’ve discussed this with know their verb quickly.

Mine is “connect.” I love to connect people with ideas that will inspire them, enlighten them, change them.

I love to connect people with other people who will inspire, teach, encourage, motivate or enlightened them.

And I love to connect people with resources that will make their life easier and better in some way.

As a book publishing coach and consultant, that’s what I’m all about.

As a parent, that’s what I’m all about. As a friend, I also find myself trying to connect people with ideas, people and resources that will make their lives better.

So that’s my verb. What’s yours?

Take a few moments to reflect on this.

Post it below, if you like. It’s at the heart of what you have to offer the world, after all.

When the Red Sea saw you, O God,
its waters looked and trembled!
The sea quaked to its very depths.
The clouds poured down rain;
the thunder rumbled in the sky.
Your arrows of lightning flashed.
Your thunder roared from the whirlwind;
the lightning lit up the world!
The earth trembled and shook.
Your road led through the sea,
your pathway through the mighty waters—
a pathway no one knew was there!
You led your people along that road like a flock of sheep,
with Moses and Aaron as their shepherds. —Psalm 77:15-20 (NLT)

When God acts, he makes a road where eon one dreamed a road could possibly be–through the sea! A storm can be all around, a fierce storm that lights up all the world and shakes the earth. Yet God is in control of the storm and he makes that impossible pathway for his people. Trust this God in your storm; believe his is making a pathway no one knew was there, and that he is providing leaders to take your through the road.

(Note: If you liked this short meditation on Psalm 77, you will enjoy Abundant Gifts from the Word, a daily devotional sent to you via email. Sign up at www.abundantgiftsfromtheword.com.)

It was Jesus’ suggestion to get into the boat and cross the lake one evening. He settled down, head on a cushion, ready to turn in for the night.

Suddenly a fierce storm blew up around the boat.

The waves crashed around the boat, and the disciples were terrified. Someone thought to go find Jesus.

Unbelievable–there he was, asleep in this treacherous storm that was about to sink the boat. How could he sleep through a storm like this?

Ever feel that way? Like Jesus is asleep while the storm is about to sink your boat?

The disciples (and we) often interpret Jesus’ sleeping as his not caring (Mark 4:38). But that’s not the reason Jesus sleeps through our storms.

He can sleep because Continue Reading »

For the past 6 days, I have been unable to access the Internet, except for a brief, inexplicable time when the DSL connection worked for a few hours, then went bad again.

It’s been very frustrating, but enlightening.

Frustrating because, of course, so much of what I do is dependent on being able to hook up to the Internet. Whether it’s research, email, Twitter, connecting to the various accounts that allow me to get my work done, I must be connected or I’m “up a creek without a paddle,” as the cliché goes.

It’s also been an enlightening experience because

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This message has to be both seen and heard, rather than read, to be grasped.

It’s only 4 minutes long. Click, sit back and watch, and I hope it will give you new eyes to see the gifts of today. (I’m not scowling, really–just squinting in the sun. Next time I’ll be more aware of the sun! Still getting this video thing down….)

(Little side note: This was shot 2 days ago, and when I tried to get it on this blog, something happened to the blog. In the process of trying to fix that problem, I contacted a friend. The results of that contact blessed us both, reigniting and deepening our friendship. So the “problem” of my blog being messed up was really a “disguised gift,” resulting in blessing for both of us. Remember: God is good, and at work even in our problems.)

For nearly 2 years now, I have been writing daily devotionals for Today’s Christian Woman’s online site that are delivered via email. They are reportedly their most-opened email newsletter.

I am pleased to make those available to you as well, as “Abundant Gifts from the Word.”

Every day, until you decide to stop it, you can receive a very brief meditation on a Scripture taken from the New Living Translation (NLT).

I can’t tell you how I myself have been blessed in writing these.

Every morning, I pray that God would open my heart to the truths he wants me to see and pass on, open my Bible, read and start writing.

Each meditation is 100 words or less.

People have told me that this is the one email they make sure they read every day. They write and tell me how much a particular message blessed them.

I can honestly say that nothing has blessed me, strengthened me, or given me more joy than God’s Word. My prayer is that you, too, will fall in love with God more through his Word.

Just go to www.abundantgiftsfromtheword.com to read some samples and sign up.

(By the way, there is no charge for these. Freely I’ve been given, freely I give.)

I’ve been attending an amazing Bible study taught by a woman in my church, Cathy Deddo, who does “manuscript studies.” That’s where the Bible passages are printed out in manuscript form, no verses delineated, just lines for reference points.

We’re studying the Gospel of John. I would like to share insights from this study here on this blog.

One of the life-transforming truths I’m gleaning from John is the whole idea of abiding (from John 15). “There is only one vine, Jesus, and we can either choose to remain connected to it, or we can cut ourselves off from it. The main thing we need to do as Christians is abide in the vine.”

Recently, I spent time with a friend who, I discovered, follows a “spiritual master” and wakes at 3 a.m. to meditate for 4 hours. “Why?” I asked, amazed.

“Well, you know,” she said. “If you want to be close to God, there are certain things you have to do to get there.”

I said, “Not really. All I think I’m asked to do is abide.”

I believe this is the great Good News of the Christian message. We really do not have to do anything. Religion says you have to follow all these rules. But Jesus said, “Abide in me, the same way you’ve seen me abiding in my Father. You see our relationship, one of complete trust. Now trust me, abide in me, the same way. It’s all about relationship. I am the vine, you are the branches. Just abide in me, and the rest comes naturally, like fruit from a vine that is rooted in good soil.”

One thing abiding means, I’m discovering, is that I don’t have to try to give anything I have not first received from Jesus. Like Mary sitting at Jesus’ feet, the main thing is to listen first. Martha was all agitated by everything she had to do. Mary first sat and listened, and Jesus said she chose the better way.

Perhaps Mary then got up and helped Martha. Peacefully. Full. Able to give, able to do, because first she listened. First she remained at Jesus’ feet.

Abide. Abide in God’s love. Isn’t that simple? Isn’t it beautiful? Isn’t that freeing?

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Iwould like to give you a way to increase the love in your life.

The love that will increase is your sense of God’s love for you. Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions will open your eyes to the kinds of gifts God has been giving you, out of love, that you may not have been noticing.

When you read how God “shows up” in my life and the lives of others who share their stories, it will give you a sense for the kinds of gifts you can look for in your own life.

Here’s what some readers have said about “Abundant Gifts“:

• “So many of these stories touched my heart. I hated to have the book come to an end. I plan to reread it again as the new year starts. It is hard not to read the whole book in one sitting, but it is set up as a daily devotional and I savored it by reading just one story a day. I also believe, as the author shows in some of the stories, that God has a sense of humor. I have given several copies as gifts.”-R. Arthur, Charlton, New York

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• “The stories never cease to encourage. It’s one of those books you can read again and again and pass along to those who need to know that God is always there and working even when we don’t always see. You are a wonderful writer!” —Francine Rivers, best-selling author

If you haven’t already “tasted” sample stories, I invite you to do so here.

May your Valentine’s Day be filled with love–of all kinds!