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Ordinary Hamburgers

 “This is just an ordinary hamburger. Is that okay with you?” 

I was invited to eat lunch with a few friends and they were bringing the food.

“Of course, I love ordinary hamburgers–I love all hamburgers!” 

And it’s true. I was not lying to my friends, blowing happiness and sunshine their way to be nice.

Ask anyone who knows me well: I’ve never met a hamburger that I haven’t liked. If I had to choose between a salad and a hamburger, a hamburger will win every time.

What got me thinking was the phrase “ordinary hamburger.”

My friends and I had a great conversation over ordinary hamburgers.

I loved every minute of it because I was secretly thrilled to be invited to eat an ordinary hamburger on an ordinary day for the sake of connecting with someone else.

I am a big fan of ordinary. 

If I had to choose between big, magical, once-in-a-lifetime moments and small, ordinary, yet repeatable moments, that choice is a no brainer to me. Ordinary wins every time.

Because 95% of life is ordinary. Chasing the extraordinary 5% is costing us big time. 

So, please, invite someone over for an ordinary experience, like coffee or dinner, and have some fun!

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Powerful Prayer

Can you please pray for me?

My answer is always, “Of course! What do you need prayer for?” And then I pray for that person right there. 

I don’t wait until later (though I do pray on my own later) because there’s something powerful about praying together. 

Read through the Book of Acts. 

You’ll quickly notice that mighty things happened when the Church prayed together. 

Jesus told us that He’ll do anything we ask in His name. 

Jesus told us that praying in faith can move any mountain, any obstacle. 

Jesus taught us how to pray and Paul laced his letters with prayers. 

Talking with God is vital to our Christian walk. (We’ve talked many times about prayer.)

The Boiler Room taught on prayer tonight. 

Following the teaching we prayed for our church community, for the necessary transitions to better serve the poor. 

I walked away reminded that “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done” is not possible without prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit working in my life. 

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A Moment of Silence

Since when did complete agreement become the goal? 

I’ve listened to the news quite a bit since the Orlando massacre and the amount of political talk and civil rights talk and gun rights talk is nauseating.

What about just being sad for 5 minutes before we launch into “These are the issues we need to address”?  

Which, by the way, is what everyone says EVERY SINGLE TIME after a tragedy of this magnitude.

Here’s what I want to say: Everyone, shut your mouth. 

This is not the time to start a conversation about gun control.

This is not the time to start a conversation about conservatives vs. liberals.

This is not the time for Christians and the LGBTQ community to stand off nose to nose.

This is not the time to pick a part Islam.

I just want everyone to please be quiet. 

There are 49 families who are mourning. Their son, daughter, brother, sister, mother, father, lover was killed.

If you can’t think of a kind, compassionate thing to say, please shut up. 

We can riot in the streets later.

We can debate for hours later.

I am sad about this senseless loss of life. None of those victims set out thinking, “This is it, my last day on earth.” They were just out having fun (albeit at a later hour than I like to be out) on a Saturday night. 

Please pray for the families. There are some hard days ahead.

Pray for ways you can show kindness and compassion to those around you–no matter how different they are. 

Pray for strength and wisdom on how we should all properly respond to this tragedy.

But for now, I think we all need to take a breath and just sit in this space for a minute. Let’s take a few moments to grieve before responding rashly. 

 

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Office antics rock

Office antics crack me up. 

My coworker left a note on my apple–the one that’s been sitting on my desk for the past week–and it caused me to belly laugh.

I was simply shocked to see my normally stoic coworker do something so silly. Of course, you’re talking to the girl who: 

  • Recorded her coworker trying a nori (seaweed) chip for the first time
  • Shot the same coworker with a Nerf gun daily
  • Hid behind doors and scared the same coworker
  • Included a joke in almost every email that I sent out

If I had to be super serious all the time…I’m just not sure that’s sustainable for me. 

I guess it’s good that every boss I’ve ever had thinks I’m kinda funny. In fact, many of them looked to me to be the resident funny person.

Humor is the key to job satisfaction. 

Forget all that stuff about having a good work ethic and all the right college degrees. None of that matters.

Okay, okay it matters a little bit. Though, having halfway decent people skills and a sense of humor are the true keys to success.

At least, it’s always worked for me…

Maybe I shouldn’t say it’s the law just because it’s working for me. (I’m not one of those annoying bloggers that claim to have all the answers.) 

 

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When I say Amen

Prayer is simply talking with God. 

There are no formulas, no secret codes, no tip-toeing around because you’re afraid of God’s lightening bolts.

We’ve talked about the subject before (click here) but recently a thought struck me, which will not leave me alone. 

Go to biblegateway.com and type in prayer. 61 New Testament references pop up!

When I scrolled through the list, here’s what I learned: 

  • Jesus prayed A TON and taught on prayer A TON during His earthly ministry.
  • The early church prayed A TON together and anyone who ended up on their prayer list got prayed for daily.
  • Miraculous things happen when Christians pray.

Obviously, most Christians can’t spend all of their time in their prayer closets. (For all of my non-churchey friends, a prayer closet is not an actual closet, but wherever a Christian talks privately with God.)

And even though the early church gathered a lot in prayer, all of them had everyday lives, too.

This is where my persistent thought comes in. 

I know that praying is simply talking to God and I know that the Bible shows us the how, when, and why of prayer; which is why Christians need to always be in a spirit of prayer.

So why do I say “Amen” every time I pray? I’m supposed to be praying continually…

If I’m talking with God all day long, why not just start the morning with, “Good morning, Father!” and then chat with him all day, ending with “Amen” after our nightly bedtime chat?

It is possible that I am really overthinking this whole thing. 

I just know that being in a spirit or attitude of constant conversation with God means that my every thought, my every action comes out of a healthy relationship.

However, I realized the other day that I tend to treat God as my sidekick when really my life belongs to Him. He’s not along for a ride with me–it’s actually vice versa! 

When I say “Amen” at night–which means “so be it”–I want it to reflect how my every thought and action that day contributed to our growing relationship.

 

 

 

 

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Time to Get Honest

 Let me be the first to say that I’m the queen of Fine-and-Okay Land. When something’s not fine and okay, the LAST thing I want to do is talk about it. 

So I won’t–if I’m not pushed.

Sharing our stories, our struggles, is not always fun or easy. 

But I honestly believe that the reason most of us never move past the past, especially Christians, is because we never allow ourselves to be fully known, we never share our struggles.

Of course, I’m not advocating running around sharing the most intimate details of our lives with complete strangers. I’m assuming (this might be a big leap) that we all are aware that healthy boundaries are vital. 

And here’s the moment I get really honest…

Most Christians destroy any opportunity to keep a conversation going. 

Let me demonstrate:

Me: How are you doing today?

Hat Lady: I’m blessed and highly favored, the head and not the tail, above and not beneath…

Me: Oh…my day stunk.

The conversation just died right there.

Yes, Christians are all of the things Hat Lady just said. I firmly and fully believe it.

Though, how are we going to encourage an atmosphere of openness in our churches when the conversation dies in less than 5 seconds? 

If the desire of our heart is to have a church overflowing with hurting and broken people, we need to be more honest and become better listeners.

Isn’t this the cry of every church? To be filled with broken hearted people who need Jesus to rock their worlds?

Here’s what I’m not saying: Stay stuck in your past. Always talk about it and never change. 

Jesus Christ can and will redeem and restore you no matter how broken you are.

This doesn’t change the fact that broken hearts take time to heal.

What better place to heal than in a loving family of fellow believers who are committed to listening and helping each other move toward the best God has for us?

 

 

 

 

 

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Hello, my name is…

I’m sorry…what’s your name again?

We’ve all forgotten someone’s name before and it happens. 

Do you feel bad when you do?

I want to remember someone’s name because names are important. 

And knowing someone’s name is not about kissing up to men and women “more important” than you. 

We need to know names, to call people by their name, because it’s key to their identity. 

Christine Caine is a teacher and founder of A21, an anti-human trafficking organization. She was abandoned in a hospital, unnamed and unwanted. 

She was assigned a number instead.

This is hard to imagine…

 The first thing the angel told Mary–after “By the way, you’re to be the mother of the Son of God”–was what to name the baby. (We obviously know it’s Jesus, right? Good. I was getting concerned.)


Jesus was and is always available to those who call on His name.

His name…

Above every name,

Powerful over all sickness and disease,

And every scheme of the devil. 

Did I mention that He knows your name, too?

He calls you by name and knows everything about you. 

In an age where you can “know” someone without having to take the time to get to know them, intentionality in our relationships is important. 

What if Jesus only knew us from Facebook or Twitter? 

Oh yeah…I read your posts all the time. Looks like you had a great time at such and such with so and so. 

Thankfully, Jesus knows us and made a way for us to know Him and Father God. 

Loving and knowing others like Jesus loves and knows us requires more depth, more intentionality on our part. 

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Good dirt is important

I got to play in the dirt today! 

My fun spring break activity was visiting my friend Nina and helping her get some gardening projects done. 

We re-potted some thyme and spinach, moved a cold frame, and planted potatoes, onions, and garlic. 

Digging around in the dirt is my favorite part of gardening. I enjoyed the dirt stains on my jeans (and having muddy hands). 

My obsession with dirt is a bit odd to some, but it’s such a reminder to me of our lives. 

Most of the time, any problem with your plants can be traced back to the soil. 

Good dirt makes all the difference. 

Nina and I had a lot of fun chatting as we worked. It’s cool to see how the Master Gardener, God the Father, is working in and through our lives as we follow Him each day. 
Covered in dirt, surrounded by kids–real kids and goat kids–the afternoon was filled with good conversation and gorgeous sunshine. 

I couldn’t have asked for a better day.

 This is the first spring break I’ve had in many years and it’s been awesome. 

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The search for excitement

Some days, for me, have themes. Today’s theme was excitement. 

One of my favorite things to do is get other people to talk about what is exciting to them. 

If you’ve ever wondered about how to carry on a good conversation, this is key. 

There were several times today that the excitement was palpable. And it was awesome. 

Nothing gets me more excited than watching someone else getting excited. 

The reason why is because excitement leads to action. 

Excited people are passionate and zealous to do whatever it is that causes their blood to get pumping and their adrenaline to rush. 

I have a myriad of passions and interests, which all have one common purpose: helping others come to know Christ and the full reality of what it means to be in relationship with Him. 

As a Christian, everything else I love to do is fluff when compared to the Great Commission. 

However, God does want us to use our varying interests as opportunities to share His love with the world through friendship with others. 

This is not earth shattering revelation, but it’s important for us to understand. 

Excitement and enthusiasm are indicators. Look for clues as you talk to people. 

What gets them excited? 

Is it aimed in the right direction? 

The answers to these 2 questions will show you a lot. 

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Are you really listening?

The story of Jesus talking to Peter on the seashore is one of my favorites. 

I think we can all relate to Peter because his life is the most relatable of the disciples. This guy was zealous, but made some mistakes along the way. 

Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me?” 

Peter says, “You know I do.”

Jesus responds, “Go feed my sheep.”

This happens two other times. Jesus is questioning Peter to check his heart while also giving Peter a job to do. 

Peter got a little exasperated at Jesus, but Jesus wasn’t bothered–until Peter compared himself to John. 
“What about John, Lord? What’s his job? Where’s his heart?” Peter asked in reply.  

Jesus was firm in His answer: “What about him? We’re talking about you. If John lives until I return again, is that any of your business?”

Pastor Hagin shared at church tonight how it’s important to work and serve where God has placed you right now. 
Standing firm, staying in position is only possible when you are secure in who you are in Christ. 

Jesus was giving Peter instructions and the next words out of Peter’s mouth are “What about John?”

Maybe God’s been talking to you for a while and you’re too busy looking around at others.

Just something to think about…

I know this is an area where I have to be on guard. 

The comparison trap keeps us from hearing God’s voice effectively because our attention is divided. 

Remember: God is always talking to us. All we need to do is get quiet and listen up.