It’s Monday! I love Mondays. I’m still all jacked up about Sunday, and I get most of my sermon prep, meeting prep and study done on Monday. I’m sure that I’m in the minority on loving Monday, but I’ll try to serve you well on this awesome Monday with three lessons that I learned over the weekend. They might be an encouragement to you with a little AHA like they were to me!
- When you know people are hurting – RUN TO THEM. On a few occasions this weekend, I had the honor of attempting to encourage folks that were in a tough season of life. There is something to hanging out, encouraging, and praying with folks “that smell like sand.” To smell like sand is to have spent some time on the backside of the desert, as in Exodus 3:1-10. When we run to encourage, serve, minister to, or love someone living through a season of sand-life, the Divine saturates our soul with the blessings of peace, joy, fulfillment, and hope. I have spent far too many days in my life walking past or ignoring folks on the backside of the desert. By the grace of the Divine, I’ll never miss that opportunity again. This week, run to those folks and just be there for them. He will use you, and He will then bless you!
- Of all the things that we do in our chaotic. stress-filled days, we must – let me repeat – we must be willing to take the time to chat with the Divine. Sometimes that is in the midst of a hair on fire, crazy, ridiculous day. Other times, it’s when you are enjoying your first cup of coffee. I was reminded again, this weekend, that when the Divine teaches us to pray without ceasing, He is saying that we are to open a channel of communication with God as soon as we awaken, and keep it open for ongoing discussions throughout the day. Sometimes it’s out loud, and often it’s silent. Occasionally it involves music, and other times it requires focus. I was reminded this weekend that once that channel of communication is open, it is a two-way conversation. Not only do I bring all of my wants, needs, concerns, requests and worries before the Divine, I listen with great anticipation to “hear” from Him. He’s not playing hide and seek from us. He’s the Holy God that created and sustains our lives. I’d say that He should have priority in the decisions that we make in our family, workplace and personal lives. Imagine the heartache that we might avoid if we simply listened and responded to His direction for our lives?
- All of the folks that are bent out of shape about Beauty and the Beast are going to miss a really good movie. You really have to look hard for some sinister agenda within the movie. Frankly, I can’t see what the big deal is. Before you jump on the hater train for Beauty and the Beast, be sure to watch it. If you don’t want to support Disney and prefer to boycott the film, I get it, and that’s cool by me. Here is what I learned – AGAIN – If you are looking for something bad, you’ll find it! As another reminder to this lesson, be sure you do your homework before you blast away. Throughout the movie, I kept remembering taking my now grown daughters to see the animated version when they were little, whimsical girlies. I spent much of the two-hour movie remembering how my girls loved the movie and watched it somewhere near 200 times. I can hear them mispronounce the movie as “Booty and da Beast” and just have a little joy well up in my soul and chuckle a bit. At some point, we must stop looking for something to hate in everything we do not understand.
Don’t forget to access your Daily AHA by opening the Sugar Hill Church APP, tap “Get Ready,” and read, respond and react to a brief and simple daily scripture, commentary, guided prayer and gratitude journal. It’s only available on the app, so if you don’t have it yet, USE THIS LINK to DOWNLOAD the APP NOW!
Stay Cool, AChuck
