You Don’t Own Me

In this second part of our new teaching series, Gravity: Overcoming the Weight of Our Stuff, we begin talking about some of the ways to do just that.  The first way we can make our stuff small in our lives is to begin to develop an attitude of gratitude about it.  For the whys and hows check out the text below.  Thanks, as always.

You Don’t Own Me

Have you ever experienced the change of attitude that can come from being grateful for something?  Whether they knew it or not, when your parents and grandparents and teachers and any other busy-body adults you’ve had in your life taught you to say, “thank you,” when someone has done something for you, they were not just teaching you good manners.  They were actually giving you some powerful spiritual advice.  There’s something about developing a grateful heart that can cause changes in our outlook on just about everything.  Think about it like this: Have you ever had a really bad attitude about something?  Of course you have.  The better question is when was the last time you had a really bad attitude about something? Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Psalm 4:8

“I will both lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, Lord, make me live in safety.  (CSB – Read the chapter)

Think for a minute about where this journey started. David was mad. He was upset. He was offended. He was hurt. Things weren’t right in his world to the point that he was losing sleep over it. You and I have been right there with him too. We’ve felt like the world is out to get us. Or maybe it was just one person. But that one person was stealing our joy, which actually means we were giving it away to them because joy is something that can’t be taken, it can only be given. Think about all of that and read these words again. How’d he get here? How can we make sure we arrive here with him? Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Psalm 4:7

“You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and new wine abound.”  (CSB – Read the chapter)

David was hurt. He had been deeply offended by someone and was bothered so much by it that he couldn’t sleep. Rather than just stewing about angrily, he took all of his angst and cried out to God. And as he cried out to God, He gradually began to gain some perspective on the whole situation. Perspective doesn’t often actually solve a problem, but it does give us peace in the midst of it. For David here near the end of his prayer, he realized that his joy in the Lord was deeper than anything his enemies knew. And when we realize that we have something good our enemies don’t, we usually start to feel better. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Psalm 4:6

“Many are asking, “Who can show us anything good?” Let the light of your face shine on us, Lord.”  (CSB – Read the chapter)

You’ve heard the old saying: What does misery love? Company. If we’re going to be miserable for some reason, if we can at least have someone else miserable with us, it won’t be quite as bad as it would be otherwise. So here’s some good news for those times when you are lying in bed unable to sleep because you’re upset from some wound of the day: You’re not alone. Read the rest…

Morning Musing: Psalm 4:4

“Be angry and do not sin; on your bed, reflect in your heart and be still. Selah”  (CSB – Read the chapter)

When we’ve been hurt, one of the many emotions we experience is anger. I was angry yesterday. I was angry because my computer wasn’t working in spite of multiple attempts to get it back up and running. I finally called to file a warranty claim on it because this has been a recurring problem. With emotions already running high, as I looked for the information I needed to file the claim, I couldn’t find it, the boys were going stir crazy and making enough noise to rattle the windows, and the computer still wouldn’t work. And my head was hurting on top of everything. I was about to explode. Have you been there? Sure you have. Read the rest…