Transformation

Three weeks ago I came home from a meeting to find our basement full of water. Today, I go down in our basement and find an entirely different room. It looks great! While it is not the same as ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover, our basement has been transformed.

It didn’t just transform by itself, it cost my wife and I (and even our kids) something. First, it cost us some money as our insurance didn’t fully cover the damages. Second, it cost us quite a bit of sweat (our effort) and our time in moving stuff, re-attaching baseboards and doors, prepping and painting the walls and moving everything back after the carpet was laid. But, it was worth it!

This morning as I was down there I thought about how our lives are quite similar. They, too, can be transformed. Much the same way as our basement, a transformed life will cost something as well. Consider these possibilities:
· Pride – coming to a point when we realize we cannot do it alone and we need our Heavenly Father
· Pride – we may need to repent and ask someone for forgiveness (even if we’re only partially at fault)
· Consequences – we may have to pay the price for our mistakes
· Effort – it may be hard to turn the other way from our old ways or our old addictions

However difficult, you must know that God is in it with you and that you can do it!

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4:13

The Power Of Our Thoughts

A few days ago I wrote about our experience with our basement flood. There have been several times when my wife and I have found ourselves complaining because of the inconvenience of this, or because our insurance coverage was not enough to cover all the damage or because of...

Fortunately, we have not gotten too far down the path of despair because one of us will say something like, "Thank God that this happened during the day" or "Thankfully we weren't out of town when this happened!" (Had either of those scenarios occurred, we would have had a very serious problem on our hands). Once we start thinking more positively, our whole mindset changes. We no longer are feeling sorry for ourselves, but somehow we feel blessed.

It is incredible the power of our thoughts and our words. This is sometimes very difficult, but simply being thankful in the midst of our trouble can truly change our perspective. That is why I liked the above video so much. I hope you do too.

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

Going With The Flow

This morning I led our 2nd Tuesday of the month Truth At Work roundtable group meeting from 7:30 - 11:30. It was a great meeting as usual!

I then went home to get some work done (I work out of a home office) before heading to a meeting at 3:00. I opened the door to the basement to put some things away before eating lunch when I heard this awful sound...the sound of water gushing.

I rushed downstairs to find a couple of inches of water on the floor and water being shot against the wall in our closet (see the shiny floor in the picture above). A pipe had broken coming out of our sump pump and the pump was pumping away and shooting water everywhere. I guess it was quite a site as I was trying to get it under control as I was soaking wet.

Anyway, my plans of getting some work done went out the window. Connie, our two daughters, two of Connie's friends who were over for a Bible study and I spent the next several hours carting stuff upstairs to get it out of the way. We actually had quite a few laughs during this time and talked about how thankful we were that we were home and that it was not much worse.

And, believe it or not, I didn't stress too much about missing out on getting my stuff done. I actually found myself going with the flow (pun intended). Proof that God can do anything!

Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18