I have heard "Being a Christian is not easy." But that's wrong. I've come to understand that my attitude, my way of thinking, affects my Christianity a great deal. The fact is "Being a Christian is not hard." About 15 years ago, during a time in my life that I was confused about what I believed (mainly because I was not living it), my Mom read a quote from a book off my shelf: "If you can't be a Christian where you are at you can't be a Christian anywhere." That statement stopped me in my whining a crying.
Either I am a Christian, or I'm not. Either I am submitting to the transforming work of God's Spirit within me, or I'm not. There are certainly rough edges that need to be smoothed out in my life... edges within my personality, my abilities, my gifts (let's just say there's plenty of work to do that will last the rest of my life). But I am not satisfied to remain the way I am and to leave these areas in my life untouched. Either I give God full access, or I don't. I can certainly be a Christian anywhere I am at... and I don't have to announce it off roof tops for that influence to be felt by others. I was reminded about this yesterday while at another Chamber of Commerce event. It still amazes me how presence alone (people knowing I am a Christian and me being confident about that) will give boldness to others to speak about their spiritual lives as well.
Today I will be in one of the middle schools to teach about character. I pray for God's help and the power of His influence to be evident through my life to the teachers and students.
My reading took me to Daniel, chapter 9... Daniel prays for the salvation of Jerusalem. In his prayer Daniel acknowledges who God is, he confesses sin, and seeks God's favor. Because of Daniel's heart... the genuineness and sincerity of his prayer... in verse 23 God's response is "As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given..."
O God, You are the Creator of everything, You are all powerful, You are merciful. Many of the people I will come in contact with today do not acknowledge You in their lives. Lord, it is with Your Spirit working within me that I can do anything. My prayer is that You be glorified and receive honor through my life today. -Amen.

Yesterday was a special time for me as a father... Yea, I did a good thing, I did! There are things that I desire to do differently with my kids than what I experienced from my parents. This is a part of being faithful to my family. I want my kids to hear important information from me (and my wife) first, as much as possible. Teaching my kids is my responsibilty as their parent... and this includes those subjects of life that are not easy to approach and discuss. My hope is that by being faithful to teach them now they will be comfortable to come to me with important issues in the future. Remaining faithful to do what is right and needed for my family is always good... Why does this become so difficult at times! Lord, please teach me to be a faithful parent to my children, and the husband you desire me to be to my wife.
Very often there seems to be a theme that's played out in my life. Sometimes I recognize the theme right away... other times it takes me a little while to understand what it is that God is trying to teach me. I've been aware of this process in my life for a while, and this morning as I read Psalm 22 I was reminded yet again through God's Word.
The 22nd Psalm is a prayer... a cry for help. Much of the Psalm foretold the sufferings of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Verse 25 states, "From you comes the theme of my praise..." (NIV). I have come to realize that these themes that play out in my life are what I praise God with. There have been many... the most recent themes in my life have dealth with prayer, thankfulness, faithfulness, service, troubles, and God's worthiness (this is the theme that's playing out in my life even now). God is worthy of my every effort to be the faithful husband and parent He desires me to be.

I was reminded of a great truth this morning... my feelings are my business. They are not about anyone else. My feelings are not right or wrong, they are about what is happening inside of me. If I take the time to explore my feelings then I can come away with tremendous insight. Yesterday I had two issues come before me and I had to work inside myself to choose not to react immediately to my feelings. Instead I allowed the issues to cook inside my head and I had a chance to explore the feelings that were associated with them. By doing this I prayed specifically for God's intervention and for the concerns that they are causing me. Neither issue needed my intervention. Sometimes my "Mr. fix-it" mode wants to kick in too quickly... motivated by those immediate feelings (usually the feelings of sad and scared).
My reading took me to Ezra, chapter 9. Ezra was approached by the leaders of the Israelite nation and they told him what was happening that was wrong... And I believe the leaders wanted Ezra to "fix-it." Ezra's immediate response was not to react to what was being told to him. Instead he went to God in prayer and shared, not only what had been told him, but I believe Ezra's prayer was a way of exploring what he was feeling. His prayer was for the corporate body, but from his heart.
O God, may I understand more fully that no one can make me mad, or sad, or glad, or scared. Help me to take ownership of my own feelings and respond appropriately. May You be glorified through the decisions I make today. -Amen.