get over yourself...

This statement made by a Cuban-american in reference to President Castro made me cringe. "Fidel secretly wants to be the bride at every wedding and the corpse at every funeral in Cuba" The need to be recognized and the center of attention can grow so out of control. Lord...help me point to You not to myself.

Grateful?

Clean Slate Living Principle: Another way to keep each day fresh is to express your appreciation to God and man every opportunity you get. I'm sure there's loads of things going on in your life that you wish were different or may have never happened. None the less, a grateful soul steadies you in the realm of hope, trust and grace. There's far more joy in being appreciative even when things don't make sense or seem unfair than dying the slow death of bitterness.

Mother Theresa told this story in an address to the National Prayer Breakfast in 1994: One evening we went out, and we picked up four people from the street. And one of them was in a most terrible condition. I told the sisters, "You take care of the other three; I will take care of the one who looks worst." So I did for her all that my love could do. I put her in bed, and there was such a beautiful smile on her face. She took hold of my hand as she said two words only: "Thank you." Then she died. I could not help but examine my conscience before her. And I asked: What would I say if I were in her place? And my answer was very simple. I would have tried to draw a little attention to myself. I would have said, "I am hungry, I am dying, I am in pain," or something. But she gave me much more; she gave me her grateful love. And she died with a smile on her face. Gratitude brings a smile and becomes a gift.

thank you...

Thanks for all the emails in regards to this past weekends sermon. Greatly appreciated! 500 people walked away with one of those lists of the New Testament “One Another’s.” Life will dramatically change for those families who begin living out these simple principles. If you didn’t get a chance to grab one….they will be available again this weekend at the Info Center in the front lobby.

Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family.

~Anthony Brandt

The Awakening Series

This weekend, we will conclude one of the most inspiring and challenging sermon series we may have ever offered at Grace Church. We asked God to open our eyes to the ongoing potential of being a blessing to everyone we come in contact with. We also challenged ourselves to bless some very specific groups of people. Our neighbors, our enemies and our families. It’s one thing to be a blessing to a needy person you run into downtown….it quite another to purposely and authentically bless someone who opposes or dislikes you. May God give us the grace and intentionality to carry the blessing to others all the days of our lives. You can listen to the entire series via our website.

I would like to recommend a book for those who want to better understand the power of being a blessing to your family. Dr. John Trent and Gary Smalley
co-wrote: The Blessing. Great insight!

Happy Anniversary!

I met my wife Annie when she was sixteen. She was eigthteen and I was twenty when we got married. That was 35 years ago yesterday. I enjoyed Pastor Derek's remarks about his recent anniversary. He listed the top ten things he adores about Kim. Very cool. As I reflected on my marriage, I think the thing that is most true about Annie is captured in this view of marriage held by columnist Richard Needham:


You don't marry one person; you marry three:
the person you think they are,
the person they are, and
the person they are going to become
as a result of being married to you.
-- Richard Needham

At eighteen, I thought Annie was the most unique, beautiful, caring, light hearted and loving person I would ever cross paths with. She still is. The person I thought she was is exactly the person she turned out to be. I have loved every bit of our time together and pray my influence on her is at least a small measure of the impact she’s made in my life. Annie, I couldn’t love you more.

Good To Be Back...

I just concluded the best vacation I have ever taken. No kidding! The reason is that on day one of a twenty day break, I sincerely asked the Lord to teach me how to rest. For me, vacation always seemed to be just another form of intense activity. There is a new phenomenon that this struggling economy has produced over the past few years called staycationing. It simply means that record numbers of Americans are staying very close to home while on vacation. That’s what Annie and I did. We traveled very little and invested our time enjoying relationships with the people we love and simply…resting. This picture is just some of Annie’s huge, wild, wonderful, crazy fun and deeply loving Sicilian family. They have been an amazing addition to my life over the past 37 years and spending a weekend with them was a blast. Knowing we would have several quiet days, I really wanted to learn more about the value and power of rest and marry it to my belief that every second is important and we NEED to be dramatically engaged with the people around us. So---how do rest and work compliment each other? The thing that struck me the most was:

Rest is just as holy as service: The seventh day of creation was as powerful and impacting as the previous six. God deemed the day blessed and holy because He ceased His creative activity to reflect on what He had made. This wasn’t a response to fatigue; it was an act of enjoyment, review and celebration. He examined the fruit of His labor and found it to be very good. We live in a state of unprecedented business which smothers our need and responsibility to stop the bus and really embrace all the stuff that is our life. I think learning when and how to rest is manditory otherwise we buy into the notion that God is only drawn to those living on the brink of exhaustion.

I spent a portion of each staycation day thanking God for the people in my life, for all the stuff that makes sense and the stuff that doesn’t, things I appreciate & things I don’t and especially.....for my friendship with Him.