Some of the wealthiest, healthiest resolutions you'll ever make...

“Resolutions are popular because everyone feels they could use a little improvement.” Marilu Henner

  Okay, I’ll admit it – I’m a dog person. If you’re a cat person, I’ll pray for you J. Since it’s that time of year when everyone is making behavior modifications, I thought that our big chocolate lab, Ernie could use a little behavior modification. So I’m going to suggest to him that in 2015…

  * He stop trying to find the few remaining clean pieces of carpet in the house when he’s about to throw up.

  * He won’t lick family members faces after eating animal elimination or his own regurgitation. (Door-to-door salesman are of course, open season).

  * He won’t chew pens or markers, especially red or pink ones.

  * When in the car, he won’t insist on having the window rolled down when it’s raining.

  * He’ll remember that the sofa isn’t a face towel. Neither are family members’ pants legs.

  * That his head doesn’t belong in the frig or his nose on the counter, and that he’ll stop staring at anyone eating like he’s a starving 3^rd world child.

  * And that he not shake the rain out of his fur after coming back inside.

  It’s that time of year. Have you made some New Year’s resolutions? You’ve probably made some health and financially related ones. Can I suggest some resolutions you might not have considered? There not in any particular order, just something to think about.

  To spend more time in actual conversations rather than on social media. Want extra money? Put $1.00 in a jar every time you’re out for a meal and see people sharing a meal with someone but they’re on their phone. Put $5.00 in a jar for your spouse if you’re the one doing it. I know sometimes there are emergencies, but most of the time that’s not the case. We don’t always need to be connected. If you’re in the car with someone, talk to them, not on your phone to someone miles away.

  To spend more time having significant conversations. Sometimes days can go by with the conversations we have with our friends, family members and co-workers going no deeper than surface-level chit-chat. Though there’s nothing wrong with joking around, theorizing about the latest episode of your favorite TV series, or even strategizing about the Packers. But if we’re not intentional about regularly engaging in deeper conversations—that challenge us spiritually, intellectually and socially—too often, those types of talks become rare or non-existent.soci

  To do more and complain less. Ours is a complaining culture. There’s seemingly always something wrong. We need to ask ourselves, “what good will this do other than raise my blood pressure?” Complaining may give some momentary relief from frustrations, but working on solutions to the problems in our world can actually take steps forward in fixing things that are broken. While we may not be able to “fix” it, often we can take proactive steps that we have control over. And we can always pray!

  To spend more time thanking and less worrying. Every moment spent worrying is wasted, not to mention, it’s counterproductive. Francis Chan said, “Worry implies that we don’t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of the what’s happening in our lives.” We worry about that which we have no control over but we rarely thank God (or others) for our many blessings. Maybe it would help to keep a diary or log of your daily blessings.

  To spend time getting to know God better. Be honest, when we feel rushed, what’s the first thing we cut back on – our spiritual life. We skip reading our Bibles, our prayer life becomes little more than a quick verbal text, we skip church and can’t ever find the time to be in a small group. If we wait until we have time, it won’t ever happen. Spending time with the Lord, like spending time with a close friend has to be intentional and scheduled. J. Oswald Sanders wisely observed, “It is impossible for a believer, no matter what his experience, to keep right with God if he will not take the trouble to spend time with God. Spend plenty of time with Him; let other things go, but don't neglect Him.”  

  To try something new every week, if not every day. When is the last time you tried out a different ethnic food. With the Internet recipes from around the world at right at your fingertips. Break out of your routine. Do something different and new. Listen to new music. With Spotify and Pandora, keeping up with new music releases and styles has never been easier. If you read fiction, read a biography. If you read serious books, switch to fiction. If you’re always watching TV or surfing the Net, turn it off and pick up a book. Even switch where you sit in your family room or at the dinner table. Try a different version of the Bible. If you watch one news channel, watch one from the opposite spectrum.

  Cut yourself and others some slack. Most of us are wound too tight and far too stressed. If it won’t matter next week, it probably doesn’t matter today. In this social media era, where everyone’s opinion gets a platform, it’s easy to fall into the trap of getting angry at our friends over things they say that we don’t agree with. Outrage is way overrated. Commit to being offended less and reserving your anger for issues that really matter.

  And when you make a mistake or even sin, remember, it’s ALL died for. If you’re good at beating yourself up, please make sure that you also affirm yourself and tell yourself what you’re enjoying. Thank God for His grace! For some reason, dark and negative self-talk is acceptable but self-affirmation, gratitude and enjoyment is psycho babble. It’s not and we need more of it. It may result in us not looking like we suck on lemons. God doesn’t expect perfection from us and we’re silly to expect it of ourselves.

  To challenge my own opinions and presuppositions more often. These are polarized days. Being able to take a stand for what you believe is admirable, but so is listening to the other side and putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Even if we don’t change our position, questioning our own long-held presuppositions doesn’t just challenge our beliefs—it can actually strengthen them.

  To spend more time with people you care about. While it’s often more convenient to go to the drive-thru, eat lunch at your desk or use dinnertime to catch up on Netflix, it’s not good for us. There’s nothing wrong with doing this occasionally, but when eating on the run becomes a lifestyle, we end up depriving ourselves and others in our life of moments that could be used to build deeper relationships. At the very least schedule to meet a friend for coffee or lunch. If you don’t schedule it, it’s not going to happen.

  God has given us everything we need to enjoy life (1 Timothy 6:17). So are you? If not, why not? Maybe it’s time for some significant change.

Why do we talk about everything but Jesus at church...

“Communication is the art of expressing in godly ways what is in my heart and of hearing completely and understanding what another thinks and feels.” Tedd Tripp

Okay, I’ve got what you might consider to be a strange question. While I have some opinions on this, I honestly don’t have the answer. And just in case this ticks you off that I’d even bring this up, I’m “innocent.” A friend brought it up to me first. His question was triggered by a book he’s reading where the same question came up (So have I engaged enough layers of protection and deniability now to keep me off the proverbial hook? J)

  Here’s the question: Why is it when Christians gather in church to worship God, we essentially talk about anything and everything BUT God and worship? I’m not talking about formal or organized times, such as a Bible study or small group session. I’m talking about normal conversations when we see each other, like in the hallways or at the coffee bar or in the foyer. And in interest of full disclosure, I know that I’m guilty as well.

  What triggered this question was the testimony of a liberal lesbian who started seeking answers about God. She began visiting evangelical churches and was astounded that while they talked about God and the Bible from the pulpit and in small groups, there were rarely any other “God” conversations between those attending the worship service. Ouch!

  The very last thing I want to do is encourage us to become a bunch of Pharisees where those who engage in spiritual conversations are “godly” and those who don’t are “carnal.” Legalism is always enticing because it feeds our egos and tempts us to succumb to pride. Yet, on the other hand, if you think about it, this is a bit strange.

  Imagine going to a Packers game and no one talked about football, their opponents, Aaron Rodgers, Clay Matthews or even Mike McCarthy. Don’t you think there would be conversations about other historic games played there or previous experiences that one had at Lambeau Field? If you went to a political convention would you be shocked if people talked about…politics? At an auto show wouldn’t people talk about…cars?

  Obviously, when we gather together, there’s going to be some catching up and social interaction. The weekend services are the only time many of us see each other all week. Yet, shouldn’t there be some God conversations, some dialogues about what we’re learning as we study God’s Word, how God has been answering prayer or sharing prayer burdens we’re carrying, work that the Holy Spirit is doing in our lives? Shouldn’t there be some sharing of how we’ve shared with someone who didn’t know the Lord the Gospel and asking for prayer that the seed would take root and bear fruit? Shouldn’t there be some sharing of praises and blessings? Isn’t this the time, too, when we can easily live out those one another commands our New Testaments are peppered with: encourage one another, pray for one another, bear one another’s burdens, encourage one another, accept one another, comfort one another, confess your faults to one another, love one another…to name just a few? If there is a “spiritual” conversation, would it truly be considered godly? Aren’t they frequently about some “issue” or even a concern about the church, not exactly a spiritual conversation about how God is working in our church or lives?

  Yet, is there any other segment of our lives where we’d supposedly gather for one purpose and focus, but never even have a casual, candid conversation about the very subject we’ve gathered together for? Isn’t that strange? Even odd? So why is this often the case at church?

  I’m not sure. As I’ve contemplated this over, these are some of my random thoughts. Hopefully, this will stir your thinking and you’ll come up with other reasons why this is often the case, and we’ll all grow in this area together. Hopefully, too, it will challenge all of us to have conversations, particularly when we’ve gathered together with more spiritual substance and eternal significance. So these are some reasons I don’t think we talk about God even when we’ve come to worship God.

  We don’t want to come off as hyper-spiritual. While we have little concern about being perceived as a “fan” in nearly every other area of our life, most of us have encountered an obnoxious Christian who turned us  and everyone else off. As a result, we fear being caricatured as a fanatic.

  We’re so glad to see our friends we never get around to it. Sometimes the worship service is the only time we see some of our friends. There’s so much to catch up on that we never really get around to spiritual matters.    

  We’re just not sure how to start the conversation. It’s not familiar turf for most of us. In all of our other relationships, we talk about the weather, politics, sports, family, etc. Those are familiar subjects where we feel very comfortable. There are so few individuals we can have a spiritual conversation with so when we have an opportunity, we’re not sure how or even where to start.

  We feel very inadequate to talk about spiritual things. When it comes to God or the Bible, we feel that we’re over our head. So rather than say something dumb or off the wall, we just keep quiet.

  And this one is scary and I truly hope it’s not the case…We’ve come to the service because it’s a spiritual habit, not because we’re actually spiritually engaged in what’s taking place. Sadly, that’s the case with some. Let’s just hope and pray it’s unusual and not the norm…and let’s make sure it’s not true of us.

  So what can we do? Start. Begin having spiritually minded conversations. Come with your heart prepared to worship and you’ll find it’s easier to talk about spiritual matters. Maybe come prepared with something you’re comfortable opening with as a spiritual conversation starter. Pray and ask the Lord to lead you to the right person and to give you the right words. Then, look for those you can encourage and/or pray with. Honestly evaluate your thinking and focus as you come to worship. Are you in a spiritual mindset when you come? If not, why not? Honestly evaluate the conversations you’re typically part of. Could they take place with an unsaved friend or neighbor? If so, is it really how you want to use those precious minutes we have together each week with God’s family?

  At Grace, let’s all determine to have more family conversations about our Father, His Word and family when we’re together with our forever family.