Grace Spots

This is a repost of a great blog from Jon Acuff. Check out more of Jon's writing and blogging and stuff at www.JonAcuff.com or at www.stuffchristianslike.net

Here's a link to "Grace Spots" on Jon's blog. Link

Enjoy... 

A few weeks ago, my family and I went out to dinner together on a Friday night. The goal was to have a family meal, hang out, and possibly even enter into the Q realm. Quality Time.

Apparently every person in the greater Nashville are also had the same idea.
At the first restaurant we went to, we couldn’t even find a parking place. We circled a few times and then tried a second restaurant. When they told us the wait time was 45 minutes, I groaned and set the timer on my iPhone.

I’m a little OCD about numbers and sometimes watching the time helps keep me focused on something other than waiting in the lobby. I’d like to say that while waiting there I realized our goal of hanging out as a family was already being accomplished, that we didn’t need food to bond together as a family, we had each other! This was why we came out in the first place. The night was already a success as we talked and laughed about our week in a moment that would have made even Norman Rockwell jealous. I want to say that, but that would be a lie.

In moments like that, I tend to become a jerk. I don’t know if it’s because I’m competitive and want to “beat other people to dinner” or maybe it’s because I’m impatient. But I started to get really frustrated and tired of waiting and angry that I did not possess the super powers to force the little beeper we were holding to go off. Flash red already!

When it finally did go off, I walked up to the hostess and said, “I feel like I won the lottery. I’m so happy I want to give you a hug.” Her response?
“That would be great, I had a really tough day with my teenager.”

Slap in the face. Stomach punch. Throat chop. However you want to say it, she misinterpreted my passive aggressive/whiny statement as genuine thankfulness. And that was pretty convicting.

It made me realize that there are some moments in life where people aren’t getting any grace. There are some places where people aren’t being shown any kindness, ever. There are some times in the day where people aren’t getting any love. And although I might like to think I am graceful in those situations, I’m not.
But what if showing grace to someone was like anything else in life, you had to be deliberate? What if I could consciously pick ahead of time “Grace Spots” where no matter what, I was going to do my best to throw out wild amounts of grace? Would that change somebody’s day? Would that show someone Christ in a really unexpected way? Maybe, so here are three I identified:

1. At the airport.
Flight attendants, the TSA guards, the gate attendants, these folks are constantly surrounded by the most impatient, frustrated people on the planet. What if every time I flew, I went out of my way to treat the airport like a grace spot?

2. The Post Office
I’ve never had a fast experience at the post office. I’ve never walked out and thought, “that sure was easy.” But the one guy running the counter while 80 of us wait in line with packages didn’t demand, “I want to be understaffed today. I’d prefer to not have any help with me today.” That guy needs grace.

3. The DMV
You’re going to want to work your way up to this one. Don’t start with the DMV. Practice grace on a few Friday nights at restaurants first. Fly a few times and make a TSA guard laugh or smile before you practice grace at the Department of Motor Vehicles. This is PhD level grace and kindness, but they deserve it too. Lots of it.

There’s a chance that you are a fountain of grace and the idea about deliberately labeling and praying about grace spots is silly to you. You already show grace everywhere. The planet is your grace spot. I wish I could say the same thing about my life, but I can’t. I need to keep grace spots in mind and I’ve already seen it change things.

When I was in the ninth grade my mom made me write an apology note to the dentist. He swore he’d never see me again as a patient because I was such a jerk to him. So when we moved to Nashville, I determined I’d pick the dentist’s office as a grace spot. After a few visits of showering everyone in that office with grace, a new hygienist handled my appointment. She said, “I was so excited to finally meet you today. Everyone was talking this morning about how much they enjoy when you come in for a visit and I hadn’t met you yet.” Then a few days later she sent me the first hand written thank you note I’ve ever received from a dentist’s office.

Why?

Because the dentist’s office is one of my grace spots.

What would you say is one of the places you have a seemingly impossible time extending grace?

What grace spots could you pick?

You Don't Get It....

I read this great post today from Pastor Steven Furtick. The guy is a great Pastor, church leader, and all around good dude. I've copied and pasted the post here for your reading pleasure. To read more from Steven, check out his blog by clicking the link. www.stevenfurtick.com 

“Do you still not understand? Don’t you remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?
Matthew 16:9

There are some things that we just have to learn the hard way. The disciples of Jesus knew this better than anyone.

Two times in the previous two chapters Jesus had provided a miraculous supply of food for a hungry crowd. Here in chapter 16 Jesus tells them to beware of the yeast of the Pharisees. The disciples freak out because they didn’t bring any bread and they think Jesus is hungry and needs them to supply food.

They still don’t get it.

We could be judgmental, but the truth is that there are things that are just as elementary that you and I still don’t get. And it’s these things that keep us in a state of inertia in our walk with God and the calling He has placed on our lives.

So I thought it’d be good over the next few days to address some of the top signs that indicate that we still don’t get it. Confront the elementary things that are keeping us from launching into a whole new dimension in our relationship with God. Instead of waiting to start tomorrow, I thought I’d give you the first one today:

1. You still feel unworthy to come to God when you fail.
You sin and think there needs to be a grace period before you can pray for forgiveness. You completely blow it and think there’s no way God can use you again. Your days are done. Your destiny disqualified. Might as well sit around and sulk in your self-condemnation.

This really comes down to one thing: you still don’t understand grace.
We often think the grace of God is just a commodity to get us to the point of salvation. But we don’t understand that the same grace that brought us to the point of salvation is also with us in our daily lives. The same power that raised you from the grave of your sin is the same power that raises you from the mistakes of your everyday life.

Proverbs 24:16 says, “The righteous man falls down seven times, but seven times, he rises again.”

That’s not what comes to our minds when most of us think of a righteous person. We think they’re someone who never or rarely falls. But that’s because our idea of righteousness is rooted in self-righteousness. The real righteous person is the one who has been made righteous by Jesus and then can let Jesus pick him back up when up when he falls.

There’s a big difference between falling down (Peter) and falling away (Judas). Grace means God’s got your back. Like Peter, your failure is not final.

Get back up. Go to back to God. No, you’re not worthy. But neither were you worthy when you came to God the first time. It was Jesus’ worthiness that made you worthy then.

What makes you think the terms of acceptance have changed?

Peace

A wise old gentleman retired and purchased a modest home near a junior high school. He spent the first few weeks of his retirement in peace and contentment. Then a new school year began. The very next afternoon three young boys, full of youthful, after-school enthusiasm, came down his street, beating merrily on every trash can they encountered. The crashing percussion continued day after day, until finally the wise old man decided it was time to take some action.

The next afternoon, he walked out to meet the young percussionists as they banged their way down the street. Stopping them, he said, "You kids are a lot of fun. I like to see you express your exuberance like that. In fact, I used to do the same thing when I was your age. Will you do me a favor? I'll give you each a dollar if you'll promise to come around every day and do your thing." The kids were elated and continued to do a bang-up job on the trash cans.

After a few days, the old-timer greeted the kids again, but this time he had a sad smile on his face.

"This recession's really putting a big dent in my income," he told them. "From now on, I'll only be able to pay you 50 cents to beat on the cans."

The noisemakers were obviously displeased, but they did accept his offer and continued their afternoon ruckus. A few days later, the wily retiree approached them again as they drummed their way down the street.

"Look," he said, "I haven't received my Social Security check yet, so I'm not going to be able to give you more than 25 cents. Will that be okay?"

"A lousy quarter?" the drum leader exclaimed. "If you think we're going to waste our time, beating these cans around for a quarter, you're nuts! No way, mister. We quit!"

And the old man enjoyed peace.

This crafty old man put together a great plan to have peace on his street. Thankfully, God has put together a great plan for you to have peace in your heart.

Philippians 4:6-7 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

If  you're worrying today, or if you're anxious in any way, take a minute a pray a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Thank him for all he has blessed you with, and then simply pour out your heart to him. Tell him what's worrying you and request his help. Psalm 46 says God is our "ever present help in times of trouble". Ask him to guard your heart and your mind, and to give you peace.

Have a great day! 

God Bless.

If you only read one thing today... Read this.

Ok, here's the deal... I don't know these people and neither do you, but God has blessed us, and uses us to bless others. Read this and consider how you will help. Then help, and do it quickly.

 

Guest Post for Anna Vaprova

Dear friends, I'm writing to you with a heavy heart. My family is in dire need right now, and this is a plea for help. Many of you probably remember me posting about my 2 year old niece Anna in RUSSIA who has been fighting cancer for over a year now. I thank all of our fellow homeschoolers who have offered faithful prayer support, and have inquired continually about her progress. MANY have asked if there's anything they can do..

As you may not remember the details, last December, we received the devastating news of Anna having an extremely rare form of cancer: mixed Germ Cell Tumor (immature Sacrococcygeal teratoma and Yolk Sac tumor), with metastasis in the surrounding lymph nodes and the lungs .

Since her diagnosis, Anna has endured more than most people will in a lifetime: multiple invasive tests as well as a complicated and aggressive surgery.

This is considered a curative type of cancer and prognosis can be very good. Russian doctors were able to achieve remission for a while, but cancer has come back and they can't pinpoint its location. There is simply not enough knowledge about this particular type of cancer and doctors are at a loss as to the plan of
action. Doctors are urging the parents to seek more accurate diagnostics and treatment abroad. There are other countries which have a much wider research base and more innovative technologies/treatment methods targeting GCT.

We have some promising responses from Germany and Israel already, but as you can imagine, being foreign nationals, no insurance or any other benefits will be afforded to them as they seek this treatment.

Dear friends, that's where you come in. Together, we are in a position to make a difference . It is unbearable to know that Anna could be cured but it is impossible because of a shortage of money. We need to raise money in a short period of time for their medical needs. The diagnostics, consultations with doctors, and possible treatments in order to help save Anna's life will cost thousands of dollars.

If God places it on your heart, please consider helping us with this need. please don't pass this by..

Please help circulate about this need among your family, friends, churches, co-workers. Consider posting about it on any social networks you are on

(Facebook, etc.).

If each of us open our hearts and unite our efforts to provide for Anna and her parents, then realistically we can meet this need quickly and Anna can get the treatment she so desperately needs.

Please understand, NO gift is too small. For more information on how to contribute to the medical needs of this family please visit http://www.cancercure4anna.com/ . There are lots of different ways you can help, including an opportunity to make a tax-deductible contribution.

Will you please join our prayer group for Anna and enlist your Sunday School Class, Bible Study and prayer group to pray also: http://www.pray4anna.com/

ALSO, If you have ANY information/ideas/suggestions/insights of what organizations here in the US we can contact and ask for help, please let us know!

"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. " (2 Corinthians 9:7)

"Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap..." (Luke 6:38)

In HIM,

Ola, Brent Snyder and family

Magical

So for years Disney World has been called "The Most Magical Place on Earth." I went to Disney World last week hoping to find out if that was true. I saw a little magic. Here's my story...

My wife, mother-in-law, my two kids and I were at the Magic Kingdom. Peyton, my 3 year old son, desperately wanted to drive the Grand Prix cars. (If you're not familiar with this ride, it's basically go-karts on a rail system so that no one can wreck anything.) The wait for the ride was about 30-40 minutes. We were making the most of the time by arguing over who was going to win and what color cars we wanted to drive. We watched little kids, teenagers, senior citizens, moms, dads, and anyone else you can think of climb into the cars and speed around the track. I'm sure this day was just like any other day at the park. That was all about to change...

You see, anyone can ride these cars. You just have to be a certain height to ride them by yourself. There was a young boy who had stood in line for what I'm sure seemed like an eternity for him. He was expecting to hop in a car all by himself and speed around the track. His family was watching him from the grandstands. They had watched him weave through the line and wait patiently for his turn. The problem was no one had measured him. He was a few inches to short to drive by himself.

When his turn came he was measured by the attendant and told he couldn't ride without an adult. The line was packed shoulder to shoulder with people who were waiting. Without an adult to ride with, he would have to be escorted out. He hung his head in disappointment as the girl in charge put her arm around him and led him to the exit. That's when the magic happened.

From out of no where came a Disney Executive who happened to be walking through the park. In his suit and tie, with his fancy gold Disney name tag and black brief case, this guy started jumping line. Literally, he jumped the fence, went under a divider, unhooked a chain from the railing, jumped over another rail and met them at the exit. He waved his hand to the girl in charge in a matter of fact way, as if to say "I've got this". He smiled at the boy, put his arm around him and led him back to the car. They got in the Grand Prix together. The guy in the suit took the passenger seat and the little boy hopped in behind the wheel. Seats belts were locked in, they looked at each other, and they sped off.

We were almost to the front of the line when their turn was over. I tried my best to snap a picture as they drove by. They were both smiling and laughing. They shared something together that neither of them will ever forget. What they didn't realize was I wouldn't forget it either.

I believe this is a modern day picture of what Jesus was talking about in Matthew 25:40. He said, "The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

The guy in the suit didn't give the boy water, or clothes. The kid didn't need those things. At that moment, all that boy needed was someone to ride with him. This man was willing to be what that kid needed. It was truly a blessing to see, and a challenge to be that kind of blessing to someone else.

God may never call you to let some kid drive you around a glorified go-kart track. But if you'll keep your eyes open like this guy did I'm sure God will show you how you can step up and help someone right when they need it. And when you see it, I pray you'll jump fences, go under dividers, unhook chains from the railings, and do anything else you need to do to meet the need God reveals to you.

So does Disney World live up to its "Magical" billing? Thanks to that dedicated Disney employee who was willing to go way outside his job description, I believe it does. For at least a few minutes, it truly was the most Magical place on earth... Both for that little boy, and for me.

Stretch

Hebrews 11:6 says, "Without faith it is impossible to please God." Jesus pleaded with his followers, knowing the time was short, reminding them to  "be on guard! Be alert!" (Mark 13:33) That's why it's time our church begins to constantly ask God to stretch us.

When I was a junior in high school, I was a back-up point guard for the varsity basketball team. I had hurt my ankle pretty bad the year before and had missed most of the season. I had a long road ahead of me to work my way back into the rotation. To top things off, I was pretty scared. I went through a lot of pain with my injury and less than a year removed from from that pain I was running, jumping, and playing very cautiously. The fact is, I was scared to death to get hurt again and it was showing.

The starting point guard was a guy named Brad. He was a little guy, but he played much bigger than he was. He was strong, athletic, tough as nails, and he expected a lot out of the rest of the team.

One day after practice, several of us lined up to try to dunk the ball. We had a few guys who could dunk, and several more who could touch the rim (and thus thought each day may be the lucky day that we actually slam one down!) so we lined up like this after practice almost every day. I was near the back of the line, but when it came my turn, I went for a two hand dunk and (like every time before) the slammed the ball hard off the rim, and I was left hanging on the goal trying to make another miss look cool.

That's when Brad had seen enough. He said (clean version) "Trotter, quit jumping like a girl and dunk it already." That kind of upset me because I had one of the highest vertical leaps on the team. I was only 5'10 and I was closer to dunking than most of our big guys. Before I could say anything, Brad grabbed me by the arm and began to teach. "You've got to get lower if you want to get higher... You're legs are like coiled springs... You're not going to hurt yourself you big sissy... get low and explode up." He told me, he showed me, and he gave me a ball. Now the whole team was watching. I tried it his way... kind of. I got a little lower, but I was still protecting myself. I slammed another off the rim. Brad threw me the ball, called me some names and I was at it again. This time I committed to it. I did it full speed, just like he showed me. To my surprise, I jumped so high that I didn't know what to do! I kind of threw the ball at the goal as I jumped way up past it. It rattled into the hoop and I descended back to the ground. Some guys were laughing, some were pumped and ready to try again themselves, and some were just shocked. Brad looked at me and said, "Now that's more like it. You'll be throwing it down clean in no time. You're legs have more in them than you think." He was right. By the time I went home, I was dunking with ease.

You know, God teaches these kinds of lessons to his children every day. I'm not talking about lessons in how to maximize the transfer of energy from your calf muscles. I'm talking about the kind of lessons that remind us we have more in us than we think.

God wants to stretch us. He wants us to live by faith, and to believe what he says. To experience something new. Something different.

Ask God to stretch you. Then follow his direction. He may ask you to teach a class, or host a life group. He may stretch you by prompting you to be a greeter or a prayer warrior. He may ask you to go on a mission trip or to give two or three times more than you've ever given before. He may challenge you to do something your closest friends believe is foolish or impossible.

Let him stretch you. Attempt what other say can't be done. You have more in you than you think. God has put more in you than anyone else sees. Ask God to stretch you, and decide to live by faith. Because without faith it's impossible to please God...

Regifting Christmas

Are you familiar with the concept of "Regifting"? Webster's Dictionary defines regifting as "To give an unwanted gift to someone else; to give as a gift something one previously received as a gift."

Most people would agree that there's nothing wrong with regifting. According to regiftable.com more than half of Americans surveyed said they had regifted something and it was perfectly acceptable. Especially when the regifting is beneficial for both the giver and the receiver.

But, For every successful "regift" (that extra toaster you got at your wedding that you gave to your cousin at his wedding and they loved it!), there is at least one or two stories of regifting gone wrong. Here's a few examples...

One woman tells this story... "I have an aunt who is a bit of a pack rat. I'm used to getting really tacky gifts from her but don think much of it and just donate them to goodwill. Its the thought that counts. Well one year she gave me a nice two pound box of Sees Candies. I thought wow, finally at least something I can use. Who doesn't like chocolate, right? So I open it up and grab one and take a big bite and immediately spit it out. Something was horribly wrong. It was disgusting! I thought how can you possibly mess up chocolate? I look on the box and found a USE BY date and it was a box from the mid 70's!"

If you like that one, you'll love this...  "This year was my high school graduation, and my family members were more than generous with their overflow of gifts and money. That included my dead beat grandfather that sent me a gift card from Target dated from February for 25 dollars, my graduation was in June let me remind you. I went to Target to pick out a nice 25 dollar item, when I get to the cash register and was told there was only $13.73 left on it. Yes, not only an old, but used gift card. My mother was furious with him.

OK, one more just for fun... My wife had sprung it on me that we were going to my father-in-laws house for my brother-in-laws birthday and we both realized that we didn't have a gift for him and there wasn't enough time to run to the store so I decided to go through my closet in hopes of finding a gift. I opened the closet and started to rummage through my clothes when low and behold, I find the Holy Grail that I'm looking for, a BRAND NEW sweater with the TAGS still attached. My wife quickly wrapped it and we left. After blowing out the candles he begins to open his gift and when he lifts it up for everyone to see with a funny smile on his face. I couldn't tell if he was happy, disappointed, or disgusted. He turns to me and says " So I guess you didn't like the sweater either?" So I said "what do you mean?" all confused. I he replied "My ex-girlfriend gave me this sweater 3 years ago and I didn't care for it so I gave it to you as a Christmas gift a few years ago."

I could read these stories all day! They crack me up...  


But they also get me thinking... We regift Christmas PRESENTS but what if we simply regifted CHRISTMAS? How many times as Christians do we say something like "The greatest gift ever given to mankind was Jesus Christ."? What a great gift it was! After all, because of our sin, we were destined for eternal separation from God if not for this gift. We needed Jesus to come just the way he did so that we might receive the gift that Romans 6:23b tells us about when it says, "but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Every year at Christmas, we celebrate the virgin birth of our Lord and Savior as he came into the flesh, dwelt among us and made it possible for us to live eternally with him. We reflect on the awesomeness of the gift and we express our continued thanks for the redemptive work that began in Bethlehem over 2,000 years ago. But have you ever thought about taking the gift of Jesus Christ, that was given to you, and REGIFTING it for Christmas? If it truly was the greatest gift you've ever received, it stands to reason that someone you know could probably use it as well. What better time of year than Christmas to give the gift of Jesus Christ to someone who needs him?

These thoughts have led me to a new series at Vantage Point that will begin on December 12th. It's Called "Regifting Christmas" and will last for 3 weeks. We will look more specifically at the gifts God has given us and we will challenge ourselves to Regift these gifts to the world. Here's the schedule:

December 12th -"Regifting Love"
December 19th- "Regifting Hope"
December 26th- "Regifting Forgiveness"

Please come be with us for this exciting series, during a very exciting time of the year. I know you won't want to miss it. The best part is, when you're "Regifting Christmas" you don't have to remember to change the wrapping paper or the tags on the box!

God Bless!