No...God wasn't out to lunch!

Hello friends!

The title of this post is two dimensional. The first is the fact that I hadn't posted in a while! For that I apologize! I have been extremely busy preparing for the launch of Give Your Gifts, and just taking care of a lot of personal things! With any luck, I am back to a place where I will be able to post regularly!

The second meaning of the title is a topic I have been thinking about lately. Have you ever heard of the theory that God created the Earth, and everything in it, and then just left it. Some people believe this, that God existed, but is no longer involved/concerned with his creation.

I will start by saying that I have never thought this to be true, even before becoming a Christian. I have acted as if this were true though.

Let me explain-

When things are going really great, I pray a lot. I study the bible often. I give God thanks for his every blessing. I hold nothing back from the Lord. Similarly, when things are bad, and everything seems to be going wrong, I pray a lot. I offer those struggles up to God. I know that I need His unfailing love and support to get through.

Now what happens in between? You know, the times when things are good, when nothing really bad is happening, but nothing too great is happening either.

(Let me stop here for a second)

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Something great is always happening. Sometimes we don't recognize what it is, but something great is always happening. Whether they seem good, bad, or indifferent, they are part of God's plan. If you didn't go through the pleasure or the pain that you go through on a daily basis, everything would be thrown completely out of line in God's plan. Seriously. Think about a few things in your life. I am going to give you five areas from your life, think about how those things came to be, and I think you will see that things aren't random.

How you found the faith. (or lack there of)
How you met your significant other.
How you got your job.
How you chose your school.
How you found out what your favorite food was.

I'm really serious about these. This exercise seems very silly, because it's obvious that everything is a result of something else. That's the point. God has a plan. As crazy as it may seem sometimes, He has a plan.

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Ok, so now we have established that everything in your life is great, because they are all part of God's plan. Let's look at the things though that don't SEEM to be too good, or too bad. Those in between times.

I don't pray as much, I don't read the bible as much, and I don't offer the little things up to God. So I had the chance to talk with someone I love. Eh...it's great, but I deserve it. I'm a good Christian. My camera breaks and I have to buy a new one. Eh...I have enough money to buy a new one, so I can handle it, I don't really need God's help.

I'm not proud that I do this...that's why I'm writing about it. I wish I didn't. I tend to get down when things aren't too good or bad. The reason for that is because I tend to build myself up. When bad comes along, I tend to think that I can do something about it, and when the blessings come, I take some credit for it, and chalk them up to my hard work.

I am going to really focus on thanking God for the little things, praying for the little challenges, and offering everything up to Him. Speaking of blessings, I want to thank God, and all of my friends and family right now for all of the work he and you all has/have done for Give Your Gifts. The launch is getting closer, and this weekend I had the opportunity to bring a few folks out and record our mission statement from the dugout and field at US Cellular Field, home of the Chicago White Sox. You can see the video below!



HAVE A GREAT WEEK!!

Joe