"We are the most problematic participants in our lives."

A thought by Daniel Fusco, from his book, Crazy Happy (p. 28). The Crown Publishing Group, Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

And if we are really honest, we know that to be the truth.

A complicated relationship.

Daniel says, "We complicate our relationships, our work environments, our pursuits in life. And then we try to fix the people around us, or we get extra introspective and stare inward at our own motives, hoping to simplify."

He goes on,"Like when we have interactions that strike us as a bit odd, and we didn’t get the responses we expected. For many of us, before we know it, we are down the rabbit hole about how they must feel something negative about us. And that thing gets big in our heads really quick. We begin apologizing. Or worse, we get frustrated with them. Oftentimes, they haven’t had one thought about us. They are busy thinking through their own stuff. But in our complications, we make mountains out of molehills.

"Either way, our eyes get fixed on ourselves, and when we become preoccupied with ourselves, that is pride. Did you catch that? The pride that increases in our hearts as we 'grow up' makes us complex."

He continues, "But there’s good news: the opposite is true as well. Becoming more humble means we begin to simplify.

"Few of us have ever wished to be more humble. Usually when we’re up to our necks in the drama of life, we want to puff ourselves up to feel better about ourselves. After all, humble people don’t seem to get ahead very often. Humble people are (we think) too quiet, too passive, too easy for someone bigger and louder to push aside. But, of course, that’s us believing a lie. Jesus, because of his humility, was able to be perfectly strong.

"He was strong in his simplicity. Is it any wonder that this real Jesus opened his famous sermon in the Beatitudes by reminding us of this crazy way of life? He painted a beautiful but shocking picture of what a really blessed life is, starting with how we enter the kingdom of heaven. With this truth, he gave us the key to cross the threshold into his kingdom. Once we’re inside, there will be a whole host of other fruits that begin to cascade from our kingdom lives."

Daniel then says, "What’s fascinating about Jesus is that only he would start out with, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit.' Think about this! Let it sink in. He’s saying, 'Oh how lucky are the poor in spirit!' Can we all agree that nobody talks like that today? None of us feels lucky when being humbled, do we? Talk about crazy happy!

"This is one of the primary reasons our Western society has issues with the real Jesus. Those who are poor in spirit are by definition acknowledging their spiritual bankruptcy: they know they aren’t enough. In our highly individualistic, 'work hard, play hard' society, the idea of spiritual poverty flies in the face of our value sets, especially the cultural movement to value our sense of self above anything else. When we love ourselves the way culture encourages us to, we end up narcissistic and self-obsessed. Yes, under the banner of God’s love for us, we should love ourselves. But that love isn’t a self-focus; it comes from walking in the reality that we are loved by God. Ironically, it’s by taking our eyes off ourselves that we can see and value who we really are. What an incredible gift."

And that is truly an incredible gift, isn't it?

Yes, yes!

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

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