The Minion Claw Machine

Yesterday I had an encounter with a "Minion"  'claw machine.' You know those machines that you put your money in and try to win a prize even though your chances are pretty slim..... It was one of those. 

I went to Walmart to get cash back to specifically use on this machine in an attempt to win a tiny stuffed minion. I had $5 and 5 chances.... But as you can imagine $5 later I had no success. I left that Walmart minionless.

It was pretty disappointing, with as much as I love minions. But now that I think about it, I basically threw $5 down the drain to try and win something that would probably sit on my shelf or my bed for a few months and serve no real purpose. 

But we do this all the time in life. We invest our time, money, and energy into worldly, sinful, and worthless things and we gain nothing real in return. Sin seems inviting and exciting, but the result leaves us empty handed and broken-hearted. 

I'll be honest, Kevin, Bob, and Stuart were calling my name from that machine. And I easily caved. How often does sin call your name and you give in? How often do you choose to invest your efforts into gaining worldly things rather than treasure in heaven? 

Matthew 16:26

"What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?" 

Proverbs 4:23

"Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life." 

Although we are completely saved by the grace and love of Christ, we are still called to guard our hearts and avoid the sins of the world. Temptation is everywhere, trying to get you to cave and give away your soul. 

So guard your heart and decide today and everyday how you will respond. 

Minions in claw machines may be screaming out your name, but it's up to you to choose how you will answer. 

"It's a Great Day at Chick Fil A"

“It’s a great day at Chick Fil A.”

Those words are music to my ears. Indeed, I do love Chick Fil A, and maybe I even have a slight addiction. I could go on and on and on about how magnificent I think their food is. Not to mention, I get a nice and cheap meal deal as a college student. But if I simply talked about the food, you’d either get sick of me real fast and stop reading before I actually get to the point (I promise there is one), you would think I have an unhealthy obsession with this wonderful place, or you would go buy yourself a Chick Fil A sandwich right now. Maybe, you’d even do all three of those things.

Whatever it may be, back to the first quote: “It’s a great day at Chick Fil A.”

Think about it. Maybe you have encountered some unpleasant experiences with Chick Fil A, but I personally cannot think of a time when I walked into a Chick Fil A and didn’t feel welcome. The employees make it a point, to make sure that from the moment you walk in the door, all the way up to the moment you leave, that you will experience joy, feel cared for, and be happily served.

And as Christians, I think we skim over that aspect of our faith way too often. Let’s be real, not every day is going to be a great day. That’s just the way the cookie crumbles. And that doesn’t mean that we have to pretend to have our act together all the time, we’re absolutely free to struggle and hurt and experience waves of many different emotions. But there should be one driving emotion deep within your soul that no one can take away: Joy. It’s everlasting joy because as Christians we know where our real home really is. It’s joy because we know there is nothing we can do to escape the love of God. It’s joy because we have a Father in heaven that has sent his son as the ultimate sacrifice so we can live our lives free.

That kind of joy could spread like a wildfire if we share it enough.

But like I mentioned, we far too often miss the point. We forget about grace, and living free, and our ultimate home. And then, we lose our joy.

There is way too much pain in the world for us not to share our joy. Joy is contagious. Chick Fil A makes it a point to share their joy, and they’ve become a very successful and loved food chain. Do you want to turn someone’s day around? Do you want to change someone’s life? Do you want to change the world?

Be joyful.

It sounds simple, and maybe it won’t work all the time. But I promise joy is contagious. This world needs it. People are looking for it and we as Christians have it. So make it a “Great day at Chick Fil A.” Share smiles, be kind, show love, be a servant, and share the joy that people so desperately need.

“The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness.” –Eric Hoffer

Joy is a gift from God; a gift that we are called to share in a world of people looking for it in all the wrong places.

“Though you have not seen him, you love him; and even though you do not see him now, you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” -1 Peter 1:9

Grace Interrupted

This is just something I wrote, thinking back to how I felt sometimes in my weakest moments. As I look back now, it's amazing to truly see how God speaks in what feels like the darkest of times. I'm not fully recovered and I still have a long journey ahead, but by the grace of God I know I'll make it. 

Grace Interrupted 

It started out with me 

Doing my own thing 

Caught up in the world

Thinking I'm good 

Next thing I knew 

I fell down to my knees... Literally

Stuck on the ground 

It seemed like there was no way out 

Just when I was starting to see the light 

Bad news swept in and broke me down 

Darkness again fills my mind 

Only one small light kept faking that smile

People say "Be strong" 

"You'll be alright"

"It could've been worse"

"You'll get through this in time"

But those words are all tossed aside

By the demon in my mind

Telling me I'm alone 

Too broken to be healed 

Too messed up to be loved 

Too weak to ever be strong 

Another sleepless night goes by 

Going through the motions again

Day by day 

Feeling sicker 

Feeling weaker 

Still feeling like I got everything I deserved 

Constantly trying to keep out those thoughts 

But those demons sometimes seem way too strong 

I give everything I can to push them away

Just for a moment, so I can breathe and feel safe 

But the story doesn't end there 

The story didn't even begin there

God's story is speaking 

My mind just can't see it 

The page starts to turn 

And God writes these words 

Grace, hope, and love 

Safety, peace, and freedom 

The words keep on coming 

The demon's voice in my mind starts to shake

Finally I'm able to breathe 

The chains keeping out any joy

Are breaking  

"You have to believe I'm fighting this with you. You have to believe that you really are strong. It's not who you are, it's not anything you've done or can do, you are mine. Stop holding it together and be real. I know that you're hurting, open up to me and I'll heal. Why do you listen to the demons and not me? Wouldn't you rather trust the God of all peace?"

But I tried God

I was doing just fine

I was trusting in you

Why'd you let darkness sneak into my life?

"The darkness didn't sneak into your life. You allowed it to break in and steal your joy. My beloved you took your eyes off of me. And as much as I wanted to refocus your heart, I wanted you to choose me, to choose me above all. Love that isn't free isn't actually love at all. As difficult as it is for you to see, by falling to your knees, you actually were being set free. When you fell, you finally shattered completely. You tried so hard to be good enough all the time, I needed you to fall, so you would finally see. I am good enough. You don't have to be. On your knees in surrender, at your weakest and most broken times, you've never been more beautiful to me." 

But God I.... 

Then Grace interrupted

"Shhhh.... Just listen. See this is what I mean! You think you have to redeem and explain yourself. Stop living as a slave wrapped up in your own chains. Grace has been right here all along, you just simply have to accept that it's yours. I don't want you to speak, I don't want you to run, I don't want you to try, I don't want you to fight, right now I just want you to be still. I will speak, I will run, I will fight. I just want you to be held. Be held in my Grace, in my love, in my freedom. Be held in my protection, in my peace, in my healing. Remember when I said to focus on me? That's all you have to do now. Don't focus on the demons, don't focus on the pain. Focus on the love I have for you, focus on the healing I'm working in your heart. When you focus on the storm, you'll think that I'm gone. But when you focus on the cross, you'll remember this all. There will be a scar, but there was a purpose in it all. When you look at the scar, you'll look back to the cross. You'll see my son Jesus, and the scars that He wears, so you could live this life free, it's the weight of the world that He bears. So don't try to earn grace, don't dwell on your mistakes, I'll carry your shame, your burdens, your sin, now stop holding on and be held and get back to living again." 

Live Awake

I've been a Christian ever since I was little. I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home where faith was always exemplified. But that meant I had to really work to never stop pursuing Christ. When it comes to faith, if you don't have the mindset to continually grow, you're going to go absolutely nowhere. Not only that, but you're going to start falling backwards. It's like pulling a sled up a mountain. If you keep pulling the sled and are moving forward, you'll keep moving up. But if you stop and sit down, the sled is going to slowly start going down the mountain, picking up speed as it goes. 

If you ever feel like you've reached a place where your relationship with Christ is strong enough, you should stop in your tracks and immediately do something to change that feeling. 

It's even like being an athlete. You should set goals along the way, but you should never reach a place where you stop practicing and training. Because what happens when you stop practicing and training? Slowly you will lose your technique, your strength, your muscle memory, and everyday you'll be pushed back even further. You probably won't lose all your knowledge and understanding of the game, but you'll lose your ability to play it to your full potential. 

So you're a Christian. And maybe you have been one for awhile now. You set goals along the way and imagine how strong your faith will be in the future. But then you reach a place where you think your faith is solid and you've done all you needed to do. You still go to church, chapel, and keep up your Christian routines. But slowly you start to lose a real relationship with God. Your heart stops beating for the God of all creation, and starts beating for worldly tasks and mundane things. Your worship becomes so routine you don't even feel like God is present anymore. You serve and give to others just because that's what you know you should do, not because you actually want to out of a heart for the Lord. And pretty soon, you've really lost everything that makes a relationship with God so special. You might know all the right things to do and still remember Scripture, but you've lost an alive and active relationship with someone who so desperately wants one with you. 

This is something I've battled with for a long time now. It's easy to compare myself to other believers and think to myself that I'm better off than them. Not only is that a wrong thing to do, but it also is completely irrelevant because God looks at me the same way He looks at you and everyone else. He looks at us the same way He looked at the actual sinners hanging besides Jesus on the cross.... And that is with an unconditional love, mercy, and grace that we will never understand. 

Some humans like to deceive themselves into thinking they have everything together. They keep up their routines and slowly start to fall asleep. 

That's me. 

That's where I was a few months ago. 

But Grace came in and literally knocked me down to my knees. 

And even though I couldn't see it then, I can see now how much I needed that. 

It's like I was sleep walking, and I needed God to shake me and break me so I could wake up and see everything I've been missing. 

1 Thessalonians 5:6-10 (MSG) 

 "So let's not sleepwalk through life like those others. Let's keep our eyes open and be smart.

 People sleep at night and get drunk at night. 

But not us! Since we're creatures of Day, let's act like it. Walk out into the daylight sober, dressed up in faith, love, and the hope of salvation.

 God didn't set us up for an angry rejection but for salvation by our Master, Jesus Christ.

 He died for us, a death that triggered life. Whether we're awake with the living or asleep with the dead, we're alive with him!"

And with that, I'll end with one question:

Are you awake with the living? Or are you asleep with the dead?