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Limits

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By Jeff Foerster

Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him all creatures here below. Praise God for your limitations. What?! Yes, I said that. Sunny days and puppies, candy and rainbows, vacations and honeymoons; all are easy to praise God for.

When the livin’ is easy, the praises are plentiful. But limitations? Isn’t it enough to simply endure them without swearing? What limitations are you facing today? Are you limited by a lack of money, making you unable to retire, purchase a house, or meet monthly expenses? Do you have physical limitations that keep you from being or doing what you greatly desire? Is your limitation time, frustrating you because you’re unable to accomplish the goals your eyes can see but your hands can’t quite reach? Do the limits before you involve relationships with others?

My limitations create in me a need. No matter how much I am able, it is not enough. Neither can my needs be satisfied by others. Two choices emerge: hopelessness or dependence. Hopelessness is the reward of self-determination. Dependence is the route to peace.

Wherever and whenever you find limits, opportunity has arisen. Choice lies before you. The most difficult and unnatural of these choices for me is also the most beneficial: praising God. I would often rather complain or sulk. I would rather seethe or look for someone to blame, or at least displace my anger toward someone else. Yet none of these things will help, save praising God.

How do we praise Him in such times? We must acknowledge that our circumstances do not control our mindset. We have the choice; we can train our thoughts upon that which ails us or we can place them upon Him who heals us. Doing so will not make difficulties disappear, but it will put them in perspective. Scripture tells us to, “… set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2) When I cast my gaze upward, I begin to loosen my grip on this life. My limitations begin to fade from view.

A fellow once said, “A man’s got to know his limitations.” I agree. For in knowing my own limitations I can truly appreciate the God who has none.

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Father’s Day

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By Brian Waple

This coming Sunday is Father’s Day. It is a day on which we honor our fathers and show them how much they mean to us. How should we celebrate our fathers on this special day? In my family, we get together and share a meal, or we’ll go do something we haven’t done before (one year, Cindy pirated me away to Seattle, where we met our sons and went on an Argosy cruise). In whatever we do, it’s the time together that makes it special and memorable for me, time spent in familial fellowship.

We are told that Jesus often spent time in familial fellowship with his Father. In Luke 6:12, we read, “In these days He went out to the mountain to pray, and all night He continued in prayer to God.” Because He gave so much to those around Him, Jesus needed these times alone with His Father to recharge Himself, to draw strength for the road that lay ahead. In John 17 (the High Priestly Prayer), we read,

“I do not ask for these only [referring to His disciples] but also for those who will believe in Me through their word, that they may all be one, just as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent me. The glory that You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one even as We are one, I in them and You in Me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved me.”

In this prayer we see the intimate relationship Jesus shared with His Father, and how He was passing on that very same relationship to His believers, both then and now.

So this Father’s Day remember to celebrate our Heavenly Father, for it is through Him that we draw strength for our own unique journeys. And it is through Him that we enter into the loving relationship we were always meant for—being one with the Father.

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Unprecedented

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By Dan Amos

Last year we embarked on a strategic adventure. As a body, we brought on a
third full-time staff member. We stepped out in faith that the budget would
be met and through your faithful giving and the Lord’s blessing we are
seeing a small abundance that has many praising God on a regular basis. In
nineteen years, I can’t recall a time such as this. We are working on a
strategic response.

Budget line items for grounds and facilities have been routinely underfunded,
and now we have a bit of money in the bank beyond our operating reserve.
Even though some really good deals have presented themselves recently, we
chose not to go after them because they weren’t strategic. This implies a
firmer set of strategic goals than what we had at the time, but we are
working on it.

We’ve begun collecting requirements from leaders and are putting together a
plan. We’re forming a strategic goals team for this reason. We are also
recruiting a grounds team and a facilities team.

The grounds team will look at what needs to be done for lawns and plants,
sprinklers and tools. The facilities team will look at the maintenance
needs of our buildings and property. With lists of what needs to be done we
can prioritize, budget and schedule. These teams will coordinate with the
strategic goals team to make sure we maximize our efforts.

The people we need for the grounds and facilities team need to love Elim and
want to see it thrive for God’s glory. Team members won’t be expected to be
doing the work any more than now, but we need people with an eye for what
needs to be done as well as some people with expertise in various areas.
Elim’s people are great at responding to the call when work needs to be done.
Now we need to identify the work to be done.

If you were here on Sunday and heard the message on our Shepherd and His sheep,
you can see that we need some lead sheep to make the first move. If that’s you,
please contact me and we’ll get to work. Thank you!

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Who Will Truly Be the Authority in My Life? Me? Or God?

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By Beau Leaman

I grew up in downtown Puyallup with everyone on my mother’s side living on the same street. It was our turf. We played army together, tackle football in the mud, and attached sleds to our ATV’s in the winter. It was a little bit of paradise.

I attended a private Christian school in Tacoma, and my church family was only 15 minutes from our house. My parents not only taught me the word, but they lived it. Daily routines consisted of family prayer time at night, family devotions in the morning, and countless hours of Scripture memorization. In grade school, according to my mother, I was always known as the kid who hated to be in trouble, and was honest as soon as possible with any mistakes.

One of my biggest strengths is empathy. Since I was a child, I have always been concerned with those less fortunate than me, as well as those put down for another’s personal gain. I always had pretty decent grades, and for quite a bit I was the most athletic kid in my school. On the surface I had a great life, and no one looking from the outside would ever beg to differ.

While I was considered athletic, it came in seasons. I dealt with a lot of insecurities.  I found my worth because of my athletic ability, and when I did not perform, I chose myself as my authority. Growing up, I fed my insecurities by having as many friends as possible and when I needed God to walk with, I chose myself as my authority. I wanted to be known as the kid that had it all together, and when people did not see me the way I wanted, I chose myself, instead of God.

Six months into my marriage I had a necessary “Come to Jesus moment.” Things were not the way I had envisioned them, and that was my first problem. I had not given my marriage to Christ, and allowed Him all authority in my life. I believe each person, young or old, enters a crossroad in their life. This crossroad could be your testimony, a time you truly felt you became a man or woman, or simply surrendered your life to Christ.

After my first year of marriage, I was at a crossroad. Choose God as my authority, or continue to feed my insecurities and ruin my marriage. Praise God I chose to nail my insecurities to the cross. This was not simply a magic potion ordeal, but a process I chose to give to Christ, and take up my cross. I wrestle with this daily, but I find hope in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that there is nothing He will not come along side me with, and be my refuge.

Really think through your life. Who is your authority? You? Or God?

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Mission Scrubbed Becomes Mission Accomplished!

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By Stan Peterson

I have been traveling down a long, winding road to becoming a U.S. Army Chaplain.  I applied back in June of 2012 and have been awaiting a green light for my medical exam, which is the last portion of my Chaplain Packet. I need to complete my Chaplain Packet prior to going before an Accession Board where a team of high ranking chaplains will determine whether or not I will be accepted into the regular Army as a Chaplain.

Last week I was notified that I was approved to fly to Los Angeles to take my medical exam. On Wednesday my family drove me to the airport, dropped me off in love, and returned to the house. I checked the departure monitor, found my flight number, and saw the words “on schedule.” I proceeded to the TSA checkpoint, where I was x-ray’d and allowed through to my gate. I found a comfortable chair and nestled in, preparing to spend my hour and a half wait listening to an Old Testament lecture and taking notes on my MacBook.

About 45 minutes into the wait I got a call from the north Los Angeles area; I knew this was my recruiter. I did not think he’d be calling me to wish me a good flight, so I assumed he was giving me pick-up instructions for after my arrival at LAX. His voice tipped it off — I knew it was not good news. The processing station would not take me because of a lack of paperwork.

He apologized profusely and I forgave him. He said that he would reschedule me for the end of this month, and our conversation ended after he apologized again and said that he would take me out to dinner after my medical exam.

We laughed together and I said goodbye. I hung up the phone, took a deep breath, and called my beautiful wife, who’d just arrived safely at home 15 minutes earlier. This was an “uncomfortable grace.”  I have been rescheduled for this medical exam three times since this last October. At this moment, how was I to react? I could react out of my feelings. What was I feeling? Frustration, anger, disappointment. But did my feelings justify my thoughts and actions? Who was I to get upset with the recruiter, let alone his commanding officer? What good would it do to spew out my long list of sacrifices and entitlements?

No, this was a grace from God!  An “uncomfortable grace.” As Paul Tripp puts it, “God will take you where you haven’t intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own.” I was weak and wanting, wanting in so many different ways; but His grace is sufficient, and in my weakness His power is perfected.  I say this not to boast in me or my response to this circumstance but to boast in the cross of Christ and what God does to test and grow us. God has done this with the saints from the beginning. We see it in the life of Abraham when God calls him to sacrifice Isaac. We see it in Gideon when God asks him to tear down his father’s idols. We see it in Esther going before King Ahasuerus to plead for Israel.

Whether you are a man, woman, or child, “God will take you where you haven’t intended to go in order to produce in you what you could not achieve on your own.”  Be encouraged!  This testing is a sign of God’s purpose in our lives. God loves you and He does not withhold from those He loves. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not with Him also freely give us all things?”

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The Secret to Having Fun!

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By Nate Champneys

I meet weekly with a dear friend of mine who just turned 70. He has given me so much wisdom and advice over the years that I told him at one point that I felt like our relationship was very one sided. I felt like I got way more out of being his friend than he got out of being mine. A few weeks later he said to me, “Nate, you mentioned that you felt you get more out of our relationship than I do … well, I have something I would like you to teach me.”

I thought, Hmmm…what could I possibly teach him? This is a man who has done a lot in his lifetime. He has more life experience than I probably will ever have. “I want you to teach me to have fun,” he said. “I have had a very hard life and have spent my whole life working very hard, but I feel like I never learned to have fun.”

I didn’t really know what to say. I have just taken fun for granted my whole life.

It occurred to me that in general, my generation is very entertainment-driven. I don’t think we actually can comprehend fully a life without fun. Furthermore I think we tend to make a lot of our decisions based on how entertaining something may be. My friend is 70 years old. His generation has seen a lot. He has seen a lot. There seems to be a difference between my generation and my friend’s generation when it comes to entertainment.

My friend’s generation understand that there are many things that we must do in life that are not fun, they are not entertaining but must be done just the same. I look at myself and I think I have always had the expectation that I must have some sort of fun in my life on a regular basis.

This whole discussion got me thinking about fun and made me ask the question: What is fun? This thing that I seem to take for granted in my life, what is it that makes something fun? So when my friend asked me to teach him how to have fun my first response was this: ICE CREAM. Ice cream is fun, right? One of my favorite memories as a kid was when my family would spontaneously go out for ice cream. Ice cream is an inexpensive way to add a little fun into your life.

But the more I thought about it, I didn’t really know why ice cream was fun. It just is. But is it the ice cream itself that is fun or the experience? In my opinion, Ice cream at home is not as much fun as going out for ice cream so maybe it is the spontaneity of going to get ice cream that is fun.

As I thought about myself and what I find fun, I think I have finally discovered the secret to fun. Do you want to know what it is? Okay here it is. BREAK RULES. Yes, I really mean break rules. No, I do not want you to go rob a bank. Please don’t go drive 110 m.p.h. in a school zone. Here is what I mean by break rules.

We all have unwritten rules that we live our lives by. For example, most of us probably have a rule that we live by, that we do not go for walks in the dark at midnight. It is something we just don’t do. I use this example because this is exactly what my wife and I did while visiting her family one Christmas. They thought we were crazy! But we had such a fun time walking in the snow in the dark. It is one my favorite memories with my wife and one of the things that made it fun was it was something we did that didn’t make any sense. Life doesn’t always have to make sense.

I used to run the junior high program at a church in Chicagoland. At one of our summer events we made gallons of chocolate pudding and had a giant chocolate pudding fight. The students are still talking about it to this day. Why was it so fun? We broke a rule. We live by the unwritten rule that you don’t throw chocolate pudding at people. You have to be able to ask this question: “What is the worst thing that will happen?” “The kids might stain their clothes.” We had all the kids bring clothes that could get dirty. Problem solved. “Pudding will get everywhere.” We had the pudding fight in a pasture where it didn’t matter. Again, problem solved.

You also have to ask the question: “Is it really that big of a deal if ______?” To have fun by breaking rules, you just have to make sure that the consequences are acceptable. Obviously it would make no sense to go for a walk at midnight if you have a job interview at 7 a.m. the next day or to have a pudding fight after in church clothes, in the sanctuary.

Now I am married to a planner. She likes all her ducks in a row. She likes everything planned out to the “T”. And that is okay sometimes too. You can plan fun too, but even she would admit that her life has been a lot more fun when she learned how relax and “go with it” when my spontaneous nature comes out.

Here’s an idea. You probably have a rule that you didn’t realize that you had, that you don’t go away for the weekend without planning out where you are going. Break that rule. Just get in your car and start driving. Just remember though, spontaneous fun and rule breaking is never about the destination. It’s about the fun ride there.

I was on a walk with my family the other day and we walked by a flock of geese on a patch of grass by the road. I looked at my three year old and asked, “Would you like to chase the geese?” His eyes lit up so without a moment of hesitation, my three year old, my one and half year, my 9 month pregnant wife and I chased geese. It was so much fun! As children, we are really good at living in the moment and not caring what other people think.

As adults we view living in the moment as immature and we care what everybody thinks. We do need to be mature when its time to be mature, but I firmly believe that there are times in life when, for a little while its okay to live in the moment. We need to plan for the future but we also need to stop once in a while and do something crazy. Break a rule! Chase geese!

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