Author: mmccullum

Building Your Core Strength

“God leads us by unexpected ways, off the strong and solid land.”

-Amy Carmichael

Clenching my toes in the wet sand, I looked up at the grey clouds filtering the early morning sun.  It was the last day of our family vacation and I planned to make the most of it, whether it rained or not.  Stand-up Paddle Surfing had been our family’s favorite activity in the Newport Harbor all week.  The final morning dawned cool and damp after an overnight rainstorm, but the calm bay beckoned me onward.  Other days we’d stood on the beach in gentle afternoon breezes that felt more like fierce headwinds once we paddled out on the bay.  Battling strong currents and choppy water, we’d bent our knees to avoid being toppled by wakes of passing boats. Each day we paddled out, our core muscles became stronger and our legs more steady as we balanced on the constantly moving boards.  I didn’t want to pass up the chance to glide through calm waters on that final day.

To the casual observer, paddle surfing hardly looks like a sport.  Before I tried it, people told me it was a great “core” workout.  Although I’d often been unaware when out on the water, the soreness of my muscles afterward told me they were right. Our “core” is essentially our torso, which Certified Personal Trainer Paige Waehner describes as “the body’s center of power.”  She explains that “these core muscles help keep your body stable and balanced.”  Waehner says that among the benefits of working on the core is having “interesting workouts that challenge you in new and different ways.”

Having a strong physical core significantly impacts our quality of life.  It makes our bodies more durable and less susceptible to injury.  Similarly, having a strong spiritual core affects every part of our daily lives.  The more we lean into God and trust His promises, the stronger our core becomes.  His strength becomes part of the fiber of who we are and is readily available for us at all times.  And just like those physical core workouts, God give us challenges that stretch us in new and different ways.

It takes consistent sweat and effort to build our physical strength, whether it is by intentionally doing core-strengthening workouts or engaging in an activity like paddle surfing where it happens naturally.  Similarly, our spiritual core strengthening can happen in several ways. We can be diligent about studying God’s word, praying, serving, giving and connecting with others who follow Him.  However, sometimes we get a spiritual core-strengthening workout when we least expect it.   In The Shelter of God’s Promises Sheila Walsh says “Life’s greatest trials often come without a moment’s notice.  There is no prep time or convenient moment to book them on our daily calendars.  They brutishly make their way into our lives and threaten to undo us…When we look back, those moments can become milestones and strong pillars of our testimony because we survived on His strength alone” (p. 152).   If our disciplined pursuit of God strengthens our spiritual “muscles”, then the trials we face provide the opportunity to show off God’s strength.

The Bible assures us we are going to have trials, but how we respond to them is our choice. Jesus tells us in John 16:33 “In this world you will have trouble.  But take heart!  I have overcome the world.”  If we really believe this, we can be encouraged knowing that God is trustworthy.   He has the big picture in mind for our lives that we can’t always see from our limited perspective.

Looking back, I realize how God has used trials to strengthen my core and to increase my trust in Him.  I didn’t enjoy going through them, but I am thankful for the ways He used them to strengthen me.  Through the things I’ve learned, I have been able to encourage others going through similar difficulties.  I can point to specific scriptures that brought hope and reassurance to me in hard times:  1 Peter 1:6-7 as I struggled through my freshman year in college, Jeremiah 17:7-8 and Psalm 27:13-14 as my husband and I prayed through a major career change for him, Psalm 62 & 63 during some severe illnesses of different family members.  Those passages became a lifeline for me, reassuring me of God’s presence and enabling me to have a supernatural strength I never could have had on my own.

Sarah Young’s Jesus Calling is one of my favorite daily devotionals.  Each day’s writing combines several scriptures and speaks to the reader as if it is directly from the voice of God.  A recent entry caught my eye: “Learn to appreciate difficult days.  Be stimulated by the challenges you encounter along your way.  As you journey through rough terrain with Me, gain confidence from your knowledge that together we can handle anything.  This knowledge is comprised of three parts:  your relationship with Me, promises in the Bible, and past experiences of coping successfully during hard times.” (p.327)

So, when the headwinds blow and I’m struggling against the current, I can bend my knees and dig in my paddle with confidence knowing that God is going to give me strength I need.

What about you?  When has God led you in “unexpected ways off solid land”?  Do you have a few Bible verses that have sustained you through hard times?  As you look back, what milestones reveal God’s strength that you never could have mustered on your own?  Post a comment and share it to encourage and strengthen others!

Finding Grace in our First World Problems

“God is more interested in our weaknesses than our strengths. Our strengths cause us to be self-reliant.  Our troubles are God’s grace in disguise.” –Paraphrase of Sheila Walsh

Troubles are something many of us go to great lengths to avoid.  Our culture feeds us continuous messages telling us the value of self-reliance, the importance of playing to our strengths and the assurance that we deserve the best of everything.  Patience used to be considered a virtue, but our culture seems to be doing everything in its power to make it so we never have to wait for anything, ever.  Unfortunately, it seems that much of what we are learning from the world around us is contrary to God’s economy.  We are actually being trained to circumvent our troubles and to coddle our weaknesses instead of turning to God and His strength to sustain us through them.

Oftentimes it takes extreme situations for people to recognize that they aren’t self- sufficient and that they do need God’s grace.  It might be facing a life-threatening illness or financial trouble; a high needs child or a hidden addiction.  It might be suffering from abuse or deep-seated loneliness.   People facing dire circumstances with no earthly solutions often find God’s grace to be the only true comfort.

However, what about those of us cruising through a season of life with relative ease?   Is God’s grace still relevant in those times?  What prompts us to cry out to Him when we aren’t facing a trauma?  How can we be reminded daily of our need for Him?

Recently I learned a term from a friend’s teenage daughter that really strikes a cord with me.  It’s called having a “First World Problem.”   The example she gave was this:  “There was this pair of Nike running shoes I really wanted in this amazing color called Tiffany Blue.  I went to every store in the area and they were out of my size.  I’m kinda bummed because I could only find them in Neon Pink… I know, total First World Problem, but still…”  You might not be pining for a pair of Nike running shoes, but can you relate?  Here in the First World, we worry about the color of our shoes, not whether we have shoes or not.

It could be easy to feel guilty comparing our First World Problems to the rest of the earth, but that isn’t my point.  God can use even seemingly shallow “troubles” in our daily lives to convict our hearts and point us back toward Him.  This is His grace.   He is always ready and waiting to use our trials, both large and small, to turn our eyes off of ourselves and onto Him.

For me, the truth of this became abundantly clear last year when my house was being remodeled and absolutely nothing went according to plan.  This was a definite First World Problem, but as I prayed through each frustration, I found God using the whole situation to refine me and to reveal His grace in deeper ways.  While I lamented living without a kitchen for 6 months, I also thanked God that I had a roof over my head, food to eat and the promise of a new kitchen that would be finished eventually.  With each frustration and roadblock, my husband and I would stop and pray:  “God, what do you want us to learn from this?  What are you trying to show us that we’re not seeing?”  He revealed many attitudes and behaviors that needed changing.   He also showed us the many, many blessings He showers on us every day.

I can also attest to seeing God’s grace in grave difficulties as I’ve sent family members home to heaven and have walked with others through serious illnesses.  He has been there for me in times of deep loneliness, extreme stress and dark depression.  What I’m learning is that He’s also ready to invade my life with His grace in my weaker moments each day.  When I want to make a snap judgment about a person or situation, His Spirit whispers in my ear.  I have the choice to exercise self-control and extend grace or to keep plowing ahead with my own critical spirit.  When things I want to control don’t turn out the way I plan, I can put up a fit and be grumpy, or lean into God’s grace and trust that His plan is ultimately better.  First Peter 4:10 is a good reminder for me:  “Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.”  (My italics.)

How about you?  How is God at work in your First World Problems?  Where is He inviting you to rely on His grace in every day situations?  If you’re anything like me, this whole topic might sting a bit as God convicts you.  Try leaning into His grace and surrendering your weaknesses to Him.  Share what you’re learning by writing a comment so that others can be encouraged and inspired!

The Apple Tree

My family has an old tree in the front yard that grows some of the sweetest, crunchiest apples I’ve ever tasted.  It was planted long before we ever bought the house, so we are just the grateful recipients of a previous owner’s forethought.  Every year we seemed to pick enough to enjoy with our family and to share with friends and neighbors.

A few years ago, the tree was getting a little tall.  We decided it needed to be pruned back and thinned out.  The next spring, we were dismayed when not a single blossom sprouted in the tree.  That fall, our tree was bare.  Not a single apple.  “What have we done?” I thought to myself.  Sure we’d ruined it for good, I lamented the loss.

The next year, a few blossoms appeared on the branches in the spring and we actually picked a small crop of apples that fall.  I was relieved, but not entirely convinced the tree would ever return to its former glory.

Last spring the tree was bursting with blossoms and so laden with apples by this fall that one branch actually cracked away from the trunk.  Every weekend I would pick apples to thin out the huge amount of fruit and lighten the load the branches were bearing.  I could work steadily for an hour, filling several bags, but when I’d look up at the tree, I’d barely made a dent.

There was no way our family of four could possibly consume all the apples the tree was producing.  Earlier in the fall, I’d come across information about an organization called Urban Farmers that uses volunteers to harvest fruit trees at private residences.  All the fruit is taken to local food banks and places that provide meals for the hungry.  A few of the places mentioned were ones I recognized like the Contra Costa Food Bank and Loaves and Fishes.  I decided to sign up and see how it worked.

This past Saturday, the founder of Urban Farmers arrived on a sunny morning with fruit picking poles, crates and buckets.  He worked alongside our family to harvest the apples weighing down the branches of our tree.  He was delighted by the taste and smell of the apples and worked cheerfully alongside us filling the crates.

At one point as we were talking about feeding the needy he asked, “What makes you want to do something like this?”  I paused, weighing what kind of answer I wanted to give and finally decided to let go of my usual restraint.  I responded: “Because I love Jesus.”  He remained quiet and I continued:  “Last year I read a book called The Hole in Our Gospel and it helped me understand our responsibility to help the needy.”

The conversation continued, becoming richer and deeper as we shared more.

When all but a few apples were picked, the man asked if he could take our picture with all of the apples.  He said it was unusual to have a whole family participate in helping with the harvest.

Later that day, he sent us an e-mail telling us we’d donated 310 pounds of apples that would be enough to feed 62 people for a day.   I was astounded realizing the decision to register with Urban Farmers  and a few hours of harvesting was helping so many people in need.

It also got me thinking about a conversation I’d had in Bible Study a few days earlier.  We’d been talking about Jesus’ teaching on the vine and the branches from John 15.  In the passage He says:  “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful…I am the vine; you are the branches.  If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”  (John 15:1 & 5)

God’s pruning process in our lives can be incredibly painful, but if we’ll wait for his timing, we can see amazing results and bountiful fruit.  Just like my tree.

The word “fruit” appears numerous times in the Bible and has many layers of meaning, depending on the context.  The Greek word is “karpos,” which literally means: “fruit produced by the inherent energy of a living organism.”  Metaphorically, it is the visible expression of Christ’s power working inwardly and invisibly.  When we are brought into union with Jesus by abiding in Him, His fruit shows in our lives.  He produces the Fruit of the Spirit in us described in Galations 5:22.  When we display this fruit, it draws others to Him who become His followers as well.  These new disciples are yet another kind of “fruit.”

What I’m learning is that I have no power to produce fruit on my own strength.   I might be able to muster up some love, joy, peace and patience for a little while.  Flurries of kindness, goodness, faithfulness and gentleness may breeze through me periodically.  I can even demonstrate self- control once in a while, but none of these things can be sustained in me if I’m not abiding with Jesus throughout the hours every day.

The apple tree appears passive as it sits in one spot absorbing nutrients from the soil, water and sun.  We only see what has been going on inside it when the blossoms appear and the fruit grows.  Like the apple tree, we can absorb every moment with Jesus and produce such an abundance of fruit that our branches sag under the weight.   Love and good deeds flow from us as we abide in Him and draw on Him for strength. The best part is, He does all the work and just asks us to share the fruit with others. Lives are touched and even more fruit is produced as other people come to know Jesus.

Take some time this week to think about your spiritual garden.  Are you in a phase of being pruned?  Are you blossoming and growing fruit?  Are you abiding in Jesus or trying to produce fruit on your own strength?  How can you apply this metaphor personally?  How have you seen its truth?

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Responding to God’s Extravagant Love

Extravagant: (adj) 1. Exceeding the limits of reason or necessity 2. Lacking in moderation, balance and restraint 3.  Spending much more than necessary 4. Unreasonably high in price

 Philippians 2:5-8 says: “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself. He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death—and the worst kind of death at that—a crucifixion.” (The Message)

Jesus did this for you and me.  Now that is extravagance.

Hopefully, it causes us to bow before Him in gratitude and praise.  Here is the tricky part, though:  the Philippians passage starts with this phrase:  “Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.”

This sounds very lofty and theoretical, but how, exactly, do we put aside our own agendas and sacrifice for others?  Maybe, it starts with a simple prayer every morning:  “God, pour out your Spirit on me today.  Use me to bless others and to glorify you.”  Then, as we go about our days, we wait expectantly to see where God is at work and calling us to join Him.  We make ourselves available to be an instrument of his extravagant love.  We can’t do it on our own.

In The Shelter of God’s Promises Sheila Walsh asks us to think of practical ways we can share God’s extravagant love with others.   I think the answer revolves around how we choose to invest our time.  An investment is money that is intentionally placed where it has the best chance of bringing a return.  When we choose to invest our time in loving others, the returns can be astounding.  We discover unspeakable joy while we participate in unleashing God’s extravagant love on earth.

Receiving God’s love from others is also a tremendous gift.  One of the greatest examples in my life happened a few years ago as my dad was living out his last days.  Remembering the way friends and acquaintances in our community rallied around my family still overwhelms me with gratitude.  People invested significant time to support us in tangible and spiritual ways; whether it was delivering food, helping with logistics, sharing words of wisdom or providing emotional support.   Many friends also gave up a sunny Saturday afternoon to attend my dad’s memorial service, which was a true gift to our entire family.   God loved us extravagantly during that painful and vulnerable time.  I well up with thankfulness when I think about all of the people He used to show His love to us.

My response was to want to do the same for anyone else facing a similar situation.   Since my dad passed away, I have developed extra sensitivity for people experiencing loss and feel called to reach out to them in love.  God continues to bring people in my path that are struggling or grieving.  He prompts me to show his love in many ways, whether it is writing a note, making a meal, sharing a meaningful scripture or song, or just being a listening ear. 

The gratitude I felt for the many people who loved me well at a hard time is the same response any follower of Jesus could have at all times.  He stepped out of His heavenly being and became a man who died for us.  Without His sacrifice, we would be separated from God for all eternity.   Once we discover this truth and give our lives to Him, it brings deep peace, joy and gratitude.  What He asks in return is that we pass the love on so that others can experience His extravagance too.  The best part is: He knows you and I don’t have the strength to do this consistently on our own.  All we have to do is ask.

When God answers, be sure to share your own stories of giving and receiving His extravagant love!

 

 

 

Moses and Math Problems

In The Shelter of God’s Promises Sheila Walsh talks about Moses’ bold requests to God.  She says: “He knew what intimacy with God was like; therefore, he knew he could be completely honest in his requests” (p. 20).

You don’t have to be one of the Bible’s great heroes to pray like this.  God also invites us to be completely honest with Him in our requests.  If we’re thinking it, God wants to hear about it.

A woman’s mind is like a huge whiteboard filled with a variety of topics.  Our thoughts can range through at least 15 different subjects in the course of 5 minutes or less.   If you’re anything like me, much of that thought time has to do with fretting about things that you want to control.  I spend a lot of time thinking about ways I can solve problems.  Somehow, things rarely seem to work out the way I plan!

I teach an after school math program for 5th graders that coaches kids on how to solve problems using a variety of strategies.  One of our class sayings is “Problem solving is what you do when you don’t know what to do.”  Some problems lend themselves to obvious strategies, others can be much more convoluted and challenging.  My son and I will sit and do the homework problems together and grapple with the hard ones until we find an answer.  My sheet of scratch paper is full of my pencil scrawls.  It’s messy, but it shows my hard work.  Being the teacher, I have the luxury of looking up the answers once we’re done to see if we got them right.

One thing I’ve noticed, though, is that if I read the solution to a problem before I try to work it out, the thrill of the challenge is gone.  If I’m in a rush before class and haven’t taken the time to work the problems, I don’t have the same level of understanding or connectedness with them.  Because I haven’t worked through them, I am not nearly as effective in discussing with the class how to solve them.  I can follow the steps on the printed page that looks so much neater than my own scratch paper, but sometimes I don’t even fully understand it myself.

Last week I gave out a problem that I recycled from one of last year’s tests.  One boy recognized it immediately and commented.  “I remember this problem, it was a hard one!  It felt so good when I figured out the answer.”  He didn’t remember it from the solutions sheet I passed out after the test; he remembered it because he’d sweated through solving it.

I think grappling with God in prayer is much the same way.  When we aren’t willing to pray through things or wait on God, we miss out on the intimacy He has to offer. We try to find quick fixes rather than trusting God to work in His perfect timing.  Sometimes we pray hoping He’ll just do it “our way,” because it looks more sanitized and orderly, like my pre-printed math solutions.  And just like my scratch paper scrawling, being open to God’s plan may lead to a messier process, but a more satisfying result and a deeper connectedness with Him.  As Sheila Walsh says:  “When God’s answer comes, His creativity leaves us stunned and in awe of Him”  (p. 28).  We find the joy and wonder of discovering the answer in his perfect planning and timing.

Praying honestly before God exposes our hearts to Him and shows our humble reliance on Him.  It shows God that we trust Him to work things out in His way and in His timing rather than relying on ourselves.

So, the next time you find yourself fretting or struggling with a problem, try entrusting it to God and letting Him work it out.  Unlike the Math Olympiad motto, maybe it would be better to say: “Praying is what you do when you don’t know what to do.”

I can’t wait to hear how He leaves you “stunned and in awe”!  Be sure to share so others can praise Him and be encouraged.

A New Chapter at Focused Living

Focused Living is celebrating its 25th year of ministering to women in the San Ramon Valley!  Over the years the ministry has changed and grown in many ways and has impacted countless lives with the love of Jesus.  I am excited to begin a new chapter in the Focused Living legacy by writing its first-ever blog!  As we study God’s Word together, I look forward to processing thoughts and reactions and having an open forum for communicating with other women, both in the study and beyond!   I hope this blog is a place for authentic sharing as we learn to apply God’s Word to our everyday lives.  Whether you are a regular follower or read along once in a while, my prayer is that you will be encouraged and inspired to press on in discovering all that God wants to do in and through your life.

“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”  Colossians 2:6-7