Moving Beyond the Past

If you are like me at least once you've walked out the door of your house and come to the realization that you have your hands full of all sorts of things to bring with you, but you've forgotten to pick up the keys to your car. It doesn't matter how much you've brought along with you, none of us get anywhere fast without having the proper set of keys.

Moving beyond our regrets functions much the same way. Many of us attempt to grapple with our regrets, we even have our hands full of them, but without the right keys we will never be able to embrace the future we so desire to have.

Here are a couple of keys to moving beyond regret:
1. Healing Your Past Hurts.
2. Making Restitution.

Healing is most often a process. It takes time and intention. Most importantly it takes the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. For some of us one of the tools the Holy Spirit might want to use is the assistance of a counselor. If you need this kind of assistance let me know I'd be happy to refer you to someone equipped to help you in the process of healing your past hurts.

Restitution is the process of going back and making things right. If we have wronged someone it is important for us to acknowledge it and ask for forgiveness. I realize that sometimes this is easier said than done, but it doesn't mean that it isn't worth doing. Once again, the Holy Spirit can help give you the power for this task.

Questions to Reflect Upon:
1. Where have you seen regret and guilt keep you from being fully present in life?
2. Where do you hurt? How do you handle this hurt?
3. What specific situations and relationships can you restore?
4. What are some concrete steps you can take toward healing your hurts and making restitution?

Shoulda, Coulda, Woulda

I find that past regrets is a subject I end up discussing with people quite often. For many of us it is difficult to learn from our past and move forward as we press on in faith. More often we replay the tapes of past circumstances over and over again in the back of our minds as we search for a way to reconcile the past with our present.

Will Rogers was once quoted as saying, "Don't let yesterday use up too much of today." Something about Rogers' statement rings true for those who struggle with regret. Left unattended our regrets wind up eating the energy we need to live life today.

What events from "yesterday" do you find using up your "today"? What would it mean for you to allow God to be the Lord of your past as well as your present and future?

How Can I Ever Change?

In terms of life's difficult questions, "How Can I Ever Change?" may be one of the toughest for us to grapple with in life. Transformation is something we long for, but the pathway to change is often difficult and time consuming. The story of Jacob from Genesis chapter 32 gives us hope that true change is possilble when we allow God to transform us through his power and with our cooperation.

Here are a few questions to think about when it comes to the prospect of change in our lives:

• Do I really want to do what it takes to change or do I just like the idea of change?
• What would it mean for me to start cooperating with God?
• What is one step I could take today that would move me toward change?

Another School Year Completed

Children all over Orange County are celebrating the fact that today marks the end of another school year. 2008-2009 is officially in the record books. Last night I attended the "Night of Excellence" at my daughter's school. Aftewards at the reception I was thanking one of her teachers when he responded to me by saying, "No, thank you for sending us great students." Of course I like to hear that kind of a thing as a father, but I was especially struck by the fact that my thanks was returned with his gratitude. All of this got me to thinking. I want to stop and give thanks to God for bringing the school year to completion. Here are a few of things I'm thankful for:

• Teachers who invest themselves in their students and for whom teaching is more than just a job, but a calling. The world could use more people with such a passion. I admire you.
• Wisdom gained, achievements accomplished, challenges met and lessons learned.
• Parents, community members and volunteers who give of themselves to enhance our schools.
• Principals, administrators and staff who lead our schools in both good times and bad. Something tells me that many of their countless hours are spent problem solving and managing people who aren't always happy.
• Our school board members who even though I don't agree with them some of the time are willing to step up to the plate and serve our community in what is quite often a thankless job.

This isn't to say that I don't have a list of complaints about things that happened this past school year because I do. I will not take the time to detail them for you. I don't think there would be much value in sharing them. Besides once I list the things I'm grateful for it has a way of making my complaints seem much smaller than they did before I began writing this blog post.

What about you? Anything you are grateful for that you want to take the time to acknowledge? Post a comment.

A Lesson in Problem Solving

This past week we looked at the question "How can I overcome my problems?" and we examined the story of King Jehoshaphat found in 2 Chronicles 20. Jehoshaphat had three different enemies coming at him and all of them were seeking his downfall. I would call this a substantial problem. The amazing thing is that despite the odds he was facing God led Jehoshaphat and the Israelites to victory. This was possible because Jehoshaphat did five things - five things that we can also do in dealing with our own problems. Jehoshaphat...
... identified the enemy.
... took his problem to the Lord.
... admited his inadequacy.
... rested in his faith.
... thanked God in advance.

We all have to deal with problems from time to time and within Jehoshaphat's example is a framework for us to apply to our own life situations when problems come our way. Take a moment and ask yourself how your current problems would change if you applied these principles in your life. What difference would it make?

Here are a few questions you might ask yourself:
1. Is my attitude about my situation the true "enemy" I battle?
2. Have I consulted with God about my problem by using prayer?
3. Am I trying to handle this in my own power, rather than asking for God's power?
4. Do I live with the confidence that comes from being a person of faith?
5. Do I believe that God's purposes will prevail and if so am I taking the opportunity to thank him for that in advance?

LifeSong Mother's Morning Out Summer Program

For all of you in East Orlando, I want to take this opportunity to help get the word out about LifeSong's Mother's Morning Out Summer Program. We have an awesome group of teachers assembled to nurture and love on little ones ages 1-5 this summer. We have several openings for the summer that we would love to fill. If you know someone who could benefit from LifeSong MMO this summer pass the word along. For more information go to www.mylifesongchurch.com and click on the MMO link.

Why Is This Happening to Me?

We've all gone through difficult experiences. We've all had moments when we've wondered "Why is this happening to me?" It seems to be part of the human experience. Scripture is full of stories of people who faced adversity and difficult circumstances only to later find that God redeemed their hurt, pain and frustration. No story better illustrates this point than the story of Joseph from the Old Testament book of Genesis.

The complaint list that Joseph could have brought before God was lengthy. It included things like nearly being killed, being sold into slavery, allegations of rape and being confined to prison. Key to Joseph's ability to see God's redemption come to fruition in his life were three key understandings:

1. God sees everything that happens to me and He cares.
2. God has given everybody a free will.
3. God is in ultimate control of the final outcome.

Do you believe these three things? How would it impact your life if you took these three key understandings to heart?

May God redeem all of your past hurts and pain. May God work together all things for your good. May God take what others have meant for harm and use them for his purposes in your life.