My life as a woodpecker

This morning my mom and I sat out on our deck for our morning quiet time. The cold front came in so it was great weather for a hoodie and a big mug of coffee. I like sitting on the deck because it gets me out of the house and reminds me of the stillness and peace that God provides us through nature. It slows me down and removes me from all the craziness of life. It also reminds me how God has specifically designed everything in this world to work together for Him and through Him. Romans 11:36 says, "For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things." I think it's important to get out of our houses, offices, and wherever that can take us away from the beauty of God's creation. So get outside for a little bit and enjoy God's creation!

While we were on the deck, we heard, "tap tap tap...tap tap tap." We looked around, through the trees and there we spotted the red-headed woodpecker . I've seen woodpeckers before, but I never really watched them longer than a couple seconds. This morning, however, was different. I kept hearing the "tap tap tap" and I couldn't focus on my reading. It was like the woodpecker wanted to get my attention or maybe I have a slight case of ADHD...who knows. Anyway, I turned my attention to the woodpecker who was determined to get his breakfast out of that tree. When you think of a woodpecker, what comes to mind first? Annoying? Loud? Determined? Well, as I watched him for awhile and realized that this is a creature of persistence. He would not stop pecking until he got his food. He was devoted. He was dedicated. He was persistent. So it made me think...

Am I devoted, dedicated, and persistent in my walk with Christ? Or do I peck for a little while and then give up? What about you?

Since my mom and I were out late for the TobyMac concert last night (which was awesome!!), we didn't make it to church but we watched church on a live podcast. It was funny because Pastor Gregg talked about how Christians called to be devoted to Christ, being consistent in growing in our faith. I automatically thought of the woodpecker being devoted to that tree full of bugs and worms. I knew then that I should blog about persistence and dedication!
Funny how God works, huh?

Pastor Gregg based his sermon on Acts 2:41-42. Acts 2:42 says, "They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." This scriptures tells us that we should be devoted to learning, fellowship, and communion with the Lord.

• So how do we learn? We read the Bible, listen to teachers, and converse with others to get different perspectives. When we learn about God, we grow closer to Him.
• We should also be devoted to fellowship. Through fellowship, we have the opportunity to love and grow faith based relationships that will hold us accountable in growing in Christ.
• We should be devoted to being in communion with God, meaning in prayer, reading His Word, and participating in the Lord's Supper. When we do these things, the Holy Spirit intercedes and we are in communion with God. Our faith increases, as well as our love for God. What could be better than that?!

Psalm 37:5 says, "Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." When we dedicate ourselves to God, just like the woodpecker "tap tap tapping" at the tree, we will find promises and treasures. The woodpecker finds its food after persisting and we find what God wants for us. It could be new found talents or gifts. It could be new dreams and goals. Most importantly, when we persist and dedicate ourselves our faith increases. When we grab a hold of our faith, just like the woodpecker gets its food, we are energized to keep persisting! It's like a cycle! The main point is that we should be like the woodpecker, always dedicating ourselves to God and never giving up on Him because in Him we find life and we definitely don't want to miss out.

If you are following along with the read-your-bible-in-a-year plan, Sunday's are catch up day. So this week we read Matthew chapters 1-14.

Chicken Nuggets vs. Salvation

So if you don't know, today was a day to either support or boycott the Chick-fil-A CEO's belief in traditional same sex marriage. Usually, I don't get involved in things like this, but as I laid on the couch today looking at Facebook on my phone, I read many posts about Chick-fil-A and all of a sudden I got this HUGE craving for waffle fries and Chick-fil-A sauce! So I jumped in my truck around 1:45 and headed over there. I soon realized that a lot of people are joining in on Chick-fil-a Appreciation Day or they just might want some chicken. Anyway, the picture above was taken in my truck (don't worry, I wasn't moving) and it took me probably 10 minutes to get into a packed Kroger/Chick-fil-A parking lot. I would have stayed in my truck for the drive-thru, except that my AC isn't cooling like it should and I was low on gas and there was no telling how long I'd be there. After I finally found a free parking spot in the back, I headed into the restaurant. It was packed! The line was all the way to the door. It was so packed people could hardly move. Usually people get pretty agitated in confined spaces and in long lines especially when they're hungry, but as I scanned the room, there was nothing but smiling faces....no joke! As I'm waiting for my waffle fries, diet lemonade and of course, Chick-fil-A sauce, I had an epiphany and felt compelled to share it with you. My next blog was supposed to be about God's will, but I couldn't pass this opportunity up. Now don't worry I'm not going to talk about gay/lesbian marriage or the freedom of speech. This rally of supporters made me think. So think about this....why can't Christ followers make a statement like these Chick-fil-A lovers (me included)? I mean, yeah you get chicken nuggets and waffle fries (yum!), but you get salvation and eternal life from Christ! PLUS, unlike the chicken nuggets, you don't have to pay to be saved! It's free! It's a gift! All you have to do is believe. So I don't know about you, but I think salvation is a lot more important than chicken nuggets. So why aren't we, as believers, rallying together about what Jesus Christ has done for us? The CEO made a statement about his beliefs on marriage, but Jesus (a perfect man) died on the cross for you and all your mess ups! Talk about a statement! He didn't grill you up a chicken sandwich, He gave you more! He gave you grace and forgiveness all because He LOVES you! All the CEO has done has provided us some good food and he gets all this support? I don't get why we can't get excited about Jesus like this. We should have a Jesus Appreciation Day everyday! That's how we should live. We should be bold. We should take action. I heard a mother saying she had been to that Chick-fil-A twice that day and each time she brought more people with her. Why can't we invite people to church like that? In fact, this "appreciation day" was such a big deal that it made it on the news. Can you imagine if there was more of Jesus on the news? I saw on the news that a man and his family were going there for each meal today. Why can't we be that devoted? Now I'm not going to say that I am bold, because I'm not. I'm guilty of sitting back and letting the world pass me by. So I'm writing to myself, too. I'm guilty and trying to change that. I think this world would be a much nicer place if Christ followers were this devoted, excited and bold. So think about how you can be more bold about your faith or beliefs (whatever you may believe). How can you make a statement? How can you show your appreciation to God for all that He has done for you? I didn't think driving 10 minutes and waiting for 30 minutes at Chick-fil-A would make such an impact on me, but it did. It really made me think. I'm sorry if this entry seemed jumbled or negative. My goal was to just make you think about and how you can make a statement of appreciation for what Christ has done for you. If you're heading out to Chick-fil-A today, maybe take advantage of the wait and talk to people about your beliefs. 2 Timothy 1:7 - For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. I Corinthians 16:13 - Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. Peace! :)