Charisa Stories

Tag: waking up slowly

How To Shine Your Light For Everyone To See

Even in my rock and roll days I loved the music of Glen Campbell. His final gift before his death was a moving and deeply personal look at how Alzheimer’s affects a family in the documentary “I’ll Be Me”.

One of my favorite Glen Campbell songs, “Try a Little Kindness”, is a message that we desperately need to hear and heed in our current societal climate.

You got to try a little kindness
Yes show a little kindness
Just shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness
Then you’ll overlook the blindness
Of narrow-minded people on the narrow-minded streets

I think it is fair to say that we have an abundance of narrow minded people loudly making their presence felt. People so narrow minded they could look through a peephole with both eyes. The lyrics of Try a Little Kindness seem like a simple and even naive sentiment. I would argue this little chorus is one of the most important and doable things that we as followers of Jesus can do to shine a little light. And we have been given that assignment by our Lord.

“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden.No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.”
Matthew 5:14-16, NLT

I wrote a chapter about the power of kindness in my new book, Waking Up Slowly. Here is a brief portion of that chapter.

The amazing thing about God’s grace is that He is not a God of a second chance. He is a God of chance after chance after chance ad infinitum. We are never outside God’s redeeming grace, no matter how much or how often we blow it.

How is that even possible? We write off people after one or two offenses. How can God keep forgiving us after countless offenses? It doesn’t make sense. That is because grace does not make sense in our accounting system. So how does that work in our relationships with our community? The apostle Paul pulls it all together perfectly in his letter to the church in Ephesus:

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.
Ephesians 4:32, NLT

Kindness should be contagious because the God of the universe has been kind to us. That is part and parcel of the love story of the gospel.

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
Romans 2:4, NLT

I used to be impressed by talent and prestige. Now I find that I am more impressed by kindness. Billy Graham observed how we all—especially children—benefit from a little kindness: “Often the only thing a child can remember about an adult in later years, when he or she is grown, is whether or not that person was kind.” I find that to be so true when I run down the list of adults from my childhood. I filter them by that very trait. They were either kind or unkind.

Paul recognized the importance of this contagious gift in his instructions to the church at Colossae:

Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony. And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.
Colossians 3:12-15, NLT

I have often said that if the church lived according to those four verses alone, there would be a spiritual awakening in the land. If we simply loved one another as Jesus commanded we could spark a revival. That is my job as a follower of Christ.

Frederick Buechner captured the idea brilliantly: “If you want to be holy, be kind.”

(Excerpted from Waking Up Slowly with permission of Tyndale Publishing)

Today I remember Glen Campbell by determining to follow his advice.

If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he’s sowed
And if you see your sister falling by the way
Just stop and say, you’re going the wrong way

Everyone of us can be kind. Give it a try. When you do your light will shine.

One act of kindness would be to donate to the Alzheimer’s Association to help find a cure for this cruel disease.

October 30, 2022
Opening the Gift of Grace

“Lord I crawled across the barrenness to you with my empty cup uncertain in asking any small drop of refreshment. If only I had known you better I’d have come running with a bucket.” -Nancy Spiegelberg

That quote may be the most indicting summary of my misunderstanding of grace for decades. I am indeed Waking Up Slowly to the mystery and majesty of Grace.

Grace.

It is a word that has lost some of its power through misuse and overuse. We banter about the ridiculous concept of cheap grace as if we must be wary of receiving a gift from our Father in Heaven. Are you kidding me? If we view grace like a sales pitch for a time share resort we are listening to the wrong voices. There are no strings attached with grace. No fine print. No hidden costs. No promises to lure you in that cannot be delivered in reality. Grace gives you full title to the resort and every benefit of the place. Even when you one star the facilities on Yelp!

Grace

Grace understood can never be viewed as a cheap gift. It cost Jesus everything. If you think grace is cheap I challenge you to kneel at the foot of the Cross and look up. There is nothing cheap about the transaction that Jesus suffered for you and me. I know that some people misuse grace. There is a word for that. Sin. The truth is that grace is the only real antidote for sin and should never, ever, ever, ever be the excuse for sin. Paul addressed the heresy that grace gives us license to sin. Here is a sampling of the translations of Paul’s undisguised dismay expressed in Romans at the very thought that the sweet grace of the Gospel would be abused.

God forbid! (KJV)
Of course not! (NLT)
Absolutely not! (NET)
May it never be! (NASB)
By no means! (ESV)

So I think we can all agree that no matter which translation you choose rationalizing grace as a sin excuse is abhorrent. I would suggest that line of thought is only possible when you fail to understand the amazing power of this gift.

Grace.

If I was given the opportunity to communicate one message to every person in the world it would be a no-brainer for me. I would beg every person to open their minds and heart to the outrageous grace gift that God offers freely to each one of us. And do my best to convince the world that all you have to do is open that gift in faith.

I wish that everyone who hears the Gospel message would comprehend the one-way love that God demonstrates to everyone who will receive that love. Instead of turning His back on sinners who deserved just that God chose to reach out to His creation with a radical plan for forgiveness. A plan that is unlike any other religion in history. Man-made religion always demands something to earn salvation. God’s plan for redemption requires the lost to bring nothing to the table other than sin and need. Nothing. Any other presentation of the sweet Gospel of Jesus Christ is a lie.

Edwin Lutzer describes the prerequisite for grace.

“When the mask of self-righteousness has been torn from us and we stand stripped of all our accustomed defenses, we are candidates for God’s generous grace.”

How differently we would live if we remembered the gifts of grace. We are saints wrapped in the robe of righteousness. We are new creatures who are forgiven, accepted, and wrapped in this incomprehensible gift of grace. Even in our failure Jesus loves us anyway.

Tim Keller wrote this very annoying sentence. “The deeper the experience of the free grace of God, the more generous we must become.”

I can’t ignore the obvious action steps in that simple statement. As I write about grace and begin to understand the miracle of grace I should begin to demonstrate what grace looks like to a hurting world. If I am receiving grace I must also give it. If I welcome the generous gift of grace I must become more generous. If I accept the gift of forgiveness I must forgive. If I marvel at God’s unfailing love I must also love others. That is what the doubting world is looking for from the church. Grace, forgiveness and love.

As Jesus faced the horror of the Cross He offered this command to His disciples.

So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. (John 14, NLT)

I ask myself as I write these words. Does my love prove that I am a follower of Jesus? Does my heart reveal that I comprehend the magnitude of His grace? Living out of grace is not a tiring burden. It is a joyous response of gratitude if we stay focused on the source of that grace.

Jesus offers this gift to anyone who chooses to follow Him. All you have to do is trust, open His amazing gift, and enjoy true freedom.

Today’s musing was excerpted from Waking Up Slowly. Click here for more information.

May 2, 2021
21 Connect: Day 1 – The Curse of Culture

Not sure how many of you volunteered for this trip but welcome aboard! Here is a prayer that I will start with each day.

Good morning God.

I believe that you know everything about me. I believe that you are everywhere that I am. I believe that you have a purpose for my life and for this day. I pray that you will show me your presence today. I pray that I will slow down, quiet my mind, open my heart and eyes and look for a postcard from You.

I am grateful that because of Jesus I can boldly ask You for tender mercies today whether it is a day of great joy or profound sadness. I know whatever my circumstances that You are there. I believe you are all around me. I know because of your grace that there is nothing I can do to lose your approval. So would you show me your kindness, your beauty, your power, your comfort and your love today?
I pray this in Jesus name.

Each day will represent a chapter from Waking Up Slowly with a “grace” challenge at the end.

Today’s topic is overcoming the cultural messages we are bombarded with daily. Our culture has Information Fatigue Syndrome and Christians are just as infected by IFS as the general populace. Three-quarters of adults now use a social networking site of some kind. The average time spent on social networking sites is a staggering 16 minutes per hour. The answer suggested by one publication is a Digital Detox. That is defined (and I am not making this up) as “a period of time during which a person restrains from using electronic devices so one can focus on social interaction in the physical world.”

You might remember those activities by such labels as “talking to people” or “interacting with humans”. We are the most connected culture in history and yet, at the same time, the most disconnected from God and one another. We can’t get through a dinner without furtively glancing at our smart phone just in case some “important” message arrives. The hard truth is we need to be willing to disconnect to be able to connect.

For many of us this is a real relational, emotional and spiritual issue. So how do we reconnect with God and each other? We need a transformation in our heart and minds. Paul prescribed this to the church at Rome.

Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. (Romans 12:2)

I love the way Eugene Peterson fleshes out this verse and the process of renewing our minds in The Message.

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:1-2, The Message)

It so easy to get caught up in the negatives that deluge us in this difficult season. Today I am going to put down the device and thank God for every seemingly mundane, good thing that comes my way. A hot cup of coffee or tea. A green light on your way to the grocery to find toilet paper. A favorite song playing. Laughter. A smile from a friend or stranger. A tasty treat. A cuddly dog. A beautiful tree or flower. A blue sky. What is your list of small and overlooked daily mercies? As we read in The Message…”Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.”

The Grace Challenge…
Take a moment to reach out to others today. It becomes even more important now to reach out in personal ways even as we stay safely distanced. Today I will remind myself of this simple truth: The things I take for granted, countless others are longing to receive. As you focus on that truth, I think you will be amazed at how much work you and I need to do to transform our hearts and minds.

Excerpts from Waking Up Slowly.

I welcome your comments, thoughts, questions, concerns, and praises. Let’s talk!

March 20, 2020
Up for a 21 Day Journey Together?

My book Waking Up Slowly was written to be used as a 21 day journey to become more connected to God and one another. Since many of us just picked up some extra time I wondered if a few of you would like to join me on a three week quest? You don’t need to buy the book but if you want to here is the link.

I will post an excerpt each day with a quick devotional. I will ask for your comments on that day’s topic and how God is using this worldwide storm to bring us closer to Him. I noted in Waking Up Slowly that we are the most connected culture in history but arguably the most disconnected from God and one another. Our three week journey will cover actions and attitudes that cause us to become more or less connected to God. We will discuss things like fear, pride, gratitude, doubt, busyness, kindness, grace, regret, lack of forgiveness, and many more. Some topics will hit home more than others and you might choose to revisit those again after our journey. I don’t know how many of you will join me on this trip. I just feel like somebody needs it right now and I have the time. If you are already signed up to receive my blog it will be delivered by email. You can sign up today to be on the email list. The signup box is on the front page of the site. And I will link each day to my author page on Facebook. We launch our journey this Friday. Hope you join me!

March 18, 2020
Maggie’s Favorite Chapter

Here is a free preview of Chapter 21 in Waking Up Slowly. You can get an idea of how you can use these short chapters as daily devotionals to connect more fully to God, yourself, and one another. Maggie and I hope you enjoy!

SOUNDS OF SILENCE

Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God.
Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love to watch Maggie when she is overseeing her backyard domain. Sometimes she goes to the fence and lets out a couple of deep-throated barks to let some perceived threat know that she is on duty. Or she patrols every inch of the yard, sniffing as if it is her first and not her one-thousandth time to do this. Sometimes she stops to growl at a feral cat behind the fence.

But the routine I love most is when she lies in the yard with head high, surveying her kingdom in silence. She is completely dialed in, listening for any disturbance that might need her attention. Maggie is most able to take in her world when she drops the barking and growling.

Well played, Maggie. You are doing something most of us humans have a difficult time mastering—simply being silent and observing God’s world.

There is hardly ever a complete silence in our soul. God is whispering to us well-nigh incessantly. Whenever the sounds of the world die out in the soul, or sink low, then we hear these whisperings of God. He is always whispering to us, only we do not always hear, because of the noise, hurry, and distraction which life causes as it rushes on.

Sounds like our lives, doesn’t it? And yet that observation was written in the mid-1800s by hymn writer Frederick W. Faber. More than a century and a half later, it hasn’t gotten quieter. It is hard to imagine that the sounds of the world are not exponentially more cacophonous today. Perhaps the bigger issue isn’t that the world is noisier and more distracting than ever. The relational danger may be our ability to pull into the cocoon of noise-canceling headsets and remove ourselves completely from our surroundings. Sometimes it helps concentration to limit the noise. The challenge is to not let headphones and earbuds become another impediment to finding sacred moments.

Recently, I walked up to one of my younger television crew members and went through a very well-thought-out description of what we needed for the broadcast that night. I waited for his confirmation, but instead he turned, pulled out a well-hidden earbud, and looked surprised.

“What?”

I had no idea he was in another world while I was talking to him. He had no idea I was lurking right next to him and talking. It was no big deal. We laughed, and I repeated the instructions. Going forward, I did determine to first make eye contact with whomever I was talking to for the best results. It made me think about how often we miss moments of laughter or relational opportunities when we retreat from others.

Yesterday when I took Maggie for a walk, I instinctively reached for my phone and headset. Typically, I listen to music along the way. I can get lost in music, which is not a bad thing. But today I knew I needed something else. I needed to be quiet, reflective, and prayerful about some things that were troubling my soul.

To be honest, some tunes from my rock-and-roll days would have been a much-preferred course. But I knew I needed to think and pray. So while Maggie excitedly sniffed and explored, I prayed for a person who has been adversarial. Did I want to do that? Hardly. But I knew it was important, and I needed quiet to allow the Holy Spirit to speak to my heart. There is something healing and helpful in praying for those who oppose us. It reminds me that God is the One in control. When I trust that, I can relax.

My walk in silence was indeed soothing. It comes as no surprise to find that studies have shown that excessive noise releases stress hormones in the body. Daniel Gross writes, “People living in loud environments experience chronically elevated levels of stress hormones. . . . The word ‘noise’ comes from a Latin root meaning either queasiness or pain.”

It will also come as no surprise that the Owner’s Manual addresses our need for silence and solitude.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
(Psalm 62:5-6)

Perhaps the most consistent role model for the need for solitude and silence was Jesus.

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.
(Mark 1:35, NIV)

Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.
(Luke 5:16, NIV)

Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called his disciples to him and chose twelve of them.
(Luke 6:12-13, )

Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain
by himself.
(John 6:15, NIV)

Jesus understood the need to recenter and reconnect with the Father. He understood the power of quiet to be able to hear the voice of His Father. How can we think we are able to function spiritually and emotionally without occasional silence and solitude? Finding periods of quiet is different from seeking a day or extended time of Sabbath that we explored earlier. This is not something I am accomplished at. I have probably had more intentional, undistracted time during this book project than I have had in years, if not ever. Noise becomes a habit. If I am alone, I need the television in the background or music in my ears. I am learning that sometimes I just need silence. Silence that used to make me feel a bit unsettled is now becoming a welcome respite to think and pray. A.W. Tozer said that “only after all the noise has spent itself do we begin to hear in the silence of our heart, the still, small, mighty voice of God.”

That requires us to slow down, give up our perceived control, and simply be quiet. I can tell you it does not come naturally in this culture. And this is another reminder that devices can be a wonderful tool, but they must be silenced as well.

I don’t know if it was my three-year-old granddaughter Clara’s peeking at my manuscript that inspired her words of wisdom when she was having lunch with Joni and me recently. Before we sat down at the table, Clara had been playing with a toy cell phone. She dramatically turned off the sound and put the toy device facedown on the table.

“I calmed my phone!” Clara proclaimed. Words for all of us to live by, sweetheart!

Being alone and quiet so you can hear the still voice of the Holy Spirit is about a heart attitude more than location. For me, there is one really important benefit of reflective quiet in the presence of God: it interrupts my typical prayer time of delivering a monologue to God. I was taught to make my requests known in prayer after a little perfunctory praise. I went down my list, and I was done. One-way conversation. I am outta here!

Forcing myself to be quiet gives me a chance to look inward. To see where I might need to allow the light of God’s grace to shine on some dark area. I allow myself to be fully in the moment and not worried about tomorrow. I allow myself the time to reflect on who I am and how the Father looks at me. It clears my mind to clearly think about what needs to be done. I remind myself that I don’t have to constantly manage and be in control.

Although we looked at Psalm 46:10 as a deterrent for busyness in chapter 3, I think it also applies to the idea of quieting down.

Be still, and know that I am God!

The Hebrew word for “be still” might be better translated as “cause yourselves to let go” or “let yourselves become weak.” Sitting quietly with my Bible open to a psalm invites the quiet voice to speak. Often there is nothing but stillness. Isn’t that how a good relationship works? When you feel relaxed and protected with your spouse, you can have periods of silence that actually speak volumes about how you feel about each other. It is in quiet solitude with God that I am wholly present and available to Him. Is there a better indicator of affection than undivided attention?

If my mind is left unattended, it is like Maggie as a puppy. It runs randomly and without restraint. I have had to learn to slow down, unplug, and be still. And I have had a major surprise: I am really enjoying it.

I have practiced this discipline often on this journey. My prior history when writing is to research, research, research. To be sure, I have done a fair measure of background study while writing this book. But more often than usual, I have unplugged the device and turned off all the distracting noise-makers. I have sat in silence and meditated on what God is teaching me. I have thought about what I would like to communicate and asked the Holy Spirit to give me creative direction. Without fail, I have found an idea or a story in those moments of silence. It has been one of my biggest takeaways from this experiment.

It is a lesson I intend to build on. God is powerful enough to teach an old dog new tricks. I invite you to find a place to be quiet today. In the sounds of silence, God may very well meet you.

GOD’S TAKE

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

(Psalm 62:5, ESV)

A DOSE OF GRACE

Find some time to give God your undivided and silent presence. Start with five or ten minutes. It may feel awkward. Simply tell God that you desire to be in His presence. Tell Him that you want to be attuned to His direction or correction. But most of all, tell God that you simply want to receive His love. Remember there is no condemnation if your mind wanders. This will take some practice, but it is worth it.

Want to read more or find out how to connect more fully with God in 21 days? Go to wakingupslowly.com for more information on how to order.

July 16, 2017
Watch The Video for Waking Up Slowly!

The official video for Waking Up Slowly is ready to watch. I am proud to announce a cameo from Maggie the Rescued Labrador (?) appearing as herself. Hope you enjoy the video preview of the book. I am super excited to share this book with you.

February 19, 2017