Finding Philemon: Lessons Learned

Greetings, 

One of the things I've always desired to do in my career as a writer has been to publish a blog post or to record a video of the lessons I learned throughout the writing process and how those lessons impacted my life, whether it be in the spiritual sense, the emotional sense, or even the educational sense. I have to be honest here, I fully intended to have this post up last week. I failed to put the time aside to do that though. I am glad though, because it gave me more time to reflect on all the things that have taken place in 2023.

Finding Philemon: Series Description

Series Synopsis:

Are you ready to dive into a captivating series that delves into the journey of a young runaway slave who discovers God in his quest for redemption? Finding Philemon is exactly that kind of series. Follow along on the unexpected journey as Onesimus embarks upon his path of faith and new beginnings.

Remembering the Moments

The other day my daughter and I had one of those moments in which all a father can do is stop for a second or two and smile lovingly at his child. It was a very memorable moment for me and I will cherish it for many, many days to come.

The Backstory

Recently my wife has been spending some time trying to teach our daughter about money, Leyla calls it “monies” and the importance of saving it to purchase things down the road. She actually got the idea from a Curious George Episode.  One day Traci, my wife, found a little sheep bank and she has been helping our Leyla find change around the house or after we’ve gone to the store.

Over the last few months they’ve collected quite a lot of change and Every time my daughter gets the opportunity to put some change it the bank she gets really excited. It’s pretty amazing, well so far, that may change as she gets older.

The Moment

So here’s what you’ve been waiting for, The Moment. Well, it happened the other day as I was getting ready to come back to work after a few days off.  As I finished getting ready I share with her that I had to go back to work now and she kept asking, Why ‘addy?  I attempted to explain to her that I go to work so that we can earn “monies” to buy thing for the house like food, clothes, and her little TV, it’s really a kindle that she watches Netflix on. As I explained to her why I went to work she ran into the closet.

After a few moments she came back out, pulled me off the bed and into the closet, and pointed up.  At first I didn’t know what she was pointing to, but as I went back to tie my other shoe, she ran up to me saying…

‘addy, addy, Its’ o’a, oo can use I “monies” so oo can ‘ay ‘ome ‘ith us, ‘eee’ ‘ay

Meaning…

Daddy, Daddy, It’s Okay, you can use my money so you can stay home with us. Please stay.

It was one of those moments all I could honestly do is stop and smile lovingly at her and reply with. No Baby, you can keep your ‘monies’ you and mamma worked really hard to save them up.

She them gave me a big hug and skipped off into the living area. The rest of the day, all I could think about was how precious that little moment was with our amazing little daughter.

The Message

As I thought about this I began to think about what moments like this could mean in the spiritual since. The thoughts that began to come to mind were those of how God might react when we do similar things in our walk of faith. I felt as though I might have been given just a little glimpse of how He reacts to those moments when we, as believers, choose to go that extra mile to show Him how much we are about what he has done for us.

The Joy and Love I felt, and still feel, for my daughter in that moment is only a fraction of what He feels for us when we make it a point to show our love to those around us.  I can’t imagine what God feels when he sees one of us come to Him for the first time or when one of His children offer something he’s given us back to Him.  God’s love and the Love of a Father are two very special things. I don’t mean to compare the two but from a human perspective it may be the closest thing we have that even remotely models HIS love for His children.

I don’t want this post to turn into something it’s not but, there is a pretty amazing message for fathers, and mothers for that matter, that we can resonate with. Today I would challenge who ever reads this to take a moment or two to think about those moments we have with  our children or with others that are close to us and simply stop, smile lovingly at the memory or the moment and give God the glory because we can experience moments such as these.

Blessings in Christ,   

Dealing with Discouragement

Have you ever gotten to a point in which you have felt as though there was nothing left for you to accomplish in your present place in life? Maybe you felt like it was time to move on but there didn’t seem like there is anything coming over the horizon? Or Maybe you had this underlining desire to do something more and couldn’t engage in what was currently going on around you?

 Let me assure you right now, dear reader, they are natural and there is nothing wrong with feeling that way.  No one ever said we couldn’t make something more of ourselves. On the other hand though, no one ever said that we couldn’t bloom right where are planted. Feeling discouraged is a part of life and it is in those moments of discouragement that we can find fulfillment, if we are open to it. God has many wonderful things in store for us as we live our lives and he desires for us to find peace. 

 While we are only human and will always have to deal with feelings of discouragement, we don’t have to deal with them on our own. Jesus said in one of his final messages to his followers that “I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 ESV) This is a great word of encouragement for those that are facing discouragement, because they remind us that we truly don’t have to face those feelings on our own.

 You may be asking, what does this have to do with the questions that were shared in the beginning?  Well, those questions all come back to discouragement. You see, as we begin to ponder these questions we are letting doubt seep into our hearts. We are truly dealing with discouragement because discouragement and doubt come hand in hand. 

 When you doubt yourself, you are open to intimidation and that leads to deterrence. Deterrence can keep us from seeing what God is doing through our lives, thus leading us back to the questions that we asked at the beginning of this post. It is difficult sometimes when questions like these begin to make their way to the forefront of our minds. The important thing to remember is that God says “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9a ESV) it may not feel like we are weak in those moments in life, but the reality is that we are.

 The reason behind this is not because discouragement is a weakness, but because if we don’t properly work through those feelings of discouragement we become vulnerable to that intimidation mentioned before.  Our ability to believe in ourselves can be lost, leading us to make wrong choices. Maybe God has us planted in our perspective places for a reason we will never really understand. Maybe God feels that instead of moving to the next big thing we simply just need to rest in His will for a season. 

 Maybe God wants to use us as a witness of his love for those that are engaging in things that aren’t really that honoring Him. What it comes down to is this, feeling discouraged is a part of life and through giving those feelings to Him, and we can find fulfillment, maybe even in a way we really never thought of before. Here is a word of encouragement for you today, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6 ESV)

Blessings in Christ and thanks again for visiting "The Gathering Room"

Stand Strong and continue to believe the teachings given to you... (2 Thes. 2:15b NCV),

M.E.