Fridays are back on the market! My son, Nick, is graduating and is done with high school football so for the first time since 2009 I am free on Friday nights in the fall. So if you need a speaker for an event this fall that includes Friday night, I am your guy! Holler at me if you need a speaker for your fall retreat, Dnow, or anything else.
Later – Runks
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If I compare myself to others less fortunate – poor, no legs, cancer – and say I’ll never complain again it will be short lived because it’s based on a shallow, under the sun, very temporary perspective. Plus the second they’re out of sight and out of mind and something starts bugging me I’ll be right back to griping my ding dang head off about nothing.
On the other hand, if I look at the bigger picture with a more eternal, God sized perspective I’ll see that what really brings me comfort, contentment, and a reason to not complain is not that I have legs, I’m not broke, and I don’t have cancer but the fact that Jesus has risen from the dead, He lives in me, He loves me, and this world is not the end all, be all of life. Its just the beginning of a kajillion Plus years of life to the fullest with Jesus.
I might be dumb as dirt and I might just be right.
later – Runks
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The song in the video – “Ask Me” by Amy Grant has served as an incredible sense of encouragement and hope to me in my recovery from childhood sexual abuse. I cannot tell you how many times I have listened to it, over and over again, celebrating the hope and freedom Jesus has brought to my life over the past few years. My favorite line in the song is towards the end where it says,
“He’s in the middle of her pain. He’s in the middle of her shame. He’s in the middle…….
Mercy in the middle.”
What it means to me is that our God of mercy brings comfort to us in the midst of our deepest, darkest moments (see II Corinthians 1:3-4). I’ve come to believe and know that God was with me, bringing mercy and comfort to me when I was locked in a closet as a 7 year old enduring the horrors of sexual abuse. He was with me through years I kept it a secret. He was even there with me when I chose to medicate my pain in so many unhealthy ways. He was with me in 2005 when I finally began the process of working through and overcoming the horrors of my past. Every step of the way God has been there with me bringing “mercy in the middle.” And God can do the same thing for you! No matter what you have faced in your past or face in your present, God is there with you bringing you “mercy in the middle.” No matter how painful or shameful your situation may be – YOU ARE NOT ALONE! God is there with you ready and able to lead you out of the darkness. It won’t be easy and it will take a lot of hard work but not near as much work as it takes to live with shame. Trust me, it is so worth it! Freedom is a beautiful thing and you too can live in the freedom God has for you. If you need professional help check out The Heart Matters counseling center. These are the people who led me out of the darkness! I’ll leave you with a prayer I pray daily:
“God send your mercy in the middle to the abused and addicted still suffering alone. Use me to lead them out of the darkness.”
I’m praying for you!
God bless ya – Runks
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