The Insomnia Chronicles

Patience

Guest Blogger: Andrew Jump

"Be humble under God's powerful hand so he will lift you up when the right time comes" 1 Peter 5:6

I cook Italian food nearly everyday. This week God has been bringing patience into clear focus around a  boiling pot of rigatoni. Patience requires your full attention. Patience is humility. Waiting for God to act is one of humilty and  attention. It's not enough to put the pasta in and have patience until it is finished. It still requires stirring along the way. Even more specifically, pasta left alone, especially near al dente (firm to bite), is dangerous because "when the right times comes" we must act immediately to stop the cooking process. It's being humble in waiting and humble in acting (stopping the cooking process by draining the water).

God allows us to wait in humilty for just the right time. Yet this process can be difficult, sometimes I rush things and end up with pasta not fully cooked. Other times I,  so preoccupied "waiting patiently" (doing other things), that I am not able to act when the pasta is finished and my pasta becomes too soft.

If we decide to wait for God to act, we must give our attention to him; if he wants us to wait, there is a very good possibilty that he is preparing us to act at just the right time. But honestly, watching pasta can be frustrating and boring, especially if you're hungry. Waiting patiently for God to act can feel the same way. But there is no substitue for real al dente pasta. There is no real substitue for God acting through you at just the right time. Acting top early or too late can ruin the whole dish and can hinder the fullness of God's amazing plan for this moment,  for MY next moment,  for YOUR next moment.

Waiting for al dente,

Peace

Guest Blogger: Andrea Gideon

Galatians 5:22 NLT
“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us, love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”

*Peace- freedom of mind from annoyance, distraction, and anxiety. To be untroubled or content. (www.dictionary.com)
‘
*Peace- Hebrew word for peace is ‘salom’ meaning “to be complete” “to be sound” or “to be whole”.

*Everyone desires peace. We all desire to be free from worry and anxiety. We desire to be untroubled and content. We desire to be complete and whole… it’s what the whole world is after. So why are so many people not free? Why can’t people find peace?

*I am glad you asked.

*At the beginning of this verse it says, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit…”

*Peace only comes when the Holy Spirit is in control.
*What does letting the Holy Spirit be in control look like?

-It is trusting, no matter what we feel, no matter what we think and no matter what makes sense to us, and then, we must let that trust lead us to obedience and complete surrender to the Holy Spirit’s leading.

*God wants us to have peace, but he can’t give it to us unless we are surrendered to His control.

Phil. 4:7 NIV
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace (wholeness, soundness, and completeness) of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”

*What an awesome promise! If we let go of control in EVERY situation and pray… giving God control, He will give us wholeness, soundness, and completeness which passes all of our understanding. This peace passes all our worries and concerns, and fears… all we have to do is let go!

*Now, does this mean that there will never be times in our lives when everything is in an uproar? Absolutely not… BUT, in the middle of the uproar we can be sound knowing that as we give up control and follow the Spirit’s leading that God will always come through.

                            Letting go of control…

-Do you have peace?
-Is the Holy Spirit in control?
-Are you trusting Christ?
-Are you obeying Him?

Joy

Guest Blogger: TJ Reid

I remember the summer breaks in middle school and high school where I would just sit in my bed almost all day.  It wasn’t because I was just a lazy teenager, but because I really struggled with depression.  Most of the time I just wanted to be by myself, and asked that people would just leave me alone.

However, when God saved my life at 18 years old, there was a new deeply rooted joy in my life.  People who knew me before were amazed at the change in my demeanor, perspectives on life, and just the smile on my face.  I am truly grateful to God that He saved me and gave me joy.

Joy has become God’s thumbprint on my life.  As I go through tough situations, He reminds me of what He has brought me through and where He is bringing me.

Joy isn’t a feeling, it’s clear focus on Jesus and not myself.  I constantly am reminding myself of what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do.  I created this list that helps to remind me that joy belongs to me, because Jesus gave it and no one can take it away.  Below is this list that I want to share with you:

Joy belongs to those who love God’s Word (Psalm 1:1,2; Psalm 19:8)

Joy belongs to those who have been forgiven  (Psalm 32:1,2, 11)

Joy belongs to those who have been saved by Jesus (Psalm 51:12)

Joy belongs to those who need the strength of God (Psalm 84:5)

Joy belongs to those who are disciplined by the Lord (Psalm 94:12)

Joy belongs to those who are people of integrity (Psalm 119:1)

Joy belongs to those who have kids (Psalm 127:5)

Joy belongs to those who are helped by God (Psalm 146:5)

·      Is joy growing in you?

·      Is your focus right now more on your problems or are you getting a clear focus on Jesus and His promises?

·      Have you told your face that you are joyful today?

Growing in joy...

 

Love

Guest Blogger: Erin Gancer

But the fruit of the Spirit is love…

There are times when I am severely dissatisfied with the English language.  Trying to describe love is one of those times.  How can I “love” my shoes in one sentence and in the next “love” my family?  Yes, I admit that I too am guilty of polluting the meaning of this word, love.  But as followers of Christ, we ought to know what Jesus meant he commanded, “just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”  (John 13:24)

How exactly did Christ love us?  A good question.  This wasn’t a “like” kind of love, or a “say one thing and do another kind” of love. “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10)  God’s love revealed through action, sacrifice, and through no work of our own. 

The Greek word for this love is Agape, meaning a brotherly love and affection; goodwill.  No mention of feelings or preferences – single minded selfless devotion to doing whatever it takes for the good of another.  This is how Christ loved us. This is how we are to love each other.

So how do we grow in love for each other?...I’ve found two ways that help me: 

The first is Practice.  Practice preferring other people, and seeking their best interest regardless of yours!  That means, at times, telling your feelings to take a hike, and serving someone else.  Not easy!  But try.  Again and again.

The second is Prayer.  Paul called love a “fruit of the Spirit,” meaning it is what comes naturally out of a relationship with the Holy Spirit.  Ask God to help you love, to prefer yourself less and others more.  Grow closer in relationship with Him, and more of this fruit is sure to grow, and be evident in your life.

The greatest command, to love. 

How has God’s love for you changed your life?
Are you sharing that love with others?
What hinders your love for others the most?
Are you working on it?

The FRUIT Stand.

I'm off for around 10 days of vacation...  so, no bloggin' from me for a while... but, the "Insomnia Chronicles" WILL CONTINUE!! That's right, I've asked some of my bloggin' allies to bring their wisdom and perspective HERE while I'm gone.  They will be doing a word by word  study on the "Fruit of the Spirit"... I'm calling it "The FRUIT Stand" ~ as they will be teaching us how to take a stand for Christ by living a fruitful life!

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law" Galatians 5:22-23.

I'm really looking forward to reading their thoughts on this really cool passage.  God wants your life to be fruitfull ~ so, I ask you are these things abounding in your life on a regular basis?  IF not, check here everyday and study with us!

And yeah, leave some feedback love' in the comments for them...

Thanks, Chilly

p.s. please pray for my family & me while we're away.

Can you hear HER?

 Wisdom is like a woman shouting in the street; she raises her voice in the city squares. She cries out in the noisy street and shouts at the city gates: "You fools, how long will you be foolish? How long will you make fun of wisdom and hate knowledge? If only you had listened when I corrected you, I would have told you what's in my heart; I would have told you what I am thinking. Proverbs 1:20-23.

How do you handle correction?  Do you have a set of criteria (often hidden/unknown) that one must know IF they are to be able to correctly approach you and bring discipline or reproof?  Do you have a shortlist of those that, upon meeting your criteria, can carefully and graciously bring observations ... suggestions ... concerns? And, even when it's the right person and right time do you, still,  immediately become defensive and shut down your ability to hear by beginning to formulate your answer(s)? Have people stopped trying to approach you because of how you've reacted in previous encounters?  This isn't good...

Correction... it's not easy... and rarely fun.  but, it's truth - and you need it - me too!!

"Truth demands confrontation; loving
confrontation, but confrontation nevertheless."
Francis Schaeffer

Read the verses at the top again... fool. that's is THE "f-word" to me.  the Word of God tells us that the person who refuses TRUTH (wisdom and knowledge) is foolish - yes, a fool.  In today's passage we are told that we could've known what God was thinking and what was on His heart IF we had only embraced correction...  gulp.  we're cheating ourselves!

maybe we should make it easier for others to approach us.  maybe we should ask before we have to be approached.  if we can't take it from others, chances are we won't hear it from God either...

choice:  to be a fool to God or to be cool with God.   is there really a choice?

getting, painfully, wiser...  chilly

• is it hard for people to confront you?
• are you Christ-like when confronting others?
• have you been a 'fool' (according to the text)?
• do you need to apologize for defensiveness?
• any other thoughts??

the Real Feel

It seems that often, far too often, we "Christians" find ourselves over-our-heads in pity, condemnation, discouragement or doubt because of this little thing called: "feelings."  We don't feel like reading our Bibles, sharing our faith, going to church, etc.  - we long for those times when we felt God in such a real way we thought we were going to explode!!

Feelings by their very nature are misleading. Surely you've felt something one day, only to feel nearly the opposite the next. I believe feelings and emotions are part of being a Christian and in being human in general, but God calls us to much more than that. God calls us to work. We certainly aren't saved by works - as Ephesians 2:8 tells us - but we sure aren't saved by feelings, either. We're saved by God, and therefore should take Him seriously when he says, "faith without works is dead" (James 2:17). That means it's possible for us to feel as though we have faith to move mountains, yet in reality it could be that we have the dead faith spoken of in James 2:17. God calls us to be and do rather than to simply feel. He calls us to have real faith instead of only emotional highs.

42.

You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out before a
single day had passed. Psalm 139:16

Today, as I pause and thank God for another year of His goodness, I want to thank Him for YOU... yes, you!  He knew before I was born that you would read these late-night ramblings, that you would listen to podcasts, that you would add a comment of encouragement - say a prayer of faith - share His goodness with others.  Today my Facebook wall is filled with (70+) messages of 'birthday love', my Twitter keeps tweeting and my email inbox is packed! It's overwhelming and means so much to me!

I always pray that God will use me to bless & encourage others, to raise up fearless disciple-warriors, to make uncommon faith common amongst my allies - and, people like you are living, breathing answers to my prayers and part of the fulfillment to my pre-birth destiny... yeah, YOU!  So, today you are one of my birthday presents - how cool is that?! And, of course, my ultimate GIFT remains my Savior & Lord: Jesus Christ!  Thank you Father!

I get younger everyday -- praise you Lord! 

Carnival Quiz

This was, obviously, inspired by our city's main street this weekend... but, I think we can all relate. Feel free to choose one of the suggested answers for each category or add your own! Enjoy!

1. carnival rides
     tilt-a-whirl, scrambler or giant slide?
2. carnival food
     funnel cake, fried cheese or elephant ear?
3. carnival games
     basketball shot, ring toss, guess your weight?
4. carnival prizes
     cat in the hat Hat, stuffed dog, rockband mirror?
5. carnival worker education
     h.s. dropout, g.e.d., h.s. grad, some college, ph.d.?
6. carnival music
     bad 80's bands, metal, rock-a-billy, polka?
7. carnival hair-styles
     long & greasy, mullet, big hair, hat please?

Lastly, any carnival horror stories??

Weekend of Insanity

yes, it's true, Hamtramck's 28th annual "Labor Day Festival" is upon us!  what this means, in short, is 20,000+ people getting drunk and crazy(ier) all over our streets.  with famous bands (only to our city) playing on stages late into the night... here's a few of their names: Kielbasa Kings, Swamp Siostrzanys, Danny D, and of course, The Polish Muslims. 

our main street is blocked off and filled with beer tents, sausage stands and carnival rides. the smell of fried dough and cooked pork fills the air (makes me want to belch just thinking about it... not a good belch, by the way... ugh) and the, unofficial, security guard of the city, Tex, is standing on the corner barking out orders at anyone who will look his ways.  hilarious.

each year, we do our best to minister to these people and be a positive influence and witness. but, it's sad to see even our 'city officials' drunk by the first night. we've also had acts of violence the last few years.  honestly, it's out-of-control much of the time. 

so, please pray that God will make us LIGHT in the darkness, that He will provide safety over our city and that lives will be saved in the midst of chaos...  I'm also praying that the beer tastes bad!

Here we go...