I Choose :: by Max Lucado

It’s quiet. It’s early. My coffee is hot. The sky is still black. The
world is still asleep. The day is coming.

In a few moments, the day will arrive. It will roar down the track with
the rising of the sun. The stillness of the dawn will be exchanged for
the noise of the day. The calm of solitude will be replaced by the
pounding of the human race. The refuge of the early morning will be
invaded by decisions to be made and deadlines to be met.

For the next twelve hours I will be exposed to the day’s demands. It is now I
must make a choice. Because of Calvary, I’m free to choose. And so I choose.

I Choose Love
No occasion justifies hatred;
no injustice warrants bitterness. I choose love.
Today I will love God and what God loves.

I Choose Joy
I will invite my God to be the God of circumstance.
I will refuse the temptation to be cynical…
the tool of the lazy thinker. I will refuse to see
people as anything less than human beings,
created by God. I will refuse to see any problem as
anything less than an opportunity to see God.

I Choose Peace
I will live forgiven. I will forgive so that I may live.

I Choose Patience
I will overlook the inconveniences of the world.
Instead of cursing the one who takes my place, I’ll
invite him to do so. Rather than complain that the
wait is too long, I will thank God for a moment
to pray. Instead of clenching my fist at new
assignments, I will face them with joy and courage.

I Choose Kindness
I will be kind to the poor, for they are alone.
I will be kind to the rich, for they are afraid. And kind to
the unkind, for such is how God has treated me.

I Choose Goodness
I will go without a dollar
before I take a dishonest one. I will be overlooked
before I will boast. I will confess before I will
accuse. I choose goodness.

I Choose Faithfulness
Today I will keep my promises.
My debtors will not regret their trust. My associates
will not question my word. My wife will not
question my love. And my children will never fear
that their father will not come home.

I Choose Gentleness
Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle.
If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise.
If I clench my fist, may it only be in prayer.
If I make a demand, may it only be of myself.
I am a spiritual being…
After this body is dead, my spirit will soar.
I refuse to let what will rot rule the
eternal.

I Choose Self-Control
I will be drunk only by joy.
I will be impassioned only by my faith.
I will be influenced only by God.
I will be taught only by Christ.
I choose self-control.

Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
To these I commit my day.
If I succeed, I will give thanks.
If I fail, I will seek His grace.
And then, when this day is done,
I will place my head on my pillow
and rest.

Hunter was with me in the church bookstore last Wednesday night, when she fell in love with a bible and begged asked to have it.  As you can see in the photo I gave in bought it for her.  But seriously, can you really turn your child down when they’re asking for a bible?

Anyway.

She proceeded to walk around church for the next 20 minutes “reading” her new bible.  And when she so-very-excitedly told me she “found the red words!” my heart went to mush.  I asked if she knew what the red words were and she replied “they’re God’s words.”  The red words in the bible are indeed the words that Jesus spoke while on earth.  Be-still-my-heart.

Sometimes I so worry that I’m not sharing enough, I’m not being intentional enough, we’re not in scripture enough, we’re not doing devotions enough, I’m not teaching enough.  Do you ever feel the same?

And then they surprise you with something you had no idea they understood … “the red words.”

Recently, we had a long drive in the car and the girls brought Apples to Apples {bible edition} along.  The girls would get to bigger words “prodigal, martyr, obedience” and they’d ask me questions about them.  We talked about the Red Sea, Passover and the story of the Prodigal Son … I was amazed as I would start to tell the story or meaning, they’d excitedly take over and finish the story.

All this to say, if we can stay steadfast in our teachings and talkings and bringing them to church … these words, stories and their meanings will grow deep into the hearts of our children.  And then into their children’s children …

They seem like a harmless pair of cute, toddler, jelly sandals, no?  Well … they were.

Until my cranky, ailing princess decided to try to squeeze her well-covered-with-socks-and-unhealed toes into them!

They just wouldn’t fit!  And she just wouldn’t give up!  All I could do was stand by watching incredulously as she struggled to get her feet into them.  Tantrum after tantrum.

I would gently tell her “they aren’t fitting.”  “Let’s wait until your feet heal.”  “Look at your sparkly ‘Dorothy‘ shoes.”

Nothing I said mattered.  She was bound and determined … all caught up in the emotion of a fresh pair of synthetic smelling jelly sandals.

Truth is … I finally had to walk away.  She.just.would.not.listen to me.

I wonder how often God stares at us incredulously?  Clearly, something in our lives just isn’t working.  It’s not where we’re supposed to be … where He wants us … what he desires for us.

And yet we struggle.  We make it fit.

Until we’re tantruming on our closet floor … all cried out, puffy-and-red-faced.

Meanwhile, God’s gently telling us, “it doesn’t fit.”  “Just wait.”  “Look over here at what I have better for you.”

But we refuse to see it.  We’re all caught up in the emotion of that new pair of sandals.

And so our loving God let’s us go through it.  He lets us learn.  Until we come to Him with a new pair of shoes, hoping those will be the ones that fit comfortably.

Oh, but how great it would be if we didn’t even have to go through that trial … walk all day in those very uncomfortable and ill-fitting pair of shoes.

Won’t you trust in Him today? “Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”  Proverbs 3:5-6

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Today is Hunter’s sixth birthday!! In honor of that, the rest of this week’s re-posts will be about my babygirl! Bear with me? :)