Delaware Dad

In Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
-Romans 12:5

Offense and defense. Radical and measured. Talkative and contemplative.

Teams must be made up of varied personalities to succeed. Relationships are the smallest team unit. A variety of skillsets and and honoring of differences are vital to any team.

Within the diversity, a common cause creates the purpose of the team. Common cause and mutual respect strengthen the team toward its goal.

As followers of Christ, we can look to each other for support, inspiration, and sharing. Within our differences lies the desire to be more like Jesus Christ.

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“May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
-John 17:21

I try to be vocal about being a follower of Christ because I want to share what it has done for me. I want to be that example of love in the world. I fail everyday and I succeed among the failures.

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“That all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.”
-John 17:21

One line struck me from today’s devotional lesson: “Like porcupines cuddling in the cold, we often hurt each other as we seek connection.”

Not only are we porcupines in the cold, but we are also in the dark and can’t see our own quills.

We often don’t know our own brokenness. We hurt inadvertently, or through the repetition of a pattern that hurt us, yet still feels familiar and safe.

Knowing and loving ourself is critical to loving God and others. Our love for others and God is also also critical to loving ourself. No one love is separated from the others. The outward and inward work is constant and interdependent.

That work brings our broken and disparate loves into a single place. It integrates ourselves with a Heavenly vision and creates a life full of love.

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“Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
-Matthew 6:13

I started my day with yoga and prayed through most of it. The theme was Joy and how it is the intersection of Love and Happiness. I couldn’t stop thanking God for the abundance of these in my life. I almost came to tears a couple times. I like quietly crying during hot vinyasa because no one can tell through the sweat pouring off me.

Most of the day was spent walking outside with my sons and friends and I was tired early in the evening.

Temptation set in as I wanted to avoid a jiu-jitsu class that I dearly need as I prepare for my first competition.

I dragged myself to the class and wore myself out more quickly than usual. Maybe rest would not have meant giving into the devil, but I knew that staying my training course meant honoring the body that God gave me and becoming a stronger student.

The minor victories add up. God has granted me a level of energy that I sometimes underestimate. I don’t always know what to do with it. I pray for the wisdom and vision to continue faithfully down my path.

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“Forgive us our debts, as we have also forgiven our debtors.”
-Matthew 6:12

That Jesus has forgiven my sins humbles me every time I think on it. I find it nearly impossible to forgive myself for the wrongs I have done to myself and others. Knowing more about the damage I have done than I ever could, God’s infinite love still forgives.

I don’t struggle too much with forgiving others. My own brokeness doesn’t let me judge too harshly or take much personal offense. It does hang on me and makes forgiving myself more difficult.

Today I will follow Jesus’s example and find more grace for myself.

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“Give us today our daily bread.”
-Matthew 6:11

“Keep God at the center of all things,” is a daunting command. However, when applied to any given decision, one sees how it can simplify life and enhance awareness of, and gratitude for, your blessings.

I am in the slow process of bringing our eating closer to God’s earth. Less processed food is a good step. A messy and not-so-productive garden is a harder journey.

I am grateful for our successes and stumbles as we get closer to our food and closer to God.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done. On earth as it is in Heaven.”
-Matthew 6:10

God made us to be creators like Him. We write, sing, draw, and speak and each of our actions and words creates the circumstances around us.

To do God’s will, we need to listen carefully to our prayers and pay close attention to Scripture. Once in alignment with His will, we are positioned to create an earthly existence that is nearer to Heaven than Hell.

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“Hallowed be your name.”
-Matthew 6:9

I love how this text is breaking up the Lord’s Prayer to focus on individual phrases.

God’s name is “hallowed” or “holy” because He is not of this world. Our ability to experience the Holy is limited by the material world. The more we release ourselves from worldly concerns, the closer our relationship with God becomes.

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“This, then, is how you should pray: ‘Our Father…'”
-Matthew 6:9

I look to God when I think of what kind of father I want to be. I look to Him for guidance and example. I look to Him for the strength, compassion, and patience that I need.

Fatherhood put me on the path to love and faith. It opened my heart to the possibility of a greater love and, eventually, revealed ultimate love through Jesus Christ.

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Jacob took the food to his father. “My father?” he said. “Yes, my son,” Isaac answered. “Who are you—Esau or Jacob?”
-Genesis 27:18

I never considered how Isaac’s lack of love for his son, Jacob, left the younger son searching for something to fill that emptiness in his heart.

God’s love is more than an example to me. It is an infinite well that I have access to through Jesus Christ. It fills me when I feel empty and it flows through me when my sons need more love than I think I can offer.

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