forgiveness--surprise

So today I'm struck by God's grace. He sat me down and had a few things for me to write down in my prayer/talking-with-God journal, and he was just so gracious while still getting his point across. See, this is the mark of a true Father--one who can correct you and build you up at the same time. Thank you, God. :)

just people

So I was watching an interview today and realized something anew about the guest: she, like anybody, is just a person. Of course, intellectually one knows this, but sometimes you just "get" it a little more; they're not an object d'art, a sex object, a thing to be worshipped or to be blindly followed. They're people, and they're to be treated as such and respected as such.

It reminds me now of something a person said to me on the set of a major movie: how you approach them determines your relationship to them, so as you're both actors, don't approach the stars like they're stars and you're a fan. Approach them as fellow actors. My best interactions with stars has always been, the few times I've met one, just interacting with them as people and not as another autograph hound. I like the freedom of not wanting something from a person other than conversation, maybe friendship. Perhaps my best-ever interaction with a star as with "Stone Cold" Steve Austin, who's been referred to on this blog. It was just this natural thing where it was morning before we were ready to shoot. I was passing by and just said, "Morning, Steve." He offered his hand and said, "How you doin'?" I shook it and said, "Fine" and that was the end of it.

What do I thank God for this time? My added respect for other people.

p.s.--God just reminded me: maybe I should apply that to girls. :) Thanks, God. Again. :)

perfect placement

So I've been watching "The Express: The Ernie Davis Story" and reflecting on how much people of color had to endure in that time. I am so grateful I was born when and where I was, and I have a renewed appreciation for people who fought, and sometimes died, for minority rights. I don't know that I would have had the strength to stand up like some people did, but if God had placed me there, I know he would have given me what I needed to get done what He wanted me to get done. I also have so much respect for those who did good in those times, as for those who are still doing good now. I find it amazing (which is problematic) that we now have a mixed-"race" President. It feels like things are going to be okay, but this it problematic for me because hope should not be based on what man does but on what God does through man. Things were always going to be okay--just have faith. As Richard Roberts and Kenneth Copeland say, "If you're going through Hell, don't stop."

I'm grateful to God today for placing me in the perfect time and the perfect place and for the reminder of such. We're born where we're supposed to be born and to whom--from there, as long as we follow God, we'll turn out all right.

Time and times and again

What is God saying to me today? To write this: I am thankful for his abundant mercy, rfnesed each day; his peace, the depth of which I have no idea, and his patience, of which there is so much. Thank you, Lord.

the final word

No, this is not the final blog message; just a bottom line from God to me: keep your word and you'll trust me more, and then I can help you more. As Kenneth Copeland once said, "The reason you think God's word ain't no good is because your word ain't no good." Something to think about, at least for me, and yet another thing for which to be thankful.

journal entry

So I keep this prayer journal where I write down things I think/feel like God is saying to me. Today he said the following, and I thought I'd share it:

Dear Sean,

I encourage you to watch the inauguration today. It is an historic moment. I have ordained this, and it will be. Had McCain won, it would have been because I ordained it.

I anoint and choose your leaders. Sometimes, often, they go astray like Saul. David went astray. That's what my grace is for. They are just people. They make mistakes. I am not a man. I do not make mistakes.

The biggest mistake man makes is trusting his fellow man and not trusting me.

Do not look to Obama as a savior. You have a savior already. Pray for him. He will seek wisdom from me. That is your role.

-love, God

it takes awhile sometimes

So I was just in the break room talking to a fellow as my Thai noodles cooked in the microwave. Turns out his wife it Thai, and he was going on about how good she is in the kitchen and that she won't do store-bought Thai food, since she was raised in Thailand and knows how it's supposed to be. Then we got to talking about a couple of different kinds of food, but I came away from it thinking about his wife (not in THAT way!) and I realized at a much deeper level something I'd known intellectually for a long time: it doesn't matter what color my wife is. Face it, it matters to many, many people, but, truth to tell, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter. What matters is whether she's the one God intended for me (and if she's the one God intended for me, then I'm the one God intended for her).

Thanks, God. That's nice to KNOW.

learning

So here's what I've learned so far today, what God's shown me: the reason he wants me to remain in close contact with him is so that my mind is more constantly on him and less easily hijacked by suggestions of things I shouldn't be paying attention to. Develop of habit of focusing on, hearing, listening to and obeying him and not bad stuff and things go better for me. I like that. Thanks, God.

I was looking for the scriptural reference, because it is a Biblical principle--here: Romans 8:5 (King James Version): 5For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.

New International Version

...and then some

I originally put this in the "it's okay" post, but I felt that that one deserved its own post. Here's more stuff:

A friend of mine has been helping me with a novel that I'd put a lot of work into, and it's looking more possible that this will see the light of day. There's much work to be done, but I'm eager to introduce the novel's main character to the world--that she'll not just be consigned to a story of which I'm fond but that she'll be shared with others. Also, there's progress on a film on which I've been collaborating with another friend and some other opportunities in that field, and, as ever, I thank God for that.

Finally, thank God, I met the giving goal (if I combine tithing _and_ giving) last year. Without God, this would not have been possible, so thank You, God for that, too. God put a figure in my mind and he helped bring it to pass. Praise God. :)

it's okay--and then some

I was writing this e-mail to a good, special friend, and I thought, or God pointed out, that this would be a good blog entry as well:

So I listened to most of the final message in Steven Furtick's "Bringing Sexy Back" series, and he pointed out that singles have opportunities to do things for God that married people don't--he referenced Paul in saying this--and I had read Paul's words on the subject of being single vs. being married, but somehow the way Furtick put it finally put a final piece in the puzzle of my contentment/discontentment with being single. It is like the pressure to be with somebody is off. It's okay to be single--for me, those aren't just words anymore; they're reality. I also think that now that I feel this way, God operating the way He does, it's more likely that he'll help my path to cross somebody else's, but the bottom line is I have a peace about the way things are now that I didn't have before. And when God does bring somebody along, that somebody will meet a more complete person in me--after all, who wants to marry half a person? ;)

I thank God for the friend who recommended this and for the message brought through Paul, through Furtick and now into me.

three things for which to be grateful

One word: overtime.
Two words: wise friends.
Three words: grace and maturity.

Thanks, God. :)

right now

I was just about to go to bed today and about to set the alarm--I felt like God way saying, "You'll need it, because you're going to be soooo comfortable." And I was reminded of how blessed I am--good jobs, good place to live, good car, money enough to pay the bills and then some as well as to give. I am truly blessed. Thank you, God.

hacked off and still grateful

So. Just worked a full-on day at Apple, or pretty full on if 9 hours counts. I'm home, tired and pretty let down with my performance. I think it was okay, but not nearly what I'd like to see out of myself. I'm getting frustrated, I suppose, with my own underestimation of how much knowledge is required to be truly effective and minimise needing to ask others for help or clarification. Still, this will come in time. I'm working for one of the best companies in the world, and you don't get to be the best without 1) taking advantage of help offered and 2) taking responsibility for your own progress. I'm grateful to God for understanding co-workers.

Slightly bigger issue: after being around so many people for so long talking about something I'm so passionate about, coming back to an empty apartment is a real drag. I actually feel something I haven't felt in quite some time: lonely. That's probably just an effect of the drastic change in surroundings, something like how the body has to adjust when one goes from a cold climate to a warm one or vice versa. You get used to something, and then that all changes, and that can be jarring if you haven't experienced it before. See, this is one of the first days I've worked at the store for so many hours straight--usually it's just four or six hours or so.

I was wondering about the place and I was talking to a co-worker about it, and just love that job so much because I get to geek out and share something I really believe in: Apple products. I'm understanding, at least in principle, how people like preachers can get so into witnessing because it's the same principle, though a much different level of importance: they have a belief in something and the goodness and usefulness of it and love to share it with people. Kind of like when you go see a great movie and can hardly wait to share it with friends. Understand, it's not like I think they're the be-all and end-all and are going to save the world. In the end, they're just products, and man-made ones at that. It's just that they're REALLY cool and REALLY useful products made by what I consider to be a great company of which I'm blessed to be a part, that's all. ;)