Living Life in a Glass House

Being a blogger is a joy for me. I expose myself as though I were living in a glass house. It's on purpose. Being open to sharing my mistakes, do-overs, and wins is to give you hope and if you can learn from me, maybe you'll be spared from having to go around the same mountains that I did. My point is to share faith and how to stay optimistic in such a negative world.

I want my passion for God to get stronger and my light to burn brighter, and a sweet way of doing that is to refresh and recharge at a daily retreat (a place of refuge) with our CEO Who has an “open door” policy. He is never too busy for us to come into His presence. It's an intimate, altogether personal time with Him. I assure you that intimate place of relationship -- removes doubt, worry, concern, and fear consciousness and replaces it with "Savior" consciousness.

Living in a glass house opens us up to vulnerability, because we all know there are times when the journey gets rocky and uncomfortable. It’s okay…..because the rocks make us appreciate the flat terrain more; the uphill climbs make us appreciate the downhill sprints. The times of despair cause us to lean into God’s love even more. I want my glass house to be a beacon of light for those who can follow in my footsteps as I follow my Lord’s footsteps. You can be assured, wherever this walk takes me today – you’ll hear about it tomorrow because it always comes with a lesson learned and a lesson to share. You’ll know all about it, because “living in a glass house” is describing my relationship with Christ. He comforts me when I cry. He directs me, teaches me, reproves me, guides me and loves me.

Here's the thing -- God loves me AND you. He understands our desires, motives, and thoughts. Nothing about you and me escapes His notice. And, for sure, I don’t really want to live in a literal glass house. But, there’s one thing for sure, no matter where we live, we’re being watched daily by God Who doesn’t require glass walls to know everything about us. The Bible tells us that “there is no creature hidden from His sight, but ALL THINGS are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). He knows ALL things -- not just the things in the open, or the things said out loud> He knows all things -- all the way down to the thoughts and intents of our hearts. When it comes to God, we all live in glass houses.

So how should we feel about the God of the universe having access to any and everything about us? How should we feel about Him having complete knowledge of every thought we’ve ever had, every emotion we’ve ever felt and every decision we’ve ever made? It’s simple — we should feel relieved.

Convenience or Relationships?

Three days ago, I ordered two items on Amazon Prime. The items arrived two days later. Sometimes, it's next day. How convenient is that? I didn't have to leave my house!! My daughters often order their groceries from Instacart (Instacart is a grocery delivery service where personal shoppers pick up and deliver the groceries to your door within an hour). How much time does that save? They don't have to leave their home! We may go to church, but we sit at the back, then we're in and out without engaging in conversation with others. We drive into our automatic-garage-door garages -- so we never really converse with our neighbors. We sit at a dinner table -- and rather than being engaged with others at the table, we are texting or surfing on our cell phones.

Where am I going with these observations? I shared this because of a message I heard from Pastor Ryan Malouff at Expression Church in Austin last Sunday (where my kids attend). I perked up when he said, "We've gotten lazy in our approach to relationships. We opt for less conversation and more instantaneous convenience. Once upon a time, our society was about interacting, purposely engaging in conversations -- getting to know each other."

Whatever happened to "relationship" building -- making the effort to get to know our neighbors, our kids' teachers, other kids' family members, attending various groups of interest to get to know others and be a blessing to them.

Think about Jesus. He was a mingler. He went out of his way to engage in conversation (i.e., the Samaritan woman at the well, visits to Mary, Lazarus and Martha's home, spending time cultivating relationships with His disciples, going to Zacchaeus' house and speaking to him and his family about God's love for them). When we're avoiding relationships, we are missing the opportunity to be an encourager to them. Did you know we can be the CEO of our lives? We can all be Chief Encouragement Officers. We can be a light that others need in their lives.

"If you want friends, you must first show yourself friendly." Proverbs 18:24. I've taken that scripture to heart as I've forced myself to be a part of women's groups, Bible Studies, meet my neighbors, attend meetings at my community center, and hang around after church to meet and greet others in the family. I can't stay cooped up and withhold the goodness of God that someone is craving to have. How about you?

CEO of my Business -- CEO of my Life

My tip of the day.....there's no greater way to begin a new day and week than to have a meeting with the CEO of our business -- especially with the desire for success in every way! My CEO is God, my Heavenly Father.

Through the years of having early morning commitments, my body just naturally wakes up early. I have a built-in alarm clock. So, it sure makes sense to me, to get in touch with the One who created the day -- to begin my day by spending a few minutes alone with God each morning. It's just a great way to get the "wisdom and guidance" download from my CEO, and my day and life will be enriched and blessed as the day progresses! Spending time in His Word, and sharing with Him, through prayer, I know I've set my day in the proper order! It always helps me to be in the right frame of mind. I recognize it, and others recognize it, when we've had those meetings.....and when we haven't. I urge you to call for an Executive Meeting with your CEO today!