Acres of Diamonds

I heard Jentezen Franklin share a true story from the 1800s when diamonds were discovered all over Africa. An African farmer heard those tales about other farmers making millions by discovering diamonds. He was so excited that he sold his farm to go prospecting for diamonds himself. He spent the rest of his life wandering through Africa searching but not finding the diamonds that brought such high prices on the markets of the world. Finally, in total despondency and disappointment, he threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, the man who bought his farm was crossing a small stream on the property, when suddenly there was a bright flash of blue and red light from the stream bottom. He bent down and picked up the good-sized stone. He brought it home and placed it on his fireplace mantel to admire it. Several weeks later, a visitor stopped by and saw the stone. He asked the farmer if he knew what he’d found, but the farmer simply thought it was a piece of crystal. The visitor told him he had found one of the largest diamonds ever discovered. The farmer told the man that his creek was full of such stones.

The first farmer sold his farm so that he might find a diamond mine. It turned out to be one of the most productive diamond mines on the entire African continent. He had owned acres of diamonds, but he sold them for practically nothing, in order to look for them elsewhere. The moral is clear: If the first farmer had only taken the time to study and prepare himself to learn what diamonds looked like in their rough state, and to thoroughly explore the property he had before looking elsewhere, all of his wildest dreams would have come true.

My eyes opened when I heard that story. At this very moment, we could be standing in the middle of our very own acres of diamonds in creative ideas, innovations -- the eye-openers to the treasures that might be inside us or around us.

Wherever you are or whatever you're doing right now -- in a world of worry, concern and anxiety -- just may be where the diamonds are. Yes, times have been tough and your hope seems to have vanished with the weight of your concerns that have become two-ton weights. I just don't believe we are in an isolated incident in the midst of this isolation we are living through. I believe God is up to something so grandiose and is on our side. It starts with HOPE. Our "hope" glasses will open our eyes to see the diamonds!

My husband's favorite motivational topic was hope. He would say: "Hope is the great expectation that something good is about to happen!" I'm so glad I caught hold of that hope. It has served me well. I know the alternative. When there is no hope -- life is over. That's why we hear about so many people who are living in depression, hopelessness and even taking their lives. "Hope deferred does make the heart sick." Proverbs 13:12. I cringe when I hear someone say "Don't get your hope up!" Why don't we get our hope up and believe that this day can be a day of ahas, wonders, miracles and surprises?

I'm telling you not hoping is not believing in our God with Whom all things are impossible “May God, the source of hope, fill you with joy and peace through your faith in Him. Then you will overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:13) Whoohoo! Bring on that overflowing hope! Could you be sitting on a diamond mine? Could your mind be the diamond mine of innovation, creativity, ideas, and witty inventions? Let's get our HOPE up!

Is God Well Pleased with You?

I really want that "well pleased and beloved child" endorsement from God. You know the feeling if you’re a parent, grandparent, proud aunt, uncle or friend – and you love that one so much that you can’t help yourself. You exclaim "That one's mine! I am so proud of him/her.”

In our Gospel reading yesterday, we heard the second time when God’s booming voice declared “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” (Matthew 17:5) This time it was at the transfiguration of Jesus. The first time it was at Jesus' baptism by John the Baptist when Father God's booming voice declared from heaven: "“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased." (Matthew 3:17) We take after our Heavenly Father. He was a proud Papa and wanted the world to know He was proud of His boy. It was sort of like His birth announcement for His boy. He flung one colossal star in the sky to let us know that He was giving us mere mortals the STAR of the show!

With all my heart -- I want to hear “You are My beloved daughter” because I have brought God so much pleasure with my life. Those words about Jesus were obviously an endorsement by God the Father for His Son, Jesus Christ. But as we hear it again, hear it as an endorsement by God over YOUR life. Imagine if God announced you as “My beloved son or daughter.” The fact is: we are His beloved children. We are not His beloved slaves, or servants, or employees. We are His beloved children!

And here is the challenge for us: “Is our life measuring up to the phrase “with you I am well pleased”? We literally need to think of each action that we take during our day and ask ourselves, “What is God saying about me?” Is He taking pleasure over us when we acknowledge Him, when we sit at His feet and visit with Him, when we choose the fruit of the Spirit during our day (love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control) and those times we put others before ourselves?

I have a feeling each time He says the same thing about us as He did His only and only Son "I am well pleased.” And when we fail and even sin, He is still saying “You are my beloved child” but He reminds us that we can do better. Daily, we should strive for hearing those words to us: "You are my beloved son or daughter. I am well pleased with you." I want to make Papa God proud. How about you?

This Frisco/Dallas Traffic is MY Traffic -- Mine Versus Mind

Have you ever seen a baby that’s just beginning to talk, and one of the first words he speaks, especially if he has an older sibling, is “Mine”! The sibling or little friend may be trying to play with one of his toys, when the baby grabs it back and says “Mine!” Undoubtedly, the parent’s watchful eye will navigate the situation and endeavor to teach the little one to change his mind, “Yes, they’re your toys, but they are for you to share with your brother (sister or friend)!”

A couple of days ago I took Denise, Staci’s family’s valuable assistant/caregiver/BFF, to the airport for a trip home to see her family in Indiana for a few days. It was an early morning flight so the Dallas/Ft Worth traffic was less than other times going to the airport. But, on my return home, the traffic increased substantially. And I was starting my usual consternation about “all this traffic”.

Then I remembered a conversation my son told me that he had with Pastor Ryan Malouff when Ryan and Shawntel were contemplating a move to Austin. They were driving together and the traffic was heavy. Ryan W. asked Pastor Ryan “How in the world can you live here and deal with this Austin traffic?” Pastor Ryan’s response was “Because this is MY traffic and this is MY city that God has called me to, and this is MY opportunity to impact MY traffic and My city!”

That was a heaven-to-earth moment for me, because I could sense God “schooling me” about some poor attitudes I’ve had. Since I’ve moved to Frisco, people have asked me “How do you like Frisco?” And my common first response was “Well, it’s a big city with a lot of traffic -- after all Frisco is the 4th fastest growing city in the U.S., and I had a collision, and I’m still trying to find my rhythm.”

I had a personal epiphany and said to myself, “Donna, (I often speak to myself that way – please don’t judge me – LOL!), are you kidding me that you would lead any conversation with a negative? This is YOUR city now and this is YOUR traffic.” The lightning fast MIND of MINE suddenly thought “Rather than complaining and thinking negatively about this traffic, OWN the traffic and the people inside those vehicles and do what God has called you to – to be a difference maker and pray for those people to become followers of Christ; pray for their financial needs to be met, for their bodies to be healed and for their relationships to be restored.” So, I began to pray. My thoughts then turned to “assignment”. God told His disciples, and to us, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel message”. (Mark 16:15) Why wouldn’t I being speaking “good news” over all this traffic? God gave me an assignment to pray instead of being prey to the enemy’s tactics to bring me anxiety and stress.

Every single day is a learning experience for me. I get it. I know God is still working on me to be the best version of me so that He can use whatever I am and have for Him.

Maybe today there are negative situations that bug you. Maybe it’s the barking dog next door, or the grumpy boss, or the annoying co-worker, or the kids riding their bicycles across your grass, or the traffic you have to deal with on a daily basis. Why don’t we turn it all around and look for the opportunity to speak into those situations “good news” with good prayers? And in that case, “ALL THINGS (including morning and afternoon traffic), will be used by God for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.” (Romans 8:28) Even traffic can be something that can be used by God to bless His children!!