Rest

Hi there, it's me. Yes, it has been a bit since I have posted here on my blog. I have been a little busy and I am betting some of you have been too busy to even notice.

I am busy trying to be the loving and attentive husband my wife needs me to be, the concerned dad my grown daughters need, and the involved "papaw" that my grandson needs me to be. I've got an awesome grand-daughter, too, but she's only 6-months old and doesn't really rely on me for much at the moment. For that matter, at this moment, she could take me or leave me.

Apparently I'm sort of the patriarch of my little clan, which is kind of weird to me, and intimidating, but as I understand the word of God, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. My family and my personal relationships are some of my biggest priorities, but in order for me to successfully fulfill my varied roles, I have to be the man that God has called me to be, and I can't do that without first tending to my relationship with God, the Father.

As the associate pastor at my church, one might think that I've got my spiritual walk in full swing. I mean, how can I not be in healthy relationship with God when I'm working in the church office so many hours a week and tending to the needs of the flock. With all my studying and preparing lessons for the mid-week church services or getting our children's department moving forward, certainly I am in perfect communication with Him. And even if that weren't enough, I have deep conversations my pastor multiple times a week, so obviously I have to be "ahead of the game" when it comes to spending time in the Spirit, listening to what God wants me to hear.

Then why is it that I always feel rushed? Why does it always seem that there is too much to do and not enough time with which to do it? Why does it so often seem that there is something missing, not getting done? And, why does it so often seem that my conversations with God are done as an afterthought, when I have time to squeeze it in? Well, I know why. I'm busy. I'm busy with all of these roles that He has seen fit to put on me. I'm busy with the expectations that I put on myself or that I perceive others have of me. What if I fail? What if something doesn't get done? What if I "miss" something? What if, what if, what if?

During prayer and study with my wife the other day, it was impressed upon me by the Holy Spirit to rest. So I sat quietly to hear what He wanted me to know. Soon after, I realized that even when I was attempting to rest, I was fidgeting. My eyes were closed and I took a deep breath, I stretched my arms, I cracked my neck and stretched my back. I even twiddled my thumbs. He said "rest", and so I quit and just sat there and after a moment He again said to "rest" and I thought, "I am resting" then He pointed out that my legs were moving side to side. I was using them to swivel my chair, just slightly, back and forth in little rhythmic partial circles. Sometimes I tap my feet or lightly drum on the desk. So I stopped.

I just sat there, eyes closed, not moving, not thinking, not trying to go to sleep nor avoiding sleep. Just sitting there, resting and listening to what He had to tell me. It wasn't the kind of listening where you have to strain to hear, it was the kind of listening that when you are completely at peace, you can't help but know you are visiting with Him. It was only a few moments, but I don't remember ever just resting before. I realized that I was smiling. I felt great! I had no worries, no timetable, no problems. I was rested. This is something I've been doing periodically throughout the day, since then. Same results. Peace.

In those moments, He taught me how to truly "rest in Him"  and He wants the same for you. So, when you find yourself so busy, wearing all of the hats that you are required to wear, always doing, doing, and doing some more, just stop. Take a few moments every day, stop fidgeting, and rest.

The Election (Winners and Losers)

You may not have heard but we here in the USA have a little thing called the presidential election. In a few weeks we will decide who is going to be the face of our great country and lead us for the next four years.  According to polls it's anybodies guess as to who is going to win. The implications reach far beyond my corner of the globe and expand into the entire world, like it or not.

Although our collective name, United States of America, indicates one thing we are in reality a divided nation. There are those who are either in the Democrat or Republican camps or those who are third party proponents. There are the non-affiliated and the very disinterested or disheartened. To hear tell, regardless of who wins there will be anarchy, riots in the streets and life as we know it will be over. The winners will  undoubtedly gloat while being called cheats and liars. The "losers" will demand recounts and court battles or make excuses for the loss. Both the winners and losers will be called un-American.

The "winner", an imperfect human being, will be near opposite in principle from their closest opponent thus alienating all who would have voted for someone else. Furthermore, the winner will assuredly change or compromise on some of his principled beliefs, alienating those purists who expected 100% agreement with their own point of view by the leader of the free world.

This past weekend was amazing. We held a 24 hour prayer service at our church beginning on Friday night. We prayed about many things: health issues, elimination of the drug epidemic in our county, revival, and yes, even the elections (nationally, statewide, and locally.) We prayed for the protection of our leaders and for wisdom, integrity and fidelity of office, regardless of their party affiliation.  After the prayer service was over, we began a worship service with what I would call the best worship team ever. I'm a bit biased because I truly love the members of our team of gifted singers and musicians.

A team of dedicated women decorated the prayer tent our pastor thought to erect, as well as the sanctuary, all with the theme of Harvest Celebration. They set the tone for our prayer and worship in that we ought to be thankful to God for the goodness that He pours out upon us, the expectation of continued blessings, and for the hope that is to us, Jesus Christ.  Many people put time, energy and even money into this weekend. It was worth it. Every minute spent in preparation and prayer, every penny spent on setting the environment and planting spiritual seeds, all of it was worth the cost.

We believe in the Holy Spirit as a very real person, part of the Trinity with God and Jesus. Many of us felt the presence of the Holy Spirit during the prayer and worship time, conversed with Him, and were reinvigorated in our walk down this Christian path. Some were healed, some forgiven, and some were given vision for their future. We believe that every prayer was answered regardless of the visible results or the lack thereof.

Immediately after the event my wife and I left the church energized by two full days of basking in His presence and promptly hit and killed a deer with our new car. Not brand new, but new to us. We had only made a single payment on it and on top of that it was the car my wife uses for work and now she can't. Between the tragedy that befell the deer, Deborah's great sadness (she loves animals), the damage to the car and the fact that I hadn't slept but a few hours or so in the past 40, I was a bit upset. How could this happen? I just spent so much of myself worshipping God.   

"Dwayne, what does this have to do with the elections?" Great question. In politics, as in sports, there are people praying on and for each team to win. But there is only one winner. This isn't soccer and there won't be a tie. There are people on all sides hoping for a specific outcome and it will be devastation to some on the side garnering the least amount of votes. 

The outcome of our election, or our circumstances, does not change God. Whether my candidate wins or loses, it doesn't change the love that my God has for me. He doesn't love me more or less based on if I win or not. He isn't less of God because my car was damaged and a deer died. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. My faith is in Him not in my president or my team or my circumstances. I encourage you to determine if you are living a life that is only "good" when the "right" people and circumstances line up in your favor, or is it a good life, regardless of what it looks like in the moment.

If you like this post, please comment, share and/or subscribe. If you are interested in having me speak with your group,  please contact me at by e-mail at dwaynecastle40@yahoo.com, by phone at 419-961-1265 or through my website at www.funnybutclean.com.