Tweets From Max

Max Lucado is on Twitter. These are a few of my favorite tweets from Max.

Since you are God's idea, you are a good idea.

God loves you simply because he has chosen to do so.

It's against God's nature to remember forgiven sins.

God makes healthy what is sick, right what is wrong, straight what is crooked.

Our God is no fair-weather Father. You can count on him to be in your corner no matter how you perform.

God's faithfulness has never depended on the faithfulness of his children. He is faithful even when we are not.

God believes in u enough 2 call u his ambassador, his follower, even his child. Why not take his cue & believe in yourself?

God's grace is older than your sin and greater than your sin.

He could have lived over us or away from us. But he didn't. He lived among us.

For all the things God does, there is one he refuses to do. He refuses to keep a list of my wrongs.

When all of earth turns against you, all of heaven turns toward you.

God takes you however he finds you. No need to clean up or climb up. Just look up.

God hasn't given up on you. He hasn't turned away. He believes in you.

You may go days without thinking of God, but there's never a moment when he's not thinking of you.

If you're looking for a place with no change, try a soda machine. With life comes change.

A little rain can straighten a flower stem. A little love can change a life.

Want to worry less? Then pray more. Rather than look forward in fear, look upward in faith.

God will not let you go. He has handcuffed himself to you in love. And he owns the only key.

I'm Thankful Today

Today I am thankful. I am thankful that Jenn and Lou invited me over to their home. I am thankful that Lou made me eggs and sausage for dinner. I am thankful that I didn't stop at a bar on the way home. I am thankful that my brother and my sister called me. I am thankful that I will be going to my grandson's first birthday party.

My brother said something to me in a text yesterday. He said,"Mike, remember what made each day good." Today I'm going to remember all of the things I am thankful for. There is another thing I am thankful for today. My son is coming home Sunday. I am thankful for this great picture of him.



What are you thankful for? What made yesterday good? What made today good?

Alone

Lonely is a freedom that breathes easy and weightless.

Society is afraid of alone.

Lonely is healing if you make it.

I've been feeling alone and lonely lately. It just got worse. I just found out where Becky and my son will be living after they leave Florida and move to Washington state in a few months. It hurts a little bit more when I found out that she'll be living with the couple that introduced us to each other almost 14 years ago. I'm going to need to get use to being alone. I know what you Christ followers are saying, "Mike, you're never alone. God is always with you!" I know. I know. But tonight I feel alone. This is one of those moments where I can easily do something stupid because it hurts too much to deal with reality. Please God help me deal with being alone and heal my heart. Don't worry. I won't do anything stupid tonight.

Funny how God works. Just moments ago he led me to a video at the Flower Dust blog. It's another way that God reaches out to me and tells me it's going to be okay. See the video below from a really cool chick named Jamie. The video below is about learning to be alone.



Alone is okay.

Hopeless Causes

Look closely at the photo below. It's a photo of me and three of my friends. It's a picture of what some would say are "hopeless causes".



Let me introduce you to a whole row of "hopeless causes". On the left is Sasha. I don't know all of Sasha's story but I knew her when she lived on the streets. I remember seeing her struggle and fight to survive. I'm the other "hopeless cause" in black standing next to Sasha. More about me later. Standing next to me in the sunglasses is my friend Jewels. I met Jewels for the very first time at a cold weather shelter at my church. He was homeless, hungry and he looked pretty hopeless. Freddy is in the white t-shirt. I met Freddy on the same night and the same place I met Jewels. Both homeless, hungry and some would say "hopeless causes". I guess I'd better share something about the other "hopeless cause" in the photo. That's me. The tall dude in black. I just found out a couple of weeks ago that my wife wants a divorce. There have been many times over the past couple of weeks where I have felt like a "hopeless cause". But I've have had many people tell me that my situation is not hopeless. Two of the people that have loved and encouraged me are Ray and Susan Kelley. I am sure that more than once Ray and Susan we're called "hopeless causes". They were hard core addicts. But God didn't give up on them. God used others to reach out to Ray and Susan and gave them hope. Ray and Susan share that hope with others everyday at the Daytona Outreach Center in downtown Daytona Beach, Florida. The Kelley's shared that hope with Sasha, Jewels and Freddy. Ray and Susan welcomed my homeless friends to be a part of their ministry.

Tonight after work I drove down to the Daytona Outreach Center. I saw my friends Sasha, Freddy and Jewels. Sasha and Jewels were greeting homeless men and women and inviting them to sit down for dinner. Freddy was standing behind the table serving dinner. 3 former "hopeless causes" serving others hope. Then Sasha, Freddy and Jewels served me hope and it didn't come on a plate. It came as a smile, a huge hug and a kiss. Tonight God used Sasha, Jewels and Freddy to give me hope. Hope comes from the strangest situations and from the most unlikely people.

Thank you Ray, Susan, Sasha, Freddy and Jewels for reminding of the hope we all have in Jesus Christ. Thank you God for using your people to help me feel like I'm not a "hopeless cause" and that there truly is hope.

"God will not let you go. He has handcuffed himself to you in love. And he owns the only key." -Max Lucado (Thank you Sarah)


You can find out more about the Daytona Outreach Center and the Messy Church by clicking here. The YouTube clips below will tell you Ray and Susan's story along with the hope they are sharing with others through the Daytona Outreach Center.

Counting My Blessings

"Friends love through all kinds of weather, and families stick together in all kinds of trouble." -- Proverbs 17: 17

I just got back from my "talking doctor". Jessica is one of the great counselors at Port Orange Counseling Center. I spent most of the session crying my eyes out while discussing my depression, battles with food, alcohol and the end of my second marriage. At the end of the session Jessica said something brilliant. She said, "Mike, you tend to stay stuck in the negative. What if you spent some time tonight thinking about the blessings in your life?" Leave it to my "talking doctor" to put a positive spin on things. It wasn't a bad idea. I've spent nearly 3 weeks moping, pouting, eating and drinking myself into oblivion and it hasn't seemed to be work. As Monty Python said, "And now it's time for something completely different." I don't have to go far to find the blessings in my life. The blessings are my friends. I have lost count of how many times they have reached out to me during my darkest hours. I thank God for each one of them.

Thank you Ray, Susan, Peter, Russell, Richard, Lou, Jenn, Frank, Tom, Doug, Christine, Dana, Christie, Jane, Elaine, Michael, Sarah, Jonathan, Candy, Herb, Ky, Anne, Annie, Ginny, Dusty, Kevin, John, Ryan, Shawn, Learell, SisterSadist, GayGirls, Bitchmobile, JackalopeKid, KrissyKat510 and Lauren Mack. I apologize if I left you out of this list. Tonight as I go to sleep I'll count each of you as one of my many blessings. I told my "talking doctor" that you made me think of of the song below. Thank you for being my friend.

It Wasn't A Complete Surprise

My marriage has ended. A couple of weeks ago my wife said, "I'd like to move forward with divorce." It wasn't a complete surprise to me. We've been struggling for a long time. I understand that is was a challenge for her to be married to me. My wife would say that it wasn't just one thing that brought her to this decision. It was a myriad of issues over the course of our nearly 14 years together. Being married to a man who battles with depression, food and alcohol is not a walk in the park.

Since she delivered this news to me I've reverted back to my destructive habits. I've lost track of how many times I've blown my sobriety. I haven't been exercising and I'm eating everything and anything that's not nailed down. Today, after eating an entire Chinese buffet, I got sick and tired of being sick and tired.

I will post thoughts on this blog at the end of each day. I know that God's strength is the only thing that will get me through the process of divorce.

"If your heart is broken, you'll find God right there; if you're kicked in the gut, he'll help you catch your breath."
-- Psalm 34:18 (The Message)