MarcAlanSchelske.com - Life at the intersection of Grace and Growth.

The Connection Between Gratitude and Worship

There are some things my parents used to say to me that I never thought I’d ever say. But things have changed. Now that I have a 4 1/2 year old and 3 year old running around the house, I’m starting to sound a bit like a broken record (or perhaps a sampled drum loop, if we need a less anachronistic metaphor.)

One of those phrases is, “What do you say?” I say this pretty much constantly.

Someone gets cookies. “What do you say?” Someone gets juice. “What do you say?” Someone gets a present from grandma. “What do you say?” My kids have learned to do amazing things. Their vocabulary constantly surprises me. Their problem solving skills are delightful. But remembering to say “Thank you” is, apparently, outside their reach.

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Declare Your Creed-In-Process.

I was reflecting on Matthew 16:15 as a part of my personal worship a few days ago.

This is the moment where Jesus asks his disciples who they really think he is. They tossed around the latest news – some people thought Jesus was John the Baptist back from the dead. Others thought that perhaps he was the return of Elijah the prophet, or someone else like that. But then he turned the question toward them. “And who do you say I am?” Peter’s response was the moment that the church began. If you don’t know what he said, and how Jesus responded, I’ll let you check it out on your own.

As I was reflecting on this in my journal, I asked the question of myself. ”Who do I think Jesus is?” I started writing. Not “the right answers” necessarily. Not my theology, necessarily – although this question is implicitly theological. I just began writing what I truly and deeply believe about Jesus. I expected to write a couple of sentences, but I spent the rest of my time writing. Then I turned to prayer, praying through the things I had written, speaking out loud to God the things that I knew I really did believe in my heart about Jesus.

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Write Your Own Psalm

Note: There is an updated version of this post here: Try This: Write A Psalm

Christians know, of course, that the Bible is meant to occupy a central role in our lives and worship. Many of us grew up with some kind of morning devotion or “quiet time” practice and we’ve all heard that we’re supposed to read it everyday. We know that the Bible is important and time with it matters, but with all we know about the role the Bible is supposed to play in our lives, the fact is that many of us really don’t know how to really spend time with it in an ongoing way. There are lots of hurdles. It’s a big book. It’s complicated. There are scary parts. It can feel intimidating. That’s all true…

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Starting Again.

In 1991 I packed everything I owned into the back of my black Chevy S-10 Blazer and drove away from one life and into another. I was part-way through an interesting and exciting degree in Architecture at the University of Cincinnati, finding my identity as a creative, someone who liked to make things and make things happen. There was nothing wrong with that life. But another voice called out to me…

It was deep and quiet and it asked me what I was made of and how I wanted to impact the world.

This voice invited me to set aside my carefully planned life and step out on an adventure. Drop architecture. Drop a developing identity. Drop plans and money invested and the expectations of friends, and family and my own heart. Drop all of that in exchange for something else.

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