Vol. 18 No. 25 | June 27, 2016

We celebrated the actually 40-year anniversary of our marriage back in January, but last week we really celebrated.

Kim had visited the Pacific coast two years prior to our marriage (42 years ago) and called me while she was there and said, “I really wish you could see this.” Last week I saw it. We saw it together.

Our plane landed in San Francisco, we got our rental car, plugged in our phone with the GPS address of our Monterey hotel and headed toward the Pacific and Highway 1. I had been told of the beauty. I had been told of the splendor. I had been told of the spectacular views of rocky bluffs and sand beaches. I had been told of the thunder of waves as they crash onto those beaches and into and over those rock. I had been told, but what I had been did not come close to what describing what I saw.

I was overwhelmed. I was often speechless. I was thrilled to finally to be witnessing this part of God’s creation. I was often spellbound with wonder at my smallness in the midst of God’s majesty.

We had staged this as a once-in-a-lifetime trip. We would see the coastline, I would walk the fairways and play the amazing Pebble Beach Golf Links, we would eat amazing food, and we would reflect on our forty years of marriage. We did all that. We did more than that.

We shared memories of how God has walked with us every step of the way.

We marveled at the miracles of our two children, our daughter-in-law, son-in-law, and three beautiful grand daughters.

We spoke of how blessed we have been.

We spoke of how glad we are for the surgeon and medical teams that worked so hard to make sure Kim had eyes that could see actually the things we saw.

We reminded each other of how God had led us into and out of some very dark and difficult days to teach us to trust Him instead of our own strengths and resources.

As we watched the turbulent crashing waves and peaceful tide pools of the coastline we often sat quietly pondering how God who will lead through peaceful days ahead and through days filled with troubling waters that will again remind us of our helplessness and need to constantly trust the only One who can deliver us.

We did all those things, and more.

As I slowly and somewhat reluctantly move on to what comes next, I have discovered these reflections have washed up on the shores of my mind like the white foam from the waves of the blue Pacific.

First, dreams sometimes take a long time to be come true. We probably could have made the trip to the West Coast many years ago, before children, before the expense of travel, food, and lodging reached the level they have. We could have made the trip with our children, or with friends. We could have, but we did not. We waited. We prayed for the right time. We waited for the right time. With God’s help we came up with a plan. And with His blessings and guidance we saw that plan and those dreams come to pass. It took a while. And it was worth it.

Allow me to suggest that you dream your dreams, but do not rush them. Let God lead you to and through your dreams. He knows when and what and how and where and why much better than we. “God made everything beautiful in itself and in its time—but he’s left us in the dark, so we can never know what God is up to, whether he’s coming or going.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, The Message)

Second, God’s reality is almost always better than our ideas and plans. We saw things last week that I had only imagined. Bundled up to stay warm in late June as we watched the sunset on the Monterey Peninsula was well above and beyond any of my wildest imaginations. Although I never really thought we would NOT make to our 40th year of marriage, I do not think I ever really thought about what actually making it to our 40th year of marriage would be like. I am sure it exceeds any and all of my wildest imaginations that I could have imagined.

Never stop letting God amaze you. His plans for you are bigger. His ideas for and of you are greater. His dreams for you greater than anything you can ask or imagine.  “Who in the world do you think you are to second-guess God? Do you for one moment suppose any of us knows enough to call God into question? Clay doesn’t talk back to the fingers that mold it, saying, But who are you, O man, to talk back to God? ‘Shall what is formed say to him who formed it,’ ‘Why did you make me like this?’ ” 21 Does not the potter have the right to make out of the same lump of clay some pottery for noble purposes and some for common use?” (Romans 9:20-21, NIV)

Third, live every day to the fullest and be grateful for each moment. We are not promised 40 years of marriage. We are not promised 40 years of life. We are not promised tomorrow. We have this moment. Live it. Enjoy it. Share it. Celebrate it. Delight in it.

Thank you Kim for following me and walking with me these forty years.

Thank You, God for giving us forty years of marriage.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2016. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 18 No. 24 | June 20, 2016

One of the reasons I like Father’s Day so much (other than the gifts my wife and children give me) is that I (and other fathers) are honored and we do not have to do anything (well, we had to our part in becoming fathers) to be honored. I am treated extra special and reminded of how much I am loved and all I have to do is just be me. For me that means after I preached I went home, enjoyed a very nice meal, watched the U. S. Open, and game seven of the NBA finals. Although on this particular Father’s Day there were a few other things to do to prepare for a trip, mainly I just relaxed and enjoyed the day. It is a day to be reminded of how blessed I am.

When you consider your life, whether you are a father, a mother, a son or a daughter, you have the same opportunity. Consider these two passages from the book of Romans.

If you’re a hard worker and do a good job, you deserve your pay; we don’t call your wages a gift. But if you see that the job is too big for you, that it’s something only God can do, and you trust him to do it—you could never do it for yourself no matter how hard and long you worked—well, that trusting-him-to-do-it is what gets you set right with God, by God. Sheer gift. (Romans 4:4-5, The Message)

Abraham didn’t focus on his own impotence and say, “It’s hopeless. This hundred-year-old body could never father a child.” Nor did he survey Sarah’s decades of infertility and give up. He didn’t tiptoe around God’s promise asking cautiously skeptical questions. He plunged into the promise and came up strong, ready for God, sure that God would make good on what he had said. That’s why it is said, “Abraham was declared fit before God by trusting God to set him right.” But it’s not just Abraham; it’s also us! The same thing gets said about us when we embrace and believe the One who brought Jesus to life when the conditions were equally hopeless. The sacrificed Jesus made us fit for God, set us right with God.(Romans 4:4-5, The Message)

Did you get the message? The sheer gift from God to us is that He has made us fit for Him, set us right with Him. We did not have to do anything other than accept the gift. God did it all.Much of Romans 4 explains how Abraham was made right by God and how he did nothing to deserve it. He was not declared “right” because of what He did. Instead, “We call Abraham “father” not because he got God’s attention by living like a saint, but because God made something out of Abraham when he was a nobody.“ (Romans 4:17, The Message) It’s all God!

So what do you do with a gift? You accept it. You express your appreciation for it. You enjoy it. You tell others about it.

So what should you do with this gift from God? Accept it. Express your appreciation. Enjoy it. Tell others about it.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2016. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 18 No. 23 | June 13, 2016

Acts 27:30-32, In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

Acts 27:30-32, “30-32 Some of the sailors tried to jump ship. They let down the lifeboat, pretending they were going to set out more anchors from the bow. Paul saw through their guise and told the centurion and his soldiers, “If these sailors don’t stay with the ship, we’re all going down.” So the soldiers cut the lines to the lifeboat and let it drift off.” (The Message)

In this scene (above) from Paul’s attempt to finally make it to Rome a storm hits and fear seized the sailors. Thinking the best solution would be to escape by lifeboat, the sailors were lowering the boats. Paul reminds them of the promise that all would be saved and it was necessary to stay with the boat. So, they cut the ropes to the lifeboat.

During the course of a life there are many times when we will struggle to discover that cutting the ropes to the lifeboat, even when it may not seem logical, is the best option.

There is a teenage girl who is growing up in an abusive home. She desperately wants to escape so she gets involved with a boy who promises to deliver her and take care of her. He does…for a while. Then, it gets ugly. She realizes too late that he has similar tendencies of angry and abusive outbursts. She wants to leave but does not know where to go. At some point she will need to cut the ropes in order to find the safe place she longs for.

There is a young man who longs for a real relationship. He never had it at home. He want to feel close to another human being. Failure after failure leads him to the women on his computer screen. Before he realizes what is happening he is addicted. He wants to stop, but he can’t. He wants to find a way out, but his shame and guilt keep him paralyzed. He is miserable but his misery is easier to live with than his loneliness. Deep down he knows that to eventually he will have to cut the ropes in order to get help.

There is a man who works hard long hours to provide for his family. At least that is what he keeps telling himself. No matter how hard he works, how big his salary, or how important he feels, he still feels empty. His emptiness turns to sadness and regret which spirals into a deep dark depression. To sooth his inner pain he turns to a little alcohol, then to experimenting with drugs. He sinks deeper and deeper and his dependence grows more powerful. He longs to do better. He knows that to ever really improve he will need to cut the ropes that fail to deliver on the promises to make life better.

There is a group of people who like to be in control. They love for things to stay the same, comfortable, normal, like they have always been. They are fearful of change. The more the world around them changes the more they are determined to keep things like they have always been. They become more controlling, more rigid, and more strict convinced that sameness means security. Eventually a few in the group begin to realize that holding to the past and keeping everyone in line is not providing them with the lasting security they long for. They realize that cutting the ropes will need to be cut before they really experience true freedom.

These ropes may represent something in your world that you are depending on, holding on to, and relying on to keep you safe, secure and get you where you know God wants you to be. Maybe its time you cut the ropes.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2016. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.

Vol. 18 No. 22 | June 6, 2016

As move toward the end of the book of Acts the focus is on Paul.  In fact Acts 21-26 is all about what happens to Paul when arrives in Jerusalem and arrested. He is arrested, tells his story, offers his defense, claims his rights and innocence, then repeats that scenario multiple times. Some would call what he does sharing your story. Some call what he does giving his testimony.

Reliving Paul’s story as told by Luke I notice three significant elements to consider when sharing your story. It begins with the arrest: “As the soldiers were about to take Paul into the barracks, he asked the commander, ‘May I say something to you?’” (21:37)

As for permission to speak. You may have an amazing story that cause jaws to drop when you tell it, but not everyone wants to hear your story. It is a simple question, “May I say something to you?” It is simply common courtesy to ask before you start your story. If they ask, share it. If you ask if you can, and they say yes, share. Otherwise pray for and wait for the opportunity, then share your story.

Speak in a language they understand. Use your language. Avoid flowery church talk. Say it like it is your story, the way you feel it, not like how you think others want you to say it. Be real. Don’t exaggerate or be unnecessarily dramatic.

Tell the simple facts. There is no need to embellish the story. If God is in the story that is enough. There is no need to try to make more dramatic. It is your story. Not everyone has a made a dramatic turnaround and not everyone has a dramatic conversion. Paul is the only one we know of who was struck blind and confronted directly by God on the road to Damascus. Yours may be a simple story of God working in your life to place just the right people in your path at just the right time with just the right words. So be it. Tell your story.

Keep the emphasis on God.  God is the star of your story. God is the star of Paul’s story. God is the story of everyone’s story. Resist the temptation to turn the spotlight on you. God may have done something amazing with you, but He could have done the same thing if not even greater with someone else. When requested someone may say, “Tell us your story” but the truth is, your story is really God’s story. Keep it as God’s story.

Let God handle the results. Once you share the story of how God has worked in your life let it be. Let God do with that whatever He choses to do with it. If it touches someone, encouraged someone, inspires someone praise the Lord. If it does not result in an immediate and visible impact, so be it. Remember that what He did in and with you did not happen immediately. Let God handle the results. Let God place it in the hearts where He can do the most good with it.

I hope you are praying for an opportunity to share your story. I hope these suggestions are useful when that opportunity is presented. And I hope God is glorified and a life is changed when your story is shared.

Tom

A Norvell Note © Copyright 2016. Tom Norvell All Rights Reserved.