I AM TRULY BLESSED

Deut. 28:1-6  “If you fully obey the Lord your God and carefully keep all his commands that I am giving you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the world. 2 You will experience all these blessings if you obey theLord your God:

3 Your towns and your fields
    will be blessed.
4 Your children and your crops
    will be blessed.
The offspring of your herds and flocks
    will be blessed.
5 Your fruit baskets and breadboards
    will be blessed.
6 Wherever you go and whatever you do,
    you will be blessed" 

As I sit down after a long day......I struggle between being exhausted and inspired to want to communicate to you all the need to attempt to daily "keep all his commands," to have a life that you love to live.   Cherilyn and I will be celebrating 15 years of marriage in 2016, and we are trying to make a statement to one another, and those in our circle that this is really a big deal.   We've been some places geographically as well as emotionally, some of which we pray we will never have to visit again, and some of which we calendar to revisit because they brought joy/refreshment to our souls. 

My point in today's blog is simple.....today I was reminded just how blessed I am.  See I not only attend a church in St. Charles, I am the pastor of one and it hit me the value of my life in contrast to simply trying to Love GOD, and Love People well.   We gathered for our annual Christmas Party, and at Calvary Christmas Parties are wild and crazy....not wild with liquor or dancing.  Not crazy in coming out of a stupor of sorts wondering what happened...but Wild & Crazy because we are tasked after gathering for prayer, and given envelopes with ($50) to simply go out for 2 hours and do random acts of kindness. 

This year was no different, I was placed on a solid team (from left to right Pete S., Matt S., Jason S (the recipient of our love) Jenna Marie and Beau B.) 

and we drew the name Westoff Elementary School.  They had 75-80 employees and we were to figure out a creative way to use our $50 purse to bless them.   While waiting on my team to pick me, GOD simply reminded me of the relationships I have within my community.  So I begun making phone calls to which landed others in the community to partner with us adding to our $50 gift cards and things that sweetened the pot of the gift bags we were to be putting together to simply communicate Our Love & Appreciation to the people that educate our kids, as well as the Love of Christ that He hasn't forgotten them.  

All this to say, while my church is an EXCEPTIONAL ONE it's not the EXCEPTION.   We are all called to do such things in our corners of the community.   If you call yourself a Christ follower, a Christian, and believer and don't know your neighbors, your bank teller's name, etc.......hmmmmm just because you put a flapjack in a garage that don't make it a car.  Nor does bringing your dog to church make them a Christian.   Remember Christ said they will know Him by your love for one another. (John 13:35)

No matter where I've lived (Ferguson, Bellefountaine, Cottleville), I have been intentional about engaging many of my neighbors, knowing their names, their stories, their kids, checking on their houses for them while on vacation,  and to some extent even their dreams.   I carry this over to the places I shopped and ate at in my communities even knowing enlisting the local Chinese food eatery in my youth ministry needs at my former church.   BTW they worshipped Baal, but they were willing to help me reach youth for Christ. (I'll let you figure that one out....the common denominator is love.)

GOD's WORD is definitely, infallibly TRUE.....because no matter where ever I've gone, whatever I have done, I have been blessed.   As I gathered some donated gift cards from one of the local places in my current neighborhood  I was encouraged by the management staff...."Ray you are just awesome, go out and spread some Joy."  I honestly don't see myself as awesome, neat..pretty cool yeah (at least I think so), but I reserve awesome for GOD....but spreading joy, this I can dig!

In closing remember the song, "If you're happy and you know it....." which was followed by some behaviors.   If you're blessed it's obvious because you purposely look for opportunities to be a blessing.  That's how others know it.  You live life fully alive which means it's rarely ever about you.  I pray you stop what you are doing, repent if it's necessary, then pray that GOD would give you His heart for all people, and beginning right where you are, where you are sitting look around and see who can show the LOVE of CHRIST TO, and simply JUST DO IT!  #LGLP365

May the FORCE (LOVE) be with you!