Jon Acuff's Blog, page 84
January 4, 2013
Proverbs 4
What does guarding your heart look like?
It might mean not listening to your favorite Kanye song.
That’s what happened to me.
As I wrote about before, I downloaded a song from “Watch the Throne” because it helped motivate me to run faster.
It was inspiring and fast paced and pushed me forward.
But then I listened to the lyrics and had to be honest.
How could I say the song impacted me to run faster but the lyrics didn’t impact me at all?
It had to be one way or the other.
Proverbs 4 calls us to guard our hearts.
I don’t know what that means for you, but for me it means being more deliberate about what I put in it.
January 3, 2013
One of the funniest things I saw last year.
Brian Williams, from NBC, did a review of the iPhone commercial with Zooey Deschanel.
Here is what he said:
Cake topper.
Nothing kicks off a lifetime of love like a wedding cake topper that says, “I’m going to ignore you even during our first dance.”
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Source: weddingfavorsunlimited.com via Jon on Pinterest
Proverbs 3
Verse 9 is difficult. Here is what it says,
9Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops;
The reason it is difficult is because of what it means. Firstfruits are not scraps, they are not leftovers, they are not what other areas of your life have not gobbled up first.
They are intentional and deliberate and first.
Which makes me wonder, when it comes to my time and creativity and energy, how often does God get the rest of me, instead of the best of me?
January 2, 2013
That one feeling.
A month ago, we took our kids to Disney World.
If you asked them to describe how they felt walking through the Magic Kingdom, they would have said:
“Happy, excited, thrilled, ecstatic, joyful, loud, boisterous, energetic, overwhelmed with laughter, etc.”
Their feelings would have exploded in a torrent of silliness and smiles.
I mean, look at what my three year old nephew did all on his own when I bought him a sword at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.
That’s what you do when you experience something amazing, you express your emotions like a hurricane.
And yet, in Genesis 2, there is only one emotion we get from Adam and Eve.
They are in a land far greater than Disney World. They are in a perfect place, surrounded by perfect beauty. They are in a fresh paradise. They should be “happy, excited, thrilled, etc.”
But there’s only one thing we are told. One word we are given about how they felt.
In Genesis 2:25, we are told, “The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.”
That is how powerful shame was. Of all the things that could be said about this place called Eden, the only emotional peek we are given into Adam and Eve is that they felt no shame.
What a beautiful picture of God.
The giver and creator of a place with no shame.
The owner and protector of a place with no shame.
The father and farmer of a place with no shame.
I don’t know what your source of shame is right now. I don’t know what demon dragged its’ way into the New Year with you, refusing to let you believe you’ll ever be anything but divorced, or unemployed or alone.
Ashamed.
It’s a powerful thing, but in Genesis 2 we are reminded we serve a God that will always be more powerful. A God who calls us into a relationship where like Adam and Eve we can feel no shame.
Proverbs 2
In Proverbs 2, we’re called to look for wisdom as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure.
But the truth is, most years, my New Year’s resolutions wouldn’t pass the “silver test.”
Even in years when I had a long, ambitious list, I’m not sure I’d say I was actively, aggressively looking for wisdom. So that got me thinking,
What would it look like for us to be treasure hunters this year? How would the year look differently?
January 1, 2013
January 1. SCL style.
A number of you asked if I was going to make a new SCL calendar for 2013. You’re in luck. I did make one! With a sharpie. And it’s free. Here’s January 1. Enjoy.
Your new year.
I hope you start your new year with as much confidence as this gentleman riding the roller coaster.
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