Introducing myself

For the two or three people reading this who have not met me, I can think of no better way to introduce myself than to wish my parents a happy 41^st wedding anniversary. My parents met at 19 and 20 and, as they describe, hardly knew anything but to hang on to each other. So they married less than a year after meeting.  (I followed a similar pattern and just celebrated my 13^th wedding anniversary.) Seeing their relationship over the years has been a blessing, and the older I get the more I appreciate the fierce love they have for each other.

            Our marriages are a model to our children of how to relate to others, and our interactions with them teach them how we think they deserve to be treated.  So, the way a father treats his daughter teaches her how she is supposed to be treated by boys and men. A parent in a parenting class we are taking said, “each interaction with someone instructs them on how we are to be treated.” Married or otherwise, let us take seriously the necessity of being kind above all else.  We are role models, for better or for worse. Let’s raise a generation of children eager to find a spouse who treats them the way their parents did.   

*Postscript: I promise I will not post poems often but that is how I can best describe my parents. Enjoy!

Revisiting U.T. after Forty Years

He says that everyone’s clothing is so

ordinary. No funky clothes, long hair

no flared pants: polyester apropos

of so much uncertainty. The bright glare

of change. And here is where he marched and here

is where a sniper shot. The tower’s closed.

See, even then he didn’t fit this sphere-

a Christian hippy. Female friends supposed

his wedding ring didn’t matter. See,

he had a prof, so kind and smart and yet

an atheist.  And so he tried to be

like him but couldn’t dismiss how he met

his wife and how God said that she’s the one

and forty years after her love still stuns

© 2012, Best Austin Poetry. Reprinted with permission

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Parenting 2.1

This past Sunday I gave a sermon on the third chapter of Jonah. I talked about how God chooses to work through us instead of doing all the work himself because he loves us and wants to give us opportunities to grow into the people he created us to be.

I didn't  talk about this from a parental perspective but my own sermon has given me lots of food for thought over the last week.  As I prepared and preached, I kept thinking about how God truly is the model parent. He gives all of us unlimited opportunities to learn and grow, succeed and, sometimes, fail - all so that we can become better disciples and a better missionaries for him in this world.

I thought about some of the ways I have been 'too busy' to teach my son to do things because it is so much quicker, cleaner, and more efficient if I do it myself. Then I think about  how dire all of our situations would be if God had this attitude towards us. Just as we need God to teach us and work through us, our kids need us to teach them and allow them to do the work alongside us for now so that they can do it themselves when they are older. None of us springs forth fully knowledgeable about anything. We all have to be taught and guided along the way.

I am so thankful (particularly in the absence of my earthly parents) that I have a Heavenly parent who loves me so much that he will pursue me until I get on the right path and then walk alongside me while I'm on it. I don't make myself a better wife, mom, co-worker, friend, etc. god makes me better at those things when I ask for help or simply let him work through me.

I love the Book of Jonah because Jonah tries so diligently to do what he thinks is the right  thing and disobeys God in the process, and yet God works through him in phenomenal ways to offer salvation to thousands of people. His tactics could have totally backfired but God totally had Jonah's back.

As many of you know, this is my last week on 'staff' at Live Oak.  It's weird but sometimes the thing you think you are supposed to be doing, or have been called to do previously, becomes a barrier to what God is calling you to do next. I know many people are confused by this in my particular case (since I am a 'professional' minister) but I am am excited about this new bend in the road. I keep thinking about how Jonah fought God long and hard about his new journey to preach to the Ninevites and I suspect I've been ignoring God's call to change directions in my own life for a while now. I had forgotten what it was to be joyful in the Lord and I have re-discovered that lost treasure this summer.

As I turn the page on this part of my journey I want to remind you that sometimes we make everything too complicated. If we just stopped the 'buts' and the 'what ifs' and decided to not worry about disappointing anyone other than God,  I can pretty much guarantee we would all be more joyful in whatever we do and whatever situation we find ourselves in.

I know that if I  just focus on and trust in Him, I will be much more effective at whatever God has in mind for me in the coming season.

I am so looking forward to what God has in store for me, for Live Oak, and for our families and communities as we walk forward into the future, inviting God to take up residence in our souls and work through us in countless small ways throughout the days as they turn into years. Jonah's failure to trust that God  knew what God was doing didn't change the plan God had in mind, but it did prevent Jonah from having JOY.

Trust God. This Father does know best.

Chesney Szaniszlo

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Playing hide n seek with God

Playing Hide-n-Seek with God (Jonah, chapter 1)

I have always had a special place in my heart for the person of Jonah because of his honest and wholeheartedly, horrified reaction to God telling him to go preach repentance to the Ninevites.

We have all tried at one time or another to hide from God when He calls us to do something we don't like or don't feel equipped to accomplish. What takes a while for us to understand is that we can't hide from God. God will always seek and find us. Often, while we are running or hiding, God uses that time to prepare us to be instruments in  accomplishing His goals because God's will always prevails.

Even when Jonah was at his worst in the first chapter of his story – running from God and avoiding the call to minister to people who did not know the Lord – God worked through him. God worked through Jonah’s disobedience to minister to a whole different group of unbelievers - the sailors -  than the Ninevites whom Jonah was originally tasked with  calling to repentance. Through Jonah’s disobedience, God demonstrated His power and authority to the pagan sailors on the boat Jonah was using as an escape vehicle.

How cool is it that God is so powerful that He can even use our disobedience to accomplish Hs goals?! Even though God is capable of turning our willfulness into something positive, we should not linger in disobedience. Our lives are much more joy-filled when we are in sync with God's plans for us because God's plans for us are GOOD.

Since God is faithful to us even in our disobedience, how can we not begin to whole-heartedly  put our trust in Him? 

When God asks you to do a task for Him, don't run.  Instead ask Him to help you have the courage, honor, and integrity to do what he asks even when it is hard or you don't understand because we trust that God knows what He is doing.

-Chesney Szaniszlo

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We've got a runner....

Most of you have probably read the book of Jonah - the most famous fish story ever told. Jonah, however, is more than a story about a man who was swallowed by a whale and lived to tell about it.

It's a story about a man who struggles with God's purposes and mercy. It's a story that reminds us that God's ways are not our ways:

Where we want independence, God wants obedience.
Where we want recompense, God wants humility.
Where we want to follow our own ways, God wants us to follow HIM.
Where we want personal success and victory, God wants compassion.

Jonah is a story of a man who thought he knew God but discovers otherwise when God asks him to do something that he doesn't understand.

If you haven't read all four chapters of Jonah before, pick it up and read it this week and then come join us this Sunday for the first of four sermons on the Book of Jonah.

- Chesney Szaniszlo

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Lean into it

Ever heard that phrase before?

Lean into it

It's usually advice given to a person in a difficult or demanding situation where the rewards will be great, but it would be a lot easier to just be done.

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul tells his peeps to "lean into it". He wants to communicate to them that he knows being a Christian is difficult.  Staying on the path of discipleship, fighting against our own natures, living a life that looks visibly different from the culture around you is difficult.

Paul tells the Philippians that his own spiritual journey isn't finished. There are still things he has to work on but he keeps on moving forward.

Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 3:12-14)

Moving forward and not becoming 'lazy' Christians is vital to growing in our Christian journey. We might be able to check of any number (or none) of the following:

I spend time in prayer everyday
I read the Bible all the time
I go to church every Sunday (or at least when I'm in town)
I encourage my family to sacrifice certain things so that we can financially support our church
I do my best to share the love of Christ with those I meet
I work to be patient and loving at home

Even if we can check off all of those, we still have work to do. Just because you exercise at the gym 3-4 times a week doesn't mean you can do the exact same thing every time you go. Your body gets used to those same things and stops responding as well. You have to 'lean into it' and do something new and more difficult every so often.

If we stop growing and stretching our comfort zones as Christians, then we stagnate and stop being good disciples and ministers for God.

If you are super comfortable with what you are doing as a Christian right now you need to think about what new thing God might be calling you to do for Him. If your discipleship journey isn't shaping you and growing you in ways that are wonderfully uncomfortable, then you need to ask God to give you a nudge.

God's not going to throw you into a pit of lions. He's going to help you take a small step in the direction of becoming the person He created you to be. And when you have gotten comfortable in that place, He'll ask you to take another. Yes, you can take rests, but don't stagnate in that comfy place.

Lean into the journey. You will be amazed at where it takes you.

Chesney Szaniszlo

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The soothing tongue is a tree of life...

Sticks and stones may break my bones,
but words can never hurt me.

WRONG!!!!

I know I've written about this before but what comes out of our mouths is extremely powerful.

Our words can heal, give hope or forgiveness, and help those around us have a sense of God's grace and love for them.

Our words can also cause devastation, destroy relationships, and turn people away from the God who has called us to represent Him in this world.

Proverbs 15:4 states, "The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit."

God, help us to reign in our tongues and keep them from running ahead of our ability to show compassion and share grace. When we are frustrated, disappointed, sad, or mad help us to use our voices constructively, not destructively. Amen.

Chesney Szaniszlo 

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Shining like stars (Philippians 2:12-18)

What would it take for us to shine like stars (or be beacons of hope) for this world?

In Philippians 2:14-15, the Apostle Paul writes, Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.... The grumbling and arguing described here is grumbling against God and arguing with fellow Christians. The idea of 'shining like stars' is the idea of illuminating the darkness with a guiding light or a beacon. Following through on both of theses actions would result in Christ followers reflecting God's light out into the world to draw non-believers to Him.

The whole point of this passage is to get those of us who have already received salvation to effectively share it with others. Have you ever found a group of grumblers and complainers attractive? Probably not. If we are going to invite others into our Christian fellowship (which is part of our 'work' or ministry as Christians), then we need to first get our houses in order - and in many cases that applies to our church 'homes' as well as our family dwellings.

So back to the beginning question of 'What would it take for us to shine like stars (or be beacons of hope) for this world?' It might take asking yourself some very hard questions. It might take figuring out how to really let Jesus be light and hope in your own life first. We can't reflect what isn't there and if you are not allowing God's Holy Spirit to work in your life, then you can't be an effective minister for Christ in your home, your church, or the world at large.

When we let God have free rein in our lives we will be joyful no matter what our earthly circumstances might be and we will be able to reflect that joy to the world without trying. Where you most powerfully reflect that joy in the world will be the place God calls you to minister. 

In Wishful Thinking: A Theological ABC, Frederick Buechner wrote, "The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet." This could mean almost anything because as Abraham Kyper said in 1880, "... there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: 'Mine!'"

Perhaps you are called to be a 'safe' place for moms to 'confess' their struggles in motherhood. Perhaps you are called to walk with those who are experiencing grief or a serious illness. Maybe you are called to coach kids in an extracurricular sport or activity because you can mentor those girls or boys in such a way as to shine God's love and light into their little souls. Maybe you are called to nourish people's bodies with good food, or help people laugh by showing them how to see everyday events in a more light hearted way.

We are all 'gifted' for ministry in this world but in order to be effective, we must allow God to lead us to the place where He needs us. We must first let God put us in 'order' so that we can be people who become beacons for Him in this world.

-Chesney Szaniszlo 

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