Something New

This week’s post is a little different. My good friend Travis Hartjen asked me to start a podcast with him where we dive deeper into my weekly blogs. We have recorded two episodes. The first one is an introduction and the second one is a deep dive into my post called I Am a Millennial. Right now, they are on his ministry’s YouTube page. You can check them out below.

Episode 1: Encouragement In the Ordinary: An Introduction

Episode 2: Encouragement In the Ordinary: I Am A Millennial

I am thinking through the best way to release these on my platforms. I am thinking about releasing them on my own podcast page or maybe just driving traffic to this site. I am not sure yet. If you have any ideas let me know!

I will leave you with a semi-new thought for this week. I heard a great teaching from Jon Tyson where he said something like this…

May we look to God with expectation but without an agenda.

In his teaching, he wrestled with a lot of things I have been wrestling through lately, mainly how God works in and through the ordinary mundaneness of life. I love how he pointed out that as followers of Jesus we are to be expectant. We should expect God to move in awesome and supernatural ways. I believe God does move that way. 100%! But here is the thing. I am super cynical. I often don’t expect God to show up in awesome ways and when I hear crazy stories about him showing up in crazy ways my first thought is… “are you sure that was God?” I am not proud of this. In my formation, I am asking Jesus to help me believe and to look for his supernatural action in my life.

But the genius of Tyson’s encouragement is that we can’t bring our agenda to how we think God should move. I think I know what the supernatural should look like. My dream job, no more anxiety or worry, six-pack abs, a huge lump of cash showing up on my doorstep… you know the American dream.  

But what if our agendas are keeping us from seeing God work in miraculous ways?

What if my vision of the miraculous is blinding me to God’s vision of the miraculous?

What if the miraculous is happening around me all the time in the most ordinary of experiences?

I turn the faucet on in the morning and I have drinking water that doesn’t make me sick.

I get in my car and drive to work and didn’t get hit by a semi.

I ate 3 square meals today.

I have a computer in my pocket that talks to outer space!

I read my bible and God directly spoke to me through his written Word!

Crazy, I know.

During this Advent season may we expect God to show up in miraculous ways even in the most ordinary of places.

Grace and peace ‘til we rise in glory.