surrender — The Chair

Jul 10

Jul 10 1 Samuel 17:48 Are Your Thoughts a “Crazy Circus” or “Beautiful Symphony” - You pick!

Since confession is good for the soul, can I confess something to you? Every night I wake up in the dead of night with all consuming thoughts of worry and almost instantly become filled with anxiety. It seems like as soon as I am not in control of what is going on in my thoughts (in other words, I’m not conscious), my mind starts unpacking all the nice little tidy boxes that I’ve put the days worries in and allows them to run free like a clowns at a crazy carnival circus. Am I the only one attending this type of circus in the dead of night? Some how I don’t think so.

Jul 7

Jul 7 John 6:9 It Wasn’t Sushi!

Crystal Olp

My view from “The Chair” this morning - John 6:9. I have a secret! As I read this passage over and over and over I realized something that is literally life changing and I believe we have missed over and over. Want to know what it is? It’s so simple it’s easy to miss. When this boy willingly handed his lunch to Jesus, he surrendered his rights and agenda with his ordinary lunch that was in his hands to Jesus. His thoughts went from self-absorbtion (I have food and they don’t. This is going to taste so good!) to outward focused (how Jesus was going to use my simple ordinary lunch to feed everyone). In other words, he surrendered the lunch that his mom had packed him and allowed Jesus to use it for His kingdom purposes. The bread wasn’t gourmet seed bread and the fish wasn’t delicious sushi. His lunch was “Ordinary”. It was his “normal” lunch. Yet, his act of surrendering what was in his hands changed EVERYTHING!

Jun 30

Jun 30 Exodus 4:2 What is in Your Hand?

Crystal Olp

My view from "The Chair" this morning - Exodus 4:2. Usually, my eyes glide over simple things as I'm reading, but this morning my eyes and heart have become fixated on this verse and all the implications of it. God asks a simple question of Moses, "What's in your hand?" If I had to guess, I would think Moses was thinking to himself, "A stick, really. All this shepherd's staff really is, is a glorified stick of wood." I know that's what I would've been thinking. Yet, God gives him precise directions that involve the stick. God chooses to use the menial stick in Moses's hand to demonstrate His power. Know what though?

Feb 19

Feb 19 Proverbs 3:5

Crystal Olp

My view from "The Chair" this morning - Proverbs 3:5. Lately, I've come to fully see how myopic and one-dimensional my understanding is of what I think His plan is for my life. His vision is far-reaching and multi-dimensional. I can't even start to comprehend what He sees and knows. As I've stepped into 2018, I am practicing death and