Last year I read Grace by Max Lucado in which I found some profoundly good news.

Jesus does not say, “Come to me, all you who are perfect and sinless.” Just the opposite. “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28 NASB).

There is no fine print.

A second shoe is not going to drop.

God’s promise has no hidden language. Let grace happen, for heaven’s sake. No more performing for God, no more clamoring after God. Of all the things you must earn in life, God’s unending affection is not one of them. You have it. Stretch yourself out in the hammock of grace.

I’m on a private retreat – yesterday and today – but I can’t stay alone. 

To tired, weary, worn out people like me and you, Jesus Christ said, “If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest.” 1

It’s a message many of us need to hear.

Yesterday I sent this song to a friend, and today I’m leaving it with the rest of you mysilentscream readers.

“Lay ‘Em Down” by Needtobreathe keeps echoing through my mind, so here it is so it will echo through yours too.

When I picked up Sharon Jaynes’ A Sudden Glory I wasn’t sure what to expect.  Fortunately, my uncertainty was assuaged by the sub-title, “God’s Lavish Response To Your Ache For Something More.”

“Abiding in, dwelling in, remaining in Christ all sound like wonderful ideas. I’m sure you’d agree there is no place we’d rather be. But what does that look like… really… practically?”

Sharon Jaynes makes it clear that our busyness, even well-intentioned does not increase the likelihood that we are abiding, connecting with Christ.

Jesus Christ’s journey meant that he spent time at parties, dinners, friends’ houses, and enemies’ houses. 

He learned.
He listened.
He told jokes.
He gave hugs.
He laughed.

Jesus explained to the the people, “I am the world’s Light. No one who follows me stumbles around in the darkness. I provide plenty of light to live in.“

“The Pharisees objected, ‘All we have is your word on this. We need more than this to go on.‘” 1

I couldn’t agree more.
Not with Jesus.
With the Pharisees.

The Journey Is As Important As the Destination

Traveling through the Twin Cities today has been anything but easy.
– Lengthy delays
– Slippery streets
– Stressed drivers
– Exhausted snowplow drivers
– Anxious bus drivers
– Fed up commuters
– Snow-day praying students who got a “no” answer

Our Destination

Our destination is just a tiny slice of our journey.
– We worry about approval
– We strain toward goals
– We stretch for benchmarks
– We dream about the future
– And too often we miss the present

When we’re fixated on the next, we miss the now.

I work at TreeHouse, and at TreeHouse we have four outcomes we track and are proud to explain.

Graduate High School

We are excited that TreeHouse teens are 24% more likely to graduate than their peers. That’s great news, but we want more for them.

Plan for After High School

93% of TreeHouse youth in grades 10-12 report they’ve begun making plans for after high school

Today is the TreeHouse Opportunity Fair.

Opportunity Fair is a night to get serious about the future. Tonight we will meet representatives from colleges, trade schools, the Armed Services, and future employers.

So many teens and adults are tense as the school year ends.

Teens who encounter their bullies with their last-day-of-school threats.
Bullies who want to make a final statement before summer.

Teachers whose patience has run out.
School administrators who are running on fumes.

Co-workers trying to figure out day care choices.
Colleagues worried about their unsupervised teens.
Police officers dreading the last day of school drama.

And, all of us who care about them.

Here’s some life-transforming advice for all of us:

Bless your enemies; no cursing under your breath.

I’m listening to an Aerosmith concert recorded when I was a teen; I loved Steven Tyler’s voice then, but I like the new old-guy even better.

“Sweet Emotion” is playing.  “Can’t say where I’m gonna be in a year…Said my get up and go musta got up & went.”

Read that again, “my get up and go musta got up & went.“  That sounds like most students, and school faculty, I know.  They want to finish strong, but wow, they’re looking at the finish line, but it looks like a lot of work to get there.

Did you have a busy Memorial Day weekend?
Did you have a hard time cranking it back up yesterday at work or school?
Me too.
I was late to my first two meetings as I tried to resume my weekday timeliness.

So what can you do when stress levels rise?

STOP

A few years ago Elisha Goldstein on psychcentral.com offered four simple, helpful stress relieving tips.

Next time you find your mind racing with stress, try the acronym S.T.O.P.

S – Stop what you are doing, put things down for a minute.

Today is the National Day of Prayer, so, I’m thinking about praying.

Prayer Is A Mystery

God tells us to do it though…
God knows what we’ll say.
God isn’t visible.
God doesn’t guarantee we’ll get what we want.
God says it will benefit us, but the benefits aren’t always evident.

Prayer is a mystery.

Life Is A Mystery

I wondered yesterday:

Why are some of the strongest men I know also the laziest?
Why are some of the most caring women I know also the most emotionally unstable?
Why are some of the smartest guys I know also the most foolishly impulsive?
Why are some of the most street-smart girls I know still duped by smooth talkers?