I Think God Appreciates The Flash Mob

Recently my Zumba class orchestrated two separate flash mobs at well known public spots here in town. Our first one was at Harborwalk near the Emerald Grande in Destin. Last night we did our second one at Destin Commons in front of the movie theater as folks lined up to get their tickets for 'Harry Potter'. (That's me all the way to the right!)  Both were a great success and a whole lot of fun! For those of you who might not know, a flash mob is where people pretend to be regular bystanders at a public place, mingling, doing their own thing and then suddenly come together in unison to perform some type of dance number. Ours were Zumba routines; we all wore pink zumba shirts that were revealed at the beginning of the number and black pants. It usually attracts quite a crowd of onlookers once they figure out exactly what is happening.
I started thinking about the whole concept of the flash mob. Why are these so popular right now? In a world that pretty much affirms that what is right for you is personal truth, there is obviously something inside all of us that appreciates unity. Unity is the appeal of the flash mob: a bunch of disorganized individuals come together and in unison create something amazing that everyone will want to watch.
As usual, this revelation is so appropriately timed to spiritual events in my own life. I think we all struggle with how God's will is orchestrated in individual lives especially as it relates our free will to choose. This might be a little poetic license but in some ways it is not unlike a flash mob, spiritually speaking, and there is a part of our souls that crave that type of unity. Each participant has the abilities and the choice whether to participate in God's grand production. You can't force it either. Just like the popular T.V. commercial about flash mobs reveals, timing is everything. If one of the participants tries to play their part at the wrong time, it doesn't accomplish the same effect as everyone in unison and in the end you look foolish. When God has something planned or willed for your life, he will bring all the right components of that event together at just the right time to accomplish that specific purpose. You will know it was God who did it because only he will be able to orchestrate all the seemingly disorganized components; it won't be able to happen under your own power, abilities, or efforts. That is how he is sure to get the credit.  It is not uncommon that you will get a glimpse beforehand of what it is going to look like; faith is knowing to wait on God's timing and not force it to ours, because the end result is better that way.
Psalm 133: How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity....for there the Lord bestows his blessing.
I am seeing this type of heavenly choreography at work in two distinct sets of circumstances; one is in my life and the other is my best friend's.  Over the past few years at times I would talk to my husband about selling our home in Niceville. He was very resistant to it and therefore the answer was no. Because of my work situation, now I am never there. Because I am not there, my husband and sons have chosen to spend a lot of their time at the beach house with me. This has actually proven to be a blessing. Because we spend our time in 700 square feet instead of being spread out among 3000 sq ft, our family has grown so much closer over the last 6 months. My marriage is stronger than it has ever been and the lesson of the importance of family/being a supportive husband has been stressed for my sons. Greg and I have been praying together for God's will to be revealed for our family; we don't know exactly what that will be but we have told him that we trust in him, not in a particular outcome, and will follow his leading. Last week my husband came to the belief we should sell our home in Niceville; it doesn't make sense to pay all that we do on a monthly basis and not be there at all. Our plan will be to live at the beach house for a while, saving money and paying our debts, and wait until God's plan is fully revealed. It has been amazing to me to see how God will bring things into unity at the right time. If God wills something for your family, he will bring everyone in unison to accomplish it. You don't have to convince or nag your husband; God will work on his heart to where he believes it is the right thing to do. Greg himself recently said, "It's amazing how the Lord works things out!" Amen.
I have seen this same thing happen in my best friend's marriage. She believes God has placed a goal for their family in her heart. She is so excited for the possibility that she began researching, questioning and planning in her mind. The key thing though is that for this type of family event, everyone has to be unified in both agreement and acceptance. Her temptation would be to try to influence her husband; she has learned this is not necessary. God is already at work in bringing him toward thinking that event is a good idea. Even her very young child has revealed a unified spirit saying things that only the Holy Spirit could have placed in his little heart!
The bottom line is that our souls crave unity. Why? Because ultimately we crave to be at peace with our creator and to know his plan for our lives. Everyone needs purpose for their existence. It is in unity with God (the divine choreographer)  that our purpose is revealed (Read that one again! and chew on it.) and as the psalm stated, therein lies the blessing.

I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be as one as we are one- I in them and you in me-so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:22-24)

Hope in Training: Your Spiritual Bosu Disc

I've discovered a new fitness device thanks to a personal trainer that I had at Gold's Gym....the Bosu Disc. It is a flat disc on one side and a squishy inflatable half ball on the other. The purpose is to develop your stability or core muscles. There are numerous exercises one can do with the disc, depending on which side you choose to use. It basically makes all exercises a little harder.  Even simple squats on the disc require extra balance. You can feel all your little muscles fighting against gravity to keep you upright, maintain your balance, and prevent you from falling off the surface as you perform  the task. Initially you are pretty shaky. But as you get stronger, and your core muscles are more secure, the shaking diminishes.  I remember my trainer told me that as you get stronger, those episodes of off-balance where you almost fall off won't be such a big deal...you'll recover easily because you've developed strength in your core.
I was sitting in church one morning and the Holy Spirit whispered in my ear, "Your core is like hope. It requires training."
I had to think about this for a minute. Because I guess I always thought that as a faith issue we either put our hope in Jesus Christ or we didn't. I guess I didn't realize that hope itself might need some gym time.  Spiritually speaking, your core muscle of faith is what or whom you put your trust in. Fundamentally, it is where you derive hope. Hope really is at our core; I'm not sure how you make it through life without hope. Proverbs 13:12 puts it this way..."Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life."  You can flex your muscles of faith in all sorts of different areas of life, but when something challenging comes along with the ability to knock you off your feet, it is the core of your belief system that will keep you standing. Do you trust God or not? I mean....do you REALLY trust God or not? This is hope. I've learned over the last few months that in my faith walk, hope goes through training. God has shown me that by training my hope in him, each time something in life comes along with potential to knock me off my feet, the work I've done him in the past prevents it from having that affect. In fact, the stronger I get, the less I am even shaken by it. Over the last few months I've had several opportunities to work out my spiritual core muscle.  Each time that I was presented opportunities to not trust God, with the option of trying to take control of  the situation, hope was in training. By trusting God and believing what he told me, I was training my hope and becoming so much more stable in my faith walk. I realized this when the one thing I had been praying for walked in the door and I told God that if this wasn't his plan, I'd be okay with that because I trust him and know he has my best at heart. It was like going to the gym and benching 150 pounds...I saw my hope muscle stronger than it had ever been and I realized all this gym time with God has paid off.
Why is it important to train your hope? Because just like gravity, there is a constant pull on your life to fulfill a calling for which you were placed on this Earth. There are always going to be situations in life that will attempt to derail you, cause you lose balance, or fall. One thing about the Bosu disc I have learned is that the exercises are so much easier if you keep your eyes focused on one spot out in front of you.
"And let us run with perseverance the race marked out before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith." Heb 12:2
People are watching us as we work out our muscles of faith; just like at the gym. The world wants to see if your core is really what you say it is. Our world craves authenticity. God trains our hope so that we will fulfill our calling; as we build our hope we work with gravity to accomplish a task instead of being knocked over by it. Scripture puts it this way..."Therefore my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm (make SECURE)  your calling and election, for if you do these things, you will never stumble and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:10-11
My friends, that is hope in training.