Look at God.....

Every so often in various cultures, there are tons of catch phrases that emerge and become so wildly popular and overused that you begin to cringe each time you hear them.  We have all become exhausted with phrases like "ratchet", "turn up", "have a seat (or several)", and "YOLO".  Even at church the catch phrases are there: we hear "But God", the elongated "yeeees", etc ... 

Over the last few months, the one I notice becoming most popular is "Look at God!! ...." and just like all the others, I see and hear it everywhere: hashtags, fb statuses, testimonies, etc and usually by this point the cringing would begin for me, but for some reason I can't get enough of that phrase ... I absolutely love it!

I love it in all the many ways I see see it referenced, whether it's:

A lighthearted praise: "Look there was one pack of strawberry waffles left on the shelf just for me .. Look at God!!" 

An appreciation for the other gender with your friends: "You see all that wagon she draggin?!  .. Look at God!!"

A testimony: "I had no money and didn't know how my bills would get paid, but I prayed and all of a sudden somehow the money was provided .... Look at God!!" 

I started to lend some thought as to why I haven't grown weary of this phrase and I think it's because it's a bit deeper for me ... 

I sometimes argue that one of the reasons Jesus was able to go sinless on earth was because he didn't really have to exercise faith, it was more an exercise of will power.  If he was just in Heaven chillin with God and witnessed all the times they bailed people out and came through for them, then while he's on earth, he KNOWS there's a God, because he's actually seen him... however, he may have still been tempted to turn stones to bread because he's hungry which makes it more willpower in my opinion (but anyway, I've digressed)

I have always been a natural skeptic and relied heavily on logic and sight to believe things.  I need to see it to believe it! ... and it holds firm in most aspects of my life.... and then there's my faith.

As a believer we are taught to rely most heavily on our faith.  This practice is always easiest when things are going extremely well in our lives.  We see the blessings pouring in and we credit God!   However, sometimes it's not as apparent because there are no mind blowing miracles occurring, or worse when things seem to be going "terribly awry" in our lives.  This is when our once unwavering faith starts to get weak and we begin to even doubt His existence... and this is probably because we've never actually physically seen Him.... 

For me personally, I feel like the expression "Look at God!!" is His way of saying, yes Greg, you have actually seen me and you have actually seen me often.... but let me make it a little more plain for you since you are a skeptic, I'm gonna make you see me a lot!  

So now everytime someone is blessed, whether it be major or minor and I see or hear them say "Look at God!!", I smile, and think "aiight God, you got it ... I see you Big Homie!" ..

but then again, what do I know

Pray It Forward

Hey guys, today while rummaging through my desk looking for some specs so I could run a quarterly report, I stumbled upon a prayer that someone must have forwarded me and I printed it out. Every time I read it, it offers some calmness/soothing of mind and spirit for me. I know a couple of my friends are going through some tough times right now, so I figured I would share it with you guys hoping that someone else may be blessed by it .. Consider it me 'praying it forward'* ..

My prayer for you all:


May today be all you need it to be.

May the peace of God and the freshness of the Holy Spirit rest in your thoughts, rule in your dreams tonight, and conquer all your fears.

May God manifest Himself today in ways you have never experienced.

May your joys be fulfilled, your dreams be closer, and your prayers be answered.

I pray that faith enters a new height for you;

I pray that your territory is enlarged.

I pray for peace, healing, health, happiness, properity, joy, true and undying love for God.

Amen

God promises a safe landing .. not a calm passage.

But then again, what do I know? ... that I know nothing.


*Note: 'Pray it forward' is simply a twist on the expression 'pay it forward'. For those not familiar with the expression:

The expression "pay it forward" is used to describe the concept of asking that a good turn be repaid by having it done to others instead (gotta love wikipedia)