More Or Less

Ouch.  The Rangers looked bad last night.  I was happy to attend a World Series game but I really hoped it would also be a Rangers win.  That said, if I have a team that needs 3 consecutive wins, I'd be glad to have a team rolling out Cliff Lee, CJ Wilson and Colby Lewis.  Let's go Rangers!


I spent the weekend in the woods of East Texas with 60+ teenagers for our annual youth group fall retreat.  I leave each year more awestruck than the year before at the spiritual depth and energy of these kids.  I see a group who is driven more by relationships, community and love than anything I have seen.  I would love to write about all that I saw and heard but it would take too much time.  I'll just say I feel very comfortable with the future knowing these young people will be there.


Our theme verse for this year is John 3:30, "He must be greater; I must become less. 


I must become less.  Less prideful.  Less worried about the future.  Less of all the things that take my focus off the cross and the power of the resurrection. 


As I sat in the woods during some time alone with God, I watched dead leaves falling to the ground.  Leaves that once were colorful and alive, now brown and dead.  My lifespan on earth is short, far too short to always be thinking about what I need and want, far too short to miss seeing the needs of others. 


He must become greater in my life, in my actions...in my heart.


Grace and peace to you.

Late Morning Post

My hopes for a 4 game sweep were swept out the door last night.  Now I have to find tickets to Game 5 and may even have to fly to San Fran to see 6 & 7. 

Oh, and while I'm dreaming of finding tickets and traveling, I'd also like to mention my yachts on both coasts, my high end Mercedes with the AMG package and my condos along several of the best fishing waters around the world.  Yes, if I'm going to dream why not dream excessively?!

I'm ready for this weekend.  I will spend Saturday and Sunday with 60+ kids and 20+ adults in the woods of East Texas exploring God's call for our lives.  It will be challenging, tiring and fun.  I got to speak to our youth group last night and while they probably thought I'm just some crazy old guy, I got to say some things that I know God put on my heart for me to hear.  I hope it helped someone else too.

It's a beautiful day.  It's a day that the Lord has made.

Grace and peace to you.

Why?

I have asked God "why?" more times in the past year than I might have asked him in the past 45 years.  Today, like many days, I ask why children have to suffer.  Adults, I can understand.  They have experience and they have seen more suffering which means they should be able to deal with it better than a child.  This weekend I lost a friend but 2 kids lost a father and all I can muster is "why?"


I'm attending the funeral today and all I can think is "why?"  In my life, I have seen how my trials and struggles have allowed me to reach out to other people yet I don't feel like I can reach some of the people closest to me.  Why?  Bad things happen that I didn't want to happen but couldn't stop.  Why?  The same pain I feel is felt by others and it could create issues for generations to come.  Why?  Why did you let it happen God?  You can speak a word and the world can stop.  So why didn't you stop this?  Why?

I know that God is a much bigger thinker and visionary than I am.  I know His ways are not my ways and his thoughts are not my thoughts.  Praise God for that because in my limited ability to understand, all I can come up with is "why?" 

Jeremiah 29:11. 

I just wish I knew too but I will accept there are reasons I don't.

I would ask anyone reading this to say a prayer for Sergio Gonzales' family today.

Grace and peace to you.

Planes, Trains and Automobiles

It was a wacky travel day for me yesterday.  I flew to OKC in a Cessna, was driven to my destination in a mini-van, was returned to the airport in a Freightliner, couldn't fly out because of mechanical problems and made it home in a rented Hyundai.  Today, it's most likely I'll drive my truck to work and then drive it home. 

I watched snippets of the Cowboys game last night.  U-G-L-Y.  Goodbye Wade.  I think people have already said goodbye to the offensive line because they don't seem to be there any longer.

I was fortunate enough to be at Game 5 of the ALCS last Friday to witness history.  An incredible night and I'm excited about what's coming in the World Series.  I'll be at Game 4 too! 

I got a couple of incredibly touching responses to a blog I wrote last week.  They both touched me and challenged me to pray about what is written here.  Of course, today's post isn't much to pray over but I do hope I am given the thoughts and words in days to come to encourage, to give peace, to share the blessings of grace and mercy, to spread love and to challenge more growth in God's will.  The kicker is I hope it is me who will get all of those things out of what is written as much or more than anyone else who reads it.

Grace and peace to you.

The Call ot Mediocrity

I'm expecting an email today in response to this post from one of you out there, an email that will challenge me to think more deeply about this subject before I dive in to teach it in a few days.  That said, here goes...

Matthew 5:48 - Do you best because God knows you can't be perfect.  Give your best effort even to follow God's will, even if it's only an 85% effort because God knows what kind of day you are having.

That was from the New Living Busy And Trying To Make It Through The Day translation.

The Bible I normally use states it this way, "Be perfect, therefore, as your Heavenly Father is perfect."

Early in that chapter, in the first translation I used, it says stuff like "Blessed are the middle class because they are the working class and they will be able to put food on their table" and "Blessed are those who attend church on Sunday and watch sitcoms the rest of the week for they will inherit the sofa" and "Blessed are those who avoid persecution, who avoid not-fitting-in and who avoid ever knowing a poor, hungry, homeless person for they can focus on their own wants."  It's an interesting read.

If I don't strive for perfection, what should I strive for?  95%?  80%?  70%?  Be perfect therefore as your Heavenly Father is perfect.  Perfection in what you might ask?  Good question!  Is it our actions?  Our thoughts?  Honestly, this is tough for me to put into words what is in my head but I'll try anyway.  I think (that should be a big caveat right there) it means we should be perfect in our love for God and for His desire for us.  Does that include actions?  YES!  Does that include our thoughts?  YES!  John 14:15 says something to the affect of "If you love me you will OBEY my command."  What is it that we obey?  Jesus teaches us to love, to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to give water to the thirsty.  He teaches us to love each other.  In fact Jesus tells us that if we truly love him, we will love each other.  Now, what will you do for a person you love?  Maybe a better question is what will you not do for a person you love?  I offer that if we love people the way Jesus loves us and if we obey His commands we are called to action, action that is remarkably similar to what Jesus did while walking the earth.  AND, if I love others and obey Jesus' commands won't I avoid other actions and thoughts that stop me from being perfect as God is perfect? 

The problem is, I don't do all that.  I don't obey Jesus' commands all the time and God knows that.  The beauty of God's love is that He gave His son, His PERFECT son as a sacrifice for me so that my imperfections of yesterday would be covered by His blood and I start today fresh...new...clean...and ready to strive for perfection again.

For your parents out there, here's a question.  What do you tell your children is acceptable and, whatever acceptable is, when they fall below that do you cane them, beat them, lock them in a closet or quit loving them?  Or, do you let them start over, start fresh and keep loving them and trying to give them all they need to meet what you consider acceptable? 

Achieving perfection isn't about getting a gold star because of something we did, achieving perfection is all about loving God, giving Him our heart and obeying His commands because our Father loves us so completely, fully and unconditionally.

Grace and peace to you.

What The World Needs Now...

Living without constant Internet access has been a new experience.  I've grown to expect it and now, not having it, I feel lost at times.  I almost get the feeling I should pick up a book and start reading again.  Old school.

I'm going to Game 6 tomorrow night. 

What the world needs now is love, sweet love.  Wasn't that a song from way back in the day?  Anyway, love would be great but in the meantime just being kinder would be a great start.  Following is a link to Rick Ross' post today about kindness.  It just struck a chord with me this morning so I share it with you.
Followers of Kindness

Grace and peace to you.

As If...

there was anything I would talk about today.


Cliff Lee.  Un-b-LEE-vable.
Texas Rangers.  Outstanding.

Josh Hamilton's homer to get the Rangers on the board was incredible and the added runs at the end of the game sure sent a message to the Yankees fans as they left in droves.  The Rangers are for real. 

I'm good with a Tommy Hunter/A.J. Burnett matchup tonight.  Burnett's a bit of a head case and coming off a lot of downtime.  Hunter isn't a great pitcher but can pound the strike zone and eat some innings.  Tonight well may come down to the bullpens and while the Rangers can be shaky, the Yankees showed last night that they aren't perfect either.

Let's go Rangers!

Grace and peace to you.

I'm Getting Slower

I haven't done a good job blogging of late.  There is much on my mind but, once again, it's not coming out of my head and onto paper in a sensible state.  Many people would tell you that most of what comes out of my head doesn't come out in a sensible state.  I don't always disagree! 


GO RANGERS!  Cliff Lee is on the bump tonight.  I don't care what you have planned.  Drop it and watch the game.  If you are a Yankees fan, I hope your sewer has problems and you get tied up with that. 


I had some great conversations with friends, new and old, this weekend.  Wonderful times.


Here's a thought I had from yesterday that I'm still working on but it's rolling around in my head; I look for God to be a warrior in my physical life and expect Him to serve me in my spiritual life.  God is expecting me to serve Him in my physical life while He takes on the role of warrior in my spiritual life. 

I hear people talk about God being a warrior and I wonder why He isn't winning the battles I want Him to win.  I think I'm looking in the wrong places again, wanting God to do my will.  I read John Eldredge and others talking about the God in battle and I don't see the victory but I'm looking in the physical realm and ignoring the spiritual realm.  ALERT!  God's not the problem here.

It was a good reminder for me of where the battle is, of what the lamb is and who should be serving who (or is that whom?). 

Grace and peace to you.

Ginger Ale

The Rangers won!  Here's to hoping the next series goes at least 6 games because I have tickets for Game 6. 


I thought it was cool that the players celebrated with ginger ale so Josh Hamilton and C.J. Wilson could join the party.  That's a little glimpse of who this team is.


The scripture that popped up on my blog today was Jeremiah 29:11.  I love it but always wish Jeremiah 29:12 would contain specifics of what the plans are for me.

I wish I didn't have desert places.  I feel like I'm entering into one now and it seems impossible to explain to someone else why I feel that way.  But I do.  I know God uses the desert to teach me and refine me.  I would prefer a cabin in the mountains.  The desert is so desolate.  It doesn't have all the stuff I want, the stuff that makes me comfortable, that stuff that allows my mind to wander, the stuff I'm used to.  No, it's just me and God.  Me learning to trust that all I need will be provided and to be content with that.  God there with his arms open, waiting for me to choose him or my own path.  I don't like the desert but my previous trip through it brought me to new heights of recognition of who and what God is and for that, I am thankful for the journey.

Grace and peace to you.

Need. Sleep.

The Rangers play tomorrow for all the marbles.  I wish I felt better about it.


Charity: Water.  Check it out at www.charitywater.org.  This is an organization that has a great story and is doing a great work.  I heard the founder speak at Catalyst East 2010 last week and it was a great experience that makes me want to do much, much more to help the world.  I'll probably have more to say about Charity: Water in the coming days/weeks.

I want to give more money away.  I've heard of people recently who are trying to build their budget so they can give 50% of their income away.  One of the first comments I hear from people in the church is "but, what about _____________________?"  You can fill in the blank with retirement, emergency funds, college funds, etc.  The question I want to ask myself is "how am I going to get there?" 


I'm frustrated I can't help a friend break through a wall in his relationship with God.  I have to keep reminding myself that it is his relationship and he has to own it.  I can't do it for him but I sure want to because I know the pain he is in now and I know there is a way out.  I pray God gives me the words to say to him that will help him check his ego and fall on his face before the Lord.


Separation from the people you love the most is hard.  I wish I could re-write history in a more favorable script for my life but I don't have yesterday anymore and I don't have tomorrow yet...just today.  While my pain doesn't subside a great deal, I pray that I will walk the path God has for me today and that I will align my desire with His good and perfect plan for me.


I heard a great message this past Sunday.  I love Romans and the many, many messages that are there to lift me up and draw me closer to God. 


Grace and peace to you.

Wowsy Woo Woo

Good writers would tell me to work on my titles I'm guessing.


How about those Rangers?!  I can't believe I'm missing the games but glad they are winning without me.


I've spent the last 2 days and will spend today at a Christian Leadership conference and I am getting filled up.  It's tough because I'm overfilled and can't process it all right now but what a great blessing to be a part of this.  A few thoughts from the past 2 days:

* Francis Chan in person is SO MUCH BETTER than in a book or on a video.  What an incredibly inspirational guy.  The funny thing is, he doesn't want to be that guy.  He simply wants to see his life fit in the Bible story so that if you read a story of his life, it would fit with the stories of the apostles.  Novel idea.  (Short aside here, if you haven't read his book Crazy Love I think you are missing out.  I think it's a must-read for any Christian.  Make that MUST-READ.)

* Andy Stanley is a great storyteller.  I heard the story of Esau today in a way I never had and it convicted me I need to be careful of stew.  I hope that makes you wonder what I'm talking about it because I hope to share it one day.

* There are a lot of Christian leaders who need a new hairstyle, need a shave, need new shoes, need to drop the skinny jeans.  I'm also guessing the guys with lots of piercings and tattoos aren't from the Church of Christ (but I think Rick and Jacob could start a new trend!).  

* There are some incredibly talented musicians/singers serving the Lord.  I really liked the reggae stuff I heard today.  (Shout out to EC!)

* Beth Moore said she felt odd speaking today because the audience is predominantly male.  T.D. Jakes is up tomorrow and I wonder if he will feel odd also.  The audience is very light skinned!  :)

* I'm looking forward to hearing Jakes.  I've watched some video clips and he certainly brings it in what I've seen.

* I got to spend some time Wednesday night with an old friend.  I appreciate how time helps our perspectives on the way we see things.

* Compassion International does incredible work.  Project 7 Coffee is a great new opportunity.  Check 'em out.

What has been driven home the most...I want to give more.  More money, more time, more love.

Grace and peace to you.

God Answers Prayers

The Rangers won soundly.  Could there be any doubt God answers prayer?  OK, just trying to be funny there so I hope I don't get hit by lightning.  Go get 'em, CJ!


I've been thinking about shutting down the blog again.  So many questions, so often too few answers.  Then, someone I don't know writes a response that I can only believe is God talking through her encouraging me to keep going.  So I will.  God answers prayers.


Then, in the midst of a hard day mentally, emotionally and spiritually, I hear this comment; "when did God ever ask anyone to do something that was easy?"  It was an answer to the prayer of "where are you God?"  I'm starting to feel alone again, abandoned may be a better word.  I'm under attack and trying to understand things but it's hard right now.  Tough stuff is happening with/through people close to me and it is trying and I wonder why God isn't setting hearts and minds right and then I get that question posed today.  And I think it's God answer to my question of where He is.  He's right here, ready to walk me through a hard time but using the hard time to open my eyes, to open my mind, to open my heart to His desire to exhibit love in all things.


It has taken me to a thought I had several months back that all my growth with God has come in the midst of pain and suffering and I'm not sure I want the pain and suffering to go away because I don't want to get comfortable and quit growing spiritually.  I also know that God has to lead us out of the pain at times so we don't buckle under the weight.  Sometimes that happens quickly, sometimes it takes awhile.


God, keep me strong and courageous to take on tough times.  Prepare me to handle floods, to wait, to stand up to opposition who wants to kill my spirit, to kill my desire and to kill my will to follow you, to fight injustice, to battle in times of trial and yet to love, to give, to share, to pray and to be compassionate.


God answers prayers.


Grace and peace to you.

More (or Less) Perfection

I love my friends who make me think.


My post on being perfect last week brought a few comments outside the blogosphere that challenged me to think and re-think my stance and my writing.  I have perfected neither but have more to say.


I want to be perfect because I want to know the mind of Christ and the will of God.  I will not excuse imperfection in my actions but it is perfection in our hearts that God truly desires.  A dear friend laid the following quote in my lap and I love it.  St Augustine said, "Love, and do as you will".  Now, just imagine what we would do if everything we did was based solely in love.  The perfection of our actions would take care of themselves because our heart and mind would be aligned with God.  If everything I do, I do in love I am compelled to believe that I would treat people more like Jesus did with the woman at the well and less like someone trying to massage my own ego,  wondering what's wrong with someone else while my own heart is in turmoil.  If everything I do, I do in love I am compelled to believe that my thoughts and actions would be more Christ-like and less Jeff-like, more from the mind of Christ than the ego of Jeff, more nurturing instead of concern for how I feel.



The perfection I want to achieve, the perfection I believe God calls us to in Matthew 5 has little do to with the things we do and everything to do with our heart for God.  My life would be lived out doing what Jesus did - loving, caring, encouraging, sharing fellowship, sharing compassion, giving, feeding, nurturing and leading others to the knowledge of God and His perfect love.  So don't tell me I can't be perfect.  Encourage me to grow closer to God.  Don't tell me God knows we are going to fail.  Walk with me in the footsteps of Christ.  Don't talk to me about why someone is the way they are.  Talk to me about how I can love more perfectly and forgive completely and show them the grace and mercy God has shown me. 

Grace and peace to you.

Perfect

I expected silence yesterday.  Be perfect.


I covered that verse with some 9th grade guys Wednesday night and one started to ask "were supposed to be...?"  He, and most of the others, hadn't considered that we are supposed to be perfect.  I asked "what does it mean?" and started getting "but God knows we aren't perfect", "God sent Jesus because He knew we'd mess up" and "we can't be perfect."  I loved the last one.  We can't?  My response was simply "why?" which was only met with silence.


We are called to perfection.  Not simply doing our best.  Not just trying to be as good or better than the best person we know.  Perfection.  So, why is it so easy for some to say "don't beat yourself up" or "you can't be perfect" when we mess up?  I'm called to perfection so pointing out my failings and learning from my mistakes should be only a natural progression to striving for perfection, shouldn't it?


Why do baseball players take hundreds of practice swings a day?  Why do golfers hit hundreds of golf balls a day?  Why do musicians practice their instrument hours and hours each week?  Why does anyone who wants to be the best in the endeavor work on being the best?  The best strive for perfection.  I don't know an accomplished baseball player who ever said they wanted to hit 3 out of 10.  They did everything they could to hit 10 out of 10.  I've never heard a professional golfer say they wanted to hit most of the fairways or make most of their putts.  I've never heard of a musician saying they hope to play at least 90% of their notes correctly.  They all want perfection.  And, sometimes they achieve it.  Plenty of baseball players have hit 4 for 4 in a game.  Plenty of golfers have shot below par.  Plenty of musicians have played perfectly in a concert.  They did it because that is what they shot for.  Not to simply do their best but to achieve perfection.


I have to ask, will I simply try not to make too many mistakes today or will I try to achieve perfection today?


Grace and peace to you.

No Sweat

Matthew 5:48 - Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Grace and peace to you.

Fluff Day

I'm headed to the Ranger game tomorrow night.  I think Cliff Lee is supposed to be on the bump and I'm hoping for a great performance and some run support. 

I'll be wearing the same thing I've worn to the last 13 games - all wins for the Rangers.  They really should hook me up with a suite.  I've bought in to the baseball superstitions but it's all in good fun.

I can wear the same thing when the Longhorns play and they lose to UCLA.  Drives me crazy.

I told someone the other day I'm going all Purple Reign/Rain from here on out.  I'm cheering for:
TCU
ACU
Prince (it's a long story)

I caught a bit of a video about an abortion survivor on Facebook today.  I'm going to try and remember to check it out and learn more about the young lady and might post it here.  Assuming it's all legit - WOW! - a powerful story.

Francis Chan is becoming one of my favorite people.  I don't know the man but he's not afraid to call Christians out to a higher standard than what I typically see and live myself.  I get to hear him speak next week and I'm getting jazzed about that. 

I've got a lot of friends in pain right now.  Some of the stories are known, some are not.  If you are looking for something to pray for today, just lift my friends up to God.  He'll know what you are talking about and I hope it will bring a little more peace to their lives.

Grace and peace to you.

Pain, Despair and Agony On Me

The title is from a song and comedy bit on Hee-Haw that aired on TV back when dirt was being invented.  Rick made reference to it on Sunday and it's been on my mind since.  I spent Sunday nigh talking to a friend who is going through the emotions from the song title and spend a fair amount of my free time talking to others who know pain, despair and agony all too well.  It's all around us.  Marriages on the rocks.  Death of a loved one.  Kids who are out of control.  A spouse who has been unemployed for too long.  A loved one going to prison. 


And Christians are supposed to be a people of joy?  For real?


I suppose that depends on my perspective.  Friends have asked me how I am doing and my response is generally the same.  If I want to look around and see darkness, I will see it.  If I want to look around and see light, I will see it.  It's up to me on what I choose to focus on.  When I choose to focus on pain, I can find it in abundance with plenty to spare.  There are so many things that have gone wrong in my life and I dare say it could be that I've had more bad than good.  I think that's just life.  But, if I choose to focus on the good, on the people who continuously share acts of kindness with me, people who are praying for me, people who have a smile or a hug, a text or phone call just to check in, I can find it.  Then I top it off with a decision. 


I was a basketball player growing up.  I loved it.  LOVED it.  I spent more time in my driveway than anywhere else shooting basket after basket for years.  I dreamed of making the last second shot for the Texas Longhorns to win the national championship.  I played all the time - even when the high school varsity coach told me I wouldn't play on his team - I kept playing and made the team and even a starting spot before illness took me out for the year.  I went to practice after practice.  I ran and ran and ran and ran and ran and...you get the idea.  I went through weeks of pain leading up to the season practicing over and over and it was often painful.  Yet I went through the pain for the opportunity to play for less than an hour per game because I found joy in playing the game.  The pain was worth it.


I have to decide if the pain of this life is worth the joy of what comes in the next.  I can give up and give in to the pain here and now or I can run the race, endure the pain and stay focused on what God has planned.  It's my choice.  Pain, despair and agony on me.  Maybe so but I refuse to wallow in it.  I will walk to the light.


Grace and peace to you.

Bug Guts

I'm driving home from Abilene and the windshield is a mess of bug guts and other stuff from the road that makes looking out the windshield a mess, not impossible to see but certainly not clear.  Add driving at a rate of speed that might just be a smidge over the speed limit and it's a recipe for a mess.  I can't see clearly but I'm still going 80-to-nothing (no, I wasn't going 90).  I seem to go through life that way too often.  Anyway, I'm rolling down the highway and all of the sudden I am driving through a downpour.  Buckets of rain are falling and I have to turn the windshield wipers on high to try and keep up.  I'm listening to the rhythm of the wipers and doing my best to see the lines on the road and then, poof, the storm is left behind.  It is then that I notice I am driving with a much cleaner and clearer windshield.


It's a true story but also a story of God.  I am speeding through life, going too fast, vision impaired and then I hit a storm.  As bad as the storm is, God uses it to slow me down and clean up with the windshield so I can see His desire for me more clearly.  The storm helped me, even though it caused some problems at the time, because it made me slow down, think and it helped clean my windshield so I could see my way more clearly. 


Thank you God for knowing what I need, always better than I know myself.


Grace and peace to you.

1 Peter 5:9 - 11 (NIV)
⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
 ¹⁰And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. ¹¹To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.

Today is a hard day, a day where my suffering is more acute, more pronounced than just another day.  At the same time, it is a very good day, a day where my suffering brings me closer to God, more in touch with Him being Lord in my life.  For that reason, I accept my suffering, even rejoice that my life has taken a turn that has brought this pain because it has brought me into communion with God in ways I have never experienced in my life.  The pain has forced me to examine my life, to examine my mind and to examine my heart and I have learned that for most of my days, I didn't know God intimately.  Today, I am experiencing a new level of intimacy with God and today I stand in my suffering knowing it is what has brought me to a place where I bow low before the feet of God and rejoice that He is the all-knowing God, He is loving and His mercy knows no bounds.

Today, a hard day in my life, I accept that while I might suffer for a season, God will restore me and make me strong, firm and steadfast.  It is a day where I accept the pain and rejoice in what God will do with it.

Grace and peace to you.

That Week That Is

This is a week that could take a lot out of me emotionally so I set myself up to be filled up with the Spirit and things of God.  Oddly enough, I'm being filled with talk about suffering and how I can find light in my suffering.


A dear friend told me once, "I don't trust anyone who hasn't suffered."  I may be paraphrasing a bit but that's the idea I got from what was said and a thought I have hung onto because I find myself in the same place.  People who want to offer advice and suggestions who haven't yet walked a difficult road seem to have empty words for me but people who have suffered greatly, many much more than me, often say little verbally yet speak volumes spiritually and emotionally.


Today I was introduced to John Wesley's Covenant Prayer.  My hope is to say this prayer every morning for the next 3 weeks and see what God wants to share with me.  It's not an easy prayer but a challenging prayer.  I hope it speaks to you like it has spoken to me.

I am no longer my own, but yours.

Put me to what you will, rank me with whom you will;

put me to doing, put me to suffering.

Let me be employed for you or laid aside by you, 

enabled for you or brought low by you.

Let me be full, let me be empty.

Let me have all things, let me have nothing.

I freely and heartily yield all things 

to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, O glorious and blessed God, 

Father, Son and Holy Spirit, 

you are mine and I am yours.  So be it.

And the covenant which I have made on earth, 

let it be ratified in heaven.

Amen.

Grace and peace to you.