The Ballad of the Crybaby

Posted on by jactucke

  
I hate complainers. Well, hate is an extremely strong word. I guess strongly dislike would be more of the case. 

Everybody knows that one person who is the belly-acher. The one who always has something to say about something. There’s always a problem and they can always either do it better or they just want to make snide comments about what’s going on. 

I generally consider myself a pretty easy going person. There aren’t too many things that bother me and if they do, I generally say something about it. But lately, I have noticed that I have been one of “those people.”

It crept in throughout various aspects of my life. I first noticed it when Jeg asked me to do something at the house. I would scoff and grumble at even the most menial of tasks. (I mean, how hard is it to get a glass of water?) Then I began to notice it in my work, my friendships, and it began to creep into my worship. That was the breaking point. 

When I started writing this, it was kind of hard because it was something that really preached to me. Isn’t that how it usually is? Something that we have a problem with is exactly what we don’t want to talk about, but it is exactly what we need. 

You see, when you begin to complain within your worship or even at your church, you put a rift in your relationship with God. You cease being Christ-like and become what He warned against. In Philippians 2:14-16, Paul tells the church at Phillipi “do all things without grumbling or complaining so that you may be innocent and blameless…within this crooked generation.” This statement has rung true throughout the ages and is just as relevant now as it was then. 

The Greek word translated “complainer” means literally “one who is discontented with his lot in life.” Was that me? I don’t think I’m “discontented” with my life. What I needed to do was to get back in check and it wasn’t something that I could do myself. 

The Word tells us in Ephesians 4:29 that we should “let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” So, is complaining corrupt talk? Yeah. Does it interfere with our worship? Oh yeah. Does it build up? Not one bit. Does it fit the occasion? Sometimes, but complaining never builds up the situation. 

I know there are times where people believe that their comments are warranted and they attempt to justify it by saying “well, it’s the truth.” Even if your complaint is the “truth,” does it build up? Nah, probably not. 

Romans 12:2 says “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We need to allow God to come in and actually transform our minds and entire being. 

So today, allow God to work on your grumbling, your belly-aching, and your overall attitude. Renew your mind and spirit in Him  to rid yourself of complaining thinking. 

Thanks again for reading both internationally and here at home. As always comments and shares are appreciated. Y’all be safe out there. 

The trust fall

Posted on by jactucke

  
The other night, Little Girl was throwing a bit of a fit. She was experiencing a little tiredness from an eventful day. 

At one point, she was standing in one the dining chairs as we talked with a friend. She jumped and cried and really didn’t know what she wanted. Finally, she looked at me and just fell forward. I of course caught her, but the shock on her face said it all. LG was glad I caught her. 

I thought for a second, this was not the first time she had put her trust in her daddy. Her first swing on her swing set, her first trip by herself down the slide. She knew she was safe because I was pushing or there to catch her at the bottom. So when she did her “trust fall” that night, LG knew her daddy was gonna be there. 

Trust is something that is built. In LG’s case, she had done some things in the past where her daddy and momma had rescued her and she knows that we are gonna be right there. She trusts her folks at the ripe old age of 23mos. 

But getting back to trust. You build it with one another. In all relationships there is a level of trust there. If one lies to another, that trust is broken and you go right back to the beginning to build it back up. Or sometimes, that trust is forever broken and can never be mended. I know all of this goes back to last week’s post regarding our flaws, but let’s look from a different angle. 

What really got me when LG fell into my arms was the look on her face. It was sheer panic at the beginning of the fall. Like, “Oh crap, what have I done?!?” Then when she landed, relief flooded her face. She knew I would catch her, but there was still a slight bit of fear. Isn’t that what it’s like when we step out and put our trust in God? 

Maybe you’re following God’s leading and going to another job or you are being nudged out of your comfort zone to go pray for someone at the grocery store. Whatever it is, if God is leading, why not take the leap? You’ll have that moment of fear where it feels like you’re going to fall and fail. But in that exact moment, you fall into the arms of Abba, Daddy God. 

That trust is what propels us forward in our walk with Him. Each moment that we learn to trust Him, the better our relationship becomes. The clearer His voice becomes. As you hear him more clearly, you begin to exemplify Him in your every day life. Read this.

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord God is an everlasting rock. Isaiah 26:3-4

We need to have the faith and trust of a child all over again if we want to fully trust in Him. Believe that He’s not gonna let you down. Know that He will guide your path (Proverbs 3:5-6.) Just TRUST HIM! 

Currently, we are entering a time of new beginnings. Let’s use this time to renew ourselves in Him. If you are having a hard time trusting God, let me tell ya, He’s got your best interests at heart. He wants you to succeed. He wants you to “lean not on your own understanding” and to trust Him.  

If you have been feeling a tug to go pray for that person, do it! Or if God has put it on your heart to reach out to a new couple in church, go for it! You may think, “That’s just weird!” But what if it’s God? What if that person who you’ve been prompted to pray for has been sick or going through absolute chaos and they get to see God through you? Or if that couple is lonely and having just a rough time and there you are. 

Just trust that Daddy God is gonna be right there to catch you right as you leap out of your comfort zone! Let me tell ya, it’ll be well worth it. 

As always, shares and comments are appreciated. Thanks for the read! Y’all be safe out there.

Facebook, fractions and flaws

Posted on by jactucke

  
So I’m a day late. In all of my time writing, I don’t recall ever missing a deadline. I guess I hit a little bit of writer’s block and I just couldn’t think of what to write about. But this morning, creativity struck in the form of a Facebook post. 

Now I know what you’re thinking, “He gets his blog ideas from Facebook? What a crock!” Well, I find social media the perfect breeding ground for the occasional idiot and silly post. But I digress. 

This particular post was your typical whine-bag type deal that was basically complaining about someone else’s problem, how people aren’t setting Christ-like examples of themselves, it shouldn’t matter where I go to church…blah-blah-blah-blah-blah. 

The first thing I thought was, “So what?” But then I thought, “Let’s see how we can solve this problem.” So, I did what any self respecting person would do, I resorted to fractions. 

As I learned all those years ago, the only way you can add fractions is to find a common denominator. So, what was the common denominator in this problem? It was people. 

Let’s just be clear on one thing cupcake, people tend to make mistakes. Ok, people are flawed! We make all kinds of mistakes, false moves and we let folks down…a lot. 

Here’s the thing though, if you are naive enough to wait for people to say and do the right things, you are going to live an incredibly disappointing life. People will always let you down because they are flawed, regardless if they are saved or not. They will pick and criticize any move you make and there is absolutely nothing you can do about it.

All of that being said, it’s time to pay more attention to your Creator than your critics. Why not draw from the One that is flawless rather than focus on the flawed?

By shifting your focus, you are taking your eyes off of yourself and seeing what He has to say to you. If God has instructed you to do something, who cares what other people say or do? 

Let’s move on to what the Word says. The ENTIRE chapter of Romans 8 focuses on Jesus as the solution to living life on God’s terms and not our own. Take a look at verses five through eight:

Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God’s action in them find that God’s Spirit is in them—living and breathing God! Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life. Focusing on the self is the opposite of focusing on God. Anyone completely absorbed in self ignores God, ends up thinking more about self than God. That person ignores who God is and what he is doing. And God isn’t pleased at being ignored.

So let’s get back to fractions real quick. The prior common denominator was people. Upon reviewing that people are flawed, we see a situation that seems pretty abysmal. But we do have a solution: living life on God’s terms. 

This means that we have to shift our focus from ourselves and our critics to God, the author and perfector of our faith. 

So there you have it! As always, sharing and comments are appreciated. Have a great one and y’all be safe out there. 

A daughter’s worth

Posted on by jactucke

 So, I have a confession to make. There is a certain vice that I possess that I am not entirely proud of, but it is there nonetheless. I, Jacob Tucker, being of sound mind and body, am addicted to….

The Bachelor.

There, I said it. Whooo! That feels better! I say every year that I’m not watching it, but by the time we get to the end of the first episode, I’ve already done my predictions and done my fair share of yelling at the Bachelor and Bachelorette. 

Tonight was the “Women Tell All” edition of the show and I noticed a few things. Well, I noticed them during the season, but this really made what I noticed even more prevalent. I’ll get to that in a second though. 

The girls bickered and griped at one another, defending their witchy and treacherous actions throughout “the competition” for Mr. Ben Higgins’ attention. As they began to hear more explanations from the more controversial women of the show, the bickering slowed and gave way to more forgiving faces. Some explanations were more genuine, Jubilee, and others were a little forced and unbelievable, Olivia.

But what piqued my interest came during Jubilee’s interview. She said that she became “caught up in the reality but not reality of it (the show.)” She went on to say that the feelings are all real that they experience, but the not so real part of it was that 27 other girls were feeling the same things and vying for the attention of one man. 

The feelings are what really hit me while watching this show. I can’t imagine having to do something like that. But the feelings…gosh. 

You see, those feelings and drama that we all tune in weekly to see, are real. The hurt and rejection is real. That was evident by just looking at poor Chaila’s face while watching her “highlights,” some of which she hadn’t seen yet. 

All that being said, we venture back to the title of this little diddy, A daughter’s worth. These ladies leave the show learning things about themselves and feeling things that should never be seen by a few million people. Some leave saying that they feel unloveable and worthless, like they have nothing to offer anyone. But your worth should not be measured by how much a man on a reality show “loves” you or pays attention to you. He’s making out with 20+ chicks…come on!

Like Jubilee said, that portion is not real at all. As far as I’m concerned, Lace had it right. You’ve got to learn to love yourself. Love who you are and who you were made to be. Then you might be able to share that love. 

I am reminded of a section in Luke 12:22-32 where Jesus is talking about your worth to God. He just laments on how much you mean to Him and if God puts care into flowers people won’t even see, don’t you think He cares more for you? Go check it out for yourself!

One day, these ladies will catch that. I just pray that more people begin to teach their daughters how much they are worth, rather than send them to a reality show to find out. My daughter will know that she is worth more than the finest gold or precious stones. She’s valued higher than any political office and beloved more than any Hollywod celebrity. 

My little girl will know that she is a daughter of the Most High and no mortal person can tell her how much she is worth. Because, in His eyes, even if she were the only one, she would still be worth it all. 

Comments and whatnot are appreciated, as always. Y’all be safe out there.