Finding Your Voice

Mr. Special on AGT/NBC

Why We Need People

Last night, as I watched America’s Got Talent on NBC, I was saddened by something most people laughed at. 

Mr. Special. 

This 50-something man, dressed like an Angry Bird ™ gave a poor performance and a lackluster audition. He obviously was not going to make it through to the next round. 

The thing that saddened me was not his talent (or lack of) but his heart. He stood there in front of the audience and judges, with his heart on his sleeve, screaming to be heard. 

“I need to be heard, I need to be heard!” he barked into the microphone over and over. 

We all need to be heard, don’t we? 

That is why we need people. 

The Importance of a Voice

I am a loud person. My friends all know it and expect it. My family is used to it, but the public is unprepared for the volume of my laugh. If you need me to whisper, you better not be asking for a secret because everyone will hear me. 

At church one time, after a particularly funny delivery of the message, a new member of the church came up to me after the service and asked me how much I got paid to be the laugh track for the pastor? 

Ouch. 

I have tried to pull back the volume, but never the joy that bubbles up. Why? 

Because that is my voice: it is who I am. 

Stop Trying to be Heard and Just Serve

We all need people, we all want to be heard, but this life is not about you. It isn’t about me. It is about other people. 

When we lay our lives and our egos aside, real love happens. 

You know that kind of love that doesn’t boast, or crowd others? The love that lifts others up, and is always kind; you know, THAT love? 

I Corinthians 13 says this:

Love never gives up.

Love cares more for others than for self.

Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.

Love doesn't strut,

Doesn't have a swelled head,

Doesn't force itself on others,

Isn't always "me first,"

Doesn't fly off the handle,

Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,

Doesn't revel when others grovel,

Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,

Puts up with anything,

Trusts God always,

Always looks for the best,

Never looks back,

But keeps going to the end.

Real love serves others because that is what Christ showed us by his example. He loved and he served. 

A quiet man from a backwater town, with hardly anything to call his own on this earth, Jesus served and loved others and his voice; his words are still being heard today. 

Be Iron

We are meant to be the light of the world. Drawing people to us not just by our words, but by the warmth and authenticity of our love we serve with purpose: to win the lost. 

In the middle of all that serving is when we emerge as who we were designed to be. Serving is work, but as we get busy helping others, they are helping us. 

The bible says iron sharpens iron. 

 Like taking steel wool to a blade, with careful, deliberate application, it sharpens the blade, removing the rust, and buffing it to a high shine. 

Serving people comes down to one thing: relationship. 

Start where you are, with those people around you that you are closest to. Serve them. Love them. 

Then you will notice, that somehow, without you realizing it, people are noticing, they are seeing the changes that are happening in you and they are listening to what you have to say. 

Call it serving, favors, love, or work, if it is done with a cheerful heart, it can change the world! 

How can you serve someone today?

Real Love

Romantic music swells as a dashingly handsome; six foot four man comes barreling through the door. He has defied all odds. He has made his way to his woman! He sweeps her into his arms and carries her down the stairs, out to the courtyard, and onto a horse. He swings up onto his steed, and kisses her with an unyielding passion, and together they ride off into the sunset. 

Great for a novel, but am I the only one who heard a scratched record sound after reading that? I wrote it and I heard it. Listen, romantic music, stunning actors, and steamy foot-popping kisses do not real love make! 

Real love is found in God. He is love, and his character is revealed to us throughout the word as love. 1 Corinthians 13 says this (I paraphrase): 

Love NEVER Gives up! 

Love puts other’s needs before self. 

Love does not look around for the next big thing! 

Love does not have a big ego. 

Love does not have a “me first” attitude. 

Love has a long fuse and is not easily freaked out. 

Love doesn't keep tally of all the times you messed up. 

Love doesn't take joy in other’s pain. 

Love takes pleasure in truth and honesty. 

Love puts up with anything. 

Love ALWAYS trusts God. 

Love always looks for the good in people, in situations, in everything! 

Love never looks back and says, “what if”, but stays on course until the end. 

Love never dies. 

If your relationships do not meet this standard of Love, then there is room for improvement. I have not reached the mark yet. I am still selfish, I still freak out, and I am not there….yet. But talking about love is not enough. Only God’s love, walked out daily in our active faithful walking around life, is enough. 

 

“Real love is this: that a man lay down his life for a friend.” (John 15:13) 

“My dear children, let's not just talk about love; let's practice real love. This is the only way we'll know we're living truly, living in God's reality. It's also the way to shut down debilitating self-criticism, even when there is something to it. For God is greater than our worried hearts and knows more about us than we do ourselves.” (I John 3:18-20 MSG) 

Jude 1:20-21 The Message (MSG) "But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!" 

There is no change in God. He is love. His very character is LOVE! That love is why he made us, why he loved us despite our fallen natures, and why, he redeemed us and called us His own. 

When we truly understand God’s love, we become free. Real love allowed my husband to forgive me. Real love healed our marriage. Real love stays through the hard times. Real love serves. Let the love of God lift you, let God grow your capacity to love. Real love is in action: it is a verb. Real love acts on behalf of its target, and reflects kindness and patience back at its intended. 

Love God because He first loved us, and love your neighbor as yourself: this is all God says is required: LOVE! 

Apply this definition of love to your marriage and watch it grow in richness, intimacy, and emotional satisfaction. These things are the natural bi-products of God’s love and goodness. When we love as He does, our whole life will change for the better. God gave you to one another, so honor Him with your love toward and for one another. 

Be blessed and be a blessing and remember LOVE IS A VERB!

Real Love: the Lyrics Matter!

We will be looking at what Real Love is tomorrow. Listen to the lyrics of this song. Real love does not mean living a fantasy-like love. Romance novels don't have any idea what real love is. Proverbs 14:12 says there is a way that seems right to man, but in the end it leads to death. 


The world sells a bill of goods about love, and the stuff of movies has built a false ideal and held that ideal out there like a dangling carrot. Women and men believe love is just a feeling, when Love is so much more. Let's let go of the fantasy and hold onto what is real!

This video is the property of Carl Dylan from South Africa. He is a singer-songwriter that performs in the U.S. You can find him on iTunes. No copyright infringement is intended.