June 9, 2021
About Miniphanies®
(not to be confused with mini-fannies😉)
Initially, “I had a Miniphany!” was something I said when I had an “ah-ha” moment. I thought all my brilliant little ideas didn’t quite deserve the title “epiphany.” That felt too big. Instead, they were mini-epiphanies. We all know mini means small, but really, what is an epiphany? Inspired by Merriam-Webster.com, (accessed June 8, 2021- I’ve noticed they changed it…) Epiphany is:
- The first manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles.
- An appearance or manifestation (of God).
- A usually sudden manifestation or perception of the essential nature or meaning of something (To see or perceive things differently in an instant- such as a stunning new revelation about God, life, or creation.)
- i.e. an intuitive grasp of reality through something usually simple and striking (Such as God loving the world so much that he sent Jesus to earth and show us how to live and lay down his life for his friends.)
- i.e. an illuminating discovery or realization
- a revealing scene or moment
Miniphanies® might feel small, but all the little details in life add up to really big things. A couple of good miniphanies®, and you’ll have a change in lifestyle. When you look for Jesus in your everyday life, you might find the goodness of God in an unexpected wildflower, or an encouraging text from a friend, or the bite of your favorite food. You might find the Spirit nudging you to be kind to a stranger, to take your reusable bag into the store, or asking you to pause for a minute and put down your phone so you can give your undivided attention to your loved one or a podcast or just be fully present in the moment. Any of those moments can be a miniphany, and all of them add up.
Those little moments when you’re fully present, when you’re in tune with your impact on the people around you, when you feel gratitude for the world around you, they will help open your eyes to the essential nature and deeper meaning of life. Those moments remind us how life should be lived in relationship with the God who created everything. They help us connect to our inner knowing and believe while these moments and things feel simple, they are not small.
The little things are actually big things.
When you first found Jesus, when he first manifested himself to you, you had the dictionary definition of an epiphany. But, he doesn’t stop revealing himself after that. He continues to reveal himself through all things, all the time. Every time he reveals himself and his ways, through you to others, through others to you, through creation to you, through the Word or the Spirit directly to your heart and mind, it’s an epiphany. Life is full of mini-epiphanies because the Lord is constantly revealing himself in all the little things.
All things were made through Him, and without Him was not any thing made that was made.
Matthew 22:37-39
But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
Jesus (in John 14:26)
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things.
Romans 11:36
Since God is in all things and created it all,
everything relates to and affects our relationship with him.
That means everything is spiritual.
So, everything in life matters.
How we live, matters.
What we say, what we think, what we buy, how we rest and work, who we partner with, who we don’t, how we love others, how we love ourselves, and how we pray… it all matters & it’s all spiritual.
Christian Spirituality
Many people are writing, speaking, and preaching about Christianity. You can’t really do that without teaching from the Bible and talking about God the Father, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and Jesus. (Please, we must return to the trinity… not just Jesus…) But the special sauce of Miniphanies® is the lens we look through. I’m not looking at Christianity through a religious lens. I’m looking at it as a way of life.
Christianity is the most fulfilling way to live life. In Acts, they literally called those in the early church followers of “the way” (See Acts 9:2, Acts 18:25-26, Acts 24:14.) Christian spirituality should be centered around how we live our lives. Religion can be ritualistic or meaningless obligations or habits based on tradition. But, Christianity should never be impersonal. Spirituality is personal and relationship-based. Christian spiritual living means living in such a way that the center of our lives is a transformative, intimate relationship with the living God. Rather than degrading our spiritual experience to center our lives around impersonal religious practices, our world is crying out for a return to something more meaningful. I believe the way to touch a meaningful, limitless, satisfying, overflowing life with God is to shift away from a set of rules to follow and focus on the greatest commandments:
Love the Lord your God
with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.
You shall love your neighbor as yourself.
On these two commandments depend all things.
See Matthew 22:37-39 & Mark 12:28-34
He Loved Us First
I’m inviting you into new hope and faith in the good news: that a big, ineffable God loves you, likes you, pursues you, and cares about every detail of your life. He wants you to walk, play, laugh, dream, and even wrestle with him through life. He wants to be involved in your every decision. He wants to serve you. (Isn’t that mind-blowing?)
Jesus loves you and died for you to be in unity with him. And he did this before you were born, before you could choose to love him in return, or not.
My desire is to connect you to all of these mini (and big) epiphanies. They might be simple revelations of how to love and be loved. They could be truth bombs centered around who God is; his goodness, his loving-kindness, his faithfulness, and his character. My hope is that all my Miniphanies® will inspire you to intentionally pursue a fulfilling spiritual life. I pray they will give you open eyes and open ears, to hear and know and see the Lord in all things. I don’t want you to just memorize scripture or just go to church. I want more for you than religion. I want you to meditate and chew on things that make you curious, joyful, and seek Him. I want you to absorb the Word so it is written on your heart. I want you to fall in love, and love God with all you are. It is not me… it’s God’s voice and his truth bombs and him revealing himself that will transform you from the inside out. I just pray he uses me as a vessle…
May Miniphanies® be used by the Lord to transform and heal and shape and sharpen you. May God speak to you in and through them. May they help you walk confidently into the fullness of who God created you to be and embrace the good life he preordained for you. May his will and his way will be revealed in his timing in your life. May the Lord bless you and keep you and make his face shine upon you and give you peace as we pursue constant growth and expand our God-boxes together. Amen.