Messy, marvelous ministry!

     A few of the boys playing basketball before Young Life Campaigners began last night.  The girls were inside talking... and eating Congo Squares--sounds like a good plan to me.

     Last night we hosted the last Young Life Campaigners meeting of the year at our house.  For those of you unfamiliar with this wonderful ministry, Young Life typically meets twice a week at high schoolers' homes.  "Club" (a big, fun, large group get-together to introduce kids to the Savior) moves around and meets at different homes during the year.  Campaigners (a bit smaller--a more in-depth Bible study) usually meets at the home of one of the seniors for the whole year.
     Anyway, the first semester another family hosted for us (thank you to the terrific Tylers!!) since Janie was still in the hospital and then recovering.  But we've had the privilege since Christmas to have the kids meet at our house on monday nights.  Our neighbors deserve sainthood as Campaigners always means tons of cars parked all over the place, loud teenagers, horns, laughter, busyness...  Our street has been a zoo on mondays.
     And so has our house.  Here are just a few of the shoes lined up in the hall during the meeting--

     If you could see a wider shot, you'd see cups of tea from Bojangles, wrappers from Moes, large cokes from Burger Fi and on and on.  It's pretty much a mess on mondays.  Lots of time trying to clean up, lots of effort trying to get the house ready and then open everything up for the kids who break into small groups after the big group sings.  These groups meet literally all over the house. My husband and youngest son and I usually end up back in our bedroom trying to stay out of their way so they can share their hearts and discover the One who loves them beyond all reason and longs to have a relationship with every single one of them.
     The point is--ministry is messy.  And time-consuming.  And often inconvenient.
     But boy, serving the Lord in any capacity gives so infinitely much more than it ever takes.  We simply can never out-give our extravagantly generous God.  All we do is provide the house.  The Young Life leaders are the heroes who provide the love and leading and time and listening ears.  They are amazing--these leaders have just as much to do as the rest of us, but they have chosen to pour their lives into the lives of high schoolers... who, incidentally are not always the easiest folks in the world to love!  I'm betting it's a bit like being a parent--toughest job you'll ever LOVE!
     (Below is just a tiny glimpse of the big group--there are way more kids crammed into the basement, but I couldn't begin to get all the various angles and other parts of the room in the picture.  But just a taste--and imagine the sound of teenagers making a joyful noise to the Lord!   It's a heavenly sound!)  

     So yes, mondays are a mess around here... but a beautiful, glorious, mess.  And I will really really miss the noise and inconvenience and honking cars and raucous laughter and loud voices that often extend far past our 5th grader's bedtime.  (And he'll miss the basketball!)
     Lord, forgive us when we get so wrapped up in our own agendas, our own comforts, our own material possessions that we fail to embrace and love You in the guise of a messy teenager... or a cranky preschooler... or a frustrated friend... or a tired store clerk.  You give us opportunities to splash Your living water all over those around us, but all too often we're too busy or too preoccupied or simply too selfish to love as You loved and serve as You served.
     Thank You for shoes in the hall... and cups on the table...  and honking cars in the driveway... and the inestimable privilege of having a small part in sharing the greatest news the world has ever or will ever know.  Forgive us when we forget.
     And remind us: You are always working and moving--wherever we are, You are there, ready to use us and work through us.  Wherever You've placed us, Father,  help us to be all there... for You.  Splashing Your life-giving water with joy and gratitude.  To God be the glory.
   
   

Lesser gods vs. One God

                                                   A little food for weekend thought:
      “The moment you have a self at all, there is a possibility of putting yourself first--wanting to be the centre--wanting to be God, in fact.  That was the sin of Satan: and that was the sin he taught the human race...What Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors was the idea that they could ‘be like gods’--could set up on their own as if they had created themselves--be their own masters--invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God.  And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history--money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery--the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.”  C.S. Lewis 
     "Whatever controls us is the Lord of our lives."  Tim Keller
     
     That is what we so often desperately seek, isn't it--some measure of happiness outside the realm and rule of Almighty God.  And that's our tendency--put ourselves first, at the center, and allow our desires to dictate our actions in pursuit of what we believe will bring us satisfaction and happiness.  But then it never ultimately does.  For we discover that which begins as the pursuit of our selfish desires inexorably controls and strangles our lives (and worse--the lives of those we love).  
     Only the pursuit of God, only the desire of His highest and greatest brings eternal, perfect, ultimate fulfillment and satisfaction.  As John Piper always says, "God is most glorified in us, when we are most satisfied in Him"--and to pursue Him above all else is to discover such satisfaction and joy.  
     O Father, help us to renounce all those lesser little gods born of our selfishness and selfish desire to control and instead enable us to fix our eyes upon You--the perfect, glorious, all satisfying, all worthy One.  Might we pursue You with every fiber of our being.  And, remarkably, in that pursuit, find the joy our hearts were after all along.   
     Might we wholly belong this day--and everyday--to only One God.  To God be the glory.    

Don't compare-Follow!

     "But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Phil.3:13-14)
     "Jesus said to him, 'If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you?  You follow Me.'" (John 21:22)
     These are Jesus' last recorded words in the Gospel of John.  Jesus had just revealed to Peter that he will one day die a martyr's death, but in response, Peter looks at John and asks Jesus, "what about him?"   Jesus' simple but profound answer: don't worry about him--"You follow Me."
     What a picture of our human nature, is it not?   How prone we are to compare! And nothing good ever comes out of comparisons.  Either we become puffed up with pride because we figure we're doing better than so and so or we fall prey to discouragement or envy because we assume we faring a bit worse.
     I've shared it innumerable times, but one of my very favorite quotes is from Mother Teresa: "All our troubles come from looking around rather than up."  Jesus tells Peter--and us--stop looking around at John or anybody else.  Just look up.  Follow Me.
     That's what it means to be a Christian--"to be a Christ follower."   We don't need to compare ourselves to Sally Supersaint or Nancy Ne're-do-well.  We need to stop worrying about what others are doing or not doing--we simply need to follow Jesus.  He's our model.  He's our guide.  He's our inspiration.  And He's our Savior and Enabler.  It's time we heed the words of Hebrews 12: stop looking around and start looking up and "fix our eyes upon Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith."
     When we follow another person or when we compare ourselves to anyone else, we're bound to grow discouraged, distracted, or discontented.  But when we follow Jesus, we'll find joy for our journey, strength for our souls, and peace for our perplexities.
     O brother, how prone we (or I) can be to forget this!  How easily we can slide into deadly comparisons and the accompanying stupor of either pride or discouragement.  But following Jesus never fails to bring encouragement, hope, purpose, peace, and joy.  And He is the only One with the power that enables us to actually follow Him in obedience.  All those lesser little gods of comparison we tend to run after--they never give, only take.  Never empower only diminish.
     So today, might we rejoice in our Savior who is leading the way and beckoning us to "Follow Me." O Lord Jesus, help us to press on toward the goal of following and loving You so that we might jettison our preoccupation with all lesser, inferior, and empty substitutes.
     Keep us fixed and following Jesus.  To God be the glory.

Remember

   
     I have always loved this Psalm 42.  It begins with the words, "As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God."  A deer panting for water is in a desperate state;  this creature has gone far beyond the need to assuage normal thirst and now is actually panting, desperate for hydration.
      And then the Psalmist declares, "My tears have become my food day and night,while they say to me all the day long, 'Where is your God?'  These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.  Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil against me?  Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God." (Ps.42:1-5)
     I just love that reminder--when we are struggling or feeling downhearted, we need to choose to put our hope in God.
     And we need to remember gratitude--"These things I remember..."  We remember God's never failing faithfulness to us in the past.  Boy, remembering is so important, isn't it?  We can be prone to such forgetful ingratitude.
     Just this morning, I was in the middle of an exercise class.  I had been thinking about all the senior girls who had spent the night at our house last night.  The seniors in Young Life have a tradition every year of going very very early in the morning (as in 4:30 a.m.) to the house of junior Young Life girls and waking them up!  So they spent the night at our house, so they'd be all ready to go early this morning (after a whopping one hour of sleep).  And they all wear crazy costumes.  The picture is from last year when the seniors did it with Janie.  Hilarious!

 They did leave quite a mess this morning--high school girls can eat prodigious amounts of food in the middle of the night.  But then, so can I (only during the day).  But as I thought about it, the Lord suddenly overwhelmed me with remembering His faithfulness.  "Emily, remember the blessings!   Remember what I have done!"  Tears sprang to my eyes, as I considered how close we had come to missing all of this.  How incredibly close we came to losing her... and all the joy of these girls... and senior year... and prom.... and daily life with homework and laundry and busy schedules of school... and seeing these kids come here to our home every monday night for Young Life and hearing their laughter and their songs lifted up to the Lord.
     O Lord Jesus, I prayed silently, thank You thank You thank You.  Thank you for reminding of all we almost missed but didn't--because of Your grace and Your power.  Thank You for the glorious beauty of messes made by teenagers!  Thank You for the busyness and sometimes the overwhelming craziness of life--good, bad, and indifferent.  Help me not to forget... but "these things I remember."
      But then I also love that this Psalm reminds us that when those times of dryness or discouragement or even despair come--when the healing doesn't come, when the house is silent--that's when we need to preach ourselves a sermon.  "Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God."  We tell ourselves, "Self, my hope is not in anything in this world; my hope is in Almighty God.  And with Him we always always always have an infinite source of hope.  Stop focusing on all these things you might feel are not right or disappointing or frustrating, and turn your focus to Him, your hope."
     For we "shall again praise Him"--don't you love that?  Maybe you can't pull up one iota of gratitude or praise or joy in your heart.  But you shall again one day... if you hope in Him.  I'll never forget what my wonderful Daddy said when our family was going through a really tough time--we had lost my mom and my dear aunt Janie, daddy had incurable cancer, and another dear family member had cancer.  "Well, we're going through a rough patch."  Yep, a patch.  Just a patch--not a prolonged siege, not an infinite unbroken line, but a patch... and you eventually come through patches to the other side.
     So today, I don't know if anyone else needed this reminder, but just in case you do--remember gratitude for God's past faithfulness.  Choose to turn away from your circumstances and remember the blessings.  If you can't think of any, just open your eyes and look outside!  And then, preach yourself a little sermon--I will hope in my glorious, all powerful, sovereign Lord.  He is my Hope and my Shield and my Rock.  And we shall again praise Him.
     For He is forever worthy.  To God be the glory.
   

My black eye--His beauty

                Christ alone,  Cornerstone
                Weak made strong,  in the Savior's love
                Through the storm,  He is Lord
                Lord of all.
     What a wonderful worship service we enjoyed yesterday at church!  One of those WOW days!  The words above are the chorus from one of the songs we sang.  It's a song by Hillsong called "Cornerstone."  Absolutely beautiful, with truth just pouring out of it.  And the sermon by our pastor, Leon Tucker, O my stars--wow, wow, wow!   Just one of those days you see God's glory splashed all over the place, and all you can do is humbly say, "Thank You, Father!"
     But for me, it sure didn't start out that way.  You see,  I tripped over a rolled up rug on saturday afternoon (so graceful) and broke my fall... with my face.  Never a great plan.  When I landed, I thought I had knocked out all my teeth.  Thankfully, I had not--though the jury's still out as to whether I may lose one of my big front teeth.  That would be a good look.
     However, it became apparent within about 5 minutes that I was going to be sporting a lovely black eye and fat lip for a while. Incidentally, I think some people pay good money for plastic surgeons to make their lips bigger.  Hmm, this has pretty much convinced me this would not be money well spent, as it doesn't look all that attractive... at least on me.  I've never been a big one for makeup, but now I really don't need to bother with it.  Who would notice a bit of mascara and blush amidst all this purple wreckage?
     The good news is that I got to attend the beautiful wedding of some of our dearest friends saturday night. Naturally I didn't feel at all self-conscious looking like a prize fighter who had just come out on the short end of the stick.  One of our good friends came up to me and simply said with mock seriousness, "Do you want me to talk to Richard [my husband] for you?"
     The even better news is that the black eye looked even worse for church the next morning than it did for the wedding.   geez.  I wish I had a better story to tell about how it happened--"I tripped over the rug" just sounds so lame.  Yeah, right.
     Okay, I know in the big scheme of things, this is so totally nothing.  Less than nothing.  But here's the thing, I was shocked to discover how self-conscious it made me.  I could tell strangers would walk by and do a subtle double take, and I admit, it made me feel... well, weird. I kept wanting to explain myself--"I promise, I haven't been in a fight..."   I'm ashamed to admit it, because, seriously, what does a little banged up face mean?  Zip.  Zero.  But still, it mattered enough to me that I was embarrassed... and then mortified that I was embarrassed!
      As we were singing worships songs at the beginning of church, it suddenly occurred to me that this was sin--this preoccupation with my scary appearance and what others thought of me.  We were singing,  "Fairest Lord Jesus," and I had to ask the Lord to forgive me. ("Fairest Lord Jesus"--proof positive, by the way, that the Lord has quite the sense of humor.)  It is His beauty that I am to be focusing upon, not mine (or actually, the lack thereof!).  He is the "fairest" one, and He is the One who is our satisfaction and joy and hope and peace.  What does it matter what others think of us--if the Almighty loves us, what need we to worry about or fear?  Whose applause, after all, are we really seeking ... man's or God's?
     Back to the song I first mentioned.  The words in the first verse are:
          My hope is built on nothing less
          Than Jesus' blood and righteousness
          I dare not trust the sweetest frame
          But wholly trust in Jesus' name.
     Yep, Lord, forgive me for so often trusting and placing my hope in the completely wrong things--from appearance to achievements to man's approval.  Our hope and joy is in Christ alone--our Cornerstone.  He makes the weak strong.  He is the Lord of all--through sun and storm and everything in between.
      So a little black eye and a fat lip have now become a reminder to me of the unfading beauty, grace, and glory of my Savior.  He is eternally good, and I am eternally grateful.  And if you run into me anytime soon, it's okay if you laugh.... I just hope it's a reminder to you--Christ alone, our Cornerstone.
     To God, our Cornerstone, our Lord and our fairest Lord Jesus, be all the glory.

Thank You for today

                                         A little food for weekend thought:
      "Worry is an old man with bended head, carrying a load of feathers that he thinks is lead."
                Corrie ten Boom
     From The Screwtape Letters, by C.S. Lewis:  Screwtape, the senior devil explains to his junior protege,  Wormwood, why it is so important to tempt humans to worry and not trust God: "There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barricading a human's mind against the Enemy.  He [God--for Screwtape, of course, God is the "Enemy"] wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them."
     "There are two days on my calendar: This day and that Day."  Martin Luther
     "This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it." (Ps.118:24)
     Thank You, Lord, for this day, this moment.  Forgive us for faithlessly looking ahead with worry and sometimes even dread.  Keep us grounded in the gift of this beautiful morning--with the song of the birds, the pink of the dogwoods, the sound of our child's laughter, the warmth of hot tea, the thump of our dog's happy tail, the sweet hug of our dear friend, the budding green that canopies the yard, and Your fresh, hot manna for us this day--Your never failing Word that revives and sustains us.
     Help us to rejoice in the gift of this day--our dearest friends' daughter's wedding--thank You Father for new love and new beginnings!  And dear Matt's birthday--a reminder of Your priceless gift of life.
     Yes, Lord, You know we have much to do--but You are already there and You have it all in Your nail-scarred, perfect and powerful hands.  We fully entrust ourselves, our tasks, our concerns, and our tomorrows to You.  Today, give us Your strength.  Give us Your love.  Give us Your peace. Give us Your grace.  Center our trust and hope in You.  And give us a glimpse of Your glory today.
     Keep us looking to You today--but ever mindful of our hope in "that Day" when You will return and make all things new and right and glorious. To You, our hope and our song, be all the glory.

Brick by brick...Today

     Hit a little wall late the other day.  Not a giant one--just a mini wall of dispiritedness: too much to do, too little energy, too much detritus littering not just the house but my heart.  Sometimes all we have to do can overwhelm us--especially when we refuse to hand it to the Father and instead try to shoulder all the load ourselves.  It can be a lot of little nit picky things along with a few major projects thrown in... and the next thing you know, we experience a vague sense of dread and exhaustion and discouragement.
      I woke up yesterday with the lingering and disheartening feeling that I was still way behind on all these projects (well, maybe generally behind in life) and just couldn't seem to make a dent. Couldn't seem to even get started to try to make a dent!
     And then I opened a little devotional book to read something to Peter before he left for school--the words may not have been for him, but they sure were for me.  O my, thank You, our ever faithful Father.
      David Jeremiah writes:
     "Thomas Carlyle labored with intensity on the first volume of a three-part study of the French Revolution.  He felt it could be his greatest work.  He loaned the manuscript to his friend John Stuart Mill to read, and Mill read it by the fire.  One morning the maid, cleaning the room and seeing the scattered pages on the floor,  threw them into the fire.  [My note to self--sounds like the kind of friend to whom you shouldn't loan your manuscript... scattered pages on the floor?  Geez!] When Carlyle learned his manuscript was burned to ash, he sank into an abysmal depression. Some time later, still desolate, he saw a brick mason through the window.  The man was standing on a scaffold, singing and whistling to himself as he built the wall of a house one brick at a time.  Watching him, Carlyle decided he would write his book again, one page at a time.  His history of the revolution became famous and he is remembered as one of Scotland's literary giants."
     Maybe nobody else needs to hear that today, but I certainly do.  We know all the old cliches about a journey of a thousand miles beginning with the first step, but sometimes we just need to reminded--it's brick by brick, stone by stone, step by step... starting now... with that first brick.  Stop looking ahead and fearing how the finished product may look.  Stop looking back and regretting that you didn't start yesterday.  Stop looking at those past failures and despairing that you'll never get it right.
     Just start building today.  I couldn't help but think of a couple of verses from Hebrews 3: "Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion" (v.7)  And "But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called 'today,' that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin." (v.13)
     It's been said that satan's favorite word is "Tomorrow," while Jesus' favorite word is "Today."
    "Today is the day of salvation."  (2 Cor.6:2)
     Start breaking that bad habit--today.  Start mending that difficult relationship--today.  Start that habit of reading God's Word--today.  Start facing that impossible problem one brick at a time--today.  Start obeying what you know God is telling you--whether it's to love that sometimes unlovely person in your life or cleaning out the clutter in your home and your heart or just simply starting that project you can't seem to face... today... with that first brick.
     We can do it--one brick at a time.  We have the Master Bricklayer with us and beside us and before us and behind us and within us... and for us.   Always for us.  And always reminding us--look to Me, lay the burden upon Me, trust Me, see Me in this.  And start.  Today.
     To God--our eternally present and infinitely powerful I AM--be all the glory.
   

Will's inchworms

     "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims His handiwork.  Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard.  Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world." (Ps.19:1-4)
     Yesterday I enjoyed the privilege of watching our precious neighbor's 4 year old son, Will, go into paroxysms of excitement over inchworms.  Yes, over the tiny, lowly, insignificant inch worm.  These little worms are suddenly out in full force.  First the pollen, then the inchworm, I suppose.  Whenever we come inside from walking Moses, we're covered in them.  Tiny little green fellows inexorably inching their way to... well, who knows where they think they are headed.  But boy,  whenever they're going, these worms are moving with a vengeance.  They never quit and keep on squishing up into perfect little "n's" and then stretch back out again to the full length of their minuscule 1/8 bodies!
     I'm betting you just walked right by these relentless little guys.  Maybe you were like I was--brushing them away with irritation when you found them crawling up your pants and shirt and shoes.
     Well, no more!  Thanks to adorable Will, I now see them with newfound wonder.  Seriously, consider how remarkable these little fellows are--teensy, persevering, energetic, delicate, graceful.  What an example of never giving up!  And their bright green color really is quite pretty--great for hiding in the grass and shrubs but bright enough to locate on your clothing.  (And I hear green is actually the "it" color this season.  The fashion industry is waaaaay behind the Creator of the universe.)
     What a Lord we have!  Gigantic beyond our wildest imaginations as He created the far-flung galaxies.  Such distances we cannot even begin to fathom.  Yet intricate, detail-orientated, small enough to fashion the microscopic cells that form our bodies and all of matter.  And creatively artistic enough to design colorful fish swimming in the depths of the sea... and tiny, flexible, lime green, inchworms gracing our paths.  He didn't need to make inchworms--but He did... out of joy and out of a love to awe His children.
     He's always open for business, isn't He?  Ready to woo us, amaze us, love us, forgive us, and fill us with wonder.  Have you thanked Him today for your eyes that are reading these words?  Or your lungs that He fashioned that gave you that breath you just took... and that one... and that one?  Or the that nose that can smell the freshness and cleanness of spring?  Or the delicate dogwoods that grace your path on the way to work or school or chores?
      Or that inchworm?  Or that joyous perspective of a child that reminds us of the astounding wonder of this planet?
     Or your Savior who never gives up on you and will never fail you... even when you fail Him? Kind of like the inchworm--He will never ever quit on us!
     Thank You, Father, for blessing upon blessing... even those that we miss.  Give us eyes to see and savor the wonder and hearts that breath deep into the joy of being alive with You always at the helm.
     To God, the Creator and Sustainer and Redeemer and Wonder-Maker, be all the glory.

Members of the Resistance

                                             A little food for weekend thought:

     "Failures will be forgiven; it is acquiescence that is fatal, the permitted, regularized presence of an area in ourselves which we still claim for our own.  We may never, this side of death, drive the invader out of our territory, but we must be in the Resistance, not in the Vichy government.  And this, so far as I can yet see, must be begun each day.  Our morning prayer should be in the Imitation: Da hodie perfecte incipere--grant me to make an unflawed beginning today, for I have done nothing yet."
                        C.S. Lewis
      Lewis adds that we need to repeatedly, doggedly continue to renounce this all too easy spirit of acquiescence, of acceptance of our weaknesses and sin-prone tendencies.  It requires "the daily or hourly repeated exercises of my own will in renouncing this attitude, especially each morning, for it grows all over me like a new shell each night."
     Oftentimes, it's just so much easier to just shrug our shoulders and sigh, "Well, that's just the way I am" rather than fight the good fight, in the power of the Spirit, against our selfishness or laziness or pridefulness or greediness... or whatever our sin-prone area might be.  Sure we will sin; but, Lord, help us never to learn to love, or even just passively accept, that sin. As we remember You on the cross, might we resist hard and long against the incessant cry of our flesh.  "..for He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world." (I John 4:4)
     Might we this week encounter the enemy--satan and sin--as members of the Resistance... and not weak-willed Vichy compromisers.  Help us, Father, to fight the good fight of faith... all the while knowing that You have already won the War.   To God be the glory.

Healthy eyes... happy lives!

     In the category of, "I"m not taking this for granted anymore... or at least today": My EYES!
     Mercy, I somehow managed to get my contact lens stuck way over in the side of my eye.  I tried and tried to get it out, but all to no avail.  And the more I tried to dislodge that pesky lens, the more it hurt and the more uncomfortable I grew.  Good grief--I had just put it in a few minutes earlier, but who knew one tiny, flimsy, nearly invisible lens could so mess up your whole morning?!
      I finally had to call the optician in desperation. How embarrassing.  But praise God, they were able to get it out within seconds.  I could have hugged everyone in the office!  Sweet, blessed relief.
      So thank You Lord for eyes... forgive me for forgetting to be thankful for this old pair of mine that enable me to see this gorgeous planet... and my loved ones... and books... and the Word (and Moses--can't forget him!).  And thank You for glasses and lens that correct our faulty vision so that we can see that which we cannot see!  And, goodness, thank You for eye doctors and opticians!
     This all reminded me of how many verses deal with our eyes.  But just two right here: "The hearing ear and the seeing eye, the Lord has made them both."  (Prov.20:12)  Gifts from His hand--have we thanked Him today?
     And secondly, "The eye is the lamp of the body.  So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light." (Mt.6:22)  Boy, I needed that reminder, because our perspective is so critical, isn't it?  Whenever I start viewing life through the myopic lens of my own agenda, my own circumstances, and my own selfishness (that's the bottom line--my selfishness), well, then, my eye is no longer healthy.  Our sin and preoccupation with self always thrust us into the darkness where we cannot see clearly and rightly.  And walking in the darkness always leads to fear, failure, fretting, and fault-finding in others.
     But when our eyes see through the lens of God's way and God's Word, everything changes.  O sure, the circumstances may not change.  The problems may not disappear.  But seeing through our Heavenly Father's eyes, we find a renewed and redeemed perspective and peace and power.  And we rediscover joy.
    And the two best ways to do this--gaze at Him in His Word and be grateful to Him for His gifts. Just as simple as that--His prescription for healthy eyes!
     Gazing at Jesus in His Word--you'll find your proper perspective return and your vision clear.
     Gratitude to Him for who He is, what He has done, and what He has given to you.  Salvation. Forgiveness. Redemption. Grace. Peace. Hope. Joy.   But also His common, but miraculous gifts, like eyes... or ears... or chocolate.  And then the gifts of friends and family... O my, I could be here all day!
     So today, let's gaze at Him and be restored.  Let's express our gratitude and be renewed.  Let's walk in His Light... with Him... and find joy.  To God be the glory.

Birds... and the Gospel

     Sorry, but one more picture from Curacao.  This bird visited us on our little porch every time we walked outside.  And we're talking--open the door and up he flew.  Our first morning there, I grabbed my Bible and pen and prepared to have a lovely, peaceful time enjoying God's creation on our porch overlooking the ocean.  But no sooner had I sat down than this guy charged up, practically staring me down (and you can't really see it in the picture, but he has huge eyes.  Seriously, it all took me back to that creepy movie about the birds from my childhood.  If you are not old enough to remember that horror film, be thankful!  If you are, well, then, sorry to remind you.)
     I've always loved birds.  What exquisite tiny packages of God's glory!  And Curacao overflowed with gorgeous birds--neon yellow ones, multi-colored ones, tiny graceful ones--but I must say, this little guy bordered on the psychotic. We really couldn't sit on our porch for fear of being pecked and hassled.
     All that being said, this just reminded me of the wonder of God's creation and one of my favorite quotes from Marin Luther: "God writes the gospel not in the Bible alone, but on trees and flowers and  clouds and stars."  Amen. Look around you right now and see the glory of God brilliantly displayed.
     Just yesterday, Peter ran in excitedly, shouting, "I just saw the first caterpillar of spring!"  The Gospel in a tiny, furry creature!  God transforms a lowly, crawling creature into a brilliant butterfly--but it must go through "death" in the cocoon.  How often do we miss it in our busyness?
     Or the buds on trees, the flowers beginning to bloom.  New life, rebirth all around us.  Wordless evidence of the Gospel!  And so common, so ordinary, that we (or I) tend to ignore it or pass it by without slowing down to praise the Author and Creator.
     So today, with a blanket of fresh yellow pollen covering our cars and streets and giving the world a slightly dirty haze, rather than complain about allergies, might we be reminded of the Gospel.  Given in blood, written in words... but also displayed in a springtime day.  Help us not to miss it, Lord.  Keep us grateful!  To God be the glory.

Our pain for His Peace

     Did I mention yesterday that re-entry can be rough?
     Well, just in case you missed it: O MY STARS re-entry is brutal!  Where are those endorphins we surely built up after all that resting in the sun, swimming in the impossibly blue water, reading wonderful books, and laughing and sharing with dear friends and family?  hmm, somehow, our vacation seems like a million miles away and a million years ago.
     But re-entry doesn't just rear it's ugly head only after vacations.  Noooo... how about after a hard-fought victory, or a mountain-top experience, or a marvelous break-through with an intractable problem, or a mending of a relationship. Anytime we feel like we have overcome or arrived or achieved or accomplished, well then, it's time to be prepared for the roller coaster of re-entry and the inevitable downhill plunge.
     And the result can be crippling discouragement.  Or doubt.  Maybe even despair.  We forget all about the glorious mountain top we've just enjoyed when plunged into John Bunyan's "Valley of Despond."
     Gracious, how quickly we can lose perspective. Just today, it was a disappointing test result for one of my children who had missed four days of school to go on our wonderful trip.  Sure, it was worth it.  We said over and over and over again how thrilled we were that we decided to take him.  We went on and on about how we'd all never forget this marvelous time together.
     But then, mercy, here comes re-entry.  Bless his heart--our son's been trying so hard to catch back up, but he has multiple tests, make-up work, a project to present, and all on top of having missed critical days of school.  And I can feel the tension and fear mounting--both in his little heart as well as in mine. He suffered deep disappointment, and well, mama just suffered.
      Because here's the sad truth: our (or at least my) default mode is not worship but worry.  Not trusting faith but fear.  Not overflowing gratitude but overwhelmed grumbling.  And not hoping in Christ but hurting in our circumstances.
     Boy, I am such an incurably slow learner, but at least I've finally figured out that rather than marinate in my worries,  I need to soak in His Word.  So I opened His never-failing Word to the chapter we are studying this week in Bible study, John 20.  And this is what I read: "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.'  When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.  Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you.  As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you." (John 20:19-21)
     "Peace be with you"--the first words out of His mouth to the disciples.  And He repeats it again... and again when He appears to the disciples and "doubting" Thomas eight days later: "Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.'  Then He said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side.  Do not disbelieve but believe." (John 20:26-27)
     And I think back to John 16:33-34, right before His crucifixion, when Jesus declared "I have said these things to you, that in Me you may have peace.  In the world you will have tribulation.  But take heart;  I have overcome the world."
     We can have peace, because Jesus stands among us and within us.  He gives His peace and He is our peace.  The world may be falling apart around you, life may be out of control,  but if the Prince of Peace resides in you, you have peace.  Perfect supernatural peace that the world cannot give and does not know.
      Because His peace comes from who He is and what He did.  It struck me that both times Jesus commands peace be with the disciples, and then He immediately shows them His wounded hands and side.  His peace is associated with His wounds, with His death on the cross for us.
    "With His wounds we are healed," the prophet Isaiah tells us.
     His wounds for our worry.  His stripes for our sorrow.  His piercing for our pain.
     And so we have the choice--worry and fret and wallow in our disappointments... or hand Him our fears and have faith that He is sufficient for anything and everything we will ever face.  Give Him our disappointments and trust that He who overcame the world will enable us to overcome as well.  Exchange our pity-parties for praise-parties of the One who died for our sin and who is now, even at this very moment, ALIVE.  Just as alive at this day and hour and year as He was with the disciples 2000 years ago--the eternal "I Am."  And our eternal I Am is our Prince of Peace.
     So re-entry or not, mountain-top or valley--He is risen, He is able, He is eternally worthy... and He is our perfect Peace.  To God, our Prince of Peace, be the glory.
   

Behold...and remember

     Re-entry after a vacation is for the birds.  Seriously.  Trying to return and adjust to a schedule and schoolwork and chores and busyness... sigh.  I feel like I'm trying to run through deep, soft sand and making precious little progress.  Mercy, this is discouraging.
     So here's what I had to do: refocus.  Like putting on my reading glasses that miraculously transform a bunch of indecipherable lines and dots into legible words that I can actually read and comprehend.  I had to force my restless, overwhelmed self to cease striving and fussing and sit down with the Word. Rest with the very Breath of God in my lap and glimpse His sufficiency and His power and His glory.
     We're reading John 19 in Bible study.  And today these words stopped me in my tracks: "Behold the man!"  Pilate had brought Jesus out before the bloodthirsty mob.  The Savior--beaten, bloodied, bruised from the scourging, a crown of thorns jammed into His head--stands before the crowd.  Sinners, just like me, screaming "Crucify Him!"  And Pilate demands, "Behold the man!"
     Did they behold?  Did they look?  Did they consider?  Did they dream what Jesus had come to do--die for them?  Die for their selfishness and pride and bigotry and ingratitude and jealousy... and mine.
     Do we behold?  Because when we turn our eyes away from ourselves, away from our problems, away from our annoyances, away from our entitlements... and behold Him, we cannot help but be changed.  Love does that.  Grace does that.
     Our circumstances may not change one iota, but if we truly behold Jesus, if we gaze at Him in His Word,  we are transformed.
     In beholding Him, I see afresh my sins nailed to His cross.  I see my failures and weaknesses covered by His blood.  And I see that divine exchange of my sin for His righteousness--ashes for beauty, cross for a crown, forsaken for forgiven.  As Scottie Smith prayed, "Because You were fully forsaken, I am forever forgiven.  Because You exhausted God's judgment against my foul sin, I now live by the gift of  Your perfect righteousness.  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!"
     Sometimes we forget, don't we?  Or at least I do.  In the midst of the mundane and muck and mire of life, we tend to lose sight of the glorious message of the Gospel.
     We stop beholding the God-Man.
     But as Luther once said, we need the basics of the gospel everyday because we forget the Gospel everyday. And so daily, we need to behold the God-Man and remember.  Remember the price paid for our sins.  And remember that price paid it all... forgiven... forever.  Done.  How can I complain?!
     As Stephen Curtis Chapman once sang--we need to "remember our chains... and remember our chains are gone."  Help us not to forget, Father.  Keep us beholding You.  To God be the glory.

Curacao moments... sort of

     Greetings from Curacao!
     ...well, actually, we are now all back in the good old "North State," so greetings from Raleigh!   This was us in Curacao the night before last.  I could not get the internet to work in Curacao for love nor money (as my mom used to say), so I'm just going to imagine that I'm writing this with the backdrop of the sound of the ocean breezes and the smell of the salt air.  Goodness gracious, it was wonderful.  I think I could be a much nicer person if I could enjoy weather and beauty like that all the time.  Well, either that or be able to eat unlimited chocolate.
       This is one of my favorite pictures from the beach with all of the Jones children and our crew (except Mary Norris who was engrossed in a book).  The bathing beauty being held aloft is Peter with a pina colada (nonalcoholic, just in case you're wondering).  This was just one of many moments that I wanted to freeze and sear in my memory--
   

Here's one of the girls as we waited in the Gazebo for our nightly dessert: some variation of cake (most of us went for God's crowning culinary achievement--chocolate, of course--but there were some cheesecake and tiramisu hold outs as well), but this must always be accompanied by multiple scoops of cocoanut ice cream.  As Lisa Jones told the waiter our last night: "Just bring us the whole tub and we'll let you know when we've had enough."  Tessa is on the far left.  To think where we were 7 months ago. Lord, You are a God of miracles.

The dads reading and chatting in the shade.  I think they could be a on a "Life is Good" tee shirt.

One more-- a few good men... and lookin' good to boot!   

I apologize for so many pictures, but, boy, it's fun to relive these moments.  We never do much of anything for spring break, so this was such a fun privilege to go as a kind of celebration to the Lord for helping and healing our girls.  

There were so many occasions during the trip that I thought, Lord, how could we have ever begun to dream 7 months ago where we would be today.  Sitting in that ICU room with Janie, (and the Joneses with Tessa) so much fear, so much sorrow... and yet so much certainty that God was right there with us in that room.  We knew He was with us and for us, even then, especially then, and knew He was sustaining us and carrying us as His people prayed.  O thank You, Lord, for their prayers! 

But to think God has brought us so far--to this place, to Curacao, to healing, to hope, and now to home.  There were so many moments when we'd be just walking or sitting or reading or watching the kids or eating ice cream or simply feeling the breezes when it would just hit you: this moment, this moment right now is so precious, so beautiful.  How I wanted to hold onto each of those moments forever. 

Of course, we cannot hold onto them... but we can hold onto the God of those moments.

And we can live those moments fully by truly seeing them as gifts from the Father--each little moment a tiny wrapped package from our extravagantly generous Father.  It's so easy to just let them slip by-- unnoticed because they are unannounced.  No one shouting:" This is it!  This is life! This is overflowing with the goodness and glory of God! Do you see?  Do you feel it?  Don't miss it!"

But we so often do.  In our hurry and worry and focus on tomorrow and the next thing to be done or seen, we miss the precious present.  The small, seemingly insignificant but astoundingly beautiful moments to be treasured with those we love, with life, with creation.  

The smell of salt air.  The taste of creamy ice cream.  The sound of your loved one's laughter.  The joy of watching your child reading a book or running to the water.  The savoring of friendship.  The peaceful beauty of a setting sun.  The symphony of birds in the early morning.  The feel of steamy hot water in the shower.  The knowledge of God's presence... the honor, the privilege, the joy of His presence in every single one of those "small" but ultimately huge moments.  

And we wouldn't be able to appreciate how grand, how glorious these moments truly are if we did not also experience those moments in the valley.  None of us has a "Get out of pain free" card in life.  None of us.  And that, too, ultimately is a gift.  For without those valleys, we could not comprehend the glory of the mountain. And without those valleys, we could not know our Lord as deeply and dearly. And without those valleys, we could not experience the settled joy of walking with our Good Shepherd through the "valley of the shadow of death" and seeing He will get us through to the other side to the green pastures and clear streams.  

So, I guess this is just a huge thank You to God.  Really, can we ever begin to say thank You enough? Of course not!  But why don't we try--just for a moment.  For this moment.  Each irreplaceable moment of the precious present.  After all, that is the only moment God gives us--this moment right now. And He is "I Am" eternally present and powerful with us in this present moment. Might we rejoice in Him--whether we are walking through the valley or whether we are enjoying green pasture.  For He is always enough.  To God be the glory.

Easter in Curacao!

     Curacao.   aka heaven on earth.
     We're here with the Jones family for spring break and having a ball.  Upper 80's, breeze always blowing, and the bluest water I've ever seen.  We've done nothing but sit on the beach, swim and snorkel, eat, play games, read, and just generally relax and enjoy the glories of God's creation.  Internet is spotty at best, so this is a wild guess as to whether this actually goes through or not.  But if it does: Happy Easter!   He is risen!  More pictures to follow, Lord willing, but just a few brief thoughts I had the other day about Easter--
    The nation of England stood on edge.  What would happen in the critical and climatic battle of Waterloo?  There were no TV’s or radios or cell phones or computers, so the people waited to learn the fate of the great British general, Wellington, as he faced Napoleon.  Wellington’s fate would be their fate, and the people waited.

A signalman was placed on the top of Winchester Cathedral with instructions to continually watch the sea. When he received the message, he was to pass that message on to another man on a hill.  That man would pass it to another and so on until the news of the battle finally reached London and then across England.  

Eventually a ship was sighted through the thick fog of the English Channel.   The signalman on board sent the first word--”Wellington.”  The next word was sent--”defeated.”  Then the fog moved in again and blocked the ship from view.  “Wellington defeated!”  The message was sent across England, and despair and gloom descended across the countryside.  

But after two or three hours, the fog lifted. The message was not finished.  And the signal came again: “Wellington defeated the enemy!”  As the word spread, England revived and rejoiced.  

Is that not the story of Easter?  The message of the cross seemed to be--”Christ defeated.” 

Satan wins, and Christ’s defeat spelled our certain defeat.  Our fate is determined by His, and sin and death and despair have won.  End of story.

But after three days, the fog lifted... and the tomb was empty.  The message was not finished and the signal comes again, ringing words by the angel--”He is not dead!  Come see the place where they laid Him. He is risen, just as He said!”  “Christ has defeated the enemy,” and we are saved.  Forever.

“It is finished” was His cry on the cross.  And so it is.  That is the end of the story--because “it is finished,” we are not.  Not ever.  Because Christ finished the work of paying for our sins on the cross, because He died in our place, and because He rose from the dead, defeating the enemy of sin and death and satan.

And because “it is finished”--we are not.  We can never fall too deeply that He cannot lift us up and redeem us.  We can never run too far that He cannot find us and bring us home.  We can never fail too greatly that He cannot redeem even the worst failures and use them for good. We cannot become too entrapped in destructive habits or addictions that He cannot free us.  We cannot become too hopeless and hapless that He cannot bring recovery and restore hope. There is no pit too deep, no situation too desperate, no gap too wide, that His power and love are not deeper and greater and wider still.

Because Christ said “it is finished”--we are not.  Not ever. 

Might our lives ring with the reality of the words, “It is finished” and “He is risen!” Our salvation, our hope and our joy in a Roman cross and an empty tomb.  

He is risen!  He is risen indeed! 

To God, the Author and Finisher of our Salvation, be all the glory.