My girl friend Sabrina was telling me that when she heard her son had been in another car accident, her initial response was to see if it was his fault rather than if he had been injured. We laughed.
Only a parent who has insured teenager drivers (in our house multiple) can understand what another car accident does to the family insurance premiums. At one time we insured 7 cars and were pretty much brought to tears when one of the bunch was involved in any traffic violation.
Sabrina's comments made me chuckle as I remembered that just this year one of my children (who shall remain nameless) was involved in 3 car accidents. The only other parent I know at the moment who experiences this kind of Brady Bunch stress, is God.
When I am rolling my eyes, because my kids have done one more ridiculous thing, God says, "Not so fast!" It's easy to be smug when we're all grown up and think we're on the other side of stupidity, until God reminds us of a current stupid act or two of our own.
Its good to remember that we are totally out classed when it comes to God's parenting skills. He clearly has the most stress inducing job dealing with some of His over grown teenagers.
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
Monday, May 19, 2008
Magnificent Temples
Ever since Adam and Eve were ushered out of the Garden and sin entered the world the earth has been a construction zone. God’s story tells the history of His continuous work to build a temple where He could dwell.
After luxurious temples were built, God still longed to dwell more intimately with man, so He sent Jesus as the payment for our sin, which separated us from God. Jesus became the bridge to God and man. Through His indwelling in our hearts we’ve become the magnificent temple where God chooses to dwell. Isn't that mind boggling? But did you ever think that the same construction work that went on to build and rebuild the ancient temples of God still goes on spiritually in us today?
After the Israelites 70 years of captivity, Nehemiah was called to birth God’s vision and rebuild the broken down temple. However, a nemesis named Sanballat set out to thwart God’s work. He tormented the people day and night saying, “What are these feeble people doing? Can they make something out of what’s useless?” He and his cohorts made it their ambition to mock and demoralize the builders.
Sanballat conspired to attack the weakest parts, but Nehemiah and the people prayed to God and set up guard day and night. They stationed men at the lowest and most exposed areas of the wall. The workers held weapons, even when they gathered water and stationed a man to blow the trumpet when one area was being assaulted, so they could furnish aid to those in need.
Sometimes we forget in the building process that we have a nemesis bent on thwarting God’s vision for our lives, making it necessary to be armed and ready at all times with the sword of the spirit, the word of God and each other.
I wrote this Saturday morning and then yesterday heard a similar text about the rebuilding of broken down areas in our lives at church and heard the song, His Eye is On the Sparrow, after my last post. Isn't in amazing that God so longs to dwell with us that His eye truly is upon the sparrow, as He watches our every move and participates in our lives. Remember if you feel alone, you aren't. He's watching you!
After luxurious temples were built, God still longed to dwell more intimately with man, so He sent Jesus as the payment for our sin, which separated us from God. Jesus became the bridge to God and man. Through His indwelling in our hearts we’ve become the magnificent temple where God chooses to dwell. Isn't that mind boggling? But did you ever think that the same construction work that went on to build and rebuild the ancient temples of God still goes on spiritually in us today?
After the Israelites 70 years of captivity, Nehemiah was called to birth God’s vision and rebuild the broken down temple. However, a nemesis named Sanballat set out to thwart God’s work. He tormented the people day and night saying, “What are these feeble people doing? Can they make something out of what’s useless?” He and his cohorts made it their ambition to mock and demoralize the builders.
Sanballat conspired to attack the weakest parts, but Nehemiah and the people prayed to God and set up guard day and night. They stationed men at the lowest and most exposed areas of the wall. The workers held weapons, even when they gathered water and stationed a man to blow the trumpet when one area was being assaulted, so they could furnish aid to those in need.
Sometimes we forget in the building process that we have a nemesis bent on thwarting God’s vision for our lives, making it necessary to be armed and ready at all times with the sword of the spirit, the word of God and each other.
I wrote this Saturday morning and then yesterday heard a similar text about the rebuilding of broken down areas in our lives at church and heard the song, His Eye is On the Sparrow, after my last post. Isn't in amazing that God so longs to dwell with us that His eye truly is upon the sparrow, as He watches our every move and participates in our lives. Remember if you feel alone, you aren't. He's watching you!
Friday, May 16, 2008
His Eye Is On the Sparrow
Don’t you hate being judged, measured by some external performance, as if that was the some total of who you are? I do. Judgment pushes people away; contrarily unconditional love draws people in.
Maybe that is why the Lord made it a point to key in on the rule keeping Pharisees as they strained out the knat, but swallowed the camel, cleaned out the outside of the cup with their acts of righteousness, yet stayed satisfied while the inside was still filthy. They weren’t able to see beyond their judgments, because of the plank that was in their own eyes.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but isn’t it comforting to know that God looks at the heart. He never shuns, but woos. He longs to be gracious to us and have compassion on us. That’s what He said even to Israel in their rebellion.
Yesterday as I prayed for my kids I felt an intense sadness over their confusion, and being pulled in many directions, while I long to see them find fulfillment in Christ. The Lord feels the same heart break over His kids (mankind) as I do for my kids, yet He doesn’t point a boney finger in judgment. His heart breaks as He longs to sweep His kids up into His arms like a mother caring for her child.
Madeline L' Engle said, "If your going to care about the fall of the sparrow you can't pick and choose whose going to be the sparrow. It's everybody."
His perfect love gave His life for all of us fallen sparrows. How powerful is that? Judgment will never win a heart, love will.
Maybe that is why the Lord made it a point to key in on the rule keeping Pharisees as they strained out the knat, but swallowed the camel, cleaned out the outside of the cup with their acts of righteousness, yet stayed satisfied while the inside was still filthy. They weren’t able to see beyond their judgments, because of the plank that was in their own eyes.
Man looks at the outward appearance, but isn’t it comforting to know that God looks at the heart. He never shuns, but woos. He longs to be gracious to us and have compassion on us. That’s what He said even to Israel in their rebellion.
Yesterday as I prayed for my kids I felt an intense sadness over their confusion, and being pulled in many directions, while I long to see them find fulfillment in Christ. The Lord feels the same heart break over His kids (mankind) as I do for my kids, yet He doesn’t point a boney finger in judgment. His heart breaks as He longs to sweep His kids up into His arms like a mother caring for her child.
Madeline L' Engle said, "If your going to care about the fall of the sparrow you can't pick and choose whose going to be the sparrow. It's everybody."
His perfect love gave His life for all of us fallen sparrows. How powerful is that? Judgment will never win a heart, love will.
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
Magnificent Surprises
God knows that we would be terrified if He allowed us to see all of the battles that lay ahead in life all at once, so He leads us by the way of the wilderness, the way that seems so dreadfully long. If He let us see the giants ahead of time we would most certainly run and hide. Not only are we protected from seeing all of the giants that we may face, we also can’t see all of the tremendous surprised that await each of us around unknown bends in the road.
The difficulty that comes with the long route is staying focused and on track, because sometimes we take our eyes off of the Lord and forget that we are led like the Israelites in the wilderness. The Lord is the cloud that leads us by day and a fire in the darkest night that guides and illuminates our path. The only thing that will derail us is if we stop following the spirit, go our own way, or park ourselves and cease from moving. Yet, if we keep moving toward the things of God we will continually be surprised by our Father’s goodness.
After years on this long route, suddenly my heavenly Father surprised me and took me around an unforeseen bend in the road when out of the blue I sat on the couch this past weekend with my dad watching the fairytale movie, Enchanted. Most young girls watch fairy tales with their dad, but I never had that chance. I watched my father walk away when my parents divorced. Yet somehow all of these years later to my utter surprise, the Lord recreated the past.
I was even more surprised when my dad purchased a car for Chloe, my eighteen-year-old daughter, offered to drive with us to LA this summer where she will attend college and then this past weekend drove here on her graduation weekend to deliver the car.
After following the cloud all of these years, and having been exasperated by the route many times, I am still magnificently amazed by the Lord’s secret advances, and hidden surprises that pop out of the blue and captivate my attention as if I was on a wild roller coaster ride at Disney Land.
The difficulty that comes with the long route is staying focused and on track, because sometimes we take our eyes off of the Lord and forget that we are led like the Israelites in the wilderness. The Lord is the cloud that leads us by day and a fire in the darkest night that guides and illuminates our path. The only thing that will derail us is if we stop following the spirit, go our own way, or park ourselves and cease from moving. Yet, if we keep moving toward the things of God we will continually be surprised by our Father’s goodness.
After years on this long route, suddenly my heavenly Father surprised me and took me around an unforeseen bend in the road when out of the blue I sat on the couch this past weekend with my dad watching the fairytale movie, Enchanted. Most young girls watch fairy tales with their dad, but I never had that chance. I watched my father walk away when my parents divorced. Yet somehow all of these years later to my utter surprise, the Lord recreated the past.
I was even more surprised when my dad purchased a car for Chloe, my eighteen-year-old daughter, offered to drive with us to LA this summer where she will attend college and then this past weekend drove here on her graduation weekend to deliver the car.
After following the cloud all of these years, and having been exasperated by the route many times, I am still magnificently amazed by the Lord’s secret advances, and hidden surprises that pop out of the blue and captivate my attention as if I was on a wild roller coaster ride at Disney Land.
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
The Tubes Have Rolled Away
This morning I woke up from a comedic dream, laughing! In the dream I was in a meeting with a bunch of people I knew from the past, while I happened to be leaning up against a set of plastic drawers on rollers, the kind you can find in a college students room or that I use to store art and collaging supplies. Leaning up against the drawers were rolls and rolls of parchment scrolls covered over tubes like wrapping paper.
In the front of the room commanding all of the attention was a woman with big Texan style hair singing her tune. As I stood there slightly leaning up against the drawers, suddenly they started to roll away and the scrolls fell over onto me. I was sort of trapped, because if I moved they would have come crashing down making a huge spectacle.
Friends that were nearby laughed and we worked hard to contain ourselves and not breakout into a roar of laughter. Then a pastor-friend from the past came up from behind me as I explained what had happened. He smiled and said that he knew, everyone behind me saw it all take place. I joked and said, "The tubes are empty the drawers have rolled away," as in the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away!
The dream reminded me of a painful time and place, yet the laughter was evidence that it truly had been cleared away. All of the accounts that had been tabulated on those scrolls and measured against me, had no power, because the tubes were rolled away, the neatly gift-wrapped scrolls of insults, the entrapment and those that judged from the sidelines.
It's amazing how God can take something so painfully devastating and bring resurrection out of it. He can even make it into a comedy! I see the evidence of this by the mere fact that I am friends with some of the very people that hurt me so deeply.
There was a day when the pain was taken and rolled into something new, like the laughter that woke me out of my sleep this morning. The pain was turned into incredible joy as I awoke from my slumber and into a new life of purpose.
I chose to lay down the offenses of the injustices that had fallen on me, recorded in those documents, because Christ took them all upon Himself and rose out of those confining tubes. The drawers lined with accusations were rolled away and with His resurrection expertise He used each detail to compile a magnificient collage that trumpets His message.
In the front of the room commanding all of the attention was a woman with big Texan style hair singing her tune. As I stood there slightly leaning up against the drawers, suddenly they started to roll away and the scrolls fell over onto me. I was sort of trapped, because if I moved they would have come crashing down making a huge spectacle.
Friends that were nearby laughed and we worked hard to contain ourselves and not breakout into a roar of laughter. Then a pastor-friend from the past came up from behind me as I explained what had happened. He smiled and said that he knew, everyone behind me saw it all take place. I joked and said, "The tubes are empty the drawers have rolled away," as in the tomb is empty, the stone is rolled away!
The dream reminded me of a painful time and place, yet the laughter was evidence that it truly had been cleared away. All of the accounts that had been tabulated on those scrolls and measured against me, had no power, because the tubes were rolled away, the neatly gift-wrapped scrolls of insults, the entrapment and those that judged from the sidelines.
It's amazing how God can take something so painfully devastating and bring resurrection out of it. He can even make it into a comedy! I see the evidence of this by the mere fact that I am friends with some of the very people that hurt me so deeply.
There was a day when the pain was taken and rolled into something new, like the laughter that woke me out of my sleep this morning. The pain was turned into incredible joy as I awoke from my slumber and into a new life of purpose.
I chose to lay down the offenses of the injustices that had fallen on me, recorded in those documents, because Christ took them all upon Himself and rose out of those confining tubes. The drawers lined with accusations were rolled away and with His resurrection expertise He used each detail to compile a magnificient collage that trumpets His message.
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