The end of Mark 4 was the topic of community group this evening. Jesus sleeps on a pillow while his disciples bail water out of their ship sinking in a storm. How often do I sympathize with the disciples - feeling as though I serve a sleeping God, one who cares little what troubles His people.
I love Jesus' response: Why are you afraid? Do still have no faith?
Why am I afraid? When my proverbial ship is sinking, of what do I really fear? Regret, disappointment, loneliness? Afraid to be wrong or ignorant or lost?
Where is my faith? In the One True God, who knows all, is in all, and Who is working all things for the good of those who love Him. Fear not.
12 December 2012
11 December 2012
Toddler Christmas
Becca is two this Christmas. Our tree is bare on the bottom three feet, and ornaments still travel from the tree to the toy box. Christmas lights, Santa, and bright shiny decorations awe my little girl. It truly is magical!
Last month, we slimmed down the clutter and minimized Becca's books, toys, and clothes to what she uses regularly, and boy did it feel good! How did we acquire so much? Between chic-fil-a cows, toy glasses from my eye doctor, and too many presents from aunts and grandparents, we gave a garbage bag full to Good will, and split her clothes between a friend's daughter and my niece. The best part: Becca helped! She was excited to add to the give away pile, and exercised her personality to keep an occasional treasure.
We are prepared for Christmas. Becca has a new storage system in her closet so she can keep her toys organized and simplified. And we blessed other families by passing on nearly new toys and clothes!
Next step: make applesauce and cinnamon ornaments!
Last month, we slimmed down the clutter and minimized Becca's books, toys, and clothes to what she uses regularly, and boy did it feel good! How did we acquire so much? Between chic-fil-a cows, toy glasses from my eye doctor, and too many presents from aunts and grandparents, we gave a garbage bag full to Good will, and split her clothes between a friend's daughter and my niece. The best part: Becca helped! She was excited to add to the give away pile, and exercised her personality to keep an occasional treasure.
We are prepared for Christmas. Becca has a new storage system in her closet so she can keep her toys organized and simplified. And we blessed other families by passing on nearly new toys and clothes!
Next step: make applesauce and cinnamon ornaments!
03 October 2012
Faith and cars
They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength... Isaiah 40
I wrote the end of this chapter on our bathroom mirror, looking forward to a difficult weekend at work with my car in the shop. Drew has been in school and not working for a full year. Each time we got a bit ahead, something would go wrong. We would receive financial aid only to be told we did not qualify (and it was too late to set up a payment plan for a $1200 bill). But we did it. Drew finished! He is a real, bonafide nurse!
And what should happen, but my car breaks down.... They that wait on the Lord.... Yes, He will renew my strength. He'd better, because I have nothing left! I'm so over this season. I am so ready to not worry about how to pay my mortgage. We made it, with minimal debt and good credit scores... only to increase our credit card limit to pay for a new timing belt.
It gets deeper: I pick up my car to be told there is a large crack in the radiator, and the battery will not hold a charge so I need to be jumped to drive the car off the lot. ::Allow me to mention here that I know little to nothing about cars or about how completely wrong it is for a mechanic's shop to send a broken car home. They also charged me $50 more than was quoted to Drew. Can we say shady?:: Anyhow, we are almost there, at the edge of the season, about to pay everything off and save up to replace our cars BEFORE they break down, and our "reliable" car is dying.
We decided to sell my Mitsubishi and try to make it through the winter with our old Jeep. If you've ever owned a Jeep, they could make it to 300,000 miles, or they could blow up tomorrow. Ours is 12 years old with 140k. Drew loves cars and starts shopping around - but we cannot afford anything worth buying, and I am not willing to take on another payment at this point. We discuss the car with family and friends, seeking wisdom and advice.
BUT GOD. Oh yes, this is what you're waiting for.... But God showed up! Drew's aunt and uncle have the means and the heart to give us a car. Let me say that again: Aunt Laura and Uncle Vincent are giving us a 2006 Chevy Equinox. Whaaaaaaaat? Who does that? Who just gives their nephew and his wife a nice car with new tires, breaks, and struts (and leather heated seats, mind you!) But God. And this is our testimony all through school, too. Financial aid would be rescinded the week before our tax return came in. An unexpected bill would arrive, and work would call to see if I could work extra for crisis pay. Time and again, our needs have been taken care of.
I want to be that Aunt - and not just to my niece. I want to be the person who can help, who is aware and able to bless others. I pray as our finances change that we do not get carried away in what we "need," but rather that we are good stewards of God's gifts.
I wrote the end of this chapter on our bathroom mirror, looking forward to a difficult weekend at work with my car in the shop. Drew has been in school and not working for a full year. Each time we got a bit ahead, something would go wrong. We would receive financial aid only to be told we did not qualify (and it was too late to set up a payment plan for a $1200 bill). But we did it. Drew finished! He is a real, bonafide nurse!
And what should happen, but my car breaks down.... They that wait on the Lord.... Yes, He will renew my strength. He'd better, because I have nothing left! I'm so over this season. I am so ready to not worry about how to pay my mortgage. We made it, with minimal debt and good credit scores... only to increase our credit card limit to pay for a new timing belt.
It gets deeper: I pick up my car to be told there is a large crack in the radiator, and the battery will not hold a charge so I need to be jumped to drive the car off the lot. ::Allow me to mention here that I know little to nothing about cars or about how completely wrong it is for a mechanic's shop to send a broken car home. They also charged me $50 more than was quoted to Drew. Can we say shady?:: Anyhow, we are almost there, at the edge of the season, about to pay everything off and save up to replace our cars BEFORE they break down, and our "reliable" car is dying.
We decided to sell my Mitsubishi and try to make it through the winter with our old Jeep. If you've ever owned a Jeep, they could make it to 300,000 miles, or they could blow up tomorrow. Ours is 12 years old with 140k. Drew loves cars and starts shopping around - but we cannot afford anything worth buying, and I am not willing to take on another payment at this point. We discuss the car with family and friends, seeking wisdom and advice.
BUT GOD. Oh yes, this is what you're waiting for.... But God showed up! Drew's aunt and uncle have the means and the heart to give us a car. Let me say that again: Aunt Laura and Uncle Vincent are giving us a 2006 Chevy Equinox. Whaaaaaaaat? Who does that? Who just gives their nephew and his wife a nice car with new tires, breaks, and struts (and leather heated seats, mind you!) But God. And this is our testimony all through school, too. Financial aid would be rescinded the week before our tax return came in. An unexpected bill would arrive, and work would call to see if I could work extra for crisis pay. Time and again, our needs have been taken care of.
I want to be that Aunt - and not just to my niece. I want to be the person who can help, who is aware and able to bless others. I pray as our finances change that we do not get carried away in what we "need," but rather that we are good stewards of God's gifts.
12 July 2012
Fickle
I am fickle, changing my mind and goals and vision frequently. How many prayers have I sent up, then prayed for the opposite the next week? (The weather comes to mind here... It's too hot, too cold, too dry, too rainy) God is simply God. He is, today, yesterday, tomorrow. I long to trust in Him, and to cling to the truth in His Word.
God is not fickle as I am. He is consistent and true. His goal and intention has not changed since the beginning of time, and He longs for His people to know and love Him.
Help me to trust in Your steadfastness, to hide in Your shelter and know Your goodness.
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34
God is not fickle as I am. He is consistent and true. His goal and intention has not changed since the beginning of time, and He longs for His people to know and love Him.
Help me to trust in Your steadfastness, to hide in Your shelter and know Your goodness.
Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:31-34
11 July 2012
Let it Rain!
Ask and you shall receive...
In a record-breaking HOT summer, today we have rain. A long, ground-soaking, steady rain. Praise God! I love the rain.
Drink it up!
In a record-breaking HOT summer, today we have rain. A long, ground-soaking, steady rain. Praise God! I love the rain.
Drink it up!
09 July 2012
Word=Faith=Prayer
A Praying Life. What does prayer look like? Each religion has some form of "prayer" ranging from set times each day to face Mecca and chant, meditation with an empty mind seeking a higher chakra, or just talking out loud to the "universe" in hopes that a Master/Creator/Deity in some form will hear.
In Christianity, one prays in faith - expecting that One God, who is above all and in all and loves all, hears and acts. I have prayed before. Faithfully, even, at least for a short time. But has He heard? Do I believe that He hears - and acts - whether or not I have evidence of His actions? I suppose if I did, I would pray.
I have been a Christian since I was very young. I still remember laying down for a nap - my childhood church's Easter play fresh on my mind. "Mommy, why did they kill Jesus?" And somehow it clicked. He had to die, so I could live. I live, because He died. Of course I would ask Him into my heart, to be my King, to trust and follow Him all my life. It just made sense. Oh to be young. Oh to trust without seeing. Oh to loose cynicism and skepticism and simply trust.
Some trust into adulthood. Some go through hell on earth, losing babies, struggling with a husband who denies Christ, and still trust. And I am the one who clings to all I know. He must be good, because I believed it once. He must listen and care, because he has cared for me.
If I am to believe (which I claim to do) that He will not give a stone when I ask for bread, what am I to do when I ask for a fish and hold in my hand a serpent? What then, God?
What keeps me from praying consistently and confidently? I do not trust God. Either He is all powerful and not loving, or He is all loving and not powerful. Because if He were all powerful and all loving, wouldn't life be much better? (Note: I am grateful for the life I have.)
In Christianity, one prays in faith - expecting that One God, who is above all and in all and loves all, hears and acts. I have prayed before. Faithfully, even, at least for a short time. But has He heard? Do I believe that He hears - and acts - whether or not I have evidence of His actions? I suppose if I did, I would pray.
I have been a Christian since I was very young. I still remember laying down for a nap - my childhood church's Easter play fresh on my mind. "Mommy, why did they kill Jesus?" And somehow it clicked. He had to die, so I could live. I live, because He died. Of course I would ask Him into my heart, to be my King, to trust and follow Him all my life. It just made sense. Oh to be young. Oh to trust without seeing. Oh to loose cynicism and skepticism and simply trust.
Some trust into adulthood. Some go through hell on earth, losing babies, struggling with a husband who denies Christ, and still trust. And I am the one who clings to all I know. He must be good, because I believed it once. He must listen and care, because he has cared for me.
If I am to believe (which I claim to do) that He will not give a stone when I ask for bread, what am I to do when I ask for a fish and hold in my hand a serpent? What then, God?
What keeps me from praying consistently and confidently? I do not trust God. Either He is all powerful and not loving, or He is all loving and not powerful. Because if He were all powerful and all loving, wouldn't life be much better? (Note: I am grateful for the life I have.)
27 February 2012
fresh strawberries
Genesis 3:14-21
The Lent Guide found on MDC Asheville's website prompts reflection on God's promises among the curses in this text. The greatest promise is in the form of a curse, only directed toward the serpent. God promises, from the moment of the fall, redemption. A man born of woman will crush the head of the serpent. Revenge is sweet, but this is not revenge. This is something much better: the difference between greenhouse-grown pesticide-treated watered-down strawberries, and berries you picked yourself from a local, organic farm. This is a promise from God that, one day, there will be no serpent. There will be no toil on the land, no pain in childbirth, no more curses or death.
In the meantime, by God's grace, there will be food grown from the earth (though it is bought with blood and sweat). Children will be born (through great pain). God will provide, even as He clothed Adam and Eve, He will provide for His people until the time of redemption. Until He beckons us to come and eat. Those who are thirsty, come to the waters. Come, buy wine and milk. Without money and without cost.
The Lent Guide found on MDC Asheville's website prompts reflection on God's promises among the curses in this text. The greatest promise is in the form of a curse, only directed toward the serpent. God promises, from the moment of the fall, redemption. A man born of woman will crush the head of the serpent. Revenge is sweet, but this is not revenge. This is something much better: the difference between greenhouse-grown pesticide-treated watered-down strawberries, and berries you picked yourself from a local, organic farm. This is a promise from God that, one day, there will be no serpent. There will be no toil on the land, no pain in childbirth, no more curses or death.
In the meantime, by God's grace, there will be food grown from the earth (though it is bought with blood and sweat). Children will be born (through great pain). God will provide, even as He clothed Adam and Eve, He will provide for His people until the time of redemption. Until He beckons us to come and eat. Those who are thirsty, come to the waters. Come, buy wine and milk. Without money and without cost.
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