Misunderstandings

God has a way of taking the things you think you have figured out and turning those things upside down – reminding you the whole time that He knows way more than you ever could. Just the sheer though of knowing and understanding what God does, brings on a headache. To often in my life I have placed my hope and trust in my own understanding and not God’s. For some reason just seeing that written down brings out the stupidity of that mind set. I make a proclamation that could forever change the course of my life. From this day forth I will live by God’s understanding and not my own. You would think that I would have come to this before now … well … so times I learn a little slower.

In 6 to 7 weeks I will be leaving everything I know for an adventure I know nothing about. Using God’s understanding as the ores, I am convinced that my boat will go further – I am not sure the water will be any smoother or the harbor any closer, but I know the boat will have a much stronger guiding.

Dusty Living

Jesus calls us to be his disciples, not a country club of
t-shirt wearing, card carrying members that remain within the safety of the church walls. The call of a disciple is one of selfless commitment. In Jesus’ day a disciple was a person that committed their life to more than simply knowing their Rabbi, but in essence becoming just like their Rabbi. When Jesus called out “come follow me,” he was using a common hebrew invitation which a Rabbi would extend to students of the Torah if he thought they could become like him. How amazing to think that Jesus calls disciples because he sees in us, more than we see in ourselves.

There was a common saying in Jesus’ day that came about after observing disciples follow their Rabbi around, “may you be covered in the dust of your Rabbi.” It’s my prayer that you and I follow Jesus so closely as to be covered with his dust. May all of our days be dusty.

Hello world!

This is my first venture into the world of wordpress and from what I can tell it is going to be a fun journey. Check back and check often as we embark on the journey of living life together.

A Child’s encouragement

Yesterday as I dropped Elle off at school, she was taking her time getting to the front seat of the car where she gets out. I was rushing her because we were in the car line and others were waiting behind me. We always pray before she leaves for school and one of the things we pray, is that she would be filled with love for others – however I never thought this meant me. She kissed me and jumped out of the car, turning she says “I love you daddy” and waves bye. As she walked down the hallway toward her classroom she sticks up the “I love you” sign and blows me another kiss. Driving away I know I am blessed. Once I reach the church and start getting my stuff out of the back seat, I notice that my note pad has some writing on it. My daughter, as quickly as possible, scratched out this little note:

“Dear Daddy,
I hope that you have a good day today. I love you.”

Such a simply thing and yet so impactful.

Sculpting me

It amazes me how God uses everything and I do mean everything as a tool by which to sculpt us. I’m not sure I like this process, but I do like the outcome. Bumps and bruises abound. Currently I feel must like the piece of marble out of which Michelangelo so majestically crafted “David.” The longer I live the more I am convinced that God created us as a block of stone with hidden potential. Through years, growth, lessons and life God partners with us to make some beautiful.

Tranquility

what is peace without conflict?
nothing more than sound sleep.

for if you remove the two from each other you have nothing to measure either by.

life would seem so sweet (or so we think) if conflict would die, but peace is merely … zzzzzzzzzz unless given something on which to lie.

happy endings are truly that for when the happily ever after begins the story is coming to and end.

without conflict, turmoil, or stress – peace doesn’t offer much rest.

Blades of Grass

I know this is prime information, but last night I cut my grass. Now, to the normal person that is nothing out of the ordinary, but for me it’s a modern day miracle. (Who said God is not still in the miracle business). This is the first time in almost ten years that I have mowed grass. To make matters even worse, I had to push mow the whole 1/4 acre. To be honest it wasn’t that terrible. I actually found it quite relaxing. My adventure in lawn care gave me a chance to slow my busy life to that of a low end, gas powered, single stroke John Deer push mower. While blades of grass flew through the air I found my mind wondering what God might be doing. On this warm spring evening might the crystal sea need dredging or the streets of gold need polishing, (is his concern up there or down here – or is there a difference). Or might he be in the middle of writing the opening concerto for tomorrow’s sunrise. I love the moments in my life when I can press pause and just admire the image on the screen. I need to learn to stop misplacing the remote. The smell of freshly cut grass, mixed in with scent of rain on the wind scream volumes about the God I love and worship. –Father may I never fail to find you in blades of grass.–