...rooted and grounded in love...

I write alot about trusting in the Lord's sovereignty.  I wish I could say that's because it's something I've finally gotten figured out.  In reality, it's because it's something I struggle with daily...even more now.  It's so easy to get on here and write about how important it is to rest in the Lord and the fact that He is completely in control of life.  It's quite another when to say that when He completely shakes up life beyond what you ever thought you wanted...
But I'm not the only person who's been in that situation....I'm not the only person who's ever felt that way.  In fact, though I like to play the martyr, the things the Lord has brought about in my life are nothing compared to some of the things others have dealt with.  Look at Paul, who faced imprisonments, shipwrecks, and eventual death...never once did he doubt the Lord or His sovereignty.  Or Joseph, who was imprisoned by his own brothers, yet later forgave them, saying that "the Lord meant it for good."  The list could go on to more current stories of Corrie ten Boom, Jim and Elisabeth Elliot, and even Matt Chandler.
So where does the strength come from to respond in sch a way?  I think there are several things that help a person to rest so fully in the Lord:  absolute faith and trust, the discipline to choose joy, the realization that life is not about me...
Along with all of those, I think that it is absolutely critical to completely rest in the love of the Lord:  that He would allow us to know Him, to bring Him glory, to make much of Him, and to find our deepest joy and delight in Him.  One of my favorite passages I have been reading in Ephesians is found in 3:17-19, "so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith--that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
Those words are so rich, and so true...Paul says that by being "rooted and grounded" in love of the Lord, we will be able to know that which surpasses all dimension, all possibility, all measure.  By completely establishing ourself in Him, we gain a glimpse of that which is beyond knowledge for most.  It is by knowing His love and resting in it--come what may--that we are able to be filled with all the fullness that He is.
Today, may you know the insurmountable love of the Lord, and may you be full beyond measure:  full enough to rest in Him without doubt...

...psalm 104...

Sometimes, we just don't learn things the first time...in fact, most of the time, we don't get things the first time :).  My kids and I have done countless lessons, only to have to turn around the next day and re-learn them again (and again, and again...). 

I can't get frustrated though...it's part of learning, in everything.  My list of lessons that I am learning, and having to review lately is long:  joy, delight in the Lord, embracing inadequacy, trusting process, faith, contentment...see what I mean?  One that I've had to review almost daily has been the sovereignty of the Lord.  He is above and over everything...it's His, for Him, to His glory (even my life, no matter how hard I try to hold onto it).

And yet there is such beauty in that.  Just read the words of Psalm 104 (I won't quote it, it's long).  The entire 35 verses are all about rejoicing in the Lord because He is over all creation.  Nothing happens without Him, nor is outside His design.  Things as small and minute as rays of light, things as huge as the sky and oceans and mountain ranges.  He gives purpose to everything and for everything:  His provision of food for all created things, the winds as His messenger, rocks as homes for badgers...His purpose is even seen in putting the whales to "play" in the seas.  Everything in all creation is because of Him, for Him, and works perfectly according to His plan.

When I read words like that, when I see their evidence even in the world around me, I can't help but rejoice at the sovereignty of my God.  Lord, let me trust my life to You...knowing that in Your hands is full purpose, provision, and joy.  (May it be a lesson that no longer needs review....)

A little Christmas *cheer*...

There truly is nothing like Christmas music.  I've been playing it every chance I get in my classroom...probably to the point that my kids are sick of it...:)  (Of course, they could be sick of it because I tell them that if they can't hear the music, they're too loud...and then I turn it down super low...evil, but it works!)  We've been singing carols at church, they're all over the radio...I even wake up singing them in the mornings...

I never can make up my mind which is my favorite.  Every year it changes.  Lately though (if I had to choose...), I would have to say that the one that most stirs my heart is "Hark, the Herald Angel Sings..."  It tells, in musical form, the beauty of the gospel, and the sheer joy with which the angels must have proclaimed the birth of Him who would bring the reconciliation of man to God and with His blood redeem us from the wrath we deserved.  The words are beautiful, and so powerful:

Hark the herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!
Peace on earth and mercy mild
God and sinners reconciled"
Joyful, all ye nations rise
Join the triumph of the skies
With the angelic host proclaim:
"Christ is born in Bethlehem"
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Christ by highest heav'n adored
Christ the everlasting Lord!
Late in time behold Him come
Offspring of a Virgin's womb
Veiled in flesh the Godhead see
Hail the incarnate Deity
Pleased as man with man to dwell
Jesus, our Emmanuel
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

Hail the heav'n-born Prince of Peace!
Hail the Son of Righteousness!
Light and life to all He brings
Ris'n with healing in His wings
Mild He lays His glory by
Born that man no more may die
Born to raise the sons of earth
Born to give them second birth
Hark! The herald angels sing
"Glory to the newborn King!"

My favorite words, however, are in the third verse:  "Mild He lays His glory by/Born that man no more may die".  It's a part of the Gospel we don't think about nearly often enough:  what a humbling, gracious, beautiful thing!  Jesus, the very Son of God, set aside all the glory He knew in the heavenly realms, the radiance, the praise, the majesty and chose to come here; to be born as a baby (which is in a whole other realm from God of the Universe...), to grow up and live as a man, that He alone might put His righteousness upon us by serving as the only perfect sacrifice.  And not only that, He did it mildly, with absolute humility and grace! 

The thought of such humility, such grace, holiness, love, and perfect, majestic redemption overwhelms my heart.  His sacrifice is our only hope.  I pray that today, your heart and mind might be overwhelmed with these truths and that you might find absolute delight and satisfaction in the One who mildly laid "His glory by". 

A revelation...in Pizza Hut...

Not the place you normally expect to hear a revealing word from the Lord, right??  But then again, who am I to limit anything He does or is...He is a God who knows no bounds...no limits. 

Several of our friends from Panfork came to see us this weekend...we got to celebrate Bekah's birthday :) as well as each other.  Saturday night some of us went to a local basketball game.  One thing you have to love about small towns is that it keeps you from taking a really long time deciding where to eat:  our options were pretty much Pizza Hut or Dairy Queen (pizza won :), if you can imagine that...:).

As we were sitting waiting for our food, a priest came in to pick up an order.  I'm not sure everything that was said, but the manager of the store ended up giving him everything for free.

My tendency is to be so cynical.  Immediately my mind began thinking of so many things:  is something like that done just to be nice?  Or is there the hope that it maybe pays off good for you in the long run?  Would managers be as quick to give something like that away to a homeless person with no way of buying their next meal?  How often do people dress up like that just to pull a scam?  My last thought was about the priest himself:  did he even thank the Lord for something like that, or just brush it off as a really nice thing?  Was he thankful that God had just provided his next meal...completely for free?

And then it hit me...not only had the Lord provided for that priest's meal, He had provided for mine as well.  No, it wasn't given for free, but the money to pay for it...there's no doubt it came from Him.  The jobs Kade and I have that He uses to provide us money...those are from Him.  The fact that we have hands and arms that get the pizza to our mouths, and senses to taste and enjoy it...that's not my doing, or anyone else's.  It's from God.

Yet how often do I truly thank Him...even for pizza?  Oh Lord...don't let me lose sight of the fact that all I have is from You...and is such an evidence of Your grace.  Teach me what it means to acknowledge that in everything...even pizza.

Prepared beforehand...

How much of my life do I waste on tomorrow?  Everything about our mindset has us trained to live and to strive for what is to come....we let ourselves dwell on the future:  hopes, dreams, questions, aspirations...I spend so much time yearning for tomorrow and what is to come that I lose the joy and the beauty of where I am right now.

Think about it:  so much of life is geared toward this.  Just make it to the weekend, to Christmas break, to payday, to the time when I've finally paid off my debt, to that job promotion I've been waiting on, to my house looking the way I want, to the jeans size I thought I would never get to...I am constantly living in a place in time that has not yet arrived.  So then, why do I give up so much working for it, desiring it, waiting for it...?

I'm not saying it's wrong to have a mindset that wisely looks ahead: stocking up on groceries, making sure there is some money in case of an emergency, working towards a new home...but what is wrong--sinful even--is to be consumed with that time, rather than enjoying a sense of peace and contentment.

If I truly believe that my God is sovreign, holy, and perfect, I have to believe that where He has me at right now is also perfect and good.  Every moment is indeed His perfect work in us, teaching us, molding us, shaping us, transforming us to be more of an image-bearer of His glory.  Paul says that "we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:4).  The beauty of where I am at right now is that it is perfectly designed, molded by my Creator, with a sovreign purpose.  Because of that, no dream of tomorrow--no matter how good--could be better.

Lord, let me see the beauty of Your work in me, right where I am...today.  Don't let me be deceived into thinking that I must always be pressing toward the next thing.  Teach me joy and contentment with what You have for me in this moment, and may it serve to transform me into a greater image of Your glory.  Thank you, Father, for Your perfect work in today.

My time in prison...

The majority of my time this weekend was spent in prison...

Together with about 65 other people, I trekked into the Clement's prison unit in Amarillo.  Our goal there was to bless with the love of Christ and to pass out a small gift:  a paper sack filled with an apple, an orange, a bar of soap, a bottle of shampoo, and a handful of peppermints.  How would you like to receive that for Christmas?  Believe me...it was worth gold...

You can't do something like that and not expect to be affected in some way.  I was...in every way.

Prison is nothing like what you see on the movies...it's grey, drab, and dreary.  It smells, the food is horrendous, you have nothing to do, and there's absolutely no privacy (unless you're in one of the super high security areas, and believe me, you don't want to be there...)  Even worse, you are slammed in the face every single second with the fact that you are bad, evil...no more than an "offender," less than a human being.  It's humiliating, degrading...and you can't escape it.  I cannot tell you how many men I watched try to wipe off their hand before they would shake mine...as if they had some vile disease of humanity that wasn't worthy of touch...I'm not saying that wrongs shouldn't be punished...and I know that some men there were guilty of some horrific wrongs...but beyond that, I was reminded of the fact that God never does that with me.  His grace and His love cover my sins with the weight of His glory...His sacrifice redeems me, and sanctifies me.  He promises to transform me...renew me...to make an image-bearer of His glory.  Oh God, thank you for Your grace!

Beyond that, my eyes were opened, and my heart humbled, so incredibly much.  As briefly as possible, I would love to share...

The humility of these men was astounding.  Never once did I hear any of the ones that I spent time with complain or gripe.  They held no bitterness about their situation or the bad treatment some of them got.  They humbly accepted it as their punishment, and bore it with grace.  God forgive me...how quick am I to gripe and complain the instant something doesn't go my way...expecting that I actually deserve that??

Beyond their humility, I was so blessed and challenged by the way they chose to completely GLORY in the Lord and fully rest in His sovreignty.  Over and over, they praised Him as good, as great, faithful and true.  So many of them had no doubt that He was in control (even when they were rejected for parole ten times...) and they loved Him regardless of their circumstances--simply because of who He is!

Oh Lord, what a challenge to me!  Teach me what it means to live with the same fervor and passion, to deeply rest in You as aboslutely sovreign, and to praise You in all things...

God, you are good...be with my brothers tonight.  May they know Your grace, peace, and love, even as they live in a place that is anything but...

But God...

I don't know that I have ever heard the gospel more clearly than in those two words.  They're everything:  purpose, hope, love, life...everything. 

I was reading this morning in Ephesians 2.  I had just finished chapter 1, which is full of hope in Christ, the promise of inheritance, and the beauty of redemption.  And then, in the very next chapter, the light and glory were gone (or, they seemed to be).  The first three verses tell me exactly what I am, and the picture is not very pretty.  I am guilty of sin, following after my own desires and wants, disobedient...it even goes so far to say that I was "dead" in my ways, that I was worthy of the very wrath of God...

Not exactly a feel good message is it?  It's not the kind of thing I like to hear, or even more, the kind of think I like to admit.  But I cannot deny it.  Try as I might, there is not good naturally within me.  I would be lying if I tried to believe there was.  Paul says that by my very nature, I deserve God's wrath, His anger, and I have no hope against it on my own, no matter what I do. 

And then, I kept reading...

The very next two words are everything...they bring joy and triumph, grace and hope.  In the midst of my hopelessness, my sin, and the deadness of my life, comes intervention..."But GOD...".  All of a sudden, the depth and darkness of all I am is covered with the light of His glory.  Divine intervention.  What I could not do, my God, my Savior, who is "rich in mercy" and who has a "great love, with which He loved us," makes a way.  The verses go on to say that HE, "even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us ALIVE together with Christ..." 

All of a sudden, hopelessness becomes hope...death becomes life...and the love of my Savior transforms me, a sinner who had chosen my own way, into an image bearer of His glory, as One who has a purpose, to make Him known, to delight in Him.

May the eyes of our heart be enlightened to know the hope to which He has called us...

...grace and peace...