Familiar

This morning as I read through Acts 9, the passages were familiar.  I've heard the story of Saul's conversion dozens of time, read and heard about God raising people from the dead more than I can remember.  Yet as I read the second half of this chapter, I was hit by the oddity and wonder of it: how incredible are the words on this page!  If some woman was proclaimed dead, then a traveling preacher prayed over her and said, "Tabitha, get up", and she did, why, it would be all over the news!  Everyone and their brother would know of this event.

Same with the previous story.  If there was an extremist person who was crashing planes into buildings or committing genocide in order to do away with Christianity, then suddenly became the next Billy Graham, we'd take notice.  We'd likely respond with wonder and awe, perhaps some skepticism as well.  

And yet I find myself reading unbelievable tales like this in my Bible as if they were as normal as the weather.  Oh yeah, God raised another person to life.  That's like the 12 time this week, right?  Oh, another person's life been completely transformed by the Gospel?  That's legit, but old hat; heard it a hundred times.  As we plunge into our Bibles, the stories become familiar; we forget the wonder of God's tale, loss the awe of holding in our hands the very Word of God.

LORD, please forgive us for not taking Your Word seriously.  Forgive us for allowing Your miraculous work in the world, both in ancient times and now, both globally and personally, from becoming routine.  Open our eyes again, Papa!  Give us eyes to see the world as You do.  Give us a passion for Your truth.  Send us with fire to go love the world, to see Your kingdom come and Your will be done.  Amen. 

GOAL!

 Anyone who knows me knows how driven I am.  If I create a goal, I'm going to strive for it with all of my being.  And while this has it's benefits, lately I've noticed that often I become so swept up in the destination that I miss the journey.  Worse, I become so consumed with my own plans that I miss what God has for me.  Whether it be a bike ride, a long run, finishing school, getting married, or serving in Africa, I simply want to be there, to be done with it already, to move onto the next think.  And in doing so, I miss the beauty that God's given me in today.  I miss what He has for me.  I miss opportunities to be salt and light for Him.

So I've done a dangerous thing: I've prayed that God would give me patience.  I've prayed that He would derail my plans that His will may be done.  I've prayed that He would empower me to surrender all to Him, to trust Him fully.  And while complete surrender is terrifying, giving it all to Christ is also the safest place to be, for our God does what He says He will do; our God is faithful.  True are His promises.  So LORD, I surrender all to You.  May Your will be done.  Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done.

Who is my neighbor?

 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?”

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied.“Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Luke 10

Last night after a scary incident with a neighbor, my eyes were opened to the truth of this tale.  Again, God humbled me.  Far too many times I'd passed by this neighbor, this child of the King of kings, my sister in Christ, without a word, without a smile, without even a passing glance.  Too many times I treated her as part of the background, going on with my busy life as if she didn't exist, as if she didn't matter.  When I was awoken to a frightening reality, I became very aware of her existence, of her realness.  And God humbled me.  He opened my eyes to see her as He does, His beloved daughter in need of His justice.  

And I wept for her.  I wept for her and for the others whom society (and I) simply walk right on by, for the one's whose cries of pain, whose shouts for justice, truth, and love, are responded to with a closing window.  

LORD, forgive us for ignoring Your children.  Forgive us for becoming so wound up in our agendas that we become blind to the people in our lives.  Forgive us for pridefully thinking of ourselves as better than, of our time too important for them.  Forgive us for ignoring the need of our brother and sister.  Forgive us for not loving as You love.  For God so loved the world that He sent His only Son... Papa, teach us to love like that!

He's got a plan

Camp a few weeks ago was challenging.  After an exhausting Wednesday, I was spending the evening talking with one of the campers about his struggle to listen to his counselors and what he thought we should do about that when I got a phone call from another counselor who informed me that somehow their devotions had turned to the topic of the rapture and now all of her girls were terrified that Jesus would come back that night and they would never see their families again.  Eish.  Uh... be right there?

I finished up with the camper I was with, then headed to the cabin.  I pulled the counselor out to get a better grasp on the situation.

"Okay, let's take a minute to pray about this, because honestly, I have no idea what to do here."

We prayed for words and wisdom, for God to move in these girls' hearts.  Then we went back into the cabin.

We asked the girls to gather on their beds, then I asked then what had happened.

"We were talking about Jesus coming back and stuff, and now we don't wanna sleep.  What if we never see our moms and dads again?"

I thought for a moment, then said, "Girls, you know that song we sing in rally, the one about God having a plan?"

"Yeah"

"Well, does that song say God has a plan for us?"

"Yeah."

"And do you think God's plans are good or bad?"

"Good?"

"Do you think we can trust God?"

"Yeah!"

The conversation continued; we spoke of how God has a plan for every one of us, of how He knows all of the hairs on our heads, of how He knows what's best for Him, of how His plans are greater than we can even imagine.  And before I knew it, the once scared and crying girls were giggling as grins crossed their face; the conversation ended with mention of flying with their dogs in Heaven someday,taking them up to play with Jesus.  And I felt an easy smile cross my face as well.  =)

As I left their cabin exhausted, I was humbled by God had chosen to use me that week, humbled by how He had empowered me to do things far beyond my own strength.  More so, I was humbled by His perfect plan for me: of how He'd yet again allowed me to serve at a place that I love, showing His kids how much He loves them.  Of His perfect plan of jobs and internships, of time overseas and close to home, of family changing and growing, of deep love, of healing, of challenges, of growth, of life-changing relationships, of schooling, of truth, of passion, of wonders greater than I can even imagine.  And again that easy smile spread across my face.  Join me in praising God for His perfect plan!

Calling all warriors

Please pray for Winding Creek camp as we welcome about 100 campers to NaCl Light Camp this week. Please pray that the counselors, staff, and campers would humbly seek God's love, truth, and justice. Pray that He would be our strength as we seek to reach the world for His name sake. Pray that He would empower us that we might empower others. Thanks!

A New Normal

As wedding plans continue, Tuck and I's next big step is trying to figure out catering.  In this process, we've been less than impressed with the vegetarian options that are out there, and surprisingly, this has been a bigger issue for Tuck (the carnivore in the relationship =)) then it has been for me.  A recent conversation on this issue went something like this:

S: "Tuck, it's okay; I can just eat the side dishes."

T: "No.  You're not going to have food you can't eat at your own wedding.  We'll find a veggie option."

S: "Babe, I'm used to it though; it's not a big deal."

T: "Just because you're used to it doesn't mean it's right."

Mmmm, truth right there.  Just because this is how life's always been, doesn't mean it's right, nor does it mean it has to continue that way.  Just because I've accepted a lifestyle as normal, doesn't mean it's just.  Yeah, I'm talking about more than just meat at this point.  =)  I'm continually amazed by God's perfect provision, by the gift of Tuck's compassion and protection, and with how God continues to patiently teach me.  And I'm excited to live a life in love, truth, and justice, if not in this world, then someday.  =)  To God be the glory, now and forever!

Have a blessed week!

If he is a demon, he must be a good one, for look at the beautiful place he's brought me.

"If he is a demon, he must be a good one, for look at the beautiful place he's brought me."

When I heard this quote while watching a movie the other day, it struck me: such a strange thought, associating demons with goodness!  And as I pondered the thought, I realized how often we believe this.  So often we give into the temptations of this world, we pursue the things that God has warned against, we believe this lie: "How could this thing be harmful when it's led me to such delight?  How could it bring devastation when it feels so good, so right?  How could a demon led me to such a beautiful place?"  The father of lies deceives his; the crafty one knows that, were we to see the results of our choices that God has forbidden, we would flee from them!  We would run hard away and straight into the arms of Jesus!  He knows, and so he deceives us into believing that the deadly brings life: surely premarital sex will enhance your future marriage; after all, you'll be more experienced.  Surely stealing from the company will give you the head start that you need; every fortune starts somewhere.  Surely taking your anger out on that driver will help you; after all, catharsis is good for you.  Satan is up to his same ol' tricks, promising the goodness of God only to deliver death.  It's what he's done since the Garden.