Who Am I?
Well, I started this blog with good intentions... I mean, I really was going to write in it at least once a week. The truth is, I've never really been good at journaling like a couple of friends I know. I've had all summer to write and I've chosen not to. BUT, while I've been quiet, I have been learning... A LOT.
I have a friend named Ben who recently published a book titled "Gambling with Grace". It challenges my way of thinking (and I'm only in chapter 8 right now!) What I've learned so far is simple really, but very complex at the same time: we live under a new covenant - the covenant of grace which replaced the law when Jesus sacrificed his very life for our own. "But thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" - 2 Corinthians 9:15. Why have I been trying to pray all the right things and keep all the commandments then? These are only commandments that condemn and take grace out of the equation. I no longer live under law, I don't have to earn God's favor. I can spend every day basking in the grace of my Savior! This relationship compels me to do good, not because I have to, but in response to His goodness. Thanks Ben.
Since my prayer life, and really the whole way I approach my Daddy, has changed, I have endured challenges. When God teaches you something new, be prepared to use it! The one event I'll focus on is the recent storm that wiped out our fence. I could use this time to tell you how grateful we should be that it was just our fence, and not our whole house, that was wiped away, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'll share a wake-up call that I received and am still receiving. We've been praying fervently for months that God would stir up the clouds and send desperately-needed rain. More recently, I've been praying that He would shock us, take us by surprise and even prove the meteorologists wrong. Not because they're arrogant in their weather predicting, but so that the world would know that, no matter what we think is going to happen, God can do something extraordinary. It's amazing that we've received so much rain this week - first on Monday accompanied by 80 mph winds and then on Tuesday with slightly milder winds. Now, Thursday morning, the day they said it would rain and then changed their minds a week ago, a total downpour.
OK, so what lesson did I learn? Any time you ask God for something He replies in one of three ways: yes, no or wait. (Wait is the most difficult by the way!) Finally, even though His timing is always perfect and never late, we received a HUGE "yes" in the form of rain, thunder, and, you guessed it, that blasted wind. My first response was thankfulness for the rain, but as we continued to survey the damage, the more I wanted to ask God why He couldn't have just sent the rain minus all the other stuff. We really could have just done without all that. I spent all day Tuesday confined to my house with two large puppies while the inside temperature soared to 89 degrees. But, while I was here with no electricity, my perspective began to change. The Lord began to soften my heart toward the puppies who would not behave on their leashes, tried to jump out of the garage window while balancing on the lip of a Rubbermaid tub, and stunk to high heaven.
While we were napping on the hardwood floor in the hallway, with Mac's head in my lap, I had a revelation: when storms come, why am I so quick to question God and so slow to run to Him and just rest? Oh, to have the faith of a puppy and find security in my Creator! Who am I to question why He chose to send rain in the form that it came? Or that I should expect blessings and not trials? The truth is, it wouldn't have required obedience or faith if the rain would have just trickled down. Instead, as we still face the insurance adjustor's assessment of all the damage and the check that we hope will cover all our pending expenses, our only option is to have faith. He is in control even when life seems a little out of control.
Relax - God's totally got this!
I have a friend named Ben who recently published a book titled "Gambling with Grace". It challenges my way of thinking (and I'm only in chapter 8 right now!) What I've learned so far is simple really, but very complex at the same time: we live under a new covenant - the covenant of grace which replaced the law when Jesus sacrificed his very life for our own. "But thanks be to God for His indescribable gift" - 2 Corinthians 9:15. Why have I been trying to pray all the right things and keep all the commandments then? These are only commandments that condemn and take grace out of the equation. I no longer live under law, I don't have to earn God's favor. I can spend every day basking in the grace of my Savior! This relationship compels me to do good, not because I have to, but in response to His goodness. Thanks Ben.
Since my prayer life, and really the whole way I approach my Daddy, has changed, I have endured challenges. When God teaches you something new, be prepared to use it! The one event I'll focus on is the recent storm that wiped out our fence. I could use this time to tell you how grateful we should be that it was just our fence, and not our whole house, that was wiped away, but I'm not going to. Instead, I'll share a wake-up call that I received and am still receiving. We've been praying fervently for months that God would stir up the clouds and send desperately-needed rain. More recently, I've been praying that He would shock us, take us by surprise and even prove the meteorologists wrong. Not because they're arrogant in their weather predicting, but so that the world would know that, no matter what we think is going to happen, God can do something extraordinary. It's amazing that we've received so much rain this week - first on Monday accompanied by 80 mph winds and then on Tuesday with slightly milder winds. Now, Thursday morning, the day they said it would rain and then changed their minds a week ago, a total downpour.
OK, so what lesson did I learn? Any time you ask God for something He replies in one of three ways: yes, no or wait. (Wait is the most difficult by the way!) Finally, even though His timing is always perfect and never late, we received a HUGE "yes" in the form of rain, thunder, and, you guessed it, that blasted wind. My first response was thankfulness for the rain, but as we continued to survey the damage, the more I wanted to ask God why He couldn't have just sent the rain minus all the other stuff. We really could have just done without all that. I spent all day Tuesday confined to my house with two large puppies while the inside temperature soared to 89 degrees. But, while I was here with no electricity, my perspective began to change. The Lord began to soften my heart toward the puppies who would not behave on their leashes, tried to jump out of the garage window while balancing on the lip of a Rubbermaid tub, and stunk to high heaven.
While we were napping on the hardwood floor in the hallway, with Mac's head in my lap, I had a revelation: when storms come, why am I so quick to question God and so slow to run to Him and just rest? Oh, to have the faith of a puppy and find security in my Creator! Who am I to question why He chose to send rain in the form that it came? Or that I should expect blessings and not trials? The truth is, it wouldn't have required obedience or faith if the rain would have just trickled down. Instead, as we still face the insurance adjustor's assessment of all the damage and the check that we hope will cover all our pending expenses, our only option is to have faith. He is in control even when life seems a little out of control.
Relax - God's totally got this!
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