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Father Love that Rescues

Posted in GOD, WONDER, tagged #fatherlovethatrescues, #godslove, #godspursuitofus, #laurendaigle, rescue on July 28, 2019| 2 Comments »

I have a great dad. He has been the best reflection of God the father that I could imagine, that I could need. Perfect? no, but perfect for me (one might think that was in the plans all along).

Recently hubby and I have been plowing through a show on Netflix called The Blacklist. We (and by ‘we’ I can at least confidently say ‘I’) are fully addicted. It is a violent crime drama that can leave one with might terrors. To give you a synopsis, without spoiling it, it is the story of an undercover FBI agency who, seek out the world’s most wanted, with the help of one who was the most wanted on the FBI list, himself (Red). He only works with one, brand new, inexperienced FBI agent (Lizzy). The parallel story to the crime fighting and criminal hunting is this relationship between Red and Lizzy and the mystery of Red’s need to be in her life. There is a hint to a parental connection, but …

Recently, as I was writing, the lyrics of a song were penetrating my concentration until I just had to stop writing and see those lyrics. To see them is to acknowledge that they are as we think we hear them, to acknowledge the truth of them. As I listened to the song Rescue (below) I had initially thought it is a song that should be used in an episode or season of the The Blacklist, for it’s message of one who, like a bodyguard, looks after those who they take full responsibility for.

Then …

I thought of our Father God, who does not slumber, but is always overseeing us, protecting us, rescuing us. We don’t even need to yell for help … just a whisper of SOS will bring his army to rescue us … even in the darkest night, the hardest fight.

CS Lewis, in his book Mere Christianity has said,

“His (God’s) love for us … is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.”

It is daunting to think that God is willing to wait for our SOS. For some, we come quietly to him, for others there is much kicking and screaming before we exhale in forfeit, maybe not even truly believing that rescue will come.

The idea that our Creator and Savior loves us throughout our lives, no matter the choices we make, the thoughts we think, the behaviors that we inflict on those around us … on ourselves is far beyond our human understanding. Add to that the fact that he took it to the point of the greatest self sacrifice … the sacrifice of his own child. That is God’s definition of Father love.

His pursuit of us is lifelong … that is the heart of our heavenly father. But he is a gentleman … and he will not force his ability and desire to rescue us, on us. We have to choose it.

Rescue – Lauren Daigle

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#differingisnothate

Posted in The Hubby, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #differingisnothate, #differingpointsofview, #loveoneanother on July 25, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Hubby and I … well, it is probably best said that opposites attract.

We have differing points of view on everything from coffee shops, to music, to movies, to politics, to child rearing, to chocolate (he says milk and I say dark). These different perspectives can leave us frustrated, angry and even with hurt feelings. What they don’t do is ignite hate for each other.

What we share together is far greater than on what we differ. Oh, the differing can be immensely challenging and even hurtful, but we share a life-guiding principle …

we love one another

The concept of loving one another came from the mouth and heart of Jesus, himself. It was while sitting around a table with his eleven (Judas had already stepped away … in more ways than just physically stepping away), that Jesus commanded them to love one another.

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:34-35)

This loving each other was as foreign a concept then, as it is now. Like today, when people eliminate or unfriend people who think differently than us, society in the time of Jesus was also more about about assimilation than about community or love.

The Matthew Henry Commentary (MHC), on this love one another passage says,

“Laws of revenge and retaliation were so much in vogue, and self-love had so much the ascendant (superiority), that the law of brotherly love was forgotten as obsolete and out of date; so that as it came from Christ new, it was new to the people.”

So when Jesus delivered this command (not a suggestion, but a command) it was counter culture, odd and new. It could have been dismissed completely had he not given them a model to follow … himself.

Jesus told them to love each other “as I have loved you.”

Each one sitting there, listening to him speak would know, by their experience and intimate knowledge of life with him, how high the bar was that Jesus had set for them.

As the MHC says, of his example of what it is to love one another:

“He spoke kindly to them, concerned himself heartily for them, and for their welfare, instructed, counselled, and comforted them, prayed with them and for them, vindicated them when they were accused, took their part when they were run down, and publicly owned them to be dearer to him that his mother, or sister, or brother. He reproved them for what was amiss, and yet compassionately bore with their failings, excused them, made the best of them, and passed by many an oversight. Thus he had loved them, and just now washed their feet; and thus they must love one another, and love to the end. “

This is what we are called to, as well.

None of this would have been a surprise to the disciples, anymore than it should be a surprise to us, today.

Jesus did not give up on his disciples. He did not unfriend, nor did he cease to love each and every one (Judas included), right up to the end … his end on the cross. For he died for us all, even if we do not choose to accept his leadership in our lives.

To differ does not have to mean that we hate. If we declare that we follow the example of Jesus, there is not place for hate if we are committed to love one another.

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Downcast?

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #asadeerpants, #downcast, #mysoullongsforyou, #psalm42 on July 23, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Like an unexpected, fast moving storm cloud, threatening to rain down torrents of water and even hail, I was growing increasingly disturbed within my soul.

It was a sunny, warm summer’s day, with nary a cloud in the sky, a demand on my time, yet …

I kept asking of myself,

why am I downcast?

I could think of a conversation that didn’t quite go the way I had hoped. I could think of situations in my life that were not where I desire them to be. But …

why such
disturbance within me?

As I asked the questions over and over, I realized they were questions asked by the Psalmist.

“Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?”
Psalm 42:11a

Psalm 42 is one of the laments of the Psalms. These laments give us permission (maybe even direction) to be downcast, disturbed within our souls. They remind us that the human condition is not all wine and roses.

This particular lament from the Psalms is an interesting one, indeed. A song sung by the Sons of Korah, the descendants of those who died when the earth opened up and swallowed them for their dissension against Moses and Aaron’s leadership (Numbers 26:8-11). These musicians … they personally understood lament … but they also personally knew of God’s offering of grace and mercy.

David knew of these as well. His life was a testimony to the grace and mercy of the God who looked on him as a man after his own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).

This Psalm, starts out so very peaceful, delightful.

“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.”

Then the lamenting continues for much of the following eleven verses, interspersed with acknowledgements of examples of when Gods protection and presence were keenly felt and experienced. It is as though there is this zigzag of self talk, or, in my imagination the Psalmist is dealing with an angel on one shoulder and a demon on the other, each fighting for the attention of downcast one.

Why am I downcast,
oh my soul?
Why so disturbed within me?

I found the answer to my question the day following that downcast day. The Wonderdog and I went for a walk around out neighborhood. I have been discovering new trails this summer that go throughout wooded areas, where we are shaded from the sun and where the walk is more quiet, more relaxing. It was more hot than I realized and we were both soon hot and dehydrated.

When we arrived home, I poured a glass of water for myself and replenished the water in the Wonderdog’s bowl. As it was filling I was pretty certain that his panting was making the entire room vibrate. He couldn’t wait to get to that bowl of refreshing water.

And that was when I realized that I had been reading the first verse wrongly.

“As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.”

This isn’t a peaceful image at all. This is the image of a creature (the deer, ourselves) desperate for refreshment, panting, struggling for breath from being so parched. The creature does not stop until it finds the streams of water … the only thing that would bring true refreshment.

In the same way we are desperate for God, the only one who can truly, completely refresh us. We often know that we are parched, but we seek to refresh ourselves with anything but God. We go to entertainment, food, relaxation, activities, pampering, to friends or family or even to church thinking that if we are renewed physically, mentally, socially, or even theologically we will no longer thirst.

But there is only one who quenches this thirst in our souls, and it is the one who formed them. It is our souls cry for us to be satisfied in God alone.

We benefit from lamenting, but we also need to remember the grace and mercy of better days, when our panting was met with refreshment.

“A lot of times my tendency is to go into a depression looking into myself which only spirals me further down. The song is meant to preach to myself and call me to remember the times when I experienced the glory and goodness of God which can help bounce me out of that vicious cycle. It’s meant to get my eyes off of me and be satisfied in God alone.” Brian Eichelberger

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Sing with All Your Breath

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #singwithallyourbreath, #worship, #worshipinsong on July 21, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Do you sing in church?

It amazes me, when I look around on a Sunday morning, that so many people do not participate in the singing part of worship. Despite that fact that many people write or talk about the decreasing participation in the singing portion of worship (and often relate it to new, unfamiliar, difficult to sing, theology light worship songs) I don’t find that it has decreased since I was a child.

Some will say they do not sing because:

they do not know the songs
they do not like the songs
church people do not need to hear me sing

If we were to switch from the singing part of worship to the financial giving part of worship, would similar rationale be accepted?

I don’t give financially because:

I don’t know what my money is going to be used for
I don’t like what my money is going to be used for
the church does not need my money

Here’s the thing (and isn’t it always the thing?), whether it is our financial giving or singing in worship, it is never about us, me, my.

Our giving,
in worship
is not our offering,
but our returning to God
what he has given to us.

When we give financially, we are returning to God a portion of what he has given to us. When we give in song, we are returning to God a portion of our breath, our humility. In both cases, he has given us what we need, as an investment in our lives. We, in turn take his investment and multiply it, returning the dividends to him …

not because he needs it,
but because
we need to give it.

“The Savior has rescued us that we might sing the song of the redeemed. May we sing it well. May we sing it constantly. May we sing it passionately. May we sing it for his glory and the advancing of his gospel until the time comes when our songs will never end.” Bob Kauflin

“Let everything (everyone) that has breath
praise the Lord!
Praise the Lord!”
Psalm 150:6

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The Song in our Hearts

Posted in life, Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #intimacywithgod, #notalone, #psalm139, #thesonginourhearts on July 18, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Sitting in a coffee shop recently a song came on and my fingers froze on the keyboard, my eyes lifted up from my screen and I could feel that uncontrollable smile form across my face. It was the song Unforgettable by Nat King Cole.

Unforgettable
That’s what you are,
Unforgettable
Tho’ near or far.
Like a song of love that clings to me …

I had a similar experience sitting in a church sanctuary, awaiting the start of a memorial. As I was reading the life story of the deceased, the pianist played Your Song, by Elton John and my attention was fully and completely on the words that were going through my head.

Oh I know it’s not much but it’s the best I can do
My gift is my song
And this one’s for you
And you can tell everybody this is your song
It may be quite simple but now that it’s done
I hope you don’t mind
That I put down in words
How wonderful life is while you’re in the world

What is it that causes a song to so reach into our being that we stop what we are doing and thinking, just to hear it more clearly … even though we know it so very well?

Within all humans is a natural beat, which we all walk to, within the confines of our chest and it courses throughout our bodies, from head to toes. Our heartbeat has a rhythm of it’s own and we are moved when we hear our own heartbeat in the heartbeat of another’s song. That reminder that another feels as we do, that we are not alone.

That is what I think Psalm 139 is all about. Here are a few of the first verses:”

“You have searched me, Lord,
    and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
    you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
    you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
    you, Lord, know it completely”

In this an intimate knowledge of the psalmist, by his Creator, is acknowledged. In this is not only the intimacy of the Creator acknowledged, but also declared … as though the psalmist had made a conscious realization that he is not alone … as though one day the lightbulb came on, and the psalmist was stopped in an instant when he heard his own heartbeat … in the heartbeat of God.

Our father sings the song of our heartbeat,

telling us that we are never alone.

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To Know and Be Known

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #newbie, #newgirl, #toknowandbeknown on July 16, 2019| Leave a Comment »

There’s that verse … the one about a prophet not being accepted in his hometown (Luke 4:24). That may be true, but at least someone knows their name.

The writers of the TV series, Cheers, had it right about humanity in the lyrics of their theme song:

“Sometimes you want to go
Where everybody knows your name
And they’re always glad you came
You want to be where you can see
The troubles are all the same
You want to be where everybody knows your name”

I admit that I have always gotten a surge of adrenaline when I encounter a new setting. That is … until more recently. Now I find walking into a new setting, with new people rather daunting. I struggle with having to push myself into circles, conversations and volunteering at events. I struggle with having no one know my name.

There is a passage of Isaiah 43 (v. 1-3) that I have … paraphrased a bit, for times when I am struggling with being the new kid, in whatever situation I might be:

“Right now, this is what the Lord says …
Don’t fear, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name; you are mine.
When you go through the doors of
a new job,
a new church,
a new family,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the crowd of strangers,
who don’t seem to want to get to know you,
this will not destroy you.
When you walk in, shaking in your boots,
you will be okay;
keep going, it’s the only way to build a new future.
And remember, I am the Lord your God,
and I know your name.”
Isaiah 43:1-3

Cliche it may seem, but what lies ahead is far greater than anything we leave behind … but we have to keep moving forward … ’til we are in a place where it seems that everyone knows our name.

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Annual Summer Investment

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #annualsummerinvestment, #sendakidtocamp, #summercamp on July 14, 2019| 2 Comments »

Have you ever been to summer camp?

A friend of mine posted a pic of her son, the other day. He was standing in front of a big yellow bus, with a big smile, all ready to head off to a week of summer camp.

For some summer camp is a one time event, for others it is the annual place of residence. Of our three children one never had any interest, in any way. The second went a number of times, even taking a Leadership in Training course one summer. The third … well, he is now on year number twelve, in a row, and has been everything from a camper, to work crew to paid staff (on and off season).

For those who have loved summer camp, it can be such a formative place and experience in the life of a child and teen.

Once each summer I visit the Christian camp that our son is connected to and I volunteer in the kitchen. Helping the paid kitchen staff, I get to be in the belly of the camp, assisting in the making of and serving up nutrition, love and humor … all so helpful on those hot summer days of activities.

This past week I did something that I had not taken the time to do in years past. I went to a morning chapel, sang songs with actions and listened to the speaker of the week.

I laughed, was entertained and even had to dab the tears forming in the corners of my eyes. It was a group of over one hundred and fifty kids, volunteers and staff. Some had been hearing the Gospel message since they were still in the womb, others had never before heard of one who would die for them.

Earlier in the week I was speaking to one of the office staff. She was sharing stories of children who were able to go to camp because of a grandparent, a fundraiser, unknown individuals who sponsored children to have this summer camp experience. She told about calls from social workers and others who work with children, children for whom this one week in the summer is their exceptional week … where they are fed, are safe and able to play … like a child.

Take it from me, even if you have never been to summer camp, it is well worth it to donate toward a child going to camp. If you are a follower of Christ, I implore you to consider this as an annual investment … it could pay eternal dividends.

We are the voice in the desert …
And we are the laborers in your vineyard,
Declaring the word of the Lord
Robin Mark

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Loneliness Happens

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #lonelinesshappens, #seekcommunity, #thisworldisnotmyhome on July 11, 2019| Leave a Comment »

It can creep into our day when we are walking down a crowded street, in the sanctuary, in the middle of the party people or when we are alone with the dark and twisties.

Loneliness is as common a human experience as death and taxes and can occur in the life of anyone, under any circumstances. Whether we are young or old, rich or poor, a scholar or a drop out, married or single or divorced or widowed … loneliness comes to us all.

It is a feeling as well as a response to internal and external circumstances, perceptions and experiences.

There are those times when loneliness can feel like the most inhospitable, horrible thing to experience. For some it can override anything good in one’s life.

For the follower of Christ we can know in our minds that we are not alone (“… remember that I am always with you until the end of time” Matthew 28:20), but sometimes our heart feels things quite differently.

There must be a reason that within our hearts is the capacity to feel so alone, even while we are never alone or apart from our Creator. There are two perspectives that I think could explain our human experience of loneliness.

Scott Sauls (author of ‘befriend’), writes, of loneliness:

“We aren’t lonely because something is wrong with us. We are lonely because something is right with us. Our loneliness is the image of our triune, communal God in us, beckoning us to connect, to know and to be known, to love and to be loved, to befriend and to be befriended.”

In a way he would seem to be saying that our loneliness is the tap on our shoulder, the whisper in our ear to be His hands and feet, to look around and rectify the loneliness of ourselves and those around us. It is the reminder that we need and desire community … that we were created for community, and if the desire is there, so is the wherewithal to seek and find it.

C.S. Lewis said, “If we find ourselves with a desire that nothing in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that we were made for another world.”

In relation to human loneliness (something so common in our secular post-fall world), what Lewis is saying is that we were never created to be, to feel lonely. We were created for a world where all of our needs are met, because our relationships with God and with each other would be without the stain of sin on our lives.

Loneliness, though commonplace in all of our lives, can be the necessary prompt to seek community. It can also remind us that this is not our home, but one is being prepared for us … that where he is we will one day be as well.

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What ifs in the Middle of the Night

Posted in life, WONDER, tagged #psalm63, #whatifs, #whatifsinthemiddleofthenight on July 9, 2019| Leave a Comment »

Anyone else out there a what if kind of person?

What if it rains today … I better take an umbrella.
What if my kid’s alarm didn’t go off … I better make sure they are awake.
What if the dog’s lead came off his harness … I need to be ready to run.
What if a fire starts in the kitchen … I would go out my bedroom window, leap to the tree and climb down.
What if I hear someone break into my home … call 911, turn brightness and volume down on phone and grab can of hairspray … to spray in their eyes.
What if ‘the big one’ of earthquakes happens while we are on the coast … I better know the tsunami route.

Usually, the more intense what ifs have to do with life and death situations, and they usually come to mind around three in the morning.

If I have any tendencies toward and obsessive compulsive personality, it is in the area of what if thinking.

I have recently rediscovered Psalm 63, written by David, while in the wilderness.

There is something about those wilderness experiences that redirects our thinking, reminds us what hunger really feels like and re-opens our eyes to where our help comes from.

Psalm 63 is a great place to go when the what ifs surface in our minds. It is like a protective arm around out shoulders, a comforting lullaby in the middle of the night, a shield of protection covering us.

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water.

I have seen you in the sanctuary
    and beheld your power and your glory.
Because your love is better than life,
    my lips will glorify you.
I will praise you as long as I live,
    and in your name I will lift up my hands.
I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
    with singing lips my mouth will praise you.

On my bed I remember you;
    I think of you through the watches of the night.
(at 3am)
Because you are my help,
    I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
they will go down to the depths of the earth.
They will be given over to the sword
and become food for jackals.

But the king will rejoice in God;
all who swear by God will glory in him,
while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

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What do these Stones Mean?

Posted in Walking with God, WONDER, tagged #reflectionpersperspectivethanksgiving, #whatdothesestonesmean on July 7, 2019| 2 Comments »

Anniversaries of events are wonderful for providing reflection, perspective and thanksgiving.

As I write these words I am reflecting on the events of one year ago. A day that dawned early for us, as I still had a bit of last minute packing to do before the movers were to arrive. That day was full of reflection, perspective and thanksgiving as well, as we packed up a home, a life of fifteen years.

Now, looking back at the day and all the days since, I am full of thanksgiving, for though there were hard days, lonely days, even dark days, never were we left alone without hope.

This remembering brings to mind Joshua 4. This is the story of the Israelites crossing the Jordan, which had parted for them to cross, when the ark was carried across.

I love this story, as it is the completion of the trek to the Promised Land. Though there were two leaders, directing the way (God’s way), both leaders were given a route that required them to go through deep water … the Red Sea for Moses and the Jordan for Joshua.

Moses, as he was dying, told Joshua (in Deuteronomy 31:6) :

“Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them (those who may stand in their way), for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

This is the same message that Joshua was given from God himself, after Moses’ death (three times in one message from God (Joshua 1:6, 7, 9) :

“Be strong and (very) courageous”

Then, after Joshua took his place as leader, after he spoke to the people and shared the plan, they responded, in affirmation of his leadership, ending with those familiar words (Joshua 1:18) :

“Only be strong and courageous!”

He was their leader … Moses knew it, they knew it, Joshua knew it, God knew it … but this message was was not just theory, not just something to frame and place on the wall. This message was to be the mantra of Joshua, of the Israelites … of us.

Where the rubber hit the road is in the application of the message, for we cannot prove the meaning of strength and courage just when we are on our knees … we have to hold onto the meaning of this message when we are in deep water.

Soon, as Joshua and his followers were approaching the flooded Jordan, they were given opportunity to prove their allegiance to the God of Moses and Joshua … to their God.

As those carrying the Ark entered into the water, it parted, just as the Red Sea. When the Ark had reached the middle point … when they were truly in the deepest place, Joshua gave the Lord’s instruction … to have one from each tribe pick up a stone from the middle of the Jordan.

Once they had crossed the river. Once those carrying the Ark came up from the Jordan, the waters returned to where they had been. Joshua had them lay their stones together, then he piled them … and there was a good reason for this.

The Lord had a reason for instructing Joshua to have them brought out of the river and then piled on the the other side :

“In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.” (Joshua 4:21-24)

These rocks/stones were part of the story of going through the place of deep waters, that their descendants would know and fear their God. But also that they would know that the strength and power of God were available to them, and to us, if we would be strong and courageous … not in our own power, but in the power of God.

These stones provide reflection, perspective and thanksgiving for a God who parts the waters.

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