what are you looking for?

i did it.  i went shopping today.  today, of all days, “Black Friday”, i went out into the crowds.  no, not at 5am, but i was in a store before 8am.

so what?  well, here’s the thing–i do not like crowds.  i mean, i do NOT like crowds.  so why on earth would i go out shopping, by myself, on the busiest shopping day of the year?!?!  the answer: i don’t really know.  but something was different this year.  instead of tension, frustration, and just wanting to get out, i leisurely strolled the aisles of the two busiest stores.  i left with a smile on my face and satisfied with the outing.

life at the flour drawer…

this picture is classic.  in our family, before we learned to speak, we knew where the cookie jar sat at grandma ruth’s house.  before we had the physical ability to stir, we knew the flour drawer was important for all things coming from the kitchen.

grubby hands, digging through the flour supply “helping” grandma with pie crusts or cookies, or whatever she was making.  and whether it needed flour or not, we were involved.

isn’t it the same way with God?  He appreciates the spirit of help, though sometimes our “help” is far from actually helpful.

He tries to make a flaky crust, and we throw more flour at Him.  He tries to create some protein in our lives, and we’re handing Him a measuring cup.  and just like grandma ruth, He smiles a gentle smile and says, “not yet.”

for though we try our darndest to really screw things up, He is there, patiently guiding us so that the recipe that comes out of this kitchen is fragrant, appealing, and reflective of the Master’s Hand.

 

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God’s call on a life…

I delivered this lesson on the first night of our 20s/30s group that Mike and I started.  The group is called “The Longing.”

September 27, 2007
The Longing Launch Night

You are witnessing the fulfillment of God’s will on a life.

We stand here tonight, humbled.

That the God of the universe would work
in the lives of two crazy kids
who spent years in parking lots
complaining (yes, actually complaining) that there was
nothing for us.

I have known Mike for just over eight years.
Through every one of those eight years,
he spoke of this night.
And God kept that flame alive in his heart.

And here we stand
as a result
of one man
following
the call of God
on his life.

it’s (not) fine

“it’s fine”
no it’s not

“it’s no big deal”
yes, yes it is.

in an effort
to make another person
feel okay,
you have denied the truth.

repeatedly telling yourself
“it will all be fine”
when you know down deep
something is seriously wrong,
is not fixing the problem,
it’s not even bandaging it.
it is simply knowing your arm has just been cut off
and looking the other way,
letting the very lifeblood
drain out of your body
because you don’t want
to inconvenience someone.

or rather,
you don’t want someone else to know
you’re hurting.

not trust, but truth

God asks us to do things.
sometimes they are hard things
and sometimes we make them hard.

we make them hard
by thinking too much
acting too little
and delaying too long.

until what could have been simple
becomes complicated.
what could have been done quickly
now requires a whole to-do
and mybe even apologies.

we commit to too much
sometimes even knowing
that we will back out.

and yet other times
we simply
expect too little
from our Almighty God.