Dancing in the Rain

It's been exactly 4 years since my last blog post. What?! Where has the time gone?! Life has been busy, and as I look back I'm really sad that writing is one of the things I let fall by the wayside. Lately, the Lord has been stirring in my heart, reawakening dreams and passions that have been buried too long by the "tyranny of the urgent". Writing is one of those things, and this blog in particular. I want to be more intentional with the blog than I was before, although I don't have a really clear picture yet of what that will look like. I'm starting with a simple goal of posting at least once a week! Reboot: the dictionary definition says " to make a change in (something) in order to establish a new beginning". That sounds about right! The new design is more simple and focused than it used to be, which is indicative of where I want to go with it moving forward. For this post, let me just give you a snapshot view of my life as it is now (beca...

"The given life"...I'm not sure who coined that phrase, but I'm quite sure it wasn't me. :) Hudson Taylor called it "the exchanged life", A.W. Tozer called it "the crucified life"...it's entirely possible that Eric Ludy is the first person I heard call it "the given life", but I don't really think he came up with the name, either. Regardless of its origin, it's a descriptive name I am coming to love more and more for the life I live. Jonathan Edwards said, "I have been this day before God, and have given myself, all that I am and all that I have, to God; so that I am in no respect my own. I claim no right to myself, no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me. Neither do I have any right to this body or its members, no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own." "I have given myself clea...

That just sounds like such an oxymoron. God...vulnerable? No way, right? He's all-powerful, all-knowing, all- everything , how could He possibly be vulnerable? And yet, I am coming to realize, He is. I was reading Jeremiah 3 (and 4 ...and 5 ) this morning, and I was struck by the plaintive tone. The Lord is grieving over His wandering, rebellious people, calling them back to Himself. "Return to Me!" He cries out over and over. It is the heart of a vulnerable God breaking for His people. He is not vulnerable by default, as we are, He is vulnerable by choice . He has chosen to love us so much we can hurt Him. He has chosen to keep His arms held out, open wide to welcome us home. Think about it; that is a vulnerable , defenseless position. God is not remotely frail ; He is, indeed, incredibly strong. He is not helpless ; He is the one who holds the world in His hands. He does not need us ; He is the only truly self-sufficient one. Yet He is vulnerable --to us. For us. It...

It's been a long time since I've done a "something to think about" post! Mostly because I've been having a little difficulty getting my thoughts from the "thought" stage to the "word" stage. But they just keep swimming around in my head, percolating away, driving me crazy as they send my brain in a million ways all at once. So I'm going to try to scribble some of them out and hope they are somewhat clearer than mud sensible. Passion . The word is such a powerful one, resounding with strength and, for lack of a better word, excitement. It has always stirred very deep feelings and longings in me--I want to be a passionate person, driven by an all-consuming desire to love and live for God. I want to want Him more than anything . But that's just the problem: I usually feel like it stops with "wanting". I just want to be passionate, I don't actually live passionately. Yesterday at church, Pastor Joe told this story of a ...

I know that my dog was the subject of a post yesterday , but having her around again got me to thinking about something today. Sugar is a loyal, dedicated dog (as most dogs tend to be), and she definitely knows that she is mine! Because she knows that she is mine, she follows me around wherever I go, my faithful "little" shadow. She loves so much just to be in my presence; it doesn't matter what I'm doing or what she's doing, she wants to be with me. And if I reach to pet her or talk to her, even though she doesn't really understand anything I'm saying, she gets excited like it's the greatest joy in her life to hear my voice and feel my touch. Some of you have probably figured out where I'm going with this. :D Yep...I wish I was more like my dog. Am I as loyal and dedicated to my heavenly Father as my dog is to me? He has done so much more for me than I will ever do for Sugar, and He loves me infinitely more than I ever could love my dog! So when ...

I just have this little thought that has been spinning around in my brain since church this morning. The pastor at the little Baptist church we visited today said something interesting; he was talking about how people tend to not take hell seriously, and he said, "How terrible is hell? It's so terrible, Jesus died to keep you from going there. Jesus said, 'You'll go to hell over My dead body .'" (emphasis added) Over My dead body! Well, my little brain spun off like it does on occasion, all caught up in that phrase (I have notes from the rest of the sermon, but I couldn't tell you much about it *sheepish grin*). I've heard the idea before, just never heard it expressed like that, and something about the way he put it gripped me. Jesus Christ did, and is doing, everything possible, everything necessary to give us eternal life. He doesn't want one single person to die in their sins, to suffer eternal punishment. So He died. And rose again. And even ...