Dancing in the Rain

Some would no doubt consider it a strange "Sabbath kick-off", but for me a trip to Six Flags Over Texas (in Arlington) was just the ticket! Between my love of roller coasters, the nostalgia this place holds, and the healthy benefits of fresh air and sunshine, it was fantastic. Oh, and the company was pretty great, too. The only thing that could have made it better would have been to have my "OG Six Flags fam" along--aka, my family and the Vests, of course! Six Flags has always been about facing and overcoming fear for me. I was a very fearful/timid child, and as an adult looking back I think one of the best things my parents did for my little anxious self was take me to ride roller coasters!! (I would insert the "tears of joy" emoji here if I could!) I was coaxed and cajoled on to rides I was hesitant about, but never forced to ride anything--though I waited in every line with them and I was not allowed to complain. Every year, there were rides where ...

"Wonderful are Your works; my soul knows it very well."   (Psalm 139:14) My soul knows, with greatest certainty, that His works are wonderful . Knows it because I have seen it, experienced it,  tasted it,  walked in it,  lived it. But what about when I can't see it? What about the times when my soul is dry and thirsty, my heart fragile and broken and longing for something more? His works are still wonderful. When life is hard -- His works are wonderful. When the way seems long -- His works are wonderful. When life is not turning out the way I expected -- His works are wonderful. When teenagers die and we at House of Faith have to walk through that valley with the families and other students and we are surrounded by pain and grief and questions with no answers... His works are wonderful. So when I don't see it, feel it, taste it -- the truth doesn't change . I just have to remind myself of it, rehearse it over and over until it is th...

"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...

So, I've been working on a couple of the things on my little "things to do before I'm 25 list". Namely, the reading ones. :) Which means I'm currently reading about 4 books AND the Bible... :) I've read the first three of the Anne of Green Gables books and have definitely fallen in love. I really can't believe I have never before read them! Anne Shirley is the sweetest, most bewitching fictional character I have ever met, and I'm pretty sure that if I could write like Lucy Maud Montgomery I would be the absolutely happiest person in the world. But, alas, I can't write like the wonderful L.M. Montgomery; I can't even write like the sweet, sometimes silly, fictitious Anne-girl; yet I'm still awfully happy. Because I happen to know that it is just as sweet to brighten someone's day with a simple card or letter as it ever could be to be a "literary giant" writing "best-selling classics". So there! :) And...there's s...

The other day, I was flipping through some old journals and I came across this, dated March 24, 1994: "I am determined to see Jesus." I was seven years old, not yet saved, and a stubborn brat. I was "determined" to do a lot of things: eat as much sugar (candy, cookies, whatever!) as I could snitch in any given day; do as little school as I could get away with; spend every spare minute (and quite a few that weren't spare) either reading or playing outside; drive my sister crazy by imitating everything she did, said, and wore; boss my little brothers around to get my way; get dirtier than my mother ever dreamed was possible by playing in the mud; keep everyone outside my family convinced that I was a sweet, perfect little angel... etc, etc! OK, so maybe I didn't do all of those things on purpose , but hey--it is who I was! Yet somehow, God was already working in my sinful little heart to draw me to Himself. How amazing is that?! And in the midst of my little ...

If "God is light and there is no darkness in Him" (1 John 1:5) and I am called to "be holy as He is holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16), why am I not even trying?! Why do I excuse darkness in my life? It has no place here! I belong to the One who *is* Light, there is no room for darkness in my existence. I want to live a life in which *every part* is flooded with God's light. I want to be so caught up in my amazing God that there is no time to get caught up in things that are not of Him, however "good" they may be. But how do I get there? By choosing. Constantly, consciously, intentionally making the choice to focus on the Lord. Who will I feed- the hungry cub of desire for the Lord that longs to grow into a lion, or the roaring lion of "the lust of the flesh", so closely tied to another roaring lion that seeks to kill, steal and destroy? Every moment of every day is a choice. Light or darkness? Spirit or flesh? God or the world? Life or death?

Yep, you read right. There is, currently, at this moment, snow on the ground in San Angelo, Texas! And there was a whole troop of very happy Miller kids out there enjoying it earlier. :) It isn't much; just an inch or two. But schools are out for the day (only in West Texas....) and it seemed like kids were coming out of the woodwork in the neighboring houses to build snowmen and play in the snow this morning/afternoon. Crazy how we've lived here for 2 months and we didn't even know any kids lived in those houses. :P We had a fun, slighly violent snowball fight (I have a bit of a headache from taking a hard-packed snowball right smack in the face) that started out with girls against boys and ended pretty much every man for himself. Rather than building a snowman, we built forts for the fight...which were promptly obliberated in the war. But it was all so much fun! Then we all trooped inside to make and devour some snow ice cream. If you've never had it/made it, you shou...

*I have been working on this post for quite some time; I originally wanted to post it at midnight, January 1st; I just couldn't quite seem to get it right! :P* There is a song that we sang several times in our church in Springtown; I think it's called "Open Up the Skies". The chorus says, " We won't be satisfied with anything ordinary; we won't be satisfied at all! Open up the sky; pour down like rain; we don't want blessings, we want You! Open up the sky; fall down like fire; we don't want anything but You! " That little chorus is my heart's cry these days. Who wants ordinary? Not me! I want God and Him alone! "Life is either a daring adventure or nothing." --Helen Keller As I've been reading (or re-reading) biographies of Christians who have made a difference just over the last century, I find a common thread. They were all completely devoted to Christ, didn't care what others thought or did, but simply enjoyed the a...

My friend Maegan gave me a "going away" present today that included a Scott Krippayne CD. The only song of his I'd ever heard was "I'm Not Cool", which I happen to love! So, tonight, while I was cleaning off my desk so I can finish packing my room tomorrow, I put the CD in to listen to it. I really like it so far, though now I'm stuck on this one song: "You Are Still God". It's just so perfect for the season of life I'm in right now! So perfect that I decided to post the lyrics, and a YouTube video I found of the song (with some random person's photos...), on here. Enjoy! *oh, and just FYI, sometime tomorrow our internet here in Springtown is getting cut off. So I'll be without internet at least until Wednesday. * You Are Still God I've prayed but still don't have answers At least none I'm able to see I've tried to rest in not knowing But not knowing's a hard place to be But as I return to Your pages The word...

My life these days seems to be a list of "but, God..." prayers: But God, I don't want to move! But I will follow wherever You lead. But I don't want to have to let go...again! But I will live with open hands, clinging only to You. But my world is being shaken again, spiraling out of control. But You are still faithful, and You are in control. But everything is changing and uncertain. But You never change! But I love these people! But I love You more. But I don't understand why.... But You are still God. And I am still Yours. You still love me-- And I still trust You. It's as simple and as difficult as that.

*I wrote this in my journal the other night, and thought I would share it here...* Tonight there is peace. I am in my room--my "haven"--and my door is shut. The only sound is faint strains of the boys' classical music from where they sleep in their room next door. The only light is a few candles around my desk. My senses are flooded with a delectable blend of delightful scents--and my whole being is flooded with Peace. "My peace I give you," Jesus said. "Not as the world gives, give I unto you." There is still trouble in this world. Life can still be overwhelming. But here--now--in this place and this moment, there is peace in the midst of a fallen world. I'm reminded of Christmases past, when I would sit in the living room with only the Christmas lights and Christmas music on, staring into the tree and thinking: "This is Christmas." Peace in the midst of chaos. Quietness in the midst of noise. Resting, stopping even, in the midst of bus...

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...

So, it's been almost a month again since I've blogged. :P Sorry, y'all! My summer has been slightly wild and crazy. Now that it's settling down into a somewhat calmer routine, I'll try to get back into the habit of blogging. I miss it, really...I've logged on to blog several times and then just never actually got it done. Y'all probably think I'm going to talk about Chicago (finally). Well...not yet. I've got something else on my mind tonight. :) I'll try to get around to a Chicago post sometime this week though, OK? (hey! It's my blog and I can procrastinate if I want to! :) ) No, I'm thinking of chisels, seasons, and focus... Chisels . Actually, I've really just been thinking of one chisel--God's chisel. I've been reading in Deuteronomy lately in my quiet time, and there's a common theme in the verses that are jumping out at me. Things like finding joy in sacrifice (Deuteronomy 12:5-7); putting to death those things in ...

I feel like I’m on a mountain of sorts. Which is fitting since we’re talking about the Seven Mountains of Influence at church camp this week. Oh…you didn’t know I was doing church camp this week? I suppose that bit of ignorance could be attributed to the fact that I haven’t blogged in, um, almost forever. Sorry, y’all! It’s been a busy time, but it’s also been of time of evaluating why I blog and what the original purpose of this blog is. I don’t know if y’all remember, but the very reason I started a blog was to share with others what God is doing in my life. I think somewhere along the way I lost that, but now I want to come back to it. Not that there won’t be fun, rambling posts at times about the cute things the kids in my life say or stuff my dog does or just the normal weirdness of our family. But my focus is going to be on what God is teaching me and how He is working. Which brings me back to church camp. :) This is not your ordinary church camp (I wonder if RFF has ever done ...

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 was reading my devotional book this morning ( Jesus Calling by Sarah Young), and today's devotional really made me think. Here's part of what it said: " Secret things belong to the Lord, (direct quote from Deut. 29:29) and future things are secret things. When you try to figure out the future, you are grasping at things that are Mine. This, like all forms of worry, is an act of rebellion: doubting My promises to care for you. Whenever you find yourself worrying about the future, repent and return to Me. I will show you the next step forward, and the one after that, and the one after that. Relax and enjoy the journey in My Presence, trusting Me to open up the way before you as you go ." Worry is an act of rebellion?! I had never thought of it that way before, but it really is. Over and over the Bible tells me not to worry, to trust God, to cast all my cares on Him...so when I worry anyway, it's plain and simple rebellion. Ouch!!! So does this mean I shouldn...

I've been scanning the titles of my blog posts recently and have come to the conclusion that there are too many themed, planned ones and not enough random, rambling ones that make blogging so fun. Nor are there any (lately) that really accomplish my original purpose in having a blog--telling you what God is doing in my life these days. So, I'm going to try to fix both those problems. I will ramble. Consider yourself warned. :D First, let me "classify" a statement I made yesterday in the "Tuesday's Tidbit" post. By calling the information "useless" I simply meant that you will never need it for any practical purpose in life. A game of Cranium or Trivial Pursuit, perhaps, but not much beyond that. Obviously, I find all the "useless" facts that I post on Tuesday's Tidbit very fascinating...that's why I post them. :D I collect tidbits of trivia just like I collect quotes. OK, moving on now... :D Hmm...life these days. Well, we got...