Picking Chelsea Up From College

For weeks I looked forward to seeing Chelsea again and picking her up from college. I counted down the time …2 weeks left, 1 week, 5 days, 3 days, I leave tomorrow, you get the idea. I imagined a squeal of joy (I’m not sure if it would be from me or her) and her running to greet me and we hug as a Dad and daughter who have been separated far too long from each other should. 

Too bad we’re not always that way towards our time with The Lord, whether it’s our quiet time or worshiping Him at church. “It’s Friday and in 2 days I get to go to church and worship my King, my Savior, my Lord!” (Psalms 95:3 For the Lord is a great God, a great king who is superior to all gods.) “I’m going to bed now, and I can’t wait to wake up and spend time with Jesus Christ.” How many times while your eyelids start weighing heavily and you’re drifting off to sleep have you even thought about Jesus Christ and having a quiet time with him the following morning? I’m usually thinking about …well, nothing, or maybe “Rats, I have to get up in a few hours.”

What if we imagined ourselves running into church and hugging our Lord. You now we do that …sort of. When we enter the sanctuary and begin singing praise to our Lord (Psalms 98:4 Shout out praises to the Lord, all the earth! Break out in a joyful shout and sing!) and focus on HIM, we are essentially hugging Him, and saying “I’m so happy to see you!” and He hugs us back and says “I’m so happy you’re here!” It’s the same with our quiet times. When we sit still in His presence and FOCUS on Him, we’re saying the same thing …and so is He (Matt. 28:9 But Jesus met them, saying, "Greetings!" They came to him, held on to His feet and worshiped Him.).

It’s about our attitude. What if Chelsea and I saw each other, and just said “Hey.” No hug, no squeal of joy, no excitement, no counting down the days, nothing, nada, zip, zilch. We wouldn’t have much of a relationship. Maybe the excitement and enthusiasm don’t have to be an outward demonstration, but they need to be there somewhere. Even if it’s inside it’s still our attitude. Sometimes that’s the way we greet our Lord at church or in our quiet times (Mark 9:15 When the whole crowd saw Him, they were amazed and ran at once and greeted Him.), and sometimes we don’t even greet Him, not even a “Hey” …how sad.

So the next time you enter church greet your friends and talk with them (1 Thess. 5:26 Greet all the brothers and sisters with a holy kiss.), but remember the Lord is there and wants to greet you too …with excitement (Luke 15:20 So he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way from home his father saw him, and his heart went out to him; he ran and hugged his son and kissed him.) because He’s so happy you’re there and He's excited to spend some time alone with you during the week!

Psalms 81:1 Shout for joy to God, our source of strength! Shout out to the God of Jacob!

Luke 24:52 So they worshiped Him and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and were continually in the temple courts blessing God.

Love You,
Dad

When It Rains It Pours...

So you’ve heard the saying “When it rains it pours”, right? Weeell...

…it started with our Ford Expedition having transmission problems (When it rains…), which leaves us with only the Xterra. Of course the air conditioner was not working in the Xterra …makes for a hot ride for 5 people. Can you say antiperspirant? Last Sunday night Chandler informs me he’s not getting any hot water for his shower. I looked at the hot water heater, and my fear was confirmed. The pan at the bottom is full of water …great, it’s not working, and we can’t afford this (…it pours…). My shower Monday morning was VERY cold and VERY quick. Monday the transmission guy calls (Please give me some good news) to let me know the transmission will cost $1836 to fix (So much for the good news …and it pours…). Will the rain ever stop?

 I talked to a really great friend about the water heater, and he said it needed to be replaced and he would help me replace it. The only cost was the water heater. I had a nice, hot shower this morning. So far so good (…and then the sun starts to shine. James 1:2-4, My brothers and sisters, consider it nothing but joy when you fall into all sorts of trials, because you know that the testing of your faith produces endurance.  And let endurance have its perfect effect, so that you will be perfect and complete, not deficient in anything.).

Interestingly, our pastor’s message this past Sunday was on Abraham having to kill/sacrifice his son Isaac, and how Abraham reacted to this test. I hope I reacted well to our tests, and learned what I am supposed to learn ;-) Hopefully my next test will be what to do with the million $ that was left on my doorstep. Somehow I think I’ll have a few more tests before that one ;-) Oh well, I’m glad I know the Test Giver (Prov. 17:3 The crucible is for refining silver and the furnace is for gold, likewise the Lord tests hearts.).

Zephaniah 3:17, The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; He will comfort you with his love, He will rejoice over you with singing.  

2 Cor. 13:6, And I hope that you will realize that we have not failed the test!

1 Thess. 5:18, in everything give thanks. For this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

Love You,
Dad

Go Ahead …Jump In

Close your eyes and imagine …oh wait, you need your eyes open to continue reading this. So, keep your eyes open and imagine yourself standing on a dock at a beautiful lake. There is a slight breeze, but it’s warm. You can hear the pine trees rustling with the breeze behind you on the shore. In the distance you hear the beautiful song of a bird calling. The sun is midway in the vibrant, blue sky and reflecting on the fairly calm lake in front of you.

You have never been to this lake or stood on this dock. It belongs to a friend of yours who is standing on the dock with you. You are really hot and want to jump off the dock into the cool, refreshing water, but the water is dark and you cannot see below the surface. What do you do? Do you go ahead and jump in without knowing what lies just below the surface? What if there are some rocks hidden a couple of feet below the surface? What if there are “critters” known to hang out under the dock and they make it unsafe? What do you do? Ask your friend if it is safe? Of course you would, that makes so much sense. It is a lot safer to seek advice about your decision from someone who knows if anything lies hidden. Everyone would agree that it would be dangerous and foolish to jump in without seeking advice about what dangers lie below …and yet we do this all the time.

We make decisions and jump into circumstances without going to The Lord in prayer and seeking His advice about things unseen (Jer. 42:3, Pray that the Lord your God will tell us where we should go and what we should do.), or asking someone else who might have good advice (Prov. 4:1, Listen, children, to a father’s instruction, and pay attention so that you may gain discernment.). Dear Lord is this a good decision? Is this what you want me to do? (1 Thess. 5:17, constantly pray,)

Jer. 29:12

James 1:5

2 Cor. 20:3

Love You,
Dad