limeseeds

Okay Wednesday was our anniversary and if there had ever been a day when my perfectionism was put to a test, it was this day.  My SIL had surprised us a few days prior with a night at a resort for the two of us and breakfast the next morning!  The “plan” was to go right after lunch, check in, and then spend the day next to their beautiful pool.  We would then go to dinner early, and then we’d have until the next afternoon before we would need to be home!  It wasn’t the Hawaii trip that we’d always hoped to take for our 20th, but it was still time together.  That was the plan.

What happened was we spent 5 hours in the ER having ultra-sounds run on Shell’s leg for fear of a potential blood-clot.  She has been experiencing let pain for nearly 3 months now and a nurse friend prompted us into getting it checked out last minute.  So an afternoon of Billy the Exterminator on A&E via the hospital TV was the kick off to our anniversary event.  We did leave around 6p with a clean bill of health (Thank you God) and we were off.  We arrived at the resort to discover that they would not honor the reservation unless Shell’s sister was there in person.  We were nearly 30 miles from their house and without any budge on the resort’s part, we simply smiled at each other and knew that God was up to something.  We could at least go to dinner, right?  So off to dinner.  It was wonderful.  Our waitress took notice of the upside-down spelling of Happy Anniversary on the table and brought us a free dessert and Shell’s sister had contacted a friend of hers during dinner that worked at an even nicer resort in Scottsdale.  I think God knew we needed a break from lessons.  At least for a few minutes.

Upon leaving the restaurant, we were stopped by a lonely soul sitting out front.  Michael had spent the last 31 days in the hospital near there and had found himself stranded.  We had some incredible time of prayer with him as he told us his horrific story.  I felt guilt…a lot of it.  He had nowhere to go and we were off to our second resort attempt of the night after stuffing our faces.  I offered to drive him home, which was in Globe, about 80 miles from where we were.  He declined due to medical reasons of riding in a car for too long, he was pushing 400+ pounds easy.  Talk about putting a damper on any romance.  I was not only not in control, but I seemed to be loosing what little control of my own emotions I had left.  Not to mention my sweet wife.  She was spent.  She just wanted to go and escape somewhere together for a few hours.  We headed to the resort with high hopes of a night swim in the 100 plus overnight temps that would follow.  The evening was going to get better!  Until the lightning started.

We spent the evening inside as the rain fell and the lightening made swimming seem much less attractive than before.  The room was amazing, and we were certainly thankful to have a roof over our heads for the night.  At this point we were done and sleep came quickly.

In the am we awoke to sunny skies and hopes for a wonderful anniversary day!  Again, the plan was to spend the morning by the pool and then grab some lunch on the way home.  I went out to go grab some breakfast and…dead battery.  Are  you serious!?  Are we on some sort of sick “anniversary-gone-haywire” show?  Called the valet dudes and they couldn’t even get it jumped with there courtesy vehicle.  AAA to the rescue!  He was there in 45 minutes or so, but in the meantime I had already spent like 90 minutes outside in the 108ish temps and was a mess!  We finally got the car fixed, grabbed a very special Wendy’s drive-thru anniversary style dinner and headed to the auto-parts store for a new battery.  How romantic.

We did top off the day together with a wonderful dinner and a movie, which is right up our alley, and looked back on the last 30+ hours as an anniversary gift from God that we would never forget.  Ever.

I know, without a doubt, that God allowed this entire summer to take place just the way it did to teach me the undeniable lesson that He is ultimately in charge of everything and I have no control over anything, other than my response.  God is good and I love Him for it.

You know that passage in Hebrews 13:2 about entertaining angels?  I think we did for a short time this evening.  We were supposed to be at this restaurant nearly 3 hours earlier, but found ourselves delayed for the most bizarre reasons.  I think now we know why.
As we left the front doors to head for the car, we were stopped by a voice from behind us as a man sat on a park bench on the front porch of the restaurant.  Michael was in his mid-forties and had just been released from the hospital that was adjacent to our meeting place, was hot from the afternoons 108 degree peak temperature, was attached to a colostomy bag, weighed in at well over 400 pounds as was nearly 100 miles away from home.  This man had had a rotten day.  As we were walking by, he told me that God had told him to stop us and tell us what was going on.  Now I have been hit up for money on numerous occasions from folks, but they were nothing like Michael.  This guy was legit.  As we talked I told him that the only reason we had even been at this restaurant was because of a gift from my folks and that we were unable to help him, at least monetarily.  I asked him if I could pray for him and he was happy to receive.  What happened next was most unexpected, I began to weep.  God had grabbed me by the neck and shown me that my life was more than I had given it credit for.  Here I was given a chance to pray for this man who had seemingly lost everything and I had just been gifted, not only a nice meal, but a wonderful wife of 20 years (it was our anniversary date), a healthy body, and a nights stay at a 5 diamond resort thanks to the generosity of other family members.  Talk about a perspective slap.  I was at a loss for words as I prayed, but as I could hear the whispering prayers of Michael himself as he joined me in our talk with our Father, my heart was overcome with gratitude and the power of the Holy Spirit took over me and guided my words to the Father’s ears and to Micheal’s heart.
I will remember that night forever and will always wonder if in fact Micheal was really a broken man, or a holy messenger that we had the privilege to spend part of our evening with.  Either way, thank you Michael for your heart for God and for being my brother.

Interviewing my teenage son Chase was just as odd for me as it appeared for him. Nonetheless, he was a great sport and by the end of our time together he had grabbed a hold of my heart in a way I had not expected. He is a man of faith.
When I asked him about what was going on in his life he immediately responded by stating that we did not have a church home. He did not mention that we ourselves do not have a home to call our own, although that did come later in our talk, but his first item of concern was the lack of a church family. He talked about how as a family he had moved away from his home state of AZ and had gone with his family to Indiana for a position that his dad had accepted at a church. This apparently did not work out due to his father’s displeasure with the churches lack of involvement in the community and in his word’s “they didn’t do anything.”
After moving back to AZ he said that their home church had been taken over by a larger church that was mostly interested in appearances and not relationships. He seems to be struggling the most with the lack of a church family and a desire to serve and be a part of that environment.
His response to the move back was initially a very negative one. He did not wish to leave his newfound friends and social network. He said that it was like being a kid again and that it was just easy there. After praying that God would “make it easier” for him, he said that he feels God allowed him to become more flexible and that he was open to whatever. He said that his overall response throughout this time has been one of accepting God’s will. Talk about making a dad proud.
As far as the present moment and what Chase thinks about what is going on now, he stated, “We are just sitting still”. He wasn’t quite sure what to think about the present moment, other than the fact that if feels like we are waiting for something. He prays about the current situation and hopes that his family will find a church home soon.
This led us to the last question of, “What do you want to see happen?” To my proud heart’s ears my son’s first response before “Having our own home”, or “Getting the right job” was “Finding a church home.” Soon afterwards came a home and a job, but first and foremost was a church. He said that it was somewhat difficult to know specifically what to want, since he was afraid that what he wanted may not be what God wants for our family and seems somewhat hesitant to be too detailed. He said, “I want God to do what’s best for our family.” He seems very open to wherever God may take us next regardless of when and how that happens. Just about when I think I can’t take much more of this godly teenagers perspective he finishes off our time by saying, “God made it easy the first time, it’ll be just as easy the second time.”
For Chase to state that our last two years were easy opened my eyes. Had it been easy? It didn’t seem that way to me. I can easily list on one hand people that I know personally that have been through so much worse in the past few years. God has changed us forever through this experience. He has changed my son. To know that God is using you to provide for your family is a great privilege as a father. To know that He is working behind the scenes in your life as you pursue His will is a blessing. But to see positive proof of God’s divine nature manifested in the heart and mind of your own son, well, there just are not words for that. If I had to pinpoint something in the life of Chase that he needs to work on, well, I can only say that he needs to share his faith and devotion to Jesus more often. He touched my life tonight and yeah, I cried as I wrote this. God is good, and he will use Chase to do great things in this life. He already has.

Read this again this morning and just had to share….

It really is an astounding truth that the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. He lives in me. I do not know what the Spirit will do or where He’ll lead me each time I invite Him to guide me. But I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me.

Francis Chan (Forgotten God)

How absolutely incredible would our world be if each of us who claim to live differently would own a statement like that? If you haven’t yet landed on a “new years resolution” let’s all try this one on. Live out this year being led by the Spirit and not by our own appetites for self. Yeah we can lose weight, get in shape, do this…do that, but for what? Who benefits from that? You? Who cares? Philippians 2:3,4 tells us to stop trying to impress others and think of ourselves. Let’s all listen to what the Spirit of God is telling us and then act on it! What this world truly needs is for Christians to be Christians…which means to be different.

As we listen to God through our new year, it may not all be “happy”. That’s okay, but it can for sure be “new”! Let’s all be the new creation that we are and listen to God as He speaks to us and as The Spirit guides us.

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Okay God, now what?
You have us right where you seem to always want us. I am totally and completely in your hands as usual. We move in 2 weeks. Our rent here is just too much for us to handle and we are so thankful for the new place that you have provided for us. The end of the year seems to be coming way too quickly. Our position at BridgeWay is coming to a close at the end of the year and we are still not totally sure of what the future holds for us. We know that you have placed multiple possibilities in our path and for that we are so thankful! We pray that this will provide all that we need to live and breath.
As you have place schooling on my heart we are so excited to start bible college. I am thrilled to start and become more of what you have called me to be as a pastor. I’m not completely sure how I’m going to pay for it at this point and time, but I do know that you are faithful.

As far as earthly plans, this doesn’t make one bit of sense.
As far as heavenly plans, you have us right where you want us.

To me it feels vaguely familiar to Matthew 10:9&10.
“Don’t take any money in your money belts—no gold, silver, or even copper coins. Don’t carry a traveler’s bag with a change of clothes and sandals or even a walking stick. Don’t hesitate to accept hospitality, because those who work deserve to be fed.

I realize that they went out into the world with nothing, but sometimes it feels similar to me.
We need a walking stick to just keep in the family room.

Help us to be faithful and thank you in advance for everything!

I was thankful yesterday that God invented the pig. Yeah, we boycotted the turkey yesterday and went with the all-american “other white meat”. It was wonderful. No turkey to carve…no little bag of guts and no dark meat to speak of. Just a bunch of evenly pre-sliced little pink slabs of goodness.

We went around the table and mentioned all that we were thankful for. I loved to hear my family speak of all that had been given to them. From provisions and obvious things, to God given talents and subtle yet significant blessings. By meals end our stomachs were stuffed second only to our hearts with the thoughts of what God has done in our lives and what we continue to see Him do. To be thankful and actually recognize things to truly be thankful for is a gift.

Speaking of gifts…

Webster defines “thankful” as “conscious of benefit received.” I guess that makes sense. When you are aware that something has benefited you personally, it truly brings a smile to ones face and then therefore makes you thankful that it happened. I get that. What if life is difficult though and you are maybe having a hard time being “conscious” of anything being beneficial to you? 1 Thess 5:18 states: Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. All circumstances? What if they’re hard? What if, according to webster, you are not conscious of any benefit to you? Then what? What if in your short term memory, you have a difficult time picking out exactly what has been a benefit to you personally? I’m starting to realize more and more in this life that that decision is not mine to make. I am not at liberty to say in one breath that my life is completely surrendered to God and His will and then in the next to not be thankful for my current circumstances. It’s all or nothing.

My answer around the table was a cheat is someways, as I mentioned my sweet wife as something I am thankful for. I love her dearly. I think of Matt 24:45 “A faithful, sensible servant is one to whom the master can give the responsibility of managing his other household servants and feeding them. My God has entrusted His children to me as a father and husband to take care of them and…well…feed them. They are a gift. I can see webster’s point of view here as I have benefitted greatly from them personally. And for them, I am eternally grateful.

As for circumstances, well, it’s hard to be thankful when the future is so uncertain. It’s hard to be thankful when you miss the ones you love and struggle to fight against human emotions. 1 Thess 5:18 tells us though to be thankful “in” all circumstances, not necessarily “for” all circumstances. When we signed up for our life, we knew it would have it’s difficulties, sure, but you really don’t know what they’ll look like or how they’ll come at you. My God loves me. He proves that over and over by allowing me to breathe and type this. I am “conscious of benefit received” today, since I was able to get out of bed, walk downstairs, make coffee, read, see, hear, smell and now…smile. Thank you Father for my life, I don’t deserve it, but you gave it to me anyway and for that I am thankful.

I read something this morning that I’ve read a hundred times before, but I don’t think ever got until today. Mark 5 tells of a guys named Jarius (we’ll call him J) that went to see Jesus about his kid. J’s daughter was really sick and on death’s door. Jesus takes off with him to his house with a ton of other people tagging along. One of which is this gal who’s been sick for like 12 years. She’s been bleeding and won’t stop. She knows that if she can just touch Jesus robe, she’ll be well. Have you ever in all of your life knew something with that amount of certainty? To cure an incurable situation, she knew that she just needed to touch his clothes?

What?

Of course, she does and He calls her out of the crowd. Crap. Know what? She’s “terrified” it says. She had the faith it took to be healed by Jesus and He didn’t even need to know about it or see it coming. That’s incredible power! He tells her that her faith made her well. Of course it was her faith in Jesus specifically that made her well, but it was her faith nonetheless.

Back to J

After the bleeding lady, J’s “friends” come and tell him that his kid is dead and that he doesn’t need to bug Jesus any more. Yeah, they thought that J was “troubling” Jesus. No he wasn’t! Jesus loves to be there for us, we’re not bugging him! I love this next part. It tells us that Jesus ignored their comments and told J, (and you and me)…

“Don’t be afraid, just trust me.”

That’s it? That’s all I have to do? Well let’s see. Jesus power heals a woman from a 12 year ailment just by her faith in His power. What about J? His kid is dead. They all get to his house, and Jesus tells the crowd that “she’s just sleeping”. They all laugh, which is weird, I think I would be mad at a statement like that, but anyway…He goes w/mom and dad into the room where dead girl is and takes her by the hand as she stands up and walks around. Which begs the question. Was Jesus late? I don’t think so. The plan was not to just heal her, it was a much bigger plan to show His amazing power and impeccable timing. Jesus is never late. Big deal if she was “just healed”, but dead, now not dead? That’s power!

What do we have in our lives that has us hearing from those around us “Don’t bug Him”, “The situation is helpless”, “you’ll never get better”, etc.

Fill in your own name and situation into this statement…

Jesus ignored ___________ comments and said to (you and me)
“Dont’ be afraid, just trust me.”

That is something you can count on. Trust Him.