Firefall

Monday May 20, 2013

They had wandered…again.

Loving whatever captured their hopes and dreams instead of placing their faith in the One.

The One who parted the waters.
Led by cloud at day, fire by night.
Brought victory again and again.
Gave them a king after God’s own heart.

Spiritual infidelity spread through His people and they followed the god du jour with a small “g.”

Elijah warned; they ignored.

Then came the showdown.

But first the question: “How long will you waver between two opinions?”

And the people said nothing.

Elijah gave Baal’s prophets every advantage. Their god, after all, was the god of fire. It was 450 prophets of Baal to one man of God. They even went first.

The prophets of Baal cried out. And their god (with a small “g”) said nothing, did nothing.

So the prophet of God called the people to Him. He repaired the altar using 12 stones to represent all 12 tribes. Israel, though divided now, was to see themselves as one before God. In faith, he called for four jars of precious water to douse the wood.

Then he prayed: “…so these people will know that…You are turning their hearts back again.”

And the fire fell.
And the people cried out, proclaiming, “The LORD – he is God!”

When I wander, Lord, capture my faith, my heart, my focus.
Help me to see those miracles wrought only by your hand, Your work in the world and the hearts around me.

The firefall of every day.


I'm linking up with Laura, Michelle, and Jen today.

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A vision of the world

Friday May 17, 2013

Spring gives one a new vision of things, doesn't it?

I love that about spring. A new vision of the world...stayed tuned for today's quote.

I'm linking up with Susanne of Living to Tell the Story for Friday's Fave Five today, where we recount our blessings of the week.
My favorites this week:

1. The countdown. Yes, this has to be #1. One more day of classes, then exams. Summer is on its way.

2. Teaching. I know it sounds odd; in one breath, I’m happy summer is here, in another I’m thankful for teaching. As I watch seniors get ready to graduate and try their wings, I’m grateful to have had a small part in their lives. I spoke to upcoming sophomores this week about their summer reading, and the anticipation on their faces piqued mine. And just last night, I heard from a former student who took a bumpy road in high school, but is being so used by God now. (You can read her wonderful testimony here.) Yes, indeed, I’m thankful for my day job.

3. Adoption. My daughter-in-law wrote a beautiful post this past week, and I quoted some of it here. Her heart for their daughter who’s waiting in India is so full. Watching her and my son live out God’s call on their lives is such a blessing.

4. Video. We took tons when the boys were growing up. We’re working on a video for our son’s rehearsal dinner, as we did for the eldest, and it is SO much fun to look back and reminisce. What fun, crazy days those were!

5. A quote:

"Young lovers see a vision of the world redeemed by love. That is the truest thing they ever see, for without it life is death.” (W. Berry)

A vision of the world redeemed by love – that’s what I want to carry with me. When times are hard, the road is bumpy, if we can remember that this life is redeemed by love…well, that’s hope.

Wishing you the truest thing this week,


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Sharing the heart of adoption

Thursday May 16, 2013

My oldest son's precious wife recently posted some belated Mother's Day thoughts, and I just have to share.



Her words provide a glimpse into the heart of adoption -- its hopes, its heartcry, its goal:




"Our sweet family is separated from our daughter who is somewhere halfway across the world. My heart aches for her birth mother and whatever decisions and life experiences led her to surrender her daughter.

Why must this world be so broken that families are torn apart? Why are there hundreds of thousands of orphans around the world? When my head begins to swirl with questions I remember that this isn't how things were intended. Although my desire for years has been to bring our daughter home from India the circumstances that led up to this point were not what God originally designed for his creation...

Aside from the fact that my children are already broken by sin, they will also have to endure the brokenness of this world. One of my children already knows this reality too well. All I can think to do today is pray that the Lord can use our family to be a part of the healing process. May we in some small way live out the life giving, sin crushing, hope restoring, joy inducing, powerful reality of the Gospel...

May this adoption journey be a reminder to those looking on that Christ came to restore a broken world."

You can read all of Kristen's post here. Visit them, leave a word of encouragement, pray for them and for their sweet daughter waiting in India.

I'm so blessed by my boys...and by those that love them.
Thankful for such a helpmeet for my son.

Bronze or gold?

Wednesday May 15, 2013

Have you ever covered up, compromised, tossed something in the closet instead of fixing it?

What teenager is not the master of this? Sliding shoes and dirty laundry under the bed in an attempt to “clean up.”

(I may or may not have done this very same thing when I was a kid…)

Some of us have held onto those childhood habits…and we even see this in scripture.

Rehoboam, Solomon’s son and King David’s grandson, attempted to take over the throne after his father. But when the Egyptians raided the temple his dad had built, they made off with beautiful golden shields that were mounted on the walls of the temple.

So Rehoboam covered up. He had bronze shields made to replace them. (I Kings 14) He didn’t consult God or even one of the prophets. He didn’t consider whether or not he should go after those shields, with God’s help.

No, he covered up.

From gold—glittering, sparkling and pure—to bronze.
An alloy, a mixture, a compromise.

In life and relationships, covering up what you can clean up results in an even bigger mess.

Why?

A cover up is a compromise—from gold to bronze. In marriage, why settle for bronze? Our marriages gleamed in their early days. Why not now? We hold ourselves to such a high standard in so many areas, but we so often settle for second best in our marriages. In all the glory of their gold, they’ll reflect Him!

When the rulers and the prophets of the Old Testament truly wanted to bring glory to God, they went to Him for advice. They didn’t try to fix things themselves; they listened and obeyed.

Want to clean up? Go to Him first. Ask for forgiveness, wisdom—for His eyes to see the situation.

Ask for a desire for more than bronze, and for His help to make that happen.


Linking up today with Beth for Wedded Wednesday.

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Be careful, little eyes...

Monday  Mary 13, 2012

Remember that song?  "Be careful little eyes what you see..."

Sounds easy, doesn't it? The easiest way for parents to control something is just to take it away. But is that the answer?

One day we won't be there to say no or to grab the remote...
Then what?

How do we teach our kids to be discerning?

I'm posting over at The MOB Society today, with some ideas on teaching discernment.

Why don't you drop by?