Posted on December 12, 2011 at 6:50am.
I started my day today admitting the truth to God. I am a needy, very needy man. I usually feel bad about how needy I am, I hate being an imposition. And I may be to others, but have discovered that no amount of need exhausts the Father. The weight of the issues in this life are far beyond my ability to face, and I will not pretend that I can. I need, desperately. I need the grace to claim that this is the day that He has made, and I need the strength to rejoice and be glad in it. I need new mercies, new compassion. I need forgiveness. I need courage, trust, faith, confidence, and joy. I am a high maintenance child of God, a very needy kid. And as a new day and a new week begin, I am once again reminded that my depth of need is met by the One who is limitless.
Posted on December 10, 2011 at 11:25am.
What a good week this was, really good. None of the issues in my life went away, nor the issues with others. Still an ongoing sense of heaviness with the heap of hurt on so many levels, in so very many lives. So what does living in Christ mean, what is it to struggle well with life? Acknowledging the hard stuff, but remembering always who Christ is in the midst of it all. Saturdays and Sundays are not always Sabbaths for a pastor, not this one anyway. But it is this time of rest, of just being still that realigns my heart and breathes perspective. The discipline of sabbath is often overlooked, but this week the discipline brought life back into a tired, discouraged and confused man. God has given me the freedom to feel the hurt around me, but not miss the joy of His presence in all things.
Posted on December 7, 2011 at 9:32am.
Third day in the NC mountains, and third day without leaving the house. The weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful. There is something so soothing about being trapped indoors with a book and a hooded sweatshirt. We had planned some hikes, sight seeing and some small town Christmas shopping. All plans abandoned for absolutely nothing. It feels like we are in an old black and white movie - the fog is so dense that every window portrays a grey backdrop with dark tree silhouettes. The rain so constant that I am half expecting the foundation of the house to give way and to take afloat. Nothing to do, but make another pot of coffee.
Posted on December 5, 2011 at 5:46pm.
Today was a gift in the midst of a chaotic season. I had vacation time if I didn’t use I’d lose - so we packed up some essentials and escaped to the mountains. It is a cold nasty day which provided a great excuse not to hike or do something healthy. We sat inside all day eating snakage, working on a puzzle and being flat out lazy. Sitting next to a crackling fire with nothing to do and nowhere to go, and feeling so enormously blessed to be here with Terri. Moments like this are life-giving.
Posted on December 4, 2011 at 7:08am.
I have understood the blessed reality of Immanuel, the greatest gift and core promise from God - Immanuel, God with us. That’s it. In fact, this single truth has literally carried me through a whole heap of hurt, confusion, and depression. All the promises of God flow from this one truth. Undeserving but o so very grateful for this truth as it has breathed life and solace into painful and lonely spaces. Praying today for this truth, for this reality to be even greater felt and known in the lives of so many who are hurting. Jesus entered our world and as we have placed our lives in His, we can be assured that there is nothing that comes in or out of our worlds that shifts or changes this bottom line reality that He is with us. Finding even deeper peace from the incarnation, and claiming and praying that for so many today.
