Posted on December 1, 2011 at 6:28am.
December 1, hard to believe. Another holiday season has begun. Even with all the commercialism and hijacking of the season there is an excitement in the air. Trees strapped to cars and heading for boxes pulled from attics. Thoughts of gifts and cards find us in stores and on line looking for an expression that adequately reflects how we feel about those we care about. And for us northern transplants the cold weather of late only adds to the excitement and anticipation of another Christmas. And yet none of this hype is distracting enough to remove the incredible hurt that is present in the lives of so many people in our community. More than that, it feels insensitive to the pain that is present. I remember that within hours of my mom’s death I had to take the girls to the mall to buy something to wear to her funeral, and I remember experiencing the very distinct difference between my world, and the world I was standing. My world slowed down, came to a halt, while the world around me had no clue, no respect for my pain. This is where so many people are right now, hurting more than they can express and the joy of the season feels like an unintentional assault. Above the hype and below the hurt is this - Immanuel, God with us. Praying today for this truth to be felt, known, and embraced.
Posted on November 30, 2011 at 6:59am.
I woke up this morning way too early, glanced over the covers hoping to see a normal “getting up time” and was disappointed. So I tossed and turned - praying in and out of consciousness. The more I prayed, the more my mind began racing. Finally got up, grabbed my coffee and the Word and hunkered down a bit. I reached for a pen and began pouring my heart out to God and experienced Him once again calming this anxious soul, realigning and refocusing my mind.
Posted on November 29, 2011 at 6:38am.
God loves a rebellious people. I don’t really get it, but I cling to it. At the close of Deuteronomy God foretells His people’s waywardness while simultaneously calling them back to Himself. “choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him, for the Lord is your life . . .” God loves a rebellious Mark, He knows the hold this world has on me, and knows where I will trip up and fall. And like a father who loves and longs for the best in me He reminds me this day to choose life, to listen to His voice, and hold fast to Him - the life my heart yearns for and is wired for is only found in Him. O that this reminder from the Word would invade my thoughts this day, and compel this rebellious heart to hold fast..
Posted on November 28, 2011 at 6:48am.
I really like this new chapter of parenting and family life. Each time the girls return home there is something different, something new to discover. It reminds me of when they were tiny, so much development in such short periods of time. One day they were flailing on their bellies and the next day walking and talking in complete sentences. I am hopeful that they are learning from professors and books, but the learning taking place both in and outside the lecture hall is shaping and forming them too. How fun to literally see their minds churning and their hearts being pulled! It was a blast having them home, and now that I know they are safely back at school, it’s not so bad having the house to ourselves again. Good times.
Posted on November 27, 2011 at 6:33am.
Reading in Deuteronomy I am struck with the precision of directives, the specificity of life and obedience for the Hebrew people. The word “blameless” emerges and I am stilled. Blameless. Pure, no fault. Not sure I have ever had a day, hour or moment where this is how I have felt about my life. And yet this is what God requires from His people. I have tried real hard over the years to be blameless, and I have miserably failed. It is not found in the doing, though I ought to want to do what pleases the Lord in a loving response to all that He has done. It is not found in the doing, but in the being. Truth is, I am blameless today as I stand in the shadow of Jesus. Being in Christ I stand before God spotless, blameless and pure. If I could get this into my thinking, carve this deep into my theology the freedom that would flow would be life altering. O that this place of being would penetrate my worship, my living for and In Christ today.
