….we finally found the mysterious portal to the “other side”
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Having Some Fun at NCFCA Region 3 Speech and Debate Tournament
Dax spent this past year getting in to debate, specifically Lincoln / Douglas debate. Kathi and I are very proud of Dax. In just his first year of debate, he qualified to NCFCA Region 3 Invitational Tournament, which is the qualifying tournament for Nationals. Although he didn’t make it past the preliminary rounds, he faced some tough competitors and learned a great deal.
Dax definitely caught the fever for debate and I expect we’ll be spending a lot more time at various tournaments around the state and region this coming year.
Dax and Chris Jeub, one of his coaches from WordsWorth Speech and Debate Club. Chris is also with Training Minds Ministry, a ministry that helps teach young people about logic, debate, speech, and thinking.
What Does "I'm Praying For You" Really Look Like?
It pains me to say that I’ve been more of a beneficiary of others praying for me and my family than my interceding on the behalf of others. It isn’t that I don’t care for others or am not interested in seeing God work in their lives, it’s just that I often fail to follow up on my own commitment to pray for them or their particular need. I don’t write it down, I get so engrossed in my own particular problems or sin, or I just become too darn lazy. In all honesty, it is probably a little bit of each of those and a lot of other stuff not even mentioned. In short, my prayer life reflects the state of my heart at the time – either inward or outward focused.
What I’ve learned from observing and listening to others is that by continually praying for me, they become personally invested in my life. They wake up in the middle of the night to talk to God about me, or they pray for our family during their dinner-time prayer. When they see a blog post or a Facebook status update that indicates things are not going well or things are on an upswing, they stop and bring that before God at that very moment. When I’m talking with someone over the phone, they’ll pray with me before hanging up. I’ll get emails from people asking how I’m doing – they are proactive with regards to matters in my life. How cool is that?
What I’ve learned from these dear friends is that they set aside their own agenda and become a lover of people rather than a lover of self. That love of people comes from being a lover of God and His Word, and it is the Holy Spirit accomplishing that work.
Let’s you and I strive to become lovers of people by becoming a lover of God, thus caring enough for people that we desire to pray for them.
I Wonder What Monday Morning Was Like?
As I woke up this morning to a bright blue sky and a crisp, nippy feeling in the air, I got to thinking about what Monday morning might have been like for the disciples that had just met the risen Jesus the night before. For the disciples, everything changed when “Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, ‘Peace be with you.’”
I can imagine, as the sun broke through the windows early that Monday morning, John rolling over and staring at Jesus while He still slept on the floor next to him. John’s eyes then met Peter’s, their faces expressing both disbelief and a slight grin at the same time. Was Mary already awake, staring outside and wondering lay ahead for them all?
Was it that feeling you and I get after waking up in a new house in a new city – everything is new again. Or was it like stepping outside a tent, while the dew is still fresh on the grass. The air is fresh, the baby birds are talking to their mommy, and everything is just so beautifully quiet and peaceful. Was it like that first day of vacation where you finally feel free to play and have fun?
Whatever the atmosphere was like that Monday morning, fear and weariness was suddenly being replaced by purpose, hope, renewal, and excitement.
The Love of Jesus
In the midst of prolonged trial or deep pain, it is often difficult to know what or how to pray. I can recall many times someone coming up to me at church and telling me that they suddenly had the burden to wake up in the middle of the night to pray for our family. They didn’t know it, but it was often during those times that I was struggling myself to come to our Lord. I didn’t know how to pray for strength or wisdom, but they were doing it for me. I was too exhausted to cry out to the Lord for help, but someone was doing it on my behalf. That is the Body of Christ and the Holy Spirit at work to carry out His promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us.
During those “dark moments of the soul”, I have also relied on the wisdom and prayers of those that paved the way before us, the Puritans. One of my favorite books is a book of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision, published by Banner of Truth Trust.
As we prepare to celebrate the death and resurrection of our Savior, I thought this prayer from The Valley of Vision might be a blessing to you. I hope it can serve as a springboard in helping your own prayer life. They have a daily devotion section on their website that you might also find beneficial.
From The Valley of Vision:
The Love of Jesus
O Father of
Jesus,
Help
me to approach thee with deepest
reverence,
not with presumption,
not with servile fear, but with
holy boldness.
Thou art beyond the
grasp of my understanding,
but not beyond that of my love.
Thou knowest that I
love thee supremely,
for thou art supremely adorable,
good, perfect.
My heart melts at
the love of Jesus,
my brother, bone of my bone,
flesh of my flesh,
married to me, dead for me, risen
for me;
He is mine and I am
his,
given to me as well as for me;
I am never so much
mine as when I am his,
or so much lost to myself until
lost in him;
then I find my true manhood.
But my love is frost
and cold, ice and snow;
Let his love warm
me,
lighten my burden,
be my heaven;
May it be more
revealed to me in all its influences
that my love to him may be more
fervent
Let the mighty tide
of his everlasting love
cover the rocks of my sin and
care;
Then let my spirit
float above those things
which had else wrecked my life.
Make me fruitful by
living to that love,
my character becoming more
beautiful every day.
If traces of
Christ’s love-artistry be upon me,
may he work on with his divine
brush
until the complete image be
obtained
and I be made a perfect copy of
him,
my Master.
O Lord Jesus, come
to me,
O Divine Spirit,
rest upon me,
O Holy Father, look
on me in mercy
for the sake of the well-beloved.
Maggie's Birthday Party
We had lots of girls over today to help celebrate Maggie’s 13th birthday – thanks to everyone who came. You brought joy to our home.
More pictures can be found here on Facebook.
HE Cares for ME
A good friend a mine, a pastor in Pensacola, Florida, sent me the following text written by Charles Spurgeon – what wonderful encouragement.
“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”—1
Peter 5:7
It is a happy way of soothing sorrow, when we can feel—“HE
cares for ME!” Christian! do not dishonor God, by always wearing a brow
of worry! Come–cast your burden upon your God! You are staggering beneath
a weight–which your Father would not feel. What seems like a crushing
burden to you–would be but as small dust to Him.
Nothing is so sweet as to,
“Lie passive in God’s hands,
And know no will, but His.”
O child of suffering–be patient! God has not overlooked you in His providence.
He who is the feeder of sparrows–will also furnish you with what
you need. Do not sit down in despair.
There is One who cares for you!
His all-seeing eye is fixed on you!
His all-loving heart beats with pity for your woe!
His omnipotent hand shall yet bring you the needed help!
The darkest cloud–shall scatter itself in showers of mercy.
The blackest gloom–shall give place to the morning light.
If you are one of His family–He will bind up your wounds, and heal your broken
heart. Do not doubt His grace, because of your troubles–but believe that He
loves you as much in seasons of distress–as in times of happiness.
What a serene and quiet life might you lead–if you would leave providing–to
the God of providence!
If God cares for you–why need you care also? Can you trust Him
for your soul–and not for your body? He has never refused to bear
your burdens–He has never fainted under their weight. Come, then, soul!
Be done with fretful worry–and leave all your concerns in the hand of
your gracious God!
Stuff I'm Reading and Doing
Since selling GottaBeMobile, I’ve been really enjoying just “being” – sitting in a chair without the glow of a laptop screen lighting up my face, sitting on my driveway soaking up the sun, rocking in my porch swing, taking some long bike rides, and having the mental bandwidth to finally get in to some books.
At times, I’ve found myself aimlessly wondering the house feeling like I should be doing something, checking technology news for some breaking story, or some other thing that “must be done”. For the last six or so years, my life revolved around “being online and making myself available” and it feels very strange, but freeing, to unplug those areas. I’ve thrown myself into reading scripture, other books, and just enjoying the “quiet”.
I just finished reading Tim Keller’s “The Prodigal God” – highly recommend it. Last night, I started Jerry Bridges’ “The Respectable Sins”, and found myself so engrossed in his writing that I was close to halfway finished before I finally put it down for the night. Next up on my list is John Piper’s “A Hunger for God”. If you don’t own an Amazon Kindle reading device and read a lot of books, I highly recommend it, too. It is a great device for long form reading.
One of the other things I really missed over the years was cycling and mountain biking. The exercise is great (and much needed), but I crave the solitude and time to think. There is nothing like the grueling climb of a long hill – just you, the bike, and the hill.
