Greater Things are Still to Come

It’s quite possibly the most hectic week of the school year- the last week. So, why not procrastinate on something that needs to be done and update my blog?

My Ben Rector Pandora station just played “God of This City” by Chris Tomlin (yeah, I was a little bit confused as to why it did too). I’ll never forget the first time I heard the song. It was four years ago when I was halfway across the world in Southeast Asia. As I heard the words “You’re the God of this city”, it stirred a passion in my heart for the Muslims that we were working with.

But now, as I hear “You’re the God of this city”, I think of Colorado Springs. I think of my precious 2^nd grade students, I think of the high school girls that I work with through YoungLife, and I think of what the Lord is doing in my own life. Greater things are yet to come. I’ve always worried that life will get boring and I’ll get restless. But how often do I forget that greater things are yet to come because God is still working in me?

Life has a way of changing rapidly. This week I’ll finish up my third year of teaching, say goodbye to a dearly loved class of second graders, and prepare for a new adventure next year teaching a different grade at a different campus. I’m also moving to a different house, with one same roommate and one new one. I’ve been in Colorado Springs almost two years, and so much has changed during that time, with friends coming and going, relationships starting and ending. But greater things are still to come.

Ephesians 3:20-21

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

Blessed

As I soak up my last day of summer today, I’m simply in awe of how blessed I am. Blessed in so many ways, and blessed far above I deserve or could imagine.

~I am blessed to have had 2 months off of work. Most professions don’t allow such a big chunk of time off to rest & refresh, and I am so grateful for the time I’ve had to do just that! I have been able to enjoy the Colorado summer with lots of time spent outside, hanging out with friends, and I’ve read some great books.

~I am blessed by my family. The two and a half weeks I spent at home this summer plus the five days my mom spent with me in Colorado was a time for me to be able to invest in relationships with my siblings and my parents, and be able to be loved and taken care of (even as an adult it’s nice to get in my car after my dad had borrowed it and find a full tank of gas!).

~I am blessed by the friends I have. These girls have challenged me, encouraged me, prayed for me, and have walked through life with me. This summer, we met once a week bright and early and read & discussed a book. I’m grateful for how God’s used these girls in my life!

~I am blessed by the old friends that I have. It was such a joy to celebrate the marriage of one of my high school friends & catch up with many more while I was in Texas!

~I am blessed to have a job I love. I mean seriously, if I didn’t,  it would be a lot harder to set my alarm for tomorrow morning!

~I am blessed by answered prayers & that I can see God working in the lives of my friends. An example of this is my friend Leigh Anne who, after over a year of searching for jobs, substitute teaching, and waiting, got a job today! I am so excited for her and how she is going to bless the students in her class. They will be lucky to have her!

~I am blessed to serve a God who is bigger and more powerful than I can imagine. I am thankful that He is working even when I can’t see it and that He is directing my paths.

I hope you are blessed today too!

Is my view of God high enough?

Earlier this week I finished reading ‘Erasing Hell’ by Francis Chan. In it, he addresses the sovereignty of God as it relates to hell. Amidst claims from people who God can’t be loving and send people to hell, he states that “the fact is, Scripture is filled with divine actions that don’t fit our human standards of logic or morality. But they don’t need to, because we are the clay and He is the Potter. We need to stop trying to domesticate God or confine Him into tidy categories and compartments that reflect our human sentiments rather than His inexplicable ways.”

I’ve been reading through the Bible this summer and my constant prayer is that I will see the scriptures with eyes of truth not with eyes of presuppositions of what I’ve heard or known my whole life. Wrestling through this book on hell has challenged me to question if my view of God is high enough. Am I willing to let God be God, even when it doesn’t make sense to me or fit into the mold that I have made of who God is supposed to be?

I’ve also been reading another book called ‘The Good News We Almost Forgot’ by Kevin DeYoung. Through this book, I’ve been introduced to the Heidelburg Catechism. Question 27 is ‘What Do You Understand By the Providence of God?’ The response is that “Providence is the almighty and ever present power of God by which He upholds, as with His hand, heaven and earth and all creatures, and so rules them that leaf and blade, rain and drought, fruitful and lean years, food and drink, health and sickness, prosperity and poverty-all things, in fact come to us not by chance but from His fatherly hand.”

All things. Not just some things, but all things. Everything that makes sense and everything that doesn’t make sense. God’s ways are higher than my ways and they are greater. Sometimes I assume my plan is better than His, but I’ve been proved wrong on that every time.

So today, I’m praying for a higher view of God that exalts Him as sovereign over all things.

“There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!’”

Abraham Kuyper

The antidote to despair

Last weekend, I went and saw the movie ‘Midnight in Paris’. In this cute film about a man who goes to Paris with his fiancé, a passion to write, and a love for the “golden age” of Paris- the 1920s, Gil, the main character, is taken back to the 1920s where he is surrounded by artists and authors including Pablo Picasso, Ernest Hemingway, T.S. Eliot, and Gertrude Stein. After he gives a manuscript of his book to Stein to be read, she advises him about his book and tells him that “the job of the artist is not to succumb to despair, but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.” She told him this to inspire him to write in a way that would fill the emptiness that people feel.

That one line stuck with me through the movie as I thought about how this movie echoes what many people today feel- emptiness & despair. Pop culture reminds us all the time of this, and tries to offer solutions to fill the void. I also think about the antidotes people have tried- art, jobs, money, relationships, etc. All turn out to be futile. Today, I’m grateful that I do have the antidote to despair- the gospel. That God would send his son Jesus to die on the cross and He would raise again so I no longer am condemned for my sin- that’s real hope and the only antidote that there is. And that is real reason to rejoice!

“And if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain…if in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.” (1 Corinthians 15:14, 19-20a)

“We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed: perplexed, but not driven to despair.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

In honor of Father’s Day

Earlier this week, I called my dad and had a conversation that happens approximately three times a year. This is how it goes:

Me: “Dad, what do you want for __________ (insert holiday- this time it was Father’s Day)”
My dad: “Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Me: “Ok. Is there anything else?”
My dad: “Isn’t that enough?”
(finish conversation. I then call my mom and find out what he wants/needs)

I don’t know why I still call him and ask him what he wants. Maybe I think one day he’ll actually name something that can be bought. Maybe it’s just another reason to talk to my dad. Either way, as I think about Father’s Day coming up on Sunday, I realize how blessed I am to have a dad who is as great as he is. So, in honor of Father’s Day, here are some things in my dad that I’m thankful for:

~ Instilling in me a love for learning- If my dad ever stops reading and buying books, I’ll know something’s wrong. We have thousands of books at my house and my dad is one of the most knowledgeable people I know. Throughout my entire life, going to the bookstore with dad is a ritual. I’m so glad my dad taught me the value of reading and always learning (and that he has a lot of the books I’d want to read so I don’t have to buy them).

~Giving me confidence and security- From telling me I’m beautiful, to telling me that whenever I want to move home, just call and he’ll come and get me (and I think he’s a little disappointed I haven’t taken him up on that offer yet), my dad has always let me know that he is there for me and will take care of me.

~Always providing for my family- I have to confess that I’ve probably taken more sick days in the year and a half I’ve worked than my dad has in the past five years. My dad is one of the most loyal and hardworking men I know. He works hard without complaining and even when he’s tired or sick in order to provide for my family.

~Always loving me more than his stuff- When I was a senior in high school, I backed into a mailbox in my dad’s car and left a dent on the side and broke the rear light. My dad might have been upset, but he never showed it. Instead, he just fixed it. I don’t even remember him telling me to be more careful (which he probably should have told me!).

~Loving my mom- There’s never been a day in my life that I didn’t doubt my dad’s love for my mom. I’m so in awe of how selfless he is and how he will come home from work and immediately make my mom go sit down. He told me once in high school that he would never be on my side in an argument with my mom. I’m so grateful for the legacy of a godly marriage that he (and my mom) have modeled for my siblings and me.

~Teaching me to love the Lord- From taking me to church, to teaching Sunday school, to making us wake up every morning and leading our family in reading the Bible, to paying me $100 to read through the Bible (when I was 6 years old- it was a one year thing), my dad taught me and showed me what it means to live as a Christian and to love the Lord.

I love you Dad. Happy Father’s Day!

Books

“You will be the same person in five years as you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.” ~ Charles “Tremendous” Jones

When I was young I read all the time. I enjoyed all kinds of books, including the children’s encyclopedia set we had at my house. As I got into Jr. High/High school, I had more required reading and I enjoyed it less and less. Then college happened. Minus the summer I spent at Focus on the Family Institute, I read even less. Once I graduated and moved to Colorado, I found myself with (a) more free time than I’d had in a while and (b) a class full of avid readers. Through it, I’ve rediscovered my love for reading. I’ve read a lot in the past few months and it’s been so refreshing. And now, with summer break upon me, one of my summer goals is to read. A lot. Here’s my list:

(1) The Bible. The whole thing.

(2) Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I’ve tried to read it several times. But I actually want to finish it this time. My personal reward will be buying a ticket to see the musical when it’s in Denver this fall or in Texas over Christmas.

(3) Something by Malcolm Gladwell. Over the weekend, I read Outliers. It was fascinating. Actually, what I really want to do is sit down and have lunch with Malcolm Gladwell, but I’ll settle for reading his books instead.

(4) A couple teacher books. Specifically, Goodbye Round-Robin and finish re-reading When Children Love to Learn.

(5) The Tangible Kingdom by Hugh Halters and Matt Smay. I’m really excited to be reading this with some dear friends (even if we meet at 7am to discuss it)

(6) The Good News We Almost Forgot by Kevin DeYoung. This is more a recovery book after recently reading Love Wins by Rob Bell (that book is a totally different conversation!).

Hopefully I’ll actually make the time to read all these books and maybe even a few more.

The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.  ~Mark Twain

‘Friends’, friends, and community

Last May, I moved “home” after spending three and a half years in school and another semester teaching in Mississippi.

The goal: find a job, get an apartment, live near my family.
The outcome: got a job, found a house, did not live near my family.

I moved to Colorado, where I didn’t exactly know people. After I first moved there, I had a lot of free time and started watching Friends (because when your roommates have it on DVD, why not watch it?).

And I laughed, a lot (confession: I even felt a little sad after I watched the finale)- which started me thinking- what is it about Friends that made it one of the most popular sitcoms of all time? How is it possible that a TV show about six friends who drink a lot of coffee could attract 52.5 million viewers for its finale? The answer- community. We live in a society that is starving for community, and yet too often finds it in media rather than in people (and imagine the drama that they could have had in Friends if Facebook had been around then!).

Simple truth: we weren’t made to live life alone.

Now, seven months later I have a lot less free time and have exchanged viewing Friends for actual friends. And I’m ridiculously blessed. I’ve had so many conversations about community with other friends here, but I realized that sometimes it can be easier to talk about community then actually work to build community. It’s certainly not easy.  I also know there have been times when it would be “easier” to do things on my own and figure out my own problems, but that’s not how God created us to live. I’m so thankful that God has given me others to teach me more about Him. Here’s a few pictures of the community that I’m blessed to have!

My “first friends”. We met at Bible study through church because we sat near each other the first night and learned quickly that we had the same motivation for attending- finding friends! I’m so thankful for these girls. They are beautiful women who radiate the Lord.

Small group: Pretty much the only thing we all have in common is our love for the Lord- and that’s ok! I love these people and how much they challenge and encourage me. These are some of the girls from small group (and one person who’s not in small group- but we love her anyway!)

Wednesday night dinner club: Two friends from work and I have dinner every Wednesday night- I always looking forward to seeing them!

Roommates: Here’s a picture with two of them- but I’m blessed with four awesome roommates. Couldn’t ask for better girls to live with!

What about you- are you living in community?

“The Christian needs another Christian who speaks God’s Word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged.”

“Let him who cannot be alone beware of community…let him who is not in community beware of being alone”

Dietrich Bonhoeffer