Get with the Flow!

Tyler woke up while I was getting ready for work the other day and was reading books on the floor. The first one was about Jonah and he told me that it was raining. He then moved on to another book on Noah. He then proclaimed, "Dad, it's raining here too!" I responded that it rains a lot in the Bible.

Going to back to my thoughts the other day, it "rains" a lot in the lives of people in the Bible. Their responses to the rain can teach us a lot. Joseph, for instance, faced a lot of things that were bad, but in being faithful to God, was able to bring fame to God. Others, not so much.

I was listening to a sermon by Ed Young the other day and he was talking about a river. In a river you have eddies. The water will hold up behind these and, if you are travelling on the river, you want to avoid these as you will just go around in circles. To make progress you have to stay out where the water is flowing. He taught that we need to do the same in our walk with God. We need to stay where the water is moving. It is too easy to get comfortable in the circles of life and not push on. God wants us to stay with Him no matter what the circumstances of life my be. May we not be caught up with life that is so often "rainy", but stay with the flow and bring praise and fame to HIS name.

Do we want to serve a small God?

Today I listened to 2 sermons by Andy Stanley. They are the first 2 in a 4 part series where he was challenging those on the outside looking in of a relationship with Christ to begin that relationship. At first thought, you might think that there really wouldn't be a whole lot in a sermon like that for the believer, and though he never spoke to believers directly, I took so much from it.

His premise in the first sermon was that many people have a list of questions that they need answered to believe. This never happens as getting the answers doesn't cause you to believe. Answers just make you a smarter unbeliever. It takes life making the need personal to overlook the questions. In the second, he speaks of how we want to come to God on our own terms. He simply just wants us to believe.

For me this just hit home in the daily aspects of my life. "Lord, if you answer this and this, I will trust you." or "Lord, take care of this, and I will do that." Why do we put so much into giving God conditions. Maybe they are even subconscious. How much better would it be for us to subconsciously just shut up, trust and do.

Then he posed the question I titled this post with. Would we really want to believe and serve a God who was so small that He followed our whims? Why should the God who made this vast creation from nothing need to follow our guidelines for us to trust and obey.

Matthew 18:3-4 (in the NIV 'cause that's what I can reach) says:
"And He said: 'Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever takes a humble place---becoming like this child--is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'"

So, do we approach Him humbly? Do we realize our position in the universe. We have the amazing and awesome privilege of serving the God who is above all. Nothing can be greater. Now it is time to be humble, get ourselves out of the way and trust Him.

Declaration

Before I get to my main thought, I just want to let you know that there are some possibilities of full-time ministry for us that may be opening to us. Nothing definite for sure, but maybe God beginning to open some doors. Please just pray that the right opportunity will be clear to us.

I was reading in Psalm 8 for my devos yesterday. Verse one says:

"Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory about the heavens."

My thoughts go to a couple of videos that we watched just before Katelyn was born. They were sermons given by Louie Giglio that used images from space to drive home his point. He showed some images of galaxies that were billions of light years away and we had just recently found. To myself I think about what these stars have been doing since Creation. They have been right there for what, 6 thousand years? All that time we didn't even know they were there. Yet, even unnoticed on Earth they did exactly what God created them to do...praise HIM. (The heavens DECLARE the Glory of God!) Humanly speaking, how many of us would be willing to continue giving Him the glory for 6 weeks, let alone that long?

It also show just how big God is. To think that He created a universe that HUGE. We are always finding something else out there. It is not like He sits up there and says, "Well, they made a better telescope, I had better create for universe for the to see." This has always been there. Makes me wonder just how much is out there that we will never even know about this side of glory.

Then I realize just how small I am. In a universe so extravagant, we take up very little space. We think so highly of ourselves and God must laugh. Yet, despite our insignificance, He loves us. Verses 3-4 read:

"When I consider your heavens, the works of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him."

To think that the God that was powerful enough to create the greatness that is the universe, cares enough that He wants a relationship with me. How amazing is that? The real question is how does it effect our everyday lives? Are we different knowing that we serve such a great and powerful God? Do we trust Him more? Do you love Him more? Are we faithful in taking time for our personal and corporate times of worship?

Thoughts on a rainy day...

No it isn't raining outside. It actually snowed more last night. The title will make sense eventually.

So, I had planned on writing the last few days, but I have been fighting with getting my laptop online at home. After a very unhelpful, but humorous, call to tech support, and more fun, I am finally up and running - if dial-up can be considered running.

Maybe some of you have read on our Family Blog (see link on the left) our thoughts concerning the song below. We first heard this song this summer and with all our family has been through in the past couple of years it has really meant a lot. I have been thinking about it again this week. I will let you read it and then I will share my thoughts.

Bring The Rain - by MercyMe

I can count a million times
People asking me how I
Can praise You with all that I've gone through
The question just amazes me
Can circumstances possibly
Change who I forever am in You

Maybe since my life was changed
Long before these rainy days
It's never really ever crossed my mind
To turn my back on you, oh Lord
My only shelter from the storm
But instead I draw closer through these times
So I pray

Bring me joy, bring me peace
Bring the chance to be free
Bring me anything that brings You glory
And I know there'll be days
When this life brings me pain
But if that's what it takes to praise You
Jesus, bring the rain

I am yours regardless of the clouds that may loom above
Because you are much greater than my pain
You who made a way for me
Suffering your destiny
So tell me whats a little rain

Yesterday was a really annoying day for me at work. My monotonous job got worse. I am a results oriented person and would rather do a lot of small jobs that move along and get done than something that I sit at forever. Well, my assignment at work turned into the later. I realized that project could not be sped up and, no exaggeration, will take me 4 weeks minimum. A month of brainless activity, pulling the lever on a drill press, doesn't excite me at all. The process gives me lots of time to think and if I am not careful it turns into how much I dislike this job. Why does God want a family that is so willing to serve Him more than we are currently able to wait any longer? Doesn't He need us somewhere now (that is another whole song)?

So my thoughts come back to this song. What is a little rain. God obviously wants us in ministry but in His time, which evidently is not now. In light of all that He has done for me, what is a month of shear boredom.

Obviously, this song means more in relation to the loss that we have experienced over the past year and a half. Not that anyone came out an asked us directly how we could still praise Him, but many have said that they never could go through what we have. My answer to that is simply, in God you would if you needed to. Not that any of you need a reminder of this, but we are nothing special. God just allowed us a great opportunity to bring glory to Him.

Did it hurt? Of course. It has changed who we are forever, and I think that He intended that. We have more of an understanding about "life is but a vapor." Ultimately, through the pain, we realistically only had one option...Trust Him. Though things didn't go as we had hoped, it didn't make Him any less faithful. We know that many people saw Him who may not ever have otherwise.

So, all of that to say, we are willing to do whatever God has for us, whenever, where ever. If His desire for us is to bring Him glory, everything we encounter is an opportunity to do so. Our circumstances will not change our reliance on Him. We are forever in Him. How could we give in under any little rain...

So...Now What?

That question by itself pretty much sums up my life lately in so many ways. As many of you know we are seeking God's direction as a family concerning full-time ministry in a church. God allowed a recent door of opportunity for us to be closed and we were left with that very question. The short answer is to see what else is out there, but with that comes the fear/concern that "Does this church fit with us in this or that area?", "Where will we have to move to?", "What type of ministry will He lead us to?"

Well, my current job sort of took a twist that, at first, I didn't like, but God has really used for me right now. I have been assigned a very mind-numbing task that is repetative, boring and solitary. I have been able to use my iPod and listen to music which my normal tasks do not allow. So, yesterday I just started the music and let it go. Normally I let is shuffle, but I didn't this time. After lunch sometime it made it to an artist named John Waller. He is relatively new, but his music has really been encouraging to me.

As I was pondering the above questions the song came on "While I'm Waiting." Here are some of the lyrics.

I'm waiting,
I'm waiting on You, Lord, And I'm hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord, Though it is painful
But, Patiently, I will wait

I WILL MOVE AHEAD, BOLD AND CONFIDENT
TAKING EVERY STEP IN OBEDIENCE
WHILE I'M WAITING, I WILL SERVE YO
WHILE I'M WAITING, I WILL WORSHIP
WHILE I'M WAITING, I WILL NOT FAINT
I WILL BE RUNNING THE RACE

That perfectly fits up my thinking. We are waiting. Many times we feel stuck in a job that I don't like and feel God making us discontent about it, but having no way out yet. On the other hand our response needs to be and has been - serve and worship. We are going to continue to be faithful to all that he has currently called us to do until HE calls us elsewhere. As Pastor has said so often lately, we don't want to rush ahead or fall behind. We want to take each step in obedience.

The very next song on that John Waller CD is "Something Big"

I wanna see something I've not seen
Something so big
I wanna be a part of something great,
Greater than me
It's time to dream big dreams
To see Your vision become reality
'Cause it's for You, by You, those love you want to do

SOMETHING SO BIG
IT'S DESTINED TO FAIL WITHOUT YOU, LORD
IT'S GONNA FAIL WITHOUT YOU, LORD
SOMETHING SO GREAT
IT TAKES A MIRACLE TO DO
WE, YOUR CHILDREN
WANNA DO SOMETHING SO BIG FOR YOU.

I know that God smiled when He allowed those two songs to go together on that CD knowing that I would need them yesterday. That song is my prayer, not because of wanting to be a part of something big for recognition. I want God to be able to use me for something great because I was fearless enough to just trust Him with everything and let Him use me.

So.. now what? Wanna join me and let God do something great...and willing just to be faithful while we wait?

So what's in a name?

First of all, let me thank you for taking the time to check this out. I understand that you have a lot of things to do and your time is very valuable. My goal is to share with you what God is teaching and challenging me with in what I read, hear, and experience. Lord-willing it will be of some help to you (even if you are just humored). It will also be a place where you can see where God is leading us in relation to full-time ministry.

So, you may ask where did "Britches" come from? Well, as many of you know, Amy and I have been working with the teens in our church for almost 5 years now. Last year, they started calling me "Britches" and it just stuck. It definately would not have been my first choice for a nickname, but I love my teens and it became to me a term of respect and acceptance.

Thanks again for your time. I will have more to post tomorrow and will try to post every few days. If you ever have any comment or question, feel free to e-mail me. There is a link to the left.