in all things...{billboards, too}

so as i was traveling down the interstate towards school one morning last week, i was sharing with God just how frustrated i was with myself. 

with my inability to focus on His word.
with my apathy towards prayer.
with my lack of discipline in my spiritual life.

i was crying out to my Father for reassurance as i was flying down the road at 60 mph, but going nowhere.

and as i looked up, He spoke to me through billboards.  four billboards, one right after another. 
{no joke, so don't laugh.}

i have no photos, so words will have to explain...

first...a beautiful collection of blue butterflies, taking off...it said "transformed".

second...a crumpled piece of paper on one half of the billboard, which said "before"...and a smooth, wrinkle-free sheet on the other half that said "after".

third...one half of the billboard showed a boy's hands playing a video game.  the other half showed the boy's hands holding a turtle.  and it said "unplug".

fourth and final...the words "get insulated".

words from God where i needed them, fast and furious glimpes on the highway.
telling me i am His.  i am worthy.  i am not of this world.
reminding me i am loved.  i am new.  i am capable of breaking free.

"teach me your way, oh Lord, that i may trust in you; give me an undivided heart that i may fear your name..." ps 86:11

thoughts for the moment...

school is back.  fall is almost here.  summer was completely and utterly awesome.  a lot of {stuff} has been happening in our lives, some good and some sad...nothing bad.  i've been thinking and praying a lot, listening to God's Word and trying to discern.  here are some thoughts...

* God's plan will prevail, even through our foolishness.
* we may *think* we know what the purpose is for what we are doing in our lives, yet we can not see past time and space.  God can.  and He is way cool.
* God is the potter.  i am the clay.  being molded hurts.  as does pruning.  but the end result is magnificent because it brings glory.
* my favorite verse, luke 9:23-24, is about carrying a cross daily.  when we finally decide to lose our life and carry that cross, we'd better be ready. 
* the Word and prayer sure can heal...everything.  i crave them.

i remain confident of this: i will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  wait for the Lord; be strong, take heart, and wait for the Lord.  psalm 27: 13

favorites friday...

i read crazy love by francis chan for the first time in november 2009. i read it again this summer, and now coach sal and i are teaching a class at our church this quarter, using this book. so i am reading it for the third time.

if you want to really fall in love with God, read it. if you want to rethink how you live for Him, read it. it will make you change the way you think and live each day. be ready.

not without you...

i've been following the blog of a family in the process of bringing their adopted son home from haiti via humanitarian parole, and the struggles they faced getting him to the united states. after the young boy was denied a flight to the u.s. on a c-17 because of missing paperwork, his father decided to go to haiti and get him. it proved to be a long enduring week as the two of them slept on the floor of the embassy and dealt with the legal bureaucracy of paperwork.

my heart cried out to God for them as i followed his updates and his frustration. he mentioned that each day his son would ask, "we go home now?" and his answer was no. and then his son would ask, "you go home now?" and he would answer, "not without you".

this story made me think about the father-child relationship. our Father-child relationship.

not without you. our Father would go to the ends of the earth to be with us, to get us, to bring us back.

"for this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them...I will rescue them from all the places where they were scatttered on a day of clouds and darkness." ezekiel 34:11-12

"...but while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him, and kissed him." luke 15:20

our Father is waiting for us. our Father is waiting with us.

"the Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. instead He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2 peter 3:9

"the Lord watches over you- the Lord is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night." psalm 121:5-6

our Father fought the battle for us and won.

"and having disarmed the the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross." colossians 2:15

He loves us so so so much.