Evidence

I am so frustrated.  God has taken my voice.  Well, most of it, anyway.  My husband jokingly says that it's just more evidence that God is a man.  Ha.....Ha...

All kidding aside, what evidence of God have you seen?  Do you ever think that the interruptions in your life are orchestrated to put you in the right place at the right time?  Do you ever watch something in nature and think to yourself that someone MUST have created it?  Do you stand in awe of the circle of life barely able to comprehend it?  That's God.  That's evidence of His existence. 

Pay attention.  Your testimony is the data.  The data adds up.  You just have to be willing to collect it.

^{Romans 1:20} 

For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

Luke 19:40

 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”

Check out this awesome version of Ain't No Rock!

Theology, from a seven year old point of view

When Hannah got off the bus recently, she said she had been daydreaming about God putting her back before she was born.  She described the evil angel (Satan) and gave vivid details about her musings.  At school, she reports playing and drawing pictures where Satan (the evil one) controls things (usually horses) while whoever else she wants in the story watches.  Trust me when I say that while I can't always remember all the elements of her imaginings, I know that she's got the basic theology down.  Satan is bad and God is good.


Recently, our family seems to be in a season of trial.  One thing after another happens to cause us to either trust in God or abandon all hope.  We are choosing trust.  While God is gracious and gives us brief periods of rest, life is very unpredictable right now and I truly feel that we are in a period of testing. 


I told my girls the story of Job.  In the Bible, it tells us that Satan (a fallen angel) visits God in heaven and questions the loyalty of a man named Job.  By the way, the name Job has a "long o".  Anyway, Satan tells God that of course Job is faithful and loyal to Him;  he has been blessed again and again.  God agrees to allow Satan to test Job.  The only condition is that he cannot take his life. 


As the story proceeds, Job loses his livestock (financial), servants, and children, is covered in painful sores, and still praises God.  The remainder of the story is a conversation between Job and his friends lamenting and debating the "whys" of the situation.  Finally, God intervenes and calls Job from a whirlwind, asking him rhetorical questions.  Job is overwhelmed by the encounter, and God restores his health, wealth, and family. 

We've also been talking about the spiritual warfare that is happening all around us every day.  Hannah and I sometimes name the demons we think are bothering us as Frank Peretti does in his book This Present Darkness.  We claim the power of Jesus' name by saying (even very quietly) "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave", and we believe that those demons are leaving.  I feel physical relief when I claim that power, so I can testify to this invisible battle.  We pray for the Holy Spirit and the angels to surround us and everywhere we go, and we feel protected. 


You see, I want my children to know where true power and protection come from.  I want them to know the difference between the truth of God and the lies of Satan.  I want them to know that even when we don't understand the "whys" and "whats", we have a God who does and who is working out HIS plan and HIS plan is always good in the end. 

Legacy

Matthew 7:16-20


¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

I read this scripture at my grandma's funeral.  It is originally a text teaching about recognizing the difference between false and good prophets.  We talked a lot about how it applies to people in general.  If we are a tree that is growing upward and downward, we will branch out and produce much good fruit, affecting many people's lives in positive ways.  These "fruit" will then produce seeds and create new trees, multiplying the effect. 

The sun is an imperative ingredient in the process of photosynthesis, providing food and nutrients for the tree.  The tree grows tall and the branches spread out seeking this sun.  Likewise, a person should consistently seek the Light of God (the Son) by communicating directly with Him and by building relationships with others that point us to God. 

A tree must also receive water and nutrients from the soil.  In order to do this effectively, the roots must branch out underground in many directions.  This also helps to support the tree as it grows. 

Grandma and Grandpa put down roots in Minnesota.  They lived there their whole lives and invested in their community.  This was evidenced by the presence of people from Coca-Cola (my grandfather's workplace for over 30 years), Boy Scouts (a long-time commitment by both of them and their 6 boys), Lion's Club, residents from the Co-op where Grandma lived, old neighbors and friends from the boys' childhood (They are all over 50 years old now.), and many others.  Additionally, over 60 sons, daughter-in-laws, grandchildren and their spouses, and great-children were in attendance.  Grandma was actively involved in each of our lives, even those of us that lived far away.  She remembered everything and cared about everybody.  She has left us a legacy to continue.  We will miss her.



You Can Count on God

And He knows your name.

And He's always the same.

No matter how life may change,

You can count on God.

This is the chorus of a song that I wrote in the heartache of watching, through Facebook and weekly church updates, the journey of an old friend. My friend is from when our church was small. We were part of the original youth group. His dad is still the pastor. I don't know him much now, but I have a daughter only a few months older than his. Except,

he and his wife lost their daughter. They discovered her brain tumor, shared with all of us, demonstrated incredible faith, and said goodbye all in ten short weeks. It was heartbreaking and amazing all at once. God used them.

But....I still cried. I'm still sad. I was scared.

One night when the pain was deep, in the throes of their journey, a song came to my heart. I never quite got the verses (or maybe I threw them away), but the chorus remains. It speaks truth, a truth I discovered in an earlier life valley. It is a truth I continue to hold on to.

I bring back these words because, since then, his brother, also a youth group buddy (my little sister's age) has died. This time it was by choice. I still grieve.

Yet, their family still shines as an example of faithfulness. Ironically, it was their mom that taught me about the book of Job in the Bible.

Today, I am sad because yet another youth group friend has died. I'm not even sure what happened or what had become of him in the last 20+ years. I do know that in high school, I saw Christ in him and looked up to him. He used the resources given to him to include people and was one of the few I called friend. After high school, I don't know if we would have been friends. I gather that my friend still did great things and loved people well. I am proud of that. I read that maybe he made choices I would have disagreed with, and I wish that he could have been the man of God that I dreamed him to be (maybe he was, I really don't know). I grieve for my friends that were closer with him than I, and I am saddened that we, as a society, seem to miss that the people who are most charismatic and giving to others are also hurting and in need of support.

Today, I mourn my youth and the loss of innocence.

So, right this moment, I continue to "count on God", because I have realized that He's truly all I have to count on. I've had great, giving, faithful people in my life and continue to do so.

But.....life changes.......