The Good, the Odd and the Sexy...

Here's the amazing thing about reading the Bible through for yourself--you find a ton of cool things that no one ever preached on or did a Bible study on or even mentioned. Here are just a few that have stuck out to me in the past few days:

1. Exodus 4:24-26...this verse blew me away! It's so random and odd! So I did a little research and come to find out this is one, if not the most, contested verse in the Old Testament. It has something to do with pronouns (is the "him" Gershom or Moses?) and also with Zipporah (how did she know what to do?) and with Moses' lack of obedience (why had he not circumcised his own son?). If anything, we see that Moses' lack of obedience was dangerous not just to himself, but to his family as well.
2. Genesis 42-43: Joseph is often seen as the overly nice brother who willingly forgives his brothers immediately...unfortunately, that's not what the Bible says. Joseph tested his brothers mercilessly and even threw Simeon in jail! Although I have to say, I don't blame him. Simeon's reputation was not too hot (Genesis 34:24-26).
3. Proverbs 5 instructs you to have great sex with your spouse. It also warns you not to sleep around. I love the imagery here too. It's so over the top! "Why spill your springs in the streets/ your streams in the city squares?" Haha...that's great.
4. Matthew 17:24-27--Too bad H&R Block doesn't offer a guarantee like this one!
5. Matthew 18:21--Got to admit it...I can relate to Peter here. Ever try to impress someone with your own holiness and it totally backfires? Welcome to Peter's world! He tried so hard to be the goodie-two-shoe with this question and Jesus completely turned the tables on him. If I was Peter, I'd be feeling pretty dumb at that point.

Well, just a few interestering "ah-ha!" moments. How about you? What have you found that has stunned you?

Blessed by family

So thought I'd share some fun family photos that capture whole stories in them...

This picture basically tells you everything you'd ever need to know about the differences between my brother and I. I'm the squinting wallflower looking for direction while he's hamming it up for the camera, hip popped out with stylish sock/sandal combo. I could never pull that off. Grandpa...I miss him. But this is truly hilarious. If you look really closely at my brother's hand, you'll notice his finger in a splint because he almost cut it off when it was accidentally slammed in a door. The irony of the picture is that Grandpa is proudly holding the hedge clippers as my brother looks very warily at them.

Just too darn cute. Got to love the 80's short shorts. By the way, that was the coolest bubble mower ever!

Back in the saddle...

Hey, y'all. Sorry I've been so hit-and-miss for blogging. My internet has been weird so I may be ready to blog but my computer's may not be ready to cooperate.

I absolutely LOVED today's reading! Here are my thoughts and questions that came up for me:

Matthew 15--I love this encounter Jesus has with the Canaanite woman. First, he's just criticized the Pharisees for knowing all the Scripture and the law, but not applying it, not even realizing who He was!
And here comes a Gentile woman (gosh, Gentile and a woman, I bet the Pharisees would have had a field day with this one!) who not only understands who Jesus is, she has "great faith."
Sure enough the disciples were bothered by her, why? Because she was worshipping Him loudly! Isn't it always the people who don't get it, ones who honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce; aren't those the ones who try their hardest to put up barriers for true worshippers?
Quite frankly, my favorite part is the woman's response. It is darn funny! I just love the whole section.

Psalm 19--There is just something about this Psalm that resonates deeply with me. It's got everything, worship, descriptions of nature, love of Scripture, repentance and a request for holiness. I've seriously read this at least seven times today already and I just can't get enough of it! It really is like honey dripping from the comb. Or if you are like my mom who hates honey it is like chocolate dripping from the spoon.

Lord, may I always thirst for your righteousness. May I read and reread your commands until they shout in my mind and penetrate deep within my heart.

Eyeballs and service

Last night I truly understood the analogy that Paul gave us about the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Yes, I put a link you could read it, so read it! You will be blessed no matter what. It really doesn't matter what I say in the next few sentences, but I do care if you read His Word.
Anyway, last night went to see the movie The Diving Bell and the Butterfly with my dear friend Ida. The movie is the true story of a man named Jean-Dominque Bauby who was living the high life until he had a stroke that completely paralyzed him except for his left eye. The movie is mostly from Bauby's perspective, as in literally from his left eye. I loved the message of the movie, I loved the story line...unfortunately, the cinematography just about killed me. Because it follows the vision of one person's eye, the camera jerks this way and that, goes blurry at times or flickers. About an hour into the movie, Ida and I had to leave since we were so nauseated.

Wow! I need my eyeballs! And when they are out of whack, boy does it affect the rest of my body! The muscles around my eyes hurt, my jaw hurt, my stomach was doing somersaults, even my legs were wobbly. Not only that, my energy was simply drained from my body...and all because of artsy cinematography!

It made me reflect on how much each part of the Body of Christ is needed. Until last night, I didn't realize how important the muscles surrounding my eyes were until they didn't work properly. How many people are there who do all the behind the scenes work and you would never know they are there until they are missing. When one person is hurting, all others should respond to help and heal. Everyone is needed, everyone's unique giftedness is essential to bringing God glory and following the vision He's called us to do.

The flip side to this is how are you using your giftedness to bring glory to God? Are you a seat-warmer at your church who watches everyone else thinking, "Well, I just don't have time right now." I'm sorry to be so blunt, but if that's what you are thinking you're worse than my poor eyeballs because at least they got back in the game after a little while. Stop fooling yourself.

Action steps you can take with you:
1. If you aren't serving yet, just do it! No excuses, no whining, you WILL be blessed.
2. Find people in the Body of Christ who need to be encouraged, thanked and supported.

Speaking of which, some shout-outs to some people who make my day:
1. Art, thank you for your prayers and encouragement. I still have the email you sent me for my birthday. It was one of the sweetest things I've ever gotten. Know that I pray for you and Susie daily. Much love!
2. Pastor Mark, thanks for the encouragement today on the patio and for getting me started on my Financial Peace journey. Your leadership by example makes a difference.
3. Pastor Greg, thanks for being a vessel for Christ. Today is was very obvious that God was using you to speak truth into so many people's lives, including mine!
4. Hometeam gals, I love you and can't imagine what I'd do without you!

Giving your best...because you don't know any other way.

So for the last month and a half, I have been sick. Not terribly sick, just sick enough to be drained and tired and worn out. Everyone has told me to take some time off and relax or just scale back at school.
Well, today, sometime between singing our classroom "F.U.N. Fractions!" song with hand motions, strutting down an invisible catwalk wearing a 2 foot tall hat made of construction paper(I was FIERCE!), brainstorming Greek and Latin roots that mean "to write" and cutting out 150 fluency cards for a game I realized I can't "scale back". I don't know any other way to teach!
It never entered my head to cancel my "Eradicate the Misuse of 'Like' and 'You know'" campaign I had planned for this week or to hold off starting my fractions unit (THE unit for 5th grade!). I knew I had a job to do and I had the tools to do them (well, besides health, but anyway...).

It got me thinking...what would our lives be like if we worshipped God in everything we did simply because we didn't know any other way to live. Paul exhorts us to take hold of the life that is truly life in 1 Tim. 6:19 instead of "scaling back" to lean on wealth or earthly enjoyment. So how do we live in such a way to really take hold of this life that is truly life?
Paul says to:

• Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. (6:11)
• Fight the good fight of the faith. (6:12)
• Take hold of your eternal life; don't expect others to "feed" you everything (6:12)

While I can take a sick day to recuperate and leave my class with a substitute teacher, know there are no substitutes when it comes to personal, daily worship of Your Savior.

So what kind of worshipper are you? The one who when times get tough sits at the desk and checks email while the students run wild("After all God, it's been a hard week. I just need a break from serving You")? Or are you the one who still sang the National Anthem at the top of your lungs and juggled five different student writing conferences because you couldn't imagine doing any less? Can you really relate to David when he said...

How lovely is Your dwelling place, O LORD of Heaven's Armies.

I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the LORD.

With my whole being, body and soul, I shout joyfully to the living God.

A single day in Your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else!

Psalm 84:1-2, 10.

What kind of legacy is in a name?

So when I was a freshman in college, I took a humanities course where we would have small group meetings with a professor three times a week for the entire year. There were only 15 students so we got to know each other fairly well. Our beloved wacky professor (who wore, yes, bow ties!) would distinguish between all the girls in our class by our names: Patriarch wives and Pagan names. This sounds horrible, but we had three Sarahs, two Rebekahs and two Rachels. The Pagan(non-Hebrew) names were the two Julies, two Katies, etc. So I always thought it was pretty sweet to be the Patriarch wife instead of the pagan.
However, after reading through the Genesis account again, I have to say, I'm not too impressed with Sarah, Rebekah or Rachel. Here's some observations of these ladies:

• They all struggled with fertility problems. Notice I used the word "struggled", not just were "depressed" or "disappointed". This was a major part of their culture to have children. Sarah and Rachel were so impatient and wanting to do things their way that they gave their maidservants to their husband. By the time we get to Rachel, she should have known God would be faithful considering the family history.
• They all had some bright, shining moments and some moments of incredibly bad judgement. Sarah was impatient and hurtful. Rebekah played favorites and was manipulative. Rachel was jealous, whiny and duplicitous (she obviously prized those household gods to actually steal them from her father).

So this makes me wonder what kind of legacy will I leave with my name? As a teacher, there are names I cringe at because I automatically associate them with former students that were less than admirable. My brother ended up with a beloved relative's middle name instead of first name because another, shady relative also shared that first name. When people say my name, what do they automatically associate it with?

I want to be the opposite of those Patriarch wives. My hope is that they associate my name with someone who is patient, caring, someone who is fair, just, trusting, civil and genuine.

What legacy will your name leave?

S.O.A.P. and much, much more!

Pastor Greg did an awesome job today equipping the congregation for Bible study. Not only did he show us the S.O.A.P. method of studying the Bible, he also talked about attitude toward Bible reading. Here's what stuck out to me today:

• "You can celebrate God in a crowd, but you can only get to know Him in private moments" So true! I went to a Christmas party about a month ago at a friend's house and there were at least 40 people crammed into her cute bungalow. The stereo was as loud as possible, everyone was chatting and basically you were just there to celebrate, not to get to know anyone. It was only when my friend and I went to a quiet room by ourselves that we were able to really catch up and get to know each other, away from the music, the noise and everything else.
• "Having an open heart doesn't mean you accept everything." I hate it when people say if you disagree with them, that you are "close-minded". Just because I have a moral compass with which I analyze and evaluate positions and statements doesn't mean I'm "close-minded". It means I'm using the brain God gave me!
• Spiritual maturity can be defined as going out and "feeding" others. Who are you pouring into?

S.O.A.P. stands for Scripture, Observation, Application and Prayer.

Here's my example from today:

Scripture

Psalm 11: I trust in the LORD for protection. So why do you say to me, "Fly like a bird to the mountains for safety! The wicked are stringing their bows and fitting their arrows on the bowstrings. They shoot from the shadows at those whose hearts are right. The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?"

But the Lord is in His holy Temple; the LORD still rules from heaven. He watches everyone closely, examining every person on earth. The LORD examines both the righteous and the wicked. He hates those who love violence. He will rain down blazing coals and burning sulfur on the wicked, punishing them with scorching winds. For the righteous LORD loves justice. The virtuous will see His face.

Observation

The first part reminded me of some of the late night preachers you see who are preaching "doom and gloom" on America and are urging you to "fly like a bird to the mountains for safety!", sometimes quite literally. The Psalmist doesn't even budge, but puts trust completely into the hands of God. God is the Judge, not me, not the "religious", not even the righteous. It's God who judges, I am not the final say, nor is any other person.

"He hates those who love violence" Hmmm...I wonder how many Christian men have ever really read that and thought about their own attitudes toward violence. How many times have I heard, "I loved that part when the guy's head was blown off! That was sweet!" and I just cringe. Let me write that a little clearer for you. He. Hates. Those. Who. Love. Violence. Did you see what God does to those who love violence?

Favorite part was "the virtuous will see His face". Not just have a casual acquaintance, not see Him as He heads off to do something important. See...His...face. Awesome.

Application

For me, there is a sense of no matter what calamity is upon me, no matter what the hopeless situation, I have to know deep within me that God will be my protection. That has been really hard, especially when I see injustice or experience injustice that I cannot change. A friend of my family's was unjustly fired and the administrator used "Christian-speak" to fire her. He literally told her that it was God's will to move on. It was devistating not only for her, but for everyone else involved. I'm still mad at the administrator, but I realized, oh my gosh...he's got to contend with the God of the Universe for firing an older single woman with no family who was doing His will. That's worse than anything I could ever do or say to him.

And the last part...this should be my prayer...to be one of the virtuous to see His face.

Prayer

Lord, You know my heart, You know how much it irks me to see others mistreated and how much I want to take things into my own hands and "fly like a bird". But You've said You have that covered and that my job is to seek after Your face and rest in Your holiness. Let me not be distracted by other things, no matter how "important" or "essential" they may seem. May I always seek Your kingdom first above all else. Amen.

Home Team Round-Up

Here are some thoughts from Thursday night's home team discussion:

• Some spiritual disciplines that have encouraged our growth of faith were prayer, reading God's Word, having a spiritual mentor, meditation (not the creepy "Om" stuff, just resting in God's presence), praying one-on-one with someone, seeking spiritual wisdom, having an accountability partner and tithing.
• If we had a greater connection with the Father, we would be more equipped to make decisions, we would be more aware of what is actually happening and we would have the authority to banish Satan from our thoughts.
• What would we do differently if we could see as God sees? One common theme was evaluating your own motives. "Am I saying this because I need to deal with a situation or am I saying this because I want to hurt this person?" Pastor Art Evans during a sermon on Jonah said, "We judge ourselves by our motivations and others by their actions. That's dangerous!" How true. What are our actions saying about us? Also can we see the motivations or perspectives of others before judging them?

Am I disturbed?

I found this tonight on Perry Noble's blog and it blew my socks off! He found it in a book where the author quoted Sir Francis Drake's prayer:
“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves. When our dreams have come true because we dreamed too little. When we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore. Disturb us, Lord.”

Amazing...I want that so much! I don't want to stay in the same ol', same ol', but I'm just realizing what sacrifice, what trust it takes to dream big dreams and trust that the Lord will be faithful to the vision he's placed in your heart.
I'll be chewing on this one for awhile...

Faithful

It was a tough read today, not due to anything being terribly difficult to read, but mostly the application part. In Genesis we find Abraham pulling the same stupid stunt he tried in Egypt and oh look, it backfires on him! I love how Abraham tries to pull the "Well, it's kinda true," line off, but it's obvious to everyone that he purposefully deceived Abimelech to save his own hide. But despite Abraham's stupid idea, God was still faithful and basically saved Abraham (and consequently Sarah) from himself. Not only that, right after, we read of the birth of Isaac...God continued to be faithful despite the sceptical laughter and the repeated poor decisions.

Now it's easy to sit back and criticize Abraham for his faults, but tonight his dilemma hit home for me. I've been in the process of researching international teaching opportunities and in the early fall I had been looking at one particular recruiting fair in Iowa. I was so excited to go, I had the application ready and everything...but one thing after another kept coming up until it was a very definite "NO" from God. I was devastated and really didn't know what to do next. Well, a few weeks later I discovered another agency that would be less expensive(free) and their fair would be much easier to attend. Within weeks I was accepted by the agency, registered for the recruitment fair, booked the hotel and airfare at unheard of discounts (my airfare was $5, I'm serious!)...everything had God's fingerprint on it. The problem is there aren't a lot of good schools attending. In fact, none of my first choice schools are going at all. It's been a struggle to try to understand, "Okay God, you're sending me there, what do you want me to do?"

Tonight I hit a breaking point. I found out all my top schools are attending not my fair, but the fair in Iowa. Here I am trying to make smart decisions about my future and it just seems that what I really want isn't happening. I considered changing plans and going to Iowa or possibly flying to another fair further away. Then I reread about Abraham. God promised him a son and he waited and waited, not a few months like me, but years and years. And I realized I was looking for an "Ishmael", the easy way out, the shortcut. I wanted God's best but I wanted it my way which really isn't God's best is it?

So once again I'm learning the hard way to be faithful because God is faithful. It's very clear that I'm not in control of anything, God is and quite frankly that's really scary.

Psalm 8

I could blog on this and discuss all the intricacies of this psalm, but I think that would cheapen it a bit. David says specifically that it's for the choir director. So I'm having my little brother and 70 of his college buddies under the direction of Harold Clousing tell you about Psalm 8 in a way that really connects with me. Hopefully it will bless you as well. Click below to listen to the Azusa Pacific University Men's Chorale sing "The Majesty and Glory of Your Name".

Modern Day Miracles

Reading through Genesis today it really hits home the point that God sticks to his end of the bargain even when we humans are ready to bail out or manipulate the situation. Earlier we read that Abram believed God's promise for a son and it was counted as righteousness. But years have passed and nothing. So we have the messy deal with Hagar and Ishmael (who consequently God still protects and blesses...what a gracious God we serve) and then end up with Abram becoming Abraham, Sarai becoming Sarah and both being personally visited by God to once again remind them of His covenant. We know how the story goes. Isaac is born, a miracle baby, and God's covenant is fulfilled.

That's great, we think, sitting at the kitchen table or lounging on the couch. But miracles like that just don't happen nowadays...or so we think.

When I was home for Christmas, I went to church with the folks expecting the regular "it's almost Christmas everyone!" message. Boy, was I ever unprepared. Pastor Dennis' son and daughter-in-law had been praying for a child, but the daughter-in-law had had cervical cancer at an early age and had major, damaging surgery to the point where the doctors said no amount of reconstruction or treatment could ever help her get pregnant. Dennis's wife, Betty, was devistated since she always wanted to be a grandma. She was praying with her friend, Sandra when Sandra told her, "I see you being a grandma. I just know you will." So they prayed for a miracle.

Well, at this point, Pastor Leo who was telling the story broke out in the biggest grin you could ever see. He looked over to the right side of the stage where Betty was coming up the stairs, holding her grandson.

When Dennis and Betty's daughter-in-law had gone to the doctor because she was not feeling right, they had thought the cancer had come back. They were totally unprepared for what the doctors found. She had been healed...completely healed. Every piece of flesh that had been surgically removed had grown back perfectly. The doctors said they had never, ever seen this sort of thing. Not only that, but she was pregnant.

So the day before Christmas Eve Dennis and Betty, their son and daughter-in-law had come to dedicate that little boy, a complete and utter miracle, to God. In his prayer Pastor Leo reminded the congregation of similar little boys who were medical miracles...Isaac, Samuel, John, Jesus.

The whole situation threw into my face my own complete lack of faith. So often when people are healed we credit medical science or good timing for what happens instead of praising our El-Shaddai, our God Almighty. It really made me wonder, when have I ever trusted God with a miracle? When have I ever prayed, really prayed for a miracle, something that only He could do? When have I ever trusted Him that much, given Him that worry and completely rested in His sovereignty?
As my favorite poet T.S. Eliot wrote, "...humility is endless." How true, how true.

January 6--Amazing!--Part II

Matthew 5 is completely unAmerican, isn't it. Our culture is constantly telling us to "Stand up for your rights!" In fact, growing up in San Diego we have a newscaster, Michael Turko, whose sole job is to help people who are having problems with businesses or agencies and his slogan which he literally screams at you is, "It ain't right!"

How completely different then is what Jesus tells us. This passage is definitely what's called "hard teaching".

• 5:22--If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. If you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
• 5: 28--Anyone who even looks at a woman (or man if you in fact are a woman) with lust has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
• 5:39--Do not resist an evil person! If someone slaps you on the right cheek, offer the other cheek also.
• 5:40--If you are sued in court and your shirt is taken from you, give your coat, too.
• 5:41--If a soldier demands that you carry his gear for a mile, carry it two miles.
• 5:44--Love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!

A lot of times we tend to think, "Well, Jesus didn't really mean that. I mean, it's not right for someone to slap me!" Or in our culture of the quick comeback and witty insult, it seems almost natural to curse someone.

But that's the whole point isn't it. Jesus is asking us to stand out, to be light (5:14). In fact, he goes as far as to say "But you are to be perfect even as your Father in heaven is perfect." (5:48)

Today serving in the children's ministry I was once again reminded of James 1:22: But don't just listen to God's Word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves. How long have we been fooling ourselves, thinking we're doing great while insulting coworkers, complaining about how our "rights" have been violated and so forth. We are called to do and as we are finding out from God's Word, doing is dramatically different than what we're used to.

January 6--Amazing!--Part I

During today's reading, several things struck me as amazing, things I had never really "seen" before.

• Genesis 14:19-20--Melchizedek's prayer makes it very clear that Abram's talent at leading his band of men had nothing to do with the outcome. Melchizedek prays, "And blessed be God Most High who has defeated your enemies for you." What a reminder that everything we "accomplish" is only through the grace of our God Most High.
• Genesis 15--Abram, soon to be Abraham, had a close relationship with God. He spoke completely honestly saying, "O Sovereign Lord, what good are all Your blessings when I don't even have a son?" O Sovereign Lord is Adonai Yahweh. Even in the midst of his questioning, Abram understands that God is in complete control of his future.
• Genesis 15 continued--Look at the intimate ways God speaks to Abram. He starts by showing him the stars at night as a picture of the descendents Abram will have. Then God reminds Abram what He's already done in his life. Lastly, we see God walking through the carcasses, sealing the covenant. For a reminder of how HUGE this was, listen to Pastor Greg's sermon on covenants here. It starts at about 35 minutes in.

Wake-Up Call

Ever get complacent? Thinking everything is just fine and great. That's how I felt this morning. Unfortunately, I got a very unexpected wake-up call.

While searching my favorite networking site, I got an invitation...to a memorial service.

Emily(far right) was one of my roommates my sophomore year. She was bright, funny and totally sold out to Christ. She left second semester to spend a semester in Guatemala and then spent the rest of college living in a special housing project downtown where she would mentor kids in the neighborhood and be a part of community service projects. She went on to become an ICU nurse and continued to serve God through various causes and trips. I just can't believe that she's gone. She had even left a cheeky note on the networking site about her upcoming surgery.

Now I'm sitting here looking through old pictures and thinking, "Why?" In my human mind, Emily still had stuff to do, lots of stuff to do. In my mind, she had not yet finished her purpose. But God wanted her home. So I sit and wait like David:

Psalm 5: 1-3

O LORD, hear me as I pray;

pay attention to my groaning.

Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God,

for I pray to no one but You.

Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD.

Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly.

Intimacy with God

Wow, was this a great day! Here's some stuff that stuck out to me:

• Genesis 5:22-24 Story of Enoch. My commentary says that only Noah and Enoch were said to have "close fellowship with God". In fact, Enoch was so in tune to what God was up to that he didn't die! God just said, "Hey, come on home!" How amazing to have that level of intimacy with your Maker.
• Psalm 3:3 "But you, O LORD, are a shield around me; You are my glory, the One who holds my head high."
• Matthew 4:4 Jesus quotes Scripture as a shield again Satan.
• Matthew 4:6 Satan is not stupid! He knows Scripture! Satan quotes Psalm 91 completely out of context. Psalm 91 is about God being a refuge for those who are fleeing evil (irony).
• Matthew 4:11 Psalm 91 does hold true! Jesus defeats Satan and look who comes to protect Him? Angels!!! Sweet.

Pet peeve: "Religious" teachers who have no intimacy with God. I was driving back from San Diego and scanning the radio and came upon a pastor who was teaching, rather screaming that God does not speak to people today other than what's in the Bible and "if you hear any different, it's a lie!"

My first thought was to get mad, really mad. How many people did this guy just shut out from blessing because of his false teaching. What about the Holy Spirit? You can't throw out one whole aspect of God!

But then I was saddened. How many people live day to day completely missing the intimacy of knowing God, really knowing Him and listening to His voice. Does God still speak to His people today? YES!!! Look at His track record: look at all the people in the Bible, like Enoch, who didn't have Scripture to read. They shared a deep, intimate fellowship with God. That could only happen if a real, living, powerful God spoke directly to them. Since when is there a limit to God's revelation to His people?

This is why I teach

Saw this sign at Starbucks and just about died. Enjoy what the US public school system produces. If you can't read the sign it says:

"Comming soon...sugar-free mocha"

Yes, comming. Ugh.

First day of reading with the plan

So, I learned really fast that I need to sloooow down. I had read through Genesis 7 before I actually realized I was only supposed to read through Genesis 2. Oops. Well, I'm forcing myself to really meditate on what I've read, even rereading (which I HATE, but have to learn to love). So here's some thoughts on today's reading:

• Psalm 1: "God's Word is so vital we must bathe our thoughts constantly in its principles."
• Matthew 1-2: Can you ever really get tired of the Christmas story?
• Proverbs 1:23 (I know I read ahead but I couldn't help it!): "Come and listen to my counsel. I'll share my heart with you and make you wise." SWEET!

Restart your fresh start

One of the cool things that comes with visiting the folks is getting to go to their church, Mission Valley Christian Fellowship. MVCF is very similar to Palm Valley in that it has a strong vision and no building. They set up every Sunday at a different hotel depending on availability. Pastor Leo is always fun to hear with his passion for God being visible at all times. However, Sunday he was sick and Pastor Rob, his son-in-law, preached in the morning. Youth pastor, Lyle, preached Sunday night.
Wow, what a blessing! Pastor Rob has this amazing ability to lead you into worship patterns. I don't know if that makes any sense, but you'll be tooling along listening passively and Zap! something will convict you and you'll find yourself meditating on it until the next Zap! Quite frankly, I only really hear 50% of his sermon, but the 50% that I hear really sticks. He spoke about the importance of reading the Bible, not in a "I know everything" tone, but in a "Gee, I really blew it this year" tone which was refreshing. He spoke about how God is gracious in that he gives fresh starts, not just on January 1st. Listen to the actual sermon here.
Pastor Lyle, who cracks me up, followed up on Sunday night talking about how God is gracious enough to help you "restart your fresh start". He talked about the importance of being in the Word (hmmm...a theme here) and how he feels that God used Pastor Leo's illness to really convict him of his need to be in the Word constantly. He used the example of Joash, a young man who was in the Word, fell out and then totally blew it. Click here to listen to the sermon.
So as I start this "Route 66" journey with Palm Valley it's encouraging to know that other leaders are following after God's heart by reading His Word and urging others to do the same.
No matter where you are this January 1st know that you can "restart your fresh start" and get in step with God by reading His personal revelation to you.