Terribly Interesting

I will provide for everything you need. Trust Me to provide for you. Remind yourself that I care for the birds of the air. I clothe the lilies of the field. I can easily provide for you. Remove any doubt in your mind that I do not want to give good gifts to you, my child. Do not focus on your behavior to influence Me. Focus on Me. Think on who I Am. I provide.  "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him!" Matthew 7:11 For more on this segment, see this post.

I have been reading an expansive biography on William Tyndale. I must tell you, I have been overcome repeatedly at the lengths this man went to in order for us to have the Bible we do. He worked for decades as a pauper so that we could read God's words and apply them to our very person. What has most struck me time and time again is how God used exile and persecution to forge this man into someone who would stop at nothing so that others could have an intimate view of God and be able to see His love for them. I will post a full review later in the week, but I wanted to leave you with a few questions. Are you running from or medicating the very thing God wants to use to forge you into a person of fierce godliness? Why do you fear the desert? Why do you fear the Holy Spirit?

Perhaps you will recall a post I did a few weeks back about the most horrible kitchen around. This kitchen is also known as my kitchen. Remember when I made enough money from painting to get the copper dream sink? I made a little funny on my blog that day. I asked if anyone wanted to come build custom cabinets around it for me. Are you ready for what happened next? Someone contacted me. No really. Someone who builds cabinets. As you will know, we get a lot of empty promises and people saying they are going to help. This person, however, showed up. He measured the kitchen, the dining room, & the laundry room for custom cabinets. Can you believe it? It's a miracle. I largely have enough money to redo the kitchen (except for the appliances). Somebody, thank God with me. He is good. Do you remember me turning the kitchen over to Him and telling Him to do whatever He wanted. Kitchen remodels usually cost tens of thousands of dollars. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills and He...

January 29th is Family Worship Sunday. I thought I would throw a little encouragement at you. It is very rewarding to utter real prayers (not just thanks for the food) with your family, read scripture, and sing praises. It can be very daunting if you look at the people who hang out and read the Bible and worship together for hours every day. My thought for you is to just start small. Ask God to give you great enjoyment in it. Do it following a meal as everyone is full and relaxed. Start by doing three simple things. Read a chapter of scripture. Pray for several minutes. Sing a praise song. Start there. It's easy. You can conquer this.  I read a great article on people's thoughts on family worship. Check it out: http://familyworshipmonth.com/family-worship-sunday/

All of the valleys and hardships are supposed to produce something in you. Your struggle is opening the way for you to become who you need to be. People of depth, character, and compassion are never born out of easy circumstance. They are whittled slowly. They are sharpened with great force and tribulation. Why do you beg to be free of pain and beg to be full of the character that pain will produce? Walk through the valley with Me. I am the point of all of this. I am truly the outcome you desire. "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for You are with me, our rod and your staff, they comfort me." Psalm 23:4 For more on this segment, see this post .

Sometimes you read a book that makes you feel like you have pulled your heart of your body and sat it in your lap. I felt this way reading Brennan's memoir. It was gut wrenching, encouraging, and hit really close to home. I knew some of his life before, but truly I had not idea to the depth of the pain n his journey. I see now how God used the ravaging effects of an empty childhood to explain grace with such beauty to a man who came to see nothing else but his Abba. I've learned much about grace from Brennan Manning. The thing that we daily refuse to accept. The thing we try to manufacture for ourselves. It comes from God alone. It comes to the worst of sinners. As I read about his childhood, I was very struck by how much I could identify with it. He was abused, neglected, unwanted. The pain in my own heart seemed to surface as I read his words. In these words, I realized something very profound God had done for me. Most people who have had this type of childhood are...

Denbigh and I spent a few days this week on a spiritual retreat in Copper Mountain, Colorado. Our mentors in hospitality have been flying them up there for six years. The feed us, take us on snowy adventures, and spend hours in prayer with us. It is a gift.  Doris, our hostess, asked a question of us. What was our primary message. Hers is forgiveness. Another person's was obedience. Mine is grace. Much of the time, people think about grace as this sweet thing that God gives us when we do bad things. I knew that mine was not a wishy washy message and so I prayed for a word picture for it. A few things came to mind over a period of days. The next morning when I got up, there was a powerful snowstorm in the area. I watched as the snow seemed so furious in its falling. It limited all visibility and blanketed everything it touched with inches of thick powder. My mind drifted to Isaiah 1:18, which tells us that though our sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow. I...

Theology, as stated by Merriam-Webster, is the study of religious faith, practice, and experience; especially :the study of God and God's relation to the world. I don't know about you, but I desperately want to know truth. I want to see how God is relating to the world and I want to jump in. I have formed many things in my life according to the theology God presents to us in the Bible. He says that He is close to the broken-hearted. I want to be too. He desires to minister to the afflicted. I want to as well. If I had a poor understanding of theology, I could jump head long into some false doctrine and think God just wants to make me prosperous or that I should kill people to honor Him. At the conference of Nicene, people discussed the theology of Christ being God's Son or not. I'm glad some fought for the truth of scripture. The dictionary tells us that doctrine is a principle or body of principles presented for acceptance of belief. It is something taught, a te...

Crave My truth. I want to reveal Myself to you for your benefit and My glory. I am faithful to give you the knowledge that leads to life. Lose yourself in My word and cling to what I teach you there. Use it to draw close to Me. Find the beauty that leads to the life I long to give you. Refuse to be distracted by feelings or ideas. Cling to who I truly am. The rest there is abundant. "Jesus answered, I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through Me." -John 14:6 For more on this segment, see this post .

The Giving Tree is a timeless tale of the love between a tree and a boy.  Created by Shel Silverstein, this simple story is heartfelt and makes for a warm parable about the endless capacity of love and how giving is an act of love that does not need anything in return.  A beautiful book for parents to read to their children, The Giving Tree has been around for over twenty years and won’t soon disappear from the bookstore. The story is short and never leaves the tree on its own.  It all starts when a boy comes to the tree.  He is hungry, so the tree offers her apples for him to eat.  From there the boy and the tree bond and a friendship is formed.  However, as the boy grows older, his desires change, but the tree still gives him what she can, apples to sell, branches to make a house, until all that is left is a stump.  By now the boy has become an old man and all he wants is something to rest on.  Once again, the boy and the tree are togeth...

What is keeping you from trusting My design for your life? What are the things that you place your hope and trust in? Today, lay everything down here with Me. I will tell you what you can pick up to bring Me the most glory. I'll show you how to lead people into the arms of Christ. Nothing else you desire is as important. Will you trust Me with this? There is only Christ. He is everything. Colossians 3:11

What if you could grow closer to God and improve your health in just 21 days? Susan Gregory, “The Daniel Fast Blogger,” has a plan to help you do just that. Widely recognized as the expert on this 21-day fast inspired by the book of Daniel, Susan has helped thousands of people discover a safe and healthy way to fast. The principles you learn from The Daniel Fast will change the way you view food, your body, and your relationship with the one who created you. Includes 21 days’ worth of Daniel Fast recipes! Visit www.daniel-fast.com I had been curious about this fast for some time so I was quite interested when it came available for review. The new year was approaching as I was finishing the book so I decided to begin a 7 day Daniel fast on New Year's Day. I did it somewhat lenient since I had never done one before. I realized that I am quite reliant on all of the non-approved foods for the mainstays of my diet. You must give up everything processed, dairy, meat, sugar, processe...

  Bordeaux's is one of my absolutely favorite places to eat and i just realized that I have yet to blog about it. Perhaps, I thought that I couldn't capture the essence for you. I shall however try.  The romantic atmosphere is divine for a date night or soiree with your girlfriends. I love everything about it. You walk in to black leather covered chairs and elegant booths that make you feel a world away when you slip into them. The lighting is just perfect. It is not so low that you cannot see your date and just low enough to set the mood. The rustic, elegant surroundings are a perfect backdrop for your evening of decadence. On my last visit, we started with escargot and stuffed mushrooms. Oh butter. Next, the salad came with the best dressing I have ever had, the wasabi cucumber. A sweet savory butternut squash soup came into play. Then, oh then, the p ièce   de  résistance , the filet oscar. Stars. My mouth is watering. This is a 6 oz. center cut filet ...

Perhaps you think it's glamorous to live in a mansion. Sure, if you go by the tax assessors records, it might seem so. The reality is that this is hard work. Some days we cry. Some days we are really excited. Some days we are so broken under the weight of God's grace that we can hardly speak.  There are moments that seem truly lucid and some that are incomprehensible. As I stare at this I house, I am often reminded of my own depravity and the lengths God has gone to just to make me useful. We are constantly coming up against comments that we will never finish this project or that we are crazy. What I have learned is that we must take everything in stride. Take the negatives in your life and use them to motivate you and to remind you of grace. God is faithful. Our house is warmer than it was 3 years ago. Mostly, despite some harrowing defeat, we are still going strong. In the face of hateful critics, we have persevered and we are managing to do the very thing we set out t...

Our goal in covenant marriage is to lay down our life so that our spouse can become more like Christ. Give them the grace to mature. Keep your eyes on the cross. I recently read this passage in a book entitled  Well-Driven Nails by Byron Yawn: The Problem with Christian Marriage Seminars It is assumed by most evangelicals that doctrine plays little if any role in life's more important issues. Take marriage, for example. Our most popular books on the subject would indicate the need is practical and not theological. But is not biblical marriage dependent on the central doctrine of our faith, the atonement (Ephesians 5:22-33)? Paul's discussion of marriage was merely an opportunity to emphasize the power of the cross in one important area of life. He was not using the death of Christ as an analogy of marriage. We've got it backwards, He was using marriage as an analogy of the cross. Marriage is⎯at it's core⎯a living analogy of Christ's death. The po...

Empty your life of everything and make space for Me. Slowly add back in the things that bring Me glory. Don't worry yourself about petty things. Don't try to keep up with your neighbors who must be doing or have this or that. I Am all that you need. If you would lay aside worthless distractions, you would find peace. You would find the very thing your heart desires. Your worth is from Christ alone. Don't be afraid of the dessert. The emptiness is a gift. The pain is a gift. I have brought you to the dessert to allure you to Myself, not so you would long for everyone else. Breathe. Let go. "Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness, and speak kindly to her." -Hosea 2:14 For more on this segment, see this post .

This book was highly recommended to me by a friend who is not a reader. When people who don't love to read are excited about a book, I take notice. Recently it came across the queue for review and I snatched it up. You must be wondering what the book is about with such a conspicuous title. Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church in Washington DC, breaks down and examines a passage of scripture most of us would skim over. 2 Samuel 23:20 is broken down for the reader. In this verse, Benaiah kills a lion in a pit on a snowy day. Then King David appoints him over his entire army. As you can imagine, this book is about facing fear and making an obstacle an opportunity. A blurb about the book: "Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will look back longingly on risks not taken, opportunities not seized, and dreams not pursued. Stop running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained oppor...