New Wonderfully New

New morning. New day. New week. New month. New year. New life. New pain. New challenges. New friends. New jobs. New struggles. New memories. New knowledge. New toys. New homes. New direction. New dreams. New starts. New love. New inside jokes. New songs. New stories. New adventures. New hurts. New scars. New car smell. New books. New food. New fears. New trends. New heartache. New joy. New disasters. New victories. New discoveries. New traditions. New seasons. New strength. New growth. New mercies.

Isa 43:18-21 "Do not call to mind the former things, Or ponder things of the past. Behold, I will do something new, Now it will spring forth; Will you not be aware of it? I will even make a roadway in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert. The beasts of the field will glorify Me, the jackals and the ostriches, because I have given waters in the wilderness And rivers in the desert, To give drink to My chosen people. The people whom I formed for Myself Will declare My praise."

Behold He is doing something new. I love that our Lord loves new things; I feel like He probably would have the Engadget App on His ipad. He is not interested in staleness rather He is constantly moving His people on His redeeming path toward the new Heaven and the New Earth. Forgiveness, mercy, hope, grace - He likes a clean slate. New may not always be pleasant but it never stands still. New may not be easy but it never lacks hope. I don't know what 2011 holds, but praise God it is new! "Will you not be aware of it?"

Happy New Year!

Anna and Olivia

(Da da da da dum...da da da da dum...) I have the Olivia cartoon theme song stuck in my head, and if you know the show and can understand my fancy music language, you are now singing along with me. Olivia is a cartoon pig and my niece's best friend, apparently. Olivia is very imaginative and sometimes gets a little carried away, much to the displeasure of her parents, but she always learns something and finds life lessons to share what she calls "rules of life". On one particular episode Olivia is trying to help her friend keep a bird away from his sandwich and they have to scream loudly. Olivia pauses to declare, "Rule of life number 23, sometimes you have to use your big voice." Well, I agree, Olivia, and so would Anna.

Anna, a prophetess and widow, spent her days in prayer and devotion to the Lord. She had been married for only seven years before her husband died and rather than remarry she devoted herself to service at the temple. When we are introduced to Anna in the pages of Luke's gospel she had just walked up during the testimony of Simeon to Mary and Joseph concerning Jesus the Christ. (A lesson in and of itself on how when we spend our time with and about the Lord our God we find ourselves "stumbling" on some pretty remarkable things.)

Anna met Jesus. A sweet, little wrinkly baby with sleepy, dark eyes and tiny, round toes. A sweet little baby who embodied and inaugurated the long awaited kingdom. A sweet little baby, Creator, King, Eternal, Victor, Love. The raspy cry of an infant's birth broke hundreds of years of silence announcing God with us. With us. With us. Not a messenger. Not a prophecy. Not a voucher. God Himself with us. With us to save us.

Anna, no doubt breathless, took in the wonderful sight of salvation that day. No doubt the soft coos of Jesus brought a tearful smile to her face as she lay down that night. She took it all in, but not to keep it to herself. Luke tells us that she immediately started giving thanks and continued to tell everyone who wanted to hear (and if I had to guess, a few who didn't). She wouldn't hush about it. I like that. Why would she?

Go ahead, USE YOUR BIG VOICE!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Today is Thanksgiving day. I very much wanted to wake up with today being like any other day. Not because I don't love holidays, I do. Not because I am not thankful, I am. I had hoped that I would be able to say that I had been just as grateful and verbally thankful every other day of the year as I am today. Unfortunately, I forget.

I participated in a Bible study a couple of years ago in which the author, Beth Moore, talked about what it means in Scripture when it says that "God remembered" or "God forgot". We know that God is infinitely, all-knowing so He does not forget in terms of not being able to mentally recall an event. When God "remembers" or "forgets" it is a reference to His action. God chooses to act on something or chooses to no longer act.

The same is true of us. When we remember what God has done and reflect on all of His marvelous blessings it changes the way we act. Today, we remember to be thankful and to consider all of His good gifts. We will make special effort to be more kind and to be more generous and to love one another. Why? Because we took stock and remembered what God has done. Likewise, our actions betray our ingratitude when we have forgotten, as impatience and sarcasm stain the day. How quickly we forget.

Thank You, Father, for all of Your good gifts. You have blessed me and poured out grace and love on me and my family. How wonderful is Your faithful care. Thank you for providing all we need and for the joy we have in Christ Jesus. May this be the strength of my actions.

Happy Thanksgiving...mark, set, go!

The Brook Dried Up

Five verses . . . only five short verses in 1 Kings between two bookends stating, "The word of the LORD came to him". First Elijah is instructed to go hide by the brook Cherith where ravens would provide for him. The brook dried up; then God told him to move on from there to Zarephath where a widow would have provisions. What a simple series of events when written in so few words, why wouldn't Elijah be faithful. But let's be careful to remember that Elijah was a real man living in real time with a real body and hunger and fear. Imagine with me what our prayer might have been in Elijah's shoes:

Elijah: "Good morning LORD, thank you for the raven breakfast this morning, these guys are getting good at not getting beak marks in my eggs (ok, I know it probably wasn't eggs). Thank you for guiding me to this place and for your wonderful care. However, I couldn't help but notice this morning that I'm seeing a few more rocks and a little less babble out of this brook. Just thought I'd mention it."

Surely, Elijah noticed as each day the bank got a little taller and the water got a little quieter between where we read "The word of the LORD came to him" and "the brook dried up". However, he stayed the ground the Lord had given him. God had told him to go to the brook Cherith and water or no water there was no better place to be than in the path of the Sovereign God. Elijah trusted God's guidance and certainly was rewarded with His provision and presence. Perhaps you are on fresh soil of new ground with trembling feet, perhaps you're dusting the dirt of a dry brook off your shoes, or maybe you are where we spend the majority of our lives, somewhere in between, down on your knees measuring the water to see if God will be faithful. Get up. He is.

The brook dried up, but in the midst of famine and scorching sun the faithfulness of God is a downpour.

Filing Chapter 11

Lately I have been reading in 1 Kings. Just recently the Queen of Sheba has come for a visit with King Solomon. In chapter 10 we read that word had gotten around about Solomon's wealth and wisdom and like most of us women the Queen of Sheba needed to see it for herself. She was overwhelmed. Not only was everything she heard about Solomon true but the tales had been understated. She was so impressed that she gave generously an abundance of gifts to the king and his kingdom.

Solomon had everything. God had given him wisdom greater than any man and more wealth that we can properly understand. He had power and prestige and favor among men of every status. More than that He had fellowship and favor with God and no good gift was withheld from him. Solomon had everything. . . but then comes chapter 11 and Solomon's spiritual bankruptcy. Every good and perfect gift wasn't enough. Solomon accumulated hundreds of wives from varying religions and divided his heart and loyalties, reminding us that wisdom not applied is still foolishness. More was not better.

I picture the scene somewhat like Let's Make a Deal. Behind door number one - everything God has according to His wisdom, love, and glory. Behind door number two - getting to choose for myself and have what I want in the moment. The difference is the closed doors are made glass by the revelation of God's word and we do not choose blindly. We know the riches of obedience and faith and yet we choose ignorant independence.

Keep it up and Chapter 11 is coming.

Faith Goggles

Do you remember those puzzles they used to make (I don't know maybe still do) that the words were blurred into the background and you could only read them clearly if you put that red plastic thing over it? That's the way I sometimes think of faith. Like, having faith is a means to understand the mysteries of God and of living in this world. I was looking at a 3D movie without the special glasses, but I put on my faith goggles and suddenly I can see. My best friend's husband just got contacts. (He finally realized that there are probably letters on road signs - sorry, Carter) It has been kind of funny to watch him "see" everything now. He said it feels like his eyes got HD. It wasn't that he couldn't see before but now everything is clear. Now it looks like it should. He sees what the rest of us see.

Is this the job of faith? When we view faith as the special goggles that make life completely understandable what do we do when we just can't make sense of loss, tragedy, and unthinkable disaster. Have we lost faith? Or worse has it failed us? I like simple answers. I thrive on complicated questions, but I want simple answers. I like to understand. But faith is not a pair of magical goggles that makes everything clear. "Faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1) Yes, faith in Jesus Christ and our relationship with God through His death and resurrection allow us to be filled with knowledge and wisdom, but until our salvation is perfected in glory we can never really make out all the letters on the chart under that big E. Do not be discouraged by life's blurrier moments, let them spur us to hope because of faith.

Taste This

I have a sickness. For some reason I think it is my job to make people eat and love all of the things that I love to eat - especially if it something weird like a deep fried Oreo. Yes, I am "that person" that plunges a fork in your mouth saying "try it" without giving an opportunity for rebuttal. I don't know why except that when I like something I want other people to get to like it too. I do not want anyone to miss out on what I consider are wonderful things. I am as delighted to cook something delicious for someone else as I am to eat it myself because I have on some other occasion tasted that it is good. (sometimes great!)

Recently, I have been reading 1 Peter. As I was reading through chapter 2 of 1 Peter, verse 3 jumped off of the page at me "if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord." I must have been reading on autopilot because it was as if I had suddenly been awakened or perhaps that I was suddenly reading in a language I understood. I HAVE tasted the kindness of the Lord. So often. He is so good. So I backed up to read what was before the "if". "Therefore putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, like newborn babies, long for the spiritual milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."

If we are in Christ then we have tasted the kindness of the Lord and rather than be satisfied we are to crave Him and His word all the more. We are to clear out and cast away all that is bad and impure that we may be properly nourished. Malice and deceit and hypocrisy and slander sullies the taste of the pure milk of God's Word. I have tasted His kindness and like really good brownies want to share that goodness so that others might know.

The Welcome Mat

The welcome mat in front of my door looks rough! I am either very sentimental or quite lazy because I have had the same welcome mat since I moved away from home after high school. This welcome mat has weathered four years of college, a move to Nashville TN, a move to Montgomery, AL, and now 11 years after its debut finds its current residence in Prattville, AL. I like my worn out mat. It is a reminder of all the feet that have stepped in and out of my home, my life, and my heart in the past 11 years. I can stand on that mat and stand with strangers who became friends, friends who became family, and family who make the mat worth its welcome. My mat has beautifully worn to ruin; but after all isn't that what a mat is for?

I like my couch with its now uneven cushions and hollowed out sweet spots. I like the discolored spine of my Bible and the creased up pages of my favorite books. I like foot prints in my carpet and fingerprints on my car windows. I like crows feet (I better) and laugh lines and freckles and scars. These are signs of life lived loved.

My new goal is to not try to avoid wear and tear but instead to wear out well. After all, isn't that what a life is for?

Jesus and Indiana Jones

The last time my family went to Disney World was a couple of years ago. As always we went to watch the Indiana Jones stunt show. My youngest nephew, Logan, had just turned three at the time and was sitting in my lap. If you haven't seen the show then you should know there is a lot of fire and noise and action. Logan was a little afraid often covering his eyes and peeking through his tiny fingers to see what was happening. During a particular scene, Indiana Jones is being chased and attacked by the bad guys. Logan, in one quick motion, pulled his hands from his face, turned and looked at me as if a lightbulb were over his head, and declared, "Jesus will help Indiana Jones!"

Do you remember when Jesus seemed enormous to you and able to leap tall buildings and rescue you from the monsters? When "my God is so big, so strong, and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do" was not just a song but the reason you loved Him and the foundation of your faith. As we get older, we shrink Jesus and put God in a box. He goes from Mighty Warrior to something we sew on a pillow. But God's Word tells us, "Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is the King of Glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is this King of Glory? The LORD of hosts. He is the King of Glory." (Psalm 24:7-10)

The King of Glory is strong and mighty. He is mighty in battle. He is able to conquer the enemy and overcome every opposition and obstacle of this world. My God IS so big. There IS nothing He cannot do. May we be like Logan who's first solution and hope was the Mighty Lord Jesus who is able to save.

Yes, buddy, Jesus will help Indiana Jones.

Vacuum Lines

When I was a kid I hated to vacuum (well, let's be honest, I don't love it now. When I would get to our basement, where I was out of sight, I would turn the vacuum on and leave it sitting in the middle of the floor roaring proudly while I took a little rest. Of course then there was the problem of a freshly "vacuumed" carpet with no vacuum lines. So, after I wrapped the cord I would run the now silent vacuum around the room so the carpet would have lines. Smart, huh? No one would know. Years later I told my mom about my ingenious scheme; she replied, "for all that work, you could have just vacuumed." She was right. The truth is, I had to take extra steps and do more work to fake vacuuming instead of just vacuuming. The work was actually harder - I mean, just try moving a vacuum around the room while it is off.

How much time and energy do we spend trying to make ourselves look like we are living obediently instead of just being obedient. I think of Jesus' woe to the Scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:27, "For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness." We work hard to make it seem like we are committed instead of just being committed. We work hard making it seem like we are kind and loving instead of just being loving. We work hard to make every excuse in the world as to why our "obedience" and "godliness" doesn't look like what Scripture demands. We painstakingly beautify our tombstone hoping no one will notice the bones inside. Oh, we have the vacuum lines but the carpet is far from clean and really, no one is falling for it - especially our Heavenly Father.

What could you do "for all that work. . ."?

For Alaina

“I’ve got a blog for you”, she said to me across the dinner table while opening a jar of baby food and juggling a cup of juice. “You should blog about how God sometimes lets us get hurt so we will remember not to do the thing that hurt us again – just like I have to do with Aubrey.”

Aubrey is super mobile but just like all baby’s she doesn’t know her limitations. She wants to go head first off the couch or climb off of the brick hearth or stick her little fingers in cabinet doors. Sure, I suppose my sister could clear her home of furniture, pad the walls and floor, refuse to let Aubrey sit or crawl or walk; and that would keep her safe, but what kind of life is that? No, she has to let her try and fail and get hurt so that she learns now, “Feet First! off the couch.” Nothing teaches us caution quite like a few knots on the head.

The same is true of our Heavenly Father. He has to let us feel the pain of our wanderings so that we will remember well the hurt and be careful to draw near to Him and look to Him for guidance and supervision. Sure, we would all love to have our memories of sin and failure erased, but then what would keep us from walking that path again. A little pain now to save us from great harm later.

Love Me Less

In a movie I recently saw, the "God character" tells the main character that everything he does he does because he loves him. After a series of disasters and heartbreaks the main character looks toward heaven and says, "love me less". Have you every felt this way? Sure we have. Think about when you are a kid and you have to eat your vegetables because your parents "love you and want what is best for you". You get invited to a party as a teenager and your parents will not let you go on the grounds that they "love you and want to protect you and keep you from trouble". In those moments you probably thought to yourself "love me less" or maybe it came out like "stay out of my business", "I know what I'm doing", "I can make my own decisions", etc. The request is the same.

But do we really know what we are asking? No, that stern Fatherly hand of God that loves us enough to discipline us and break us when necessary is the same hand that leads us to still waters and green pastures. We do not always understand His love. As the years pass by I realize how many heartaches I escaped not by the skin of my teeth or my good judgment but because of the love of my parents and their willingness to be unliked for the moment. These lessons we learn in the family unit we can see played out in our walk of faith. I may not always understand what God is doing but I know in time I will look back and be so grateful that He did not love me less.

All About Eve

No, not that Eve – she is off the hook for now. I’m talking about “eve” as in “the period before some event.” Today is my niece’s first birthday. I cannot believe that twelve months have already gone by. That means that last night was Aubrey’s First Birthday Eve! You think I’m kidding but I was up well into the wee hours doing laundry, packing, wrapping my gift, and just being excited. My sister has a blowout luau planned this weekend to celebrate with all of our family and friends. Such a sweet time to commemorate this wonderful life God blessed us with and to recognize the potential for great things in store for her in Christ. I love her and I am pumped! Happy Birthday Binky!


Half the enjoyment of a big event or holiday is the eve. The great anticipation of things to come and the hope of delight. An eve gives us the opportunity, should we choose to make good use of it, to get ready for the big day. Without an eve sometimes we do not get to properly acknowledge an event, like when you find out it is a coworkers birthday about ten minutes before you clock out. Eve is a warning, a heads up – “something big is coming; be ready”.


What is today the eve of? What does God have on the horizon for me that I need to prepare for? What anticipation should I be enjoying with due diligence and great joy? Clean out the refrigerator, do the laundry, pack a bag, and gas up the car. Today is the eve of something great in the Lord. Today is the day to prepare for obedience and to do His good pleasure. Is today the day after a fight, an accident, a catastrophe? Or an anniversary of heartbreak? Do not despair. Today is His Glory Eve!


“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it” (Psalm 118:24).

Excellence

Have you ever noticed how beloved imperfection can be? I love the misspelled words on birthday cards from my nephews and the black, smudged patch on my dining table where my mom tried to repair a discoloration I may or may not have caused. It is not the pristine and shiny that become our cherished keepsakes but rather the stuff of thoughts that count, A’s for effort, well meaning attempts and life well lived. The most valuable art I own still has flicks of crayon on the paper and the memory of big round eyes looking up at me beaming with the sacrifice of effort and the hope of praise. Perfection and excellence are not the same thing.

Perfectionism is often a roadblock to excellence. Sometimes we are so focused on (our subjective idea of) perfection that we miss an opportunity for excellence. “My way” is not a synonym for perfection and when we insist on arbitrary criteria we can stifle others from pursuing excellence as well. As followers of Christ we are called by “His glory and excellence” so that we “may be partakers of the divine nature”. We are called to excellence and therefore should strive to imitate Christ in morality, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. (2 Peter 1:1-7) Instead, we focus on our own idea of perfection and sometimes miss the mark of excellence in the way we work, play, teach, serve, love, etc.

“My way” does not equal perfection nor is it demanded by Excellence.

Life Syllabus

Today is “Syllabus Day” – something of a holiday in my circle, but not in a good way. I am finishing up a Master’s degree as an online/extension student. Every semester I receive an email from each of my professors for that term containing the course syllabus. I read the syllabus for my upcoming class, review the book list, my head explodes, then I resume my day. There is a lot of stress on Syllabus Day because I become aware of just how busy I’m about to get and just how ignorant and ill equipped I feel. The work seems so daunting and I am always fearful that I will cave under the pressure.

Reading God’s Word is sometimes like Syllabus Day. We are blessed and relieved to have been given such clear instruction for our purpose even provided objectives, assignments, and in some instances a grading scale. But as sure as we are invigorated by this sense of direction we are gripped by fear and inadequacy. However, we need not stress (no one’s head has to explode) because the great Shepherd of the sheep has been raised from the dead and the God of peace will equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen (Hebrews 13:20-21).


Just imagine that the fine print on the bottom of our life syllabus is that the God who ordains all things is going to pour out the grace and equipping necessary to please Him. What a teacher! What a Savior!

Proverbial Shorts

I wore shorts today. I don’t usually wear shorts because that seems like a little too much Allison, but today it was particularly hot and I knew that I was going to be outside for several hours so I pulled out the one pair of shorts I own and wore them like I meant to. I wanted to be more comfortable. My wearing shorts did not change the temperature outside or bring on a more consistent breeze, but wearing shorts did make the conditions a little more bearable.

That’s what being comforted is, is it not? Not a change of our circumstances but rather what is necessary to endure them; otherwise, we wouldn’t say we were comforted, but would declare that we had been healed, rescued, or delivered. Comfort is not the removal of hardship but is the encouragement and help necessary to persist even when it seems impossible to do so. At the very least comfort gives weight to our feet until the winds of despair have died down.

“This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me.” Psalm 119:50