Job

I just finished reading the book of Job not long ago. I avoided it for a while because I felt I wasn't in the right emotional state to read it. Some difficult circumstances in the last several months had left me a bit fragile. However, after the new year Job and I got to know each other again. And once again, as I had before, I fell in love. I don't love Job because it is an easy book or a neat and tidy book or a book with all the answers. On the contrary, Job is messy, real, and leaves many questions unresolved. I love Job because he is transparent. He is honest. He doesn't hide the depth of His grief. He speaks of depression that causes him to wish for death. He rails in the face of pain. He doesn't just put a happy face on a broken heart. I love Job because he's not afraid to plead his case even when he is the only one left on his team. He begs for an audience with the Almighty. We always quote the famous verse, "Though he slay me, I will hope in Him," but we often forget that there is a second part, "Nevertheless I will argue my ways before Him" (13:15). Job inspires me because he is CONFIDENT of his innocence before God - even when his circumstances and his best friends say otherwise. Would I be that confident in the same setting...or would I begin to doubt myself? Job delights me with his biting sarcasm to friends who doubt him. (Don't believe me? Check out Job 12:1-3, 13:3-5, 16:1-5, 26:1-4. Wonderful stuff.) Job challenges me because even when he has no clue what God is doing, he refuses to question God's character or His goodness. He acknowledges that He can't find God, but he knows God can find him (23:8-10).

Besides falling in love with Job while reading, I also saw another facet of my Heavenly Father which causes me to love Him all the more. I love the fact that God doesn't sugar coat this book. He doesn't soften Job's cries of grief or mute his violent protests. He lets us see the depths of pain unmasked. God doesn't intervene right away. He lets us see one of His best and brightest saints in real life - untidy, questioning, angry, depressed - certainly not what we usually see on Sunday morning! God chooses not to answer Job's questions or his challenges. God never tells Job that he passed a huge test and showed Satan up in his "wager" with God. God simply says, "look at Me." And Job is reminded that he is not owed an answer. The fact that God shows us the "ugly" side of things actually makes me trust Him more. God is not a trickster; a sideshow huckster who promises one thing and delivers another. God gives us the truth - even when it's not pretty. But the really beautiful thing is that nothing is ever wasted - not even the darkest moments. Our God can redeem EVERYTHING and use it for His glory. The shattered remnants of our world can give rise to monuments of His grace.

As a part of a broken world, I need the book of Job. I need to be reminded that it's OK that life is not always tidy and I don't always have the answers. What I do have is a sovereign God who is in His essence loving and good, who took on flesh and bore my punishment as part of His work to redeem creation, who will one day make all things new and will heal forever all the brokenness I see around me. I have the assurance of His steadfast love even when I cannot find His hand. What a blessed hope! What a wonderful God! How kind of Him to give us this honest, messy book to show us another facet of Himself.

He Came

The taste of grape juice and communion bread lingers on my tongue. I savor it, remembering that only through His blood and broken body do I have any hope of redemption. My own brokenness and imperfections cry out that I am not worthy of His gift, but then I recall that He gave it anyway because of my neediness. The craziness of the whole thing startles me again this Christmas season. Omnipotence made helpless. Omniscience learning to fasten a sandal.

Our God heav'n cannot hold him,
Nor earth sustain,
Heav'n and earth shall flee away
When he comes to reign;
In the bleak midwinter
A stable place sufficed
The Lord God Almighty
Jesus, Jesus Christ

- Christina Rossetti

I don't understand it, but I'm grateful...so grateful.

You Know It's a Good Day...

So many reasons to be happy in that one pic.


One final thought...


"God says, 'No, I want that soul to prove its power to live an unprotected life. I want it to be a thing of wonder like this little wintergreen in its pocket of poor soil among the rocks. I often plant My flowers,' He says, 'among rough rocks.'" - Amy Charmichael


(I am aware that this is not wintergreen!)

Let's Bloom! (In whatever soil we find ourselves.)

Thank you...

Thank you, Jesus.
Thank you for drinking the cup.
Even though You didn't want to.
Even though You asked three times if there was another option.
And three times You surrendered Your will to the Father's.
You drank deeply.
And suffered horribly.
For me.

Thank you.

I Rise...

Spring has officially sprung, and with the plethora of "new life" vibes floating about comes the realization that I must shake off the chains of my winter stupor and Blog! (That...and some friendly and not so subtle reminders from unnamed individuals. *Mom*) And so, from the murky sludge of winter's thaw...I Rise...I RISE... (Sorry, had a Maya Angelou moment there. Thanks to both of you who got it.)

Great Christmas. Wonderful family. Happy presents. Special times.




Magic Kingdom.



Tired bro.


Wide awake.


Ooooo...pretty.



Big snow.



Days off!


Underground Railroad.


Special friends.



College Banquet.


Late curfews.



Band tour.





Spring days.







And there you have it. The picture book version. Greatly edited but adequate for today's reading skills. =)

Final thought for the day:

God is good, and as Solomon said, "not one word has failed of all His good promise." (I Kings 8:56b) Our job: know His promises. Know Him.

Blessings!

Just Guess...

...what my New Year's resolution might be.

Thanksgiving...


Soup and Carols night...


Christmas Eve fondue...


etc...

More news of the holidays to come...once I push back from the table.

Toodles.

A Cautionary Tale

This is Sonja.


She is nice. Some people really like her. But Sonja has a flaw. Sometimes she forgets to listen to her mother.

When Sonja was little her mother said, "Sonja, don't ever leave the water running in the sink. You might forget about it, and you could have a flood!!" Sonja listened. She knew her mother was right because her mother was Wise.

But Sonja thought, "I can do more than one thing at once." And so she did. For many years Sonja let the water run in the sink while she did other chores, and nothing ever happened until...

Saturday morning Sonja was getting ready to meet her friends. She combed her hair and brushed her teeth. Then Sonja walked into the kitchen. Sonja wondered, "Why is that puddle on the floor?" "Why is that lake on the floor?" Then Sonja saw the water pouring out of her sink and onto the floor. The bubbles were piled high!

Oh, no! What was she going to do? First, she turned off the water because she is a smart girl. Then she pulled the plug in the sink. Then she began to clean up the water. (Later she remembered to get her camera - after she had already cleaned up a lot.) The cabinet under her sink was flooded.


The floor was flooded.


Sonja cleaned 2 and 1/2 basins of water off her floor. Sonja was sad.


But her floor and cabinet were clean! *Woo Hoo!*

Sonja should have listed to her mother. She also should have read this poem BEFORE the disaster. Because it is a good poem and says Wise things.

TURNING OFF THE FAUCET

If you don't turn the faucet off tight

When you're done in the bathroom,

You'll be wasting water.

Also, the sink might fill up

And overflow and flood the bathroom,

And then the bathroom would fill up

And overflow and flood the bedroom,

And all your clothes would get soaking wet,

And when you wore them, you'd catch a horrible cold

And have to stay home from school

And you couldn't learn anything

Or see your friends.

And after you'd missed school long enough,

All your friends would forget you

And you would be so sad and wet

You'd probably just stay in bed

Wearing your sad, wet clothes

With your sad, wet head

On your sad, wet pillow

Until you just shrivelled up and wasted away.

And nobody would care.

Except your parents

And they'd be all sad and wet

And shrivelling and wasting away, too,

Because you didn't turn the faucet off.

- Jeff Moss

Sonja should have read that poem. But she didn't. She should have listened to her mother. But she didn't.

And she flooded her kitchen.

Fortunately, my dears, the story doesn't end there. Later that night, after the coldness and wetness were done, Sonja went to see her BROTHER! Whom she LOVES! He sang in a concert. It was pretty. Sonja loved it. She smiled...and so did he.


They both smiled. Because they were happy. But it almost didn't happen. Because Sonja didn't listen.

So, my dears, always listen to your mothers. They are Wise. And never, never leave the water running.

Fallish

Fall came back today. I think it took a bit of vacation and got summer to cover for it for about a week, but today it was back and working hard. (Does that seem like a lot of "its" in one sentence? It does to me. Wait, there it is again...and again. *sigh*) Anyway, I kind of missed fall, and I'm glad it's back...overcast skies, rain, cold, the whole shebang.

You know what else I love that's back? A full day without hearing any sort election coverage. I missed those days, and now they're back. (Excuse me while I wipe a tear of gratitude.) I pray that, no matter how we feel about who won or lost, we will behave like true followers of Jesus and students of the Word. May we honor, obey, and pray for those in authority over us. May our spirits stay sweet and our words gracious. (Enough said.)

Many things have happened in my life since last I blogged. I shall quickly enumerate a few of them for you.

I made a trip to PA to see my aunt and uncle. They always make me feel loved and a bit spoiled. (Lovely.) Of course, I didn't pull the camera out to get any shots of them...just their yard. But it was early fall, and I was overwhelmed by changing color. It must have gone to my head.

I love these trees. You just gotta love trees with faces.


Like I said, I think it went to my head.


I also made a little fall display for my office. My uncle picked out the appropriate pumpkin and gourds for me (following orders from his wife). I think he did a pretty good job!


I also went to a hayride and pretty much did everything but that. There is something lovely about a big fire, cold night, hot dogs, marshmallows, s'mores (in which the chocolate never melts properly), lukewarm "hot" chocolate, hats with pompoms, and crazy kids. It's a pretty great combination! Here are some of my flock.






This is the one where I'm a disembodied head. (That's actually convenient at times.)


So...it has been busy. Right now I'm teaching Biology for almost 2 weeks while the regular teacher is away. I'm really enjoying myself...except for the prep work. However, I find that it's actually the grunt work that makes the experience of teaching a truly enjoyable one. Without it I'm ill prepared, nervous and basically a mess. However, when I put in the time beforehand, I have a blast explaining how stuff works and examining the handiwork of our Creator. Hmmmm. Think there might be a lesson in here somewhere?

This weekend I'm in the office. I just came back from late night in the gym, and sometimes it takes a while for me to settle in for the night. Thus, the blog. Speaking of the office, there's grunt work to be done in there as well if I want to have the kind of rapport I need to have with my girls. Starting to see a pattern here?

I believe that in our spiritual lives there's grunt work as well. Sometimes we complete our spiritual disciplines simply because they are just that - disciplines. Sometimes we do right just because it's right. Am I saying that there is no joy in the spiritual disciplines? OF COURSE NOT! However, if I did only what I felt like doing, there are days I wouldn't take the time to forge through that difficult scripture passage or scribble my scattered thoughts down on paper. But, as with Biology, prep work yields rewards. I may not see them right away, but as I daily do right I form a pattern of living. I begin to watch the Word transform my life, and I enjoy the abundant life God promises.

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we do not grow weary." Gal. 6:8-9 NASB

Keep up the good work!!