A Moment of Rest

These are pictures of the pond that Nicole and I dug in our front yard about six years ago. The project turned out to be a LOT more work than it seemed when Nicole came up with the idea (not to mention occurring during the hottest and most humid week of the year). I wasn't sure about the idea at first, but since it was put in I've discovered that I really enjoy having this little place of peace right outside my front door. I don't mind the bit of maintenance it takes, it's actually nice to keep something in a "natural state" in good working condition. The real benefit of this pond is the chance it gives both of us to take a few moments when we need them to go and sit by the pond and just listen to the water, watch the fish or the frogs, and let life's troubles and worries be for a while. Perhaps you don't have the chance to get a moment alone in nature, but don't underestimate the healing power of taking a few minutes to just sit and let life go for a while. When you think about it, how worried do those two frogs look anyway?

Those Who Don't Learn from History

The sad lesson of the book of Judges is repeated over and over, "the Israelites once again div evil in the eyes of the LORD." This phrase invariably follows after the death of the latest Judge who saves Israel from oppression and leads the people during the rest of his/her lifetime. When that judge dies, however, the people forget the lesson of being true to God and stray once again into rebellion and sin. Their sin leads to God allowing oppression (because they aren't keeping the Covenant), the people cry out to God in their misery, God raises up a judge to deliver them which he does, and the people have peace until that judge dies. The process repeats itself so many times in Judges that it the lesson we should be learning from this bit of history is inescapable. IF we do not learn from what God has done already, we will be doomed to make the same mistakes as those who came before us. Most of us are confident enough that we don't think that we'll make such mistakes, but we should ask ourselves, do we even KNOW what God has done in the lives of our family before we came along; what did our parents learn about God that we should know, what about our grandparents? What did my church learn in the past that I don't know about? Take the time to have those conversations with those who have LIVED through the ups and downs of life; whatever else, you won't be wasting your time.

Hear Us From Heaven

We sang the iworship song, "Hear Us From Heaven" in church this morning; as I was thinking about the song (and getting the a/v equipment ready to start it), I shared this thought with the congregation, "What do we want God to HEAR from us? What is it that we really want God to know about?" It's the kind of thing that we don't stop to think about very often. Sure, we pray, we talk to God, but how often to we stop to examine what it is that we're saying to God, and what we hope to hear in return? The next time you pray, take a moment to consider what it is that you're hoping God will hear from you (obviously, I know that God knows and hears everything; but the point of praying is for us to speak to God {ultimately, for our benefit, to learn obedience and trust, and also because we're in a relationship with God (as opposed to a cosmic ATM, God is a PERSON)}...If God is going to Hear Us From Heaven (and he will), what are we saying??

Psalm 23, "The LORD is my shepherd"

"The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want." That pretty much says it all doesn't it?

Back up and running

After two and a half days, and countless hours of fussing, my computer is back up and running. I ended up having to reinstall Windows (wiping the hardrive, which I had back-up of course). If only it were that "easy" to wipe clean the mistakes that we've made, that easy to undue the wrongs that we've done. It took Christ on the cross to erase those sins, and even though I'll have to keep working to prevent further computer malfunctions, and eventually have to replace this machine; our savior died once for all, the ultimate clean slate.