A little Acts 2 in our lives

It is with great joy that the saving for and searching for Cassie's car is finally finished! We have thought, prayed and talked about this for probably more than 4 years. She's been saving her money from babysitting jobs since she was in 8th grade. Wayne and I contributed an equal share.

But the truth is, it couldn't have happened without more than a little help from our friends. I was reminded today that the gifts of God when used by the body of Christ are the actual means God uses to administer His grace to His people. This is truly the case for us in the purchase of this car. How small a thing our daily lives can be...just sleeping and eating, cleaning and talking, purchasing and consuming. But if we break forth from the day that consumes us and step back just a little...then we get it...God is everywhere, in everything...and demands glory through it all.

Today I want to step back to give Him praise for revealing His manifold grace to our family...and especially to Cassie. She's a great babysitter...in high demand. But no one is worth what she made from some of the families who paid her. She would come home with these checks that startled us. Her eyes would be wide as she told us so many nights that she tried to get them to take it back, but they were adamant.

Aren't you saving for a car, Cassie? they'd ask. Well, yeah, but still... she'd reply. We love you. You've blessed our family so often. Let us help you. God has blessed us. Let us do the same for you.

Can you believe it? she'd ask us with tears in her eyes. Those checks she devoted to the Lord and to the car alone. She knew that it was a gift with purpose. And because He is so gracious to open her eyes to see it, she also knew that she was a living recipient of the kind of church that began 2000 years ago. For example, Acts 2:44-45:

And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings
and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.

Then because He's just that kind of God, Wayne had a surprising day off and they went to see what they could find.




TA-DA!












We were so grateful when we learned of this one. Just the kind of good gas mileage car that by God's continuing grace will get her through college. And Wildcat blue! (Wayne said that she turned the corner, saw the car and said in a quiet, excited and almost little girl's voice: Daddy, it's blue! Oh, I like it! Can I have it? It was like she was three again and walking into her first Toys-R-Us. Cute.) One problem though...isn't there always a hitch?...it was about $3000 more than we had. Add tax, title and license...not to mention the extra $900 just to pay the insurance for six months...and we're out of our range. What to do?

Wayne and I talked, prayed, thought, pondered, looked again at the budget...and with the advice of a couple of people we trusted, went ahead and did it. Took out a loan for the remainder to be paid off, we had figured, by Christmas. Not too bad, we thought. Cassie beamed when she ran in to tell me to come see! We were all so excited.

Then God shook us up again. In the past two weeks, He has added blessing to blessing. Generosity to generosity. And has arranged for us to pay it off, not in December like we first thought...nor in November like we thought a few days later after one gracious gift...nor in October after another unexpected receiving. No...how about next month? Yep. Six weeks from now.

And we especially appreciate how he did it. Not from one place or one family or even from just those who love us. God reminded us He can move anyone at anytime He chooses after we received a notice from the IRS that they were so happy to tell us that their numbers didn't add up and we could expect a check in a couple of weeks. He sent money from such unexpected places for one reason: so that we would not get confused and think either Wow! Look how smart we are! Or Wow! Look how great they are! Or especially not a mild That's good.

No. God sent it like this so we would be astounded at Him. We see the good works of all those around us clearly...their generosity...their honesty...their openness to share...believers and unbelievers. But though grateful, we are not confused. Our praise is for our Father who is in heaven and knows how to give His children good gifts. Now comes the living it out in our lives...generosity...honesty...openness with our possessions...willing to be an instrument of grace in another's life. A return to Him not for the car, but the cross which enables us to receive grace from our Father instead of the wrath we so diligently earned.

Live in such a way

Wayne with Cassie acting normal...

My husband, Wayne, celebrated his 41st birthday this week. Other than just loving that we have one more day to honor him and his blessing to our family, yesterday marked another really great moment in our relationship...Wayne and I have now lived longer with each other than without.

For us this has really signified something special in our relationship. It's hard though to put into words. It means that God has allowed me to dwell with him longer than any other woman, even his mom. It means that he knows more about me in that day-to-day way than any other person. We have a perspective on each other that no one else can know. We have knowledge of weaknesses, of strengths, of joys, of hurts, of memories, of each other...and though others have been through them with us, the only constant in them all is Wayne and I.

Which means that I know him...what he sounds like when he sings...what his eyes look like when he's tired or hurt...what he does that he hates...what he does that brings him more joy than anything else...what he's like when no one's watching and there is no one to impress...how you can tell when he's about to take a kid by the jersey and get in his face (in Jesus' name, of course)...

I say all this to sort of give you my credentials for what you're about to read. I really mean what I say when I tell you that I honor the Lord for what He has done to establish His Word by deed in my life through Wayne (and yes, I know better than anyone how blessed I am)...

Matthew 14:10-15 I know better the compassion of Jesus when He was tired or just needed a minute alone by watching Wayne come home to us every day of football season. Even after back to back to back 18 hour days, he walks in the door...sees us and has compassion...and stays up serving us until it is very late in the day. He isn't just a deacon in our church...he's a deacon.

Exodus 34:6-8 I know I can better rely on the steadfastness of God because He has placed this same Spirit in Wayne. It is no mistake that the steadfast love of the Lord is linked to His forgiveness in this passage. And I need it...the better you know me the more opportunity there is to see my sin and to have it affect your life. So, imagine the impact it's had on Wayne...except you'd never know it. One day we were asked for a class to discuss past hurts that had happened in our marriage. We talked about it the night before and brought together our lists...well, one of us had a list. Wayne went first and said he couldn't remember anything I'd ever done that had hurt him. (Yes...I tore up my list and asked for forgiveness for breaking 1 Corinthians 13.)

Luke 15:1-2 Even though we still don't love tax collectors, there are a couple of categories of people now that probably better describe the revulsion that people felt toward the tax collectors of Jesus' day. AIDS patients, mental homeless...those we cross the street to avoid.

Not at the top, but right up there, are guys like this...










Well, not during this picture...everybody loves a winner, don't they? But put them after the game in their hoodies, four of them walking down the street together, scowling faces, tattoos showing and watch those same fans lock their doors. Everybody wants them on their field, but not at dinner. Not Wayne...around here we just call them our guys. He loves these young men. Delights in them. It's amazing to watch. One day I felt that same impulse to grab the kids off the streets and lock the doors...until you see their whole face light up as they see him and yell, "Coach!" and start running to wrap him up in huge hugs. They want his delight and approval like they would a father. Makes me cry to watch. They couldn't pick a better one.

John 20:17 Which brings me to the last one...simply for the sake of space. I was drawn to Wayne from the moment I met him, but there is really one reason I longed to marry him as soon as he'd have me: I saw him with a child. A friend of ours in college became pregnant. The guy responsible was out of the picture. How would she finish college? It was Wayne who suggested to me that we help her out. So, we all worked out our schedules so one of us had Lane. When she needed to work, we made sure Wayne or I had off. Our class schedule was rearranged. Cribs were set up in each apartment. And I watched Wayne be a dad. I was amazed, amused, touched, encouraged...and huge hurts in me began to heal as I watched him sacrifice his life for a child not even his own. He has only become better at his role as Dad. My girls run at the sound of the door opening. Fight to answer the phone when they hear his ringtone. Pray with him every night. Lean on him when they stand beside him.

But when I watch him, I think...if he's that good at this...if he has figured out how best to care for our girls...if he knows what delights them and what needs to be taken away...if he inspires such trust and love...how much more my heavenly Father deserves from me. How much more should I lean on Him. Pray to Him. Jump at His voice. Fight to answer him. How much more trust should I have? How much more love and devotion? Watching Wayne with my girls makes me a better disciple.

There is a plaque in our house which reads:

Live in such a way
that those who know you,
but don't know God,

will come to know God
because they know you.

That's what Wayne does for us...shows us God...inspires us to know Him better. How grateful I am for all the added praise to my God because I have seen Wayne's good works. I thank you Father for the blessing of Wayne...for giving me a life that has had more of him in it than without...for loving me enough to give me eyes to see past your gift of him to the real reason you gave him life at all. You are glorified in him. And we are grateful.

I love you, honey.

Happy anniversary to me!

I love my husband! We're coming up to our 19th anniversary this month and he really knows how to give me good gifts that hit right at my heart. And the good news is...you can join me for it! Even though October is right in the middle of football season, he has graciously allowed me to sign up for Desiring God's Regional Conference, Job: When the Righteous Suffer. I'm so grateful that even though he can't attend, he was excited for me to go. Have I mentioned how much I love my husband?

It's October 17-18th in Austin at Hill Country Bible Church NW. I've attached links to the information below so you can see if it's something you might be interested in coming to. I promise you that you will be blessed by being there...and I'd be blessed by you coming with me! It'll be one of the best things $25 can buy! Let me know what you think...

Conference summary
Schedule
Travel info

Good fruit

I mentioned yesterday that coaching school was another great time with Wayne and the girls. We played, rested and enjoyed each other and old friends. All of this included the "traditions" that make up great memories for us all. But most of those weren't planned...they just happened because we did some of the same things twice. Most of these are special for the girls because they don't happen any other day of the year. The other thing they have in common? They all cost more money that we ever spend in our "real" lives.

We live on a single paycheck from a public school. It is more than enough, truly. It well supplies not only our needs, but more wants than we should have. But a curious thing can happen when you get a taste of another lifestyle, can't it? When you are able to stay where you normally can't...or can buy what you usually don't have money for...or can spend time doing what you generally can't...what happens inside of you?

Well, since 1 Corinthians 10:13 says that no temptation has ever come to me that isn't a common temptation for us all, I bet you've faced the battle of contentment in your heart, too. Nike, Coca-Cola, AT&T and Disney all know how it works. Get us to see what else we could have, show us what our lives could be like, create in us just a little discontent in our hearts and watch our wallets open. So, you'll understand that I'm always a little ready for battle when we come home and face laundry, making our own beds, cooking our own (much cheaper) meals, finding entertainment without cable TV...you understand. You've been there. So much more fun to pack than to unpack...to plan the day before you leave than to live the day after you come home.

Understand that the major battle isn't with the girls...it's in my own heart. But there have been years that vacations have given rise to bad fruit in our lives...when all we want to do is eat out again...veg in front of the TV again...or just the opposite: go and do something instead of just sit at home again. Plus there's the added bonus of having Wayne home at 3pm instead of 9pm.

But, I have to tell you, that's not true this time. This time I am filled to overflowing with tasting the fruit of what God is doing in my girls hearts. This trip marked the first time that all of them chimed in over and over during the week to say that they'd rather live the life we have than to spend it like we do at coaching school. All of them were more than ready to come home. Each of them expressed a complete disgust with spending so much money for one dinner that we could make at home. They all thought that though TV was nice, it would not be good for us to have in our house. Fiesta Texas was okay, but not something they wish they could have a season pass for. It's not that they don't like Pop-tarts, but they're tired of junk food, they said.

What a blessing and challenge for me as their mom to continue to try to lead them this way. If they see it clearly then I certainly need to see it. If they are content, I have no excuse. A great reminder to me as we head Monday to football season. These days are given, God says, for me to rejoice and be glad in. Habakkuk reminds me that that is isn't conditional on whether there's enough grocery money or we're able to buy all we want... whether Wayne is home a lot or a little... whether I am bored or overwhelmed... whether the kids are sick or well...

Contentment...Paul says in Philippians 4:12 that knowing how to face abundance or to face need is a secret. It's not known to all, as our society well plays out. It must be uncovered... pondered... sought out... dug for... disciplined into my life. But that doesn't mean that it takes a book to explain. Paul did it in one short sentence, in the very next verse. Won't take much effort to memorize. Want to join me this fall in working it out with all our might? Yeah. Me neither. Sounds painful. But we'll look more like the Savior if we do. Jesus said others will see our good work and glorify our Father who is in heaven. We might even be asked to give a defense for the hope that we have like Peter said. Will we avoid suffering that we might be more comfortable? May it never again be as true in the future as it has been in the past.

Well, here it is.

I can do all things through him who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13

Believe it? That contentment isn't from anything more than believing God? My girls do. And if He can do it in them, He can do it in me. I believe Him...Lord, forgive me my unbelief.

Traditions

Coaching school...sounds like a joke doesn't it? But it's real. Seminars from professional, college and high school coaches on everything from conditioning to scheduling to retirement to how to run specific aspects of an offense or defense...and not just for football. Lectures on track, baseball, golf, etc. happen as well.

So about 7:30am Wayne quietly gets ready and leaves us at the hotel, attends meetings, eats lunch with old friends, more meetings...until finally around 3pm he heads back to us so the real fun can start. This includes several traditions at coaching school that are mostly a product of being able to do there what we don't do here.

• We are reminded why we don't have cable TV...because we would watch it. We proved that over and over. It came on as soon as we entered the room and stayed on until we had to leave...all while we did nothing but lay on fluffy beds with feather pillows! We were fascinated by the home shows (no food channel in this hotel...what's up with that??!!). The girls and I agreed also that if there were a "Jon & Kate plus 8" marathon on TV, we'd sit in front of it all day long. Ridiculous. (And she needs to stop treating him like the 9th child...seriously...)

• Because we are able to stay in the highest of the high end hotels, there is no complimentary breakfast (if you can stay there, you can afford $6 toast!) and there is no way that I'm paying $3 for a Sprite and $4 for a Snickers out of the "hospitality" tray...that means that the girls get to make a grocery store run unlike any other in the year. Poptarts, soft drinks, juice boxes, bottled water, whatever snack foods sound good to each of them...and the big favorite: those tiny individual size cereal boxes. They get to choose whatever they want while I try not to cringe.

• Because it rotates between three great Texas cities, we get to experience a few days of downtown fun as well as our yearly theme park run. This year it's the Alamo, Riverwalk, Witte Museum and Fiesta Texas...we love San Antonio. It is hands down the most beautiful to us...the architecture, the flowers (some of the bougainvillea was more than twenty feet tall!), the river, the art, the history...wonderful stuff...and nothing like our day to day lives!

• A more recent tradition is sleeping really, really late...like the girls all get up after 10am!! It's fantastic...especially in a hotel like the one we had which gave us separate rooms! I can't sleep that long any more so it meant I had at least two full hours of quiet to wake slowly, read, lay, think, ponder, pray...and to thank Him for all that was in my life. That's a much different start to our day. (And for those of you with toddlers...yes, I promise...it'll happen one day for you, too!)
  

• How is it possible that we were in San Antonio and never ate Mexican food?! Not sure...except to say that there are so many amazing choices on the river...and there's the fact that I cook Mexican food almost every day! But food is one of our big pleasures during the week. We budget to eat out a cheap, fast-food type meal at lunch usually at a mall or Mickey D's. But dinner is another story. Then we eat the meals we would never eat otherwise. Joe's Crab Shack... Rainforest Cafe... Hard Rock Cafe... Pappadeaux's... yummy. We do try to make sure that we share between us so there are no leftovers. (High end hotels don't have a fridge in the room either! Rich people do not re-heat...) This is possible because TISD allocates Wayne $36 a day for food. Seems ridiculous until you try to eat downtown on less. Wayne hoards it by eating pop-tarts for breakfast...spends about $6 for lunch...and contributes the rest to dinner. That makes it possible for us to kick in about the same $30 and eat really, really great food.
  

All of this reminds me of a lesson we learned early on...be careful what you do with your kids more than once! During our time at two coaching schools in a row we went to a zoo then thought about skipping one year..."But, Mom, we always go to the zoo!" Two Christmases in a row we forgot about looking at lights until the last minute...literally Christmas Eve...so we go right after a church service. Guess what? Now, when we suggest doing it differently? "Mom, come on! We always look at lights Christmas Eve night after church...after we get ice cream from Sonic, remember?!"

Too many of our traditions have begun that way...without purpose. Doesn't mean that they don't matter to us or that they haven't led to some amazing times with our girls. But they didn't start the way good traditions should...on purpose, to pass down what is most important to us. God, however, being the redeemer that He is has used our vacation traditions to re-affirm our day-to-day traditions...

But how 'bout I write more on that later...and actually get up from here and live them out first! More on this tomorrow...

One last trip

We're off again for our final trip of the summer...also known as the beginning of football season for the Ransleben household. So for those of you who know me well...it's time to kick up the prayers a notch or two for me!

We're headed to San Antonio for a few days of hanging out together...I'll be back with lots more time to write here since Wayne will be gone every evening!

Update on Cassie

She's doing great! They had no bad moments really...just sat in a stuffy hotel room watching everything blow! She said it was amazing to be in...though that will do her for another 18 years. I, for one, am glad to hear it!

It was kind of fun to get to call her throughout it and get updates on what the damage was and what it was like. Much different than when I was her age and dependent on landlines.

They have decided since power will be out for an indefinite period of time to leave today to go to San Antonio...which might sound like fun, except that our whole family will be there starting this weekend! She'll be our advance scout, I guess. I'm hoping she got pictures for us...we'll let you know...

We are grateful that God chose once again to keep her here for a while longer! He gives and takes away...and no matter which He chooses, His Name is to be blessed...

Mama, I'm super!

One of the things I love most about Katharine is how much she delights in her children. They are so unique and she makes the most of what God has given them. So, she kicks balls with Henry, plays pretend with Emma Kate and puts all the toys back in the basket so Lauren can joyfully take them all out again.




Katharine and Henry at Lake Burton...






So, it was no surprise to me when she held up her newest sewing creation...a red and black (How 'bout them Georgia Bulldogs!) superhero cape for Henry! You see one day he came in to her with a blanket draped around his shoulders and said (Say it slowly and put as much southern drawl into this as you possibly can!), "Mama. Look at me! I'm super!" She laughed again as she told me the story and returned the praise to him, "You sure are, Henry!" So, of course, she said she had to make him a cape...and well, we're going to the lake where we'll be with Henry's cousins, Will and Drew...can't leave them out. And if they all have one, there's no way Emma Kate won't want one...and then only Lauren would be left out! Well, there you go. Can't have that!

So, with the help of God Himself (right, Katharine?!), we packed up the car with the four of them and the three of us, all our luggage and her sewing machine! And off to the lake where Katharine took the precious hours that the kids were asleep to make them all feel super.

The Super Kids in their super capes...with Pops looking on proudly...







Which is not really surprising. She's really excellent at making those of us around her feel super...about who we are...about her delight in us...about her delight in what the Lord has made and done in her day...and about her delight in her Savior.

God has gifted her in the same fashion he gifted those long ago for his tabernacle...

And I have given to all able men ability, that they may make all that I have commanded you: the tent of meeting...and the finely worked garments, the holy garments for Aaron the priest and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests...Exodus 31:6b,10a

He still gives amazing and varying gifts to His church to complete the task appointed to us. I'm so grateful to witness Katharine following these great men in the task of making finely worked garments for our sons (and daughters!) and their service to the Lord. Another gift from the Lord through Katharine in my life that spurs me on to running harder after my Savior by serving others with great creativity.

Building up by digging deep

Mark & Amy, Sarah, Molly, Cassie and Wayne

As I mentioned last week, Wayne and Cassie returned from the Ukraine. In the beginning the thought was that our sister church in Bila Tserkva (about 30 miles southwest of Kiev) would have their new campsite completed and our team would join them to put on a camp for kids. Then about a week before leaving, they learned they would instead be working in order to get the camp ready for kids to come later. So, out went the playdoh and in came the work gloves and clippers.

When I think of a camp, I think of cabins for sleeping...a larger area for meeting...a kitchen and eating area...maybe a nice outdoor rec area. That's pretty much what Wayne found last year when he went and worked a camp with them. But that one was just rented for the time they were there. Now they have their own...or rather they're building their own. One day they'll have it all, God willing. But for now they have just the skeleton of it.

The sleeping cabins... Wayne's the guy in jeans walking in. The ladder got you to the only place there was cell reception!


It was ironic to me that last year it was mostly guys on the trip...Mark and Amy's two sons, Alex and Nick, went along. They got to play with the kids. This year it's construction and God put together a group of girls to go. I'm so grateful to say that Amy said the girls did a great job clearing the soccer field...literally by scooping up one shovelful at a time and clearing out the weeds, grass and rocks.


The youth pastor from our "niece" church praying at the camp (our sister church has planted a church!).





The Ukrainian youth girls took what he was sitting on, these huge pillars made of brick and concrete, hammered the bricks apart, sorted the materials and made...






Ukrainian building supplies...








Wayne and Mark had another job...digging trenches. This is where the language barrier can be a little frustrating. They were shown with hand signs to dig a trench but couldn't quite get the idea of what it was being built for. Later they realized that they needed not only lines for plumbing and electricity (neither of which was available this trip), but they were mostly building retaining walls for the pad that the cabins were sitting on. Some of the columns were left intact and lifted by crane into the trenches and then re-filled with dirt. They are amazing at using what they have to do what they need done.

It's wonderful what the Lord can do when His people get together. Our team went really not knowing what they'd be doing, not speaking the language...and returned missing friends already. Wayne came home talking about what we could do as a family next year there. What supplies we'd need and how much Russian we can learn between now and next summer. Cassie is helping me with my pronunciation of what she's picked up already. The trip has grown her, changed her, firmed up so much of what God has been showing her. Aisley just came over my shoulder to say, "I can't wait to get there and see everyone." Brennan is so excited to finally go.

And me? It's just the answer to a prayer begun over 8 years ago for God to reach my husband and give him a heart for the global church that he might lead our family into missions in some way. That's all. Now it's easy to see how He has prepared Wayne all of his life to do this very thing. So, I'm so grateful to God they went...I'm grateful that He saw fit to bring them home again...and I am crying even now in gratitude that He might give us a heart to go again. We are no different than anyone else, stuck in this day-to-day distraction. Every now and then, though, by His grace, our eyes lift to the end and we remember why we've been left and what we're to be about...

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

And what we are working towards...

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, "Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen."

Rest in a storm

(UPDATE: I just realized that the nifty little picture I had from the National Hurricane Center was updating itself...great idea...unless, of course, like me you wanted to show just the one shot! Here's the one I meant it to have.)

See that "H" on top of the red border of Texas? The spot where they're expecting the hurricane to hit? Yeah. That's where Cassie is...South Padre Island. She's on her annual trip with our good friends, the Cables. He attends a medical conference and brings along his wife and three boys. Cassie has joined them for the last 3 or 4 years to babysit so they get some alone time and Jill gets help with three amazingly energetic boys!

So...my baby in a hurricane zone...what would you do? Where does your mind go to find rest? How would you sleep at night? How much TV would you watch to track the storm??

I could rest today in the wisdom of Christian Cable to see to their safety...he is an oncologist, after all...a smart, wise man who knows the value of life, loves his family, cares greatly for Cassie. I could trust in the wisdom of those in charge of the evacuations down there. They've been through this before and learned many lessons from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. I could even think about Cassie. She's a great young woman, wise in her understanding of situations like this. She's definitely one to look to in a crisis, level headed, can-do personality, caretaker.

But this is futile thinking and will bring no peace. It was never meant to. Weighing the situation to determine the wisest course of action is one thing. Placing my trust in the wisdom of man to alleviate my fears is another. The Bible is clear:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight.

Proverbs 3:5-6

Thinking about situations and weighing options are different than leaning on them...what I can see can not bear my weight. It will not hold me up...especially in my fear. It is one thing to think about the Cables and Cassie. It is another to make what I know my place of rest. God alone will be my rest and He will not give that glory to another. But He's not surprised that I try again and again to turn to others instead of Him for rest and confidence. He told me I would...

For thus says the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel:
In returning and rest you shall be saved;
In quietness and in trust shall be your strength."
But you were unwilling...
Isaiah 30:15

To know God is to know our only place of rest, of quietness, of trust...but I am often so unwilling. This morning He was gracious to me as He caused me to arise with His Word in my mind. Here's what the Lord reminded me of...

Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said, "Thus far shall you come, and no farther and here shall your proud waves be stayed"?

Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep?

Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain and a way for the thunderbolt, to bring rain on a land where no man is, on the desert in which there is no man, to satisfy the waste and desolate land, and to make the ground sprout with grass?

Can you lift up your voice to the clouds, that a flood of waters may cover you? Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go and say, "Here we are"?

Job 38:8-11, 16, 25-27, 34-35

So, I went to His Word and read all of Elihu's words in chapters 36-37 and then kept reading to the end of Job. I needed not understanding of my world and certainly not a better understanding of the storm, but a reminder of who God is. I needed to ask myself: Who is this God I serve? Theology...the study of God...is of no value if it doesn't inform us, change us...especially in our fears.

This doesn't mean that there are not decisions to be made today as Cassie plays on the beach even as I write these words. But it does mean that my perspective of that storm has changed. I feel no fear for my eyes have seen the Lord of Glory and I am undone. By His grace alone, I will not walk according to what I can see, but by faith in the One who made this all to be.

They're coming home!

British Air flight 195 is on its way to Houston! So the girls and I are leaving to pick up Wayne and Cassie!

We are so excited that God would choose our family to serve Him across the water...and so grateful that He might allow us to be together again...

I'll give you an update tomorrow...for now read this to see how I'm praising Him today!

In need of another's view

We had gone inside after a morning swimming in the clear water of Lake Burton, GA...grabbed some lunch, helped to clean up...when we heard the first rumblings of thunder. So, Aisley, Brennan and I did what came to be an almost daily ritual: quickly gathered books, Nintendo DS, snacks, drinks and a couple of towels and headed outside!



Aisley and her DS waiting for the rain to come...








No, we're not nuts. We just really wanted to get to the top of the boathouse before the rain hit. There's a covered pavilion at the top with a couple of net swings for the girls and a hammock for me. The rain rolled in, the cool wind blew and we fell into what we decided later was our favorite time on the lake.

The hours were slow and wonderful. The talk was easy and fun. It was good to be with my girls in one of the most beautiful places we've ever seen. Life was good...and for all we knew, it was that way for everyone, everywhere. After all, cell phone service was sporadic. Email connections, almost non-existent. We talked of the Lord...His provision and splendor...His care for us and for Wayne and Cassie, thousands of miles away...His amazing gift of time and rest. Wasn't everyone feeling the same?

It only took a few phone calls to find out differently. What we realized is that the top of the boathouse was the only place my cell phone worked with any reliability. I took it out with us the second day just to have a clock with us since the day before we lost track of time! As soon as I settled in, the phone buzzed that a few messages were waiting. I settled back to listen to messages and return calls, wondering what was happening in the rest of the world.

By the time the evening came we discovered that two friends of mine had died, two others were having conflict within their families and a family had lost a two year old little boy after simple swimming lessons put too much strain on a little heart. Grief, pain, stunned voices, straining to see clearly the way to walk next, pressing to find their way back to the place we rested in so easily.

While talking to one dear sister that day, she paused to ask if I had time to listen...was she interrupting us? No, I softly laughed, if you've got time...I've got time. All the time in the world, in fact. What was I doing? she wanted to know. Sitting in the rain, swinging on a hammock at the top of a boathouse on a beautiful lake nestled in the Appalachian Mountains...and would be for the next 3-4 hours. There was a bit of a pause in her voice as she chuckled ironically. What a difference between her day and mine.

So great was the gap, I started to apologize for it...for being in such a good, restful place when she was not. I wanted her to know that I weep where she weeps. But she quickly stopped me. No, she said. I'm so glad that you are doing so well. I need you to be. I need to know that someone is seeing clearly...that God is still as He always was.

I was struck by her words of wisdom. How right she is. When I'm going through hardship...whether money, children, pain, suffering, loss, conflict...it's easy to look at others who are experiencing blessing from God and either feel more sorry for myself or bitter at their good fortune. But the Word of God has a different perspective for me...Ecclesiastes 4:9-10 says...

Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up!

God had given me a time of strength and clear sight, not for my sake, but for Him and His people. It was now my turn to do what I could to be a light in her darkness...to proclaim that the God she has known for so long is still the same as He ever was...to make known again to her the promises which are ours in Jesus Christ...to declare the cross and the power of the gospel in her life. It was my delightful duty to lift her up...with the sure knowledge that it won't be long before I need her to return the favor. In this world I will have trouble...another of Jesus' promises to us.

How amazing to realize the provision that God has already made for my future problems in dear sisters in Christ who are chasing hard to know Him and obey Him in all things. I will fall. He will lift me up...and sometimes He will use others to cry in the darkness to me...I see Him! Follow me...I know the way to go. We'll get there together.