Thanks Be

To God our Father, for his blessings are numerous.  His mercies endure forever.

Who can count his benefits?  Show me, if you can, the limits of his grace.

A new song I sing to my LORD, a song of gratitude and praise.  May my lifelong praise be as incense to him!

Small Epiphanies

"Truly, I have brought you low, in order that I may lift you up."

On Saturday I attended a recruiting event for Wycliffe Bible Translators, and found lots to love. While driving home the gravity of the opportunity came to bear on my heart. Should I leave (for two years? Five? Thirty?), I'd give up so much. Relationships would change in even more significant ways than they have since my last relocation. I'd give up my self-sufficient pride; in order to do this, I'd need to live off of the generosity of friends and supporters. I'd give up the opportunity to dance with a ministry I love. The weight of such things (most of them good gifts of God) began to pull me away from my desire for ministry. For the first time in memory, I wanted a "normal" life. I didn't even consider how I might minister here; I just wanted comfort. I knew it was wrong, and prayed for sanctification.

Wednesday was the worst day yet at my new job. Working overtime is fine, except when you've been working long hours for weeks, and your bosses are overstressed and show it, and your faults are not handled gracefully. A flicker of a thought came to mind...if I joined Wycliffe, I could escape this pressure cooker. I knew this thought was preposterous.

If I join Wycliffe and water the seeds that others have planted, it will be by God's grace alone. I cannot be motivated by comfort, or escapism, or a sense of adventure. I have a Commission, and it is calling me toward Wycliffe. I may not join or go overseas, and if I do it won't be for a while, but I am called. What can I do but follow?

"Scatter Post," As Samurai Might Say

It's been entirely too long since I posted last. So sorry.

1) A happy birthday to my dear friend, whom I've nicknamed Aragorn.
2) Tomorrow I am participating in an event which may lead to further involvement in Wycliffe Bible Translators. Prayer would be appreciated.
3) Yesterday I approached my boss about a situation at work which, to me, was immoral. This was the hardest thing I've done in a while, considering the situation was hardly a problem to most of my coworkers. By the grace of God, our conversation went well and hopefully a solution will prevent itself soon. I'd rather not quit, though am (of course) willing to do so rather than compromise my morals. Thanks be to my heavenly father, who is willing and able to sustain and guide me toward his perfect goodness.

Conversations

Sometimes, conversations take place over extended periods of time. Tonight, I just continued one such conversation with an artist I admire greatly, Makoto Fujimura. If you have the inclination, feel free to peruse his side of our most recent conversation. My side will (hopefully) begin in a few days, but first I have lots to think about. My company recently threw out quite a few canvases that my roommates and I rescued. I've covered half a dozen in gesso, and they wait in the basement for a creative mind and some paint. I plan to begin by recreating a horridly constructed painting of mine from high school, a sunset, because it will allow me to brush up (ha, ha...) on my painting techniques and the color wheel. After that, I hope to take a sketch I created about spiritual warfare and paint that. Mako's discussion of Rouault's spirituality has stirred up those ideas regarding art and faith which I love so much. My artwork will benefit as a result.

I Have A Blog?!

Oh, yeah, the Blog! So much for Sunday Summaries. Well, here's a summary of the past 3 Sundays: Awesome. 'Cos God was there. Anyway, I read something from Chuck Colson at FCA-Doing Sports God's Way that I thought may be beneficial to you all.

Pastor Chuck Swindoll, accepting a Lifetime Achievement Award at Catalyst 09, offered the following lessons he has learned:

1. It’s lonely to lead. Leadership involves tough decisions. The tougher the decision, the lonelier it is.
2. It’s dangerous to succeed. I’m most concerned for those who aren’t even 30 and are very gifted and successful. Sometimes God uses someone right out of youth, but usually he uses leaders who have been crushed.
   
3. It’s hardest at home. No one ever told me this in Seminary.
4. It’s essential to be real. If there’s one realm where phoniness is common, it’s among leaders. Stay real.
   
5. It’s painful to obey. The Lord will direct you to do some things that won’t be your choice. Invariably you will give up what you want to do for the cross.
6. Brokenness and failure are necessary.
7. Attitude is more important than actions. Your family may not have told you: some of you are hard to be around. A bad attitude overshadows good actions.
8. Integrity eclipses image. Today we highlight image. But it’s what you’re doing behind the scenes.
9. God’s way is better than my way.
10. Christlikeness begins and ends with humility.

Challenges

Sometimes, life comes at you fast. This past month has been one of those times. Going from one challenge to another messes with one's priorities. Example: Job challenges are far below spiritual challenges. As you may know, I've recently been fighting the good fight (or Fight, as it may be) to a different (higher?) degree. Yesterday, I Peter 5:7 came to mind as I was praying for the various trials of friends and family. I was (am) unable to bear up under such things; fortunately I am not required to carry even the weight of my own sin. Today I was talking with Galadriel while finishing gluten-free cookies for my Faerie roommate. We began with Keith Green and wandered all over the topics of fatalism, ideology, predestination, spiritual warfare, Eastern religion, sociology...you get the picture. I was challenged that my standard was not high enough. I see that I've taken the perspective of "well, I'm doing all I can so that must be enough." I also see that the perspective I should (and have) had is, to put it very simply, "nothing I do is good enough. God does all. Follow Him." Galadriel brought up Romans 14:23b and challenged me. I was challenged. I searched the phrase "sober minded" in the ESV, and was particuarly struck by I Peter 5:8, a good follow-up to the verse I mentioned earlier (link). I will commit these verses to memory. I will spend more time in my prayer closet. By the grace of God...

Sunday Summaries Return

Some of my (very) long-time readers may remember the Sunday Summaries of the past. I've decided to renew the (almost) tradition. Ergo, the following post.

Today, my new church (what a bittersweet thought) celebrated their 25th year of existence. The sermon is not yet available, but you can find it here at some point soon. Video would be fantastic, since a lot of the service involved testimonies and drama etc. Regardless, I had a few notes I'd like to share.

• John 15:1-11 came to mind at some point (don't remember the context). And then this word came... "Pray this would happen to Covenant of Grace! We are being pruned ...will we prove ourselves abiding in Christ? Only then will we bear fruit & survive the fire."
  
• During J. Reyes' message, I heard the promise that God never lies. How refreshing!
• The skit that illustrated the last 25 years of this church involved a part reflecting on the charismatic attitude during worship. I responded in my notebook with "I miss my charismatic roots! How countercultural can that be now, in a well-groomed age that has all the "answers" (i.e. Google)?
  

Recipes

Well! What with all this "extra" time I have in my schedule after work, I've been making lots of sweet stuff with one of my housemates (not sure what to call him...working on that). Today we made Bailey's Truffle Fudge, and I highly recommend it. Before that we made ginger cookies and have made plenty of chocolate chip cookies too. I'm currently searching for a recipe for gluten-free chocolate chip cookies for my other housemate (the Faerie). Any suggestions?