Jumping on Bandwagons

I have always had an aversion to jumping on bandwagons. Sometimes to a fault, because I think it's entirely possible that even if there was something I actually wanted to be a part of, I might not simply because I don't want to jump on any bandwagons. I think in the Christian world the word bandwagon may be synonymous with 'movement'. At least for the purpose of this posting it is.

There have been three movements/bandwagons that I'm aware of since I became a Christian in 1983. There have probably been more, but these are the three I was affected by, so they are the three I want to cover.

First, we got in on the tail end of the "Faith" movement. In a nutshell, this was a movement that believed if you didn't get what you wanted, it's because you lacked faith. Maybe there were some "sub-movements" incorporated into this....name it/claim it, healing, etc.... but they all could really come under the heading of the faith movement.

The second movement I was exposed to was the "Prophetic/Apostolic" movement. This was the movement that believed you should do whatever the Prophets and Apostles told you to because they were the ones with a direct line to God.

And the latest movement, at least from what I've been reading on the internet, is the "Grace" movement. This movement teaches that since everything was taken care of by Jesus on the cross, there's really nothing else we need to concern ourselves with. We can "coast" into eternity, if you will.

The jury is still out on what I think about Rick Warren. Sometimes I think he is really wise, and other times I think he's gotten a little too caught up in himself. Truth is, I can't really say because I don't know the man. But there was one thing he said on Twitter that I agree with wholeheartedly. He said that most heresy in the church results from focusing on one Bible truth to the exclusion of all the others. I think that is true of all the movements referenced above.

There are four things that I believe these movements have in common.

1. They are all TRUE. But as stated above, they are true to the exclusion of many other truths. We need to look at the whole package.

2. They focus on us instead of God. They are all essentially about what we get out of this thing, not how Holy and Magnificent He is. The Faith movement is obvious.....I can have whatever I want if only I can muster up enough faith. The Prophetic/Apostolic was a little more subtle. We convinced ourselves it was out of sheer love for God that we wanted to hear prophecies about how great we were going to be in the kingdom and what a difference we personally would make. And the Grace movement focuses on the fact that we don't have to do or be or strive for anything.

3. They all accuse you of being a second rate Christian if you don't join in. You are faithless if you don't join the faith movement. You don't really love God and probably aren't even really a Christian if you don't join the Prophetic/Apostolic movement. And you're legalistic if you don't join the Grace movement. They all have the same idea. If you don't join the group, you're a big FAIL.

4. They all take the focus off what is really important. And don't take my word for it.... take Jesus's word for it. What is really important? LOVING GOD AND LOVING EACH OTHER. Laying our lives down for the kingdom. Spurring others on, encouraging them. Living every day in total adoration for the one who created all things. If we are busy trying to get everyone to have more faith, to follow the latest prophecy, or to be sure they're not being legalistic, we are not exerting our energy giving praise to the One who deserves all praise. I want to spend my energy pouring my love out on Him and His people.

I believe God gives us revelation at the times we need it the most. What He is showing me right now is probably not the same thing He is showing you. But I guarantee, in His Kingdom it will all fit together beautifully. He shows each of us what He shows us for a reason....because it's the very thing He wants us to know. And I guess that's why I think there's just really no need for bandwagons.

I believe He has it under control.

The End Times

There's been a lot of talk lately about the end times, and if nothing else it's got me to thinking.

May 21st came and went without incident, and I'll have to admit that's what I was expecting. My reasoning? The verse in the Bible where Jesus says no man knows the day or the hour.

Today I heard the newly predicted date is October 21st. My first thought was, "Here we go again." But then it occurred to me.... it has to happen eventually. Anyone who believes in the Bible knows that the end times will come, we just don't know when. And this morning it even occurred to me that maybe God WOULD tell someone when it's going to be. Maybe when Jesus was speaking, he simply meant that at that time no one knew yet.  Wouldn't be the first time we've totally misinterpreted what he said. (People were pretty off about how the whole Messiah thing would play out.) I don't necessarily believe that this guy knows the world is going to end on October 21st. But I also don't believe that I know for certain that it won't.

Today I watched this video someone shot while taking cover in Joplin, MO as a tornado tore apart the building around them. It made a huge impact on me.

tornado


The picture isn't very good, but listening to the people as the tornado ripped through brought tears to my eyes. And that's when it hit me.

The end times come every single day. Some people are expecting it and some aren't, but life in this world ends for them just the same. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, tornadoes. Getting hit by a bus when you cross the street. End times.

What difference does it make if the end times come because Jesus has returned, or if people face their end times because of a natural disaster? Should the way we are living be any different, whether Jesus is returning soon or not?

I want to live my life every day in gratitude for what God has done for me, and I want to offer that hope to those who need it the most.

October 21st will be the end times for somebody, even if it's not everybody. I don't want to be a scoffer like the people outside Noah's ark. I want to live every day from now until October 21st and beyond offering hope to people who need hope, never forgetting to be grateful for what He's done.

Because then.... and this is the greatest hope of all...... then the end is just the beginning.

It's all that matters...

Sometimes I feel the pressure more than others.
Deadlines, commitments, goals, five-year-plans.
Finances, obligations, responsibility.
It all meshes together, in part defining who I am.
How do I handle these things?
Showing integrity without being consumed.
Being what I need to be without making it who I am.
It all matters.
In one way or another, it matters.
But some of it only in the broadest sense.
Help me keep perspective.
Help me remember the one thing that matters more than anything else.
That in all these things,
    no matter how big or how small,
    no matter how worldly or how spiritual,
    help me to remember....

All that really matters to me
    is that my life glorifies You.

I've made the decision in advance

Have you ever been going merrily along in your life when all of a sudden WHAM! something blindsides you? Suddenly everything inside of you sinks, you feel lost, alone, maybe afraid,  and all you can think is, "What am I going to do?"

I've been there. In fact, something tried to blindside me yesterday. I say "tried" because it was only partially successful. You see, I've learned something in all these years of life I've lived. We can decide ahead of time that we are just going to trust God to walk us through every obstacle we face.

I'll admit, it knocked the wind out of my sail for a couple of hours. In my mind I was thinking, "God, what are we going to do...help us know what to do." But then I remembered that I already knew exactly what to do. I would trust Him. I would trust Him that at the right moment, in the right time He would show us the steps to take. And I remembered that no matter what happens, He is always near us and we have nothing to fear.

I know that's not quite the same as deciding ahead of time to trust in Him, but I'm getting closer and closer to having that be a reality in my life. And once I know....once I really know ahead of time that my trust is in Him no matter what... the blind-siding loses its power over me.

And we get to go on with life knowing that no matter what, everything will be okay in the end. God is with us. He isn't going anywhere. And that's all we need.

The Post I've Been Waiting For....

This is the post I've been waiting for. For NINE LONG MONTHS. Nine months of praying, hoping, crying, believing, growing.....

and HE'S BACK!!

My son-in-law, Aaron, finally returned to us on Friday night! It was quite an amazing reunion at the airport.

Can't you just see the enthusiasm in Scarlett's face? I think she was ready to go to sleep. But look how Ellie is clinging to her daddy. She was so excited! And she and Ezekiel held hands all the way through the airport.

We had a welcome home party Saturday night at the church and it was GLORIOUS! We thanked God, we thanked the people who have stood with us through all of this, and we CELEBRATED!

Someday I'll share all the wonderful things God taught us all through this trial. But right now I'm going to just bask in the happiness of knowing the trial is behind us.

My family is together again. 

A lot has happened.....

I have never had a problem expressing myself with the written word......

Until the last few months.

A lot has been going on, both outwardly and inwardly. Usually when I am having intense feelings I immediately start writing, but this year has been different. I've been doing a lot of thinking, often lamenting. In many areas I've been adjusting my thinking. But I haven't done much writing, because for some reason that I can't begin to understand (because it's so totally not like me) it all feels stuck on the inside.

This has been a year when the tragedy of death seemed like it was going to incapacitate us, only to be followed by the elation of one wonderful birth after another. It's been a year of cancer, separation of family, pain, struggling. And at the very same time that a family was grieving so deeply over the death of their young daughter/wife/mother who collapsed on her treadmill only to die a few days later, we got the very best news we could possibly hope to get. Our family would soon be reunited.

We were celebrating our greatest joy....something we had been eagerly waiting months to hear.... at the very same time they were grieving the biggest loss they had ever had. And I think that's when it really hit me. This world will never make sense. We will continue taking turns celebrating and mourning and celebrating again. Terrible, terrible things will happen. But really wonderful things will happen, too. Over and over and over again. People in one part of the world are struggling with how to find something to feed their children so they don't die of starvation. Others are struggling with how to fit a flat-screen tv into their budget. It doesn't make sense.

And I find myself in unfamiliar territory. I don't know what to say. I feel this strong urge to live for something more meaningful. Leonard and I continue to feel it's getting harder and harder to live our comfortable little lives knowing there are so many people out there who are really suffering. I feel like there is some sort of awakening going on in the inside of me, and yet I don't know what I'm waking up to.

I like being able to end my writing with the point. The reason I wrote it.

But I don't know what to say.

My Hope is in You, Lord

We used to sing a song that went like this:

My life is in you, Lord
My strength is in you, Lord
My hope is in you, Lord
In you, it's in you.

I loved that song. I still do, actually. It's a wonderful reminder of how absolutely everything is wrapped up in Him.

Today I was thinking about this verse:

Proverbs 13:12 Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.

Hope deferred makes the heart sick. At first I thought I could really relate to that. I've had some pretty high hopes lately that I felt were quite "deferred". But it led to the question....What had I put my hope in? If my hope is really in Him, is it possible for it to be deferred?

No doubt, there are things in this life we would like to see happen. Circumstances we'd like to see changed. Things that would make our lives so much easier. But we can never allow our hope to be in that circumstance. Our hope must remain in Him.

Can we believe that no matter what we see, He is in control and He knows exactly the right thing to do? Can we really believe that? Can we believe that if our hope is in Him, our dreams will be fulfilled beyond our wildest imaginations?  Hope is a crucial part of our lives. It leads directly to that tree of life that is promised for dreams fulfilled. There is great anticipation and excitement that comes with hope.

And if we keep our hope in Him....our hope will never be deferred.