When Jennifer and I felt the call to make the move from our former place of service to Radford we knew that the transition would not be easy. We had a house to sell 45 minutes away and it would be almost impossible to drive back and forth.
We did give the back and forth everyday a try, for a week, but it was a tremendous failure - the kids have to be at school early, Joshua at 7:30, and have different times to be picked up, Jen often needs to be at her building until at least 7, on BCM nights more like 10, up early and back late and it just did not work.
So, we were given a six month window to rent a house and live in Radford while we attempted to sell the house in Wythe County. The six months sped by and we found ourselves paying rent and a house payment for a house we were no longer living in plus utilities for two homes. It was literally killing us financially.
For many months we had no movement on the house. We changed realtors hoping for a spark and although there was a little action up front, still no solid leads. We were less than a week from our short term agreement with the new agent was going to expire and that would mean that we would be forced to rent the house to keep us afloat. Suddenly, a ray of light appeared and then a second ray of light appeared. Two sets of talks were taking place and then on Sunday we received a solid offer that we accepted. Now, don't get me wrong, we are not getting what we thought the house was worth, we are going to be lucky to buy a groceries for a few days with our "profit", but we have a contract to sell our house.
We are not fully celebrating yet. There are still hoops to jump through, but I feel that if God has carried us this far, He will not fail us now. The closing is set for just before Christmas and just nine days before we leave to do our mission trip to South Africa, and we could not be more excited.
I have to admit, there were times in the last 17 months that I didn't know what we could do if the house didn't sell, yet God was faithful. I know some people have though I was crazy for taking this path, but God has shown, once again, that He works in mysterious ways.
I am ever so thankful.
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
The Holidays
I have a love/hate relationship with the holidays. While I love the season and the reason for it, I get very tired of what both Thanksgiving and Christmas have evolved into.
Thanksgiving is meant to be a time of saying thanks, to God and others, for our blessings. It seems, at this point, to be more the day before the first Christmas shopping day we call Black Friday. Christmas is not celebrated as the birth of our Savior as much as it is a time for exchanging gifts and waiting for the arrival of a man wearing a red suit. While this should be the celebration of the coming of our Savior, it is more now a days a celebration of tradition - some good and some bad.
Christmas, which I have always felt should be a time of reflection and awe, has become a hectic, out of control plant with materialistic roots. I do not even think that many realize why we give gifts at Christmas. The idea that we exchange gifts as a way to remember God's greatest gift to us and the fact that the traveling wise men honored the birth of Jesus with gifts seems almost foreign.
Christmas, I am afraid, has lost its meaning.
So, what to do about this problem? I feel with all my heart that it can be fixed if those who know Christ as their Savior would choose to refocus their hearts and the hearts of their family members to celebrate the true reason for the season. Jesus should be the center of all that we say and do, always, but especially during the time we pause to thank God for sending His only Son to earth to pay the price for my sin and yours.
If all who know the true meaning would put our focus more on the manger scene and less on a velvet red sack filled with toys and credit card bills, then things could change. At our house, we have the nativity scene set up front and center under the tree and it stays there to remind us of the purpose of it all.
God had a similar reaction to "religious" celebrations in Old Testament days. In Isaiah 1, verse 14, God declares - "I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them." I would imagine that God has a similar reaction to our modern holidays. In those days the "religious" festivals and celebrations had turned into something different, often losing their meaning all together. I feel that we are heading that way with our sacred holidays today as well.
So, this holiday season I challenge you to make these days "holy" days, that is how we get the work holiday by the way, for you and your family. Focus on what is truly important and push aside the things that do not matter in the long run. I don't have a problem with Santa, but he should never come before the one whose birthday we are celebrating.
Celebrate and remember true meaning this season. Merry Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanksgiving is meant to be a time of saying thanks, to God and others, for our blessings. It seems, at this point, to be more the day before the first Christmas shopping day we call Black Friday. Christmas is not celebrated as the birth of our Savior as much as it is a time for exchanging gifts and waiting for the arrival of a man wearing a red suit. While this should be the celebration of the coming of our Savior, it is more now a days a celebration of tradition - some good and some bad.
Christmas, which I have always felt should be a time of reflection and awe, has become a hectic, out of control plant with materialistic roots. I do not even think that many realize why we give gifts at Christmas. The idea that we exchange gifts as a way to remember God's greatest gift to us and the fact that the traveling wise men honored the birth of Jesus with gifts seems almost foreign.
Christmas, I am afraid, has lost its meaning.
So, what to do about this problem? I feel with all my heart that it can be fixed if those who know Christ as their Savior would choose to refocus their hearts and the hearts of their family members to celebrate the true reason for the season. Jesus should be the center of all that we say and do, always, but especially during the time we pause to thank God for sending His only Son to earth to pay the price for my sin and yours.
If all who know the true meaning would put our focus more on the manger scene and less on a velvet red sack filled with toys and credit card bills, then things could change. At our house, we have the nativity scene set up front and center under the tree and it stays there to remind us of the purpose of it all.
God had a similar reaction to "religious" celebrations in Old Testament days. In Isaiah 1, verse 14, God declares - "I hate your New Moons and prescribed festivals. They have become a burden to me; I am tired of putting up with them." I would imagine that God has a similar reaction to our modern holidays. In those days the "religious" festivals and celebrations had turned into something different, often losing their meaning all together. I feel that we are heading that way with our sacred holidays today as well.
So, this holiday season I challenge you to make these days "holy" days, that is how we get the work holiday by the way, for you and your family. Focus on what is truly important and push aside the things that do not matter in the long run. I don't have a problem with Santa, but he should never come before the one whose birthday we are celebrating.
Celebrate and remember true meaning this season. Merry Christmas! Happy Thanksgiving!
Thursday, November 17, 2011
Thanksgiving
This is the time of year that we set aside to say thanks. I have often wondered if we do a very good job of giving thanks at Thanksgiving.
What is the holiday actually about? Do we focus on the first Thanksgiving where the settlers of the New World had a feast with the natives to show appreciation for what they did to assist them when they arrived grossly unprepared? Do we focus more on the spiritual aspect of taking time to thank God for His provision? Maybe we take one day to step back and give thanks for everything, giving God the praise for it all.
However, if you look at what we actually do, most of the stuff listed above is not the focus on the fourth Thursday of November.
Most people actually do not have a great grasp on what actually happened that first day of feast. The Europeans who made trhe trip here were not ready for the harsh winter of the northeast. Many died and many more would have if it were not for some merciful native Americans who helped the new lighter skinned neighbors. The feast was a celebration of life, survival to be more exact, giving God praise for His grace and thanks for the help of the uncivilized population they rather peacefully invaded.
I believe that we should tink about that at this time of the year as well. There are people all around us who fall ill and pass away. Many of them are elderly and the outcome is ratehr expected, but others are young and seemingly not ready for that final step into eternity. Each and every day we need to give thanks for life and on Thanksgiving maybe we should make a special effort to be thankful for our survival, our continuing life.
The spiritual side of the celebration has been masked by the other activities. It is entirely possible to celebrate Thanksgiving without including God at all. To some, Thanksgiving is a day for a parade in New York City, two football games during the day and one at night, an opportunity to dig into the closet and secure the festive ornaments of the next months celebration and, possibly the most important, the day before Black Friday. None of those activities have anything to do with God and His provision. Some have managed to take the star of the show out of the special day.
Thanksgiving should be a time for reflection, thanking God for what He has done and trusting Him to do what needs to be done in the future. As you celebrate next week, I pray that you not only celebrate a meal and enjoy the traditions, but that we take time, like those who celebrated this time first, to say thank you for His great gift of life.
What is the holiday actually about? Do we focus on the first Thanksgiving where the settlers of the New World had a feast with the natives to show appreciation for what they did to assist them when they arrived grossly unprepared? Do we focus more on the spiritual aspect of taking time to thank God for His provision? Maybe we take one day to step back and give thanks for everything, giving God the praise for it all.
However, if you look at what we actually do, most of the stuff listed above is not the focus on the fourth Thursday of November.
Most people actually do not have a great grasp on what actually happened that first day of feast. The Europeans who made trhe trip here were not ready for the harsh winter of the northeast. Many died and many more would have if it were not for some merciful native Americans who helped the new lighter skinned neighbors. The feast was a celebration of life, survival to be more exact, giving God praise for His grace and thanks for the help of the uncivilized population they rather peacefully invaded.
I believe that we should tink about that at this time of the year as well. There are people all around us who fall ill and pass away. Many of them are elderly and the outcome is ratehr expected, but others are young and seemingly not ready for that final step into eternity. Each and every day we need to give thanks for life and on Thanksgiving maybe we should make a special effort to be thankful for our survival, our continuing life.
The spiritual side of the celebration has been masked by the other activities. It is entirely possible to celebrate Thanksgiving without including God at all. To some, Thanksgiving is a day for a parade in New York City, two football games during the day and one at night, an opportunity to dig into the closet and secure the festive ornaments of the next months celebration and, possibly the most important, the day before Black Friday. None of those activities have anything to do with God and His provision. Some have managed to take the star of the show out of the special day.
Thanksgiving should be a time for reflection, thanking God for what He has done and trusting Him to do what needs to be done in the future. As you celebrate next week, I pray that you not only celebrate a meal and enjoy the traditions, but that we take time, like those who celebrated this time first, to say thank you for His great gift of life.
Thursday, November 3, 2011
The Leaves are Falling
I love the fall, but only when the leaves are on the trees. Once they fall to the ground it becomes a little bit of a downer for me. The beautiful, vibrant colors become stiff, dry noise makers. Yet, even as they lay on the ground, blowing about and making scratchy noises, they are evidence of our God.
What I know for sure is this, the God of the beautiful spring time and the warm summer is also the God of the depressing fall and bitter winter. Regardless of what is happening around me, God is still God. He does not change and His love for me, and you, likewise does not change.
Maybe you are going through a difficult season in your life. Possibly you are choosing, because of circumstances in your life, to see the dead leaves instead of the living tree. Maybe your life seems to have grown cold like the patches of winter ice on a snowy road - you could feel that life is dangerous and unsure which may draw you further into yourself. When the roads are bad we have a tendency to cancel things not because an accident is sure, but just possible and maybe in your heart you are just sure that there is bad and hurt around every corner so doing nothing seems better than doing something and getting hurt.
It seems that many people live in the down times these days. There is more emphasis put on what could go wrong than what has gone right. Depression is rampant and there seems to be no escape - too much to worry about to ever be happy or joyful. If that is the case, we need to break through the darkness so we can see the Light that wants so very much to shine in our lives.
God's light never goes away. He is always there trying desperately to share Himself with us, but it seems that we choose to either close our eyes or wear blinders that block His glorious light from our spiritual eyes. In Psalm 119: 105, the psalmist calls God's Word a "lamp to my feet and a light for my path." So, if we feel we can no longer see His light, all we have to do is seek Him in His Word.
You are not alone. Your life is not over until you take your last breath. The God who created the heavens and the stars loves and cares for you even when you are having a difficult time seeing or feeling Him. Seek Him in His Word and let His light back into your life. For every season there is reason to praise - our God lives!
What I know for sure is this, the God of the beautiful spring time and the warm summer is also the God of the depressing fall and bitter winter. Regardless of what is happening around me, God is still God. He does not change and His love for me, and you, likewise does not change.
Maybe you are going through a difficult season in your life. Possibly you are choosing, because of circumstances in your life, to see the dead leaves instead of the living tree. Maybe your life seems to have grown cold like the patches of winter ice on a snowy road - you could feel that life is dangerous and unsure which may draw you further into yourself. When the roads are bad we have a tendency to cancel things not because an accident is sure, but just possible and maybe in your heart you are just sure that there is bad and hurt around every corner so doing nothing seems better than doing something and getting hurt.
It seems that many people live in the down times these days. There is more emphasis put on what could go wrong than what has gone right. Depression is rampant and there seems to be no escape - too much to worry about to ever be happy or joyful. If that is the case, we need to break through the darkness so we can see the Light that wants so very much to shine in our lives.
God's light never goes away. He is always there trying desperately to share Himself with us, but it seems that we choose to either close our eyes or wear blinders that block His glorious light from our spiritual eyes. In Psalm 119: 105, the psalmist calls God's Word a "lamp to my feet and a light for my path." So, if we feel we can no longer see His light, all we have to do is seek Him in His Word.
You are not alone. Your life is not over until you take your last breath. The God who created the heavens and the stars loves and cares for you even when you are having a difficult time seeing or feeling Him. Seek Him in His Word and let His light back into your life. For every season there is reason to praise - our God lives!
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