Monthly Archives: January 2011

Ski Trip Reflections

“Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”

Colossians 4:2 (English Standard Version)

 

Sometimes, especially when I’m tired and stressed, I hit the “copy” button instead of the “fax” button….which leads to exerting even more brain power as I am forced to re-enter the same information all over again (the recipient’s number).

.and.

Sometimes, especially when I’m in a hurry, I say “mocha” instead of “caramel” when ordering my latte…which leads to disappointment because it wasn’t really what I wanted.

.and.

Sometimes, especially when I’m tired, stressed, in a hurry, and/or my judgment is clouded by sin (or just plain self-absorption), I rely on my own answers instead of turning to the Lord….which leads to not only disappointment and less energy, but also less fulfillment in not following God’s best for me.

 

 

A couple of weeks ago, the young singles group at church went on a ski retreat from Thursday to Saturday.  And while I never had any intention of skiing (it’s just not really my thing, but yes, I have skied before . . . once), I absolutely wanted to go on what promised to be a wonderful time of fellowship and spiritual renewal . . . both individually and as a group.

 

But then the snow happened.

And I got behind at work. 

And my Greek final exam was looming. 

And I had several other reasons why I

just. didn’t. want. to. go.

 

I had convinced myself that there were about a million better things to do with my time.  But something about making the actual decision to not go left me feeling anxious, stressed, and exhausted . . . but I was out of time to make a decision.  It was already Tuesday evening.

So I asked my Dad what he thought I should do.  And he said he couldn’t make that decision for me.

So I did what all obedient and wise [adult] children do . . . I asked my Mom what she thought I should do.  And she said she couldn’t make that decision for me.

(At least they’re consistent…)

SO, I asked my roommate (for the 1000th time) what she thought I should do.  And she said something similar to, “Stop thinking about it and just go already.” 

Now that was wisdom, wouldn’t you agree?

But of course I couldn’t stop there.  So eventually, after all other possibilities had been exhausted, I prayed. 

Seems like that would have been a good FIRST option, right?

And while this response is seemingly rare – and I’ll admit I don’t even expect it most of the time – my answer was prompt and obvious. 

I checked my email at about 11pm, and my answer was literally staring me in the face in the form of an email that had been sent about 10pm (very shortly after I began praying). 

I was going. 

And although I didn’t know how I would catch up at work or how I would study enough for the exam, I knew this was the right decision.

We had a great time!! 

 

 

And interestingly enough, the focus during our group devotions was on community and prayer.

“Pray then like this:

‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.

Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts,

As we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

But deliver us from evil.’”

Matthew 6:9-13 (English Standard Version)

 

Throughout those couple of days, I was clearly reminded again and again of how the Lord has been drawing me to Himself through prayer.  For reasons that are far too private to share on this blog, several years ago, prayer became a struggle for me. 

Not because I believed prayer didn’t work. 

Quite the contrary, because I believed it did. 

But over the past several years, the Lord has been steadily restoring our relationship through prayer, and for the past year and half or so, it has been one of the largest areas of my spiritual growth.

But here’s truth: I still don’t understand it.  At least not fully.  But this is what I know:

 

Prayer is Biblical.

Prayer is an act of obedience.

Prayer does not change God…after all, God is still God and God is still sovereign.

Prayer does change me.

Prayer aligns and conforms my mind and my heart to God’s will.

Prayer focuses me on seeking God.

Prayer forces me to notice where God is already at work.

Prayer is powerful.

Prayer works.

 

God answers prayer.  Not always in the way we want or expect, but He answers. 

And even in those moments where we get an answer completely contrary to what we were hoping (whether that answer is an obvious “no” or an obvious “go“), we can trust that God is sovereign, and knows our best. 

Just think of what I would have missed if this time I had chosen to rely on my own answer rather than the clear answer received through prayer.  Not only would I have missed a fun and relaxing ski trip with an awesome group of people (from the comfort of a gorgeous cabin located right on the slopes, no less…), I also would have missed an opportunity to grow, to minister, and to be changed.

 

***all pictures courtesy of Elizabeth (or her Dad)***

 

 “…The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

James 5:16 (New International Version)

Jesus is [More Than] Enough

I could literally burst with excitement about this message!

But I’m trying to contain myself enough to at least form a handful of coherent sentences.  (You can thank me later…)

Here’s the thing: a title like I chose for this post could go A LOT of different ways.  And where I’m going with it may seem a little “off the beaten path”, but I am choosing to trust the Holy Spirit on this one and to roll with it.

You see, I had a completely different devo post in mind for this week.  But I’ve spent the last two days praying over my half-written post because it just. wasn’t. working.

[At least not yet.]

And maybe it was because the Lord had something better.

For me and for you.

I am fairly confident that I have mentioned a time or two (or a hundred) that I’m taking Koine Greek as part of my seminary studies.  Well, tonight (and tomorrow) began a new semester of said Greek studies, and at the end of class we were reading and discussing John 4:7-14 in the Greek (which actually has very little to do with this post, but I would encourage you to go read it for context anyways).

As we were reading, I was struck with a [what I have always deemed to be sacrilegious] thought that has plagued me before:

“Conversations in Scripture (even between Jesus and others) often seem to be abbreviated and/or poeticized…perhaps to reflect the nature and direction of a given conversation in order to emphasize the important elements rather than a word-for-word recording of said conversation.”

Maybe I’m the only one who thinks this?  It’s just that I tend to be wordy (shocking, right?) and detailed in my conversations, and rarely do I have conversations as succinct as they appear in Scripture.  And it’s not like they walked around with voice recorders back in those days…

But tonight, as I was processing this thought, I was promptly reminded of the following:

“All Scripture is breathed out by God
and profitable for teaching, for reproof,
for correction, and for training in righteousness,
that the man of God may be competent,
equipped for every good work.”
2 Timothy 3:16 (English Standard Version)

If “all Scripture is breathed out by God” (which I firmly believe that it is), then whether or not conversations throughout its pages are “word-for-word recordings” is irrelevant.

Why?

Because the words that ARE recorded are what matters.

Because the words that ARE recorded are the important elements.

Because the words that ARE recorded are the exact parts of the conversations that we were intended to read about and know.

ESPECIALLY when it comes to the words of Jesus.

And as my professor had to use no less than four or five English words (words including “fountain, bubbling, and overflowing”) to define and describe the phrase “welling up” as it occurs in John 4:14…

“The water that I will give him
will become in him a spring of water
welling up to eternal life.”
(ESV – emphasis added)

…I was made keenly aware that as an example for how my conversations with others should go, as an example for sharing the gospel, as an example of how life is to be lived, and as the essence of life itself…

Jesus’ words are enough.

Jesus is enough.

Jesus is MORE THAN enough.

Snow Day

As my fellow south-easterners can attest, it snowed last week.  A lot. At least by our standards. 

And although I was (thankfully) able to go into work for the majority of the day on Monday, as the forecast rather suddenly changed from 2”-4” to 6”-8” across much of the region and the snow continued to fall throughout the day, it became clear that the next day would be a SNOW DAY!

So on Tuesday morning, after first confirming that the roads were most definitely covered in a sheet of ice and then enjoying a leisurely morning (okay, and stressing a little bit that I would get miserably behind at work by missing another day during a week in which I was already scheduled to be out for two days…), I convinced my roommate, B, that we should go traipsing through the snow-turned-ice.

 

With a camera in hand, of course.

 

My roommate, B

 

 

Me

 

Because we valued our non-injured status, we opted to walk down the middle of the by-then-slush-covered streets rather than the ice-covered sidewalks.  And from our vantage point in the middle of the street…

 

 We discovered random ice “sculptures”.

 

 We “tested” the depth of the snow.

 

We admired the scenery.

 

Does this photo of the lamppost remind anyone else of Narnia, or is it just me??

 

We made speeches.  “Hear ye, hear ye…”

 

Oh, dear.

 

In all fairness (and just for the record), I have NO idea what that speech may have been about.  Though I’m sure the topic was of utmost importance…

 

We even observed several cars sliding down the road as they turned and/or accelerated too quickly. 

 

And then we returned home where we turned on the fire, enjoyed breakfast for dinner (biscuits with sausage gravy…yum!), and watched a movie.  All of which make for a fine snow day in my book.

How do you spend your snow days?

Because…

Because it’s Monday…

Because there’s something about the simplicity of the above photo from the snow last week that makes me smile…

Because I have at least two more posts scheduled for this week (get excited!)…

Because I have officially completed Greek 1…

Because my heart and mind are full of thoughts that don’t yet make sense…

Because I needed to hear an encouraging word this morning, and maybe you do, too…

Because there’s nothing wrong with the familiar…

 

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through Him who loved us. 

For I am convinced that neither death nor life,

neither angels nor demons,

neither the present nor the future,

nor any powers,

neither height nor depth,

nor anything else in all creation,

will be able to separate us

from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Romans 8:37-39 (New International Version)

 

On this Monday, be convinced, be persuaded, be sure of God’s love and faithfulness!

What Could Have Been…

…but I’m SO glad was not!

In an effort to delete and organize some random and poorly categorized files on my computer, I recently came across a document that I had named “Potential Blog Titles.” Considering I had no recollection of ever drafting such a document, I thought the contents might be interesting.

Well . . . I suppose that would be one way to put it!

Although “The Inner Harbor” is far from a perfect blog title, let’s just say it now seems rather brilliant compared to some of the following ideas that were apparently swirling around in my brain a few years ago:

1. Placed, Planned, Purposed: Freely living the perfectionist’s every-last-detail-has-already-been-considered dream life on HIS terms. [I suppose this one could be worse, but it’s kinda/sorta/maybe boring.]

2. The Submitted Life: God-Aware. [I do vaguely remember thinking that this one seemed like a bad idea about 10 seconds after I typed it out, but I guess I never got around to removing it from the list.]

3. Structured Randomness. [Because that’s a blog everyone wants to read.]

4. As Classy and Refined . . . As a Post-it Note. [Ummm, yeah, okay.]

5. In My Black-and-White World . . . Everything Looks a Little Gray. [I actually liked the concept behind this title, but it just didn’t exactly work out.]

6. Perspectives from the Analysist: Random remembrances from one who over-analyzes everything. [“Analysist” being an accidentally-coined term from college that was fun at the time, but in a title sounds like I should be blogging about accounting.]

What was I thinking?!?

If you have a blog (or even if you don’t and you’ve just thought about what you might title one), what were some of your “alternate” titles?

Deuteronomy and The Source

“But be assured today that the Lord your God is the one who goes

across ahead of you like a devouring fire…It is not because of your

righteousness or your integrity that you are going in to take possession of

their land; but on account of the wickedness of these nations,

the Lord your God will drive them out before you, to accomplish

what he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.”

Deuteronomy 9:3,5 (New International Version)

 

 

Over the past couple of months, I have been slowly making my way through The Source, a novel by James A. Michener about a modern archaeological dig and the site’s significance in Jewish history . . . geographically, politically, and religiously.

I am quite fond of Michener novels.  His books are long (this one happens to be just over 900 pages…and that’s with tiny print, y’all!) and extremely detailed, tend to span thousands of years, are packed with accurate historical data (he must have had quite the team of researchers!), and his stories of intertwined generations are wonderfully written. 

The fact that I’ve been reading this one “slowly” is in no way a reflection on the quality of the novel; I simply have a severe lack of time to engage in what I tend to label “reading for pleasure.”  So it has been nice to have a couple of weeks where life has slowed down enough to pick-up the reading pace. 

Thus last week, I came to a place in the story where Dr. Cullinane (an archaeologist from America) asked Dr. Eliav (a Jewish archeologist from Israel) about new material to read in order to better understand the Jews.  And after Eliav first mentioned several Jewish scholars that Cullinane had already read, the conversation took this turn:

 

Eliav:              There’s one better.

Cullinane:      What?

Eliav:              Read Deuteronomy five times.

Cullinane:      Are you kidding?

Eliav:              No.  Deuteronomy.  Five times.

Cullinane:      What’s your thought?

Eliav:              It’s the greatest central book of the Jews and if you

                          master it you’ll understand us.

Cullinane:      But is it worth five readings?

Eliav:              Yes…

Ultimately, following this exchange, Cullinane did read Deuteronomy five times.  In various translations.  Including a translation by Jewish scholars.

In the process of reading Deuteronomy over the next few days, and as the history began to come alive for Cullinane, these two central characters discussed certain aspects and details of Deuteronomy. 

 

Details that I had forgotten. 

Details that I had never really learned. 

Details that were of questionable accuracy. 

 

And it was that last one that made me stop and think:

 

“If a fictional character such as Cullinane can read Deuteronomy five times in varying translations for mostly academic purposes, shouldn’t I take a moment to at least check the accuracy of this particular element to really KNOW what’s in GOD’S WORD?”

 

Nevermindthefact that it was already late in the evening, I set about to check a few facts . . . and [save for a couple of chapters which I had read earlier in the day] ended up reading the ENTIRE book in one sitting! 

Unfortunately, to best check the questionable elements, I still need to read the translation by Jewish scholars, which I fully intend to do, but just as it had for Cullinane, the book of Deuteronomy, which is [quite literally] the “second law”, or a re-statement of the law given to Moses, came very much alive that evening.

In one simple and rather fast-paced reading, I was struck by the following:

 

The Lord our God very much wants to bless His people/children.

Disobedience (aka: sin) is serious business.

The Lord our God demands that we be faithful to His standards (and although we are no longer “under the Old Testament law”, this truth remains).

The Lord our God is faithful…even when I am not.

 

And so I introduce you to my Deuteronomy Challenge 2011 (on 1/11/11, no less…):

 

Regardless of the context (whether it be in a novel, in a movie, or even in church), whenever (and yes. I truly mean that. in every sense of the word.) a situation arises in which the accuracy of Scripture is called into question OR the memory of Scripture is insufficient/incomplete . . . commit to going straight to the source, the Word of God.

 

And trust that through this commitment to testing and knowing Scripture, God will be faithful and reveal truth through His Word . . . every. single. time.

 

 

“Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you

or beyond your reach.  It is not up in heaven, so that you have

to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it

and proclaim it to us so we may obey it?’ 

No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth

and in you heart so you may obey it.”

Deuteronomy 29:11-14 (NIV)

Snowman

On New Year’s Eve Eve, in between putting away all of the Christmas decorations and plotting how best to dispose of our crunchy and crumbling Christmas tree (which may or may not have included the possibility of a midnight drop in an unidentified location…), my roommate and I made a snowman. 

Okay, so maybe she made a snowman…and I just decided it was cute enough for a couple of pictures.

Originally, the snowman had a face, which was actually quite adorable …

…until his head got smashed.  Oops!

And apparently, we don’t believe in wearing gloves.  (or coats. or shoes.) 

We might have even been wearing glorified pajamas.  While making a snowman. 

But it was FUN!

Even if the rest of the neighborhood had “decided” the snow was over…ha!