Monthly Archives: August 2011

He Must Become Greater

I can neither confirm nor deny that a series of devotion posts regarding God’s call(s) on our lives may or may not be forthcoming (ps: that series can be found here). . .

What I can say is this. I have been wrestling with the concept of discerning God’s callings, the definition of ministry, and the reality of gospel-centered missions.

But every time I think that I may be getting closer to a destination – to a place of peace and understanding in my thought processes – I find that the questions simply begin all over again and I am thrown back into a place of doubt, uncertainty, and (if I’m being really honest) fear.

The type of fear that says no matter how hard I’m desperately seeking after the Lord, I still can’t clearly see His direction.

The type of fear that reveals no matter how much I long to follow the Lord, I still often operate from a place of spiritual laziness.

The type of fear that confirms no matter how much I may think otherwise, there is so much that I don’t know about effectively imitating Christ in my everyday life.

Yet in the midst of the struggle, the questions, the fear, one truth seems to resound loud and clear. In the words of John the Baptist speaking of Jesus Christ:

“He must become greater; I must become less.” – John 3:30 (NIV)

“Gracious Sovereignty”

“Is it the same when a Christian wakes up to the fact that he has missed God’s guidance and taken the wrong way? Is the damage irrevocable? Must he now be put off course for life? Thank God, no. Our God is a God who not merely restores, but takes up our mistakes and follies into his plan for us and brings good out of them.

“This is part of the wonder of his gracious sovereignty. . .The Jesus who restored Peter after his denial and corrected his course more than once after that, is our Savior today and he has not changed.”

- J.I. Packer (Knowing God)

5 Things

1. When I go to my parents’ house, typically I take my camera. Just because. Sometimes I end up not taking any photos. Sometimes I take photos of their animals. Sometimes I take photos of the backyard. And sometimes I take photos of tools in the garage. I’m pretty sure that drill belonged to my grandfather, which makes me kinda happy.

2. My adult life group at church held our second annual Amazing Race on Saturday. I found out a few short hours in advance that I needed to drive my team around town as we solved clues to reach our destinations. So I might have spent about half an hour vacuuming my car for the first time in. . .well. . .several months (at least).

3. I went to two church picnics this weekend. With two different churches. And ate North Carolina BBQ at both. Good times.

4. About a week ago, I decided to take everything out of the closet in my spare room / office-in-theory in order to assess its contents. Several days later, most of said contents are still spread out across the floor, and I have NO idea what to do with them. But assuming I can work a trip to IKEA into my schedule in the near future to make a couple of long-overdue office furniture purchases, I’m hoping to re-arrange, re-decorate, and re-organize. Would you be interested in before and after photos?

5. Finally, in honor of the last Monday night Bible Study of the summer on the life of Joseph, consider these two key verses:

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive.” Genesis 50:20 (NASB)

“And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who have been called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28 (NASB)

Top 9 Devo Thoughts

Disclaimer: in lieu of a new devo thought this week, the below list is a completely subjective reflection of some of my best and/or most meaningful devo thoughts from my archives (in order from oldest to newest). Read two or four (or all ten) by clicking on the titles and then leave a comment with your favorite (even if it’s not on my list…).

1. You Can’t. But I Can: summer missions. used-to-be-hotel-room-floors. trust.

2. Be Still and KNOW: God is.

3. No Words Without THE Word: a lakehouse. lack of sleep. scripture.

4. The (not so) Minor Prophets: old testament. exam. book of amos.

5. Creation’s Praise Part 1: praising with creation. just. by. being.

6. A Challenging Question: where are you with the Lord?

7. Love More: deeply. sincerely. intentionally. more.

8. Anchor For My Soul: promises. faithfulness. sovereignty. it is well.

9. It’s Not About Me: but IT IS all about Him.

 

Peanut Butter Banana Ice Cream

If you follow me on Pinterest

…and if you’re on Pinterest, you should, but if you’re not on Pinterest, you should probably keep it that way because it has this way of making you lose all track of time and neglect your responsibilities…

but wait, where was I?

Oh yes, if you follow me on Pinterest, you know that although I do have several boards, I mostly pin home decor ideas and recipes.

So on one of my first days on Pinterest, I came across this recipe that claimed ice cream could be made out of only two ingredients: frozen bananas and peanut butter.

Now, while I do pin a lot of recipes that ultimately end up forgotten, I was so intrigued that I had to make this immediately. As in, that very night.

I sliced up two frozen bananas,

opened a brand new jar of peanut butter,

put the bananas in the food processor and added a tablespoon of milk (although this is a slight deviation from the original recipe, I found the milk necessary to compensate for the small-and-stolen-from-my-parents-garage food processor),

pulsed the bananas until they were smooth,

and then added a large spoonful of peanut butter (honestly, I didn’t measure, but I’m guessing it was in the ballpark of 2 tablespoons) and pulsed until well blended.

And then I nearly panicked when I thought that I didn’t have any chocolate chips left. But then I remembered (and said of prayer of thanksgiving) that my roommate has been on a baking kick and is well stocked in the chocolate chip department.

This peanut butter banana ice cream was so simple and so creamy and so refreshing and so good!

It’s the prefect late-summer evening treat.

Do you have a favorite simple summer treat?

5 Things

1. I haven’t had AC in my townhouse all weekend (it should be fixed tomorrow!). Thankfully, it’s been overcast and less than 100 degrees. . .and my parents have been gracious enough to put up with me for a significant portion of the last few days. I even watched the 93rd PGA Championship with my Dad on Sunday afternoon. Well, some of it. Then I came home and watched Keegan Bradley win the shoot-out. Is it strange that I actually like golf…?

2. I’m 98% certain I failed to put on mascara before leaving for church on Sunday morning. I blame it on being distracted by the heat.

3. If you had to title these oh-so-thrilling list posts (of which I have done far too many as of late…), would you prefer “5 Things” or “Monday Musings” (assuming they actually occur on Monday, that is…)? No, seriously. I’d love to hear which you prefer.

4. I slept on my couch until 2am Monday morning (it was cooler downstairs. refer to number one.). I haven’t done that in a while, and it reminded me of my undergrad days in Wilmington. Mainly because my pug and I used to fall asleep on the couch all. the. time. Oh, and there may have been about a month after the roach incident when I slept on the couch/futon intentionally. Roaches crawling on me in bed tend to freak me out. And I don’t care what the maintenance guys said, it was not just a water bug.

5. On the way to get a caramel milkshake from Cook Out on Sunday evening, as I was reflecting on the events of the day and recent weeks, I was overwhelmed by the goodness of God. In a world full of insecurity and uncertainty, it was humbling and satisfying to spend those moments considering His love and faithfulness. . .which He often makes known in the most unexpected of ways.

His Thoughts, His Ways

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” – Isaiah 55:8-9 (ESV)

I go through my favorite Starbucks’ drive-thru on the way home from church almost every Sunday afternoon. Typically, I get a Caramel Latte (iced during the summer!), but I have been known to deviate on occasion…

Recently during one of my Sunday visits, as I was sitting in line I happened to overhear the order of the car ahead of me. I was so amused that I wrote it down:

1 Iced Venti White Mocha, skinny, 7 pumps of sugar free syrup, light ice, no whip.

I kid you not.

But my amusement quickly faded into conviction.

And I have been pondering these questions ever since:

How often do we submit our “orders” to the Lord in the same manner?

How often do we approach the Lord, express a desire to submit to His plan, and then proceed to give Him a detailed list of specifications for that plan as if we somehow know better?

How often do we modify the Lord’s plan based on those specifications to the point that we can no longer recognize His plan?

How often do we fail to trust His thoughts and His ways?