Burdened? (Part 2)

This is the second part of what I was sharing about the Lord's plans often seeming really different than our own plans.  I have edited it in a couple minor ways so it can be read by itself, but I would encourage you to read the first part before beginning this. 

The Lord had plans waiting for me that a half a year ago I would have thought would cause the end of the world.  He had a plan that tonight we would be eating pizza and watching a movie on the living room floor instead of a home cooked dinner at the dining room table because of an unintended (but welcome) house showing at 5:30 tonight. He had a plan that I would be sitting in Isaiah's bed at 9:45, shooting endless "I'm tired, make him go to sleep!" prayers up to the One who was probably laughing with delight.

Yes, delight.  I have a feeling that this is all to Christ's delight.   In one of Paul's letters he mentions a thorn in his flesh.  Some Bible scholars are pretty sure that this is a spiritual thorn, but I've always wondered if it was a real one.  I mean, Paul was human too, right?  And traveling through the rough country of the ancient Middle East couldn't be too free of thorns and other mishaps.  But back to the subject, I thought about Paul's thorn (or "handicap," in Eugene Peterson's Message version) today while looking at the Matthew passage.  I definitely feel like this constant tired and stressed and hectic lifestyle is a thorn, too.  But what did Paul do about his thorn... and what should I do about mine?  Here's his version of the story of his burden:

"Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it's all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.
Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become."  (2 Corinthians 12:9-10, MSG)

Sometimes I feel like Paul.  I beg, plead, cry out to the Lord to simply get me through the hard times in my life and lead me to the easier pastures.  But it's not His plan.  It's not what He wants from me.  He wants me to use his strength to deal with my own weakness.  My human limitations, that "cut me down to size," are simply tests to see if I'll be humble enough to be cut down and torn up so I can be blessed enough to be able to see God carry me through and set me safe on the other side.  His delight and happiness only grows stronger as I become weaker and more humble and ultimately are able to say that I surrender my all to Him—that I can't handle this crazy life on my own.  And then, like Paul, I shall be able to say with a fervent thankfulness, "The weaker I get, the stronger I become."

Burdened? (Part 1)

The four youngest are now in bed and the house is quiet enough for me to get some well-deserved writing in.  The last few days, my life has been so busy that I'm wondering once again if this is simply a dream—you know, the kind you wake up from and instead of being the hectic life you remember, it's calm, peaceful, and you're able to do all you want.  But when I got smacked in the face by a sleepy Isaiah hand, I knew that I wasn't dreaming.  This life is real.  And I need to start living it like it is.

I said that my life has been busy.  What I meant by that is that instead of simply doing school work, household chores, and helping my mom out with dinner a little bit, I've been doing school work, household chores, making  dinner, putting the four youngest (Sophia, Emily, Sam, and Isaiah) in bed, and not getting in bed myself until eleven or twelve.  Now, I'm not Cinderella—my mom's not expecting me to do all this every day.  And to be perfectly honest, this is a "scattered" idea of what my days have been like.  I don't always do all the before mentioned things every single day.  But I have been striving toward that kind of responsibility, and I've been learning that when you strive toward such a large amount of responsibility, it's not uncommon to have your hands full.  And only the LORD knows right now how full my hands have been.

I was reading my Bible today and came across the verse in Matthew that says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gently and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you r souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." (Matthew 11:28-30, NIV)  This verse kind of jumped out of the paper and hit me, flat in the center of my very tired and stressed brain.  I'm weary right now.  I got home from working six days a week in a kitchen at a Christian summer camp (and trust me, it's an exhausting job!) only to see my dad off on his way to Colorado to begin his new job and realize that the next couple months would be just as exhausting as the last few had been—if not more so.  It's a daunting task to move from state to state, especially when there are five younger kids at home and your mom's pregnant.  So when my dad left Iowa about a month ago, I knew that life wasn't exactly going to be a piece of cake, but I don't think that I expected to be this worn down and well—burdened—about it.  This move is hard on me because I had the false impression that I was rooted in Iowa for at least the next year and a half.  I had wanted to graduate in the same place I started high school... but you know, sometimes God has different plans.

Right now I'm discovering that His plans are the same as my plans... but only if I keep my eyes on Him.

To be continued in part 2.

The Gospel Message, simplified

This is an amazing message I heard the other day from a man named Rev. Joby Martin, from a chapel message he did at Compassion International.  A great message from a great man!

The little things in life

As I look back over my pictures, I'm amazed to see so many seemingly little things that I love so dearly!

A full moon

Sitting around the fire with my family on a long summer's evening

Cute little brothers

 

The clouds during a sunset

Well-loved tractors

Apple pie

And though I never thought I'd say this... cornfields!

Book of the Week: The Gold of Exodus, by Howard Blum

The Gold of Exodus has made me think about the Bible in a much different light than I originally did.  It helped me realize that all those careful calculations in the Old Testament are actually there, well, for a reason.  And now I've decided that one of those reasons was for us today, to better believe and more literally interpret the lists and meticulously documented histories of the Old Testament. 

The book is a non-fiction narrative taken from 1979-1995 or so, when the Saudi Arabian government was working on "Project Falcon."  Most of the book focuses on two unlikely companions, a self-made millionaire, Larry Williams, and a police man/mountain climber/former football player, Bob Cornuke.  The Gold of Exodus follows their journey from America to England, and finally Egypt and Saudi Arabia, where they found Mount Sinai, or at least the mountain they (and some other archeologists) consider to be Mount Sinai.  The thing I really liked about this book was how easy to read and exciting it is!  As it said on the inside cover, it's "part high-tech treasure hunt, part modern-day spy thriller, and part biblical detective story."  Most non-fiction books are hard to begin, but this one takes you to the middle of the story and makes you feel a part of it from the very beginning.

Howard Blum has used actual Scripture that the men used to make their calculations throughout the book, or at least Scripture references.  When there was a reference, or even when I wanted to check something to see how "real" what they were saying the Bible said really was, I was able to go right to the true source for information.  It helped me get a better grip on what the Exodus was like for the Israelites.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone interested in Biblical history and archeology, or just a bookworm who needs a new book to read! J

Air show

We went to an air show last weekend—the first that I've ever been to.  It was a lot of fun for the little kids—Samuel and Emily actually got to "ride" in a military helicopter.  Of course, a non-stationary helicopter is more fun, but that's okay.  They didn't mind too much.

Rose, who's been interested in aviation over the past year or two, was very excited to see the Thunderbirds.   

One of my own favorite parts were the parachuters: 

Some of the planes made me want to learn how to fly myself!

So that was the trip to the air show... I would definitely go again if I could!  I never thought about the amazing maneuvers that pilots can do when they become good! 

New Music: Gungor

This is "Beautiful things" by Gungor... one of the songs I fell in love with while at camp.  Not exactly well known, but it should be!    It's really amazing to think about the fact that God made beautiful things out of the dust... and out of us.