He Never Stops Watching The Road

 You know, they don't tell you in childbirth class that when your baby is born, a piece of your heart goes with him and forever walks in a place where you have very little control. Will it keep beating? Is it happy? Does it feel pain? When it strays, will it come back home?

Such was the life of the father in the "parable of the lost son", a.k.a "the Prodigal Son". I never thought much about him until I became a parent. We mostly focus on the son, and the fact that he went out and squandered daddy's money, got himself into a real mess, then managed to turn it around in the end. Happily ever after, right?

What about the father? He's been dealing with this child for a while. You know how I can tell? Because he gave him what he wanted, and let him go. What parent hasn't reached the point where they have tried everything they know to bandage their broken offspring back together only to reach the point where there is nothing else to do but let them fall?

Off goes junior with dad's money and a backpack full of bad ideas, and then the story focuses on him for a few verses. What about the father? We don't get much of a glimpse into his life until later. I'll tell you what I see him doing in my mind's eye. He watched the back of that kid go down the road until he could no longer see him from his highest perch, and then he sobbed. Long, grief-filled, agonizing cries for that boy. Maybe it lasted for days before he could pull himself together enough to eat, or work. How much time went by? Who knows? But that dad never stops watching for his child. Never. Luke 15:12 says “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son..." He was looking for him every moment, every breath. Feed the cattle, check the road. Tally up the week's earnings, check the road.

Are you there? Are you spending sleepless nights on worn out knees pleading for your child's soul?

I want you to know you are not alone. God has never stopped watching the road.

Luke 15:11-32

The Prodigal Son Suite: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3TYkAWRdU4

God Loves Me From My Head To-ma-toes

I have beautiful tomato plants ready for the garden, so today I took them out on the porch to start the whole hardening off process. I think I could hear them talking. "Oh, man, what is THIS?! Something's not right. It's cold. It's windy. TAKE ME BACK IN THE HOUSE!!!!"

Earlier this week I took twelve of the smaller tomato plants, who had also never seen the outdoors, and plopped them out on the porch thinking they'd love a little sunshine. Know what happened? They died.

Are you going through a really rough time right now? You can't understand what's happening, and it feels scary and unfair. Anxiety has wrapped around your insides, and you'd really like to yell "TAKE ME BACK IN THE HOUSE!". I know. Life was way better in the sun on the window sill. It's a rough world out there in the raised bed. It rains, storms rage, the wind blows, the temperatures change. You know what? This little time of uncertainty and growth on the back porch is strengthening my plants. Maybe it's doing the same for you. Maybe it's making you strong enough to bear fruit.

James 1:2 Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.

My Anchor Holds

I remember, way back in 1998, when I placed my newborn daughter in her great-grandmother's arms she looked at her and said "I wonder what her life will bring". It was a somber moment from a woman who had seen what life does bring. At that time, it caused a brief sense of panic. I wanted to take my children and run. I didn't know where, but there had to be safety somewhere. Safety from the times of grief, and chaos, and consequences coming. Safety from all that life wishes to take from them including their very breath.

God reminds me daily that this is no place to live. That the fear of "what might happen" should not overshadow the "what is". He reaches out and wants to take all of these burdens I choose to carry, but some days I cling to them like anchors.

Whatever the past year has brought, whatever the next year will bring, God is there. Is. Not was, not will be. Is. He is behind us and before us fighting battles for us we haven't yet seen. He is present in this very second as you cry out, and He is present in the heartache coming in your future. He's already there.

Deuteronomy 31:8 The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid..."

Psalm 139

"God before us, God behind us,
God above us, God beneath us.
We on your path, O God.
You, O God on our way.
In the twistings of the road,
in the winding of the path,
be with us by day, be with us by night,
be with us by day and by night."
~John Philip Newell

The Weight of The Water

Islands in the middle of a river always amaze me. The water comes up and the water goes down and the big trees growing there still stand up and wave to me on the bank. They must have really deep roots, roots that reach their fingers down and grab ahold of the rocks. There are saplings out on that sandbar, too, and they look a bit mangled after the water rises, but they survive because they are surrounded by their more mature friends.

Sometimes the flood rushes right over you in this life. You're spitting water and clinging with all your might to anything you can hold on to. It feels like you're going to be swept downstream any minute. You might look around thinking that no one else seems swayed and wonder why you're the only one always fighting the current. The reality is that everyone has a deluge unique to them, and the choice is to wrap your arms around the Rock or be swept downstream. Call on the Lord, then tuck yourself in between some people who have been in your shoes before. Church, small group, fellowships of believers, a bestie who loves the Lord. That's where you'll find the extra support you need to survive the torrent. :D

Matthew 7:24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. 25 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. 26 And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. 27 And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

A Call To Prayer

I picked up a bucket yesterday, and an ant colony went absolutely nuts running in all directions. Chaos.

I feel like that is where we are all at at the moment. Everywhere I look, chaos.

We're all running. Away from flood or fire, to the flood or fire, to the grocery store/gas station to stock up for the next disaster, to the media for updates, to information on climate change, to check on relatives, to to to...

That's OK, we need to keep ourselves safe, and our families safe, but we're not accomplishing anything else this way, people of faith. At some point, we all need to stop running in circles, and run to God. I'm not talking about praying for five minutes before you resume your sprint. I'm talking "it's time to fast and pray", on your knees, being still. It's time for us to fervently pray for our country, for repentance, and for revival in the land before it's too late.

This is a call to prayer.

I don't have a trumpet, or a bell to sound the alarm, but I hope you hear it. <3

Isaiah 30

The Lion (Doesn't) Sleep Tonight

One thing I have learned well in my fifty plus years is that temptation never looks like temptation. You sit smugly in front of the evening news watching a parade of sinners in shackles and quietly think to yourself "I would never do that". No, you would not because the devil knows you would not. Instead, he knows what you "would" and he is a schemer (the dictionary definition being "someone who makes secret plans in order to gain benefit for himself"). He notices your weaknesses and intends to exploit them for his own benefit. So, he tests the waters. He throws a crumb and you eat it, so he throws a bigger one and then a handful until gradually you have finished a loaf. Pay attention, you are not immune. If there is a lion prowling in the high grass you stay alert and strap a weapon to your side. You don't turn your back on it for a brief moment of pleasure, because in the end it will eat you alive.

1 Peter 5:8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.

Ephesians 6:11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Not Gonna Be Popular

Titus 2:3 Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. 4 Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Dear young women of faith,

My heart grieves for you today.  For all of you who have fallen at the foot of the Cross, and given your everything to Christ, yet not everything. Your words boldly proclaim Jesus, and your love for Him is evident. Your reaching out to others, your enthusiasm in ministry, all shine forth. Why, then, is my heart grieved?  It cries out in sorrow for the loss of what was divinely yours. Your body.

Somewhere along the route of your history, you heard the lie. Then later, you believed it. Then, embraced it. Satan whispered in your ear that there was no forbidden fruit, that your body truly was your own, that God never meant what He said about sexual sin. "Hogwash", the devil said, "the Bible is old fashioned, and outdated, and everything it says about sins against the body, rubbish."

You, who have chosen salvation, you have given your "almost all" to Him. What you have done with your body, outside the confines of marriage, and after your confession of faith, is intentional sin. Sin that grieves the Father's heart, because it is done boldly, and makes a mockery of the blood that Jesus shed for you on the cross.  It rends the white garment, and creates a chasm between you and the Lord.

"Not guilty", you say. "What I do with my body is my business. I can worship God, live for Jesus, and still have sex with whoever I want. No big deal." Yes, it is, and I pray today that God convicts your heart, and that you repent, and stop making that choice. Confess it as sin, then make the relationship right by abstaining, or marrying, and if you can't do either of those things, say good-bye to your temptation.

1 Thessalonians 4:3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.