July 29, 2012

The Pirouette

I still have my very first pair of pointe shoes. 

  

I ended up with quite a collection, but only kept this first pair.  The collection included different sizes over the years and even different colors to match certain costumes for performances.  Some would only last a few days of the Nutcracker before being worn out. All would be molded perfectly to my feet after hours of practice.

But it’s the first pair that marks the milestone of accomplishing the feat of twirling on my toes. And twirl I did.  Before the pointe shoes, there were arabesques and grand jetés. But with the pointe shoes came the real fun = the pirouettes.  Pointe shoes took twirling on the balls of my feet to twirling on my toes.

The French word pirouette literally means “to whirl about.”  One pirouette is fun. But two or three…that is when the whirling really begins.  And the secret to the pirouette is:

Spotting.

Without getting too technical, spotting is simply locking your eyes on one singular object and remaining fixated on it as your body turns until the very last millisecond.  Then the head snaps bringing the eyes 360 degrees and until the gaze locks immediately back on the singular focus. Spotting keeps the dancer in balance. And allows for not just one, but sometimes two or more pirouettes to whirl about all while keeping a consistent focus.

Sometimes when I click the remote turning on the news, glance at the Yahoo news highlights of the day, or check the Facebook news feed, it seems that a great deal is “whirling.”  It’s easy to get caught up emotions of the latest tragedy, the debate of the most recent political issues taking center stage, or the opinions referencing the latest media news stories.

That’s when it’s time for me to remember “spotting.”  To keep what’s whirling around in balance, I need a singular focus.

“…fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Hebrews 12:2 

July 23, 2012

A Quiet Place to Rest 

In preparation for our tour of the Texas Hill Country, we stumbled upon this jewel called Hillside Acres Retreat. Six cabins, newly built, nestled away in the heart of the hill country.  Little did we know months ago when we reserved Cabin 2, how intricately God was weaving His plans for us. We had some hints as we searched on the website closer to our departure that the owners were ministry minded. What fun to discover the depth of this truth.  

Upon arrival we found our key in the mail box with the attached: "Come with Me by yourselves to a quiet place to get some rest." (Mark 6:31). We had chosen our location, albeit accidentally from our perspective, wisely. 

One conversation we were blessed to have with the owner as she came by to drop off a dozen freshly laid eggs, included her exclamation that went something like, "I just know God is sovereign. Sadly, some people don't and so their world revolves around themselves. Since I know God is sovereign, my world does not revolve around me, but Him." What a great reminder! The admission and acknowledgement that God is sovereign aids in taking the focus off of myself and placing it right where it belongs...on a sovereign God.

The owners will be celebrating their forty-fifth wedding anniversary next month and in these "retirement years" have built this retreat with the hopes of being able to be a place of refuge for those coming off the mission field or pausing for a rest in the midst of full time ministry. We may have had no idea in our vacation planning that our stay would be laced great conversations with our lodgings' owners.  But of course the Lord knew all along. And intended for these days of rest and relaxation to be accompanied with some conversations from a Godly couple.  Our choice of location was not so accidental. After all, He is sovereign!

July 15, 2012

BELIEVING God or just believing IN God???

What a difference in meaning a little word like “in” can make.

Two different questions:

Am I believing God?

Or just IN God?

No doubt I believe IN God. I believe IN HisPower. I believe IN His glory. But am I living a life that BELIEVES GOD?  Believes God in every moment and in everystep?

Am I believing God to be God, the God of the Bible,or the God of my expectations, which are much more limited in scope than thetruth of who He really is?

Makes me think of the story of Lazarus beingraised from the dead.

Martha and Mary ask for Jesus. They believe in Him.  They believe in His power to heal.  But He does not arrive until after Lazarus has passed away, already buried in the tomb for four days. I don’t know all the thoughts whirring through Mary and Martha’smind at that point, but I know some questions I would have:  Why did He not arrive earlier?  Why did He not come to heal him? Now what? Why did Lazarus have to die?

Martha says to Christ, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.” (John 11:22).  She believes in His power and His authority.  But when He tells her that Lazarus will rise again, she makes an assumption that makes sense to her logically, “I know he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” (John 11:24). She believes IN Him, but she isn’t believing Him at the moment. 

Her expectation had been for Christ to arrive and heal Lazarus before death.

Christ met a need beyond her expectations.

Am I merely believing IN God today?

Can I believe Him beyond my expectations?  

July 10, 2012

Where’s the AWE???

When was the last time something made you tremble?  Not in fear, but in awe? Or another way to put the question:  When was the last time you realized there really was something bigger than yourself going on? When there was that undeniable sense that God may not be so invisible after all???

Sometimes those moments come with:

·      witnessing the sunset over the water

·      standing at the edge of the Grand Canyon

·      experiencing the birth of a baby or saying goodbye to a loved one

·      living through a “God moment”…perhaps when He provided without you even realizing your need yet

It may be that the last time you remember one of those moments was not recent enough.

And the more time that passes, the easier it becomes to…

            Take life for granted

            Stop looking for the “God moments”

            Stop even expecting them

            And just take control of everything yourself

Potentially forgetting how big God really is and how much love He’s given.

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to teach on Malachi in a Sunday school class.  I say opportunity, because any chance to teach the Bible really is an opportunity for me to soak in lessons for myself tenfold.  The focus of the lesson was just on the first five verses of Malachi in which the Lord's declaration, “I have loved you” is met with the response from the people:

HOW HAVE YOU LOVED US?

No trembling in that response.  No awe. It sounds much more like a challenge than any awe-struck response to the love that God had showered upon His people.

How dare they respond so flippantly?? So irreverently!!  Could they have really forgotten God’s faithfulness to them that easily??

I find it so easy to judge them.  To point my finger at them and say “How could you question God and His love??  How could you not be in AWE of God??”

And yet…It’s so easy for me to forget as well.  To forget God’s faithfulness, to forget He really does know what’s best, to forget how much He loves me.


John Piper says about Malachi: "Malachi's burden in this book is to show us a God who makes us tremble with reverent fear.  Therefore, when He begins His prophecy to Israel in Chapter 1 with the good news, "'I have loved you,' says the Lord," he unfolds the love of God for us in a way that makes us tremble before the majesty of God."

Sure it would be easier if there were more “God moments.”  Except then, wouldn’t I take them for granted?  They would not stand out as anything spectacular...they'd become expected and part of the ordinary grind of life.

Perhaps to capture the awe, I need to do some more remembering…

Remembering just how much God loves me.

July 2, 2012

Whose resume is that?

“God is in the résumé-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities.”
― Mark Batterson, In A Pit With A Lion On A Snowy Day

Whenever I take a look at my resume, I shake my head and wonder whose resume I’m staring at. That's because my resume looks nothing like what I would have imagined when I added my first job. 

What an incredible blessing that first job was…to be hired by the discipleship ministry that had impacted me so greatly when I was in high school.  The two-year commitment was easy to make.  And my love for teaching, well I thought after two years, I’d find my way back to the classroom.  I’m back in the classroom, but not two years later.  Sandwiched in between are memories that can’t be truly captured in words: relationships built in the trenches of youth ministry, lessons learned in navigating women’s ministry, nuggets of truth wrestled with through Bible teaching, and a balancing act completing a Master in Education while serving in school administration. 

Without a doubt, past resume bullet points prepared me for what came next.

Yes, I may wonder whose resume I’m staring at. But then I smile.  Resumes hint at our life story.  Hint, not tell the whole thing.  But in my case, the hint is strong enough that God is really in control of each and every step I take.

"'What no eye has seen,

    what no ear has heard,

and what no human mind has conceived'

    the things God has prepared for those who love Him..."

1 Corinthians 2:9

I may not know what's coming next on the resume, but I know who is really writing the bullet points.