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Archive for October, 2017

Caught Between

Posted in Community, Hope, Motivational on October 24, 2017| Leave a Comment »

On August 25th, the lives of all Texans were drastically effected by a devastating storm.  Hurricane Harvey produced more rainfall in Texas than the United States had seen in one storm in recorded history.  Of course the damage caused by the rainfall was not all the damage produced by Harvey.  It was a Category 4 hurricane at land fall.  The initial destruction was due to 130 mile per hour winds and storm surges reaching 8 to 9 feet (or higher in some areas).

While most were not directly impacted, this storm affected all Texans.  Life changed for everyone for at least a week or two.  Hearts were drawn to those who were directly impacted.  Generosity was plentiful.  Donations of needed items as well as time and labor were offered from all over the state.  Honestly, there was a sense of renewed hope in the kindness of humanity – actually making one proud to be a Texan.

Now here we sit – two months removed from Harvey’s winds.  Two months ago, many of us were scrambling to make preparations – boarding windows, purchasing supplies, trying to find gas stations that still had gas.  But today many are still trying to find hope and desire to move forward.

For the bulk of the state, life for most folks is back to normal.  Even here in Corpus Christi, most people have rejoined the daily mayhem that is “normal” life.  But so many other people here in the Coastal Bend are trying to decipher what normal will be moving forward.

The experts are telling us we are looking at a 2 to 3 year period of rebuilding before we can expect a new normal (others are saying it will take much longer).  So what do the people do who are caught in the middle what once was and what is not yet?  Where do they find hope?

sunrise-over-lake-and-mountains-13826409293GfI am reminded of David’s inspiring words in Psalm 121 – “my help comes from the Lord.”  When things look darkest, we can know that there is help – there is hope.  We need to remember that this world is temporary.  We are not citizens of this world but rather simply passing through.

So what do we do in this in-between time – this time between what once was and what is not yet?

We lift our eyes to the Father and trust.

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The Rest We Need

Posted in Uncategorized on October 16, 2017| 3 Comments »

There is a direct link between trust and rest. When I finally decide to lay down on top of my bed at night, I am trusting the structure to hold me. I would not be able to completely relax if, with every turn and movement through the night (which are often and many) I were afraid the bed frame would collapse and I would end up on the floor.

In order to truly rest, we must trust.

Last week in our Bible study time we worked through one of the sermons Peter delivered in Jerusalem in the beginning days of the Christian church. In the third chapter of the book of Acts, we find Peter and John standing in the outer courts of the temple, calling people to repent and turn to God.

Peter offers two very powerful motivations to repentance. The first is that when we repent of our sins and turn to God, our sins are wiped out – blotted out – discarded – covered over! All the poor choices and mistakes, all the willful disobedience – all of it – forgiven.

But the second motivation Peter offers for repentance is that by confessing our sins, repenting and trusting God, we will receive “times of refreshing” from the Lord. The ASV translation clarifies that this “refreshing” comes from “the presence of the Lord.”

I don’t know about you but refreshment and renewal that comes from being in the very presence of God sounds pretty good to me!

What are you trusting God with today? Do you need a little rest and refreshment?

Whatever you are carrying today, God is big enough to handle it! Simply trust and experience his refreshment!

Be blessed with rest today.

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Tend the Fire

Posted in Formation, Hope, Motivational on October 3, 2017| Leave a Comment »

In all my years of sharing my thoughts and my heart here in this way, I have never gone as long between posts.  I began this ministry and personal pilgrimage in 2009 with a personal commitment to write at least three times per week – recording in this format a little piece of myself each time.  There have been dry spells in my pilgrimage over the past eight years but never have I stepped away from this discipline for this long.

On August 25th, my life and daily routine was altered.  When hurricane Harvey hit land on that evening, I did not realize the way it would affect the days to follow.  Please understand that my family and I, our church family and most of Corpus Christi were hardly affected physically by the storm.  But those just over the bridge were greatly impacted.  So I am not referring to any real damage that I have had to deal with personally but rather in how we have chosen to respond to the devastation our brothers and sisters to our north have been living through (and will continue to do so).  In the coming posts I will attempt to unpack the experience of the last month.

But for today, I feel compelled to share what God reminded me of this morning.  My reading this morning came from 2 Timothy 1.  In the beginning lines of Paul’s letter to his protege, he challenged Timothy with this:  “fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you.”

fanning-flames

The reminder coming from God this morning was this – as believers we have received God’s spirit and his calling on our lives but we are tasked with fanning what we have received into flame.  It is so easy to let the fire go out.

I am not suggesting that we can lose the Spirit or the calling but we can lose the passion and the intensity of living out this calling with our entire existence.  Life happens – storms come our way that move us off course and before we realize it, the flame has died down.  It is our responsibility to tend the flame.

Today – tend the fire, fan the flame and live into the calling God has placed on your life!

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