Sunday, June 26, 2011

God's perfect timing

Shortly after my mother departed this life yesterday afternoon, Z looked at me and told me to look at the date... June 25th.

June 25th, 2011

Had our daughter been carried anywhere near to term, her first birthday party would have been yesterday. June 25th was her original due date, and the fact that it fell on a Saturday would have made that day the day for the party had she been born anytime within a week or so of that date. But God, in His perfect timing and in His perfect knowing, did not allow that to happen. My little lady was born nearly a month early. The days that followed her birth were the most frightened and stressed out days of my life. Her stay in the Intensive Care Nursery was nearly unbearable. At the time, I struggled with understanding why it was that God was putting me through such a time. I know why now...

Because God loves us, and because He alone knows what each day will hold, my mom was able to see her granddaughter turn 1. She was able to give us an awesome memory, and a tribute to her strength and love of family. Mom, with the assistance of Dad, and her doctor (and unknown by the nursing staff) left the hospital to be at this birthday party. They said they just felt strongly that she needed to be there. She got to hold this youngest grandchild on her first birthday, and watch her eat cake. It would not have been this way, without the pain and fear of an early birthday.

None of this was coincidence, or happenstance... it was God's perfect timing

I hope that today, as we head to churches, or golf courses, or lakes, or whatever it is that you do... you'll think twice about the love God has for you, and the importance of Christ in your life.

Sunday, June 12, 2011

Sunday morning convictions- June 12th

Alot of us do not care for conviction, it hurts, and forces us to rethink the ways we do things... and it may even make us change! This past week has involved several nudges and kicks that culminated this morning with a couple of convictions that I needed to address.

There are a couple of pursuits in my life that I started 6-8 months ago, and have not been progressing the way they should be. I have been feeling for the last week that I need to retool and step back up to the plate. The first of these involves our personal finances. Z and I started the Total Money Makeover last September, and we have done well. However, the last few months, we have become much more laid back and have lost our intensity. We started because we knew that we were not treating our money the way God calls us to do so... but we became complacent and lazy. We need to step it back up, and get back on the wagon!
The second endeavor, weight loss. I know that it seems strange to feel God calling us to lose weight, but I really do feel that way. Why? Because I believe that as part of our call to be living missional lives, and remain in a state of readiness to carry out what God calls us to do, we must be in a physical state of health that allows us to complete the mission we are called to. It boils down (for me) to the fact that I know myself well enough to know that sooner or later I will tell God, "God, I wish I could join you in this mission to do/help _______, but I just physically can't" I feel that it is important for me to get myself into shape, in order to erase that potential excuse.

These are two things in my life that I know I started because they are in line with what God wants for me in this life. I wish I could say that I started them, and followed through with fervent obedience. I wish this post was to share the awesome progression that has been made to reach these goals. Here's to rejoining God in the work He is doing in my life, and I hope that we can all do the same... here's to obedience, and keeping Christ as our priority.