Tornados and Truth . . .

Hi Friends,

It's been a strange week.  With so many of you, I followed the path of the Oklahoma tornado with horror and heartache.  I had a friend directly in the tornado's path.  We heard from her that the tornado was headed right for her, and her children's schools.  And then we didn't hear anymore.  Hours passed.  We saw the tornado's destruction.

And I spent an afternoon praying.  And crying.  And praying some more.

Finally, we heard from my friend.  She survived.  Her son's school was one of the ones hit, but he was okay.  Her daughter's school was barely missed.

But others weren't okay.  The tornado had wrecked destruction.  And I wept some more to see the loss. I am weeping now as I think about it.

And at the same time, I am writing my chapter on Resurrection for my new book, Wrestling with Wonder.  I am writing on hope when all seems lost.  On God's power to transform the most horrible things in life into glory.  I don't know how He does it.  I don't know how he can transform this tornado's horror into anything remotely for the good.

But I know he can.  I trust he will.

Because Jesus rose.

Here is something I wrote today in my chapter:

So, who is this God who rises from the dead never to die again?  Who is he who transformed death itself?  Who is He who calls us to live in the wonder of resurrection, and see our world transformed?

He is The God who Makes all Things New.  

He is the God who transformed the cross.  And if he can do it for two rough-hewn pieces of wood, he can do it for you, for me.  

Consider the symbol of the cross.

In Mary’s day, it represented horror and death, the worst kind of execution.  To the ancient Roman world, it was a symbol of everything horrible, bad, terrifying.  It was ugly.  It meant disgust and destruction.  It meant shame and agony and loss.  To see a cross was to see a symbol of the worst kind of death possible.

That’s what the cross was . . . until Christ transformed it.

Right now, in my jewelry box, I have several sets of cross earrings and necklaces.  I don’t wear them to let people know I’m a Christian, I wear them as a reminder of God’s power to transform.  

Because the cross is a perfect picture of how God transforms the ugly into the beautiful.  I wouldn’t wear a hangman’s noose or a guillotine or a gilded electric chair.  But I do wear crosses.  Why?  Because God has transformed the cross.  

We use it to decorate our homes.  We put it in the front of our churches.  It has become a symbol recognized all over the world.  And it doesn’t mean death and shame anymore.  It means life, salvation, redemption, love, and hope.

It’s where death turned to life, where joy triumphed over sorrow, where my life was redeemed.  The cross, once nothing more than an executioner’s tool, is now a symbol of God’s redeeming love.  It has become the thing that symbolizes everything that matters to us.  It means new life.

And that is a shocking transformation.

If God can do that for the cross, he can do it for you.  And he will.  He can take the awful things in your life and transform them, too, for His glory.  

Romans 8:28 says that “all things work together for good to those who love God, who have been called according to his purpose.” It doesn’t say that all things that happen are good, but that God can turn the hard things into good.  He can make them into a shining testimony of His love and faithfulness.  

The tornado is not good.  The destruction and death it caused is horrible.  But God is an expert and transforming the horrible into the holy.  

Nothing is now impossible.  Nothing is out of his reach.  So I will trust him.  Even now.

You Are Allowed to Choose Life

Hi Friends!

I found a few more of my old poems today, and was so encouraged by the thoughts of how God calls me to live as a free person - to run, rejoice, dance, and just "be" in Him.  Last night, as I was going through a book I'm reading called Strengthening the Soul of Your Leadership (by Ruth Haley Barton) I was struck by a single, simple line:

Remember, you are allowed to choose life.

Wow.  I am allowed, I am free, I am called ... to choose LIFE.  In every moment, for every day.  In every difficulty, in all the chaos, in everything ... choose Life.  I can choose Him.

That is a truth I'm pondering day, praying it will work it's way into the very deepest depths of my soul.  And as I ponder, I'm remembering the poems I wrote so long ago.  Here are a couple God has brought to mind (not the greatest meter, but somehow they still speak to me :-)):

COME, BE MY BRIDE

My King calls out to me,

His voice filled with light,

With joy undimmed by other's sin,

Shining through my night.

My burdens fall at my feet

As I follow Him

Who makes my heart beat fast and firm,

All else grows far and dim.

Freed from all but Him I love,

Freed from fears so grim,

Free to laugh and dance and play,

Free to be free in Him.

His eyes, warm and gentle,

Draw me to His side.

"Come, live and love with me.

Come, be my bride!"

ONE DAY THE KING CAME TO ME

One day the King came to me,

His arms open wide.

Said He, "Child, live with me,

Come to be my bride."

But I would not hear of it,

I had so much to do.

"My burdens are far too great,

I cannot come with you.

Look at all this work of mine,

Oh, why can't you see?

Come again another day,

For now I am not free."

So the King withdrew from me,

Sorrow in His eyes,

I turned my back on Him,

Ignored His quiet sighs.

One day the King came to me,

Welcome on His face.

Said He, "Child, live with me,

Amidst joy and grace."

But I would not hear of it,

I knew I wasn't clean.

"I am dirty, my clothes, rags,

I am not what I seem.

See this awful filth of mine,

Oh why won't you see?

Come again another day,

I mustn't come with thee."

So the King withdrew from me,

Tears upon His face.

I turned my back on Him,

Ignored His offered grace.

One day the King came to me,

Wounds in hands and feet.

But I ran away from Him,

This King I could not meet.

No, I would not hear of it,

I was afraid of Him.

"I must not let Him find me.

He died a death so grim.

He will ask that I die too,

And leave my sinful life.

Don't come back another day,

You cause my heart such strife."

Then the King withdrew from me,

His head bowed with grief.

I turned my back on Him,

Denied all belief.

One day the King came to me,

Despite my sorry plight.

I was far too weary now

To run from Him in fright.

My clothes were yet sullied,

My work still undone.

"Lord, go away from me,

For I'm a sinful one."

He just smiled, held out His hand,

And said, "Come live with me."

I took my burdens, filth, fears,

And laid them at His feet.

Then the King drew close to me,

Joy upon His face.

I went to be His bride,

Amidst amazing grace.

Finding God's Love in the Crazies of Life

Hi Friends!

Been a bit of a crazy week, and a crazy day For example, Bria couldn't find her Sharks jersey this morning and had a complete and utter meltdown about it.  For nearly an hour.  Turns out the jersey was sitting on her dresser.  UGH. 

So, as I was trying to stop my head from spinning because of that, I began to think of all the ways  God communicates his love to me in the midst of the craziness of life.  Below is a poem that captures just a few of the ways God whispers his love into my life, and perhaps into yours:

His Messages of Love

A baby gurgles a laugh and claps her hands with glee.

A flower raises its radiant head to smile at the sun.

A raindrop giggles as it hits the pane and dances to the ground.

Do you see God?

Oak leaves whisper mysteries as the wind sighs and sings.

The ocean roars an ancient hymn to glorify its King.

The sparrow carols choruses that speak of Heavenly care.

Do you hear God?

Wildflowers woo honeybees to petals of blue and gold.

A pine tree waves green branches to bathe the wind with spice.

Chocolate chip cookies bubble and bake, welcoming you home.

Do you smell God?

A strawberry glows red and ripe as it anoints your tongue with nectar.

A child smiles sweetly and offers her ice cream cone.

Hot cocoa wiggles warm fingers to tickle your tummy with delight.

Do you taste God?

A breeze gently caresses your cheek, a breath from Heaven's throne.

A sunbeam shimmers across your brow, a benediction from above.

A friend clasps you in his arms to show that you are loved.

Do you feel God?

Along the folds of all the flowers,

Within the depths of every heart,

Across the canvas of each day’s moment,

God has left His messages of love.

Living TODAY with God

Hi Friends,

Today as I’m looking at all that needs to be done - a marketing packet for my new book, the next chapter for that same book, cleaning and laundry, taking care of kids, reading this, planning for that, picking up something else, getting kids here and there, cleaning cages and stalls, and of course, this blog ... God is whispering to me, reminding me of what’s true, what’s important.  He is calling me to Himself.  

Perhaps, in your busyness, He’s calling you too.  If so, here is a poem to ponder.  It encouraged me today - I hope it will encourage you too!

ALL GOD ASKS FOR IS TODAY

All God asks for is today,

To live today with Him,

Today walk and talk with Christ,

That now I be like Him.

He asks not for yesterday,

To change the days gone by,

Or fix all that has gone wrong

Before this breath in time.

He asks not for tomorrow,

For great dreams to be,

Or all I'll do for Him someday

When fortune favors me.

No, He asks only for today,

This moment that I live,

That here I kneel at His feet,

And live my now with Him.

Hurts, Hardships, and Falling Branches

Hi Friends,

It's been the strangest week.  First, the two huge branches fell from our tree.  Someone could have been killed.  No one was.  Then, Bryan tumbled down a flight of stairs.  He could have broken his neck.  He didn't.  He just broke his arm.  Jayna got stepped on by Joelle's horse.  She could have broken her foot.  She didn't.  It was just a little sore.  Bryan's horse, Smokey, caught his foot in the feeder.  He could have broken his leg.  He didn't.  After a lot of hard work from Bethany and I, we set him free.  He's fine (the feeder, however, is not!).  Add all that to a couple close calls on the freeway, and it's got me thinking about how life just ain't easy.  It's often filled with trials and hardships, tragedies and close calls, mess ups and moments that don't go as planned.

And it got me thinking about a question that a reader asked me awhile back.  She asked if I thought that hard times, tragedy, or simply things-going-wrong was a sign of God's punishment.

I said no.  

I also said:  

And here’s what I answered:

When I think of the great men of faith in the Bible, I find people who were both close to God and also faced hardship and pain – not as punishment or because of God's displeasure, but because that was part of what God had called them to in their journey with Him. Abraham, the father of faith, faced infertility. David was chased by a crazy king. Peter was hung upside down on a cross. Paul was beaten and thrown again and again into prison before being finally martyred. John, named the disciple Christ loved, was exiled. And those examples don’t even include prophets like Hosea, Jeremiah, Habakkuk. 

And what happened to Christ Himself? He was beaten, mocked, and executed on a Roman cross. 

So, these examples and many, many more in the Bible tell me that hardships, tragedies, and pain are not a sign of God's punishment but rather are to be expected in a life lived with God. Suffering comes with the territory.

But that's not the end of the story.  The Biblical examples also tell me that every tragedy, every misfortune, every hardship, can be transformed. It may still hurt and be oh-so-hard, but it need not be purposeless and futile. When God weaves the tapestry of our lives, some of the colors are those of pain and difficulties, but if we let him do the weaving, the picture can be one of breathtaking beauty.

So, given that, I see two big dangers in thinking that hardships are a form of punishment from God. First, such a view causes us to focus on ourselves and the question of “why” rather than focus on the “who” of who God is and how He is with us in the midst of our tragedies and pain. And second, the “punishment” view causes us to turn away from the very one who is there to help and strengthen us in the face of hardship. Instead of looking to God to help us, we look at Him as an adversary, as the One causing the pain. The result is that we become estranged from God just when He is seeking to transform our pain into something that will strengthen us and make us new.

In the epilogue of my 2007 novel, Veil of Fire, the hermit says, “I am . . . loved by God even through fire. Loved too much for him to leave me in my pain. And I know that even though I will always carry the scars, inside I am healed of wounds far more deep, far more ugly than those the fire caused . . . I am made new.” And that is what I think is the main goal of God in our hurts, our hardships, our firestorms. He’s not looking to punish us; instead He wants to transform us and make us new.

Amazing Death ... Really!

Hi Friends,

Today I am writing chapter 13 of Wrestling with Wonder, my new book that looks at the character of God though the journey of Mary, Jesus’ mother.  Well, this is the chapter on Jesus’ death.  Can you imagine what it must have been like for Mary to be there at the foot of the cross, look up, and see her son dead there?

What a horrific moment!  And yet . . .

We face moments of death in our lives too.  We face horrific things.  And yet . . .

Here are some thoughts I’ve been pondering as I write this chapter:

Death.  

I tremble as I type the word.

Death.

We’ve all tasted its bitter fruit.  Death of a loved one, death of a dream, death of a relationship ... the death of our hopes and all the promises of a bright future.

With Mary, we’ve all knelt in the darkness at the foot of a cross.  

We’ve all wept and shuddered, knowing death has come near.  

And then it arrives.  The darkness is complete, the is curtain torn.

It is finished.  

And yet, God has only just begun to change the world, our world.  He has only begun to change us.  And we discover that death is not the end we once believed.  It is but a doorway to the transformation of our souls.  

Mary could not have seen it.  She could not have known as she looked up at her dead son, as she experienced the worst moment of her life, that this very moment was the one that would change everything.  It was the moment of inexplicable glory.  

When all was lost ... all was saved.  You were saved, I was saved, Mary herself was saved from all her sins.  This was the moment God broke through and accomplished the most amazing, wondrous, incredible, beautiful thing of all time.

Her worst moment.

His death.

The moment of amazing wonder.

How could it be? 

May you find God in new and breathtaking ways even in the moments when you face the death of a dream, a loved one, or anything you've hoped for . . .

Poems for Your Journey

Hi Friends,

I downloaded a new app yesterday that lets me read some of my old WordPerfect files.  Among them I found some poems that encouraged me on my day-to-day journey with God.  

So, if you're on a journey with God today, if you're not sure exactly where he's leading, if you're facing the dangers of life in an imperfect world, read on . . .

WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE?

Where do I go from here?

I often pray

For the path seems dark

And I cannot see.

Before me is fog and confusion.

Where do I go from here?

But then I take a step,

And that one step is illuminated.

Then another.

More light.

And another.

Until the path is lit,

One step at a time.

TAKE MY HAND

"Take my hand, child,"

The father says, his hand extended,

As they step from the curb

To conquer the dangers of the untamed street.

"Take my hand," he says,

Because a child must not walk alone.

The perils of the street are too great.

So the father takes hold of the child's hand,

And the child knows he is loved.

"Take my hand, child,"

The Father says, His hand extended,

As I step from the curb of comfort

To conquer the dangers of a fallen world.

"Take my hand," He says,

Because a child of God must not walk alone.

The perils of sin are too great.

So the Father takes hold of my hand,

And I know I am loved.