I Am Not Abandoned

Last Wednesday, I felt pretty alone.  I honestly felt abandoned by God.  I knew He existed, but I just didn’t see how in the world He could be doing anything in my life.  If you’ve been reading along over the past week, this revelation may be somewhat surprising.  I mean, I’ve blogged about God being my hope, God being my rock, and finding God in the mountains and valleys of life.  As I was going through some pretty tough stuff, a friend challenged me to stay close to God’s word in the midst of the turmoil that was surrounding me.  So that is what I’ve tried to do.  Believe it or not, it has helped.  I definitely feel and know that God is near.  That He is active in my life.  That He’s right here even as I type.

This evening as I was driving by myself.  I heard this song by Aaron Benward titled God’s Here.  It’s a good reminder that God is right here in the midst of whatever we’re going through.  God has not abandoned me.  (And He hasn’t abandoned you either).

Say don’t you think
We make things too complicated
What, what if, what if all
All we ever needed to know
Is we are not alone

And all our lives we’ve been runnin’ ’round and searchin’
When all this time He’s been standing right beside us
If we just close our eyes
And let all our doubts disappear
Listen
Oh, God’s here
God’s here

New Morning Mercies

In another translation, Lamentations 3:22-24 says that “the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His mercies never come to an end….”  This morning I am thankful for the newness of God’s mercies and for God’s faithfulness amidst the storms of life.

²² Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed,
for his compassions never fail.

²³ They are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.

²⁴ I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
therefore I will wait for him.”

Where Does My Help Come From?

Words of encouragement for me this morning.

Psalm 121

¹ I lift up my eyes to the hills—
where does my help come from?

² My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.

³ He will not let your foot slip—
he who watches over you will not slumber;

⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵ The LORD watches over you—
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;

⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.

⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
he will watch over your life;

⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Finding Rest in God Alone

God’s word to me as I head to bed (from Psalm 62)…

¹ My soul finds rest in God alone;
my salvation comes from him.

² He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.

³ How long will you assault a man?
Would all of you throw him down—
this leaning wall, this tottering fence?

⁴ They fully intend to topple him
from his lofty place;
they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless,
but in their hearts they curse.
Selah

⁵ Find rest, O my soul, in God alone;
my hope comes from him.

⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

⁸ Trust in him at all times, O people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.

Lemons Into Lemonade

I just had to share the thoughts from Isaac’s devotion for yesterday:

From The One Year Every Day Devotions (Devotions to help you stand strong) by Stephen Arterburn and Jesse Florea:

Have you ever heard someone say, “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade?”

As goofy as it sounds, this saying holds a lot of truth.  First, it says that life will hand you lemons.  It doesn’t say if, and it doesn’t say life might hand you lemons.  It says when.

Lemons are the bad things that happen in life.  Maybe a pet dies.  Maybe your best friend decides not to be your friend anymore.  Perhaps you’re not treated fairly by a teacher.  Whatever it is, you’ll have to face your share of lemons in life.

The second part of that saying is the hardest to follow – “make lemonade.”  In other words, take the bad things that happen and make the best of them.  Look for the positives.  Find the good part.

Sometimes finding the good part is really difficult.  When a friend turns her back on you, it hurts.  Sure, you can make other friends.  But it hurts right now.  Making lemonade is probably the last thing you want to do.  That’s why it may be a good idea to add another sentence to that saying:  “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.  And God is the ultimate lemonade maker.”

God can take the worst situations in your life and make something good from them.  At first, you may find it hard to see the good, but over time you’ll look back and see how God turned bad things to positive experiences in your life.  And here’s the best part:  while you’re waiting for God to make things better, you can hide in him.  Use that time to get to know him better.  Take comfort that God love you, cares for you, and can use bad things to make you stronger and more like him.  When things get tough, look to God and take comfort in his strength.

Psalm 141:8  But my eyes are fixed on you, O Sovereign LORD; in you I take refuge….

Lessons From My Front Lawn

The past three or four years, I’ve paid a company to treat our lawn to prevent the weeds, to prevent fleas and ticks, and to help it stay green and healthy.  There’s no question that it paid off.  Up until the spring, my grass was coming in great and green.

That all changed this summer when we decided not to use the company to treat our lawn and we were faced with one of the hotter and drier summers that we’ve had in a while.  As the summer wore on, our front lawn went from a plush green carpet to a spotty brown and green, weed infested disaster thanks to the lack of treatment and the stresses of the summer heat.  Honestly, I want to throw up every time I pull up our driveway.  It just makes me sick to see what our lawn has become in just one summer.

Now, I realize that a green front lawn isn’t the answer to true happiness and contentment, but I think it speaks to something that is true for our own lives.  Just like water and fertilizer help to keep our lawns healthy, keeping our spiritual lawn green and healthy requires water, nutrition, and weed prevention.  We need to study God’s word (the Bible), and we need to spend time with God.  We also need to  live life in community – the kind of community that can be found by attending and getting involved at a local church along with the kind of community that can be found by getting involved in a small group.  These spiritual treatments are essential to keeping our spiritual lives healthy.

Getting back to my lawn, we finally called the lawn company that we used before, and they explained that our grass can be restored.  The weeds can be eradicated, and the effects of summer stress can be overcome.  It will take some time and special attention, but there is hope for my front lawn.

So, this brings me to my question.  How is your spiritual front lawn?  Is it healthy or does it need some work?  If your spiritual lawn is brown and weed infested, there is hope for restoration and renewal.

RESPECT

Last night while on our date, Leanne and I were talking about the importance of having people of positive influence in our lives and in the lives of our kids.  As we talked about this, we were reminded of all kinds of people who have had an impact on us as a couple and as parents – people like: Terry and Maria Hanna, Bill and BJ Krewson, Tim and Jill Reber, and Andy and Denise Dovel.

As part of this discussion, I was reminded about something I wrote for our “Supernanny” Parenting Group that I think also applies:

There are many people in my life who I respect for all kinds of reasons.  I respect my parents and my wife’s parents.  I respect by boss.  I respect those in the church who are in leadership.  I respect my teachers.  I respect the political leaders throughout our country.  One person who I respect is Ray Rivera.  Ray was one of my youth leaders at the church where I grew up in New Jersey.  I looked at him as an authority figure, as a spiritual guide, and as a family friend.  Ray and his wife Joann always had time for me if I needed someone to talk with.  While I knew that he wasn’t perfect, I saw him making good decisions and leading with integrity and with a servant’s heart.

It’s wonderful that we have people in our lives like Ray Rivera – people who deserve respect not just because of their positions of authority but also because of their actions.

Who are the people in your lives who have this kind of influence?  Who are the people in your kids’ lives who have this kind of influence?

Life is a Roller Coaster not a Merry-Go-Round

I love amusement parks.  As I’ve gotten older, I’m not so crazy about the rides that spin you round and round and make you dizzy, but I still love a good roller coaster.

In life though, I think I’m more inclined to want the Merry-Go-Round.  Consistent.  Not much change.  Dependable.  No butterflies in the stomach.

But I continue to learn that life is so much more like a roller coaster.  Changes.  Ups and downs.  Thrills and spills.  Not always knowing what’s around the next corner.  Butterflies in the stomach.  Sometimes even making you throw up.

Life recently has reminded me of the roller coaster.  I think life was made to be this way intentionally by God.  Life of the roller coaster requires more trust.  It’s certainly not boring.  And it can be as exhilarating as anything you can possibly imagine.

So during crazy times like this, I’m learning to be thankful, I’m learning to trust, and I’m learning to rejoice.

“This is the day the Lord has made.  I will rejoice and be glad in it.”

The Eclectic Society

Last night, Leanne and I enjoyed the 3rd of 5 shows in this year’s Walnut Street Theater season.  We’ve already seen Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Oliver – both musicals.  WST is now running a new play called The Eclectic Society.

The play is set in the fraternity house of an east coast all male school in the fall of 1963 as the fraternity is going through the pledge process of accepting new freshmen into the house.  The school (and fraternity) is traditionally an all white school.  However, this was changed a couple of years ago when both the school and fraternity accepted its first black student who earns his place by excelling in sports.  The Eclectic Society which prides itself on the well rounded students that are represented in the house is split when the fraternity is faced with accepting its second black member who doesn’t carry the traditional traits of an Eclectic Society member – he’s from the ghettos of Cleveland, he isn’t paying his own way to the school, and he needs extra financial support to survive the day-to-day expenses of campus living.

Without giving away the play, The Eclectic Society raises questions related to racial harmony during this time in the history of our country, but it also forces one to ask if things have changed much since.  Sure, we have our first African-American president.  Sure, there is more diversity across many aspects of our American culture.  But you have to ask if everything has been done to carry out the dream voiced by Martin Luther King.  Do we look at people as equals?  Do we look at all people as being created in God’s image?  Do we rejoice and acknowledge how God made us all special with something to give?

These are some of the thoughts that were raised last night.

To finish out my review, the set and costumes and WST were fantastic as always.  The actors did a fabulous job.  I would not recommend this play to children due to language, a couple of fight scenes, subject, and one “mooning” scene.  But I would recommend the play to anyone else who wants to be challenged and entertained at the same time.

I’m looking forward to our next two shows as we finish out the season at WST – Fallen Angels and Fiddler on the Roof.  Should be a great finish.

This Is Home – Now I’m Finally Where I Belong

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of visiting Grove City College for my 15th Year Reunion and for Homecoming.  It was so great to be back on campus.  It brought back memories of fun times with friends, times of personal growth, challenging times of learning, and especially of meeting the love of my life.  It was amazing to see how the campus continues to get even better with new building and added features.  I was also inspired by how the focus of the campus and it’s leadership seems to be in the right place.

As I spoke with a good friend, Dave Johnson, it was fun to recount specific stories of the good times and rivalries that existed between our housing groups.  We really had a blast while we were at “The Grove.” As our conversation moved towards our families, jobs, and church involvement, we both commented that we wouldn’t trade our present circumstances to go back in time to our Grove City days.  God has truly blessed us.

On the ride home last night, I was listening to Switchfoot.  I was struck by their song “This Is Home.” I’m so thankful for the memories.  But I don’t want to go back.  I’m finally where I belong.  I’m so thankful for my wife, my family, my church, my job, and exactly where I’m at right now.

Here’s the first verse and chorus from the song:

I’ve got my memories
Always inside of me
But I can’t go back
Back to how it was
I believe you now
I’ve come too far
No I can’t go back
Back to how it was
Created for a place
I’ve never known

Chorus:
This is home
Now I’m finally
Where I belong
Where I belong
Yeah, this is home
I’ve been searching
For a place of my own
Now I’ve found it
Maybe this is home
Yeah, this is home

How about you?  Are you home?  Do you realize that your where you’re supposed to be for right now?