give water... give life...

We are super excited about being able to have this opportunity at our church... take a look... :)

myWaterProject - Bethel Community Church Fundraising Page

hagar and the "horrible"

i have been reading the story of Abraham the last few days. the story is familiar, yes, but this time Hagar's story is something that i have paid closer attention to... i think about Hagar and how she must have felt so cheated, so abandoned and definitely alone. we know the story, Abraham uses Hagar to have a son, because Sarah hadn't conceived a child yet. of course like any normal woman would respond, Sarah is quite upset when the plan actually works. Hagar leaves angry Sarah and goes into the wilderness. here God meets her and tells her to name her son Ishmael, meaning God hears. Hagar goes on to tell the Lord "you are a God of seeing". the two are out of the picture for several chapters and then a little later on come back onto the set. once again, Sarah is upset and tells Abraham that she wants them to leave. when God tells Abraham to do as Sarah said, he does and the two leave. while in the wilderness they run out of water, and once again God provides and tells Hagar that He will make Ishmael into a great nation. God was with them and took care of them, even in the midst of unimaginable circumstances.

i think about this story and i think about how God told Abraham to do what Sarah said she wanted... to get rid of Hagar, to send her away with her young son?! this seems crazy and yet i was reminded of awesome truth while i was reading through this today. i think, no, i know, that sometimes in life, it is really hard to figure out why things are happening. as believers, sometimes it is even harder knowing that God is in control of our lives and circumstances and yet these things are still taking place. things that hurt, things that seem like they would be the exact opposite of what a loving God would set us up with.... i think about Hagar and how her situation was really unbelievable. and then i see the provision of God behind it all and i wonder if i were reading my story thousands of years down the road how i would see the provision and hand of God behind it. i know it would be there... even in this story, attributes of God are proclaimed. He is a God who hears and a God who sees. our broken lives and the hurt that is a part of them is seen and heard by Almighty God. so why is it not all changed... and here i think is the golden nugget in all of this... the hope of God is found in these things... His provision is seen and given in these moments... what i mean by all of this is that we find hope not in what happens here but in what God is ultimately doing. to bring about what needed to be accomplished in Hagar's and Ishmael's lives these things had to happen. i am also reminded that my life is bigger than myself. you see for the promise of God to happen, for the covenant to be fulfilled through Abraham and Isaac these things had to happen. this is so key! my life is bigger than me. do i want God's purposes accomplished or not? this is really what it comes down to! do i trust my Savior or am i not quite sure about really being ok with His plans? will i stand and complain about the ways that God is accomplishing his purposes, for my life and possibly even bigger things than that?

i look at this story and i see a plan and a purpose brought about by our God in the midst of hard circumstances. hope is given in knowing that if i were reading my own story, God's hand and purposes would be overwhelming throughout it as well.

carry us home

so often i want to write something that describes what i am thinking through or how i am feeling in a moment or what my perception of life is at the current moment... and SO often i have serious trouble trying to do so! and then often, i stumble across words written by others that are beautiful and communicate truth clearly... i have been trying hard to not get overwhelmed with christmas "stuff" this year and stay focused on truth, on God's grace in sending His sweet Son, our Savior. i read a part of a chapter yesterday that i want to share here... like i said, so often, others are much better at communicating through the written word than i am... and i love this, so i thought i would share it with my friends...

"can anything separate us from the love Christ has for us? God answered our question before we asked it. so we'd see his answer, he lit the sky with a star. so we'd hear it, he filled the night with a choir; and so we'd believe it, he did what no man had ever dreamed. he became flesh and dwelt among us.

he place his hand on the shoulder of humanity and said, "you're something special."

untethered by time, he sees us all. from the backwoods of virginia to the business district of london; from the vikings to the astronauts, from the cave-dwellers to the kings, from the hut-builders to the finger-pointers to the rock-stackers, he sees us. vagabonds and ragamuffins all, he saw us before we were born.

and he loves what he sees. flooded by emotion. overcome by pride, the Starmaker turns to us, one by one, and says, "you are my child. i love you dearly. i'm aware that someday you'll turn from me and walk away. but i want you to know, i've already provided you a way back."

and to prove it, he did something extraordinary.

stepping from the throne, he removed his robe of light and wrapped himself in skin: pigmented, human skin. the light of the universe entered a dark, wet womb. he who angels worship nestled himself in the placenta of a peasant, was birthed into the cold night, and then slept on cow's hay.

mary didn't know whether to give him milk or give him praise, but she gave him both since he was, as near as she could figure, hungry and holy. joseph didn't know whether to call him junior or Father. but in the end called him Jesus, since that's what the angel said and since he didn't have the faintest idea what to name a God he could cradle in his arms.

...don't you think their heads tilted and their minds wondered, "what in the world are you doing, God?" or better phrased, "God, what are you doing in the world?"

"can anything make me stop loving you?" God asks. "watch me speak your language, sleep on your earth, and feel your hurts. behold the maker of sight and sound as he sneezes, coughs, and blows his nose. you wonder if i understand how you feel? look into the dancing eyes of the kid in nazareth; that's God walking to school. ponder the toddler at mary's table; that's God spilling his milk.

"you wonder how long my love will last? find your answer on a splintered cross, on a craggy hill. that's me you see up there, your maker, your God, nail-stabbed and bleeding. covered in spit and sin-soaked. that's your sin i'm feeling. that's your death i'm dying. that's your resurrection i'm living. that's how much i love you."

-Max Lucado, In the Grip of Grace

i love pondering all of these words. a great songwriter, andrew peterson, writes, "behold the lamb, the hope of man." and that He is. my Hope. my Jesus. and as peterson also writes, and as we anticipate Christ's promise to come back someday again, to meet us once again on this broken ball... "glory to Jesus, ancient and strong, come to your people, and carry us home..."

the hope of man... in your overwhelming grace, carry us home.

all the difference

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I--
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference...

robert frost

the baby's gettin' hitched!

my little sister (well only by a few years, but hey it is what it is...) is getting married in just a little over a week! i couldn't be more excited! (the wedding location, florida, only increases the excitement!) just wanted to put this out there so you all can be praying for her, jack (the lucky guy), and all of our family... that it will be a week and a wedding that is fun, enjoyable, and one that brings glory to our God! shawn and i are out of here in just a few days, just missing the cold that is imminent here in chicago... sweet... like i said, couldn't be more excited. :)

wandering and pondering

i absolutely love this season... i don't know if it's new colors or being cozy inside or the anticipation of fun holidays... i do know that i love the promises that this season faithfully brings to mind, year after year, season after season... our God is faithful to work. i was thinking the other day about why i ever wonder how or when or even IF God will continue to work. i love this season because it really calls me to ponder, just to sit and think. i look back at every season of life and even if in that moment i did not see God bringing about His purposes, i can look back now and see in tremendous ways how He did so. sometimes it is obvious. sometimes life is so painful that you really can't doubt that God must be doing something! sometimes life is so full of happiness and blessing that you also cannot doubt that God is involved as well... sometimes life is quiet and i wonder what He is doing. though i know i would never grasp it, i wish i could look into the mind of our God and see His pathways that He plans for our lives. and then, i write that, and i know that i would probably not want to always see what is ahead. but i do find so much hope in knowing that God is working.

i find hope and happiness in knowing that whatever crook or cranny i find myself in tomorrow or the next day, God is in each, and working completely and bringing about a life for His followers that is WHOLE. i find so much love and grace in knowing that in everything, EVERYTHING, (excluding nothing!) God is making me and my life what He wants it to be... and what He wants it to be is nothing short of the fullness of His grace... which i know i feel as if i have tasted in such big ways and yet i know there will be feasts of this grace still to come. so i guess in all this wandering and pondering, in change and in stability, i praise our God that He remains. His grace remains... and as a result, His work remains.

i found it...

ever since i moved to chicago i've been searching for a place, beautiful and at least somewhat untouched compared to most of the city... i think my alaska roots are always trying to break through to find some spot where i can find some bit of solace from the hustle and bustle. i love chicago... i really have come to enjoy it and every day it feels a little bit more like home. this past sunday shawn and i were biking around the downtown area... we had come back to our car to head back home but decided to check out northerly island... i never knew what was waiting for us! at the end of the strip of land there is a beautiful wildlife sanctuary that you can bike through and i absolutely fell in love with this spot. :) from a distance the city is quiet and peaceful and a background to the beautiful landscape of wildflowers. on the other side is the lake... deep and blue. i do praise God for the world He has created for us. it is not often that i find these nature ah ha moments in chicago, but i was blessed by this beautiful spot and God's intimate knowledge of my heart...