What A Day!

18 Monday Aug 2014

Posted by Seeking Peace in God, God's love, God's provision, hope, joy

What a day! Often, it is a statement made at the end of a trying, hectic day. Today, for me, it is a statement of thanksgiving and gratitude, of hope and possibilities.

I start a new job today. I know it will be full of trials and adversity as is any job. It is also an opportunity to make a difference. To learn. To do new things and improve on old ones. To stretch and to grow. To dream dreams.

My youngest starts a new adventure in college. Certainly a time of hope and dreams and also a time of trials and adversity. A time to meet new people and work on relationships with old friends in different ways. Maybe a time to meet the woman of his dreams and a time to decide on how to begin his life as an independent adult.

My oldest begins her 3rd year of college. Her transition to being an independent adult is getting closer. She is already gaining confidence in her relationships and now starting to look at the days ahead of going to work. She took a job at school this year that will be great for her, will test her and will stretch her. She makes me so very proud and she keeps doing new things that keep the pride swelling. I tell her from time to time that I am thankful God let me be her dad because I aspire to be more like her. Strong. Determined. Sweet-hearted.

A day to reflect on a weekend that offered some trials and offered lots of hope and growth and opened the door to new people in my life. As I am continuing to create a new life with my VSW, we bump into some old bags from our past. I look forward to the day when we have thrown all the bags out but as I reflect today, I see all the joy that comes from the victory in working together to start tossing the bags and the hope I have for how wonderful the future will be. I have the joy of hope that I do because I see how we tackle the challenges that come our way. We are not perfect at it (yet) but we work through it in our own ways. I see a day coming when our own ways become our together ways and know that will be a wonderful time. I want a relationship that people tell stories about because there is richness to share and I believe God has placed a woman in my path that makes those stories possible. How awesome is that?

I have never been filled with more hope than I am today. A job that probably won’t be my last and will provide until it is time to take another step. A son that is in an incredible time of transition. A daughter who is in the latter stages of her transition. And a woman, a VSW, who fills me up with the hope and dreams of what a relationship can and will look like when people are committed to pushing through together. Wow! What a day!!

James 1:4. I look forward to becoming more mature and more complete. I am ready for it with my job, my children and my VSW. Wow!! What a day!!!

Grace and peace.

Marking Time

22 Wednesday Feb 2012

Posted by Seeking Peace in joy, Rick Ross, suffering

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Today is a hard anniversary for very close friends. Some of you may know the store of Rick and Beverly Ross and the tragic loss of their daughter, Jenny, a wife to David and mother to Malaya. I hurt for them and my heart is heavy for them on this day.

Why does God let these things happen? It’s a question I’ve asked about personal situations in the past because I believe God can do anything, but he doesn’t always do the thing we want him to do. Why do moms die leaving 3 children with a father who kills himself 4 months later? Why do children die? Why does an 11 year old have bone cancer? Why do families fall apart? These are questions I often ask wondering what God is doing.

Why did God give his own son to die for me? It’s another question I ask wondering what God was thinking.

I remind myself from time to time that God knows suffering. He knows extreme, intense pain. Why is that I’m expecting I won’t have to face it or my friends won’t have to face it when God made a choice that caused great suffering. His son didn’t simply die. God allowed it to happen for a bigger purpose.

Is my suffering going to be for a bigger purpose? Will my friend’s suffering be for a bigger purpose? I don’t know but I do know the pain doesn’t go away. In whole or in part, it will remain.

So the question becomes will we trust God when the world crumbles? Will we hold onto our faith? There were days I didn’t know if I would or if I could but another question always lingered. It’s a question Rick Ross asked me when I felt my world was going completely dark. Where else will you go?

So we mark time. We mark the times of our suffering and the reminder that follow and we mark time until we leave this place of suffering and join the party to be united with God. I will live out my days with joy for the blessings I experience, with pain for the wounds I’ve experienced and marking time while crying out, Lord, come quickly!

Grace and peace to you.

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Gifts

03 Monday Oct 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in gift, gifts, hope, joy

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It’s been a weekend of reminders and something I needed to be reminded of. I have been given many gifts and sometimes the gift is taken away. It’s in those moments I make a choice – will I resent losing the gift or will I be thankful for the time I had?

Anger, resentment, despair, hopelessness, loneliness…all emotions that are normal and reasonable to a point but there is another point when these emotions become weapons of destruction.

Last night I had to make a choice. Do I hang on to resentment for a gift that I was having to give up for a time or do I want to given thanks and rejoice for the hours I was able to spend with these gifts? It is so easy for me to wallow in the pain and hurt but I don’t want to live that way.

Some gifts are mine forever and some are mine for just a season. Will I let the loss of a gift cause me to simply focus on what I’ve lost and forget about the eternal gifts I have?

Nothing in this world is forever. It’s a temporary place and I need to be reminded to treat it that way.

In doing so, I can rejoice for the time I’ve had and know that a better day is still ahead.

Grace and peace to you.

Hopefully, I Am In South America

25 Thursday Aug 2011

Posted by Seeking Peace in Brazil, joy

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I’m writing this on Tuesday night because I expect I’ll be a zombie by the time you are reading it and somewhere between Decatur, TX, Sau Paulo, Brazil and Aracaju, Brazil. I might be locked down in Miami because of a hurricane or so I hear. I might be lost in Sau Paulo because GOL! Airlines keeps changing the times of our flight but the new times are the same as the old times. Very confusing. I just hope my clean underwear and I wind up in the same place.

I solicit your prayers for my time in Aracaju. I’m speaking at a meeting Saturday night on a topic I’m qualified to speak about and one that scares me to death to talk about. I’m praying that God fills me up with wisdom and the words I speak are the words he is wanting to lay on people’s hearts.

The closer I am to leaving the more excited I am about seeing Gilvan and his little boy, Giovanni, my good friend Romeo who is always smiling, Victor and Bela, two of the strongest young Christians I know, Albert and Carol, another young couple with a desire to serve and Bruno and Ricardo, two young men who may have more fire and passion for sharing the Good News than anyone I’ve ever met. The joy of the Lord bleeds through there pores, through their smiles and actions and words. Their eyes are alive when they speak about God and they draw people to them.

Oh, the high is supposed to be in the low-80’s the first few days we are there. Yea! It stays in the low 70’s at night and it might even rain one day.

The weather will be nice but it’s the joy in knowing God exhibited in the lives of the people I will be spending time with that really excites me about what I’m doing. I’m ready to be infected again by their contagious zeal for the Lord.

Grace and peace to you.