excellent in the ordinary

this just keeps coming up in my life so it must be something i need to learn and share with you.
10/21 my utmost said, "it is inbred in us that we have to do exceptional things for God; but we have not. we have to be exceptional in the ordinary things, to be holy in mean streets, among mean people..." (mean means average here, not unpleasant)
10/22 streams in the desert the angel of the Lord came to Moses while he was involved in his every day work (tending the sheep). He seeks a man traveling an ordinary road.

there's so much truth in that. we do think that we have to do something different, extraordinary, earth-shattering. even when we know God's told us, "I'm going to do something in your days that you would not believe even if you were told." what if the utterly amazing was that we walked with Jesus every day of our lives? what if we loved our students and their parents and they saw Jesus in us (even though they don't know it's Jesus right now)? what if we loved our neighbor as ourself (for me today, that means letting everyone in front of me in traffic and not calling them jerks)? what if we really did everything for the glory of the Lord? what if we made disciples within our families and neighborhoods?

i keep telling my girls that God wants to do something amazing in their lives, that He wants us to live abundantly. and that's truth. but that amazingness (new word) starts now. as we're walking this road. as we're tending these sheep. as we abide in His word and become conformed to the image of His Son. in the day in, day out ordinary life He's set before us.

live excellently

this post is dedicated to:
my friends that keep saying, "when are you moving back to texas?" (insert lubbock and dallas where texas is written and that question becomes more accurate; you know who you are)

i feel the love
it's sweet to be missed
but it's also sweet to be where God wants me

so until further notice, i'll be here. in florida.
and you shall be known as "Job's companions"
better than "satan," don't you think.
i'll pray for you

maybe you'll all move to florida
that would be perfection

i heart texas

well at least fellowship found in the state of texas
and the west texas sunsets
and dairy queens at every town
but mostly the fellowship
love y'all

long overdue

it's been a while, i know, i know...
the Lord is dealing with me in many ways...
learning that to be a poured out drink offering, you first have to be crushed up...uncomfortable.
got a new devotional book that i'll be using the next 8 weeks...so far, so good...just been needing to take it to the next level.
church has been good...learning about the godly kings of the bible and the traits we can apply to our lives. our sunday school class is growing, so that's exciting.
church might be taking a trip to east asia within the next year...very, very tempting. very torn between that and a visit to romania.
work's been challenging, but good. sometimes i feel like i'm talking to a brick wall, but i realize that i just need to get out of the way and live a surrendered life. it's not about me. it's about Jesus and what He wants to do through me. praying for the Word to fall on good soil and for divine appointments to speak life and truth into the girls.

The Cross

I know I've been quoting others recently, but Solomon did say, "There's nothing new under the sun." I read this today in Streams in the Desert.

Mark 8:34 "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me."

"The cross that my Lord calls me to carry may assume many different shapes. I may have to be content with mundane tasks in a limited area of service, when I may believe my abilities are suited for much greater work. I may be required to continually cultivate the same field year after year, even though it yields no harvest whatsoever. I may be asked of God to nurture kind and loving thoughts about the very person who has wronged me and to bestow sympathy and comfort to him. I may have to openly testify of my Master before those who do not want to be reminded of Him or His claims. And I may be called to walk through this world with a bright, smiling face while my heart is breaking.

Yes, there are many crosses, and every one of them is heavy and painful. And it is unlikely that I would seek out even one of them on my own. Yet Jesus is never as near to me as when I lift my cross, lay it submissively on my shoulder, and welcome it with a patient and uncomplaining spirit..."

He remains

Sometimes truth is so encouraging. This was September 6th's entry in Streams in the Desert:

"There are so many people who sit by their fireplace all alone! They sit by another chair, once filled (or with the dream of being filled), and cannot restrain the tears that flow. They sit alone so much, but there is someone who is unseen and just within their reach. But for some reason, they don't realize His presence. Realizing it is blessed yet quite rare. It is dependent upon their mood, their feelings, their physical condition, and the weather. The rain or thick fog outside, the lack of sleep and the intense pain, seem to affect their mood and blur their vision so they do not realize His presence.
There is, however, something even better than realizing, and even more blessed. It is completely independent of these other conditions and is something that will abide with you. It is this: recognizing that unseen presence, which is so wonderful, quieting, soothing, calming and warming. So recognize the presence of the Master. He is here, close to you, and His presence is real. Recognizing will also help your ability to realize but is never dependent upon it.
Yes, there is immeasurably more--the truth is a presence, not a thing, a fact, or a statement. Some One is present, and He is a warmhearted Friend and the all-powerful Lord. This is a joyful truth for weeping hearts everywhere, no matter the reason for the tears, or whatever stream their weeping willow is planted beside."

(italics mine)

God is preparing you for the platform

Last Sunday my pastor gave a great sermon. He's doing a series about the Isrealite kings; well those of them that were considered "good." This week he talked about David, specifically David and Goliath. (I actually don't think I've ever heard a sermon about David and Goliath; just Sunday school lessons).
David didn't just meet up with Goliath; he had to be prepared for this platform of ministry and victory. He was an obscure fellow. The youngest of his family. A sheep-herder for crying out loud! All his bros were off to war and David's dad says, "take your brothers some bread and take cheese to their commander."
1. David had to be faithful in the little things. Delivering bread and cheese may not seem significant but if David hadn't followed through he would have missed out on defeating Goliath. David could have said, "this is ridiculous. I've already been anointed king. I'm too good to be errand boy." But he didn't. He was faithful in the little things. And...
2. David was obedient. The Bible says he obeyed all that his father commanded. He didn't put it off either. It says he got up early the next morning. We have to obey the authorities God places in our lives; parents, bosses, laws, etc. Disobedience is direct rebellion against God. Yikes. ("Delayed obedience is disobedience!")
3. The preparation got David ready for the platform. Our sheep herding friend protected his flock. As King Saul was telling him, "You're just a boy! You can't face the giant," David was able to reply with confidence about fighting off bears and lions. If we think about Olympians, they train for years for just moments of fame. We don't like trials, practice, dicipline, but without them we have no platform.
We are often tempted to give up when we're only on the training stages. God is prepping us for something huge and we think, "It's too hard! I can't handle this! It's not worth it!" Maybe we're afraid of bears and lions (rightly so!). But our God is faithful. Culture says we can have "it" now, but are we willing to wait for the platform that God is preparing us for.
As Strap always says, "You're in the sowing stage of life, not the reaping stage."