Lost Wallets and Saved Lives

The irony of the situation struck me yesterday afternoon as my cousin's husband and I were strolling up and down St. Paul's Church Road in search of my missing wallet. How the wallet could be on or beside the road is a different story, so I'll spare you the details. What really matters is what the Lord reminded me of yesterday that was a refreshment to my soul.

We searched for my wallet because it was of great value to me. It belonged to me and contained investments that I did not want to lose, or what's worse, be picked up by the wrong hands. What struck me was this...You see, we are like that wallet. This struck me because I thought about the man who was helping me look for the wallet right then and there. You see, we almost lost him, too. Sin had overtaken his life and his family was in jeopardy. We almost lost him, but decided to let love and grace lead him out of the hole and into the light. We contacted him in the midst of his pain and let him know how much we loved him regardless of the sin that had overtaken him. And now, here we were, together again searching together for something lost.

Too many times we have an improper view of the gospel...We're standing on one side of the canyon and God on the other, while the cross bridges the gap for us to cross over and be where God is. The only problem is, that is not reality. There is a canyon. God is in fact on one side and we're on another. And there is truly a cross bridging the gap. But, if we are truly honest with ourselves, we would admit that if we had things our way, we would not run towards God, but run full speed in the other direction away from God and head-first into a life of sinful, self-serving pleasures. BUT praise be to God! He knows our sinful hearts! He provided the cross, so he HIMSELF could pursue us with HIS love, and rescue us from ourselves and the evil with which we were ensnared. Much like me seeking my wallet because it was of value to me. You and I are of extreme value to God! SO valuable in fact, that he HIMSELF died innocently for us.

So how can we let someone we love be swallowed up by sin? How can we keep silent and not love him? Aren't we glad God didn't keep silent and leave us to die in our sin, alone and forsaken? I honestly would rather lose a wallet with access to every financial account that is in my name than lose any person I love!

As we walked back towards the house, I looked at him and told him, "We can replace the wallet. We can't replace you." God is pursuing the world with his love and the world is running the other way. Sometimes the best way to remind people of God's grace is to demonstrate it.

And with that, Stephen, we love you, brother! Go and tell the world how God has rescued you out of darkness and into his marvelous light!

(By the way...I have my wallet now, but that's a whole other story.)

"He is not here!"

For most people, once they have died, their bodies will be placed in a tomb and remain there to decay. So, where is Jesus' body. I mean, he was in fact a real person who did actually die. But if that's the case, why is his tomb empty?

This is exactly what separates Christ from all other false "messiahs". He is the only one who has conquered death. His resurrection is the greatest source of hope for all the world! For what is there in life that is worse than death? If Jesus has defeated even that, then why should we worry about lesser issues? The gospel is the source of hope and joy for all those who turn from their sin and make Christ their new Master! After all, he has won the greatest battle and defeated the greatest enemy of life. I think making us into a new creation is probably small potatoes for the Creator and Savior of all of life. There needs to be no other argument for Christ's divinity and credibility than the resurrection. Which is why I celebrate Easter on a daily basis. For me, today is honestly just one more day to remember his cross. But I'm glad the rest of the world stops to at least think about it on a day like today. The real question is not will we merely think about it, but "What will you do with it now that you know it?"

How many kids do I have anyway?

How wondrously great the Lord has blessed me

To give me a quiver with my kids three.

And just when I think he's blessed me for sure,

He says, oh but wait, how about one more!

It has begun!

Abigail made her first purchase yesterday at one of Mommy's favorite stores. Ashley and I know that we should train her to develop good habits, so (I know ya'll will find this hard to believe) Abigail used a coupon to buy the kite.

Look who's walking!

New Study on Interracial Marriage

I have almost completed my latest study on interracial marriage, and it has been absolutely exhilarating! (That's a fancy word for awesome!) The question I am trying to answer is "Is it wrong to marry outside your own ethnicity?" This study is for a new Life Change discipleship class that will be starting towards the end of this year. The class will involve discussing some issues that may not be discussed very often in church discipleship classes such as: Santa Clause, the Easter Bunny, and Halloween; UFOs and the Existence of Aliens; Dinosaurs; Age of Accountability; Do Babies go to Heaven When they Die?; and other such issues.

I personally am very excited about the class and will probably be the first to sign up for that one. I'll attempt to post a brief summary of my conclusion on interracial marriage in the not too distant future so stay tuned!

Trertuplets

No, she didn't use fertility drugs for this one, but a member of our household just birthed trertuplets last night! Our fish just gave birth to 13 little baby fishies. Guess that's a good reminder to Mommies that maybe one at a time, or even two or three at a time, aren't so bad after all. I mean, could you imagine thirteen new babies all at the same time! Wow! You go Momma fish!

Time Change

Okay, so...we were just doing our normal Sunday morning routine this morning. It was peaceful and everything was great. We have to leave for church by 8:45 to make it to the 9:00 service on time. It takes quite a while to get this crew ready for church, too (long gone are the days of up and out the door in 30 mins). So I had just finished reading my bible and turned on the laptop to shoot an email to a buddy when I noticed the clock was an hour off. I honestly thought to myself, "Great, Micah has been playing with the keys again." Then it hit me like a shot! We forgot to reset our clocks! I quickly darted up stairs and burst into the bathroom where Ashley was looking great, but not exactly ready for church and said, "Guess what? It's 8:30." She said something about how that can't be right because it wasn't taking her that long to get ready....and then I watched as it suddenly hit her like a shot, too! Her face lit up and she made a "eureka" type expression and said, "Uh oh. We aren't going to make it to the 9:00 service."

So, here I am, relaxing on the couch and it's 9:45. Church doesn't start for us for another hour, and while it's kind of nice to take our time this morning I still can't shake the feeling that I can't believe I forgot to reset the clocks.

Craigslist Adventures

I've decided to start posting some of our success stories from all of our Craigslist.com adventures. As some of you know we are avid craigslisters in that we are quite frequently finding some great deals on good stuff. And most of the stuff we find we either keep or resell after we "spice" it up a little bit. So, stay tuned for some future postings on our craigslist adventures. I'd like to include some of the crazy posts that are out there, too. Some of these ads could be featured in the Sunday comics for sure. I'll pass the good ones one to you so you can enjoy a good laugh with the rest of us.

My most recent adventure has been replacing our dining room table. The one we have now is in great shape, but that's thing, it's a little too nice. The wood is a soft wood (not sure exactly what kind), but it's a beautiful table. We wanted to replace it with a hardwood table that can withstand three meals a day from our family. So, rather than go buy a new table (why would we do that?) we decided to buy one that needed a little fixing. It wasn't much to look at at first, but we're pleased with the final result.

We were going to sand it down completely and recolor it to match the piano in the dining room. It is a deep red mahogany. But when we sanded the table down, we liked the black accents that contrasted the brown colors, so we left the black outline and went with a Special Walnut stain (thanks to Uncle Andrew's charitable donation to our craigslist habit last Christmas). We love the shape, and I especially love the detail on the legs. I finished the legs in ebony, but left just a little brown showing to give it an antique look. Well, what do you think?

Here is one of the chairs, which are also being refinished. They will take a little longer to do, but should be worth it in the long run. We'll have this table for quite a while...oh yeah, and it only cost $20.

Exactly What We've Been Waiting For

It's really sort of comical when you think about it. How we attempt to make our plans, that is. For so long we wait for what we think is around the next corner, the next chapter in our lives. We feel like we should press towards that next chapter like some sort of goal. We feel like if we arrive there, then we have achieved something and are in some ways stepping up to the next level. The only problem is, we don't stop to think long enough about how that fits into God's plan. We want his plans to fit into ours, and that is a bit inside-out. So what happens is when the door to the next chapter in life we so longed for is shut we find ourselves struggling with disappointment...doubt...purposelessness. We must realize there are things in life that God wants us to achieve, to learn, and to accomplish. We don't recognize them because we can only see life through our human eyes. We need to close our eyes and open our hearts to how God views life. Here is a great example of exactly what I'm talking about.

I've been waiting for a manager position to open up at work for a very long time now. Finally a position has opened up at work. It's a position for which I'm very qualified. One that pays well. Yes, my ship has finally arrived. I've worked hard and long for this promotion. It would mean a raise as well as a guaranteed salary with bonuses. That sounds nice. Well, at least sounded nice. It comes at a price. I would sacrifice my evenings at home. We would have to find a new small group. And worst of all, when Abigail starts school next year (2011), I would not see her for four straight days. The manager opening is for second shift. And the schedule is completely opposite of the school schedule. I literally would not see Abigail from Tuesday to Friday.

The dilemma presents itself - take the promotion I've waited a long time for and make some good money, or remain in my supervisor/hourly position. After looking at it and praying about it, the answer is very obvious. All the promotions in the world would not be enough to get me to spend four straight days away from my family. Abigail needs her Daddy. Unless I'm fighting a war somewhere, I need to be here for her as much as possible. Ashley needs me here in the evenings to help with the kids (especially on bath night). Granted, I'm often tired in the evenings, but at least I'm at home.

The bottom line - I wanted to be ambitious and successful, God wanted me to be content. I learned his goal by turning down the opportunity to achieve my goal. And for that, I will be forever grateful! I do not regret it one bit!

What does regret look like? When my ship comes in I could watch it pass with a pain in my heart longing to be on it and sailing into the world of success in the world of business.

But this is what contentment looks like - my ship has come in, yet I tell the captain to move on past my shore. I have come to love my shore and know there is work still yet to be done. I am satisfied, and it gives me great joy to remain an hourly supervisor who knows he will be home every evening and not at work, who will have to take an hour lunch and not mind because the days get long anyway, the supervisor who gets paid overtime if he works over 40 hours, the husband who gives his kids a bath in the evening, the Daddy who will be at home when the school bus drops off his kids, the Daddy who can be at the parent/teacher meeting when the kids need a little extra help, the man whose faith will be strengthened by turning down a nice pay-raise and salary to remain at a good hourly wage instead, and have absolutely no regret in all of this. That's what contentment looks like. And OH the joy that comes from finding such a rewarding treasure. We look for contentment in all the wrong places. God shows us how to find it if we just stop long enough to close our eyes and open our hearts to what he might be teaching us.

Yes, I have finally discovered exactly what I've been waiting for...contentment.

"Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (Hebrews 13:5) Why would I want more money, when all I really need is more God? He is a lot more available to me than money anyway! And more valuable, too, I might add. When is the last time money showed you grace? Mine is a bit stingy and never sticks around long enough to satisfy anything. Yet my God is full of the richness of life and love and grace. In him, my soul finds its rest.

What about you?