Ravens

I spent time with a new friend of mine today.

Anxiety had gotten the better of me today and I burst into tears in her kitchen.

She hugged me and began to pray for me.

She prayed for me and asked God to send the ravens.

The ravens are birds that came to Elijah in the middle of nowhere-ville and brought him meat and bread twice a day while he was hiding from a king and his wife that wanted him dead. 

That's kind of an unusual way to provide for someone.

But I don't mind unusual things, especially when they are yummy.

Then tonight on the radio I heard a woman talking about the ravens...AGAIN.

An obscure passage reference twice in the same day?  Really, nobody references these ravens.

Okay, God, I'm listening.

Perhaps the ravens are on their way already.

Do Not Be Afraid

I'm not afraid of a lot of things.

New situations don't scare me, change doesn't scare me, physical danger doesn't scare me.  I don't mind my kids climbing trees or learning how to shoot guns.  If my son wants to play football...that's fine.  If my daughters want to bungee jump...that's okay too.

In fact when I was 19 years old my dad and I tried very hard to get into East Berlin when there were riots going on.  He is probably my genetic link to danger and excitement.

I still regret that we were told we couldn't cross the border.

I've never seen a riot in person.

I like to think I am bulletproof.

But I'm not.

The things that scare me are far more insidious.

The creep of moral decay in our culture and what effect it will have on my children and grandchildren....THAT scares me.

A culture that is slowly turning against Christians...

FRIGHTENING.

The Biblical prophesy of Christians suffering...

YIKES!

Bitterness, regret and cynicism sneaking into my life...

TERRIFYING!

I worry about those things.

But do you know what God told me this morning?

He told me that all these things that I'm scared of could happen in my lifetime.

Christians could be persecuted in the United States

(They are being persecuted right now all over the world...if you don't believe me

check out http://www.persecution.com/public/restrictednations.aspx?clickfrom=bWFpbl9tZW51

it's an eye opener.

But in the same chapter that talks about persecution God says this:

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?  Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside of your Father's care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don't be afraid; you are worth much more than sparrows."

God does not say that nothing bad will happen.

He says that when the bad things happen he will be right by your side caring for you.

Even in death or torture or hunger or complete terror...he is not gone.

He sees everything you are going through in this sad, sad world.

He does not look away or flinch.

He is well aware of what is going on down here and we weeps for us and is angry that everything has gone this far awry.

And one day he will come back and wipe all the tears from our eyes.

He will get rid of every evil thing...every evil thought...every evil action.

He will bring justice.

When it all ends (and it ends for everyone), he will be the face we see as we pass from this life to the next.

And then we will feel foolish for thinking he had forgotten us.

He'll tell us the numbers of hair on our heads if we would like to know that crazy thing.

He will have the answer because he know us so intimately.

He will have the answer as to why things went as they did in our lives.

And we won't be scared ever again.

Rock Verses Bread, Snake Verses Fish

I started reading through Matthew a few days ago.  

I like calling in The Gospel of St. Matthew in my head, it makes me feel more important somehow.

I read the first 12 verses of chapter 7 today.

Part of it talks about not judging others,

and that's always a good reminder.  Another part talks about seeing what you do wrong before you see what others do wrong.

Oh man....I don't really want to go there now, because last night all I caught a glimpse of how wrong I can be.  But I'm so self deceived in areas that I quickly piled that stuff under a bunch of mental pillows and suffocated it.

(Don't worry though, God has a way of bringing that kind of stuff to the surface again).

Today I was cut wide open to the heart when I read the section titled ASK, SEEK, KNOCK.

I know some of this applies to seeking God and salvation.  When you honestly seek God, you will find Him.  And when you knock He always opens the door.  He's a welcoming kind of fellow.

Well, I hope I'm not alone, but I spend a lot of my prayer life asking, asking, asking.

I'm at a point in my life right now that is incredibly difficult.

Some of what I have asked for has been denied or at the very least delayed.

And this question has sneaked into my mind:
Is God's plan to give me a bad life?

Because it seems like that right now.

Don't get me wrong, there are things in my life that are good, but the general trajectory of my life seems at best directionless and at worst on a hell bent on imploding or exploding...whichever comes first.

So I ask myself, "Is God giving me a rock when I ask for bread?
Is God giving me a snake to eat when I asked for Mahi Mahi?"

He says he won't.  He says that good earthly dad's don't even do that.  So why would a perfect heavenly dad do that bad thing?

Well, he says he will give us good gifts.

So I ask myself, "What am I not seeing?"
"Is this where I thank God for the "trials of many kinds"?"
(I'm sorry about that horrible punctuation).

Is God developing my character by testing my metal?

I find myself talking to God and saying, "Please give me bread and fish.  I'm so hungry for something good."

No doubt he will deliver at some point.
He says that's who he is...and God is not a man that he should lie.

Amen.

Laugh

Sometimes you just need a good laugh.

My daughters wrote this "newspaper" a few years ago and we cracked up when we read it.

Hope you enjoy it.

(I especially like the tax ad...where do they get this stuff)?

P.S. I know about rendering to Caesar.....sigh. 

Randomness Gazette

                Today will always be known as a grim day in history… we don’t know why but I’m sure something bad happened! Anyhow, happy birthday because it’s someone’s birthday today and merry Christmas, because that’s what it is somewhere in the world, and also happy Halloween, happy thanksgiving, happy Hanukah, good evening, good morning, good afternoon, good day, and mazel tav! And a few more happies, goods, and merries besides.

            Anywho, since your reading the randomness gazette, you may want to skip this section… it’s the random thing to do! Or you can read this boring story about a stupid girl who’s puppy is pink. But since we’re random as well, we may as well skip that part!

            Read on!

Advertisements that you may or may not want to read

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE:

 (but preferably alive, because dead bodies scare us as much as they scare you!)

ALICE. Y’KNOW, AS IN ALICE IN WONDERLAND… THAT ALICE?

AND THE MAD HATTER, IF POSSIBLE.

HE’S MAD AS A HATTER AND DANGEROUS TO SOCIETY.

THAT WILL BE ALL.

THANK YOU.

Charlie’s Cha-cha Palace!

Got a Sweet Sixteen coming up and not sure what to do? Come to Charlie’s Cha-Cha Palace for dancing and fun! Only a couple bucks, but hey, who cares?! It’s cheap and fun!

New Thrift store in town!

The new thrift store on main street, an amazing place, truly, just opened! It’s called “A Shack of Cheap Stuff,” and sure enough, it’s cheap! Visit our website at www.ashackofcheapstuff.com!

Graffiti Busters!

Is graffiti tearing up your neighborhood? Call the Graffiti Busters. We get rid of graffiti like nobody’s beeswax and we do it quick!

Come on, dude! You know you need to!

Have your add in this paper!

Only five bucks a week- must be real venison, no does please.

Fonts:

Boring

Really Stupid

Computer Nerd

Up to 4 lines! Call today!

Nerd Squad inc.

Need some geeks to fix your computer in a jiffy? We can do it! (but not in an actual jiffy, of course!) call Nerd Squad today!

 Bill Di Vinci

Art show this week. Please attend. :0

Need someone to engrave something on something for you?? Call us today! The engravers, © today or maybe yesterday but who cares!

Are your pants on fire because you’re such a liar? We’ll put’m out for you! The fire-putter-outers- call us today!

Do you like to brag? I love to brag! So come to the brag-a-thon! All the biggest braggers in town will be here! It’s gonna be sweet, dude!

Need Latin classes? Call us today at WIDE LATIN!

Smile and say cheese. Don’t ask.

i cant seem to figure out this darn puzzle out! Can you solve it?!!!

HpwSignsnds,areas,nconfusings,dm UNCONFUSE YOURSELF! TAKE SHERRY’S SIGN READING CLASS!

The name’s Bob. If you want, I’ll fix your car. But only for a price… ten bucks. You willing to pay? Call me.

Do you need something engraved on a piece of candy? Call us now!

Need someone dead? Call us. The Ninja, www.theninja.com

Having trouble with your taxes? Don’t worry we’re gonna kill whoever makes you pay your taxes! Go to www.governmentkill.blogspot.com

Tired of getting mail every morning? Let us help you! We’ll burn your mailbox down! then you won’t have to get those sickening letters and bills every day!

Need a ride? Now? Call Han Solo. He can get you anywhere, anytime, anyplace… as long as you cough up the credits, that is.

Rouwwereao! Rreoahoaore! Roughhh! - <3 Chewie

A Parent's Prayer

This morning I had to make a tough parental decision.

It was so tough that I have been dwelling on it and when I tried to pray I couldn't.

(I'm big on dwelling...it's both a strength and a weakness).

So here is my prayer that I can't seem to pray in my head...maybe it will come out better as I type it.

God, I love my daughter who is growing up fast.
I need wisdom to know when to let her go
and when to say no.

Keep her from people who would harm her.
Bless her attempts to serve you.
Show her...more than anything...that you are real and that you love her.

God, keep our relationship intact through the teen years.
And let the day come quickly when she says, "Thanks for being a good Mom."
Bless her with great friends and a clear path for her life.

God remind me that you love her more than I can comprehend.

Amen.

Grace and Peace

The more I seek out God the better he becomes.

Listen to this:

This is from the book of first Peter.

To God's chosen, exiles (or foreigners) in Asia, Galatia....

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

That's it, right there.  Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

IN ABUNDANCE.

That means a lot in case you didn't study your vocabulary in high school.

Why should we have grace and peace in abundance?

Life is hard...even when it's normal life.

Bills, relationships that can go wrong at any minute, a certain spinning of wheels that I seem to feel a lot.

Time ticking by slowly.  Stuff you have to do that seems to keep you from the really important stuff (i.e. cleaning your house, waiting at stoplights, shopping for major appliances, painting your house....I could go on and on).

And that's if you have a great life.

What if you have a bad life?  What if you have a terminal illness or can't make your house payment, or you are watching your child destroy their lives with drugs or maybe you don't even know where your kids are.

I just spoke with a woman yesterday who didn't know where one of her daughters was.

I can't even imagine that horrible thing.

Why should we have any peace at all, from where I sit, the world seems to be spinning out of control.

Peace and grace.

Well I guess the grace is easy for me to understand, we don't have grace because we can do anything about it.  We have grace because a loving God gives it to us when we ask for it.

He pours it out on us...the Bible says where sin abounds grace abounds all the more.

Grace passes up anything we can do because of God's great sacrifice of his son Jesus.

Okay, grace is a gift.

But peace....hmmmm...doesn't even seem wise to even think we could have peace.

But then again....if God is good enough to give us the life of his son so that we don't have to pay for our own sins...maybe we should have peace.

Because if he would give us his child...what wouldn't he give us?

Fearless

I've been reading Max Lucado's book Fearless.

It's very good.

I decided today to copy down an except from it.

This was a prayer of a 7 year old son of a Bible translator who lived in West Africa.

He prayed this prayer as he watched his house burn to the ground.

Through wind and rain

Through fire and lava

The Lord will never leave you.

Through earthquakes and floods

Through changing sea levels and burning ash

The Lord will never leave you.

If you love Him, He will bless you

and He will give you many things.

Who can stop the Lord?

Who can chase a cheetah across the plains of Africa?

The Lord, He can.

Who can stand on Mount Everest?

Who can face a rhinoceros?

The Lord.

The Lord can give you sheep and goats and cows 

and ducks and chickens and dogs and cats.

The Lord can give you anything He wants to.

Who can stop the Lord?

Who can face the elephant?

Who is brave enough to face a lion?

The Lord.

Who's as fast as a horse?

Who can catch a blue whale?

Who is brave enough to face a giant squid? 

The Lord.

Just as Jesus died on the cross, 

so the Lord has done so.

The Lord will never leave His people.

The Bible is His word.

The Lord is a good leader.

The Lord loves you.

And He will not forsake His people.

The end.

This boy saw God through the flames.

Amen. And amen.