fun visit

sally, one of my campers, came to visit me this past weekend!

i am so thankful to get to spend time with her before she heads off to college. i still can't believe that she is done high school. i met sally in 2007 and since then God has richly blessed my life with her as our friendship has continued over the years. i feel so privileged to walk with her through life. i am looking forward to seeing all what God does in and through her over the next few years. so proud of you sally!

*Me and Sally*

*Our Mom's*

a sermon & a book

the reality of the truth can be hard to accept. in fact it can be humbling and overwhelming. over the past week i have understood a little more of the extreme call of following Christ. i just finished listening to a sermon on Luke 14. no new words. just a different perspective with a powerful message. david platt teaches on Jesus' words spoken to his disciples. it is convicting. not what david says but the truth of what Christ is saying to those who desire to follow him. i highly recommend you to take some time out of your day and listen to this 8 part series of living radically. i pray it moves you and challenges you to live differently. Click Here to listen.

here are some questions that david asks in part 1 taken straight from Luke 14.

-Do you choose comfort over the cross?

-Will we choose maintenance or a mission?

(status quo or radically abandonment to proclaim the gospel of Christ)

-Will we choose to have indecisiveness minds or an undivided heart?

(an indecision hampers us from obedience to Christ)

also, if you haven't read crazy love by francis chan, it too is one that will challenge the depth of who you are by asking hard questions taken from the very words of Christ.

my journey continues in facing the reality of these truths. i desire to find Christ in the cleft of the mountain. in taking Him at his word. following him. in trusting him because He is who He says He is. so many times we can just settle in reading the words of Christ. may the tides turn in how we read God's word. there is a weight and heaviness in every word throughout scripture.

if we were alive during the time of Christ how would we receive these very words if we were the ones standing with Jesus as He spoke them? what would our response be?

"When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him,

and he asked them,

'Do you believe that I am able to do this?'

'Yes, Lord,' they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said,

'according to your faith let it be to you'

and their sight was restored".

i love this example of the blind men believing that Jesus is able to heal them. they had not seen any other miracles but chose to believe this man because of what they heard. it was simple for them to believe and trust. there was no hesitation but confidence in the one who was asking them. what a challenging statement..."do you believe that I am able?" i think we want to quickly say "yes, Lord". but do we really believe it can happen? do we really believe that God is able? the only obstacle in the way of us seeing God work miracles is our unbelief. we are hindering Him. He is able to do it. He just desires for His children to believe Him. may it be "according to our faith" when we see the hand of God working. knowing that by believing in what He is able to do will allow Him to prove Himself to us. He is yearing for us to believe Him. even when when we don't think it's possible.

"To God's elect, strangers in the world, scattered throughout...who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ. All honor to God, by His boundless mercy that God has given us the privilege of being born again." 1 Peter 1:1-3

i spent the last few days reading through 1 peter, luke, and psalms. each verse i read seemed more convicting, more comforting, and with more clarity. i am thankful for the time i was given to peel off another layer. to see the areas i am lacking in. and to find the one thing that is worthy.

i love realizing more promises from the word. i love that each promise was put there for us. sometimes it's hard to take what was written centuries ago and apply that same promise to our lives now. God's word is alive and active, right? if that is true, then what we read today that was written long ago, can certainly be seen in our lives. we have to let the word read us. we shouldn't try to make God's word fit into lives, but make our lives fit into His. His word is the standard. the base foundation of who we are.

in a way...well in a lot of ways, this verse is very applicable to me. peter was writting believers who were suffering. he could not be with them so all that he could do was encourage them through words. he identified them as "God's elect/chosen one's". what a privilege that our Lord chooses us to use. peter also makes it clear that all those that he is writing are "strangers in the world, scattered throughout". meaning this world is and was not their home. they were nomads. moving around from place to place. they were not in one location for an extended period of time. their home was not in this world. as God directed them, they would go. trusting. obeying. and willing for the sake of Christ.