Sunday, January 24, 2010

Hellish Stay / Heavenly Leave

    Just wrapping up a 48 hour retreat where I set out to posture myself before the Lord and seek His fullness in my own life. I clearly had plenty of sin to confess and could have made it a Martin Luther weekend and accomplished nothing else. However, I chose to be still, read the Word, and listen to what the Lord would say. I remember specifically praying at the outset that He would reveal the vast depravity of my heart…

    Friday night: Spent most of the evening reading Acts. I was particularly struck by the childlike faith of the early churches. As Paul and his cohorts went out on their missionary journeys, they were sometimes in various cities for just a couple of weeks (ex: 13:13-52) they bid their followers to "continue in the grace of God", and then they were off. I was able to meditate on the lives of these early believers for a spell. Think of their plight: they barely knew the gospel, had no written NT if they had any of the scriptures at all, they had no commentaries, no systematic theology. How in the world did they live godly lives without so much help? They trusted in the promises of God and believed in the faithfulness of God's character as understood in the Gospel. By definition: childlike faith. They didn't rely on 100 different "interpretations" of a particular text, they didn't need a giant "Christian Living" section in their ancient bookstores. They relied on the Spirit of God to lead them as they trusted in God's sovereign purpose.

    Saturday: Woke up early Saturday, took my Bible for a walk with the Psalms around the lake. Good morning. Within 2 hours of waking I began to develop a headache, which turned into a completely debilitating migraine. I thought maybe I should eat something, because this type of headache was certainly counter-productive to what I was trying to achieve. How could I seek God when I can't even move my eyes, much less my head. One afternoon trip to Taco Bell resulted in no relief. So I spent the rest of my Saturday on into Sunday morning laying in my cabin wrestling with God, sensing bitterness, expressing disappointment, crying out that my trip couldn't end up this way. Why was God so pronouncedly silent? This was something that had led me to such a retreat in the first place: maybe I just needed to get away from all the noise where I could really focus on the Lord. So here I was, completely disabled lying on my back while the rain pours down outside my cabin and within my heart. After failing to start a fire in the rain, I spent the next 16 ½ hours trying to sleep away my head pain. The sleep was wrenching and anxious, constantly waking to see if it was over, if God would be gracious and wake me with a vision of His grandeur. Instead I woke thinking "that was the single longest night of my life" and "I only have a few hours left here before my 'retreat' is over". I was depressed and disappointed. I remember thinking that my wife will simply be undone if I come home in the same sorry state that I left in. I love my wife more than anything on this earth. She is a precious gem to me. I will do anything for her, but I will not lie about where I am with the Lord, I will not give her false hope.

    Today: Praise the Lord! As of 8:30 am I am able to stand upright without being led to tears! The rain has stopped and I was able to start a fire! Although I don't know what the purpose of last night was (and maybe I never will), I can say that today I am thinking a bit more clearly. I don't "feel" God's presence, however, I "know" His promises. It's as simple as "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life" and "37
zAll that athe Father gives me will come to me, and bwhoever comes to me I will never cast out." and "6 And I am sure of this, that he who began ha good work in you iwill bring it to completion at jthe day of Jesus Christ" and "12 So then, brothers,4 we are debtors, cnot to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. 13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you dput to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are eled by the Spirit of God are fsons5 of God." and "16 You did not choose me, but zI chose you and appointed you that you should go and abear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that bwhatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you" or "13
zWhatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that athe Father may be glorified in the Son. 14
zIf you ask me5 anything in my name, I will do it."

    A man driving down the interstate realizes that he is low on fuel. 5 miles ago he passed a sign that said "Gas Station 20 miles ahead!" As he drives, he begins to panic, thinking "what if they were lying, what if there is no gas station ahead? I will surely perish on this lonely stretch of desert highway!" Which is more foolish: to believe that the signs are false (although virtually every other road sign he can remember has always been accurate) and so, simply stop in the road and wait to die or try to find another road that will hopefully lead to somewhere of value, or to continue on this path, trusting that the gas station lies just ahead?

    Resolution: I will live with the following as my banner: I know that my salvation is based upon the merits of Jesus Christ alone. I know that He will never cast me from His presence. I know that He will finish what He began in me, in His good time. I know that I must "fight the good fight" by putting to death the deeds of the body by the power of the Spirit. I know that prayer in accordance with His will will always be answered in the positive, not to believe so makes God out to be a liar and perjurer.

    Therefore: I will not live doubting the promises of God because of what I see in my heart, but rather live with a patient trust of the Promiser. Thank God for George Mueller and the testimony of his life that proves "It is not vain to trust in God alone." May my life begin to reflect such a thought. All of my "waiting" up to this point has been a spiritually passive activity. Waiting on the Lord demands a posture of constant reassurance through His word, communion with His Spirit through prayer, and to "look not at the little in hand, but at the fullness of God". Trusting is not naive, but it is simple.

"To rest solely on the promise of a faithful God is the only way to know for one's self and prove to others, His faithfulness." We do not and cannot prove God's faithfulness through a weekend of flowery feelings no matter how many shooting stars we may see, we cannot prove His faithfulness through an experience of "enlightenment". We prove God's faithfulness through a lifetime of dependence solely upon Him through petition to Him alone, not seeking the aid of men along every step. We must allow God to be shown to be faithful. We must wait in hopeful, patient, resolved trust. He's either sovereign or He's not.

Meaningful Words

I can't help but post the poem Travis wrote and gave to me as a gift over the holidays along with a beautiful necklace (he got it from Jared) that symbolizes that I have his heart. A few days later he gave me a letter accompanied with a beautiful Citizen watch. I must say I felt like a princess to be lavished with such gifts of words and jewelry. I can't begin to share how meaningful it was to read the words he wrote me. I didn't know it, but they were words I needed to hear.

Because of Who You Are

Because of what you do today
My history is changing.
Because of what you do not say
I understand forbearance.
All that you see that's good in me
Is because of who you are.

Because your smile pales the sun
I'm willing to be foolish.
Because you've proven you're the one
I don't need to think of others.
And any joy that I might bring
Is because of who you are.

Because your arms are life to me
I've held on to romancing.
Because your eyes have made me see
I look to you for guidance.
With any wisdom that I lead
Is because of who you are.

Because you are my wife today
I can stand and face tomorrow.
Because your love will never sway
I can always be transparent.
And any strength that I can be
Is because of who you are.

Because of the warmth that's in your heart
I can always sense forgiveness.
Because of your mercy from the start
I can begin to see who God is.
All of the kindness that I've shown
Is because of who you are.

Because of the beauty that's in your face
I do heartily adore you.
Because of your sacrifices of grace
I am learning I can give more.
And I only know what love is
Because of who you are.
Travis 2009


He really has great taste....I love him.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Catching Up

It's been a while since we've posted anything....so I thought I might attempt to give a brief update of our lives over the last couple months.

Well, Christmas has passed. We went back to Indiana for a visit. We cut it short due to sickness which made us ready to come home sooner than we originally planned. It was nice to see family. We didn't get to see as many friends as we would have liked, but that's just the way it goes I suppose.

Here are some moments captured during our celebration of Christmas at my parent's house....

Here is Oliver thoroughly enjoying a ring pop...his new love.

Travis couldn't pass up getting this for my Dad who is
obsessed with Pepsi...notice it says "Sexsi".

Here are the girls with Oliver all ready to
open presents.

Emma, Raeni, and Elise...aren't they beautiful.

My handsome nephew, Caslin and son, Avrie.

Raeni cheesin...she looks just like her mother.

Queen Elise...

Princess Emma opening things from her stocking...

Travis helping Oliver open things from his stocking...he really liked this spinning light toy...he was quite mesmerized by it.


Now some shots from our Christmas celebration at Grandma Rosie's house....

A shot of all the girls in front of G-ma's tree...

Rose has her eyes closed...in most of her pictures her mouth is either open or her eyes closed :o)

All the kiddos except Oliver, he was napping...

One of the boys (except Oliver again).


So those were some shots from the holiday celebrations. We did spend Christmas Day at Todds, Travis' brother. That was nice. Grandpa Bill came over to visit with Autumn, her boyfriend and Tahlyn. I failed to get any pictures though...wish I had. It was a rather hard day though. Elise was recovering from a stomach virus and therefore we were unable to visit my Aunt Bonnie and Uncle Bill like we planned because of my uncle's weak immune system. We didn't want to take the chance of having Elise around him and getting him sick. We were thankful to spend the day with Todd and his family though. We had great sweets and a wonderful dinner together.

As far as the trip there and back itself, let's just say it's a loooooong drive. Here are a few shots of the ride there and back.

This is one of the kids on the way to Indiana...make a mental note of all the space they had...


Here's one of Travis snoozing...also on the way to Indiana.



Now for the trip back to Texas...notice the space had shrunk...the heap of stuff I took the picture over and the things piled up in the back? There were things in every crevice of the van. We definitely came home with a lot more than we left with.

I snapped this shot to show Oliver in his little cubical...poor thing. He was so good on the way to Indiana and home. He's eating his favorite popcorn puffs from Grandma Rosie. She had packed bubble gum balls for the big kids and the popcorn for Oliver. She wanted to ensure that the kids ingested enough junk to successfully have Grandma Rosie poops when they got home. Gotta love her!

I must say it was quite nice to be home. There's nothing like home. A day or so after we were home, Travis finally came down with the stomach virus and spent a day and a half in bed. Poor guy...he just doesn't handle sickness well. After his bout with the pukes and poops, we were able to enjoy the rest of his vacation just being together. It was nice. We spent New Year's Eve with our friends, the Millers. We had a delicious dinner, visited while the kids played, let the kids have a mini celebration before midnight, put all of them to bed, and we enjoyed the rest of our time playing Solitaire Frenzy and a hilarious game of Quelf. It was a blast! Overall hearts were shared and memories made. A perfect way to spend bringing in the new year.

Since Travis' return to work after vacation, we've gotten back into the grove of normal life and we're doing quite well.