Got peace?

"You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord God is the eternal Rock." Isaiah 26: 3,4 (NLT)

Trust: reliance on the integrity, strength, ability, surety, etc., of a person or thing; confidence; hope.

Trust is not superficial or easy. It doesn't happen overnight. It comes from a deep relationship and time spent with someone. And trust is a two way street.

You don't, shouldn't even, trust someone that you met last night. You can't really know someone that you may or may not even spend an hour with on the weekend.

So how can we trust God if we really don't know Him?

I've been chewing on this verse this morning and I notice that the "perfect peace" comes from keeping my thoughts on God and trusting Him. I have to act. I have to move toward God.

I've also noticed that perfect peace is a place inside of me and not necessarily me getting what I want.

One Less Toothbrush

This past weekend my wife Chris and I moved our 19 year old son (our youngest) to Tennessee.
The state.

I wish it were a town close to here. But it’s not. It’s over an eight hour drive away. And I miss him already. As a father I have secretly looked forward to the empty nest days. And I think it hit me this summer as we were preparing for Andrew’s move: I miss yesterday more.

As I drive past soccer fields I think back to the days when both my kids played. It was drudgery sometimes, that getting up early on a Saturday morning with much of your day planned out. Not to mention practice a couple times a week. And then there was baseball. Man did we spend lots of time together. Practice several times a week before the season started and then two or three games a week. You learn a lot about each other as a father and son. As I drive past a ball field I have specific memories that stand out for each one. And the great families and friends and kids I met along the way. And more recently the concerts we’ve gone to and even driving to the recreation center to work out and play some hoops. I even miss the thrash metal music emanating from his bedroom.

I miss those days. My dad always told my wife and I to appreciate them. He said they grow up fast. I didn’t get it at the time. And I can give the same advice to other parents. But you have to experience a little separation to really get it, I think. Maybe when they go off to college. Or if they move away.

You look forward to some “down time” on the raising kids thing. And then that time comes. And suddenly you realize they were not yours alone to begin with. They were created by God for His glory and you were just a partner in raising them.

One day every parent will walk into the bathroom and realize what I did today.

There’s one less toothbrush in the holder.

Tennessee and RN life

What a difference a year will make in the life of mi familia.

Today my wife Chris and I leave for Tennessee to move our son Andrew down there. He and some old and new friends are forming a band. They will worship God with their life and their music.

Our daughter Sara just stated her senior year of nursing school at Kent State Stark.

So this time next year Andrew will have recorded and published some music. Sara will be an RN.

Time marches on.

Got Hope?

My Grandpa Evans passed away last night. My grandma passed away some 25 years ago so it's cool that he finally gets to see her again. He waited a long time.

Even as a believer I sometimes wonder if heaven will be boring. Are we just gonna bow at the throne and worship all day and sniff incense? And then I remembered that God put over 200 different muscles in a single caterpillar. If He bothered to be that creative with the earth and everything in it, how much more will heaven rock?

My grandpa was basically blind. But no more. A line from a Mercy Me song comes to mind: "The blind frozen, by colors in view."

Are you coming to the party?

Closed door or Challenge?

Our time at Austin Peay State Univ yesterday was fruitful. We learned a lot. But not what we wanted. Basically the only way for a student to get in-state tuition is for the parents to move (we're not moving) or to not claim the student as a dependent. Soooo...... we are kicking Andrew out!

No, not really.

But we were pretty bummed. Stunned actually. We thought we knew what the plan was. We sat around at the University Center wondering what the heck to do. Then Jacob called about the church being open so we drove there to unload Andrew's drums. When we got there most of the band members were present so we got to meet them for the first time. Andrew felt pretty good after that.

We talked some and went apartment shopping and found some decent places. So it looks like the plan right now may be for him to take one year off school so we can file 2009 taxes without claiming him as a dependent. Then in a year he can get the in-state tuition rate. We will see.

It was cool talking with him late last night about how God works. And we both wondered out loud if this is a closed door from Him or the enemies attempt to keep Andrew from following God. Anyone else wonder why He doesn't just speak audibly? That would make this so much easier. But maybe that would take the whole faith equation away. I think God is way more interested in us connecting and seeking Him than He is in just giving us an answer. It's all about who we are becoming on the journey and not the destination.

I've noted this quote from Brennan Manning numerous times and it is so appropriate here:

"Craving clarity we seek to eliminate the risk of trusting God."

A big day

I'm in Clarksville, TN with my son Andrew. He is moving here to join a worship band and go to college at Austin Peay State University. Today is a big day. No, today is a huge day. There is about $10,000.00 per year difference in tuition for in-state and out-of-state residents.

We can not afford the out of state rate.

We need God to come through in a big way. Not sure what we will do if not. Andrew needs to be a full time student to have health insurance. And to not have to start paying back the student loans we already have. And then there's lodging (we have no idea where he is going to live at this point) and auto insurance and the list goes on and on.

God, are you here with us? Is this where you want Andrew to be? We've asked you before and we think the answer is "yes". I guess that's one way of determining His will. You walk through doors until they close.

I feel like I'm way out on a limb here as a father. Maybe that's how He felt when He sent His son to die for us. That is His rescue plan. There is no plan "B".

God vs. grass-eating bull

Psalm 106:20 struck me this morning.

The Psalmist is re-capping a little Israeli history. They havn't been too long from Egypt when they lost patience waiting for Moses to come down from the mountain after his conference with God. So they melted all their gold and made a calf. They wanted something to worship. Something to capture their imaginations.

"They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull." (NLT)

Ouch!

Makes me realize I've traded God for trivial, meaningless things.

Got any grass-eating bulls in your life?