Week-end Get Away

Jonathan and I took a little trip to get away this weekend. We ended up in the Texas hill country and rented a lovely log cabin on lake LBJ.

Both of us needed a retreat and a time of rest so we took off on Friday night with no bigs plans. We ended up sleeping, hiking, spelunking and enjoying the rustic beauty of God's countryside. It reminded me of God's own time to rest on the 7th day from his work.

While God commands us to work and labor for him in all we do, he also desires us to come away, rest and refresh ourselves with him. As we took in his marvelous creation and toured Longhorn Cavern, I was thankful for these sweet times of rest and revitalization.

We are back at work and going strong now but thank God for his rest!

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. ~ Psalm 62: 5 ~

Pics from Hannah's Wedding

We prayed and God delivered! My younger sister was married this weekend outdoors and we were praying hard for good weather for NW Arkansas. God answered us with a beautiful sunny 75 degree fall day and the wedding was wonderful.
Check out these fun pictures!

Jonathan & Esther

Allen Family portrait with new additions!

Family is Joy

I have been mulling over family and how it affects our lives this week.
This past weekend my brother in law got married and we had the pleasure of helping and being at the event. The wedding reflected the bride and grooms personalities really well. We were all very excited for them and for the future of their family.
Jonathan and I sent them on their honeymoon this week and picked them up last night from spending some time in Mexico. As they were telling us some tales of their trip and the fun things they were able to do, I was struck with how much pleasure it brings to give to others so they experience joy and their dreams can come too! They were alight with joy and simple pleasure after getting away for a few days. And Jonathan and I were also happy because they had experienced such a wonderful time together. It was a joy to give to them.
Two things stand out to me today as I reflect on this.
1) It was a joy to spread joy through giving of ourselves to them during this time! Being willing to give brings joy and fulfillment to the giver as much as it does the recipient. God commands us to give as much for our benefit as for the ones receiving the gift! He doesn't need our gifts as much as he wants our hearts and desires good to come to us through our giving (If only I would better remember this when I struggle to give due to a selfish heart).
2) As the bonds of human family here on earth bind together people that may have never been together otherwise, we learn love and good when God is at the center. Perhaps you would never have been able to stand each other without that family bond but God can help us all love one another and become less harsh and judgemental. If we who struggle with being able to love each other still enjoy giving to one another then God must really love to lavish on us because he loves us perfectly all the time. I acknowledge this in my head but I struggle to grasp and believe this in my heart!

Father help me to grasp your love so I may rest in it lavishly and learn to love others more completely! Thank you for the gift of family and help me to love them better too!

Let Go and Let God

Do you ever come to a point where suddenly you realize that you have been festering over things in your life subconciously and not trusting God?
Well (as the commercial says) I'm so there! I find myself doing this on occasion. It seems to build internally and before I know it, I am holding tension in my shoulders, I am not sleeping well and waking up mulling over things that I should be looking to God about for direction. I really strive to pray over things and turn to God for direction but this problem slowly seeps in and my trust factor is forgotten. I don't mean to and am even thinking that I am trusting God for things. Yet, it still happens.
So now that I am in this place again, what do I do?
Three things came to mind as I was spending time with God this morning.
1) Take a time out- turn off, disconnect, get away and get quiet before God so that you can address the anxiousness of your heart. Getting away so I can focus makes all the difference for me. I am able to recenter my thoughts and heart on Christ and reestablish priorities.
2) Focus on the problems at hand instead of on the future- Stop thinking about future things, stay focused on where you are right now in life and turn the future back over to God's care. I am one to look for the next thing and I forget to enjoy right where I am in life. This often leads to worry instead of thankfulness.
3) Ponder- Mull over how God has come through in the past and praise his faithfulness. Looking over the past provisions brings a peace over me and a thankful heart. I turn upward and outward instead of inward!
So now I am working on putting these 3 things into practice and changing my habits (again). Let go and let God because it is all about him and not about me!

Monday Musings

It is another Monday and God has been loving as usual to show up and give me some bites of wisdom to chew on.
1st of all let me report that God has continued to work on me after my last post! I am happy to say that when we played volleyball this week, I was more aware of Him and hopefully more responsive to him in the midst of the battle. God is working and I have to will to let go of myself and cling to him!
God has been teaching me a lot about surrendering myself and being obedient when he asks me to do, be or give something up. This morning I was reading in Joshua and came across these verses.
Joshua 5:11-12
"The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain. The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate of the produce of Canaan."
What God brought to mind was this, when I am in a place of struggle or desert, he provides manna for my time there but he never intends for me to stay in the desert eating manna for the rest of my days. He has called me to walk through the desert to somewhere, the place he has called me, my land of Canaan. There I will eat of the abundance of the land and God's temporary manna will stop because his permanent produce will be supplied! How cool is that? I am still mulling over this so I don't have all my thoughts in order yet but I wanted to share!

Confession Time

God is working on me again and I just need to take a minute to confess, articulate and be honest so I can be held accountable.
We have been playing volleyball with a group of non-believers on Saturday nights for the last 4 weeks. They are a nice group of people but I have struggled with feeling like I fit in or how to interact with them and still represent God well! Sometimes it is hard for me to separate the sin from the sinner and not become haughty or judgmental. I often become self-righteous and harsh towards those who still act under slavery to the world. As I have been mulling over it and talking to God, He faithfully revealed to me what he wants me to change!
1st- He brought 1 Cor 5:9-11
I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler. With such a man do not even eat.
2nd- He clearly delineates in this passage who we are to be careful of and who we are to freely engage. Unbelievers are not held to the same standards as the body of Christ and I need to stop judging them! He clearly came to seek and save that which was lost so I must be looking for and engaging these people too!
3rd- He desires to cleanse me of all unrighteousness and help me see the world and others as he sees it with eyes of compassion and love. Yes, they are lost and enslaved and we hold the key to the chains that so easily entangle. As God has loved me and set me free, so I must love others.
4th- I will continue to progress in this area and am by no means done but for now, I ask God's forgiveness and help. He is faithful to do that which he promised and will help me!
I will keep you posted on how these gatherings continue to go and how my heart changes.

Thank you Father for loving me and seeking the BEST!!!!

Rich Young Ruler- How do I compare?

I was reading the account in Mark 10 of the rich young man. He came and fell before Jesus one day and asked how he could inherit eternal life. Jesus saw that the man kept all the commandments and aimed to be perfect in his life. Then Jesus looked at him and with love said "One thing you lack." He instructed the man to get rid of all he had and come follow him. The man's face fell and he walked away saddened because he had much and couldn't stand to lose it.Two things leaped out of this passage at me and I started thinking about our own modern day experience of this.
First, the young man would have been considered the pinnacle of success in his day and culture. He had it all and I am sure that everyone talked about him being a success and a "nice guy." No one would have looked at him and saw anything lacking. He was obviously searching since he came to Jesus. He knew that there was still a hole in his heart and was trying to fill it. Jesus saw the lack immediately and told him how to fill it. Yet the trappings of this world and his success were chains around him that drew him away from his salvation and all the answers to this life.I wonder if this is how Jesus sees our successful modern world, especially in the West. We believe that we have or can get anything we need and end up blinded to what is real, true and our only hope. I can see it all around me and have to honestly admit that I get bound by these chains too. I walk away from the source of eternal life here on earth because I am stuck on the temporary material trappings I can see. I would say that these things are our modern day idols. Things that we put before God in our hearts and lives.
Second, the young man walked away. Jesus told his disciples that it is hard to get into the kingdom of Heaven when you are rich or chained closely to this world. They were astounded because they were also caught up in the outward perfection of the young man and missed the heart. Then Peter piped up about how they had left everything behind to follow Jesus. He replied that no matter what you leave behind for him here on earth, God will bless you 100 times for it here on earth and with eternal (as in forever) life and heavenly treasures there. God promises to come through for you above and beyond anything you can imagine if you will just choose him. The young man walked away because he could not see beyond the present or find the faith to choose God above all his stuff. But God has promised all of us that if we believe, He will come through!
Many people I know can't get beyond this big step of faith and so they never find the answer to all their questions and their heart's desire. Even those of us that have found a relationship with God need to ask ourselves if we are willing to put down all the trappings and let Jesus release us from the chains of this world so we can move forward. I encourage all of us to ask ourselves "What is lacking and am I willing to trust God for it? Will I lay down my idols for Him?"
He desires our best and the coolest part is that he even does the work if we will just say yes and believe. I can't lay down my idols on my own. But with God all things are possible. I simply have to be willing! What a comfort and encouragement. STEP UP AND BELIEVE! Anything that I think I might lose, He will exceed beyond my wildest imaginings.

I love God, he is awesome all the time!