The Confessing Lunatic

My last post discussed a job opportunity that I needed to make a decision about. I have been praying for over a week and am at peace with my decision. I had pretty much decided that, while I would benefit in many ways from learning under my former boss, God had other plans for me that didn't include a move to Savannah. I received wise counsel from numerous friends. One friend in particular said, "I will keep you in my prayers, but you already know that the Lord will lead you in the right direction. Unfortunately, He usually doesn't let us know His will by sending a big clap of thunder followed by a banner that says "Do this. . ." As just a view from my past, my wife and I (and my 3 sons) lived 700 miles from both of our parents for about 9 or so years when our boys were little. When we got the chance to return to Oklahoma, we jumped at it and have never regretted it. Being around parents and grandparents is one of the greatest blessings that we were given and now...

Our lesson tonight used Matthew 6 as the scripture basis. In this passage, Jesus talks about three things - 1) Acts of Righteousness 2) Prayer and 3) Fasting. Jim read the scripture then he divided the youth in two groups, the chuns (Christians) and the hypos (Hypocrites). He asked them to act out these three things using the points of view of their assigned group. It was interesting to see the youth act out in their role, but what was more interesting was the conversation that ensued afterwards. The statement that really caught me was when someone said something to the effect that the church is always going to be filled with imperfect people. In my head I was thinking, "Thank God!" Jesus came for the sick, sinner, forlorn, in short the imperfect person. Thank God that I don't have to live up to perfection...Jesus took care of that. I found this ... I thought it was appropriate. Moses stuttered. David's armour didn't fit. Hosea's wife was a prostitute....

I confess...my job has been incredibly frustrating these past two weeks. This amount and level of frustration that I have experienced since coming back to work after my Christmas holiday has, I dare say, been the highest in my career. It is certainly not how I wanted to start off my year. To add to the frustration has been my allergies! I can't seem to find any allergy medicine that really works 24 hours! As I have reflected on why exactly I have been frustrated and how I have handled it (whining, complaining, venting, crying, blaming others) I am ashamed. It occurred to me today that my actions have not been that of a grounded woman of God but that of a child still nursing on milk rather than the meat of God's Word. I am reminded of one of my favorite passages, Philippians 4:7-9. "And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, ...

Tonight we attended the Middle School's production of High School Musical. One of the young ladies in our youth group had a part as well as the daughter of a good friend. I wasn't quite sure what I was expecting but what I saw and heard was far from the hyped up version we've seen on Disney channel that inspired us to buy not only the DVD for our oldest daughter but also the 2-disc CD soundtrack AND a devotional about all the spiritual things you can learn from "The Musical." But I digress... For those that are not familiar with this teenage drama fest, there are two main characters, Troy and Gabriella, a basketball star and a science whiz, respectively. They meet during the Christmas break and end up singing karaoke together during a party. They wind up at the same high school when school starts back up. Long story short, Troy and Gabriella attempt to break out of their normal roles and sing in the school musical production. It is well understood in the school pr...