MY BLOG POSTS

Being a Christ-follower is becoming increasingly difficult. It used to be that Christians were respected in our country. Then, we were merely accepted (“Aw, you’re a Christian. That’s great…for you.”) Now, however, it seems that we are becoming quite unpopular.

As a people pleaser, this terrifies me! But as a student of the Bible, it doesn’t surprise me.

I’ve been studying the book of Daniel in my devotions, lately. Yesterday, I read about Daniel’s three friends refusing to bow down to the idol the king had built. This King was the great ruler of the then-known world, the Head of Gold in Daniel 2. What he said was law. Literally. And refusing was not an option.

But Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego submitted to a Higher authority. The law may have said that all people must bow down to the king’s idol. But the Word of God clearly states that believers are to serve no other Gods. These men counted the cost  — “Bow down or die” — and chose to die rather than to live in disobedience.

Wow.

They chose to die rather than to live in disobedience.

We know the end of their story, but they didn’t. They even said, “Our God is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire…but even if he does not, let it be known to you, O king, we are not going to serve your gods…” Daniel 3:17-18

These man were thrown into the furnace not knowing whether God would save them in this life, or whether He would promote them to the next. Simply living was not their main objective. Living in obedience was their main objective.

The result of their obedience? It wasn’t just that their lives were spared in a miraculous way – though that was pretty amazing!! The greatest result was that the king recognized the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego was the Most High God. God was glorified, His name was made known throughout the kingdom, His power was demonstrated to everyone.

Lots of changes have taken place in the world since the time of Shadrach, Mesach, and Abed-nego. But God has not changed, nor has His purpose for his followers: we are to love Him, to obey Him, and to make Him known. No matter what.

May we be bold and uncompromising in our obedience. The rewards for that, my friends, are out of this world!

I’ve been thinking a lot about God’s holiness, lately. I’ve been convicted that I don’t think about it enough. Like most people, I think about myself and my issues and my desires far more than I think about who God is and what He desires.

My husband teaches that, too often, Christians see God as a Divine Butler — we ask Him for things we want, and He gives them to us, or we “fire” him and look for another.

That thought may seem offensive to us, but as I examine my prayer life, I have to acknowledge that is far too often true. I pray for things I want, things my friends want — not “bad” things, but just very creation-centered. I pray the way I live – as if this life is all I have, as if I am Deity and should be worshiped and should have my way all the time.

But the truth is, this life is short, fleeting. And I am not God. I have the opportunity in this short life to seek God and know Him, worship Him and surrender everything to Him, or to reject Him. He gives all of us that choice. Because He is God, He doesn’t have to force Himself on us, He doesn’t have to justify His opinions, He doesn’t have to change so He will fit what we believe God should be. That idea is ludicrous!

God is God – whether we acknowledge it or not. God is in complete control – even when it appears that the world is in chaos. God is holy – deserving of our worship and adoration and reverence. Not believing that, not living in light of that, not liking it, doesn’t change it.

Rather than spending so much time praying for what I want, I need to spend time worshiping this holy God – a God who created the universe, and yet desires to know us. A God who sent his son to this chaotic earth to die on our behalf so we can live with Him forever. A holy, amazing God who is in complete control of everything.

The God of the Bible is not a Divine Butler. He is King of Kings, and He should be worshiped as such.

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty who was, and is, and is to come.” Rev. 4:8b

What a week. My muscles are screaming, but my heart is soaring. We have a house! And not just any house, a house that is absolutely perfect for our family. For the first time ever, my daughters have their own rooms. And for my kids, this is the first time ever having a two story house. We’re in a great neighborhood – close to lots of stores and just three miles from our new school.

As with everything else associated with this move, God directed us to this house. We looked everywhere, and nothing in our price range was appealing. We really wanted a 4 bedroom, and all the homes we saw were 3 bedrooms (First World Problems, I know…). As the days went by, God convicted me that, rather than praying for what I wanted, I need to focus on what HE wants — what house does He want us in? what neighbors does He want us to love? I was asking for help dying to my dreams and accepting whatever – and wherever – He wanted us.

Then, our new friend, Gail, came to me with a print-out from Craigslist. Craigslist?!? No one finds rentals on Craigslist, right?? She assured me, though, that is how it is often done in San Diego. Realtors, we learned, get very little commission from rentals, so they are reluctant to help. That leaves landlords and renters-to-be needing other options. Craigslist is that option.

We called the owner, looked at the house, and loved it right away. 4 bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths!! Perfect. This was the owner’s previous home – he moved a couple blocks away a few years back, and has rented this home since. The terms of the lease were fantastic, and he and his wife are incredibly kind. When we moved in, several men from the church/school came to help us.  They got the entire truck unpacked in an hour. Kind and efficient!

God didn’t have to give us a great house. I have been reminded all week that plenty of believers live in far smaller, far less functional homes. Brothers and sisters in other countries are forced to live in places where there is no running water and barely enough food for everyone. God promises to meet our needs. But, so often, he meets our wants as well. Maybe not exactly the way we planned, but in the way He wants. He is good. He is merciful. He is extravagant in His love for us.

And though we aren’t entirely unpacked, we do have the office done (we have an office!). This is where I am sitting right now, where I will write this blog – and maybe more books. Who knows? This is where Dave spends a lot of time, working on the classes he teaches for Liberty University online and on other projects.

There’s still a lot to do – learning how to get around town, preparing for school (it’s year-round here, so teachers go back July 7!), finishing up the unpacking, getting CA driver’s licenses, preparing for school…the list is long. And, honestly, there are times when I just want to go back “home” – to Florida. I don’t do Change well. I have been irritable and snappy and impatient. I like the routine and familiar. I enjoy being spontaneous – but just in little things, like “Hey, let’s check out Mission Beach today!” not “Hey, let’s move across the country this summer!” Eventually, this will be routine and familiar. But that takes a while.

But I get to wait for that routine and familiar in this great house! And I get to adjust with four others – a husband and kids I love and for whom I am so grateful. We are being stretched and strengthened as a family. My kids are seeing that, though they may not have friends here, yet, they have each other, and they are reconnecting in ways they wouldn’t have, had we stayed in Florida. God is so gracious, so good, and so present.

I plan to get back to the “regular” blog posts next week. Thanks for hanging in while I vented and processed this move. Thanks for all the prayers. We felt every one of them!

I was going to wait and post an update when everything was all worked out. But I decided I might as well do what I’ve been doing — write in the Waiting. And that’s what we’re doing…waiting.

Because our original housing in San Diego fell through, and because we had to be out of our home in Largo by June 14, we moved out here with no house and no prospects for a house. A scary thought, with three kids! But we believe this is where God wants us, and we know, if He wants us here, He will provide us a place to live.

We loved getting to see parts of the country we’ve never seen before. This is Van Horn, TX.

So the kids and I left Florida for San Diego over a week ago. We stopped for a few days in Tennessee to visit my grandmother, my sister, my niece and nephew. Dave left last Monday and started driving straight across the country on I-10 (the thought of driving a moving van with the car on a trailer behind it through the GA/TN mountains did not sound appealing to him!). I stopped off in Ft. Worth last Tuesday to visit my other sister and niece, and Dave stopped off in Houston to visit a friend. We met up in Van Horn, TX Wednesday night. From there, we planned to drive to Yuma, AZ, but some terrific friends in Holtville, CA offered us carne asada and comfy beds. It was SO worth the extra 60 miles to accept their hospitality. And, as they warned us, being in the Imperial Valley – where the temp hit 120! – made us very thankful to just be passing through.

We pulled into San Diego Friday around 11:00am. We met our new boss and his wife – who not only offered us lunch, but are also housing us as we search for a place to live. We already feel blessed by our coworkers, and we haven’t even started working yet!

We looked at some houses Friday and yesterday, and we found one we really like. We are waiting to hear from the owner to know if our lease application is accepted. Prayerfully, it will be, and we will move in on Tuesday or Wednesday. But for now, we wait…

I HATE waiting. But God is teaching me to trust Him as we wait, to appreciate and learn from the incredible hospitality we have been shown by so many on our trip out here. He is teaching me that I don’t need a home to have security – my security comes from Him. He has shown me that our family can thrive and grow, even – or because of – the waiting. And He has shown me that being temporarily homeless isn’t that bad — many people have it much worse, and I need to choose thankfulness over complaining.

We appreciate your prayers, and we ask that they keep coming! I hope the next post is the “We’re in!” post — but we recognize God’s plans are better than ours, and we will seek to trust Him, no matter what.