Thinking about my dad

My family stays pretty busy, so we almost never celebrate holidays when they actually occur.  This year, my sister's birthday and Father's Day both fell on the same weekend, which also happened to be the first weekend of my parents's vacation this summer.  Don't worry, we celebrated a week ahead of time and I remembered to wish them happiness on their actual special days.

I am so happy that my parents are enjoying exploring the US and seeing new sites and taking time off work to be together.  They both work soooo hard and are the greatest examples I could have asked for.

Yesterday at church, during our prayer time, we were led to reflect a little on Father's Day.  The pastor mentioned great memories we have of our dad's, perhaps some of the great gifts they've given us - just like our Heavenly Father has given us the greatest gift of all time...the gift of life through His Son, Jesus.  I don't discount this truth at all and I can never express my thankfulness for that gift of eternity!!  My earthly dad gives great gifts as well.  One of the things that stands out to me is his generosity.  What really sparks my memory, when I think about my dad though, is the TIMES we've had together.  While he gives great gifts, the gift of his time is my favorite.  Family dinners where I laugh so hard I cry...exploring Civil War Battlegrounds...watching movies...sailing...bike rides...Ocean City in the summer...and the list goes on.  Dad, you are the best! (I know so many others think this about their Dad too.  Isn't it great how God knew just the right Dad for us?  I so enjoyed reading all the posts on FB yesterday.)  (And not to leave my mom out - I didn't post on Mother's Day.  She is the MOST hard working, genuine, tenderhearted, smart, caring, God loving and fun women out there!!!  I am soooooo thankful for her as well!)

So, back to church yesterday.  I focused more on time with my dad rather than the great gifts he's given me, and then applied this to my Heavenly Dad.  The gift of eternal life is central to it all and it brings me to the fact that because of this great gift, I can actually spend time with Him.  Because of the gift of Christ's sacrifice, I can have a real relationship with my Creator and Father.  He actually pursues ME to spend time with me.  How crazy is that!!  The idea that the God of the Universe desires to spend time with me and have a relationship with me is more than I can fathom.  Just think on that for a second...He sees the depths of your heart, the good the bad and the ugly, and still runs to you.  He accepts you and LOVES YOU just as you are.  Sit with that joy today!!

A little all over the place

I'll admit it, sometimes I can be a little too emotional.  Yes, the words "Drama Queen" may have been attached to me before.  I hate being a crier.  Interestingly, my "drama" and tears are usually the result of frustration, rather than sadness.  Regardless of the reason, I really want to be able to hold it together a little better.  At the beginning of this month I blurted out to my boyfriend "This is going to be no cry April for me!  No tears this month."  He chuckled and I think his exact response was, "I'll believe when I see it!"

As I sit here, I want to be strong so badly, but I also want to put my face in my pillow and sob.  And let me be candid with you right now...although I do cry frequently, it is rarely because of tragedy happening outside of my immediate little world sphere.  I certainly feel sadness, shock, anger and confusion when tragedy strikes, like the horrible shootings with so many innocent children and adults losing their lives, but my heart does not break like God's does for those hurting.  I pray for comfort for those who experience horrific losses.  I rejoice when tragedy brings out the best in people, and you see goodness that has been dormant.  But sometimes, I just can't truly relate.  I am not by any means a marathon runner, but I know how it feels to cross that finish line after hours of running.  I know how it feels to wriggle my way to the front of crowds of bystanders to cheer a friend on as they accomplish their own goal!  And I want to throw up when I mix those amazing memories with bombs exploding.

I'm not saying I strive to be a blubbering mess whenever bad things happen.  I believe God is sovereign.  He is a GOOD God.  And I promise you, what the bomber(s) meant for evil, "God meant it for good." Genesis 50:20.  Joseph said this to his brothers, who tried to kill him out of jealousy and left him for dead.  Years later, he is in a position of prominence and is able to save his people from a terrible famine.  His brothers are afraid, but this is what he tells them.  God Always works for the good of those who love Him. Romans 8:28. There is hope.  And I hold onto that hope.   And at the same time, I ask God to continue to break my heart like His breaks for the pain in this world.

I think part of my reaction today is due to the setting.  I think another part is how close to home this really is. I was reminded that there are bombings like this all over the world nearly daily.  God's heart breaks for each of His beloved children.  It's overwhelming how big the pain in the world is.  It's mind blowing how broken the human race continues to be.  My brokenness is just a tiny reflection of how God's heart breaks for the broken.  God longs to reconcile the world back to Himself.  Even if you aren't a follower of Christ we pretty much all know the verse "For God so loved the world, that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life."  John 3:16  He has already reconciled the world to Him through the cross.  We just celebrated Easter.  He is RISEN!  Let's live like it.  "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation" 2 Corinthians 5:17-19

God sent His Son, Jesus, so that we can be reconciled to Him, and as a result of that, we now practice the ministry of reconciliation.  God wants us all to experience His peace.  

There is so much ugliness in the world right now.  But there is beauty also.  For those of us who know the beauty of Christ in our lives, who know the redemption and peace of that Easter Sunday, we need to reflect that beauty to the world.  

So along with no cry April, I hope to strive each day to intentionally reflect the beauty of God in my life.  Who's with me?

When winter is alright with me

I hate being cold.  It hasn't been above freezing here in about a week.  Thankfully, my fantastic friend brought me a bunch of wood right before the cold front came through.  Thankfully, I have a fireplace in my basement.  Thankfully, I have a boyfriend who builds the best fires (and will go outside to retrieve the wood when the weather is in the teens.)

Thankfully, I just got an iPhone to capture the joy!
Thankfully, we had the Xgames and hockey to watch this week (while we sat by the fire).  Thankfully, it even snowed a little!

Thankfully - it should get up to the 50's this week :-)