by
Chet
5. March 2010 07:57
We come into the world with a longing to be known and a deep-seated fear that we aren’t what we should be. We are set up for a crisis of identity. And then, says Frederick Buechner, the world goes to work:Starting with the rather too pretty young woman and the charming but rather unstable young man, who together know no more about being parents than they do the far side of the moon, the world sets in to making us what the world would like us to be, and because we have to survive after all, we try to make ourselves into something that we hope the world will like better than it apparently did the selves we originally were. That is the story of all our lives, needless to say, and in the process of living out that story, the original, shimmering self gets buried so deep that most of us hardly end up living out of it at all. Instead, we live out all the other selves which we are constantly putting on and taking off like coats and hats against the world’s weather. (Telling Secret...
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by
Chet
18. February 2010 11:15
Thus says the Lord:"Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength, And whose heart turns away from the Lord. For he will be like a bush in the desert and will not see when prosperity comes, but will live in stony wastes in the wilderness, A land of salt without inhabitant."Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. For he will be like a tree planted by the water, that extends its roots by a stream And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not e anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit."
Jeremiah 17:5-8These verses spoke to me this morning. I as go through the book of Jeremiah and the Psalms, it is so clear that God wants our hearts back, even in the midst of our deepest rebellions against Him.
This is actually from 2007, but found it on an old brokendown blog and wanted to get it back up here
I love the picture of the tree planted by water. I have a tree like this in my own yard....
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by
Chet
13. February 2010 22:11
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I gave a devotional / testimony type of thing at a Valentines Banquet tonight with some friends & family from church... along with a couple hecklers in the crowd. Wanted to get it jotted down in my blog so I can come back to it later...
When I volunteered to share a devotional tonight, I had one of those strange feelings where you know exactly what you want to share, but have absolutely no idea how you’re going to get it out of your heart, up your throat, and out of your mouth. Ever been there? In fact, as I thought about that, I realized I’m in that situation quite often, particularly, it seems, in my marriage. I have something great to say, to really inspire and encourage my wife, or just make her day, and how does it come out? Not at all as in...
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by
Chet
6. January 2010 11:07
Tonight I'm leading the youth group at our church in an hour I'm calling Lessons Learned from a Microwave. This past Sunday, we had a group of them out for the afternoon to perform a variety of "science" experiments using a Microwave to cook different objects. If I remember correctly, we nuked a banana, 4 hot dogs, marshmellows, an orange, a CD, two frozen eggs, a fruit snack, semi-frozen grapes, a cell phone, and a large ball of aluminum foil. While some of these objects behaved "as expected" or did not show much in terms of exciting results, others surprised us. Overall, it was a great afternoon, and in the process no one got hurt, we didn't need the fire extinguisher, and I believe a variety of lessons, or at least life truths, can be taken from the experience. I'm going to share our videos, along with some of those things they've made me think of, with the teens tonight. I'm also curious what they will come up with as applications of the knowledge we have gained. These are the type...
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by
Chet
5. January 2010 06:58
We read the beattitudes today on the Daily /Audio Bible. How opposite these are from the world we live in, and the "blessed are those" that seem to be the natural way we find happiness.
From the readalong site for today:
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,[a] for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs. 4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth. 6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,[b] for they will be satisfied. 7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy. 8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God. 9 God ...
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by
Chet
3. December 2009 12:50
I had the dream of anyone who's ever taught a group of teenagers happen to me last night. One of the girls, a 16 year old (or maybe she's 15, I can't remember now, but I'll guestimate on the high side to give her a moral boost when she reads this) came up to me afterwards to tell me why she and another girl had not been there for youth group that night, because they were helping out with Team Kid, which is some sort of somethingorother where they were teaching younger kids about Holiness, at least on that particular night. So she asks me, "Do you know what that word means? Holy?"
"Well sure, I say... it means 'set apart.'" I don't know if she was expecting a bigger answer or not, but that's my understanding of the basic meaning of the word, and it was right on what they'd apparently been teaching, so we're on the same wavelength. "So," I ask her... "are you holy?"
..Gears start turning... "Well, yeah, I guess so... you know, when I ask forgiveness... but only God's really holy.... ...
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by
Chet
5. November 2009 09:59
This is an extended excerpt from a newsletter I received yesterday from The Noble Heart. It's an excellent picture of walking with God through the dark times.
Night vision. It feels like night vision is required when looking into our own life or the life of another. We can make out the shape of some things that seem to be significant in the discovery of who we are, but they remain fairly dim and undefined or can disappear altogether. I remember several late evenings (actually early mornings) getting up and walking into the kitchen to get a pain reliever for a headache. I would leave the lights off hoping not to wake my wife and avoiding any other reasons for my head to hurt. As I would walk through the dark living room, I would sometimes catch a glimpse of a pair of shoes or the vacuum cleaner with my peripheral vision. As I tried to focus directly on it, it would often disappear. As soon as I looked straight ahead, I would see i...
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by
Chet
9. October 2009 21:49
This continues a series of events known as a weekend in my life... Part one is here.
So after a long Saturday, we hit the sack for a good 6 hours of sleep before waking up and hitting a Sunday running. We've lined up some teenage friends to come home with us after church to ride horses for the afternoon, so it's going to be a full day.
First things first. We need 2 cars. Between my family, Adam, and the kids coming home with us, there will be seven of us. I'd be fine stuffing all the guys in the back of the truck, but alas... that's not happening (now that I think of it, did I even bring it up?) So Adam's going to drive my car in so he can bring the teens back to the house after church. He comes and leaves a little early, since he claims he actually drives the speed limit (good 17 year old). 5 minutes after he leaves, though, the phone rings. It's Adam. "I think I'm out of gas." Greeeeeat. Let the ADVENTURE continue! We rush around to get out the door with a can of gas I had in the...
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by
Chet
30. September 2009 09:01
From Isaiah 50-60
For you are aware of our many rebellious deeds,and our sins testify against us;indeed, we are aware of our rebellious deeds;we know our sins all too well.…The Lord watches and is displeased,for there is no justice.The Lord IntervenesHe sees there is no advocate;he is shocked that no one intervenes.…Foreigners will rebuild your walls;their kings will serve you.Even though I struck you down in my anger,I will restore my favor and have compassion on you.…The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me,because the Lord has chosen me.He has commissioned me to encourage the poor,to help the brokenhearted,to decree the release of captives,and the freeing of prisoners,…You will be called by a new namethat the Lord himself will give you.You will be a majestic crown in the hand of the Lord,a royal turban in the hand of your God.You will no longer be called, “Abandoned,”and your land will no longer be called “Desol...
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by
Chet
29. September 2009 17:37
This entire entry is going to be copied from a newsletter I just happened to open today. It seems so timely to my own life, to those around me, to those I'm walking through life with, that I couldn't help but copy it all down.
From the Ransomed Heart Newsletter for September, 2009:
September 2009
Dear Friends,
Just this morning Stasi and I were talking about marriages we know, and we came to a pretty sobering realization – we can’t name one marriage that hasn’t been through deep waters in the last three years. Not one. And we know a lot of people, and a lot of marriages. You’d think we’d be able to point to some couple who is trouble free. We can’t find one. Not one. Every single marriage we know is either currently struggling, or they’ve just passed through some major struggle, or they’ve thrown in the towel. What’s with that?
Is it just a bad time to be married, like the 90’s were a bad time to live in Rwanda? Is it...
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