The Eye Of The Storm
There’s nothing that can remind you of your weaknesses faster than a storm, literal or not. My family took a Florida vacation to Anna Maria Island. We stayed with some good friends who have been vacationing there since childhood. It was beautiful. The ocean was so calm and warm. Our kids spent hours swimming and exploring underwater with their goggles. They found lots of sand dollars, crabs, and shells. The Calm Before The Storm One evening, we were fishing off the pier in the bay, and a herd of manatees swam right up to us. Our friends said that in all the years of visiting the area, they had never seen a manatee near their home, let alone five of them. It was pretty amazing. The next day, we saw two green parrots in a tree in the front yard. Our friends insisted they were not aware that there were parrots on the island. Later that night, an entire flock flew overhead. There had to be at least ten or more parrots. It was absolutely beautiful. The adventure continued on day three, when we were swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. A light rain moved in, and the beach cleared. We stuck around and enjoyed the privacy of an empty beach. A group of us, including four adults and four teenagers were swimming when we noticed several curious dolphins moving in. They were swimming so close to us it was unbelievable. If we went underwater, we could hear the clicking of the dolphins communicating with each other. At this point, our friends said, I know you guys think this is probably typical for this area, but we have never seen anything like this. I love nature, but I also live in Illinois, so manatees, dolphins, and parrots are not part of my normal week. I was loving and appreciating this rare opportunity we were given. When I spend time in nature, I am so amazed by God. He is such an artist and an amazing designer and engineer. He thought of everything. Nature has a way of sustaining itself perfectly and it does not need our help. Spending time near the ocean is always a great reminder to me that I have not even witnessed a fraction of what God has created. The Storm Rolls In Our family vacation was amazing, until it wasn’t. The day we were scheduled to fly home, Hurricane Debby made an appearance. I have never been in a hurricane before and I don’t ever want to be in one again. While waiting for our plane to arrive at the airport, we experienced a tornado in the midst of a hurricane, as if things were not crazy enough. Our flight was canceled, leaving us stranded. Our friends were staying about 40 minutes away and were experiencing severe flooding and power outages, so going back to their house was not our best option. Due to the chaotic weather, the only flight we could get back home was 7 days later. Our dream vacation had turned south in a hurry. We decided to rent a car and drive the 18 hours home. It seemed like the only reasonable option. Keeping Faith In The Storm Driving through a hurricane is something I only want to experience once. I was trying to be the best co-pilot I could possibly be to my husband, who was white-knuckle driving our tiny rental car on a six-hour journey across the state of Florida. As we were driving off the island, I was looking around at the ocean. A few days ago, it was calm and beautiful, and today it was fierce and absolutely terrifying. I watched a large sailboat get tossed around like a toy in a bathtub. The boat was in a bay near the shore, and it looked scary. I cannot imagine being on a boat in the middle of the ocean during a storm. My mind instantly went to the Bible story in the book of Matthew. And suddenly a violent storm arose on the sea, so that the boat was being covered by the waves, but Jesus was sleeping. And his disciples went and woke him saying, “Lord, save us, we are going to die!” he said to them, “Why are you afraid, you men of little faith?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great and wonderful calm. The men wondered in amazement, saying “What kind of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” While doing discipleship last year, my partner and I got into a discussion about “fearing the Lord.” The word fear can have a negative connotation and mislead people who are trying to understand scripture. A better explanation is that we must have respect for the Lord. We must have a reverence and awe for His power. It’s similar to teaching my 15 year twins to drive a car. I don’t want them to be afraid to drive, but I do want them to have a healthy respect for the responsibility they have been given to operate a vehicle that has the potential to be very dangerous. Safety In The Storm During our trip home, I took a screenshot of the weather app. Our vehicle was represented by a blue dot that was literally moving in the eye of the storm. As we drove north, we stayed right in the center of the swirling storm. We tried to stop only to find gas station doors locked. We decided to keep moving because we did not want to lose any more time than necessary. As we drove, the lyrics to the song Eye of the Storm by Ryan Stevenson ran through my head. “In the eye of the storm. You remain in control, And in the middle of the war, You guard my soul. You alone are the anchor, When my sails are torn, Your love surrounds me In the eye of
Stuck In A Rut
Have you ever felt stuck in a rut? If you’ve had that feeling when your life has become boring, stale, and monotonous, you’re stuck in a rut. This happens when we do the same thing over and over again, which some may call a habit. In fact, the definition of a habit is an acquired behavior pattern regularly followed until it has become almost involuntary. Habits become lifestyle. Have you ever heard of the 21/90 rule as it relates to our habits? The 21/90 rule states that it takes 21 days to form a habit and 90 days to make it a permanent lifestyle change. This is a true for good habits and bad habits! Most people want to develop good habits. Habits like getting enough sleep, getting up to get to work on time, exercising and eating healthy. In March our country was locked down due to Covid-19 and life changed. There were feeling of depression, anxiety, and fear. Many of our good habits were thrown out the window and replaced by not so good habits. Some people have become stuck in a rut and are having difficulty getting back to their good habits. Can you relate? What Is Essential? May I press in a little here? Did you go to the grocery story this week? Did you go to a Big Box store (Walmart/Target/Home Depot/Menards) this week? If you answered yes to the questions above, may I ask one more? Did you connect at church this week, online or in person? Are you going to connect in a Lifegroup this fall, online or in person? Those are habits – good habits. Being with other people, safely of course, is good for your mental health. God wants you to be with people. Connecting in a Lifegroup provides the opportunity for you to connect with Godly people, which will encourage and support you. This is critical especially in challenging times. Your relationship with God IS “ESSENTIAL” You need to make sure you are in the habit of giving priority to your relationship with God. Much the same way you are in the habit of making sure you have the food and supplies you need for each week. We are honored to provide online and in person opportunities for you to connect and give that priority to God. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25) Please make your habits of connecting with other believers a lifestyle for the next 21/90 days. You won’t regret making this decision to go from habit to lifestyle.
Moments of Choice Can Change Your Course
1066AD: William the Conqueror defeats the Saxon king and the future of Britain is forever changed. 1914AD: The heir to the Austro-Hungarian Empire takes a wrong turn and WW1 becomes inevitable. 33AD: A Jewish teacher is crucified and raised from the dead so all people can be saved. There are moments in time that alter the course of history. Some are big, like the Battle of Hastings in 1066 and some are small, like a driver not knowing the town he’s driving in and turning the wrong way. Like these events, our lives are made of big and small moments, and the choices we make in those moments can lead to life-changing events. I think it’s normal to wonder what it would have been like if we’d chosen another path. I’ve had a wilder, more colorful life than my current self appreciates, and I’ve been able to chat with a couple who’ve lived a more restricted life who wonders if they’ve missed out on anything. If only we could choose our consequences in advance. If only we could know the penalty for the bad choices we are about to make. Then we could pick and choose just which things we’re willing to do and which things we aren’t willing to pay the price for. I wish I had chosen like that couple. Imagine all the pain I could have avoided! A Gift For You But, I did make some bad choices. It’s given me heartache that has been years in the healing, and that healing has only been possible with the Grace of God. Because in 33AD a Jewish man was willing to make all the right choices. Because Jesus was willing to obey His Father unto death on a cross, all my bad choices are gone. Wiped out of existence the second I turned to the Father and poured out my heart, crying for forgiveness. That doesn’t mean that the consequences of those choices don’t still exist in the real world. It isn’t like my actions didn’t affect others, I still had to manage the aftereffects. But my sin was gone. My pain was gone. I cannot be hurt by it anymore, and that is a gift I wish for all of you. If you turn to God and ask, sincerely ask, for forgiveness, it will be given to you! It is promised in the Bible: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9 (KJV) Don’t Believe The Lies Some might read this and say, but what I have done is so bad, it cannot be forgiven. It should not be forgiven. I say to you: that is a lie. Don’t believe it. Every day, choose to believe that God is good enough, that God loves you enough, that He knew you enough to make a way for you. The Bible is filled with heroes, and all of these heroes have something in common – they are sinners. Murderers, adulterers, liars who are redeemed by God and put to His work. It is only after we clear our hearts of the overwhelming burden of guilt that we can hear God calling us to His work. Put your fear of forgiveness aside. You don’t deserve it, I didn’t deserve it, but God wants us to be redeemed. He has plans for you, work for you to do, life for you to live to it’s fullest. “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.“ -Jeremiah 29:11 (NLV) Leave your pain, guilt, and sin behind. Leave the lie that you are not worth it behind. Instead, turn to the Lord and live in hope!