He Knows What He's Doing

Lately, the book of the Bible that has been on my daily list to read with ladies from church (http://lincolncitychurchwomen.blogspot.com) has been Jeremiah.

Not an overly cheery book, seeing as the pages are filled with dire warnings or with ghastly word pictures of the various ways the rebellious people will die if they don't change --- all set against the backdrop of EXILE.

Exile doesn't sound like a nice place to be; it's no vacation, not a foreign exchange student plan, nor a diplomatic visit.

Yet, while reading this book, i found myself marveling in the awesomeness of the fact that it is in this very place that God is.


I'm not in exile.

And I don't know anyone personally who is.

But I also know that neither am i in a place that is completely the plan God has for me or my family.

We're not home. We're sorta in limbo (that's the place where our family hovers between Two Cities: Lincoln and Omaha).

Then i came across a very well-known verse in Jeremiah, one that is quoted alot and claimed by many.

In the midst of the peoples' exile, God says:

I know what I'm doing. I have it all planned out -- plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for (29:11 of course!)

Sometimes i catch myself thinking and feeling and even praying in a way that sounds like i don't think God knows what He's doing! Surely, i know what to do to make this exile, this situation change, right?!

Hardly. I'm SO grateful that GOD knows what HE'S doing.

And that i can call on Him, pray to Him, search for Him .. and He'll be there.

When you call on Me, when you come and pray to Me, I'll listen. When you come looking for Me, you'll find Me.

Yes, when you get serious about finding Me and want it more than anything else, I'll make sure you won't be disappointed. God's decree. (Jeremiah 29:12-14)


That's the challenge set before me:
- Get serious about finding God (not a buyer for our house, not a new house to move into)
- Want God more than anything else (not moving to Lincoln)

Because when i go looking for God, HE is what i'll find. I'm not going looking for God, hoping to find Him sitting in our new house, having coffee with a buyer for our current house.

He said He will listen. He will be there.

And where He is, there is freedom, peace, love, joy.

Grateful for Seasons

Seasons.

I love them.

And for all the reasons i sometimes think it would be cool to live in some other state than Nebraska, it's times like today, like this month and the ones on its heel that I am grateful to live here.

And so grateful to God for making seasons.

Sometimes it seems that the hot, sticky, suffocating temperatures of summer make a glaring reflection on the human lives and emotions that are sweltering under its full sun. Emotions burst the mercury on the thermostat of tolerance when presented with a particularly trying situation (misunderstandings, impatience, nit-picking, kids irritating each other) ... Tempers come up short when facing a challenging circumstance (mower breaks in 100+ temps, car's air conditioner unit breaks down in jammed evening traffic).

Summer just seems to have some of the qualifications for a pressure cooker. Hot, steamy and times of barometric pressure (at least for some. lying on a beach or poolside with no responsibilities is another wonderful story).

But Fall.

Ah, fall. Cool air that has been blown through the puffy clouds rather than a whirring air conditioner unit gently kiss your cheeks, blow your hair into a new carefree style.

Beautiful leaves wave from their precarious places in the sap-filled trees, delighting the eyes and stimulating the brain with their new splash of color.

The cool outside makes the inside feel all that much cozier.

Kids play comfortably together, sharing warmth and toys in the frosty mornings.

Lunchtime is devoured by appetites that have chased crunchy leaves for hours.

The dinner table steams with hearty dishes and heart-filled companionship of family safely home for the night.

Seasons seem to make me appreciate either what i have been blessed with (see previous) or with what i don't have at the moment (hot temps sound so good while shoveling mounds of snow).

That's why i found my heart brimming with gratefulness to God for creating and giving to us these different seasons.

Appreciation of what is in my life now.

Refreshing from what was in my life before now.

Anticipation for what is to come in my life after now.


Seasons in life.

May i learn something from each one.
And find something to enjoy in each one.

Thank You, God, for Your Season(ing)s!