Firehoses

Drinking fountains were a great idea. Designed with the perfect gentle stream and chilled to just the right temperature for a refreshing sip of water in just about any public place.

However, at this point in life I feel like I'm drinking from a firehose instead of a gentle fountain. With our premarital counseling well underway and school not seeming to let up any time soon, I'm a little overwhelmed by the amount of things I'm taking in. (I feel a little like Mike from "Stranger in a Strange Land"... No time to grok anything, because of the vast amount of bewildering information I'm taking in.). Anyone else feeling this way?

P.s. The Forge never ends.

Aslan

 This song has been itching my brain.  If you've read the Chronicles of Narnia, or seen the movie for that matter, then you know who Aslan is.  He represents Christ, the King of kings, who laid down his life to save his people who where without hope, destined for destruction.  This song is such a humbling reminder that we can't and don't come to God on our own terms, but he is the only one who can save our souls.  We don't manipulate God and we can't demand anything from him.  He is the Lord, God, King of the Universe, Sovereign Over All, and we are the lost and fallen wretched creatures of Eden, saved by unbelievable grace.


Aslan
by Kendall Payne

Don't stop your crying on my account
A frightening lion, no doubt
He's not safe, no he's not safe
Are you tempted now to run away?
The King above all Kings is coming down

But He won't say the words you wish that he would
Oh, he don't do the deeds you know that He could
He won't think the thoughts you think He should
But He is good, He is good

I know you're thirsty, the water is free
But I should warn you, it costs everything
Well, He's not fair, no He's not fair
When He fixes what's beyond repair
And graces everyone that don't deserve


No one knows Him whom eyes never seen
No, I don't know Him but He knows me
He knows me, He knows me

Lay down your layers, shed off your skin
But without His incision, you can't enter in
He cuts deep, yes He cuts deep
When the risk is great and the talk is cheap
But never leaves a wounded one behind


*I couldn't find a link to the actual song, but this cover isn't bad.

Planks

Aren't we all just walking around with logs in our eyes?

"Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you. Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
(Matthew 7:1-5)

Over-Spiritualizing

After thinking about yesterdays post a little, I realized that it may seem base of me to ask God to help me understand my homework.  At least, I used to think that... as if one was trying to "over-spiritualize" everything.  But I don't know that you can do that*.  In the past it was my stubbornness (aka. pride) that kept me from asking God for help.  Now I've realized that he is the God of the Universe, and if he decides it is a good thing, then he will do it.  I will not have something if I do not ask for it--so why not ask?

Jeremiah 32:27 (New International Version)

"I am the LORD, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me?"



*I will say, though, that it is easy for us to project our feelings on God, which may be seen as "over-spiritualizing" something.  For example:  "I just didn't have peace about it..."  The problem with that is that God's peace is not circumstantial.  If someone's afraid or they just don't want to do something, then they should just admit it instead of blaming God.

Mayim Hayim

There have been plenty of God sightings lately.  But not plenty of time.  Here's a couple of them.

• Wednesday, Feb. 24th -- I asked God for wisdom to understand my homework (which I was having a really hard time with)... and he gave it to me!  Which leads to the next God sighting...
• Thursday,  Feb. 25th -- Usually Thursday nights are late for me, because the homework due Friday takes a long time to complete (diagrams drawn w/ a straight edge, engineering lettering, etc).  BUT, last Thursday I was done by 4:30pm, so Nathan and I had the whole evening to spend together.  He let me choose our "adventure" and so we baked pumpkin scones!
• Friday, Feb. 26th -- I got to spend the weekend at home and refresh a little bit... baked a lot of pumpkin goodness including:  pumpkin-pecan pie, pumpkin honey-wheat bread and pumpkin apple butter... the WiFi did not work at my house, so I couldn't do homework (which was great!).

Lately, it's been "ask not, have not" and I have remembered Marty speaking to us in Israel.  He told us that God wants to flood our lives with living water, but he is a gentleman and will give us only what we ask for.  "Mayim Hayim" is hebrew for "Living Water".  Marty would say, "Mayim Hayim... how much to do you want?"

So, that's my question, as I continue to look for evidence of the God of the Universe at work.  Mayim Hayim... how much do I want?