Fix You & The Cross

I wanted to post an excerpt from a series of little books “A book you’ll actually read- On The New Testament” by Mark Driscoll. It’s a little long for a post but worth the read.

As sinners, we are prone to pursue a relationship with God in one of two ways. The first is religion/spirituality and the second is the gospel. The two are antithetical in every way. Religion says that if we obey God, he will love us. The gospel says that it is because God has loved us through Jesus that we can obey. Religion says that the world is filled with good people and bad people. The gospel says that the world is filled with bad people who are either repentant or unrepentant. Religion says that you should trust in what you do as a good moral person. The gospel says you should trust in the perfectly sinless life of Jesus because he alone is the only good and truly moral person who will ever live. The goal of religion is to get from God such things as health, wealth, insight, power, and control. The goal of the gospel is not the gifts God gives, but rather God as the gift given to us by grace. Religion is about what I have to do. The gospel is about what I get to do. Religion sees hardship in life as punishment from God. The gospel sees hardship in life as sanctifying affliction that reminds us of Jesus’ sufferings and is used by God in love to make us more like Jesus. Religion is about me. The gospel is about Jesus. Religion leads to an uncertainty about my standing before God because I never know if I have done enough to please God. The gospel leads to a certainty about my standing before God because of the finished work of Jesus on my behalf on the cross. Religion ends in either pride (because I think I am better than other people) or despair (because I continually fall short of God’s commands). The gospel ends in humble and confident joy because the power of Jesus at work for me, in me, through me, and sometimes in spite of me.

Why is it cool to dance or at least jump only if your a musician or at rock concert? seriously, any thoughts?

I had to post a follow-up on Enough because last night I opened up our devotional book trying to find last night’s page but instead opened it right up to “God Is Enough” not only that but it was the from the same chapter and passage that Travis spoke on last Wed(I Sam 8). And tonight I opened up a book that I was going to start reading and the title of the chapter “Desperate for the Supernatural” caught my eye even though it was in the middle of the book. So I read that chapter and as I read she was talking about God being enough (but she didn’t say “enough”) and I know that a lot of stuff we read about God in our lives will reflect that He’s enough, but she referenced the same verse-psalm 73:25-26- that I had read in the “Lies Woman Believe…” book on that chapter about God being enough. All I can say is God is cool.

I’ve been having this theme run through my life the last month or so. When I listen to a message “God is Enough” seems to pop out as the point to me. About a month ago I heard God ask me “Am I Enough” then, “I Am Enough” so I just repeated that over and over that day–”God is Enough”
I have lived my adult life(my childhood for that matter) as though God weren’t enough, I needed nicer things, popularity, a perfect relationship with Travis EVERYday, kids that were completely obedient all the time and learned the lesson the first time, family relationships that were free from problems, and people surrounding me that were encouraging all the time - and that simply is a lie. Though none of these are really bad things and some of them are good, God didn’t promise to us ALL that we wanted. He will supply my needs. I picture someone who was in a POW camp and for them to completely survive all they need was God and the hope they had in knowing that He was there. I know people now with circumstances surrounding them that seem far worse then what I deal with on a daily basis, yet I know the answer is the same for them–God is Enough. I pray I will check myself next time I want to look to other sources to make it right.

Both my two older kids have had the privilege of being in Mrs Giddens Kindergarten class, she is such a wonderful teacher. They learned sooo much it was just amazing. Last year I started homeschooling and Austin was a 1st grader and I enthusiastically thanked Ms Giddens for teaching him to read, write, and basic math. I couldn’t imagine the pressure of teaching busy 5 year olds the most important stuff they’ll ever need, well today I can say I have the privilege of teaching Aden(5yr) how to read, write, and basic math. It is absolutely the best feeling to see him concentrate with his forehead squinched just a little to his eyes widening as he exclaims “I got it!” It’s incredible how much they grasp in a short amount of time-today he learned how to count by 2’s tomorrow it will be 5’s. I love it!

This little song is for my friend Jessica…thought she could use some humor on this.

Hope you like it Jess
Poopsmith

I have found myself this political season watching a few of the speeches and catching the headlines. Last night on Glen Beck he was frustrated that there was such a double standard between Obama and Palin. One of those was in the area of religion. Apparently, the media harped all over Palin for a comment where she stated we needed to pray for God’s will for the war and for God to direct our paths and protect our troops, but it was brushed over when Obama wrote “Protect my family and me. Forgive me my sins and help me guard against pride and despair.
Give me the wisdom to do what is right and just. And make me an instrument of your will.” And nobody seems to bat an eyelash. I found it odd. I guess when it comes to doing God’s will people must know there is meaning behind her voice, which will effect how she runs things, but its just “talk” coming from Obama–having a form of godliness but denying its power. Just some thoughts…..

We’ve had a lot of growing up in our house this past week. Ava turned 2 in March and has been professionally crawling out of her crib for 2 months now. I wasn’t quite ready to let my baby in a big girl bed, because it just would have been too big of a transition for me..urh..um..I mean her. So Travis took the front of the crib off and we placed one of those safety nets up. She can safely crawl in and out of her crib now only with the risk of correction if its bedtime. Oh and what you can’t see in that picture is that she took all of her jammies off, including diaper, and went to sleep…only a 2 year old can get away with that sort of rebellion.

So the next big change in our house has a lot to do with my friend Jessica. She bravely cut her twin 2 year old boys hair from locks of love to fros of fun (ok so they’re not fros b/c they’re really short-but it sounded good) For awhile I’ve been contemplating cutting Aden’s hair for several reasons: 1. he hates to get haircuts and moves the whole time making it difficult to cut evenly across the front and sides. 2. his hair grows fast..leaving me with the choice to either cut it or let it shag in his eyes. 3. he turned 5 this year and I felt he was in need of a big boy look (though I was not ready for him to actually be big-he’s still my baby too). So I was inspired to be brave and I’m glad I was.

Sorry about the rotated pictures.

Amy

Travis has been home a week and it feels like its been a month. Which should be a good thing, but this week we have been sick–a lot. There is some nasty bug going around our church and it seems to linger for a week or two with the same person. We’ll start to feel better and 2 days later we are sick again. I am praying we’ve seen the last of this ever!!!