A Walk Along the Coast

Crashing waves.  Lightning flashes.  Roaring thunder.

  

This morning and afternoon were filled with the beauty of the Lord's creation, unabashed and glorifying.  There is something about the beach that my spirit really connects with, or perhaps several.  

As I walked along the shore, the sand under my feet, the water spanning towards the coast of Africa, my heart was being refreshed...one beckoning wave at a time.  

I have many fond memories of my family being at the beach.  One of our favorite past-times at Fernandina Beach is the endless hours of gazing into the freshly dampened sand for shark teeth, both big and small.  I remember one specific day the tide and looking spot were perfect - a little cove was formed in the midst of the sand that was refilled with the little treasures every new wave.  My mom, sister, and I spent hours on end, bent over, in that one tiny spot.  

One other vivid memory came to mind.  During the midst of one family trip, my dad pulled the car over to a lake area where our family crawled over giant rocks searching for treasures that came as shells and unique rocks.  Needless to say rocks, seashells, and shark teeth have formed a special place  inside of my heart.

Walking along the coastline today I found beach glass, in reality being mostly beer bottles left on the shore, but having been broken and tumbled by the tide until smooth among every edge.  My mom's favorite is the minty-green colored pieces that look like old Coca-Cola bottles, which were in abundance today.  

These past few days in Tarifa, watching some kiddos with Becca, has done wonders to my heart.  The Lord knows that we need time away, to pull out of normal life, and let Him speak and work. 

Between enjoying the joy and laughter of the kids, being able to lay in bed for awhile in the morning, times of sweet worship where the Lord was so present, our big group hike along the coastline this morning, a Tex-Mex lunch, and an afternoon thunderstorm, I'm reminded even more of the Lord's blessing in my life and His constant affection.  

Finally I was reminded of one of my more emotional moments before heading over the Atlantic, having to do with a thunderstorm.  I was sitting on the long-used carpet floor of my college apartment, working on some sort of paperwork, when one of those typical Missouri storms rumbled through.  I remember crying as I thought about how Spain didn't have those.  

Of course that's kinda silly, but it was a culmination and also exhale of some of the emotions I was feeling.  Who but God would've known the irony that I would be on the Mediterranean and hear a "real" thunderstorm today? 

As the Lord let me experience the beauty and awe of His creation today, "This Is My Father's World" came to mind.  Here is a video that I hope can help you enter in as well to the greatness of our God.    

How Great is Our God

The Lord has reminded me this week that He is worthy of our praise, no matter what are circumstances or how we are feeling.

He is love.  He is just.  He is good.  He is holy.  He is God.

The Psalms are filled with references to the Lord's character.  They are also filled with the acknowledgement of human frailty.  Amidst these two vast opposites we see the call to worship.

David had to run for fear of his life and leave everything he knew, in light of a future hope that the promise of being king would indeed come true.  He wrote Psalm 63 during his stay in the wilderness, no doubt dealing with this issue of faith.

This psalm is a cry of longing for the Lord that I can only pray to experience - a realization that the Lord is the only one who can truly satisfy, protect, bring hope.

Verses three and four say, "Because Your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; in Your name I will lift up my hands."

Tonight at church I was reminded of the glory of the Lord due His name.  Maybe it was a rainy week, and maybe I didn't exactly feel the joy of His presence when I went to enter in.  You know what though?

He was there.  He is faithful and allows us to connect with Him by meeting us where we are.

The Lord was praised among the many cultures, spiritual backgrounds, ages, stories, and hearts present tonight.  He is the only way we can be unified and come before Him with our eyes toward the Savior.

And that miracle is beautiful.  

No matter where we are in a physical, spiritual, or emotional sense, may God grant us the grace to praise Him.  We have only touched the surface of the greatness of our God.

"Enter His gates with thanksgiving, and His courts with praise!  Give thanks to Him; bless His name!"  (Psalm 100:4)

Hidden Lives

There are many things in this picture that are countercultural to Spain.  Just to name a few:

-Eating on the street

-Wearing regular tennis shoes, as well as jeans with a flare

-Using a "hobo" bag

-Taking pictures of myself

Although I wasn't "fitting in" very well that morning, I kinda liked it.

  "For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come."  (Hebrews 13:14)

Obviously this verse is not speaking to walking through the streets and "looking like an outsider," but in reality that's my life.  The blond hair, blue eyes don't exactly give me the appearance of a Spaniard. Often physical realities can remind us of spiritual truths.

I am not of this world.  

I so often try to be.  I seek to fit in, to be accepted, to not be the weird one.  I pursue comfort.  

The next verse in Hebrews gives us a different perspective, in light of the fact that we do not belong here:   "Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name."  (Hebrews 13:15)

Because our identity, strength, and even home are in a different place, we can be bold for the sake of Christ. It may seem like we have a lot to lose, but in reality, there is so much to gain.  

Jesus gave up everything, even to the point of death.  

What will our lives of sacrifice look like today?  Acknowledging our faith in Christ?

Looking foolish?  Appearing like we don't have it all together?  Losing sleep?  Risking rejection?  

These can all be steps of faith, along with more than I can begin to list.  God calls each of us to something different, each day.  May we be in step with the Spirit and remember...

OUR LIVES ARE HIDDEN ON HIGH.

Answered Prayer of Communion

Last Friday I came down with a cold, and unfortunately I am not very good at being sick.  Lol.  It's more or less the same line of thoughts I have when I have to run on a treadmill or do yoga..."Just a little longer; ignore everything else"...the feeling that I'm not going to make it.  Ha

Usually when I'm sick, I have no desire to do anything, let alone open up my Bible.  That's definitely a struggle of mine.  It's hard enough for me (in my strength) to get in the Word on normal days, let alone when I feel miserable.  

Friday and Saturday fit the earlier description, but an amazing thing happened the days following: the Lord answered prayer and gave me the grace to not only be in His Word, but more consistently even, while I still had my cold.

He wants us to ask Him for more desire, and I believe He wants to give it to us.  And He does.

As I seek to pursue Jesus through this "habit" of daily Bible-reading, I need to remember that I can't do it on my own.  Even when I create a system, or accomplish what I'm going after, I can't change my heart or create longings for Him.

May my cry be one of dependency, because that is going to be when I can truly live by the Spirit.  I want to have a relationship with the Lord that involves a constant communion by the Spirit, through the Son, with the Father.

May my fight for independence and control be left at the feet of Jesus, making the way for a life of dependence on the One who has the whole world in His hands.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

I learned a very important lesson this afternoon: DO NOT CUT JALAPEÑO PEPPERS WITHOUT HAND PROTECTION.  I realize that the capital letter and bold typing may seem a little extreme, but believe me, the pain says differently.  

This afternoon I made my second round of Chicken Tortilla Soup.  Although I stole a few things from other recipes, the base recipe is Pioneer Woman's (you can find it at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2011/01/chicken-tortilla-soup/).  

Pioneer Woman comes highly recommended by Becca and Hannah; although this is the only recipe I've given a shot at thus far, I would third that.  

Anyway...since Spain doesn't have all of the same accessibility to certain ingredients, as in the US, I improvised with Fajita seasoning mix, diced tomatoes, and a small jalapeño pepper.  I also added some frozen corn and lime juice, as well as doubled the recipe.  

I love the soup!!!  It's difficult to find things with spice here is Spain, so it's a little Mexican food touch (and family favorite too) brought to my apartment here.

The downside is that I didn't ask my Mexican roommate about the secret of jalapeños before making the soup.  Shortly after cutting the tiny red pepper, the top joints of all of my fingers were on fire!!!!  For several hours, even after holding cold glasses, taking an Advil, and soaking/washing with baking soda - the burning sensation continued.  Thankfully my fingers are almost back to normality.  

So, moral of the story is this: the soup is great...but wear gloves (or at least "Protect the hands!" as my mom would say) when cutting the little ball of fire.  

The Miracle of Heart Change: Found in Service

“What, then, is service? Serving is putting the needs of others ahead of our own, or putting the needs of the community ahead of our individual needs. And the Bible says there are several reasons to do this. The first benefit is self-knowledge. Don’t think you know your real gifts and capacities until you do a lot of humble serving in many different capacities around the church. Only as you do that will you come to understand your own aptitudes.

The second benefit is community. When you approach the church as a consumer (that is, only to get your needs met), you are in a solitary mode of being, but when you reject the consumer mindset, serving will draw you out of yourself and into relationships.

The third benefit is the fulfillment and joy of seeing others touched through you, or seeing something great happen through the part you play in the body of Christ. Paradoxically, if you serve primarily for the benefits to yourself, then it isn’t really serving, and you won’t receive the benefits. The only workable dynamic for every-member ministry is Mark 10:45.  [“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”]  Because Jesus served you in such a radical way, you have a joyful need to serve. It’s a form of praise that doesn’t fully enjoy what it admires until it expresses itself in service.” (emphasis mine)

These previous words by Tim Keller seem to strike a chord of what the Lord has been doing in my heart the past couple of weeks, although I can’t fully explain it.  What I do know is there is a joy to be found in serving.  It seems he draws a neat connection between Jesus’ service to us as a motivation for us to serve.

Now, don’t get me wrong.  Every time I serve, I am not always focused on Jesus’ ultimate sacrifice for me, although it would be great if my mind went there more consistently.  Because Jesus did die for us, is constantly interceding for us, and is one of perfect service, we have more than sufficient reason to reach out and serve.  Even beyond that, He commands us to (1 Peter 4:10-11). 

Christians don’t only give when serving from the heart in love; they also receive.  There is a reserve of joy that can well up when loving others.  I think this is true because in those moments, albeit sometimes rare, we can love as we have been loved – we become more one with God, more reflective of Christ, more led by the Spirit.  When we can let go of ourselves, we are more like Jesus (Philippians 2:1-4). 

I don’t believe it’s possible to do this on our own, but God delights in loving through us, as well as loving us.  Our prayer can be that of John the Baptist: “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).  May we come to reflect more the perfect Son of God.    

My theory is this: if in our sadness, loneliness, discontentment, or complacency we can serve…the Lord can work a miracle in our hearts.  He can turn our sadness to joy, our loneliness to relationship, our discontentment to contentment, and our complacency to passion.  He wants His love to flow in and out of our hearts, and one way He accomplishes this is by serving. 

So here is my challenge to you.  If you are having a hard time, look for opportunities to serve in love.  Then, as the Lord transforms your heart and emotions, be a beacon of that change.  Instead of hiding it, share it!  Be the beautiful mess that you are – sharing the good and the bad – because He is made perfect in our weakness.  He looks good when we share how He has saved, is saving, and will save us. 

God is a God of joy who wants to put a new song in our mouth, including knowledge of His sufficiency in our need and His deep love for us that never ends. 

May Jesus, and Jesus alone, be our song.    

(This is a great psalm of praise to the Lord - one of my favorites to loudly sing!!!)