100 Things I'm Thankful For Today

These curious days have given new realizations of how kind God has been to us in the past, how kind He is to us now, and how kind He will be to us in the future.



Today, I'm thankful for:

1. The privilege of decades spent gathering together with other believers for Bible study, worship, preaching, and prayer.
2. Delivery people
3. Another 60 degree April day
4. Bread only requires 3 main ingredients to bake
5. Grocery store stockers, clerks, and management
6. The medical training that has equipped people to understand much about how the human body works
7. God put an atmosphere around Earth. That is so amazing, when you take a look at the rest of our solar system...
8. 4 boys, all playing happily (for certain periods of time)
9. Isaiah 41:10
10. Cinnamon rolls
11. Tree trimming before the tree fell down
12. Podcasts
13. Hand soap. (And an easy improvisation when none was available at the store...) 
14. The IT department
15. Our house and yard
16. The postal service
17. Chemotherapy
18. Waste management systems
19. Flushing toilets (whether or not you have toilet paper, this is a big win)
20. The Bible in my own language
21. Kind friends
22. 3-day weekends
23. Vegetable seeds
24. A cloud of witnesses, all bearing truth to God's faithfulness to His promises and urging us to walk in a manner worthy of the gospel
25. Strollers
26. Cell phones
27. Marco Polo
28. Zoom
29. Google Hangouts
30. Knowing how to type on a keyboard
31. Crews that fill potholes
32. A solid roof
33. Online giving
34. A working microwave
35. A working oven
36. A working refrigerator
37. A working freezer and a working chest freezer
38. A working washer
39. A working dryer
40. A working bread machine
41. A working blender
42. Online piano lessons
43. My camera, which takes pictures even though my phone doesn't
44. A very comfortable mattress
45. No back pain
46. No headache
47. No food pain
48. No abdominal pain
49. No nausea
50. No coughing
51. No fever
52. No broken bones
53. Homemade syrup
54. Knowing that people are praying for us and care for us even though we can't see them in person
55. The library system
56. Possibly being able to get new books from the library
57. Pharmacies and pharmacists
58. A vacuum
59. Brown sugar. You can do so many wonderful things with brown sugar...
60. Heart-stirring music
61. Romans 8
62. The promise of resurrected bodies one day
63. The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment
64. Chicken marinades
65. Pastor Jason's Kids Corner and Don't Lose Heart sessions
66. Our garage
67. That He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?
68. The opportunity to pray for hurting people and places even on the other side of the world
69. All the epistles that Paul wrote from prison
70. Our very fun egg drop
71. Our small group
72. Our extended family
73. Our church
74. Our co-workers
75. Our neighbors, whom we have gotten to connect with a little bit more in this season
76. Safe streets to walk
77. The new heavens and the new earth, where we will dwell with God forever, if we are part of His people
78. Repentance and forgiveness for sin, because Jesus already paid for it
79. Fresh enabling to walk in God's ways, because He has put His own Spirit within us to give us new desires and new capacity for growth in Christ-likeness
80. Faithful is He who calls you, and He will also bring it to pass
81. The mind's ability to learn new things
82. People who are good at fixing things
83. Fresh fruit and vegetables
84. Canned fruit and vegetables
85. Long shelf-life foods like flour, rice, and oats
86. Butter. Butter can make at least as many delicious things as brown sugar, maybe more, and when combined with brown sugar, it is very wonderful.
87. Siblings
88. All the #JesusChangedMyLife videos
89. Charles Simeon Trust workshops
90. Green growing things
91. Lilacs
92. All the boys' clothes that don't have holes in them
93. Kleenex
94. Glasses
95. Family pictures
96. Being able to remember things (sometimes)
97. Excellent literature
98. Food blogs
99. The rhythm of work and rest that God built into the world
100. Jesus lived a perfect life; He willingly died on the cross, not for anything wrong that He did but in order to pay the price for our sin. He was buried. They sealed the tomb, but they could not hold Him. He is risen!

Sleep Deprivation, Strongholds, and Radical Spiritual Victory

I am all too aware of what horrible outbursts of flesh and sin are typical of the morning-after-a-terrible-night-of-sleep.

I don't need to reach far into the recesses of memory to see the snappish temper, the inward, sulky heart, impatience with others' childish demands, and a general sense of wounded entitlement, all nurtured within a bleary sense that I would be so much better if only so-and-so had not awakened me every 2 hours or such-and-such had not needed to feed so often.

Groaning, I squint at the digital clock face that demands I arise from bed, whatever kind of train wreck I may feel. I am like a ticking timebomb of discontentment, probably moments away from bursting in someone's face.

But of course, this general sense that the world is gloomy and there is no redemption for the  crumminess of life on such a tired morning is just one of the enemy's ploys.

Doubtless, he intends to triumph over us without even a struggle, if he can just start us off in despair and lead us gently into a day full of frustration, self-pity, and irritability.

What other darts does he employ? Of course, our cross temper typically multiplies into poor attitudes for all the little people around us. This can easily mushroom into angry outbursts (defended as "discipline") and all its ugly fallout.

Generally, he also sows thick seeds of bitterness toward one's spouse, who (regardless of how good or bad his own night of sleep may have been) cannot appreciate the full pain that one is laboring under at the start of this day.

Knowing (as we do) that God is sovereign in all the smallest details of life, we generally hold a grudge against Him for this tortuous entry into a day and the crud that continues to unfold in it, as the cherry on top of our enemy's tactics.

"We are not ignorant of his schemes" (2 Corinthians 2:11). So what does it look and feel like to face up to the enemy and walk in faith and grace in a morning such as this?

It probably doesn't feel very radical and victorious. It feels more like dying a hundred deaths before breakfast. "For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh" (2 Corinthians 10:3). Most of this war starts in the brain.

God is for me. He has tailor-made graces for the needs of this morning.

These little need-vessels (my children) are a gift.

The sin troubles of their own little hearts mirror my own, and the sacrifice of Jesus has made a way for us to find pardon and help.

There are reasons to laugh even when I'm blitzed.

No agenda for this day is more important than listening for God's quiet voice and receiving and reflecting His love.

Even if I don't check much off my to-do list today, it will be a day that honors God if I walk in Spirit-given kindness toward those around me.

I don't need an extra 15 minutes of sleep as much as I need a few minutes for God's truth to wash over my mind.

My husband is on my team (even if he looks perky and refreshed). He might even pray for me if I ask him.

There is not more joy in sleep than joy in Jesus. And by Jesus' grace, I will indeed (most likely) sleep again one day.


To us, these quiet shifts of heart are pretty insignificant and unimpressive. But I would not be surprised if such is the stuff of "divine [power] for the destruction of fortresses" (2 Corinthians 10:4). Radical Christianity is seen when faith in Jesus triumphs in a sleep deprived morning.

Stomach Flu

We had just arrived at Como Zoo to meet some friends when Victor said his tummy hurt.

Go potty. Walk a little. Sit on a bench. He would crouch down between exhibits. Not good.

But he rallied after some pretzels, ate a decent lunch, said his tummy was feeling better, went potty again, and came home for a nap.

At 3:30, he came out (with vomit dripping down an arm and leg) and let us know he had spit up.

Oh, Stomach Flu. You are such a never-welcome guest here.

3:30pm.
4:30pm.
6:00pm.
7:15pm.
9:00pm.
11:00pm.
11:53pm.
12:55am.

Then Josiah started.

2:00am.
3:15am.
3:55am.
4:38am.
5:36am.
8:01am.
9:40am.

I'm just not sure how many loads of laundry we ran in the past 24 hours. (Josiah, in particular, is not a particularly good aim.)

I have a pretty good idea how much sleep I got, but I don't want to dwell on it.

The harbinger cough. The call. The retching, even after the belly is empty. Oh, you are a terrible thing. A picture of our awful Fall.

But on the other hand.

How thankful I am for a washer and dryer, so easily available.

I'm so glad neither of the boys got terribly dehydrated.

Only 10 hours apiece. Really not so bad.

Elliot has been spared, thus far.

Ben was able to help with a fair bit of it all.

We still have a few days before welcoming family and friends here for Easter.

I had a mental flash, sometime in the night, of the scourge of ebola that loomed so large a while ago. I could imagine the horrific dread that must have fallen on mommas and caregivers with the first signs of sickness. In comparison, o Stomach Flu, I could indeed nearly call you a friend.

And this week of all weeks, we remember our great Hero, who stepped into our Fall-tainted world and wore a flesh that was susceptible to the flu bug, the bite of a thorn, the explosion of pain that a nail could produce.

Victor over sin and death. Firstborn from the grave. Promise of coming joy. Thank You.

100 Things I'm Thankful for in Our First 100 Months

100. When you send me to a coffee shop on Saturday morning to read my Bible and pray
99. Your accents
98. How you make me not self-conscious in group settings
97. Your pillow fights with the boys
96. Pizza night on Saturdays
95. When you hold the boys and sing with fervor during worship
94. Your cute smile
93. Shoulder massages
92. Our trip to Duluth for your birthday, about 6 months after we got married, when I got really mad at you for buying a huge specialty coffee
91. Chipotle burrito bowls with a tortilla on the side
90. Really good root beer
89. Family movie nights with popcorn (and Mighty Machines)
88. Praying for the "help-you cars" when we hear a siren
87. Our wedding verses: Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who called you, and He will surely do it. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (half ESV, half NASB... half for you, half for me :) )
86. Early mornings setting up for worship at the South Site
85. When our car got towed at 4am one snowy Sunday morning. And it had the South sermon tape in it and the bulletins and everything that we needed for the worship service that morning! And your dad came and took me to the impound lot at 6am to get it, and God worked it out so everything was fine for church.
84. Your working in the South nursery every Sunday, back then
83. Watching Napoleon Dynamite at the Heinrichs with the South staff
82. Going to Cape Town with you for the Lausanne Conference over our 2nd wedding anniversary
81. How you love to travel
80. How you have been content to stay here with me so long
79. How you love to dream about traveling to bless and encourage our missionaries
78. How you always get excited to hear from our missionaries and still tell me we might go overseas someday
77. How you care about me and want to be sure I'm okay
76. How you and Aaron Davitch were hilarious together in the office
75. Early morning prayer meetings
74. You surprised me by arranging for me to go horseback riding on my birthday.
73. You persevered and finished your elementary ed degree.
72. When you made me white chocolate covered strawberries for Valentine's Day
71. Watching the entire Lord of the Rings series at the 501 Building
70. Going back to the Williams' cabin for our first anniversary
69. Running the Indi Mini together with Lori and my dad
68. Your tenderness to me in the hospital after Victor was born and I was so weak and sore and he was in NICU
67. How you always get excited to go to a wedding with me (free date!) and then you tell me that our wedding is still your favorite
66. Dinners at the Livingstons
65. You like my haircuts.
64. Family hikes at Lebanon Hills
63. Pray and Plans for our fam
62. When the pipes burst at the cabin where we were having a weekend getaway
61. Your vastly overspending "the underwear budget" to get me special things
60. Our date at the Melting Pot a week before Josiah was born
59. Your little black Geo
58. How you heard God's prompting to apply for BCS. Even though it was past the deadline and you were getting ready to start student teaching.
57. When you transitioned from being Logistics Coordinator to South Youth guy. (And we got to sleep in on Sundays and get home from church way before 3:30pm!)
56. Our first apartment at 3416 Portland Ave.
55. Having Char over for supper at our first apartment, and she drove that cute little green Bug and was such a blessing to us.
54. All Night of Prayers
53. How you love going to Iowa
52. Watching the BBC version of Persuasion with you. And how you like it too.
51. Your men's group and the way you prayed for those guys and loved them and were spurred on by them.
50. You're such a goofball.
49. How you love your mom. And my mom.
48. How you love your dad. And my dad.
47. How you respect and honor our pastors and elders at church
46. You accept even my most broken parts.
45. You're Positivity, Adaptability, Belief, Woo, and ??
44. I'm Responsibility, Harmony, Belief, Connectedness, and Input.
43. You loved that roasted chicken at Grizzlies up north.
42. How you jumped in as the Jr High guy Downtown, and how you just loved being with those kids and they loved being with you.
41. Walking around the lake with you
40. Sharing a decaf peppermint white chocolate mocha (my favorite) and looking at baby names in Barnes & Noble
39. Serving in the prayer room at DG Conferences together.
38. Going house hunting with you
37. Family dates at Costco with a huge pepperoni pizza and free samples
36. Squeezing 50 people into our basement apartment for a Christmas open house
35. How the boys get super happy when you come home from work
34. Celebrating Christmas with all the Kattersons when your mom and Jon came to town
33.The Fighter Verse skit when we were an elderly married couple...
32. Sitting side by side on the couch, even if we are just working on our own computers
31. When you bring me things you pick up for free somewhere and you know that it makes me so much happier than when you spend money on me
30. You don't mind when I put my cold feet on your warm legs.
29. Surprising you with all the boys when you are studying at Dunn Bros
28. How you are teaching our boys to take special care for ladies, like their Momma
27. When you like the food I cook
26. When you and the boys wash the dishes for me after supper
25. You encourage me and make it possible for me to use my gifts at church
24. You work hard to keep your priorities in order, even when lots of "good activities" could crowd out family time or such
23. You value my input and opinions
22.  Hearing you read books to the boys
21. Getting to know your friends as I got to know you
20. Hiking at Taylors Falls on a weekend away
19. When we took all 3 boys to Stillwater and went for a walk across the bridge, and halfway through a truck gunned its engine next to us and freaked out all 3 of them into hysterics
18. Family ice cream outings
17. Cheesecake Factory dates
16. You didn't get frustrated at me, walking the path of miscarriage and the emotional toll that took
15. Cozying up next to you on the couch to hear updates about your day after the boys are in bed
14. When you decided to get up earlier in the morning so that you'd have more time with God
13. When you decided to make yourself a schedule (even though you dislike them) so that you would be able to be intentional and purposeful in your use of time
12. How you love sharing with others
11. You want to keep pushing toward greater generosity in our lives
10. How you love to read Scripture on Sundays
9. Going to pre-service prayer with you
8. You want the gospel to shape our home in every way possible
7. When you make me a cup of coffee with cream and sugar, just how I like it
6. When you fold the laundry for me and put it away just to surprise me
5. You don't mind that I keep a "low maintenance" kind of look (i.e. mostly never wear make-up).
4. Watching Fixer Upper with you
3. You love connecting with people across the whole spectrum of ages and stages of life. I love that you want to reach out to the elderly and you relate to young people. There pretty much isn't anybody you don't want to connect with.
2. You take care not to embarrass me in public.
1. I just love being your partner in this life... caring for our boys, ministry to Jr Highers, tending to our home, sharing our families, reaching out to neighbors, finishing studies. These are days full of glorious, mundane, many-colored mercies, and I am so thankful for being next to you in the middle of them.

It's been a wonderful 100 months. And like always, with Jesus, the best is yet to come.

I love you.

So Thankful

Feeling so amazed by God's kindness this week...

Thankful moments for: 

The first snow 

(enough for a snowman and some fabulous all-family sledding!)

A fun, creative, sacrificial hubby 

who is a great lover of children (our own and others')

Special times with our extended family

An unexpected delightful "exploration walk" finding hidden Blue Oxen at Lebanon Hills

And, not pictured:

Cinnamon rolls, spontaneous family photos, a "Black Friday" outing to Menards, Grammy and Grandad coming to visit, chubby baby knuckles, and 5 days in a row with Daddy at home.

There are so many moments of grace each day. 

But beyond all those, I am so grateful for a grace that fills all those other kinds of moments as well. I took the boys to their first funeral this week--for a tiny baby, who lived just a bit over one hour. 

Deep loss like that, plus the daily rhythms of inconvenience, frustration, sorrow, and testing, finds its meaning in the universe-shifting gift of Jesus. What a Savior, who knows our sorrows, carries our burdens, was crushed for our sins, and rose triumphant to forge our open access to God! 

Happy Thanksgiving!

How Sweet It Is

These are a few of my favorite things, from this week:

Two-hander baby thighs (why yes, our 6-month-old is half as heavy as our almost-5-year-old...) and a clean bill of health from the doctor

Dinner, when Josiah says, "You did a good job cooking supper, Momma!"

Family hikes at Lebanon Hills

Josiah's kung fu

Victor's holding my hand, without my asking

Elliot sleeping from 7:15pm to 5am

Two friends who (after a long, long season of miscarriage and infertility struggles) are expecting first babies!

House hunting (like a date! with potential homes! up North!) ... with all the surprises ... the good, the bad, and the ugly

2 Corinthians 9:8 (And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed) and our church's new ministry vision Fill These Cities

Victor, coloring a picture for his friend

Beautiful trees

Friends coming to visit

Ah, a very full and sweet week. With all this and many other unstated struggles, challenges, conflicts, perplexities, and joys.

Wuv, Twue Wuv

Thought for today:

She may say, "I used to be so energetic, but all these people take, take, take from me and now I have no time to just be me!" And the world gathers around and comforts her and says she needs some time to follow her dreams.

But the Christian woman needs to see, "I used to be so boring! Now my character has some depth, some people to love, some hardships to bear. Now I have some material to work with." (Loving the Little Years, Jankovic, p. 61)

In anticipation of Valentine's Day, how thankful I am for the noise, the mess, the unrelenting needs, the general challenge and gift it is to have people in my life (in fact, in my very home), who are precious instruments of grace and growth to me.

Announcements, announcements

The Katterson boys wanted to share some news.

Praising God for another precious gift, joining the Katterson family (Lord willing) in April 2016.

Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning (Ps. 30:5).

Happy birthday, Mom!

To a Mom who has always poured out for others (and mostly us girls!), may the Living Water fill you up fresh for a new year of life! You are an amazing mom and wife and follower of Jesus.

We love you!

DAD:

Always there.

Laughing. Over your forgotten name stories. April Fool's pranks. Family classics. "Don't worry, we're laughing at you, not with you." Til the milk squirts out our noses.

Supporting. On the best and worst days. With time for a cup of coffee, a card, an ear to hear, a hug. You are an oak against whom we all lean.

Helping. Available 24/7. Ready with a fresh tank of gas, tax advice, relationship wisdom, a paint brush. [Banger and twister not included.]

Present. For the basketball practice, track meet, recitals. For ER visits and new babies. For Sunday morning runs and Monday night Bible study.

[You think he's gone? He's never gone.]

You reflect God, who is always there. Thanks.

MOM:

Always giving.

Time. Making homemade bread. The Christmas chain. Saturday waffles and pizza. Good News Clubs and hospital visits. Always time for grandchildren. Costly time, freely given.

Thought. Personal love, making note of preferences. Skim milk and whole. Our own little section of homemade pizza toppings.

Prayer. When you cannot fix it, you pray. Heaven alone will show the mountains that have been moved.

Love. You have never stopped pouring love into our lives, pressed down, shaken together, running over. We have been deeply shaped by your love.

You reflect God, who is always giving. Thanks.

Let Me Count the Ways

Graces in the midst of sorrow.

1. Sweet sisters to walk through the pain with. Not just rhetorically, but really. Friends who have walked this road before. My sister Betsy found out she was miscarrying on the same day, baby due within days of ours. It was not better, having that loss on top of our own. But it was so clearly not accidental. Not random. God at work, doing something behind the scenes that we will see in clarity one day.
2. Parents who do not wait to be asked to help. They drove 3/4 of the way back to MN with me so that I wouldn't have to make the drive with the boys on my own.
3. Prayers of many, many people. This is a lifeline.
4. Encouragement that sharing our pain blessed others. This was my prayer.
5. Victor, on Sunday driving home from a little family Father's Day outing to Stillwater, asks from his seat in the van, "When do you think we'll have another little baby?"
   Quiet pause.
   I said, "I don't know, honey. I don't know when God will give us another little baby. Do you think we should pray that He would give us another little baby in our family?"
   "Yes," Victor says.
   Then he says, "I want to pray now."
   So we did.
   It was balm to my heart
6. My mother-in-law sent us an email, praying that Psalm 30 would be a comfort to us. It has been a psalm to study the past several days, and meant so much, coming from her.
7. Friends willing to watch the boys or bring a meal or invite us over when I'm not really lively company. Ben willing to put aside his plans when I was too weak to do what I normally do. Burden bearers.

5 Minutes of Thanks

How kind You are...

Thank You for

• A cozy night on the couch with my hubby.
• New mercies every morning.
• Thanksgiving dinner with Grandma Vaupel, cousins, aunts, and uncles, and 8 children age 4 and under.
• Two little cutie-pies who are both asleep.
• Nebulizers and humidifiers.
• Grace that is greater than all my sin.

On Snow: A Letter to My Boys

Dear Victor and Josiah,

I had to stay  home from cousin Caleb's 1st birthday party today because I'm a little sick. I missed you and I missed sharing that celebration (albeit the birthday boy had such a good snooze that he slept through your whole time there!).

But now that you're home again, having your own snoozes, I just wanted to say that God has been so good to us. It snowed this week--a little early (in my book), but you didn't mind! I am convicted by your enthusiasm for shoveling, Victor, and how happily you receive pretty much anything that comes to you, Josiah.

Contentment is a lesson, so says Paul, and it's important for your whole life. More than circumstances, your attitude will shape the measure of your joy. And Paul said the secret to contentment is Jesus.

Do we see the snow as a gift from God, part of His good plan for our day? Do we look for ways to enjoy it, marvel at its beauty, industriously tackle the work it brings, and delight in its fun? Or do we just groan in bed, thinking about the mess, the traffic, the cold, the piles of outerwear required to do anything, and the onslaught of flu season? I confess to the temptation of the latter.

Oh my sons, I pray that we will be a home that sees God behind every snowflake and water drop and that we will receive with happy, open hands what He sees good to give us.

I love you,
Mom

A Poem for 6 Years With You

Dear Benjamin, This is for you.

Who would have guessed, six years ago, that we'd be here?
Together, closer than before, and with more of our sin scrubbed off.
It leaves the skin raw sometimes, the exfoliating strength
Of life together.

I still love snuggling next to you on the sofa,
Draping my legs over yours like an ottoman.
You support me. You brace me. You hold me up.

Laptop by laptop, we share an evening.
Emails, reading reviews, a load of laundry keep us company.
Blocks strewn across the floor, cheese caked onto forks in the sink,
The dryer door hangs open from digging for a sleeper.

Two little people snooze in two little cribs. Arms flung wide,
Embracing sleep, mouths agape. And I marvel,
Are these sweet little boys really ours?
Precious round fingers, chubby arms,
Rosy lips, silky soft skin.

And then first one, then the other
Wake and cry
For a back rub, a potty break, an ear ache,
A kleenex, a meal, a bad dream.

Each day, each year, God carves
Through sleepless nights, conflicts, stomach flu,
Homework and meetings, your quirks and mine,
Our disfunctions and our strengths.
Six years of memories, splinters and curls, 
And slowly we find that our edges are softer,
Our arms twined tighter,
And the image of Jesus with His bride,
Maybe clearer now.

I love you.

A Decade

Celebrated my 10-year anniversary working at Bethlehem today.

My goodness.

Ten years ago, freshly graduated from college, I was elated to get the message on my answering machine asking if I'd be interested in a part-time job.

Ten years. Seven bosses (give or take). Three campuses. A husband and two boys.

And more gifts of grace than I can count, traced back through this work.

So thankful.

Answered and Unanswered Prayers

I feel very thankful this morning for some small but very tangible mercies that I’ve seen in the past couple days:

• My husband Ben is taking classes for his teaching degree. He has class on Thursdays (and is not a skipper), but next Thursday we are hoping to have an open house to celebrate Christmas, see some friends, and hopefully reach out to our neighbors. I figured he would just get there barely in time for the start—but he came home from class yesterday and said the professor told them they don’t need to come to class next week!

• Per the last note, we have school to pay for and are trying to save pennies here and there. So last night I was making muffins from scratch. I was working fast, and without looking closely at the recipe, and alas-- I added three times as much baking soda as I was supposed to. I had already put in a couple more ingredients by the time I noticed, so there wasn’t much I could do but scoop out some white powdered stuff and hope the mis-measurement wouldn’t ruin the batch. I stuck them in the oven and prayed (like my friend Grace always says) to the Great Chef, the One who made the very properties that cause leavening to expand in baked things… and asked that He would just touch those little muffins and make them okay. And Ben commented twice about how good they were when we had them for supper.

I look back at those vignettes and nearly feel silly for how trivial they seem. Why should anyone even care?

Here are two reflections, and perhaps others will contribute others:

1) What are the things that most frequently break my sense of peace, prompt me to turn sour and frustrated, strain my ability to commit my way to the Lord?

Not generally calamities, but irritations. My life has been mostly free of tragedy and horror—but it is continually broken by a series of interruptions, errors, and inconveniences, insignificant and menial in themselves, but often forceful enough in their impact to disrupt my heart.

Would I not, then, expect that the realm in which God is pleased to work would extend to fully encompass these kinds of irritants? And—if that is the case, and it surely is—does it not honor Him and strengthen my “faith muscles” when I learn and learn again to turn those slight things over to His care quickly, immediately instead of worrying them like a bone and snapping at anyone who crosses my path in the process?

Lord, let me learn (and remember)!

2) What about the times when I pray… and Ben gets home late and/or the whole recipe flops and gets dumped in the trashcan? (Both experiences I have had.)

Here, I believe, is when I often turn functionally atheist. I respond to the human factors with selfishness, frustration, and (under it all) a fundamental faithlessness that God is the same good God as when the muffins turn out beautifully.

The same inclination that feels embarrassed even to put in writing those two minor answers to prayer above—this same inclination drives me to utterly disregard me deeply-held conviction that God rules all things, answers all prayers, and always “causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose” (Rom. 8:28… that most quoted, most loved, and most hated verse, but that’s for another post).

But isn’t this the seed-form of the greatest crises of faith we are ever likely to have?

Stated in curtest form, I reject the stated truth of God’s nature, character, and ways and bow to the god of emotion, empirical evidence, and personal perception.

Perhaps these moments are really God’s gift to us of small, simple “training wheel” lessons of faith: “the conviction of things hoped for and the conviction of things not seen” (Heb. 11:1).

And I am convinced that His desire is to honor the trust of the one who clings to the promise in the stupid moments of irritation, interruption, and seemingly insignificant disappointment.

“And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him” (Heb. 11:5).

“The eyes of the LORD move to and fro throughout the earth, that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His” (2 Chron. 16:9a).

Lord, You’re faithful. Always faithful. Please let me trust You more fully, less dependent on emotion and circumstance. And thank You for the countless times You bend low to bless and smooth the way for this weak heart.

Thanksgiving 2009

I will bless the LORD at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried.

He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest… to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

As high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His steadfast love towards those who fear Him.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.

He has satisfied the thirsty soul, and the hungry soul He has filled with what is good.

Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights.

He has made everything beautiful in its time.

The earth has yielded its produce; God, our God, blesses us;

God blesses us, that all the ends of the earth may fear Him.

The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve and strips the forests bare.…

In His temple, everything says, “Glory!”

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end.

They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.

Trust in Him at all times, O people. Pour out your heart before Him.

I sought the LORD, and He answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

If anyone sins, we have an Advocate…, Jesus Christ the righteous.

And He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Though your sins are as scarlet, they will be white as snow;

Though they are red like crimson, they will be like wool.

Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy,

To the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord,

Be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.

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Ps 34:1 (ESV)

Ps 103:1-2 (ESV)

1 Jn 2:1

Is 1:18

Jude 24-25

Praise Builder

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Praise-Builder

Do you ever use form prayers? Consider this exercise in building prayers of praise that we talked about in this week’s staff meeting.

“O (name of God) I will (verb) You for Your (attribute of God) and because You (act of God)."

Shepherd	worship	compassion	pardon all our iniquities
King	praise	lovingkindness	heal all our diseases
Savior	sing to	patience	redeem our life from the pit
Righteous Judge	bow before	righteousness	crown us with steadfast love and mercy
Master	adore	justice	satisfy us with good so that our youth is renewed like the eagle’s
Keeper	exult in	comfort	redeem the life of Your servant
Hiding place	exalt	holiness	are slow to anger
Redeemer	delight in	trustworthiness	do not deal with us according to our sins
Advocate	magnify	sovereignty	know our frame and are mindful that we are but dust
Mediator	bless	graciousness	work righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed
Lord of lords	shout to	kindness	have removed our iniquities from us as far as the east is from the west
Messiah	remember	omniscience	knit me together in my mother’s womb
Comforter	proclaim	might	do not crush the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick
Creator	extol	orderliness	were pierced for our transgressions
Warrior	give thanks to	authority	have done wonderful things
Consuming Fire	exclaim	unchanging nature	are able to make all grace abound, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, we may have an abundance for every good deed
Jesus	cry to	forgiveness	care for me
Holy One	declare to	majesty	will dwell with us, and we shall be Your people
Bridegroom	speak of	generosity	give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost
Refuge	meditate on	happiness	raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the ages to come You might show the surpassing riches of Your grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus

What combination most stirs your spirit?