The Dangerous Side

For years, God has always been that loving father that kindly forgives me and loves me regardless of all the stupid things that I do, but recently I'm starting to see the many other sides of Him. Let me explain a little better...

Those of you who know me well know that I have an SUV. As the gas prices have been rising and I've been stressing, my father agreed to trade cars with me occasionally to help with costs. My dad has a nice car that is very forgiving on curves, quick to respond, and the stereo system loves me despite my constant changing of stations, switching CDs, etc.

Enter my car - an SUV that roars like a lion when it starts up, big and powerful on the road, always feels safe like a shield guarding me from all those crazy tractor trailers, takes its time responding most of the time and the CD player has the option of spitting out CDs that it doesn't like.

God is like my SUV in a way - He's powerful - so powerful, and I forget that side of Him. That dangerous side that makes Satan quiver, and demons flee. This wildness that I think I chose not to see because I am more comfortable with the loving, merciful, sensitive side.

After many years of suggestions by my guy friends, I am finally reading "Wild At Heart" by John Eldredge. I hesitated to read it I think mainly because I knew it was going to be foreign to me. While it has been covering some really insightful characteristics of men, it has mainly been showing me the other side of God, what He longs for, what He can do...

So I'm learning slowly, more and more about my Creator, and learning too, how confident I can be in Him, how safe I am in Him, how I don't need to worry because I'm on the side of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and Omega! But also, that God is not a woman....I know shock...He has this dangerous side, this wild side that is difficult for me to understand. I think this is why I get so impatient when He doesn't answer right away or when He answers in a way that I don't like...

It's slowly becoming more about understanding His many qualities and in that, growing deeper in who He is.

I still have a long way to go, but here's to taking the risk and learning more...you never know I just might learn something about men along the way as well :)

What is so good about Good Friday?

So per my Easter tradition, this morning I read the passages regarding Jesus' crucifixion. Sadly, this is one of the only times a year that I read this, and it's the most important part to my belief system. Yet, it's just too painful to read...it hurts right now thinking about it.

This man, had no flaws and no reason to die, died a horrible death. He endured the pain of having his hands nailed into wood, his feet as well, after being beaten and tortured. Who deserves to die that way? Certainly not this man...he had done nothing wrong. But He did it for the world...so that we all would have a chance, not only to see God's glory, but to know God. It wouldn't be possible without him.

I never saw my Savior's face in the flesh, but he loved me enough to die for me that day. He loves you enough now to die for you.

So back to my question, how is this "Good Friday"???

Our sins were not defeated until Jesus rose on the third day. This is the anniversary of Jesus dying. Several people have postulated that it may have originally been called "God's Friday". They link it to the changing of Old English (don't get me started on the history of the English language...) Another suggested that the real meaning of the original language might have been "Holy Friday" or "Great Friday."

Whatever the cause, I don't think it should be called "Good Friday"...if we are relating it to our sins being washed away, then why not "Great Friday"? Or why not even "Awesome Friday"?

So here's to Awesome Friday - may you truly see God in the next couple days as we prepare our hearts to celebrate the King on Sunday!

Poppyseed Faith

Over the last month or so, a couple things have changed where my faith has been challenged, majorly. The sad thing is He is challenging me with the same things again. Just when I think I have things under control, God likes to remind me that in fact, it is He that is in control....of everything....money, friendships, jobs, time...what was I thinking that I could "control" anything??

I fret and stress over whether or not God is going to "fix" things, even though He has never let me down. In fact, He usually provides more than I would ever expect or even come close to deserving.

Tonight, I took my discipleship girls to see a friend of mine in her CD Release concert. If anyone has been challenged in her faith, it has been Laura. Yet, she writes songs, and lives her life in faith now. It amazes me that here I feel like my world is crashing around me, and I don't know how God will provide, but Laura and her husband, had to deal with something even bigger, death and life.

"I would have despaired,
If I had not believed,
that you would come to me,
Great God Who Saves

In my darkest hour,
your mercy and your power,
reaching out to me,
Great God Who Saves"

(Great God Who Saves, Laura Story)

After listening to this song for a few weeks, I have realized that I don't have faith like even a mustard seed, it's more like a poppyseed. Pretty pathetic huh?

Check out Laura's stuff

You might just hear someone with more than a poppyseed faith!