Bobby and I are looking forward to spending this weekend with a small group of our high school students up in Bear Valley. We have planned a Friday to Sunday retreat for our leadership team who is called “Teen Ministers.” We thought it would be beneficial to have a time to study, worship, fellowship and plan for the fall. Missy will be hosting us up at her family’s cabin, Bobby will be teaching, Ty leading worship and I will be the chef on duty. I am excited for this refreshing time to getaway before all the tax work rolls in next week.

Bobby will be stirring our thoughts this weekend from 1 Corinthians 15:58

I really enjoy a song called “Marvelous” by Phil Wickham. We sang it last night, and I’ve been humming it all morning…

There is a verse that says, “From the fullness of God’s grace we have all received one blessing after another.” (John 1:16) Today I want to testify to this grace. Bobby and I have been learning that when we put our needs and requests in God’s hands, pray and obey, but don’t hold on to any part of the issue or hoped outcome, that God gives us, not necessarily what we want, but what is best. We saw this not only with our new apartment but also in the friendships and encouraging opportunities that are happening in our lives lately.

A few entries ago I wrote about the great deal of an apartment that Bobby and I found. We have been very excited about this as we were able to sign the lease to have it the beginning of October. We were not held back by the fact that our current apartment management would not let us out of our current lease early without paying the remainder of the lease, which luckily is only the month of October. This presented a slight problem in that we would have to pay the rents of both apartments in the same month. We realized it would be very tight, but might work, so we made arrangements and need to keep spending at the barest minimum this month. Monday we were the stunned recipients of a rather large check. A dear lady in our church heard of our situation with paying double rent and told Bobby that the Lord has given to her abundantly and that she wanted to share that abundance by giving to help us. We were speechless. We knew we could get by without her check, and yet, how does one refuse the grace offered to them? We should not refuse the grace offered to us, for the Lord uses others in our lives to minister in ways that He wants.

The other night one of our high school boys and his mom stopped by and gave us a little box that had the softest little stuffed animal in it and on the tag it said “For baby.” It’s a good four months before this baby comes and they were already giving us a gift! We were both touched by their sweet gesture. There is something very encouraging about having others share in our joy and excitement.

Today I received a phone call from a good friend from college. I haven’t talked to her for some time, and I was so encouraged when she called just to say, “I was thinking about you today.” Amidst all of the blessings of grace that I have been seeing in our lives I have also began to wonder if I live to be an encouragement to others. I sometimes get trapped in the schedule of the day or wanting time for myself, but I should know better.

Every good gift is from God (James 1:17) and if I am willing, He may use me to give to others. I am sometimes in awe when I think about God as the Giver and Provider. He is so beyond our greatest thoughts of Him and yet He concerns Himself with our needs and blesses us. Such divine interaction is entirely underserved. The only response that I can think of that makes sense is that of grateful worship and excitement to pass on that encouragement and blessing to others. Sometimes it’s good just to smile and say “hello” to people. Maybe it’s an e-mail or phone call to let someone know I am praying for them or thinking of them today. Maybe I could send a card in the mail or meet a friend for lunch. Or maybe I could give money, time or a listening ear to someone in need. Maybe even just by updating a blog or leaving a comment…there are many ways to encourage the people around us. Since God has given each of us so much grace, let’s not hesitate to give that grace to others.

You reach down from on high
And put joy in my life
So I’ll praise You as faithful

This weekend I’ve been thinking alot about my perspective of ministry and growth. Our church had their annual meeting at which the goals and plans are reviewed from last year and discussed for the upcoming year. I find that it is easy to switch the focus from God to man, from Scripture’s commands to what we feel we need. There is a growing temptation in the church to change the message of the Gospel to be about self-fulfillment rather than self-denial and to change the goals in the church to be more about experience rather than Truth. Yesterday I was profoundly stirred reading a prayer of a saint, written centuries ago:

Today is the first day of fall and Sunnyvale weather is happy to oblige with cool days and colder nights…even a little rain! There is a false assumption that Californians don’t experience all four seasons. I for one happily enjoy the changes in my regular Starbucks beverage from this Summer’s strawberries and cream frappuccino to Fall’s pumpkin spice latte, Winter’s peppermint mocha and Spring’s passion iced tea. Even my wardrobe changes drastically from flip-flops to closed toed shoes, short sleeves to sweaters. I even turn the heater on in my car. We may not have snow in northern California but we drive up to the mountains to enjoy it, and there are scattered trees down a main street here whose leaves change color and even fall off in the winter. California seasons are not as extreme as some places but I appreciate each of them and fall happens to be my favorite.

Yesterday we continued our discussion of the beatitudes in our high school Bible study. Last night we focused on Matthew5:4, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” I always thought this verse was talking about people who mourned the loss of a family member or loved one or sorrowed in trials and tribulations. But what I learned through this study was that to “mourn” in this verse is referring to sorrow over sin. Godly sorrow produces repentance, but worldly sorrow leads to death. Godly sorrow produces repentance which grants forgiveness and insights change. I even told my girls that “to mourn”=”to repent”=”growth.” When I weep over my sin, acknowledging that I have set myself against a holy God, bringing dishonor to His name, then I will confess sincerely and turn from this sin toward righteousness in Christ. This process is a lifestyle, not a one time deal. Every day we should be on our knees before the Lord acknowledging our sins before Him, confessing them, seeking forgiveness and taking the necessary steps toward bearing fruits of change. We will never grow if we never face our sin. A believer will mourn over sin because they see it for what it is, against God. The more broken we are over our sin, the more comfort God grants us in forgiveness, mercy and strength to change.

We talked about how it is easy to overlook some sins or dismissively call them something else such as “mistakes” or “bad habits.” Some of the excuses we make for our sins are, “I am only human”; “Nobody’s perfect”; “What I did wasn’t that bad compared to…”and “I’m working on it.” These excuses trap us into a shallow stand-still. Without forcing myself to face my sin and be rid of it, I will always stay the same, stunted in growth and unable to find fulfillment or comfort. There is no comfort where there is sin. I liked how Bobby said, “If you are living in some kind of sin, I hope that you do not feel okay with yourself. I hope that you feel terrible and broken down about it. This is what needs to happen in order to put that sin behind you and press on towards righteousness.” Our society gravitates toward a feel-good message where sin is not mentioned and the need for change minimized. We are told, “Just be yourself, and try your best, that’s all God wants from you.” We might be happy just the way that we are, but God is not. Proverbs 21:2 says, “Every way of a man is right in his own eyes; But the Lord weighs the heart.” God is perfect and cannot tolerate sin. He wants us to become more and more like His Son. The time we will probably grow the most in our walk with the Lord is during and after a time we are most broken over our sin.

Those who mourn are comforted because they are those who repent. There is great comfort and freedom in forgiveness and assurance of salvation. If we do not confess sin we will waste away under the burden of it’s weight. A great example of mourning being comforted can be found in David’s words in Psalm 32:1-5: