Ah, gorgeous evening for a family bike ride down the river. 

We took a 45-minute pit stop at some friends’ house and let our kids play (and they let us use their bathroom).  Good chatting; good laughing.

My Caden has been singing the following song all day to me – spontaneously, at different times. 

The other day when it was on in the car, he asked thoughtfully:

“So.  God goes before us and we stand behind Him?”

That’s right, Baby.  That’s right.

You hear me when I call

You are my Morning Song

Though darkness fills the night

It cannot hide the light.

Whom shall I fear?

You crush the enemy

Underneath my feet

You are my Sword and Shield

Though troubles linger still

Whom shall I fear?

I know Who goes before me

I know Who stands behind

The God of Angel Armies

Is always by my side!

The One Who reigns forever

He is a Friend of mine

The God of Angel Armies

Is always by my side!

My strength is in Your Name

For You alone can save

You will deliver me

Yours is the victory!

Whom shall I fear?

Whom shall I fear?

And nothing formed against me shall stand!

You hold the whole world in Your hands!

I’m holding onto Your Promises

You are faithful!

You are faithful!

You are faithful!

The God of Angel Armies is always by my side.

Chris Tomlin, “Whom Shall I Fear (God of Angel Armies)”

Caden and I were across the street talking with neighbors.  They are a mother/grown-daughter team.  Pretty amazing ladies.  The daughter used to work for PBS doing educational workshops in South Central Kansas.  She said she doesn’t fit the mold of a school teacher, but likes to let the kids learn using hands-on methods.

She told two stories in the time we were there that left me stunned at how much I could relate:

She has found a lovely, brightly-colored finch in her backyard tree.  She really wants to catch it and take it to Via Christi Village’s cage of beautiful birds.  She said, “Notice how he’s not sitting in among the leaves?  He’s out on the bare branches instead?  That’s because he’s used to being in a cage.  I set out a few branches on the ground, and once he feels safe enough, he will fly down and land on them.  Once he trusts me, all I have to do is hold out a perch and he’ll fly onto it.”

Later: “See how Rosie [her dog] has her ears down?  That’s when I know she’s listening to me.  When her ears go up, I know she’s listening to everything but me.  I like it when her ears are up; she looks really pretty like that.  But she’s not listening.  I want to be able to take her to school with me and work with the kids, but I have to get her to quit jumping.  Once I break her of that, she will be able to lie down among the kids and walk in between their desks calmly.”

Oh my.  Just keeps coming.  Fortunately, sweet youngest is napping and my other boy and man are out finding cap gun thingys.  Hold onto your seats.

“Come now, let us reason together,”

says the LORD,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,

they shall be white as snow;

though they are red as crimson,

they shall be like wool.

If you are willing and obedient,

you will eat the best from the land;

but if you resist and rebel,

you will be devoured by the sword.”

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

See how the faithful city

has become a harlot!

She once was full of justice;

righteousness used to dwell in her –

but now murderers!

Your silver has become dross

your choice wine is diluted with water.

Your rulers are rebels,

companions of thieves,

they all love bribes

and chase after gifts.

They do not defend the cause of the fatherless;

the widow’s case does not

come before them.

Therefore the Lord, the LORD Almighty,

the Mighty One of Israel,

declares:

“Ah, I will get relief from my foes

and avenge myself on my enemies.

I will turn my hand against you;

I will thoroughly purge away

your dross

and remove all your impurities.

I will restore your judges as in

the days of old,

your counselors as at the beginning.

Afterward you will be called

the City of Righteousness,

the Faithful City…

I will sing for the one I love

a song about his vineyard:

My loved one had a vineyard

on a fertile hillside.

He dug it up and cleared it of stones

and planted it with the choicest vines.

He built a watchtower in it

and cut out a winepress as well.

Then he looked for a crop of good grapes,

but it yielded only bad fruit.

Now you dwellers in Jerusalem

and men of Judah,

judge between me and my vineyard.

What more could have been done for my vineyard

than I have done for it?

When I looked for good grapes,

why did it yield only bad?

Now I will tell you

what I am going to do about my vineyard:

I will take away its hedge,

and it will be destroyed;

I will break down its wall,

and it will be trampled.

I will make it a wasteland,

neither pruned nor cultivated,

and briers and thorns will grow there.

I will command the clouds

not to rain on it.”

The vineyard of the LORD Almighty

is the house of Israel,

and the men of Judah

are the garden of his delight.

And he looked for justice, but

saw bloodshed;

for righteousness, but heard

cries of distress.

Isaiah 1:18-20; 5:1-7

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me and eat what is good,

and you will delight in the richest of fare.

Give ear and come to me;

listen, that you may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

my faithful love promised to David.

See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

a ruler and commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon nations you know not,

and nations you do not know will come running to you,

because of the LORD your God, the holy one of Israel,

for He has endowed you with splendor.”

Seek the LORD while He may be found;

call on Him while He is near.

Let the wicked forsake their ways

and the unrighteous their thoughts.

Let them turn to the LORD,

and He will have mercy on them,

and to our God for He will freely pardon.

“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,”

declares the LORD.

“As high as the heavens are above the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

As the rain and snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth,

so is my word that goes out of my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

You will go out with joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the fields

will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush will grow juniper,

and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD’s renown,

for an everlasting sign

that will endure forever.”

Isaiah 55

Oh my.  Very, very strongly:

“Your boasting is not good.  Don’t you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?  Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast – as you really are.  For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed.  Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth…

Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up…

Be careful, however, that the exercise of your freedom does not become a stumbling block…

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible…

So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!…

‘Everything is permissible – but not everything is beneficial.  ‘Everything is permissible’ – but not everything is constructive.  Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others…

So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.  Do not cause anyone to stumble…

Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain…

Do everything in love…”

1 Corinthians 5:6-8; 8:1b, 9; 9:19; 10:12, 23-24, 31&32a; 15:58b; 16:14

God through Paul had some things to say to me this morning.  I can either “humble myself before Him” (James4:10a) or “those who walk in pride He is able to humble.”  (Daniel 4:37b) 

You are a good Father.

If You wanna steal my show, I’ll sit back and watch You go!

If You’ve got something to say, Go on and take it away!

Need You to steal my show, can’t wait to watch You go!

So take it away!

My life
My friends
My heart
It’s all Yours, God
Take it away
My dreams
My fears
My family
My career
Take it away
Take it away
It’s all Yours, God
Take it away
Take it away
It’s You I wanna live for!

Toby Mac, “Steal My Show”

“Tracey was her parents’ second daughter and did not share in the easy intimacy that she saw existed between her father and older sister.  She was uncertain about herself, about his feelings for her. 

On a trip to a water park, she wanted to play with her dad.  She asked him to go down the slide with her in the children’s area.  He didn’t want to.  Tracey implored him to come with her.  She was afraid to go alone.  She wanted him to catch her at the bottom.  She wanted to do it together. 

He acquiesced. 

She gleefully walked with him hand in hand to the slide, and he went down first as planned.  But it was a children’s slide, not made for a grown man, and when he came to the end of it, the water was too shallow for him.  The force of his landing broke his foot. 

He was in pain and it was her fault.  That’s what her young heart believed.  What does that teach a girl about her desires, and about the effect if her life upon others…

Tracey’s father broke his foot.  She invited him into her heart’s desire, and the result was disaster. 

The message? 

‘Your desire for relationship causes pain.  You are just too much.’ 

And she has spent the last twenty years trying not to be too much, trying to minimize her desires, trying to find some way to be loved without being too much.  She has lopped off huge parts of her wonderful personality as a result.”

Captivating by John and Stasi Eldredge pages 63-64 and 68-69

“The acceptance that comes from grace removes the fear of loss of love so that we can work on our problems without the fear of isolation. No one can learn love in an atmosphere where there’s fear of abandonment. There’s way too much at stake. You need to first find a group of forgiven people. Forgiven people understand living with imperfection.

When others withdraw from us because of certain traits we have, we begin to see those as “bad” even if they’re not. For example: our needs, anger, own will, our anxiety, sadness or exhilaration.”

– Cloud and Townsend

I saw this post shared by a couple of friends on Facebook today.

Love it, love it.

Honesty.  Grace.  Amen and Amen.

http://www.stevewiens.com/2013/03/12/to-parents-of-small-children-let-me-be-the-one-who-says-it-out-loud/

I talked with a kind man this morning who has been coming to Fall Avoidance all year.  Two years ago he suffered a stroke.  It has been a long journey to regain some balance.  His reaction time?  Great.  His physical feeling of well-being?  Never a problem.

But he can barely read.

I always set out an obstacle course for them to work through on their own time after we do some group work in a circle together.  For each obstacle I put down a sign so they can read it and follow the directions on how to work on that aspect of their balance, coordination or proprioception (big word). 

This kind man will stand there and read it for a very long time.  I try not to just run up and show him what to do visually.  He likes to figure it out on his own time.  Today we were talking about the reading thing and he goes, “I have to read and re-read one word at a time.  Sometimes one letter at a time.” 

He wasn’t complaining; I brought it up.  He takes his time working slowly through every part of the full-gym course.  He is very deliberate.  I like it.  I find myself slowing my movements down when I’m around him; I’d hate for him to feel rushed or stupid.  I want him to feel welcomed and celebrated for all his hard work.

I only had a few for my second class this morning and 2 of the ladies left early.  So he stayed to help me pick up some things after we chatted.  When things were put up, he thanked me for the class. 

I said, “You’re welcome.  Have a good weekend!”

He quipped, “I guess it is Friday; when you’re retired life is 6 Saturdays then you go to church!”

I smiled, grateful he has a sense of humor and loves God.  I know God loves him.

Lots today apparently. 

I saw the word “subversion” today and immediately thought of this quote.  It’s from The 7 Experiment: Staging Your Own Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker.  And I’m pretty sure this is not going to be the only quote on here from that little adventure our small group took together!

“There was nothing physically attractive about Jesus.  He wasn’t rich or notorious, well-dressed or handsome.  At first glimpse, Jesus was forgettable, neither standing out for beauty or charisma.  Maybe this is why the widow and marginalized and sick and outcast flocked to Him.  He was approachable in every way.

Jesus didn’t garner esteem the conventional way, but make no mistake: He was noticed.  He was loved by the outsider, hated by the religious elite, revered by His followers, and killed by His enemies.  For a plain carpenter from Nazareth, Jesus sure found His way to the center ring; not through power or ruthlessness but subversion and truth.  His humility appeals to the unloveliness in us all.  We are drawn in by His simplicity, then transformed by His magnificence.

Oh sure, there will always be people who want Jesus in the Oval Office, on Primetime, across from Oprah, on the Red Carpet, spruced up by a stylist and touched up for the cameras.  They try to assign Him the power and public sway He always resisted; people want to make a star out of Jesus.  But He insisted His power was activated in the margins.  Jesus didn’t redeem the world on the throne but through the cross.

I don’t want to consume the redemption Jesus made possible then spurn the methods by which He achieved it.  Jesus’ kingdom continues in the same manner it was launched; through humility, subversion, love, sacrifice, through calling empty religion to reform and behaving like we believe the meek will indeed inherit the earth.  We cannot carry the gospel to the poor and lowly while emulating the practices of the rich and powerful.  We’ve been invited into a story that begins with humility and ends with glory; never the other way around.  Let’s align ourselves correctly, sharing in the humble ministry of Jesus, knowing one day we’ll feast at His table in splendor.”