lots of playing, lots of smiling, and then down to the rough stuff

and now that you are enjoying the pics, on a more serious and deep note:

Will we stand with Paul? God says yes.

IRS says we owe $560 from 2005
We have run through our savings and cannot pay our mortgage anymore
We have no job prospects even though we have applied for tons of jobs
Brittan may have cancer - and we have no money to treat it
We have no health insurance - this is temporary, 3 more weeks
We ran over our minutes for Verizon…we owe $100 more this month
Our windshields are cracked – both of them
Our house is still not even close to being sold
BUT –

We have God… and He is far better than any of this.

“But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ – the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
Ph 3:7-11

“The very credentials people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash- along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privelege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant – dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ, and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ – God’s righteousness.”
Ph 3:7-9, The Message

Well, I am sure I have prayed for this to be done in my life, in fact, I know that I have prayed for a deeper understanding of what this verse looks like in my life. And, in thinking through all that has come about lately, I can’t help but think that God is teaching us about this verse, demanding that we put our money where our mouth is when it comes to faith. He wants us to own our faith, to be confident in who we believe in, regardless of the circumstances. He wants us to believe that when the world appears to come crashing down around us, we will be ok because he is our Provider and Protector. He wants us to throw away all we unnecessarily hold dear, and grab hold of him. And I must say that this week, our circumstances have been so overwhelmingly bleak that all I want is to be taken up to him, and escape, even if for just a brief moment, and be at peace.

So as Paul is speaking this to the Phillipians, I am thinking God is jealous for us, and will take things away until there is nothing left if needed, and see if we will say the same thing. And how timely the situation with Drew, and how sad Adam is for his loss of faith. Coincidence? Never – not with God. He wants us to see – we don’t need to trust in our own capabilities, our plans, our stuff, our insurance policies, our education, our bank account, our common sense …He is ALL we need. And faith is our greatest asset right now. And He wants to make sure we see that, plain as day. So – I will declare that God has a plan for us, He is all we need, He will open the doors needed, and that He loves us so much, so we need not worry about anything. Simple, right?

I think it is a slap in his face when we complain and feel sorry for ourselves, because he has given us so much, and when some worldy strife comes, we grumble. How selfish. But, we are working through this. We are holding onto our faith. We are praising God in the midst of all this. But it is difficult, and not always pretty. I hope we are growing, and that God strengthens us through this, and even in the middle of all this people may see a difference in our characters. I know I do, and He does. Praise God.