Layoffs an the grace of God

Well,

We had layoffs in the past week or so at my work and it makes you really evaluate things.  Inserts some unrest into your life also.  It also makes me think about how richly the Lord has blessed me.

I have work, family, home, and many more material possessions than I need for daily living.

Still I end up anxious.  The Lord has delivered me from every difficult time and every trying situation.

He has always provided for every financial need we have ever had in our life, from medical bills to any other unexpected turn of life.

This is what has sunk into my head since the layoffs passed and I still have my job.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving bring your requests to God, and the Peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your mind in Christ Jesus.

(Philippians 4:5-7)

99...100

Well, this may not be that exciting for any of you, but Hannah just counted to 100 today for the first time.  We were driving to our firends house just a few blocks away and I had said, dont' worry we will get there before you can count to 100.  And the whole way she was trying to count that hight and Cara and I were laughing because she doesn't know the numbers that high.

So at home I asked her again later, "Can you count to 100?"

She got up to 49 and then got stuck. So I reminder her of 50 and then she got all the way to 89 with prompts only for the ten's.  Well she made it all the way to 100.  Then she went back through and  counted to 100 - counting by 10's this time.

It was pretty cool to see her make that jump.

Anyway.  Now maybe the parable of the lost sheep will mean more to her :)

Sign Posts and Fences Part A

We are sign posts for God.

Sounds simple enough, and indeed we are. Some would say we are Christ's ambassadors. That is true too. We really fall short in this way. Do you know I don't' have a phish or bumper sticker on my car, because I am afraid that the way I drive sometimes may make my sign post say "Do Not Enter"? Now I am not making excuses for the way I drive (and with two little girls and a wife I am trying to work in it :) I am trying to make the point vivid. We fail to bring people to Christ sometimes because we don't live out the gospel truth that we love to talk about. God is real. He is alive, and walking among us as his spirit dwells in our bodies.

Do you know that we grieve the spirit sometimes? I am sure I do. Like when you are watching football and your favorite team just dogs the game. It is like they didn't even show up. Yeah like that. That is how God feels about us sometimes, but over something that really matters. The Word of God says so too. Do you know that in some places the bible says that God was sorry he made us? That hurts. But I think that is today a statement as much toward the people who claim to follow him as toward the ones who outright deny him.

Lets stand up and live out the life worthy of the calling which we were given.