Throughout the OT God's people built memorials, "Ebenezers," at critical points in their history to remember God's faithfulness. Times of testing, trials, or success-generated apathy were bound to set in and they needed to cultivate spiritual memory in order to combat those times faithfully.
Here are a couple Ebenezers for me this week:
1. Davis started swim lessons this week. In the grand scheme of things, not a big deal: just five days, 6:30-7:00 each day. But six years from now when my life chiefly consists of running our three children to and fro soccer/field hockey/macrame/equestrian/ballet/violin/tuba/chess club/future ______ of America/young flat-earth-society/ping-pong practices, I want to remember that it all started in July, 2007.
2. My fiscal year with InterVarsity wrapped up this week. One of the challenges and stresses of this past year has been that for the first time my fundraising has not come in as it has in the past. And so I approached June with much prayer and much dread.
Incredibly, the Lord answered my weak, generally faithless prayers through generous individuals and church communities. I raised over $14,000 in June. My previous biggest month this year was just over $5,000. It's an indicator of how much behind I was that this helped me to finish this year well but didn't necessarily solve all of my funding issues. However, that $14,000 is God saying to me: "I know. I love you. I've got you where I want you. Relax."
That's worthy of an Ebenezer.
Showing posts with label ebenezers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ebenezers. Show all posts
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Monday, February 26, 2007
33's Ebenezer
Yesterday, I turned 33. A rather un-remarkable birthday in the grand scheme of things, but it birthdays are always good times to pause and reflect on things.
In the Psalms, David is always remembering God's previous faithfulness when he's doubting the current circumstance. Throughout the OT, they build piles of rocks as memorials, ebenezers, of God's faithfulness. I find that I do a poor job cultivating my spiritual memory, so birthdays are good to force me to do so.
*At eight and a half years, I'm delighted to say that marriage is both the best and the hardest thing I've ever done. There have been multiple points, particularly early on, when I could only say that it was the hardest. But the Lord has done a remarkable work in our marriage to make it a safe, growing, wonderful space. The Lord has done this as we've persevered. It's a great thing.
*I love my 2.3 kids. Davis and Zoe and the one on the way increasingly command more and more of my heart affection. Being a dad has been challenging to my patience and my high-sleep needs, but I delight in my kids, and I continue to discover the joy of fatherhood.
*My work at points in the past six months has been about as hard as any time in my eleven years in campus ministry. We're not entirely out of the woods yet, but there's a sense that the fog is lifting and good things are happening again. Overall, I continue to take great joy in my work and the people that I get to work with.
*I've got a handful of life-long friends who I have history with and who continually bless me at unexpected times. We're developing good friendships here locally.
*And of course, there's my internal world. I'm still not as peaceful as I wish I were, nor am I as joyful as the Lord invites me to be. Anxiety and fear are the twin inner-world sins that rob me of much life.
*Some fun 70's child memories:
First music purchased: Michael Jackson's Thriller
First movie seen in a theater: Empire Strikes Back
First home video: Betamax my mom bought in 4th grade
First cd player: 8th grade
First cd: Beastie Boys, Licence to Ill
First Ipod: this weekend, given to me by my wife with the help of some family
One programming note: you'll need to type in the complete address to get here from now on: www.piebaldlife.blogspot.com
In the Psalms, David is always remembering God's previous faithfulness when he's doubting the current circumstance. Throughout the OT, they build piles of rocks as memorials, ebenezers, of God's faithfulness. I find that I do a poor job cultivating my spiritual memory, so birthdays are good to force me to do so.
*At eight and a half years, I'm delighted to say that marriage is both the best and the hardest thing I've ever done. There have been multiple points, particularly early on, when I could only say that it was the hardest. But the Lord has done a remarkable work in our marriage to make it a safe, growing, wonderful space. The Lord has done this as we've persevered. It's a great thing.
*I love my 2.3 kids. Davis and Zoe and the one on the way increasingly command more and more of my heart affection. Being a dad has been challenging to my patience and my high-sleep needs, but I delight in my kids, and I continue to discover the joy of fatherhood.
*My work at points in the past six months has been about as hard as any time in my eleven years in campus ministry. We're not entirely out of the woods yet, but there's a sense that the fog is lifting and good things are happening again. Overall, I continue to take great joy in my work and the people that I get to work with.
*I've got a handful of life-long friends who I have history with and who continually bless me at unexpected times. We're developing good friendships here locally.
*And of course, there's my internal world. I'm still not as peaceful as I wish I were, nor am I as joyful as the Lord invites me to be. Anxiety and fear are the twin inner-world sins that rob me of much life.
*Some fun 70's child memories:
First music purchased: Michael Jackson's Thriller
First movie seen in a theater: Empire Strikes Back
First home video: Betamax my mom bought in 4th grade
First cd player: 8th grade
First cd: Beastie Boys, Licence to Ill
First Ipod: this weekend, given to me by my wife with the help of some family
One programming note: you'll need to type in the complete address to get here from now on: www.piebaldlife.blogspot.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)