2 Days Left - So tired I'll be a mockingbird

Our brains are so tired.  Moving internationally has unique challenges.  It't not like moving cross provide, state, or town.  There are immigration border requirements which must be met.  We are very organized, methodical, and hard-working people (remember…we did train for Ironman with two kids)….but this "ironman" is somehow harder!

But we'll tell you….we are feeling so encouraged this evening.  Here are two emails which came today from two friends (one in his 60's the other in his 90's).  Can you find their similarity in themes?

Good morning,I was praying for you guys a couple of days ago and then had my QT... Matt 28, the Lord impressed on me verse 8 "...they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy..."The two Mary's were told by the angel to go tell the disciples "The Good News" vs. 8 is their response.They were obedient to the call and they had a purpose. (sound familiar?). Now the part that gets me... They did what they were told with "fear" and "great joy"... Again, this sounds like what you and Heidi are experiencing.Fear... So many things that can side track us, delay us or through us off course... Even paralyze us into inaction. That's why vision and purpose are so critical. And, praise God He has provided the two of you with that!Great Joy... I'm so glad these words were used. They convey the experience of opening a Christmas present and getting exactly what you wanted! But, it's also much deeper... Great joy in knowing that this journey of faith and act of obedience is not accomplished in isolation or by you and Heidi alone. It's the confident assurance that He is with you every step of the way... And your brothers and sisters in the faith (and flesh) are with you as well... praying, partnering and providing for all you need!Joseph, the antidote for fear and anxiety is knowing that Jesus is present with you... Take one minute, a deep breath, bow your head, close your eyes, another deep breath, and thank Him for His presence right now!

Or how about this email: 

Hi Joe and Heidi
Believe me, I am praying for you all.  I love you and thank the Lord for the blessings I have received from you.
Let me share with you something I read this year:  “When you see the ark...then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it...that you may know the way by which you must go; for you have not passed this way before.”  Joshua 3:3-4
Truly God is going before you when you are going through this mix of emotions – both excitement and fear.  God promises that He will instruct us and teach us the way we are to go. This has been an encouragement to me and so I pass it on to encourage you.  Love to you all

The common thread in this emails are the themes of joy and excitement and fear and our hearts desire to trust God.  

So tonight….my mind is too tired to write an original thought….so I'll just be a Mockingbird and repeat the truth:  We are afraid and we are excited and Jesus is with us.

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8 Days Left - Finding Joy among moving boxes

I mentioned yesterday that to wear joy you have to try on gratitude.

Moving is the ultimate test of your marriage and your priorities (do I hear an AMEN!?).  It quickly shows you how much you own and forces you to ask the question, "why do we think this possession is worth keeping in our life?"

Heidi and I love purging things….but I'll tell you we haven't been able to purge very much because most of what we own, we use!  How encouraging!

Maybe it was because for many years we lived by what we called our "10 rule" -- own no more than 10 of anything.  Or maybe it was because we save more than we spend and live on a budget.  Or maybe it was because we've never made enough to acquire excess. Or maybe it's because we've never lived in a place larger than 1100 square feet!

So today we are thankful for what we own -- all gifts, all blessing, all more than we deserve.  Nothing in excess -- all signs of of daily bread.  Thanks, Lord.
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9 Days Left - Looking for Joy

Works of pride, by self-called creators, with their premium on originality, reduce the Creation to novelty — the faint surprises of minds incapable of wonder.

Pursuing originality, the would-be creator works alone. In loneliness one assumes a responsibility for oneself that one cannot fulfill.

Novelty is a new kind of loneliness. (Wendell Berry, What are People For)

What does this quote mean to us?…wait a second.

We all know that joy comes from gratitude.  When you can bring to mind the things you are grateful for, you begin to notice a joy that isn't dependant on circumstance arising in your heart.  As we begin 2015 coming out of the most unsettling year of our lives (in a really good way), we are beginning to talk about all the things we are grateful for.  We want….need….to experience God's joy.

OK…now back to the quote….

Here is what we are grateful for at the start of 2015:  Jesus isn't asking us to be original or to create something that hasn't been done before.  That type of novelty is a kind of loneliness that Jesus isn't requiring of us.  He's asking us to join his missionary movement in Fresno, to stand with His Church and His people and plant neighbourhood focused churches that impact their neighbourhood and make life-long followers of Jesus.  (God has been doing it since here:  Matthew 28:18­‐20; Acts 2:41‐47; Acts 16:9,12; Titus 1:5ff; Romans 15:19, 23…..and he hasn't stopped since). 

We are wearing joy by trying on gratitude.  We like how it fits.  

p.s. that's Joe running into VERY cold water this morning to celebrate the start of a new year.  He was wearing a Canada hockey jersey.  We are so grateful for nearly 10 years in Canada.  This years' gratitude started COLD.  

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