I read Abraham's story again today. Ol' Abe, what a guy. Not only did he obey God, but he did it promptly and without questioning. He didn't ask why. He didn't dilly-dally around hoping God would change his mind. He didn't whine and cry about it. For three days Abraham traveled knowing what he was headed to do. THREE DAYS! But not once did he turn around, not once in those very long days did he chicken out and decide he couldn't do it. And I find it interesting that Abraham asked his servants to stay behind while he and Isaac went to the sacrificial spot. Surely he knew those men would not understand and would try to stop him. They would probably think he was a crazy old kook! So Abraham very intentionally left behind the things that might keep him from obeying God's command.
I do not by any stretch of the imagination believe this was easy for Abraham. If it were easy, it would not have been God's test of ultimate sacrifice. I can't even imagine the heartache and turmoil he must have endured, the countless times he must have wanted to cry out to God in question or plead for his son's life. But he didn't. He did nothing but trust and obey.
How can I be so faithful a servant? How can I obey? How can I stay the course? What am I being asked to sacrifice?
Abraham Tested
Genesis 22:1-14
1 Some time later God tested Abraham. He said to him, "Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
2 Then God said, "Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about."
3 Early the next morning Abraham got up and saddled his donkey. He took with him two of his servants and his son Isaac. When he had cut enough wood for the burnt offering, he set out for the place God had told him about. 4 On the third day Abraham looked up and saw the place in the distance. 5 He said to his servants, "Stay here with the donkey while I and the boy go over there. We will worship and then we will come back to you."
6 Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As the two of them went on together, 7 Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, "Father?"
"Yes, my son?" Abraham replied.
"The fire and wood are here," Isaac said, "but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?"
8 Abraham answered, "God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son." And the two of them went on together.
9 When they reached the place God had told him about, Abraham built an altar there and arranged the wood on it. He bound his son Isaac and laid him on the altar, on top of the wood. 10 Then he reached out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the angel of the LORD called out to him from heaven, "Abraham! Abraham!"
"Here I am," he replied.
12 "Do not lay a hand on the boy," he said. "Do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld from me your son, your only son."
13 Abraham looked up and there in a thicket he saw a ram caught by its horns. He went over and took the ram and sacrificed it as a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."
And because Abraham obeyed, God chose him, a man who was willing to sacrifice his only begotten son, to be the earthly father of His people. "and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me." (Gen. 22:18)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son, that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
Selah.
March 19, 2009
March 18, 2009
25 COMPLETELY RELEVANT THINGS ABOUT ME
1. I love to vacuum. It sucks.
2. I eat bacteria pretty much every day. Okay, yogurt, whatever.
3. I am in three different book clubs. I started two of them.
4. Bull riding is my favorite sport to watch. Doing puzzles is my favorite sport to play.
5. I am a morning person. I get up in the morning.
6. I regularly sing The Star Spangled Banner. We share the same birthday.
7. I've had two foreign loves in my lifetime. Nissan and Honda.
8. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I eat it every day.
9. I would like to be Spiderman. But you can call me Cpt. Jack Sparrow.
10. I have two dogs. And I like hot dogs.
11. My favorite color is yellow, but it's really blue.
12. I have two bachelor's degrees. One Fahrenheit and one Celsius.
13. I do not drink nearly enough liquids. I do, however drink plenty of solids.
14. I am not an Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces.
15. I accidentally collected roosters at one point in my life.
16. I prefer to glance at t.v. But sometimes I keep an eye on it.
17. You should know I'm cracking myself up.
18. I could probably recite and/or perform the entire Little Orphan Annie movie. Punjab's lines get a bit tricky.
19. If I had to choose, I would choose Grover.
20. My alarm is set to the classical music station; which might explain why there was classical music in my Godzilla dream.
21. I had a Cabbage Patch Kid named Gerald Earl Silverthorne.
22. I have a very common middle name. And I like it.
23. Only one other person in my close group of friends is a middle child. And he does not have a middle name.
24. I resent the term "middle child." I prefer "equally surrounded sibling."
25. Marie
What? I'm just brainstorming.
2. I eat bacteria pretty much every day. Okay, yogurt, whatever.
3. I am in three different book clubs. I started two of them.
4. Bull riding is my favorite sport to watch. Doing puzzles is my favorite sport to play.
5. I am a morning person. I get up in the morning.
6. I regularly sing The Star Spangled Banner. We share the same birthday.
7. I've had two foreign loves in my lifetime. Nissan and Honda.
8. Breakfast is my favorite meal. I eat it every day.
9. I would like to be Spiderman. But you can call me Cpt. Jack Sparrow.
10. I have two dogs. And I like hot dogs.
11. My favorite color is yellow, but it's really blue.
12. I have two bachelor's degrees. One Fahrenheit and one Celsius.
13. I do not drink nearly enough liquids. I do, however drink plenty of solids.
14. I am not an Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius or Pisces.
15. I accidentally collected roosters at one point in my life.
16. I prefer to glance at t.v. But sometimes I keep an eye on it.
17. You should know I'm cracking myself up.
18. I could probably recite and/or perform the entire Little Orphan Annie movie. Punjab's lines get a bit tricky.
19. If I had to choose, I would choose Grover.
20. My alarm is set to the classical music station; which might explain why there was classical music in my Godzilla dream.
21. I had a Cabbage Patch Kid named Gerald Earl Silverthorne.
22. I have a very common middle name. And I like it.
23. Only one other person in my close group of friends is a middle child. And he does not have a middle name.
24. I resent the term "middle child." I prefer "equally surrounded sibling."
25. Marie
What? I'm just brainstorming.
March 16, 2009
OH NO THERE GOES TOKYO
I dreamt about Godzilla last night. Not the scaly, fire-breathing lizard Godzilla. It was more like Barney, only green, and chasing me. But it was Godzilla.
So a friendly-looking-in-a-creepy-way Godzilla lizard suit was chasing me. But I wasn't running from it; I was out-maneuvering it. I was climbing around on scaffolding and plotting ways to trap him so he would fall to his demise. Take that! you big dumb dinosaur suit lizard thingy!
There was also classical music playing, kind of silly sounding like the soundtrack to an old Tom & Jerry cartoon. Lots of strings with cymbals and drums mixed in here and there to coincide with my leaps and near misses and mad climbing skillz.
Then I woke up. And told Aaron I had been dreaming about Godzilla. To which he replied, "It's no wonder. You have been eating a lot of Okonomiyaki lately."
So a friendly-looking-in-a-creepy-way Godzilla lizard suit was chasing me. But I wasn't running from it; I was out-maneuvering it. I was climbing around on scaffolding and plotting ways to trap him so he would fall to his demise. Take that! you big dumb dinosaur suit lizard thingy!
There was also classical music playing, kind of silly sounding like the soundtrack to an old Tom & Jerry cartoon. Lots of strings with cymbals and drums mixed in here and there to coincide with my leaps and near misses and mad climbing skillz.
Then I woke up. And told Aaron I had been dreaming about Godzilla. To which he replied, "It's no wonder. You have been eating a lot of Okonomiyaki lately."
March 14, 2009
IQ
Aaron is a genius. I think I've mentioned this before. But ever so often, he does several big-brained things in a row, and I'm all, whoa! I married a genius!
Of late:
He figured out why water was constantly collecting on the floor and made it stop. I've been trying to figure this out for two weeks. It took Aaron about 30 minutes. And it was not due to a major plumbing problem that was going to involve tearing down a wall and replacing pipes - as I was certain would be the case. Instead, he just moved the washing machine a few inches to relieve a kink in a hose which was causing a binding to not function and somethingsomethingsomething I've stopped listening because who the heck cares! We don't have to tear down any walls!
He explained why it would not be a good idea to let that dog which does not belong to us in the house even though he is nice and we see him all the time...we don't know if his owners give him flea prevention and we don't want a flea infestation just because our dogs wanted to show him their room. We have to put our foot down sometime.
He suggested then showed me how to flush out the jacuzzi jets before I took a bath because we haven't used it in forever and he knew there would be all kinds of gross things up in there that I would not want floating in my warm relaxing bath. He was right. There were dead bugs and particles and pieces that came shooting out. Like Wet 'n Wild for very small things.
We were walking and I kept seeing strange clumps of stuff on the ground and I asked Aaron if it was mountain-lion poop. No, he said, it's not poop at all. It's a fungus. Ummm, how do you even know that? Because seriously, it looks like poop.
He suggested that I could make the scarf I'm knitting shorter than I originally planned because Aubrey (I'm giving the scarf to her) is a short person so it will be okay if the scarf isn't long enough for a tall person. You see, this scarf is the first item I've ever knitted and I'm excited to finish, but it is taking me a while because I'm still learning. And I was saying how I felt discouraged because I still had over half to go, but that's when Aaron made his genius comment and now, I'm almost done! That is a real genius who can make something instantly go from half finished to almost finished just by talking.
and p.s. As I was writing this post, I heard this from the other room:
Scoop: Bark, bark, baaarrrrk, rwwarr, rwaarr, rwarr.
Aaron: What is it Scoopers? Is he in the well?
Of late:
He figured out why water was constantly collecting on the floor and made it stop. I've been trying to figure this out for two weeks. It took Aaron about 30 minutes. And it was not due to a major plumbing problem that was going to involve tearing down a wall and replacing pipes - as I was certain would be the case. Instead, he just moved the washing machine a few inches to relieve a kink in a hose which was causing a binding to not function and somethingsomethingsomething I've stopped listening because who the heck cares! We don't have to tear down any walls!
He explained why it would not be a good idea to let that dog which does not belong to us in the house even though he is nice and we see him all the time...we don't know if his owners give him flea prevention and we don't want a flea infestation just because our dogs wanted to show him their room. We have to put our foot down sometime.
He suggested then showed me how to flush out the jacuzzi jets before I took a bath because we haven't used it in forever and he knew there would be all kinds of gross things up in there that I would not want floating in my warm relaxing bath. He was right. There were dead bugs and particles and pieces that came shooting out. Like Wet 'n Wild for very small things.
We were walking and I kept seeing strange clumps of stuff on the ground and I asked Aaron if it was mountain-lion poop. No, he said, it's not poop at all. It's a fungus. Ummm, how do you even know that? Because seriously, it looks like poop.
He suggested that I could make the scarf I'm knitting shorter than I originally planned because Aubrey (I'm giving the scarf to her) is a short person so it will be okay if the scarf isn't long enough for a tall person. You see, this scarf is the first item I've ever knitted and I'm excited to finish, but it is taking me a while because I'm still learning. And I was saying how I felt discouraged because I still had over half to go, but that's when Aaron made his genius comment and now, I'm almost done! That is a real genius who can make something instantly go from half finished to almost finished just by talking.
and p.s. As I was writing this post, I heard this from the other room:
Scoop: Bark, bark, baaarrrrk, rwwarr, rwaarr, rwarr.
Aaron: What is it Scoopers? Is he in the well?
March 10, 2009
PROJECT PIGGY-BACK
This is what you get when you have a friend who reads your blog and has a crazy husband who works in Photoshop! My friend, Stacy, asked her hubby, John (holla!), to create this picture for me. I LOVE IT!
Isn't it hilarious? And perfect!? I have it taped to my bathroom mirror at home, and on my screen saver at work. Every time I look at it, I smile.
I think Stacy and I might have been sisters in a different life. Sisters who own a doggy rescue home. A very organized, well-managed doggy rescue home. With cupcakes. Dogs would get lost just so they could be rescued by us.
I'm so thankful for good friends.
Thank you McT.s!
Isn't it hilarious? And perfect!? I have it taped to my bathroom mirror at home, and on my screen saver at work. Every time I look at it, I smile.
I think Stacy and I might have been sisters in a different life. Sisters who own a doggy rescue home. A very organized, well-managed doggy rescue home. With cupcakes. Dogs would get lost just so they could be rescued by us.
I'm so thankful for good friends.
Thank you McT.s!
March 08, 2009
STOWAWAY
When I came back outside, this is what I found.
She obviously thought this was as hilarious as I did.
March 07, 2009
ROYGBIV
It's a bit cloudy this morning, and we're hoping for rain. It made me wonder if we'll see any rainbows today. Then Sadie asked if I would sing to her, the Rainbow Connection song. She likes Kermit.
I had to ask Google about the lyrics. For your enjoyment...
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....
Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
I had to ask Google about the lyrics. For your enjoyment...
Why are there so many songs about rainbows
And what's on the other side?
Rainbows are visions, but only illusions,
And rainbows have nothing to hide.
So we've been told and some choose to believe it
I know they're wrong, wait and see.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
The lovers, the dreamers and me.
Who said that every wish would be heard and answered
when wished on the morning star?
Somebody thought of that
and someone believed it,
and look what it's done so far.
What's so amazing that keeps us stargazing?
And what do we think we might see?
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
All of us under its spell,
we know that it's probably magic....
Have you been half asleep
and have you heard voices?
I've heard them calling my name.
Is this the sweet sound that calls the young sailors?
The voice might be one and the same.
I've heard it too many times to ignore it.
It's something that I'm supposed to be.
Someday we'll find it, the rainbow connection,
the lovers, the dreamers and me.
March 03, 2009
POP QUIZ
So I was going back over my last (first?) month's posts about my spiritual walk and I started to wonder if I've drifted away from what I set out to do, which was focus on one thing at a time, take things slow, and be very intentional. This weekly blog check-in almost makes me feel like elementary school where you master something new each week, then move on.
Counting by tens? Got it. Next! Prepositional phrases? Got it. Next! Memorize state capitals? Got it. Next!
But really, that's not what is happening. Because I am not the one creating the curriculum, doing the lesson planning and coming up with learning activities.
I am the student. I'm being guided. I'm being prepared.
I am listening now more than ever. I am paying attention. What is it you want to teach me?
This isn't easy. In fact, I'd venture to say that because I'm paying more attention, I'm working harder to keep up. Some new, very hard, lessons are popping up. But the reward is already outweighing the work.
I feel a sense of direction and purpose more than I've ever known. I feel more peace than I've ever known, right smack in the middle of more uncertainty than I've ever known.
I feel challenged to seek - really seek. Show me.
and ask - really, really ask. Tell me.
and understand - deeply understand. Test me.
and trust - faithfully trust. Use me.
and follow - truly follow. Lead me.
and love - completely love. Have me.
Selah.
Counting by tens? Got it. Next! Prepositional phrases? Got it. Next! Memorize state capitals? Got it. Next!
But really, that's not what is happening. Because I am not the one creating the curriculum, doing the lesson planning and coming up with learning activities.
I am the student. I'm being guided. I'm being prepared.
I am listening now more than ever. I am paying attention. What is it you want to teach me?
This isn't easy. In fact, I'd venture to say that because I'm paying more attention, I'm working harder to keep up. Some new, very hard, lessons are popping up. But the reward is already outweighing the work.
I feel a sense of direction and purpose more than I've ever known. I feel more peace than I've ever known, right smack in the middle of more uncertainty than I've ever known.
I feel challenged to seek - really seek. Show me.
and ask - really, really ask. Tell me.
and understand - deeply understand. Test me.
and trust - faithfully trust. Use me.
and follow - truly follow. Lead me.
and love - completely love. Have me.
Selah.
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