It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post.  A lot has transpired in the 7 months since I last shared the details of this incredible life adventure I’m on with God.   Many of the details of my adventure over the last seven months aren’t worth sharing, many are, but rather than have some long post giving highlights, I’ll share just one.  Ready?  here goes . . .

If it’s been awhile, change something.

It’s been awhile since I wrote a blog post.  The pause isn’t so much a result of being too busy, or losing interest, it’s simply a result of changing something.  What was that change?  It was a change that God originated in my heart last winter, it was a change that came as a result of a few days spent hundreds of miles away from home, in an old familiar place, asking God to give me clarity regarding His vision for my future.   While on that trip, God did what he always does when we ask of him, He answered.  He answered my request by renewing in me a simple desire, the desire to once again regularly communicate His life changing truth, to His church, through the foolishness of preaching. 

It had been awhile since I had been in a pulpit, I had opportunities several times in the Summer of 2009, but circumstances of life and a still hurting spirit had led me to pause, to wait, to answer no.  But just like an old guitar calls a musician from its dust covered case, the call of God on my life to share His Word publicly kept beckoning.  Last winter I was happy, life was good, and I was experiencing God’s blessings, the greatest of which was a healing in my Spirit after a prolonged season of difficulty in life.  Things were good, but it had been awhile, and God was stirring.

So once again I asked, this time with specificity “God, give me the chance to communicate your truth to your church ten times in 2010″.   After a few weeks of faithfully making that ask, God did what He always does, he answered.  This time with an email, no not from God directly, but from a man some two thousand miles away who was serving his church as interim Pastor.  He asked if I would want to preach at his church in February, I said yes.  That yes, led to a series of asks that resulted in a series of more yes’s and eventually the opportunity to serve with the Elders and staff of Sunridge Community Church as lead pastor.

Last winter I was on a pause, I was in a season of rest, a God directed, much needed and graciously given season of rest.  When it came to preaching, it had been awhile, but God stirred and faithfully led me towards the next leg of my journey with Him.   A simple prayer for ten times in 2010 has led to a new church family in a new community and a chance to once again regularly offer back to Him the gift of communication that He has given to me.

How has God gifted you?  What season are you in?  If it’s been awhile, is He stirring?

If it’s been awhile, change something.  What’s your ask for the remainder of 2010?  You may not need to get away to an old familiar place for a few days, or you may, but whatever you need to do – get clarity from God, then faithfully ask Him to answer.  And when He does, dust of the guitar and play. 

God is good, and I am grateful.

Josh,

Several months ago I wrote a post titled “Why does Jesus have to be so bossy?“.  In it I explained that my six year old daughter had been inquiring as to what it meant to have a relationship with God and that her biggest struggle came with the understanding that to obtain salvation from her sins she had to surrender to Jesus being the Lord, a.k.a. the boss of her life. 

Like each of us who have been confronted with the reality that Christ’s free gift is given to us only after a willful decision to believe and confess Jesus as Lord, Rylee really wrestled with the idea of surrendering control.  I have always been amazed at the human condition.  As a sinner, my sweet and innocent little girl did not struggle with giving up some chemical addiction or some out of bounds relationship, it was simply difficult for her to surrender control.  My wife and I didn’t push – we just prayed – and waited – trusting God to continue to do his work of drawing her to Himself. 

And I am blessed to report to all my blog friends that the other night after returning from a long evening of meetings, little Rylee met me at the bottom of the steps and gently whispered, “Daddy, I’m ready to give my life to Jesus”.  I will never forget that moment, or the moments that followed during which we went and got Mommy, then kneeling beside her bed listened as she told God that she knew she was a sinner, that she knew He loved her and died for her to pay the sin debt she could not pay, and that she was ready for Him to be her boss.

It was a good night – yet another gift from a good God.

Now Rylee really is a princess, for she is a daughter of the King!

Josh

Yesterday I began a two part entry describing a few of the significant lessons taught by the life of my 89 year old Grandmother who passed away this week.  If you were not able to read yesterday’s post you can catch up at (http://joshclark.me/2010/01/12/how-to-leave-a-legacy-guest-author/)

Today’s post continues by detailing the second of the two main themes of wisdom I believe we can gain from looking at Grandma’s life. 

Yesterday’s was “LIFE IS SHORT – SO LIVE IT TO THE FULLEST”.  Today’s is:

HOW TO LEAVE A LEGACY (part 2)

1) Kneel nightly at the Davenport.  I’m not sure if “davenport” is even a word – but it was to my grandma.  In case you are 1970′s verbiage impaired let me give you a working definition:  davenport = ”An ugly multi-colored often floral designed piece of furniture pre-dating today’s common sofa or couch”.  While this may not coincide with Webster’s definition it is in fact the working understanding with which I operate.  As you may have guessed this working definition was one I received because that’s what Grandma called her couch.  I am sharing this however not because of her ugly couch but instead because of what she did at that couch every night she owned it.

She kneeled in front of it and talked to her Daddy.  I wrote yesterday of my overnight trips to Grandma’s and Grandpa’s – every night when wheel of fortune was over and the cards were put away, Grandpa would kneel at his chair and Grandma at the Davenport – then for however long it took, they would talk to their heavenly Father about each of their kids, then their grand kids, then their friends.   They would express their gratefulness, their grief, their requests and desires with such raw emotion that I knew they were really talking to God.  

As a little kid it would sometimes seem like they prayed forever, but I didn’t dread it.  Rather I was encompassed by a surreal mix of boredom and wonder – boredom for the shear length with which we prayed, wonder over the passion and gratitude with which they connected with God.  The only person I have ever heard pray like Grandma was Grandpa – I think it was all the practice.

2) Miss the kisses.  Grandpa died almost a decade before Grandma.  It was amazing to see Grandma change after Grandpa’s death.  It was evident that her life’s partner was no longer with her – the smile, it seemed, that was brought by the Garden, the Sunsets, and even her Grandchildren was just not quite as bright.  Another thing that changed though was the amount of time she spent talking and imagining heaven – I think her smile was biggest and brightest when she would speak of Grandpa in heaven, then she would talk about kissing him . . . when she would wonder aloud of what he was doing . . . was he thinking of her . . .  Towards the end of Grandma’s life her mind was not near as sharp as it once was, sure there were all kinds of medical reasons but I often wondered if the real reason was that she spent so much of her mind’s time in heaven with Grandpa and Jesus.

3) Enjoy the sunsets.  Grandma never wasted a Sunset.  She lived almost 90 years and enjoyed countless masterpieces stroked skillfully by the Creator’s brush.  The blue of twilight illuminated with the pinks, oranges, and whites of the falling sun then broken by dashing and darting clouds in the Ohio sky was a site appreciated more by Grandma than anyone I know.  When I see a beautiful sunset I think of Grandma and am reminded that God’s ability to create wonder in the world around me is more powerful than any other and that my responsibility is to enjoy His wonder and worship Him in light of it.

4) Go in peace.  I wasn’t there when Grandma died but I understand that she died the same way she lived.  With a quiet strength and the comfort of a gentle song, hand in hand with God.  Grandma did not die alone as so many do - when she left this world she was carried, as she was in life, by the Savior to whom she gave her life many years before.

So here ends my best effort at honoring and learning from Grandma Alta.  The details of her specific greatness will be lost on those untouched by her life, but the lessons described above are ones I hope to pass on to those who come along behind me.  While the stories my descendants tell will be different, I hope they will say that my life too taught the second truth of Grandma’s life, which is that “ETERNITY IS REAL – SO INVEST IN IT. 

You, like I, may not own a “davenport” but we both will be wise to  1)  Believe in the Power of Prayer enough to invest real, intimate time talking with our heavenly Father,  2) Dwell in the realities of heaven enough to lose our grip on the “realities” of this earth,  3)  Rest in the sovereignty of God enough to enjoy the masterpieces of His hands, and 4) Go through life with the peace found only in a relationship with the God who knows, who cares, and is able.

Grandma’s life was what it was as a result of her very real and personal relationship with God.  There are many of you who bless me by reading this blog.  If you are reading and don’t have a real and personal relationship with God through his Son Jesus Christ?  Please talk to someone you know who does, email me any questions you may have, or check back in the next day or two and I’ll let you know how you can meet Him.

God is good – so was Grandma.  Thanks for reading.

Josh