So, I guess He really does provide, I mean, maybe...

I'm not completely sure of how to begin this one. It's been a while and I have about 3 blogs in edit format because I'm not fully satisfied with them enough to post them. Someday soon, maybe. Right now, though, I have some freaking good news that cannot be saved in draft form for weeks on end. Nope. This is good stuff and I want to share it with you, if that's alright. If not, please divert your attention elsewhere.

So, most everyone who knows me, knows good ol' Thomas the Battle Axe. Here's some shots of the little guy (not very quality and I apologize for that, but it's him nonetheless)

He's an '89 VW Golf and I love him most ardently. I bought him when I was 17 for $1500 from my great aunt who kept him in immaculate shape. He was a steal:) I'm selling him tomorrow for $1000 to a new owner and that will end our 5 1/2 year relationship. I'm not sure who gets to spend that much time with their 1st car, but I got to. We had great times, too! Lots of road trips and adventures over the years, tons of packing and moving experiences, lots of sound equipment gettin' carted around town, and lots of visits between Bend and Nampa. Since I moved to Nampa, though, Thomas had been showing signs of aging: new fuel pump, water pump, fan belt, hoses, radiator, thermostat, wipers quit working, passenger door stopped opening, lights kept playing tricks on me, etc. So, I started to pray and save for a new car. This was where, in my mind, Thomas turned from being the most wonderful gift in all of automobile history to being my very own Catch-22. I'd save money just to spend it at the mechanic or at Napa Auto Parts. (By the way, I highly recommend the one on the blvd. in Nampa. It's got this guy who actually looks like a genuine Greaser from The Outsiders... and they're really helpful, too) During this time of mechanic failure, I continued to trust God. I prayed for a new car, tithed, gave regularly, and trusted God for transportaion in any way, shape, or form that it came. Indeed, He was faithful to provide throughout all the times of uncertainty; car-savvy people to help install parts, willing friends to aid with rides, incredible families that borrowed me vehicles, money to pay mechanics, etc. God was so stinkin' faithful.

In the last few months it had become apparent that I needed a new vehicle and badly. I'd listened to Pastor Judah Smith's message where the Lord had him give his Supa-fine sports car to some family. He then began to pray specifically for another vehicle for his family. Not just any vehicle, but a Cadillac Escalade, white, with big shiny rims, and all the works. Sure enough, some guy ended up driving this car to Judah's church and gave it to him out of obedience to what he'd heard God speak. Crazy! I decided to take a page from Judah and began to change my prayer from, 'Lord, I need a new car' to 'Lord, I want one that's new, with good gas mileage, can store a ton of stuff in it, that is white on the outside and has black interior just like my little guy. Oh, and can it be cheap and easy to fix, too? Not like a VW? Thanks, God.'

In the midst of praying that prayer I continued to use my car not just for myself, but for whatever needs needed to be met; tons of rides to whoever needed them for whatever reasons if I was available, letting others use it, and remembering that God gives and takes away and all that I have in my life really is not mine... nor is my life, for that matter.

So, a few weeks ago, my older sister called me and let me know that her biological father was 'going green' and bought a Prius so she was going to drive down to California to pick up a Red 2005 Dodge Dakota that he was giving to her and my brother-in-law.

Here they are with our nephew. I like them a lot.

Anyhow, they own a 2009 Scion and a 2006 Nissan Titan. They're current job situation (which is another story of God's miraculous provision) is taking them to Kansas in the Fall and they felt like they were supposed to give the truck to me. When she called me with that news I was amazed. A new car! It wasn't what I'd been praying for exactly, but hey, it was new and had no car payment to go with it. I reminded myself that God provides however He wants to, whether it's oil in a jar or coins in a fish's mouth, God will provide. So, yeah. I drove to Bend to pick up the truck this last weekend and spent some much needed time with my family.

What did I end up driving back home to Nampa? A freaking 2009 Scion!

It turned out cheaper for them to take the truck to Kansas because of vehicle registration and how little they'll need a 2nd vehicle while living there. Sometimes, even though I pray and believe in faith that what I ask for in faith I'll receive, it still astounds me when it actually happens. I drove home in a car that fit my prayer to a T! White exterior, black interior, cheap to take care of, cheap for gas, can fit the world inside of it, new, and free. That's right. No car payment. Amazing. If I were one of those people that jumps and screams and cries and shrieks when things like this happen, then I would have done it, but I'm not. I was astounded. I drove that car back to Idaho utterly astounded at God's faithfulness in my life. With the new car, with the provision for the old one over the years, with every other area that He'd ever provided for... astounded. All of it is undeserved and cannot be repaid to Him in the least bit... but I'm gonna' try!

You see, even with the new car, God's taught me throughout it all that He is God, no matter what my bank account says, or what a recession means, or what debt says (of which I have none now, thank you Jesus!), or however much of 'good' person I've been, and that list can go on for days. Really, the new car, along with every other provision He makes for my life, reminds me again and again of His grace, His love, and His abundance in my life. Really, even if for some reason this car ends up being taken away, if I lose my job, if life in general starts to kinda' suck, it don't matta'! He is still God. I am still not. He will still be faithful. I mostly am not. He will still be good. I will still be the undeserving recipient of the goodness of God's eternal salvation in my life. I wanted to tell you this, not to gloat about a freaking new car, but because I know in times like this, it's more than a leap of faith to trust that God will provide... but He will. In whatever capacity He sees fit, He'll provide for His people. Keep trusting. Give whatever you have like the widow did and give it in faith knowing that all of this; the cars, jobs, clothing, food, houses, etc, is all temporal and not gonna' last long at all. You and I? We've got eternity taken care of. Completely free. Completely undeserved. Bank on that. Live life like that.

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13-16

mewithoutYou

Yep, 4 kinda' goofy lookin' guys from Philly.

I wouldn't have picked em out of a crowd of talented musicians to be my most favorite music makers, but that is what they have continued to be over the past 5 years (goodness I'm getting old). They just released a new album today... and I went and purchased it... and am still processing it, but this song is just lovely and true and good. I love the encouragement to not be a weirdo religious zealot, but also to not be a weirdo-tolerant-of-sin-believer, either. I love the call to forsake the meaningless things and think on the eternal things and worship and praise and adore and meditate on what really matters. Yep. They're a bit goofy, but I like 'em and it's okay if you don't. It really is fine by me:)

every thought a Though of You

every thought a Thought of You

no more thought, I ought to do...

when there's not a thing we see

or touch or trust is true

every thought a Thought of You

every look in search of You

what need for books when we're with you?

you wear a thin disguise,

O, Light within my brother's eyes!

every look in search of You

every song in praise of You

our darkest nights are days to You

the trees raise branches high

like arms in church to grateful sky,

every song in praise of You

no one here to believe but You

everyone else is bound to leave but You

when we swear, 'my love is real!', we mean

'I like the way You make me feel!'

there is no one here to believe but You

kul-anaya fikr minh ka

abadan abatmam enna ajab

hayya'alal falal qad qamadis alab

Haqq: la illaha il allah

The last part is in Arabic because the lead singer and guitarist brother were raised in a Suffi/Christian converted household (google that for more information, if you're curious). I'm just really a fan of music that means something. Music that has a message to get across that might lead someone towards a real relationship with the Lord and away from the myriad of artifical relationships that most songs glorify nowadays. So yeah, anyhow. That's just that.

Good Eye!

There's no faking this stuff, ladies and gentlemen. This is the real deal. It's easy to look at these photos and pass them off as "Eh. Cool nature pics. Whatever." But that's because you're not viewing them in context. These photos were taken by Ansel Adams way back in the early days of photography. His mission and passion in life was to capture the wildness of America before it was all pioneered and domesticated. He wanted to preserve, on film, what he thought someday might be lost and forgotten. Now, all that is very well and all, but as I looked at these photos and read the stories behind them at the Boise Art Museum last weekend with my pops, the Lord began to draw a correlation. Dun, dun, dun...

Ansel Adams was a seeker. He would hike into ridiculous places to capture these images. He'd go through days of hard labor, hiking his huge camera equipment (because it was huge back then) and then he'd wait so patiently, even for days sometimes, just for the right lighting and the perfect shot for these pictures that truly are masterpieces.

Or at other times he would be driving home with his son and some buddies and he'd see the perfect shot off to the side of the road, like with the photo below. For this shot, he pulled off the side of the road, scrambled to get his camera out and set up, and was able to shoot it just minutes before the sun set and his light was gone, taking along with it, this amazing masterpiece.

The Lord spoke to me through all of this about my own vision. He spoke of how mine has been shaped over the years and various seasons of my life to see specific things that He desires me to see. He spoke of how sometimes, it's necessary to seek and to strive for that vision. When I'm not sure of what to do, or maybe have somewhat of an idea, but not the whole picture, it's at that time when I need to put in some hard laborious hiking to ascend that hill of the Lord where I can find the needed clarity in His presence and in His presence alone. Once I get there, and am able to wait patiently in His presence, I don't just gain the knowledge that I want or expect. He gives me a masterpiece above and beyond what I desire to find from Him.

At other times in the whole (almost 23 years) of my life, there have been times where life's going along just fine. I'll have a steady job, a great group of friends, an awesome church, a good relationship with Him, and really, not a worry in the world, but then He brings this amazingly new light to a somewhat mundane or routine existence of a life that I lead. This new light, this new vision, if I don't just look at it, but take the steps necessary to capture it, then I end up with a vision that I could've never gained on my own. Instead, I receive one that was gifted to me by the Maker of the universe, just because He loves me.

Both of the pieces of artwork by Ansel in this post are said to be some of his greatest works of photography, but Mr. Adams is just one man. What were others doing during this time? Pursuing the "American Dream"? I wonder how many people drove by countless masterpieces and never noticed them because they had something of lesser value in their view and didn't realize it. Or how many were pursuing and laboring hard, but missed out on the beauty that was already around them because they were distracted with their own version of "beauty".

I love the correlation that the Lord drew for me in this and the challenge He brought to me to strive for greater vision on a continual basis, but I am just one little part of the Church. Imagine what the Church can do if all of her is continually striving to get greater, clearer vision from the One who holds it all in the span of His hand. Or what she could accomplish by being attentive and sensitive to what the Lord is doing instead of being caught up in the mundane, routine distractions of life. Oh distractions! That's another post for another day, but coming soon! In the meantime, what's your vision? Do you have any? Is it yours or was it given to you? If it was given to you, who gave it to you?

Overall, I'm excited for the masterpieces of vision that the Lord has laid up for me to see during my life, and I'm real excited for the continual corporate vision of the Church that's going to change the world. Uber excited:)

Maybe he knew something...

"Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle.

Plato. He's the one who said this. My mother loves this quote and puts it on most anything that she ever gets her hands on: birthday cards, emails, facebooks, artwork, etc. As someone who could really care less for philosophy, I always wrote it off as, 'Pfft! What did Plato ever know compared to the word of God? Yeah buddy, keep asking questions and never answer them. Awesome.'

I would like to clarify that I'm not putting Plato's quote on the same level as the Bible at all. Not even a little bit. All I'm saying is that I think he knew a bit more than I gave him credit for in the past. Well, at least with this quote he did.

I say all of this, not to start philosophizing, but to tell you about a common mistake I often have made during my time as a functioning part of the Body of Christ. I judge too quickly. I know, big surprise, right? Well, hopefully not. As much as I've made this mistake, I'm also very aware that I'm not the only one, and so I guess that's why I'm writing this on the good ol' bloggy-blog.

I've recently been able to spend some time with a gaggle of different people. You know, a bit out of the usual sort of crowd has been going through my life in the last week or so. Finally, on Thursday morning, I realized that maybe the Lord was teaching me a bit of something. (sometimes, my skull is thicker than I'd like to let on) As I sat with Stephanie Meistrell on the dock at Lake Lowell and heard a little about the story of her life, I realized that I'd been doing things wrong for a while now. It's easy for me to go and listen to unbelievers' stories, to sit, to have compassion, to understand because they lack the love and forgiveness of Christ, but it's a whole 'nother ballgame for me to sit with people who have been saved all their lives and believe that they've really gone through much in their life that's needful of the grace of God. You know, people who's familes are pretty much fully intact, and mostly saved, and they've been following Jesus faithfully since they were 5 yrs old. It's those people that I was convicted for.

As I listened to story after story over the course of this week, this little phrase kept popping up in my head. A dead philosopher's way of saying, 'I told you so!' It's true. I don't care who you are. I don't care where you came from. I don't care about your family situation. I don't care about all the hardships you've ver faced in your life... or the lack therof. I care about you. I care about what's happening now. I care to hear, FROM YOU, what life has been like for you.

Because really, when we get down to it, life is not easy for any of us and we really are in an actual continual battle, and we really do need to walk in kindness, grace, and love towards each other. I'm all for it. I'm gonna' go ahead and do it.

One-Upping :)

Yep. I'm going to be that person right stinkin' now. If I could say it without lying, I'd totally play the 'I walked on the moon' card right now. A few weekends ago I was able to take the weekend off from my life in Idaho and go for a visit to one of the greatest places in the world: Seattle, Wa. I visited my good and great friend Tara Jean Buce (Boochy). She posted something about it, but I didn't think it was sufficient so I'm 'one-upping' her blog with my sweet photo collage. Bam!

It was incredibly necessary and an incredibly huge blessing of quality time, rest, and vision-casting for the next season of ministry and life in Idaho. Really, though, Tara is one of my friends that I'm planning on keeping for life. She's a woman of God, a blessing and life-giving friend, and truthful and honest with me even when it's not in the best interest of the comfort-level of our friendship. I love her. Also, I got to chill with Mr. Wa Vong and ate some fruity sushi, unagi, and Turkish coffee. Regretfully, I got no pictures of those events because I was so caught-up/exhilarated in having braved and conquered Seattle traffic that I forgot the camera in the car. Oh well, there's always next year! Keeping in touch is amazing. If your friends are far away, I highly recommend visiting them when the opportunities are provided.