thankful...#39

39. The seven thousand who will not bow the knee.  I am not alone.

"I have left 7,000.. which have not bowed the knee to Baal..."

~1 Kings 19:18

 "God created the world out of nothing,

and as long as we are nothing,

He can make something out of us."

~Martin Luther

(What is 1000 Gifts?)

thankful...#37-38

37. bare feet
38. baseball hats and freckles

(What is 1000 Gifts?)

"The eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth

to strengthen those who's hearts

are fully committed to him."

~2 Chronicles 16:9

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"You his son, O Belshazzar, have not humbled yourself, though you knew all this."

~Daniel 5:22

What did Belshazzar know?
He knew the mighty works of the Mighty God and yet refused to acknowledge Him and humble himself.

"That very night Belshazzar...was slain." ~Daniel 5:30

So Belshazzar wasn't ignorant of the works of God and because he knew, God held him responsible to do the right thing.  But in Belshazzar's pride, he refused to do it.  And God held him accountable.

When unrighteousness is revealed to us, and we pursue it anyway - justifying our excuses and lusts - we fail to humble ourselves and we become disobedient, rebelliously defying Holy God.

"God resists the proud..."

~1 Peter 5:5

"God can still love us and oppose us..."

~Beth Moore

I choose to not be willfully ignorant.  I choose to seek out the truth so that I wouldn't even unknowingly sin.  I choose to do my very best to not put myself in opposition to God.  I choose to resist Christian mediocrity.

More gleanings from Beth Moore's study on the book of Daniel.

an extraordinary spirit

"Caleb and Daniel...refused to blend in.  They never assimilated.  Neither did they settle into the lowest common denominator of devotion practiced by their closest friends or kin.  ...  Anyone who goes overboard or takes it too seriously is considered eccentric, not extraordinary.  For some, the flow of the world can be easier to resist than the flow of Christian mediocrity." ~Beth Moore

NEVER SETTLE FOR CHRISTIAN MEDIOCRITY.

Oh, that there would be revival amongst Christians!!  

Where is principle? Where is conviction? Where is righteousness no matter the cost?

"You and I want God to be able to look on us amid our overindulged, self-absorbed culture, then glance to His right and say, 'She has an extraordinary spirit, doesn't she, Son?'  Perhaps Christ will nod His head and, while thinking the thoughts of an anxious bridegroom, lean over and say, 'And isn't she beautiful?'" ~Beth Moore

O God, could this ever be me? 

thankful...#36

36. Making lemonade from lemons.

It seems a downed tree is way more fun

than one of those boring upright ones.

(What is 1000 Gifts?)

God by default

We drove through Garibaldi on the Oregon Coast the other day.  A “G” appears on a low hill. Jamie and I bantered back and forth over what the G could stand for, and Brandon speaks: “That's God's mountain!”

We drive further down the 101. A sign comes into view: “Welcome to God's Country”...wait, no, it says “Welcome to Coos County.” My first observation was better.

Oh, that God would be our default always. I hope I will be ever mindful of God that, like Brandon, or like my poor physical eyesight, my spiritual eyesight will reign where everything is God's...because truly all is His. (1-21-12)

"If the Lord wills, we will do this or that..."

We left our Monterey hotel this morning with grand plans to end up in L.A. at a friend's house.

Silas: "Mommy, where are we going today?"
Mommy: "We are hoping to make it to Mr. Wayne's house."
Silas: "What if we don't make it?"
Daddy: "Oh, we'll make it."

So we made our way down the coast on highway 1.  We fixed our gaze out the window across the ocean.  For days we've been hunting for whales and haven't seen a single one.  I gave up, picked up a book and began to read aloud.  After the first two pages, I glanced up.  
What was that?!  Did I see a whale spout?  
Yes!  
Stop the car!  This is it!  
How could I have seen it in one little glance?  I was reading after all.  
But, yes, there it is again.  A whale.
Finally.
The truck coasts to a hasty stop and out we jump; camera, binoculars in hand.  We see him fluke and spray and roll...way out in the distance.

We are captivated.

The spray center right in the photo is our whale. :)

After a long pause as we spy this one in the distance, we finally decide to continue on.  If we don't, we'll never make it to Los Angeles.  We drive 15 more minutes...  ROAD CLOSED. 
What?  A rock slide? Were there signs?  How far back is the detour?  50 miles?  All the way back to Monterey?  Really?  This will add 4 hours to our day.

There were signs.  We were too busy looking for whales.

What's that verse again?

"Come now, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit'; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life?  it is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.'  But now you boast in your arrogance.  All such boasting is evil." (James 4:13-16)

Right.  AS THE LORD WILLS.

Jamie met a CHP officer who told us about a secret waterfall and a beach with purple sand and elephant seals.

We found the waterfall.  

We found purple sand.  

We found the Lord's will for our day

...and it was way better than our plans. 

L.A. will come tomorrow, as will the elephant seals.  ...if the Lord wills.
Today, Brandon said it was "a great and fun day."

It was.

 We're in Cambria tonight at a cozy motel.  Just south of San Simeon.

Thank you, Father, for being so totally sovereign.