Monthly Archives: August 2008

This morning I read this, one of my favorite lines of Scripture:

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.  (Ps. 103:1-2)

Now this is obvious, but why would God tell us to “forget not” all His benefits?  Because we forget!  We’re called to remember, recount, retell, and rejoice in all that God has done for us!  You might be thinking, well it’s easy for you to do right now because you just got good news that you’re moving.  But it was last weekend, before I knew anything of any move, that God really showed me the importance of thankfulness (read Repenting…again).  So, on the eve of our move, as we transition to this new season, I wanted to reflect and review these past 13+ months, and forget not all His benefits during this time.  The list could go on forever. He’s 20…

1. We saved over $20,000 in mortgage and bills by living here (I guess technically we didn’t save it because we don’t have it, but we didn’t spend that much!).
2. Dutch has the most amazing relationship with Oma and Papa that will never be taken away.
3. Jeff and I have weathered significant storms and our roots are deeper.
4. “I had heard of [God] by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees [Him].” Job 42:5
5. We’ve met sweet and precious people out here in this small town.
6. I learned that I am not defined by what I do.
7. Jeff learned he is not defined by what he does.
8. We pared down our belongings significantly and got organized!
9. Jeff has established a wonderful relationship with our dear Pastor Dale, friend and mentor.
10. I had help with Dutch and the house through my horrid first-trimester sickness.
11. We were able to share daily joys and sorrows with my parents.
12. We learned priceless life lessons from them about selflessness, humility, and godliness.This blog was birthed!!!!
13. We’ve had the glorious rushing river right outside our bedroom window.
14. We’ve had countless hours throwing rocks in the river, feeding hay to the horsies, walking hundreds of miles up and down the driveway.
15. We’ve picked berries, planted a garden, harvested loads of basil for fresh pesto, patronized the library (!).
16. Jeff has racked up hundreds of miles on his bike riding too and from work.
17. I’ve enjoyed my share of lazy hours lounging in the pool reading novels.
18. I learned that the world will not fall apart if the refrigerator is not clean.
19. We have a million memories we will look back on and laugh about for years and years to come.

I wish there were words to somehow convey how incredibly indebted I am to God and to my parents for their grace.  God, gentle, loving, tender, forgiving, but firm, refusing to just give me my own way, but loving me enough to take me through the fire, letting the dross rise to the surface, revealing the ugliness I’d rather cover up.  My parents, endlessly patient, never taking offense no matter how cross a mood I was in, never demanding their own way, always ready to serve, help, love, give.  Ever living to bless us.  I pray that Jeff and I can be 1/2 the godly parents and grandparents that Bill and Karen Zyp are.  I am humbled beyond words by their lives (and I’ve seen them up close!)

So, this season is closing…we head to the beach tomorrow morning with other family, and be sure to check out tomorrow’s LiveDifferent Post on Permeating Culture, but I’ll be unplugged Saturday and Sunday, and from then on I’ll be writing from a new spot.  New adventures ahead, new challenges, joys, struggles, lessons.  Stay tuned.  Thanks for reading, and consider today His benefits and forget them not.

Ok, so I’m really no good at keeping secrets (my own secrets–I am good at keeping other people’s secrets) because I get so excited about things God shows me I have to share them.  John Piper once said that if you find yourself, when you are studying and reading God’s Word, constantly thinking of ways to communicate those truths to others, then you can pretty much bet that you’re a teacher at heart.  That hit me like a ton of bricks. Ok, guilty as charged. I’m a teacher.

So I mentioned before I’m teaching at this women’s retreat (Kelli please just act surprised when I share this stuff with the ladies there!), and for the past few weeks I have been absolutely spinning my wheels at studying. NOTHING is happening. I’m praying, reading, studying, and it’s like I have this bag over my head and I can see nothing.  So frustrating.  So I kept waiting and praying and today I’m studying and the light is finally turning on! Thank you, God.  God always reminds me that it is His Spirit that does the work because I literally am nothing and have nothing to say until His Spirit illuminates His Word for me.

So anyway, we are talking at the retreat about Expectancy without Expectation, and the first session is on Disappointments.  Who of us hasn’t keenly felt disappointments?  I’ve mentioned before I feel like this entire year has been one long disappointment.  But I’ve never found a book entitled “The God of Disappointment”…but right now I’m tempted to write one!  Because check this out, if you look at Scripture, God is all about disappointing people!  I looked up the word disappointment in my dictionary and it said, (tada!) “Thwarted Expectation”.  God is in the business of thwarting our expectations so that He can do greater and more glorious works than we ever imagined.  Hooray!  Not convinced yet? Check out these examples:

1. Abraham: God promises he will be the father of many nations right? Then what?  He can’t have kids. He’s disappointed. Expectations thwarted. He then gets so frustrated he takes matters into his own hands and has Ishmael, the child of the flesh, through his servant Hagar. Bickering and grief ensue.
2. Joseph: God shows him in a dream that his brothers will bow down to him as ruler.  He winds up dumped in a pit then sold to the Egyptians, then spends 14 years in a prison, wrongly accused of harassing Potipher’s wife, then forgotten by the cupbearer, forsaken.  Disappointed.  Thwarted Expectations.
3. Moses: God will make him the deliverer of Israel.  Then what? He kills an Egyptian and there’s a warrant out for his head, basically.  He winds up spending 40 long years living with his father-in-law in the desert (hey, that sounds familiar!).  Disappointed.  Expectations thwarted.
4. The children of Israel: God is going to deliver them from the Egyptians and the hand of Pharaoh, so after the exhilarating plagues and parting of the Red Sea, then what?  Left to wander in the wilderness for forty years while the entire complaining generation is slowly killed off.  Disappointed.  Thwarted Expectations.
5. David: God will make him king, anoints him through the prophet Samuel.  Then what? Saul tries to have him killed, and he spends 10-14 years living in caves in the desert, trying to escape from the hand of Saul.  Disappointed. Expectations thwarted.
6. The Disciples: God will send a Messiah who will come and save the world.  Then Jesus comes, who neither fights nor takes over anything, doesn’t even resist the Romans, but is a lowly servant and calls them to a lowly servant life.  Then he does the unthinkable and goes and gets Himself killed-what a tragic end!  Disappointment.  Expectations thwarted.

There is obviously more to these stories … and that is where we will go later on in the weekend.  But consider just stepping in at halftime.  What would they think?  What emotions would they feel? I suggest that they would feel keen and miserable disappointment. I suggest that we love and serve an awesome, majestic, glorious, beautiful, worthy, and infinitely valuable God of Disappointment.  And I love Him for it. 🙂

I’m thankful for the fact that we don’t have a full-time job yet because it meant Jeff had the freedom to go preach at a church in Wilsonville, and it was awesome!  I’m thankful that we’re not big-name famous preacher people becaues it means we got to rub shoulders with these precious saints in this teeny tiny church–they were so sweet!

I’m thankful for my 2nd trimester boost of energy today: 2 Loaves of banana bread, 2 batches of Dutch’s super-duper healthy muffins, fresh bread, dinner made, tomorrow’s lunch made for Jeff, laundry put away, house straightened up, dishes done…need I say more?  I’m thankful I had the energy yesterday to make ahead a picnic lunch for us so we didn’t have to spend money on food after church and we ate healthy instead!

I’m thankful for a son who is so flexible he goes into any church nursery and loves it.  I’m thankful he flirts with all the elderly ladies and makes their day.  I’m thankful he’s thrilled with a peanut butter sandwich and thinks he’s died and gone to heaven if he gets graham crackers too.  I’m thankful he read his little picture Bible the entire way there and back the 50 minute drive to and from the church we visited.

I’m thankful for the 1/2 of Costco apple pie I had stuck in the freezer and pulled out for tonight…I’m thankful for Potstickers which mean that dinner’s ready in 8 minutes.  I’m thankful for 3 weeks straight of not throwing up!  I’m thankful (again) for this amazing comfy bed that I’ve sunk into tonight.  I’m thankful that I have a genious husand whose mind can retain the insanity that Greek is…and I’m WAY thankful that I do NOT have to take Greek!  I’m thankful it delights him even though the very idea bores me to tears.

I’m thankful for the river where we played tonight and threw rocks. I’m thankful for the horsies up the road and for feeding them grass and watching Dutch squeal with delight as he throws them their food.  I’m thankful for a walk with my husband tonight…and I’m thankful that I’m already waddling because it means this baby is growing fast!  I’m thankful for the beautiful moment tonight when I tried on my big pregnancy jeans and rejoiced that they are still WAY too big. Yippee! 🙂  I’m thankful that Dutch is weaning himself.  I’m thankful for the scene of the night: Jeff surprising Dutch by running his stroller through the sprinkler!   I’m thankful Dutch is now asleep. I’m thankful for bedtimes that are set in stone.  🙂

I’m thankful for my laptop, for wireless internet (SO THANKFUL), for facebook Scrabble games with Jeff and Cheyloe, and for evenings like this when I’m in bed by 8:30.  So much…these are the thanks of the day.

Isn’t it amazing how relentless our God is?  Remember last Sunday (Lie of Entitlement Vs. Truth of the Loving Father), how I was floored by the message at church on Numbers 11?  Well tonight Jeff and I decided to visit a church, the pastor of which we know, as they have a Saturday night service.  We thought we’d make a date out of it, so we packed a little picnic along with plenty of books for Dutch, and trekked into the big town to visit this church.  I thought it’d be a great way to spend a Saturday night. I had no idea what I was in store for.

I knew when I walked in that it was no accident we were there.  The sermon series?  Lessons from the Wilderness, a series on the book of Numbers.  Tonight’s message was from Numbers 14…about complaining.  What?! I heard that same message last week at a different church?  I mean who preaches out of Numbers?  Where are the Beatitudes? Two weeks in a row? From two different pastors who have never even heard of each other? Yes.  God was and is trying to get my attention.

Tonight’s sermon gripped me even more than last week’s, not because it was better, but just because I was in a place where I had, once again, been in a place of absolute miserable complaining, as you read in my earlier post. I could think of nothing good.  What Pastor Joel shared literally had me blubbering tears like a baby, letting my hair fall forward over my face so the people around me wouldn’t be distracted by my weeping.  Joel just returned last night from a mission trip to Mexico, where they worked amongst the very poorest there.  Not only do they not have homes, the babies wear no diapers, the children have open sores, live in cardboard boxes or little tin can boxes that practically bake them in the summer.  He explained that we have this unspoken belief that it’s wrong to complain unless we’re going through something really hard. Then it’s justified. Wrong!  The Israelites were going through something really hard, and yet it says that God was grieved by their grumbling, and therefore let the entire generation die in the wilderness.  I had never noticed before that in 14:1-2, they actually say “We wish we would have died in the wilderness.” Can you believe they actually say that? ANd then that’s what happens. God says, “Okay, you want to die in the wilderness.  It’s going to be a slow 40-year death for your entire generation.”

This about scared the wits out of me. Yes, God is so gracious and loving and merciful, but the fact that I have been full-time whining and complaining is an absolute blasphemy of God’s goodness.  Joel talked about how sad we would be as parents if we overheard our children, whom we sacrifice for in order to bless, talking about how miserable they are in our homes.  We would be hurt, so sad, and angry.  Imagine what it is like for God, who not only hears our words but see our complaining thoughts, after He’s not only provided for us materially, but given us eternal life and forgiveness of sin and escape from damnation!

Joel finished by reading an email, which offers perspective on thankfulness. I didn’t write it all down, but I’m going to put it into my own words, with my own situation.  And I’m repenting … again. This time I am purposing in my heart, and asking God for grace to help me, to each and every day begin by writing down what I am thankful for.  I have so far to go!  I’m seeing that to the degree that we are thankful, that is the degree that we are spiritually mature.  I’m basically a spiritual middle schooler then … oh dear.  But I’m taking a step, albeit small, in the right direction.

—–

• I’m thankful for living with my parents because the rent is so cheap!
• I’m thankful for my dad spending all day long with Dutch because that means Dutch gets a special relationship with his grandpa that most little boys don’t get.
• I’m thankful Jeff only has a 1/2 time job because that gives him time to take Greek classes.
• I’m thankful for our school debt because it means we’ve had the privilege of higher education.
• I’m thankful for our filthy bathroom because it’s so much better than going to the bathroom in a big pit like we did at missions training camp and like they do in 3rd world countries.
• I’m thankful for migraines and morning sickness because it means I have  a precious little life growing in side me!
• I’m thankful for poopy diapers because it means Dutch is healthy!
• I’m thankful for dirty dishes and meals to prepare because it means we are not starving.
• I’m thankful for my weight gain and the fact that my clothes don’t fit right because it means our baby is growing!
• I’m thankful for the zits on my face because…hmm I’ll have to think a while longer about this one. 🙂
• I’m thankful for our dirty sheets that need to be changed because they cover the most comfortable bed in the world that I love sinking into every night.

And a few others…

I’m thankful for Corn Flakes, Microwaves, trips to visit the Horsies with Dutch, treks down to the river to throw rocks with Dutch, walks down the driveway, friendly neighbors, absolutely wonderful renters in our homes who always pay their rent on time, parents who love and support us and don’t yell at me even when I’m super grumpy (all the time), a son who laughs and brings me immeasurable joy and who loves being in the nursery at church (any church!) which just blows my mind, perfectly timed messages from God’s Word that bring me to my knees, talented worship leaders who usher me into the throneroom of God, and last but not least, an amazing husband who walks through the mountains and valleys with me.

And I’m thankful for this blog, and for YOU who actually read it!  Good night … and thanks!

More dabbling in multiple books–I really think I’ve caught the Jeff bug.  In fact, it was he who handed me John Piper’s Suffering and the Sovereignty of God.  Why?  It went something like this:  Kari crying, again.  Weeping is more like it.  “I can’t do it anymore. I can’t do it. I can’t live here. I’m going crazy. It’s not like I have a bad day every once in a while. Every day is a bad day.  I’m depressed; I can hardly get myself out of bed because I hate how every day is.  I can’t keep doing this, but I know I can’t say that because I can’t tell God what to do and I’m supposed to be content, and every day I pray and plead with God to help me have joy and be content and not be so bitter and resentful and awful, and I’m supposed to be preparing to speak at this women’s retreat and I have nothing to say because if I say anything worth saying it will be totally fake.  I can’t encourage anyone when I can’t even trust God myself…” This then drowned into more sobbing.  Jeff, who listens WAY better than Peter Parker does in Spiderman 3 (and I told him that), listened quietly, stroked my cheek as I cried, and suggested that since I had nothing to pour out for the retreat ladies, I might has well just take more time to “fill up the well” so to speak, by reading something that would nourish my soul.  He pulled down Suffering and the Sovereignty of God and opened it to chapter seven.

So I read one thing that at least gave me an “exercise”, something to do, which always helps. (You have to understand I need baby steps here. I’m sure you’ve surmised by now that I am not doing well.  We need baby steps at this point.)  The sentence was “Profound good often emerges in a crucible of significant suffering” and then the point was made that perhaps the most trying circumstances are simply those that last a long time.  A quick and painful blow can often be endured, while the gnawing ache of disappointment wears us down to the core.  So the question asked was this: “What has marked you for good [during this season of suffering]?”  Hmm.  What has marked me for good?  A pretty simple exercise. Let’s see.

1. I’ve written more in the past 13+ months than ever before.  2. Maybe in the end our marriage will be stronger since this year has been so hard.  3.  We haven’t spent money on clothes or house stuff.  4. We’ve gotten a lot of school done. Um….

You know what though? The truth is that I just can’t see it yet.  I’m still too far in the midst of the circumstance to even see it right.  The fact is right now as I sit there trying to think, I can think of ten bad things for every good thing.  It’s been SO hard on our marriage.  We have less money and more debt than ever before.  I feel discouraged and depressed almost all the time, like it takes a supernatural measure of courage to do everday things.  We have no close friends nearby.  We’ve invested a year in a place where it now seems likely we won’t be long term.  We have nowhere to live. We have no job.  There are a million three-generation-household-living dynamics that are driving me insane (and I know we drive my parents crazy!).  And the worst is that this was my choice, and I should be thankful, I know that, but I’m not. I’m miserable, and every time I think of one thing to be thankful for, there are five things that bombard my mind that are depressing.

So, sorry to get so real and raw with you, but what this has taught me is that I don’t think I’m going to see this one very clearly until later. Time will have to tell what those “good things” are.  I just received in the mail my first (self-published) book of The Road to Santa Clara, complete with the cool cover Jeff designed. Now, it’s easy to see all the awesome lessons we learned there. But at the time, I was absolutely miserable and couldn’t see the forest for the trees.  So I guess I’m there again.  I refuse to be fake here. I refuse to tell you that I’m encouraged and seeing God’s awesome purposes and rejoicing in the midst of my frustrations.  Yup, not really there yet.  But I’ll at least be honest and vulnerable with you.  And one thing I know, I know that will be a time when it will be clear. It’ll make sense.  I’ll begin to see the good that arose from this. And you know what? I can honestly say, that even if that time never comes, I’m ok with that.  Because God is God.  Though my flesh may be destroyed (or my heart), with my eyes I will see God.  Though he slay me yet will I trust Him.  I will weep and and pour out my heart to Him because He’s said that we can. I will continue to plead with Him for grace.  I’ll feel and experience the emotions.  But time will have to tell what God makes of all this. ANd that’s ok, because He’s God. I don’t have to understand. It’s ok.  And surprising to even myself right now…I’m ok too.

For those of you just joining our LiveDifferent Challenges, click the LiveDifferent link under featured to see what we’ve done so far.  Basically, we’re just brainstorming on fun ways to live counter-culture, focusing on creative ways go against the grain of materialism, consumerism, and selfish waste.  I always love hearing your ideas, so send ’em in!

Apparently the library bug is in full force, because I was reading Caila’s blog and she had just posted “Library Lover“, then spoke with another friend who said she was loving her local library this summer. So, perhaps ya’ll are already there, but–surprise–this challenge is to patronize, that is, become a patron, of your local library.

Tonight right before dinner Jeff and I took Dutch in to the library.  The fabulous kid’s park is in the same block, so it makes for a fun destination.  As we walked into the library (which is actually very impressive for such a small town), I took a deep breath of the familiar, intoxicating musty smell of books–Ahh!!  I love that smell.  Now that Dutch is such a book fan, trips to the library are even more fun, as he loves to sift through the big picture books, or even pull the “big kid” novels off the shelves and pretend to read.

Besides the traditional use of the library–going and spending lots of time searching and sifting through titles (which is still a sacred experience if you ask me), there is another way that I’m loving now that I’m a busy mom–online requests.  I can go online, search by title or author or subject, and put up to ten titles on hold, from anywhere in our county.  Then I can just walk in, give them my card, get my huge stack of books, and be out in 2 minutes.  This is amazing!  Our other favorite thing is the movies.  Who needs Blockbuster, and paying almost $4 per movie when you can get them for free at your library, and keep them for a week instead of the measly 1 or 2 days that Blockbuster and Hollywood allot.  True, it’s hard sometimes to get recent titles, but again–try out the online request. Early this morning Jeff requested Spiderman 3…and it was sitting there waiting for us when we arrived at 4:30pm.  I looked online and there were no other copies available by that time in the entire county–so consider reserving ahead if you want good titles!

So anyway, libraries are really a no-brain way to save money and enjoy a risk-free way to read and watch wonderful literature and movies.  I’m excited for the days when Dutch will be ready to go to library story times, or when he can go himself and pick out books to read.  Growing up we lived at the library.  We went there every week, and read everything we could get our hands on. Plus, my mom donated so many books that they gave her a no-late-fee status so even if we were bad about getting them back we never had to pay a cent! 🙂

So check it out.  At least go there and take a deep breath, inhale that heavenly scent, and relish the fact that you can walk out with a stack of books and movies without paying a dime. Make it a habit.  Patronize the place. If you really go hog wild you can even pay $1 and get an “I love my library” sign to put in your yard.  Or not…it’s up to you.

Often when people, at least Christians, are asked, “What’s your favorite book?” such as on Facebook, etc. there is the obligatory “Well, the Bible of course, and then…” and then the list of real books begins.  But really, I think that too often I take for granted that in my own possession I have the Bestselling Book of all time, the most reprinted, the most widely translated, the most preserved from antiquity.  And not only that, I have, in my hands, the very words that claim they are breathed by God.  How sad that it is sometimes not celebrated, and truly loved and enjoyed for all its worth.

The last few weeks, I’ve really fallen in love with God’s Word all over again.  I’ve mentioned before that I read through the Bible each year, just straight through Genesis to Revelation, January to December. There are lots of neat little reading plans that dabble in the Law, Psalms, New Testament all at once, but they just confuse me and I’m pretty much a straight-through kinda girl.  One book at a time.  So usually, just because I really do love to read my Bible, I usually find myself getting ahead and finishing early.  Well not this year. I don’t have any sort of official plan, because I’ve been doing this for ten years and by now I don’t keep track of anything I just read.  But I had a hunch that I was slacking so I looked up online to see where I should be if I’m on track and let’s just say I am WAY behind.  WAY behind.  Hm.  There’s no condemnation in this, it doesn’t make me any less valuable of a Christian and certainly doesn’t mean that God loves me any less, but what it tells me is that I’m consuming less of God’s supernaturally transforming words than I have in the past ten years.  I’m thankful for this check.  I like measurable things like that because it helps keep me on my toes.

So the past few weeks, I’ve been digging in. Perfectly, and I believe divinely orchestrated by God, I’m in the Psalms.  Impeccable timing.   I’ve been whining, rejoicing, crying, praying, pleading, questioning, praising, despairing, and wondering with David, Asaph, and the other Psalmists.  And I’ve been reminded again at why this is the bestselling book of all time–because it speaks directly to our human condition.  There is nothing that transforms my life like God’s Word. There is nothing that comforts, nothing that heals, nothing that opens my heart to be purged and cleansed and renewed like God’s Word.  It’s like dialing up the telephone to God and letting Him hear my voice, listening to His, and letting the peace that surpasses understanding come and fill my heart.  This is why I love God’s Word.

So this might be super cheesy, but just as I gave some Fiction recommendations, I’d like to share some of the Psalm passages that have been ministering to me.  Also, if you’d like recommendations on Bible-reading helps, visit Jeff’s blog. He just finished teaching a class on enjoying the Bible for all its worth, and he posted resources for his students.  (Click here!) Back to the Psalms…

Psalm 5:11-12 “But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You; Let them ever shout for joy because You defend them; Let those also who love Your name be joyful in You, For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield.”

Psalm 16:5-6 “O Lord, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes I have a good inheritance.”

Psalm 31: 14-15a “But as for me, I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in Your hand.”

Psalm 43:5 “Why are you cast down, O my soul?  And why are you disquieted within me?  Hope in God.  For I shall yet praise Him, the help of my countenance and my God.”

Psalm 51:17 “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart–these O God, You will not despise.”

Consider re-reading the book you already own, the Bestselling Book of all time.

Really nothing deep and significant here.  Really.  Since we’re unofficially on the topic of books this week, and fiction books so far, I’m wondering why there cannot be a short-legged heroine.  I am not short, in fact I’m tall for a woman, but I have a very long torso and therefore, relative to my torso, shorter legs. I’m ok with it.  I’ve come to grips with the fact that I will never be described as “leggy”.  However, I’m a bit disappointed in the fact that in all the fiction books I’ve read (and of course, all the movies I’ve seen) I’ve yet to see a short-legged heroine.  I’ve seen skinny, full, blonde, brunette. clever, air-headed…but I’ve yet to see one with a long torso and short legs.  Even Shrek’s wife Fiona, who won my heart by being plump and green, you must admit has a pretty lengthy set of legs on her, even if they are no doubt chubby.  I’ve read five or six Rosamunde Pilcher books recently (whom I adore) and I must say that I’ve begun to notice, with a little irritation, that all the female main characters are described as having long legs, or leggy, or skinny spindly legs.  Hm.  I suppose this is just the way life is.  Short-legged girls don’t stand a chance at being the heroine.  It’s too bad because there are some good ones of us out here.  Can I get an amen?  That’s all for tonight. 🙂