upper room miracle

I had such a fun, God-revealing-himself kind of day, today. It started earlier this week when I was reading in the book of Acts to prepare for my ESL class. I was reading a Bible that I've had for years, and noticed a note I had made, years ago, in the margin by chapter 4. It was drawing attention to this section of Acts 4:
²³ On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. ²⁴ When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. ²⁵ You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David:

“‘Why do the nations rage
and the peoples plot in vain?
²⁶ The kings of the earth rise up
and the rulers band together
against the Lord
and against his anointed one.^[b]’^[c]

²⁷ Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. ²⁸ They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. ²⁹ Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. ³⁰ Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus.”

³¹ After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
I read it like I had never seen it before. Now, this is the prayer of someone who knows God - someone who believes, trusts Him! Satan always wants us to question, "Why?", "What if....?", or "If only..."  The disciples, here, accepted the past and prayed for courage for the future - that God would be glorified. Imagine it!...the very worst had just happened - Jesus had been crucified, they were being persecuted and told to stop preaching about Jesus....everything was different than they had expected it to be. If anyone had reason to question God, to lament the past, or to lose heart, these men did! But that's not how this prayer goes. They tell God how the events had unfolded, adding, " They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen."  And then they prayed for the future. I believe this is a powerful example of how we should pray - with acceptance!
So, I decided this is what we should read in my Sunday School class this week. My little group of 13-18 year-old girls is crammed into a small upper room, off the balcony. This is simply because every other room is already being used by another class. Our tiny alcove is windowless and gets very stuffy. Today we were finding it extra warm and tight up there. I promised the girls we would do the lesson quickly and I'd let them out early to get a breath of fresh air. As we finished this powerful passage on prayer, the girls complained about our tiny digs. So, being a bit silly, and a bit serious, I told them, "Pray for a new room. Who knows? Maybe next week a miraculous room will just appear out of nowhere!" After a final exhortation to just pray, we went downstairs. Minutes later I was informed that this week a new Sunday School room is being constructed for my class in the basement. I honestly wasn't even aware that there was any discussion about this - I didn't know anyone even knew how tiny and uncomfortable our "upper room" was! I can't wait till next Sunday when my girls see our Miracle Room that will have appeared out of nowhere!! God answers before we ask!

troubles to grace

It's always surprising to me how fluid my life is. I mean, how up and down. When I'm up, I feel like I'll never be down again - I'm on top of the world, I'm close to God and trusting Him is easy. But then, when I'm down, I can't imagine being anything else, and I feel like there's a stone where my soul should be. One thing that I appreciate about experience, is that I'm learning (slowly) that when my life starts to fall into that downward spiral, the best and only "fix" is to seek after God - even though that's the last thing I feel like doing. Seeking Him can take many forms, but reading His Word is usually the quickest remedy. I love how He can so quickly bring things to the point I have been missing. And how does he do it?? I honestly can't explain how He used Isaiah 66 to show me I have been ungrateful and full of complaining, lately. But He speaks through His word - It is living and organic. And He can show me my faults in such a gracious way...oh, make me like You, LORD, as I raise these soon-to-be teenage daughters. I already feel that I need buckets of grace and mountains of patience. I guess that's the point of these difficulties...to make me more like Him! And so, I'll take this experience, and these troubles and just be thankful!

open hands

Ok, I am sooooo being tested on my last post. Today was painful, and I really struggled to accept it as a gift. I know there is a way to hold my hands open to receive His gifts, to accept and not fight the difficulty. Tonight I read to Marcella and Laurie from a Bible story book we've been reading for a while. Tonight's story was Daniel and the Lion's Den. In the story, Daniel walked confidently to the lion's den - not because he knew he wouldn't be consumed by the lions, but because he trusted in God and he accepted this circumstance as from God. I would like to be like Daniel. Can I trust Him in every difficulty? The proof is in the gift of His Son. How would He give such a gift and not care for me in other matters? Jesus is the ultimate proof of God's love for me.

my life: one giant reno

My sweet sister told me I should be blogging a bit about this "building a restaurant" experience...."not that you have anything else to do," she laughed. I said she and Jen and Colin and Dad are doing all the hard stuff. I'm just going around in a fog most of the time. It is seriously one of the biggest rollercoaster rides I've ever been on. One day everything goes wrong: the oven, already in place, is the wrong oven for our amperage; the new fridge doesn't work; our debit machine isn't connecting to the router; delays, delays, delays. How will we get the front of the building painted? can we even get scaffolding that will work there? when will we ever get our logo back from the designer? can we build a shelf to fit in that tiny spot where we need to put the coffee maker? the building owner still hasn't gotten his stuff out of the basement. AAAArrrrgggh! But then, the next day everything's coming up roses: The new oven will be here next week; the plumber can come on Tuesday; the Coast calls wanting to set up an interview, yay, free press! My biggest challenge is to trust God on both types of days. He is a Good God, and only gives Good Gifts - no matter what I think of them. So I try to thank Him on the difficult days, and not just thank Him for the things He will do, but for the difficulties. It is proof that I trust Him and that I believe He is good. It's actually a bit freeing: I don't need to decide what is good and what is bad; what to accept and what to reject. All gifts from my Father are good. I need not shield my potential for joy from the winds of difficulty. God can take care of these things for me.

I'll try to post a few pictures of our work-in-progress, but no promises. (I'm too busy painting) And school starts on Tuesday. I still need to go school supply shopping. Eeeeeek!

and all is right that seems most wrong if it be His sweet will

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled, My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord - how long?

pop culture and God

I was listening to CBC radio this afternoon (I really enjoy CBC, sometimes). Anyway, the show was about making mistakes. People had called or written in about mistakes they had made. One guy was telling about his "favourite" mistake, and the announcer asked him, "So, what did you learn from this mistake." The guy's remark gives a lot of insight into what many people, today, believe about God and religion and sin. He said, basically, "I don't believe in learning from mistakes. We're all taught that we're sinners from birth, and we have to be taught - to learn from the priest or whoever how to live properly. And I don't buy into all that stuff." I'm always interested to hear what people think about God, or even about Christianity. What do people today believe about God? What kind of God do they think He is? What kinds of messages about Him are finding their way into the hearts of His creation? I welcome any stories you may have about what people believe about God.

before my cross

thought I was ready
taking up that cross
following, following
I will stay close
(bring it on?)

I must go back
- missed something
I enter the stillness of the garden
in the time before the morning
someone is crying
"Nevertheless..."

my cross is too heavy
the garden is the only way
"not my will" can bear this crushing cross
the Father has drawn me
so I can come to the One
the One who bears His own cross

having surrendered to the One
who made the stars and the sky
I can take up my cross
and follow

with fear I follow
for I know I must come to the place
that still echoes, resounds with
"Father, forgive them!"