Tim

Well, just over a week ago, God gave me another "unseen thing" to long for. That is my friend, Tim, in heaven. He died in a car crash on Oct. 15, but is now more alive than ever before. He has no sin, and is able to worship God perfectly. That's something I really long for.
I have seen God give so much grace through all of this. First, in comfort from God. In times like this, when pain is so great, Truth is more important than ever. My God is truly a rock to which I can cling. I can trust His promises that Tim is with Him, that this was in His sovereign plan all along, that this is good because God is good, and that the same future awaits me someday.
I also thank God for comfort from friends. I don't know how unsaved people truly feel in times of grief, but it has to be awful to hear, "I'm sorry," "He died so young," or "Well, I'm sure he's in a better place." The days following Tim's death, I heard (or read in e-mails) things like, "Read this Scripture," "Trust our sovereign God," and "Just think of Tim worshipping God right now." That is real comfort based on truth. The other option is shallow cliches based on feelings or wishes. It also meant a lot to me to know that other people were going through the same things I was. God says to comfort each other with the comfort we get from Him, and that is just His grace working through someone else.
So, now we all go on. We remember Tim and how he lived for God. But, more importantly, we allow this experience to make us more desperate for heaven than before. I long for heaven because I long to see Tim. But, far more than that, I long to see my Savior like Tim does right now. Tim has made me more homesick than before, and that is God's grace as well.

You might be a Minnesotan if...

I found these on Justin Taylor's blog.

This post is dedicated to my friend Kerry who is learning to be a Minnesotan, though in some ways she will never be one.

You might be a Minnesotan...
~If you consider it a sport to gather your food by drilling through l8 inches of ice and sitting there all day hoping that the food will swim by.
~If you're proud that your state makes the national news 96 nights each year, because International Falls is the coldest spot in the nation.
~You were delighted to get a miniature snow shovel for your 3rd birthday.
~Your birthday was in April, and you still got to use the shovel right away.
So true! I was born in April during a blizzard.
~If your local Dairy Queen is closed from November through March, you might live in Minnesota.
Yep. They sell Christmas trees in the parking lot.
~If someone in a store offers you assistance, and they don't work there.
That's creepy.
~You have ever apologized to a telemarketer.
~If your dad's suntan stops at a line curving around the middle of his forehead, you might live in Minnesota.
Suntan? What suntan? If you live in Minnesota and have one, you paid for it.
~If you have worn shorts and a parka at the same time, you might live in Minnesota.
~If your town has an equal number of bars and churches, you might live in Minnesota.
~If you know how to say Wayzata, Mahtomedi, Edina, Shakopee, Winton and Ely, you might live in Minnesota.
Kerry has Wayzata and Edina down already.
~If you think that ketchup is a little too spicy, you might live in Minnesota.
Not my missionary-to-Africa friend Kerry! I, on the other hand, have recently learned to enjoy mild salsa.
~You measure distance in hours.
I think this one was meant to refer to rural MN, but it is also true of the entire Minneapolis/Saint Paul area during rush "hour" (approx. 6 hours of every weekday).
~You laugh out loud every time you see a news report about a blizzard shutting down the entire East Coast.
Yeah, that is pretty funny! Even when this area should shut down, it doesn't.
~You think of SPAM as a quality, all-purpose meat product whether served with eggs for breakfast, in a sandwich at noontime, or in a hot-dish for supper.
Ok, here I have to disagree. Spam is nasty.
~You know several people who have hit deer more than once.
~You often switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day and back again.
~You can drive 65 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard, without flinching.
I'm a total wimp when it comes to driving in snow, but many people do this.
~You see people wearing hunting clothes at social events.
~You carry jumper cables in your car and your girlfriend knows how to use them.
~You design your kid's Halloween costume to fit over a snowsuit.
Back when my parents let us go trick-or-treating (when I was about 6), I wore my "princess dress" with sweat pants, long sleeves, gloves and boots.
~Driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow.
~You know all 4 seasons: almost winter, winter, still winter and road construction.
At least "road construction" season is warm!
~Down South to you means Iowa.
~You find 0 degrees a little chilly.

Welcome to MN, Kerry!

Humility

I think that humility is the most elusive virtue we Christians are commanded to have. If I know God is giving me faith, I can do things for Him that I might not have done before because of fear or anxiety. If I know God is creating love in my heart for an unlovely person, I can love that person in word and in deed in ways I would not have previously. But if I know that I am more humble than before, oops! It is gone! Somehow, if I am aware of my humility, it ceases to exist, because I get proud that I was so humble.
The reason I have thought about humilty lately is my recent exposure to corporate America. When you interview for a job, humility is not a quality that the business world wants. One interview I had last spring (did not get the job, and I think this is one of the reasons) is a good example of this. The lady interviewing me asked lots of questions which I was probably supposed to answer with great self-confidence, but I just couldn't. My answers were more, "I think I can do the job," "I will try," etc... while she probably wanted, "I am positive that I can do this job and that I am the best choice for this position!" I couldn't say that because I didn't know (or even think) that it was true. I had never done the job before, and she was most likely interviewing several people more qualified to do it than I. So, here's me with somewhat forced humility (and now that I have called it that, I have become proud) which she probably interpreted as weakness, lack of confidence, laziness, or whatever. The employers and HR people I have talked to lately have been pretty much the same (though not all of them). So I try not to say things that would look bad to an employer while at the same time fighting to show Christ-like humility.
Then today I read the chapter in Future Grace by John Piper that is about pride. This is what he says:
"Humility is not a popular human trait in the modern world. It's not touted in the talk shows or celebrated in valedictory speeches or commended in diversity seminars or listed with corporate core values. And if you go to the massive self-help section of your sprawling mall bookstore, you won't find many titles celebrating humility."
Yes, I certainly have noticed this! Here is his reason:
"The basic reason for this is not hard to find: humility can only survive in the presence of God. When God goes, humility goes. In fact you might say that humility follows God like a shadow. We can expect to find humility applauded in our society about as often as we find God applauded. . . When God is neglected, the runner-up god takes his place, namely man. And that, by definition, is the opposite of humility, namely the haughty spirit called pride. So the atmosphere we breath is hostile to humility."
So, this is both encouraging and discouraging to me. It is discouraging to think about the state of every man without Christ. Among the vast store of treasures that he is missing because he is unsaved is the privilege of humility. Since he does not have Christ, he must turn to himself for answers, resources, etc... And when he comes to the end of himself(which may take a while, depending on how rich and smart he is), he has nothing! An unsaved man will never appreciate humility or enjoy the blessing of it.
But, for the Christian, this is a comforting and liberating truth. With Christ comes safety, provision, objective truth, and many other things that we don't have to find in ourselves. We have the blessing of being able to cast our cares on Him, trusting Him for both earthly needs and eternal satisfaction. He is the source of all truth, and the power of Godly living. Looking for those things in ourselves would lead us to despair, but Christ grants us the privilege of coming to Him like a helpless, humble child.

Now if only I could learn how to be humble without knowing it...

Another Blog!

As if cyberspace really needs just one more person blogging random thoughts about whatever.... Oh well! Here goes.

I got the title from a Newsboys song called "Hallelujah," so I thought I would post the words here.

I'm looking up
Holding out
Pressing forward
Without a doubt
Longing for the things unseen
Longing for the things I believe
My true country

We hope and wait
For the glorious day
All tears will vanish
Wiped away
On the saints this day already shines
On the saints this day already shines
It already shines

We'll be singing hallelujah
We'll be singing hallelujah
At the top of our lungs, halle-le-lujah
(With all of our breath, halle-le-lujah)
To your glory, hallelujah
Hallelujah, hallelujah

And I know that it's coming
But I can't see it now
And I've touched it in moments
But I can't hold it yet
And it glows in the darkness
And it calls us away
To our true destination
To that glorious day

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.