Scaffolding.
When God strips you of your scaffolding and you are there standing alone before him, do not fret. The spacious place allows him to embrace you without restraint. Treasure the desolate place, for the emptiness allows for greater grace.
… and then I cried.
I wanted some coffee.
I now live in the coffee capital of the world … right?
It would be easy to have a wonderful cup of coffee.
You’ve been to Starbucks. It’s as plain as day. Grande … Venti … it’s Italian.
Espresso, cappuccino, frappucino (?) … I’ll have some latte, please.
Italian’s aren’t much for variety.
Everything Changes
I came across this quote the other day and I have been meditating on it today.
“The heart of the Gospel is change. It is transformation. It is being born again to a new life..The heart of Christ’s message is extremely simple: an encounter with God – a real one- means change.” (p.42, The Cross & The Switchblade)
This quote kinda sums up where I am at right now. Everything is changing. And I am not always okay with it. Especially now. I normally love the changes in the weather, you know, seasons, trends, clothes, friends. But right now I’ve been at a lost. I don’t want summer to fade. I don’t want my friends to move all over the world. I want everything to stay the same. But it can’t. If it were, then I would be losing what I claim I live for.
Thoughts on suffering and miracles…
So today I did something that I haven’t done in a while.
I’ve been serving God to some serious extent for about 3 or 4 years.
And for the first time today, I asked God and believed Him for a miracle for myself.
For some time now I’ve operated under a particular attitude and belief structure. I don’t feel that this particular belief structure and attitude are inaccurate per se. I know that God can do miracles. That He can bring healing to the body, the heart, the mind. I know that any and everything is possible for God. I also know that not everyone is healed. I realize that there is sovereign and divine plan behind a good deal of what goes on in this life. It annoys me to hear it preached that faith is the only contingent ingredient in healing and miracles. I know of people who doubted that God has done miracles for. I know of people who were faithful down to their core who didn’t see the miracle they wanted.