Livin' la vida Livingston!

Camping @ Lake Livingston State Park

We took a quick “getaway” this weekend with some friends from our bible study class. To say we had a great time is an understatement. The weather was wonderful and the R&R was much needed to rejuvenate and enjoy some of God’s amazing creations. Time really slowed down as our busy work schedules and school demands took a backseat to the sounds of crickets and the crackle of a warm campfire on a cold fall night. We enjoyed fine camping cuisine of smore’s, griddle cakes, grilled hamburgers, hot ham-n-cheese, hot chocolate along with several other comfort foods. This comes after a season of challenges in which most of our friends and family have been praying for us and our family. The Lord has graciously taken us through a time of blessings in which John started a new job and Melissa is able to stay part time and continue to work on her undergraduate degree. A season of suffering is a small price to pay for a clear view of God. The Lord is good!

They'd do it again

by Max Lucado

THEY'D DO IT AGAIN. I'm confident they would. The disciples would get into the same boat and ride through the same storm. They'd do it again in a heartbeat. Why? Because through the storm they saw the Savior. Read this verse: "Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, 'Truly you are the Son of God." (Matthew 14:33) After the storm, they worshiped him. They had never, as a group, done that before. Never. Check it out. Open your Bible. Search for a time when the disciples corporately praised him. You won't find it. You won't find them worshiping when he heals the leper. Forgives the adulteress. Preaches to the masses. They were willing to follow. Willing to leave family. Willing to cast out demons. Willing to be in the army. But only after the incident on the sea did they worship. Why? Simple. This time, they were the ones who were saved. This time, their necks were removed from the noose. Their bodies were plucked from the deep. One minute, they were dangling over the edge of the abyss, staring into the throat the slack-jawed canyon. The next, they were bottom-plopped and wide-eyed on the deck of a still boat on a placid sea. So they worshiped. They did the only thing that they could do when their death sentence was stayed at the eleventh hour: They looked to the Eternal Governor who gave the pardon and thanked him.

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When you recognize God as Creator, you will admire him. When you recognize his wisdom, you will learn from him. When you discover his strength, you will rely on him. But only when he saves you will you worship him. It's a "before and after" scenario. Before your rescue, you could easily keep God at a distance. Comfortably dismissed. Neatly shelved. Sure he was important, but so was your career. Your status. Your salary. He was high on your priority list, but he shared the spot with others. Then came the storm..... the rage ....the fight ..... the ripped moorings..... the starless night. Despair fell like a fog; your bearings were gone. In your heart, you knew there was no exit. Turn to your career for help? Only if you want to hide from the storm . . . . not escape it. Lean on your status for strength? A storm isn't impressed with your title. Rely on your salary for rescue? Many try . . . many fail. Suddenly you are left with one option: God. And when you ask . . . genuinely ask . . . he will come. And from that moment on, he is not just a deity to admire, a teacher to observe, or a master to obey. He is the Savior. The Savior to be worshiped. That's why I'm convinced that the disciples would do it again. They'd endure the storm another night . . . a thousand other nights . . . if that's what it took. A season of suffering is a small price to pay for a clear view of God.

From "In the eye of the storm" by Max Lucado.

Copyright © 1991 by Max Lucado. Published by Word Publishing.