Talk to me, Abba.

Last week, I came home to a fallen tree. It seems silly to say, but I grieved that tree. I got angry at Jesus.  I sat there in a swing in that tree every day and talk to the Lord. My kids ran and played right where the huge limb fell. It is about twelve foot in diameter. The limb was 45 foot long. 

I laid down on my face and opened my hands and let it go. Surely God must have a plan for removing this place where I met him for a daily date. Then, I realized that this massive limb came down and my swing was still hanging there. No one in my family was hurt or even around when it happened. The lightning hit it just so that it fell perfectly. If it had fallen any other way, it would have leveled our house . Branches were touching Gomer on two sides. Nothing was hurt. 

I stared into the place that the lightning hit and was crushed and humbled by the power that brought down that tree with a single swipe. A God that powerful and precise must be up to something. He owns all the cattle on a thousand hills and all the limbs in my yard. He is clearing the way for something beautiful. He opened a door for friends to come help. I know they are friends I needed to talk to and friends that needed to talk to me. God is still good and we are still going on dates because He allowed me to release to Him what was already His.

There comes a time to set the therapy aside and go on to live your life. Perhaps instead of yearning to find our root problems, we should simply sing with the psalmist.

Bless the Lord O, my soul.

Road Trip to Redemption by Brad Mathias

This is a true story about a man who convinced his family to go on an outrageous road trip in order to bring healing to his family. I immediately wanted to read this book when I saw it. I wanted to know the lengths that this family went to in order to reconnect in a culture that devalues family. I saw more than that. We meet a contrite and humbled man who tells us that he wrecked his family and had an affair. 

His wife filed for divorce, but he never received the final paperwork. During this year, he had a real encounter with the living God. He realized that he had been pretending in his faith up until this point. He then did the unexpected and asked his wife and children for forgiveness. 

This and other circumstances led Brad to seek the Lord for a radical way to win back the hearts of his family. He discovered grace for himself as a father and came to see that the true work of winning the hearts of his kids belong to Jesus. That God did. You will love seeing how God ministered to the hearts of Brad's family as they sought out this journey. You really caught the picture of the landscape of the terrain and of his family. It inspired me to win the hearts of my children.

The adventure is truly rich. Indulge.