Terribly Interesting

Last week I had the joy of taking a  much needed  personal respite. I prayed. I journaled.  I photographed around the ranch. I turned 31. Things from last week I would recommend to you: The Trattoria Lisina at the Mandola Vineyard and the movie Expelled with Ben Stein ( see Voddie's blog ).  I have 4 days to pack up our entire house! Please continue to pray for the vision God has given us. www.gomershouse.org See more of the pictures: Stephanie's Gallery My grandmother's childhood church built in 1886. Trattoria Lisina Anne and Steve. Who's Anne Lively?

This Blog is updated each Tuesday. Where do I start? People keep asking me what Gomer's House is, where the idea came from, and if I knew what Gomer was. Gomer , in case you don't know, left her godly family to pursue a career as a cultic prostitute. Her husband, Hosea, went after her and bought her back. She was up on the auction block as a slave. He chose to bring her back, clean her up and restore her to her place in the home. Gomer represents God's people. We always choose things opposed to the Lord's plan for us. We buy the shiny lie. We buy it in addiction, affairs, control, and complete lack of faith in who God created us to be.  Our heart is to give clear direction and a lifeline to Christ to every " Gomer " God brings our way.  I have always wanted a Bed and Breakfast. If you have ever stayed at our house, you know that is true. We love having people over. I thought that did not fit into our ministerial life and that it would never happen. A few y...

I really only have one thing to say. Thank You, Lord God. Our house sold for full asking price. What's next? www.gomershouse.org Please take a minute to pray for God's perfect provision for this vision.                            

This Blog is Updated each Tuesday. It was around Easter when I first saw this pile along the road way. There is major construction going on around us and this is fencing that was taken down to make room for something else. Each time I see it, I think it looks like a pile of crosses and it feels like a spiritual punch in the gut to me. Constantly seeing this has raised some questions in my mind. Did they pile up the bloody crosses after they killed Christ? Did  people pass them on their way to work or school? What happened after it was all said and done? Did all the people who went to the churches (temples) that the Pharisees presided over just go back to church? Did they just go back to church as though nothing had happened? Were they thinking that this is just the way the world is?" Too bad we had to lose Jesus." Did they just go back to normal life? How many walked away humbled and broken? How many were unable to sit at the feet of the men who would crucify the Christ? Did...

This Blog is updated each Tuesday. There are moments when we hear a Scripture we have heard a hundred times in a new and different way that makes us listen as if for the first time. I am enthralled by the book of Ezekiel. It blows me away. The passion. The severity. The intensity.  Only people moved to desperation seek to preach out of Ezekiel. There are no meager words there to stroke our egos. I have several times heard sermons on  The Vision of the Valley of Dry Bones as laid out in Ezekiel 37, but as I heard Robert say the words in verse 7 it sent chills up my arm. Ezekiel 37:7 "So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound , and the bones came together, bone to bone." Every other time I have heard "a rattling sound" (probably even when I say it), it has sounded very 'clinical.' Rattling, like a baby rattle. Imagine a little bit of drawl and an whole lot of authority.  " A rattlin' sound! ...

On the eve of Easter I decided to go outside and see what the Lord was up to. In the sky above He had painted the sky with clouds illuminated by a bright full moon. A deep desire fell on me to get up and see the sunrise in the morning. I kept hearing three words pound in my heart, "I still rise." Easter morning. In the car, I head off with my camera to see what sort of sunrise will be painted this morning. Clouds covered the sky and mostly hid the sun. As it broke through the clouds I remembered John 20 which I had read that morning. The empty tomb . The sun broke through just as Christ broke through the veil of death.           He is risen! Staring at the majesty of the morning I saw a bird break through the cloud barrier and I was again reminded that Christ overcame death and separation from the Father. But before he entered heaven, Jesus went into a garden and, kneeling before the Father, he received your sin onto his own body (Isa. 53:6). Every one of your sins was placed...

Grab a cup of coffee, sit back, and rest in what  your Father says about you while you watch this video. I have recently encountered some things that have made me wonder why I write this blog. Who am I writing to? What is it I am trying to get out to the people that read this blog? In Jesus' day people would follow Rabbis. It was the Rabbi's job to interpret the Scripture. The people followed the Rabbi that they believed interpreted the Scripture most closely to God's meaning. I am no Rabbi, but I am listening and studying. I believe I am writing this blog for Christians who desire to overcome brokenness and move on to the next level of life God has for them. As I study, I desire to share the things God is teaching me.  My heart here is not to indoctrinate you into my way of thinking, but to simply cause you to think . I want to lay before you what I learn. From there, you lay it before God and let Him do  whatever He desires to do . Are you willing to lay down your ...