Seasons: Extra/Ordinary

We've looked at Moses the last few weeks, at the many spiritual seasons of his life.  This week we'll take a look at his most ordinary/extraordinary time of life.  Does that sound familiar?  Extra/Ordinary?

God finds a man who shares his holy anger over Israel's slavery.  God sends that man out to a desert where his anger can be molded, refined and where rescuing skills are learned.  Then it's time, and God sends Moses back to Egypt.

You probably know the story: miracles, plagues, staffs that become snakes, a Hebrew man who speaks for the living God, a Pharaoh who finally says "Go", an Israelite hoard followed by an Egyptian army, a pillar of fire, a parted sea.

Extraordinary.

Make Good

Did you stuff all the good you could into yesterday?  Did you drink up a day filled with the best of the best?  Maybe it was a small step in the right direction - a cup of coffee in the morning light, a snuggle with your littlest one that you truly savored, a drive to church with delight at all the awaited you there.

Last week I asked the question "What do we DO on the Sabbath" and wrote about the Genesis answer: enjoy the good.  Today let's dive into the Gospel answer: make good.

Becoming A Mother in LA - Bethany Dirksen

We moved to LA when I was 5 months pregnant with our first child.  Although we were quickly becoming seasoned veterans at moving, this transition combined the nerves of my impending motherhood was daunting.  The only course of action we knew to take was: FIND A CHURCH…and stat.

We moved into a little one bedroom on Franklin Street and saw that two blocks up and one blocks down was a little community church.  It was in what seemed to be a warehouse, but we weren’t going to hold that against them, yet.  We went without looking at the website, researching other churches nearby, or even giving it a second thought.  It was nice.  The people talked to us, the music wasn’t like a pop concert, and they even did communion regularly.  We said to each other, “That’ll do,” and searched no further.  Westside Christian Fellowship had officially become our LA church home.

Meatballs and Memorization

I hope you've been reading Darlene's book Evidence Not Seen (see link on right).  One of the recurring nudges for me in her story is how often memorized scripture is the way God speaks to her.  In trials, i suffering, when circumstances her off guard - different passages come to mind that speak directly to the peace and joy God offers in no matter what she faces.  The practice of memorizing scripture is a discipline common in previous generations of believers, but more foreign to mine - a generation that easily memorizes a thousand song lyrics but struggles to get one measly verse committed to memory.

I love a moment in The Long Winter when Laura Ingalls is at school.  The teacher announces she'll begin the school day with readying the 23rd Psalm: Laura knew the Psalms by heart, of course, but she loved to hear again every word of the twenty-third, from "The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want" to "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."  Two page turns later, Laura's teacher is leading the children home through a sudden blizzard.  The snow is so thick, they have no idea what's two inches in front of them and the air so icy, the children already feel sleepy as their bodies quickly begin to freeze.  No doubt, this memorized Psalm and its promise that she would one day dwell in God's house forever gave her fortitude to continue searching for her own.