Malachi 4:2a,
But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings.
Pretty good, huh? I was humbled as I read this beautiful promise of God to His people Israel. The second part of the verse actually says, "You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall." I don't know much about cows, but it did make me think about our sweet little puppy, Macy. We don't allow our little darling girl freely roam the house during our precious hours of sleep, so she goes into her "bed," aka - the crate. Now, let it be said that this girl can sleep and she stays quiet and calm when she knows it's bedtime, but at the first hint that she might be able to come out of there she goes crazy. She turns back and forth as best she can and crashes into the sides of the crate, which is metal, so you can just imagine the racket. And you have never seen such excitement! It's like she hasn't seen you in years! Every morning, DT so graciously gets up when Macy lets out her first whimper that she has to go outside, and as soon as the doors of her crate open she bounds straight for the bed and tries to jump up and see me. It's really so cute. And it makes me feel like a million bucks :)
Here's a picture of Macy when she was a tiny girl, just 6 weeks old.So what does that have to do with cows? Ha! I just got the mental picture of how excited Macy is to get out of that crate and I figure it must be how a calf feel to get out of the stall. The freedom to be able to jump, frolic and play is exhilarating! Sheer joy is what I would call it. It made me think this morning about what some of my own crate/stalls have been, and to be honest God has been revealing quite a lot about how little freedom I experience in Him. This season of our life I have experienced minimal joy, and I think it is because I have had little care towards God's purpose for where we are and His desire for us to be holy. I have been fairly consumed with the way I would like for the picture to be painted, and haven't allowed myself to stand back and watch the Master Artist paint His portrait of our lives.
Our pastor yesterday spoke on 1 Peter 4:12-19. I won't post the whole Scripture, but please take some time to read it if you can. The title of the sermon was, "Purity and Joy in Suffering: God's Comfort and Instruction to Us." So good for both of us. It was such a good reminder that God is in the process of purifying, correcting and healing His people so that we are more like Christ. I believe this has been a first step for us in being able to say, "Thank you Lord," for a time, a set of circumstances and hard things that we could never have chosen.
If you have a second please pray for a few things for us:
1. DT has been spending most of his time on campus as the chaplain of the baseball team at Campbell. We are praying that God would raise up a few men who will give their lives to Christ and be spiritual leaders on their team. Would you join us in praying for these men? Specifically this week, DT is challenging these men to commit a few days of their Christmas break to join us at our New Year's Conference in Orlando, FL. It is a big commitment, but always produces so much fruit in our students' lives.
2. DT is leading our Winter Retreat in February of 2010. He is completely in charge of everything from the finances, the hotel, the meals, the band, etc. It's a large responsibility and he wants to honor Christ in all his work. We also want it to be a time where our students (UNC, NC State, and Campbell) will have fun and grow in their relationship with Christ.
3. DT and I both have been asked to speak at our New Year's Conference in Orlando. We will both be speaking on "Growing Up In a Broken Family." DT will speak to the men, and I will speak to women. This is a very sensitive and highly relevant topic. We want to honor God through the experiences He has given to each of us and give the hope of Christ to those who have had similar stories.
Sorry for the long post! They won't all be this long I promise :) Please keep reading!
