Can we ever be "too serious" about studying the Word of God?

No... that is the simple answer.

Early this morning as I lie awake in my bed I listened to a sermon given by John Piper at the New Attitude Conference just earlier this week... on Memorial Day, to be exact. The title was William Tyndale: A Life Transformed by God's Word, and you can click here to listen or download the audio.

Piper recounts the story of the life and work of William Tyndale (c. 1494-1536) who was a Protestant Reformer and Bible Translator. He described Tyndale as having "one driving passion: he wanted to see the Bible in English to that ordinary folks would have access to it." Now, as one of those "ordinary folks" who can read and write in the single language of English, I have much to be thankful for as I learn about the great sacrifice that Tyndale gave so that today I might be in possession of not one, but several Bibles. Tyndale gave his life for the Word... he was strangled and burned at the stake at the age of 42.

But Tyndale's work lives on... According to Piper, Tyndale's work made its way into about 90% of the King James Version of the Bible, originally published in 1611. Listen to the sermon to hear some of the key passages that you know very well that are part of Tyndale's contribution.

And when you listen to the sermon, focus in on Piper's closing comments:

"Young people, you are the heirs of an amazing legacy...The Bible you hold in your hand cost William Tyndale and many others their lives, so don’t spare any effort in thought, any effort in work to know [your Bible]...And don’t ever think your hard work is the decisive key. The decisive key is the sovereign grace of God... I plead with you, don’t waste your life."

A few hours after listening to this sermon and thinking through it a bit, I remembered some comments I have heard over the past couple of days and my heart was broken. Comments like "we're just going to take the summer off (spiritually, that is)" or "let's do a bible study... nothing too serious" or "I just can't seem to find time to study God's Word." Heart broken.

God, as an heir to this amazing legacy, may I never treat your Word lightly. May I be "too serious" and "too intentional" about learning it, meditating upon it, applying it, proclaiming it, relying on it! May I spare no effort to work it into the fabric of my every day life... Through Your Word and the power of Your Spirit at work within me, will You transform this lowly , sinful, wretched life into one that brings glory to Your Name? Not for my sake, but for the sake of Your precious Son!

Friends... get serious about God's Word!

Multi-tasking is overrated!

Multi-tasking... yep! It's overrated! I prefer to focus on one thing at a time, but life as a Mom usually means that there are times when multi-tasking is imperative. Today has been one of those days --- a lot to get done in a little amount of time!

So... I went to the granddaddy of all "Stuff-marts"... yeah, you guessed it... W@l-m@$t! Not my favorite place in the world, but look at what I got done in one single trip and under one single roof...

1. Grocery shopping for both parties this weekend --- Uganda Celebration Dinner and Resonate's Memorial Day Cookout
2. New Windshield Wipers and an air filter --- installed on my car!!
3. Tons of mulch for getting the backyard ready for the parties this weekend --- not sure how we fit all of this in the car. We nearly had to perch young Dylan and his carseat on the roof!
4. And toilet paper --- the most essential reason for the trip!!!

Now that the kids detest me for making them hang out in Stuff-mart all morning, they are down for their naps, and I am going outside to focus on one single task --- planting my containers to make the deck a little more festive for this weekend!

Happy "we're-getting-really-close-to-a-holiday-weekend" Thursday! Have a good one!

Uganda: It's all paid...

Thanks be to God! I mailed in the packet full of our team's final payment towards the Uganda trip yesterday, and I feel a huge load lifted off of my shoulders --- not because I wondered whether we'd ever raise enough, but because it was a huge effort to keep up with everything that was literally "pouring" in!

Please continue to pray for the Resonate team and the rest of the people going to Uganda... we've had some twists and turns that have surfaced this week, and we don't exactly know what this means for the trip. God does, so we just need to go along with His will.

Conversations with Dylan: The Beautiful Cross

Just a few moments ago, Dylan and I were up in the kitchen experimenting with a strange cake we're attempting to make into the shapes of trains, space shuttles, and the state of Texas (don't ask!). We had some scraps of paper lying on the table from a previous project, and Dylan asked if he could play with them. He started making them into guitar strings and practicing his strumming. Then he made one into the shape of a cross...

Dylan: Mom... Look I made a cross!

Mom (while working on the cake): You sure did... it looks great!

Dylan: Mom... actually... it's beautiful!

Mom (utterly speechless and quite reflective): You bet it is. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

At 4, I know he doesn't understand the entire weight of that statement, but I pray that someday he will. I pray that as he grows up he will never cease to gaze upon the cross, amazed by the grace and love of God bled out for us and for His own glory.

Mom (speaking to Dylan in his own language because music gets through to him): Hey, Dylan, I know a song about that... want to hear it?

Dylan: Yeah! Yeah!

Mom: Listen to this... It's called The Wonderful Cross.

Dylan (after hearing the first verse): That's Matt Redman singing!

Dylan (after hearing the refrain): Hey, now Chris Tomlin's singing!

Mom (laughing to herself because Dylan can identify those two by their voices!): Sure is, kiddo!

Mom... Happy Mother's Day!

Dear Mom ---

I know this is a bit early, but I wanted to wish you a very Happy Mother's Day! You are an amazing mom... giving me much to live up to. And you're an amazing "Nana"... giving my kids much be thankful for. We will miss you this weekend... have a blessed mother's day!

Love,

the eldest

P.S. How do you like this old pic of us? Found this on my hard drive...

Uganda: Major Deadline Met

The deadlines for Uganda are upon us!! We submitted our first major payment this past week to secure airline tickets for the team. As of last Thursday (April 24th), we were in need of about $10,000 by May 1st to meet that deadline. We asked God to meet our needs, and in less than a week, he had exceeded them abundantly! I wish that I could recount to you all of the amazing stories of God's provision for this trip. I lack the time to do so (kids in the background today!), but I want you to know that He has been faithful to equip and prepare us for what He has already called us to do.

Continue to remember us in your prayers... our next deadline is coming up around the middle of May, and we have about $7,500 to go to meet that one. Fundraisers continue, including planting a million flowers for the Memorial Golf Tournament, the 4th installment of Parent's Night Out, lots of mulching, yard work, and babysitting jobs, and whatever else comes our way.