House on the Rock

What a year it has been! 2019 has been filled with an innumerable amount of blessings and lessons and as I sit here and reflect on the past twelve months, I can honestly say they have been some of my favorites of all time. One of my favorite ways to praise God is to reflect on His faithfulness, so I'm composing a flyover recap of 2019...mostly for my own sake, and yours too if you're bored. January: The year kicked off with a cinematic airport scene of me tossing my bags behind me and running into the arms of Maggie Theaker, my best friend who had been studying abroad in Ireland. We picked our bags right back up and boarded a plane to Belize with sixteen of my other best friends. The month was filled with laughter, deep conversations, sharing books, playing with children, teaching grammar, and exploring God's creation. I graded sentence diagrams and snorkeled, climbed ancient ruins and taught adjectives. God made it clear that I am meant to be a teacher, and this confirma...

It's the week after Christmas and the town is still donned in light-woven garland that rivals the stars. Christmas was different this year - a balmy 60 degrees with sunshine that turned snow piles into puddles and allowed high-strung mothers to send their children to the streets: "Go try out that new bike!" Those of us who have lived in Indiana for any time at all have given up on singing White Christmas and now begrudgingly resign ourselves to the Hallmark channel's fireplace motion picture on Grandma's 42-inch screen - desperate for any hopes of feeling the wintry warmth that comes with a traditional Christmas. my family also ate at Pizza Hut this year, which is unusual but not altogether unsurprising. Dad as a pastor had to emcee two Christmas Eve services and felt that a greasy deep-dish buffet was a more welcoming (or time-effective) feast to celebrate Christ the coming King. We took our family pictures on the 60-degree day clad in denim on denim, a custom I ...

No word from the Lord will ever fail. All his promises will come true. His name can be fully relied upon - we can ask and expect that he'll move. For Israel, it was deliverance. For Elizabeth, it was a son. For Rahab, it was protection and Daniel, an escape from lions. For David, it was forgiveness - restoring the joy of salvation. For Abraham, it was fatherhood of nation upon manifold nation. For Moses, it was an answer. For the blind man, it was his sight. For a world of weary darkness, it's an everlasting light. For God's children, the promise is Jesus - the vine in which we abide. An all-sufficient savior whose death completely satisfied. That promise is sufficient - it's all I'll ever need. I can sing a song like Mary for his promises unto me. That's not the promise of a child, a family, or even a spouse. It's not a promise of a white picket fence surrounding a wooden-framed house. It's not a promise of a high-paying job ...

I cling to my agenda, Lord please answer in my time It's hard for me to remember that thy will be done, not mine. I think I know when things should change, hearts heal, and relationships end but then you make me wait a little which makes me think again. I cling to my agenda but you pry my fingers open you take away the schedule that I love to put my hope in. When prayers are answered right away, it takes very little faith which is why sometimes you let us pray and wait and pray and wait. But as much as I cling to my agenda and think I know what's best, you let all things work out in time so with that, my heart can rest.

Father, when I think of suffering, help me to think of your son. Who was beaten, whipped, and spat upon for sins that he had not done. Most times when I hear the word 'suffering,' I often just think about me because some people said some mean words which I deserved completely! But Jesus was mocked and crucified on a Roman cross, daunting and tall and here's the thing about the suffering of Christ - he didn't deserve it at all.