Neil and I have found that we love to read together - but not just any book like novels, etc. We like to read books that really challenge us - together - so we can talk about what we are reading/ learning, and how it applies to us as a couple, our family, etc. It's also a great way to brainstorm.
We are reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I had heard of the author from my friend Maryann, and wanted to read his book Forgotten God. Then, thanks to Allie, I found out that there was another book, Crazy Love, that perhaps we should read first.
This book is kicking my butt.
It encourages us to look at scripture like we're 12 years old and we've never read it before - no preconcieved notions. And that's hard enough - when I read what Jesus has to say - without those things - it makes me really understand how much I fall short of where I need to be.
It challenges the heart - the very essence of who I am - my motivations - my desires - my compromises.
It helps me understand just how lukewarm I am - and how much Jesus probably wants to spit me out of his mouth.
I'm being challenged all over again by parables, and trying not to assume that I'm the seed that fell on good soil.
There is so much that has been tugging at our heartstrings lately (well, let's be honest - the past almost year and a half), and we haven't really known what to do about it. God gave us hearts longing to serve the desperate, the poor, the hurting, and the orphans. We've struggled to know how to act on that. We've been seeking out vision - but it hasn't really seemed to "come to us" so we haven't really done anything about it.
I'm learning that it all comes down to knowing my God better. And being intentional. I can't just sit on my butt, or trap myself in my house, or only surround myself with other "like-minded" individuals, and expect to have opportunities come knocking at my door. If I truly want to help those who are helpless, then I need to seek the helpless out. I need to find out where they are and what I can do to help. It's amazing how when I have my eyes open to the things around me, instead of just myself, I learn a lot about those things. People who have lived in this town a lot longer than us, know where to find the poor. You just have to ask.
My eyes are being opened to so many things that I can do to benefit the kingdom - even as a stay-at-home mom. Ways that I can reach out to those that are hurting - or those that may just need to be taught a skill so that they can use that skill to either make a living or help others. I feel like I've been waiting around for an answer or an opportunity - when all of the answers come from just knowing my God and seeking Him out, as well as looking at my abilities and actually using them to be fruitful and helpful (can you tell I've been reading the parable of the talents??).
There are so many things, just from simply reading scripture like it's brand-new that I'm wrestling with, in the sense that it bothers me that I'm so far from doing things right.
Like when we throw a party, not inviting our friends and family, but rather inviting those that can't return the favor...
...But we'll save that for another time ;)
