What happened to December?

What happened to December?

Well I don’t really have any excuse for not having a blog up in December…other than perhaps not having anything note worthy or seemingly noteworthy to say. 

I can hardly believe its already 2012. 

To sum up my holiday season I would say it’s the most uneventful holiday season I’ve had in years…which was so nice in some ways because it has given me the opportunity to stop and rest and  focus on the Lord in a way that I know would not be possible if I was in the USA.   Although I have missed family and friends I don’t regret for a second staying here…as that is what I sensed the Lord’s hand in and now I just see how I could be quiet long enough to listen to Him whisper. 

We had our Christmas Day church service…it was fairly small but very intimate, as we definitely sensed the presence of the Almighty that morning.  As Pastor Jaco said “I’d rather have a few people here who genuinely want to be here than a church full of half-hearted people.

One of the biggest things I’m trusting God for is a new place to stay.  I have lived in a trailer on the Rudolph’s property since July and I am ready for a place of my own.  So now I am looking for a new place which is challenging.  Vilanculos is a tourist area and so prices are actually higher here than other places in Mozambique.  I am looking for a place to stay in town with a bedroom, bathroom and kitchen for 3000mets or about $100 per month. Please pray for the Lord’s will and guidance in this.

Since the last few weeks have been a time of rest and seeking the Lord (therefore learning) and I want to share what I’ve learned.

One of the things I’ve done during my time of rest was read The Shack (again) by William Young.   Here are some of my favorite quotes…good food for thought.  In most of them God is the speaker.

There are times when you choose to believe something that would normally be considered absolutely irrational.  It doesn’t mean that it is actually irrational, but surely it is not ration.  Perhaps there is a suprarationality: reason beyond normal definitions of fact or data-based logic; something that only makes sense if you can see a bigger picture of reality.  Maybe that is where faith fits in.

Humans are not defined by their limitations, but by the intentions that I have for them; not by what they seem to be, but by everything it means to be created in My image.

The real underlying flaw in your life, Mack, is that you don’t think that I am good.  If you knew I was good and that everything-the means, the ends, and all the processes of individual lives-is all covered by my goodness, then while you might not always understand what I am doing, you would trust Me. But you don’t.

Ask any person who has a passion to explore and discover and create.  The choice to hide so many wonders from you is an act of love that is a gift inside the process of life.

It is wild and beautiful and perfectly in process.  To you it seems like a mess, but to me, I see a perfect pattern emerging and growing and alive-a living fractal.

My friend Sammy came to visit from South Africa.  It was nice to have him visit and somehow just telling him about what I’m doing here made me realize how much I love God. Typically I will ask God to remind me of His love for me but this time I asked Him to remind me how I love Him…and its been really special.

I’ve learned that…God doesn’t change…He’s always liked surprises and being unpredictable.

If there’s one word to mediate on and live by for 2012 its FAITH.   Lord has challenged me to live by faith…not by sight or my own understanding.  God loves faith.

I have 2 new (to me, anyway) favorite worship songs by Hillsong: “Open up the Heavens” and “All Day”.   “Open up the heavens and let your glory fall….open up our hearts and we will know You, we will know You”

And some Scriptures:

A wise woman builds her house, but a foolish woman tears it down with her own hands.  Proverbs 14:1

Unless the Lord builds a house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.  In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat-for he grants sleep to those he loves. Psalm 127:1-2.

Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock.  But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.  The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against the house, and it fell with a great crash. Matthew 7: 24-27