Almost here

It's almost here. Sunday we officially "launch". It's been nineteen months. WOW.


February 28th (about 11 A.M.)2006 is the first time Jeff and I first talked about this. So I've been thinking a lot about some of the events since that moment. I'll share a few key ones---


Later that night, I told Terri Lynn in the car on the way to a basketball game. So here's Jeff and Sabrina and Terri Lynn and myself all about to bust at the seams with excitment and we trying very hard to act "normal" because no one else knows. I don't remember who we played, if we won, any of the details. Other than being TOTALLY excited.



Then there was the morning we told the boys. We let them stay home from school(at least for the morning). We let them sleep in, cooked them breakfast, then broke the news to them. My boys went from being "normal" kids in school and youth to being pastor's kids. And let me say that they have been AWESOME. Most of the labels and pressures that go with being a "PK" are NOT fair, but that's another blog for another day.



Then there was the time I told my father-in-law (Big T). We sat in his Tyson truck on our sidestreet at our house in Gillette and shared some smiles, some excitement and some tears. He kept saying "That's GREAT". I don't think he even made it out of our subdivision before he called Jan (my mother-in-law) and told her.



Then there was the time I told my parents. Let's just say it went "different" from when I told my in-laws.



I/We have been to many seminars and classes and read many books and have learned a ton. SO much I could share, and maybe I will later.


So I've had all these thoughts and memories going through my mind, and in my normal devotions I came across some very powerfull words(at least for me).

I'm in the Book of Zechariah. Yesterday I read Chapter 8. Some bullet points--"I am consumed with passion for my people" says the LORD, "Be strong and finish the task" says the LORD, "All this may seem impossible to you, but is anything impossible for Me?" Says the LORD, "I will rescue them and they will be my people" say the LORD, and finally "And they will say 'Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you' ". WOW.!

Analogy

Maybe it's because I'm a visual learner, maybe it's because I'm a man, maybe it's because I'm human, I don't know why, but I do know that God uses analogies to teach me truths about Himself and about His will for my life and His will for other people around me. Over the years I've been given many. Some have helped me understand and/or cope with a situation at that very moment, others have helped me years down the road. Anyway, I can't begin to understand it all but I do know that I'm supposed to share what I've learned.

Some of the analogies are "original" ideas that God plants directly in my heart. Others originate from conversations with other people, or something I read, or a song, etc. and then the idea or concept of the analogy just explodes and expands in my mind and heart. The analogy I'm going to share today actually came from a conversation I had with my awesome wife, Terri Lynn.

If you've ever driven on I-90 from Gillette, WY to Rapid City, SD then you know that just east of Moorcroft Wyoming you can look off to the north and see Devil's Tower National Monument. And yes, you can get a glimpse of it's beauty and splendor as your bombing down the intersate at 80 or...... you can slow down, get off the beaten path, take the road less taken, invest some time, even some money, and then you can TRULY enjoy it. So.....is that how you and I treat God?

Are we so busy doing "important" tasks as we're bombing down the highway of life that we just catch a passing glimpse of God. Or, are we slowing down, taken the road less taken, investing time and money to truly enjoy God. I know I'm guilty.

Countless times I have had to "convince" someone that just getting a glimpse of the tower isn't enough. That they need to take the afternoon to do it right. Every time when they get to the foot of the tower their first word is "Wow". By the end of the drive it's usually "Thank you for taking me there" or something similar.

So am I willing to do whatever it takes to experience ALL that God has for me? Am I willing to do whatever it takes to get to the feet of God so I can look up and truly enjoy ALL of God's beauty and splendor and majesty. Or am I giong to settle for less.

So what if I have to get out of my comfort zone. So what if I have to sacrifice. So what if it costs me some time and money. So what if it costs me EVERYHTING. All that I have, all that I am, and all that I ever hope to be, I got from Him anyway. Right. So what!