My Journey

Well, it is official. My BFF for the last 13 years is moving. 10 hours away. 

I know this is the best thing for her, her family and all concerned. 

I also know it is the best thing for me too. 

Because God wouldn't have allowed it if it wasn't the best for all of us.

I love God's Word. I have loved it for a long time, but in the last four years, it has become my lifeblood. It has taken deep roots in my heart, and I want to "read it, love it, live it" more and more. (How do you like that? I just made that "read it, love it, live it" up! 

A couple of years ago, our pastor was preaching and mentioned he reads through the Bible two times a year. I dont know why it occured to me at that moment, but I think it was God's voice in my head; regardless of the reason, I thought: If he can read through the Bible two times a year, I can do it once a year. Why wouldn't I want to? 

I knew I couldn't follow a schedule like the One Year Bible. I had tried that before, and it didn't work for me, because when I got behind a day, I would have too much to read and I would just stop. So I figured I would just take my Bible and start at the beginning, and read as much as God led, and if I made it all the way in a year, great; and if not, I would finish when I finished. 

I read at first because I promised. But after a few weeks, something very unexpected happened: I was hearing from God. He was speaking to me through His written word. So I began writing in my journal, and my Bible what I was hearing. 

I love hearing from God. And sometimes, what I heard was so striking that I had to copy the verse or thought into my journal in a special way to make it stick. 

The debates in the news this week between the church and state and the ensuing mud-slinging on both sides of the gay issue has hurt my heart. I am sure it hurts the heart of God as well.

Dear One,

I am so sorry. I am so very sorry for your pain. That you would be seen as unloving or unkind or un-Christlike in your love for your gay child. That you would be ridiculed and belittled because you choose to hang on to your faithful convictions while loving your child. That people who don’t agree with your choice would bully you with words and try to manipulate you to make you feel like you somehow are failing your gay son or daughter because you are choosing to hold out and put your hope in God. That you have been criticized and told that it is impossible for you to simultaneously “love the sinner and hate the sin”. That you have been made to feel you have to compromise what you see God’s word clearly stating as sin in order to be loving and supportive to your child. That either you embrace the lifestyle and all that means or you are rejecting your child, Shunning and shaming and hurting them and pushing them away from God. I am so sorry.

I cant believe I did not post for the entire month of August. 

That was not the plan. 

But it is what happened. 

First, I appologize. 

There were reasons beyond my control. Sort of. I got really sick while on vacation. 

Today has been one of those days.

Really. 

I haven't had one of these in a long time. But, here it was, just when I least expected it. 

We are currently in our motor home, on our way to visit family in Ohio. Yes, currently. At 10:35 PM. In the ptich black, with at least 1/2 hour left to go before we get to our campground. Because, it has been one of those days. In fact, although it has not seemed like it, as I think about it now, it has been one of those weeks. I should have expected it, but it hit me abruptly tonight as I cleaned up the entire bottle of wine that exploded onto the floor as we were surging forward through stop and go traffic, in the rain and construction in Charlotte, NC. Oh, and there was an accident. We were not involved. Except for the one that was happening INSIDE the moho (motorhome). 

Let me start at the beginning.