Photo credit-The Tennessean

Images like this have made me cry this week.  By now, you know all about the great 500-year flood we had in Nashville over the weekend.  The damage is heartbreaking.  The stories of lost friends and family members, ruined homes, and flooded cars is gutwrenching.  We have a long road ahead of us to get Nashville and many parts of Tennessee back to what it was.

But beyond the loss, was something amazing.  A community rose up immediately.  Folks were putting boats in the water and risking their lives to help those stranded.  Local media teams were taking chances in volatile weather to keep us informed. Within a 24-hour period, over 7,000 people had signed up as a volunteer at Hands on Nashville.  And even still, there are teams of people who will spend at minimum, the rest of this week helping folks get back into their homes, but more likely, weeks and months.

Many tears have been shed and hearts ache as we watch those we love struggle with what will be a long road back to “normal”.    I can’t help but wonder what the silver lining is in all of this.  One thing is for sure…residents of Nashville and surrounding counties will never again wonder if we are a real community.  Lifelong friendships have been borne and faith has grown out of the muddy waters of this flood.
I am so proud of this city and thankful to be Nashvillian.

If you’d like to donate funds, here are two (of the many) reputable sites: Hands on Nashville and CrossPoint Church.

Pete Wilson, one of our pastors at the Nashville campus of  CrossPoint Church has been doing a series on Shattered Dreams.  Today, the lesson was on “Waiting on God”.  There were so many good nuggets in the message that it was almost hard to keep up with my notetaking.  I kept thinking about things going on in my life-even right now-where I really need the words he spoke today.

In my last post, I talked about some radical things I’m going after both personally and professionally.  And since writing it, I’ve been actively working on each thing.  My body definitely feels the effects of more rigorous exercise.  And the career pursuits are moving along. It’s been an exciting time all around, as I feel the inertia of moving forward.  The hardest part has been in asking God for a radical assignment.  Because the “homework” I’m doing right now…sucks.  My little girl has been struggling for 22 straight days with migraine-like symptoms.  We’ve been to countless doctors; she’s been poked and prodded, she’s had fluids put in and blood taken out.  And she’s been put on medications that have made even our pharmacist nervous.  And Nothing has worked.  At this point, I’m emotionally exhausted.  It has noticeably altered our lives, and has caused me many tears as I watch her struggle with the pain. There are moments here and there of her sweet, happy personality.  But the first and last words I hear each day are about how bad it hurts.

Pete asked a really hard question this morning.  When times get tough, will we trust or control? Though I’ve been saying that I was believing God for a change, and have been asking Him daily for a break in the pain, I’ve mainly been aggressively pursuing treatment and “driving the bus” to try to find an answer for why this is happening.  Don’t get me wrong–I absolutely believe in doctors and medicine…but first and foremost I know I should be looking up for guidance.  In our sermon notes today was this point: Hope does not come only from believing God’s power, but also from accepting and trusting His timing. Nothing about what’s been happening with her is normal.  I think it’s time for me to move from trying to control what’s happening and truly trust Him to protect her and heal her.  Because I know that God heals. And I have to trust that He made her for a purpose that’s not going to be destroyed by this pain.  I asked for a radical assignment, and this ordeal has definitely tested my faith.

Does this hit you in any area your of life?  Where do you need to let go and let God?

P.S. If you are running low on hope, or feeling that life hasn’t turned out the way you thought it would, please check out this website about Pete’s new book, Plan B.  I’m reading it now, and it’s the perfect message for this journey.

Image credit: www.foxyblunt.com

Some people hate change.  They get nervous about rearranged furniture or unplanned travel.  Not me.   I need new seasons in life–new responsibilities, and challenges.   For about two months, I’ve been feeling the need to “shake things up”, but just couldn’t figure out where the “itch” was.  I realized it wasn’t just one area of life–it’s everywhere.  I’m ready for an Overhaul.  And you know what?  I’m excited!

Here are just a few things I’m doing that will Definitely challenge me in this next season:

I ordered Insanity. Yes, I am insane.  Let’s see if I’m still breathing the week after it arrives.  Clearly, the results will be immediate.

I’m reevaluating my work life. I love where I work and can’t imagine leaving. I know I have to be intentional-it’s not change just to have something new.  It’s change to see how I might positively impact the company in a new way.

I’m taking the next step on a business idea. I have strong entrepreneurial tendencies and know what I’m capable of when it’s my butt on the line.  The big win?  It’s something that will be successful while also allowing me to keep my career.  Can’t beat that.

I’m asking God for a radical assignment.  Call me crazy, but from the time I was a little girl, I’ve asked that God ask me to do something big.  And when I look at my life, all I see is a place where things have become comfortable.   For others, that’s likely the picture of perfection.  For me, it means I’ve really missed it somewhere.  I  don’t need to lose it all to think God has used me, but I do think big faith means change, and I don’t want to look back on a life that was just comfy.  I want to know I really made a difference.

Your turn.  Are you doing anything radical these days?  If so, do you love it or does it stress you out?

The journey

I’ve been thinking about the correlation between the food we eat and the food our spirit needs. And when I learned that March 8th is International Women’s Day with World Food Programme, I thought this would be a good time to talk about being hungry.

I’m hungry most days.  Not because I don’t eat enough…more often because I don’t eat.  I’ll realize at 3:00 in the afternoon that I’ve had nothing, or perhaps half a banana, all day.  It’s not good for me.  It’s certainly not helped me slim down–in fact, it’s had the opposite effect.  I used to have good habits with food.  I ate breakfast, lunch, and dinner each day and built in the right snacks.  It kept the hunger pangs away and fueled my body effectively so that I was productive from morning til night.  But, not maintaining some structure has made me aware that I’ve lost the desire for breakfast, feel drained by early afternoon, and often make poor food choices in the evening because I’m hungry.

Ironically, my spirit has faced the same kind of neglect.  I used to have steady devotion habits.  Morning prayer time, steady appetite for  reading inspirational books, being plugged in with small group and Bible study, and praying at the drop of a hat during the day.  Like food, my lack of structure has left me feeling drained, untethered, and short on faith.

I think about my lax attitude towards food and remember that there are people starving the world over…even in my own city.   And there are people in other countries being tortured for their secret devotion to Christ.  I have no right to dismiss these gifts that others would cherish and make the most of.

I’m making some good strides in changing these things and with God’s help, I know I’ll get there.  I want to be hungry again…for all the right reasons.

I know I’m not alone in this.  What are you hungry for?