A little follow-up

Obviously I haven't really held up my end of the bargain for the two of you that read this, by updating at all on the trip to Uganda. In short.. amazing.  The people, the experience, all of it was amazing. Even the really long (and at times frustrating travel) all served to sanctify me in one way or the other.

 I could go on at length about it. I journaled a good bit, so maybe I'll transcribe some of that at some point. Jonathan and Lindsay should be home tonight... finally.  Jonathan ended up with malaria after we left, but is well now, Praise God! It's left its mark on me though. You can't go and come home the same.

Our church's missions site has the video we put together and some photos from the trip. Prayerfully I'll get to return again.

http://missions.wsbaptist.org/

Soli Deo Gloria!

Home

I'm finally home and have my clock mostly reset internally. It was an amazing trip. I have many photos to post to my facebook.  There was no power nor easy access to internet while there so obviously there were no updates.

Thank you for everyone's prayers and for taking care of my family while I was gone.  I'll try to do a more complete writeup about the trip in a couple of days.

The Longest Day

I guess it is made worse by the fact that this is my first time to Europe & Africa. It's 5:30p here, I'm on the 3rd plane of the day, somehere about 39000 ft over southern Sudan, about an hour from the last stop in Kigali, Rwanda before flying on to Entebbe. My watch tells me a time, but my body is defiant to it. It doesn't feel like just before noon either, but some indeterminate state of weariness. I've had 3-4 hrs of sleep on the last 29 hrs or so. We only have about 11 hours of travel left. :)

Nick realized we needed to make some sermon text changes which mostly effect him and has been furiously writing now for a couple hours. I'll close up here and see if I can get some kind of sleep while I ponder what lies ahead this week.

Underway

What a crazy few months leading up to this trip, but it's finally here. It's pretty hard to believe.

As I write this we are on our first leg of the long journey, flying to Newark. From there we will fly overnight to Brussels. Check-in was mostly uneventful, but getting all the materials to the counter was comical.

But we're on our way, trusting in the foreordained plan of our beautiful King. May His name go into all the earth!

On leaving the country

I'm 1 week away from departure. I've got all my necessities (mostly). Mosquito net, check.  DEET, check. Malaria meds, check. (notice a theme here?) headlamp, pillow, sleeping bag, Bible, notes, passport, some clothes... all has to be reduced to my backpack mostly. This next week will be a whirlwind of activities and last minute preparation.

Honestly, the logistics don't have me concerned at all actually. But preparation does. What do I have to take to these men? (I have Christ, I take them Christ in His Word, that's what I have, that's everything). Yet, it is a dreadful weight to suppose to go teach and preach to those who teach and preach when I am neither teacher nor preacher. If I am honest, my spirit quakes within me. Condemnation is prowling, crouching, seizing every opportunity to cause me to doubt, to question my ability, or more accurately, viability for this task.  I'm in desperate need of discernment, unction and increasing faith. I've never felt so helpless and dependent on God's exacting and specific grace.

I could not have imagined how fierce the battle would be. Then again, I guess I never came as close to the front lines as I thought. Honestly I don't really have time to 'waste' writing this, but if there is one of my friends who happens to read this, please pray. I covet your prayers and need them desperately. Pray for my family too while I'm gone. In reality, it's only 9 days and it's not like it's uncharted territory, but it's new for me, and new to my family. My kids are (mostly) old enough to understand this isn't routine. I'm on the other side of the world for those few days.

Pray for all of us going (and those already there), for clarity, boldness, zealousness for Christ's glory and above all, a deep and abiding faith that transcends culture and time and speaks of the One who's righteousness we wear, who's blood bought our peace. Pray His voice will drown out our own.

That New Car Smell

Over the last couple of years I used Virb (still a cool product) for my personal blog/website. Recently they've changed direction to be less of a social media player and more a place to come assemble a decent personal website, but it's on a paid basis now.  So for now, I'll make my home here.

I'm moving a select few of my old blog posts here, as much to keep up with them myself as anything and maybe I'll get around to adding something new that will probably be of almost no interest to you anyway. Deal?

Hi, my name is Gomer

I've had this swimming around in my head for over a week now.  Even as I start typing this, honestly I'm not fully sure where it's going.  I just haven't been able to shake that introduction in my head.  So I think the obvious is that it's one of those things that God has confronted me with.  While trying to figure out where to even start with this blog, knowing that the best place was with the story itself in scripture from Hosea, I was struck with this thought.  "<i>If I were standing in a crowd with Jesus at my side, this is how I'd have to introduce myself</i>".  That put some unexpected sting on it.

This would be a good place for you to stop, go get your Bible and read Hosea chapters 1-3.  It's not long.  You can do it in 5 minutes.  It's either that or I post all of it, and I'd rather you go get your Bible and read it for yourself.  If you don't have a Bible, or don't have one handy... use <a href="http://www.studylight.org/desk/?l=en&query=Hosea+2&section=0&translation=esv&oq=ho%25202&new=1&nb=ho&npc=%A0%3C%3C%A0&ng=2&ncc=2" target="_blank">StudyLight.org</a>, but only if yours isn't around.

So that's me.  I'm Gomer.  I'm a "wife of whoredom".  If you've heard this preached before you know this.  I knew this, but only academically.  Lately, I've become increasingly aware of my propensity to distraction.  Not just the trouble having a meaningful conversation with my wife when the TV is on kind of distraction.  Not just the kids yelling or whining or asking questions while I'm doing something important kind of distractions.  Those too, but more importanly, where do I exert myself.  What do I care about?  What consumes the majority of my thoughts?  When it's just me talking to myself or in prayer with the one, holy, sovereign God of all creation, there's no room for sunday school answers.  I know my heart and my mind.  He knows it better.  I'm a harlot.

I daily consume my waking hours with thoughts about my job, my family, my church and my hobbies.  "<i>Well that's not all bad right?</i>" you may ask. "<i>I mean, after all, your job is important, your family is important, your church is important.  By golly, if you're thinking about your church you're practically thinking about God, so really what are you all worked up about?</i>"  Actually I won't blame any of you for saying that.  The voice of reason in my head screams that at the top of it's lungs.  Those things are important, but only in perspective and only in the context of how important Christ is.  I am the recipient of a grace and a mercy that I cannot even begin to understand.  I could literally consume the remainder of my days trying to ponder the extent of those gifts.  And yet, I still wander.  My mind wanders, my will longs to wander.  So not only am I a harlot, selling myself and my affections to everything but Christ, but I'm apparently ungrateful too.

<i>(prepare for talk that isn't heard in church)</i>
I was purchased. From a pimp.  Yeah, i said it. You know his name?  Sin. 

Like Hosea did for Gomer, Christ purchased me.  He didn't come stomping into the brothel, grab me by my arm, haul me outside throwing loose change at the pimp (yeah, i said it again) only to get me to the street corner and harass me, yell at me, humiliate me and slap me for turning away from Him.  Oh, I deserve it alright.  That and more.  But he took me by the hand, paid the exorbitant price (of which I am truely not worth lest I get prideful of some perceived value in me) and forgave me.

The sickening thing is, Sin still comes around and like a scared hooker I listen, as though he still has some claim on me.  He no longer has any claim on my life.  He doesn't own me.  But he does his best to convince me that he does.  Even in my lucid moments when I remember that he doesn't own me, he tricks me with other offers; distractions from Christ. Sadly, most anything will do, just make it shiny and put a cool logo on it.  Anything that keeps my focus off of Christ and comfortably indifferent to Him.

I've been so convicted about this recently.  I'm so easily distracted from Christ.  I've even allowed theological academia to distract me from the reality of Christ himself.  I desperately need to know about him, but knowledge itself is not enough.  It has to be always squared with Jesus as reality.  There is no longer time for fairytale images of heaven, or talking to our friends or kids about Jesus as though he's Santa or something.  Jesus is Real.  Jesus is Alive. Jesus is King.  Jesus purchased Me and as such, Jesus owns Me.  Jesus is far greater than anything that Sin uses to distract me.

I fear what is indicated about my affection for Christ by the easy with which I am distracted from Him. For this I repent and strive to maintain focus, to make Him my first love and to be a faithful bride. <i><b>Hosea 14:1</b> Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God,for you have stumbled because of your iniquity. </i>

So now that we've gotten the pleasantries out of the way, "Hi, my name is Gomer.  What's yours?"