JUNE 19, 2022

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.

They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

For they have their own thoughts.

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

You may strive to be like them,

but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children

as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

and He bends you with His might

that His arrows may go swift and far.

Let your bending in the archer’s hand be for gladness;

For even as He loves the arrow that flies,

so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Kahlil Gibran, The Prophet

NEHEMIAH 9-11

22“You gave them kingdoms and nations, allotting to them even the remotest frontiers. They took over the country of Sihon^c king of Heshbon and the country of Og king of Bashan. 23You made their children as numerous as the stars in the sky, and you brought them into the land that you told their parents to enter and possess. 24Their children went in and took possession of the land. You subdued before them the Canaanites, who lived in the land; you gave the Canaanites into their hands, along with their kings and the peoples of the land, to deal with them as they pleased. 25They captured fortified cities and fertile land; they took possession of houses filled with all kinds of good things, wells already dug, vineyards, olive groves and fruit trees in abundance. They ate to the full and were well-nourished; they reveled in your great goodness.26“But they were disobedient and rebelled against you; they turned their backs on your law. They killed your prophets, who had warned them in order to turn them back to you; they committed awful blasphemies. 27So you delivered them into the hands of their enemies, who oppressed them. But when they were oppressed they cried out to you. From heaven you heard them, and in your great compassion you gave them deliverers, who rescued them from the hand of their enemies.

ACTS 4:1-22

13When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. 14But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say. 15So they ordered them to withdraw from the Sanhedrin and then conferred together. 16“What are we going to do with these men?” they asked. “Everyone living in Jerusalem knows they have performed a notable sign, and we cannot deny it. 17But to stop this thing from spreading any further among the people, we must warn them to speak no longer to anyone in this name.”

18Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. 19But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! 20As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

21After further threats they let them go. They could not decide how to punish them, because all the people were praising God for what had happened. 22For the man who was miraculously healed was over forty years old.

JOURNAL 

 "If I do not spend time in thanksgiving and surrendering my will to God's I will operate out of survival and the emotions of the moment. It simply is a fact and therefore I must realize this and take actions that put me humbly in the presence of God every single day and every moment...grateful for my life and humble in obedience." June 18, 2016

Wrote this then and it is just as true today as it was then. Reading through chapter 9 of Nehemiah it is heartbreaking to see the rebellion of the Israelites. After all that God has given them and provided for them. Yet time and time again they dismiss the blessings and begin to move away from God. Reality is that I do this every day. Thankfully, most often it is in small subtle ways...yet that spirit of rebellion is still there and it must be acknowledged and fought or it can creep in and take over. 

Surrendering my heart and will to God at the beginning of every day is the only hope I have in living a life that will glorify God. Thankfulness is required because without it I will begin to look around and find situations and circumstances that seem better than my own. This then leads to bitterness and anger and jealousy. Surrendering my will is required because otherwise I will look for the easy way rather than God's way.  I think this is why Jesus is so adamant that we live life in the present...it is the only way to live and not get consumed with bitterness and laziness. 

Father's Day. I am so grateful that I get to celebrate this day. The joy I get in being a Father is truly the gift of this day and every day. I don't need acknowledgement because the experience is far greater than any card or present or celebration. It has truly marked my life in so much joy that it is impossible to even begin to define. Yet I really think this day we should also acknowledge the source for all that a "Father" is...For we are the all the channels of God our Father's love and therefore have the opportunity to share this amazing gift with a world that desperately needs it. 

 17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,  a new creation has come:^a The old has gone, the new is here! 

2 CORINTHIANS 5:17