still raging waters

22 October 2010

Wandering through the Psalms

Okay ---

I haven't been here for a while.

But I have been here:

http://loremcdonald.wordpress.com/

I am wandering through the Psalms at the moment.

Wanna join me?

03 June 2009

I recently read that old question:

If God can do anything, can he make a rock that is so big he can't pick it up?

This is what I like to call a "pharisaical question." The Pharisees were always asking Jesus these kinds of questions. They didn't care about the question or the answer. They were just trying to "trip Jesus up!" I can picture them at home in the evenings, thinking up new questions. Calling each other with clever philosophical quandaries. Congratulating each other on ways to "stump the preacher!"

But Jesus didn't play their game. He answered without hesitation from the heart of God, from a Kingdom perspective. He baffled them, because he didn't buy into their perception of the world and of God. He knew God intimately.

The variation on the "big rock" question that I often hear people discuss today is: "If God is sovereign and has absolute control over everything in existence, how can I have 'free-will?' If I do have the ability to make decisions apart from God, then there is an area of existence where he doesn't have control, and therefore would not be completely sovereign."

Yeah. Whatever. When in doubt, go to scripture. And scripture says that God IS sovereign and that people DO have free-will.

Sometimes I am amazed that people think that they can out-think God!

It's a mystery to us, people! If you could physically stand before God and ask him one question, what would it be?

For me It certainly wouldn't be "If you can do anything, can you make a rock so big that you can't pick it up?"

23 May 2009

I had the most amazing thing to blog today.

I was walking in from the laundry and had an urge to write this phenomenal thing.

But I had too much work to do.

So I thought I would do the mature thing and work and leave blogging till later.

Now it's later and I can't remember what I was going to say.

Sigh.

12 May 2009

Where-air-air-air-air is love?

Okay. I've got that song from Oliver stuck in my head.

I really like the tune.

And some of the words are nice too:

"Where-air-air-air-air is HE?

The one I close my eyes to see?

Will I ever know the sweet 'Hello!'

that's meant for only me?"

BUT what I meant to write is:

WHAT is love!

Isn't it weird that sometimes the easiest things

are the hardest to explain?

I mean, we experience love from a very early age.

And yet, can you put into words what it is?

Here's a list of some of my loves:

my family

chocolate ice cream

warm, fresh sour dough bread

san francisco

going to baseball games

SF cable cars

stars

sleep

teaching first grade

oversized jerseys and comfy denim jeans

long, wide, clean unpopulated beaches

my cat

good books

hobbits

relationships like:

peregrin took and meriadoc brandybuck

samwise gamgee and frodo baggins

gimli and legolas

dan in real life

i am sam

songs by jon foreman

Jesus

How on earth can there be one word that describes all these different experiences/feelings/thing-mees?

I know that in other languages and cultures there are more than one word for "love."

But we have the one.

Love.

And everybody is searching for it!

Maybe "Where-air-air-air-air is love?" is the right question after all.

Let me know when you find it and where!

1 John 4 : 7 - 21

26 April 2009

Pour out Your Spirit, Lord

How does it happen?

How do we bring unity?

How do we become more connected

to the Lord and to each other?

How do we walk in the light of the Kingdom?

How are we light in the darkness of this world?

It is so easy to focus on the things around us, Lord.

it is so easy to get swept into the ACTIVITY of the day.

We want to see You, Lord!

We want to see everything in this world in light of Your Kingdom!

We can't do it.

We can't bring unity.

We can't connect.

We can't walk in light.

We fall down. Over and over again, we fall down.

You have to do it in us, Lord.

How do we become open to Your work in us?

We need to draw aside from this terribly wild world,

from the constant busyness, from the non-stop advertisements,

from the noise, from the drama, from the distractions.

We need to draw aside and step into the quiet

and open Your Word

and let You touch us.

Draw us.

Touch us.

Fill us, Lord.

Pour out Your Spirit upon us!

We are thirsty, Lord!