Klutz

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Today’s Klutz Award goes to Yours Truly for her captivating performance in the grocery store parking lot in the rain.

The bad news is that I landed on my bad knee, and if it could talk, it would be cussing at me right now. I iced it when I got home, so hopefully that will help some. Ibuprofen is my friend right now, as well.

The good news is that a) my slacks were black, & b) I managed to scuff my knee but not tear my pants. I’m not sure how that happened, but I’m grateful.

It was sweet at bedtime when No. 3 was saying prayers, and he asked that my knee would feel better … and that I wouldn’t slip & fall any more. I couldn’t agree more! šŸ™‚ With my [lack of] gracefulness, I may need to buy a pair of cleats before winter.

Discussing Dark Things (Prayer Devotional for the week of August 17, 2014)

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Our Lord is an awesome, miracle-working God who loves, heals, saves, and provides for us, yet I also believe that he entrusts us with imagination and knowledge to develop and invent things to make our lives better. Thanks to modern medicine, for example, I feel pretty confident that I can take ibuprofen when I have a headache, and it will go away. Most Christians would not criticize my faith for taking a couple of over-the-counter pills to alleviate minor aches and pains.

 

Of course, we still pray for healing ā€“ and weā€™ve witnessed God do remarkable things! ā€“ yet, cancer patients still go through chemotherapy treatment. We ask God for provision, yet we still take insulin, blood pressure medication, multivitamins, etc. to keep our bodies regulated properly. Why then, when we have access to pastoral and professional counseling, not to mention a wide array of medications, do we often brush off diseases of the heart … or, to call a spade a spade: mental illnesses? Why do we only really talk about dark things when a celebrity dies, yet people all around us are suffering every day from the same problems?

 

If you want to read about a guy who had a lot to cope with in his adult life, check out 2 Corinthians. In chapter 11:23-27, we learn that Paul was flogged with 39 lashes (the max was 40) on FIVE separate occasions. Can you imagine the rumpled scars on his poor back? And thatā€™s only part of the story: in the first chapter of his letter, Paul explained that things had gotten so bad on one of his journeys that he felt like heā€™d been sentenced to death row and didnā€™t even know if heā€™d make it home alive.

 

Paul didnā€™t have the advantage of modern medicine to help manage any anxiety or depression that he may have suffered from, but one thing he tried to do was to surround himself with supportive, godly people. Repeatedly in his letters that we read in the New Testament, Paul recognized various individuals and expressed his appreciation for them or asked others to pass messages of encouragement along to them.

 

Depression is a monstrous liar, and I canā€™t pretend to understand it any more so than a naturally skinny person can understand what itā€™s like to live in my body. We think we know how to ā€œfixā€ each other, but we donā€™t truly know what it is like to live in anotherā€™s skin. All we can do is support each other. I would submit that it is much more difficult to drown out the lies when you are alone than when you are immersed within a caring community. If you are dealing with issues of the heart, talk to a pastor or life group leader, and let them know what you are suffering. Donā€™t go it alone; people do want to help.

Texas vs Utah observations

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2014-08-14 20.35.53Assorted observations about my first few weeks of living in Utah (in no particular order):

  • The sunrise illuminates the mountains from the top down (as the light crests over the facing mountain). Sunset is the opposite, with darkness going from bottom up.
  • You know you arenā€™t in Texas anymore when you feel a little chilly swimming in the outside pool … in August.
  • Cedar City, UT, is at a higher elevation than Denver, CO (5,800 ft vs 5,280 ft), and they arenā€™t joking when people say that the elevation saps your stamina.
  • So far, other drivers seldom respond to the steering wheel wave that comes second nature to me, but Iā€™ve converted a few passers-by to my Texan ways.
  • Everyone has been very friendly and welcoming (even if they donā€™t wave from car to car). šŸ˜‰
  • I donā€™t think anyone is as excited about football season as we are.

Finding a new church home

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In my humble opinion, visiting a new church is one of the most intimidating things to do when you move to a new town — not unlike a first date! You can get a general idea about a church by checking out their website and/or talking to others about it, but you don’t really have a feel for the place until you walk in the door.

Even for someone who grew up in church and has been a leader in church, going to a new place as an outsider can feel awkward. Thankfully, the two places we visited were warm and welcoming. There weren’t too many uneasy moments of standing around by myself, though those moments did feel awkward when they happened.

In a relatively small community that is predominantly Mormon, there aren’t a whole lot of evangelical Christian options, but we think we’ve found “the one.” The preaching is down-to-earth and very applicable. The younger guys enjoyed the kids’ class, and the older ones have made some friends in the youth group. The praise band is pretty good, too. It’s hard to compare any band to Crossroads, since they are so good, it’s like going to a concert every Sunday morning. No kidding; they are really that good. It was nice to hear some familiar songs during worship, as that helped me feel more at home.

I have a couple of more thoughts about church-hunting, but I think I will work them into an upcoming devotional, so you’ll just have to wait to hear. šŸ™‚