So random tidbits,
My car battery died yesterday, hopefully that is all it is and not the alternator (getting that checked out today).
I am in Occidental for a length of time that will require only one more haircut.
Obedience is hard, but it is easier than faith.
Ping pong balls only go missing on my days off.
From the outside it is possible to see what could be, but it is not easy from the outside to see what is.
I have learned more than I thought was possible this year.
There are days I feel like I have forgotten more than was possible.
I don't think I will have closure to my time here at Alliance, because what I have learned was only the prologue for what God has for me in Chicago.
I NEVER thought I would pursue being a pastor.
I never thought I would move somewhere without a job lined up.
I don't know what state I will be in, but I know where I will be Thanksgiving weekend (at a theatre watching The Muppets).
All the plans I once held dear
I now count as loss
Hoping/Needing/Always Needing to be taken back to the cross.
I never in a million years thought that from where I was I could end up here.
I have no idea how what I thought I wanted and needed didn't come to pass, and have no idea how much better God's plan for me is.
I need to find an excuse to drive the Gator one more time.
--Serving Him alongside all of you, just from further away
--Jesse Letourneau
Monday, July 25, 2011
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Traveling to Egypt
Abraham is often cited (and rightly so) for being a man of extraordinary faith. God told him to go, and he did. God didn't say where exactly, or how long it would take, just to go. Hebrews tells us that faith is the evidence of things not seen the assurance of things hoped for.
When I was a child I assumed this verse spoke of belief in Christ, trusting in God, and having my ticket punched for my train ride to heaven. To be sure faith in an unseen God is crucial. It is the starting point, but I am learning faith is much more than that.
Abraham wasn't given a clear destination. I have been given one. Here is the thing, I haven't been told the how. I hate not knowing the how. I hate not having control, I hate the unknown. I struggle with faith.
It is funny that I have used the word destination, as if Chicago/North Park was the end of the road. As if once I get into school, once I get a ministry of my own, then I am done growing. Then God will use me, but surely He won't stretch me any further. As if then I will have finally arrived.
When Abraham was told to go, he went. And then he hit trouble. Famine hit the land and Abe decided he needed to eat. There was food in Egypt, and so logically he went there. The problem was that Egypt was off the course. Egypt was Abe's answer to the problem not God's. Now once in Egypt, Abraham made a few other costly mistakes (that ironically enough came about due to lack of faith). I think lack of faith comes when we think we have a better answer than what God has.
The astute among you will know that I have written about destination and journeys on this blog before. You will note that I have written about being in a place of peace in allowing the journey to take precedent over just reaching the destiny. Those of you who know me well, will know that this didn't come easy, and that I am likely to have to repeat my lessons.
I had this picture of me living in a small place eating, but not eating well, getting by, and going to school. I saw this picture of the first act of a cliched small town boy moves to big city kind of story. And I was okay with that, until this job opportunity came along. Then I didn't want to suffer, I wanted the easy road, and that is the path I pursued.
I didn't get the Children's Minister position in Chicago. Which means not only was I taking pieces of the puzzle that were not yet mine and trying to fit them into the picture I wanted to make, it also means I still don't know how I am going pay for things like food and shelter. I know God can provide, my heart is just having trouble finding the faith that He will. Cause I want the control, I want to know how things are going to work.
--Serving Him alongside all of you, just from further away
--Jesse Letourneau
When I was a child I assumed this verse spoke of belief in Christ, trusting in God, and having my ticket punched for my train ride to heaven. To be sure faith in an unseen God is crucial. It is the starting point, but I am learning faith is much more than that.
Abraham wasn't given a clear destination. I have been given one. Here is the thing, I haven't been told the how. I hate not knowing the how. I hate not having control, I hate the unknown. I struggle with faith.
It is funny that I have used the word destination, as if Chicago/North Park was the end of the road. As if once I get into school, once I get a ministry of my own, then I am done growing. Then God will use me, but surely He won't stretch me any further. As if then I will have finally arrived.
When Abraham was told to go, he went. And then he hit trouble. Famine hit the land and Abe decided he needed to eat. There was food in Egypt, and so logically he went there. The problem was that Egypt was off the course. Egypt was Abe's answer to the problem not God's. Now once in Egypt, Abraham made a few other costly mistakes (that ironically enough came about due to lack of faith). I think lack of faith comes when we think we have a better answer than what God has.
The astute among you will know that I have written about destination and journeys on this blog before. You will note that I have written about being in a place of peace in allowing the journey to take precedent over just reaching the destiny. Those of you who know me well, will know that this didn't come easy, and that I am likely to have to repeat my lessons.
I had this picture of me living in a small place eating, but not eating well, getting by, and going to school. I saw this picture of the first act of a cliched small town boy moves to big city kind of story. And I was okay with that, until this job opportunity came along. Then I didn't want to suffer, I wanted the easy road, and that is the path I pursued.
I didn't get the Children's Minister position in Chicago. Which means not only was I taking pieces of the puzzle that were not yet mine and trying to fit them into the picture I wanted to make, it also means I still don't know how I am going pay for things like food and shelter. I know God can provide, my heart is just having trouble finding the faith that He will. Cause I want the control, I want to know how things are going to work.
--Serving Him alongside all of you, just from further away
--Jesse Letourneau
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