And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked
and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. -Hebrews 4:13
What are you hiding
from a friend? A spouse? From God? Is it something you are afraid to share?
Something you know is wrong? Feel like you can't be yourself around everybody
you hang out with? What secrets are weighing you down?
Remember
those rough waves I talked about in a previous post? Each and every one of
those waves were FULL of millions of fish! It was bait fish season I guess cause
that's no exaggeration. There were millions. We couldn't believe it as we
continued to watch them. The waves were so transparent that we could see all of
these fish, big and small. Here's the good news...there's nothing we can hide
from God. Our lives are transparent. He knows everything! There are no secrets!
He loves us so much! He loves us so much that He doesn't want to leave us where
we are now. He wants to continue to mold
us to be more and more like Christ. He wants us to be honest with Him and be in
constant communication with Him. He wants us to be straight forward and open up
to Him about any and everything!
Even if
it's only for an hour, Carter and I have purposely worked some "us"
time back into our busy schedules. Some recharge time. Non-work time. So we all know what our first pick
normally is...putting our feet in the sand.
Recently, we saw the roughest and biggest waves we've seen yet. So rough to where red rip currents
and "can't swim" flags were out. These rough, tough, crazy waves
reminded us of how life contains hardships. And how everybody is always going
through something. We don't always know the whole story, but God does. He is right there to guide us, lead
us, and carry us through them.
Not too long ago, we were discussing how many hardships have
turned into blessings for us personally. They have made us stronger. They
have taught us lessons. They have led us to better places and opportunities. Better than
we could have imagined. We have found ourselves praising Him in, during, and after
the storm. We thank God for these challenging times so that we are truly
thankful for all of the good things and days He has provided. When was the last time you counted
your blessings? Shouldn't we be counting them daily?
"Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
1 Thessalonians 5:18
"I am here on earth for just a little while..." -Psalm 119:19
I had the opportunity not too long ago to travel back to SC to see some dear friends of mine...friends who became a part of my SC family--some of which will remain life long friends. As awesome as it was to be going to enjoy catching up with friends, it's always hard to leave.
God has reminded me on multiple occasions that SC was only a temporary home. It was a season of our life. And better yet, just think, our life here on Earth is only temporary. What comes to mind when you think about this truth? I ask myself if I am doing all I can for the Lord day in and day out... I challenge myself daily to glorify Him in all I say and do at all times. There's excitement also about the thought of being with other believers forever in heaven. How cool is that?
I can't help but think of Carrie Underwood's Song, Temporary Home. Here's just the Chorus lyrics:
"This is my temporary home
It's not where I belong
Windows in rooms that I'm passin' through
This is just a stop, on the way to where I'm going.
I'm not afraid because I know this is my
Temporary home."
As you know, I graduated from Gordon-Conwell with my doctorate this past May and what an amazing journey that was! Thanks for your prayers and support through the process!
A large part of the final steps of the process was writing and defending a thesis. Even though it seemed like a daunting task, it turned out to be a very pleasurable process. I have been blessed to have a publisher who has a small printing of my thesis through Parson’s Porch Books. It is very cool to be able to see “An Exploratory of First Time Elder Leadership in the Presbyterian Church” with my name under it available on Amazon! It is tailored around a study of elders and Pastors that I conducted last fall. If anyone is interested, I have a few copies in the church office. Thanks so much for your support, prayers, and encouragement along the way!
Here are some links if you are interested in purchasing the book:
or
The e-book is in process through Amazon as well. It should be active very soon.
~Pastor Carter~
