Love Wins

My good friend, Harley, shared this sermon with me. It's simple but it might just change your life.

God's Promise to Redeem our Families

Redemption can start with us, and it can spread in every direction.

My family is a perfect example right now that God is indeed faithful and that our efforts to seek Him are never in vain. I choose to stand for Him, come what may. That's all He asks in the entire chapter I read today (Deuteronomy 30), and compared to the volume of promises He makes in it, giving Him that honor that He is already due is more than reasonable (see Romans 12 for reference).

Becoming Who We Always Have Been - Only Better

If I haven't said it enough, this website is brilliant. I loved today's perspective on becoming who we are, not someone else. I find in it great freedom in trusting God with my growth and development, and freedom from poisonous comparisons and feelings of doubt. Give it a read.

The White's Building

Today was an historic moment for Augusta. For years, we have worked to encourage growth in our downtown district. A renaissance, if you will. Downtown Augusta is a great place to be: skirting the Savannah River, it boasts of historic charm and natural beauty. The problem is that when the malls came in the 70s, downtown's energy died. Stores closed and moved to the 'burbs, leaving big vacant boxes behind.

The White's Bldg, once the site of one of Augusta's premier department stores, has been vacant since 1978. Several developers from Atlanta recently purchased the structure and have painstakingly transformed the 5 story building into elegant retail and residential spaces. They were careful to salvage and restore the building's historic architectural elements, to which they added the latest in green-building technology.

The result is stunning. The ribbon cutting today hosted over 200 people (my guess). Photos can be found here. The White's Bldg. represents the first multi-million $ project downtown has seen in over a decade. Work on White's has spurred a litany of other projects in the district, including landscaping, signage, boutiques, a new road, and tons of businesses relocating to the area.

After a long winter, Augusta's finally on its way back up. Watch out!

Paperwork

Those who know me, know I'm an organizational nazi. I love bins and labels and feng shui. But I think I've finally met my match.

These last few weeks, I've been putting together this massive accreditation application at my job. Basically, the conservation community is starting to certify land trusts with a seal-of-approval (which is a good thing). It amounts to a massive audit of everything we do. I have been compiling policies and cross-referencing them with evidence that we follow them, matching photos with site visit reports completed 5 years ago, and then three-hole punching, labeling, and filing these in triplicate.

The result is 15 inches of color-coded paperwork.

My messy house and dirty dishes attest to the fact that I am at my wits end. I'm feeling a bit twitchy, a bit crazy... like if the process took any longer, I would start walking down Broad St talking to myself, repeating phrases like "no more tabs, no more labels" or something.

Thank the Lord the thing's due on Aug. 1 so come hell-or-high-water, it'll be done by then.

Feeling Unqualified for "That Thing"

I love it when God speaks to us through His people. If you haven't been turned onto the site "Stuff Christians Like" yet, I suggest you take a peek. Just for grins. This guy has God's voice in a very real and human way. Encouraging. Challenging. Graceful. Humble. Today's posting was on feeling "less-than"...something that I think we all deal with in one way or another. It struck me, so I thought I'd share. Enjoy.

God's Promises

I am so glad that Jesus picked this passage in Isaiah (see below) to read when He was in the temple. It is messianic, for sure, but it also speaks of a broader promise, and reveals something of God's character. He is the God of redemption, of second chances, and the God of love. He is a God who sees the plight and feels the pain of His children, and in the right moment, He will come down and proclaim 'the year of His favor'. Translation: The time will come when He turns the tables and begins His redemptive work.

By far, His greatest work was finished on the cross. But He still longs to do smaller, yet still powerful works in each of our lives. Release from addiction, comfort for those suffering, freedom from the lies of the enemy. When God comes, He brings with Him love to comfort, power tools to do the redemptive work (some might call this strength, but i prefer to see him with a powerdrill!), and clarity. He always comes with clarity. Because there is no confusion with God. He is true and righteous. And that's good news.

If you are one of my many friends struggling right now (it seems we all get accosted with life at the same time, doesn't it?! i have theories on that), know this: God is faithful. He will deliver you. He promises it. Read Isaiah's words below and take comfort. Lean on Him, not your own understanding. He is already at the door, ready to save. :)

Isaiah 61
The Year of the LORD's Favor
1 The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim freedom for the captives
and release from darkness for the prisoners,

2 to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor
and the day of vengeance of our God,
to comfort all who mourn,

3 and provide for those who grieve in Zion—
to bestow on them a crown of beauty
instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness
instead of mourning,
and a garment of praise
instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
a planting of the LORD
for the display of his splendor.

4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins
and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities
that have been devastated for generations.

5 Aliens will shepherd your flocks;
foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.

6 And you will be called priests of the LORD,
you will be named ministers of our God.
You will feed on the wealth of nations,
and in their riches you will boast.

7 Instead of their shame
my people will receive a double portion,
and instead of disgrace
they will rejoice in their inheritance;
and so they will inherit a double portion in their land,
and everlasting joy will be theirs.

8 "For I, the LORD, love justice;
I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

9 Their descendants will be known among the nations
and their offspring among the peoples.
All who see them will acknowledge
that they are a people the LORD has blessed."

10 I delight greatly in the LORD;
my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

11 For as the soil makes the sprout come up
and a garden causes seeds to grow,
so the Sovereign LORD will make righteousness and praise
spring up before all nations.