God's Timing & Our Purpose

Today, as I started my day, very confused by the state I am currently in, and different anxieties in life...these reminders from this devotional I receive via email were extremely timely.  I call this a personal message from God letting me know, once again, what my priorities in life should be and how I should arrange them.  Here is the link to this email devo, but I also copied it in case the link disappears over time.  Purpose Driven Devotional

Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Don't Be Distracted From Your Purpose, by Rick Warren

"Will we fulfill God’s purpose, or will we shrink back and live a comfortable, self-centered life?",
Rick Warren

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 (NIV)

Living this decade for the glory of God will require a change in your priorities, your schedule, your relationships, and everything else. It will sometimes mean choosing a difficult path instead of the easy one.

Steve Adams, our pastor to children at Saddleback Church, says when we are moving forward in the direction God tells us, “Action requires traction, but the enemy brings distraction.” In other words, we can’t just say we believe in God’s plan, or say we need to take some steps. God requires that we take real steps to move us forward.

But the enemy, as Steve notes, rushes in with distractions designed to pull us away from God’s plan. We become like the man described by James in the Bible, who looks into a mirror, but then forgets what he looks like as he walks away. Distractions such as bad attitudes, excuses, procrastination, and busyness make us mere ‘listeners’ of the word when God calls us to be ‘doers.’

We face a choice with every step we take into this decade of destiny: Will we fulfill God’s purpose, or will we shrink back and live a comfortable, self-centered life? Will we live for our own goals, comfort, and pleasure, or will we live the rest of our lives for God’s glory, knowing that he has promised eternal rewards?

From Saddleback Resources –

Guys and Dolls - Vandercook Lake Spring Play

Caleb voluntarily went out for the play this year...and we had to work on Zack to get him to go for it too....but I am hoping that the success of the play will be the reward for all the work and time they have put into this production!   It is an awesome show!  The best part is that it has truly been a family affair.  The Johnson cousins, Grace, Nathan, and Laura are also in the play.   And, Lenn and Karen Johnson  and Rene' and I are also parent helpers (Lenn and Karen have been involved since day 1, with Lenn heading up the set construction, running the spot light, helping with props and Karen doing promotion, program, props, costumes and more).   (Rene' has helped with props, and food and concessions and I have helped with set construction, electrical, lighting and misc stuff).  It has been a lot of work...but now that the show is here and going well...it is all worth it!   Here is a link to some of the photos of the play:  http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2082993&id=1086892434&l=3f4a129d8a

Ice Storm

On our way home from Wisconsin, Rene' and I hit the tail end of the snow storm that had been a very severe ice storm in southern Michigan the day before...and was currently covering our home and neck of the woods with anywhere from 1/4" to 1/2" of ice on trees and brush to  around 1/2" to 1" of ice on the ground.  It was amazingly beautiful and equally distructive (although, not near as severe of damage as we had about 10 years ago when entire trees were falling over with everything covered in at least 1/2" of ice).   Of course, with this much tree damage....power outages were numerous and wide spread and we were personally told that we would be out of power for at least 5 days.  We ended up only having to use a generator for about 36 hours, which we were very thankful for the surprise power coming back on fairly quick...where many people in our area were indeed out for 4 or 5 days.   Here are a few pics of the campground and this ice storm: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080804&id=1086892434&l=0e533cfcc6

Catching up on the ole blog...

I have fallen into another blog rut and realized that quite a bit of life has gone by since my last post.  Some of the more memorable moments are worth documenting.  First and foremost is a long, and much awaited 25th Wedding Anniversary Get-Away for Rene' and I.   My parents offered to allow us to use their time share, so we chose the Wisconsin Dells!   One reason is because we wanted to see the musical production, "Wicked"...and it was showing in Appleton, WI at the same time period we planned to get away.  The time share unit was amazing too.  It is touted as being the largest indoor water park in America...and we enjoyed sitting poolside in Wisconsin in the middle of February with a snow storm outside.   The rooms were awesome suites! It was great!  Here is a link for the FEW pictures we took (bummer). http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2080335&id=1086892434&l=0b2721d46a