Jots and Tittles

All right, I know I shouldn't have posted and run like that. In case you were wondering, I did wind up going to Arizona after all, which is why I didn't reply to anyone's comments, though God had some work to do to get me there. But you have no idea how much it meant to me to come home tonight and see all that everyone had to say to me. I seriously nearly cried for a completely different (and infinitely better!) reason than last week. You all rock on ice and you all deserve huge hugs for it. I just... wow. You're all fantastic. THANK YOU!!!!

Anyway, just a basic rundown of the week: I woke up Saturday morning absolutely certain that I wasn't going to Chinle. I called Erin to tell her, because I could never just not show up for something, that's just wrong, but she didn't answer her phone. So, with no one else's phone number and very little time before I had to leave if I wanted to catch them, I threw my stuff in my car and drove to the church. By that point, I figured I would go that far and see if I could talk myself out of it down there, but I wanted to be ready just in case I couldn't or I decided I didn't want to. I was actually the first one there, which made it even more tempting to just leave. But I didn't want to drive around with those expired plates any longer than I had to, so I stayed put and cursed my luck. When Erin finally showed up, she apologized for missing my call, and said that she couldn't call me back because the only button on her phone that was working was the on/off button. It was like a slap in the face--that was a holy two-by-four if I ever saw one. At that point, I was going whether I liked it or not. It was reinforced when we got Erin's phone working again by shaking it as we drove down I-25. I'm convinced that the only reason it wasn't working was so that I would be forced to go.

So I went, and wow. I'll have to put details in a different post because this one is getting far too long and I still have thirty some-odd emails to check, but WOW. God was there, whether I liked it or not, whether I noticed or not. I've never felt before what I felt this week... I can't put it into words but it was amazing. You know how when someone loves you, they'll occasionally do little things that they know will make you smile, just because they'll make you smile? Yeah. That happened ALL week, and it wasn't any of the crew (though Erin's constant hugs were a huge help too ^.^). It was God. And it was just little things that only I would notice, like when I put my iPod on shuffle and played it, the first song would be Be Thou My Vision or something else that I simply adore, or like when I was doing dishes and I swear it was like He kissed me on the cheek... that's not at all what happened but I can't think of another way to describe it and it had the same effect that a kiss on the cheek would have. It was just the coolest thing ever, and exactly what I needed. Even though He dragged me into it kicking and screaming, and even though I know that tomorrow I'll be doing schoolwork that I should have been doing all week and probably cursing my stupidity for putting it off till then. But for now, God has me completely in awe of everything He's taught me this week, so much that I can't even process it all right now. And that's pretty stinkin awesome.

And, I just opened this email from Sylvia:

I have come to have a deep appreciation for the work of VOW and particularly for the excellent and unfailingly orthodox critiques of some of the current theological perspectives current among parts of the PC(USA).

 And so I read with interest the description and critique of “The Lady’s Prayer” posted on the VOW website.  I wasn’t disappointed.  The article was well written, tightly reasoned, and theologically on target.  Brittany Dowdy rightly identifies the shift from a focus on God and his revealed truth to a focus on the self and our experienced “truth”, as the underlying poisoned well from which this pseudo pagan prayer (and many of the other theological problems in our church) flow.

 I was amazed to read at the end of the article that such theological insights and wisdom came from a college undergrad at Colorado State.  As a Colorado State alum myself (class of ’96) and a current PC(USA) pastor I am delighted to know that this faithful sister in Christ, with such a keen intellect, is coming out of my old Alma Mater and is a part of the PC(USA).  We certainly need leaders like her.  Wherever God leads Ms. Dowdy vocationally in the future, it will surely be a blessing to us all.

 Yours in Christ Jesus,

Brian Gawf

Associate Pastor,

First Presbyterian Church

Murfreesboro, TN

I just... wow.  God is SO good.  And He's letting me help Him do His work!  He's letting me fight for Him!  Me, even when I fight Him every step of the way and try to follow my own path and do all sorts of incredibly stupid things.  He still works through me and what He does is amazing!  I know I don't deserve any of this but He's right.  When you work for God, you really do get blessed beyond your wildest imagination.  So this rather difficult and challenging week is ending on a definite high note.  God rocks my face off! 

-Jaya-