It's That Time....

Empty sidewalks...no longer...Empty hallways...not todayStreets are just starting to buzz with the "sounds and smells of school."

The sun is breaking through and shoving clouds out if it's way.

Some are more than ready to start.....

Some not so much...

Meanwhile, there are weepy mamas

Who are dropping off their firstborns,

to Middle School and First Grade....

they have driven away from a college drop off

Now it's time to wait....and trust that the seeds from...
Sunday School and VBS will sink in...

The manners taught at home will grow...

The bedtime prayers will echo in their ears...
The goodnight kisses and last minute hugs will last...

"Train a child in the way he should go, 
and when he is old he will not turn from it."~Proverbs 22:6 

Lots of goodbyes.

And on the other side of the door....lots of hellos...

So, take heart, The Morning Star is upon us- and them.

God is with us.

God, Thank You for walking every hallway and entering every room with them....and us.

   

In His Dust,

DCC

Thingamajiggys, iTunes & Mac Mac...

Some of you will recall the day Mac Mac got his first iPhone.
'Twas back in ye olden days of 2009.
In case you missed this fun....please join me as we time travel to the joyous event.....
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My dad got an iPhone.

Those of you that know him....well, let's just say, we have just given a monkey keys to a Ferrari.

Don't get me wrong- my Daddy is brilliant...off the charts.

The finest architect I have ever known or been aware of.

He is honest to a fault....his word is his bond.

His handshake is from West Texas...it is strong and binding.

His heart is as sensitive as the touch pad on his new phone.

But technology.

Ummm....not so much.....

I feel certain, handling the repercussions of this purchase, will soon be become my new part time job.

First of all, he refers to it as his iPod.I can't even begin to tell him this also has an iPod on it.

Not to mention, all of the other features it has on it.

He gave me about 5 minutes, to explain the entire thing...and accidentally "prank" called about 4 people shortly there after.

Thank goodness my brother is an attorney. This is a potential law suit waiting to happen.

Another thing, he informed me he is, and I quote, "not interested in getting iTunes. Whatever that is- I don't need it or have time for it!"

Ok.

I wonder, if God must have felt this way, in a much smaller scale, 

when He decided to give us free will?

This monkey writing this blog has wrecked many a Ferrari. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Fast Forward to 2013....

Houston we've had to upgrade.

And ohhhhhh, the problems....

"I've got some ridiculous thingamajiggy" 

(his actual description removed to protect you) 

that doesn't fit in my car charger!!!"

"They're trying to make me buy the iTunes- 

and I am NOT getting involved in that racket!!!"

(Oh, the irony in iTunes for Mac )

"Who can I call to get past all this malarkey!?!"

Ummmm, short of calling Ashton Kutcher to get his thoughts on the problem, 

we're gonna have to trust, that this is all designed, 

to work a certain way 

and to accomplish a certain purpose.

That is when it struck me, the similarity in how our Creator designed all of us.

To work a certain way...

To accomplish a certain purpose.

and only He can answer our questions.

"Surely, as I have thought and planned, so shall it come to pass, 

and as I have purposed it, so shall it stand." ~Isaiah 14:24

I know for me, trusting at times can feel frustrating, overwhelming and foreign.

"You are my God; I will exalt You, I will praise Your Name, for You have done wonderful things, even purposes planned of old in faithfulness and truth." ~Isaiah 25:1

God, Thank You for allowing and even encouraging our questions, concerns and doubts. 

In His Dust,

DCC

The Cloud...

I went on a walk yesterday.....the bad news it was about 300 degrees. 

The good news....One giant rain cloud followed me.

I didn't acknowledge it until a few random drops fell...almost as if to get my attention.

It was then I realized It had "followed"me the entire walk.

Forgive the dramatization, but it reminded me of....

"By day The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light. Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people."~Exodus 13:21-22

Although, it was a tad different than wandering in Egypt for 40 years....

 

I was in Olmos Park Basin and not the Egyptian desert.

I was not lost....but within a mile from my home.

I had great worship tunes blaring in my ears to keep me entertained.

I drank clean bottled water and hopped right back in a nice air conditioned Tahoe.

When I decided I was finished, I was able to stop wandering.

It was God's Same Provision....His Guidance, all the same.

The difference in my comfort level while under this cloud, was astounding to me.

What surprised me even more, was that my entire walk...it remained above me. 

Almost as if it was was following me. 

It was as if it "never left its place."

It made me to wonder...what are the other clouds I am walking under in my life and not seeing.

Where is God providing for me? 

Why am I not slowing down enough to notice and Thank him for it!

what could possibly be more important than slowing down to look up and notice.

"You, The Lord, have been seen face to face, 

Your Cloud stays over them"- Numbers 14:14b

God, Thank You for never leaving Your Place over me. Over all of us.

In His Dust,

DCC

Rubber Meets The Road....

“I will never leave you and I will NEVER abandon you.” ~Hebrews 13:5

I watched Rick and Kay Warren yesterday...it was their first time back in "the pulpit" since their son died.

It was powerful to watch real life rubber meeting the road.

"God is still the Red Sea God. He still restores the broken. He still heals the sick. 

Have audacious hope." -Kay Warren

There were many powerful and gut wrenching moments....at times easy to relate to and at other times unfathomable. 
There were three main areas of Biblical Truth that steadied them during the tragedy and now.

First, we know life doesn't make sense but we can have peace because we know God is with us and He Loves us.

"When you go through deep waters, I will be with you! When you pass through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown! When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned up; it will NOT consume you!” ~Isaiah 43:2

Second, everything on Earth is broken, but we can have joy because God has a greater plan.

“We can have joy even in our troubles because we know that these troubles produce endurance. And endurance produces character, and character produces hope. And this hope will not disappoint us, because God has poured his love to fill our hearts. ~Romans 5:3-5

Third, life is a battle, but we can have hope because we know there is more to the story.

"So we don't focus on the troubles we see right now; instead we look forward to what we don’t see yet. For the troubles we see now are temporary, 

but the joys to come will last forever.” ~2 Corinthians 4:18

These are all wonderful and true...however, as Rick Warren said, 
"The mind doesn't want to mind." 
Which means, for us, living with peace, joy and hope will require intentional living.
When we seek Him, He will meet us right where we are.  

God, Thank You for providing peace, joy and hope in Your Very Presence.

In His Dust,
DCC

Your Lane...

"We must run with determination the race marked out for us" ~Hebrews 12:1 

It is real easy for me to get caught up in looking at the other lanes.

Don't we all find ourselves at times, noticing how much easier, faster & happier those other "runners" seem to be doing.

Sometimes the lane you are in might feel muddy and hard to navigate.

Rick Warren reminds us to, "resist those who want you to run THEIR race."

God does not call us to run the same race as one another...

nor does He call us to run it faster and better than others.

Quite the opposite....

God calls us to run the race He marked specifically for us.

He also assures each one of us....He will be in that lane with us. 

"Remember I am with you always, until the end of the age." ~Matthew 28:20

Knowing this, remembering it and living in it...

is where true victory is found.

God, Thank You. I LOVE the lane You have placed me in. I am beyond grateful You are running with me.

In His Dust,

DCC

God's Megaphone....

My A/C decided this weekend would be an appropriate time to go on strike. 

In other news, it was hotter than the south side of the sun this weekend.

I was quickly reminded that the temperature of the air effects everything.
Quickly after that, I was reminded that my temperature effects others. 
As quickly as the temperature rose....so did my crankiness.

Neither adjusted well.

The air was also heavy in our community this past week and weekend.... 

Several unexpected funerals....miscarriages...jet ski accidents....blow outs... 

There was a negative wet blanket in the social media air. 

"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, 

speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: 

it is His Megaphone to rouse a deaf world"  -CS Lewis

As someone that once used a megaphone, 
(in a Mule head nonetheless, proving the story of Balaam to be valid)
it's main purpose is to be heard and to engage a response. 

There is no avoiding it. 
Our response to God's Megaphone...should be covered in trust and love.

Love seems to be God's freon. 

Without it, we are just blowing hot air. 
And when it's already 111 in shade- that's not helpful to anyone. 

God feels your pain and mine......

God is good.

God is faithful.

God is with us.

God, Thank You for Your Very Presence among each of us.

In His Dust,
DCC

Light of The World....

"Jesus said, 'Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'” ~Matthew 19:14

The week of Vacation Bible School never ceases to amaze me. 
There is a rare, powerful, tear-stained, genuine worship that occurs, akin to nothing I've seen out of adults. 

Their worship was pure and heartfelt....with no distraction or concern of anyone around them. 

What was going on was a song and a conversation between each child there and their God.

While I was worried about getting "too in to it" at one point....I realized the quietest kids I knew were in front of 400 people "letting it rip" 

A few things overheard this week....

"We are giving money because, there are sad thirsty elephants in Africa that need it."

"God loved the world so much- 

that He decided to stay the same yesterday, today and forever" 

(messy 3rd grade handwriting Scripture looks better than any scroll found in Israel) 

"I growed a mustache here."

"favorite song is, My God is an awesome guy. He Reigns from heaven above. 
My God is an awesome guy." 

The particular singer also sings, 
"Mary had a little man. a little Man, a little man. He followed her home from school one day." 

"God sent bananas from the sky to feed desert people."

Kids took it upon themselves to help crying little ones. 

They giggled and skipped and didn't get their feathers ruffled by differences.

They had honest conversations with God....

They truly were and are, the light of the world and a city on a hill.

God, Thank You for giving us visual examples of what You desire. No wonder the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to such as these.

In His Dust,
DCC