Soccer, a battleship, more soccer, and rain, lots and lots of rain

We traveled to Mobile this past weekend for my #2 son to play in a soccer tournament. Our first game was 8 am Saturday morning (early!). We won 3-0. Pretty exciting! Here are a few shots my #1 son took (what with me being a terrible photographer and my husband fulfilling his duties on the bench as Team Manager and occasional Assistant Coach):





Almost got the header on a corner kick:





Our next game wasn't until 5 so with several hours to kill we toured World War II battleship The U.S.S. Alabama along with our friend/coach's wife/fellow church member/family pastor's wife Jennifer:





The battleship was very interesting, or at least the grownups thought so!

We lost our second game despite a very intense second half with many shots on goal that just didn't make it in the net. We played again Sunday morning, a must-win in order to vie for the championship. Win we did in another very exciting match in the rain, earning a shot at the championship versus the team that beat us the day before. The boys were soaked and the fans not much drier! Though it was past check out, our hotel allowed us the use of the washer and dryer so we were thus able to attempt to wash away three games' worth of stench (the socks! oh, the socks!). So maybe some of the stink remained but at least they would be dry.

Turns out it didn't matter. The rain never abated and instead morphed into a monsoon-like downpour. Cats and dogs and then some, forcing the tournament officials to cancel and us to be content with second place. Though somewhat less climactic than we'd hoped, it was yet a memorable way to end a fantastic season. Great job, guys!

I have a question

Here's something I've been wondering about. I'll tell you up front: I haven't done any sorts of research nor have I formed any firm opinions. I'm curious and I thought I'd mine the depths of the collective knowledge of you, my readers. And, if I'm honest, I sincerely hope I'll actually get some response here so that 1) I might learn something and 2) I won't look foolish for asking a question and then getting no answers. So, be a good sport and answer me, okay?

Ready?

Here's what I'm wondering: what Biblical support is there for the idea of a specific vocational calling? I don't read many blogs by men but I have noticed among women bloggers there is some talk of being called to be this or that, sometimes expressed with joy and excitement, sometimes with frustration and uncertainty. I'm curious about what the Scripture has to say about seeking (and finding) a specific calling. When someone says they are supposed to be a _________ or do __________, how do they know, Biblically? How does the Bible address seeking one's purpose/destiny/calling/dream?

Remember: I have no agenda other than curiosity.

So, what are you thoughts on callings?

Monday Mish Mash

Yes, it's the return of the ever-popular (?) Monday mish mash sort of posting, emphasis on the sort of. I am presumably on the computer to study cram for the devotion I am leading tonight but well, after catching up on email and the like, I felt like sharing with you, the reader (all three of you), the mish mash of my Monday, such as it is.

We had a great weekend visiting my husband's family. We spent Mother's Day, appropriately enough, with his mom. We went to church with her and I got to go to her Sunday school class and meet a few of her dear friends who also happen to be friends of this blog. So-a big shout out to my new friends; it was so nice to meet you all! I really enjoyed being a part of your class (picture and all) for a day!

I hate that I wasn't able to spend Mother's Day with my mom. We will see her in a few weeks for her annual Memorial Day bash. I sent her a gift in the mail, something I really think she will like which is fun. I am so thankful for my mom and the wonderful mother she is and always has been.

I finished reading Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet last week. It is wonderful! All the good things I'd heard about it, all were true. Though the ending came as no surprise, the joy of the story is in the telling and it is really well told. I loved it.

I am making pimento cheese to take to our fellowship tonight. Yum.

As I said, I am leading the devotion tonight. Actually, I'm recycling a portion of the 1 John lesson I didn't get to teach last week. Did you know our longing for Jesus' return serves to sanctify us here on earth? I have to be honest, I don't often think of heaven, much less long for it. How differently I would live if I were to focus on the eternal treasure that awaits: God Himself.

I have a terrible case of poison ivy. TERRIBLE. The funny thing is, I haven't been anywhere near any three leaved vines but my husband has. We're guessing my laundress job has (finally) proved to be the end of me.

Speaking of the laundry, I am usually fairly diligent in folding the clothes immediately upon removing them from the dryer. Not today. I think I have five loads (maybe more) in the basket, waiting to be folded.

I am freezing. Fifty one degrees out when I went to pick up my son from school. Yes, I did in fact put on a pot of coffee, how did you know?

And, on that note, I think I will pour another cup of coffee and go fold some clothes before I go hang out with my favorite church girls, eating pimento cheese and other yummy stuff, laughing, talking, and encouraging each other as we eagerly await the glorious appearing of our blessed hope, Christ Himself.

Thankfulness on Thursday

Kim started it and many of my other bloggy friends and acquaintances are following suit, chronicling their weekly thanksgiving on Thursdays, though much more consistently than I. Today I join them in expressing thanksgiving to the sovereign God of the universe for the blessings He has graciously granted me this week...

I am thankful for the hours I spent on Tuesday out on the porch with laptop and Bible in preparation to lead Bible study Wednesday.

I am thankful for God's Word.

I am thankful for my laptop and for wireless internet.

I am thankful for my porch.

I am thankful for the beautiful weather.

I am thankful for coffee; though not indispensable to Bible study prep, it sure complements it!

I am thankful for breakfast with my friend in lieu of Bible study. Sure, I was disappointed no one else could make it to class, but the french toast and the conversation, both were good.

I am thankful for my friend.

I am thankful for french toast.

I am thankful for the privilege of hearing God's Word preached with power and passion each Sunday morning, even when the sermon is on mortifying sin.

I am thankful for conviction; though certainly not pleasant, it is the Lord's goodness to me as He is faithful to do the good work of sanctification, conforming me to the image of His Son Jesus from one degree of glory to another.

I am thankful for my church and my pastors.

I am thankful for my husband who loves me consistently and persistently.

I am thankful for those occasional, spontaneous hugs from my boys who are growing up far too quickly.

I am thankful that "God, who said 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6)

What are you thankful for this week?

The question is not "Can we find God's will?"

Another extended quote from David Platt's MUST READ book, Radical. You must read it. You must. Go. Click. Buy. Order. Whatever you need to do. Just do it. Read it.

I find it interesting that one of the most common questions asked today among Christians is "What is God's will for my life?" or "How do I find God's will for my life?" Many Christians have almost assumed the attitude that they would obey God if he would just show them what he wanted them to do.

In the middle of a Christian culture asking, "How do I find God's will for my life?" I bring good news. His will is not lost. With 1.4 million Bedouins in Algeria who have never even heard the gospel, it makes little sense for us to sit over here asking, "What do you want me to do, God?" The answer is clear. The will of God is for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel and the glory of God known among the all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus.

The question, therefore, is not "Can we find God's will?" The question is "Will we obey God's will?"

Will we refuse to sit back and wait for some tingly feeling to go down our spines before we rise up and do what we have already been commanded to do?

Will we risk everything--our comfort, our possessions, our safety, our security, our very lives--to make the gospel known among unreached peoples?

Such rising up and such risk are the unavoidable, urgent results of a life that is radically abandoned to Jesus.

Status Report, May

Sitting...at my dining room table

Drinking...nothing at the moment, though a Caramel Java Chiller from Sonic sounds really good. Not good for me but good nonetheless. It's not gonna happen but I'm just letting you know.

Welcoming...a return to some semblance of routine normalcy, such as it is post tornado. The tornado and its effects remain the topic du jour at church, at the bridal tea I attended yesterday, at the return to "school" this morning. I wonder if we will ever tire of talking of it, of sharing our stories.

Praying...for those in Nashville facing their own kind of new normal. May the Lord be merciful...

Feeling...caught once again in that to-blog-or-not-to-blog conundrum. Sometimes it all feels so stupid. Is it just me? Does anyone else wonder about the why's and wherefore's of this strange hobby?

Memorizing...Colossians 1 with my friend. Or, rather, attempting to memorize chapter 1. I've made it through verse 20. Sort of. My husband tells me that I remind him of Barney from the Andy Griffith show when he was trying to recite the Preamble to the Constitution. Have you seen that episode? It's a classic!

Missing...my usual grocery store. It was damaged by the tornado so I shopped today at a sister grocery store here in our city. Ugh. Hoping my store gets up and running soon!

Pondering...a twitter update that just popped up (oh, the wonders of Tweetdeck) encouraging me to not be afraid to be amazing. Am I really afraid of being amazing? Or just incapable? Is everyone supposed to be amazing? Aren't some of us doomed to be ordinary so that the amazing-ness of others will actually be amazing? Hmmm....

Realizing...I think too much.

Reading...Radical by David Platt.

Recommending...Radical by David Platt. In fact, quit reading this drivel and go buy this book. Now. I'm serious. Go. Click. Buy. Read. Be convicted.

Wanting...to live a life marked by a radical obedience to Christ's command to take up my cross and abandon everything for the gospel.

Wondering...what that kind of radical lifestyle looks like for an ordinary, funk-prone soccer mom who thinks too much

The message of Christianity is...?

From David Platt's (MUST read) book, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream....

"If you were to ask the average Christian sitting in a worship service on Sunday morning to summarize the message of Christianity, you would most likely hear something along the lines of 'The message of Christianity is that God loves me.' Or someone might say, 'The message of Christianity is that God loves me enough to send his Son, Jesus, to die for me.'

As wonderful as this sentiment sounds, is it biblical? Isn't it incomplete, based on what we have seen in the Bible? 'God loves me' is not the essence of biblical Christianity. Because if 'God loves me' is the message of Christianity, then who is the object of Christianity?

God loves me.

Me.

Christianity's object is me.

Therefore, when I look for a church, I look for the music that best fits me and the programs that best cater to me and my family. When I make plans for my life and career, it is about what works best for me and my family. When I consider the house I will live in, the car I will drive, the clothes I will wear, the way I will live, I will choose according to what is best for me. This is the version of Christianity that largely prevails in our culture.

But it is not biblical Christianity.

The message of biblical Christianity is not 'God loves me, period,' as if we were the object of our own faith. The message of biblical Christianity is 'God loves me so that I might make him--his ways, his salvation, his glory, and his greatness--known among all nations.' Now God is the object of our faith, and Christianity centers around him. We are not the end of the gospel; God is."