This past weekend, I had the opportunity to go back to Camp Sumatanga (a place I have talked about before: see here). As I have said before, I can’t imagine a place on this Earth that is more bathed in prayer or has a more consistent and palpable presence of God.

This time, I had the great privilege of attending a once a lifetime experience called “Walk to Emmaus”. The walk is based on Luke 24:13-35 where Jesus appears to two disciples on the first Easter afternoon. First let me say this: I was a little freaked out by the idea of this experience. I mean, I know that everyone says it is a positive and wonderful experience. The thing is, no one will tell you much about it. I didn’t understand why, but now I know. To try to explain my experience would be meaningless to you. I can tell you some of the things I got from it, but if you went through the whole thing sitting next to me, you’re experience would be different. Of the men I talked to, no two people got the same message.

What I will say is this: My life will never be the same. I will never look at the world quite the same again. I know i’m going to fall, I know I’ll probably have days where I am cynical and the mountain top I’m on right now is bound to lead to a valley. Any journey must move forward and this one is no exception.

I learned about and experienced God’s Grace, love and his forgiveness in a way that I had never before felt. The whole weekend was full of new friends, new perspectives and a new appreciation for God’s call on my life.

For now, I will just say this: Christ is counting on you to be his hands and feet in this world. Go out there and share his love!

De Colores!

I’ve been sitting here looking at my computer screen trying to decide what to write given all that is happening today.

First, my heart is grieved. I’m seeing something I had hoped would never happen: Americans worshiping their leader. Not just admiring him, not just agreeing with him and defending him.. actually WORSHIPING him. They have placed this man at the seat of their hearts. They believe in him, they trust in him.. they think that he is going to solve ALL their problems. Barack Obama is their messiah.

In Scripture, we’re warned about this. Psalm 146:3 says “Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save”. Isaiah 43:11 says ” I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.”

Yet in the past few months we’ve heard this sort of thing from people all over the US (and to some extent, the world):

People really believe that this man… this MAN… is going to solve their problems.

Regardless: Barack Obama is our president, as an American he is MY President. There is no way he can live up to the hype that he has placed around him, or all that others have built him up to be. I do hope he is successful. I hope for the sake of our country that he can bring good changes, that he can help the economy and that he will defend us against those who wish us harm.

More than that, I hope that people get a grip on reality and stop putting their faith in men.

It’s been a great year around the ol’ Plunkett Shack this year. We’ve had ups and downs, but it has been a blessed year all around.

I’m thankful for my beautiful and awesome wife who keeps me in line and makes sure I’m where I need to be, when I need to be there.

We are thankful for our smart, funny, silly little boy who is currently fascinated by the Macy’s parade and is standing in the middle of the floor in his dump truck footie pajamas.

I’m thankful for a job that I don’t hate, that is rewarding and despite some long hours doesn’t make me want to jump off a bridge.

I’m thankful that our family is close, that our love for one another outweighs how crazy we can make each other from time to time.

I’m thankful for the abundance of my life, even though I don’t regularly slow down to realize just how much I have.

Most of all, I’m thankful for a God who loves and watches over me and my family, who gave his son in my place to make it possible for all of these other things to fall into place.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

I know, the title is cliché, but my life this last 3 or 4 weeks has been an exercise in learning to trust God.

Ann and I have been through lots of stuff in 5 years of marriage. We’ve moved 4 times, had 6 jobs (between the 2 of us) and attended 4 different churches. We lost a child, now we have a great little boy. We’ve had money in the bank and we’ve been broke. We’ve had sickness and we’ve seen healing. We know and acknowledge God’s hand in all of it. Looking back, I know God has been there through all of it, yet in the last few weeks I have had the most difficult time really trusting that God has my life in his hands.

Psalm 37:25 says

I was young and now I am old,
yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken
or their children begging bread

I know that God has never left me. Not one thing I have come up against has ever been bigger than Him, yet in some way I have this feeling that I can’t let go and stop worrying about things. Somehow I have gotten the idea that my plans have to be in order for Him to do his work, and the revelation I have gotten this weekend is that my plans don’t mean anything.

Again, I “know” that in my mind, but knowing that He is going to handle it and actually trusting him to do it have proven to be two very different things.

I really got released from it all today. That came as a combination of things. First, in my prayer time last night (which sounds much more “Holier than thou” than it should) God really spoke to my heart and revealed some things that cut me to the bone. When I woke up this morning, my life looked very different than it did last night.

Second, we had an awesome worship service this morning which spoke to my heart and gave me an opportunity to thank Him for the change he has started in my life. I know that I can do that on my own, but something about doing that as a part of corporate worship made it even better.

Third, Ann was speaking with someone from life group who knows what we are struggling with and who has some knowledge of the other side of our situation who really had some encouraging words and good news about how things might turn out. Of course, I won’t know until tomorrow what that looks like.

I have actually been sleeping pretty well lately because I have worn myself completely out worrying all day about what is going to happen next, but tonight I have a feeling I will be awake all night. The difference is, this time it’s because I am excited to see what God has in store for us next. That’s a really great feeling.

What ever God has in store for me, I know it will be enough.

Tomorrow is going to be an interesting, potentially life changing day for me. I PROMISE I will give details when I can, but right now I don’t even know what i’m going into, so it would not be prudent to start giving details.

Pray for wisdom, direction and peace. Lots and lots of peace.
Thanks!