The strongest bridge

I feel like it has been an eternity since I've even sat down to a computer, let alone logged in to make a new post. Life has been very hectic lately, but very enjoyable and satisfying amidst the craziness! I'm 3 weeks away from finishing work with Hi-5 - which is very sad - but I'm looking forward to a much needed break.

A couple of weeks ago I went with some others from our church to women's convention in Katoomba and God had a lot to say to me that weekend. We looked at Philippians and studied a life worth living with our eyes on the prize and our feet on the ground. One of the things that stood out to me was an illustration of God's strength. We can have really strong confidence in a rickety old bridge, but no matter how confident we are, the bridge won't hold when we walk on it. But in the same token, we can have very weak and shaky faith in a very strong, robust bridge and it will hold us every step we take. Our God is a strong bridge - the strongest bridge - and how wonderful that it doesn't depend on our faith as to whether God is capable of saving us and carrying us through the storms of life. Our God is able to do anything, and he has our best interests at heart.

That makes me breathe a sigh of relief! If God is able, and God has already gone before us, then I don't need to worry about the coming season of mission, or what next year may hold for me. I don't need to get nervous about what I'm going to say if the opportunity for a gospel conversation arises, but instead look forward to seeing what God will do. I can rest in the knowledge that God is more than strong enough to carry me through anything.

Praise our awesome God for he is strong, he is reliable, he is constant, and he is loving.

Our God is able.

Here she is!

Drum roll, please... Da da da daaa! 

Here she is, our new niece Lydia! She's very cute :)

 

And here's something I could easily get used to looking at...

Lydia Nicole Francis

I'm an Aunty! My sister-in-law Clare (Marty's sister, not Aaron's wife) gave birth this morning in the wee hours of 2.53am to a baby girl called Lydia Nicole Francis. She weighs 4.15 kg and is 54cm long. We are told that they are both doing well and we can't wait to meet her! I'll post photos soon. Now to hunt for the perfect present...

Where the heart is

Over the past couple of weeks Marty and I have been forced to reevaluate our priorities, to the point where I've actually quit my job over it.

I've been working in sales for 5 months and have had to work most weekends, meaning that I have seen less of Marty than ever in our relationship, and have seen my parents and friends so infrequently that I feel very distant. It is a good job and pays well, but I was starting to reconsider how important it is for us to buy a place to live, and at what cost to our relationship with one another, with others, and with God? With a roster that consumes my weekends and is very inconsistent and unpredictable, I haven't been able to commit to many things outside of work, and ministry has been ineffective (if not non-existent).

So we committed it to God in prayer, and thankfully he answered quite quickly and with a 'yes', not a 'wait'. I got a call last week from the art director of Hi-5, where I completed my design internship last year, asking if I'd be available to fill in for her costume and props designers who are unable to work on this season of filming. It is the exact position I know I'd be happy in, and I'd get my weekends back! The only downside it that it is short-term (3 months) and we will have to find something afterwards. But God provides. I know he has something in store for us.

This decision to take the job has caused us to trust in God and not to put our trust in the 'security' of owning a home. It means that we will have more time to invest in relationships, which are more eternally significant anyway. Praise God for his provision, and amidst that, his desire to teach us to fully trust in Him.

And here's to a fun three months ahead!

The Beginning of Wisdom

Over the past few months I've been using my time driving to and from work by listening to sermons downloaded from Mars Hill church, and I'm so grateful for those precious times because I so often find that they spiritually prepare me for the day and help me to get a bit of perspective as I travel home. I definitely recommend it if you're a commuter! Much more edifying than the radio.

Anyway, the other day I listened to one on Proverbs (in particular, wisdom). Mark Driscoll was explaining Proverbs 111:10,

"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom..." 

and he helped me to see it in a new light. In the past I have heard this proverb but have never delved into the meaning and practicality of it. I just thought 'Yeah, that sounds right. Good point.' Mark pointed out that the opposite to wisdom is foolishness, and the motivations behind foolishness and wisdom are what truly set them poles apart. The motivation behind foolishness is the fear of man; in childhood this is called peer-pressure, in adulthood it is people-pleasing. If we are putting other people on the throne which rightly belongs to God, we start doing foolish things. We do whatever it takes for others to say to us "Well done, good and faithful servant." But when it all boils down, we are using these people to make ourselves feel better and to bring affirmation to ourselves. That's foolish.

On the other hand, the fear of the Lord causes us to act with humility. It gives us a better perspective to see that God is the only one who deserves the glory, and we exist not to be praised, but to praise Him! When we really understand this, that's when we start becoming wise. This shows that we don't need to have instant gratification from our peers; we are willing to be patient, to run the race, and to wait for God to welcome us home with open arms because we have trusted in His grace.

As a result of having wisdom, we no longer use people, but instead we love them. A wise friend will not avoid giving or receiving a rebuke because they want their friends to always like them. They will love their friends by pointing them towards Jesus and encouraging them in sanctification. A wise person will not shy away from talking about Jesus to their workmates because they would rather be liked than judged. They will understand that on the Day of Judgement they will be accountable to a powerful and Almighty God, and not to man.

Easter watered down

One of the girls at work today was telling us how she and her family had had seafood yesterday, as it was Good Friday, and they hadn't eaten any red meat. She said it would have made her Nanna who has passed away proud. It made me think of the depth of God's sadness that his children would water down the meaning of Easter - the incredible display of God's love through the death, burial and resurrection of his son for our redemption - to eating fish, chocolate bunnies and easter eggs. He gave so much for us, and so many people had misinterpreted and twisted it to become something as far as possible from the truth. I'm not sure where the tradition came from, but it seems that eating fish on Good Friday (similar to many other Christian traditions) have lost the association with anything meaningful and have become a hollow form of lip-service to 'religion'.

How sad that God is left out of the picture of such a monumental time of year. I hope and pray that you do something to remember God's love demonstrated in Jesus on the cross.

God's Guidance

I'm seeking God's guidance in many areas of my life at the moment, and I have to be honest - I wish he was more direct in his methods of letting me know what to do! I've noticed over the past few weeks of prayer that God doesn't (in my experience) guide through a booming voice in the sky. He has instead been guiding me very much through online sermons (to the point where I wonder if Mark Driscoll has been hanging out in the corner of our house, observing what's going on!). I've also felt his guidance through conviction and through conversation with other Christians.

How do I know it's Him? I guess weighing it up with the Scriptures is key, but a lot of the time is too co-incidental to be a co-incidence! I'll be asking God to show us how to handle work outside the home, balancing it with work inside the home, and the next day I listen to a sermon online that targets that exact issue... God certainly does work in mysterious ways, but He also reveals that mystery to us if our hearts are soft and ready to listen to what he has to say.

It's my prayer that God will keep our hearts soft in all things so that we are open to his guidance and willing to face conviction... to hear Him even in the silence.