Thoughts on approval....

Good morning everyone! I'm in the midst of a crazy busy morning... what a WEEKEND we had! My little brother is leaving for basic training tomorrow. Saturday we had a HUGE going away party. Sunday we met for an intimate family dinner. It was a physically demanding and emotionally draining weekend. PLEASE do me a favor and keep my brother in your prayers....

So anywhoos back to this blog... This weekend was BUSY and this morning I have a TON to do. I quickly opened my Internet Explorer but before I could type in the address of my work's remote login site, an article about Tim Tebow caught my eye. I refuse to link to it because the situation irks me. But apparently over the weekend Tim Tebow attended a Yankees game (in Yankee fan attire) and when they showed his picture on the jumbotron, he was booed by the New York audience. [PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD ARE SO RUDE!  Tim Tebow IS a person you know! GRRRRRRR!] 

Anyways my heart cringed and my eyes got a little wet at the thought of it. You know this is just really a young guy, barely more than a kid, who is just trying to play football and be a good example in the process. The thought popped into my head that maybe it didn't even phase him. You know he has GOT to know that God's approval is WAY more important than man's and that God SURE is not booing him.  But then I thought more and realized, disapproval HURTS. No matter what.... No matter when... it hurts. It doesn't matter if we are surer than SURE that we are on the path that God has put our feet on or not... It hurts to feel the sting of other people's disapproval.

We homeschool our children not because it is an easy choice or because it is ALWAYS fun or because we're some sort of conspiracy nuts... We homeschool our children because we feel CALLED by God to make that choice for their education. We homeschool our children because we believe that God wants us to. We pray every, single, solitary year and ask God, "Where do you want these children to be educated?" And for the past few years, He has answered, "At home."  Yet STILL... in spite of the conviction and calling we SOLIDLY believe in, it hurts when people make snide remarks, try to convince us we're not doing right by our children, or simply look down their noses at us like they think we're stupid for homeschooling.

I'm sure it wasn't fun for Noah standing out in the dessert building an ark. I'm sure Moses didn't ENJOY leading the children of Israel through the Red Sea and into the dessert. I'm sure Jesus didn't enjoy the walk to the cross (the Bible says he cried out, "Lord, take this cup from me!"). I'm sure Tim Tebow didn't enjoy being booed this weekend. But in the discomfort of disapproval Noah, Moses, Tim and John & I have the comfort and sureness of knowing that we are following our God's instructions to us. Those instructions do NOT have to make sense to ANYONE else. Sure it helps to have the support of a few valued people. It helps that my sister homeschools too... that my mom continually says, "I'm so glad my grandbabies go to school at home." I would bet my FAVORITE coffee mug that Tim Tebow had some help after being booed. I bet he called Mom and she said, "Tim, don't worry about man's approval." But the help and support, the sureness of your conviction, they don't completely erase the sting of disapproval.

I guess I'm near the end of this blog and I'm not really sure what the lesson is supposed to be??? Maybe several things:

1. choose wisely when you're going to be negative to/about someone... booing, snide remarks, judgmental comments... you could be used as a tool of the devil, discouraging someone who is on the path God set them on!

2. if you're being booed... eyes up! refocus and see what God is saying... seek the approval of God not man... lick your wounds... run to your support system.... but ultimately remind yourself Whose approval matters the most.

3. (shameless plug) remember to pray for Seth Thomas Haugh (leaving for basic training tomorrow) our hearts will be missing a piece until he returns so we would really appreciate your prayers.

My new house....

Sometimes I just MARVEL at God's ways! Ever since John had that seizure on 10/21, we have been struggling to survive out here in the country. It has been TOUGH... 30 min ONE-WAY to the bus stop has left me more tired than I knew was possible. About four weeks ago, we started to feel God prodding us to give up our dream of a peaceful country existence... move back to the city... get closer to MU and our families.

We started quietly trolling craigslist for rentals and learned several things:

1. There are A LOT of scams on craigslist
2.  We have a CRAZY good deal here in this HUGE house on 2 acres
3. You can try do something in your own power as long as you want but until it is God's timing your efforts are in vain.

Last weekend we found something. We went to look at it on Sunday. I cried all the way home. This place gave small a new meaning. My kitchen table wouldn't have even fit in the kitchen. Our king size bed would not  fit in the bedroom. It was S-M-A-L-L. When we got home, we got back on craigslist. Miraculously we found FOUR places and e-mailed them all. Only one e-mailed back that night. It was CUTE... small... but CUTE.

By Monday we had filled out a rental application and Tuesday I went to see it. God pulled the proper people and the proper pieces RIGHT into place at HIS timing, and we are moving THIS WEEK! I'm not lying. The moving truck is reserved, Time Warner installation set up, packing helpers lined up... We take occupancy TOMORROW! Yes I'm slightly overwhelmed by the thought of planning a move in under a week, the week between Christmas and New Year's. However, as I drove John to and from the bus stop yesterday I nearly cried. This was my last 6 a.m. trek to the bus. We will be moved in before the next time he has to go to work. We will be living 15 minutes from Marquette, 16 minutes from Heritage and 20 minutes from Oma & Poppa!!!

We looked and looked and LOOKED for 6 weeks. We started to doubt we had heard God's voice. We wondered how we would EVER find a place. We would have NEVER picked moving in winter, moving with only a week's notice, moving the week AFTER Christmas!!!! But God has brought EVERYTHING together in His timing. From my sister getting us 150 boxes from work, to my brother bringing them out here today, to my other sister offering to clean the new house and my brother-in-law being willing to drive the moving truck and MUCH, MUCH MORE.

So last night we finished up most of Christmas: wrapped the presents, made fudge... and today we PACK and clean and finish cookie baking.

I just want to leave you with this thought... wherever you're at right now... whatever your struggle... remember that God is never even a second late. I know you're weary. I know you're done hanging on to the end of your rope. But take heart! He is working behind the scenes whether you can see it yet or not.

God bless everyone! Merry Christmas! By the next time I blog, I will likely be in my new house!

What ifs...

I got a random anonymous comment the other day. It was tinged with a bit of bitterness and COMPLETELY not attached to the correct post. Just so you know I don't post every comment. I won't post stuff that is angry, mean or bitter, but more importantly I strive to protect my blog readers from looking silly. If someone posts something off the wall or that doesn't at all apply to the post at hand, I just don't approve it. But I wonder about it. I get a little agitated about it.

See I am a PEOPLE PLEASER extraordinaire. I want EVERYONE in this whole wide world to like me AND to approve of me. So I wonder a little.... is this comment from someone I know personally and are they bitter with ME? is this comment because I am not a good enough writer so I failed to properly convey my thoughts? is this comment just a fluke?  But see even if it is just a fluke, I can learn a lesson....

This specific random comment that did not apply to the post it was attached to got me thinking.... what if? what if the purpose of this blog isn't what I think it is? What I purpose in my own heart for this blog is a bit ecclectic... this blog is my therapy... this blog keeps me accountable... this blog is my ministry... and this blog has an ulterior motive as well:  building a platform to eventually get published.  But what if NONE of those is God's purpose for this blog?

What if this blog is to shape me? To give me thicker skin and help me stop worrying so much about what others think of me?

What if this blog isn't to get me published so hundreds of thousands can read my work but is so just ONE person can stumble on this blog and be changed?

Hang on with me a second because this applies to YOU too.  I think often in life OUR WAYS ARE NOT HIS WAYS... and while we may have an understanding of PART of His purpose we sometimes miss the whole picture.

***What if your marriage isn't just to make you happy and fulfill you but to mold you and make you more like Christ?
***What if homeschooling your children isn't just about giving them an education but is also about teaching you patience, endurance or organizational skills?
***What if that mission trip your going on isn't all about spreading God's word but is also about changing your heart?
***What if that move you made isn't just financially wise but is also emotionally and relationally (spell check doesn't like that word but TOUGH!) wise?
***What if your new job isn't about more money or more power but is about influencing different people for Christ?

Sometimes we get so focused on OUR ways that we miss a little of HIS ways. That doesn't mean we don't do some good. I am trying HARD to minister to you my readers in this blog and that is good, but I sometimes get discouraged when I feel like no one is reading or when I don't have any comments or when I get off-the-wall comments... However, what if MANY aren't supposed to be reading. What if I'm missing HIS goal? What if this whole entire 2 1/2 years worth of blogging is all about changing ONE PERSON... maybe me? maybe you? maybe someone who has yet to even stumble on this blog? who knows, but by opening myself up and asking what HIS purpose is for this blog I think I will be more effective in writing it.

Here's what I want you all to do... open your eyes and your hearts... ask God what HIS purpose is for your current situation. He is faithful, and I believe He will show you the answers if you just ask.


SIDE NOTE: Your opinion matters! I have changed up the color scheme a little, increased the font size, and made the post font less fancy ALL based upon reader feedback. If there's something else you think could make this blog more user friendly, drop me a line. Sorry I didn't move the music player.  It is down there specifically because I want its appearance to be "in the background." Possibly consider muting your speakers if you are reading this at work??? Not that you would EVER do that. :)

Lessons from last week...

Last week was a Jami FOR SURE!  Now that the insanity has settled down to a gentle simmer, I stand in awe-struck wonder at the way God's fingerprints were ALL OVER the insanity of last week. It was a GREAT reminder to me that:


And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28. 

Or the Jami paraphrase:  What Satan means to be our defeat, God LOVES to turn into our victory!

Ways that God left His fingerprints all over my crazy week last week:

*Auntie Marge fell on Wednesday morning at about 10:15 a.m. I was supposed to be at Physical Therapy for my Achilles tendon at that time; however, because my mother was in the hospital, Gramma spent the night at my house and I cancelled my appointment.  If I had gone to physical therapy, who knows how long Auntie Marge might have laid on the floor in agonizing pain.

*We have been slowly and casually leaving the children (boys only NOT Hannah... she'd burn the place down in < 2.2 seconds) home alone while I run to Mayville for a QUICK trip to Piggly Wiggly.  They have done VERY well with that responsibility.  So they were PREPARED to stay at home for a little bit with Gramma Hilly while Hannah and I ran Auntie Marge to the hospital.

*When Auntie Marge moved here, she needed a doctor. Mom sent her to Gramma's doctor on the south side. But that was not an optimal situation.  She was living an hour away from her doctor AND as it turns out that doctor was not the best one for her... he probably should have tweaked her medications a little because the dosage on one of the was WAY too high which led to a VERY low heart rate which is VERY likely the reason she fell... regardless that's all kinda babble... here's God's fingerprint:  she landed in the care of THE MOST amazing doctor in the WORLD!!!! (If you live near Hartford and are looking to be seen by the MOST amazing doctor in the WORLD, look up Dr. Tye at the Aurora Clinic... AH-MAZE-ZUH-ZING!)  Dr. Tye is tweaking her meds, taking good care of her, and providing AWESOME bedside care... She REALLY, REALLY likes this doctor and he is SO kind to her too!

*After Auntie Marge had surgery, she was going to need to be transferred to a Rehab Center for Physical Therapy and Rehab. My family wanted to have her rehab at the nursing home near them (in Greenfield), which made sense in the natural:

---5 families sharing the load of visiting an elderly relative is easier than 1 family doing it
---my mom is her power of attorney, I am just her daily care giver... it made sense to put her nearer to her POA
---we've had a trial run of that center because Gramma Hilly was there before
---I have a friend who works there

But my spirit was VERY unsettled about Auntie Marge being that far away from us.  I was not trying to be selfish, but I really felt that for HER healing and motivation to get out of there it would help for her to be around the family she lived with ever day.  Not wanting to cause a feud, I just presented my feelings to my mom and then prayed.  I prayed, "God you do what YOU want, and make it ABSOLUTELY clear to ALL of us that YOUR will is being done."  Later that day, mom called to say that there was not a bed open in Greenfield.  Auntie Marge was going to the center in Mayville!

So now here's where I attempt to wax poetic... or at least make this make a little sense.....  Last week was HORRIBLE!  Seriously it was... there were SEVERAL times where I was just bawling, unable to handle even one more tiny hiccup in the plan.  But through it all, He was right there... He was working things out... He was weaving His loving plan through all the fear, pain, tears, and stress...

Guess what?!?!?!  He's there for you TOO!  I know you feel tired!  I know your body aches!  I know you are sick and tired of struggling through this SAME EXACT TRIAL!  But He is THERE!  He is leaving His fingerprints ALL OVER your situation!  You just have to look for them.  Sit back and look for them.

You know I watch WAY too many crime dramas on TV.  I fancy myself an amateur sleuth of course.  Well I was just thinking about how Gill Grisham's peops sprinkle that powder on the surface they are fingerprinting, brush away the excess and then the fingerprints STAND OUT.  Do that today... Sprinkle the powder of God's word on your situation... use a little meditation and contemplation to dust away the excess... and then look and SEE God's fingerprints standing out!  I promise you if you look hard enough, they are THERE!

God bless everyone and have a GREAT day!

The current of God's will...

I've always kinda thought of God's will as an umbrella. The closer I was to the center of His will, the less of the world's rain would get me wet. Tonight I'm thinking of it a little differently.

I'm at the TAG Ctr. The kiddos are swimming. I tried water walking, but my foot is acting up again, and I only made it 20 minutes before the pain was too much for me. Now I'm just sitting at a table right by the current pool.

I was noticing how quickly the current pool moves people around that little oval shape. Some people, however, fight the current trying to walk in the opposit direction. Whether they do it to be irritating or to get a good workout, doesn't matter. They have chosen the "hard way". Still others fight to stand still. They aren't necessarily going AGAINST the current, but they sure as SHOOT aren't gonna go with it.

Maybe that's what God's will is like too? There are some people who just FIGHT against His will. Who knows if they are just being obstinate or if they really WANT to do it he hard way, but regardless they have chosen the most difficult route.... the one that goes against God's current.

Then there are the people who are standing still. They aren't necessarily going AGAINST God's will, but they sure aren't moving in the direction of His will either. They may not be caught in secret sin or heading up the local Satanist sect, but they just stand in place not loving sacrificially... not stepping out in faith.

And then, OH THEN, there are the people who allow the current of God's will take them where He wills. They are giving until it hurts. They are taking BOLD chances because His spirit impressed it upon their hearts. They are FLOWING And MOVING in the powerful current of God's love. And Oh! Oh! Oh! Oh! OH! Does it show! God's will is gliding them along... Flying them at warp speed... Through the things HE purposes for them. I'm not saying they don't encounter bumps and snags along the way, but because they have submitted to the current of God's will they are moving in the exact direction HE wants them to go and they are getting there VERY fast.

Well I think that's all for today. I've gotta stop blogging on my Blackberry now. Its giving me a BAD headache. But that current pool was so strongly on my heart I just HAD to share it with you all. Here's hoping you're busy letting HIS current take you away!
God bless!

The many facets of God's will (with a rabbit trail into the dark before the morning)...

So often in life I find myself amazed at the fact that God's will has SO many facets. There are so many different aspects of His will, that when you dive in it takes awhile to appreciate all of them. Yesterday, as I sat on my driveway after two solid days of family time, watching my husband throw a frisbee with the kids, the fullness of one facet of His will struck me.

I believe with all of me that moving out here to the boonies was God's will. Initially it seemed like a dream that was "too good to be true.".. The slightest of all rent increases to move to twice the house, 10x the yard and the promise of finally OWNING a house. God brought it all together with lightening quickness which also made it seem "to good to be true."

Before we even moved (but AFTER we had already "signed our names" in all the appropriate places) our dream came true took a turn for the nightmarish. There was this miraculous thing sitting on our horizon, but Satan wasn't going to let us have it without a fight. We doubted. We worried. We hemmed and hawed, but through it all His voice kept saying, "Proceed." The fires got hotter and hotter. Stroke, Chiari Malformation, brain surgery, out of work for months... The first months in our new place brought all sorts of doubts: maybe we weren't supposed to move way out here so far from all our family and friends... So far from civilization and our renown brain surgeon.. Maybe we would be evicted because we wouldn't be able to pay rent now... Or maybe even worse it would no longer be just our dream house which was threatened but this little family we had built would lose its Daddy.

Its like that sometimes with God's will. As you start down the path to a great breakthrough or momentous victory Satan attacks harder (because he knows you're nearing something great). I heard the BEST song the other day, The Morning After, by Josh Wilson. This lyric stuck with me:

'Cause the pain that you've been feeling

It's just the dark before the morning .

It is always darkest before the morning and sometimes we have to fight REALLY hard to get to God's will for us. Satan's not gonna let us have it for nothing, AND I believe that is part of how you know that what you are doing is God's will: Satan will RAGE against you because he does NOT want you to be in the center of God's will.

Sorry I took a little rabbit trail into the dark before the morning... I need to get back to the many facets of God's will....

So fast forward 11 months from the momentous day we moved in here. We have traveled through all sorts of dark, scary valleys. We have triumphed over so many roadblocks Satan put before us. We are firmly in this house, eleven months closer to being homeowners. Our children are THRIVING in an environment where they have a HUGE yard and more space to live. But yesterday God was focusing my eyes on another facet of His will for this place! Moving to the boonies wasn't just about good financial decisions and a better home/yard for our children. It was about freedom for this family to BE A FAMILY. See back in Franklin we had a happy FULL life. Yet we sacrificed all our "family time" to service and socializing and GOOD STUFF, but again it left not much FAMILY TIME.

Out here in the boonies we are isolated..... Even a bit lonely at times... Yet we are free from some of the things that used to occupy so much of our time and attention.... Here on the threshold of entering the tween years we are poised to make our best steps or fall flat on our faces, and I believe a successful passage across the doorstep to the tween and teen years includes TONS of time spent as a FAMILY. The Daddy of this family isn't home much so when he is here we need to do stuff TOGETHER. Our isolation out here in Butt Nowhere, WI helps us do that. While I feel a bit like a fish out of water, and I miss random NDY kids dropping over, sharing nearly every meal we had with a guest of some sort, former cheerleaders popping in day and night, I appreciate the fact that without those things there is more time for the SIX of us to be the six of us.

So whether you are in the dark before the morning or are appreciating another facet of His will for your life... HANG ON! Take a look around you! Even the dark before the morning can be beautiful if you look at it right and His will has so many different facets to be appreciated.

My mom the superhero....

***1.5 mile walk to soccer practice = exhausting
***updating Facebook status to read, “Jami is sitting at soccer practice…NOT looking forward to the 1.5 mile walk home.” = easy
***having a mom who is on Facebook and then comes to rescue you with a ride home = priceless

When I answered my cell phone to my mother’s greeting of, “We can come pick you up at soccer practice.” I was a little confused. How did she know I did not want to walk home from practice? Geesh! Maybe I’m not just talking out of my butt when I tell my kids, “Don’t you dare! I know what you’re thinking!” Then she said, “I was just on Facebook…” and I thought, “Praise God for a mom who is on Facebook!” She and my brother Seth hightailed it up to the middle school and saved me from a 1.5 mile walk accompanied by four WHINING children. For two months or so I had been playing drowning victim to my mother’s role of just-in-time lifeguard saving the day. Over and over again, she would breeze in with a cheerful, “Here I am to save the day!” It made me so grateful I have a mom who is so generous and giving. It also really got me thinking, and I realized two things:

1. You are never too old to need your Momma.

2. I am glad that God has a bit of superhero in Him too.

I'm glad that He swoops in proclaiming, “Here I am to save the day!” But is He really saving the day? Or does it just appear that way to us? Does our perspective make us think He is a superhero, when instead He is really a Master Builder with a perfect plan?

This week the kids and I attempted to make a paper mache piñata for school (HUGE failure, but yeah that's not the point of this story). We started with a balloon. The kids kept saying, "How are we going to get the candy in that balloon? It doesn't make sense." I told them, "I have a plan just watch and see." Then we covered it with the wet, messy, gloppy newspaper soaked in paste and they said, "How are we gonna get the candy in there?" I said, "I have a plan just watch and see." As we tied a string around it for the hanger, they said, "How are we going to get the candy in there?" I said, "I have a plan just watch and see." They were so darn focused on getting that silly candy into the piñata that they were missing out on learning the process of making a piñata!

God called my mind towards the struggles in my life. When I say to Him, "How are you going to turn THIS around for your glory?" He says to me, "I have a plan just watch and see." When I bug Him with, "How in the world are you going to get me outta THIS?" He says to me, "I have a plan just watch and see." When I scream at Him, "Why God!?!? Why!?!?" He says to me, "I have a plan just watch and see." But I stay SO focused on the rescue, SO focused on getting to the end of the struggle that I have to wonder if I get all I need to out of the process of the struggle.

So again I ask you: When God "swoops in to save the day," is He really saving the day? I don't think so. I think the "rescue" was a part of His plan all along. It just feels like He gets there in the nick of time from our perspective. All along when we were crying out for help and for understanding, He was saying, "I have a plan; just watch and see."

It is sooooooo very hard, but I am going to start trying harder to get ALL I can out of the process of the struggle. I am still going to cry out to God, "Rescue me! Save me! Show me how this all makes sense!" I am still going to wonder, "How are we gonna get the candy in there?" But I am tired of being so focused on the piñata candy that I don't learn how to make the piñata.

Will you try along with me? Will you try to focus on the process of your struggles? Will you try to stop and look around you and see what God wants you to learn when you are face down in the mud and the mire? He WILL save the day. There is NO doubt about that! So slow down and LEARN while His plot unfolds, because He has a plan; just watch and see.

Danny Gokey is NOT the American Idol

So by now I’m sure you all know it, Danny Gokey got eliminated from American Idol. I have allowed myself to mope around for several days and now I think I am finally ready to face my fears and blog about it. I fully believe what I blogged about last month – that if God had wanted Danny Gokey to be the American Idol, NOTHING would have stood in Danny’s way. However, the question I faced this week is what do you do when your will and God’s will don’t line up? I so desperately wanted Danny Gokey to be the next American Idol. I wanted a Christian to win American Idol. I wanted to be able to say I am once removed from knowing the American Idol. I really truly think Danny was the best of all of the Idol hopefuls. So what to do when God’s will doesn’t line up with Jami’s will?

The main character in my favorite movie, Facing the Giants faced this same question. In the movie, Coach Grant Taylor struggles through many different situations where his will is not lining up with God’s will. One of those situations is in the area of fertility. He and his wife have been unsuccessfully trying to have a baby. At one point, he asks his wife, if God never gives us a baby, will you still love Him? I paraphrased this question when I asked it of my husband recently. See we have a couple of chronic situations going on in our life. One major one is rapidly approaching a culmination. We are praying for relief and cautiously optimistic that this “thorn in our flesh” will be removed soon. But I asked him this week, if God doesn’t remove it, will you still love Him?

To be honest, I struggle a little when my will doesn’t line up with God’s will. I know that His ways are higher. I know that His plan is way better, but sometimes like a stubborn child I cling tightly to my way. I was seriously and truly in a bit of a funk Thursday and Friday. My American Idol had been eliminated, and while I fully believed God had bigger and better things for Danny Gokey than American Idol, I was still a little salty that he was out of the game. I think Danny himself was handling the rejection better than I was. (see this video) But once I got past my petulance, I started thinking about God’s will again. I started realizing that there are so many things on this earth which will leave us without an answer to the question, “Why?” We can guess and speculate. We can come up with theories and ideas, but there are some things we just will never know for sure. Because of that, we have to constantly work to say to God, “Not my will but yours. Not my way but yours.”

If you are facing a difficult situation today, if you are up against a formidable enemy, I think the best way to handle it is to face the fight with cautious optimism. Be honest and tell Him what you want. But be prepared for the fact that His will may not be the same as your will in this situation. Be confident of this fact: no matter what, His will is better than your will.

I am hopelessly addicted to the television show House. In a very funny episode, he once quoted the “great philopher Mick Jaegger.” Mimicking House, I often say (even sometimes sing) these words to my children too, “You can’t always get what you want.” For Christians I think the key to this sentiment is in this part of the lyrics, “you get what you need.” Maybe that’s the secret? When our will doesn’t line up with God’s will, we can take comfort in the fact that even if we didn’t get what we wanted, we always get what we need.

God's Will viewed through American Idol

The other night I had an exhausting night of dreams fraught with deep meaning. For example in one part of my dream, I was outside a building with Hannah. All of sudden in the distance, I saw a tornado approaching. I knew I had no time to run inside so I just huddled close to the building and shielded Hannah with my body. Bricks flew from the building and glass shattered as the tornado devastated all around us, but we were not harmed by the storm. As I reflected on the dream the next day, I realized that this was just like what my family has been enduring for the past few years. Destruction and devastation rages all around us, yet God shields us with His body protecting us from being harmed by the storm.

In another part of my dream, I was walking with American Idol contestant Danny Gokey. (Yes, I full well realize that I probably watch and google American Idol too much.) As Danny and I walked along, he expressed to me his concern about being eliminated from the show. I turned to him and said, “If it is God’s will for you to be the next American Idol, there is nothing that can stand in your way. If it is not God’s will, do you really want it?”

I have often found myself in this same position. I recall right after John and I first got married. We had moved to Denver and were trying to make it there. I interviewed for several teaching positions. I was rejected over and over again. I remember trying so hard to remind myself that I wanted God to close the doors that I was not supposed to walk through, but still the rejection stung so badly. I wrestled with God and cried out my pain and fear. Finally, a deep peace settled upon me. I knew what I truly wanted was to be in the center of God’s will for my life. It did not make the rejection hurt any less, but it refocused my eyes onto what was really important. After just five months of living in Denver, God led John and me back home to Wisconsin. As I recalled the rejection of my job hunt, I realized that had I gotten a job I would not have been free to return to Wisconsin. I would not have been free to be in the center of God's will.

What’s the rejection you’re facing today? Whether you are trying to be the next American Idol, searching desperately for a job, or chasing some other dream, I hope that you too desire nothing more and nothing less than His will for your life.

One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek Him in His temple. Psalm 27:4