Dave (our pastor) sent this to us in his weekly email and I wanted to share.
Imagine a narrow road with two ditches on either side.
When traveling on this road a driver must be very very careful not to drift off into a ditch.
The Christian life is like that road.
Our Father wants us to stay in the center. Always enjoying fellowship with him, resting in his loving words to us, listening to His advice and ALONE! Listening to, receiving from, enjoying the messages of others is just a form of idolatry.
To stay centered in this LIFE, we must seek to avoid the ditches.
On one side, we must avoid the dangers of people. Listening to others opinions about us (good or bad), seeking to please or honor people, seeking to make life work using earthly things, etc. This is a dangerous ditch.
The other ditch on the other side is independence - avoiding people and only listening to ourselves. In this ditch, the only opinion that matters is “mine”. The only advice I respect is what my heart tells me. This independence is a deadly ditch that should be avoided.
I was talking with someone the other day about the many ways we replace God. We let our spouses replace God. Sometime we let our friends replace God. Other times we let our jobs, hobbies or habits replace God. So a common reaction is to retreat into ourselves and seek to satisfy and comfort ourselves.
BOTH OF THESE ARE WRONG. NEITHER OF THESE IS ROOTED IN THE GOSPEL OF GRACE. BOTH REJECT JESUS & LIVE SEPERATELY FROM HIM
In the center of his road is the only place to find true life and true grace. Only by faith in the messages of the Lord will you ever be happy, whole and healthy. I hope that this road-idea helps you repent of current idols (replacements for God) and cling in faith to HIM more fully.
You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing. You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
Psalm 16:2, 11
Connor and I had plans that fell through Wednesday morning which gave me a good bit of time while Micah was at school to do whatever. Connor had been in a cranky mood for a few days before that and that day included because he was waking up way too early. This meant going home just meant I'd be holding a sad pitiful sometimes angry boy so we made the best of already being out and went to the Monastery. My plan was to get some magnolia leaves to make a wreath I had seen on line and I also remembered them having some huge trees and were hoping they Oak trees so I could collect some acorns for a free fall decoration. Turns out that those huge trees were chestnut trees and you could pick them for $1.98 a pound which is still pretty cheap and it helps raise money for monks which I'm not against ;) Connor would occasionally pick up the ones I pointed to and throw them in the bag but preferred to run around like a loon and throw dirt on himself. Either way it was a fun, and very hot, time. Apparently they do this every year so I'm going to have to remember to bring Micah next time since he will be a little more helpful in the actual picking process.
