Today's Blog Brought to You by the Letter (R)

We've been studying (R)uth in Sunday school. And it's been speaking to me in a very deep way. This Sunday I almost missed class but it was just too cold outside to ride the bike ride I had planned to ride that morning. It was 38 degrees at the start! That's just too cold for me!!!

And today, I am glad we rearranged our schedule to be in class. We're at the point in the story where Noami suggests to Ruth to go down to the threshing floor to be available to Boaz. It wasn't so much about where we are in the story as much as it is the story itself. And something came to me yesterday morning:

God: (R)omances, (R)escues, (R)edeems
Lisa: (R)ealizes, (R)eceives, (R)esponds

It is similar to what I wrote over 7 months ago. But vastly different! I think back to that entry and I smile at how much I've learned about myself, about God over these last 7 months. Blogging has been a great way to mark the mileposts along the way.

The last 7 months have been full of extreme highs and extreme lows, of realizing the character of God, of recognition of strongholds of self-effort, of obedience without understanding, about crises of faith.

And all of it is with thanksgiving. In my Tuesday night study last week, I had cause to flip by Psalm 119. I wrote out to the side of verse 71 "can I say this?" And I knew at the time I could not. That Tuesday night, I wrote a side note "yes I can. Feb 2009".

I see more clearly that these last months have been about feeling God's (R)omance and pursuit of me, understanding His character, (R)ecognizing my depravity and current strongholds, Him (R)escuing and healing me.... even from my own self-healing attempts. Hebrews 12:1-13 speaks a lot to this! He does not want us self-healed (i.e. lame) He wants us completely healed.

He has (R)edeemed me and my heart is His home. It's been a (R)adical work of God that I humbly (R)eceive and not take, and want to (R)espond to His great love for me!

All for now,
Lisa