Off Kilter

So bad am I at blogging. I have been avoiding my blog for a time now, hoping, I think, to find some incredible new epiphany that would be worthy of blogging. It has finally occurred to me: this is just a blog. Thus, I am going to make an effort to post more regularly, with or without some sort of epiphany.

You see, my original thought went something like this: "I want to create a blog to teach people what God teaches me." The problem I encountered was just how public to make my blog. Should I tell everyone I know, put it on Facebook, or simply tell my wife and a few close friends. Then, I decided that I should consider the scope of such a blog. If I put this blog address on Facebook, I should certainly be a bit more judicious with content than if I were to tell only Emily. This battle still rages on in my head. There are little guys on the right side calculating the trajectory and speed of the energy pulses they are about to fire, while the guys on the left side have already begun guerrilla warfare, attacking through the amygdala. It's really rather interesting. Some simply call this internal conflict.

Still, no matter what I write about, I do not think that I'll be able to compete with my sister-in-law's blog. Emily and I crack up every time we read it. I used to wonder what went on in her head. Now I only wonder at what goes on in her head. (Up, tied it into my blog name; Ma will appreciate that.)

At this point I'm simply rambling and cannot find a good transition to lead into the fact that I hope my blog will be helpful to those who have questions. I hope it will be encouraging to those who are fighting the good fight but feeling weary (Psalm 147:18-19 to you). I hope that it will help empirical people see that our God truly is active in this world and that He lives (Psalm 142:5 to you). He has been blessing me lately through the Psalms. I've been memorizing His words more than usual because of it. Oh, how He can touch my heart when I listen.

Well, I am tired now, and I would like to be more with it tomorrow. I believe that it is, as my dad would say "bedtime for bonzos." Goodnight all. 'Night Dad.

Peace

Oh sweet peace. This is what I long for, and what, in my God, I find. Over the past several months I have come to know the deepest peace by coming to know my Father better. It is not that I know that He will make everything easy, or even that He will make everything "ok" by my normal standards. It is simply that I know that He knows always what is going to happen. That knowledge, combined with the fact that He loves me and wants only the best for me, is enough. It is really quite simple: If I know that God knows everything, and if I know that He loves me and wants the best for me (which, by the way is a deep relationship with Him), then all I have to focus on is obeying Him. He will guide me in the right direction. He will help me make the right decisions and do the things that will end up best for myself and others.

It is my belief that stress comes simply from uncertainty. This is the thing that in school, in business, in life, we are always trying to eliminate. But, for those who know God, there is no reason to expend all of this extra effort trying to eliminate all uncertainty. If you learn to rest in the knowledge of which I have spoken, your uncertainty in this world is o'ershadowed by your certainty of God and of his love. Simple. And that is peace. If you have not known this rest, it is because either you have not known this God or you have subsequently rejected the idea that you should believe and obey Him.