An evening of hope

The last time I had heard of a house concert, it was from some MTV contest in the early '90s where Slaughter performed in a person's living room.

Well, tonight my wife and I are going to a house concert at the house of our friends Tom and Deb Henderson.

Jason Gray will be appearing at their house. The concert is called "An Evening of Hope" to mark the one-year anniversary of the passing of the Hendersons' son, Ian.

I, as many people in this world do, miss Ian a lot. I remember chasing him and my son in the gym at Living Waters Church. My son Branson and Ian would have so much energy. It didn't take long for me to get tired from chasing those fast boys. When I wanted to quit, Ian would say, "C'mon, Mr. Brant! Chase us some more!" And somehow I would find enough energy to chase them again.

I'm looking forward to tonight. By the way, the photo is of Ian and Tom Henderson driving a go-cart in Brainerd, Minn., in 2007.

Christ-Life Solution: Phase Two

Tonight I start "Christ-Life Solution:  Phase Two" at my church. It should be interesting. While Phase One took an introspective look at my past and God's presence in my life throughout my ups and downs, Phase Two deals with God in the present.

I look forward to changing my thinking to the way that God wants it to be.

Ya gotta have faith

It's important to have faith. Faith that God's plan works out better than any plan we might have. Faith that God will take care of us. Faith that even though we don't understand it, God knows what He's doing.

I was struck this week while reading Hebrews. There's an amazing summary of the stories of the Bible where people needed to have faith. And because they had faith, miraculous things happened.

The summary is in Hebrews 11:1-40. Check it out.

Go home

As much as I like to be in control (a side effect of being an adult child of divorce), I'm realizing more and more that it's God who really is in control. I just have a suction-cup steering wheel; it's really God in the driver's seat.

Therefore, I'm trying to ask God about what He wants me to do in all aspects of my life. Last Thursday, Minnesota was hit with overnight freezing rain. I started my morning commute going north on Highway 77 -- total gridlock. I then shifted over to I-35E -- total gridlock.

I asked God what I should do. Go home, he said. I went off on a side street, drove home, and was able to have a very productive day working from home. Now, it might seem logical that it was the right move to go home. Of course it was! Sometimes God makes sense to us, while other times we just know that He has a plan even if we don't understand it.

(By the way, the photograph wasn't my commute -- just add a lot of ice and snow, and you'll get the picture.)

God the wooer

On p. 70-71 of "Love and War:  Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of," John Eldredge shares some great insight into how God woos us:

Some of you found the romance of God at the beach. Some of you found it on the rivers or in the meadows. Some of you found it in books. All that has ever stirred your heart, that was God romancing you. For as the Bible says, 'Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father above' (James 1:17).


Sometimes I (John) will walk out of the house in the early morning or I'll be taking the dog out in the late evening and suddenly a breeze will come and just brush my cheek. I have finally come to realize that it is God wooing me. And you know what I'll do? I'll turn my face into it. That is what He wants. He wants us to turn our faces into those things that he is bringing to woo our hearts. He wants us to turn all of that longing and all of that desire, and just give it over to him. That is how you experience the love of God.

For me, I think that I find the romance of God in music. Some music just really moves me.

My son found the romance of God at the ocean on our recent vacation to Hawaii. It was a thrill to see the joy in his face; I'm sure that God lights up whenever He sees us enjoying His creation.

Marriage is. . .love and war

I recently finished reading "Love & War:  Finding the Marriage You've Dreamed Of," the latest book by John and Stasi Eldredge. In the book, they are very open about the ups and downs of their own marriage, and what it takes for a marriage to succeed.

In one passage (p. 65-66), John talks about an experience one morning related to our insatiable desires:

This time of year it is still dark at 5:30, and I just sat there, holding the cup in my hands, letting the warmth seep into me. My soul felt like it was coming back from some distant place. Where does it wander off to at night? I have no idea. My dreams are a vague memory. Sitting cross-legged on the sofa, cradling my cup, I began to turn my thoughts toward God. It was so good to know that I had time to linger and just be with God. What are you saying this morning, Jesus? What do I need?

A few moments of quiet, and then I hear, My love.

I'm not in crisis. Yesterday was a good day. We held some pretty energetic meetings at work; it was fun. When I got home, I fixed the leaking kitchen sink -- a triumph that makes a man feel mighty fine. (I tried to help Stasi relate, 'Imagine you just lost five pounds today.') After dinner I finished a book I'd been enjoying. Stasi and I are in a good place. We snuggled when we went to bed. But all that was yesterday. As I am regaining consciousness this morning, coming back to myself, none of that remains. My soul is needy again. Good grief -- I feel like a sponge. I can take in so much in a day, almost ravenously, feel pretty good, but the next day I am dried out. Again.

This is the nature of our condition. All of us are leaky vessels. Sandy soil. When it comes to happiness, our soul is like a colander, a tire with a nail in it, our grandfather's memory. It feels like there is a homeless person inside of us, wandering around pushing a shopping cart.

This is brutal on a marriage.

What happens is that we end up looking to our spouses to fill us up. That's too much pressure, and of course we're going to be disappointed. Jesus is the only one who can quench our desires.

Here's to a successful 2010!

At my church this past Sunday, the pastor shared three key points that we need to follow through on in order to fulfill God's vision for our lives.

1. You need to let go of your worries.

• Worry is one of the ways that we play God.
• Prayer is a primary way to let go of worries.
• See Proverbs 12:25, Psalm 46:1-3, Matthew 6:27, Psalm 55:22, and Philippians 4:6-7.

      2.  You need to let go of your wounds.

• Emotional wounds take longer to heal than physical wounds.
• Forgiveness is the way to let go of our wounds.
• See Psalm 109:22 and Ephesians 4:31-32.

      3.  You need to let go of your wrongs.

• Confession is the only way to get rid of our wrongs.
• See Isaiah 59:2, Psalm 32:3, Psalm 51:9-12, 1 John 1:9, and Job 14:14-17.

I hope that you all are able to partner with God in 2010 to do all that He has called you to do!