God's purpose for us

Do you wonder about God's purpose for your life? I know that I'm curious about His purpose for my life, and I think that I'm getting closer to the answer: to counsel adult children of divorce. I am one myself, and that topic is as close as one can get to my heart wound.

Jim Graff, senior pastor of Faith Family Church in Victoria, Texas, recently wrote in the Victoria Advocate about how God showed him the appropriate pastoral job:

But then I began to think, 'You know, I really should pray about it before I just go and take a church.'

So I prayed, and as I did God spoke so clearly to me from Scripture in this verse: 'It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way' (Proverbs 19:2).

Long story short, we turned down the offer in Philadelphia. And the opportunity opened up to become pastor of a church of what was then 80 loving families in what I consider the greatest place, with the greatest people any pastor could ever serve: Victoria.

The challenge is following God's purpose for our life. When we look at what he calls us to do, it might not make sense. But he's omniscient and we're not, right?

Take every thought captive

I'm currently reading "The Bondage Breaker", a book by Neil T. Anderson on overcoming negative thoughts, irrational feelings and habitual sins.

One interesting passage on p. 62-63 details an interaction that the author had with a student named Jay:

'I have a very close walk with God,' Jay boasted.

'What do you mean by that?' I asked.

'Well, when I leave school at noon each day, I ask God where He wants me to go for lunch. I usually hear a thought like Burger King, so I go to Burger King. Then I ask Him what He wants me to eat. If the thought comes to order a Whopper, I order a Whopper.'

'What about your church attendance?' I continued.

'I go every Sunday wherever God tells me to go. And for the last three Sundays, God has told me to go to a Mormon church.'

Jay sincerely wanted to do what God wanted him to do, but he was being deceived. God was not directing him to a Mormon church, and He is too good a nutritionist to suggest Whoppers all the time.

What Jay should have done is take every one of his thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ.

The legacy of divorce in Steven Spielberg movies

Mark Caro wrote an interesting column recently in the Chicago Tribune called "Indiana Jones and That Spielberg Ending". He writes:

Has any filmmaker pursued a single theme as obsessively over so many varied films as Steven Spielberg?

Almost every movie, no matter the genre, explores the same issue with a similar resolution: the repairing of the fractured family.

Spielberg's parents divorced in 1966, and that event had a huge impact on his life. He always wanted his parents to get back together.

I can relate to that -- my parents divorced when I was four years old, and I tried many times to get them back together. It's unfortunate that marriage, which is God's creation, so often ends in divorce. Divorce is way too common in our country -- could that be why Spielberg's movies are so popular? Are we a nation longing for strong families?

Please pray for the Henderson family

The leader of my Heart of a Warrior group, Tom Henderson, recently received some very difficult news. His 6-year-old son, Ian, has a tumor in his brain stem that is malignant and inoperable.

Please pray for Tom, his wife Deb, and their son Ian. I know that God can do wonders, and I'm praying that He will completely heal Ian.

The Hendersons have set up a CaringBridge site to share updates, and Tom is posting his thoughts on this journey on his blog.

Sharing "Wild at Heart" with my dad

I always have had a difficult time talking about God with my parents. On the advice of a friend, I decided to share John Eldredge's "Wild at Heart" with my dad. Now, my dad is a Norwegian who doesn't share his emotions. . .except for anger. We never have had deep talks.

I'm not sure what I'm expecting by lending him my copy of "Wild at Heart". Will he get angry? Will it provide us an excellent opportunity to talk about the Lord? We'll see. . .

Why do we get angry?

Anger is quite a powerful emotion. It can really cause a lot of harm and pain both in the person getting angry and in the person to whom the anger is directed.

In "Getting Anger Under Control", one of the authors, Rich Miller, asks the Lord why Miller got so mad at his son Brian:

The Lord reminded me that the fruit of the Spirit is self-control, not spouse or child control. By angrily trying to control others so I could fulfill my own purpose or satisfy my own desire for comfort, I was not acting in love.

This helped to put anger into perspective for me. We cannot change how people act. We can, however, change how we react.

Choosing between cancer and a newborn

The Sikeston Standard Democrat in Missouri recently ran a story about Tonya Pobst, who found out that she was pregnant after being diagnosed with cancer. She was about to undergo a mastectomy, and had two choices: continue with the surgery, but her pregnancy would be terminated — or wait until her second trimester, but the cancer could spread during that time. She decided to wait.

Pobst prayed and prayed, and God spoke to her:

'He said he’d take care of me, and the baby will be healthy,' Pobst said. '... I thought that’s what the Lord wanted me to do. This is his plan. Who am I to mess it up? Who am I to play God?'

Pobst followed God's plan and continued with her pregnancy. She had a healthy baby girl, Khielynn Claire, and surgery that removed all of her cancer.