the crowing rooster

Mark 14:72

...And he broke down an wept.

I have always enjoyed reading through the life of the apostle Peter. I find a lot of comfort in watching how he walked with Jesus. He seems to have made as many mistakes as he had successes... and though some of his successes where amazing and dramatic so much of his life seems filled with "good intentions" gone awry. This ordinary fisherman seemed to have a heart to do the right thing but often found himself running in the wrong direction. He would open his mouth when he shouldn't AND he would remain silent when he shouldn't. He would run in swords raised when he shouldn't AND run away when he shouldn't. Though seemingly not a very "religious" man he would often make religious mistakes (even late in life). He would show tremendous courage (at the wrong time) and tremendous fear mere moments later. He would confuse the spoken word of Christ and even be called "satan" by Jesus himself. And, in an ultimate act of fear, he would deny Jesus publicly 3 times in a row... just as Jesus had predicted.

Yet...

He walk on water.

He spoke the first confession of Christ.

He was called a rock on which the Church would be built.

He open the gospel to the gentile world... through the courageous word of his testimony.

And though he would deny Jesus on one day he would eventually deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus unto death.

There have been so many times in my life when I have represented everything that Jesus is NOT. Times where I have trudged ahead and found myself walking down a different path than Jesus with a foot in my mouth... and usually more than a bit confused. You see, like Peter, I have all these good intentions and (I think) a heart to do what Jesus wants me to do BUT, also like Peter, I find a battle between courage and fear within me. There have been times when I have spoken courageously only to find out that I am missing the bigger picture... and there have been times when I should have spoken but was too afraid.

And I have wept.

in Mexico

This weekend our community spent a few days "south of the boarder" at a home in a small village called Porvenir. It was a beautiful area with rocky mountains and long valleys. The village was simple... filled with dusty roads and shacks... and awesome taco stands! It was a time for us as a community to hear each others stories and share symbol time-lines.

For those of you who are wondering, a symbol time-line is a pictorial version of your life... your great moments and your hardest moments... your successes and your failures. It helps you identify God's hand in your life experiences and gain a clearer picture of where God is leading you. It is a great tool for hearing others stories BUT it is also a great tool for remembering who you are. If you have never sat down and thought through your story AND put it to paper... I strongly encourage you to do it!

best great excellent dad

My wife was doing some cleaning out of files and came across this note written by Celtin a while ago. I know your not supposed to brag but this is just one of those things that makes all the hard days worth it...

Translated it says:
my dad and me
My Dad makes me laugh when I'm sad. But when I'm happy he makes me more happier. He is a great Dad. is so great. To get me happier he tickles me. he is the best great excellent Dad.

Wow... nothing like stroking your ego!

I know that my prayers to God (our Father in heaven) must sound and look a lot like Celtin's note sometimes. Hard to read. Misspelled. A little confused. But (hopefully) just as open hearted. And, in the midst of requests that miss the mark and perspectives that are very limited I know that we serve a God whose thoughts are as high above ours as the heavens are above the earth... and I find that VERY comforting.

So,thank you Father for being the best great excellent Dad. Amen.

blessed to bless...

Genesis 28:14

...and in you and your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.

As I was reading through this promise made to Jacob (and those before him) in Genesis 28 I was struck by the idea of being a family that blesses families. Yeah, I know this promise was for the nation that would become Israel but I couldn't help but see the reality of their circumstance and the opportunity that lay before them... an opportunity that Christ holds before us everyday.

In Titus 2 we see this shocking statement... really more of a calling... an opportunity to be a people of blessing - "...a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." I wonder what would happen if we all embraced this calling to be a blessing?

I am a VERY blessed man.

I have four children who are amazing... who often know how to love people better than me. They are not perfect but in their eyes I see God's love on a regular basis.

I also have an amazing wife who knows how to make people feel comfortable, cared for and loved while asking the tough questions without flinching. She is the love of my life and God's greatest earthly gift to me.

So I ask myself how are we, the McDonald family, moving more wholeheartedly towards this calling of being a family of blessing? How am I to move from blessed to a being a blessing... zealous for good works?

Lord lead us on. We desire to be Your family that blesses all the families of the earth... that is zealous for good works. Anytime. Anyplace. Any cost. Amen.

Comfort amidst the dust

Psalm 103:13-14

As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.

A while back I was lying in bed trying to sleep and I started thinking about the creation account of human kind (recently I "re" began my Bible read through in Genesis and it has been on my mind and heart). I was captivated by the picture of God reaching into the dirt and molding a sculpture from the earths clay... and then breathing His life into it. In fact, as I continued to think, it slowly turned into a poem (which I wrote about a while back).

When I was in High School I took art for a couple of years and clay was one of my favorite things to work with - so much so that I actually continued to do a bit of sculpting in college. It is a great medium (artistic NOT spirit "communicator") because it feels like you are a kid again messing around in the mud. By the end of a piece you usually have it all over your hands, arms and face. As the clay dries it slowly turns to dust and, inevitably, that dust finds itself all over every other part of your body, desk, room, house...

Clay is messy...
a lot like us.

This week I heard someone quote Psalm 103 and I was struck again with the beauty and power of the creation picture. But, as you read deeper, the Psalm says more than that... it seems to suggest that their can be peace and comfort found in the knowledge of who God is and who we are.

As a society, we seem so bent on becoming
powerful,
strong,
tough...
not very dust like...
yet dust we are.

It is amazing to me... God, the very Lord of lords, the Master sculptor of existence, reaches down into the dirt and forms a fragile clay man and then (in what is one of the most dramatic moments in history) pulls the clay close, like a Father with His child, and breaths the breath of LIFE into its earthen soul...

AND WHOOSH... life is!

And He looks upon His earthen man with an eternal eye and sees Himself nailed to a wooden tree (that He planted)... and has compassion... because He knows we are dust AND He loves us anyways.