life...

What a journey we have been on lately. I want to first say a happy 6 month old birthday to our Tucker! I cannot believe that it has been half a year since God gave him to us. It has definitely been a change for us, transitioning into parenthood, but oh how blessed we are! Now many people think that I am biased, or have a conflict of interest, but in my opinion, we have the best behaving, cutest, most personable baby there has ever been. Just saying... I went in the nursery earlier and was just watching him sleep and the rush of emotions hit me all of a sudden. Everything from his delivery day, to Julie's pregnancy, to thoughts back to my earliest childhood memories flashed in my mind. There is something about having a kid that makes you understand and appreciate your parents a little more. The sacrifices, the joys, the tears, and the love are all seen in a different light all of a sudden. God created Tucker just the way He wanted him, a reflection of His beauty and glory. My prayer tonight was that Tucker would grow up and live boldly fo God's glory, as His son, reflecting His majesty, and extending His grace to others. I also prayed that I would be the father that Julie and he needs me to be, and that God has predestined me to become. Other than that, it's all about being obedient to His will for our lives as a family.

Which brings me to my next subject. Obedience. God has led me to a place of complete surrender and dependency on Him in the past few weeks. See, I had never given up complete control of things, ever. There was always one hand still on the reigns. This was always convenient. It was comfortable. It was also moraly caustic and anti-God. And that realization stung, but humbled me. I've come to the realizaion that being obedient to His will for our lives sometimes requires us to give up the things that come between us and Him. It may be material things, it may be status. It may even be things that we thought we couldn't live without. But nevertheless He is in the process of stripping me of those things. And all I have left is to trust in Him. In his book "Sun Stand Still," Steven Furtick alludes to the fact that many Christians want radical faith, huge blessings, and great miricles, but do not realize that seeking His will for our lives may require us giving up everything we hold dear. Its obedience he says...God wants to replace those things which do not bring Him glory with those things that will. Wow did I need to hear that. It definitely puts circumstances, trials, and bad fortunes in a different light. The Christian life is not about less pain. Most likely you'll suffer greatly. But the grace and peace that He extends to us is greater than any trial could ever be. We just have to be obedient and have faith...for He is faithful.