Get Outta My Way

I love Tennessee.  Being from Indiana, the mountains seem almost magical.  They are so majestic that each time I travel south, I still stare out of my window in awe.

What if we could move a mountain?  What if I could just pluck one of those large rock structures and place it in Indiana where I live?  That would be a pretty amazing feat.  However, Jesus says that if we have the faith--- we can do just that.

"He [Jesus] replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” --Matthew 17:20

Let me set the scene for you.  Jesus is among a crowd and a man rushes to Him and mentions his boy is possessed by a demon.  The man says that everywhere he goes, the demon tries to throw the boy in the fire or the water.  Imagine being that parent and in that time period.  Fire and water were their livelihood.  They used fires to cook and heat their homes.  They were in a fisherman community so fishing was a way of life.  I imagine everywhere that man went, he had to hold onto his son with a bruising force to prevent him from convulsing and being thrown into the fire or water.  The boy wasn't safe in his home, in the community......anywhere.  The man was desperate.  He had tried everything.  He even mentions the disciples were unable to draw the demon out.

So, the disciples ask Jesus why they couldn't do it.....in which Jesus replied with Matthew 17:20.

There are a couple key points here.  First, the man was desperate.  Sometimes desperation brings us to our knees.  Sometimes we try everything else before we realize we just need to take it to Jesus.  There are times we run to our friends, our pastor, our mentor....all in the hopes of answers.  We just want help and try as they might, sometimes it isn't the help we need.  So in a final act of desperation, we fall on our knees and ask Jesus to offer a scarred hand of aid.  Jesus should be our first option, not our last resort.

Secondly, the disciples tried to help the boy but it did not work.  Their faith was lacking.  They wanted to help this man so badly but everything they tried failed.  They were frustrated and upset.  It says there was a crowd, so the disciples may even been ridiculed.  They traveled with Jesus, witnessed miracles and even performed some of their own and yet they couldn't help this boy.  Sometimes we are ridiculed and we feel ashamed or frustrated.  We try to help, whether it be someone else or ourselves, only to fall short because the faith we have is weak....smaller than a mustard seed.

Lastly - mountains.  All things are possible with God and if you have the faith and you look at the large, looming structure and tell it to move - it will move, literally.  However the mountains here are proverbial mountains.  They are the large things in our lives that we look at and think 'that is impossible to overcome'.  We hang onto our past mistakes and let them mold who we are.  We look at present circumstances and let them define our state of mind.  We look at the future and are gripped with fear.  Those mountains loom over us and we stand, small and timid, at the base and look up as the mountain casts an intimidating shadow down on us.  Sometimes we even call out to God with a resounding "God!  There is no way!".

But there is a way.  Actually, there are several options.  You can go over the mountain - while effective, it would be such a hard road to take with many obstacles and snares in your way.  You can go around the mountain - it would be less problematic as going over but it would still be a long road with the danger of getting lost or turned around. 

No, the most direct path is through it - not only through it, but Jesus is saying just tell it to move; tell it to step aside and then prepare yourself to run full steam to the other side.  If we have the faith, we can move whatever mountain is in our way.  Your past does not define you.  Your circumstances do not own you.  Your future does not have to be clouded with shadows. 

So what is your mountain?  What are you standing at the cusp of and looking up thinking "God, there is no way"?  What is holding you back from all that God has to offer you?  He wants to bless you.  He wants His spirit to minister to you.  He wants to commune with you.  What is it that you keep trying to go over and just struggle so hard because the road is unknown and snared?  What is it that you keep trying to go around because that seems the easiest way when in fact it will cause you to be tired and weary because the trek is too long?  God wants you to just move that mountain and take action.  He doesn't want you to look at it and think - 'Oh how I wish this mountain wasn't here'.  No!  He wants you to vocalize it - yell it....."GET OUT OF MY WAY!"

It is a new year and some of us have been standing at that mountain for such a long time.  Some of us have been trying to get around or over it for so long that you don't remember a time you weren't.  You are tired.  You are hungry for more.  You thirst for righteousness.  It is time to take a deep breath and cling to faith and yell at that mountain to --

GET OUT OF MY WAY!

2013 - let's do this.

As I sit here at 11 o'clock this morning, I ponder on, not only the previous year that has come and gone, but of the many years past...specifically - 8 years ago.

In 2005, Matt and I both accepted Christ.  It was March of that year so I think back to this day, 8 years ago.  I would have woken up, probably not this early, with a headache and feeling like I had been run over with a truck.  My kids would not be here but at their grandparents house and I would be sitting here thinking I would never do that again.  I would never drink myself into a drunken stupor where I actually lose moments of my life that I will never get back.  I would never drink so much that parts of the night are gone.  I had made myself this promise many times before.  I was a binge alcoholic.  I didn't drink on the weekdays, ever.  But once Friday came, I was anxious to get to the bar either Friday night or Saturday.  I hated the taste of all beers and most mixed drinks.  Let's be honest - alcohol tastes NASTY.  I wasn't a social drinker either.  If I was going somewhere to party, my sole intention was getting wasted.  Period.

So, I made the same silent promise to myself that I had made many, many times previous.  However, in 2005, I didn't realize that it would hold truth.....two months later, I accepted Christ.  I had one mixed drink when Matt and I went on a cruise that following May and drank half of it.  I no longer had the desire to drink or get drunk.  I hadn't touched a drop of alcohol since. 

So what did I do for New Year's eve?  Since my last party in 2005, I have partied hard with a group that knows how to par-tay -- youth.  In 2005, we partied with our church's youth group at the time.  In 2006 and 2007, we hung out with my brother because we were in transition between churches.  But in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 we partied with a group that farts a lot, belches, plays hide and seek, laughs when someone trips, needs a permission form, drinks enough soda to stay awake all night with a sugar buzz and tries to smash cans on their foreheads.  I can say that those years trump the previous years of spending way too much money to get way too drunk.

Last night was no exception.  Even though our group was small due to everyone having other plans that weren't as cool as hanging out with us and Jesus, we had a great time.  We hung out and played cards before driving an hour away to check out another church's party.  We figured since our group was small, we would take them somewhere to possibly have a good time.  We got there a little late and there were no seats not too mention we felt awkward and out of place since we were from a different church.  It didn't take us long to decide to just go back to our church and hang out.  So we did.

You may think the trip was a wasted one but I beg to differ.  The ride back was full of so much laughter, I don't remember laughing that hard in a long time.  Our bellies hurt, our eyes watered and I threatened to pee my pants on more than one occasion (that is when you know you are having a good time!).  The drive back, even though it was an hour, seemed like minutes because of the laughter and joking.  As I type this, I still smile at the thought of the conversations.

We didn't plan on partying at the church, therefore, we didn't have much in the way of food.  We had some hot dogs so we stopped and picked up a loaf of bread.  Needless to say the bread was stale but that didn't matter.  Our spirits were already lightened and our cheeks sore from laughter.....stale bread didn't dampen our moods.

Then we played board games that went a little like this *ahem*.....

Matt had to talk like a woman while Caleb did a photo shoot (bad kitty!), JJ not only fumigated us with his natural gas that he could bottle and use as chemical warfare but he had to ride an ostrich, Izzy sang a love song to her card, Caleb song us a wonderful rendition of "If you're happy and you know it" and I was stuck in a tree with a lobster while talking like Frankenstein while Antonio and Cheyenne were being anti-social in the other room.  haha.

And no, I was not drunk.

Quelf - the best game ever.

So, at 4:30 in the morning I finally crawled into bed.  My spirit was light, my eyes were heavy and my heart was full.  We may not party hard with alcohol any more but we have some of the best times with the most cherished memories. 

Instead of having a regret of spending too much money and drinking too much alcohol.....I have the regret of not taking many pictures to capture the evening.

If this is a taste of what 2013 holds for me.....I say bring it on. 

Matt and I, 4 in the morning......happy and sober!

The group Matt and I got to ring in the New Year with.  Who wouldn't want to party with this motley crew?