Friday the 13th!!!

Oh, joy...another Friday the 13th...I've lost count how many of these I've lived through. This could be my last...who KNOWS?--If it is, then have a party in my honor!!! If it isn't then, I'll write more, read more, and wait!

I want to share my morning devo from today with you...it's borrowed from Max Lucado's little book called Grace for the Moment--volume I:

"The Voice of Adventure
Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them.--Luke 17:33
There is a rawness and a wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Sell out to get it. Don't listen to the whines of those who have settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won't feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long; it's to live.
Jesus says the options are clear. On one side there is a voice of safety. You can build a fire in the hearth, stay inside, and stay warm and dry and safe...
Or you can hear the voice of adventure--God's adventure. Instead of building a fire in your hearth, build a fire in your heart. Follow God's impulses. Adopt the child. Move overseas. Teach the class. Change careers. Run for office. Make a difference. Sure it isn't safe, but what is?--He Still Moves"

This is where true life in Christ lives...in the adventure...The 'adventures' listed above are from the mind & hand of Mr. Lucado...but, there are all kinds of adventures waiting for us to take...the point is: make a difference!

I have friends who've left their homes to live in places like China, Thailand, India...others who have 'run for office'...and those who are in the process or have recently adopted children from far away countries...and a couple that are leaving for Haiti this summer to minister there for a time...
My husband & I adopted two children...and we've each 'changed careers' over the 27 years of our marriage...we've taught classes...but, made a difference?

Perhaps, so, the mail I receive tells me that the answer to that question is yes...

There is always the question for me, though...is there more I'm to do?

I can certainly see us in some far away country: living and learning new customs & creeds and native languages; but that may not be what God has in mind for us...not now anyway.

For now, the adventure is just listening to Him, and following His lead on things. (and, apparently, having twin teenagers, a college age daughter, and grandchildren all close by are a great means of adventure for our lives right now!) We do meet interesting people all the time, because of ministry and because we 'show up'!
(Just a side note, yesterday when my husband & I were entering a restaurant for lunch, a young woman called my husband by name, greeted him, and held the door open for him...after we were seated, he was a little freaked out, he had no idea who she was...I told him it's because we're famous. In reality, she's someone we knew when she was much younger, she's just grown up now, and we rarely see her, the point is: she remembered him!--it was a great source of laughter for me, though!)

For now, I must concentrate on giving up my life right here where I am, so that God can use it how ever He pleases! Less of me, more of HIM! Exciting, thrilling...the best life now!!!

Oh Father God, bless this day for Yourself...please, ignite a fire in my heart that only YOU can quench...keep it burning to YOUR glory! In Jesus' Name. Amen.