Yesterday in Sunday school, my kids and I looked at Mark 4:35-41, in which Jesus calms a storm on the sea of Galilee. We had an interesting mix as the youth teacher was paged at the last minute so I had a range from 6-16, but the kids have had me for a teacher long enough that they are getting good at spotting the interesting details in a story.

While we would expect townies and landlubbers like say, Matthew or Judas, to be freaked out by a storm on the water, four of the thirteen men on the boat were experienced fishermen. They had been through storms before, but this one was enough to worry them. This was a huge storm. My son suggested it was a waterspout- a tornado on water.

Here are some of my own takeaways from the lesson-

1. Storms are going to blow up suddenly and without warning.

2. They may be the kind I’m used to dealing with, (like the fishermen were used to storms) or they may be something completely foreign (like the townies were experiencing).

3. How long do I try to handle things on my own, not wanting to ‘bother’ Jesus? Until it becomes a life-or-death situation?

4. How quick am I to accuse Jesus of not caring? (v. 38)

5. Why I am so fearful? How is it that I have no faith? (v. 40)

I have an answer to that last one. For me, the key to the whole story is the statement Jesus makes in v.35 “Let us cross over to the other side.” He didn’t say ‘let’s try’ or ‘I hope we make it’. He was completely sure of His mission, and confident that God would see Him through until the completion of it. I get fearful and lose faith because a.) I lose sight of  what I’m doing or where I’m going, SO b.) I’m not so sure God is going to bring me through it.

To help me out with some of this, my husband is giving me a fabulous gift. A week from today, I’m heading to Indy for an early Tuesday flight to a Florida beach for a vacation alone with God. Alone with God. Just me, and God and the beach. I know He’s always had the answers. I think I’m ready to hear them.

You ever click along feeling like you’re making tremendous progress only to realize that the reason you’re so far ahead is that you forgot something? Welcome to my Friday morning. I forgot to write a post in the ‘before theater shuttle’ part of my morning. Now I’m having to do it in the ‘work on Contingency edits’ part. Rats. Oh well.

Friday update: I am on Chapter 23 of 25… Woo Hoo! Then of course comes the next read through, and proofing etc. So it’s still gonna be a while before it’s ‘done’. I’m also starting to formulate a plan for where we go from here. It’s looking like Claire’s book.

What have I learned this week? I found a group, Writer… Interrupted, that pulls together writers who are trying to balance the call to write with the rest of life. It’s comforting to see some of the same folks here as belong to TWV2 and that I connect with on Twitter. It gives me a great sense of community and proves once again that it really is a small world. I learned how to sync Facebook, Twitter and my contact list in Outlook through Plaxo. I downloaded TweetDeck but haven’t had a chance to use it much yet.

What have I read? I finished Steve Arterburn’s Healing is a Choice. He begins the books by asking what appears to be a ‘duh!’ question- do you want to be well? But on further examination, it becomes a deep, compelling question. Healing is rarely the instantaneous event we read about in Scripture. When God heals us today, it is more often spiritually and emotionally, and it is a long arduous process. It is through the process that we are blessed with a deeper understanding of God’s heart and our own frailties.

The chapters outline ten steps necessary for this process, and ten things we’ve heard or will tell ourselves to keep us from taking any of those steps. Each step is simple, straightforward and Biblically sound. Simple- yes, easy- no. I found myself agreeing wholeheartedly in Chapter 1 where the author encourages us to open up to those around us, to share our burdens and seek help from others. It is the absolute truth, and definitely the first step to healing of any kind. In Chapter 5 where he cautions against trying to figure everything out ourselves, I saw myself and the years I wasted doing exactly that. In Chapter 8 on choosing to risk and not reflexively insulate myself from any more pain, I had to back up and admit that area needed a lot of work! The companion workbook is my next project where I can take the opportunity to examine the topics in more detail after reading through the book.

Summary: Excellent, engaging, readable framework for the healing journey. (Journey… not single event.)

What did God teach me this week? Church camp finished up, and God taught me that our weaknesses not only teach us to depend on Him, but show how we fit together in the body of Christ. In order to carry out His commission, my weaknesses are offset by someone else’s strengths. I don’t think God ever intended for us to freelance, and in bringing us together He shows His wisdom, glory and grace.

Yesterday we finished teaching at camp for the year. *Sigh* It was a good time and we shot a bottle of pop over the chapel roof. (The pop bottle was part of a game/demonstration on the dangers of bottling up your anger. We, uh, made our point.) Dan and I will be back next year. In the final lesson, we discussed how tough it is to carry out the mission God has given us in a world that hates us. We called it ‘outcast living’.

We do not fit in. We will be misunderstood. Period. End of discussion. Jesus experienced the same thing and promised it for us.

(John 15:19) If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.

(John 17:14-16) I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it.

This is hard to take. We naturally crave being liked and accepted. I know it’s going to happen, but when it does, I get defensive and angry. Truth is, now GOD accepts me, and I cannot be accepted BOTH by God and the world. It’s one or the other.

The summary of our camp lessons is that each of us is chosen and uniquely gifted by God to serve Him and carry His gospel. In spite of our weaknesses, God asks, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Will you, will I, jump up and say “Here am I, send me!” or will I, will we, walk on by?

The ultimate purpose of Bible study is to deepen our relationship with the God who reveals Himself in its pages. He promises us ‘you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.’ (Jeremiah 29:13) It will increase our wonder and our worship of our God ‘who called you out of darkness into His glorious light’. (1 Peter 2:9)

So with each passage, each you study, ask yourself what it reveals about God or His ways. In the two quick examples I cited, we find out that God encourages us to seek Him and promises to honor every sincere search. He wants us to know Him. Ponder that for a moment or two. God… wants me to know Him… challenges me to… How could I refuse an invitation like that? How could I slack off on Bible study when God is effectively asking me to sit down with Him?

That phrase from 2 Peter gives us the gospel. God called us. He didn’t move us Himself. He called and we had to respond, but when we did, everything changed as much as it could possibly change. From darkness into light, and not just any light, His glorious light! God wants us to join Him in that light, so He calls us. How could you not love a God like that?

One more example- This one is a little more obscure. I was reading in 2 Kings this morning and hit this verse in chapter 17. “And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the Lord; therefore the Lord sent lions among them, which killed some of them.” The context is that Assyria has taken the northern kingdom into captivity and repopulated the land with people from all over their empire. These folks brought their religion with them, and when they practiced it in the Promised Land, lions came and attacked them. What does that tell you about God? Mess up church and you’ll get eaten? Maybe. I think the Old Testament consistently reveals God’s character. In this odd verse, we see that He takes assaults on His holiness very seriously. The people failed to revere Him alone, and He brought swift judgment. Thankfully for us, His grace often delays that judgment, but He has that right.

Of course, it’s always a good idea to makes notes about all these observations in your notebook.

Today starts the second week of camp with the high school kids. We use the same lessons, but try a little more depth and a little more intensity (mess, that is) with the games.

We’ve discussed with the kids that they received superpowers as soon as they were saved, including the indwelling Holy Spirit to help them accomplish the mission God gives us to evangelize the world. We warned them that the Enemy has plenty of weapons of his own to hinder us, including anger. Another huge weapon- the one that works on me- is fear.

We don’t usually think of it this way, but fear is the absence of trust. When we don’t trust the quality of our studying, we are afraid to take a chemistry test. When we don’t trust physics and Boeing, we don’t get on airplanes. When we don’t trust people, we are afraid to invest ourselves in friendships and relationships. When we don’t trust God… nothing else works.

My gracious Father knows that fear is a major issue, so He talks about it a lot in the Bible. There are hundreds of references dealing with fear, worry, anxiety- all different heads of the same monster. Here are a few to implement:

(2 Tim 1:7 – KJV) For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Fear NEVER comes from God. He gives us a spirit of power (yes I can do what He gives me to do) a spirit of love (loving others is the key to carrying out the mission) and a sound mind (thinking clearly and truthfully about ourselves and our situation.)

(Psalm 118:6) The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?

That’s IS. Present tense. Right now. Count on it. Not “I hope He’s with me”, or “He might be if…” If I get the IS part, the ” I will not be afraid” part is a piece of cake. And that’s GOD with me. What can a man do to frustrate the purposes of Almighty God? Nothing… (Why don’t I remember that?)

(1 John 4:18) There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

GOD IS PERFECT LOVE. He defines it. He loves me perfectly and so seeks only my best interest. Granted His definition of ‘my best interest’ and mine often clash, but that’s my lack of trust popping up again. His perfect love carries an eternal perspective that I can’t always see or wrap my mind around.

This is one of those lessons the teacher needs more than the students. God called me to go forth and conquer, not stay home and whimper.