Saturday, July 31, 2004

Lazy hazy crazy days of summer

I love being able to sleep until 10am on Saturday mornings. The major advantage to having a one bedroom apartment is that it does not take long to clean it (Amens from Supa K & Ameliou in the background) :)

Today was a lazy day. I sleep in until 10am and then not 3 hours later I was asleep again in the Lazy Boy at my in-laws. When my mother-in-law says you need to sleep I do not argue. We grilled out and enjoyed the evening with them in Zeeland.

I was excited to see The West Wing on TV tonight however I am concerned they are moving it from Thursday nights to Saturday nights. Needless to say I am very not well with that function. Hopefully when the new season starts in the fall we will all be back to normal.

Enjoy your Saturday night!


Friday, July 30, 2004

Power Outage

Hello friends!

This is what is becoming my weekly blog entry. This week has been crazy and I am sorry for not writing that much. I however must share what I read during devotions yesterday.

The meditation was talking about a morning when the writer woke up and realised the power had gone out during the night. He realised that soon people in his neighborhood would wake up to a morning without electricity and therefore would not be able to do certain things liks watch the news on television, make toast, brew coffee, and talk on the telephone.

Then I thought of how often I rush into the day without spiritual power. I spend more time reading the newspaper than the Bible. Talk radio replaces listening to the Spirit. I react to difficult people and circumstances in a spirit of fear rather than the spirit of“power and of love and of a sound mind”that God has given us (2 Timothy 1:7). I must appear as spiritually unkempt as a person who dressed and groomed in the dark.

Our power outage was short-lived, but the lesson remains of my need to begin each day by seeking the Lord. His strength is not for my success or well-being, but so that I will glorify Christ by living in His power.

I was very convicted by this devotional because it is so easy to rush into my day without coming to God and asking Him to be my source for the day. When I neglect coming into God's presence in the morning, I am not spiritually prepared for the day. Physically preparation is necessary, but spiritual preparation is just as necessary if not more so.

Another thing that challenged me yesterday came from 2 Timothy 1:7 "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and self-discipline" (NIV). In talking with my friends lately, I am aware of the work of the enemy in their lives trying to cause them to stumble. Some of my friends have told me they feel very defeated at times. This verse encourages me though we may feel defeated, we are not. Satan is a defeated foe and we need to acknowledge him in that way.

The passage in 2 Timothy continues in this way (emphasis added), "So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day."

So many more things come to my mind as I read this passage, but for your benefit I will stop for now. I am so thankful for what God is teaching me through His word and I trust He is teaching you as well.

Have a great weekend!

Friday, July 23, 2004

Yeah the end of the week is here!

WOW what a busy week. We have had people over Wednesday night and last night. We're having a group of friends over tonight and then hopefully some other friends on Saturday night. We both love to entertain, however we have decided that 4 nights in a row is a lot and we won't do this again anytime soon.

Last night we had Kedron and Amelia over along with our friends the Johnston's who were married on 22 May of this year. We had a great time looking at pictures from the Johnston's globe trotting honeymoon. Becca and I loved our honeymoon to the Dominican Republic, however the Johnston's honeymoon was nice too. I must add the Ked does have some very exciting news coming in a couple weeks so do stay tuned to his blog for more information :)

As you think of Becca and I please keep us in your prayers for some decisions that we need to make. These decisions are not earthshattering, but are still very important to us. We want to be in the center of God's will.

Well, tmsaisti. Have a great weekend everyone!

Chris out

Monday, July 19, 2004

God wants relationship with me

This passage from my devotions today so perfectly goes along with so many things I have been learning at church. The bottom line is that God does not desire religion from me, He desires relationship. It is not all about doing the right things, saying the right words all the time. God wants relationship and He wants to live His life through me. I find this passage to be a freeing one as I read and remind myself the expectations that I place on myself are not from God. I hope this passage encourages you today.

Ephesians 2:11-22

11Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (that done in the body by the hands of men)-- 12remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

14For he himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, 16and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.

19Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, 20built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone. 21In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. 22And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.

Wednesday, July 14, 2004

A welcome...

Today I welcome someone to the list of What I'm Surfing. Paradise Of the Blog is the blog of Debby Li. Debby is the daughter of the International Director for RBC Ministries. Debby is here in Grand Rapids for a 6-month internship with Discovery House Publishers. She has quite an extensive website and hope at some point to learn some things about web design from her while she is here.

Check out her blog and say hi!

Chris out

Monday, July 12, 2004

One month

It hardly seems possible that Becca and I have been married a month, but at the same time it feels like it should be much, much more than a month. I am so grateful for what the Lord has taught me so far in our marriage and can't wait to see what He has in store for us as we serve Him together. There are so many neat things on the horizon and it makes me excited to see what God is going to do next.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement!

Thursday, July 08, 2004

How to see our wedding photos

I would like to invite you to visit images from my wedding, which just became available online. Please go to www.pictage.com to view this event. You will need the following information to access the event.

First log in with your name, email address and password of your choice. Then search for The Dreyer / Robertson Wedding. To view the images, you may be asked for an event key. Enter when prompted and then have fun looking at the pictures. If you see any that you like, you can order them directly online by clicking on the shopping cart icon. They will be sent directly to you.

Come look at the pictures soon!

Thursday quiet time thoughts

I was reading tomorrow's devotion from Our Daily Bread and was challenged in a new way about depending on God. Allow me to quote the text of the devotional:

I recall walking along a Texas creek many years ago with my brother-in-law Ed and his 3-year-old son David. David had been collecting smooth, round stones from the stream while we walked. He called them“ piggies,” because their rounded shape reminded him of little pigs.

David had stuffed a number of “piggies” in his pockets, and after running out of pockets he began carrying them in his arms. After a while he began to stagger under the load and lag behind. It was obvious he would never make it back to the house without help, so Ed said,“Here, David, let me carry your piggies.”

Reluctance clouded David’s face for a moment, and then it lit up.“I know,”he said.“ You carry me and I’ll carry my piggies!”


As I read this, the idea that David proposed seemed absurd. However, it forced me to realise that some of my ideas I propose to God can be just as crazy. God invites me to cast all of my cares upon Him, not to have Him carry me while I carry my cares. How many times am I guilty of this on a daily basis?

I think this relates to control. I feel better when I am in control of my life, however it is exactly when I feel I am in the most control that I am not. More importantly, God does not call us to be in control of our lives. He calls us to surrender our lives for use in His service.

I hope these thoughts will challenge you as they have challenged me today.

tmsaisti

Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Fun weekend

This past weekend went by so fast, however it was jam packed with cool activities. On Friday night we had some friends over. We had not seen some of these friends since the wedding so it was great to see them, catch up a bit, play games and show wedding pictures. I am so glad for the friends that we have and the encouragement they have been to us as we have started our new life together.

On Saturday I ventured into the construction side of life and yes I do have pictures to prove it. Unfortunately they are not on my camera so I will try my best to post them soon. Becca's mom is building a deck around their pool and I helped. I may not be the most construction inclined, however I can follow directions and I endeavoured to follow directions as much as I could so I would be a help and not a hindrance.

Saturday night some members of our church had a bonfire. It was at the bonfire that I learned that my beautiful wife is a pyro. She was just a little too good helping Rob get the bonfire lit. (I am in such trouble now.)

Sunday night my church had the first of 3 southern Gospel concerts. We hosted Legacy Five. I have wanted to have them for 3 years now so you can imagine how excited I was to have them here. We had the biggest crowd we have ever had for a concert and the Lord blessed us with a remarkable love offering. The Lord does bless us when we go out on faith trusting in Him to provide.

Finally, yesterday Becca and I along with my parents and some friends went to Traverse City for the Cherry Festival. I have not been to the Festival in a couple of years so it was very nice to go back. My favorite part was all the free samples :) I did take many pictures and hope to post some once I have them on my computer.

The weekend was definitely a relaxing one. We were definitely not ready for the new work week today but Monday is almost over so I think we survived.

Hope your weekend was just as fun.

tmsaisti