Goin' Mercer…ramblings and rants!

Today we woke to a winter wonderland outside. Last night a wintry mix rolled through Abilene. After temperature drops, rain, then sleet, then snow. Leah’s work got delayed by two hours and so we went outside to look at the snow and to take Zeke out. Zeke was lucky to be able to sleep inside last night. However, after we brought Zeke back in we shut the back door. The back door doesn’t always shut so well. We thought it shut so we went back to bed and rested for another hour. Leah got up to check on Zeke and noticed it was extremely cold in our living room. Well…the door didn’t shut and come to find out Maverick, our cat, escaped outside to play in the snow. Luckily, he didn’t get too far, but his fur had white flakes and his little paws were like ice cubes. Leah rescued him from the wintry mix and we are all safe inside. The snow is beautiful and I think this is going to be a great day!

-Michael

Well, Today its back to work. The vacation was great! We saw a lot of family and ate a lot of food. We arrived back in town on Saturday afternoon. Today I am looking forward to a full week of work and turning in my 20 page paper for one of my graduate courses. I spent a lot of time on this paper and hope that it communicates the amount of time and research I put into it. But to be honest I don’t want to talk about Pharaoh’s hardened heart for a few days.

I have much to do this week and adding to it I am speaking at a retreat in Surfside for the Bering Drive congregation. My good friend Sean is the youth minister there and it will be good to share the radical nature of Jesus with them this weekend.

Pray for me as I teach my third week of Purity classes to our 8th graders. This week it is me teaching the girls or really answering their questions. This ought to be fun.

Have a great week back to your normal life and I hope you enjoyed your holiday!

-Michael

Yesterday was a great day! We are celebrating Thanksgiving with Leah’s family this year and Christmas with mine. So yesterday we shared turkey, dressing, yams, green bean casserole, gravy, rolls, mashed potatoes, pies, and more with family. It is an awesome experience to sit around the table with great food and welcoming family. I missed my family, even though I saw most on Monday and Tuesday, so I called. There was one I didn’t see. She’s the best aunt I have. She had shoulder surgery earlier and is still recovering. Had I remembered this fact I probably would have gone to see her. I guess I will have to run over there during the Christmas holiday. However, I called and got to talk with her and my cousin Mitzi (her daughter) and all the rest of the family. You begin to realize as you start knocking on the door of 30 that life is moving faster every year and that time with family is less attainable. Leah has some of the same thoughts going on and so I am glad we alternate the holidays so she can see her relatives too.

We are so thankful for everything, especially food in our bellies. As we watched a bit of news last night we saw how many Houstonians were helping the homeless and the hungry around the city. Not everyone gets a hot meal as often as I do. I realize that Leah and I are blessed with what we have and that the little giving we were able to do this year is multiplied with the Holy Spirit’s hand.

I am stuffed! Stuffed with food! Stuffed with joy! Stuffed with blessings! Stuffed with the Spirit!

Thank’s God!

-Michael

This is my favorite holiday. There is always great food and it is a blessed time with family. Unlike Christmas it has a lot less pressure. There are no material gifts being exchanged, just the gift of love and family. There is something truly holy about sitting around a table and breaking bread together. It is definitely a time to give thanks. This has been a tough year for me and Leah. We have struggled with being away from family, a house that won’t sell, adjusting to a new town, trying to make new friends, and putting in too many hours into our jobs. The year has gone by fast even though many of the days seemed to drag. However, I am thankful for a perseverant heart, which could only have come through God. I am thankful for being a part of a church that has nurtured and carried us along a difficult time. I am thankful for old friends who chose to stay in touch. I am thankful for a strong wife who loves me with all of her heart and trusts me in spite of my many faults. I am thankful for her love for children no matter what shade of skin they are wrapped in or their economic status. I am thankful for family who have had to say goodbye to us, but have stayed closely connected despite our 400 miles of separation. Most of all I am thankful for God who used all these thanksgivings to sustain us through this year. I am thankful that even when its unknown and it seems bleak you can trust in his power, love, and leading.

The Lord is Good!

I hope you celebrate today with friends and family as you think on the many things you and your families can be thankful for this past year!

-Michael

“This glass is stuck in my crock!”

Oh the struggles with finding one dish inside your crockpot. Don’t worry with one quick move of the glass the crisis was quickly averted.

I have been working on my grad paper this week and its coming along slowly. I saw my family yesterday with a quick visit to the Metropolis of Ganado.

My father-in-law and I are going to play some golf today after it warms up a little.

I am in great anticipation of the Thanksgiving meal and our continued time with family.

I hope everyone has a great holiday!

-Michael

My year has been a lesson in not having control. God has had complete control and I have been a suffering journeyman along the way. I have realized some things in this journey and I know I will learn more as I continue. I guess the first is that I am not in control. As much as I think I have control over my own life, I don’t. God has control and allows me to make choices that affect my life. I can’t make someone buy my house and I can’t make money appear from nowhere. But God can. He has sustained us for over a year and I am sure He will continue.

The second is that we as Christians have a unique gift available to us; the church. God has gifted us with a body of Christians that worship Him and serve His people. Without the church (not just Highland, but globally) we would have been without. They haven’t just provided physical, tangible things during this year, but prayer as well. People all over the world have been on their knees petitioning for our house, our marriage, and our burdens. Without prayer I would hate to think where we would be.

The third is we all need our families. Both Leah and I have wonderful parents who love and adore their children. They would do just about anything to make sure their children are surviving life. Not only have our parents helped us with living, but through prayer, encouragement, and constantly welcoming us to the family. Families often don’t continue to welcome their own family members into the family. We assume that since we are blood related that we are always feeling welcome. By moving Leah and I have realized the need to be welcomed continuously into our blood families and our in-law families through love, reception, and compassion. We urge our churches to do this, but forget its need in the physical family.

The fourth and final I’ll share is that when relying on God you must keep perspective. I had a dear friend that told me in the midst a bad day last week to focus on the task at hand and do the right thing. She said, “Do the right thing for that time.” Don’t worry down the road, but do what is right for that moment right then. Its only been a few days of having that wisdom, but it has strengthened Leah and I both. When we tend to try and focus on everything that is going on in our lives, we swim in chaos and our minds can’t grab onto a single thought. By staying focused in the present we can move through issues consulting God and His church.

Life isn’t easy all the time! When its not, though, we have God, church, family, and wisdom that can and will bring us through!

-Michael

No Deal! The house didn’t sell. The deal brokedown after we headed to Houston to close and then officially on Tuesday, their loan was declined. So it’s back on the market and we need your prayers!

-Michael

This past weekend we got the chance to eat at one of our favorite restaurants in Houston, Escalantes. Mike Cope speaks a lot on his blog about his love for guacamole. Well, Escalantes has the best guacamole I have ever eaten. The greatest part is they bring all the ingredients to your table and make it right in front of you. That’s what I call fresh! So, eat your heart out Mike, and next time your in Houston you’ll have to go.

We made the trip and back just fine, but our house still hasn’t closed and its a great possibility that it won’t sell at all. We continue to beg God for our house to finally sell and we covet your prayers as well.

All that aside we were able to visit our parents and enjoyed being together.

-Michael

Leah and I are in Houston. We came to close on our house that has been for sale for over a year now. Unfortunately it will not close as planned today. They are telling us it should close in the middle of next week. So, we will get our last items out of the house and continue our visit with family. Please continue to pray for this to all go through!

-Michael

…ten year old girl. Yeah, that’s right I am beginning to slow. I was the assistant referee for a girls’ game on Saturday and I wasn’t moving as fast as I would like. Of course, maybe I was somewhat distracted by the coach on the opposite side of the field who was yelling at the other referee. It was pretty bad and after the game it got worse. At one point I had to stand between this 40 something year old coach, father, and presumably lawyer and the 17 year old high school student who was the center (main) referee, because of this man’s actions and demeanor. What makes someone at that age go so ballistic for a 10 year old soccer game? Crazy!

Chap Clark writes about this in his book, Hurt. He says,

“During this study, I became more convinced of how insidious and self-serving youth and high school competitive activities have become. These activities are no longer for or about the students; they are for and about the adults in charge. The deification of competitive prominence and the defeat of one’s “enemies” have choked much of the life out of the human desire to play for play’s sake and even to compete with class and honor.”

I would assume my experience on the field is not unique and most likely I will experience it again. I just feel tons of compassion for these adolescents who have to bear the pain of the adults who take the fun and competition and make it a circus.

I think we have some work and some thinking to do in this area of life.

-Michael