How vast the Father's love for us

"How vast the Father's love for us..."

"It's not that I don't believe Jesus existed, it's more that he was a good guy that taught us good things.  He is one son of God, but not God's Son," said Mike as Charley and I sat on the cold grass in the middle of a small park in downtown San Diego.

"Mike," I responded "I don't believe that Jesus ever left it up to us to say that he was a good moral person. Either Jesus is who He says (that he could forgive sins because he was God), or he was a liar (which doesn't make him very moral), or he was a flat out lunatic."  I was thankful that God brought those words from CS Lewis to mind.  I saw Mike slowly begin to think more as our conversation continued on.

Over an hour later I couldn't help but be reminded of God's amazing love and grace.

You see, Mike has been homeless for 30 years.  He was sitting at the park where Charley and I met with 30 other UofA students to go out into San Diego to initiate spiritual conversations during our "Day of Faith."  Charley saw him on the way to our meeting location and offered him a sandwich he had bought for lunch.  God used Charley's heart for the homeless to bridge a gap that 15 minutes later allowed for a conversation to take place.  I truly believe that Mike could see Jesus right away in Charley.

Mike didn't decide to put his trust in Jesus, but I do believe that he is closer to making that decision.  At one point of the conversation as Mike mentioned how hard it is to let go of poor decisions he made years ago.  I looked at him and said, "Mike, you don't deserve forgiveness...............  But, I don't either.  The truth of the matter is that there is not one person on this planet who deserves what Christ has done, but He loves you so much that he offers it to you now.  You don't have to change before you come to Christ, He is meeting you right now and offering himself to you."

Charley shared part of his own testimony, or story about what God's done in his life.  He talked to Mike about the peace he has experienced in the midst of some really difficult and heart breaking situations.  I think this really resonated with Mike.  We didn't offer him a promise that if he came to know Jesus that all of his problems would be fixed (that he'd find a steady job, save money, get an apartment), but what we did offer him was hope and a joy that can't be taken away because of the forgiveness, restoration and relationship found in Christ.

When the conversation ended Mike thanked us both several times.  He told us that prior to this conversation he had been feeling really burdened, but now he felt like there was hope.  When he went to shake my hand I gave him a hug.  He really was a precious man and I feel like I saw before me a cold hardened heart begin to have some of the ice chipped away.

During our conversation I was struck several times with the overwhelming awareness of God's love for this man.  I couldn't help but see that God didn't make this conversation happen randomly as some sort of an afterthought, but that it was part of his plan all along...part of his intentional pursuit for Mike's heart.

I left also keenly aware of God's love towards me.  This was the first time in years I was able to go out on the Day of Faith, and God blessed me with this sweet conversation.

'The Lord is good and His love endures forever. Amen."

Life as a missionary

If you'd asked me years ago what my life would look like on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ, I would've mentioned a lot about campus life. I would've pictured conversations with students, hanging out in the dorms, leading Bible studies, getting into spiritual conversations with students from various religious and spiritual (if any) backgrounds.  

What I probably wouldn't have pictured was the hotel rooms.  

When I mention hotels and traveling it sounds so...adventurous and luxurious. And I guess in many ways it is a big adventure.  I get to travel every summer to different locations (California, New Jersey, Florida and Colorado being some of the recent places).  This spring break I will get to help lead a group of college students to our partnership campus in the Dominican Republic.  I have many opportunities on staff to travel not only in the United States, but throughout the whole world.  And maybe someday (in years to come) it will feel more like how it sounds (fun).

However, with two small kids I must admit that the traveling is a bit exhausting.  Sitting in dark hotel rooms when the kids go to bed or are napping, rearranging the furniture in the room to figure out how to fit the kids mini travel tents in the room, but far enough apart (if that's an option) so they don't wake each other up when they cough (because they are always somehow sick when we're on the road), and the hours in the car sometimes all just about push me over the edge of sanity.  

In the midst of a tough night (feeling disconnected from the actual conference going on, dealing with short naps and disobedient kids) I have to remember the bigger picture.  The bigger picture is what God is doing in the hearts and lives of real people around me, and through the ministry that I'm privileged to be a part of.  Right now there are hundreds of college students in the large ballroom hearing a speaker that God could use to literally change their life.  There are thousands of college students in different locations across the US experiencing the same thing. 

What makes it all worth it?  The gospel of Jesus Christ. The fact that Jesus not only died on the cross, but that he was resurrected.  He conquered death so that we may truly live! Christ's love, forgiveness and grace is not at all what I deserve, and yet He has given it to me through His blood on the cross.  My life as a missionary and all the dark hotel rooms in between the thousands of miles we travel are all worth it because other people get to know the Jesus that I know!

Loving myself some ricotta

Three reasons I love ricotta:

1. Lasagna
Enough said.

2. Pizza
I like to mix a little ricotta with the sauce when I make homemade pizza. It adds a richness and gives it a special sort of "umph" (trust me, you'll see what I mean).

3. Muffins
I had leftover ricotta that I didn't want to waste. In my oven (right now) are some ricotta orange berry muffins. Here is the recipe I found online from a blog called Not Just Baby Brain for What's for Breakfast-Blueberry Ricotta Muffins.  She got the recipe from this blog called Italialicious (and I think I will be looking at more of his recipes in the future).

*If I had all of the ingredients I would've done it as originally posted, but I didn't.
Here are the substitutions I made:
1. I didn't have any lemons so I just used the zest from one orange
2. I didn't have orange blossom water so I used about 1 tsp. of fresh orange juice & 1 tsp. vanilla
3. I didn't have fresh or frozen blueberries by themselves, but I did have a mixed frozen fruit bag (cherries, blueberries & blackberries) so I just chopped up the frozen berries & added them to the batter



Time elapse: 5 minutes

I just tasted them and I have one word: YUM!