Control Relinquished

If you're reading this blog in the state of Pennsylvania, you'll know that we had quite the heat wave this week. It has felt more like the throes of July than our typical autumn September days! Of course, it just so happened that with the week's hot forecast fresh on my mind, I kept waking up Monday night due to an unusual sound coming from our air conditioner...and our house felt hot! Sure enough, by late afternoon on Tuesday, our air conditioner was running constantly and unable to keep the house cool. After a call to our HVAC repairman, we were relieved they could come out Wednesday afternoon. It was very humid Wednesday morning and our thermostat was already climbing to 79* at 8 am, but to our surprise, our "hero" arrived early! A simple part was replaced and life in the heat felt bearable again! Sadly, this experience was yet another humbling reminder that "comfort" is just as much of an idol for me as "control" is. Why is it that feeling

Our world is divisive about many matters, but one thing the human race can probably agree on is that life can be messy and complicated when people are involved! At the beginning of 2023, I committed to reading through the Bible chronologically and God has been opening my eyes to so many new understandings. Within the first few pages of Scripture, and woven throughout the entirety of the nine books I've read so far, we see that evil was consistently present in this world from the day humanity was created. Within my first week of reading, Adam and Eve sinned and were banned from Eden, Cain murdered Abel, the world was destroyed in the flood and evil was consuming Sodom and Gomorrah...wow! Evil, corruption, immorality, disobedience, and lies continue to be a reality for the human race from the start of creation until even now.  But also consistent throughout the Bible is the steady, pursuit of our loving Father. Even in our rebellion, with heartfelt repentance, God continues to forgiv