spanish monkey back in texas

just got great news! Peter Burow will be headed back to Texas! Pete just got a job as the youth minister of Hope Lutheran in Lubbock, TX and I know that God is going to bless them tremendously through that. Keep Pete in your prayers as he follows God in this journey!

i want to share this passage with you from Isaiah - i continue to just be inspired by Isaiah's writings and how he shares such a unique look at God.

A Song of Praise to the LORD (26)

In that day, everyone in the land of Judah will sing this song:

Our city is now strong!
We are surrounded by the walls of God's salvation.

Open the gates to all who are righteous;
allow the faithful to enter.

You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you,
whose thoughts are fixed on you!

Trust in the LORD always,
for the LORD GOD is the eternal Rock.

He humbles the proud
and brings the arrogant city to the dust.
Its walls come crashing down!

The poor and oppressed trample it underfoot.

But for those who are righteous,
the path is not steep and rough.
You are a God of justice,
and you smooth out the road ahead of them.

LORD, we love to obey your laws;
our heart's desire is to glorify your name.

All night long I search for you;
earnestly I seek for God.

I was at a funeral yesterday. Matt Willis is 1 of 3 teenagers that had been killed in a drag race around 4 in the morning. 2 teens survived the accident but have to come to grips with the fact that their best friends are dead. I stood by helplessly, watching the friends and family mourn and wail over their loss. There is nothing so acute as the pain a teenager faces when they lose someone to death. I felt disgust as the news vans showed up, video taping people on their way into the overflowing sanctuary, zooming in on the teenagers' puffy red faces. I thought i would explode when they were so bold as to come and interview people as they stood in line to pay their last respects.
I begged God to comfort these kids and the poor families whose world is in chaos now.
Lord God, smooth out the road ahead of these families and friends who have lost so much. Fix our thoughts on you and somehow lead us to trust in you, even now, especially now.
We are pilgrims and strangers in this land and let us rejoice that Matt is home now.