Lots of our days trot by. Unmemorable to us. Nothing out of the ordinary or spectacular enough to burn those 24 hours into our memory. The only one who will have any mental account of those ho-hum days is the one who knows all our days before any of them have come to pass.
Funny how life seems to be marked by the mundane and the monumental.
I'm sure we can all look back over our lives and identify specific moments or events that were powerful enough to shape the rest of our existence. Those days don't get filed under "Ho-Hum." Those moments get filed under "This Changes Everything."
A wreck. A speech. A sermon. Salvation. A secret revealed. The birth of a baby. A move from one city to another.
If my life was a map, I could decorate it with thumbtacks that represent those moments that shook and shaped all my remaining days.
One of those colorful thumbtacks would flag the week Aaron and I listened to the Radical Series by David Platt.
The things we heard in that series have forever changed us. We're not the same people we were. Our theology is the same. No one worry. However, for the first time as believers we have heard Jesus speak and we're desperately trying to quit rewriting the Bible. We're trying to hear what Jesus says...to really listen and then quit weakening His Words so that we feel more comfortable.
I'm not exactly sure why God has brought so many of you into our family's life. Many of you have been a part of this unique community for years and years. You've walked with us through the ho-hum days and the life altering days.
You've laughed with me about my kids peeing and pooing in all the wrong places, when they ate ants and when they grab the rears of perfect strangers.
You've hurt with me as we've said goodbye to foster kids, were going through our adoption and had two failed placements...
You've walked this road with us and we're thankful.
I don't know how to say this in a pretty way, so I'll just say it...
Maybe the Radical Series is another journey God wants us to take together.
What if...I mean really...what if God desires to add a new thumbtack to your life and He is using this blog and its annoying author to beg and plead with you to listen to the Radical Series. Maybe that's why you are here...reading...laughing...walking this crazy road with our family.
The Radical Series has changed us. We're going to continue to write about our journey and share our lives right here with the people we love. We want to have a written record of all the things God has done in our lives. But...if you haven't listened to the Radical Series, I'm afraid you're not going to understand us. I don't think you'll feel connected to this journey as much as I would like for you to be. We want you to come along with us...to be wrecked by Jesus, yes...but the good kind of eye-opening, life altering wreck that leaves us loving God more and wanting to find this life...real life...He has waiting for us.
This series shook us so hard that we can't find all the pieces of our old life. Unlike Humpty Dumpty, our family's old life can never be put back together.
This week I'm going to write about four major areas where the Lord is calling us to drastically change in order to live in obedience to His Word.
After this series we can't continue living the way we've been living.
We've neglected and oppressed the poor.
We've neglected the orphan and the widow.
We've been totally flippant about missions. We've not gone. We've not sent.
We've lived a gluttonous, self-absorbed life in love with our possessions and ourselves.
God has strong words to say to people like us.
We're trusting God...asking Him for more faith...because we desperately want out of this bondage of self worship. We want to love what God loves, and hate the things he hates. We want to learn how to live for a kingdom we can't see...the only kingdom that matters.
Please, pretty please...
Will you listen to the series?
You can access it here...you can watch or listen, or put them on your ipod or something.
To find out more about David Platt you can go here. He's the pastor of The Church at Brook Hills in Alabama. This church is doing incredible things for God's Kingdom. Their story is incredible.
Jamie just informed me that The Gospel Coalition Blog is highlighting the Radical Series today. You can read what they have to say here.
I'm going to keep writing about all the things that God is teaching us.
If you don't listen to the series, you'll think we're getting crazier and crazier around here.
I know. I never would have thought that was possible.
Without listening to the series, you'll sort of get the 1D effect. If you listen to the series...believe us...it will be more like the 3D effect. We all know...3D can sort of make your stomach hurt, but it's undeniably cooler.
8 comments:
ok i am techology illiterate....
can someone PLEASE tell me how I can save these to my comp/ upload them on my ipod. Brian and I want to listen to this series, but we don't have internet in our apartment. So we can't sit down at night and listen!!
HELP!
just wanted you to know that the Gospel Coalition Blog is highlighting this sermon series in a post today
http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/tgc/
Thanks Jamie! I added that info to the post.
Whitney...I think Aaron is posting instructions. I can't wait for you and Brian to listen!
Heather
I never thought these sermons would change our life. I never thought they would make such an impact. I mean, we have read these scriptures and heard messages over them for years-- what was going to be different? Oh my, how wrong we were.
We are forver changed, we are "wrecked". Some days I wish I wouldn't have answered your phone call about these sermons, but more days than not I am beyond thankful. We are spurred on and encouraged by y'all and we are so glad we have y'all to be crazy with.
We are excited (and scared silly) to see what the coming days, weeks, and years hold. No matter what we will forever link this huge change with y'all and all of the other families going through this. God is so great to completely break us apart and then build us back up together, in community. We couldn't do this without community.
You can download the sermons from iTunes.
I just looked up David Platt in iTunes.
Under Podcasts, click on "Brook Hills Audio".
In the massive list that comes up, scroll back to the sermon on 9/6/08, "What the Gospel Demands".
That's the first one in the series or 8 messages.
All the sermons from 9/6/08 through 10/25/08 are the Radical Series of messages.
Download and ... "enjoy."
I am SO excited that you are going to be making more posts about this. We listened to them all and like you said, we will never be the same.
Let me ask you though, are you struggling with having this desire to change and that desire is making people that act the way you used to act seem so annoyingly irresponsible with their money and their ways? Does that make sense? I am having a hard time with this now... we are working on it and praying about it, but seriously, it's like I want everyone else to be convicted the way we are, and it's to something that they haven't even heard or been willing to listen to. We have tried to share it with people, but they either don't want to listen or they don't have time, and that hurts my heart.
Anyway, this is life-changing for sure! I can't wait to see what you've been challenged with and compare it to what we're going through over here. My family thinks we're crazy now, and that's becoming a hard thing to handle! Praying for you as you share your heart!
I will be praying for you and the others who are taking this journey. Growing pains well are painful but the results with God are wonderful.
Thank you also to Aaron for singing at our son's Jonathan "bob" Fields funeral. It was a blessing to us.
Diane...
Aaron was blessed to be asked to do the music for the funeral. Please know you are all in our prayers. We loved your son.
Jessica...
I know what you're saying. I guess I just ask God to give me grace and help me to be mindful of the grace He has given me, even when I'm totally disobedient.
Besides, even if we make changes in our lives because of this message, it's still humbling to know that we will never really know what it's like to live like the majority of the world. So that keeps me from being prideful. usually.
Heather
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