Broken, Grace, Worship

Edinburgh skyline 9 am

                                                    Caldercruix skyline 830 pm

So here we are in our little Scottish village.  We came with this huge sense of 'sentness', God calling, opening doors, clearing the way for a purpose.  Honestly it's very easy for me to take pride in that as if it was something particularly noteworthy in me that brought the 'call'.  God has his way of dealing with that.  Pride.  Funny/painful/humbling how God allows us to see what we are apart from him - this last week has been one of my hardest at being a 'good Christian' in a very long time... coming up over and over really short on the fruit of the Spirit.  Constantly having to confess my sin.  Right.  Whatever God is doing, it's all because of grace.  It's going to have to be because the raw material he has to work with here is just not going to cut it.  Ever. 

Man I love when he wakens my heart and mind to grace again.  It's all we've got. And there is more than enough.

So today my family is off visiting grandma, and I am filling the time in the evening  with a bit of mountain biking, and then picking up the guitar for a bit of worship.  I go to a seminary where we sing a Psalm a capella twice a day with incredible gusto, and today as we sang Psalm 100 - such beautiful music and rich words - I'm thinking, 'I can hear that going well with a bit of guitar.'  Now is my time to give it a go.   I start with a 4/4 rhythm but settle on a folksy 6/8.  I don't know what these folks here will think of me messing with their Scottish Psalter but it's doing my heart good to sing.

I finish up and I'm asking the Lord - so what are we here to do?  And I hear his whisper - 'you're here to worship me.'  I'm thinking, surely there are people here doing that already.  We certainly can join our voices with theirs to lift up the name of Jesus in our village.  But I hear him saying it again, 'you're here to worship me.'  And I feel the weight of 'mission' that in a sense I've put on myself being lifted off.  And I remember he just wants our hearts.  That the work he's begun in us, he completes it as we look to the cross, not as we see ourselves as oh so important and 'we'd better keep busy'.  And I remember that it was as the disciples worshiped Jesus that they heard that amazing word "go..." which launched the church into the nations and launched us into Caldercruix, Scotland.   I have a hunch that as we worship we just might become more like Jesus.  I for one need that.  And as we worship we just might hear him give us the next step.  Whatever comes, for us or for you, let him be given all the glory.  Because it's all his grace.

Oh - here's the song.  (wait 10 seconds till it starts:)). 

We're in Caldercruix, Scotland and guess what...God is here already

(Levi waving in front of the church in Caldercruix... it sits just beyond our front lawn!)

(above: our new home)

It has been good but challenging adjusting this week to live in a brand new place thousands of miles from everything and everyone familiar in Canada. 

Good because of the unbelievably thoughtful welcome from the church in Caldercruix, who - for us complete strangers - put effort and expense into renovating the manse we have moved into - all floors, walls painted, a bathroom fully renovated, garden updated, towels and curtain supplied.  And the retiring pastor who left much useful furniture for our benefit - couch, chair, wardrobes.  And Agnes' mom Effie went overboard getting the cupboards and fridge filled and buying and endless number of household essentials to make our landing here soft - beds /bedding/night tables,  dining table and chairs, dishes, dishsoap, shampoo, on and on.  And  Caldercruix is a beautiful little village of friendly people and kids who come to play in the churchyard in front of our house, renewing trails and breathtaking sunsets.

And challenging- missing loved ones, struggling for days just to get a cel phone working, learning we won't get home phone/internet til Sep 21, and feeling cut off from the world, jet lag, heading by train to the bank to open an account (two villages away) and forgetting my ID...   But today was special as we sensed the Spirit of God speaking his welcome to us.

The last song we heard in Comox was 'you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace.'  This was picked by a friend who unbeknownst to them, was singing the verse the Lord used to clearly, relentlessly call us on this adventure to Scotland.

We came to church late today, though we live 50 metres from the church door... missed the opening song but what was the first song we sung there - 'you shall go out with joy and be led forth with peace.' 

When I shared with the kids on June 13 that God was giving our family a new calling, I first read to them the disciples' call narrative from Mark 1 where they left their nets and followed Jesus.  Another song we sung in church today referred to that same story.   

At the heart of our journey has been simply seeking to listen for the Lord's call on lives.  A couple days ago  I read the boys Samuel's call story from their children's Bible - a story which encapsulates that idea (1 Sam 3).  What was the preacher's message today in church about ?   Samuel's call.

And we had a taste of our home church this morning - one of our new Caldercruix friends was introducing the church here to Operation Christmas Child - a Bay tradition.

We are where we need to be, and God will be and will give all we need.  God help us to remember that, and to be grateful for his plan and his call.  It's going to be good.