This is him taking your complaint seriously—taking YOU seriously, meeting you where you are in order to receive and then transform your heart. Finish your lament by offering a word of thanksgiving and gratitude for what you genuinely have experienced as his comfort and vital activity in your heart.

This, as I said, should be genuine. Not contrived, not artificial. Don't say things you don't mean. If you're not ready to do this, then rewind the tape and begin again. I think we can see how "complaint" alone feels so much more tepid, so much more flimsy. We were built for lament. To complain is, in and of itself, not to be seen as a bad thing; but by comparison, it is more akin to what toddlers do, developmentally, when a lament is made for adults.

Lament takes WORK. And much of the work involves our willingness to pay attention to the fact that God is participating in the lament with us. Lament, then, requires maturity; AND it also matures us in the process of entering into it. Complaint, at the end of the day, requires no maturity, and certainly does not bring us to a place of greater maturity on its own. Lastly, it is important to recall that lament is not a one and done thing.

I may have to repeat it. Over and over. As I may have mentioned on the call, I tend to think that IF I'm going to lament, I should be able to do it once, and then be finished.

To do it over and over somehow indicates that I haven't shared my feelings well enough—if I had, I wouldn't have to do this again and again. But here, we have good guides. Of the Psalms, full one third are understood to be ones of lament. Why do we need so many? Why not just one? Well, I think that's obvious; we need so many because there is so much to lament.

Whether you are a Board Chair or a Head of School, there is a presumed onus on you for your school to shine and succeed; to be effective in fulfilling its mission. Are you partners standing together in this, or does it feel more like a tug-of-war? I knew something was off because the surgery was expected to go into the afternoon. I received a phone call from one of the doctors who informed me of this news.

I was so disappointed. We are now in another classroom of waiting, and we don't know what the future holds. He simply is. He is not restricted by an action, characteristic or perception. This name speaks volumes about His character. Only God could use the language He created to describe Himself so beautifully. I AM omniscient. I AM omnipresent. I AM omnipotent. I AM loving. I AM the Creator. I AM the Father. I AM jealous. I AM comforting. I AM gracious.

I AM merciful. I AM here for you. I AM in control. I AM beyond words. This name of God gives me comfort every day. As I venture into the unknown of every new day, I know that He is. You are in all things, and I see that so clearly. Thank You for being the same yesterday, today, and forever. I had already chosen those powerful proclamations before I learned the confusing news of today.

Kim and I cried to realize how powerful and personal God is, that He would instruct us in what to believe before we even needed it. He is our compassionate God who gives us courage and strength to face the struggles of each day no matter what you and I face. Thank you for walking this journey with me. Kimberly and I had the privilege to slip away this week for a couple days to process and talk about my upcoming surgery and what we were feeling.

What a ride this has been! As we began talking, one thing that surprised us is that the treatment cycle and wait for surgery has been a catalyst for hurt feelings between us. So, at that moment, when we began to share hard feelings, we knew that God was with us. We are not alone, and we can safely share our feelings with God and each other. We realized that we both needed kindness and empathy, but the way we need it delivered is different based upon our personalities, brokenness, and sensitivity.

Please keep us in your prayers as we navigate the road to surgery and recovery together. I will report to the hospital at am this coming Thursday, Oct. God bless you so much. I love you more than I can adequately express. Your engagement in these efforts will be a huge part of Twin Cities Church being the hands and feet of Jesus to those who need to experience His love. Here are some highlights of upcoming opportunities to serve and give to our community.

Let me express my gratitude to the many volunteers who came to the church to sort and stack clothes, shoes, purses, hats, scarves, and accessories. It was such a thrill to see the joy-filled faces of women who left feeling valuable and with the feeling that someone cares. This is a huge help to the resource-challenged in our community. Just bring items from this list with your food donation. Stop by, get yours, make a box, and return it to Twin Cities by November This is a time where women and teenagers can come and shop for free to augment their wardrobe for the Fall and Winter seasons.

My heart is so moved each time we offer this event as I watch many women and girls shop with joy on their faces as they peruse the wonderful clothing items, shoes, and accessories donated by the generous women of our church. If you would like to help with set-up or tear-down or during the shopping, don't hesitate to get in touch with Mare. She will help you find a way to serve the women of our community and church who need our support.

So many families in our community get their first contact with our church through this event. On Wednesday, October 13, am, our children will dress in their most festive costumes and bring smiles to some of the folks at a local senior living establishment. This event is for families with children from birth through 5th grade.

Join us as we serve our community and bring joy to Golden Empire Nursing and Rehab Center residents with fun costumes and gifts. Children will need to dress in their friendly costumes, and we will provide gifts the children will give away to the residents. Call Chelsey Lanigan at John takes another turn in his writing to talk to us about our identity in Christ. The waiting to get a surgery date turned out to be longer than I would have imagined.

When I first started praying about possible dates, I had a hunch that it would be mid to late October. Well, after a flurry of phone calls the past couple of days, the UCSF surgical team told me that both of my surgeons were available on October I realized how right he was as I talked with the scheduling department.

I am incredibly grateful for your support through prayers and encouragement in this journey toward a healthy outcome. Please pray for our staff — I love how supportive they are — as we walk through the changes to our schedule to accommodate my recovery period.

If you would like to help with set-up or tear-down or during the shopping, please contact Mare. The natural outflow of that is that we want our small groups to be intentional in sharing life with each other. Our goal is that we will all find a place where we can know and be known, love and be loved, serve and be served, and celebrate and be celebrated as we grow to become more like Jesus.

This is where John warns his readers to be aware of false teaching being spread in his day. I believe that will make your church experience even richer! God is so faithful — our ever-present help in times of trouble. I had an opportunity to see this truth personally during a pressing time this week.

A couple of days ago, Kimberly and I were feeling the pressure of life. Give me the grace today to put my trust in You. O Father, I pray — for faith to believe that You rule the world in truth, justice, and love; for faith to believe that if I seek first Your Kingdom and righteousness, You will provide for my needs; for faith not to be anxious about tomorrow, but to believe that the love You have given me in the past will continue into the future; for faith to believe in ultimate victory of Your Holy Spirit over disease and death and all the powers of darkness.

He had John Baillie write these words in and preserved them in a book that made its way into my hands so I could pick them up on September 21, , and be encouraged by his prayers. You may be in a hard spot where you feel like God is absent or not working on your behalf. I want to remind you — as He reminded me — that even in dark storms of life, He is with you.

Let me encourage you to look for Him through His Word or through the thoughts of those who talk about their personal experiences with Him. Last Sunday was a day we set aside to draw more people into the thrilling fulfillment of engaging together to serve God through the opportunities in our church. It was exciting to read the responses as people made themselves available to be part of what God is doing through our church.

Serving is a great way to discover more profound purpose, develop new skills as we branch out and engage in new opportunities for more significant impact, and deepen our joy. Look here for ways you can belong. For a start, the people complained to Moses and Aaron. Their focus was very earthly compare Col It is as if they could not believe in anything not concretely in front of their eyes.

The complaining was not directed to the one who could solve the problem. Second, they had an unrealistic nostalgia about the way things used to be. They preferred the idea of going back to slavery, which seemed to them to be much better than their situation after their rescue. This is a serious lack of realism. Most significantly, the grumbling Israelites did not believe that God is good. They believed that he had some kind of secret agenda for them.

The miraculous deliverance from Egypt seemed irrelevant to the people. They thought that God has no follow-through, that he lies and had lured them out there with some miracles and with no good intent.

There was no faith despite the amazing things which had happened in the previous few days and weeks. Although deliverance from Egypt, destruction of their enemies in the sea and provision of water in the desert were powerful indicators of what kind of God is the LORD, they refused to trust in him.

When we look at the life of Jesus, we see the opposite to this attitude. After his baptism, Jesus went into the wilderness, just as Israel had done. There he did not eat for forty days. During this time there were no miracles.

He refused to demand a miracle; he refused to test the LORD; and he refused to worship anyone but the true God Matt At no point did Jesus complain or grumble. He demonstrated the faith that Israel as a nation lacked. It is on the cross, however, that we see how Jesus responded to severe stress and overwhelming sorrow.

He did not complain, but he did lament. The words of lament are the words of one who trusts in the God he cries out to. It is not a complaint of one who has no faith.