Killing the Dream

Do you have a dream? Do you have something you have been struggling with? Are you holding onto something or someone too tightly and squeezing the life out of it?

I was reading Genesis 22 this morning about Abraham being tested. Read it and then come back...

Can you see it unfold? God didn't ask Abraham to sacrifice his son if he felt like it. God didn't give him option 1 or option 2. He didn't provide promises that it wouldn't hurt or that he was just joking and life would carry on as before.

No. He told him to go and do this terrible thing, kill his son as a sacrifice to God. Abraham was 100 when Sarah had Isaac. 100...that's unbelievable. So Isaac was a miracle child, the glory of his fathers old age, the promise of God fulfilled. And he was going to die.

I have read this story many times but for the first time vs. 14 struck me as probably the most profound of the entire passage.

It says: "So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided' ".

What was significant about the mountain? Abraham had to show his willingness by actually taking the items he would need for the sacrifice...wood, fire and Isaac and making the trip. The mountain would be the place of painful sacrifice but also great deliverance and more importantly the avenue for greater blessing.

Just as Abraham is about the bring the knife down on his son God yells at him. STOP! Don't lay a hand on your son!

We all have areas in our lives that we want supreme control over. So this "thing" in your life...has it been a miracle, an answer to years of prayer like Abraham's son Isaac was? Or is it something that you have struggled with and can't move past?

 

We still have the free will to say NO I won't sacrifice this, I won't give it up, I won't lay it down. It's mine and you can't have it Lord! But what did God do on the mountain? He ACKNOWLEDGED Abraham's faith by PROVIDING another sacrifice and BLESSED Abraham and the rest of the world as a result of that faith.

 

Lay down whatever it is in your life that needs to be sacrificed to the Lord. Your hopes, dreams, fears and struggles. God will use that faith as an avenue for great blessing in your life and the lives of those who surround you!

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on this passage so please leave me a note in the comments!

 

From the Outhouse to the Penthouse

We just got back from Washington, DC. We won this trip through a fundraising event...it was the mother of all prizes. I never win anything so I  thought I would make a donation to this particular prize pack and be happy for whoever would win it.

Low and behold I won the whole thing! Airfare and accommodation for 2 anywhere in the continental US or Canada. New York here we come!!! Except that when we started looking for flights and hotels we couldn't get any of the dates we wanted.

Our second choice was Washington, DC. I must honestly say, I wasn't very excited about it. Seriously?! Big city with puffed up, arrogant people who think they run the entire country? OK! they do run the entire country. The White House and Capitol Hill...that would be alright but what else would we do all week?

We arrived at the hotel a little stunned...from the lobby we could see Capitol Hill! It was beautiful, we couldn't wait to get out and start exploring. We tried to check in only to find out that the additional nights we had booked couldn't be found anywhere and we had not been given a room with a king bed as we had requested.

Two double beds? You've got to be kidding me! Now, sometimes a double bed might be kind of fun but when you've been on your feet for 12 hours and you're exhausted you end up sounding like your kids did when they were young. Move over! You're touching me! I'm hot! Roll the other way!

There was only one way to resolve the issue, we slept in separate beds. First time in our married lives that we've been in different beds while in the same room, on holiday's, supposed to be having fun. Wow.  I must say, I did sleep well though!

Our first tour was of Capitol Hill which was interesting. You get frisked and scanned at the entrance, bags checked for bombs and other touristy paraphernalia and then you are allowed to enter the sacred halls of the US government.

As we exited the building we had our noses pressed to our map trying to decipher street names and landmarks when all of a sudden this man on a peddle bike stopped right in front of us. He had on a full suit complete with helmet and backpack...interesting.

We chatted with him for over 20 minutes. He gave us a quick history and geography lesson, oriented us to where we were in relation to our map and sent us on our way. Nice person #1 in DC was a Historical Architect.

The National Mall was where we were headed and a wonderland of Smithsonian museums! Somehow hubby tricked me into passing right by the Library of Congress Jefferson Building and not going in with promises that we'd catch it on the way back...we must be going back!!

Rounding the West side of the Capitol building out came the map to double check where we wanted to go. A very large policeman asked us if he could help us. We chatted it up with him, trying to figure out how on earth you would pronounce his name. His badge said "B. Dqqky".

Now, how would you pronounce that? Try to wrap your tongue around it and see what you think. Yup...us too, didn't have a clue. We worked up the courage to ask him what his name was. Big Dqqky (pronounced like dookie). In Canada a dookie means something other than what it must mean in the US...we suddenly became very busy trying to keep a straight face. Nice person #2, our new friend Big Dqqky.

All in all we spent 5 wonderful days in Washington. We saw the Supreme Court, Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, National Museum of Natural History and the National Portrait Gallery. Went to see a Washington Capitals hockey game and also went on a night tour to the White House, Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, Korean War Monument,Thomas Jefferson Memorial, Lincoln Memorial and others.

We also took a bus trip to Georgetown for dinner along the Potomac River and went to see a movie. Our last day we took another bus into New York city for a day of sightseeing. We packed so much into that week that by the time we were ready to come home I had blisters on my feet and my arches felt like they had fallen.

Oh yes, we also met a priest on our second last day. He was on his way to perform a wedding ceremony and said some very kind words to us. Nice person #3.

During the week the hotel upgraded us to a king-suite for all of our trouble and magically found the other nights we had added to our booking. Our last morning we slept in and went for a late brunch to a great little restaurant before heading home.

We dubbed DC the city of suits. Well, we should add guns to that. Everyone is dressed to the hilt and there are a LOT of police around in full assault gear. Apparently it is illegal for anyone, other than law enforcement, in the federal area of DC to carry firearms or weapons of any kind...you would get a free pass to the state pen for 10 years min. if caught.

Lucky for us we hit the road the afternoon before the entire city came to a standstill with the shut-down. We wonder where that has left our three friends...does the architect have a job, has the policeman had to use his gun and is the priest saying last rites? We pray for a resolution to the deep issues the US is facing right now.

If all else fails, call Big Dqqky...he requested some Tim's coffee which is packaged up and being sent off on Monday. I speak from experience...Tim Horton's has always helped me deal with my deep issues. I say we flood the US with Tim's and avert a national disaster!