Rand Rambles

You who sit down in the High God’s presence,
spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow,
Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!”

That’s right—he rescues you from hidden traps,
shields you from deadly hazards.
His huge outstretched arms protect you—
under them you’re perfectly safe;
his arms fend off all harm.

Fear nothing—not wild wolves in the night,
not flying arrows in the day,
Not disease that prowls through the darkness,
not disaster that erupts at high noon.

Even though others succumb all around,
drop like flies right and left,
no harm will even graze you.

You’ll stand untouched, watch it all from a distance,
watch the wicked turn into corpses.
Yes, because God’s your refuge,
the High God your very own home,

Evil can’t get close to you,
harm can‘t get through the door.
He ordered his angels
to guard you wherever you go.
If you stumble, they’ll catch you;
their job is to keep you from falling.

You’ll walk unharmed among lions and snakes,
and kick young lions and serpents from the path.

“If you’ll hold on to me for dear life,” says God,
“I’ll get you out of any trouble.
I’ll give you the best of care
if you’ll only get to know and trust me.

Call me and I’ll answer, be at your side in bad times;
I’ll rescue you, then throw you a party.
I’ll give you a long life,
give you a long drink of salvation!”

Psalm 91 The Message

This is a quick post about something awesome that my church is doing. In the offering time, they have 2 boxes for cash offerings. People that can give come and give their offerings in cash and it is placed in these boxes.

These 2 boxes filled with cash are open for anyone in the Church that is currently in some type of financial need to come and take money to satisfy their needs.

I personally think that this is awesome!

It’s great to see a Church like The Oaks Fellowship who cares about people and their needs. Love it.

Today I spent some good time with  my Dad. We always have some great conversations which always show me how wise and experienced in life my Dad is and how much I still have to learn, good stuff. We stopped at the home of my childhood, where I spent most of it and it’s incredible how little things I saw could stir my mind and bring memories from my childhood. Something so simple as a stained floor, a plant pot or a tree can just stir your mind and remind you of times when life was not as complicated, and it felt good. But even though I am a grown adult now and life is harder than it used to be in many ways I am thankful for what I’ve seen and been through, good times and bad times, it has all made me the man I am now and will help me in becoming the man that I am to be. I think I’ve always been a very optimistic person, I like to see good and purpose on every situation on every hardship as difficult as they may be. As I have written before, 2009 has tested me on that and right now I’m thinking about it. No matter if I don’t know where I am going, what I’m doing, or what I will do, It’s all good.

There is always a bigger picture… and I am not the one painting it.

Here are some of the photos of my trip so far… The property where I grew up, My Aunt’s Christmas wonderland, some great food, My dad flying his airplanes, My brother, Thanksgiving, my Grandma and me on my Mom’s pink snuggie.

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There are many times in life when we offer all we are to God, we promise to live for him and to give him all we have just to find ourselves, soon after that, doing the same things that we promised we would never do again. This song, by Derek Webb just kicks me in the face… 

I am so easily satisfied by the call of lovers less wild.

I am thankful that, even after denying Jesus, simple men like Peter had the chance to come back and start again. I am thankful that I have been able to come back, time and time again, after messing up, after wallowing in the mud and eating all sorts of crap, I received chances that I did not deserve.

Mercy.

Here’s  the song by Derek Webb… The Wedding Dress.

Lyrics:

If you could love me as a wife and for my wedding gift, your life. Should that be all I’ll ever need or is there more I’m looking for. And should I read between the lines and look for blessings in disguise to make me handsome, rich, and wise. Is that really what you want?

I am a whore I do confess, I put you on just like a wedding dress and I run down the aisle. I’m a prodigal with no way home but I put you on just like a ring of gold and I run down the aisle to you.

So could you love this bastard child, though I don’t trust you to provide, with one hand in a pot of gold and with the other in your side. I am so easily satisfied by the call of lovers less wild, that I would take a little cash over your very flesh and blood.

Because money cannot buy a husband’s jealous eye when you have knowingly deceived his wife.

I believe it is wise to live under authority. I am talking about healthy authority not someone that commands you as a slave and does things only for their well being but someone that will guide you in wisdom and correct you when needed. I really miss that. A while ago I had a mentor, for just a couple of months, I would meet with this person for coffee and we would talk about life and what things I could do to make it better, also what things I should stop doing in order to not be a mess. It worked, it was just great, him and his wife were awesome to me. But, I didn’t want to be a burden to them and started creating a gap which got even bigger when they got pregnant. I didn’t call. He didn’t call. Communication ended. Mentorship over. This awesome family now are missionaries in Mexico and even though it was a short mentoring time it gave me a good taste of something that I now long for.

My question is: how does this work? What are the boundaries? I really don’t like to be a burden for anyone, which sometimes makes me anti-social. But after experiencing for a while having a mentor I miss it. I believe in the power of accountability, on having someone mature that you trust with situations that you don’t share with everyone. I do have accountability partners that keep me in check but I believe that with mentorship, there is also leadership, there is an authority which is not there with just a friend.

Maybe I’m weird on this but I wouldn’t mind having a mentor invading my life and keeping me in check. I think I need that. When I was in Puerto Rico I didn’t specifically had a mentor but since I was in leadership there was always authority, being in Dallas and not a part of a specific ministry or in leadership I don’t feel a lot of covering over some areas of my life. I mean, the Church I go to is awesome but it has been hard for me to connect with someone that I can just flat out tell them: Would you be by mentor? I’m not even sure if that’s the way to go about it. Maybe people are too busy. People have families, jobs, ministries and other problems, how can they possibly have time to mentor someone?

I don’t know I am just rambling but I want your input. What has your experience been? Do you have a mentor? Do you mentor someone? Can a mentorship be long distance by using today’s technologies?

What would you suggest to a person that is looking for a mentor?