Sunday, November 4, 2012

Go Now, Write It on a Scroll as an Everlasting Witness

This morning, I consider the strange call to . . . blog. Blogging? What a weird little genre of writing! I remember in Isaiah 30:8 that simple command to "Go now, write it on a scroll so that in days to come it may be an everlasting witness." I know this command was specifically for the prophet, but something about it rings true today. Something about recording the Lord's work--actually writing it down--matters so much. I think about creating a document for my children that's an "everlasting witness" to the Lord's work.

I think about Psalm 102 and the words, "Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord."

What if I simply recorded it all? Here's what God is doing. Here's what God has done. I don't want to forget. I don't want my children to forget.

I especially don't want to forget the nuggets of wisdom I find during the day. For example, on Thursday night, my husband and I took a missionary couple to dinner. They had been in Eastern Europe, raising their family and faithfully serving the Lord for decades. After all this time, their passion and love just oozed out of them.

"What's your secret to persevering all these years and keeping your joy? What's your best advice for us?" we ask them.

I learn two things that I want to pass on. First, they tell us to be certain of our calling from God and to not expect others to understand this special assignment. They advised us not to compare ourselves with others--either falling into the trap of superiority or inferiority--and to press on into our specific calling. We don't have to look like other families look. We don't have to do what other families are doing. And we don't expect them to behave just as we do.

Second, they said the big secret to perseverance was "understanding the Biblical definition of rest." They counseled us to "rest well" since there will always be too much work to do in a day.

Be certain of your calling. Rest well. 

There, I wrote it down to remember it. I wrote it down for you and my children as well.

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Do you record the Lord's work either in a blog or a journal?

7 comments:

Elaine said...

I began to blog last year but find it hard to really share my heart, frequently wondering if there is any real purpose to the trying.

This very morning I was asking the Lord if there was any purpose to it all. I am ready to stop. Then, this post and an invitation to consider things anew, perhaps to get back to work.

Roberta Beach said...

I did in a Wordpress blog but then maintaining 3 blogs got a bit much so I stopped. I've never been good at journaling but I like this idea and REALLY appreciate the wisdom shared by your company. My home is no longer a "normal" home - it is a large, human occupied dog house arranged for the comfort of the Sanctuary dogs - and yes, I have a room of my own :).

Kristi Bartlett said...

I re-found your blog about a month ago. I say re-found because I attended your "writing with flair" seminar at the Cru Staff Conference two summers ago, at which point I wasn't writing a blog, but was trying to motivate myself to write better prayer letters. You talked about blogging, and your blog, and planted a seed in my head that I finally removed from my head and planted into a blog of my own. And yes, I am trying to make my blog a place where I record what the Lord is teaching me, so that I can have a record of it, and others can hopefully benefit from it too! :) I'm definitely still working on adding the flair to the writing, but here it is!: http://becomingher.com

Heather Holleman said...

Awesome!!! Great blog, Kristi!

Heather Holleman said...

So glad!!! Keep writing! SOMEONE will read it!

Heather Holleman said...

Love those dogs!!!

Kristi Bartlett said...

Thank you!