So last Saturday was a marathon with our younger son and his girlfriend doing a co-ed baby shower (this should be illegal; can someone find a verse in the Bible that will let us guys off?) and then Gordon playing in the Satyricon! Sunday morning the sunshine was so nice as I felt like I had a hangover.
It was so wonderful to see a huge number of people come out for the baby shower - people we hadn't invited, friends from Seattle, LaGrande and and even Beaverton! The kids were so thrilled.
Gordon's show was packed out and he even sold some of his new t-shirts (pictures to follow soon). I had a friend pick up two packs of earplugs and gave them all out, not thinking an old rock and roll guy like mewould need them. Oh my . . . what a surprise. This was the loudest concert I've ever been to . . . hurt, hurt, hurt! So many friends came out - the energy was amazing and Gordon's band did fantastic. His next show is an acoustic set on May 25 @ 3p.m. Why not come visit us at the Portland campus and then go to lunch and THEN do the show? It's at the Muddy Waters Coffee House on Belmont and SE 29th (a cool hangout area) -NO earplugs needed!
Speaking of building memories, growing friendships, and love, today's Oswald Chambers was so amazing! Speaking of love OC says,
"Love is not premeditated— it is spontaneous; that is, it bursts forth in extraordinary ways. There is nothing of precise certainty in Paul’s description of love. We cannot predetermine our thoughts and actions by saying, "Now I will never think any evil thoughts, and I will believe everything that Jesus would have me to believe." No, the characteristic of love is spontaneity."
Love is like breathing, we do it naturally. When our hearts move into friendship, and then grow into a deep, trusting love, we then breath out a new spontaneous attraction to Jesus. I often do things for Laura that so make her smile and feel alive, accepted, cherished without even thinking about it. Why? I've spent 33 years growing a trust, reminding myself of how valuable she is to me (and me to her) and seeing her light up when I do, think, say the things that affirm our love. It's become spontaneous - not a list, no "grocery list" that gets checked off. This is the true nature of love.
I do plan out, and dream ahead of ways to bless her, but it's not so she will love or accept me more. There isn't an hint of trying to prove anything to her. It comes from the joy of knowing I've learned how to fill her up. Try reading Oswald's ideas (link above) and then do an inventory of your relationships. What's at the core?
Again, my British friend nails it when he said,
"The fountains from which love flows are in God, not in us. It is absurd to think that the love of God is naturally in our hearts, as a result of our own nature. His love is there only because it "has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit . . ." ( Romans 5:5 ).If we try to prove to God how much we love Him, it is a sure sign that we really don’t love Him. The evidence of our love for Him is the absolute spontaneity of our love, which flows naturally from His nature within us."
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