...then he was strong.

I begin writing this post with a hurting heart. As a lifelong member of the ACA family, the most well known and most loved member of our family has gone to be with our Father in paradise. The whole school, past and present, is aching with the loss of such an amazing, faithful, and humble man, but it is important we see the light at the end of the tunnel. Mr. Danny Logan has gone to live in Heaven with His creator and the greatest lover of his soul, He left an impact I cannot even imagine leaving on this earth, and I believe this morning he heard the words, "Well done, my good and faithful servant." Wow, what a place He must be in right now, seeing the light He has been living for his whole life. 
I know myself and every other person at ACA has never met such a kind hearted and hardworking man, and I am honored to say that I grew up with Mr. Danny around and have watched the way he interacted with my age group and I
and now with the kids of daycare who are in the shoes I once was in, and Mr. Danny's character and charisma and pure joy has never changed. No matter what has been thrown at him on this earth, he has now gone to be home forever. To experience real joy and real life that we cannot fathom here on earth. I believe God has given me this verse, which I read yesterday morning, in order to teach me and hopefully reach someone else through it. 

"For the sake of Christ, then, 'I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Corinthians 12:10)

There is no person I can think of that exemplified this verse like Mr. Danny. As the man who did everything at ACA, especially the things no one else could or wanted to do, he never complained, never boasted, and never let his position get in the way of his purpose. He could never be recognized enough to portray the amount of honor and love he deserves, and more importantly, he would've never allowed himself to be recognized for the things he did. He did it because he loved our ACA family, he loved the Lord, and he lived with an unexplainable joy and strength that came from the small jobs and the big jobs alike that he did. For when (Mr. Danny) was weak, then He was strong. 

into the dog house

This post is going to start as a story, turn into a dramatic scene (by yours truly), and hopefully turn into some truth; let's just see where God takes it. 

The Story:

Let me start with some background information on me and my family and situation. Every Monday me and my brother "move" to the opposite parent's house and load up everything we own and have to unload it when we get home. Also happening every Monday is chapel for 252 (college internship at Church of the Highlands), and usually turns out to be one of the highlights of my week. So I go to chapel after a day of work, then come home later and have to unload my car and unload every piece of clothing I have and make my room look neat again so I can feel comfortable going to bed. I have started to notice a trend on the Mondays that we move to my moms house, and the second I leave chapel and head home and especially when I get in the driveway, satan starts talking to me. He tells me lies and takes away from me the joy and revelation I may have just had at chapel, the refueling of me spiritually that keeps me going throughout the week, and he snatches it away from me in a second. This is how he does it. 

The Scene: 

First of all, it is always raining the day we move. ALWAYS. Which mean the yard is wet and I can't park near the door to unload my crap. Problem 1. The first thing that pops into my head when I take a step into the door is "welcome to the dog house." The enemy is taking something I am a bit bitter about (we have 4 dogs inside, and that story is for another day) and expanding it into something ridiculous and annoying. The smell welcomes me in along with the wet feet and licking of dogs while I am carrying in everything I own. Problem 2. Next, I come in with my hands too full and bags on both shoulders and cannot fit through the hallways and end up knocking down baby gates that are there for the dogs as the dog pack comes prancing behind me. Problem 3. Then, it is usually late, I cannot fit through the doorways, it smells like dog pee, and I have to unload my bags and do a million other things before I can finally go to bed. Problem 4. And to add to all of this, today, the second I left church I got a horrible headache and it made sure to follow me all the way through the dog and rain drama. Problem 5.

The Truth: 

So you are probably thinking I am stupid and dramatic at this point, and I can't say I blame you, but just bear with me and hopefully I can shine some light on the situation. I know satan is attacking me when I am in a good place because he is afraid of what is possible if I stay there. If I was able to share the love of Jesus to my family by being a servant, or if I could be pleasant about the things that annoyed me instead of blowing up about them then God would most definitely be magnified. Ultimately, if I could see the huge, amazing things God is doing in my life and overlook the little things satan is doing to distract me, my enemy would be under my feet. Maybe it is as simple as taking more trips to the car with fewer things, not breathing out of my nose when I walk in, and seeing the dogs jumping on me as love instead of getting mad about it- but satan is set out to convince me that those things are important. I am on this earth to be a light to everyone around me, not only people I don't know, but the people I know and love. God put me in the family He did, in the house He did, and in the situation He did for a reason, even if I might not know yet what that reason is. It is not an accident that we have too many dogs or that the smell of dog pee creates anger and bitterness in me, all of these small things are there to prepare me and teach me for the big things. Spiritual warfare is something so present in the life of every believer of Jesus Christ, and I believe recognizing it is just as important as fighting it, because you can never fight it until you see it. That is how satan wants it to be, easy to overlook and even easier to get caught up in. I am declaring over me, and everyone who read this, that we will see the world and the big and small situations the way that God does, and not the way satan does. That we will overlook the small unimportant things and enjoy the big things God is doing for us. And ultimately, that we would stop going into the "dog house", and take a few steps into the love and joy God has for us in whatever place we are headed.

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms."                 Ephesians 6:12 NIV