Summer is fast approaching.  Soon it'll be time to break out the Coppertone, swim suits, hiking boots, and good reads.  For some of you, the arrival of summer will bring vacation travel and you will be dashing about your house hoping you remembered to pack your toothbrush and underwear.  Confessional.  I have forgotten either on various trips. Here's what I know - having a packing list saves you a trip to the dollar store on the flip side.

This week, our DFF gals will be doing a little packing as well, but our destination may not be in your atlas.  We'll be sharing packing tips for our favorite residence of the heart - the Kingdom of God.

“Change is good. You go first.” Perhaps that’s what those guys were thinking after being locked in the upper room for three days. My guess is, no one had put so much as a toe outside of the room since that horrible day. I bet they were itching for a change of scenery and maybe even a change of clothes. But given the fact that the man they intimately and publicly followed for three years was just brutally murdered, and there were threats on the street to do the same to each of them…well, as I said, not one toe.

But the thing is, they did eventually leave that room. A few years back, I heard a sermon from Rev. Dave Rochford at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church of Daleville, Virginia which addressed this truth. The idea which Rev. Rochford presented has stuck with me ever since. The most puzzling thing about the disciples leaving that locked room is that they didn’t skulk out under cover of night. They came out bold and brazen. They got in the faces of those who facilitated the crucifixion of Christ and publicly accused them of killing the Son of God.

What kind of change of heart could have facilitated such a reaction? The kind that saw a living, breathing, eating, talking Jesus before their very eyes, three days after he was killed on a cross. That’s what happens, you see. When you realize that the resurrection is the real deal, that it took cowering men, and made them unflinching martyrs, it changes your heart completely.

Without the resurrection, you can scrap everything I’ve said this week. In fact, you can scrap everything anyone has ever written, said or believed about the promises and the love of God. None of it makes sense without Jesus’ victory over death.

But with the resurrection…new frontiers are forged, new identities are embraced, new plans are made, and lives take on colors that take the world’s breath away.

Can I get an Amen?

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10

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My puppy is sick. My “puppy” is 11 years old. I'm no fool, I know the typical lifespan of dogs. But in some strange way I still find it a challenge to conceive of the day when he is no longer by my side. And yet, there will be such a day. After a visit to the vet this morning, it turns out that day may come much sooner than I thought. It was a hard day.

Now, let me ask you something. If I cognitively understand the lifespan of canines, and can anticipate such a thing, then why am I not prepared for it? I’m sure we could come up with lots of reasons for that. Topping the list would be my favorite river, “Denial”. Death is a part of life, right? But that’s not a deep enough river for me.

What if the reason we struggle through the pain of grief so much is because we were not originally created for it? Perhaps our aversion to this sort of change is due to the presence of something divinely permanent – a sense of eternity within each of us. We were originally created in the image of Him who always was, always is and always will be. The Alpha and Omega. Him who doesn’t change but whose entire presence is eternal.

We were not created to die. We were created to live.

I believe remnants of this original design still linger within us. And I have a theory that these remnants are a Grace. Incomplete by their very description, it is the remnants of eternity, my friends, which remind us that we need to be restored. The echo of our original design drives us back to the Designer and makes us hunger for that single most breath-taking change in history…Resurrection.

Alleluia.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”– 1 Peter 5:10

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“There has been a slight change of plans.” When pulling together a wedding, good news rarely follows this announcement. As in the case of my wedding: There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of waking up healthy on your wedding day, you will have a fever of 101 and case of laryngitis so fierce that you will barely be able to croak out “in sickness and in health” when asked to do so, thus causing the entire congregation to laugh at the irony. Or in the case of my friend’s wedding a few weeks ago: There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of enjoying a long and lovely reception along the water, a sudden storm will roll in with a wind so strong it will very nearly rip the tent off of the dock causing all your guests to rush inside for safety, half of them in fancy clothes and looking like drowned rats.

Or how about in the case of Mary? There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of approaching your wedding day above reproach, you will be pregnant. The whole arrangement will be on the up and up, of course, being God’s child and all, but no one except you and Joseph will know that with certainty.

How about in the case of the Church? Yes, the church. We are the bride of Christ. This whole schmegegge is about approaching a Wedding Day. Or didn’t you know that? Try this on for size: There has been a slight change of plans. Instead of a faith journey in which you find yourself singing “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah, everything’s going my way”, you’re gonna suffer. You may not have enough money. You and your loved ones may not always be healthy. You may even lose one before you’re ready to. As part of your engagement to the King, you will be asked to you love your neighbor, even if they beat or berate you because they disagree with you.

Any number of “change of plans” may be announced during our engagement. But not to worry, the Wedding Planner has got it all under control. Christ wants everything to be just perfect for our Big Day. Here’s some Fast Fuel for thought: The pre-wedding plan-changing may all be part of the preparation in the first place.

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.” – 1 Peter 5:10

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Change can be hard, especially when it affects your identity. No, I’m not talking about the mild-mannered-citizen-by-day versus the shazam-super-hero-by-night kind of identity change. (Yes, I said “shazam”. It’s fun. Try it.) I’m talking about who-we-think-we-are identity change.

Let’s be honest. What happens when you go from Joe the Plumber, Joe the Homeowner, Joe the Marathoner, or Joe the Healthy and Wealthy…to Joe the Unemployed, Joe the Renter, Joe the Disabled, or Joe the Uninsured and Poor? Life crisis, right?

It happens. Identity changes like these are happening to many of us these days. So how do we ride the wave of emotions that come with the highs and lows of identity change?

Drop all of the identities mentioned above and any others you’re harboring. Go ahead, release your grip. Drop ‘em! Let them go and all the highs and lows that come with them. Embrace one more identity change. Just one. Then I promise you’ll never have to change it again. Really.

Repeat after me, “I am [YOUR NAME HERE], a child of the Most High God."

This one is forever. And ever and ever. Cool, eh?

Here’s some Fast Fuel for Thought: If you embrace identities that are subject to change at any time due to circumstances outside of your control, you may never know who you truly are.

God WANTS you to know. In fact, he has redeemed you. He has called you by name. You are his. (Isaiah 43:1) Tell me, who do you think YOU are? Is it time for a change?

“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.”
– 1 Peter 5:10

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Katie Pickard is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.

Sometimes the change we encounter in life requires us to pack up our wagons and head out to new frontiers. I am keenly aware of this truth because, if you’ve read my profile, you know that I have moved numerous times, most recently this past January. Though I should be an old pro at this, I confess that I always wonder if I will ever settle into my new home as well as I had in my last.

God gave me a great eye-opener a few weeks ago, however. I traveled up to the Chicago area for a wedding of an old friend. I spent a memorable weekend with some of my dearest friends from my season of life there in the Windy City. There are not words enough to describe how much I love these people, how much they feel like family to me, and how much joy they continue to bring to my life. In the midst of this reunion/celebration weekend, I was struck with a startling, yet obvious truth. Twelve years ago I didn’t know any of these dear folk. Not one of them.

God was reminding me to trust Him through change. Trust Him in new frontiers. Trust Him when the future looks uncertain. Trust Him when the past looks better than the present.

God also reminded me of Joseph (of the “Technicolor Dreamcoat”…or Genesis 37). Once upon a time, he had a decent life going. But Joseph’s own brothers sold him off to slavery and told his Dad he was dead. He was bought by an Egyptian whose wife accused Joseph of attempted rape. Regardless of seemingly insurmountable odds, Joseph ended up a high-ranking ruler in Egypt, was ultimately reunited with his family, and because of his journey was able to save them from famine.

How about your story? Are current circumstances making you dread the next chapter of your life? Or are you still brave enough to hope for the future? Allow me to remind you as God reminded me: Trust Him. Pack your wagon with confidence and courage. Forge ahead and hold unwaveringly to the belief that the final frontier will hold provisions you cannot even conceive of.

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Crisp air. Sweaters. Mums. Pumpkins. Apple Cider. Hearty Butternut Squash Soup. If I had a voice like Julie Andrews I would totally work these into my own version of “My Favorite Things” and belt it out in the shower. Perhaps my family is grateful that I do NOT sing like Julie Andrews! But I digress…

I love the Fall. LOVE. IT. I love the change of weather, the change of wardrobe, the change of menu, and most of all the change of leaves. I may be a Texan now, but during this season, my heart belongs to Virginia. Right now, at this very moment, I guarantee there are folks in my old town barely avoiding traffic accidents for gawking at the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains. The hillsides are on FIRE this time of year. We’re talking take-your-breath-away color, people. This is the kind of change I love.

Then there’s the other kind of change. There is the change that threatens to affect one’s personal life with uncertain outcomes and challenge one’s world with tough, sacrificial choices. Yep, THAT change. The scary one. (Now we’re talking Halloween!) I saw a sign today that perfectly sums up how I feel about that kind of change:



My family has made a lot of big changes in the last year. My guess is, as I read the national and international news, your family has too. The economy is a lot like the old gray mare. She ain’t what she used to be. The world today presents many uncertainties to consider and tough choices to make. So how do we, who are asked to trust the Lord in all things, endure with grace the changes that we have been faced with? Easy.

Pay attention to those who went first.

Walk with me this week and meet some folks who have taken the hard steps through unnerving uncertainty and persevered until they reached take-your-breath-away color.

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Katie Pickard is your server this week! Find out more about her here and don't forget to sign up for updates by email or RSS before you go.