Happy Monday

When My Wild Heart Pushes the Boundary

By Lysa TerKeurst
 
"LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places..." Psalm 16:5-6a (NIV)
"Mrs. TerKeurst, your dog ran away to our house ... AGAIN."

"Mrs. TerKeurst, I think I might have just seen your dog running down the street."

"Mrs. TerKeurst, this is one of your neighbors. Just letting you know we're about to drop off your dog—we saw him running around our neighborhood."

"Mrs. TerKeurst, this is the animal clinic. I believe we have your dog."

"Mrs. TerKeurst, do you own two dogs?"

I own three dogs. But my two outside dogs, Champ and Chelsea, are sometimes delinquent. I love them. They love me. But they love running away more. Even though we didn't have a fence, we had other systems in place to keep them safely at home!

I can't tell you the number of sleepless nights I've had fretting over my dogs. Several times we've enlisted our friends to pray for Champ and Chelsea. But this sort of backfired on us once.
One of our friends knew Champ had gone missing and miraculously found him in a yard miles from our home. He was amazed Champ had run so far. He pulled into the driveway, coaxed Champ into his car, and called me with breathless excitement to announce he'd found my beloved dog.
But five minutes before my friend got to my house, Champ came home. When my friend pulled into my driveway carrying a Champ lookalike, we both about fell over. My friend had kidnapped someone else's dog—right from their front yard!

Oh my glory be.

It was time to do something.

I used to think invisible fences were cruel. I couldn't stand the thought of my dog getting a shock. So, I looked into getting a regular fence. But we live in the country and installing a regular fence was simply out of the question.

An invisible fence it would have to be. After all, a shock to keep them inside the safe boundary is a lot better than what might happen outside the boundary.

Boundaries aren't cruel barriers meant to keep my dogs from freedom. They are protective restrictions meant to define where safe freedom can be found.

And my dogs aren't the only ones who need to remember this lesson. I need to remember this, and apply it to the protective restrictions God has for me.

Why? Because there's usually some sort of boundary my wild heart tries to push against.
Have you ever found yourself rationalizing some situation in your life where you know you aren't doing what God said we should do?

Does God really want us to love our enemies? Is it really important to not let the sun go down on my anger? Do I really need to pray and read my Bible every day? Oh, grumbling isn't so bad ... I mean everyone finds something to complain about.

I push against the boundaries. Sometimes I even break through them. But what's waiting on the other side isn't freedom.

Oh Lord, let my wild heart always remember ...

Your instructions, Your boundaries, aren't cruel barriers to keep me from freedom. They are protective restrictions meant to define where safe freedom can be found.
And Lord, if You can teach this same lesson to my dogs, my neighbors, friends and I would be ever so grateful.

Dear Lord, thank You for the protective hand that You have placed over me. Cultivate in me an obedient heart that seeks to live in the safe freedom of Your boundaries. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Shall We Gather at the River

1. Shall we gather at the river, 
 where bright angel feet have trod, 
 with its crystal tide forever 
 flowing by the throne of God? 
Refrain:
     Yes, we'll gather at the river, 
      the beautiful, the beautiful river; 
      gather with the saints at the river
      that flows by the throne of God. 

2. On the margin of the river, 
 washing up its silver spray, 
 we will walk and worship ever, 
 all the happy golden day. 
 (Refrain) 

3. Ere we reach the shining river, 
 lay we every burden down; 
 grace our spirits will deliver, 
 and provide a robe and crown. 
 (Refrain) 

4. Soon we'll reach the shining river, 
 soon our pilgrimage will cease;
 soon our happy hearts will quiver 
 with the melody of peace. 
 (Refrain) 

Daily Smile:
As a senior citizen was driving down the freeway, his car phone rang. Answering, he heard his wife's voice urgently warning him, "Herman, I just heard on the news that there's a car going the wrong way on 280. Please be careful!"

"Heck," said Herman, "It's not just one car. It's hundreds of them!"

In The News:

Florida Judge Rules Homosexual Threesome Can Be Named on Baby's Birth Certificate
A Florida judge has ruled that a gay man who fathered a child via artificial insemination may be listed on the girl's birth certificate along with the two lesbian women that are raising her, the Christian News Network reports. The ruling ends a two-year legal battle between the women and their friend, who they approached to help them produce a child. Maria Italiano, 43, and Cher Filippazzo, 38, turned to Massilmiliano Gerina three years ago to ask if he would consider being a sperm donor so they could have a baby. When he agreed, the three made a verbal agreement that Filippazzo would adopt the baby and the two women would raise it. However, just before the baby was born, Gerina reportedly changed his mind and stated that he did not want to merely be the donor, but he wanted to have a parental role in the child's life. The women disagreed and did not want Gerina to be listed on the birth certificate as the baby's father, but Gerina hired an attorney and began to fight for legal recognition in the courts. Last week, Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge Antonio Marin ruled that Gerina's name could be placed on the birth certificate along with Italiano and Filippazzo, making the baby the child of three parents.

Pope Expected to Live Out a Quiet Retirement in Vatican Monastery
Pope Benedict XVI will continue living inside the Vatican once his retirement becomes official at the end of the month, but observers say he will probably keep a low profile both before and after the election to choose his successor, the Religion News Service reports. The 85-year-old German will officially step down from the papacy at 8 p.m. local time on Feb. 28. As the Roman Catholic Church prepares for the election of a new pope, Benedict will move to the papal summer residence in Castel Gandolfo, just outside of Rome, and after the election he will settle in a former cloistered convent inside the Vatican walls, which is currently being renovated, according to the Vatican's chief spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. Benedict will "lead a life of prayer" and will be free to "move and communicate with the public" as he pleases, Lombardi said.