not to us

Six months ago, Lydia Grace Focosi entered the world but had to quickly say goodbye. As most of you know, Lydia's parents, Mike and Amy Focosi, are friends of ours. Lindsay and I had the opportunity to bless their family by singing a few songs at Lydia's memorial service. Today Mike and Amy have posted a video of the songs, and I thought that I would share it with our readers as well. It is our hope that God will continue to ease the pain for the entire Focosi family and that they can truly say "it is well with their soul" as the song says.

**From Lindsay:**
My Uncle Dan died just three days after Lydia.  Two days later, amidst a sea of grieving people, I found myself singing words like "When sorrows like sea billows roll, it is well with  my soul" and "You give the healing and grace our hearts always hunger for."  In one of my deepest times of grief, I could only sing those words in faith. 

At that time, all was not well with my soul.  I wanted my Uncle Dan back in my life for just five minutes, so I could let him play with Ruby just a little bit more, and I could tell him, truly, how much he meant to me.  I wanted Lydia to be healthy, alive, and snuggled comfortably in her mother's arms.  I did NOT want them in heaven.  That is the very last place I wanted them to be.  Sorrows were certainly rolling like the billowing waves of the sea, but my soul was not at rest.  My heart was hungering for healing in a way it had not hungered before and has not hungered since.

I sang those words believing that, in fact, I served a God who had nailed my sins to a cross.  A God who was powerful enough to wipe my slate clean, so that I bared them no more.  A God who knew what He was doing, even though things seemed very much out of control from my point of view.  When I sang, "Praise the Lord, o my soul", it was a command to my soul.  I had to tell myself, "Praise Him now.  He is worthy."  

Six months later, I can testify that the God who gives and takes away is the God who is, who was, and who will always be.  He is the God who gives the healing and grace that I have always hungered for.  He is the God who is healing me each day.  He is the God who has good plans for my future and for the Focosi Family's future.  He is the God who is in control.

He is the God who loves you more than you could ever imagine.  He is the God who is waiting to nail your sins to a cross, so you don't have to bear them anymore.  He is the God who is waiting to give you the healing and grace that you are hungering for.  He is the God who will stop at nothing short of giving his very own son, so that you can have a relationship with him.  He loves you.  He wants you.  If you haven't met him yet, please e-mail me.  I would love to introduce you. 

We take it for granted, friends. We serve a God who allows us to live for Him and make our own decisions. Does He expect us to make decisions that please Him and glorify Him? Of course! But I think we get bogged down in the legalities of “pleasing God.” We decide what music is good or bad, or if music itself is good or bad. We inadvertantly judge other peoples’ choices, and then we fall under a level of judgment, as well (even if we’re only judging ourselves.) It may be that I am just rambling, but I’m witnessing a friend learn about God in a real sense for the first time. She has been taught about God by her family and community her whole life, but she’s been taught about a very strict, judgemental, and legalistic God. She hasn’t been taught about God’s bigger agenda: Jesus Christ and the love poured out on the cross. A love that covers all sins. A love that has torn the curtain and opened up the opportunity for a relationship with God. A love that gives us the freedom to worship in our own way, as long as it is pleasing and glorifying to God. She and her husband have decided to come to Elston Family Church, and they are being blown away by the love of God. They are being blown away by the freedom God offers. In fact, they have fallen so much more in love with Christ, that they are willing to follow Him, even if it means facing harsh judgement and critical attitudes by their families. Can you fathom this? Can you fathom being willing to sacrifice your family to follow God?? Because it’s exactly what God has commanded us to do, if that’s what it takes. I can’t tell you how much I am growing by watching this sister. Her actions are so whole-heartedly devoted to pleasing God that it ignites a fire in me that is raging. It is renewing a gratefulness in me that is humbling. It is stirring a passion in me that is contagious. And you know what? We don’t serve a God of destruction. We don’t serve a God who wants to see families divided. We serve a God of the opposite. A God who can’t wait to deliver healing and understanding. A God who seeks to restore families and take them to a higher level…to a new love for Him and a new love for each other. We are seeing it daily at Elston, and I don’t believe it’s about to stop. I believe we’re about to see some modern miracles. I believe my friend is living her life in total abandon to God and living her life by doling out His unending love for us. Do I think that will be a force that separates her family? Maybe for a short time, but more importantly, I believe it is going to be a force that is going to impact her entire extended family (biological and in-law) and her entire community to run after this loving, contagious, amazing, powerful, almighty, sacrificial, and compelling God, who has shown Himself to us through Jesus Christ. Does that get me fired up? You bet.

These are some clips from our Father’s Day/birthday/dedication party at Zach and Sarah’s house. We had lots of fun with family and friends.

So, my idea of daily “thankful for” posts went to crap…Oh well. Today I’m going to write a few. The first is “friends”. In my life I haven’t had a whole lot of friends. Of course, as a child I had a built-in best friend, my twin brother Marc. So, I never really felt the need to make a whole lot of friends. In high school, I suppose I had one real friend other than Marc, and his name is Eric Sears. We went to the same church and worked together building pools in the summer. Once I went to college, I had much less time to spend with Marc or Eric. However, I was blessed early on by meeting my future wife, Lindsay. She filled the place that I needed for friendship…and did it quite well. So, even during college I never really felt the need to make more friends. After we got married, we shortly began to attend Elston Family Church here in Lafayette. There are quite a few guys my age at the church, and I’ve slowly started to view them as my friends. It’s weird for me because I’ve never really felt a need to have friends. Now I’m realizing that even if I don’t need friends, it is always nice to have friends. I have started to spend time with guys like Zach, Jeremy, Dan, Eric, John and Luke, and I’ve really enjoyed it. I hope that I can get to know all of them more in the future. They are people that I can hang out with, laugh with, play sports with, confide in, etc.