I just got back from Houston and our domestic World Schools Debate tournament. It was run by Miha Andric, an internationally known coach from Slovenia. I met Miha in 2018 in Stuttgart, Germany when my daughter Abbie competed in Worlds. For some reason, Miha took a liking to our team and spent quite a bit of time coaching our students while we were in Germany. American Logos has kept in contact with Miha through the years, and he still helps with our team from time to time. It was great seeing him in person again.
American Logos also did well, breaking all three teams into quarters, two to semis where they competed against each other, so one went to finals. We lost on a narrow decision. It was great experience though, and now we set our sites on Vietnam in June, and some going to Prague in July. Please pray for us all. I will be going to Vietnam, but not Prague. The flight will be long, and I’ll need to wear compression socks to keep any swelling down.
Speaking of swelling, while I was in Houston, I didn’t exactly follow my cardiac low sodium diet. When I got home, my daughter looked at my legs and said, “Dad! Your ankles are swollen. What’s up with that?” I had no scale in Houston, so was unable to weigh myself daily there. And I gained about 5 lbs of water weight in the last week. So, I am going to do a 3-5 days fast, take some dandelion leaf/root tea, and see if I can lose it all in a few days. I’m also planning on going back on keto as I haven’t done that since my hospitalization, and I’m creeping up on my other weight too. Another reason for the fasting. That will kick me into ketosis in a couple days.
Since last week, I have finished Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon and am well into Isaiah. So many times individuals, as well as the nation of Israel and the nations around them ignored the direction of God, and they paid the price for it. From losing some possessions, to captivity, and even death, choosing not to listen to God’s direction is never a good idea. Doing what you want to do in spite of the clear and correct instructions of God, or even what you know to be right will lead to issues.
Ignoring wisdom is never a good idea. When we think we know best no matter what is called pride and it can have more dire consequences than some swelling in the ankles. Israel and Judah were taken captive by hostile nations. Many of them died, and some even then didn’t learn their lesson. However, as Isaiah wrote, God wasn’t going to leave them forever in captivity. He would ultimately punish the nations, bring Israel/Judah back to the land, and will bring about the promised Messiah. Nothing can ever thwart God’s plans.
What we need to do, what we need to learn is to trust the Lord with all of our hearts. We need to dare to believe our beliefs. God’s ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are not our thoughts. He is everywhere present and knows everything, and He will bring about everything that He has decreed, even to the end of the age. There will be times of plenty, and times of trouble, sometimes extreme trouble. But we know for certain that we can always trust the One who spoke and the Universe leapt into existence. It may be really hard at times, and we can sometimes wonder what in the world is going on. But never lose sight of the fact that we serve a God, THE God who knows us and loves us and calls us His own. His ways are perfect. All will be made right in the end. We can see that all through Scripture. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart, our Lord Jesus has overcome the world.
Amen
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