KEVIN ELWORTH LIVE

Another doctor’s apt down, about a thousand more to go. Cris has one Monday, I have an eye appointment Wednesday and an appointment to figure out my blood sugar issues on Thursday. This week we met with a specialist who deals with reproductive problems like we are having. I wasn’t able to go with Cris because Austin would have been a total terror in a small room for so long, so she went this one alone, and she learned a lot. There is hope first of all. God really led us to a great team of doctors that are taking care of Cris very well- they have her best interest at heart. This doctor even referred to what he would do if she was his daughter. We are in the process of going through more tests right now so none of the information we have is conclusive right now, which is alright as long as we stick this out and get through it. In the end, even though it may take more time than we had anticipated, we’ll figure this out and get through it.

Bear with us, we may not be on the mission field in Zacatecas but with all these medical issues we have been dealing with, we were getting little work done there anyway. This way we’ll be able to figure this out completely, get back to the field and advance the way God would have us. I’ve got more to write about this in the next days anyway, we’re learning so many things right now that we would have never been able to learn had we not gone through these issues.

So we’re talking about roots and how they are a symbol of your Christian life and walk with the Lord. But how does that really apply to our lives- how is your walk with God like a root or how is it not? What exactly do roots do?

1) They secure. Ever tried to move a tree? What about getting rid of a tree that is ill placed? When I was a kid I remember watching our neighbors try to remove a tree along with its roots. They worked for days, using a truck, a chainsaw, and digging to try to get rid of the tree- they never did it. It’s nearly impossible to entirely get rid of a tree with good roots because they are extremely strong and provide security. This makes me wonder about people who “backslide”. We don’t really use that term any more, at least I haven’t heard it in years, but no tree is every going to slide anywhere. It’s roots prevent that. The Word of God is our root system. It provides our security. The only way you are going to slide anywhere is if your roots have been destroyed, they’ve dried up from lack of water, they are frail fragile and breakable and the only reason that would be is because you haven’t fed them with the Word of God. Secure yourself, your faith, and your life in the Word of God and you will be unmovable.

2) They provide sustenance. Roots draw water up through the tree. Even in dry time and in dry parts of the world, roots can seek out the tiniest water particles to feed the tree. Our roots proceed into the Word of God and draw up His truth in our lives. We feed on it. Psalm 1 refers to those who delight in the Lord as one who is planted by a stream and are constantly fed- on the Word of God. We cannot be secure in our Christian walk if we are not feeding on the Word of God.

3) They reserve resources. Strangely enough God built into plants the ability to store up for future need. It’s odd now some plants, like the 50 year old oak in the front yard can endure for seemingly forever without water, because it has a 50 year old root system that stores up resources for future need. Those of you who know us well know that we’ve just been through it over the past years, and several times, many times in fact, we have gone through a crisis of belief that brings us back to ground zero. Life happens and you are simplified to your very core, what is truth, what is reality, who/what is God really and more importantly who/what He is not. The only thing that will get you through these critical times is your sustenance your resources that has been stored up to get you through a season of question a drought if you will. Your strength in the Word of God that fed you through times when you are questioning if God is there or not. This is where Christians often fall short. The Lord allows them to go through a trial of their faith and because of the lack of root, they leave God alone and deal with it themselves because they did see the fact that God was blessing them for their future rather than their present.

These thoughts may be a bit corny for you and I understand that, but much of what I write about is exactly what we go through and experience in everyday life and the reality is that if we are going through it, than surely someone else is too. Stay strong my friend, God’s there, He’s for you, He’ll never leave you, He loves you more than you can love anything in the world. More later…

Chances are you haven’t stopped to consider the root structure of the trees in your front yard this week. I can’t say that I blame you for that. I have probably considered it enough for you, me and a thousand other people with the 20 minutes I’ve thought about it. On Tuesday afternoon Austin found grandpa’s John Deere lawn tractor and he was captivated. I took him around for a ride for a while, then we decided to mow the foot high grass and he had fun with that too. It was a mistake for me because as soon as I engaged that grass cutting blade the landscaper in me came out and for the next 5 hours I worked on their back yard. I was trimming some branches of their trees that haven’t been pruned in about a century and off the pear tree I cut a huge branch that was just in the way and out of place. About half way through the cut it began shooting water out of the cut, much like a severed artery (I can put a picture of that too if you would like). I was fascinated, I had never seen anything like that before. It took my thoughts back to a conversation that Cris and I had a month or so ago about roots, yes I’ve not only considered roots, but talked about them to my wife!

God had several things to say about roots and how the system applies to our life as well. You can check out root verses here, here and here. But I wonder how your the root system is doing in your life today. Your roots are not necessarily based on the length of your spiritual life. I think I have pretty deep roots, but only because I’ve put a lot of effort into in roots over the past year or two. The Bible says in the verse in Jeremiah that we are blessed if we trust the Lord and are like a tree with good roots. Why good roots? Well think about what roots do.

So…now that I’ve got you thinking about roots I’m going to make you wait until tomorrow to read how this applies to your life. Happy Day!

All this medical stuff really gets overwhelming at times. Cris has been completely without strength and in so much pain the past week. I’m really glad we decided to make this medical furlough and get this figured out, but some days it’s just so completely overwhelming seeing her in such pain. The last two days seem to be the worst of all of them. She hasn’t even been able to get up a move much at all. She did speak with the doctor again the other day and she told Cris that the pain is caused by standing fluid from the rupture of the cyst. The last week of this month we have several other doctor appointments to further go through this and see what needs to be done. One of the appointments will be with a specialist to see if we will ever be able to have another baby. The doctors are saying our best chances for more children is invitro or adoption and if you know anything about either of those you know they don’t well fit into a missionary salary.

God’s been giving us bits of Him to get through these overwhelming thoughts and to deal with the pains, the frustrations, the fears, and strength for the days ahead. Just one part I will share with you Isaiah 43:19. I read this verse before we left Zacatecas and it has consumed my thoughts since then. I just can’t escape from the thought that God is going to make these impossible situations possible. He’s going to make rivers in the desert! Think about that. Not just because it’s an awesome thought but because He has a history of actually making rivers in the desert. He’s been bringing this to mind not only because of our personal situation but because of what He’s called us to as well. He is ever reminding me that He has a plan for Mexico and it’s more than I can handle or even dream about. Some people think I’m crazy for thinking this way, for writing about it, for praying for it, and expecting God to do it, but my thought is why in the world not? We cannot waste our time doing things that we know we can do. We must expect God to makes rivers in the desert-things that we cannot do on our own, things that only God can do.

So what’s it for you? What does God want for you that is impossible? that you could never do? Maybe that’s exactly what you should do! Go for it! What in the world do you have to lose?

I’ve been thinking about safety lately, for more than one reason. First because I have a two year old who is everywhere and into everything. Daily he eats rocks, dirt and if it’s available rat poison and Tylenol. He loves to play near danger, with light plugs, water, anything that to him looks fun but could potentially be life threatening. He’s just being a little boy, there’s nothing wrong with that, and I’m trying to protect him while not being overprotective. I want him to have fun and enjoy himself, but also be safe at the same time and accomplish what we need to get done. This morning it was helping grandpa work on the car.

This past week on our 1500 mile trek from Zacatecas, I listened to the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. I highly recommend this book to everyone. I was able to get it as an audio book free from christianaudio.com. Check them out as they offer one audio book download for free every month.

Something that Francis mentioned in his book really stuck with me these past days. He talked about how often as we travel and go through our days we asked God for “traveling mercies” (I heard Perry Noble talk about this in one of his sermons, he thinks they are just the words you say before you travel) we ask Him for safety from harm, from flat tires, from car trouble, for no turbulence because it freaks us out, for a safe landing, for no travel delays so we can get some Starbucks when we layover in Atlanta- isn’t that where every flight lays over. But is that really what we should be asking Him? I like how John recorded Jesus words in John 16:33- In this world you will have trouble. Man Cris and I can talk about the trouble of this life and yet I don’t think we’ve even felt much at all.

Rather than asking God for safety wouldn’t it rather be smarter to asking him for opportunities? Cris and I travel a lot. When we were on full time deputation we traveled an average of 2000 miles per month and frankly I don’t know how we did it. Every time we would leave to head somewhere else I would always pray those words and expect God to grant us safety. I wonder how many opportunities we missed by being extra safe? I hope one day we can get to the place where we travel with the thought of not getting from A to B but getting to see how many times God uses us in one day.

Next time you think to pray for safety, maybe try praying for opportunity instead?