Today is a day I need to be reminded. My heart feels torn 1,000 directions at least and my mind can't seem to quiet itself from the bustle of mental list making and note taking and heart searching. Today I need to be reminded that at the end of the day these things will not matter:
Chris' job
Health
My job
House
Number of friends
Money
How well I kept a schedule
Fitness
My ability to do anything
"But these things remian, faith hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:33
"There is no fear in love but perfect love casts out all fear." 1 John 4:18
"Heaven and earth will pass away but My Word will not pass away." Matthew 24:35
I find freedom in these moments as I set my mind on things above and not things here on earth (Colossians 3:2). May you set your eyes on Him and truely be free today.
An exploration of freedom
Friday, December 2, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Gospel Invasion
I got this update from Desiring God's daily e-mails. It's a powerful look at how the Gospel compels us to live and to view our lives. May we find freedom and we surrender our lives to God's kingdom plan as we relinquish our own.
In his new book, Gospel Wakefulness, Jared Wilson writes,
One of the attendant aims of missional evangelicalism is to challenge the compartmentalizing of the Christian faith that we see within the Western church. We are fantastic at itemizing our schedules, and even if we don't assign God a very large bracket, we are constantly remorseful that we "haven't made much time for him." While such compartmentalizing — as if "time with God" can or should be hermetically sealed off from everything else — is a natural symptom of our culture and environment, it also reflects a bad theology.
The truth is, the day does not belong to us. It is not our day to do with as we please. We serve a sovereign God. He created the end from the beginning, knows our future exhaustively, and is firmly in control. He made our days and they belong to him. As such, isn't it a bit arrogant to begin with the idea that each day is ours and then worry about fitting God in? Instead, we should work at the humble awe of knowing all of our moments, every millisecond, waking or sleeping, are perfectly accounted for within the economy of heaven.
Let us stake the flag of Christ's kingdom into the soil of our first waking moment. Drink your coffee when you get up, of course, but drink it to the glory of God. Then carry on in this way all day, no matter the task, be it menial or notable, so that each day may be a living prayer that God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what it means to live a gospel-saturated life: it means being so conscious of the greatness of the gospel that changing diapers or cutting the grass is as much an act of worship as singing a praise chorus in a church service….
Jesus Christ is Lord over my heart, and he is Lord over my hands, and he is Lord over what I do with these hands, and he is Lord over what I say in my heart while I'm doing it. In submitting to the lordship of Christ, then, I do not treat washing dishes as wasting time I could be spending doing something "meaningful," but rather as a service to those who eat in my home, as a service to those who would have to wash the dishes if I did not, and as an offering of thanksgiving to God that I have food to eat, dishes to eat it on, and running water inside my home to clean with.
To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, there is not a square inch of our lives that is not claimed by God and counterclaimed by ourselves. If we believe God is sovereign, however, we will see all of life as mission and be led to submit the square inches we otherwise hold so tightly to the Maker of inches and hands.
Gospel Wakefulness, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 90–92, paragraphing added.
In his new book, Gospel Wakefulness, Jared Wilson writes,
One of the attendant aims of missional evangelicalism is to challenge the compartmentalizing of the Christian faith that we see within the Western church. We are fantastic at itemizing our schedules, and even if we don't assign God a very large bracket, we are constantly remorseful that we "haven't made much time for him." While such compartmentalizing — as if "time with God" can or should be hermetically sealed off from everything else — is a natural symptom of our culture and environment, it also reflects a bad theology.
The truth is, the day does not belong to us. It is not our day to do with as we please. We serve a sovereign God. He created the end from the beginning, knows our future exhaustively, and is firmly in control. He made our days and they belong to him. As such, isn't it a bit arrogant to begin with the idea that each day is ours and then worry about fitting God in? Instead, we should work at the humble awe of knowing all of our moments, every millisecond, waking or sleeping, are perfectly accounted for within the economy of heaven.
Let us stake the flag of Christ's kingdom into the soil of our first waking moment. Drink your coffee when you get up, of course, but drink it to the glory of God. Then carry on in this way all day, no matter the task, be it menial or notable, so that each day may be a living prayer that God's will will be done on earth as it is in heaven. This is what it means to live a gospel-saturated life: it means being so conscious of the greatness of the gospel that changing diapers or cutting the grass is as much an act of worship as singing a praise chorus in a church service….
Jesus Christ is Lord over my heart, and he is Lord over my hands, and he is Lord over what I do with these hands, and he is Lord over what I say in my heart while I'm doing it. In submitting to the lordship of Christ, then, I do not treat washing dishes as wasting time I could be spending doing something "meaningful," but rather as a service to those who eat in my home, as a service to those who would have to wash the dishes if I did not, and as an offering of thanksgiving to God that I have food to eat, dishes to eat it on, and running water inside my home to clean with.
To paraphrase C. S. Lewis, there is not a square inch of our lives that is not claimed by God and counterclaimed by ourselves. If we believe God is sovereign, however, we will see all of life as mission and be led to submit the square inches we otherwise hold so tightly to the Maker of inches and hands.
Gospel Wakefulness, (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 90–92, paragraphing added.
Monday, November 7, 2011
Thankful
Today I am thankful.
Thankful that sometimes God says no.
Thankful for a husband who's faith outlasts my own.
Thankful that that same husband buys me a pumpkin latte not because it solves anything but because it makes me smile.
Thankful for a home where we can entertain and see God work.
Thankful for struggles that lead us to truth.
Thankful that home is simply where we are as long as God is there.
Thankful that one day home will be permanent.
Thankful for a dad who prays and a mom who encourages me.
Thankful that God speaks through others.
Thankful for a random note of encouragement from my uncle.
Today I know that prayers aren't always answered in the way I imagined but I also know that we are not abandoned and that because the Son of God died there is a future and a hope. Today I'm finding thankfulness behind closed doors.
A thankful heart is a free heart. May you be thankful today!
Thankful that sometimes God says no.
Thankful for a husband who's faith outlasts my own.
Thankful that that same husband buys me a pumpkin latte not because it solves anything but because it makes me smile.
Thankful for a home where we can entertain and see God work.
Thankful for struggles that lead us to truth.
Thankful that home is simply where we are as long as God is there.
Thankful that one day home will be permanent.
Thankful for a dad who prays and a mom who encourages me.
Thankful that God speaks through others.
Thankful for a random note of encouragement from my uncle.
Today I know that prayers aren't always answered in the way I imagined but I also know that we are not abandoned and that because the Son of God died there is a future and a hope. Today I'm finding thankfulness behind closed doors.
A thankful heart is a free heart. May you be thankful today!
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
A look at suffering
Let's admit. We all have struggles. We all have suffering in our lives. Maybe it's bad health or a bad relationship or job rejection or just unexplained sadness that keeps us up at night.
I've had my fair share of what I would call suffering. I've had health issues, relationship struggles, family trials and sadness that came with moving and getting married and watching life change suddenly. There have been moments when I could swear to you that no one cared and no one really loved me, yes, even Jesus.
I remember dark nights of the soul, nights not that long ago. I was promised that things would get better, that I would "make it". And then one night I realized that things weren't better, at least not in my time, and I wasn't sure that while in fact I would, "make it", I really wanted to. What's the purpose of a life where suffering is inevitable and where it seems like no one could understand?
Mark 14:36 is a powerful portrayal. In it we see Jesus knelt before the Father saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will." And here suffering is met with the greatest love we can know. In suffering I don't need to hear that I'll make it or that things will get better. I need to hear the words of my Savior as He willingly suffered for me. "Not what I will, but what You, Father, will". And because of those words, the Creator of the universe laid down His life for me.
Freedom is not found in looking at our circumstances and trying to overcome. Freedom is found in looking to Someone greater and trusting He who has already overcome. May you rest in that freedom today.
"In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37
I've had my fair share of what I would call suffering. I've had health issues, relationship struggles, family trials and sadness that came with moving and getting married and watching life change suddenly. There have been moments when I could swear to you that no one cared and no one really loved me, yes, even Jesus.
I remember dark nights of the soul, nights not that long ago. I was promised that things would get better, that I would "make it". And then one night I realized that things weren't better, at least not in my time, and I wasn't sure that while in fact I would, "make it", I really wanted to. What's the purpose of a life where suffering is inevitable and where it seems like no one could understand?
Mark 14:36 is a powerful portrayal. In it we see Jesus knelt before the Father saying, "Abba, Father, all things are possible for You. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will but what you will." And here suffering is met with the greatest love we can know. In suffering I don't need to hear that I'll make it or that things will get better. I need to hear the words of my Savior as He willingly suffered for me. "Not what I will, but what You, Father, will". And because of those words, the Creator of the universe laid down His life for me.
Freedom is not found in looking at our circumstances and trying to overcome. Freedom is found in looking to Someone greater and trusting He who has already overcome. May you rest in that freedom today.
"In all things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Romans 8:37
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Hosanna
I spent a quiet Saturday morning in the book of Mark and came across this passage,"And those who went before and those who followed were shouting, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!'" (Mark 11:9-10) Hosanna, such a shout of joy to go before the Lord! And for the life of me I couldn't remember what it meant.
I did a familiar Google search and came across this passage by John Piper sharing from a Palm Sunday message. He says it more beautifully than I could ever paraphrase so I wanted to share with you all. May your heart join in saying "Hosanna" today. Hosanna is a freedom song, and if we're honest, we all want to be free to sing.
PIPER'S NOTES
© COPYRIGHT 1983, 1998 John Piper.Piper Notes
I did a familiar Google search and came across this passage by John Piper sharing from a Palm Sunday message. He says it more beautifully than I could ever paraphrase so I wanted to share with you all. May your heart join in saying "Hosanna" today. Hosanna is a freedom song, and if we're honest, we all want to be free to sing.
PIPER'S NOTES
March 27, 1983
(Palm Sunday Evening)
Bethlehem Baptist Church
John Piper, Pastor
I know one of the concerns of the children's music ministry is that the children understand what they are singing and that they mean it. And I share that concern for our people. In a moment the choir will sing a song called, "Hosanna, Hosanna!" And after that we all will sing a song which begins: "Hosanna in the highest!" So I want to give a little lesson in Greek and Hebrew to make sure we all know what the New Testament means when it says in three different places, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" (Mt. 21:9,15), or "Hosanna in the highest!" (Mk. 11:9,10), or simply, "Hosanna!" (John 12:13).
You all know that the New Testament was first written in Greek and the Old Testament was first written in Hebrew. Wherever the word "hosanna" occurs in the New Testament do you know what the Greek word is? Right! It's "hosanna." All the English translators did was use English letters (h-o-s-a-n-n-a) to make the sound of a Greek word.
But if you look in a Greek dictionary to find what it means, you know what you find? You find that it is really not originally a Greek word after all. The men who wrote the New Testament in Greek did the same thing to a Hebrew word that our English translators did to the Greek word: they just used Greek letters to make the sound of a Hebrew phrase. I know this sounds sort of complicated. But it's really not. Our English word "hosanna" comes from a Greek word "hosanna" which comes from a Hebrew phrase hoshiya na.
And that Hebrew phrase is found one solitary place in the whole Old Testament, Psalm 118:25, where it means, "Save, please!" It is a cry to God for help. Like when somebody pushes out off the diving board before you can swim and you come up hollering: "Help, save me" … "Hoshiya na!"
But something happened to that phrase, hoshiya na. The meaning changed over the years. In the psalm it was immediately followed by the exclamation: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" The cry for help, hoshiya na, was answered almost before it came out of the psalmist's mouth. And over the centuries the phrase hoshiya na stopped being a cry for help in the ordinary language of the Jews. Instead it became a shout of hope and exultation. It used to mean, "Save, please!" But gradually it came to mean, "Salvation! Salvation! Salvation has come!" It used to be what you would say when you fell off the diving board. But it came to be what you would say when you see the lifeguard coming to save you! It is the bubbling over of a heart that sees hope and joy and salvation on the way and can't keep it in.
So "Hosanna!" means, "Hooray for salvation! It's coming! It's here! Salvation! Salvation!"
And "Hosanna to the Son of David!" means, "The Son of David is our salvation! Hooray for the king! Salvation belongs to the king!"
And "Hosanna in the highest!" means, "Let all the angels in heaven join the song of praise. Salvation! Salvation! Let the highest heaven sing the song!"
Picture a super bowl game, and (believe it or not) the Vikings are three points ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers are on their own 35 and have no more time outs. There are two seconds remaining on the clock. The Vikings' fans are going wild. The Steelers line up, fake a pass to the receivers on the left field line and run a wide sweep around the right end and the quarterback breaks into the open and heads down the right sideline -- 40 - 45 - 50 - 45. The only hope for the Vikings is Willie Teal, the safety, cutting a diagonal across the field. And out of the Vikings' grandstand come two kinds of Hosannas, the old kind and the new kind. One part of the crowd is yelling: "Catch him! Catch him, Willie!" (That's the old Hosanna.) The other part of the crowd is yelling, "You got him! You got him, Willie!" (That's the new Hosanna.) The word moved from plea to praise; from cry to confidence.
So when we sing "Hosanna" now, let's make it very personal. Let's make it our praise and our confidence. The Son of David has come. He has saved us from guilt and fear and hopelessness. Salvation! Salvation belongs to our God and to the Son! Hosanna! Hosanna in the highest!
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Everyday Inspirations
This is what my desktop looks like. It's a collection of notes and quotes from famous individuals and people I know who inspire me.
The notes remind me, they encourage me, they inspire me. When life gets to be crazy or my heart is found restless I'm reminded of truth from the words of other. Some follow below.
"Walking toward Him is walking away from sin. The better you know Him, the further from it you will be. But you can't walk away from sin, not in your own strength. Everything He wants to do in you will get done as you learn to live in His love. Every act of sin results from your mistrust of His love and intentions for you. We sin to fill up broken places, to try to fight for what we think is best for us, or by reacting to guilt and shame. Once you discover how much He loves you, all that changes. As you grow in trusting Him, you will find yourself increasingly free from sin. --"So you don't want to go to church anymore."
"If it wasn't chance, it was anti-chance, something like God." --Jane Goodall
"Christians know what the world does not — that the mother tending her child, the farmer planting his crops, the father protecting his family, the couple faithfully living out their marital vows, the factory worker laboring to support his family, and the preacher preparing to preach the Word of God are all doing far more important work." --Al Mohler on Steve Jobs' passing
“Here then are two instructions, ‘love your neighbor’ and ‘go and make disciples.’ What is the relation between the two? Some of us behave as if we thought them identical, so that if we have shared the gospel with somebody, we consider we have completed our responsibility to love him. But no. The Great Commission neither explains, nor exhausts, nor supersedes the Great Commandment. What it does is to add to the command of neighbor-love and neighbor-service a new and urgent Christian dimension. If we truly love our neighbor, we shall without doubt tell him the Good News of Jesus. But equally, if we truly love our neighbor, we shall not stop there” --John Stott
"It is appropriate to be restless (even when you have grayed some) about what God has not yet done in the future. But it is never good to be restless about what God has already given. Thank him for it, and build on it."--Doug Wilson
"The pain reminds our heart that this is not our home. What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise?" --Laura Story
"The most I hope for is to chase after the the things I dreamed of when I was younger and brave. And if it's supposed to happen, it will. And if it doesn't, I'll chase hard after something else, but at some point I'll find just what God has already set before me. And knowing He knows my heart gives me great comfort that I'll find it. --Martha Lee Ann Ryles
"If I Die Young" --The Band Perry
I'm inspired by a secular activist who experiences God in the wilderness as an anti-chance. I'm amazed at how our God speaks in nature. I'm encouraged as artists sing through the pain in the trials of life. I'm motivated by commands to live out what I so easily blog about. I'm hopeful as I look to an everlasting home and burdened by a world that often doesn't see it. I'm passionate as I see how knowing my Savior fights sin and changes lives. I'm contemplative as I listen to angst filled lyrics in songs that stir my soul. I'm thankful for a restlessness that draws me forward and a rest that quiets my heart.
Some days we need everyday inspirations. We are chronically forgetful people, forgetting what God has done in our lives and forgetting the dreams to which we have been called. The Lord calls us to "Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant;I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me." Isaiah 44:21
Form everyday inspirations in your life today. Write notes to yourself, remind yourself of what inspires you and what draws you in to the presence of the Holy today. After all, freedom moves us on from a foundation of knowing who we are in light of Who He is. And find freedom in knowing that even though we forget, we are not forgotten.
Happy Tuesday blog buddies! Be inspired today!
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Coming home
Hubs and I recently went on vacation. I love vacation, or maybe just the idea of vacation. I love the clean slate, the leaving, the moments of quiet relaxation away from the busyness of life.
We spent a couple nights here:
We spent a couple nights here:
Hiked to here (awesome, I know :)
And drove here...
To see this. Is God awesome or what?!
Vacation is sweet. It's those little moments of silence, of being somewhere new, and experiencing it together. It's interesting because the more I vacation the more thankful I am for home. Those corny words "there's no place like home" seem like profound truth after a few nights in a tent or a long (2 hour ha!) airplane ride.
I think there's always a place in our hearts that longs for home. And sometimes I think that home is hard to find, I mean really find.
Home for years was Clarksdale Arizona and to this day I'll often refer to it as my childhood and where I'm "from", when the familiar question is asked. But we've gone back years later and those familiar feelings and faces have changed, and while I love those memories it's not home anymore.
Home for 12 years was this house:
It was the best picture I could find :) house is to the right and yes, Iowa always has this much snow!
Home for years was an apartment with college roommates, living in a basement during an internship and now is the second of two apartments with my hubs in Madison, WI.
Even with these lovely pictures and places to call home, sometimes I experience a longing to return--to go "home". The longing isn't satisfied by being in a certain place or time. I think CS Lewis said it well when he said, "If we find in ourselves a longing for which the world cannot satisfy, the only explanation is that we were made for another world."
And so I find myself. Here. Home. Longing for home. 2 Corinthians 5:1-2 says this. "For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to be put on our heavenly dwelling." I echo amen! Tents are wonderful for a time being but are not permanent and we long for home. And our home is a heavenly building with the Lord. May my heart long in such a way that home is found only with Him.
So friends, may your home be found in a place not made with human hands and may your heart long while here for that home. But know you are not alone in this longing, John 14:23 promises, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." Find freedom knowing that the God of the universe has come to make His home with you. And someday all that He calls home will be ours also. What a beautiful picture of true freedom, finally finding home.
Saturday, September 10, 2011
Simple things
I love Fall. I get nostalgic when the weather gets cooler and my favorite things (pumpkin lattes, apple orchards, colored leaves, and sweaters) return. A few days ago I got to sit in a coffee shop with my hubby and a friend and enjoyed my first pumpkin latte of the season :) While we were enjoying I noticed the cups and the writing that covered them. The question was asked, "What do you stay awake for?" and the cups were covered with answers. Some of my favorites follow:
"Riding a tandem bike with my love--Margaret."
"Making the best snow fort in town"
"The pitter-patter of little feet as the sun rises."
"The hint of summer at the end of March."
"Stepping foot on all seven continents!"
"Dancing the beats that move my feet."
"Mom's homemade apple crisp."
Whether it's good food, friends, family, nature or music, there is something to be enjoyed in every day. Caribou Coffee may have phrased it a little differently than I would have thought but the question remains, "What do you stay awake for?" What are the little things, even the simple things in life that make each day meaningful? I'm learning that those simple things are often what play at our heartstrings and calm our minds down to be thankful for today. There is freedom to be found in thankfulness.
Thank you Caribou Coffee for this reminder. And now I want to ask you, faithful readers, "What do you stay awake for?"
My list would be,
Apple orchards on a crisp fall day.
The smell of a campfire and gooey marshmallows roasted over it.
Exploring parks, cities and towns with the hubby.
Fresh produce from our garden.
A good cup of coffee.
Long talks with close friends.
Sunrise in the Rockies.
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
After the Airport
This story blessed my face off today. Not only because someday we hope to adopt as well but because those "after the airport" days happen in every stage of life.
After the Airport
After the Airport
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
All things new
What do you do when your heart breaks into pieces? How do you keep walking forward when everything in your heart wants to run back?
These are the days I find myself wanting to pick up the pieces of an old life, a life that seemed more comfortable or easy. I find myself staring at the past and trying to figure out how these pieces fit back together. A memory here, a song there, a location or church or friend and yet it's not the same. I can live in the past, wishing for a memory that defined a younger me or a happier me or a less stressed me. I can look to the future and envision an escape, a hope that if something changes that the world will be right again.
What I've realized is that in our hurts life isn't meant to be put back together in a neat package. The past is over for a reason; the Lord tells Lot's wife not to look back and wish for a purpose. "16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” Genesis 19:16-17 Luke recounts in saying, "31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." Luke 17:31-33
I've found the Lord to say, "Put down the pieces, they don't fit together anymore. Give the pieces to me, I'm going to make something new." Letting go is never easy, each and every time it's with tears that I once again hand my plans, my past, my future, back to the Lord. As I write this I sit with tears streaming down my face as I again am faced with hurt and am asked to let go and trust my Father.
Tonight I'm praying for the promise of Isaiah to be true in my life. "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isaiah 49:2 and, "Behold, I am doing a new thing;now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19
I've found that freedom lies neither in past nor future in our lives. Freedom is found in a different story line completely. The pieces of what once were or might someday be, "me", can only make sense in a larger puzzle. Some of me might have to break to fit into a new picture but I know that it will be far more beautiful than any I've made before.
May there be ways in the wilderness of your life and rivers in the desert of your heart. It's only in letting go that we find freedom in His story.
These are the days I find myself wanting to pick up the pieces of an old life, a life that seemed more comfortable or easy. I find myself staring at the past and trying to figure out how these pieces fit back together. A memory here, a song there, a location or church or friend and yet it's not the same. I can live in the past, wishing for a memory that defined a younger me or a happier me or a less stressed me. I can look to the future and envision an escape, a hope that if something changes that the world will be right again.
What I've realized is that in our hurts life isn't meant to be put back together in a neat package. The past is over for a reason; the Lord tells Lot's wife not to look back and wish for a purpose. "16 When he hesitated, the men grasped his hand and the hands of his wife and of his two daughters and led them safely out of the city, for the LORD was merciful to them. 17 As soon as they had brought them out, one of them said, “Flee for your lives! Don’t look back, and don’t stop anywhere in the plain! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away!” Genesis 19:16-17 Luke recounts in saying, "31 On that day no one who is on the housetop, with possessions inside, should go down to get them. Likewise, no one in the field should go back for anything. 32 Remember Lot’s wife!33 Whoever tries to keep their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life will preserve it." Luke 17:31-33
I've found the Lord to say, "Put down the pieces, they don't fit together anymore. Give the pieces to me, I'm going to make something new." Letting go is never easy, each and every time it's with tears that I once again hand my plans, my past, my future, back to the Lord. As I write this I sit with tears streaming down my face as I again am faced with hurt and am asked to let go and trust my Father.
Tonight I'm praying for the promise of Isaiah to be true in my life. "Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare;before they spring forth I tell you of them." Isaiah 49:2 and, "Behold, I am doing a new thing;now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert." Isaiah 43:19
I've found that freedom lies neither in past nor future in our lives. Freedom is found in a different story line completely. The pieces of what once were or might someday be, "me", can only make sense in a larger puzzle. Some of me might have to break to fit into a new picture but I know that it will be far more beautiful than any I've made before.
May there be ways in the wilderness of your life and rivers in the desert of your heart. It's only in letting go that we find freedom in His story.
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
At the beginning
I've resisted this for a while. Couldn't figure out why I, little ol' me, should have a blog. My life isn't any more exciting than others, in fact, much to my disagreement, you could call me, "normal". But today I don't think normal is what I want to be any more. I've decided that regardless of who I might be, I know someone Who is worth knowing and that's what I feel compelled to search my heart and share about.
Today I came to the realization that the longings of my heart are only explained in Christ. Because, you see, we are all created worshipers. When we worship anything short of perfection, our entire reason, the beauty in our lives, disappears. Now you might read this and argue that you are not a worshiper. You might call yourself agnostic or apathetic, and you might be when it relates to faith. But I challenge that we are all worshipers. Something, EVERYTHING, in our lives points to something or someone. The question is not, "Do you worship?", but rather, "What are you worshiping and how does that shape your life today?"
You see, my life almost fell apart this year. I got distracted and caught up in life, job worship, relationship worship, and yes, self worship. This blog isn't because I've figured anything out, rather it's an exploration of freedom; a declaration that freedom is not found in myself or in others. This blog is an adventure and a hope that my life in one year is a little closer to a free life, an abandoned life.
Welcome to the adventure!
Today I came to the realization that the longings of my heart are only explained in Christ. Because, you see, we are all created worshipers. When we worship anything short of perfection, our entire reason, the beauty in our lives, disappears. Now you might read this and argue that you are not a worshiper. You might call yourself agnostic or apathetic, and you might be when it relates to faith. But I challenge that we are all worshipers. Something, EVERYTHING, in our lives points to something or someone. The question is not, "Do you worship?", but rather, "What are you worshiping and how does that shape your life today?"
You see, my life almost fell apart this year. I got distracted and caught up in life, job worship, relationship worship, and yes, self worship. This blog isn't because I've figured anything out, rather it's an exploration of freedom; a declaration that freedom is not found in myself or in others. This blog is an adventure and a hope that my life in one year is a little closer to a free life, an abandoned life.
Welcome to the adventure!
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