As I picked up my little jello cup at the end of my lunch today I noticed what it said on the top: "Happy is still legal in all 50 states." It made me smile but then it made me think (definitely more than I would have anticipated from my sweet meal closer). Happy is legal in that there are no laws against it, no government mandates that forbid us from enjoying our days to the fullest.
However, it made me wonder, would we really be changed if it were made illegal? Do we really choose happiness often enough that we would be traumatized if it were not allowed? Of course we can all say that it would be horrific, that of course it would change us. Really though, how often do we choose to be happy instead of frustrated or angry or annoyed or sad?
It made me think just a little bit about how happiness is legal but more than any law, it's my own option whether I will be happy in the midst of my days. There is a blessing of living in a land where there is freedom of all sorts but if I don't exercise that freedom then it ceases to have much meaning.
So I guess this is a random post but it was a good reminder for me today that being happy is fully allowed and that I need to choose it so that it can fill my days and overflow to those around me! For there really always is so very much to be happy about!
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Monday, November 22, 2010
Alexander and I
Some days just don't start out the way I want them to. There's nothing that I can point to as being wrong and I know deep in my heart and mind that I have nothing to complain about. Yet I am being grouchy.
Everything just seems a bit more overwhelming, a bit more frustrating, and a bit less in keeping with how I want it. Some might say it's just Mondays in general. Others might say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (although that would imply that I slept in bed instead of on the couch last night which would be an incorrect implication). Either way, it would be simple enough to just chalk it up to a rough day, to say that situations just aren't aligning and that I should just wait until tomorrow for things to look a little brighter.
A tempting option, no doubt. Who doesn't sometimes just want to throw a pity party for the day and let everyone else deal with their bad mood until they're ready to be cheerful again?
I'm tempted to do the same, I really am. However, I honestly don't think I have a leg to stand on when I consider what I am called to live like as a believer in Christ. Last time I checked, there really isn't a picture of Jesus just being a jerk to people because He felt like it. He wasn't known for just blowing the annoying people off or for pouting in a corner when He didn't get His way. There's nowhere that I see Paul telling me that it's cool if I want to speak negatively, throw around a little bit of a fit, or generally have a foul attitude just because it's how I want to act.
The reality is that I'm called to a higher level. I'm called to be a light in the darkness, to be doing away with negativity and coarseness. I'm called to reach out in love and compassion to the most unlovely of people. It's not just a calling on the days when I feel like it, it's a calling every single day that God gives me.
So it leaves me wondering, how exactly do I fight against what I want to do and instead be the cheerful girl who focuses on the positive and doesn't just sit down in a pity pile? So I think about Jesus (which is always a good place to start). While there may not be stories of how He became frustrated or angry for no good reason, there are plenty of stories that show just how human He was and the Bible is quick to tell us that He was tempted in every way that we are. If that's true, what might He have been doing that would keep him from being a grumpy Gus?
I'm going to just guess here but I think that it has something to do with the way that He would retreat into solitude, how He would go off and spend time in prayer and meditation. Not just once but often. Regularly. On purpose. For long periods of time.
There's value in that. I know it because I've experienced it. Could I likely benefit from the same refocusing time? Absolutely! Could it help refine my attitude and turn me from selfishness to compassion and from negativity to optimism? It certainly couldn't hurt!
So perhaps today, instead of just giving in to the temptation to be a brat, I will take a bit more time to spend away from everyone, to put a bit more focused attention on the truth of the scripture, and to give a little more time to talk to my Father.
Oh, and Alexander? He can keep his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to himself! :)
Everything just seems a bit more overwhelming, a bit more frustrating, and a bit less in keeping with how I want it. Some might say it's just Mondays in general. Others might say I woke up on the wrong side of the bed (although that would imply that I slept in bed instead of on the couch last night which would be an incorrect implication). Either way, it would be simple enough to just chalk it up to a rough day, to say that situations just aren't aligning and that I should just wait until tomorrow for things to look a little brighter.
A tempting option, no doubt. Who doesn't sometimes just want to throw a pity party for the day and let everyone else deal with their bad mood until they're ready to be cheerful again?
I'm tempted to do the same, I really am. However, I honestly don't think I have a leg to stand on when I consider what I am called to live like as a believer in Christ. Last time I checked, there really isn't a picture of Jesus just being a jerk to people because He felt like it. He wasn't known for just blowing the annoying people off or for pouting in a corner when He didn't get His way. There's nowhere that I see Paul telling me that it's cool if I want to speak negatively, throw around a little bit of a fit, or generally have a foul attitude just because it's how I want to act.
The reality is that I'm called to a higher level. I'm called to be a light in the darkness, to be doing away with negativity and coarseness. I'm called to reach out in love and compassion to the most unlovely of people. It's not just a calling on the days when I feel like it, it's a calling every single day that God gives me.
So it leaves me wondering, how exactly do I fight against what I want to do and instead be the cheerful girl who focuses on the positive and doesn't just sit down in a pity pile? So I think about Jesus (which is always a good place to start). While there may not be stories of how He became frustrated or angry for no good reason, there are plenty of stories that show just how human He was and the Bible is quick to tell us that He was tempted in every way that we are. If that's true, what might He have been doing that would keep him from being a grumpy Gus?
I'm going to just guess here but I think that it has something to do with the way that He would retreat into solitude, how He would go off and spend time in prayer and meditation. Not just once but often. Regularly. On purpose. For long periods of time.
There's value in that. I know it because I've experienced it. Could I likely benefit from the same refocusing time? Absolutely! Could it help refine my attitude and turn me from selfishness to compassion and from negativity to optimism? It certainly couldn't hurt!
So perhaps today, instead of just giving in to the temptation to be a brat, I will take a bit more time to spend away from everyone, to put a bit more focused attention on the truth of the scripture, and to give a little more time to talk to my Father.
Oh, and Alexander? He can keep his terrible, horrible, no good, very bad day to himself! :)
Friday, November 19, 2010
What now?
6.5 months.
How has so much time gotten away from me?
How very much has changed since my last post. I almost don't know where to start. I almost don't know if I should even start. There is a part of me that thinks that maybe I should just let my season of blogging be over. That I should not try to pour any more of myself out into this computer for whomever to read.
Then I remember that I had goals for 2010. I even wrote them over on the right side of this page. One of them: cultivate artistic ability. Another: Live a life of risk. Also: Spiritual disciplines.
Does this blog not serve to help me along the journey towards completing these goals? I feel as though it does, or at least that it could. The story of this Jen is not completed. The truth is that in many ways it's only just beginning. I don't think it's fair to myself to simply stop writing forever as though I have actually reached where I hope to be. For I haven't. In many areas I'm not even close. So I think that perhaps I should write again. Not for those who might read this but rather for me. Which, in the long run, is who this whole experiment really should have been for anyways but I suspect that's another topic for another day.
So I may only have a little over a month of 2010 left but maybe I can make some progress on my goals. Just maybe, I can work a little farther along this path before we ring in 2011. There is much to say, many stories to tell, beauty to capture and hold onto and ponder.
Maybe this little corner of the internet is the place.
I kind of think it should be.
How has so much time gotten away from me?
How very much has changed since my last post. I almost don't know where to start. I almost don't know if I should even start. There is a part of me that thinks that maybe I should just let my season of blogging be over. That I should not try to pour any more of myself out into this computer for whomever to read.
Then I remember that I had goals for 2010. I even wrote them over on the right side of this page. One of them: cultivate artistic ability. Another: Live a life of risk. Also: Spiritual disciplines.
Does this blog not serve to help me along the journey towards completing these goals? I feel as though it does, or at least that it could. The story of this Jen is not completed. The truth is that in many ways it's only just beginning. I don't think it's fair to myself to simply stop writing forever as though I have actually reached where I hope to be. For I haven't. In many areas I'm not even close. So I think that perhaps I should write again. Not for those who might read this but rather for me. Which, in the long run, is who this whole experiment really should have been for anyways but I suspect that's another topic for another day.
So I may only have a little over a month of 2010 left but maybe I can make some progress on my goals. Just maybe, I can work a little farther along this path before we ring in 2011. There is much to say, many stories to tell, beauty to capture and hold onto and ponder.
Maybe this little corner of the internet is the place.
I kind of think it should be.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Begging
I have thought so very much about prayer in the last couple of weeks. Thought of what it looks like in my life, of what God calls it to be in our lives, of what it accomplishes and what it doesn't. I am nowhere near a finite explanation of any of these things but the pondering has opened up some new places in my mind and led me down unexplored paths. Today I'll share just one of the many.
I found myself telling someone recently that we must pray. That we must pray and that we would beg God on our knees. As those words left my mouth I realized that I had more to say, that the sentence wasn't complete. So I continued on. We must beg God...on our knees...for His will...to match our desires.
You see, I am so very human. In the humanity, I long for things here on earth. There is healing I so hope for, souls that I long to be saved, earthly things that I still desire. Yet in my prayers, I tend to go one of two ways. Either I ask only for His will to be done. Or I ask only for my desires to be fulfilled. If I'm to choose, the first is where I'd rather land but the truth is that I believe that God is not just a God who gives the bare minimum to His children. Rather, I believe that He gives abundantly, heaping blessing upon blessing in our lives when we deserve absolutely nothing.
I don't want anything other than what God wills for my life or for the lives of others. That is the one thing I desire above all others. Yet, I also long for other things, some more 'holy' and some more temporary. So in this recent discussion of prayer, I found myself realizing that it's ok to have a desire and to bring in to the One who is sovereign and fulfills every need and watches over every care. Yet in the bringing, I want His will and His glory to be my first goal, my primary hope, the one thing that I want above everything else.
Sometimes though, there is such a sweetness in seeing the places where His will intersects my deepest cries. Those are the moments when I fall, yet again, in amazement and awe and worship, before the God who not only listens, but who cares enough to orchestrate our desires to match His when we give ourselves up fully to the opportunity. These are the moments that leave me ever more in love with my Lord and ever so much more willing to trust Him with all things in my life and the lives of those around me.
For He is faithful and He loves. That, friends, is the very best that life has to offer!
I found myself telling someone recently that we must pray. That we must pray and that we would beg God on our knees. As those words left my mouth I realized that I had more to say, that the sentence wasn't complete. So I continued on. We must beg God...on our knees...for His will...to match our desires.
You see, I am so very human. In the humanity, I long for things here on earth. There is healing I so hope for, souls that I long to be saved, earthly things that I still desire. Yet in my prayers, I tend to go one of two ways. Either I ask only for His will to be done. Or I ask only for my desires to be fulfilled. If I'm to choose, the first is where I'd rather land but the truth is that I believe that God is not just a God who gives the bare minimum to His children. Rather, I believe that He gives abundantly, heaping blessing upon blessing in our lives when we deserve absolutely nothing.
I don't want anything other than what God wills for my life or for the lives of others. That is the one thing I desire above all others. Yet, I also long for other things, some more 'holy' and some more temporary. So in this recent discussion of prayer, I found myself realizing that it's ok to have a desire and to bring in to the One who is sovereign and fulfills every need and watches over every care. Yet in the bringing, I want His will and His glory to be my first goal, my primary hope, the one thing that I want above everything else.
Sometimes though, there is such a sweetness in seeing the places where His will intersects my deepest cries. Those are the moments when I fall, yet again, in amazement and awe and worship, before the God who not only listens, but who cares enough to orchestrate our desires to match His when we give ourselves up fully to the opportunity. These are the moments that leave me ever more in love with my Lord and ever so much more willing to trust Him with all things in my life and the lives of those around me.
For He is faithful and He loves. That, friends, is the very best that life has to offer!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Slow
This has been a slow blogging year. I find that to be frustrating for it's not a lack of thoughts or topics or things that I can share. Rather, it seems to be the distraction of other things in my life that keeps me from writing such things. Also, more often than not it's that my thoughts are so large that to try to sum them up in a reasonable blog entry is more than I can attempt! This is a busy season of life, one that's full of some of the most incredibly wonderful things I can even imagine and also one that's bringing its fair share of challenges and even sorrows. I suppose in many ways, it's just a snapshot of anyone's life at any given point!
For me though, it has manifested itself in an extended blog vacation. I'm not particularly fond of that but I'm also not particularly sure that it's going to end anytime soon. For the truth is that the real world is holding all of my attention right now and it's not leaving me a lot of time to share with those who know me online! For good or for bad, I just thought I'd share that it's not because I've lost my muse but rather that my life has grown and changed and I'm just not sure where exactly this blog will fit in.
In the long run, I guess that time will tell. Time always tells! ;)
For me though, it has manifested itself in an extended blog vacation. I'm not particularly fond of that but I'm also not particularly sure that it's going to end anytime soon. For the truth is that the real world is holding all of my attention right now and it's not leaving me a lot of time to share with those who know me online! For good or for bad, I just thought I'd share that it's not because I've lost my muse but rather that my life has grown and changed and I'm just not sure where exactly this blog will fit in.
In the long run, I guess that time will tell. Time always tells! ;)
Monday, April 19, 2010
Blessed
Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and has made the Lord his hope and confidence.
~Jeremiah 17:7
~Jeremiah 17:7
The hour is late and my eyes are growing heavy as I sit under the solitary light in a cold office on the second floor of this Boston church I've grown to love over the last several years. I am here in this room because I'm supposed to be studying, preparing for an exam that I must take soon and for which I'm not currently prepared. Yet my thoughts are not on these expected actions. I don't care right now about what I'm supposed to be learning.
Instead, I'm drawn by the words on a simple plaque. They are written in gold, shimmering under this soft light: Jeremiah 17:7. I love these words because their truth is so simple and full of abundance. There's no promise of worldly gain or perfect lives or really any specific things save one: that we should be blessed.
Think of that! The blessing given by the hands of a mighty loving God. Is is not enough that we should be able to trust the Lord at all or that He should be worthy of our hope and confidence? These things alone should be abundantly satisfying for any of our moments. Yet God is not a detached character, leaving us to fend for ourselves and asking us just to trust Him with no action on His part.
No, He promises that we will be blessed. Not only is there such peace in actually trusting Him but we're also promised that there is blessing to be found in the doing of such things.
I know I'm tired. I know that it might be a miracle if I pass this test. Yet somehow all of these things and many more pale in comparison to the beauty and peace and joy that is my relationship with Jesus. For He is truly good and He has blessed me beyond comparison. His blessing fully outweighs any cost that I might pay in following or trusting or hoping in Him. What an amazing equation, based on the abundant love of a faithful God. I am overwhelmed.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Things That Are Wrong
Ok, just one thing really.
This makes me sad:
I know, it's just a minor blip in the sunny, springy, lovely weather.
Yet this is how it makes me feel:
:(
Just sayin'.
And don't freak out because this is my second post today. Unlikely to become a regular habit! :)
This makes me sad:
I know, it's just a minor blip in the sunny, springy, lovely weather.Yet this is how it makes me feel:
:(
Just sayin'.
And don't freak out because this is my second post today. Unlikely to become a regular habit! :)
Cleaning...Because it's Spring?
I am a saver of things. Not in a completely out-of-control, going to end up on some show about hoarders kind of way but in a sentimental manner.
The problem is that my sentimentality can get a bit out of hand at times.
Enter Spring.
For some reason, I am compelled to clean in the spring. I guess clean is actually the wrong word for it. I'm compelled to toss out/organize/reduce/shine up everything! Now, it's not unusual for me to get home and just start cleaning the kitchen. That's normal and to be expected (you can ask Shanda).
Spring brings about a whole new side though where I'll start in the kitchen and I just don't stop because there's so much stuff that can be shined up, wiped off, put away, moved around, and generally made prettier. I have no clue why this happens.
Am I alone in this habit?
BTW...this is not an offer for me to come and clean your house. Unless you want to pay me. Then we can talk. :)
The problem is that my sentimentality can get a bit out of hand at times.
Enter Spring.
For some reason, I am compelled to clean in the spring. I guess clean is actually the wrong word for it. I'm compelled to toss out/organize/reduce/shine up everything! Now, it's not unusual for me to get home and just start cleaning the kitchen. That's normal and to be expected (you can ask Shanda).
Spring brings about a whole new side though where I'll start in the kitchen and I just don't stop because there's so much stuff that can be shined up, wiped off, put away, moved around, and generally made prettier. I have no clue why this happens.
Am I alone in this habit?
BTW...this is not an offer for me to come and clean your house. Unless you want to pay me. Then we can talk. :)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
19 Cent Integrity
It was a quick stop at the store, just a couple things on the list and I'd be back out the door and headed for home. It was almost 5:00 and I knew that rush hour was starting and, quite frankly, I was tired and ready to call it a day.
It was Kroger and I know the store well so I grabbed everything and quickly made my way to the front. I paused to pick up some flowers (inconsequential to this tale but they make me happy and now that'll be recorded too) and then got into the self-checkout line. I rang up everything, dealt with a coupon, and paid. All was well and then as I put my bags in the cart I spotted it: the lone tomato that had escaped my bag.
I saw it and then I scooped it up and put it in my bag, surreptitiously and knowing even as I did that I had certainly not paid for that little sucker. Almost immediately my instinctive (read that as sinful) nature kicked in and I thought, "Hey, it's just one tomato, I didn't do it on purpose, I'd never steal intentionally. It's just not a big deal."
I had a choice. In that one moment I knew that I was faced with an option. Did I stop, drag out everything and pay for that one lonely tomato or did I just call it a day and not worry about it?
I did have a choice. Nobody would have noticed. It wouldn't have caused some accounting disaster. It wouldn't have made a difference to anyone.
I realized though, it did make a difference to me. It was important because while I actually don't know who is watching my actions here on this planet (but for the record, probably more people than I'd guess) I most assuredly do believe that there is a God to whom I will have to one day give an account for every careless, sinful action that I've committed. I could have added to that already long list today.
Instead, I stopped, pulled that tomato out and paid 19 cents to know that one day when I stand before a very holy and righteous God, I will not have to talk about that lonely tomato.
Today, my integrity cost 19 cents. Tomorrow, it could cost me everything. I hope I'll consider no price too large to pay but, for now, I'm thankful that I chose well on this day.
I just hope that with each choice I make I'm becoming less likely to disregard sin in my life no matter how small I might consider it and that with each decision, I'm becoming more like Him.
It was Kroger and I know the store well so I grabbed everything and quickly made my way to the front. I paused to pick up some flowers (inconsequential to this tale but they make me happy and now that'll be recorded too) and then got into the self-checkout line. I rang up everything, dealt with a coupon, and paid. All was well and then as I put my bags in the cart I spotted it: the lone tomato that had escaped my bag.
I saw it and then I scooped it up and put it in my bag, surreptitiously and knowing even as I did that I had certainly not paid for that little sucker. Almost immediately my instinctive (read that as sinful) nature kicked in and I thought, "Hey, it's just one tomato, I didn't do it on purpose, I'd never steal intentionally. It's just not a big deal."
I had a choice. In that one moment I knew that I was faced with an option. Did I stop, drag out everything and pay for that one lonely tomato or did I just call it a day and not worry about it?
I did have a choice. Nobody would have noticed. It wouldn't have caused some accounting disaster. It wouldn't have made a difference to anyone.
I realized though, it did make a difference to me. It was important because while I actually don't know who is watching my actions here on this planet (but for the record, probably more people than I'd guess) I most assuredly do believe that there is a God to whom I will have to one day give an account for every careless, sinful action that I've committed. I could have added to that already long list today.
Instead, I stopped, pulled that tomato out and paid 19 cents to know that one day when I stand before a very holy and righteous God, I will not have to talk about that lonely tomato.
Today, my integrity cost 19 cents. Tomorrow, it could cost me everything. I hope I'll consider no price too large to pay but, for now, I'm thankful that I chose well on this day.
I just hope that with each choice I make I'm becoming less likely to disregard sin in my life no matter how small I might consider it and that with each decision, I'm becoming more like Him.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Is there a 12-Step program for this?
Got this in my email today:
Suspect I should be concerned.
Am really just excited that I now get free drinks.
I may need professional help.
:)
Suspect I should be concerned.Am really just excited that I now get free drinks.
I may need professional help.
:)
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Love
I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all Christians the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.
~Ephesians 3:17-18 (The Message)
~Ephesians 3:17-18 (The Message)
Here I am on day 9 of the 90 day challenge and I'm still keeping up. I find myself right now in the middle of Leviticus, where I'll stay for another day before moving on! :) I'm amazed at the words and stories that I'm reading every day. Stories of an unfaithful people and a faithful God. Day after day I'm incredibly overwhelmed by the amount of love shown by the Lord.
At first I was calling it patience. Saying that God was so patient in not giving up on the people He created. So patient in not walking away from them every time they just made a royal mess of things. So patient in not kicking them to the curb as they so rapidly sinned against Him or argued with Him or doubted Him. I thought of it as patience.
Then I realized that I was wrong. This wasn't just patience. This was LOVE. It wasn't the picture of someone who just forced Himself time and again not to just call it quits and succeeded in pressing on just because He had amazing self-control. No, it was instead the picture of love, a love so deep and abiding and persistent that out of it flowed a patience that I can't even fathom.
No, God is not just patient. God is in love. In love with me and you and all who have come before and all who will follow. God shows what love truly is and in so doing we see so many other things, things like compassion and patience and faithfulness and tenacity and mercy and grace. Yet it's not these things alone that drive God's actions. What defines every other characteristic is His love.
Oh that we may all understand what love He has for us. What love He has for all of His creation. For that's where everything else comes from.
This is a treasure I've found from these first nine days. I can hardly wait to see what else He will show me. Pretty sure though that this is a big one...in fact, the one that the whole thing hinges on. Such a great reminder to me and I see it ever so much more clearly by seeing the history of the saints in such rapid progression. Awesome!
Seek Him. Know Him. Be loved. By Him.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Show Me How
I'll run the course you lay out for me if you'll just show me how. God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me-my whole life one long, obedient response.
~Psalm 119:32-34 (The Message)
~Psalm 119:32-34 (The Message)
This morning as I read these verses I realized that for this to truly be the desire of my life and my heart then I need to be willing to actually seek out what God has to show me. I am quick to state that I desire to walk more closely with Him, that I want to love Him above all else, that I hope to stay only in His will but I'm not as quick to reorganize my life to figure out how to do that. These 90 days are just one way that I think that I can begin to structure my life even more closely to the challenge in these verses: to be shown how to run and to learn the lessons to run well. That's just one of my hopes for this process!
It's a day into this 90 day journey and I can already see that it's going to show me a lot about God and I'm quite certain that I'll also learn quite a bit about myself. In drinking deeply from His wisdom I have already found that there is much to see that I've not noticed when taking it in much more slowly. I'm seeing already how much His faithfulness is reflected towards His people and how much love and emotion is apparent in His relationships with them. I am impressed with how often God spoke to those He loved and how quickly they followed even when they had questions.
I also see sin and the ramifications of it: the desire to be like God, the desire to manipulate situations to solve for problems, a desire for attention and favor and honor, greed, lying, hiding. All leading to a deeply grieved God and death, whether immediate or eventually.
Amazing to realize that even though He knew we would break His heart in so many ways, He still looked at His creation of Adam and said that it was very good. Through all that was to happen, redemption was always part of His plan too. I'll never be able to grasp that.
1 day in. This is going to be amazing.
Monday, January 18, 2010
90 Days: A Challenge
When she first mentioned it my initial response was one of hesitancy and distance. Really? 90 days to accomplish this task? Doesn't that seem a little intense, a little too much, a little too hard, a bit unnecessary? I remember my first comments of how I couldn't take in that much information that quickly, that I had so much other stuff going on, that I was probably too busy.
Funny how God sometimes won't let a thing go.
Mere weeks later, I'm poised to begin the task, to tackle the challenge, to stop with the whining and excuses and complaints. Will it be hard? Certainly. Will it require me to give up some things that I'd rather do? Absolutely. These things are completely true but they're not the real questions I should be asking. These are the questions that have made me agree to the task:
When I found myself answering yes to these questions, I knew that I needed to do it. Not because it's a requirement, not because I had to, not because I'd feel left out if I didn't join but because when you find something that has the potential to do everything in the questions above, you must at least give it more than a passing glance.
This is something that I want to do. Something that I probably need to do. Something that, with God's grace and my discipline, I will do.
So, 90 days. It's going to be quite the journey.
Thanks for the invitation, friend!
:)
Funny how God sometimes won't let a thing go.
Mere weeks later, I'm poised to begin the task, to tackle the challenge, to stop with the whining and excuses and complaints. Will it be hard? Certainly. Will it require me to give up some things that I'd rather do? Absolutely. These things are completely true but they're not the real questions I should be asking. These are the questions that have made me agree to the task:
Will it push my faith and reliance on God?
Will it refine my character and realign my priorities
to be a better reflection of what's important to Him?
Will it open up opportunities to more greatly
reflect on His character and understand who He really is and has been and will be?
Will it make me more like Jesus?
Will it refine my character and realign my priorities
to be a better reflection of what's important to Him?
Will it open up opportunities to more greatly
reflect on His character and understand who He really is and has been and will be?
Will it make me more like Jesus?
When I found myself answering yes to these questions, I knew that I needed to do it. Not because it's a requirement, not because I had to, not because I'd feel left out if I didn't join but because when you find something that has the potential to do everything in the questions above, you must at least give it more than a passing glance.
This is something that I want to do. Something that I probably need to do. Something that, with God's grace and my discipline, I will do.
So, 90 days. It's going to be quite the journey.
Thanks for the invitation, friend!
:)
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Call to Action: Haiti
The smallest, the weakest, the quietest: these are the children living in the aftermath of the tragedy in Haiti. Compassion International works with over 65,000 children and their families in Haiti and over a third of them live in the hardest hit areas. Think about that for a minute: 65,000 children. That's a LOT of children being ministered to, cared for, and loved by people around the world who give of their energy and finances every month to reach these smallest of miracles.
In the wake of this earthquake, many sponsors will have to wait for long days to hear the fate of the children that they loved. Devastatingly, many children likely perished and their dear sponsors will only be able to hear and mourn from a distance. Yet this is a reflection of the bonds that Compassion nurtures, the incredible fact that around the world, over 65,000 people know the names of a child and pray for them and support them. Yes, there will be mourning and sorrow but there will also come hope and rejoicing and miracles of a God who hears and responds to our prayers and our willingness to give. Without Compassion, this tragedy could have remained sterile for many but now there are names and faces and forces joined in prayer and hope. Compassion loves children and allows for many to love them too. This is what Compassion does day in and day out but today there is a larger need for this one small country and we should not turn away from it.
Without a doubt, the children we serve in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. Compassion has teams prepared to respond, and they are deeply committed to helping each child. Compassion needs your help immediately. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis.
Here is a link that will allow you to donate to Compassion for their critical ministry following the Haiti earthquake. Read on for more information about your gift but please consider giving, it really will change a life.
https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm?referer=105120SocialSponsorshipBlitz
HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED: All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.
You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families' needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families' needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.
The FBI is warning of several Haiti charity scams that have popped up in the wake of this earthquake. They are suggesting that donations only be made to organizations monitored and rated by CharityNavigator.org and The American Institute of Philanthropy. Both organizations have given Compassion International their highest approval ranking. Compassion International is the only non-profit in it's category to receive eight consecutive years of four star rating from CharityNavigator.org.
Links regarding Compassion International's financial integrity:
http://www.compassion.com/about/financial/default.htm
FIRST RESPONDER:
In this disaster it is crucial that first responders receive support quickly. Because Compassion International ministers through local churches to meet the needs of that church's neighbors, and because these church partners are respected aid workers in their communities, Compassion is uniquely positioned to assess and meet the needs of it's sponsored children quickly. This is an advantage of our church-based model in practice for more than 50 years.
IN JESUS' NAME:
Compassion International does not accept government funds which could at times restrict our ability to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children in Jesus' name. Because of this Compassion International's primary financial support comes from individual donors.
For ongoing information:
Compassion on Facebook and the Crisis Update Page.
In the wake of this earthquake, many sponsors will have to wait for long days to hear the fate of the children that they loved. Devastatingly, many children likely perished and their dear sponsors will only be able to hear and mourn from a distance. Yet this is a reflection of the bonds that Compassion nurtures, the incredible fact that around the world, over 65,000 people know the names of a child and pray for them and support them. Yes, there will be mourning and sorrow but there will also come hope and rejoicing and miracles of a God who hears and responds to our prayers and our willingness to give. Without Compassion, this tragedy could have remained sterile for many but now there are names and faces and forces joined in prayer and hope. Compassion loves children and allows for many to love them too. This is what Compassion does day in and day out but today there is a larger need for this one small country and we should not turn away from it.
Without a doubt, the children we serve in Haiti are in shock and face immediate needs for food, water, medical care, shelter and counseling. Compassion has teams prepared to respond, and they are deeply committed to helping each child. Compassion needs your help immediately. Please reach out in the name of Jesus to bring relief, comfort, love and restoration to precious children and families whose lives have been devastated by this crisis.
Here is a link that will allow you to donate to Compassion for their critical ministry following the Haiti earthquake. Read on for more information about your gift but please consider giving, it really will change a life.
https://www.compassion.com/contribution/giving/haitiearthquake.htm?referer=105120SocialSponsorshipBlitz
HOW DONATIONS WILL BE USED: All funds raised in response to the Haiti earthquake will be used immediately to provide for Compassion-assisted children and families affected by this crisis. Any funds raised in excess will be stewarded by Compassion for additional and future disaster relief efforts.
You can provide immediate relief today.
• $35 helps provide a relief pack filled with enough food and water to sustain a family for one week.
• $70 gift helps care for their needs for two weeks.
• $105 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain two families for two weeks.
• $210 gift helps care for two families' needs.
• $525 helps provide relief packs filled with enough food and water to sustain 10 families for two weeks.
• $1,050 gift helps care for 10 families' needs.
• $1,500 helps rebuild a home.
• $2,100 helps supply 20 families with the basics for three weeks.
Due to the high number of responses it may take longer than normal to process your transaction.
WHY GIVE TO COMPASSION INTERNATIONAL
FINANCIAL INTEGRITY:The FBI is warning of several Haiti charity scams that have popped up in the wake of this earthquake. They are suggesting that donations only be made to organizations monitored and rated by CharityNavigator.org and The American Institute of Philanthropy. Both organizations have given Compassion International their highest approval ranking. Compassion International is the only non-profit in it's category to receive eight consecutive years of four star rating from CharityNavigator.org.
Links regarding Compassion International's financial integrity:
http://www.compassion.com/about/financial/default.htm
FIRST RESPONDER:
In this disaster it is crucial that first responders receive support quickly. Because Compassion International ministers through local churches to meet the needs of that church's neighbors, and because these church partners are respected aid workers in their communities, Compassion is uniquely positioned to assess and meet the needs of it's sponsored children quickly. This is an advantage of our church-based model in practice for more than 50 years.
IN JESUS' NAME:
Compassion International does not accept government funds which could at times restrict our ability to meet the physical and spiritual needs of children in Jesus' name. Because of this Compassion International's primary financial support comes from individual donors.
For ongoing information:
Compassion on Facebook and the Crisis Update Page.
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Where It Goes, Only God Knows
I don't know what the remainder of my days will look like. I don't know where I'll live or if I'll marry or if I'll have a family of my own. These things are yet unknown. However, in the midst of my life right now, God is working on some dreams, some dreams that right now seem impossible to me and yet I know they are reflections of His heart.
I don't know what happens down the road but God does. These ponderings may be the seeds of something that changes the world or maybe just the seeds of something that changes me. Either way, this video speaks a great deal to where God is working on me right now and perhaps, He's working on you there too!
I don't know what happens down the road but God does. These ponderings may be the seeds of something that changes the world or maybe just the seeds of something that changes me. Either way, this video speaks a great deal to where God is working on me right now and perhaps, He's working on you there too!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Go!
So perhaps I decided to take a couple days off and start the new year up when I returned to work. Perhaps! :)
It's here though, this brand new year. It's four days old and I'm already loving so many moments and also already wondering at various things that God is showing me and working on in me. Oddly enough, exactly the same things that were going on a week ago!
I do have some thoughts about what I hope this year will hold though, thoughts that I'm willing to put out here for my two readers to know! :) Some might call these goals or resolutions but I look at them more as areas of focus, things that I want to purposefully draw my attention towards in the days to come. None of these is some new, lofty pursuit but rather things that God has been working on in me for months, sometimes years already!
First, I want to work on being faithful in all of the things that God has placed in my life today. In relationships and jobs, in stewardship and time management, in all of the areas of my life where I've at times become lazy and inattentive. I want to live out Luke 16:10, which I am taking somewhat out of context but which I believe is applicable for all areas of life. It says, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." I want to reflect faithfulness in the smallest of areas so that I might be further refined for whatever God needs of me in the future. It is one of my desires for this year.
Second, I want to practice compassion towards all. I want my actions and attitude to be one of love towards all I encounter, not just the lovely or those who are dear to me. I want to be thoughtful of the way that I bear His light in this world and seek to live outside myself much more often.
Third, I desire that prayer would become an area of focus in my days. I have found myself guilty of not allotting much time to the spiritual disciplines and I desire for my life to be defined by my time with the Lord pursuing Him in prayer, study, fasting, and other disciplines. Prayer particularly is an area that I want to grow more diligent in but each of these disciplines deserves more of my time and effort so that God might show me His character and change me to better resemble it.
Fourth, I want to purposefully cultivate my artistic abilities and my imagination by spending time taking pictures, reading, pulling out my instruments, writing and other such things. I want to aim for depth in my thoughts and writings and I want to allow God to develop big dreams for my life and my days.
Fifth, I want to be very purposeful towards relationships in my life. I want to be intentional, diligent, and willing to invest my time and energy into those around me. I have become ever so aware that this life is not about me and that if I choose to live in solidarity I will one day have no one to turn to when I am in need of encouragement or help. Friendships are a huge blessing given by the Lord and I want to especially be faithful with those He has given.
Sixth, and probably the one I like the least, is that I want to practice living a life of risk. Not in stupid ways or dangerous ways but rather embracing the idea of learning to let go and allow control to be beyond my grasp in order to learn a greater dependence on the Lord. I don't like not being safe and even though I've grown in this in a lot of ways over the past couple of years, it is still something that I struggle with. I like things to be defined and calculated and safe and while I experience dependence on God, I feel as though I limit His capability to move in my life as I continue to hold on to what feels comfortable. In my head I know that risk is important to life but when it comes down to action, I am not always able to let go of the line and fall into His arms completely. I desire growth in this area even though the acknowledgment of the desire opens me up to the reality of having to truly embrace it and go in places that are hard.
These are six areas that I know I want to continue to focus on in the coming months and now seems like as good of a time as any to identify them and write about them. I'm certain that you'll see these concepts revisited in the days to come and I'd love for you to challenge me and call me out if you see that I'm falling short in these (or really any other area).
I also want to take just a moment to push you. Take some time and identify where you sense God challenging you and calling you to bigger things. Sit down and think about your life, look at those areas and see what you might be able to focus on in the months to come. In all reality, January 1st is just another day but sometimes it's good to sit down and seek out what God might be doing in your life that needs a bit more of your attention.
Finally, in closing what is a really long post here, I want you to know that this is my prayer for you this year:
May we gather next year and recount what God has done in our lives as we passionately pursue Him and His heart and allow Him to daily refine us to be better bearers of His name!
Go in peace into 2010 and may God rule your every moment!
It's here though, this brand new year. It's four days old and I'm already loving so many moments and also already wondering at various things that God is showing me and working on in me. Oddly enough, exactly the same things that were going on a week ago!
I do have some thoughts about what I hope this year will hold though, thoughts that I'm willing to put out here for my two readers to know! :) Some might call these goals or resolutions but I look at them more as areas of focus, things that I want to purposefully draw my attention towards in the days to come. None of these is some new, lofty pursuit but rather things that God has been working on in me for months, sometimes years already!
First, I want to work on being faithful in all of the things that God has placed in my life today. In relationships and jobs, in stewardship and time management, in all of the areas of my life where I've at times become lazy and inattentive. I want to live out Luke 16:10, which I am taking somewhat out of context but which I believe is applicable for all areas of life. It says, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." I want to reflect faithfulness in the smallest of areas so that I might be further refined for whatever God needs of me in the future. It is one of my desires for this year.
Second, I want to practice compassion towards all. I want my actions and attitude to be one of love towards all I encounter, not just the lovely or those who are dear to me. I want to be thoughtful of the way that I bear His light in this world and seek to live outside myself much more often.
Third, I desire that prayer would become an area of focus in my days. I have found myself guilty of not allotting much time to the spiritual disciplines and I desire for my life to be defined by my time with the Lord pursuing Him in prayer, study, fasting, and other disciplines. Prayer particularly is an area that I want to grow more diligent in but each of these disciplines deserves more of my time and effort so that God might show me His character and change me to better resemble it.
Fourth, I want to purposefully cultivate my artistic abilities and my imagination by spending time taking pictures, reading, pulling out my instruments, writing and other such things. I want to aim for depth in my thoughts and writings and I want to allow God to develop big dreams for my life and my days.
Fifth, I want to be very purposeful towards relationships in my life. I want to be intentional, diligent, and willing to invest my time and energy into those around me. I have become ever so aware that this life is not about me and that if I choose to live in solidarity I will one day have no one to turn to when I am in need of encouragement or help. Friendships are a huge blessing given by the Lord and I want to especially be faithful with those He has given.
Sixth, and probably the one I like the least, is that I want to practice living a life of risk. Not in stupid ways or dangerous ways but rather embracing the idea of learning to let go and allow control to be beyond my grasp in order to learn a greater dependence on the Lord. I don't like not being safe and even though I've grown in this in a lot of ways over the past couple of years, it is still something that I struggle with. I like things to be defined and calculated and safe and while I experience dependence on God, I feel as though I limit His capability to move in my life as I continue to hold on to what feels comfortable. In my head I know that risk is important to life but when it comes down to action, I am not always able to let go of the line and fall into His arms completely. I desire growth in this area even though the acknowledgment of the desire opens me up to the reality of having to truly embrace it and go in places that are hard.
These are six areas that I know I want to continue to focus on in the coming months and now seems like as good of a time as any to identify them and write about them. I'm certain that you'll see these concepts revisited in the days to come and I'd love for you to challenge me and call me out if you see that I'm falling short in these (or really any other area).
I also want to take just a moment to push you. Take some time and identify where you sense God challenging you and calling you to bigger things. Sit down and think about your life, look at those areas and see what you might be able to focus on in the months to come. In all reality, January 1st is just another day but sometimes it's good to sit down and seek out what God might be doing in your life that needs a bit more of your attention.
Finally, in closing what is a really long post here, I want you to know that this is my prayer for you this year:
But you, dear friends, carefully build yourselves up in this most holy faith by praying in the Holy Spirit, staying right at the center of God's love, keeping your arms open and outstretched, ready for the mercy of our Master, Jesus Christ. This is the unending life, the real life!
~Jude 1:20-21
~Jude 1:20-21
May we gather next year and recount what God has done in our lives as we passionately pursue Him and His heart and allow Him to daily refine us to be better bearers of His name!
Go in peace into 2010 and may God rule your every moment!
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