Sunday Afternoon All Things New

Today marks the beginning of another week in the 31 Days series I've been working on. 

I've got some pictures, some words of wisdom, and of course an intro to this week's 31 Days theme. 

This weekend has been sunny, windy, and COLD. Most of the leaves are now on the ground. I don't know where they all went, but no one has been raking and yet hardly any leaves are in yards. Guess God did the raking this year. 

So, I'm sitting here in my spot by the window. Squinting a little bit. Enjoying the joy of a window that keeps most of the cold out but lets the warmth of the sun in. 

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Remember that sermon I told you about by John Piper? 

Well, I'm going to share some words of wisdom that I copied down. These come from the first 20 minutes of that message. I already have 3 pages of notes. I'm not a doodler. It's 3 pages of WORDS. 

I'll just share the best parts! (Quotes belong to John Piper, unless otherwise noted)

"God created the world for the praise of the glory of His grace supremely manifested in the death of Jesus."

In these acts of creation, redemption, and keeping, "we see God's massive, pervasive self exaltation and promotion." 

We don't like that thought. We do not find it loving. We don't see God for who He is. This is a problem. 

We find God offensive and confusing. 

Yet, God provided a solution. Piper calls that solution "Christian Hedonism". Whatever you call it, the solution tells us that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." 

That sentence changed my life six years ago. 

Coming to understand what that sentence gets across has changed the lives of many. Edwards, Lewis, and Piper to name a few. Hopefully it has changed yours too! 

The sentence "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him", tells us that "there is no final conflict between your highest exhilaration and God's highest self glorification."

"Not only is there no conflict between your happiness and God's glory, but His glory shines brightly the more happy you are if your happiness is in Him." 

"Therefore, when He exalts Himself, sustains His glory, spreads it in the world for our praise, He is loving us, He is kind to us, He is merciful to us, giving us what will make us most deeply and most permanently happy." 

Because of who He is, "God is the one being in the universe for whom self-exaltation is the highest virtue."

"If you try to exalt yourself, you're not loving anybody! You are distracting them from what will make them happy." 

"You won't make them happy...You distract them from what will save them."

"If God exalts Himself, He's not distracting you, He's loving you. 'Come to Me, come to Me! I'm everything you've ever wanted. Come to Me. Be satisfied in Me. Enjoy Me. Treasure Me.'" 

"God's design to pursue His glory in the world turns out to be an act of love. Your duty to glorify Him, turns out to be the pursuit of your joy." 

CS Lewis wrote, "The world rings with praise. We praise whatever we love and admire and treasure and enjoy...Just as when men spontaneously praise whatever they value, so they spontaneously urge them [others] to join them in praising it." 

He goes on, "I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses, but completes the enjoyment...Delight is incomplete until it is expressed." 

Sister, if you are struggling to find something. Look no further. The One who made you made you with a purpose. That purpose is to know Him and be known by Him. As this takes place, you will find completeness in Him.

Your purpose is to glorify Him by being satisfied in Him.

It sounds silly. It sounds foolish. 

It is. It is silly. It is foolish. UNTIL you come to treasure and enjoy Him. Until you know Him, you can't even imagine what knowing Him is like. 

Once you know Him and your life is changed. You will see how silly and foolish you were without Him.

"Your duty to glorify Him, turns out to be the pursuit of your joy." 

Pictures: Fresh towels// A coffee, a farmer's market find, and a new recipe//New chopper, one my most used kitchen items//Cozy spot//Books I'm reading//Slippers that even 89 year old ladies make fun of.

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This week, I'm going to talk about the EXCITING part of making a home. These require the most work, but they don't happen very often. Most of us look forward to them. 

This week we're talking about entertaining, holidays, and seasonal decorating. 

Today I want to challenge you to ORGANIZE your seasonal decorations. 

If you have A LOT, get some boxes or totes. Label each one. It's as simple as cardboard, packing tape, a sharpie, and some index cards.

If you have a few things, find a drawer or a shelf where the things of the season can be together. 

It doesn't have to be hard. Having things organized may make the difference of what, when, or maybe even IF you put things out. 

So, get organized. It's the first step to enjoying these special days!