You Might Enjoy

January 11, 2017

Since the middle of February I have been consciously collecting a list of things that will help me (or have prepared me to) DO this thing called BASKING that I've set out to do in the year ahead. If I'm honest, the occasional blue skies and the sun poking out from behind the clouds are my steadiest reminder, but there are things along the way that have done a lot of work too.

Here are some resources that have prepared me for 2017:

A sermon: The Glory of God in the Good Resolves of His People by John Piper - I'm not sure how many times I've listened to this sermon, but I've had it on my iPod for two whole years now. It's a theme that's on my mind often. I wrote about it here and it influenced the word I chose to focus on last year.

A book: Grace For the Good Girl by Emily P. Freeman - I've read Freeman's blog for YEARS. She writes the way I long to write, connecting her faith to the most ordinary of moments in her everyday life. I read this book a while ago, but it was in its pages that I finally GOT what it was for Jesus to be about His Father's business. This book made me DIG around in the Bible. It encouraged me to look to Christ's example as I sought to BE a Christian. This is NOT another women's book about "letting go and letting God". It will breathe TRUTH into your soul and it will  challenge you to stand firm.

Some prose that reads like a poem: Scrolling through instagram one day back in October, I came across these words by C.S. Lewis (it turns out they were taken from a section out of Mere Christianity). It goes like this:

NEARER

"If you want to get warm

             you must stand 

            near the fire: if

           you want to be 

               wet you must get 

           into the water.

             If you want joy, 

                    power, peace, eternal 

              life, you must get 

                  close to, or even into,

        the thing that 

 has them."

                         - C.S. Lewis

Here are some things that are keeping me focused in 2017:

A playlist: Bask 2017 - This won't be for everyone, but it's the kind of music that I can't help but be grateful to have in my life. These songs have been encouraging me and teaching me and challenging me for years. Hit shuffle and ENJOY!

A plan: Stay in the Gospels - In light of the task this word spurs me onto, I felt the best place to go was to the example of Jesus Christ, Himself. So, I've been spending time with Him in the Gospels. I started with John, then moved on to Mark, and I'm going to start Matthew today. I can't remember who said it, but a theologian of old encouraged every Christian to always have their thumb in the Gospels no matter what other Scripture they were focusing on. In different seasons, I've attempted to do that.

Resolves: Going for walks in silence. Keeping a list of prayer requests handy and going over it or checking back in with the people that have asked me to pray. Journaling out Scriptures and lessons and prayers and preaching the Word to myself. Staying in touch with friends and listening to the stories of grace that they have to share or the burdens of faith they are carrying.

Is there anything you would recommend to me? 

What are some things that have been pointing you to God lately? 

A Thursday Drive: As Always

At the end of October, I shared some pictures from a drive I took with my Dad, my aunt, and my grandparents when I was visiting South Carolina back in September. It's the beginning of December (the warmest and fallest feeling day we've had in weeks) now and I'm ready to share the second and final part of this little series! I've got an hour and my second cup of coffee and a fresh bite from the writing bug, so let's go....

It's been 10 weeks since that rainy day in September when nothing was going right and yet everything was perfect. I think my Dad may have known where he was going all along, but maybe he really was making his mind up as the day wore on. After winding our way through this road and that road, up into the mountains, and in parts of North and South Carolina that none of us had laid eyes on in YEARS, we made it to the spot where we would get our hike in.

Hooker Falls Dam is a spot that my Dad used to take us to. We hiked the trails, rode horses, played in the water (my brother may or may not have had one of his many water related "there he goes" again moments there) and enjoyed countless day trips to these woods. We all piled out of the car armed with the umbrellas that my Grandpa packed (that man is the essence of preparedness) and made our way to the trailhead. It was barely drizzling by now so we were eager to take our time and enjoy this hike we had all set our minds on!

I pulled out my camera right away and started taking pictures of everything that I saw. The falls may be small, but they are peaceful and beautiful. When my Dad first started dabbling in photography he spent some time playing with techniques at this spot. One shot ended up framed and many a lazy summer afternoon was spent staring at that picture which used to hang on my Grandma's stairwell. What I'm trying to say is that I love this spot.

Hiking with my Dad and his parents is one of my favorite things. Everyone is quiet as they take in the scenery. There is ALWAYS something to laugh about and no one is in a hurry. I wonder if hiking these trails will be the same once they are all gone. They truly did teach me MY kind of hiking and I've yet to meet anyone that hikes quite like they do. My Grandma ALWAYS wears flip flops and she ALWAYS keeps up just fine. My Grandpa is the watchdog warning of danger and quick to offer whatever he has in his back pocket for "emergencies" (water? umbrella? an extra hat? snack?). Hiking was a highlight of my summers when I was growing up and looking back I realize how carefree those trips made me feel. Maybe that's what I loved best.

This September Thursday was no different. Everyone had aged about ten years since our last hike. My brother had no idea I was in SC and was experiencing his final day at police academy. My Grandma still wore her flipflops, my Grandpa was still the watchdog, my Dad was close by, and I was as carefree as I was in the days gone by. Hooker Falls Dam's magic was as breathtaking as always.

The rain picked up as we headed to the car. We piled back in one last time and began the drive to the house. The last leg of the trip was the quietest and I'm pretty sure it was because we were all mulling over the day's adventure. I snapped a few more pictures. We pulled over once to take pictures of this horse which proceeded to pose for a few shots and then turn around when he'd had quite enough. We finished off the snacks and drinks my Grandpa packed and before we knew it night was falling and we were home. I went to bed knowing that that day was going to be one of my favorites from the trip.

Ten weeks later, I've realized that that day held a lesson that's going to do me a lot of good in this season I'm in now. The road blocks were MANY and yet there was always another route. Plan A got swapped for Plan B and yet Plan B really was better than Plan A could have ever hoped to be. Making our way past the change ups was memorable...It's still with me 10 weeks later in a special kind of way. The joy that day brought was a result of my willingness to make the most of the day, roadblocks and all.

We've been at the Queen's Cottage for about three months now and I never quite know how to explain things or plan for the future, so life kind of feels like one great big Plan B. And actually, if I'm honest, it feels more like I'm on Plan J by now. The secret to being carefree and embracing that peace that God promises to His people is trusting Him the same way that I trusted my Dad that Thursday in September. It might feel foolish. It might not make sense to me or to those around me. It might not change the world...But when God's people trust Him (and live like it) they are a testimony to the reality of His sovereign grace. The words I've been clinging to over the last five years still ring true today and I'm grateful for another reminder of them.

"The life of the godly is not a straight line to glory, but they do get there...There are rock slides and precipices and dark mists and bears and slippery curves and hairpin turns that make you go backwards in order to go forwards. But all along this hazardous, twisted road that doesn't let you see very far ahead there are frequent signs that say, 'The best is yet to come.'" - John Piper

Still Grateful

Knowing God is the greatest joy of my life. Spending eternity in His presence is what keeps me going. There was a time when I didn't know why I existed or why my life was so hard. I became a Christian at a VBS program when I was 9 years old. They told me to read my Bible, pray, and go to church. I did that. I tried to be even better than I was before. I had a certain sense of peace that was new, but life was still miserable and I was certain that something was missing.

Everything changed during the summer that I was 15. A man named Greg helped his son Josh and his friend Adam put on a conference. Together, along with material from John Piper and RC Sproul, these men brought me face to face with the glory of God. For the first time in my life, the Scriptures that I had been underlining in the magazine style Bible my Mom had given me began to come together. I realized that the glory of God was what was missing from my Christianity. I remember being so glad to finally SEE, but also so mad that nobody had told me this before. I wondered how I had been a Christian for six years without being told the rest of the story (or really seeing it for myself).

From that moment on, I was sure to share what I had learned with anyone who would listen. I started my first blog after returning from that conference. Any chance I was given to turn the conversation or to lead a group always had me pointing people to the "WHY"  behind everything and the answer to the "Now what?" question that I had been struggling with for so long. I was grateful to those men for defining the glory of God and helping me to see that I was made to see that glory and savor it and declare it.

Nine summers later, I'm still grateful. My life and my Christianity were changed. I recently came across this post on Desiring God that took me right back to the moment when God opened my eyes:

A lot has changed over the last nine summers. In fact, I can hardly believe everything that has happened as I look back on them all. One thing remains them same, namely, the reality of the glory of God being the end all and be all of my life. My fight against sin continues, but that summer I learned that I don't fight alone. God is fighting with me and for me. He has given me everything I need and everything I'm striving for, in Himself. As I press on in Him, His glory is displayed.

"In love He predestined us for the adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved." 

Ephesians 1:5-6

A Contagious Passion

January 10, 2015

Today marks our fifth day of being back home...It seems like life has been going NON stop for each of these days! Let me tell you about it.

On Friday, my friend Heidi came down with her family for a visit. I made up a batch of baked alfredo, garlic bread, sweet tea, and a giant ceasar salad. We caught up on the last few weeks, played with blocks and puzzles and stuffed animals, and enjoyed an afternoon together!

Jay's birthday was Saturday. I made THIS Yellow Butter Cake and topped it with some frosting straight from the store. (My thanks go to the decorating committee!) You can't always do EVERYTHING from scratch...Although, I just remembered that I do know of an awesome chocolate frosting recipe. Oops! Joe and I also made a trip to town that afternoon.

I started Sunday in the kitchen with my favorite biscuit recipe and the latest John Piper sermon (which he gave in Atlanta on January 4th while I was just an hour away!). I also decided to bundle up and head out for a walk. Later that afternoon, my editing hobby was called into action. Jay and I spent a few hours going over something he has been working on.

Monday was filled with laundry, cleaning, organizing, helping my Mom at the office for a bit, and exactly one hour of quiet while my brother and sister were at play practice.

* * * * * 

So...That's what I've been up to. It's amazing how quickly real life forces you to get with it!

For some reason, I felt like recording all of that, but the real reason I am writing today is to tell you about the sermon that I listened to on Sunday. It was the perfect sermon to start off the new year!

Piper has a passion for the glory of God that is contagious. His sermons are a great way to feed that same passion in my soul.

In this particular sermon, Piper explains the what and why and how of seeking God's power to fulfill our good resolves. These verses serve as the focus:

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of His calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by His power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Thessalonians 1:11-12

It was a real wake up call for me to consider the difference between Godless and Godly morality. I've got to confess, a lot of my morality is completely Godless.

 Give this sermon a listen HERE and let's talk about it!

How long does it take for you to get back to real life after vacation?

Have you been challenged by God's Word lately? 

How to Stop Wasting Your Life

Yesterday at Desiring God, Marshall Segal put up a great post that I just had to share with you here. You can view the content of the original post HERE. Feel free to click around Desiring God - you will find TONS of food for you soul!

Just in case you aren't in the mood to click over to Desiring God right now, I thought I'd share this video from the post right here:

Three Steps to Stop Wasting Your Life from Desiring God on Vimeo.

Living an unwasted life has been a passion of mine ever since I read Piper's book (Don't Waste Your Life) when I was 15. Nearly ten years later, I need all the encouragement that I can get.

Wasting our lives, that is, spending it on ourselves and our glory, is way too easy. The wasted life is one that comes to us naturally.

There is a different life. A better life. A life that leaves us more satisfied and promises eternal joy. That life is the unwasted life, namely, the life lived in the pursuit of God for the glory of God. This life will look like so many things and it will change as the seasons of our life and responsibilities change, but the God centeredness of it never changes.

You've probably highlighted verses like Proverbs 3:5-6. They've probably meant a lot to you. When we take a minute to really think about how these verses can impact our daily life, they came come to mean even more.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

Trust God.

Resolve to NOT be self reliant.

Keep turning to God. 

Don't waste your life. You'll be so glad you didn't!

Words Making a Difference

There are people who will never know just how much God has used them to make a difference in our lives. Some of them have met us and many others have not.

Whether I ever meet the people who have influenced me on this earth or not the fact remains that if it were not for the time they have spent preaching and praying and studying and writing, I just would not be the same.

One of these people happens to be pretty well known. His name is John Piper. I "met" Piper through a free book called "Don't Waste Your Life" that I received from the Billy Graham Association. I "met" him again at a conference shortly later. The conference was held at a university and hosted and taught by two 20-something men who had a vision for helping those just a few steps behind them learn what it really means to live for the glory of God. Turns out, Piper pretty much changed their lives too. 

John Piper recently released a book called "A Godward Heart: Treasuring the God Who Loves You". This work is made up of 50 short meditations on all kinds of topics. Basically, it's a chance to sit down with a man who knows and loves God in a way that touches every area of his life and ponder those areas with him.

His desire is that people would come to see and savor the God who has made them. Piper knows that what every single person is longing for is found in the person of God. He preaches and prays and studies and writes that anyone who hears or reads his words would be pointed to the One who satisfies souls. 

Pick up a copy of this book by clicking HERE, go over to Desiring God and dive into any resource you may find there, and be ready to watch God work. 

In the introduction to "A Godward Heart", Piper revealed his heart with these words,

"My aim is a Godward book in the hope that God will put His fingers on its paragraphs 

and turn the lens of the eye of your soul, so delicately, and bring glories into focus." (p. xiv)

Wether you pick up the book to read about God's word getting personal, seeking the Lord, voting, suffering, or living in view of the resurrection, you will find words that WILL help you see the God who is behind everything happening in your life and throughout all of time. 

Seeing, you will be on the road to becoming more like Him and being completely satisfied in Him. 

It's worth your time to sit down with books like this! If you're still not sure, check out chapter one by clicking HERE.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review. All thoughts and comments are my own. 

Some Things to Click On

via Desiring God

 Here are a few links that have had my attention lately:

* This article on praying Matthew 7:1-5 explains what I meant about living the way of the gospel.

* Here you'll find a Scripture to go back to over and over again to find truth and hope no matter what. Jesus met the conditions, just GO to Him.

* A reminder of HOW Jesus loves us. It might not be how you thought He did...

Also responsible are the books I've been reading. I finished both "Full Disclosure" by Dee Henderson and "You Don't Know Me" by Susan May Warren on Sunday. Though they are fiction, I took my time reading them.

 There was commitment to God and the caution with people in Henderson's book. Writing seems worth the trouble. Communing with God really is the main thing. And people...I'm still wrestling through my thoughts on what I learned about relationships with them from this book.

 The pain in "You Don't Know Me" had me bawling. Saying goodbye can be so difficult, even when it's best. Wishing life had a pause button doesn't change anything....Knowing it doesn't might help you enjoy the good and press on through the difficult. 

Would you do me a favor? Share a link to something you've enjoyed lately with me.

What have you learned from a book lately?

What Are You Saying

Remember the bombing that happened at the Boston Marathon earlier this year?

Remember the response of Boston, and the people around the US? 

Maybe this slogan is familiar: "Boston Strong"? 

After all of that, Marvin Olasky of World Magazine had a talk with John Piper. You can check out the article and video HERE (the video is on the second page).

I heard two things:

1. Christian, you and your city and your country are weak. You need God. Our boast is not in our strength but His. If we want a slogan, it should be God-Strong. 

2. Christian, you are a witness sent to declare...This is a time for witness. 

In the video portion, Piper said,

 "You're not called to make change. 

You're called to talk! Keep talking...Get beyond, 'If I can't fix it, I don't talk.' 

You're not called to fix it! 

You are called to talk! And keep talking till you don't have a voice in you anymore." 

There again the strength, the change, the fixing is all God. We must know this and knowing this we must talk in order to point people to Him.

If they hear, there will be more voices doing the same. If they don't hear, if they get upset, if they actually hurt us, we must respond in humility. The influence of our voice will probably only grow.

Luke 21:12-13 says, But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for My name's sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness...

 

Mathew 24:13-14 says, But the one who endures to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come...

God's plan is that the Gospel will be preached. He sends His people to talk. 

Our God is strong and He has given us His Word that we would have something to say. 

Are you saying it?  

Click ^^^ for a list of the posts in this series.

He Holds the Future

 

Last Thursday I wrote about how uncertainty and anxiety are connected. Even though I was writing about things that I am SURE of, I couldn't give an answer that satisfied me. 

I see the problem. I see the root. And yet, I can't fully grasp the solution. I still don't have an answer, but this week, God has shown me at least two PIECES of the solution. 

One came by way of a John Piper quote that someone shared...The quote came out of a book of his that I read several years ago called "Future Grace". The quote is this:

 

"We fight anxieties by fighting against unbelief and fighting for faith in future grace. And the way you fight this 'good fight' is by meditating on God's assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of His Spirit."

The other came from this blog post written by Emily Freeman about the movement that makes a difference. 

So the point is this - anxiety is real and, as best I can tell, it is caused by uncertainty. As a Christian, the fact is, uncertainty does not come from faith. Simply put, what doesn't come from faith is sin. I am a sinner. Saved by grace, yes...but still a sinner. I NEED that grace CONSTANTLY. I will be uncertain, I will be anxious. I will sin. I need grace and an unlimited supply of it is mine. 

 

 

When I am uncertain, I need to go to the presence of God. That is the ONLY place where I can be certain...My certainty in that place tells me that WHATEVER it is about the future that I'm struggling with will be accompanied by grace from God. 

I can't be sure about the future, but I can be sure of the grace God will supply me with when that future comes.

He HOLDS the future. He HOLDS me. And He isn't about having His people wander about without His grace.

The struggle isn't over. I can't seem to fully understand the answer. 

I have Christ and I can go into His presence. There I will find the pieces that I need. Pieces of truth that will feed my soul and keep me moving along through this thing called life. 

 

Any "change" I "make" isn't really good for much and will only stay "changed" so long as that's what my sinful self deems "best"....

What is very good and does stay is the presence of God. That's where I need to go. Care to join me there? 

The Great Aim

Hey, ladies! 
I have a few words for you today....No pictures, just words. 
During Holy Week (the week leading up to Easter), I was reading John Piper's "Love to the Uttermost". Check it out HERE
I think it was Friday's reading that inspired my thoughts today. 
Piper said this, "The great aim of this writer [of Hebrews] is that we get near God, that we have fellowship with Him, that we not settle for a Christian life at a distance from God, that God not be a distant thought, but a near and present reality, that we experience what the old Puritans called communion with God." 
Let's dig a little...The writer of Hebrews had a message from God. His desire for His readers is the same desire that God has for His people. That desire is simply this: DRAW NEAR TO GOD - ALWAYS. 
Whether you are a total loner or a people person, there is one presence that will satisfy, namely, the presence of God. 
The presence of God is a place Jesus couldn't get enough of. He wants His people to be enjoy that same closeness that He knew. 
Hebrews 7:25 says, "Consequently, He [Jesus] is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him since He always lives to make intercession for them." 
He's saving to the uttermost those who draw near to God through Him. Having been saved to the uttermost, don't you think we'd be RUNNING to God continually? He's there, making intercession for His people, even now. 
On this Friday, I want you to do one thing - on good days, on bad days, and everyday- draw near to God. 
Be encouraged to know that Jesus saves His people to the uttermost and lives to make intercession for them. There are so many connections here...Being saved, drawing near, and being interceded for...
The life of the Christian is a beautiful thing! Happy weekend to you all. 

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. 

****************

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.

*****************

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!

The Scenic Route

This was a quiet weekend. On Saturday, I made my first and last trip to the river for the summer. (That's where all of these pictures came from.)

Sunday was a lazy day. There was sleeping in, reading (I started a new book at the river), cooking, movie watching, ice cream making, and that's about it. 

The book was "The Jew Store" by Stella Suberman 

The movie watching was "It Started With Eve" (1941)

The ice cream was Hot Chocolate complete with chocolate chunks and marshmallows

water and sand

Even though I'm settling right into this fall weather, it has me feeling a little "melancholy". I love the joy of the Lord. It is sweet for me and I know other people benefit from it when it is mine too! But, sometimes I feel like it is being held back.

Don't ask me why. I don't have an answer. I miss being the one always smiling and laughing. It wasn't fake or put on, it was who I was. And the absence did not come with the entrance of this fall.

flowers and clouds

Anyway, it's not very lady like, but I have something to share with you. I was sitting thinking and this thought came to me - "Even though today sucks (that's the crass part), that doesn't mean the rest of my life will or has to suck."

Then, in the book that I reading called (which is a memoir written about a Jewish family who moved to the south with the hopes of opening a dry goods store around 1920), there was a line that kind of went right along with it. The Mother of the family had quite a hard time growing up as a person of Jewish descent. The mantra that always got her through was that, "this is temporary".

So there you go, some words of wisdom for those hard days, times, weeks, months, years.

drawing in the sand and a sunset straight from the camera.

As John Piper puts it, "For the Christian, the best is ALWAYS yet to come." Whether our days are marked by one perfect circumstance after another, a mixture of joy and pain, or hurt after hurt, for God's people, the best is always yet to come.
What was on your mind this weekend? I'd love to hear about it! 

A Little Bit of This

I've been thinking about being more intentional with my time. 

Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I am young and people are always asking me what I DOOOOO. 

First it was, where are you going to college? 

When I announced that I was pursuing a degree in education the questions centered around (and still do) - where are you going to apply for a job? 

This doesn't look like much....But it is an old foundation that I found on a hike once. Sometimes our foundations don't look all that impressive, but God knows what this was and He knows what we will be.

Summer is here and so the questions will ease up a little, but people are continually poking and prodding at the younger people to figure out what we are doing with our lives. 

That's fine. Usually, it doesn't even bother me at all. 

But, it does get me thinking.

I don't need to be what they want me to be. 

What I need to do is spend my time so that I am always becoming the person God wants me to be. 

I try to spend my time on things that I believe help me to become that person and share His love and truth with those around me. 

So, let's be intentional with our days and our answers to these questions.

It takes days well spent to make up a life that is lived well. 

Piper's mantra is "Don't waste your life". 

God used that man to help me see what a life that wasn't wasted will look like.

By His grace, we can and will have lives that weren't wasted! 

It all starts today.....

Let's do it!

More Than Trifles

I have two things to share today...More pictures from ANOTHER rainy day and some wise words.

The rain came yesterday and the pictures will be sprinkled throughout this post! 

Look at those clouds.

 

Rain drops and a puddle.

The rain was coming down, the air was fresh, and this little town was quiet again. 

It's so familiar and so ordinary. 

The words of wisdom come from a sermon by John Piper. He was talking about the book of Ruth from the Bible. This is a sermon series that I have listened to before...Today was a good day to go over it again.

At one point he said these words:

"Don't ever think that what you do in obedience to God in the midst of your set backs is insignificant." 

He went on to say "Isn't it true that one of the great diseases of our day is triviality? The things which most people spend most of their time with are trivial. What makes this a disease is that we were created to be consumed with magnificent causes not trifles. Our souls will not be content with trifles." 

Okay, is this true or what? Look around....At our conversations, the books we read, the magazines that line our grocery isles, the TV shows we watch, the textbooks in our schools, the activities at our churches, and the POSTS on our blogs. Sure, truth is often communicated, but it's all part of our little obsession with the trivial, the trifles. 

Meanwhile, "We are enslaved to trivialities...So our souls shrivel up, and our lives are trivial, and our capacity for great worship is dead."

I have been feeling this deadness. I have been feeling the enslavement. 

Sure, trivial things are necessary and we can certainly connect them to our worship of God. But, we can also MAKE them that which we worship. Getting in as much as we can in an attempt to be satisfied with this thing called life. 

The best smelling rose..."Judy Garland".

Piper continues, "The book of Ruth is written to teach us that God's purpose for your life is bigger than that. God's purpose is to connect His people with something infinite...God is preparing a demonstration for the principalities and high places of His own wisdom and He's doing it in your daily life."

Let me rephrase that...God is demonstrating His own wisdom in the daily lives of His people! 

God is demonstrating His own wisdom in my daily life! 

So, there will be trivial things. I can enjoy them. As I enjoy them, as I invest in them, I have been given opportunities to demonstrate the wisdom of God. 

I am preaching to myself, ladies. Those closest to me will remind me of these words and when they do, I'll wince. 

 

Rain drops on roses.

Some days (or months or years) we'll have "set backs" just like Ruth and Naomi. Some days we will wonder what the will of God is and how we ought to move forward. 

Some days we will find ourselves content to sit around with our little trifles and simply enjoy them for what they are. 

In both cases, let's step back and remind ourselves that we were made for more than trifles. 

We were made to demonstrate the wisdom of God. This demonstration consists of the events of our daily lives. All the days of our lives and each of our lives are woven together in TIME to tell of His greatness. 

Scrub the floors, hug the children, cry the tears, smell the roses, enjoy the people, make the decisions....but never forget, you were made for more.

You were made to know and love the Holy God. You were made to help others know and love Him too.

Beauty from Pain

God speaks to the hearts of His people. I experienced that this week. I have been working my way through John Piper's book, "Life As A Vapor". I work my way through books cover to cover and this book is no exception. 

Except for last week. Last Sunday I faced a trial. The root of this trial was self-pity and the minute I turned to my identity in Christ, the burden was lifted. 

However, the next day God brought me back to that trial in my morning devotions. Alongside of this devotional I was reading through the book of Mark. The reading for the day happened to be Mark 15. (The chapter leading up to and describing the death of Jesus Christ's great sacrifice on the cross.)

In the other book, I managed to read many days ahead. Now, I cannot explain this other than God's providence. Not only did I have a bookmark on the day I was "supposed" to read, I also read it daily and should know about how far into the book I am. Yet, somehow, I managed to read close to ten days ahead of where I was "supposed" to be reading. 

The result? A chapter titled: "Storms Are the Triumph of His Art". 

Through this chapter God gave a recap of the trial I faced from the day before, my attitude, my actions, and the comfort He brought me. I learned the lesson yet again: HE is my portion and in Him I have my complete being. I "need" no one else to give me my worth or acknowledge it. 

I want to share with you this poem that was written by George Herbert and cherished by John Newton.

Away despair! My gracious Lord doth hear:

Though wims and waves assault my keel, He doth preserve it:

He doth steer, 

Ev'n when the boat seems most to reel.

Storms are the triumph of His art.

Well may He close His eyes, but not His heart.