Ships Going Somewhere

A few years ago, Hebrews 6:19 was showing up everywhere online. You probably know it. In the ESV Hebrews 6:19-20 says, 
"We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,  a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain,  where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf,  having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek."
(The book of Hebrews is so good....I can't wait to get there in my reading plan!!!)
When I first saw that verse going around, I was right in the middle of adding some details to the hall bathroom. I happened to see two things to hang on the wall that matched with the paint and the shower curtain...You guessed it, they were beach related! 

I framed one of my favorite pictures and then decided to design a print based off of that verse in Hebrews. Unfortunately, I put it on the wall in my bedroom for safe keeping (until I got a frame for it). That was in November of 2012...Oops! I was reminded of all of that when I took it off the wall earlier this week in order to prepare for the work being done in there. 
This morning, I came across Ephesians 1:18 which says,
 "I pray that the Father of glory enlighten the eyes of your heart, that you may know what is the hope to which He has called you." 

In God we have a higher call than to simply know Him or serve Him or worship Him. We have a hope which is THE HOPE. God made it so that we could KNOW what that hope of ours really is. 
The hope is a sure and steadfast anchor. The hope goes before us. The hope is for us to know. The hope is Jesus. 
By the hope we are made new. By the hope EVERYTHING changes. 
In an article posted on the Reach Records website, they were talking about their mission as a record label. With the dawn of a new year, we're all kicking around ideas about our mission. In the article they said, "the ship isn't floating aimlessly around the sea". 
I love these verses. I love the hope that is mine. My prayer for 2014 is, "Lord, may the hope keep me from floating aimlessly around the sea." 
May we be ships that are going somewhere. May the eyes of our hearts SEE that we may KNOW what is the hope to which we have been called.

The Thing About Friends

Friends are great! Over the last five years or so I've made a lot of new friends. The thing is, only a few of them live within visiting distance from me. The rest of them are sprinkled all over the map.

This long distance stuff means that I go through spurts....Spurts where I'm driving a lot trying to see everyone, or keeping the guest blankets cycling through the machines trying to host them at my house. Spurts where I'm texting, talking on the phone, or skyping WHENEVER there is a time that is convenient for both of us. 

The spurts kill me. I can't say enough how much I love people and what a role these friends play in my life. I just long for a day when the connecting happens more easily so I don't feel like I'm always playing "catch up". 

Over the last week I've skyped for HOURS with my friends Shauna and Hannah and Glenn and Carol. I've talked with Heidi on the phone and over text. I've visited Alice. I still owe my Dad a call and I'm about to board a plane to get some time with my brother (joking on that one, but I keep trying to get in touch with him at the wrong time and it's kind of driving me crazy). 

I don't exactly know how to balance it.

The fact is, most of my friends live in different time zones. We all have lives and unfortunately, we're not really an actual part of each other's lives these days. Maybe you've got a similar situation?

How do you stay in touch with the people in your life? Is it just me, or are spurts just the way it is? 

 I think about connecting with people who are lonely in my community...There's a need for it. 

But then, I think about all of the people I'm already neglecting. 

Friendships take work and time and I'm so grateful for all of the people I have gotten to know in this life. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is, I know I'm not alone here. I'm writing to remind myself and all of you that our friends are worth every ounce of work that keeping them in our lives requires.

May we use our friendships as a means to build each other up, to inspire one another to take knowing and walking with God seriously, and may the distance not be such a burden. 

The thing about friends is they're great. I enjoy mine so much! May our relationships help our friends know just how much they mean to us! 

Something Important

This is a quote that will stay with me for a while. I took one of my pictures from last fall and put the words over the top of it! 

WHATEVER we do, WHEREVER we are, ONE thing is always most important - we need to be able to dwell on the things of God. Dwelling on those things is ONLY possible if we are actually familiar with them.

May 2014 be the year when you gather yourself around God's Word. 

May 2014 be the year when you gather for yourself treasure from God's Word.

I cannot say it enough - time with Him is never, ever wasted. 

Happy Tuesday! 

Aiming in 2014

A few years ago I found out that the average person can read the Bible in about 90 hours.  I still haven't put in the 90 consecutive hours to accomplish this goal. Those 90 hours are pretty much always floating around in my brain.

Peter Kroll recently posted about his strategy for reading through the whole Bible. He is a reader and he applies his love for reading to the Bible. You can read the post over HERE if you like. 

His strategy is this - at the beginning of the year he puts aside all other reading and only reads the Bible until he has read through the whole Bible. 

 

If you read the article by Kroll, you'll see that during this "run" he reads just to read, knowing that he'll be done soon and then he can pick up studying again. 

I thought this was a great idea! I've always loved books and words. Over the last few years I've become more of a reader. I'm still no bookworm, but I thought, "I can do this!". 

I printed out a Chronological reading plan and I'm aiming to read the Bible the way that I read books until I've read through the entire thing. 

As of last night, I've read through Genesis and Job and I'm halfway through Exodus.

What's your strategy? How are you reading the Bible right now?

Basically, I'm excited to see ALL of Scripture over the course of just a few months in order to see the bigger picture more clearly.

In a post of his own, Justin Taylor laid out some specific plans for reading the Bible in 2014. You can read the post HERE.

He quotes Thomas Watson who said, 

"A Christian without meditation is like a solider without arms, or a workman without tools. 

Without meditation the truths of God will not stay with us; 

the heart is hard, and the memory is slippery, and without meditation all is lost.”

 

How true Watson's words are! 

My heart IS hard. My memory IS slippery. I need to be IN the Bible so that my tools stay sharp and my soul has TRUTH to meditate on. 

My library card won't be very busy and my goodreads won't be updated...but my SOUL will be GATHERING treasure! 

Won't you join me?

2014: One Word

I've been writing this post in my head since Saturday while I was driving with my Mom and brother and sister to do some shopping in another town. It was a cold, foggy day and the van was quiet.

As we were driving along I suddenly realized that because of the fog I had no idea what was beyond us more than thirty feet in any direction. Sure, I could see a bit of road ahead of us along with some pieces of field to the left and right of us, but outside of those borders, I was clueless. 

That was the last Saturday of 2013, so naturally I was thinking about 2014. 

It hit me. This year, like other times in my life, I'm in a place where there is a lot of FOG. 

The fog gives me BORDERS. I really have no idea what God has in store for 2014. No amount of looking gives me even a HINT as to what lies ahead. 

Many people are quick to offer me patches of field to the left and right...Yet, I'm quite happy right where I am. I am enjoying "the ride in the van".

In other words...

2013 came to an end. The fog settled in, leaving me with no idea as to what will be ahead.  Though the fog surrounds me, I know where I am and I know what joy God gives me in that place. 

Whatever IS beyond the fog, my word for 2014 is simply this, GATHER. 

In Jeremiah 23:29 it says, "Is not My Word like fire, declares the Lord..." In the advent study, "Good News For Great Joy", John Piper wrote of this Word, "Gather ‘round that fire this Advent season. It is warm. It is sparkling with colors of grace. It is healing for a thousand hurts. It is light for dark nights."

 As far back as August, I thought my word was going to be DECLARE. Then it kind of morphed into DECLARE and DEMONSTRATE. And now, all of that is tied together in one simple word - GATHER. 

I chose gather because:

it's a call for ME to gather MYSELF around this fire of God's Word.

it's a call for ME to gather FOR myself the warmth of WISDOM that I find there.

it's a call to gather OTHERS with me by pointing them to God's Word. 

it's a call to gather WITH others in order to go TOGETHER in the ways of WISDOM. 

Love God. Love people. Fight sin. 

It's the theme, the aim, of every year that I call earth my dwelling place. 

In 2014, I have one hope and that is that God will gather His people to Himself. 

My part is to DRINK and to DECLARE and to DEMONSTRATE. 

God's Word is so many things and every single one of the things that it is can be summed up in this: LIFE giver and sustainer. 

The fog may be thick, but of this I am sure, God is calling His people to GATHER; where He calls, He leads. 

GATHERING near the Word by myself and alongside God's people, I will find everything necessary to continue hoping in God. 

Hoping in God, 2014 will be a year well spent.

The fog may lift, clear, or thicken, but the fire, the fountain, the bread, will be there ready for us to gather, to drink, and to feast upon...This Word does not disappoint because it comes from the One who is the most satisfying.