"Come close, listen to the story... about a love more faithful than the morning." -Phil Wickham, True Love
Every night I go to sleep knowing that I will wake up in the morning. that sounds foolish because I know that I am not promised tomorrow, but there aren't many things in this life that I can be as sure about as waking up in the morning.
I watched a movie tonight about a man who is obsessed with routine. It's as if he can't function outside of his daily schedule. Every Saturday he makes meatloaf; Sunday, lasagna. He wakes up to work on his coin collection. Every day. Nothing new.
I have a friend who wakes up every single morning at 4:51 AM. Not 4:50 or 4:55, but 4:51.
It's interesting to me, as Americans, or maybe even as humans how obsessed we are with knowing everything will work out on our schedule at the right time for us. We all have our agendas and our to-do lists. We get into this funk, knowing that every day will begin and end exactly the same way as the one before it, and the one after it. It's comfortable. Predictable.
Until something outrageous happens. Something that rocks our world.
It could be anything. Anything that could mess up our schedule.
Maybe it's a traffic jam on the way to work. Maybe it's the obnoxious commericials on the radio station. Maybe it's the call from a friend who needs a raincheck when you're already at the restaurant waiting for them. Maybe it's the call from a friend who desperately needs you to listen without asking questions. Maybe it's the phone call that delivers the terrible news. Maybe it's the diagnosis. Or the police at the front door at ten o'clock on a school night when your kid isn't home yet. Maybe it's falling in love.
It could be anything really. Anything that could mess up our routine.
"Come close, listen to the story... about a love more faithful than the morning."
Remember the last time you experienced a crisis? It could be a personal crisis, or a family crisis, or even a national crisis. Remember falling on your face and crying out to God,
"Where are You?!"
"...a Love more faithful than the morning."
God's love is more faithful than the fact and assurance that the morning will come. Even more faithful than the sun coming up. I know God's patient, and kind, and selfless, and rejoicing Love is present in my life, every second. When I am following routine, and when I am faced with hardship.
I know that when He calls me to step out of the boat, every thing I've ever known, His love is faithful.
I know that when I fear the unknown about my future, His love is faithful.
I know when I mourn the loss of a dear friend, His love is faithful.
I know that when people leave, when people are called to different places, His love is faithful.
Which brings me to my two choices.
1) I can live in comfort, honoring God with my writing and my voice and my talents, hoping that my routine will never get rocked, and staying away from all outside distractions,
or
2) I can live in such a way that I, routinely, wake up every morning and die to myself so that I can live and walk and breathe in Christ, knowing that because I am with Him, my circumstances are besides the point. Because His love is faithful.
I choose # 2.
In fact, I pray that God will light my path just enough so I can see where to take my next step. I dont need to know all the answers. That requires no faith. No trust. All I need to know is that I follow the One who carries the torch. The One who is the torch.
And I'll walk that path, knowing that wherever He leads me, His love is faithful.
5.30.2010
5.26.2010
So, I trust...
"There is something beautiful about a billion stars held steady by a God who knows what He is doing." -Donald Miller
5.18.2010
The Time is Now.
Sometimes I day dream about how my life would be different if I were born in a different point on the globe, at a different point in history. I wonder what kind of family I would have, what kind of issues I would deal with, and what kind of lifestyle I would lead. I think to myself, "What if I had been born in Darfur, and lost my family to genocide?" or "What if I was a little jewish girl in WWII? Would I have had the strength to survive?" A lot of times I'll catch myself thinking "Why did God place ME in a godly home, with strong parents who made a promise to stay together forever? Why did He give ME life in 1992, when the United States has been free for years, where I don't have to fear our government, and where I can say and believe whatever I want?"
When I went to Amsterdam this past summer, the first lesson I learned (about ten seconds after I stepped off the plane) was that it is only by the grace of God that I wasn't born into the sex capitol of the world, where slavery is ignored and people are treated as objects. It is by the grace of God that I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma at such a time as this.
"For this reason I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that my life would bear witness to the Truth." John 18:37
From the very mouth of Jesus came these words. Words that inspire me, words that challenge me, and words that push me to live up to the standard of the Word.
I was created in the image of God, and He had each day of my life mapped out before I took my first breath. He knew the issues I would deal with, the heartache I would experience, the path I would choose. He knew that I would attend Family Church, and co-lead a girls small group. He knew I would graduate from Union High School, and He knew who I would choose to surround myself with. He knew the bumps I would stumble across while I walked the journey of finding myself, and He knew who I would meet along the way. He placed certain passions in my heart, and He equips me to live them out.
For whatever reasons that might still be unknown, I was created to be 18 years old in the year of 2010.
For whatever reasons that might still be unknown, YOU were created to be how ever old you are in the year of 2010. You are unique. You are called. You are equipped. You are never too young, and You are never too old. God has a plan for YOU to do something that only You can do at such a time as this. Together, we are the body of Christ. Each one of us with different functions, different passions, different strengths, different callings.
Each of us walk different paths, and along those paths are different lives that we have the opportunity to influence. We have influence, whether we realize it or not. The issue has never been whether or not we have influence, but, instead, how we use that infuence; for better or for worse? Our speech, the things we laugh at, the way we carry ourselves... all have influence. People are watching us. We are here for such a time as this... We must stand up. We must live in such a way that our lives bear witness to the Truth.
The Time is Now.
When I went to Amsterdam this past summer, the first lesson I learned (about ten seconds after I stepped off the plane) was that it is only by the grace of God that I wasn't born into the sex capitol of the world, where slavery is ignored and people are treated as objects. It is by the grace of God that I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma at such a time as this.
"For this reason I was born, and for this cause I came into the world, that my life would bear witness to the Truth." John 18:37
From the very mouth of Jesus came these words. Words that inspire me, words that challenge me, and words that push me to live up to the standard of the Word.
I was created in the image of God, and He had each day of my life mapped out before I took my first breath. He knew the issues I would deal with, the heartache I would experience, the path I would choose. He knew that I would attend Family Church, and co-lead a girls small group. He knew I would graduate from Union High School, and He knew who I would choose to surround myself with. He knew the bumps I would stumble across while I walked the journey of finding myself, and He knew who I would meet along the way. He placed certain passions in my heart, and He equips me to live them out.
For whatever reasons that might still be unknown, I was created to be 18 years old in the year of 2010.
For whatever reasons that might still be unknown, YOU were created to be how ever old you are in the year of 2010. You are unique. You are called. You are equipped. You are never too young, and You are never too old. God has a plan for YOU to do something that only You can do at such a time as this. Together, we are the body of Christ. Each one of us with different functions, different passions, different strengths, different callings.
Each of us walk different paths, and along those paths are different lives that we have the opportunity to influence. We have influence, whether we realize it or not. The issue has never been whether or not we have influence, but, instead, how we use that infuence; for better or for worse? Our speech, the things we laugh at, the way we carry ourselves... all have influence. People are watching us. We are here for such a time as this... We must stand up. We must live in such a way that our lives bear witness to the Truth.
The Time is Now.
5.02.2010
Embrace It.
There is an opportune time to do things, a right time for everything under Heaven:
A time for birth and another for death,
A time to plant and another to reap,
A time to kill and another to heal,
A time to destroy and another to construct,
A time to cry and another to laugh,
A time to lament and another to cheer,
A time to make love and another to abstain,
A time to embrace and another to part,
A time to search and another to count your losses,
A time to hold on and another to let go,
A time to rip out and another to mend,
A time to shut up and another to speak up,
A time to love and another to hate,
A time to wage war and another to make peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
I read this tonight, and it hit me like a bag of rocks. Isn't it cool that there is a divine appointment for everything under Heaven? A time for everything. Sometimes I forget that. I get overwhelmed. I get stressed out. I get anxious... It never solves anyting. Those things aren't accounted for in the above list.
The bible says "...Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth, all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day..." (Psalm 139)
Have you ever experienced heartbreak? Loss of a parent? Rejection from a friend?
"The Lord will fulfill His plans for me.." (Psalm 138)
If you don't already know, You should know that I LOVE to share feelings. I'm an open book. It could be genetic, but its also a lifestyle. I am a firm believer in truly feeling and embracing every emotion. I think I grow this way.
Sencondly, I'm also extremely passionate about asking questions. I'm intrigued by the affect of asking questions.I think it builds relationships. However, the art of asking questions is perfected when the answers are listened to and valued.
These two things have shaped my relationship with Jesus.
Yes, there is a time for everthing under Heaven. Yes, my entire life has been spread out before God. Yes, He will fulfill His plan for me. All of these things are true.
Yes, I experience confusion. Yes, I wonder where God is going and what the heck He is planning. Yes, I fall short.. and Yes, I sceam and cry and question...
"My grace is sufficient..." 2 Cor 12:8
Even in my darkest hour, even when I'm hurting, even when I can't handle it anymore... Even when I feel alone, even when I want to quit, even when I struggle, even when I forget how to walk in love... Even when I feel unworthy, even when I feel dry, even when I'm confused: His grace is sufficient.
"I'm absolutely convinced that nothing- nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable- absolutely nothing can get between Me and God's love." Romans 8:38
Change is inevitable. Praise God that it all has already been mapped out.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
A time for birth and another for death,
A time to plant and another to reap,
A time to kill and another to heal,
A time to destroy and another to construct,
A time to cry and another to laugh,
A time to lament and another to cheer,
A time to make love and another to abstain,
A time to embrace and another to part,
A time to search and another to count your losses,
A time to hold on and another to let go,
A time to rip out and another to mend,
A time to shut up and another to speak up,
A time to love and another to hate,
A time to wage war and another to make peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
I read this tonight, and it hit me like a bag of rocks. Isn't it cool that there is a divine appointment for everything under Heaven? A time for everything. Sometimes I forget that. I get overwhelmed. I get stressed out. I get anxious... It never solves anyting. Those things aren't accounted for in the above list.
The bible says "...Like an open book, you watched me grow from conception to birth, all the stages of my life were spread out before you, the days of my life all prepared before I'd even lived one day..." (Psalm 139)
Have you ever experienced heartbreak? Loss of a parent? Rejection from a friend?
"The Lord will fulfill His plans for me.." (Psalm 138)
If you don't already know, You should know that I LOVE to share feelings. I'm an open book. It could be genetic, but its also a lifestyle. I am a firm believer in truly feeling and embracing every emotion. I think I grow this way.
Sencondly, I'm also extremely passionate about asking questions. I'm intrigued by the affect of asking questions.I think it builds relationships. However, the art of asking questions is perfected when the answers are listened to and valued.
These two things have shaped my relationship with Jesus.
Yes, there is a time for everthing under Heaven. Yes, my entire life has been spread out before God. Yes, He will fulfill His plan for me. All of these things are true.
Yes, I experience confusion. Yes, I wonder where God is going and what the heck He is planning. Yes, I fall short.. and Yes, I sceam and cry and question...
"My grace is sufficient..." 2 Cor 12:8
Even in my darkest hour, even when I'm hurting, even when I can't handle it anymore... Even when I feel alone, even when I want to quit, even when I struggle, even when I forget how to walk in love... Even when I feel unworthy, even when I feel dry, even when I'm confused: His grace is sufficient.
"I'm absolutely convinced that nothing- nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable- absolutely nothing can get between Me and God's love." Romans 8:38
Change is inevitable. Praise God that it all has already been mapped out.
The joy of the Lord is your strength. Nehemiah 8:10
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