One of my favorite pictures from my childhood is of me and my dad early in the morning, sitting and having breakfast in tiny plastic chairs in my little plastic kitchen: him in a suit and me in a nightgown, little curls bouncing all over the place.
I love it for a lot of reasons, but primarily because it speaks to the love of a daddy, so willing to put aside his schedule and drink fake tea before work in the morning, and the innocence of a little girl, wanting only to spend a few minutes with her favorite man in the whole world.
I began to think on that photo tonight during worship. And on how our Heavenly Father loves us like that... but on even an entirely greater level.
A few weeks ago at Disciple Now at my church here in Mississippi, the speaker shared a story about his wife. He began to describe with such visible passion about how he cherished his bride and wanted to daily put her safe on a pedestal and let nothing harm her. The passion on his face as he told this story said that he meant it-- that he loved and cherished her so deeply that he wanted nothing to come close to wounding her-- physically, emotionally, spiritually. Whatever it takes, at any cost, to know that she is valuable and precious to him.
And as beautiful as that is to see in an earthly relationship, my heart is shaken at how much more so Jesus loves us like that. So deeply that He is willing to let nothing come between our love (Rom 8:38). So deeply that He was willing to humble himself to death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). So deeply that He calls us as church the bride of Christ and promises only to give us good. We do nothing to earn it, nothing to deserve it, He just loves us. Cherishes. So tightly that He never lets us go.
Last week I bought a dress.
It's a beautiful white, lace dress that caught my eye one afternoon in a store and was too idyllic for me to pass up. I'm planning on wearing it to my graduation, and until then it was intended to safely hang in the back of my closet and wait. But tonight as I cried out to the Lord in worship, I kept being reminded of that dress. I put the thought aside a few times and then with all confusion asked "Lord, why?"
His response was near audible:
"Put on your white dress and dance with me."
I'm not sure if I began to laugh at that moment or not... laughing, as a natural overflow of my heart. I see what you're saying here, Lord. I'm seeing the imagery and all you're piecing together...
So with only a slight hesitation at feeling silly, I went home, put on my white dress, built a beautiful playlist, and did something I haven't done in a long time. I danced. Around my living room, all by myself, in my prettiest dress. Giving my best to Him, remembering how deeply He cherishes me, and offering up myself as a sacrifice-- all my dreams, all my desires, all my worries. Like a little girl playing dress up; spotless, whole, and loved by her Father. He delights in us, and I laughed as I twirled around my living room, curls bouncing all over the place once again. Did I feel silly? Absolutely. But it was an act of obedience and a beautiful time of worship with my Father.
The funny thing about dancing with someone is that as the girl, you're supposed to let him lead. I confess that I'm not particularly good at this... I've been reminded of such once or twice. But tonight as I danced and laughed and gave it my all, He continually whispered to my heart to remember to let Him lead. And how beautiful it was as I felt Him take over. Me, not dancing to impress my Father but simply letting Him lead as He whispered His love. If He's leading, I can no longer focus on my future, no longer stress about what's to come, no longer ask a million questions until I'm confused and frustrated.
I can only trust and follow.
And so I tell you that story tonight simply to remind you of this:
You are loved and cherished deeply. Your Father protects you daily from harm, wants to lead you, and wants only for you to give Him your all-- your beautiful, broken pieces and your very best acts of worship as an overflow of your love.
What a sweet relationship it is. What a loving Father we have... one who dances each day with His children, deeply and wholly cherished.
Such beauty. Such truth.
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Saturday, February 25, 2012
what is good
All through college, I found a lot of wonderful spots to sit and meet with the Lord.
My bedroom, on the floor right beside the closet door.
Our back porch with the Christmas lights turned on.
By the lake down at the intramural fields.
Each of these spots hold significance for me. I can tell you specific things the Lord taught me in each one as I asked some tough questions, prepared for big things, and just met in the quiet. While I love (and miss) each of these places that will always be so precious to my heart, I've found that the Lord speaks to me quite clearly in one more place...
Chickfila.
Praise God for chicken nuggets and sweet tea! But really... I've written many a school paper, many a blog post, and lots of curriculum from the booths of Chickfilas across the southeast. (I pick very selectively which booth I'll take based on the plugs.) In high school I sketched out the cover of our national-award-winning yearbook on a napkin at Chickfila. In college, I won a haiku contest and got a free pair of chacos for my work that happened at... you guessed it, Chickfila. It's a good place. Maybe there's something inspiring about the tea.
So here I am today in the corner booth, happy to be back here and hoping to get some good time in. I went for a good run this afternoon and now I'm here, writing, hoping for a little inspiration. Maybe it's "do something nice for yourself" day. :)
This morning before I headed to work (yes, on a Saturday...) I read these words:
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
-Titus 3:3-8
It seems to be a theme for me recently-- that we as believers are to be devoted to doing good. And hear me right, we do good not to gain salvation, but as a result of our salvation. No amount of good we could ever do would be enough to earn salvation for us. If you could gain salvation on your own, then it wouldn't be a story of grace. God's gift of union with Him in our lives wouldn't be as sweet if we felt we deserved it. We don't. We never will. But He loves us that much anyway.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9
But if we've received that gift, then we should naturally be spurred on to do "good works" and to live a life that pleases the Lord. Yes, we will continually mess up, and yes, there is grace in that. God knows the motives of our hearts and He knows the difference between us messing up because we are imperfect and us continually choosing to walk in sin.
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" -Romans 6:1-2
"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." -Proverbs 16:6
I've heard it said that if you got hit by a semi truck, everyone would be able to see the effect of that in your life. It should be the same way when we truly encounter the Lord. At this point, we should be living with the goal of constantly doing what is good, not only to please God but also to paint the picture of our life change for others. So the question then becomes... How do I know what is good?
Remember in my last post how I told you I was going to go back to that study of John 16:8? The more I have been seeking and learning about that passage (with the help of a little study time with my mentee!), the more I have come to realize that I wasn't exactly spot on about the last part of that verse. What I had written was still good, but I think it means something more along these lines:
"[When the Spirit comes, He will convict the world] in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." -John 16:11
If you back up to the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were walking in the perfection that was the Lord's presence in Eden, you may remember that a crafty little serpent tried to tell Eve to eat some fruit. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he was concerned about her health... But one of the things he says to her (in Genesis 3:5) is that if she eats, she will be like God and will be able to know what is good and evil. And she fell for it. Awesome. (Although if you think about it, it's the first lie she'd ever heard. What reason did she really have to weight whether or not it was truth? She'd never known that anything could be false...)
And so from that point forward, we have been defining what is good and evil from Satan's standards.
What this verse in John is saying is that when the Spirit comes (for us this means when we enter into a relationship with Christ and His Spirit comes to dwell within us) then we will once again base what is right and wrong off of God's standards, because He has defeated Satan. The prince of this world (Satan) now stands condemned. Jesus put him in his place while He was on the cross, and because of such, we now know what is good and bad based off of the promptings of the Spirit.
That's why those who are in Christ are told that we will be hated by the world (John 15)-- because our standards at their core are entirely different from the world and in light of such, our actions should be wholly different as well. Do good. Hate evil. (Romans 12:9) It's all over scripture.
So I realize this is getting lengthy, but let me ask you-- are you doing what is good? Are you hating, truly hating, what is evil? And are you doing such in such a way that the world around you can notice, not to bring yourself attention and glory, but so that they might see Christ visibly at work in your life?
I'm out of sweet tea and it's beginning to get crowded in here, so I'm off. Think on this for a little while... I know I will continue to.
My bedroom, on the floor right beside the closet door.
Our back porch with the Christmas lights turned on.
By the lake down at the intramural fields.
Each of these spots hold significance for me. I can tell you specific things the Lord taught me in each one as I asked some tough questions, prepared for big things, and just met in the quiet. While I love (and miss) each of these places that will always be so precious to my heart, I've found that the Lord speaks to me quite clearly in one more place...
Chickfila.
Praise God for chicken nuggets and sweet tea! But really... I've written many a school paper, many a blog post, and lots of curriculum from the booths of Chickfilas across the southeast. (I pick very selectively which booth I'll take based on the plugs.) In high school I sketched out the cover of our national-award-winning yearbook on a napkin at Chickfila. In college, I won a haiku contest and got a free pair of chacos for my work that happened at... you guessed it, Chickfila. It's a good place. Maybe there's something inspiring about the tea.
So here I am today in the corner booth, happy to be back here and hoping to get some good time in. I went for a good run this afternoon and now I'm here, writing, hoping for a little inspiration. Maybe it's "do something nice for yourself" day. :)
This morning before I headed to work (yes, on a Saturday...) I read these words:
"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying. And I want you to stress these things, so that those who have trusted in God may be careful to devote themselves to doing what is good. These things are excellent and profitable for everyone."
-Titus 3:3-8
It seems to be a theme for me recently-- that we as believers are to be devoted to doing good. And hear me right, we do good not to gain salvation, but as a result of our salvation. No amount of good we could ever do would be enough to earn salvation for us. If you could gain salvation on your own, then it wouldn't be a story of grace. God's gift of union with Him in our lives wouldn't be as sweet if we felt we deserved it. We don't. We never will. But He loves us that much anyway.
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." -Ephesians 2:8-9
But if we've received that gift, then we should naturally be spurred on to do "good works" and to live a life that pleases the Lord. Yes, we will continually mess up, and yes, there is grace in that. God knows the motives of our hearts and He knows the difference between us messing up because we are imperfect and us continually choosing to walk in sin.
"What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?" -Romans 6:1-2
"Through love and faithfulness sin is atoned for; through the fear of the Lord a man avoids evil." -Proverbs 16:6
I've heard it said that if you got hit by a semi truck, everyone would be able to see the effect of that in your life. It should be the same way when we truly encounter the Lord. At this point, we should be living with the goal of constantly doing what is good, not only to please God but also to paint the picture of our life change for others. So the question then becomes... How do I know what is good?
Remember in my last post how I told you I was going to go back to that study of John 16:8? The more I have been seeking and learning about that passage (with the help of a little study time with my mentee!), the more I have come to realize that I wasn't exactly spot on about the last part of that verse. What I had written was still good, but I think it means something more along these lines:
"[When the Spirit comes, He will convict the world] in regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." -John 16:11
If you back up to the beginning of time when Adam and Eve were walking in the perfection that was the Lord's presence in Eden, you may remember that a crafty little serpent tried to tell Eve to eat some fruit. And I'm pretty sure it wasn't because he was concerned about her health... But one of the things he says to her (in Genesis 3:5) is that if she eats, she will be like God and will be able to know what is good and evil. And she fell for it. Awesome. (Although if you think about it, it's the first lie she'd ever heard. What reason did she really have to weight whether or not it was truth? She'd never known that anything could be false...)
And so from that point forward, we have been defining what is good and evil from Satan's standards.
What this verse in John is saying is that when the Spirit comes (for us this means when we enter into a relationship with Christ and His Spirit comes to dwell within us) then we will once again base what is right and wrong off of God's standards, because He has defeated Satan. The prince of this world (Satan) now stands condemned. Jesus put him in his place while He was on the cross, and because of such, we now know what is good and bad based off of the promptings of the Spirit.
That's why those who are in Christ are told that we will be hated by the world (John 15)-- because our standards at their core are entirely different from the world and in light of such, our actions should be wholly different as well. Do good. Hate evil. (Romans 12:9) It's all over scripture.
So I realize this is getting lengthy, but let me ask you-- are you doing what is good? Are you hating, truly hating, what is evil? And are you doing such in such a way that the world around you can notice, not to bring yourself attention and glory, but so that they might see Christ visibly at work in your life?
I'm out of sweet tea and it's beginning to get crowded in here, so I'm off. Think on this for a little while... I know I will continue to.
Friday, February 24, 2012
noon time
It's not quite noon yet.
It's not quite noon yet, and I've already seen all the latest on Pinterest, already checked Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Path at least a hundred times. I've already browsed the latest sales at West Elm and World Market, already accomplished everything I needed to at work, and already reorganized my desk. Twice.
It's been a slow morning and to be honest, I'm about to explode to do something creative.
My camera is currently lounging in the top of my closet, I haven't written in weeks, and there are paint swatches taped to the wall in my living room, taunting me gently at the end of the day. I've always been told I'm creative, so I'm beginning to wonder why I'm not putting that creativity to use in any way. I look through magazines when I can, regularly rearrange things in my kitchen, walk through my favorite stores on the weekends, and constantly dream. Dream, dream, dream...
I'm in a funny place right now of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. We knew this would happen at some point, right? Once I finish up my internship and work camp this summer (wahoo! SO excited for that!) the question then becomes... What now?
I'm browsing my possibilities right now and to be honest, I'm coming up a little short. I've decided I feel called to stay in this area, but I'm not so sure that this life of sitting here and checking emails all day is quite what the Lord has planned for me. Sure, I love the days at work when there are a million things going on; when I get to interact with people and see their events go off perfectly. I enjoy making sure all the candles get lit and all the logistics are in order. But I'm just not sure that this isn't more than just a learning opportunity for me.
So are any of you looking to hire someone with a list of random strenths? Because I'm definitely available.
I'd like a job where I can talk ministry all day, meet regularly with people and invest in their lives, write often, plan events creatively, and be surrounded by a great sense of community. I'm also pretty great at decorating things, theming, and occassionally making cupcakes. I like a good cup of coffee and any place with great atmosphere. I'm easy to get along with. I love leadership. I'm responsible, though not very good at driving golf carts. At times I can be funny, I'm always willing to listen, and it doesn't take a whole lot to make me smile. I love kids. I love teenagers. I love not sitting in an office in the corner of a gym... I love a little energy and a lot of contact with the world.
So if that sounds like any job you can think of... please do let me know. My alternate plan in life is now to just go back to being a kid. I kinda miss the macaroni and cheese.
Until next time, dear friends... that's all. I hope soon to update on the last post I wrote about the Spirit and all I've learned since then. Heads up, some of what I said last time was true, yes, but not exactly what was meant by the verse I wrote about. More to come on that journey soon! And because I never like to post without a photo, here are two from my life this week:
It's not quite noon yet, and I've already seen all the latest on Pinterest, already checked Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and the Path at least a hundred times. I've already browsed the latest sales at West Elm and World Market, already accomplished everything I needed to at work, and already reorganized my desk. Twice.
It's been a slow morning and to be honest, I'm about to explode to do something creative.
My camera is currently lounging in the top of my closet, I haven't written in weeks, and there are paint swatches taped to the wall in my living room, taunting me gently at the end of the day. I've always been told I'm creative, so I'm beginning to wonder why I'm not putting that creativity to use in any way. I look through magazines when I can, regularly rearrange things in my kitchen, walk through my favorite stores on the weekends, and constantly dream. Dream, dream, dream...
I'm in a funny place right now of trying to figure out what I want to do with my life. We knew this would happen at some point, right? Once I finish up my internship and work camp this summer (wahoo! SO excited for that!) the question then becomes... What now?
I'm browsing my possibilities right now and to be honest, I'm coming up a little short. I've decided I feel called to stay in this area, but I'm not so sure that this life of sitting here and checking emails all day is quite what the Lord has planned for me. Sure, I love the days at work when there are a million things going on; when I get to interact with people and see their events go off perfectly. I enjoy making sure all the candles get lit and all the logistics are in order. But I'm just not sure that this isn't more than just a learning opportunity for me.
So are any of you looking to hire someone with a list of random strenths? Because I'm definitely available.
I'd like a job where I can talk ministry all day, meet regularly with people and invest in their lives, write often, plan events creatively, and be surrounded by a great sense of community. I'm also pretty great at decorating things, theming, and occassionally making cupcakes. I like a good cup of coffee and any place with great atmosphere. I'm easy to get along with. I love leadership. I'm responsible, though not very good at driving golf carts. At times I can be funny, I'm always willing to listen, and it doesn't take a whole lot to make me smile. I love kids. I love teenagers. I love not sitting in an office in the corner of a gym... I love a little energy and a lot of contact with the world.
So if that sounds like any job you can think of... please do let me know. My alternate plan in life is now to just go back to being a kid. I kinda miss the macaroni and cheese.
Until next time, dear friends... that's all. I hope soon to update on the last post I wrote about the Spirit and all I've learned since then. Heads up, some of what I said last time was true, yes, but not exactly what was meant by the verse I wrote about. More to come on that journey soon! And because I never like to post without a photo, here are two from my life this week:
 |
| Most beautiful road trip, DNow, and family time in a long time. So many blessings. |
 |
| And so grateful for a little time in the sunshine, by the lake, in the Word. So good. |
Sunday, February 12, 2012
a week in view
Life around here has been incredibly busy. Here are a few highlights of the fun moments of my past week via instagram and path photos.
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Locked my keys in my car at work. Don't worry, our campus safety team is on the ball!
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I made a new friend! This is Charlie.. I'm not really a cat fan (at all) but he's pretty cute.
We hosted a National Geographic premier for a documentary featuring one of our professors. You should check it out when it airs on tv!
I've been having some big fun with these two-- we never cease to make each other laugh.
A sweet lunch surprise from a sweet friend! Blessings on a busy week!
Okay, so this isn't from this week... but how fun is this girl? I love her a whole lot.
Went to see The Vow with my girls!! and ran into this thing...
Early Saturday morning breakfast with some friends! I'm so excited for this girl to be working camp this summer!
Daniel and I got Valentine's Day mail from the parents! Have I mentioned I love this holiday? So fun.
Saturday night we built a fort and started reading The Hunger Games. Have I mentioned what a wonderful blessing my boyfriend is?
And this afternoon I made cupcakes in Daniel's kitchen while he did homework. It was a well-planned task to keep me quiet while he worked ;)
And this. This has been the sweetest blessing to me this week, especially in the midst of working extra long hours and being overwhelmingly stressed out. I've been learning a lot lately (as I mentioned in my last post) about what it means to truly be in Christ and to have Christ in us. See, when we enter into the faith and give our lives to Christ, we are promised the Holy Spirit-- the one Jesus refers to as a Counselor, sent to us in His absence. The Lord has been doing a work in my heart about just exactly what we are given in the Holy Spirit and let me tell you, it's so much. But check out, if you will, just this one passage:
"When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." --John 16:8-11
Now, you may get something different out of this than I do. I'm always up for learning and I'm sure my understanding here isn't fully complete, but as I began to think through the reasoning that Jesus leaves us the Holy Spirit, this verse left me a lot of insight. It isn't at first what I thought it was... Keep in mind that Jesus is sharing these words as He prepares to die and to leave the disciples here on earth for a time.
The word convict here is the greek word "elegcho", meaning to bring to light. Convict. We look at it as a negative thing sometimes, but try here to look at it as bringing about a realization or an understanding.
...In regard to sin because men do not believe in me:
We needed the Spirit to reveal our sin to us because we did not believe in Christ. This is that initial part of process of belief and redemption. I think about the moments I've been blessed to sit and talk with children about understanding what it means to accept Christ and become a Christian and we always talk first about understanding why we need Christ and recognizing the sinfulness of our lives. Because He has sent the Spirit to us now, we recognize, at His prompting, our sinfulness. It is our sinfulness that brings our need to believe in Jesus. (Actively believe... pisteuo. Believe in such a way that we take action as a result, not just acknowledge it's existence. But that's a post for another day...) We begin the entire process of redemption only because the Spirit convicts us in regard to sin, that we may believe in Christ.
Not only does the Spirit come to convict us at the beginning of our journey, (how many times Scripture says that He chooses us! It's by His prompting, though we of course must make the decision on our own.) but the Spirit also convicts us along the way when we are failing to believe actively as we should day by day in Christ. It's a journey. I need that reminder often. That is how the Spirit convicts us-- reminds us of our sinfulness, our imperfection, our desperate need for Jesus, His grace, and our call to believe with action as a response to that every single day.
...In regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father.
This one might make more sense to you right off the bat. It didn't to me. But as I began to think about it, the Spirit convicts us of righteousness because Jesus is no longer present to do such. It's a simple truth. Jesus has been walking with the disciples and teaching them constantly what was right and wrong-- and it was often so contrary to what the world assumed. In fact, Jesus tells us in John that if we are following Him, the world may hate us. Why? Because His commands aren't instinctual and sometimes they aren't easy. Remembering also that the disciples didn't have a copy of the entire Word in their hands, I feel sure they were getting nervous at this point about how they were supposed to know what on earth to do in Jesus' absence. I'd be worried. How were they do know what's right and wrong? What is righteous? Hence the conviction of the Spirit. He will show show you what's right and wrong by His leading. In Christ, we are given that also.
...In regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
It's interesting to me how at this point, Jesus calls himself a prince. He's been so humble throughout his entire life (look at His birth, for goodness sake) and has now reached a place of making sure the world knows for certain who He is and what we have decided to do to Him, as He prepares to give His life for us. He says that he has been judged-- krino in the Greek. It means summoned to trial. The word for judgement here is krisis, meaning the exact same thing. A sentence of condemnation. So... He sends the Spirit to convict us of judgement and to remind us of the price that He himself has paid? Praise God that we aren't to forget that... and only through the Spirit can we begin to understand the magnitude of that. Wow. Another step in the process towards pisteuo-- believing and acknowledging not just the weight of our sin, but the power of His righteousness, of who He was, and of how He willingly stood condemned for us as a response. It's the next step in the process of understanding salvation. The Spirit has convicted us of our sinfulness and our need for Jesus. Now we come to be convicted of the power and magnitude of what He has done for us. We are able to begin to grasp all of this only through Him interceding and convicting our hearts.
Wow. So the Spirit is given to us to convict our hearts in a lot of ways, ultimately all to push us closer to Christ. It is Him that prompts are hearts and pushes us through that process of coming to initially know Christ. It is Him that lives inside us and leads us though this journey day by day. The beautiful reality of Christianity is that our God is alive-- that He came back from the dead after facing such a brutal death and that He has ascended to Heaven to be with the Father. But He didn't leave us to wander about on our own-- no, instead He sent us what He often calls the Helper to walk alongside of us, inside of us, once we choose to give our entire lives to Him. How beautiful that our God loves us enough to be our guide through this crazy journey.
I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for that today.
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I made a new friend! This is Charlie.. I'm not really a cat fan (at all) but he's pretty cute.
We hosted a National Geographic premier for a documentary featuring one of our professors. You should check it out when it airs on tv!
I've been having some big fun with these two-- we never cease to make each other laugh.
A sweet lunch surprise from a sweet friend! Blessings on a busy week!
Okay, so this isn't from this week... but how fun is this girl? I love her a whole lot.
Went to see The Vow with my girls!! and ran into this thing...
Early Saturday morning breakfast with some friends! I'm so excited for this girl to be working camp this summer!
Daniel and I got Valentine's Day mail from the parents! Have I mentioned I love this holiday? So fun.
Saturday night we built a fort and started reading The Hunger Games. Have I mentioned what a wonderful blessing my boyfriend is?
And this afternoon I made cupcakes in Daniel's kitchen while he did homework. It was a well-planned task to keep me quiet while he worked ;)
And this. This has been the sweetest blessing to me this week, especially in the midst of working extra long hours and being overwhelmingly stressed out. I've been learning a lot lately (as I mentioned in my last post) about what it means to truly be in Christ and to have Christ in us. See, when we enter into the faith and give our lives to Christ, we are promised the Holy Spirit-- the one Jesus refers to as a Counselor, sent to us in His absence. The Lord has been doing a work in my heart about just exactly what we are given in the Holy Spirit and let me tell you, it's so much. But check out, if you will, just this one passage:
"When he [the Holy Spirit] comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned." --John 16:8-11
Now, you may get something different out of this than I do. I'm always up for learning and I'm sure my understanding here isn't fully complete, but as I began to think through the reasoning that Jesus leaves us the Holy Spirit, this verse left me a lot of insight. It isn't at first what I thought it was... Keep in mind that Jesus is sharing these words as He prepares to die and to leave the disciples here on earth for a time.
The word convict here is the greek word "elegcho", meaning to bring to light. Convict. We look at it as a negative thing sometimes, but try here to look at it as bringing about a realization or an understanding.
...In regard to sin because men do not believe in me:
We needed the Spirit to reveal our sin to us because we did not believe in Christ. This is that initial part of process of belief and redemption. I think about the moments I've been blessed to sit and talk with children about understanding what it means to accept Christ and become a Christian and we always talk first about understanding why we need Christ and recognizing the sinfulness of our lives. Because He has sent the Spirit to us now, we recognize, at His prompting, our sinfulness. It is our sinfulness that brings our need to believe in Jesus. (Actively believe... pisteuo. Believe in such a way that we take action as a result, not just acknowledge it's existence. But that's a post for another day...) We begin the entire process of redemption only because the Spirit convicts us in regard to sin, that we may believe in Christ.
Not only does the Spirit come to convict us at the beginning of our journey, (how many times Scripture says that He chooses us! It's by His prompting, though we of course must make the decision on our own.) but the Spirit also convicts us along the way when we are failing to believe actively as we should day by day in Christ. It's a journey. I need that reminder often. That is how the Spirit convicts us-- reminds us of our sinfulness, our imperfection, our desperate need for Jesus, His grace, and our call to believe with action as a response to that every single day.
...In regard to righteousness because I am going to the Father.
This one might make more sense to you right off the bat. It didn't to me. But as I began to think about it, the Spirit convicts us of righteousness because Jesus is no longer present to do such. It's a simple truth. Jesus has been walking with the disciples and teaching them constantly what was right and wrong-- and it was often so contrary to what the world assumed. In fact, Jesus tells us in John that if we are following Him, the world may hate us. Why? Because His commands aren't instinctual and sometimes they aren't easy. Remembering also that the disciples didn't have a copy of the entire Word in their hands, I feel sure they were getting nervous at this point about how they were supposed to know what on earth to do in Jesus' absence. I'd be worried. How were they do know what's right and wrong? What is righteous? Hence the conviction of the Spirit. He will show show you what's right and wrong by His leading. In Christ, we are given that also.
...In regard to judgement, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
It's interesting to me how at this point, Jesus calls himself a prince. He's been so humble throughout his entire life (look at His birth, for goodness sake) and has now reached a place of making sure the world knows for certain who He is and what we have decided to do to Him, as He prepares to give His life for us. He says that he has been judged-- krino in the Greek. It means summoned to trial. The word for judgement here is krisis, meaning the exact same thing. A sentence of condemnation. So... He sends the Spirit to convict us of judgement and to remind us of the price that He himself has paid? Praise God that we aren't to forget that... and only through the Spirit can we begin to understand the magnitude of that. Wow. Another step in the process towards pisteuo-- believing and acknowledging not just the weight of our sin, but the power of His righteousness, of who He was, and of how He willingly stood condemned for us as a response. It's the next step in the process of understanding salvation. The Spirit has convicted us of our sinfulness and our need for Jesus. Now we come to be convicted of the power and magnitude of what He has done for us. We are able to begin to grasp all of this only through Him interceding and convicting our hearts.
Wow. So the Spirit is given to us to convict our hearts in a lot of ways, ultimately all to push us closer to Christ. It is Him that prompts are hearts and pushes us through that process of coming to initially know Christ. It is Him that lives inside us and leads us though this journey day by day. The beautiful reality of Christianity is that our God is alive-- that He came back from the dead after facing such a brutal death and that He has ascended to Heaven to be with the Father. But He didn't leave us to wander about on our own-- no, instead He sent us what He often calls the Helper to walk alongside of us, inside of us, once we choose to give our entire lives to Him. How beautiful that our God loves us enough to be our guide through this crazy journey.
I don't know about you, but I'm grateful for that today.
Monday, February 6, 2012
quick glimpses
Blog update number two for the day!
Here are a few quick pics from around my apartment.
More to come later! (maybe!)
I'd also like to note that yes, my dad built that massive picture frame holding the map and the beautiful necklace holder. He's just so handy, that one...
Here are a few quick pics from around my apartment.
More to come later! (maybe!)
I'd also like to note that yes, my dad built that massive picture frame holding the map and the beautiful necklace holder. He's just so handy, that one...
it's been too long...
Oh blogging world, how I have missed you!
I'd like to blame my recent blogging absence on a lack of time, but I don't know that that's necessarily the case... Maybe I've hit a writers block. Maybe I'm just bad at managing my time. Afterall, I am writing this on my "lunch break" at my desk as I eat banana pudding, but let's be real... I wasn't doing much before lunch outside of scrolling through blogs and answering the occasional email.
And the problem behind my lack of blogging isn't that the Lord hasn't been teaching me anything that I want to share... No, the problem actually is very much the opposite. Since moving here to Mississippi, (loving it, by the way!) God has set me on a path of learning more than I imagined, just as I expected that He would. In the past few weeks, I've had the incredible opportunity to serve at a few DNow's (and have seen a few sweet girls give their lives over to His kingdom!), have come to be incredibly blessed by a group of solid believer friends, have started "mentoring" a wonderful girl who teaches and challenges me, have seen the power of prayer in a new light, and have become more and more thirsty for His Word. It is so good and so filled with truths that come not just by reading it, but by studying it. That's what I've learned lately.
And through all of that, God has begun to teach me so much about what it means to be in Christ and to have the Spirit in us. John 14:20-- "...I am in my Father and you are in me, and I am in you." I'm so passionately excited about this concept, that I'm refusing to blog about it. Why?
Because I can't fit it in a blog. And because I've long dreamed of writing a book one day. And because if and when I begin said book, this is going to be the topic. For sure. So promise me, dear friends, that one day you'll pick up a copy of that-- if not to learn, then at least to support the wild dreams of a silly little girl. ;)
But, I'm going to try and pick back up with the writing on a more regular basis. For now, I'll leave you with these few random thoughts for the day:
1) I took pictures of my apartment to share with you, but I haven't uploaded them yet... Soon though. It's a fun place, but I'm also itching to do more with it. My sweet friend Lauren just got an internship at Milk and Honey Home and I'm so proud of her! I'm thinking that if she'll come over and if Anthropologie will sponsor me, I'll have a dream home in no time!
2) I've gotten insanely, unreasonably excited about it being almost Valentine's Day. I'm talking like I painted my nails pink, wore a red sweater today, and have been browsing Valentine's things on etsy all morning (told you I'd been productive today...). I know what you're thinking-- of course you're excited, Laura, you've got a wonderful boyfriend... Yes, yes I do. And that day also happens to mark 9 months that that's been the case. Such a huge blessing. But outside of that, it's always been one of my favorite holidays. There's something about it that makes me want to bake cupcakes and find little ways to make people smile all day. Everybody deserves that.
3) I'm officially on staff at a college. Weird. I hold the keys to the city. Or at least the campus... And I'm enjoying it. We're hosting a giant National Geographic Premier this week and have about a million things going on all at once. Today is the calm before the storm for me-- I'll be working all weekend. Merp.
4) I'm loving life in MS. Yes, I miss my roommates like crazy every single day. And yes,sometimes always when I get home I wish someone was there to greet me at the door. But I'm enjoying the huge blessing that is my church family and God has blessed me with an incredible group of friends. We keep up with each other throughout the day (thanks to a new obsession of an iphone app) and I know they're always there for prayer, encouragement, and evenings of eating chocolate chip cookies and watching the Gilmore Girls. I prayed for this for such a long time. God is so faithful to provide. I'm also enjoying the huge blessing of living about seven hours and fourty minutes closer to Daniel than I did for the first eight months of our relationship. But I confess that at the end of the day I miss him just as much when I don't get to see him. I guess it's supposed to work like that though, right?
5) After the craziness of this week ends, I'm looking forward to a road trip with my boy. It's been too long since we've been on one of those. We get to go and serve at the DNow in Brewton next weekend (eeeek!!!!) and then are heading to Birmingham for a few days to see his bro/sister-in-law and go to a little concert... just Ben Rector and NeedToBreathe together. No biggie. (eeeeeek again!!) I'm beyond excited to see the kids in the Brew, watch what the Lord has planned for the weekend, and just spend a little time away with no work and no distractions. Blessings abound.
Man, once I started writing I had a hard time stopping. More to come soon! But for now, I better get back to checking the emails and shivering in my office. I ask you, who sets a thermostat on 40? I have to go do something about this.
Until next time!
I'd like to blame my recent blogging absence on a lack of time, but I don't know that that's necessarily the case... Maybe I've hit a writers block. Maybe I'm just bad at managing my time. Afterall, I am writing this on my "lunch break" at my desk as I eat banana pudding, but let's be real... I wasn't doing much before lunch outside of scrolling through blogs and answering the occasional email.
And the problem behind my lack of blogging isn't that the Lord hasn't been teaching me anything that I want to share... No, the problem actually is very much the opposite. Since moving here to Mississippi, (loving it, by the way!) God has set me on a path of learning more than I imagined, just as I expected that He would. In the past few weeks, I've had the incredible opportunity to serve at a few DNow's (and have seen a few sweet girls give their lives over to His kingdom!), have come to be incredibly blessed by a group of solid believer friends, have started "mentoring" a wonderful girl who teaches and challenges me, have seen the power of prayer in a new light, and have become more and more thirsty for His Word. It is so good and so filled with truths that come not just by reading it, but by studying it. That's what I've learned lately.
And through all of that, God has begun to teach me so much about what it means to be in Christ and to have the Spirit in us. John 14:20-- "...I am in my Father and you are in me, and I am in you." I'm so passionately excited about this concept, that I'm refusing to blog about it. Why?
Because I can't fit it in a blog. And because I've long dreamed of writing a book one day. And because if and when I begin said book, this is going to be the topic. For sure. So promise me, dear friends, that one day you'll pick up a copy of that-- if not to learn, then at least to support the wild dreams of a silly little girl. ;)
But, I'm going to try and pick back up with the writing on a more regular basis. For now, I'll leave you with these few random thoughts for the day:
1) I took pictures of my apartment to share with you, but I haven't uploaded them yet... Soon though. It's a fun place, but I'm also itching to do more with it. My sweet friend Lauren just got an internship at Milk and Honey Home and I'm so proud of her! I'm thinking that if she'll come over and if Anthropologie will sponsor me, I'll have a dream home in no time!
2) I've gotten insanely, unreasonably excited about it being almost Valentine's Day. I'm talking like I painted my nails pink, wore a red sweater today, and have been browsing Valentine's things on etsy all morning (told you I'd been productive today...). I know what you're thinking-- of course you're excited, Laura, you've got a wonderful boyfriend... Yes, yes I do. And that day also happens to mark 9 months that that's been the case. Such a huge blessing. But outside of that, it's always been one of my favorite holidays. There's something about it that makes me want to bake cupcakes and find little ways to make people smile all day. Everybody deserves that.
3) I'm officially on staff at a college. Weird. I hold the keys to the city. Or at least the campus... And I'm enjoying it. We're hosting a giant National Geographic Premier this week and have about a million things going on all at once. Today is the calm before the storm for me-- I'll be working all weekend. Merp.
4) I'm loving life in MS. Yes, I miss my roommates like crazy every single day. And yes,
5) After the craziness of this week ends, I'm looking forward to a road trip with my boy. It's been too long since we've been on one of those. We get to go and serve at the DNow in Brewton next weekend (eeeek!!!!) and then are heading to Birmingham for a few days to see his bro/sister-in-law and go to a little concert... just Ben Rector and NeedToBreathe together. No biggie. (eeeeeek again!!) I'm beyond excited to see the kids in the Brew, watch what the Lord has planned for the weekend, and just spend a little time away with no work and no distractions. Blessings abound.
Man, once I started writing I had a hard time stopping. More to come soon! But for now, I better get back to checking the emails and shivering in my office. I ask you, who sets a thermostat on 40? I have to go do something about this.
Until next time!
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