Since I have been reading 1,000 Gifts, the idea of thanksgiving and praise have been on the forefront of my mind, so it is interesting that we are going through Ephesians at church in light of incorporating praise into our lives. So quote and verse from today's sermon.
Is the practice of praise a part of my life?
In light of living with the Holy Spirit, we are given his fruits to enjoy...these fruits are "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." (Gal 5:22) Do I believe that I have been given this inheritance?
Showing posts with label Thoughts on Faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Thoughts on Faith. Show all posts
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Sunday Quotes
"Pride is my stubborn refusal to let God be God"
“Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Romans 9:20
“Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this?’” Romans 9:20
Thursday, April 26, 2012
Trials and Truth
The past few weeks have been tough for me. I have found myself feeling overwhelmed, doubting and crying out in grief and pain. And God has been faithful to bring truth, as he always is. He has been gracious to give me friends who long to walk alongside of me even when I am pushing them away. He has been gracious to gently restore truth in the places where I need it.
As I said, I have been reading 1,000 Gifts. I had put it aside for probably a month and picked it back up over the weekend. Yesterday I started reading a chapter I had actually read before but this time around struck me in many deep ways. The following is a section from it. In it she references Exodus. This part of Exodus is following Moses' return from the mountain, where in his absence the people had created idols in God's place. So Moses is doubting what he is doing on this crazy journey, God's plan, angry at the people he is leading for being so weak and fearful, etc... God has told Moses in this conversation"My presence shall go with you, I will give you rest (33:14)" Yet Moses continues to question. Oh, and nobody could see God's face...remember Moses had to veil his face to be in his presence...And prior to this she has been talking about looking back and seeing God, like crossing a bridge and looking in the rear view mirror and realizing it supported you. Okay, now that it is set up a bit here are Ann Voskamp's words:
Exodus 33:22-23 "When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back."
Is that it? When it gets dark, it's only because God has tucked me in a cleft of the rock and covered me, protected, with His hand? In the pitch, I feel like I'm falling, sense the bridge giving way, God long absent. In the dark, the bridge and my world shakes, cracking dreams. But maybe this is true reality: It is in the dark that God is passing by. The bridge and our lives shake not because God has abandoned, but the exact opposite: God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can't see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us..Then He will remove His hand. Then we will look. Then we look back and see His back."
As I said, I have been reading 1,000 Gifts. I had put it aside for probably a month and picked it back up over the weekend. Yesterday I started reading a chapter I had actually read before but this time around struck me in many deep ways. The following is a section from it. In it she references Exodus. This part of Exodus is following Moses' return from the mountain, where in his absence the people had created idols in God's place. So Moses is doubting what he is doing on this crazy journey, God's plan, angry at the people he is leading for being so weak and fearful, etc... God has told Moses in this conversation"My presence shall go with you, I will give you rest (33:14)" Yet Moses continues to question. Oh, and nobody could see God's face...remember Moses had to veil his face to be in his presence...And prior to this she has been talking about looking back and seeing God, like crossing a bridge and looking in the rear view mirror and realizing it supported you. Okay, now that it is set up a bit here are Ann Voskamp's words:
Exodus 33:22-23 "When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by. Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back."
Is that it? When it gets dark, it's only because God has tucked me in a cleft of the rock and covered me, protected, with His hand? In the pitch, I feel like I'm falling, sense the bridge giving way, God long absent. In the dark, the bridge and my world shakes, cracking dreams. But maybe this is true reality: It is in the dark that God is passing by. The bridge and our lives shake not because God has abandoned, but the exact opposite: God is passing by. God is in the tremors. Dark is the holiest ground, the glory passing by. In the blackest, God is closest, at work, forging His perfect and right will. Though it is black and we can't see and our world seems to be free-falling and we feel utterly alone, Christ is most present to us..Then He will remove His hand. Then we will look. Then we look back and see His back."
Saturday, April 21, 2012
1,000 Gifts Quote
I have been off and on reading the book 1,000 Gifts by Ann Voskamp. She challengers herself to write down 1,000 gifts from God and in the midst begins to see how a life of thanksgiving transforms so many parts of her. So far, I would recommend it. She is wordy but I love her descriptions and her wordiness.
This is a quote that I found in my journal today that I needed to find again. Thankful for that.
"I wonder too ... if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God. That that which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave."
This is a quote that I found in my journal today that I needed to find again. Thankful for that.
"I wonder too ... if the rent in the canvas of our life backdrop, the losses that puncture our world, our own emptiness, might actually become places to see. To see through to God. That that which tears open our souls, those holes that splatter our sight, may actually become the thin, open places to see through the mess of this place to the heart-aching beauty beyond. To Him. To the God whom we endlessly crave."
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
New
This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. The Lord's lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." Lamentations 3:21-24
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Sunday Quotes
As I was in outdoors church this morning I have no Midtown quotes. But this is one of my favorites...there is too much to put in here from The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, but this is one of my favorites. And Dad and I talked about it some this morning so I figured it counted.
"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when (Aslan) began to tear the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt."
"The very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when (Aslan) began to tear the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I've ever felt."
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Cheapened desire
Randy talked about desires a few weeks ago in a sermon. He said that we cheapen our desires into wants. What I see as a deep desire or longing of my heart, such as to be known and loved-I can cheapen that desire into a want that I have control over-like finding more friends who will like me, etc. This pattern shows up in a lot of different places. This morning I was lucky to have a meeting with some people from our church and a lot of our discussion resonated and reminded me of this.
What we were talking about specifically was community and how people desire to "plug-in" at our church. I think a lot of this want or cry is a cry of our deeper desires. And I love that my my church longs for me/we to understand the desires of my heart and not necessarily get this thing that I think I need or want. I have realized over the years of going to Midtown how much the gospel is the river flowing through all that they preach, how our services are designed, and how they wish for us to go deeper in smaller groups. This gospel transformation has to happen within me personally before I see my need for community, before I see my need of a world outside that need to be loved.
And this gospel transforming my heart is not a quick fix or a quick change...it is something that is born out of long suffering, out of me reaching the end of myself and seeing my need, of me experiencing deep loneliness and allowing someone to see me there, out of patience and faith. It happens when I realize I am ready to pay the price to step out of the shadows and allow others to really know me and see me. The price is high but the gain is great. And it is a step that I must take over and over as my tendency is to want to hide or want the cheap quick fix.
What we were talking about specifically was community and how people desire to "plug-in" at our church. I think a lot of this want or cry is a cry of our deeper desires. And I love that my my church longs for me/we to understand the desires of my heart and not necessarily get this thing that I think I need or want. I have realized over the years of going to Midtown how much the gospel is the river flowing through all that they preach, how our services are designed, and how they wish for us to go deeper in smaller groups. This gospel transformation has to happen within me personally before I see my need for community, before I see my need of a world outside that need to be loved.
And this gospel transforming my heart is not a quick fix or a quick change...it is something that is born out of long suffering, out of me reaching the end of myself and seeing my need, of me experiencing deep loneliness and allowing someone to see me there, out of patience and faith. It happens when I realize I am ready to pay the price to step out of the shadows and allow others to really know me and see me. The price is high but the gain is great. And it is a step that I must take over and over as my tendency is to want to hide or want the cheap quick fix.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Sunday Quotes
Would I invite rebuke from the Lord?
'Here I raise my Ebeneezer, hither by thy help I've come'
'Here I raise my Ebeneezer, hither by thy help I've come'
Thursday, March 22, 2012
Waiting
I am convinced that most of our lives are spent in some form of waiting. Sometimes this feels more acute, other times we are not aware of what we are waiting for. Lately I have felt like I am stuck in waiting and getting tired of it. So I started re-reading a book called Waiting by Ben Patterson that I know I have posted about before.
So this conglomeration of thoughts is stemming from this idea of waiting.
Ben Patterson writes: "To wait is to bow before his superior wisdom and timing when it comes to the things we want. It is to confess that he, not me, is the one in charge...You cannot hope in God until you have ceased to hope in yourself." Over the years as I have been learning more about waiting I have realized how I dislike waiting because I like results, I like things to happen now, I like to feel in control of when they happen. Let's be honest, I don't like to be uncomfortable and waiting is uncomfortable. It is this hanging in a balance of having unmet desires, of longings, and usually of me placing hope in circumstances or people. Proverbs 13:12 has been often quoted in our church...Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Placing my hope on circumstances or people leads to heart sickness, but my hope placed in the Lord is a tree of life or a place where there is room for things to grow, to live, to be cut off, for fruit to be sown, for expansion, for purpose.
I also get trapped in the lie that loneliness is a companion to waiting but last night I was reminded that this is not the case. Moses, as he was being called, was told by God: "Certainly I will be with you." (Exodus 3:12). I do not stand alone...He is always there with me. He says certainly-I don't have to wonder or doubt the truth in his presence there, in the midst of my waiting.
Today I am thankful for a God who is faithful to meet me in my pain and in my need and to remind me of truth.
So this conglomeration of thoughts is stemming from this idea of waiting.
Ben Patterson writes: "To wait is to bow before his superior wisdom and timing when it comes to the things we want. It is to confess that he, not me, is the one in charge...You cannot hope in God until you have ceased to hope in yourself." Over the years as I have been learning more about waiting I have realized how I dislike waiting because I like results, I like things to happen now, I like to feel in control of when they happen. Let's be honest, I don't like to be uncomfortable and waiting is uncomfortable. It is this hanging in a balance of having unmet desires, of longings, and usually of me placing hope in circumstances or people. Proverbs 13:12 has been often quoted in our church...Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. Placing my hope on circumstances or people leads to heart sickness, but my hope placed in the Lord is a tree of life or a place where there is room for things to grow, to live, to be cut off, for fruit to be sown, for expansion, for purpose.
I also get trapped in the lie that loneliness is a companion to waiting but last night I was reminded that this is not the case. Moses, as he was being called, was told by God: "Certainly I will be with you." (Exodus 3:12). I do not stand alone...He is always there with me. He says certainly-I don't have to wonder or doubt the truth in his presence there, in the midst of my waiting.
Today I am thankful for a God who is faithful to meet me in my pain and in my need and to remind me of truth.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Remember
Having a day of feeling discouraged and defeated. As my heart feels heavy and lost I need reminders... reminders of truth, reminders of love, reminders of where my hope lies. Today my heart needed this.
Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19
Though the fig tree should not blossom and there be no fruit on the vines, though the yield of the olive should fail and the fields produce no food, though the flock should be cut off from the fold and there be no cattle in the stalls, yet I will exult in the LORD, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord GOD is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places. Habakkuk 3:17-19
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Sunday Quotes
Ephesians 5:1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love...
What would it look like if we lived as beloved children and saw everyone else as a beloved child of the Lord's?
What would it look like if we lived as beloved children and saw everyone else as a beloved child of the Lord's?
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| (First signs of spring in my yard...) |
Sunday, March 4, 2012
Sunday Quotes
Joy is peace on its feet; peace is joy at rest. Anne Lamott
For He himself is our peace Ephesians 2:14
For He himself is our peace Ephesians 2:14
Sunday, February 26, 2012
Sunday Quotes
Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose. CS Lewis
The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him and I am helped. Psalm 28: 7
The Lord is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him and I am helped. Psalm 28: 7
Friday, February 24, 2012
Reminders
Psalm 136 is right up my alley. It is full of repetition which I know is what my heart needs in order to continue to know truth. This Psalm talks about giving thanks to God and what he has done:
Give thanks to the Lord or lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
It goes on to talk about all the wonders of what he has done.
But what I love about it it is that the end of each line of a wonder, it repeats His faithful love endures forever. This steady repetition reminds me over and over that his love is always here with me.
It is repeated 26 times.
I don't know if David wrote this Psalm, but whoever did is just like me...in need of letting these words pour over my soul that so easily forgets how great a love surrounds me.
Give thanks to the Lord or lords.
His faithful love endures forever.
Give thanks to him who alone does mighty miracles.
His faithful love endures forever.
It goes on to talk about all the wonders of what he has done.
But what I love about it it is that the end of each line of a wonder, it repeats His faithful love endures forever. This steady repetition reminds me over and over that his love is always here with me.
It is repeated 26 times.
I don't know if David wrote this Psalm, but whoever did is just like me...in need of letting these words pour over my soul that so easily forgets how great a love surrounds me.
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Sunday Quotes
All I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all I have not seen.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
From church this morning:
There is a difference in being at peace and being in a peaceful situation.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
From church this morning:
There is a difference in being at peace and being in a peaceful situation.
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Sharing
Last week I was talking to my friend about her daughter learning how to share. We were laughing about the funny things her daughter is doing to try and keep from sharing and what a tough lesson it is to learn.
I have been thinking about how this relates to me.
I am the same way...I don't want to share control. No matter how much I think I am getting "better" at it, I still find myself fighting to be in control of my life. Whether it is trying to be in control of how people view me or what my future holds or how I feel, I want to know that I will feel good or be okay. I spend so much effort protecting my comfort and the things I think will make me happy, when my freedom and fulfillment lie in submitting to God, in trusting his control.
Somehow it helps me to put pictures or ideas to the complexities of my heart. And thinking about it in this way has helped me see how many ways I fight to share control of my life all the time. Thankful for his grace that continues to love and provide and be faithful to such a broken me.
I have been thinking about how this relates to me.
I am the same way...I don't want to share control. No matter how much I think I am getting "better" at it, I still find myself fighting to be in control of my life. Whether it is trying to be in control of how people view me or what my future holds or how I feel, I want to know that I will feel good or be okay. I spend so much effort protecting my comfort and the things I think will make me happy, when my freedom and fulfillment lie in submitting to God, in trusting his control.
Somehow it helps me to put pictures or ideas to the complexities of my heart. And thinking about it in this way has helped me see how many ways I fight to share control of my life all the time. Thankful for his grace that continues to love and provide and be faithful to such a broken me.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday Quotes
"Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world." C.S. Lewis
From church this morning: "God cares more about you living whole hearted than pain free. In fact, sometimes he uses our pain to bring us into whole hearted living."
From church this morning: "God cares more about you living whole hearted than pain free. In fact, sometimes he uses our pain to bring us into whole hearted living."
Thursday, February 9, 2012
Screwtape Letters
A friend and I are making our way through the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. If you haven't read it, it is written from the perspective of an elderly devil who is counseling a novice devil in how to corrupt humans. I know, it sounds a little strange but the perspective is interesting. Anyway, here is a quote from the first chapter.
"They find it all but impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes."
"They find it all but impossible to believe in the unfamiliar while the familiar is before their eyes."
Friday, February 3, 2012
Lullaby
I know it is a lullaby but thanks to Lydia, Danielle and Slugs and Bugs I love the words to this sweet song.
I love you today,
I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy and I love you in sorrow
You can always come home to me
Thankful for this truth today.
And in case you were wondering...the first 2 juice recipes were really good. Better than I thought. I had some hesitations about how good they would taste but both were really great and surprisingly filling.
I love you today,
I love you tomorrow
I love you as deep as the sea
I love you in joy and I love you in sorrow
You can always come home to me
Thankful for this truth today.
And in case you were wondering...the first 2 juice recipes were really good. Better than I thought. I had some hesitations about how good they would taste but both were really great and surprisingly filling.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Obedience
None of these thoughts are fully formed yet so forgive the jumble that may come out.
Obedience or the idea of following God..why is it so hard? There are hundreds of areas in scripture that talk about obedience. Why is it so hard for us to listen to his instructions for our life and trust him? I find myself so bull-headedly wanting to follow my own feelings or my own idea for my life. My lack of obedience is in a lot of ways a lack of trust. Many times I know things that I ought to do, which I hate that word, but in this sense I mean ought do because ultimately they are what God knows is best for me, yet I stubbornly refuse to do them. This is usually because I don't want the harder path, or what I think is the harder path, or I don't want to deal with the ramifications of what that action is. But ultimately I am trusting myself more.
I think there will always be this tension between knowing what I am called to and watching myself fail over and over as a result of being fallen. When I realize this tension it is hard to know what to do with it because we hear all the time that life is about me and what I feel. Don't get me wrong, feelings have their place and in many instances I know God works through our feelings. But there are other times I think our feelings are purely selfish and a part of being fallen and I chose to listen to my feelings out of my desire to remain comfortable rather than step out into something I am afraid of.
So how do all these fit together? I think our pastor Dave said it well on Sunday...that we can grow to embrace something by acting on it; the understanding of why grows as we act instead of waiting to feel like it before we act. In these times, feelings will follow as feelings shouldn't be the final authority in my life. I obey not because I must in order to be loved, I obey because I am so deeply loved and known that I trust what I am being called to follow. In these times I remember humbly my unwillingness and pray that God would change my heart and step out in trust into where he is leading. I admit that I need this attitude even in the simple act of sitting down to spend time with him.
Obedience or the idea of following God..why is it so hard? There are hundreds of areas in scripture that talk about obedience. Why is it so hard for us to listen to his instructions for our life and trust him? I find myself so bull-headedly wanting to follow my own feelings or my own idea for my life. My lack of obedience is in a lot of ways a lack of trust. Many times I know things that I ought to do, which I hate that word, but in this sense I mean ought do because ultimately they are what God knows is best for me, yet I stubbornly refuse to do them. This is usually because I don't want the harder path, or what I think is the harder path, or I don't want to deal with the ramifications of what that action is. But ultimately I am trusting myself more.
I think there will always be this tension between knowing what I am called to and watching myself fail over and over as a result of being fallen. When I realize this tension it is hard to know what to do with it because we hear all the time that life is about me and what I feel. Don't get me wrong, feelings have their place and in many instances I know God works through our feelings. But there are other times I think our feelings are purely selfish and a part of being fallen and I chose to listen to my feelings out of my desire to remain comfortable rather than step out into something I am afraid of.
So how do all these fit together? I think our pastor Dave said it well on Sunday...that we can grow to embrace something by acting on it; the understanding of why grows as we act instead of waiting to feel like it before we act. In these times, feelings will follow as feelings shouldn't be the final authority in my life. I obey not because I must in order to be loved, I obey because I am so deeply loved and known that I trust what I am being called to follow. In these times I remember humbly my unwillingness and pray that God would change my heart and step out in trust into where he is leading. I admit that I need this attitude even in the simple act of sitting down to spend time with him.
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