Am I the confident one that speaks up in Bible class sounding as though I know what I’m talking about?
Am I the sweet one, always with a listening ear and a hand to hold?
today could be the day
Am I the confident one that speaks up in Bible class sounding as though I know what I’m talking about?
Am I the sweet one, always with a listening ear and a hand to hold?
A recent trend for bloggers has been to do an open forum, asking readers to submit questions then answering them.
I am trying to focus a little more time on my writing, so while I’m doing that I’m going to open up the floor for you guys to ask me questions.
You have four years worth of fodder in my archives, and I will answer anything tasteful and appropriate for the blogsphere. I will answer anonymous questions that are respectful.
Ask away!
PS- New poll on the left.
A few weeks ago, I read the following passage and it stopped me in my tracks. It stepped on my toes to the degree that I literally closed the book and wouldn’t open it again for a week.
As I come to grips with what this message and my reaction means, I wanted to share it here:
An old saint told me years ago that the devil doesn’t so much care what particular thing he gets us to fall prey to. His primary aim is simply to get us to do something outside of Christ, for then we are vulnerable.
I want two things that are mutually opposed– I want to live a nice little life, and I want to play an important role in God’s kingdom. And it’s in those times that I am trying to live a nice little life that I make decisions and choices that cause me in small and subtle ways to live outside of Jesus. The shepherd is headed one direction, and I am headed another. Not some flagrant sin—that’s too easy to recognize. Instead, I’m simply wandering off looking for the pasture I deem best. I don’t even think to ask God about it.
A very dangerous way of thinking.
As Christians we don’t get to live a “normal” life, and accepting that fact in all the details of our lives is what allows us to remain in Jesus.
There’s something we need to be honest about; part of us doesn’t really want to hear what God has to say.
Really. Even after years of God’s rescues and surprises and blessing upon blessing, there’s part of me that gets irritated when someone say, “Let’s ask God.” The act itself is a disruption. Sometimes it feels like grinding the gears. Stop? Now? Ask God? I’m bugged. That’s part of it. The other part of it is, if we do hear something, we’ll have to obey.
I don’t ask because I don’t want to know. If I know what God thinks, then I’m faced with the decision of whether to follow His counsel or not. What was initially just a quandary or moment of confusion becomes an issue of obedience. I don’t want that sort of clarity. Furthermore, I don’t want God messing with my approach to life.
And so we come back to holiness. To ask is an act of holiness, because we are seeking to follow our Shepherd. To live by faith in him. Then we are faced with the choice to obey what we hear, and our holiness is deepened.
What I am describing is a heart that is present and engaged with God, bringing our desires to him, yet submitting our wills to his, genuinely trusting what he says is best.
“Walking with God,” by John Eldridge -pp. 90-92
“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties.”
-Oswald Chambers
“I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.”
-Psalm 121:1-2
Rarely has my life been so eventful. And lucky for you, pictureful.
This weekend I went to Texas for Mother’s Day:
Then yesterday I BOUGHT A NEW CAR! Holy cow… I’m still reeling from that. :) But I’m very happy! Any good name suggestions? I pride myself in unique and clever names.
And tonight, thanks to the generosity of some dear people, we had our blood donor appreciation night at Incredible Pizza!
For a person who made her only C in physics, I think a lot about trajectory.
Trajectory is fantastic. It’s predictable! It lets you see where an object has been, then take its current direction and speed to tell you where it’s going to end up.
It’s true for inanimate objects, but it’s also true for lives.
I think that through honest self-examination and the power of the Spirit, it is possible to determine your life trajectory.
The past few days I have tried to do some serious soul searching as to where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m headed. In some areas, I’m so thrilled and praise God for the victories he’s given. In other areas, I’m shocked at how far off base I’ve gotten and how I don’t seem to be doing anything to change that direction.
Self-assessment is not for the faint of heart. It takes intestinal fortitude, an honest eye for the good and bad, and conviction that the Spirit of God can do anything and is truly the author of all good things. But, if we’re ever going to live the lives we were called to live, then it’s necessary. Thank God for the vision of trajectory.
Thank you, Father, for opening our eyes to see who we are and where we’re headed. You are greater than any other force that tries to determine our trajectory, and we praise you for healing broken roads and directing our paths.
One of the reasons for my being much too busy lately is the fact that I was helping plan the QSYS Spring Retreat.
My idea for a theme was Spiritual Gladiators (including the joust and gauntlet… it’s all metaphorical, right?), but it never got off the ground.
However, I did invent a new game (patent pending): dramatic interpretations of Sunday school songs. Favorites included “Do Your Ears Hang Low?” and “Joy down in my heart.”
This year, rather than being a spectator at the OKC Memorial Marathon, 4 of my friends from church and I decided to form a relay team! I have to say that I had the best team in the world, and if you ever want a great activity to do with friends, a marathon relay is it.
In addition to my four sweet friends, I was part of TeamOC, which had over 400 participants in different relay events! It was so awesome to see our shirts wherever I looked!
I could say a lot about how much it meant to me to be there and to set goals and see them achieved. It’s incredible. God is so good. I will just say this. As I ran I saw a woman with a shirt that said, “The miracle is not that I will finish; it’s that I began.” :) Can’t add any more than that.
So without further ado, here are pictures!
One of my friends has gotten me into the Tyler Perry films and plays in the past few months, and I am more or less hooked. Yes, I am so multi-cultural. :)
Sometimes it’s slap-stick comedy, but the stories are laced with homespun, tried and true wisdom and common sense that is so often lacking in the world.
My absolute favorite is the play “Madea Goes to Jail,” followed closely by “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” (the movie), “Family Reunion” (the movie), and “Why Did I Get Married?” (the movie). All of these are available at your local movie rental place.
Below is my all-time favorite Madea soliloquy, from “Madea Goes to Jail”. It is fantastic. Lately I have been watching this scene on repeat and can’t help but throw in Amens and Hallelujahs as Madea talks.
It’s about a 10 minute clip, and the first half is the real meat, the second half is a hilarious old school R&B montage. I’ll rate it PG-13 for mild language.
Anybody out there also find wisdom from unexpected places?