"Ring out, wild bells, to the wild sky,
The flying cloud, the frosty light;
The year is dying in the night;
Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.
Ring out the old, ring in the new,
Ring, happy bells, across the snow:
The year is going, let him go;
Ring out the false, ring in the true.
Ring out the grief that saps the mind,
For those that here we see no more,
Ring out the feud of rich and poor,
Ring in redress to all mankind.
Ring out a slowly dying cause,
And ancient forms of party strife;
Ring in the nobler modes of life,
With sweeter manners, purer laws.
Ring out the want, the care, the sin,
The faithless coldness of the times;
Ring out, ring out thy mournful rhymes,
But ring the fuller minstrel in.
Ring out false pride in place and blood,
The civic slander and the spite;
Ring in the love of truth and right,
Ring in the common love of good.
Ring out old shapes of foul disease,
Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;
Ring out the thousand wars of old,
Ring in the thousand years of peace.
Ring in the valiant man and free,
The larger heart, the kindlier hand;
Ring out the darkness of the land,
Ring in the Christ that is to be."
-Alfred Lord Tennyson
Friday, December 26, 2008
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Take My Life
"Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee."
-Frances R. Havergal
Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.
Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.
Take my feet, and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee.
Take my voice, and let me sing always, only, for my King.
Take my lips, and let them be filled with messages from Thee.
Take my silver and my gold; not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.
Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.
Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.
Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.
Take myself, and I will be ever, only, all for Thee."
-Frances R. Havergal
Friday, June 6, 2008
favorite quotes from Les Miserables
"To die is nothing; but it is terrible not to live."
"The realities of the soul are none the less real for being invisible and impalpable."
"The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved; of being loved for oneself, even in spite of oneself."
"There is priest's courage just as there is the courage of a colonel of dragoons...ours must be quiet."
"I was not put into this world to preserve my life but to protect souls."
"And after all, in this house what have we to fear? There is always Someone with us who is stronger. The devil may visit us, but God lives here."
"Peaceful in his solitude, adoring, matching the tranquility of the heavens with the tranquility of his own heartbeat, ravished in the shadows by the visible and invisible splendours of God, he opened his spirit to the thoughts coming from the Unknown."
"He did not scrutinize God but let his eyes be dazzled."
"Men of genius from the boundless depths of abstraction and pure speculation, situated as it were above dogma, propose their theories to God. Their prayers audaciously invite discussion. Their worship poses questions."
"But we can no more pray too much than we can love too much."
"He was concerned only to find for himself and inspire in others the best means of comfort and relief."
"...yielding to that mysterious power which said to him, 'reflect,' as two thousand years before, it had said to another condemned man, 'take up Thy Cross.'"
"...he could achieve sanctity in the eyes of God only by returning to degradation in the eyes of men."
"Thus he strove in torment as another man had striven 1800 years before him, the mysterious Being in whom were embodied all the saintliness and suffering of mankind. He too while the olive leaves quivered around Him, had again and again refused the terrible cup of darkness urged upon Him beneath a sky filled with stars."
"Laughter is a sun that drives out winter from the human face."
"The realities of the soul are none the less real for being invisible and impalpable."
"The supreme happiness in life is the assurance of being loved; of being loved for oneself, even in spite of oneself."
"There is priest's courage just as there is the courage of a colonel of dragoons...ours must be quiet."
"I was not put into this world to preserve my life but to protect souls."
"And after all, in this house what have we to fear? There is always Someone with us who is stronger. The devil may visit us, but God lives here."
"Peaceful in his solitude, adoring, matching the tranquility of the heavens with the tranquility of his own heartbeat, ravished in the shadows by the visible and invisible splendours of God, he opened his spirit to the thoughts coming from the Unknown."
"He did not scrutinize God but let his eyes be dazzled."
"Men of genius from the boundless depths of abstraction and pure speculation, situated as it were above dogma, propose their theories to God. Their prayers audaciously invite discussion. Their worship poses questions."
"But we can no more pray too much than we can love too much."
"He was concerned only to find for himself and inspire in others the best means of comfort and relief."
"...yielding to that mysterious power which said to him, 'reflect,' as two thousand years before, it had said to another condemned man, 'take up Thy Cross.'"
"...he could achieve sanctity in the eyes of God only by returning to degradation in the eyes of men."
"Thus he strove in torment as another man had striven 1800 years before him, the mysterious Being in whom were embodied all the saintliness and suffering of mankind. He too while the olive leaves quivered around Him, had again and again refused the terrible cup of darkness urged upon Him beneath a sky filled with stars."
"Laughter is a sun that drives out winter from the human face."
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Just Me, Right Now
I have to fight the urge in writing this blog to only post my most "intelligent," "polished" writing. Well right now I need to post without doing that, just my thoughts. No citations, no scholastic arguments - just what I have been thinking about lately.
God is much bigger than the box I put Him in, much bigger than the box our culture puts Him in. I am learning the richness of other cultures and what they have to offer in their view of God.
Jesus Christ is my one true love. It seems like everything I do is in pursuit of Him; trying to see more of Him, learn more about Him, and know Him better. Sometimes I tire of running after Him, and most of the time I wish He was tangible and visible. I wish I didn't have to think Him so much - I wish He would make His presence so obvious to me that I didn't have to work to notice Him.
"Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all."
People will *always* disappoint me. I cannot put my hope in them. Though I have a complicated relationship with God, and though He has disappointed me, I trust Him, more than I will ever trust anyone else. He is the ultimate good.
I believe that you don't have to be a "Christian" to go to heaven. I think the Great Divorce is the most real portrayal of heaven and hell that I have ever heard or read. I believe that God is bigger than the Christian subculture we have reduced Him to. He is Love, Goodness, and Truth, and though I can't even begin to grasp these things, I have to fight not to put Him in a box.
"I do not know what pagan means. I only know that Jesus of Nazareth sings the true song. He knows the ancient harmonies." - Madeliene L'Engle
Rabindranath Tagore, Madeleine L'Engle, and C.S. Lewis are absolutely brilliant.
"Children's" books and movies express undiluted TRUTH.
"Truth in her dress finds facts too tight.
In fiction she moves with ease." -Rabindranath Tagore
I don't have to figure God out to love Him.
I don't have to figure myself out for Him to love me.
God is much bigger than the box I put Him in, much bigger than the box our culture puts Him in. I am learning the richness of other cultures and what they have to offer in their view of God.
Jesus Christ is my one true love. It seems like everything I do is in pursuit of Him; trying to see more of Him, learn more about Him, and know Him better. Sometimes I tire of running after Him, and most of the time I wish He was tangible and visible. I wish I didn't have to think Him so much - I wish He would make His presence so obvious to me that I didn't have to work to notice Him.
"Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art.
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.
Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.
Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.
Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of Heaven, my Treasure Thou art.
High King of Heaven, my victory won,
May I reach Heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all."
People will *always* disappoint me. I cannot put my hope in them. Though I have a complicated relationship with God, and though He has disappointed me, I trust Him, more than I will ever trust anyone else. He is the ultimate good.
I believe that you don't have to be a "Christian" to go to heaven. I think the Great Divorce is the most real portrayal of heaven and hell that I have ever heard or read. I believe that God is bigger than the Christian subculture we have reduced Him to. He is Love, Goodness, and Truth, and though I can't even begin to grasp these things, I have to fight not to put Him in a box.
"I do not know what pagan means. I only know that Jesus of Nazareth sings the true song. He knows the ancient harmonies." - Madeliene L'Engle
Rabindranath Tagore, Madeleine L'Engle, and C.S. Lewis are absolutely brilliant.
"Children's" books and movies express undiluted TRUTH.
"Truth in her dress finds facts too tight.
In fiction she moves with ease." -Rabindranath Tagore
I don't have to figure God out to love Him.
I don't have to figure myself out for Him to love me.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
some quotes I really like
I promise I will write a *real* post soon...but for now enjoy the quotes.
"'They say Aslan is on the move - perhaps has already landed.'
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to be put into words...It was like that now.
At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."
-C.S. Lewis
“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun – which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in some one’s eyes.”
- the Secret Garden
"Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it."
- Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds LVI
"The Kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious cast of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle."
- Brennan Manning
"'They say Aslan is on the move - perhaps has already landed.'
And now a very curious thing happened. None of the children knew who Aslan was any more than you do; but the moment the Beaver had spoken these words everyone felt quite different. Perhaps it has sometimes happened to you in a dream that someone says something which you don't understand but in the dream it feels as if it had some enormous meaning - either a terrifying one which turns the whole dream into a nightmare or else a lovely meaning too lovely to be put into words...It was like that now.
At the name of Aslan each one of the children felt something jump in its inside. Edmund felt a sensation of mysterious horror. Peter felt suddenly brave and adventurous. Susan felt as if some delicious smell or some delightful strain of music had just floated by her. And Lucy got the feeling you have when you wake up in the morning and realize that it is the beginning of the holidays or the beginning of summer."
-C.S. Lewis
“One of the strange things about living in the world is that it is only now and then one is quite sure one is going to live forever and ever and ever. One knows it sometimes when one gets up at the tender solemn dawn-time and goes out and stands alone and throws one’s head far back and looks up and up and watches the pale sky slowly changing and flushing and marvelous unknown things happening until the East almost makes one cry out and one’s heart stands still at the strange unchanging majesty of the rising of the sun – which has been happening every morning for thousands and thousands and thousands of years. One knows it then for a moment or so. And one knows it sometimes when one stands by oneself in a wood at sunset and the mysterious deep gold stillness slanting through and under the branches seems to be saying slowly again and again something one cannot quite hear, however much one tries. Then sometimes the immense quiet of the dark blue at night with millions of stars waiting and watching makes one sure; and sometimes a sound of far-off music makes it true; and sometimes a look in some one’s eyes.”
- the Secret Garden
"Life is given to us, we earn it by giving it."
- Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds LVI
"The Kingdom is not an exclusive, well-trimmed suburb with snobbish rules about who can live there. No, it is for a larger, homelier, less self-conscious cast of people who understand they are sinners because they have experienced the yaw and pitch of moral struggle."
- Brennan Manning
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Sunday, April 6, 2008
Saturday, March 22, 2008
Happy Easter!
"Jesus! the name that charms our fears,
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me."
The last month has been pretty crazy for me - lots of friends visiting, lots of school, and lots of emotions. It makes me even more grateful for what Christ has done.
That bids our sorrows cease;
’Tis music in the sinner’s ears,
’Tis life, and health, and peace.
He breaks the power of canceled sin,
He sets the prisoner free;
His blood can make the foulest clean,
His blood availed for me."
The last month has been pretty crazy for me - lots of friends visiting, lots of school, and lots of emotions. It makes me even more grateful for what Christ has done.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Happy Valentine's Day!
"To fear love is to fear life, and those
who fear life are already three parts
dead."
-Bertrand Russell
who fear life are already three parts
dead."
-Bertrand Russell
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
I thought these were hilarious...
THE BEST CHURCH BULLETIN BLOOPERS
These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins
or were announced in church services:
Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."
The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water."
The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
"Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.
Remember in prayer the many that are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again", giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The Lutheran men's group will meet at 6 pm. Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert will be served for a nominal feel.
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm - prayer and medication to follow.
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door.
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
Mrs. Johnson will be entering the hospital this week for testes.
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."
Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High."
Thanks Eileen K.
These sentences actually appeared in church bulletins
or were announced in church services:
Bertha Belch, a missionary from Africa, will be speaking tonight at Calvary Methodist. Come hear Bertha Belch all the way from Africa.
Announcement in a church bulletin for a national PRAYER & FASTING Conference: "The cost for attending the Fasting and Prayer conference includes meals."
The sermon this morning: "Jesus Walks on the Water."
The sermon tonight: "Searching for Jesus."
Our youth basketball team is back in action Wednesday at 8 PM in the recreation hall. Come out and watch us kill Christ the King.
"Ladies, don't forget the rummage sale. It's a chance to get rid of those things not worth keeping around the house. Don't forget your husbands."
The peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been cancelled due to a conflict.
Remember in prayer the many that are sick of our community. Smile at someone who is hard to love. Say "hell" to someone who doesn't care much about you.
Don't let worry kill you off - let the Church help.
Miss Charlene Mason sang "I will not pass this way again", giving obvious pleasure to the congregation.
For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
Next Thursday there will be tryouts for the choir. They need all the help they can get.
Barbara remains in the hospital and needs blood donors for more transfusions. She is also having trouble sleeping and requests tapes of Pastor Jack's sermons.
During the absence of our Pastor, we enjoyed the rare privilege of hearing a good sermon when J.F. Stubbs supplied our pulpit.
The Rector will preach his farewell message after which the choir will sing "Break Forth into Joy."
Irving Benson and Jessie Carter were married on October 24 in the church. So ends a friendship that began in their school days.
A bean supper will be held on Tuesday evening in the church hall. Music will follow.
At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
Eight new choir robes are currently needed, due to the addition of several new members and to the deterioration of some older ones.
Scouts are saving aluminum cans, bottles, and other items to be recycled. Proceeds will be used to cripple children.
The Lutheran men's group will meet at 6 pm. Steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, bread and dessert will be served for a nominal feel.
Please place your donation in the envelope along with the deceased person you want remembered.
Attend and you will hear an excellent speaker and heave a healthy lunch.
The church will host an evening of fine dining, superb entertainment, and gracious hostility.
Potluck supper Sunday at 5:00 pm - prayer and medication to follow.
The ladies of the Church have cast off clothing of every kind. They may be seen in the basement on Friday afternoon.
This evening at 7 pm there will be a hymn sing in the park across from the Church. Bring a blanket and come prepared to sin.
Ladies Bible Study will be held Thursday morning at 10. All ladies are invited to lunch in the Fellowship Hall after the B.S. is done.
The pastor would appreciate it if the ladies of the congregation would lend him their electric girdles for the pancake breakfast next Sunday.
Low Self Esteem Support Group will meet Thursday at 7 PM. Please use back door.
The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
Weight Watchers will meet at 7 PM at the First Presbyterian Church. Please use large double door at the side entrance.
Mrs. Johnson will be entering the hospital this week for testes.
The Associate Minister unveiled the church's new tithing campaign slogan last Sunday "I Upped My Pledge - Up Yours."
Our next song is "Angels We Have Heard Get High."
Thanks Eileen K.
Sunday, February 3, 2008
Saturday, February 2, 2008
Just As I Am
"I wondered how to come to You,
I did not dare believe it true, that You regard the orphaned ones:
beloved daughters, worthy sons,
the broken and the barren too,
I heard I could find some rest in You.
What kind of love in injury's place,
would leave instead the stain of grace?
So I come in sorrow and I come in shame.
I come to the cross with my pain.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me
and that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
The pardon that I found from sin spilled out from where the nails went in.
My heart will ever more proclaim
I had not lived until that day.
And I know there is a crown for me
beyond where mortal eyes can see
and I don't nod to any man,
but offer me just as I am.
So I come rejoicing with hands held high,
and I come singing words of new life.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me
and that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come."
original words by Charlotte Elliott
I did not dare believe it true, that You regard the orphaned ones:
beloved daughters, worthy sons,
the broken and the barren too,
I heard I could find some rest in You.
What kind of love in injury's place,
would leave instead the stain of grace?
So I come in sorrow and I come in shame.
I come to the cross with my pain.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me
and that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
The pardon that I found from sin spilled out from where the nails went in.
My heart will ever more proclaim
I had not lived until that day.
And I know there is a crown for me
beyond where mortal eyes can see
and I don't nod to any man,
but offer me just as I am.
So I come rejoicing with hands held high,
and I come singing words of new life.
Just as I am, without one plea,
but that thy blood was shed for me
and that Thou bidst me come to Thee,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come."
original words by Charlotte Elliott
Monday, January 28, 2008
two signs of Divine providence
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1. I sat down at a random table in my bio lab today, and my it turns out that my new lab partners happen to share my love for C.S. Lewis and A.W. Tozer!
2. I saw the most DELIGHTFUL birds at school today - bushtits, they're called - quite an awful name if you ask me, but all the same they reminded me that God still cares for me even now.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
a thought and a prayer
"Father,
I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting.
I come trembling, but I do come.
Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious.
Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus' name.
Amen."
This is from the Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, and I think it truly reflects my own heart in the last few days.
Since moving back, I've had my ups and downs - as P.B. Shelley puts it, "One wandering thought pollutes the day." With the adjustments I am making, it is so easy to let just one stray, self-pitying thought ruin my attitude, my mood, and my connection with God.
When I let this happen, I am putting my pride and my "martyrdom" on the throne of my heart in place of the most High God. I have come to depend on my pride in my "sacrifice" to make me feel secure, because I think it is all I have left in the face of such change in my life.
I'm afraid to give up this "martyrdom" because that would mean I can't take care of myself, that I actually need the God who longs to take my worries. I have only to leave them at the foot of the Cross; He died to carry my burdens for me, to defeat Worry's hold on me.
What more could I possibly ask for?
"Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with His love
and delight you with His songs.
The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
You've carried those burdens long enough."
- Zeph. 3:17-18 MSG
I want to know Thee, but my cowardly heart fears to give up its toys. I cannot part with them without inward bleeding, and I do not try to hide from Thee the terror of the parting.
I come trembling, but I do come.
Please root from my heart all those things which I have cherished so long and which have become a very part of my living self, so that Thou mayest enter and dwell there without a rival.
Then shalt Thou make the place of Thy feet glorious.
Then shall my heart have no need of the sun to shine in it, for Thyself wilt be the light of it, and there shall be no night there.
In Jesus' name.
Amen."
This is from the Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer, and I think it truly reflects my own heart in the last few days.
Since moving back, I've had my ups and downs - as P.B. Shelley puts it, "One wandering thought pollutes the day." With the adjustments I am making, it is so easy to let just one stray, self-pitying thought ruin my attitude, my mood, and my connection with God.
When I let this happen, I am putting my pride and my "martyrdom" on the throne of my heart in place of the most High God. I have come to depend on my pride in my "sacrifice" to make me feel secure, because I think it is all I have left in the face of such change in my life.
I'm afraid to give up this "martyrdom" because that would mean I can't take care of myself, that I actually need the God who longs to take my worries. I have only to leave them at the foot of the Cross; He died to carry my burdens for me, to defeat Worry's hold on me.
What more could I possibly ask for?
"Your God is present among you,
a strong Warrior there to save you.
Happy to have you back, he'll calm you with His love
and delight you with His songs.
The accumulated sorrows of your exile will dissipate.
I, your God, will get rid of them for you.
You've carried those burdens long enough."
- Zeph. 3:17-18 MSG
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
New Years Resolutions
I love New Years' Day, first because it's my birthday, and second because it's the ultimate fresh start. It can be daunting, but it can also be invigorating, inspiring, and hopeful. Here are my resolutions for 2008:
1. Get to know God again - be honest with Him with my doubts, and learn to trust Him again. Spend time with Him out of love, not out of obligation.
2. Embrace life - instead of being morbid and wallowing in my faults, choose to celebrate the goodness of God in my life.
3. Believe in myself - learn that I am worth it.
4. Stop dieting and start living - learn how to eat healthy through Weight Watchers and break free of the diet mentality. Do this FOR ME, because I am worth it. Have patience and grace with myself for the journey.
5. Keep running - I can truly do whatever I set my mind to. Exercise FOR ME.
6. Invest in community here and now, instead of wishing I were somewhere else.
7. Take ownership of my finances and start saving for the future.
8. Keep learning grace.
9. Be more encouraging to my loved ones - I tend to take them for granted.
10. Have fun! Don't take myself so seriously all the time.
I also want to blog more often this year, so hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more from me in the future :).
1. Get to know God again - be honest with Him with my doubts, and learn to trust Him again. Spend time with Him out of love, not out of obligation.
2. Embrace life - instead of being morbid and wallowing in my faults, choose to celebrate the goodness of God in my life.
3. Believe in myself - learn that I am worth it.
4. Stop dieting and start living - learn how to eat healthy through Weight Watchers and break free of the diet mentality. Do this FOR ME, because I am worth it. Have patience and grace with myself for the journey.
5. Keep running - I can truly do whatever I set my mind to. Exercise FOR ME.
6. Invest in community here and now, instead of wishing I were somewhere else.
7. Take ownership of my finances and start saving for the future.
8. Keep learning grace.
9. Be more encouraging to my loved ones - I tend to take them for granted.
10. Have fun! Don't take myself so seriously all the time.
I also want to blog more often this year, so hopefully you'll be hearing a lot more from me in the future :).
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