Monday, December 2, 2013

Why Women Cry

Why Women Cry
A little boy asked his mother, "Why are you crying?" "Because I'm a woman," she told him.
"I don't understand," he said. His Mom just hugged him and said, "And you never will."
Later the little boy asked his father, "Why does mother seem to cry for no reason?"
"All women cry for no reason," was all his dad could say.
The little boy grew up and became a man, still wondering why women cry.
Finally he put in a call to God. When God got on the phone, he asked, "God, why do women cry so easily?"
God said, "When I made the woman she had to be special.
I made her shoulders strong enough to carry the weight of the world,
yet gentle enough to give comfort.
I gave her an inner strength to endure childbirth and the rejection that many times comes from her children.
I gave her a hardness that allows her to keep going when everyone else gives up, and take care of her family through sickness and fatigue without complaining.
I gave her the sensitivity to love her children under any and all circumstances, even when her child has hurt her very badly.
I gave her strength to carry her husband through his faults and fashioned her from his rib to protect his heart.
I gave her wisdom to know that a good husband never hurts his wife, but sometimes tests her strengths and her resolve to stand beside him unfalteringly.
And finally, I gave her a tear to shed. This is hers exclusively to use whenever it is needed."
"You see my son," said God, "the beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair.
The beauty of a woman must be seen in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart - the place where love resides."

- Author unknown

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

"Get up... and walk!"

“Get up … and walk!”

Scripture: Luke 5:17-26, especially vv. 24-26

Devotion
At the start of this story, Jesus is teaching in a house in Capernaum and in the crowd listening to him teach is a group of Pharisees and religious leaders.  After the friends of the paralyzed man lower him to the center of the room from the roof, Jesus first tells the paralyzed man on the mat that his sins are forgiven, and then he heals the man of his disease.  The order of the miraculous works here is important.  In first forgiving the man and second healing the man, Jesus demonstrates his authority to forgive sins, which would have been a blasphemous claim if found to be untrue.  If Jesus was not who he claimed to be, the man should not have walked away healed. 

When Jesus told the paralytic to get up and walk, the man obeyed him immediately despite living his entire life to that point as a stationary and totally helpless person.  Years of atrophied muscles may have been good reason for him to first want to stretch out his legs, test his ability to balance himself standing upright, or practice taking baby steps at first.  Yet he stood up right away and started walking forward.  As a result, both the man who was healed and the crowd listening to Jesus teach and perform this miracle starting praising God. 

Sometimes, we can be like the man on the mat when we have been paralyzed by our own sin.  When come face to face with Jesus, he forgives us and then commands us to ‘get up and walk.’  This is a commandment to walk in the freedom that he offers us.  He makes us free from our sickness (sin).  Yet, how often do we choose to stay on the mat, keeping it as a crutch because we believe that walking freely will be scary and hard?  When we choose to walk in the freedom that God gives us, we choose to glorify the Father and we also serve as a witness to His power to others, who in turn praise Him.  Today, I encourage you to ask yourself two questions.

  • First, is there anything for which you need to ask God forgiveness?  If yes, go to the Father and ask Him for it.  Because His character is merciful, He will grant it, and when your heart is truly in a position to receive this forgiveness, take comfort in knowing that you are completely free to stand up with a bold confidence to go forward in any direction that points to the Father.
  • Second, is there anything for which you have already asked forgiveness, but have yet to fully receive?  If so, remember that you don’t have to stay stuck on the mat.  Like the paralyzed man who immediately stood up and walked freely with his newfound strength, you, too, are free to shake off your old infirmity (sins) for the sake of glorifying the Father.

Questions for Reflection

  1. When Jesus told the paralyzed man, “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home,” what choices did the man have?
  2. What does this story say about the character and nature of Jesus?
  3. This story of Jesus’ healing is not just a parable.  Jesus actually healed the man of his paralysis.  As followers of Jesus who have been baptized with the Holy Spirit, we, too, have the ability to heal in the name of Jesus.  Look around you – who needs healing?  Pray in bold faith for the healing of that person for the glorification of the Father.



Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Dust to Dust

I've been obsessed with The Civil Wars since I got back from Nepal. I discovered them accidentally, thanks to Starbucks' "Pick of the Week" notifications / cards.  Right now I'm stuck on Dust to Dust.

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

(no subject)

My head is going to explode.

I can't figure out how to make all the pieces fit together right.

I need to catch my breath, I need to
I need catch my breath, give me a moment now
- dcb (you are my joy)

Sunday, June 16, 2013

Sunday, June 2nd, 11-something-PM

I just reread this journal entry from a few weeks ago and I was convicted in a sense that I've already begun to let the focus behind these words dissolve. My prayer for the next couple of weeks is for laser-like focus on God's Kingdom, God's mission, and God's character. I have been really busy and pretty tired these past few weeks. May my heart align with Jesus himself, the one who, in his exhaustion, defeated temptation itself in the desert, fed thousands, healed the paralytic, and cast out a couple thousand demons from a possessed man, had compassion on the crowds, and spoke the truth with love. God, I pray for wisdom, direction, rest, peace, joy, and strength.
~
I'm on a plane from Atlanta back to DC.  It was already going to be a late flight, but it's even later now with all these weather delays. Somehow, I'm not even a little anxious. I know I won't get very much sleep tonight - maybe 4 hours at most - but I serve a God who can multiply rest. For the first time in a long time, I am really, actually, honestly believing that. The past 5 days of training in Chattanooga with 10/40 Connections has been truly transformative for me. I suppose the time was ripe (is that the right way to use that word?) for the birth of new fruit in me. The Holy Spirit was gracious in allowing me to truly receive the teachings to be equipped and challenged and motivated to 'go out.'  I cannot stop thinking about how nothing else really matters outside the Kingdom of God and His mission.  If I say I believe all this ("all this" means everything in Scripture, including and especially the hard verses) - if I say I believe it, then I have to be ALL in...I must be one hundred percent sold out for the sake of the Gospel. I don't think I realized until just recently that I've been holding on to some dreams and comforts out of my fleshly desire for security, stability, and success. I wonder - have I counted the cost? 

It really hit me when Leslie talked about empowering Jesus-following women to advance God's Kingdom, which even includes women planting churches, leading ministries, teaching the Bible, etc. There are millions of women in hidden and unreached places in this world that men can't really reach.  This is a really big deal. Millions of women who are picking tea leaves or herding cattle or anything else - we need to reach them. We must train up and send out women to reach these unreached. I want to join in with what God is doing in the 10/40 window. I think I'd rather be used in helping to bring God's Word there than I would in a place that already has access to Jesus. Why? Not because I don't love the people in the reached places, but because I want to see the Bride of Christ readied and made complete. I want to see Jesus come back! Not before all my brothers and sisters have had a chance to hear, though. So let them that have ears to hear, hear!  Soil, be fertile. 

Lord, send out more workers to the harvest. Here I am - send me. I will go. 

May You direct my heart into Your love and guide me in Christ's perseverance. Amen.

Monday, June 10, 2013

sweat is the kindest creature

"I said not long before that work and weakness are comforters.  But sweat is the kindest creature of the three - far better than philosophy, as a cure for ill thoughts."  - CS Lewis, Till We Have Faces (91)

If you haven't read Till We Have Faces, you should.  I read it this year, and it immediately made it to my top-5 favorite books list. As I was clearing out my notes on my iPhone earlier tonight, I came across a note where I had bookmarked this quote when reading through Till We Have Faces back in January & February.  There is something about the cleansing power of hard physical work and sweat to work through the tangled mess that sometimes is life - people and community, circumstances, problems, etc.  How timely, then, that my air conditioning seems to be broken again (or maybe it's just finicky?).  I didn't have time to run tonight. Instead, I'll consider the sweatiness of grading over 300 papers worth of HWs, tests, and projects work enough to calm my anxious spirit as I look forward with eagerness to the things that lay ahead.

The rain pours tonight. 

Sunday, June 9, 2013

"Because He Lives"

David Crowder's "Because He Lives" at Passion, 2012



"Because He Lives"

God sent His Son
They called Him Jesus
He came to love, heal and forgive
He lived and died to buy my pardon
An empty grave is there to prove my Saviour lives


Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives



And then one day

I'll cross that river

I'll fight life's final war with pain

And then as death gives way to vict'ry

I'll see the lights of glory and I'll know he lives



Because He lives I can face tomorrow

Because He lives all fear is gone

Because I know He holds the future

And life is worth the living just because He lives
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Today I am reminded that there is great fullness to this life. Satan came to steal life, kill it, and destroy it. Jesus came to restore it, redeem it, and make it full and abundant.  (John 10:10).  Jesus has come. It is finished. He is real, resurrected, and living. The King...he reigns! Today matters. 

"Like sunlight burning at midnight, making my life something so beautiful, so beautiful. Mercy reaching to save me. All I need is you - so beautiful.(Francesca Battistelli)

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Why Me

Sunday, April 21, 2013

Poderoso


"Poderoso" by Hillsong


Su amor
Me alcanzó
En la cruz
Por mi murió
Mi pecado Él llevó
Con poder resucitó

Sigues siendo
Siempre fiel
Mi refugio
Mi sostén
Jesucristo es la verdad
Que me dio la libertad

Poderoso
Poderoso
Me libraste
Me salvaste
Está escrito
Has vencido
Cristo tú eres Señor

Sin principio
Sin final
Esperanza sin igual
El perdido encontró
En Jesús la salvación

Que tu nombre sea exaltado
Sea exaltado
Sea exaltado

My God is mighty to save.  He is powerful.  He is sovereign.  He is the King.  My God is pure, holy, and altogether righteous and good.  He God is alive.

Tuesday, April 16, 2013

One great way to make enemies

Hey y'all, 

Check out this article / devotional called, "One great way to make enemies," by an old friend of mine, Evan Forrester.  You can find more of his stuff at his blog called #LiveFully.  Good work, friend.  Keep writing - you have a gift.  

Indeed, it is in times like these in the midst of terror and tragedy like this that our faith is tested on an altogether different level.  Can my response be a prayer for the mercy of those responsible for the attacks?  How do I love my enemies?   

32 Two other men, both criminals, were also led out with him to be executed.
33 When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. 
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.
35 The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.”
36 The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar
37 and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”
38 There was a written notice above him, which read: this is the king of the jews.
39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 
41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Sunday, March 10, 2013

March Madness

Such a strange time it is to be feeling sad.  The weather is getting warmer and the daylight hours are increasing with each passing day.  Spring Break is but a few weeks away, and I have started to run again.  God, how good it feels to run.  I love to lose myself and forget about everything when I run.  I pray to be able to run for miles and miles again.  My schedule isn't as hectic at school as it had been throughout the Fall, and I have met a couple new friends that have added joy and fun and creativity and activity to my life.  Why, then, the ominous thoughts and anxious, sad face?  I'm not worried, but every so often I am overcome with a kind of pending doom.  It passes as do storm clouds. But what a strange, strange thing to feel, especially now.

Jesus, I want more of you and less of me.  Give me more of you.   

Saturday, March 9, 2013

The Mighty Force


For the month of March, a few friends and I have been gathering on Friday evenings to be still and to pray.  There have been different themes for different nights of prayer, and last night was a night to pray through our chronic need for Sabbath rest, as well as for unreached people groups around the globe.  

Christy shared the following devotional about praying for missionaries all around the world: 

Prayer is the mighty force that will move missionary work. Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest (Matthew 9:38).We are asking God to touch the hearts of men every day by the Holy Spirit, so that they shall be compelled to go abroad and preach the gospel. We are asking Him to awaken them at night with the solemn conviction that the heathen are perishing and that their blood will be upon their souls. God is answering that prayer by sending persons to us every day who feel that the king's business [requires] haste (1 Samuel 21:8).Beloved, pray, pray, pray. And as petitions rise to the heavens there will be a period of silence in heaven, and the coals of fire will be emptied out upon the earth, and the coming of the Lord will begin to draw nearer. Pray until the Lord of the harvest shall thrust forth laborers into His harvest. Send the coals of heavenly fire, From the altar of the skies; Fill our hearts with strong desire, Till our prayers like incense rise.

Luke 10:2 
"He told them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field."

Source: http://www.cmalliance.org/devotions/simpson?mmdd=0308 

Sunday, March 3, 2013

Marriageable People

Thanks, Emily Buchanan, for this recommendation!  This devotional is a tad long, but equally suitable for women and men.  May my sisters in Christ and I learn better to wait and be gracious, and may my brothers in Christ learn to step up and initiate, provide, and lead.  May we all learn to actively place our trust in Him who loves us, does all things well, and promises to crown us with everlasting joy.  May we continually obey God in doing whatever it is that He has set out for us today.  

Elisabeth Elliot's Daily Devotional

Title: Two Marriageable People
Author: Elisabeth Elliot

What Holly thought would be an ordinary Sunday evening turned into an enchanted evening. She met Scott.

"I'd seen him around church a few times, but it's a big church and we had never spoken. During the social hour following the service we got into conversation. He offered to drive me home, and--well, you know the story. He started calling me, we'd talk for hours on the phone. He decided to join the singles group, hung around afterward and we'd talk, and finally he actually asked me out. Sometimes he picked up the tab, but usually I paid my own way. I didn't want to feel obligated to him.
"Once when we had dinner together he prayed,'' Holly confided to me, "thanking God for our friendship and for the fact that the singles group could witness a man and a woman who could be good friends without falling in love."
Without falling in love. Uh-huh. I've heard that story from both men and women, perhaps hundreds of times.

Who did Scott think he was kidding? Had it not crossed his mind that one of them might fall? One of the two always does. Poor Holly had fallen flat. She was in her early twenties and attractive, yet she told me she "had a problem." She did--her heart was on hold.
When one's heart is on hold, you do what Holly did--a lot of praying and crying and hoping for the telephone to ring. Scott kept her hopes up. He invited her to a big family wedding, even to the reception meant only for family and close friends. Surely he must be getting on toward serious. Would he put words to his feelings? Well, almost. He talked about marriage, telling Holly he often dreamed of having a wife and how he hoped to find one. He told her how much he wanted children, offering her his ideas on raising them. The time came when Holly could stand it no longer.
They were eating pizza by the fire in her living room. Scott always accepted her invitations. Once or twice he had brought flowers or a bottle of wine.

Tonight he was enjoying the pizza, chattering away about a game he'd been to. But Holly's mind wasn't on the game.

"Scott," she said hesitantly, "we need to talk about something."

"Yeah?"

"I mean--like, we've been, you know, friends long enough."

The man was startled. He took a huge bite of pizza and said nothing.

''This is really hard for me to say, but, Scott, if you don't have any intentions of, well, a real relationship, I can't spend any more time alone with you. I've felt so comfortable with you. I can be myself, you know? My real self, I mean. I've told you a lot of--well, of my heart. But if it doesn't--if you aren't, you know...." Her voice trailed off.

The silence was thundering. Holly looked at Scott. Scott looked at the fire. After another bite and another gulp he said he couldn't see himself married to her. The truth was, of course, that for months Holly had been seeing herself married to him. To her, a "real relationship" meant engagement, although she didn't use that word. In fact, she told me, she had never voiced any desire whatsoever to be married to him. Hadn't she? Scott might be a little obtuse, but he knew what a "real relationship" had to mean. He thought he was forestalling any such complication by telling Holly about his hopes. Didn't she catch on that she wasn't what he was looking for?

So here are two marriageable people who would like to be married, though not in both cases to each other. What's wrong? Both the why and the how, it seems to me, are wrong.
Note that Scott took no risks, as far as he knew. Talked to a girl after church, drove her home--pretty innocuous, spur-of-the moment gestures. Nobody would make anything out of that. She was nice and let him talk about what interested him. So he started going to the singles group, talked to a few others, phoned Holly now and then, went to dinner and let her pay her half (didn't want her to "think anything," didn't want to put her down by turning down her offer to pay). Then, because once or twice he thought maybe he caught a little glimmer in her eyes, he put across an important message--in a prayer. She couldn't suspect any nefarious designs here, could she? When he took her to the family wedding she should have known she was just a sister to him.

She didn't. It was quite out of the question for her not to think of marriage. Any smallest sign of a man's interest was a big thing. She tried to deny it, tried to tell herself not to "think anything," but she couldn't refrain.
The man didn't mean to put her heart on hold. How did it happen? Had he wronged her? Was he being dishonest, unfair? What was he supposed to do--take 'em all out, give 'em equal time? He was no Casanova, just an ordinary guy. He meant well. He'd tried to play it cool. The trouble is you can't play it cool with a powder keg.

I wonder if it isn't time for Christian young people to discard the currently accepted methods of mate-finding, which haven't scored higher in marital success than the ancient matchmaker method. I offer the following as humble suggestions for the why and the how of finding a mate. They don't constitute the Law of Sinai, but I ask you to think soberly, even to pray, about them.

You men are the ones on whom God originally laid the burden of responsibility as head, initiator, provider. Why do you want to marry?  If Scott had given sufficient thought and prayer to that one, perhaps he would not have been the bull in the china shop of Holly's heart. God ordained marriage. God provided the equipment needed for reproduction. But it is not his plan for every man to marry. How about getting down to business, when you reach the age of responsibility, and specifically asking God whether marriage is, in fact, a part of his plan for you? In order to listen to him without distraction you will need to:
Stop everything--intimacy, dating, any "special relationship."

Be silent before God. Lay your life before him, willing to accept the path he shows you. If you get no answer, do nothing in that direction now. Wait.
If it seems the answer is yes, go to a spiritual mother or father (someone older in the faith than you are, someone with wisdom and common sense who knows how to pray) and ask them to pray with you and for you about a wife. Listen to their counsel. If they know somebody they think suitable, take them seriously.

Study the story of Abraham's servant who was sent to find a wife for Isaac (Genesis 24). He went to the logical place where he might find women. He prayed silently, watched quietly. The story is rich in lessons. Find them.
Keep your eyes open--in your own "garden." You don't have to survey all the roses before you pick the one for your bud vase. When you spot the sort of woman you think you're looking for, watch her from a respectful distance. Much can be learned without conversation, let alone "relationship." Ask about her of others who know her and whom you can trust to keep their mouths shut. Does she give evidence of being a godly woman? A womanly one? Expect God to lead. "Let the one to whom I shall say Iet her be the one whom thou hast appointed" (Genesis 24:14 RSV).

Proceed with extreme caution, praying over every move. By this I do not mean mumbling prayers while you're charging across the church campus to ask her for a date. I mean giving yourself whatever it takes, whether weeks or years, to take his yoke and learn of him. It is "good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.''

Talk to her in a casual setting. You will be able to discover if she is a woman of serious purpose. Do not mention "relationships," marriage, feelings.
Give yourself time to think. Go back to your spiritual mother or father. (In our family, our own parents were our spiritual parents as well, and they prayed for four specific people to marry four of their children. It happened.)
I'm not going to outline the chronology of dating. I would only suggest that you start small--a simple lunch somewhere rather than a gala dinner. You pick up the tab. Treat her like a lady, act like a gentleman. (See my book The Mark of a Man for more guidelines.)
If you find yourself falling for a girl who offers you only casual friendship, or worse, the cold shoulder, first get it settled with God that she is the one to pursue. Even if a woman tells a man to "get lost" but he knows in his heart she's the right one, he can still wait and pray for God's timing. I know of many married couples whose courtship began this way.

The time will come when your conversations have revealed, without direct inquiry, whether this woman would be prepared to accept your destiny and your headship; whether she is maternal, a homeworker--in short, whether she is what you've been praying for.
It is a great mistake to put too much stock in physical beauty or in thrills and chills. Neither has anything to do with a sound foundation for a marriage. Remember that the love of 1 Corinthians 13 is action, not a glandular condition. The love that makes a marriage is basically a deep respect and an unselfish kindness. That's pleasant to live with.

Now a few words, and only a few, for you women. I know--oh, how well I know--your position. Because we are women we are made to be responders, not initiators (see Let Me Be a Woman). This means that the burden of responsibility of seeking and wooing a mate does not belong to us. To us belongs the waiting.

This does not mean inactivity. It means first of all a positive, active placing of our trust in him who loves us, does all things well, and promises to crown us with everlasting joy. It means next a continued obedience in whatever God has given us to do today, without allowing our longing to "slay the appetite of our living," as Jim Elliot once wrote to me, long before God gave us the green light to marry. It means just what Paul meant when he wrote from prison to the Philippian Christians, "Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God, which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus."

Often the awkward scenario depicted in Holly and Scott's story is more the woman's fault than the man's. That is because women generally allow too many liberties, make themselves too available, and press for explanations when they should remain quiet. It is foolhardy to stick your neck out that way. When your heart is on hold, it's best quietly to decline any further invitations rather than to try to "preserve the friendship." It can't be done. Better to simply back off.

If our supreme goal is to follow Christ, the rule of our lives will be my life for yours. We will be directing our energies far more toward the will of God and the service of others than to our own heart's longings. And that, believe me, is the best possible training course for marriage.


Copyright 1989, by Elisabeth Elliot
all rights reserved.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

Nepal

Y'all... I am praying through the possibility of a 5-week trip to Nepal this summer.  It's so much to try to explain in words, but I wanted to at least say something about on here for the sake of keeping records.  It'd be through a ministry called "Life Together," named after the model of Christian community in Dietrich Bonhoeffer's classic book.  I'd spend a month with 2 - 7 other women in Katmandu, Nepal serving women in a recovery home who have been rescued out of the sex trade.  We'd operate on the model of discipleship as Jesus did it - doing life together... sharing the Gospel, loving and serving one another, and counseling them.  There have been so many signs of affirmation for this trip that it's impossible for me not to apply even though it doesn't make a whole lot of sense for me to go this summer because I'll be transitioning out of teaching at Chavez and into either grad school or something else.  I don't know what's next for me after June of this year, but I know I need to apply to this trip.  I am excited.  God is using a horrible injustice to spread the Gospel amongst the unreached in a closed country -- these women are taking the Gospel and the economic skills they learn while in the home to go back to their home villages and 1) start house churches and 2) provide for themselves a living.  God is just like that - He makes all things work together for His good.  When we know Him, it's for our good, too.  Justice.  Mercy.  Grace.  Redemption.  Healing.  Restoration.  Freedom.  Love.

Love has a name, a face.  Love is here. 

Sunday, January 20, 2013

IJM's Global Prayer Gathering 2013

Join me in prayer for justice!

GPG 2012 -- Recap Video from International Justice Mission on Vimeo.

Worship


My verse for the month of January is Psalm 30:11 – 12, “You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent.  O Lord my God, I will give you thanks forever.”

What if we held dance parties to celebrate how God has turned our wailing into dancing?  (Or are we still wailing?)  What kind of music would we listen to?  How would we dance?  How do you worship through dance?  My best guess – and hope – is that we would all dance in beautiful freedom and deep joy.  The kind of joy that isn’t found where there are inhibitions.  How else do you worship apart from singing, anyways?  I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to worship after having heard Jimmy Needham’s "Clear the Stage" song a few weeks ago with dear Bekah on our way to Asheville and the mountains.
  
Worship is so much more than a song.   It’s more than singing How-Great-Is-Our-God.  Can you worship while climbing rocks outside?  Can you worship while working?  If so (and I do believe it is so), what does that look like, really?  Is it an attitude?  A certain demeanor – a sense of humility and the presence of joy?  The willingness to go the extra mile for your boss or coworker or acquaintance or maybe it’s simply the determination to do excellently in all things.  Maybe worship is being peaceful.  Maybe worship is the refusal to fear or be filled with anxiety. 

I want to explore more of what it means to really worship God with my whole self.  I want to worship with my relationships, at my place of work, in all my leisurely activities, and in my dreams & prayers, too. 

Friday, January 4, 2013

What sort of situation would you like?

What do you desire?  What makes you itch?  What sort of a situation would you like?