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manderbean
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Interests: Favorite Bible Verse: "In this world, you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world..." ~ Jesus; John 16:33 ~
Occupation: Student
Message: message me
Member Since:
3/11/2005
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| Some things I've learned... just because I don't like how you handle something doesn't mean I don't like you. Similarly, just because I don't follow your advice to the letter doesn't mean i don't like you or appreciate you. Sometimes it's better to live by the motto, "if you can't say somethin' nice, don't say anything at all". I have tried to do this, but apparently that is not the best course of action (especially with a non-poker face like mine). I'm not saying I have been completely in the right (in fact, I am learning from many mistakes), but bah, I am SO done with the stress this is causing me. Those who truly know me know that I do not like awkward situations, nor do I want others to feel uncomfortable. However, I am not one to allow myself to be steamrollered when I do not agree with what is being suggested. In short, I am still learning, still growing, and still me. On this I will not compromise. If you're not true to yourself and what you believe God is showing you, what will you stand for? He has led me through far worse than this temporary season, and I will not stop trusting Him now. I am certain that we are where He wants us, and I know that He is teaching us perseverance and trust every day. I will not give that up to follow advice that would have us trying to make something work without knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that HE is calling us to do that. In short, my job is to encourage and support my husband as he decides what occupation will make him feel satisfied with his work in this life. I did not marry him for worldly success, financially or career-wise. The success that I count will be that we fight the good fight and run the race with endurance, leaving stories to our children about how God provided. And He is providing! It is not about the temporary, anyway -- we are here to help fulfill a mission regarding what is eternal -- others. It's not about the money, or the paper, or the house, or the cars. It is about sharing God's story and His love and learning our place in Him. I get so frustrated when people get focused on the details -- it is and should be all about the Big Picture. To Him be the glory, and I thank Him for my roots and the path I am on. What a legacy we will have if we bear through the trials and not just run when life gets hard or discouraging. My faith is borne out of trials and trust, not out of taking a road that seems easy. So, while others may not understand, or may call us foolish, let them. I have been at many a crossroads before, and He has always shown me the right way to take. He has shown us the way to --and continually through-- a wonderful marriage. We continue to follow. ><> | | |
| "...'I was hungry but you would not feed me, thirsty but you would not give me a drink; I was a stranger but you would not welcome me in your homes, naked but you would not clothe me; I was sick and in prison but you would not take care of me.' Then they will answer him, 'When, Lord, did we ever see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and we would not help You?' The King will reply, 'I tell you, whenever you refused to help one of these least important ones, you refused to help me.' "
~ Matthew 25: 42-45 ~
I so wish that people would remember that Christianity transcends culture. Christ's Kingdom is one of "EVERY tribe, tongue, and nation". American Christians are no more qualified to be so than Christians in other parts of the world -- we are all sinners, saved by grace. As Christians, instead of arguing about how to help people, GO HELP. Support those that do go. Think of what God will accomplish if we all just get out of the way. I am so tired of Christians trying to do things in their own way -- we can get so hung up on the politics within our church denominations and within the country and we forget that we have a higher calling -- that we are called to live up to a higher standard of living and doing what's right. Don't misunderstand me, I praise the Lord that I live in America and we have the freedoms we do. (At least for now, we do. This fallen world has the potential to change that at anytime.) I am extremely grateful for my earthly citizenship. But my true freedom is found in Christ, and my soul's true place in the citizenry is within the Kingdom of my Savior.
And, on a side note, to the collective "you": don't even try to tell me that Jesus had this "epiphany" in the middle of His earthly ministry that He had also come for the Gentiles. Yes, He was wholly God and wholly human, and may not have known all the details before they happened, but He knew from the beginning that His purpose was to save all of us. The Good News was --and is-- to be "for ALL people". The Old Testament prophecies spoke to this. And think about it, who but the Gentiles were "the least of these" to the Jewish culture Jesus lived within? Praise the Father that He lived --and died-- for the least of us...
Would that I would live up to the call to do "all this for the least of these", no matter what the cost.
"God is on the move." ~ Bono
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| I've decided that what makes Christmas so special is the anticipation of it. I love the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas...special music, special events, special traditions...I enjoy shopping for gifts for friends and family, wondering what their reactions will be when they open their gifts from me. And come on, the kid in all of us still wonders what we will get for Christmas this year. There are other things to look forward to, as well ~ getting the family together and catching up, taking a break from work, and stopping long enough to really focus on the Reason for the season and everything else.
This sense of expectation and anticipation, though, is only a poor reflection of a bigger truth. Think back to what life must have been like before Jesus came. Israel had been promised a Messiah, someone to lead and deliver God's chosen people, but they did not know when that promise would be made real. Years and generations came and went from the time Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah to come --no new Scripture was even written in the 400 years between the Old and New Testaments-- until, at last, God revealed His Plan to two people who would become His Son's earthly parents. Two people, humble and true, who would probably readily admit that they had no idea what to do with the Child they were entrusted with, except to rely on the One Who had set all of these events into motion -- and Who had had a plan to redeem humanity since He invented time.
Of course, not everyone automatically believed that Mary and Joseph's Child was the Messiah. I'm sure that many people in their hometown thought that Mary's pregnancy was anything but holy. To the human eye, for Joseph to go ahead and marry her was nearly an admission of guilt, as though he was the one responsible for the Child she carried. I can't imagine how the situation tested their faith ~ they knew they were within God's will, but couldn't prove it to those who didn't believe. Plus, who would think that the Deliverer would take the form of a helpless human baby boy?
So what does God do when the time is come for His Son to be born? Who does He choose to tell? He sends angels to the shepherds and a star to the wise men to announce what He has done and to invite them to come see for themselves. Both groups were outsiders, people who didn't fit in with the rest of Jewish culture ~ the shepherds were looked down on for their occupation; the wise men were Gentiles, and therefore judged unholy by Jewish culture. But God didn't choose them by accident. The fulfillment of His promise was shown to those humble enough to accept it and to those wise enough to see that He had kept His Word. He sent His Son, Jesus, to be Emmanuel, God with us. With ALL of us, from the lowliest to the ones with influence. With ALL of us, regardless of country or culture. With ALL of us, misfits though we may be. (Aren't we all?)
Yes, the anticipated Messiah had come. Not only to lead and deliver God's chosen people, but to be an open invitation for all people to come to know His Father. Not only to live for us, but to die for us. Not only to show us how to live, but to give us lasting life. Not only to deliver us from earthly oppression, but from an even greater evil. Not only to save us, but to redeem our lives to His Glory so that we can become part of His Story. Not only to come to our rescue as Someone greater and stronger than us, but to choose to live as one of us.
"So He sent His Son, and He said, 'Through Him, you'll know Me.'"
~lyrics from Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "Good King Joy"
And we, who believe the angels' call of "Unto you, a Child is born!" and who follow the Light of Christ, our Morningstar, have reason to anticipate that He is coming again. We have been given a living Hope, one that will last forever.
What a gift.
~2 Corinthians 9:15~
Merry Christmas, everyone!
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| "Thankful" ~ Josh Groban Somedays we forget
To look around us
Somedays we can't see
The joy that surrounds us
So caught up inside ourselves
We take when we should give
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for
Look beyond ourselves
There's so much sorrow
It's way too late to say
I'll cry tomorrow
Each of us must find our truth
It's so long overdue
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And every day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though we all can still do more
There's so much to be thankful for
Even with our differences
There is a place we're all connected
Each of us can find each other's light
So for tonight we pray for
What we know can be
And on this day we hope for
What we still can't see
It's up to us to be the change
And even though this world needs so much more
There's so much to be thankful for
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| I check my blog periodically. Usually when I make a post, I have something meaningful to say... and today I can't believe how long it's been since that's been the case. I was reading back through some of my old posts in the past couple of years, and I realized that I got quiet after I wrote about my cousin's life and his passing.
I'm not just quiet in that I don't write as much anymore -- neither publicly nor in my own personal journal. I've grown quiet about so many other things...my faith, my worship, my awareness of the blessings around me, my observations about life, my struggles. And that needs to change. I used to enjoy taking the time for writing and creating poems and analogies--and sharing them. I love coaching my students in their creative writing, but that's not enough...I need to be growing in it myself.
The truth is, I need to write because it makes me think. I've been in a rut since starting my teaching career: I've fallen into the trap of being so preoccupied with the temporary that I've forgotten what is more important in the journey that is my life as a Christian. I hate that I've let things like to-do lists, stress, worry, wanting the approval of others, and, even more--wanting control over my anxieties-- get in the way of time spent growing in my faith. There is so much more to live for-- how could I have forgotten? I've forgotten what it's like to be in awe of my Savior and of His Way of working things for good. My faith has suffered because I have been writing less frequently... as a result, I have stopped thinking as deeply...I have quit praying as desperately...I am not growing as I should be.
In short, I'm realizing that, for a while, I felt as though I had things under control. And the more I felt that way, the more pointless and discouraging things felt. With the exception of time spent with my husband, family, and friends; everyday life started to feel meaningless and mundane. I was no longer walking by faith and living out love and joy -- I felt empty. By God's Grace, this will start to change. I need to live in dependence of Christ to feel that spark again -- to remember that it is He who makes this life mean something --and count for-- more.
I'm picking up my pen again.
~John 10:10~
"...I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."
-- Jesus
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