Tuesday, September 29, 2009

sweet.little.blessings.

"My eyes are small, but they have seen the beauty of enormous things, which leads me to believe - there's Light enough to see that You make everything glorious."
[David Crowder Band]
. . .
Days will be difficult,
but in the midst of difficulty
. . .
I know there are beautiful sunsets.




I'm thankful for unexpected, little blessings and people to share them with.
I need to embrace these sweet little blessings with more zest.
Beauty is everywhere and God is a faithful provider.

Monday, September 28, 2009

a tandem bike

Several weeks ago, I heard a sermon in which the pastor related our relationship with God to riding a tandem bike.
"A tandem bike? Really?"
... I thought to myself.
. . .
The pastor went on to explain-
We are on this journey with God. He designed it so that He would lead and we would follow. For the sake of the pastor's analogy, God would be directing the bike, steering it, and guiding it in the direction it should go. Our role as the follower isn't to merely do nothing. We must first be on the bike-having a relationship with God.
And we must peddle.
To where?
Most of the time, we may not see where we are peddling to.
So we must trust.
We have to choose to trust in the One steering the bike-trust that He is good, trust that He is faithful, and trust that where He is taking us is actually the place we should be-even if we can't see that place yet or even if that place is unfamiliar.
. . .
I confess that most of the time, I choose to ride my own bike.
This bike doesn't even have a seat for God.
It only has room for me.
So, this bike just takes me where I think I need to go,
which is usually never where I really need to be.
. . .
I tend to be very weary and cynical when I hear cliche sayings such as these, "Your relationship with God is like riding a tandem bike."
These phrases tend to annoy me. Someone can't equate all the complexity of my relationship with God to a silly analogy.
However, there was something about the particular delivery of this analogy that has stayed with me for weeks.
Jesus spoke and taught in parables.
We are too dull and our mind's far too finite to understand the complex Truths and mystery of God. Isn't it amazing and so gracious for God to use this analogy- the idea of a tandem bike- something so simple, to teach an important Truth to a stubborn and selfish person like me.


Tuesday, September 22, 2009

nobody said it was easy

Come up to meet You, tell You I'm sorry
You don't know how lovely you are.
I had to find You, tell You I need You.
Tell You I set You apart.
Tell me Your secrets, ask me Your questions.
Oh, let's go back to the start
. . .
Nobody said it was easy.
No one ever said it would be this hard.
Take me back to the start.
[the scientist-coldplay]

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

thanks, Ralph

"Finish each day and be done with it.
You have done what you could;
some blunders and absurdities have crept in;
forget them as soon as you can.
Tomorrow is a new day;
you shall begin it serenely and with too high a spirit
to be encumbered with your old nonsense."
~Ralph Waldo Emerson
The last 48 hours of my life have been a little...stressful, to say the least. However, when I lay my head down on my pillow tonight, (more like early morning) I must remember- I have done what I could, despite some 'blunders' and 'absurdities' along the way. I must forget them as soon as I can because...tomorrow is a new day!
Sometimes, it's hard for me to let go of my mistakes and imperfections. Sometimes, I want to hold on to them tightly and cling to them, analyzing them over and over. I take them with me to bed at night. They lay there with me and are heavy upon my chest.
There is no joy in that, certainly no peace. So tonight, I must let those blunders roll off my shoulders. I must remember God's mercies are new every morning. He gives strength and refreshment to weary and tired bones. I'm grateful for that.
Thanks, Ralph. You were a pretty smart dude.

Monday, September 14, 2009

just to brighten your day

If this sweet little darling, Elli Kate, doesn't brighten your day...
I don't know what will.
I hope you smile as much as I did when I saw these amazing photos.
Happy Monday!



The fabulous photographer responsible for these great photos is Dominique Lamontagne Harmon. Visit her at captivatedimages.com to see her other work.

Sunday, September 13, 2009

my friends are coming back

My friends are returning for a new season.
Just a few more days...
and I am very, very excited.
:)

Friday, September 11, 2009

Tight-Rope Walking

What is it that makes a relationship functional?
What makes it healthy, stable, reputable?
What makes a relationship...good?
Undoubtedly, a lot of things.
Mainly..,
Balance.

I think relationships are carefully crafted acts of balance.
Right now, I'm trying to tightrope walk
and it's harder than I thought it would be.

Thursday, September 10, 2009

Amini...BELIEVE.

Amini.
In Swahili, this word means believe.
I got talk to one of my best friends in the world today, Sarah. Currently, Sat Pack [as we like to call her] is serving in Nairobi, Kenya as an intern with a church called City Harvest. Sat Pack and I were able to talk on Skype [such a lovely invention] and I even got to see her face because she has a web cam! I know I sound like technology baffles me sometimes, but that's because
technology baffles me sometimes.
Kenya is always on my heart, but after talking to Sarah today, I went back and looked at all of my pictures from trips past
and I cried...mostly tears of joy, but several tears of missing dear friends.
Below is a picture I took about two years ago. This picture is nothing too exciting, riveting, or heart-wrenching. It's really quite simple. However, I love it just the same. This mural of the Lord's Prayer is painted in an alleyway next to a school in a slum called Kariowa in Nairobi.
A prayer-
Our Father, who is in Heaven
Your name is to be praised, Your kingdom come
Your will be done on earth like in Heaven
Give us today our daily bread
Forgive us our mistakes like
like we forgive others who sin against us
Do not carry us into temptation, but rescue us
from evil.
Amen.
Amini. Believe.
I believe. Help me with my unbelief.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

So Emo.

We are so emo...






:)
Although I didn't have an 'emo day' at all today,
and actually had a great day,
these pictures make me smile and I hope they make you smile too.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Your Love is Strong

Your love is strong.
It is far-reaching.
It is more patient than I deserve or will ever be able to understand.
Your love is relentless.
It does not give up on me.
"Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. It does not demand it's own way. It is not irritable and keeps no record of being wronged.
It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the Truth wins out.
Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
[1st Corinthians 13:4-7, NLT]
"This is real love - not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His son as a sacrifice to take away our sins."
[1st John 4:10, NLT]