What I did this Week: Thanksgiving 2015

  This week I made a commitment to myself that I would blog about what I did this week. And what do you know, I am doing it here and now (late).

  Monday evening, my brothers and I ate brownies and drank hot chocolate.

 

   Wednesday, I bought this awesome perfume from Lush. I did not know a perfume with the name Dirty could smell so awesome.

 

  Thursday was Thanksgiving day. Never chances through the years. I ate turkey.

 

  And other stuff.

 

  And pumpkin-maple cheesecake.

 

  Standing ovation for the cheesecake.

 

  Friday, of course, found me eating left-overs in weird combinations.

 

  As well as helping my Dad build our new porch.

 

  Today, I started working on a blazer, which I am excited about.

 

And so went my week.

For this I am Thankful

 

 Now that I have posted the obligatory food picture so that people will actually click on my blog post link, here are the things I am thankful for this year.

 

  The Grace of God and Salvation through Christ, because without Him everything else on this list would be pointless.

 



  That I am not a teenager. Hormones stink.

  For turkey.

  And leftovers.

  And siblings who smile at me until I share my leftovers with them.

  For my whole family. Kudos to this group of people for putting up with me for decades.

  That I got to go to Chicago and spend time with some amazing friends.

  That I got to volunteer at ALERT and work with a wonderful group of girls.

  That Christmas is almost here.

  For the color plaid.

  For Big Bend National Park.

  That I realized my addiction to caffeine and I now know how to compensate for it (which is basically to drink a ton of coffee).

  That for this year I have been given the good sense and the will to journal more.

  That Star Wars: The Force Awakens is coming out in less then a month.

  For Jon Foreman's incredible new EP set.

  That Andrew Peterson released a new album this year.

  And with that being said, I will leave you with this song.

No Excuse Really

  Monday morning found me a whining monster. Tuesday found me a happy camper. This morning again found me a whining monster, but after 10 o'clock I was a happy camper. Monday and Tuesday I blamed my attitude on the weather. Monday being miserably cold and Tuesday being warm and sunny. Today was warm and sunny, today I had no reason to take on the title of Oscar the Grouch. I had no excuse to be Oscar the Grouch on Monday either for that matter.
  As I have said before, feelings are fleeting. They come and go without rhyme or reason. Often though, I let them affect me more than I try and affect them. I cannot control the weather, or the actions of others, or even my own hormones. I do, however, have a choice about how I respond to my circumstances. What is more, is that, as a Christian, I have a responsibility to live a life of joy and of gratitude and of selflessness. In I Thessalonians 5:16-18, Paul addresses the Thessalonian church with these words, "Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."
  When I give into my grouchiness, it is often because I am inconvenienced. Other times it is because I am plain selfish and others do not adhere to my will. Then at other times, it is because I am not grateful for the bountiful gifts given me. To give into my sinful nature and lash out against those around me may be the easy thing, but it is wrong. And as a Christian, I am given the choice to act against my selfish nature.
  On my own, I would be an eternal Oscar the Grouch, but by the grace of God, I can live as His child. I can love others when I do not want to love. I can be thankful when I would naturally want more. I have no excuse to be a whiny grouchy person, and because of the love of Christ Jesus I do not have to be.

Christians not Cannibals

Galatians 5:14-15, “The entire law is summed up in a single command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will destroy each other.”

    The Church is a body, not a buffet. Often though, I find myself treating it as such. There is in me, a deep-seated tendency to pick and choose the believers I like and ignore those that I do not.  At a buffet that is fine, but the body of Christ is not here to serve me and cater to my whims. I am part of the body of Christ, I am not a cannibal.

  Believers have a hard job. As those Christ has called, we are called to love. We are called to work and to serve those around us without expecting anything in return. We are not called to squabble or to bicker. Nor are we called to expect believers around us to align their lives to our own tastes. Part of being a body means that each part has to be different from one another. Just as there are no two identical hairs on the human body, so no two people in the body of Christ are the same. Each brings a unique set of characteristics and talents to the table. Whether or not we as people can see it, the traits of the different members of the body of Christ work together to glorify God.

  And that is point anyways. The Church is not here for the pleasure of man. It is here for the glory of God, for the encouragement of His children, and for the advancement of the gospel. When I as a believer decide which aspects of Christ’s church I do and do not like, I put myself above God. I put my desire for happiness above His command to love Him with all my heart and to love my neighbor as myself. I am here to build the Church of Christ up, not devour it as I see fit.

Another Fall Post

  I did not put much thought into the title of this post, obviously. But it least it is not a clichéd fall blog post, just a photo-heavy one because I decided to sling my camera over my back when I went for a walk this afternoon.

 

And here's a song that seems to go well with fall.

More than a Feeling

 Forgiveness in a decision, it is a commitment. That is easy to remember, but so hard to put into practice. In Sunday school this week, we talked about the book of Philemon and about forgiveness. The book of Philemon was written from Paul to Philemon who was a part of the early church in Colosse. Philemon was apparently a man of wealth. The book addressed to him is an appeal from Paul to accept Onesimus, a slave of Philemon's who had run away.
  After running away from Philemon, Onesimus came into contact with Paul and was brought to faith in Christ. He stayed with Paul, and seemed to be helping him in Rome for a time. Paul wrote letters both to Philemon and to the church at Colosse, and when he sent them to the church, he sent Onesimus back as well. In his letter to Philemon, Paul asks Philemon to forgive Onesimus and to accept him as a brother.
  Human nature is selfish. To forgive another is to deny one's own humanity. We as people like to hold onto our hurts. We like to let them fester inside until they become bitter ugly wounds that refuse to heal. Many times if seems easier to not forgive; but to cling to that bitterness, to refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, is like trying to heal sickness with poison. The problem only grows worse.
  Forgiveness is hard. It takes dedication. It means putting the past behind you everyday. It means loving people regardless of the wrong they have done. It mean deciding to love someone even when you do not feel like loving them. For those who are believers, forgiveness is more than just a good idea. To forgive one's offenders is a command. In Colossians 3:13-14 we read, "Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity." And in Ephesians 4:32 we read, "Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you."
  For those who claim to be in Christ, forgiveness is not an option: it is a lifestyle. A life of forgiving others as we have been forgiven. Because what right do we have as sinful human beings have to hold onto wrongs done against us, when our Holy and Righteous God has chosen to cast our sins as far as the east is from the west?

high road.

 

High and holy and far from the edge.

That is where I am called.

And not because I am any better.

God knows I am not.

Called is what I am.

Skirting my call is cowardly.

The bare minimum is lazy.

The bare minimum is false.

May I live in the middle.

Looking not to the lives of those around me.

Looking only to His word.

Unafraid to take the high road.

Even when I am the only one who does.

 



wall.

The truth is a wall.

A mountain in the desert.

You can fight it, you can flounder in the sand.

But you can never get away from it.

Once the truth takes root it takes over.

Immovable, inescapable.

Running will not carry a body away.

The truth remains a ruthless pursuer.

A mountain that always haunts in the back of one’s mind.

One way or another it will be faced.

Whether by embracing it, or by crashing into it at a thousand miles an hour.

The truth stands in the end.