colleen marie kelly.

Summer Reading Wish List

2009-06-09T12:40:00.002-05:00

Just some books I'm looking forward to reading this summer.... check back for more soon!

Through His Eyes: God’s Perspective on
Women in the Bible, by Jerram Barrs

With so much conversation within the Church on women’s roles—both in the church and within a family--Jerram Barrs’ newest book, Through His Eyes, answers the question “What does God think about women, and how does he treat them?” Barrs says, “Right from the beginning in Genesis chapter one, God declares that He has made us, male and female, in His image; so He has given all of us this marvelous dignity of being crowned with the glory and honor of being made as small, physical, finite reflections of who He is in His infinite majesty.” He presents a biblical theology of how God views and treats women in the Bible.

I’m excited to read this for many reasons: 1. I’d like a better foundation on how God relates to women, despite what our culture may say, 2. Jerram Barrs consistently writes books that are biblically based and filled with truth, and 3. I’d like to examine my own heart and my own preconceived views that I’ve developed somewhere along the line concerning the roles of women.

Gilead, by Marilynne Robinson

Simon Wells says that “imagination and fiction make up more than three-quarters of our real-life.” I would agree. We have so much to learn from fiction books—they make reality into something tangible, they paint a picture of something abstract more vividly than anything else could. This is one book that I’ve almost finished reading and I will be sad to put down with finality.

Gilead is a meditation on how even the simplest things and simplest people can be touched by an incredible grace and wonder. Regret, forgiveness, grace, resentment, jealousy, love, faith, and fear are all woven so tightly into this novel. The pace requires readers to put themselves in the shoes of John Ames, a preacher in his seventies who is nearing the end of his life. This book is his thoughts, journals, and letters to his seven year old son, and the expression of love is incredible.

A Quest for More, by Paul David Tripp

Authentic “kingdom-living” is emphasized in this book rather than a set of principles and step by step instructions. I’ve started this one, too, and have been really impressed and convicted thus far. Tripp shows us what we are living for: our own life and our own kingdom. And he compares that to the incredible life that were made to live, the one that we were created for. Why do we long for something more? Why do we know that this is not all there is? There is something more, Tripp says, and we need to see it. We need to see the bigger kingdom that Christ teaches about, because this is where we were meant to be.

This book is a heart check for anyone. It is opening my eyes to the focus I place on my own life. If you’ve been to summer Bible study at the Artisan the past few weeks, this is the book that Ryan has been emphasizing during his talks. I recommend it for a bigger view of your own life. Tripp writes, "In a fallen world there is a powerful pressure to constrict your life to the shape and size of your life. There is a compelling tendency to forget who you are and what you were made for. There is a tendency to be short-sighted, myopic, and easily distracted. There is a tendency to settle for less when you have been created for more. There is something expansive, glorious, and eternal that is meant to give direction to everything you do. And when you lose sight of it, you have effectively denied your own humanity."

Caring for Your Introvert

2009-05-28T17:11:00.002-05:00

Emily sent me this article today... considering I am probably 70-95% 'I' (introvert) on the Myers-Briggs personality test, this describes me so well!! Read for some laughs and good information. Also, how to care for me. (Kidding!... kind of.)

"Do you know someone who needs hours alone every day? Who loves quiet conversations about feelings or ideas, and can give a dynamite presentation to a big audience, but seems awkward in groups and maladroit at small talk? Who has to be dragged to parties and then needs the rest of the day to recuperate? Who growls or scowls or grunts or winces when accosted with pleasantries by people who are just trying to be nice?

If so, do you tell this person he is "too serious," or ask if he is okay? Regard him as aloof, arrogant, rude? Redouble your efforts to draw him out?

If you answered yes to these questions, chances are that you have an introvert on your hands—and that you aren't caring for him properly." Read the rest.

Airport Adventures...

2009-05-24T23:12:00.003-05:00

i had the chance to go to florida for a week last week, and man, some funny things happened. just wanted to share the exciting adventures of the day and a half it took to get there.

we got to kansas city on thursday at about 2:30pm. by "got to kansas city," i mean we drove the last 20 minutes through hazardous rain that was literally blowing sideways. flash floods were everywhere and it was DARK... it could have been 7:30pm and we wouldn't have known the difference. noelle and i kept saying "i have never seen anything like this before!" it was the worst storm i have ever been in, and thus, we were wondering about our flight... scheduled to leave at 5:00 from the KCI airport. we arrive at the airport amid a hurricane and discover that our flight has been delayed an hour.. no big deal, because we will still have an hour before our connecting flight from memphis to tampa.

we grab dinner in the boulevard brewery at the airport and hear lots of businessmen lauding "no one is getting out of hear tonight!" in between lots of martinis and boisterious laughs. all we see is lighting and the look on each others faces that announce "this can't be happening, we just want to get to florida!"

we find our gate and gaze at a funny older man (think jerram-age) who is probably from belgium (he had a passport) wearing orange pants, a pink button down, and a blazer, eating grapes one at a time with his pinky finger up. and his front hair has the biggest wave ever. needless to say, our delay time keeps getting longer and longer. while we are waiting, we are encouraged by a cute little family with two very small children who are from kansas city, ks (we overheard some phone conversations) who are doing an INCREDIBLE job keeping their kids in line despite a 5+ hour flight delay. not fun in an airport, but they are managing. we were so impressed!

at 9:00pm, we board the plane. the first thing we see is belgium man sitting in first class. he already has a pillow behind his head, his eyes are shut, and he has a blue blanket wrapped around his neck. standard.

we are in the air for 3 1/2 hours on what should be a 2 hour flight, and noelle wakes up to (while i am kind of sleeping) an announcement: "sorry folks, we are passing over TEXAS (note, we are going from kc to memphis) and will be there in about an hour and a half. thanks for your patience." around midnight, we touch down and arrive at a deserted airport. we have to get new boarding passes for a flight the next morning since we have obviously missed our connecting flight, so we have to leave the gate. somehow we get "overnight bags" complete with an XL t-shirt and a finger push-up deodorant and are told that the safest place to sleep is over by the arby's.

alas, we see a women with an air-mattress, pillow, and pea green blanket and wonder if she has just thought to bring this with her??? or does she know something we don't? noelle asks, and she looks a little bewildered but tells us to just call the airport police from the beige phone on the wall and ask for one ourselves. apparently there is a whole stockpile of mattresses and blankets in the memphis airport! an hour later, a security guard wanders over and retrieves some for us. we decide that in 2 or 3 hours the arby's scenario will be hopping with people trying to get on flights, and since i have stumbled into a bathroom with a quaint little sitting room in it earlier, we decide to drag our air mattresses across the entire airport to find it and sleep in the quietest place we know of. well, we get yelled at and are told that the best place to sleep is upstairs on a second floor that goes around the entire perimeter of the lobby. we are looking down at the whole airport, and by now it is close to 2am. a man had given us "sani-wipes" to wipe down our mattresses, so we did that and got settled for the night in our too-big t-shirts for a night of sleeping in the memphis airport.

we wake up at 4:30am to a congested airport and we are just sleeping there, looking at them. hilarious. we sleep on and off in this public place until 8am and get up, people are kind of looking at us funny, and we take our overnight kits to the bathroom that we earlier had gotten kicked out of. we grab some coffee and catch our flight to florida.

it was a night. :)

2009-05-14T09:47:00.003-05:00

Rachel Barkey has been diagnosed with terminal cancer. She is a wife, mother of two children, and not expected to see her 38th birthday. Several weeks ago, she shared a message with a group of women and requested that it be videotaped so that one day, her kids could hear her heart. It's online now, and I watched and was so affected by it that I wanted to post it on here for you to see if you have the time to watch it for yourself.

It could quite possibly be the best presentation and reminder of the gospel that I have ever heard, especially from someone so close to death. It will encourage you to believe more, and it will show you yourself a little more.

You can listen to the audio or watch the video here.

Tweeting About Twitter... Narcissism... Reality?

2009-04-19T23:58:00.007-05:00

Every day I am amazed at how many people have and are getting Twitter. Phenomenons like this [even blogging] just seem to sweep across everyone's computers. I read a great blog, though, a couple days ago, about Twitter, and I think some of the comments about Twitter are right on. As with anything, there are good things about Twitter--I'm not saying there aren't. But I do think that as students of our culture we need to be taking closer looks at what we so blindly take as good and meaningful, and look at the holistic affects there can be on our lives.

My favorite parts:

"Twitter unbundles the blog, fragments the fragment. It broadcasts the text message, turns SMS into a mass medium.
And what exactly are we broadcasting? The minutiae of our lives. The moment-by-moment answer to what is, in Twitterland, the most important question in the world: What are you doing? Or, to save four characters: What you doing? Twitter is the telegraph of Narcissus. Not only are you the star of the show, but everything that happens to you, no matter how trifling, is a headline, a media event, a stop-the-presses bulletin. Quicksilver turns to amber.

Are you exhausted yet?
...using Twitter presents us with the possibility of a social reward, while not using it presents us with the possibility of a social penalty - and the possibility of a reward or penalty is a far more compelling motivator than the reality of a reward or penalty. Look at me! Look at me! Are you looking?
What used to happen in the privacy of the mind is now tossed into the public's bowl like so many Fritos. The broadcasting of the spectacle of the self has become a full-time job. Au revoir, Jean Baudrillard, your work here is done.
The great paradox of "social networking" is that it uses narcissism as the glue for "community." Being online means being alone, and being in an online community means being alone together. The community is purely symbolic, a pixellated simulation conjured up by software to feed the modern self's bottomless hunger. Hunger for what? For verification of its existence? No, not even that. For verification that it has a role to play. As I walk down the street with thin white cords hanging from my ears, as I look at the display of khakis in the window of the Gap, as I sit in a Starbucks sipping a chai served up by a barista, I can't quite bring myself to believe that I'm real. But if I send out to a theoretical audience of my peers 140 characters of text saying that I'm walking down the street, looking in a shop window, drinking tea, suddenly I become real. I have a voice. I exist, if only as a symbol speaking of symbols to other symbols.
...As the physical world takes on more of the characteristics of a simulation, we seek reality in the simulated world. At least there we can be confident that the simulation is real. At least there we can be freed from the anxiety of not knowing where the edge between real and unreal lies. At least there we find something to hold onto, even if it's nothing."

I think there really are some great points made. Even as I've sat and pondered getting Twitter before, the thoughts that come into my head really are so self-conscious: "If I get Twitter, people will know what I am doing--that's worth something, right? I won't be out of the loop, I'll know what's going on with people. I want to be in the know. I should to be in the know. And I want people to know about my life, too." And this is even first assuming that people will even look at my Twitter page to begin with. In a time where everyone is so busy, where there is no time left, why are we adding something else to remove us even more from the reality that we really live in--the human part of us? Why are we looking to one more thing to bring us a sense of identity, even in the smallest of ways? I don't at all want to vilify Twitter, but I just want to ask questions of our use of some technology in the first place. There's not necessarily anything inherently wrong with Twitter, but how are we using it?

On Community

2009-03-11T12:32:00.002-05:00

Written by Darrin Patrick, February 6, 2009. Love this.

We are alone. We feel it. The universe is big and we are small. Sin has caused this "aloneness." We try to relate to others, but that doesn't seem to satisfy us. We get disappointed when others don't act like God (and meet all the needs that we demand they meet) or when others don't treat us like God (with the accompanying worship and praise that is due us). The truth is that we don't get the community thing. We like the word. We revel in the concept. Community sounds really good. But it seems to elude us. We need a new grid that is not centered on our felt need for "community."

Community began in eternity past. God who has always existed has always existed in community: Father, Son and Spirit. The Godhead models what community is: equality accompanied with submission. Being unified along with being different. God is the ground and starting place for community.

Community is experiencing Christ through one another.

Community is knowing and being known, serving and being served, celebrating and being celebrated. Community is hanging out with Christian friends and laughing about stupid things. Community is gradually opening up our true selves to people and letting them see who we really are. Community is telling each other the truth in love.

Community is not just being "nice."

True community involves being in a bad mood and still being pleasant to others. Community means asking for help. To be in community means to be in need. To feel other peoples' pain, that's community. To think more about what others need, that's community. Community involves crying and looking foolish in front of others. To be in community means to be uncomfortable at times. Community involves risking our image. Community is not just eating together. Community is not seeing people at church. Community is not saying, "Fine" when asked how you are doing. To be in community involves using your phone a lot.

To experience community is to arrange one's life in such a way that fellow members of the church are seen not as a burden to deal with, but friends with which to do life.

Community is seeing church as a family to belong to, not a service to go to. Community involves simplifying one's lifestyle in order to welcome others.

Community means sacrificing time and money for those who need either. To listen more than you talk is community. To work out all conflicts and never hold grudges is community. Community is the way of Jesus who related to and lived with twelve very imperfect men when he could have accomplished his mission and lived his life without them. Jesus showed us how to do community by who he was and how he lived.

Are You a Christian Hipster?

2009-03-09T11:54:00.003-05:00

Hilarious. I bet if you're reading this, this description fits you pretty well :)

Christian Hipster Likes and Dislikes (By No Means Exhaustive… Just a Sampling)

Things they don’t like:
Christian hipsters don’t like megachurches, altar calls, and door-to-door evangelism. They don’t really like John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart or youth pastors who talk too much about Braveheart. In general, they tend not to like Mel Gibson and have come to really dislike The Passion for being overly bloody and maybe a little sadistic. They don’t like people like Pat Robertson, who on The 700 Club famously said that America should “take Hugo Chavez out”; and they don’t particularly like The 700 Club either, except to make fun of it. They don’t like evangelical leaders who get too involved in politics, such as James Dobson or Jerry Falwell, who once said of terrorists that America should “blow them all away in the name of the Lord.” They don’t like TBN, PAX, or Joel Osteen. They do have a wry fondness for Benny Hinn, however.

Christian hipsters tend not to like contemporary Christian music (CCM), or Christian films (except ironically), or any non-book item sold at Family Christian Stores. They hate warehouse churches or churches with American flags on stage, or churches with any flag on stage, really. They prefer “Christ follower” to “Christian” and can’t stand the phrases “soul winning” or “non-denominational,” and they could do without weird and awkward evangelistic methods including (but not limited to): sock puppets, ventriloquism, mimes, sign language, “beach evangelism,” and modern dance. Surprisingly, they don’t really have that big of a problem with old school evangelists like Billy Graham and Billy Sunday and kind of love the really wild ones like Aimee Semple McPherson.

Things they like:
Christian hipsters like music, movies, and books that are well-respected by their respective artistic communities—Christian or not. They love books like Resident Aliens by Stanley Hauerwas and Will Willimon, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger by Ron Sider, God’s Politics by Jim Wallis, and The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis. They tend to be fans of any number of the following authors: Flannery O’Connor, Walker Percy, Wendell Berry, Thomas Merton, John Howard Yoder, Walter Brueggemann, N.T. Wright, Brennan Manning, Eugene Peterson, Anne Lamott, C.S. Lewis, G.K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, Soren Kierkegaard, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Annie Dillard, Marilynne Robison, Chuck Klosterman, David Sedaris, or anything ancient and/or philosophically important.

Christian hipsters love thinking and acting Catholic, even if they are thoroughly Protestant. They love the Pope, liturgy, incense, lectio divina, Lent, and timeless phrases like “Thanks be to God” or “Peace of Christ be with you.” They enjoy Eastern Orthodox churches and mysterious iconography, and they love the elaborate cathedrals of Europe (even if they are too museum-like for hipster tastes). Christian hipsters also love taking communion with real Port, and they don’t mind common cups. They love poetry readings, worshipping with candles, and smoking pipes while talking about God. Some of them like smoking a lot of different things.

Christian hipsters love breaking the taboos that used to be taboo for Christians. They love piercings, dressing a little goth, getting lots of tattoos (the Christian Tattoo Association now lists more than 100 member shops), carrying flasks and smoking cloves. A lot of them love skateboarding and surfing, and many of them play in bands. They tend to get jobs working for churches, parachurch organizations, non-profits, or the government. They are, on the whole, a little more sincere and idealistic than their secular hipster counterparts.

http://stillsearching.wordpress.com/2009/02/27/are-you-a-christian-hipster/

What does this say about the church? Is this what we've made Christianity into? "Cool Christianity" -- distancing yourself from contemporary evangelical Christianity? Or is it simply a convenient title for a personality? One comment I read on the website was astonished at this definition of Christian hipster. He said:

WHAT IN THE WORLD??? No, literally!?! What in the world? I read the whole blog but you lost me at “…don’t like door-to-door evangelism…alter calls…”

Really? Does it matter what you like or dislike? Do these “hipster’s” care more about the new secularistic church than the “church” that Christ is trying to unite through men who these hipster’s don’t like?

Just interesting to think about. Thoughts??

Themes of L'Abri

2009-01-26T23:00:00.002-06:00

In light of the L'Abri conference coming up this February, I thought it might be a good idea to highlight five themes of the ministry of L'Abri and Francis Schaeffer. Hopefully they will give you a good idea of the perspective of Christianity that L'Abri is taking.

1. The Truthfulness of Christianity (True Truth)

We need to rediscover the objective reality of Christianity, really see the God who has acted concretely in time and space. Christianity is historically true; God has involved Himself in the flow of history. This means that it isn't just "my truth," or what works for me, because if Christianity is true at all, it is true for all. And whether we believe it or not, it remains true. It also means that it is consistent with all reality around us, and therefore that God speaks into all reality. We must see reality as God sees it.

2. The Reality of the Supernatural

Scrpture tells us that the God who is there is the God who is here. We must not live by simply what we can see. The unseen is just as real as what we do see, and our prayer life must reflect this reality. We will bear fruit that God has ordained because God is here. We need not pray in light of it as a ritual, but as a reality. God hears us. Really. Because the Christian life is not about the extraordinary, but about the ordinary that God works through. The spiritual aspect is the most important--once we are rooted in that reality, lives will be transformed.

3. The Humanness of Spirituality

To be spiritual is to fulfill our humanness--everything that it means to be fully human. We are called in Christ to rediscover what it means to be human in this world. We need to feel comfortable in accepting our Creaturely-ness--and to do this, we must bow before God as a creature, accepting our place in Creation. We must accept our limits, rest in being human, and be at peace with our Creator. We can look at our corner of Creation and find contentment. And ultimately, we can are reminded of what we are being saved to--a glorious, redeemed world in which that relationship will be completely made right and restored to its full glory and purpose.

4. The Significance of the Fall

The shadow of the Fall and the utter brokenness of this world runs very, very deep. There is a dissonance in all of creation, even to the Christian. The consequences of sin are hideous and corruption is so widespread. Much of the Western world has been convinced that we can fix everything, that we can civilize all of the world, but the problems we struggle with are so incredibly hard to get rid of: brokenness within our families, bigotry, educational reforms, politics, etc. Only with Christ will the groanings of creation be ceased--there are no quick fixes. While no enjoyment of creation should be taken away, we must live in light of the evil, carry an awareness of the shadow of the Fall, and we must bleed and weep with this broken world.

5. The Hope and Good News of the Gospel

God has saving designs for his entire creation.... a new heaven and a new earth, where he will restore not only our souls, but also our physical bodies and every aspect of creation. Brokenness happens at every level, therefore salvation will happen at every level. God's entire creation is given over to Christ. We have been born anew of God into this world, and we are working with God to redeem it. This has huge implications--every aspect of the world should be brought into the light of Christ; therefore we are called to be agents of change and transformation. We must look after our patch of Creation and love the man next door.

This Past Week at L'Abri

2009-01-21T13:31:00.000-06:00

I experienced L'Abri.

I didn't just read about it, or talk about it, or think about it. I was there.

It was an incredible week of learning and studying, caving and hiking, running and reading. Living amongst people for a week who can appreciate you and love you after only having known you for hours can sometimes be a stark contrast to the world in which we live everyday. Taking, in a sense, a fast of technology, entertainment, and the daily grind opens our eyes to the simple things in life, the small things that matter in huge ways and force us to abandon ourselves until we are utterly free and alive. Like the way the snow sparkled against the the moonlit sky as it fluttered down. And the way the sun rose over the hilltop, creating a canopy of orange and pink, red and yellow. Bare trees cluttered the valley below us and stalagmites littered the cave we crawled through on our tummies. The fire roared in the hearth as heat flushed our faces. I don't even think the word "refreshed" can quite describe the feeling I felt. The gift of Creation on this earth is huge.

There's something about intentionality, opening up our lives and our questions to the few people around us and getting honest, thoughtful answers--or getting no answer at all, only left with more questions. Hearing the stories of others and sharing your own creates a new fascination and beauty for the people around you. God is incredibly faithful in carrying out his plan through us, and intervening in real time to bring about his will. Truly knowing that is a gift in itself.

There's something about community that lets you know that you were made for it.

Biblical Productivity

2009-01-19T08:25:00.001-06:00

post-its, lined legal pads, moleskine journals, my great new moleskine planner with the notebook page on the right.... these are all things that i particularly LOVE because they keep me organized, they give me control over something that is making me feel completely, utterly, overwhelmed. which is why i also love c.j. mahaney's last couple months of blog postings on biblical productivity.

Biblical Productivity

1. Are You Busy?
2. Confessions of a Busy Procrastinator
3. The Procrastinator Within
4. Just Do It
5. In All Thy Ways
6. The Sluggard
7. Time. Redeemed.
8. Roles, Goals, Scheduling
9. Roles (Part 1)
10. Roles (Part 2)
11. Goals (Part 1)
12. Goals (Part 2) – Up next.

this is some good stuff. very biblical, and really makes you re-examine your, well, life. maybe now i'll only have TWO colors of stickies, rather than a stack of five... :)

John Piper Making a Snow Angel

2009-01-17T23:15:00.000-06:00

Just a funny little home video of John Piper.

Mark Driscoll and Mars Hill in the NY Times

2009-01-15T14:21:00.001-06:00

"the cussing pastor," Mark Driscoll.

some excerpts:

Most people who attend Mars Hill do not see themselves as theological radicals. Mark Driscoll is just “Pastor Mark,” not the New Calvinist warrior demonized on evangelical and liberal blogs. Yet while some initially come for mundane reasons — their friends attend; they like the music — the Calvinist theology is often the glue that keeps them in their seats. They call the preaching “authentic” and “true to life.” Traditional evangelical theology falls apart in the face of real tragedy, says the 20-year-old Brett Harris, who runs an evangelical teen blog with his twin brother, Alex. Reducing God to a projection of our own wishes trivializes divine sovereignty and fails to explain how both good and evil have a place in the divine plan. “There are plenty of comfortable people who can say, ‘God’s on my side,’ ” Harris says. “But they couldn’t turn around and say, ‘God gave me cancer.’ ”
..............
Most members, however, didn’t join Mars Hill in order to ask questions. Damon Conklin, who is 41 and runs a tattoo parlor, says he joined Mars Hill because Driscoll made his life make sense — and didn’t ask him to pretend to be someone he wasn’t. “I decided to stop smoking crack and drinking every day,” Conklin says. “I had to find some kind of God in order to do that.” He hated the churches he visited: “I would show up looking as mean as possible, with my Afro blown out, wearing a wife-beater, and then I’d say, ‘Why don’t they like me?’ Then I went to Mars Hill, and I believed Mark.”
..............
Mars Hill — with its conservative social teachings embedded in guitar solos and drum riffs, its megachurch presence in the heart of bohemian skepticism — thrives on paradox. Critics on the left and right alike predict that this delicate balance of opposites cannot last. Some are skeptical of a church so bent on staying perpetually “hip”: members have only recently begun to marry and have children, but surely those children will grow up, grow too cool for their cool church and rebel. Others say that Driscoll’s ego and taste for controversy will be Mars Hill’s Achilles’ heel. Lately he has made a concerted effort to tone down his language, and he insists that he has delegated much authority, but the heart of his message has not changed. Driscoll is still the one who gazes down upon Mars Hill’s seven congregations most Sundays, his sermons broadcast from the main campus to jumbo-size projection screens around the city. At one suburban campus that I visited, a huge yellow cross dominated center stage — until the projection screen unfurled and Driscoll’s face blocked the cross from view. Driscoll’s New Calvinism underscores a curious fact: the doctrine of total human depravity has always had a funny way of emboldening, rather than humbling, its adherents.

Conversations with a Skeptic

2009-01-11T22:53:00.003-06:00

I've been checking out the Mars Hill College Mission website the past few days and happened upon some really cool things. One that stuck out to me the most is a short conversation series they did called 'Conversations with a Skeptic.' An atheist was ripping on Mars Hill on his blog so coffee was drank and these conversations happened:

Conversations with a Skeptic 1
Conversations with a Skeptic 2
Conversations with a Skeptic 3
Conversations with a Skeptic 4

to be human...

2009-01-09T20:46:00.000-06:00

"to be human is to be poor."

thoughts?

This Past Week (1)

2009-01-07T02:28:00.001-06:00

This past week, I have wept for so many things--pain, sorrow, fear, joy, love. I've been challenged in incredible ways, pushed with a forceful shove to turn my eyes back to the gospel, and enlightened to how radical God's love for me really is. I've been inspired to shed my skin of unbelief and to let Christ emanate from my soul.

I've been forced with an iron fist out of my comfort zone but placed into one where I am completely free. I have been freed to see the beauty of people, to see the gem that has been placed inside each individual. To draw that out of them. I have been freed to love truly and without limits, without conditions. I have been freed to ascertain thoughts of the future only because I am living in the moment, trusting in the grace of the moment.

I've witnessed the devastation of sin but the Truth of Christianity. And my prayer then becomes a search for the REAL. for reality. for a living God.

"As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God."

2008-12-30T08:53:00.003-06:00

This story is so interesting. It reminds me of a speaker at one of the L'Abri conferences who said that what Africa needed was not more money, food, or resources, but a different worldview: a Christian one.

Here's some excerpts:

But travelling in Malawi refreshed another belief, too: one I've been trying to banish all my life, but an observation I've been unable to avoid since my African childhood. It confounds my ideological beliefs, stubbornly refuses to fit my world view, and has embarrassed my growing belief that there is no God.
Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.
I used to avoid this truth by applauding - as you can - the practical work of mission churches in Africa. It's a pity, I would say, that salvation is part of the package, but Christians black and white, working in Africa, do heal the sick, do teach people to read and write; and only the severest kind of secularist could see a mission hospital or school and say the world would be better without it. I would allow that if faith was needed to motivate missionaries to help, then, fine: but what counted was the help, not the faith.
But this doesn't fit the facts. Faith does more than support the missionary; it is also transferred to his flock. This is the effect that matters so immensely, and which I cannot help observing.

HT: Justin Taylor

thank you, emily lewis.

2008-12-29T10:41:00.001-06:00

one reason (among MANY) i love emily lewis is because she likes a lot of the same things i do. consider this poem:

She who reconciles the ill-matched threads
of her life, and weaves them gratefully
into a single cloth—
it's she who drives the loudmouths from the hall
and clears it for a different celebration

where the one guest is you.
In the softness of evening
it's you she receives.

You are the partner of her loneliness,
the unspeaking center of her monologues.
With each disclosure you encompass more
and she stretches beyond what limits her,
to hold you.

Rainer Maria Rilke,The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God

LOVE it. thanks em.

A Calvinistic and Reformed Faith

2008-12-10T13:40:00.001-06:00

Calvinistic does not mean reformed.... Anthony Bradley provides a good discussion for this here.

Happy Thanksgiving Santa Claus

2008-12-07T23:39:00.003-06:00

My brother (who's six) wrote this letter to Santa on my computer over Thanksgiving break. Hilarious. In the original format, there is excessive spaces between words, but blogspot won't allow it in posting.

Happy Thanksgiving Santa Claus I love Christmas I love your presents I love you Santa Claus . Colleen wants a new computer for her. Patty would like a new car. My mom would like a new set of dishes for my mom. My dad wants a new car . Brendan wants a skateboard for me Brendan.
Santa Claus this Christmas is going to be the best
Christmas ever. This is going to be a letter
To Santa Claus from Brendan which is me Brendan.

Patient Voices: Multiple Sclerosis

2008-12-05T14:31:00.000-06:00

The New York Times has done an excellent piece on those living with the effects of MS. Great audio and video slideshow, and lots of variation in people.

The Faces of MS

i'm a big kid now....

2008-12-04T16:42:00.002-06:00

i just activated my first credit card in my name.

i kind of feel like i have all the power in the world!

this is brilliant: an ode to coffee

2008-12-03T07:58:00.003-06:00

check this out, and make sure you look at the drawings. it's just fantastic.

and for kicks, i identify with so much of this. brilliant.

Study: Unhappy people watch more TV

2008-11-30T14:35:00.000-06:00

not that this is a huge surprise, but a study came out that directly correlates TV watching with unhappiness. read it here. i still think when i have kids that i don't really even want a TV in the house at all.

and here's some excerpts:

"An extensive new research study has found that unhappy people watch more TV while those consider themselves happy spend more time reading and socializing.

The University of Maryland analyzed 34 years of data collected from more than 45,000 participants and found that watching TV might make you feel good in the short term but is more likely to lead to overall unhappiness.

Concludes the study: "These points have parallels with addiction; since addictive activities produce momentary pleasure but long-term misery and regret. People most vulnerable to addiction tend to be socially or personally disadvantaged, with TV becoming an opiate."

oh, books.

2008-11-28T12:24:00.001-06:00

just a fun little quote i came across today:

"books are to be read and used, not collected and coddled." - al mohler.

so mark them up!

The Man Watching

2008-11-24T18:44:00.000-06:00

The Man Watching

Rainer Maria Rilke

I can tell by the way the trees beat, after

so many dull days, on my worried windowpanes

that a storm is coming,

and I hear the far-off fields say things

I can't bear without a friend,

I can't love without a sister

The storm, the shifter of shapes, drives on

across the woods and across time,

and the world looks as if it had no age:

the landscape like a line in the psalm book,

is seriousness and weight and eternity.

What we choose to fight is so tiny!

What fights us is so great!

If only we would let ourselves be dominated

as things do by some immense storm,

we would become strong too, and not need

names.

When we win it's with small things,

and the triumph itself makes us small.

What is extraordinary and eternal

does not want to be bent by us.

I mean the Angel who appeared

to the wrestlers of the Old Testament:

when the wrestler's sinews

grew long like metal strings,

he felt them under his fingers

like chords of deep music.

Whoever was beaten by this Angel

(who often simply declined the fight)

went away proud and strengthened

and great from that harsh hand,

that kneaded him as if to change his shape.

Winning does not tempt that man.

This is how he grows: by being defeated,

decisively,

by constantly greater beings.

_______________________________

I think I like this poem so much because it is so encouraging. I like the image that we are being shaped, being kneaded by this harsh hand to change our shape. This is how we grow--we are constantly put in our place, decisively.

Homeless Survival Kit Distribution

2008-11-22T08:43:00.004-06:00

The homeless survival kit distribution was Thursday afternoon, and tons of people showed up at Speaker's Circle. There were men waiting for us starting at 1:30, and one man said that people were so grateful, talking about this for 2 weeks! It was incredible how many people showed up as well was how much was donated by people at the Crossing. It far exceeded any of my expectations. Very humbling experience.

And check out this link to see the audio slideshow that was put up by the Missourian.

i sit and look out.

2008-11-07T09:16:00.005-06:00

I Sit and Look Out
Walt Whitman

I sit and look out upon all the sorrows of the world, and upon all oppression and shame;

I hear secret convulsive sobs from young men, at anguish with themselves, remorseful after deeds done;

I see, in low life, the mother misused by her children, dying, neglected, gaunt, desperate;

I see the wife misused by her husband--I see the treacherous seducer of young women;

I mark the ranklings of jealousy and unrequited love, attempted to be hid--I see these sights on the earth;

I see the workings of battle, pestilence, tyranny--I see martyrs and prisoners;

I observe a famine at sea--I observe the sailors casting lots who shall be kill'd, to preserve the lives of the rest;

I observe the slights and degradations cast by arrogant persons upon laborers, the poor, and upon negroes, and the like;

All these--All the meanness and agony without end, I sitting, look out upon,

See, hear, and am silent.

the sense of the beautiful

2008-11-01T21:15:00.002-05:00

"a man should hear a little music, read a little poetry, and see a fine picture every day of his life, in order that worldly cares may not obliterate the sense of the beautiful which God has implanted in the human soul."

-- johann wolfgang von.

Harry Potter and Richard Dawkins

2008-10-30T17:08:00.003-05:00

Apparently, Richard Dawkins is beginning a study on whether or not fairy tales have a negative effect on children. Read the article here.

The prominent atheist is stepping down from his post at Oxford University to write a book aimed at youngsters in which he will warn them against believing in "anti-scientific" fairytales.

Prof Dawkins said he wanted to look at the effects of "bringing children up to believe in spells and wizards".

But Prof Dawkins, the bestselling author of The God Delusion who this week agreed to fund a series of atheist adverts on London buses, added that his new book will also set out to demolish the "Judeo-Christian myth".

HT: Justin Taylor

the unexamined life

2008-10-26T17:21:00.001-05:00

"the unexamined life is not worth living."
- socrates.

thoughts?

The Richt Family Adoption

2008-10-26T01:12:00.004-05:00

Check out this beautiful video that was broadcasted on ESPN's Gameday. Mark Richt, Georgia's head football coach, and his wife adopted two precious kids from the Ukraine. The youngest daughter has a facial deformity but has the most incredible spirit I have ever seen. It was really cool to hear the Richt's talk about how the Lord worked in their lives. You just might shed a little tear :)

HT: Jeremy Monteith, Zach Nielsen, and Justin Taylor

Forgive 77 Times

2008-10-24T23:55:00.001-05:00

I think one of the hardest -- yet most beautiful -- teachings in the Bible is the one about forgiveness. In Matthew 18:21, Peter asks Jesus, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Essentially, Peter wants to know when enough is enough. When do you give up on a friendship? When are you hurt so many times that it's ok to just call it quits? When you can't take it anymore?

Sometimes I find myself fighting so hard against this teaching, because it goes against everything in me. It is natural for most of us, after they are continually hurt, continually sinned against, and let down time and time again, to say they are through with it. Done with the relationship, the job, the person. It's natural for me to justify those thoughts, saying that I don't deserve that, I don't deserve that treatment; in fact, I actually deserve much better.

But the answer that Jesus gives to Peter surprises me. He tells him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy seven times." Are you kidding me? 77 times? I have to forgive someone so much for hurting me that I won't even remember the number of times I've forgiven them? This is so hard when everything in me wants to give up, to stop fighting for a friendship or for a person.

I think so highly of myself that I can trick myself into thinking that I don't do the exact same thing to everyone around me. I let people down. I don't love them. And I'm not the friend or daughter or sister to others that I demand them to be to me. That is the beauty in this teaching. While my pride gets in the way so much of the time, I have been forgiven for so much. I've been forgiven not only once for all, but millions more than seventy seven times. I know that the Lord has not called it quits on me and never will--he doesn't even think it--and that gives me so much hope for myself. I have hope not only that I will be and have been forgiven, but that because I have been forgiven, I can show this same love to others. Even when my heart feels as though it will shatter into billions of tiny sharp pieces because of the pain, I have to believe that I don't truly deserve to be forgiven myself. I have to forgive despite pain. And that is such a hard concept to wrap my mind around.

College and the American Dream

2008-10-21T11:46:00.000-05:00

Here's an old post by Anthony Bradley about Christians in college and what their true motivation is for getting a degree. After i read this, I felt both affirmed and convicted in my own education. Take a look. And here's a little taste:

"What is man's chief end? Americans answer this way: to glorify himself and live in comfort and ease forever. American evangelicals think no differently. Ask Christian college kids WHY they choose their major. And the answers at times will depress you. It's not the vocation that's the problem but the motive. So now we have Christians missing from certains sectors of society because those areas don't pay well. It's SICK!!"

"Doesn't it just make you sick to think that many Christian kids in college or soon there after do not see the purpose of their gifts, interests, and abilities to serve God and other people. That's right, Christians use what God has given to serve Him and others...."

"Nowhere in the Bible are Christians encouraged to work hard for the material rewards. I wish someone would tell this to Christians in America. The American dream in motivated by and grounded in pagan idolatry promoting material success, ease, and comfort at all cost."

"Wouldn't it be great if Christians were motivated to pursue vocations because God revealed some of the needs in the world and gives the interest and ability to meet some of the needs in the world."

"What does mean for a Christian to be living a "successful" life?"

"But the idea that "getting an education to aid in providing for your family" is what Christians need to think about more deeply. Namely, we need to ask what, then, is the purpose of education? If we look at Daniel, for example, the purpose of his education was service of God and other people, not a future economic safety net. Christians have become utilitarians with respect to education. Education from a Christian perspective used to be about learning about God's world and being broadly equipped to do whatever God might call a person to do vocationally. Even, now for Christians, education is not directed at discerning one's calling but the utility of the economic result. Is education's only value an economic one? This is exactly why kids don't want to learn information for the sake of knowledge but want to get good grades because of the long-term economic consequences. People don't care if they learn anything or not."

"I would be more comfortable if Christians thought like this, "I'm getting an education in order to pursue and prepare for God's calling in my life vocationally." If we pursue God and not economic safety then we will find that Jesus' words are true that if seek first the kingdom of God all the other material things in life will be taken care of."

possibility junkies.

2008-10-19T10:10:00.001-05:00

mmm great blog post by ken meyers on the evangelical outpost. as an ideas person, i really loved it. here's some of my favorite sections of it, but read the whole thing here.

"Ideas, we are frequently told, have consequences. We are less often encouraged to reflect on the equally significant if more elusive relationship of ideas to their antecedents. Ideas come from somewhere, and they are able to take up residence in our lives because they find friendly surroundings. So if bad ideas are plaguing our society (and having bad consequences), we ought to ask about their origins. And we need to ask what it is about the shape of our lives that make bad ideas seem plausible."

"If Edmundson's diagnosis of the ethos of our culture is accurate, there are at least two avenues of response available to parents, teachers, clergy, and others in positions of Church and cultural leadership. One is to try to figure out how to go with the flow (although "flow" may not be the best word/semi what about "rampage" or "tsunami"?). But if the absence of thickness, depth, and commitment encouraged by fast skating is really not in keeping with the shape of human flourishing, if there is something truly unnatural about this mentality, something in it that is not consistent with our nature, then we need to attend to the maintenance of counter-cultural institutions and practices. Reading and re-reading books, slowly, keeping personal and private journals (not public blogs) which invite true introspection without the distraction of self-presentation, face-to-face conversations that linger and dwell, conversations that achieve some contrapuntal pleasure, attentive listening to musical works that require us to slow down and perceive subtle resonances and formal nuance: these are monotasking practices of closure, commitment, and contemplation. Their loss is one of the ways our contemporaries are becoming figurative widows and orphans (see James 1:27)."

"The pursuit of actuality rather than infinite possibility will not come easily, and will require repudiation of the ways of life that characterize our moment. Those Christian leaders who discourage such repudiation in the name of "cultural engagement" need to be able to explain to people like Mark Edmundson why the Church is indifferent to the plight of students who cannot stop and think."

obama and infanticide

2008-10-17T09:56:00.002-05:00

whoa. check out this post by justin taylor, and then click on the full story to read it.

The Frugal Teenager, Ready or Not

2008-10-11T10:10:00.003-05:00

interesting article about how the economy is affecting spending in families: the frugal teenager, ready or not.

vignette memoir

2008-09-26T10:38:00.000-05:00

i wrote this last year for one of my teaching classes, and just got it back today. i think that this is one of my favorite pieces i've written.

The Place Mom Calls “Home”: Pacific Care Center

I remember…

Being right across the street from that small Baptist church, tarnished and tattered, but the Lord’s house nonetheless. Cheesy block-lettered quotes hung on the welcome sign, the only thing to force a smile on my face.

Walking, hesitantly, step by heavy step, up the smoke filled walkway leading to the patio, where all the nurses would be sucking that cancer into their lungs, addicted to a drug that they couldn’t really see. And content with that.

Being greeted by Pat, who would smile at us, but we didn’t know this stranger who was trying so hard to be friendly, to welcome us into foreign territory, a land whose customs we didn’t know and didn’t care to ever know.

Entering and saying hi to the receptionist, and seeing yourself in the huge mirror, with that scared look in your eyes. The young innocence, the fresh face compared to the elderly, hallowed looks that bore into you from all around.

The meals at the table that had to be tall enough for wheelchairs to fit under it. Sitting in those high, dirty, straightbacked chairs, watching food flying in all directions as if a 4 year old was eating. The floor had to be mopped every 5 minutes it seemed, the creamed corn splattered everywhere and crumbs sticking to it.

The pregnant teenager with the greasy, stringy hair covering her face serving meals in the kitchen, with the baggy, plastic gloves hanging like a sheet over her hands.

Waiting for Mom to just finish up so we could go into her room and get away from the noise and the smells and just talk there. Talk about how life had changed, how this was a new part of acceptance, and hear the complaints that ravaged my ears.

The allotted smoke time every two hours during daylight that couldn’t be missed OR ELSE, and the waiting around for life to return again.

The physical therapy room, where Mom’s stiff legs would be bent in ways that they could never do themselves, without the help of a trained professional moving them and massaging and managing the wrecked muscles that tensed permanently inside the skin.

Margaret, the lady that always wanted you to snap the device that hooked her to her walking “companion,” which really just looked like piping held together for support, just like she asks everyone who walks by her, with those drooping, pleading, fearful eyes, even though the nurses say you can’t; she’s connected for a reason; she would break a hip in her fragile state.

The universal remote that Mom kept in her wheelchair bag, giving her powerful control over the lobby and dining room TV so she could watch whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to. Those Cardinals games and court TV shows that couldn’t be skipped because they proved there was life outside of these walls.

The roommates that yell in the night, two to a room, never any privacy, the door always open. Carrie who never knew where she was, clutching that stuffed bear as if it were her child, asking for her husband every five minutes, completely taken over by that mind disease that sucks your memory into a vacuum, never to be returned or cherished again.

The service that wouldn’t show up, forced to work low-paid jobs just to feed their children because the father had left. But who really wants this job? It’s hard work to find skilled nurses and personal assistants who like their job, who don’t walk in those doors with a sour look already in their eyes and a vain conceit hardly concealed by every action in their day.

And the bedtime, ten o’clock every night, right after the smoke time. Mom’s placed into her bed, awaiting the shower that came in the morning (that’s if it even came), waking to a shuffling of feet outside her door by those few who could slowly walk on their own.

And then we walked out, punched in the code in the steel double doors so we could escape, out to fresh air and trees and a parking lot full of cars that had the freedom to leave any time they wanted to—just like we did. And we had to leave her there, to fend for herself because we couldn’t take her with us.

top 10 reasons i love fall

2008-09-22T22:02:00.003-05:00

in honor of today being the first day of fall (and the fact that i love it so much!) here are the top 10 reasons i love fall:

1. the leaves start to crunch under your shoes! i go out of my way to step on a particularly crunchy leaf.
2. the harvest moon. mm.
3. perfect temperature. long sleeves and shorts for a jog is a must. just perfect.
4. watching the leaves fall. especially when you are sitting in kaldi's at the window seats, drinking hot tea or coffee, reading a good book while gazing out the window every now and then.
5. football. sometimes i go to the games on a saturday, and sometimes i like to do number 4, because no one is around and i can have kaldi's all to myself and my thoughts.
6. driving with the windows down, music turned up. i know you can do this in the summer too, but it is just particularly pleasant in the fall.
7. fall wreaths on front doors. yep.
8. halloween! this means carved pumpkins on front door steps, little (and big) kids in costumes, and really funny jokes (especially when they are about a turkey told by my brother).
9. playing in the backyard. you know that winter is coming, so you must make an effort to play outside during any and all free time--it won't last long!
10. christmas music! fall is a sign of winter. therefore, christmas music is acceptable. (but i did start listening to it about 2 weeks and 3 days ago. oops)

The Fall and Its Effects on our Relationships (2)

2008-09-01T15:10:00.003-05:00

So if we know what relationships are supposed to be like (see post one), how they are designed by God for Creation, then why are they so hard? I think the answer is found in Genesis 3, where we encounter how sin is brought into the marriage relationship. The hearts of Adam and Eve were turned away from God when they sinned against him, and Satan’s goal was realized. After Eve was deceived and ate of the forbidden tree, Adam was faced with a dilemma, and he must make a choice that is only possible when living in a world where sin has entered. “He must, he thinks, either obey God and lose his beloved Eve or enter with her into rebellion and lose his own standing before God. The choice was between the gift and the Giver, between Even and the blessed Creator.” Adam ate the fruit, and the choice was irrevocably made.

I don’t think Adam was right, though. We don’t have to choose between the gift and the Giver. Instead of turning in faith to God to help him, Adam turned away from him and that’s why he fell into sin. “He gave Eve the place in his life reserved for God alone. He made her the ultimate object of his worship… Eve was not designed to do this. She was made to be a suitable helper for him, not a goddess.” They listened to a lie; despite what Satan tempted them with—-that they would be like God—-they found that only God can be the source for blessing in our lives. His love is given to us with the intent that we enjoy it, but their rebellion ruined what was once good.

More effects of sin:

1. Alienation: The man and the woman could no longer be in a right fellowship with God, and could therefore no longer enjoy the intimate fellowship and love they previously had with each other—-no longer were they pure and innocent. Genesis 3:7 says, “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked. And they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves loin cloths.” “Gone were the days of open disclosure; Adam and Eve now had something to hide, something to cover up, something wrong at the core of their beings.”

2. Fear: God enters the scene, Genesis 3:8-9: “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”’ Adam states that he was afraid, and then he hid himself from the Lord. The presence of the holy God was a threat to him, when in a right relationship with God, His presence should be loving and Fatherly.

3. Self-centered concern for oneself instead of commitment to another. Adam is the first blame-shifter in a “long, long line of men to put down his wife for his own sin.” He points fingers both at Eve and at God. When questioned by God about his sin, Adam replies, “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate” (Gen. 3:11-12). Adam is desperate to remove his guilt from himself. And when God demands an answer from Eve, she too does not respond completely truthfully: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Gen. 3:13).

How often we blame others-—and even circumstances-—for our sin. Instead of owning up to our own hardness of heart, we try to push God’s wrath onto other things. I think if we really saw our sin for what it was, and openly admitted to it, relationships would be so much easier. We wouldn’t be trying to cover ourselves up and hiding all the ways in which we sin. “Sin corrupts intimacy with shame and offers secrecy in its place. It twists commitment into selfishness, intimacy into secrecy and shame, and interdependence into conflict.”

Next: The curses God put individually on all men and women, and what that means for today.

a good season with God and his Word

2008-09-01T13:58:00.001-05:00

George Muller commented regarding his reading of the Bible: "I look upon it as a lost day when I have not had a good time over the Word of God. Friends often say, 'I have so much to do, so many people to see, I cannot find time for Scripture study.' Perhaps there are not many who more to do than I. For more than half a century I have never known one day when I had not more business than I could get through. For four years I have had annually about thirty thousand letters, and most of these have passed through my own hands. Then, as pastor of a church of twelve hundred believers, great has been my care. Besides, I have had charge of five immense orphanages; also, at my published depot, the printing and circulating of millions of tracts, books, and Bibles; but I have always made it a rule never to begin work until I have had a good season with God and His Word. The blessing I have received has been wonderful."

HT: john currid.

awkward questions.

2008-08-28T14:37:00.002-05:00

i read these two blog posts (one and two) today about godly friends and tough questions we need to be asking each other.. here's some excerpts:

"Hebrews 3:13 says, ” But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” Godly friends exhort one another to pursue godliness. They ask tough, awkward, probing questions that dig deep into the heart and expose sinful desires. Truly godly friends aren’t afraid to get down and dirty.

Why do godly friends exhort each other? Why do my godly friends ask me tough questions about my struggles with sin? Because they care for me, and they don’t want me to be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.

Sin is deceitful, and many times we fail to see our sin accurately. For example, I recently confessed to the guys in my small group that I had been struggling with worry. Thanks to their insightful, and awkward questions, they were able to help me see that my sin went deeper than just worry. I was failing to trust God, and I was being self-sufficient. Their exhortation helped me to see my sin as it truly was. Godly friends help each other see their sin accurately by asking tough questions."

my prayer lately has been to have the courage to be vulnerable, and to expose my sins, because ultimately i know this is the best thing for me--and one of the ways the Lord's goodness blesses me over and over again. i see myself so easily hardened by my sin, and i want to fight that. i want to be faithfully pursuing the Lord, and i want to be pointing my friends towards the Lord. check out the original posts for some good starter questions.

[p.s. the next men and women post is coming soon, i promise! still in draft stages.]

God's Design for Men and Women (1)

2008-08-12T17:47:00.006-05:00

Earlier this afternoon, I finished reading a book that was filled with lots of great, biblical wisdom—all about God’s original design for men and women, what happened to that design because of the Fall, and how relationships between the two can be redeemed because of Christ. And all of this was eventually tied to implications for the big ‘D’ word that no one likes to actually read about – dating.

So that’s what this upcoming blog series will be about. Let’s start with God’s design in Creation….

Basically, God created everything—and He said it was good… until you keep reading to Genesis 2:18, when God suddenly says that everything was not good. God is talking about a man without a woman, so He provides a woman for the well-being of the man. A woman is formed out of Adam’s rib (Gen. 2:21-23)… and the first relationship between a man and a woman began. God’s purpose in creation envisioned a relationship (practically: marriage). Without this, life is not good for the man.

The woman was not merely the same flesh and bone for Adam, and she was not merely different from Adam in the sense that we realize daily, but she was “suitable” for him, a “helper fit for him.” They fit together like a jigsaw puzzle, evidenced in Genesis 2’s comparison between the animals and birds (created from nothing) and the woman whom God made from Adam’s own flesh.

If we focus on that word helper, it’s easy to see how in our fallen world it can have connotations of something weak and devalued. But if we see what the word looks like biblically, even God was called a helper. He was the helper of Israel; he is called a helper when he feeds a prophet, a widow, and her son; and look at Psalm 121: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.” A woman is not superfluous, but “essential to Adam’s condition and to God’s purpose in the world. Helper is a position of dignity given to the woman by God himself.”

Matthew Henry puts it this way: “The woman was made of a rib out of the side of Adam; not made out of his head to rule over him, nor out of his feet to be trampled upon by him, but out of his side to be equal with him, under his arm to be protected, and near his heart to be beloved. Adam lost a rib…but in lieu thereof he had a helpmeet for him, which abundantly made up his loss.”

“A woman was given to man not for his whims but for his character. She elevates a man in true masculinity. In a perfect paradise not touched by sin, God’s people delighted in his design. Helper was not a position for Eve to fight, but a function for her to fulfill. It is God’s design, bearing his fingerprints for his glory and our good, a design we tamper with at our own peril. As the man delighted in the woman, so also she delighted in her calling and fully embraced it. That is why she is called his “glory” (1 Cor. 11:7). She brings beauty into the world for him. She ministers to him in light of the struggles and trials of his life. She stands beside him. She makes demands on him that God intends for him to fulfill.” And only after she was made from the man and given to Adam could the Bible finally say, "God saw all that he had made, and it was very good" (Gen. 1:31).

And what about the guy? What was he created for? Adam was granted lordship in the Garden, under God’s ultimate sovereignty. This wasn’t emphasizing a privilege, though; it was a lordship of obligation. Male leadership in the home and in the church is also talked about in the New Testament, looking back on the events in the Garden (see 1 Cor. 11:3 and 1 Tim. 2:12-14).

Genesis 2:15 says that “the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” These two key verbs in the Hebrew refer to Adam’s lordship to take the form of nurture and protection—not stoic and unfeeling. He was called to a servant-lordship, while Eve was the servant-helper—complementary ministry according to God’s design. The result of God’s design was perfect companionship.

But we have to remember that this is not a man and woman’s only relationship and often not their only ministry. Most significant is their own relationship to God and the calling to serve him with their gifts and talents. Without this right relationship to God, there is no hope for a right relationship between a man and a woman in God’s design.

Next post: the Fall and its effects on our relationships.

i love the olympics!

2008-08-12T00:05:00.000-05:00

the US men dominated in the swimming relay yesterday; this is easily my favorite moment of the olympics thus far.

here's the story:

BEIJING -- The U.S. men's 4x100m free relay team won gold Monday in the most exciting, most record-breaking, most amazing, thrilling, unbelievable relay anyone could ever imagine, evidence of exactly what Jason Lezak, who swam the greatest anchor leg in relay history, had to say when it was all over:

"People always step up and do things out of the ordinary at the Olympics."

This was even so much more. Extraordinary in every regard.

check out the complete story here.

if you missed it, watch the video!

The Journey of Life

2008-08-11T09:42:00.002-05:00

This was posted on Pastor John Currid's blog a while ago, and I thought it was interesting:

Today one hears a lot of talk about how each one of us is on a "journey", that is, a journey of life, an adventurous journey, or even a spiritual journey. Indeed, Buddhists talk about the journey of life, and so do astrologers, witches, numerologists, Muslims, and all sorts of religions, pseudo-religions, and even atheists. The language of "journey" has taken over the business world; one can rarely open the newspaper and not hear a bank spouting "we will help you on your journey". But I think, as Christians, we need to be very careful in using such language as "our journey" and "our story" -- for most people today, such language simply reflects a meandering, rambling path that has no purpose, end, or goal. For a post-modern generation there is no telos, that is, no end or purpose. There is no specific destination, but many are simply on the waves of time and chance, and they are being taken wherever circumstances take them. This type of journey has no climax; these people simply do not know where they are going.

The Christian is not on that type of journey. As Thomas Carlyle said, "The man without purpose is like a ship without a rudder." Christians do have an end, a purpose, and a telos: we are on a pilgrimage. We have a definite end and destination. We are heading for the celestial city, the city with foundations, that is, the land that will never perish or fade away (1 Peter 1:4). And even more than that, our pilgrimage is not meandering or wandering or out of control because the steps of our pilgrimage have been set by the very sovereignty of God. We are on a pilgrimage and not an unknown journey. We "follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21).

HT: John Currid

time remains, it does not pass.

2008-08-08T14:26:00.005-05:00

there's a great chapter in the knowledge of the holy by a.w. tozer called 'God's infinitude.' to not at all do it justice, infinitude means limitless, and it is obviously impossible for a limited mind to grasp the Unlimited. the depths of the riches both of the knowledge and wisdom of God is incredible, yet this chapter reveals to me just how "unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out." it reminds me of my own limits, or, rather, what i think are limits. this really strikes a nerve along the subject of what i've been learning lately, about time and busyness and rest. tozer says:

"because God's nature is infinite, everything that flows out of it is infinite also. we poor human creatures are constantly being frustrated by limitations imposed upon us from without and within. the days of the years of our lives are few, and swifter than a weaver's shuttle. life is a short and fevered rehearsal for a concert we cannot stay to give. just when we appear to have attained some proficiency we are forced to lay our instruments down. there is simply not time enough to think, to become, to perform what the constitution of our natures indicates we are capable of.

how completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none. eternal years lie in His heart. for Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years. God never hurries. there are no deadlines against which He must work. only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves. for those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast; before the sons of the new creation time crouches and purrs and licks their hands. the foe of the old human race becomes the friend of the new, and the stars in their courses fight for the man God delights to honor. this we may learn from the divine infinitude."

this is such a good reminder of my riches in Christ. i should never treat time as a "devouring beast," for i have been given eternity. i want the satisfaction that lies in turning to a limitless God. as fallen creatures, we have limits. we live in a world where time passes and moves on, yet we're still not of this world. for us, time is eternal and therefore it doesn't end. tozer goes on to say, "in God there is life enough for all and time enough to enjoy it. whatever is possessed of natural life runs through its cycle from birth to death and ceases to be, but the life of God returns upon itself and ceases never." we are given life by God, and it doesn't cease. how thankful we should be, for we don't have to look at time the way that the world does. we are given a gift of time from God, but it's a gift that is eternal, and we should treat it as such.

it's ok if we don't get everything done we have planned for a day, a week, or a year. if time is really eternal, if time really "remains," then we will have time enough for all, and time enough to enjoy God as we should.

what a sabbatical.

2008-08-01T22:01:00.002-05:00

you may have noticed i took a short sabbatical from the blogging world from june 3rd up until right now. my mind was overloaded and rest was needed and had. i didn't feel like there was anything i was learning that was really worthwhile to post. but i'm back in action! refreshed and ready to go for a new season of life.

here's a little snippet of what i've been learning this summer. i presented it as my independent study for project: columbia, so when you read this, know that there are many things in it that i wish i had time to develop more.

"I did my study on busyness and the Sabbath because it’s something that I continually struggle with, daily, weekly, monthly, yearly—it never ends, and it’s something that I continually wrestle with. So why am I a slave to busyness, and a slave to something that I have been freed from in Christ? Knowing that I am a slave to it, it’s still something that I like, something that I don’t necessarily want to be freed from. It gives me pleasure, it gives me worth, and ultimately busyness is something in which I find a part of my identity—my identity apart from Christ. That’s not what I was made for and I want to desire to live differently and live obediently to the holy calling of Sabbath and to rest and refreshment in the Lord. Because it is a direct disobedience to God.

I did a lot of study on the Sabbath and learned a lot from looking at this area that I purposely don’t ever think about (even though I want and need my soul to be continually rejuvenated). God gives us the gift of rest in the fourth commandment in Exodus. It is a privilege that I keep it, and I want to think of this as more of a gift, something that benefits me, rather than another religious duty or something that I should do legalistically. Because of the fall, work has been polluted and is described as a painful toil, but God, in his love, wants us to be able to work hard without being worn down by worry—thus the Sabbath. God knew when he was writing these commands that we need rest, and it shows how devoted our God is to loving us despite how foolish we are that we even need a command. The commandment requires rest both physically and spiritually. There is a gladness that comes from relief of the body and according to Genesis 2:3 (“So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”), there was an inactivity—a simple enjoyment of the world that God made, a delight and thanksgiving in his Creation.

One article I read talked about rest and work as a rhythm that God built into the world when He made it.

I wanted to look at my life and see what this means for me and my busyness that I hold onto. If I know the way God made it, that I am supposed to rest, to seek that out and to make that a holy priority in my life, then why don’t I do it? Ultimately it stems from my own unbelief in the gospel—an unbelief in the Lord’s promise to control my life despite my actions, and an unbelief in the Lord’s sovereignty. It also shows my lack of love for the Lord, because I am not obeying Him in this area, and shows my lack of trust that he will take care of me. God is sovereign over time. One article I read stated, “God sets boundaries of time for our activities, and our submission to those limits represents our trust in him to take care of us. One entailment of God as Lord of time is that we are to recognize time as a gift. We do not control the time we have—God has given it to us and can do with it as he pleases.” We can only humbly receive time from him, and we must be good stewards of it. So there is a tension between using that time wisely for good, and using it to rest. The practice of this in my life is hard. Wisdom is taking every opportunity and fully using the time granted us. It’s in Scripture to both make the most of evangelistic opportunities and also to seek God’s will and cultivate holiness. “To redeem the time means to fill it with divine purpose, not just with any and every activity.”

Another article talked about something called “holy busyness.” It is okay to be busy if it is a balance of working hard as a manifestation of trusting God and cultivating times of rest, but not if we are busy to justify ourselves. It must be grounded in the gospel: Who we are comes before what we do, and we must remember that our relationship with God precedes the activity we do for him. God has provided the gifts of time and work, and we can trust that each is sufficient for the other. Therefore, holy busyness foes not complain about not having enough time, for ultimately such grumbling is directed against God—He has given us our time. But when it comes to rest, we have to remember that God made us creatures before he made us Christians.

Our priority has to be relationship with God, and out of that should flow our activity. “Too much busyness today is not rightly oriented, even if it has good motives, because it has lost sight of the primacy of knowing God.” One question my mind continually comes back to is ‘Do I love my works/ministry/job/people (and even doing these things in the name of the Lord) more than I love Christ Himself?’ I think that hits the heart of the issue. I love what I am doing more than I love Christ, and that is why it is a struggle for me to rest."

The Journey in the New York Times!

2008-06-03T01:19:00.002-05:00

Yesterday, the New York Times published an article on The Journey in St. Louis. Here's an excerpt:

"ST. LOUIS — Southern Baptists, as a rule, do not drink. But once a month, young congregants of the Journey, a Baptist church here, and their friends get together in the back room of a sprawling brew pub called the Schlafly Bottleworks to talk about the big questions: President Bush, faith and war, the meaning of life, and “what’s wrong with religion.”

“We go where people are because we feel like Jesus went to the people,” said the Rev. Darrin Patrick, founder of the Journey.

“That’s where people are having their conversations about things that matter,” the Rev. Darrin Patrick, senior pastor and founder of the Journey, said about the talks in the bar. “We go where people are because we feel like Jesus went to the people.”

The Journey, a megachurch of mostly younger evangelicals, is representative of a new generation that refuses to put politics at the center of its faith and rejects identification with the religious right.

They say they are tired of the culture wars. They say they do not want the test of their faith to be the fight against gay rights. They say they want to broaden the traditional evangelical anti-abortion agenda to include care for the poor, the environment, immigrants and people with H.I.V., according to experts on younger evangelicals and the young people themselves."

life update.

2008-05-26T10:15:00.000-05:00

from an e-mail i wrote to a friend:

"i am good - i am currently sitting on the king size bed that has recently inhabited my old room in st. louis, taking a break from reading gone with the wind, and listening to rain drops pelt my window. it is glorious. i've been on a much needed retreat home since saturday night and it has been so restful! some castlewood time, some Y time, some family time, and lots of reading.

this past semester was really tough, hopefully the toughest one i will ever have school-wise, but looking back on it, i've learned so much about myself that it's incredible. first, i changed my major this semester, from english education to just english. my heart just wasn't in it anymore and i should have realized it a while ago.
...
i've been shown my sin to an infinite degree this semester, and i've been shown just how much i rely on myself instead of trusting in the Lord and his promises, which has really been a huge blessing. it's true: one of the greatest acts of love that the Lord can do for us is to show us our sin and to make it blatantly clear, and it is always for the best. i fall short in loving people and loving them the way they need to be loved, how they are best loved; i fall short in spending my time sacrificially, much less even desiring to do that; i continually blame others and other things for my sin, whether it's "oh, that's just how my personality is" or "i don't have the time, money, resources, mindset, etc." i love with conditions, not unconditionally, and i've lost sight of the importance of Scripture in my life. i've forgotten that i myself am loved unconditionally, in the image of God, a glorious ruin but glorious nonetheless.

but i'm being rebuilt and continually being reminded of how great my Creator is. remember that book authentic beauty (this makes me think of it--not that i want to date jesus--ha.)? well all cheesiness aside, i truly am his beloved and i can rest in that. i'm somehow becoming more aware of the sin that has blinded me for the past couple months and i'm realizing how hard my heart has become. and it sucks. it makes me want to just say ok that's it, i give up, i'm retreating to where i am content and comfortable, but i can no longer do that without a pull on my heart. and for that i am so grateful.

other things new (and for sure lighter):

i'm staying in columbia again this summer and interning for veritas, the crossing's college ministry. i'll be leading a summer girls bible study and i guess doing some of the event planing. not too sure what else. i'm excited about the people who will be here, old friends and new, and i'm excited to spend another summer in columbia--a city that is becoming my home. i'm also nannying for a family with two older girls part-time (aka i'm swimming, cooking, and going on hikes--and getting paid for it!).

some of my friends and i formed a co-ed softball team in a wednesday night league, which has been a huge highlight. we're 4-1 right now and it is a BLAST! so good to be back on the field and getting dirty again! i forgot how much i missed softball.

i also started watching LOST with a couple people. we just finished season one, and it is incredible, let me tell you. i hope that you watch it, but if you don't, you may want to think about starting :)"

Scripture

2008-05-25T11:36:00.002-05:00

John Willison, an 18th century pastor from Scotland, spoke of the importance of the Bible for the believer, as follows: "We should look upon it as a golden epistle, indited by the Spirit of God; we should receive it as a love-letter from heaven, opening up God's designs of love to our souls; we should go to it as for our daily food and substitence, and daily enquire in it for the will of God, and hereby consult with God about our duty in all cases . . . We should read with faith, reverence, and application to ourselves, as if we were particularly named in the precepts, reproofs, threatenings, and consolations of it . . . and in reading every part, we should still keep Christ in our eye, as the end, scope, and substance of the whole scriptures."

This reflects the Testimony of the Seceders (1736) that states, "the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is not only a sufficient rule, or a principal rule, but it is the only rule to direct us how we ought to glorify God and enjoy him."

HT: John Currid

Introverts and Extroverts in the Church

2008-05-13T10:14:00.005-05:00

Anthony Bradley posted a really interesting blog post mostly about introverts in the church.

I'm still in the process of thinking this through but Reformed theology draws introverts primarily and engages spirituality in a very introverted way some would say. Introverts do not typically live missional lives because they would rather read theology books than talk to non-Christians about the gospel or engage local culture with the Kingdom as some might argue.

Many would argue that introverts will want small churches (and will baulk at the suggesting that the church be otherwise), not care so much about being local missionaries, prefer "studying and teaching" over discipleship, see the church as a refuge and haven from the world, will be largely sectarian, will equivocate "kingdom" and "church," will do college ministry not directed at reaching non-Christians and/or bringing shalom to the campus, talk about being "missional" at not live that way at all, prefers blogging over talking to real people, etc.

the points he makes are really interesting, but i think he only hits on one side of the issue. someone commented:

Speaking as an introvert, I don't know that we can glean a whole lot from that one aspect of personality. True, I think it is fair to say that introverts tend to reflection and extroverts to action, but neither personality type does one or the other exclusively.

Many of the most missional pastors/thinkers around are introverts: Tim Keller, Greg Johnson, George Stulac, Nelson Jennings, just to name a few.

I think when you get into the extremes of each personality, you get problems with the kind of thing you are talking about. Like I said, I'm an introvert, but I also have a passion to live missionally. My introversion, though, makes me want to have a good theoretical base for my missional superstructure.

check out the whole thing, and be sure to read the comment discussion at the end.

another blog to check out.

2008-05-11T09:50:00.002-05:00

i've just discovered a great blog by sean michael lucas, a professor at covenant seminary in st. louis. every post that i've read of his lately has been incredibly insightful, especially this last one on the need to preach the gospel to ourselves. here's an excerpt:

At the end of it all, the Spirit must use his word of gospel grace every day to confront my heart, to kill this sin of pride that manifests itself as self-pity and boasting, and to silence the voices. Only then, only then, will I hear the sweet voice of the Spirit say, "You are not a deserving servant; you are a beloved son. Rest in that and find in me the satisfaction, security, and significance for which your heart longs."

The Uneven Playing Field: Girls' Sports Injuries

2008-05-10T09:33:00.003-05:00

After years of soccer and softball and hundreds of games, this article in the New York Times hits home. Here's an excerpt:

This divergence between the sexes occurs just at the moment when we increasingly ask more of young athletes, especially if they show talent: play longer, play harder, play faster, play for higher stakes. And we ask this of boys and girls equally — unmindful of physical differences. The pressure to concentrate on a “best” sport before even entering middle school — and to play it year-round — is bad for all kids. They wear down the same muscle groups day after day. They have no time to rejuvenate, let alone get stronger. By playing constantly, they multiply their risks and simply give themselves too many opportunities to get hurt.
...
PARENTS OF TEENAGE GIRLS who play sports have grown accustomed to what seems like entire teams battling injuries — and seeing those who do make it onto the field wrapped in Ace bandages or wearing braces on various body parts. Hannah Cooper, a star soccer player at Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School in Maryland, sat out several games early in the 2007 season with a severe ankle sprain, one of many she has suffered since her years in middle school. “The left one never fully recovers, so I play in a brace,” she told me not long ago. “I also have shinsplints, so that hurts all the time, but I’ve just learned to ignore it. I also tore my meniscus, or I think I did,” she said, referring to knee cartilage. “I’ve probably had concussions because I’ve had hard collisions where I was disoriented and had headaches afterward, but I’ve never missed a whole game because of one. If I have to sit out, I always come back in.”

"the table" -- karis sermon

2008-05-07T21:09:00.002-05:00

check out this great sermon (it's the text) from last Sunday at Karis. it's all about hospitality and how that builds community. here's the intro:

"Two hit sit-coms of the 80s and 90s were Cheers in the 80s and Seinfeld in the 90s. Cheers, if you know the show, featured guys like Sam and Woody and Norm and Cliff sitting around a bar sharing life, having laughs. “Where everybody knows your name” was the theme song and the tag line. Seinfeld, which I’m sure most of you know, showed Jerry and Elaine and Kramer and George hanging out together, mainly either in Jerry’s apartment or in the local diner. It was the “show about nothing,” but it was really about everything—all the mundane, yet quirky details of life as experienced by four friends living life together. Well, both shows express a longing we all have as human beings. It’s a deep longing for community. But, of course, to experience community, there has to be a certain degree of hospitality. You had to have the Cheers bar, of course, for them to hang out. Jerry had to open up his place to his friends. Without a common place to share and converse with one another, these friendships wouldn’t have happened.

Today, in our individualistic, consumeristic world, we’re isolated people. I think we can watch reruns of those shows and long for what these people have together and experience none of it at all. But community takes hospitality; it takes us opening up our homes and lives with one another. Today, we’re taking a break from our study of Luke for the second part of a brief, three-part series. Today we’re looking at the table—not the Lord’s Supper, but rather the “tables” in our home. We’ll discuss the sphere of ministry found in the home. We’ll take a look at biblical hospitality. We’ll look at the importance of hospitality, the definition of hospitality, the practice of hospitality, the impact of hospitality, and the hindrances to hospitality. Let us pray."

Multiple Blessings -- Eight Kids!

2008-05-05T23:24:00.003-05:00

Kate Gosselin is now writing a book! Check it out here.

Also check out all of these full interviews... listen to the Gosselins on marriage, family, how they deal, and a lot more.

P.S. this is one of my favorite families. :)

Books can Change our Destiny.

2008-05-04T19:55:00.005-05:00

It's true. I really think the impressions that books make on us happen because we identify so strongly with a character. They lead us to change our wardrobe, appearance, or destiny. I have no doubt that my early days of spying on people with my black notebook and pencil was because I wanted to be just like Harriet the Spy. After we read it, my sister and I would sit on my top bunk bed (bunk beds were soo cool) and write in our notebooks about people in the neighborhood--who could be the neighbor that houses deadly weapons? Or who secretly has a crush on the mailman? Better yet, I bet Mrs. G has buried treasure under her flowerbeds. I was just trying to make sense of life's absurdities, right? But it was all so real. And I think that's why I really love books--because they hold a power over us that nothing else can, especially when real life just doesn't measure up.

A Meal Says More Than You Think

2008-05-03T09:42:00.004-05:00

Check out this great article on a biblical theology of hospitality. It reminds me a lot of a lecture I went to at L'Abri which talked about how important and exciting practicing hospitality is in our lives.

Here's the closing remarks of the article:

So let’s return to my original quandary: Why is hospitality (1) a virtue Paul says is central to Christianity, (2) a qualification for elders of the church and older women, and (3) a practice to be cultivated as the end approaches?

Answer: With hospitality, we proclaim to the world the incarnation of Christ, God’s grace in salvation, the unity of the church, and a Christian’s participation in the life of Christ. And to Christ himself we say, "I love you, because you have identified yourself with the least of these brothers." We must preach the words of Christ’s gospel, otherwise we draw attention and glory only to ourselves. But we must also preach with our lives so that those both inside and outside the church see that the power of God for salvation begins today, as Christ’s people begin to image him from one degree of glory to the next.

Working at Being Humble

2008-04-30T12:26:00.006-05:00

How do you pursue humility? Justin Taylor posts a link to an article by John Piper on working towards humility. Here's an excerpt that I really like:

I said to our staff yesterday morning, when we were talking about reputations of the church, etc., to pray that we as a staff would daily be stunned by grace in our lives. Because if we aren't amazed by grace towards us, we will be a finger-pointing church mainly.
...
We should be amazed that God has treated us so generously. Laboring to see that means we must know our sin and know the cross well.

Great reminders that we all need.

Faithful in the Present

2008-04-27T23:12:00.005-05:00

I've been thinking a lot lately about living in the present. What does this mean, what does this look like, how do we even do this? Sometimes I feel as if my mind is in five different places at once. I'm watching a movie, but I'm also doing homework, texting friends who live 100 miles away, and checking my e-mail. I'm always thinking about what's next, what else I can be doing to make my time productive and efficient to the highest degree. But I'm finding that as I do this, I'm not getting joy out of simple things. If I'm out to lunch with a friend, and I'm also thinking about the next text message I will be sending (or even texting at the table!), then I'm not fully focused on the person that is in my life at that moment, who God has placed right in front of me. Because there is a reason for the "now" in my life, am I being completely faithful to what I've been given? I hope that I can be, because I'm never going to get those moments back.

summer reading roster.

2008-04-23T20:11:00.004-05:00

there are tons of books that i want to read this summer; here's a list of just a few of those:

- artificial happiness: the dark side of the new happy class, by ronald dworkin
- east of eden, by john steinbeck
- a widow for one year, by john irving
- the god delusion, by richard dawkins
- the master plan of evangelism, by robert coleman
- persuasion, by jane austen
- the mark of a christian, by francis schaeffer
- the weight of glory, by c.s. lewis
- the god who is there, by francis schaeffer
- future grace, by john piper
- the bruised reed, by richard sibbs
- the mortification of sin, by john owen
- a theology as big as the city, by ray bakke
- the american city and the evangelical church: a historical overview, by harvie conn

what are the chances i will get through all of these? well.. chances are slim, but i'm excited for the challenge.

Autism & Learning

2008-04-22T16:15:00.005-05:00

Yesterday in class, we had a guest speaker from the MU Thompson Center, which is a research-based center at Mizzou that works with Autism and other Neurodevelopmental Disorders. The speaker presented on the lessons that she does with kids who have autism. Kids between the ages of 6 and 14 come in after school to be prepared for the "real-world": how to engage in a conversation, how to make eye contact, what different facial expressions mean (happy, sad, frustrated, angry), etc. I thought it was interesting because all of the work that the kids and teachers are doing is based on research--to the best of their ability, teachers make lessons that the research shows will work, at least to the point where the research is at today. More research is constantly going on to find out the best possible ways to teach these kids vital information that they need in life. But because there is so much research going on, it means that not every single person with autism can be reached, not until the capacity of the center increases and they begin to help kids at a faster rate with a better end result. Right now, the research is focusing on how best to reach the kids and to do it efficiently.

It made me think of a parallel to ministry: there has to be both a "doing" and a "learning," searching deeper and deeper to find out more and more the reality of truth. We could choose not to do the "research" and help people, serve them, love them, but then is it being done 1. with the outcome that we feel it should have, and 2. effectively? Or we could do all "research," knowing more and more, but never interact outside of that sphere and serve no one. In this case, the research is dead, there is no point to the learning. There are millions of people who need to be reached that aren't, and they never will be in this scenario. I guess I see theology and learning as a tool to do the "doing" better than we could have before. Ministry is definitely a search--a search for more truth, and a craving for this, because there IS more and more truth to know. But this search must lead to practice. The more we come across, the more questions we have; the more questions we have, the more we want to know; and the more we want to know leads to a seeking to develop a greater understanding of God and the world, a better alignment with his desires. And the more in line we are with those desires, the more the fire is kindled in our hearts to reach the world.

At first glance, the autism center doesn't seem to be "doing" much. There are kids out there who aren't being taught everything they need to know to develop another stage of independence. There's a wait list to be taught by these professionals. But the center is filled to capacity with what they can do because they do value research, and they are willing to invest in an ongoing process because they know that in the long run, the research needs to be done in order to take the next step...and then the next.

Jazzed About the Big Screen

2008-04-20T18:57:00.000-05:00

Blue Like Jazz: The Movie -- here's an excerpt from an interview with Donald Miller and Steve Taylor

So without giving too much away, what would you say is the basic story arc?

Miller: It's a movie about coming out of the closet regarding who you are as a person. The character happens to be a Christian and is very ashamed of that, but he's able to come out of the closet by the end of it. It's really a film more about a human being than it is about Christianity. Christianity is really just the thing that this human being is dealing with.
...
Do you feel like you're making a movie with universal appeal, or one that will be targeted primarily to a Christian audience?

Miller: We want it to have a universal appeal, but honestly I think it will be mostly Christians who go to see it. People bought cases of the book to hand to people who weren't Christians and many people have come to know Christ through reading the book, and I think the movie is very similar. It's the sort of film I could bring my friend who's not a Christian to, not to introduce them to the gospel or to Jesus, but to introduce them to me. This is my life, this is my struggle and this is how I feel. I think the movie will be kind of a relational tool for Christians to help them be understood in an American culture. And to me that's a very powerful tool. Many people come to know Christ through their relationships with believers, and this is a tool that enhances and deepens those relationships.

Worship & "Blokey Blokes"

2008-04-18T15:28:00.003-05:00

Matt Redman comments in an interview about whether some worship songs are simply too "over-romanticized" for men to sing.

true treasure.

2008-04-17T22:45:00.001-05:00

something else from john currid:

John Newton, the famed Reformed hymn writer, was one day called to visit a family that had suffered the loss of all that they had due to a devastating fire. Newton found the pious mistress of the house and he saluted her with the statement, "I give you joy, madam!" Surprised and offended, the woman replied, "What! Joy that all my property has been consumed?" "Oh no," Newton answered, "but joy that you have so much property that fire cannot touch." This allusion to her real treasure checked the woman's grief, and she wiped away her tears. She, as a Christian, knew what Newton said was true.
What is your heart most taken with? What is your chief desire? Do you love something more than Christ? I fear that many of us miss the spires of the heavenly city because we are so busy building our earthly mansions. May we not be like the King of France, who when asked about an eclipse that had occurred, that he said, "I have so much business in the earth that I take little notice of the things of heaven." Rather, may God give us eyes to see the things of heaven, and loosen our grip on this world.

7 Counterfeit Gospels

2008-04-15T08:18:00.004-05:00

Justin Taylor posted this on his blog yesterday, and I think it is a great reminder of how we so easily and without realizing it make the Gospel into something that it is not, something that just meets our needs; in these cases, it is never a true Gospel.

Jonathan Leeman posts on a schema of seven counterfeit gospels, as cited in How People Change by Tim Lane and Paul Tripp.

1. Formalism. “I participate in the regular meetings and ministries of the church, so I feel like my life is under control. I’m always in church, but it really has little impact on my heart or on how I live. I may become judgmental and impatient with those who do not have the same commitment as I do.”

2. Legalism. “I live by the rules—rules I create for myself and rules I create for others. I feel good if I can keep my own rules, and I become arrogant and full of contempt when others don’t meet the standards I set for them. There is no joy in my life because there is no grace to be celebrated.”

3. Mysticism. “I am engaged in the incessant pursuit of an emotional experience with God. I live for the moments when I feel close to him, and I often struggle with discouragement when I don’t feel that way. I may change churches often, too, looking for one that will give me what I’m looking for.”

4. Activism. “I recognize the missional nature of Christianity and am passionately involved in fixing this broken world. But at the end of the day, my life is more of a defense of what’s right than a joyful pursuit of Christ.”

5. Biblicism. “I know my Bible inside and out, but I do not let it master me. I have reduced the gospel to a mastery of biblical content and theology, so I am intolerant and critical of those with lesser knowledge.”

6. Therapism. “I talk a lot about the hurting people in our congregation, and how Christ is the only answer for their hurt. Yet even without realizing it, I have made Christ more Therapist than Savior. I view hurt as a greater problem than sin—and I subtly shift my greatest need from my moral failure to my unmet needs."

7. “Social-ism.” “The deep fellowship and friendships I find at church have become their own idol. The body of Christ has replaced Christ himself, and the gospel is reduced to a network of fulfilling Christian relationships.”

Lying Down in Sorrow

2008-04-14T20:16:00.001-05:00

“That Christian who has free grace, who has free justification, who has the mediatorial righteousness of Christ, who has the satisfaction of Christ, who has the covenant of grace most constantly in his sight, and most frequently warm upon his heart—that Christian, of all Christians in the world, is most free from a world of fears, and doubts, and scruples which do sadden, sink, perplex, and press down a world of other Christians, who daily eye more what Christ is a-doing in them, and what they are a-doing for Christ, than they do eye either his active or passive obedience.

Christ has done great things for his people, and he has suffered great things for his people, and he has purchased great things for his people, and he has prepared great things for his people; yet many of his own dear people are so taken up with their own hearts, and with their own duties and graces, that Christ is little eyed by them or minded by them!

This is the great reason why so many Christians, who will certainly go to heaven—do walk in darkness, and lie down in sorrow.”

- Thomas Brooks, A Cabinet of Choice Jewels

Suffering as an Offering

2008-04-13T22:42:00.002-05:00

Dr. John Currid has a great blog, bookmark it and check it out! In the meantime, here's some highlights from his post today that really made me think:

...since loneliness/hardship comes from the hand of God, it is a gift. And so, am I going to accept the gift? That is, will I accept these circumstances as the will of God for now and thank Him for it? Am I, by God’s grace, willing to die to self and walk the way of the cross like our Savior?

Perhaps one of the most intriguing ideas is that we offer our suffering back to God. What does this mean? Well, when Paul says in Romans 12:1 that we are to present our bodies a living and holy sacrifice, he means everything we have is to be offered to God. We may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death and presently have little else to offer but our loneliness and pain. So be it. “What I lay on the altar of consecration is nothing more and nothing less than what I have at this moment, whatever I find in my life now of work and prayer, joys and sufferings…To make that gift an offering may be the most costly thing one can do, for it means the laying down of a cherished dream of what one wanted to be, and the acceptance of what one did not want to be.” Let us offer it up nonetheless. “Let our offering be free, humble, unconditional, given in the full confidence that His transforming energy can fit it into the working of His purposes.”

His posts will certainly bless you--everyday, he reminds the reader of the power of the Gospel and the grace of God--something we constantly need to be reminding ourselves of daily.

Dining Noise & Hospitality

2008-04-11T23:32:00.004-05:00

I don't know if you've noticed lately, but whenever you go somewhere for a nice meal out with a friend or two, the noise level has been rising considerably! People can't hear each other and the strain of conducting a conversation takes all the pleasure out of eating out. There was a story in the Washington Post on Sunday about this: "No Appetite for Noise," and it describes why the noise levels in restaurants have been rising. Here's an excerpt:

"A certain level of noise people consider to be exciting or good energy," says Tim Zagat, the guide's founder. "Once it gets so loud you can't hear yourself chew, it's over the top."

The cause of the clatter is just about everywhere a diner glances these days. In a restaurant's hard floors. On its naked tables. At the high ceilings. In other words, the blame for all the noise comes from the clean, slick and modern look favored by so many restaurant operators and their customers . . .

I think this raises an important point and shows a reason why hospitality is so important. Shouting at each other in groups is OK every now and then, but when you want to have a good, serious conversation, sometimes you just can't do that at a restaurant. There are definitely times when you go somewhere for great food and and deep conversation might not necessarily be a priority, but most of us go out because we want to be spending quality time with someone over food, investing in them and in the relationship. I think it's just something to think about, and to ask ourselves if what we are expecting is really going to occur at certain restaurants. My hope is that I can be more open in my own life to have others over, share a meal, and engage in deep truth conversation that arises because we are honoring Scripture and giving our hearts a rest in a noisy world.

the college hook-up culture.

2008-04-10T11:55:00.000-05:00

there's an interesting article in the wall street journal about sex education and what college students really see as the "wonderful fantasy land." here's a quick excerpt:

When last semester I taught Wendy Shalit's "A Return to Modesty," in a class at Boston University called "Spirituality & Sexuality in American Youth Culture," I assumed that my mostly left-leaning students would reject her arguments about the terrible effects that the hook-up culture has on young women and the positive effects of traditional religion and morality on young women's well-being. Instead, my students ate up her critique and were fascinated by her descriptions of modesty as a virtue, especially within the context of faith. One student said that she felt empowered to stop tolerating vulgar remarks about sex made by peers in her presence.

The class was equally attracted to some evangelical dating manuals, like "I Kissed Dating Goodbye" by Joshua Harris and "Real Sex" by Lauren Winner, that I asked them to read. They seemed shocked that somewhere in America there are entire communities of people their age who really do "save themselves" until marriage, who engage in old-fashioned dating with flowers and dinner and maybe a kiss goodnight. They reacted as if these authors describe a wonderful fantasy land. "It would be easier just to have sex with someone than ask them out on a real date," one student said, half-seriously.

the relevancy of francis schaeffer

2008-04-09T09:11:00.004-05:00

check out this blog for reasons that francis schaeffer, who lived from 1912-1984, can still teach us much today.

"Schaeffer was a pastor, prolific writer, prophetic generalist, apologist, and primarily an evangelist. That latter is how he typically described himself. Schaeffer inspired a generation of evangelicals--including me—to honor the Lordship of Christ over all of life and to reclaim the mind and culture for Kingdom causes."

here's the main points the author makes and expounds on:

1. Schaeffer had a deep passion for God and for truth.
2. Schaeffer cared deeply about the lostness of modern people.
3. Schaeffer was an unapologetic generalist for the cause of Christ.
4. Schaeffer was not a self-promoter, but sought God for life and ministry.
5. Schaeffer loved the arts, could recognize aesthetic goodness even in nonChristian (or anti-Christian) art, and gave Christian artists permission and vision for artistic endeavor.
6. Schaeffer had a deep knowledge of and love for Scripture.
7. Schaeffer was "a man of the Reformation," who, nevertheless, was not doctrinaire or haughty about his Calvinism.

community & "brotherly affection"

2008-04-07T11:22:00.006-05:00

Romans 12:9-21 is all about marks of the true christian, and one of my favorite parts of this is what this means for our community. verse 10 says to "love one another with brotherly affection." other translations say to "be devoted to one another in brotherly affection." this is huge. think about your relationships with your blood-related family members. even if our parents or siblings have radically different values and lifestyles from us, there is still a tie that stays, that is permanent. we say "well, they are still my dad," or "still my sister," because they will always be connected to us. we are supposed to love one another in this way. especially for Christians who share common values with us, we are to be as patient and doggedly devoted to one another as family members.

what else does this mean? verses 11 and 12 go on to say: "do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." while it is easy to say that this seems to only be about our relationship with God, i think the reason they stand in the very middle of numerous directions about Christian relationships is important. we can't give up on our brothers and sisters around us, we must keep our hope and be patient in all the troubles that we meet. and be constantly praying for each other with a fervor that stems from love. this is how we meet the troubles and tribulations of those relationships around us--with patience and prayer. i think it is hard work to be deeply involved in peoples' lives, and it is a scary, scary thing. C.S. Lewis said that they only way to be sure not to have your heart broken is never to give it to anyone. we must give our hearts away though because this is where hope lies. the triumph of Christ becomes our hope, giving us a structure in which to share ourselves with each other--and a reason to do so.

war of words

2008-04-04T07:43:00.003-05:00

a couple quotes from chapter 6 of war of words:

"to the degree that you have based your life on something other than the Lord, to that degree God's love and the hope of the gospel will not comfort you," (98).

"God is willing to compromise physical things--a satisfying job, encouraging friendships, a pastor who really seems to care about you, or a budget that seems to be working--to produce something greater, fuller, and deeper in us: genuine faith. this is what God is after in the experiences that make us wonder if he really loves us, if he hears our prayers, experiences that cause us to envy other believers, or maybe even people who don't know him... the struggles are not a mistake. they are tokens of redemptive love. trials should not lead us to doubt the love of the King; they should convince us of it," (94).

Smuggling in Character

2008-03-30T18:23:00.001-05:00

a great quote to think about:

"The glory of the gospel is that God has declared Christians to be rightly related to him in spite of their sin. But our greatest temptation and mistake is to try to smuggle character into his work of grace. How easily we fall into the trap of assuming that we can only remain justified so long as there are grounds in our character for justification. But Paul’s teaching is that nothing we do ever contributes to our justification."

The Walls We Have Built

2008-03-28T09:54:00.000-05:00

In the Apologetics & Outreach course that Jerram Barrs teaches at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis, Jerram discusses barriers we create between ourselves as Christians and the world:

1. Intimidation or fear: Are we intimidated by the culture in which we live? We look at our society and we see that much of it is deeply hostile to the Christian faith, whether that is in universities or in popular culture. If we are terrified of the people around us, afraid of the non-Christians in our community, and afraid of the cultural products of our world, the consequences are disastrous. This creates an enormous divide from each other.

2. Condemnation: A constant judging of those who are out there. "Let us say three or four of you are sitting at a table in the coffee shop any day of the week, or anywhere, and you are sitting discussing something in culture, let us say homosexuality or political leaders or candidates. How do you talk about people, how do people overhear you, and what kind of language do they hear you using? Do they hear you using the language of condemnation and of self-righteousness? What do people hear from us?" We shouldn't delight in attacking and condemning people. It matters how I talk about the human beings involved in the issues.

3. Cultural retreat: "We can become so distressed by the world because it is so worldly, as if that should surprise us, that we try to create our own distinct evangelical culture so that we can avoid the sinful society as much as possible." Examples of this could be Christian country clubs, Christian sports facilities, Christian teams, schools, etc. Not that these are bad things, but turning our churches into havens from the world is not what we are called to do. Christ didn't redeem us by living in a haven that was completely retreated from the world.

4. Personal separation: The insistence that what it means for us to be holy and set apart from sinners, as the Scripture calls us to, as Jesus was, is that we must be personally separated from them, in the sense of keeping ourselves apart from them and having nothing whatsoever to do with them. This is generally a thinking that the only way we can grow in the faith and continue in the faith is by keeping ourselves personally separate from the unbelievers and the sinners around us, because of a possible "contamination."

If we build these walls, our model of evangelism becomes incredibly unbiblical. "Do we think of evangelism as raids that we undertake for a brief moment or two, or an hour or two? We go always in groups of two or three, never alone, to make sure that we are secure. We go in groups of two of three from the church into the world, hoping that we can grab somebody and bring them back with us." Jesus came into the world to relate to us; He challenges us to not be afraid, and to trust that our Heavenly Father would care for us and protect us. We may feel overwhelmed, but God is greater. We serve the Creator of heaven and earth.

It is easy to think that our calling is to judge everybody all the time. Even on Christian radio and television, you hear constant scorn, condemnation, criticism, and judgment of the culture and even of unbelievers by name. Our calling is not to condemn the culture in which we live, but to be merciful toward it. And it does not matter if people hate Christ, the Church, and the Gospel; we are called to love them still. We are to bless them and to pray for them. God has shown time and time again that He delights in saving people who make themselves enemies of His law, His Word, and His Son. We shouldn't be surprised if people hate the Gospel, the Church, the faith, and us personally, because they hated Christ. But our response to them is to serve them and pray for them, to pray God's blessing on the world.

ask a pastor.

2008-03-24T17:43:00.006-05:00

you know all those questions you just wish you could ask your favorite pastor... all of those practical questions like what do your morning devotions look like? what books are you reading? how do you best meet with the Lord? what do you do if your soul feels weary? how do you personally grow spiritually?

well... now you can listen in on these questions with answers plus much more on a new podcast called the sovereign grace leadership interview series. it's a roundtable discussion among three great pastors, including c. j. mahaney, author of the book, "humility: true greatness." what surprised me the most was how practical and real they got--i learned a ton and was very encouraged. their passion for the Lord is so evident, and it comes across through this podcast.

you can subscribe to the podcast by going to the itunes store and searching for "sovereign grace leadership interview series" or download the two discussions that are out so far here.

our true goal.

2008-03-18T18:58:00.004-05:00

what a good reminder from carolyn mahaney:

“Sometimes I don’t want to serve when it is something I don’t think I’m very good at” the young woman humbly confessed to me. The ugly truth behind her reluctance? Pride. This woman realized that she wants to be “the best” at whatever she puts her hand to, and if she can’t be the best, well, then she’d rather not even try.

Oh, how I can relate! I wrestle with the same temptation. But I’m grateful for my husband who has modeled humility in service for me. Whatever endeavor he undertakes, he acknowledges (to himself and others): “I know there are many people who can do this better than me.” Then he seeks to faithfully serve in whatever ways God has called him to, regardless of how gifted he feels to do it. His goal is to obey God and bless others.

Using our gifts requires humility. For as I’ve often reminded my girls (and myself!): “There’s always going to be someone better than you at what you do.” There’s always going to be the smarter kid in the class, the more outgoing friend, the more talented co-worker, the more organized homemaker, the more capable homeschool teacher, the more energetic servant, the more gifted than you at whatever you do. And you know what? These people have been strategically placed in our lives to expose our pride and help us serve with humility.

How much easier it would be to stick to arenas where we think we shine. But we should do our best even when we may not be the best. We should be willing to risk making mistakes, to allow others to see where we lack gifting and need help.

And when we humbly serve--even when we’re not the best--we’ll be pleasantly surprised at how God can use our meager gifts to encourage others and bring glory to Him!

“Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3

the "new story:" why christianity must change?

2008-03-17T15:56:00.005-05:00

i've had my nose in by demonstration: god, by wade bradshaw for about a week now, and it raises some really good points. one thing bradshaw said was really interesting to me:

bradshaw says there are two stories going on today, an Old one and a New one. in the Old Story, if someone wanted to be good they would go to the church and the God of the Bible. forgiveness was available to them there. even though this might have been the "moral high ground," non-christians were in agreement with it--if they wanted to climb this moral high ground, they would go to where goodness resided--in the church.

but now there is a New Story. people no longer feel that the church is the moral high ground, but instead they think themselves morally superior to the God the church proclaims. they might look to spirituality for guidance if they decided to be good, but not the church. why would someone want to go back there to find a good ethical life?

"our neighbors think we are calling them down to something they are already above, a god they are sure they have outgrown." it is inferior and immoral. bradshaw goes on to say:

"think of the hot religious issues of our day; the points on which our culture really disagrees with evangelicals on the way to live a good life. the God of the Bible is seen as homophobic. the God of the Bible is considered misogynistic. he is regarded as violent and cruel, as revealed by his acts in history. he is prejudiced and partial in his judgments, treating some people as more important than others" (142).

so what do we do, how do we respond to this? i think some have given up insisting that our God is a personal God, and some have given up on doctrine that is theologically sound. they throw it away for something that is easier to swallow, replacing it with something that has a bitter taste, but a taste nonetheless. but we cannot be unfaithful to the revelation of God. we must listen and understand where the arguments are coming from and do this carefully, even if it is frightening or displeasing, as bradshaw says. "we cannot do everything else that others may require of us in order to be acceptable." we cannot simply say that we live in a culture which will not tolerate sound doctrine and leave it at that. we must react and explain things in such a way that they do make reasonable and moral sense today--because they should and they do.

keller veritas forum at berkeley.

2008-03-13T22:41:00.006-05:00

check out this video of tim keller called "belief in an age of skepticism." he answers questions and reasons through a lot of tough things.

also check out www.veritas.org, which is a forum on college campuses that "engages university students and faculty in discussions about life's hardest questions and the relevance of Jesus Christ to all of life." you can find more recordings of past speakers and audio too.

on deck...

2008-03-12T10:41:00.000-05:00

these are the books that i will be reading shortly:

reason for God, by tim keller. i've been holding off on reading this ever since l'abri because i've just had so many other things to read! the plan is to start this over spring break (and finish over break?) so hopefully that can happen. i think i've been so excited to read this because i've heard such great things about it--that keller makes a very compelling case for God in a way that is relevant to our culture. i'm looking forward to seeing how this will help me in talking to people who really don't know God, and how my perspective will be enlightened.

the mark of a christian, by francis schaeffer. i got this book as a gift for valentine's day because the mark of a christian is... love! "it is possible to be a christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-christians to know that we are christians, we must show the mark." whether we want to acknowledge it or not, christians do leave a mark on the world. sometimes we fail, sometimes not, but we need to respond to it with compassion and with a love and a unity that surpasses all else. i'm excited to read this short 59 page book.

by demonstration: God, by wade bradshaw. i started this book yesterday, so it's not officially on deck, but it's on first base. so far, this book has been great. it's describing "fifty years and a week at l'abri," so it's all about the daily functionings of l'abri as well as some stories of the people who have come. i love the ideas it brings up and the daily demonstration of a reliance on the reality of God.

fiction-wise i'm not sure yet, but i'm open to suggestions.

my hit list.

2008-03-09T14:57:00.000-05:00

what's on your reading list, both currently and what you're planning on reading soon?

here's my current list:

war of words, by paul david tripp. i first read this book over the summer and now we're reading it for bible study, so it is great to have a chance to re-look and re-think so many things. it's insightful and practical, and shows just how important our words really are. tons of Scripture is used throughout. while tripp acknowledges the helplessness and hopelessness of our sin, he writes entire chapters to show exactly how the gospel of Christ addresses our fallen lives and our muddled speech. tripp "understands that the war of words is really part of a deeper war: the war for our hearts and souls, the war between the Word made flesh, and the enemy, whose primary tools are words of distortion, deception, and destruction." this is probably in my top 5 favorite books ever.

running with scissors, by augusten burroughs. if i could describe this book in one word it would be intense. this is the memoir of a nightmarish youth, who is the son of a poet with a "wild mental imbalance" and a professor with a "pitch-black dark side." burroughs is sent to live with dr. finch when his parents separate and his mother comes out as a lesbian. there are lots of scenes where if it were a movie (actually it is i think), i would close my eyes and cover my ears, but i think they are necessary to the memoir in order to really understand this boy's childhood. i'm not sure how i feel about it halfway through the book, but from reading this, i think it's true that truth really is stranger than fiction. i'll let you know if this book has some redeeming end qualities.

the heart of prayer, by jerram barrs. i love this book because it shows me prayer from God's point of view. sometimes i get so wrapped up in if i'm praying right, or for the right things, or praying enough, when really, God just wants us to come to him. jerram writes: "we don't need to be afraid to come to God, as if he were a person we must be careful not to disturb, or around whom we must tread on tiptoes and speak with care." so often we turn prayer into a work, and this book shows the true "heart of prayer." God doesn't hold this standard that we must reach when we pray, he is simply there and willing for us to come to him with our honest thoughts, triumphs, and griefs. focusing on our performance takes away the joy and "childlike dependence" of prayer. the gentleness of jerram emerges through the pages when you read this book.

don't waste your life, by john piper. in this book, piper comes right out and calls people to bigger and better things. he explains what it means to waste your life--a true tragedy of living without a passion for God, spending lives on "trivial diversions," and getting caught up in something that counts for nothing. i think he really wants to draw attention to the futility of average, everyday life, settling for complacency and boredom instead of your desires and passions. i wish that he would talk about the will of God more. because ultimately, we will find the most joy and satisfaction in what he calls us to do and in what he designs us to do, whether that calling is in something that seems as mundane as an office job or whether that is spending your life in africa serving orphans. the challenge of this book is good, but my fear is that it will give some people the idea that the only way to serve the Lord is by doing something life-threatening, risky, and completely without any trivial comfort.

TGIM - Thank God it's Monday.

2008-03-08T07:48:00.000-06:00

Check out these two articles (part one, part two) by Justin Taylor on how we should view work as Christians. The second part of the article talks mainly about how to work to the glory of God, how to determine your calling (relevant, anyone?), and how we integrate work and faith. They are great, please read them!

Here's some excerpts:

Have you ever seen a TGIM (Thank God It’s Monday) bumper sticker? I haven’t.

As Americans—and Christians usually aren’t much different—we spend many years and thousands of dollars getting an education, all to prepare us to get a job. Then once we get a job, we spend many years and thousands of more dollars awaiting the soonest time that we can retire! In the meantime—we live for the weekend.

As Christians we should view work differently, because God views work differently. Work is a gift from God and can be a source of meaningful fulfillment—and at the same time, it can make us weary and full of frustration.

In my view, we are due for another reformation with regard to our view of work. Although it’s much more subtle, many of us can still perpetuate a sub-biblical view of work. I remember once hearing a student leader suggest that the norm was for Christians to consider themselves called to vocational ministry—and that a calling to a so-called “secular” vocation was the exception. In other words, the default for Christians should be to go into vocational ministry unless they feel compelled to do something else. But I don’t find that idea taught anywhere in Scripture. The result is that we sometimes have people in vocational ministry, not because it is where they have been called by their church, or equipped by God, but simply because they never prepared to do anything else.

We need to recover the reformational understanding of vocation: all of life—in every sphere and in every calling—should be lived to the glory of God and in obedience to his Word. Abraham Kuyper wrote, “there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, ‘Mine!’” If that’s true (and it is!), isn’t it worth our time and effort to think through how to glorify God in the area of work to which he has called you?

signs of life.

2008-03-06T09:55:00.000-06:00

signs of life: incredible books, good coffee, and amazing friendships.

if that's all i had in life, i would be ok with that.

zeal without knowledge?

2008-03-05T22:57:00.000-06:00

"Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes." Romans 10:1-4

Here Paul is talking about Israel and the Jews who were extremely zealous to please and honor and serve God, who were willing to go to any lengths to obey him. Paul gives them credit where credit is due, granting how good it is for them to realize the importance of honoring God. But I think it is interesting here that the reason Israel goes astray is that their zeal was not enough--that it must be based on knowledge.

It is so common in our culture to hear, "It doesn't matter what you believe, as long as you are sincere." The Jews were sincere and zealous in their beliefs, but their beliefs were mistaken.

Tim Keller says that zeal without knowledge or understanding is fanaticism, terrorism. Imagine a person who intensely believes that a poison solution is not fatal--but if she drinks it, she will be dead. Her zeal not only did not help her, it helped her die. That is zeal without knowledge.

Was Israel's problem ignorance? Look at verse 3: "being ignorant of the righteousness that comes from God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to [it]." The information is not unavailable, it is simply what suits them; this is a zeal that refuses reflection--they refuse to stop and think things through. Though they are sincere, they can also do a lot of damage.

I think this is true of all of us. We need a knowledge of God and His righteousness in order to make our sincerity right. Anyone can believe anything with a fervent passion, but if that passion does not come from truth, then it is misplaced. It's so easy for us to pick and choose what we want to believe and emphasize what we really believe in our actions, but what about the rest, what about the parts that we don't want to see? Creating our own boundaries and beliefs causes destruction. We need to be continually learning and challenging ourselves and each other to believe what is right and true, because if we don't, our actions are put into something that is misplaced, no matter how much passion and zeal we have.

*thanks to Tim Keller's Romans study for a lot of these thoughts.

shimmer.

2008-03-03T19:41:00.002-06:00

my favorite parts of the song "shimmer" by shawn mullins:

cause I want to shimmer, i want to shine
I want to radiate
I want to live, I want to love

we're born to shimmer
we're born to shine
we're born to live, we're born to love

this is what we are made for. made in the image of God to shimmer, to shine this light that somehow we have been created with. i want to be a person who just diffuses a love that is full of passion and life.

Leap Year Tradition

2008-02-29T21:51:00.003-06:00

According to legend, St. Patrick said that yearning females could propose on this one day in February during the leap year, because women had been complaining about having to wait so long for men to propose. In 1288 Scotland passed a law that allowed women to propose to the man of their choice on February 29, and any man who declined must pay a fine--which could be a kiss, payment for a silk dress, or a pair of gloves.

You learn something new every day!

SO post-modern.

2008-02-28T22:18:00.004-06:00

I've been thinking a lot about blogging lately, just blogging in general (sparked by the recent veritas blog post), and it reminds me of post-modernism. Blogging embodies so much of what post-modern is in and of itself--people are communicating and conversing with their own thoughts and opinions, so much dialogue is happening back and forth. No one may necessarily be "right" or hold absolute truth, but the conversation is ongoing.

I think this is good because there needs to be conversation, and substantial conversation at that. And by conversation I mean the presentation of ideas back and forth, the responses to what someone writes. There must be a safe place for this, and I think in a way blogs provide that. People can anonymously read and react to different ideas they are digesting, thinking about things they might never have thought about.

But where is the line drawn between blogging and reality? Because ultimately, there IS Truth that can be known. Maybe blogging can lead someone closer to that Truth, and maybe it can lead someone down a wrong path. We need to continually be testing what we are believing with what we know to be right--Scripture.

Just some thoughts. And for kicks, this blog post was so post-modern too.

"Caregiver of the Year"

2008-02-27T21:14:00.003-06:00

Every month I get the new issue of MS Connection, a publication of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. I love reading it for so many reasons, but mostly because it inspires me to serve and to realize that I am so blessed by the people who surround me and the health I have been given. The 2007 Annual Achievement Awards are in, and I wanted to highlight the Caregiver of the Year, Cliff Lindemann:

"When you look up the definition of caregiver, my husband's picture should be there," says Desra Lindemann, wife of Cliff. Desra was diagnosed with MS 26 years ago and at the age of 26. At the time, they had two young children, ages three and seven. Cliff held her in his arms all night as she cried the day she heard the news. Now after 33 years of marriage she is still being held. Cliff has worked at Contintental Tire in Mt. Vernon, Illinois for 31 years and has turned down numerous promotions so he would be available to help Desra pursue her dream of becoming a cheerleading coach, which she accomplished. Through the years, Cliff has always made sure that Desra made it to every practice and every game. His faily routine has been to get her out of bed in the morning, bathe her, shave her legs, fix her hair, take her to the bathroom, dress her, feed her--then kiss her.

After arriving home from a 10-hour workday, he kisses her again, then begins the household chores. He doesn't complain, he just smiles and tells Desra that he loves her. "He is my rock," says Desra. "When God made Cliff, He knew what I would need in life to get me through this."

I just love that picture of love, of compassion, of service. It is such a great example of taking the lowly place, the place that is not in the spotlight and the place that doesn't get much recognition. I'm sure Cliff would never have chosen this place, this life--yet he accepts it despite the fact that he hadn't planned on it--and does so with a contentedness that I cannot even imagine. His day-to-day life is not envied by our culture. What happens when a curveball is thrown your way? God can and will still be glorified wherever he has called us--and living within His will will bring us more joy than we could never image, and it will leave us more satisfied that we could ever have thought possible.

Get to Know Tim Keller

2008-02-26T23:49:00.002-06:00

He wrote the Reason for God...
He pastors a church in New York City...
He really likes baseball...

Tim Keller is pretty great. Read an interview about him and his new book here. He talks a lot about his church, C. S. Lewis, and how Christians should be apologists.

The Heart of Prayer by Jerram Barrs

2008-02-22T21:51:00.003-06:00

I picked up Jerram Barrs' new book at the L'Abri conference called The Heart of Prayer and wanted to write a little bit about it. It intrigued me for a couple of reasons: 1. It's Jerram, so of course it's going to be good! 2. Prayer is something that I feel like I continually fall short in, and for reasons that I don't always know. When I'm honest with myself, I can see that this is an enormous weakness in my life. I for sure can stand to learn more about prayer--I want to do something about this sense of "poverty in my prayer life."

Jerram writes in such a way that isn't condemning, but is still voicing truth in every sentence. He continually shows Jesus' teaching and examples for us in a way that is so encouraging, and he provides questions at the end of each chapter for reflection.

Some of my favorite passages so far:

"Prayer is not a performance in which we are trying to prove something to God about our depth of theological understanding or our skills of eloquence. Nor is prayer a performance in which we seek to impress our fellow believers about these things. And prayer is certainly not a performance in which we are to appraise and applaud ourselves for theological acumen or verbal gymnastics. Prayer is talking to God; prayer is not about trying to feel better about ourselves" (18).

"The truth is that the New Testament teaches us that we are called to walk by faith now rather than by sight, and so we must be content with not always, or with only rarely, or maybe even not at all, having intense experiences of the Lord's presence (22).

"Prayer is our response to God, the God who graciously invites us to come to him with our thanksgiving and requests. He is never indebted to us; we are always indebted to him. We cannot manipulate him into a position where we can make him answer us--no matter how much time, how much emotional energy, how much spiritual fervor, or how much frequency of prayer we offer to him. We are always beggars who are completely dependent on his generous kindness to us. We are not those who can bargain with him on the basis of our perceived spiritual power or faithfulness" (22-23).

"We should remember that the Lord wants us to be specific, for it is only as we face up to the practical reality of our failing to love God and to love our neighbor that we begin to see the seriousness of our sins" (34).

"When we start praying for people, we must begin to stop hating them!" (35)

"If we actually succeed in observing the disciplines, and so increase the time, frequency, and passion of our prayers, there is the danger of spiritual pride. We easily begin to believe that we know God better, that our relationship with him is becoming deeper, and perhaps even that he loves us more because we are doing well at our devotions" (60).

"Or if, on the other hand, we find ourselves failing at the disciplines, we become miserable. We become confused and depressed about the poor state of our devotional lives. We are tempted to believe that God loves us less because of our weak prayer lives" (61).

"He is eager to hear us tell him that we are full of gladness and joy because of the beauty of spring, because of the glory of a fall day, or because of the splendor of a night sky. He wants praise to burst out in our prayers and songs to overflow from our hearts (prayers and songs that no one hears but him) because we are so pleased to be loved and forgiven by him. He wants us to be so full of wonder and delight that we pray secretly without the knowledge of others in our household. He wants us to pray when we are in bed lying awake, when we are washing the dishes, when we are in the yard weeding the flowers, when we are driving our cars, when we are working around the house" (70).

"The Challenge of Hospitality in Our Contemporary Culture"

2008-02-17T14:55:00.007-06:00

This past weekend was the L'Abri conference up in Rochester, MN (check out their website--www.labri.org) and like last year, I am left with so much to think about and process.

My favorite lecture this year was one that I went to hesitantly on hospitality in our culture--I am so glad that I went to this one because it changed and affirmed my views on what this really looks like and why it is so necessary.

Andrew Fellows, who gave the lecture, referenced Matthew 25, where Jesus offers a good description of hospitality: "when i was a stranger, you welcomed me." Early church fathers saw hospitality as central to the gospel, the primary means of imitating Christ. This is the heart of L'Abri's purpose and function, and this is what makes it such a unique ministry. I think that's why I liked the talk so much, because so many examples of L'Abri were used.

A lot of times we think of hospitality as welcoming in friends, and I think it is that, but I think it is also welcoming the stranger, the person who truly needs to feel loved and welcome and who needs a place to go.

The welcome we give strangers reflects the heart of Christianity and enacts the gospel, showing it in a real and concrete way. It is the most powerful sacrament of the love of God. What helps people the most at L'Abri is receiving the welcome that is offered to them. There were multiple people who commented during the discussion about how much that meant to them. Tears flowing down their faces showed their gratitude that there was a shelter they could go to, with someone opening up their lives to them, truly loving them as someone who is made in the image of God. That is the welcome of Christ to us: his door is opened wide and his love is there for us to run to, and when we enter his presence we are filled with a gratitude that this is even possible.

I think this is so counter-cultural to everything we see: we walk down the street and don't make eye contact, people are uncomfortable if you smile at them, and the thought of meeting your neighbors--much less having them over for dinner--strikes an uncomfortable nerve. We hang out in Memorial and talk to only the people we know, and we feel like someone has invaded our space if they sit at our table at a coffee shop, simply because this drives us out of our comfort zone.

Welcoming people gets to the heart of the "glorious ruin" principle that Francis Schaeffer talked about so much. While sin has damaged the goodness of creation, there is still a glory there that is reflected from God. You touch the glory and dignity of a person when you welcome them, but you also touch someone who is very broken and needy, no matter who they are. What is so cool about this picture of hospitality is that it solidifies the position that everyone is on level ground at the foot of the cross. We need his grace and welcome, and hospitality enacts this. There is something glorious to that.

the beginning of pain.

2008-02-11T16:16:00.000-06:00

here's a really interesting article regarding whether or not fetuses can feel pain in the womb.

"As NICU technology improved, the preterm infants he cared for grew younger and younger — with gestational ages of 24 weeks, 23, 22 — and he noticed that even the most premature babies grimaced when pricked by a needle. “So I said to myself, Could it be that this pain system is developed and functional before the baby is born?” he told me in the fall. It was not an abstract question: fetuses as well as newborns may now go under the knife. Once highly experimental, fetal surgery — to remove lung tumors, clear blocked urinary tracts, repair malformed diaphragms — is a frequent occurrence at a half-dozen fetal treatment centers around the country, and could soon become standard care for some conditions diagnosed prenatally like spina bifida. Whether the fetus feels pain is a question that matters to the doctor wielding the scalpel. And it matters, of course, for the practice of abortion."

theology: does it even matter?

2008-02-08T21:18:00.000-06:00

yesterday i was having a conversation with someone and they said something like, "i'm sick of people talking about theology, talking about something that doesn't even matter. we just need to love people." i want to disagree with that statement, because i think that theology does matter--and it goes hand in hand with loving people.

a. w. tozer wrote that "what you believe about God is the most important thing about you." when you think about it, it makes sense. how we see God changes us; our beliefs really do make us who we are. if i don't truly believe that i am accepted fully in Christ, i'm going to struggle with self-image and trying to please the people around me. if i think that i came to God on my own, i'm going to have pride issues and see myself greater than i really am. if i don't want to learn about the state of our culture, i'm not going to be the best person to engage with it.

i think that i've found that the more i dig into theology, the more i see God for who he truly is. the more i learn about his Word and the more i understand my Bible, what i am reading, and the people around me, the more equipped i am to handle hard questions, to handle humanity that surrounds me. i have a keener eye for darkness in my own life and in our world. and i am more moved to love out of the love that God has for me, because it is continually proven to me over and over again--something i desperately need because of my unbelief. but if i wasn't learning and thinking, i think my heart would get harder than it already is at the pace of a roadrunner. i would be dead in both mind and spirit, and i would never be refreshed. i want to have a more right theology tomorrow than i do today, i want to get closer to God's truth than i have ever been before.

2008 book list

2008-02-04T06:58:00.000-06:00

check out andy patton's "5 books i want to read in 2008" book list on the veritas blog. i think i am most excited about tim keller's book coming out!

reaching out without embracing sin.

2008-02-02T16:41:00.000-06:00

In the latest issue of Critique (a ransom fellowship publication), there was a letter to the editor that was really interesting to me. It responded to a lecture that told a story about “a church providing help to a pregnant couple who lived near the church who happened to be lesbians. Estranged from their families, they had no one to give them a baby shower, to provide meals, or to be with them during the births of their child. The church decided to offer them these practical expressions of care and love.” The letter written in regard to this asked questions like ‘what does it look like for the church to open our arms in situations like this without appearing to be embracing their sin?’ and ‘how do we be faithful without driving current members away who might be offended by the church’s choice?’

I thought this was really interesting in many respects; one, how great it is that a church would do this in the first place, and two, how much the Christian culture rejects being faithful over reputation. It is such a good picture of the church—this is what we are called to do, to reach out to our city, to those around us, and show them love in a practical and real way.

Denis Haack (who will be speaking at the L’abri conference!) had a great response. Whenever we offer help to anyone we are offering help to sinners; it makes no difference what the sin(s) are. He said that “there is only one category of person: all have sinned.” And if helping a fallen person means that we are endorsing or embracing their sin, then we could help no one. But why isn’t this understood by many? Why do we have such legalistic view of the world and our lives within it? Jesus himself ate with people who many believers, like the Pharisees, found undesirable. He was criticized for it and looked down upon.

Haack states, “The church needs to be faithful to teach the people of God what it means to truly follow Christ. Just as he was never aloof from fallen people in a broken, messy world, so we too must live in a way that incarnates grace.” Paul also spells out to us how Christ instructs his followers not to judge:

“I have written you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people, not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave the world… What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside.” -- 1 Corinthians 5:9-13

If we refuse to associate with sinners, we are disobeying this clear instruction of Scripture. Haack closes his response with this: Christ’s sharpest criticism and most scathing rhetoric was leveled against those who imagined they would be contaminated by associating with fallen people.

“After all, what could be wrong with having a good reputation, with not offending fellow believers, with not hanging out with bad people? According to the example of Christ and the teaching of Scripture, everything.”

to be truly known.

2008-01-27T00:02:00.000-06:00

i was reading people magazine tonight, the article on heath ledger, and this quote really stuck out to me:

"heath has touched so many people on so many different levels during his short life but few had the pleasure of truly knowing him." --kim, his father.

i think we all have a desire to be truly known by someone, to be known inside and out and to have the opportunity to share our hearts. this is such a good thing and something that i do truly want, yet it is so hard, so scary to open ourselves up and expose our inner being. but i am finding that every time i do, every time that i put myself out there, i am so glad i did. i appreciate knowing that there is someone there who knows my thoughts, who knows me almost better than i know myself, and isn't afraid to call me out on something. i like growing in relationships and realizing that the reason for it is because we are knowing each other better, and doing this intentionally, knowing full well that it may be painful and it may hurt, but it will always contain a freedom.

i don't want to live my life closed off, afraid of what others will think or simply living in fear at the thought of letting others in. i want to desire to live in a true community, encouraging one another, bearing each others burdens, and sharing in the joy that we all experience. life is too short to be on this earth and keep yourself to yourself. we are made as image-bearers, so there will always be a part of us that is worth knowing. that other part is being shaped and conformed even as we open it up. if knowing someone truly and fully is really a pleasure, then i want to be known, not hold back.

karis theology weekend.

2008-01-22T00:03:00.000-06:00

karis community church here in columbia is having it's first ever theology weekend the weekend of february 1st. tom schreiner, a prominent new testament scholar, is the keynote speaker. this looks like it's going to be pretty good, so check it out!

pieces to a life.

2008-01-18T19:02:00.000-06:00

i've been reminded these past few days that we all have a past; we all have so many things that have shaped us and defined our values and what we believe as true. the pictures that keep coming to my mind are a timeline, a number scale, and a puzzle. the timeline includes the entire span of our life, our birth to our death. it shows events that we don't even know about--things that have been placed by the hand of God and in some way have had some influence on us. the number scale tells "where we are," if you will. crossing over the zero to the positive numbers represents becoming a christian. and the puzzle represents our theology, maybe how much we "get it," if that makes sense. puzzle pieces are put in all the time. it might be a piece that has to be jammed into a spot that it doesn't quite fit in, or pieces might be taken out and replaced with others that fit a little better as we move down the number line.

i wish that i could see all of the events on my timeline, see where exactly different things and people have shaped me, and see where the pieces of my puzzle don't fit. i want to see where the root is to certain sins that i have and see what fruit, good or bad, is being produced in my life. i want to notice and examine and really take into account my past, and all that goes on that timeline. i'm starting to see my direct responses to my past, and it's scary. but i think if we don't dive into that, we are missing out on so much.

daring questions.

2008-01-16T14:48:00.000-06:00

it's probably no secret to most of you that one of my favorite pastors is mark driscoll--he is the pastor of a church in seattle called mars hill, and i regularly listen to most of his podcasts as they become available. i think he does a really good job of incorporating a "conservative" (as he is often called) theology into his church while being incredibly missional to the culture in his city. his sermons are perfect for long drives or if i need something different than what is all around me.

at the beginning of january, he started a new sermon series, answering the top 9 questions that attenders of mars hill submitted and voted on for him to preach on. what a cool idea! here is the list of questions:

01/06: #9 "There's no doubt the Bible says children are a blessing, but the Bible doesn't seem to address the specific topic of birth control. Is this a black and white topic, or does it fall under liberties?"
01/13: #8 "Why do you make jokes about mormon missionaries, homosexuals, trenchcoats wearers, single men, vegans, emo kids and then expect these groups to come to know God in the same sermon?"
01/20: #7 "Why does an all loving, all knowing, and all sovereign God will into creation people He foreknows will suffer eternal condemnation? Why does Romans 9:20 feel like a cop-out answer?"
01/27: #6 "Of all the things you teach, what parts of Christianity do you still wrestle with? What's hardest for you to believe?"
02/03: #5 "How should Christian men and women go about breaking free from the bondage of sexual sin?"
02/10: #4 "If salvation is by faith alone (Romans 3:28), then why are there so many verses that say or imply the opposite, namely that salvation is by works (James 2:24, Matthew 6:15 & 7:21, Galatians 5:19-21)"
02/17: #3 "How does a Christian date righteously; and what are the physical, emotional, and mentally connecting boundaries a Christian must set while developing an intimate
relationship prior to marriage?"
02/24: #2 "What can traditional/established churches learn from "emerging" churches?"
03/02: #1 "Do you believe that the Scripture not only regulates our theology but also our methodology? In other words, do you believe in the regulative principle? If so, to what degree? If not, why not?"

i mean, some of these are going to be so controversial, but i think it is good how much publicity this series is getting, and how many people will be tuning in to listen to what mark has to say. you can download the sermons here, and subscribe to the mars hill church podcast to get all of the ones that haven't been preached yet as they become available!

idealist personality type.

2008-01-09T17:55:00.000-06:00

lately a lot of people have been talking to me about personality tests and types, so here's one that i took that came recommended. here were my results, which were so accurate i was shocked! if you read this, i have a feeling you will know me ten times better.

Idealists are enthusiastic, they trust their intuition, yearn for romance, seek their true self, prize meaningful relationships, and dream of attaining wisdom.
Idealists pride themselves on being loving, kindhearted, and authentic.
Idealists tend to be giving, trusting, spiritual, and they are focused on personal journeys and human potentials.
Idealists make intense mates, nurturing parents, and inspirational leaders.

Idealists as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self--always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.

Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are relatively rare, making up no more than 15 to 20 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

inspired.

2008-01-08T08:54:00.000-06:00

i forgot to put up this quote earlier because it is so long, but it's definitely worth reading. it's from to the golden shore, and is part of a conversation between adoniram judson and his wife, after adoniram was back in america from burma and giving a short speech after a church sermon.

After the sermon he had spoken for some fifteen minutes "with singular simplicity, and ... touching pathos," as Emily thought, of the lover of the Saviour, "what he has done for us, and what we owe to him."

As he sat down [Emily recollected]... it was evident, even to the most unobservant eye, that most of the listeners were disappointed. After the exercises were over, several persons inquired of me, frankly, why Dr. Judson had not talked of something else, why he had not told a story... On the way home, I mentioned the subject to him.
"Why, what did they want?" he inquired; "I presented the most interesting subject in the world, to the best of my ability."
"But they wanted something different--a story."
"Well, I am sure I gave them a story--the most thrilling one that can be conceived of."
"But they had heard it before. They wanted something new of a man who had just come from the antipodes."
"Then I am glad they have it to say, that a man coming from the antipodes had nothing better to tell than the wondrous story of Jesus' dying love."

i love this. i want this passion and singularity; no complications. there is no greater story.

jonathan edward's resolutions.

2008-01-07T22:20:00.000-06:00

here's a couple of jonathan edward's resolutions for a new year that i particularly like:

5. resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way i possibly can.
7. resolved, never to do anything, which i should be afraid to do, if it were the last hour of my life.
14. resolved, never to do anything out of revenge.
17. resolved, that i will live so, as i shall wish i had done when i come to die.
43. resolved, never, henceforward, till i die, to act as if i were any way my own, but entirely and altogether God's.

he was only 19 when he wrote his entire list, and he reviewed them every week of his life!

i want to make a list like this of my own.