Category Archives: Faith

Faith, Literature

Forgiven

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Although most of the many people who came from Ephraim, Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun had not purified themselves, yet they ate the Passover, contrary to what was written.  But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, “May the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets his heart on seeking God–the LORD, the God of his fathers–even if he is not clean according  to the rules of the sanctuary.”  And the LORD heard Hezekiah and healed the people.  -2 Chronicles 30:18-20 (emphasis mine.)

Just shows you the nature of our God.  HE makes rules, and we break them, and HE forgives us–repeat that roughly two trillion times, and you have a simplified version of the history of the world.

And then people say that God isn’t compassionate. . .

Faith

Victory

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Easter.

The Resurrection.

We ignore what came first as best we can.  I tried not to this year, but I don’t want to undermine this!

It’s just too wonderful.

Our God conquered death.  He defeated the grave.

We serve a God of love.  A comforter.  A Father.

But we serve a Victor.  A Defender.  A God who is fearless.  Reckless.  Uncontainable.  We serve an awesome God.

O Death, where is your victory?  O Grave, where is your sting?

“That you will. . . and no mistake. . . if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”  “Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.  “Safe? . . . Who said anything about safe?  ‘Course he isn’t safe.  But he’s good.  he’s the King, I tell you.” (80)

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

Faith

Tears

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Like I said yesterday, we know that there is a happy ending.

The thing is, they didn’t.

Did you ever think about the fact that Jesus was dead for a whole day before the Resurrection?  Did you ever think about what the disciples and the other followers of Jesus did today?

I wonder how many times they forgot about the Crucifixion, and thought about something else.  I wonder how many times their spirits lifted–just a little.  How many times one of them smiled about something–and then remembered.  It’s always like that when you’re sad.  You can forget  for a while, but it keeps coming back.  The over-hanging gloom engulfs you–again.

We know the end of the story.  They didn’t.

People don’t make a big deal about today.  They don’t really mention it.  Maybe because nothing comes to mind.  Nothing happened today.  Or maybe–just maybe–is it because they don’t want to go there?  They don’t want to venture near such despair?  We shy away from the Crucifixion too, just a bit.  Probably because it’s gory, and we don’t like that.  But we talk about Good Friday.  It has a name.  (It’s kind-of too big a deal to be ignored.)  I think we would just have Easter if we could.  Do we not talk about today because nothing happened?  But the people who were living the story couldn’t glaze over it like that.

Have you ever tried putting yourself in their place?

Sometimes when you read allegories it helps you.

But allegories always shorten the time.  It’s always a matter of hours.  The Crucifixion happens at night, and the Resurrection comes the next morning with the rising sun.

Don’t ask why, but this kinda’ bothers me.  If I ever write an allegory, I’m going to put in lots of time that represent today.  I don’t know why.  Maybe because I want more emphasis on the Resurrection.

Try to put yourself in Jesus’ follow’s shoes today.  Think about it.  And then think about it tomorrow.

Think about how much joy Easter really created.

Think about conquering death.

Think about what He saved you from.

 

“For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”
-Luke 19:10

Faith

The Cross

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It’s Good Friday.

What can I say?  It’s a weird day for us, because we know the end of the story.  It’s a day of terrific tragedy and injustice.  It’s a day of incredible love and redemption.

The cross.  It’s become mundane.  We wear jewelry adorned with crosses, and we don’t really think about the fact that we’re running around with miniature torture machines hung around our necks.

Jade - even in China
Jade – even in China

In Grace Mally’s book Will Our Generation Speak there is a picture her father drew of the Crucifixion, with the caption: famous last words: finally people will stop talking about Jesus now.

People thought they were quenching Him.  But they were not.  They were doing what God had planned for them to do when He sent His Son to earth–because they couldn’t stop the Resurrection,

Like I said before, we know about the Resurrection–already.  We know today.  We’ll know tomorrow.  We knew yesterday.  Which is what makes this such a weird holiday for us.  How do we handle the day our Lord died for us, knowing that He was going to rise again in three short days?

I think I’m going to celebrate today–celebrate my Savior and His incredible love for me.

Remember the cross today, and don’t forget it when Easter comes and you’re distracted trying to find plastic eggs.  Don’t forget it when Easter’s gone, and we think about Summer and the Fourth of July.

I don’t want to ever forget.  I want to think about it next Christmas.

I’ve been saying that Christmas was my favorite holiday.  Because I like how we celebrate it.  But when it comes to what it’s really about–not how we celebrate–I think I like Easter best.

I really do.

Faith

New Life

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St. Patrick’s Day finally out of my way, I feel freed up to post about Easter! 🙂

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I’ve heard Christians say that they don’t like Easter, because they don’t like the way we celebrate it.  And really, how did we get here?

Just as Christmas has somehow become about Santa Claus and presents, Easter has become about eggs and this guy called ‘the Easter Bunny’.

By the way, could anyone tell me what in the world the Easter Bunny looks like?  Didn’t think so.  Because nobody knows.  It’s different in every picture-book.  At least Santa Claus has some hard-and-fast characteristics that everyone agrees on!  I mean, what color his gloves are and how long his beard is and other such details are arguable, but everyone agrees on the over-all big picture.

So, I understand where the egg-thing came from–new life and everything–but how did we get to the point in which they’re hidden by a rabbit whose only steadfast virtue is his bunniness?

Easter is about Christ.  Which is what we’ve been trying (with a little translation help) to tell Lucy.  We’re trying to communicate that it’s about new life, new things.  New birth.

In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead?  He is not here; he has risen!”

Luke 24:5, 6a

Faith

Blessings and Stories: Love

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Happy March, y’all!  Lucy figured out about St. Patrick’s Day, and was just sure that we needed shamrocks now that it was March. 🙂

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She saw them at someone else’s house–they do Christmas in China, but not St. Patrick’s Day.

I thought I should do another “Blessings and Stories” post; so, keeping the Valentine’s Day theme (because March is not May), I did one I wrote about love.

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When I was little I came to the conclusion that we would be happier if we didn’t lose our hearts to stuff.  I realized that if there wasn’t anything I didn’t want broken or lost, and I knew I would go to heaven, I would have no problems.  No worries.  Zero.

But there was a hitch: people.  If there were people in you life that you loved, you would worry about them.  Even if you knew they were going to heaven, you would worry about them–and you don’t.  Sometimes you just don’t know.

And try as I might I couldn’t get past that.  I knew it was important to love people–I wasn’t giving up on that.  But loving is problematic.  It’s dangerous, and it’s inconvenient.

I remember a time when two of my friends weren’t getting along, and I felt stuck in the middle of it; and when I told my mom about it she explained that if you lived all alone on an island you would be lonely, but life would be easier.  ‘Cause relationships are messy.  Very messy.

Recently we re-watched The Princess Bride.  It’s a good movie; entertaining and funny, but it’s morals are “off”.  And there’s this theme in it that if you love someone hard enough then neither of you can die.  Which is absurd.

It makes love practical.  And love is not.

Oh, and love is not a feeling.  Whatever anyone says.  It’s not a wishy-woshy sensation that makes you go light-headed whenever someone walks into the room.  It’s a choice.  And a hard one sometimes.

Love is not practical.  It doesn’t make things perfect.  It will wreck your life.  And resurrect it again.  Because God is love, and Jesus will wreck you life, and then bring it back together again–exactly what happened to HIM when HE loved us.

I love the quote from the movie Frozen: “Love is putting someone else’s needs before you own.”  Because that’s a choice.  And you rarely feel like putting someone else first.

I wrote on my blog recently: “I’m in love.  And that’s dangerous, because when you truly love someone you are willing to do anything for them.”

I liked the quote from the Rend Collective song The Cost: “Real love is not afraid to bleed.”

Love is patient.  Love is kind.

But love is courageous.

Faith

As I have loved you…

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So, when I posted on Valentine’s Day I decided I wanted to end my post with a Bible verse.  And I didn’t want to do the typical first-Corinthians-thirteen-thing.  I mean, those verses are great, but everybody uses them!

And something in me wanted to be unique.  Maybe it’s because I never “fit in” when I was little(r), and so I have a problem with it now.  I mean, I went years without a TV in my house, I didn’t play the popular video-games, I didn’t watch the popular movies, I didn’t wear the popular cloths, etc.  So I went unique.  I picked kind of randomly, but that made me think.

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“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” -John 15:12

I have been praying recently that God would give me HIS heart, and help me love as HE loved me. I realized recently what this means–the extent of what I was asking HIM.  I realized it was probably one of the most risky things I’ve ever done.  But I still do it.  I can’t say why.  Probably because I want to love.  I just want to.

When told to ask for anything, Solomon asked for wisdom.  I started wondering what I would ask for, if I was given that choice.  I decided I’d  ask for HIS heart–HIS love.

I have this “thing” with love.  Probably because I gave up on the whole wisdom-thing a long time ago.  Probably because I know if I love, it will motivate me to do what I can–which might not be much, but I know it’s a whole lot more when I’m motivated by something.

Loving is dangerous.  Begging to be able to love like crazy is reckless.  And I don’t even care.  I get defiant about love.  I say “I don’t care” a lot.  So maybe I don’t.

I honestly don’t know why I have this love “thing”–I don’t know where it came from.  But I want to love anyway.  I just do.

This probably sounds crazy, but I don’t even care!

Faith

Christmas thoughts… slightly late

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I realized this year how presents-oriented I was when it came to Christmas.  Christmas wasn’t about Jesus for me; it was about Christmas songs, presents, food, etc.  I realized this year that I needed to focus of Jesus.  It’s incredible that he came to die.  We give gifts on Christmas in memory of the greatest gift ever given… but the tradition is probably drowning out its origin.

We were out driving the other day and we went past this house in our grandma’s neighborhood that had more Christmas decorations out than you can IMAGINE!  Actually, the whole circle was pretty decked-out, but one house was more buried than the others (they do that at Halloween too, but we DON’T stop to admire it).  There were a few simple manger-scenes, but mostly the usual… ya’ know: Snoopy in a Santa-hat and jazzy penguins in fluffy ear-muffs kinda’ thing.

We slowed down so Lucy could see, and someone told her “Christmas.”  I began to feel frustrated, because that’s not what Christmas is all about.  The world can say what they like, but Christmas isn’t about talking snowmen or red-nosed reindeer.  It’s about JESUS.

Nothing else.

Tell me: when did Santa get so BIG and Jesus so small?  And how did we get from Saint Nicolas to Santa Claus anyway?

We were out driving around again and stopped (in our neighborhood) at a corner we call “The Garden House” where they had wrapped almost all their trees in Christmas-lights.

Dad and Lucy got out to look at them.  And sitting there watching them (in the heated car 🙂 )I realized that this was nearer the mark: light.

Jesus is the light of the world.  This whole celebration is about the smallest figure in our nativity-scenes.  The baby.

Baby Jesus.

 

P.S. Could you all be praying for healing for us?  Michael, Spencer, and I are all coughing… not to mention that we had an ER run today because M pulled the piano-bench over on his foot.  It’s not broken, which is a miracle but piano-benches, after all, are piano-benches.

He got a boot while he was there, and he keeps saying: “It will help my owie get better!  Doctor gave it to me…

He’s my FAVORITE Doctor!”

Faith, Literature

With You

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“…It’s so much more friendly with two.”

-Piglet, Winnie the Pooh, by A. A. Milne, page 132

People weren’t made to be by themselves.  They need each other.  Sometimes Life gives you lemons, and we weren’t made to carry so much fruit alone.

Kristoff tried to get out of helping Anna–but she never would have made it without him.

Elsa tried to shut Anna out–but if Anna hadn’t pursued, Elsa would have been killed.

Inigo couldn’t have gotten through the Zoo of Death without Fezzik, and Fezzik couldn’t have made it without Inigo.

And neither of them would have made it into the castle without Westley–but Westley would not have gotten into the castle without them.

The dwarves didn’t want to bring Bilbo at first–but they never would have succeeded without him.

Thorin didn’t want to give Bard gold to help the people of Esgaroth–but Thorin would not have gotten the treasure back without Bard anyway.

Frodo tried to leave Sam–but he never would have made it without him.

Sam almost convinced Frodo not to trust Strider–but they never would have gotten there without him.

First Frodo, then Elrond almost succeeded in sending Merry and Pippin home–but if they hadn’t come Denethor would have killed Faramir and the Witchking would have killed Eowyn.

“Thorin and Co.” would never have gotten inside the Lonely Mountain without Elrond, and the hobbits wouldn’t even have gotten to Bree without Tom Bombadil.

Naomi tried to leave Ruth–but I don’t know how she would have managed without her, and I don’t think Ruth would have gotten so far without Boaz.

Joseph tried to leave Mary–and I don’t think she would have made it alone.

God created Eve the same day he created Adam.  People need people.  We can’t do this alone.  We just can’t.

I need you guys!