Wednesday, February 24, 2010

"Christianity promises to make men free; it never promises to make them independent." William Ralph Inge


A good quote to think on....

Friday, February 12, 2010

childlike


I can't help it. I want to squeal with delight. Throw on a big, warm sweater and run around outside, giggling with glee (which would probably scare the kids playing outside). It's snowing. And for South Carolina, that's a big thing.

Snow always brings out my inner-child. Growing up here in the south, it's such a rarity. We usually get two or three "false alarms" a year, but it's only every few years that the flakes will fall, and better yet, stick.

Even now, I'm checking every half hour or so to see if the snow is still falling...and feeling that same thrill to see the white flecks dancing in the sky.

All this childlike enthusiasm brings Scripture to mind, where Christ says we must become like children to enter the kingdom of Heaven (see Mark 10:15 and Luke 18:17). Am I like a child with my faith? Enthusiastic? Excited? Teachable?

Lately, I've been reading a lot of hefty works by the likes of Brother Lawrence, Thomas a' Kempis, and RC Sproul. And while anyone who knows me well knows that I am ardently in favor of reading the Christian "classics", sometimes I wonder if I'm too bogged down with reading dead authors (as Mark Driscoll put it). I focus so hard on studying doctrines and theologies that I completely forget the simple joy of simply sitting in Jesus' presence.

Sunday, February 7, 2010

rejecting blessings

2010 has not been off to a good start. Misunderstandings between friends, a health scare with our cat, and the daily grind of life have all added up to one very drained chica here.

Then it got worse.

Long story short, my husband and I were in a fender-bender last night. Now we're facing paperwork, premiums, and busy schedules with only one car between us.

After everything settle down last night and we made it home and into our PJs, we crashed on the couch to replay the events of our disasterous evening. After sharing a miriad of what-ifs, we started recounting all of the things that had gone right: no one was hurt; the officer was calm and understanding; the expenses arent' goign to be quite as bad as we first thought. I kept saying "Life is hard, but God is good."

Yet at the same time, a not-so-small voice in my head was screaming "What?!?! Blessings?!??! What just happened was bad!!! Why are you trying to look at the good side, these so-called blessings? Are you stupid?!!?"

It was hard, but I refused to listen to that voice. Listening to the local Christian station in the car, I sing along to songs about God's goodness in the face of trials. But when those hard times hit, it's so easy to throw those lyrics out the window and grouse about my lousy luck. However, God is good, regardless of whether or not my emotions or situations say it is so. Oswald Chambers writes “Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” When things get rough, it's hard to hold onto that faith you have when things are going your way. But God's character does not change as our situations do. His character is consistent, and that is the hope I lean on when it seems all else if failing around me.