sunset ride

these photos were taken at Granger Lake, by Tiffany Palmer

treasure

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise;

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my treasure thou art.

 

3rd stanza of Be Thou My Vision

thrifty, con't

I bought a $40 sweater this weekend for $11.

I should also start making a list of all the things I didn't buy. That all counts as being thrifty, too, right?

on being challenged

I'm traveling to Chicago this week to a new client. This will also include a new work team. New location. New responsibilities. New demands. New expectations. Unknown challenges. Unknown opportunities.

I don't like change. It depresses me. I like things in my life to be normal, routine-based, rhythmic, and predictable. But I'm learning that life on this earth doesn't operate that way at all.

I look forward to eternity where things won't change and where I'll be with the Unchanging God who loves my soul.

It seems that because He loves my soul, He continues to keep me uncomfortable and challenged. For this is where I change and grow. That is where I'm most aware of His Unchangeableness (and I may have just made up a word). When I'm challenged, I keep my eyes on Him. When I'm comfortable, I, well, get comfortable and develop a false sense of security in the material things around me.

So here's to being uncomfortable and challenged!

"If it doesn't challenge you, it won't change you." Zig Ziglar

excerpts from a book

I'm reading an incredible book. Below are excepts from chapter 2.

Proud people always feel that they can live independently from God and from other people. Proud people feel entitled to do what they want when they want to. 

Our hearts will become hard to the whispers of God if we turn our backs on those who have less than we do. 

Modesty and discretion are not old-fashioned values. They are God's standards. 

Sexuality isn't about what we do in bed. Sexuality encompasses a whole range of needs, demands, and desires. Sexuality is more a symptom of our life's condition than a cause, more a consequence than an origin. 

While sin in not contained by logical categories of progression, nonetheless, sin is progressive. That is, while sin does not stay contained by type or trope, if ignored, excused, or enjoyed, sin grows and spreads like poison ivy. 

The truth is, outside of Christ, I am a manipulator, liar, power-monger, and controller. 

Conversion didn't "fit" my life. Conversion overhauled my soul and personality. It was arduous and intense. I experienced with great depth the power and authority of God in my life. In it I learned - and am still learning - how to love God with all my heart, soul, strength, and mind. When you die to yourself, you have nothing from your past to use as clay out of which to shape your future.

I fear the consequence of easy believism that typifies modern evangelical culture. 

Sin in not a mistake. A mistake is taking the wrong exit on the highway. A sin is treason against a Holy God. A mistake is a logical misstep. Sin lurks in our heart and grabs us by the throat to do its bidding. Sin roots not in outward behaviors, but in patterns of thinking.

we repent and we serve.  (Matt 3:2 and 8)

Jesus himself warns us against failing to count the costs of discipleship or of testing ourselves in the faith (Matt 7:21-23)

nobody goes into battle alone. Sanctification - growing in Christ - is always both personal and communal. We need one another. Our faith struggles and our successes are part of the Body of Christ, not possessed by our own little kingdom. This Christian life was war - of this I was certain. Who in her right mind...would go to war without an army? 

real learning depends on our quest for real knowledge...Knowledge depends on the renewal of our minds. 

Learn how to fall on your face and pick yourself up. Learn to look up, act on faith that the Big Picture has purpose. 

I discovered that God through Jesus Christ exists, the triune God of the Bible exists, whether we acknowledge him or not. 

we all need to be anchored in something bigger than we are. 

a powerful lesson about evangelism: the integrity of our relationships matters more than the boldness of our words. 

When I examined my feelings against the rugged Cross, I realized that the failure was wrapped in relief. Whatever was God's providence for me, it was his to lay out and mine to obey. No longer did I have to invent myself. 

Even as a believer, it is easy to become people-pleasing instead of God-pleasing. 

Faith and worldview are intimately intertwined. Our peace, love, courage, longsuffering, and life-works, lock-step with our Christian worldview and the faith that undergirds it. 

She approached me one day and said, "I didn't give a damn about who God was to you in your happiness. But now that you are suffering, I want to know: who is your God? Where is he in your suffering?" 

There is no finer resolution to a faith test than genuine Christian ministry. The still small voice of God was speaking to me, right now, through my student. I was there because God picked me up and put me there. It was time to wipe the sleep out of my eyes and do something. 

God gives and God takes away and does it for our good.

from The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield