moving . . . September 26, 2008

no, this isn’t a post about how i finally found a house and am getting permanently situated.

I WISH.

instead, this is the final post here at this wordpress blog (probably permanently.  we’ll see . . . ).  however, this site has been successfully exported to my new domain name, seeminglyrandom.com.  i’ll continue my blogging there. 

so, update your blog roll sand your bookmarks.  it’s not a huge change . . . but i’m hoping the new domain will prove more accessible to some while letting me have a few more blogging perks. 

reclaiming culture . . . September 21, 2008

this weekend, i had the opportunity to see what Christians can do when they decide to set aside misconceptions about culture. instead of running from it, they decide to seize it and — they create a powerful message that exalts Christ.  this message accomplishes two wonderful purposes: 1) it encourages and strengthens the Body and 2) it gives a way for those not in the Body to question who Christ is, what He has done, and who they can become in Him.

i cannot help but  look at my church and  look at where i work and wonder: why not us?  why can’t we get involved in reclaiming this aspect of culture?  why do we let those who have sucked truth from their messages have the megaphone in the media while we, those with the best Story of all, sit silently by?

i’m not saying to throw caution to the wind, but perhaps now’s the time to re-evaluate our actions (or lack thereof).  we have the Message.  we have the means.  maybe it’s time to get off of the sidelines and throw our hat in the ring.

i’m not sure if this is just a passing fancy with me, or maybe the beginning of something bigger: a burden, perhaps.  a stirring that maybe this is where i can make a difference.  that this is how God wants to use the gifts He’s given me.  i don’t know right now.  i guess time will tell.

but i do know one thing:

i’m a storyteller.

i’m not afraid to tell my story.

the question is, when?  and where? and how?

9.18.08: quotation of the day September 18, 2008

“on the one hand we must never imagine that our own unaided efforts can be relied on to carry us even through the next 24 hours as ‘decent’ people.  if He does not support us, not one of us is safe from some gross sin. on the other hand, no possible degree of holiness or heroism which has ever been recorded of the greatest saints is beyond what He is determined to produce in every one of us in the end.  the job will not be completed in this life; but He means to get us as far as possible before death.

“that is why we must not be surprised if we are in for a rough time.  when a man turns to Christ and seems to be getting on pretty well (in the sense that some of his bad habits are now corrected) he often feels that it would now be natural if things went fairly smoothly.  when troubles come along– illnesses, money troubles, new kinds of temptation– he is disappointed.  these things, he feels, might have been necessary to rouse him and make him repent in his bad old days; but why now?  because God is forcing him on, or up, to a higher level: putting him into situations where he will have to be very much braver, or more patient, or more loving, than he ever dreamed of being before.

“it seems to us all unnecessary: but that is because we have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us.”

c.s. lewis (from mere christianity)

9.01.08: quotation of the day September 1, 2008

“until the day when God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words – wait and hope.”

-alexandre dumas

a reminder of my God of Providence . . . August 31, 2008

listened to a sermon last night as i was trying to go to sleep. the sermon, called “but God . . . when you’re feeling in the dark” was not just momentarily appropriate– as i was laying on my bed in an utterly black room– but metaphorically appropriate as well.

it was one of those gigantic hit-the-nail-on-the-head sermons. those odd ones where you wonder if the preacher somehow read a secret biography of your life and manufactured an appropriate outline dealing with your thoughts and where you are. but considering that this pastor doesn’t even know me, and the sermon was originally preached several months ago–before i had the thoughts, or circumstancially arrived in my life where i am– i know it’s more than happenstance or human manipulation.

it’s God, taking care of me. reminding me of truths about Himself.

the sermon mentions that sometimes we wish God would work “bigger” for us like He did in the Testaments . . . or like He chooses to work in other people’s lives. i don’t know about you, but i relate to that. sometimes i do feel like it would take a miracle for me to sense God’s hand in my life right now . . . or a big neon sign to know He’s working . . .

but even when there’s seeming silence on God’s end; when i find myself without my miracle or restlessly placard-less, He is there . . . providing a loving lock on my life.

okay . . . so sometimes, i can’t see this lock; but it is never because it isn’t there.

it’s just because, right now, at this moment, i happen to be in the dark.

listen to the sermon yourself. good stuff . . . http://www.graceky.org/sermons/20080413.mp3

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“behold, i go forward, but He is not there, and backward, but i do not perceive Him; on the left hand when He is working, i do not behold Him; He turns to the right hand, but i do not see Him.

but God, He knows the way that i take; when He has tried me, i shall come out as gold.

my foot has held fast to his steps; i have kept His word and have not turned aside. i have not departed from the commandment of His lips; i have treasured the words of His mouth more than my portion of food.

but He is unchangeable, and who can turn Him back? what He desires, that He does. for He will complete what He appoints for me, and many such things are in His mind.

therefore, i am terrified at His presence; when i consider, i am in dread of Him.

God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me;

yet i am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.” job 23:8-17

new management . . . ? August 7, 2008

tonight i ran into wal-mart to grab a couple of things. as i was meandering in the back of the store, i overheard an official wal-mart associate meeting being held next to the bathroom. about a dozen people flocked together in the blue vests, listening to a man practically dancing in the middle of them.

“sales were up!” he screamed.

the vested ones clapped half-heartedly.

“let’s continue to do our best!” he cheered.

more sporadic claps.

“let’s close our meeting with our new cheer!” he called.

the gray-haired vested woman nearest to me moaned.

“give me a W!” he demanded, sounding like an over-eager contestant on wheel of fortune.

they give him the consonant . . . weakly.

“i can’t hear you!”

“W!”

they proceed to spell the entire store’s name, which took about 4 tries, due to the manager’s inability to hear his employees.

“and that spells . . . “

“wal-mart.”

“that’s right! and who’s wal-mart is this?”

silence.

“who’s wal-mart is this?” he asked again, prodding a little more with his voice.

still no response.

“it’s your wal-mart!”

“it’s our wal-mart.”

the vested ones dispersed, their yellow smiley-face buttons clinking.

“we’ll keep working on that!” the man called after them.

one worker passed me at that point. she was rolling her eyes.

the man grabbed his clipboard from off of the lay-away counter, marking something off of a list as he passed by. i heard him attempt to encourage himself as he whispered under his breath,

“well, that was better than last week!”

i grabbed my item off the shelf, smirking, wishing that i had been there a week earlier.

the grey-haired vested one rung me up. as i swiped my card, i looked at her and said, “give me a w.”

she laughed, handed me my receipt, and said,

“if that man don’t stop himself, we all gonna give him a w.”

more thoughts July 25, 2008

more thoughts by more people that say it better than i ever could.

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the best prayers have often more groans than words.

john bunyan

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we do not choose suffering simply because we are told to, but because the One who tells us to describes it as the path to everlasting joy.

john piper

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suffering passes, but the fact of having suffered never leaves us.

leon bloy

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joy in affliction is rooted in the hope of resurrection, but our experience of suffering also deepens the root of that hope.

john piper

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it requires more courage to suffer than to die.

napoleon bonaparte

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i do not believe that sheer suffering teaches. if suffering alone taught, all the world would be wise, since everyone suffers. to suffering must be added mourning, understanding, patience, love, openness, and the willingness to remain vulnerable.

joseph addison

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this is God’s universal purpose for all Christian suffering: more contentment in God and less satisfaction in the world.

john piper

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God knows our situation; He will not judge us as if we had no difficulties to overcome. what matters is the sincerity and perseverance of our will to overcome them.

c.s. lewis

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it is not a question of God allowing or not allowing things to happen. it is part of living. some things we do to ourselves, other things we do to each other. our Father knows about every bird which falls to the ground, but He does not always prevent it from falling. what are we to learn from this? that our response to what happens is more important than what happens. here is a mystery: one man’s experience drives him to curse God, while another man’s identical experience drives him to bless God. your response to what happens is more important than what happens.

chip brogden

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we all know people who have been made much meaner and more irritable and more intolerable to live with by suffering: it is not right to say that all suffering perfects. It only perfects one type of person . . . the one who accepts the call of God in Christ Jesus.

oswald chambers

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suffering has been stronger than all other teaching, and has taught me to understand what your heart used to be. i have been bent and broken, but – i hope – into a better shape.

charles dickens

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far too often, however, we resent and resist any interference on God’s part that might deprive us of our deepest desires. many Christians who sing, ‘it is well with my soul,’ are lying. it is not well with their souls because they are not persevering, and they have no intention of doing so, because they are bitter and hostile toward God and mourn over their ‘victimization’ at His hands. others are little better, for they ‘persevere’ with a cold, stony, stoic demeanor that constantly reminds God how much they are doing for Him despite His lack of reciprocity.

jim owen

(wow)

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grief knits two hearts in closer bonds than happiness ever can; and common sufferings are far stronger links than common joys.

alphonse de lamartine

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as cold as everything looks in winter, the sun has not forsaken us. He has only drawn away for a little, for good reasons, one of which is that we may learn that we cannot do without him.

george macdonald

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the will of God is never exactly what you expect it to be. it may seem to be much worse, but in the end it’s going to be a lot better and a lot bigger.

elisabeth elliot

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pain is never permanent.

teresa of avila

thoughts for the day July 20, 2008

faith for my deliverance is not faith in God. faith means, whether i am visibly delivered or not, i will stick to my belief that God is love.

-oswald chambers

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before me, even as behind, God is, and all is well.
-john greenleaf whittier

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the longer i live the more i believe that the overarching longing we feel in this life is that of grief– mourning something we no longer have, wishing that what we have was different, or missing something we never had at all.

the deepest grief, however, is concerning something more than our possessions or circumstances. our deepest grief is wrapped around our very being– mourning who we are, wishing we were different, or often wishing we could be someone else that we might not know at all.

what proof that our possessions, our circumstances, even our identity are not truly our own to achieve or decide! they are solely Christ’s to give, allow and conform. our deepest grief can only truly be abolished when our identity completely rests in the One who not only gave us the desire to know who we are, but above all, to know Him. only in Him can we find the truth about ourselves.

-anon

LOL . . . literally . . . July 19, 2008

came across this while looking at alarm clocks . . . (don’t ask why.) made me laugh so stinkin’ hard, i had to post it.

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(from site)

“bancock alarm forces you to save”

“Banclock is a cubic alarm clock from Japan that has no off switch or snooze button. The only way you can turn it off is by feeding it some coins every morning. It was designed to force you to save a little money every day, but it’s constant beeping would only remind me of how poor I am. Every morning when I couldn’t find any change to give it I’d just lie in bed crying, listening to the beeping of my own failure.”

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and to think . . . i’m already not a morning person . . .

a mention from a minor (prophet) July 13, 2008

when I fall, I shall rise;
when I sit in darkness,
the Lord will be a light to me.