Day Three

I didn't start this morning off with Jesus; I started it off with orange juice and a shower. A nice way to start a morning...but not quite. After an errand, I ended up back home for a few minutes before running to work, and my eyes fell on my open Bible:

But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“ Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you.
For I am the LORD your God,
The Holy One of Israel, your Savior;
I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba in your place.
Since you were precious in My sight,
You have been honored,
And I have loved you;
Therefore I will give men for you,
And people for your life.
-Isaiah 43:1-4

How much better would my brief few hours have been this morning, had I started with this? How much happier would my heart be, if I had secured and anchored myself in this? This love that honors me, considers me a precious possession, gives men for my life. Today is my third day of 100 Days with Psalm 119, and the first few verses of that psalm have straight-up poured conviction over my life. It is so good, then, after dwelling on the blessed life of the blameless, to be reminded that my life is blessed, also--not because I have been blameless, but because my Savior's blood makes me blameless. I was bought with a price. That truth holds me secure through every fire and flood imaginable. It is peace.

Cool New Thoughts

Elisabeth Adams lives and writes in Jerusalem. I've scoured her website, desperate to figure out how she got there, because seriously how cool is that? I mean, if it means being able to come up with cool descriptions like this:

She leaves the high, fertile tableland of Moab, and winds down craggy slopes towards the heavy, hot atmosphere of the Rift Valley. She fords the slimy, mineral-rich waters of the Dead Sea at its narrowest point, and turning north, climbs into the Judean hill country, encountering cool, clear air, terraced hills, and tiny villages. She reaches Bethlehem just in time for the barley harvest. This time of year, as a matter of fact. Tawny grain fields are dotted with indigo-blue globe thistles, and the early summer sun beats down on the reapers.

sign me up!

The above quote comes from an article Adams wrote for Boundless about Ruth. I've always loved the story of Esther--but Adams has made me look at Ruth in a new, exciting way. Did you realize Boaz's mother was Rahab? A prostitute who became an Isrealite! I knew, but it never dawned on me; in the midst of people despising and looking down at Ruth, of course it was the grandson of a prostitute who could see beyond his cultural confines to love a Moabite. Can't you just hear his parents and grandparents telling him about the refuge-providing wings of the LORD, just like he told Ruth: "May you be richly rewarded by the LORD, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge." (Ruth 2:11).

2 Samuel 14:14
Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him.

100 Days with Psalm 119

I woke up this morning with a little dark thundercloud hovering over my head. Thankfully, the sky outside is full of white (not black) clouds, and the sun is pouring in through every window in the office. The clouds sailing above and the sun warming me on my walk to lunch placate my heart. Bad days come and go, but eternity remains alive in my heart. The natural world is God's way of giving us perspective.

Day One
On a happier note, I am starting something I've always wanted to do: 100 days with Psalm 119. I've read the psalm through at some point before, and have underlined, highlighted, and generally just marked the heck out of the first twenty verses or so. I've always wanted to get to know it on a deeper level, though, to really walk with and apply it on a daily basis. I anticipate being surprised by new revelations on familiar and not-so familiar passages, but ultimately I want to be polished and honed for the time I've spent digging deep, instead of wide.

There are 176 verses and 22 "sections" (letters of the Hebrew alphabet??). I don't have a plan yet, but I'll let you know when I come up with one. In the meantime, here's my prayer for these next 100 days:

"May my cry come before you, O LORD; give me understanding according to your word."

-Psalm 119:169

..."for these times that try the soul."*

"My times are in your hands..."

Psalm 31:15

The Southwell Litany for the Personal Life contains this prayer:

From moral weakness of spirit; from timidity; from hesitation; from fear of men and dread of responsibility, strengthen us with courage to speak the truth in love and self-control; and alike from the weakness of hasty violence and weakness of moral cowardice,

Save us and help us, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord.

From weakness of judgment; from the indecision that can make no choice; from the irresolution that carries no choice into act; and from losing opportunities to serve Thee, Save us and help us, we humbly beseech Thee, O Lord.

I don't normally consider myself an insecure person, but change always brings out another side of me. It's times like these that I love the above verses and prayers. I think they were written especially for insecure people like me :).

(*that's an Anne quote ...seems I'm not the only one sitting at a train station, waiting to be picked up :)

Excitement...

I never (EVER) like making decisions, and I never like things being “up in the air.” I either want to be, or not be. I don’t want to kind of be, and I do not like shades of grey. However, as I stand in the face of Truth, and read on my own heart the lessons of Christ’s faithfulness and trustworthiness that have been indelibly inscribed there, I realize I have a real choice to make.

When you face GOD, the living GOD, you must trust. When you face the reality of His faithfulness, you must obey.

I can choose to look away, keep my sights dead set on my own frustrations and who I think I am and who I think I am not—OR, I can choose joy and breathless excitement even on unsettled waters, knowing the same Creator who designed this

designs my future.

Mark, Jesus apostle, wrote, "He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” (Mark 4:39)

Incredible…Is it any wonder the disciples were willing to die for Jesus? Never had they seen such power; never had they seen such glory. It was like, well, like the whole universe was his kingdom.
It’s only right that they declare his authority. It’s only right that we do the same. And when we do, we state without question: The ruler of the universe rules our hearts.
From
For These Tough Times:
Reaching Toward Heaven for Hope and Healing
© (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006) Max Lucado

Weather to Travel?

Weather--particularly cold weather or rainy weather--transports my thoughts to another place. Wearing heavy jackets and wrapping scarves 'round my neck in cold, crisp weather sends me to the Red Square in Moscow, and humidity so heavy the very sidewalks seem to be melting and shimmering in the air before your eyes takes me to Houston.

Today is overcast and rainy, full of the kind of cool rain I’d imagine Portland or Seattle get in June. The pavement is slick. There’s been just enough rain to wash sediment and gravel-like dust over the parking lot and my tires make a soft crunch as I drive. As the thunderclouds gust vaguely overhead, the wind brings reminders of north-eastern Germany in July. Damp, cool raindrops mingle with sunshine and filter through tree leaves onto paved black roads and cobblestone sidewalks and European roofs. I spent one summer in Germany studying business, and one of our classrooms at the small international school I attended was three flights above the ground. We would wrap ourselves in light, gauzy sweaters and sit at shiny modern desks by open windows, listening to the rain drum gently, let up, and drum again. It whispered back and forth with distant peals of thunder while our professors droned on and on and I made multi-colored notes on notebook paper faintly lined in blue and wrinkled and softened by the humidity.
In the absence of a plane ticket, it's lovely to have sweet spring weather to help me transcend the limits of my bank account. Still, I'd rather be in Europe.

Summer Bucket List

In honor of the beautiful weather we've been having lately, I decided to post my very own Bucket List--my list of things to do before summer kicks the bucket.

Here it is:

1. Chase wildflowers
2. Visit the beach
3. Float down the river
4. Can something (strawberries!)
5. Eat one of the South’s fabulous peaches, and let its juices run down my chin and arms
6. Go skydiving
7. Plant a (balcony) garden
8. Write a book
9. Design a website
10. Learn a foreign language (Spanish)
11. Road trip! Florida? Tennessee? The Grand Canyon? Europe!
12. Stand on top of a mountain (big or small)
13. Make my bedroom/bathroom an Oasis
14. Go camping (can be combined with #2)
15. Read a Russian novel (in English)
16. Find, buy, and use a Polaroid camera

Happy Almost-Summer!

oh yeah, and i got an early start on my list...here's last summer's trip to the grand canyon!