The Best Truth
I love the use of language to describe the best and most beautiful truth of all:
“Where I found Truth, there I found my God, the Truth itself, which since I learned, I have not forgotten…. Too late I loved You, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! too late I loved You! And behold, You were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for You… You called, and shouted, and burst my deafness. You flashed, shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed sweet aromas, and I drew in breath and pant for You. I tasted, and hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for Your peace.”
-George MacDonald
Bella Is Beautiful
I loved this movie. Before tonight, I had been reading everywhere lots of elaborate adjectives to describe it, like beautiful, intelligent, vivid, low-key, subtle, complex, symbolic, sensitive, intimate, and powerful. Wow, that’s a lot for a movie to live up to. But I truly think it lived up to all of those things. I wish that there were so many more movies like it. I have seen other films that equal or surpass this one in artistry, but not paired with such an intense and valuable story. Put together, it makes for one incredible movie.
Go see it if you can. That’s all.
A Shoe Story
Wow! I’m almost tempted to leave my de-lurk post up for weeks, just because it’s been so much fun to hear from you. It’s so encouraging to know that people are reading, and hearing that directly from my readers is better than reading my stats. Thanks for taking the time to comment; I know many of you are very busy. But know that I greatly appreciated it.
I had a great birthday; it was definitely my most elaborate one yet. My roommates and dear friends C. and S. were going to take me horseback riding, but the weather was kind of iffy so instead I got my hair straightened and we got free makeovers. Then we went out to dinner, and then they took me on a carriage ride downtown at sunset! It was so much fun! Afterwards we came back to the apartments and there was a surprise party for me with our group of friends. They were all so nice! I can’t believe how much trouble they went to. I had a wonderful day.
Now, on to the topic of the day. I was thinking about this yesterday and realized it would be good to write about. Okay, so my shoe situation is a little lacking. I have two pairs of nice black shoes, two pairs of casual brown shoes, and a lot of flip-flops. That’s basically it. It’s mostly for two reasons – 1) I don’t put forth the time, effort, or money into finding good shoes, and 2) I have feet that are size 11 wide!
I know, I can’t believe I’m revealing this. 
But I am 5′9, so it makes sense, right? The point is that it’s really hard to find shoes that are 11 and wide. And if I can find them, they’re often way too expensive. So my shoe collection is very minimal and will always be basic and generic. I probably have about 10 pairs of shoes right now, not including some old retired ones. That doesn’t seem like a lot compared to some people I know, especially other women.
Part of what we did in Peru this summer as interns was giving away shoes with a couple of the teams. We would go to a home or an orphanage with bags and bags of brand-new shoes, and would find the right sizes for the children and help them put them on. Oh, I will never, ever forget that. They were so excited. Many of them wanted to wear them right away, but others wanted to save them for nice occasions. Kneeling at these orphans’ feet, taking off their old, smelly shoes, and helping them put on their brand-new shoes, was one of the most joyful experiences I’ve ever had.
And I realized that for so many of them, this was their second pair of shoes. They now owned two, and for them, that was richness. At one home, they asked us how many shoes we owned.
I wasn’t expecting that question. I reluctantly responded diez (10), and that just seemed like so many. I know one of the girls on the trip with me had a lot more than that, and I probably would have too if it weren’t for shoe size and money. We can go on and on about how rich we are in America compared to third world countries, but here it was right in front of me. These beautiful children had one pair of shoes, now two, and I had ten. Their eyes widened when they heard how many I had. Why would anyone need that many? I must be so rich.
It’s so easy to play the comparison game. She has fifty pairs of shoes and I only have ten; why is she so blessed and I’m not? But we rarely play the comparison game in reverse, do we. I have ten pairs of shoes and she only has two; why am I so blessed? That kind of thinking will hopefully result in gratefulness to the Lord for His provision, in careful consideration of what is necessary and what is extravagant, and in an eagerness to help others who don’t have even the most basic necessities.
Ten pairs of shoes or two? I don’t think I’ve looked at shoes the same way since.
A birthday favor: De-lurk!
(I got this idea and title from Crystal at Biblical Womanhood.)
Tomorrow is my 21st birthday. No, I am not going to celebrate in the traditional way (my school doesn’t allow it, and I wouldn’t really want to anyway). But I am excited to see what my friends have planned; they’re not telling me anything.
I would love it, though, if in the next few days you would do me a little favor. I get a lot of hits on my blog but not so many comments, which is true of most blogs. To show you this – at the time I am writing, this blog has had 7,582 hits since May, and 195 comments in the same time frame (some of which were my own responses to previous comments). Crazy, huh? As I said, this is completely normal for blogging, but just for one day, I think it would be fun to have all my lurkers out there say hello!
So, if you are reading my blog, whether this is your first time or your 294th time, please spend a minute letting me know you’re there and maybe a little tidbit about yourself! (This includes you even if you’ve commented before.)
Thanks so much. I’m glad you all keep reading because it keeps me writing. I’m looking forward to hearing from you! And I’ll leave this up for a few days, so don’t expect any new entries until early sometime next week.
Happy weekend!
The word “random” is overused. And we’re all guilty.
When I blogged on Xanga, I used to write more frequently and on more random topics, often just ramblings about my life. I’m glad in one way that I’ve moved on to more “serious” blogging, because I think it’s a better way to invest my time and effort, but sometimes I miss the impulsive, easy outlet of writing a quick post about my day.
So you may be seeing a few more of those from me, because sometimes I really don’t have anything else to say. If you’re one of those people who can’t stand it when people write boring “so-this-is-what-I-did-today” type of posts, I apologize. But I hope I never write a boring post anyway, so maybe I can still avoid that.
I think I may, just may, be seeing a glimmer of light at the end of the long, dark tunnel of overwhelming stress and homework. But I dare not speak too soon. We shall wait and see how the events and to-do lists of the next couple of days unfold.
steadfast.
My Daily Light for this morning. It was so perfect. And so needed. Pray for me, if you think of it. I have been so overwhelmed this semester with busyness and difficult classes and failing a test and continuing headaches and insomnia and anxiety. I had to skip both of my classes this morning because of a headache, and I have a presentation for tonight that I’m in the middle of preparing.
So here are the verses that I just read… I hope they speak to your heart too.
My heart is steadfast, O God!
The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.—He is not afraid of bad news; his heart is firm, trusting in the LORD. His heart is steady; he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.—He will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the LORD.
After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever.
Ps. 108:1; Ps. 27:1; Isa. 26:3; Ps. 112:7, 8; Ps. 56:3; Ps. 27:5, 6; 1 Pet. 5:10, 11
Authenticity (Part 3)
(You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.)
this feels like a no caps post. so that’s what it’s going to be…
it’s… well… interesting, to say the least, that i have been writing about authenticity. because yesterday i had the chance to be very “authentic” with a few people. and it was difficult. i am not going to write the post i had planned – objective stuff about authenticity that a lot of you could probably write on a lot better than i can.
instead, i’m just going to say two things about being authentic (i’ll use the word vulnerable in this post because i’m tired of saying authentic… but i mean the same thing).
1) being vulnerable is really, really hard. because it means showing people your complete weakness, your messiness, the darkness you don’t want anyone to know about. it means getting over your fear and admitting your fear at the same time. it means putting yourself at their mercy.
2) being vulnerable is really, really rewarding. yes, people are going to fail you, and your heart’s grounding and center has to be in Christ. but He also put people around us for a reason. and wow, is it ever relieving and healing to slide some of those burdens to the floor and just be brutally honest with your sisters in Christ (or brothers, as the case may be).
so i’ve learned something this week. it’s a slow process. lest you think i have it all figured out… i don’t. really. but He’s helping me. is He ever amazing.
love and prayers.
Authenticity (Part 2)
Welcome back to our discussion on authenticity! You can read part 1 here.
On Saturday, I wrote about the first problem I see with the way being authentic and real is misused in the church today: inappropriate emotional intimacy and lack of boundaries. And the second way is more subtle and something that I have been guilty of many times: using authenticity as an excuse for staying in sin.
As I said, this misuse is extremely subtle. Your heart will trap you in it almost before you know it’s happening! Here’s a fictional example: Carrie enjoys reading Vogue and Glamour and other fashion magazines. Not only does she enjoy them, she knows in her heart that they cause her to place a lot of unhealthy emphasis on outer appearance. She knows that she is not able to read them without them having an affect on her perspective.
So under the guise of being vulnerable, she tells some of her closest girlfriends about her “guilty pleasure.” “I just love those magazines. I know they’re not the most wholesome reading for me, but I enjoy them so much!”
Yet what does she do after this admission? She mentally pats herself on the back for being so real with others, yet she continues to enjoy her monthly subscriptions and to allow them to focus much of her attention on the reflection in the mirror and the numbers on the scale.
Authenticity does not mean that because we’re admitting our messiness to others, we can be comfortable with it and not attempt to do anything about it.
So what does it mean? That’s what I’ll be talking about in Part 3. Join me back here on Thursday very soon!
Various and Sundry (10/15)
Welcome to a hopefully more regular version of Various and Sundry! In this series, I want to post links to a few gems I’ve found around the Web lately. I started this in June and so far have posted it about every two months. But my goal is to make it a weekly occurrence on Mondays. Of course, I can’t promise anything, but that’s my hope.
Music: I have a new favorite; her name is Colbie Caillat. You may have heard her song “Bubbly” – it’s been quite popular lately. The lyrics go “It starts in my toes and I crinkle my nose, wherever it goes, I always know…” Yeah, you probably recognize it by now, don’t you? Anyway, I haven’t completely reviewed her entire album to make sure it’s entirely family-friendly, but from what I’ve heard so far, it’s refreshing. The music is laidback and sweet and reminds me a little of Jack Johnson. Give it a listen!
Life and hope: Brian at Zealous Endeavor wrote a beautiful analogy in his post entitled “A Picture of Hope in the Evening Sky.”
Giving: Ann Kroeker wrote a humorous and all-too-true post called “Getting Nice Stuff to the Needy, Whether They Want it or Not.”
Blogging: You may know Shannon from Rocks in My Dryer. She and a friend host Blogging Basics 101, a site filled with practical, user-friendly blogger tips. It especially has a lot of help for users of Blogspot.
Changing the world: I love this topic, and I’m so glad to see an article about it. My much-loved Boundless Webzine has an article this week called “Change is Local.” It deals with the danger of dreaming too big.
Authenticity: Lindsey at Beauty from the Heart writes a balanced and convicting perspective on being, rather than seeming – the inspiration for my current series.
Authenticity (Part 1)
Many times, I stay away from discussions about authenticity and “being real” in Christianity. It’s not because I don’t think that being authentic is important. It’s because I think it’s misused at times, specifically in two ways. I want to discuss one of those misuses today. In part 2 on Tuesday, I’ll talk about the second misuse. And starting on Thursday, I’ll discuss the good use of authenticity.
The first problem I see with the way “being real” is used in churches today lies in the realm of what to share of yourself and with whom. Often “authenticity” becomes the channel of sharing too much with people you shouldn’t. Modesty extends not just to what you wear, but to what you say, and our culture has largely lost the virtue of propriety in speech. Appropriate emotional and spiritual boundaries need to be maintained.
What does this look like, you might ask? I’m not sure if I can say what it looks like, but I can give you an example of what it doesn’t look like. Mixed-gender groups in churches and other Christian organizations, especially groups that are composed of singles, whether they be teenagers or thirty-somethings, can encourage a form of emotional intimacy that is unhealthy. This “authenticity” that would usually only be expressed across genders in a dating relationship or marriage, is touted as being a healthy way for this group of individuals to interact and “bond.”
In the end, though, confusion, disappointment, vulnerability, and even heartbreak can result as the singles in the group grow emotionally close. Perhaps one couple starts to date, and then breaks up. Or perhaps one person in the group is romantically attracted to another member who doesn’t return the feelings. This puts everyone in an awkward situation because of the level of intimacy everyone has been in, under the banner of being authentic. Those are just a couple of examples of possible results, but even if no heartbreak is involved, true emotional intimacy should be reserved for marriage.
So authenticity does not mean that we don’t have boundaries with others. There’s also another common misuse of authenticity that I’ll be discussing in part 2 of this series. Join me back here on Tuesday!
(HT: Beauty from the Heart)
