Hope Road

Changes Ahead

“…When a person speaks or writes or sings or paints about breathtaking truth in a boring way, it is probably a sin.” -John Piper (HT: Beauty from the Heart)

Inconsistent as I have been lately, I still believe that writing (and for this time, blogging) is a calling God has placed on my life. I want to honor that and do my best, instead of churning out entries I haven’t put my heart into. With that in mind, here are a few of the updates I hope to make within the coming days and weeks.

Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls by Mary Pipher is a book I just began to read. I read some of it during college. Pipher analyzes the culture’s influence on young teenage girls from a psychological, secular, feminist perspective. Needless to say, I disagree with many of the conclusions she draws. However, the book is valuable because of its often-piercing insights into this demographic. Pipher wrote it in 1994. I would like to respond to many of its themes from a Christian perspective. I would also like to evaluate the changes that have taken place in the decade-and-a-half since Pipher originally published the book. Feminism and its effect upon culture and Christianity is a subject I find both sad and fascinating.

I also plan to host more question-and-answer entries in the near future, both my questions to you and yours to me.

And in general, I hope to be writing many more entries about the topics that have been good for encouragement and discussion, as well as renewing some of my old series like Soul Sisters. I also want to bring back my book reviews, which I still haven’t gotten around to editing, and begin posting new ones again.

Finally, if you have e-mailed me recently and I haven’t responded, I apologize. E-mail is another thing I have been slacking on, so pardon my negligence! I will be working on catching up with that as well.

In the meantime, enjoy the weekend. I am going out of town for the next couple of days, so you can probably expect a new entry Sunday evening or Monday. Thanks for reading; “see” you then.

Safety in the Will of God

Daily Light for October 13, evening:

“This is the will of God, your sanctification.” (1 Thess. 4:3)

“So as to live for the rest of the time no longer for human passions but for the will of God.” (1 Peter 4:2)

“Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth… Therefore put away all filthiness.” (James 1:18, 21)

“Jesus said… ‘Whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:34-35)

“Everyone then who hears these words of Mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24-25)

“The world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:17)

How can I be in the will of God? By being obedient to His revealed will in Scripture… being set apart for Him and His purposes and glory instead of my own. (A video I was watching on Radical Womanhood included the phrase, “Do you want to live obsessed with your own glory, or obsessed with the glory of God?”) Not living for myself, living for Him. Knowing that my life is not my own and that He has the charge of me, and I have the charge of following His words. It’s not easy or “natural” - ask those I live and work with! But ultimately, the will of God is the best and safest place to be. There I need have no cares or anxieties, for sin is my only burden and it must decrease while He increases. Let it be so…

Writing? What’s that?

Greetings, dear readers… your oft-absent blogging friend still lives. I’ve been lazy with it lately. So different than when I was in college, cranking out papers and assignments left and right, procrastinating by reading blogs, and feeling the itch to write for any reason other than schoolwork. Oh, and I had all those spare minutes before class was about to start (and during class *cough*) to write entries. It’s a little different now that I’m working full-time and finding the evenings barely long enough without trying to keep up with writing. Okay, I’m out of excuses; truth is, writing is a little like exercising - the longer you go without doing it, the harder it is to pick it up and get right into a routine. But there’s a flip side to that too - the more you stretch your writing muscles, so to speak, the quicker they are to jump into action when you’re ready to use them. So therefore, I don’t really know what to write about, but I’m going to write anyway, and hopefully will rediscover my enthusiasm for the lost art!

Fall is always such a busy time. This is the first fall in four years I’m not in college, and I’m enjoying it. Everything seems different, of course, but it’s not bad. Goodness, just looking at the beautiful foliage could keep me occupied for hours. I dislike the fact that spring and fall are so comparatively brief. I feel like I can’t absorb them enough or something. I’m excited about an eternity of enjoying the beauty of God’s creation without ever running out of time.

I spend my days trying to corral approximately seventeen sweet and ornery preschoolers - a job that is not for the faint of heart, let me tell you. I find myself tested in patience moment by moment. Working in a daycare is a good way to understand the culture. I know that sounds strange to say, but hear me out… I heard in a sermon or something recently that you can truly measure the lack of discipline in a society by the behavior of its children, and that is so true with kids today. Kids today… Anyway, I was just talking to my cooperating teacher about this the other day - she has 25+ years of experience, and she says behavior has become so much worse even over the last 10 years. Children are indulged, left to be wild and disobedient, and taught that they are the center of the universe, and watching that play out in a crowded classroom is not always very pleasant. However, it is also a privilege to be able to influence the lives of these little ones; I hope that I can be a teacher with a mixture of grace, kindness, and firmness; this takes wisdom that does not come from me, believe me.

Whenever I feel like posting lately, it’s usually one of two things - either I want to say something reflective about Christian life, something God has been teaching me; or I want to talk about teaching kids. I really feel like a mother of preschoolers so many days; although I realize it’s not quite the same. So I feel like my posting has been somewhat limited in focus lately. If there’s anything you’d like to see me write about that I haven’t in awhile or that you’re wondering about, feel free to let me know.

Meanwhile, I’m going to finish enjoying this beautiful Sunday afternoon. Thanks for reading!

Far More Abundantly

“Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Before he writes this benediction at the end of his letter to the church in Ephesus, Paul repeats a petition he makes for the believers there and everywhere. In his prayer, he asks God to give his brothers and sisters

- strength in power through His Spirit
- the dwelling of Christ in their hearts through faith
- rooting and grounding in love
- comprehension and personal knowledge of the love of Christ
- filling of all the fullness of God

It is after making all of these requests that Paul reminds his readers that their God is the one who can do “far more abundantly than all that we ask or think.”

I am reminded again how small my faith is. I don’t mean for more earthly blessings. I mean spiritual blessings, of the sort that Paul was writing about. I feel like I can’t reach out for those things, that they are too infinite and faraway for me to grasp in my sinfulness and everyday life. But He is able to do far more abundantly than I could ask. I want to approach Him with confidence, knowing that His blood has cleansed me, asking to be shown His glory and love.

A Puritan Prayer

O God, may Thy Spirit speak in me that I may speak to thee. I have no merit, let the merit of Jesus stand for me. I am undeserving, but I look to Thy tender mercy. I am full of infirmities, wants, sin; Thou art full of grace.

I confess my sin, my frequent sin, my wilful sin; all my powers of body and soul are defiled: a fountain of pollution is deep within my nature. There are chambers of foul images within my being; I have gone from one odious room to another, walked in a no-man’s-land of dangerous imaginations, pried into the secrets of my fallen nature.

I am utterly ashamed that I am what I am in myself; I have no green shoot in me nor fruit, but thorns and thistles; I am a fading leaf that the wind drives away; I live bare and barren as a winter tree, unprofitable, fit to be hewn down and burnt. Lord, dost Thou have mercy on me?

Thou hast struck a heavy blow at my pride, at the false god of self, and I lie in pieces before Thee. But Thou hast given me another master and lord, Thy Son, Jesus, and now my heart is turned towards holiness, my life speeds as an arrow from a bow towards complete obedience to Thee. Help me in all my doings to put down sin and to humble pride. Save me from the love of the world and the pride of life, from everything that is natural to fallen man, and let Christ’s nature be seen in me day by day. Grant me grace to bear Thy will without repining, and delight to be not only chiselled, squared, or fashioned, but separated from the old rock where I have been embedded so long, and lifted from the quarry to the upper air, where I may be built in Christ for ever.

(Puritan Prayers: Heart Corruption)

Update coming soon

I’ll write something later today hopefully… just wanted to send out a quick update that yes, I am still alive and so is my blog. So check back soon!

Sunday Scriptures

These are some of the random passages I was reading today in church:

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life.” (Deuteronomy 4:9)

“It is He who remembered us in our low estate, for His steadfast love endures forever.” (Psalm 136:23)

“For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.” (Psalm 138:6)

“Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the Lord weighs the heart.” (Proverbs 21:2)

“For they preach, but do not practice. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. They do all their deeds to be seen by others.” (Matthew 23:4-5)

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and the plate, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence… For you are like whitewashed tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but within are full of dead people’s bones and all uncleanness.” (Matthew 23:25, 27)

“So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2 Timothy 3:22-26)

“What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For He says to Moses, ‘I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy.” (Romans 9:14-16)

The Next President

On a sunny walk this beautiful September morning, our preschool class passed several posters promoting Barack Obama for president. One of the little boys pointed and said excitedly, “Look! There’s Barack Obama, the next president!”

My first reaction was to chuckle and be impressed that he was articulate and intelligent enough to communicate that thought. My next reaction was to think, I guess his parents are Democrats.

Then he said, “And after him will be John McCain!”

Later that day, on another walk, he repeated the same thought, and I asked, “So you want Barack Obama to be the president, not John McCain?”

He said, “Yes, Barack Obama will be the president, and then John McCain after him.”

Hmm. Sounds like a great plan, right? Let’s just give up on this electing nonsense and rotate every four years - Democrat, Republican, Democrat, Republican… oh, what a new can of worms that would open up.

Autumn Roads

I can’t help it. I have to do the obligatory beginning of autumn post, complete with a few apropos images, of course. (I’m even listening to Jon Foreman’s Fall album - he has a mini album named after each season, and they are really good.)

Fall feels inspiring. It seems full of beginnings, even more than spring; perhaps because for the past several years, most things have ended rather than begun in the spring for me. Today I was reminded of some of the small gifts God brings into my life, and how I should respond to those things with gratitude. They bring me joy, and although I do want all of my joy to begin and end in the Lord, it is right to find joy in His gifts as well. Little things like hot apple cider with cinnamon… mornings that tingle my nose with their crispness… telling my preschoolers about God’s creation (enthused at this knowledge, they rush to show me blades of grass and dry leaves that crumble at my touch)… sunshine warming our faces at midday… the scent of a bonfire wafting in at night, smoky and pungent… all tiny hints of our great Creator’s glory, kindness, and gracious condescension.

Blessed be His glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with His glory! Amen and Amen!
(Psalm 72:19)

Scattered Thoughts

Wow, I haven’t written since Monday. This week flew by, even though it wasn’t the best week. Every time I thought about writing, I couldn’t form an idea into a cohesive, neat little entry packaged with a catchy title and a pretty picture. I still can’t. So that’s why you’re left with these fragments this afternoon.

Yesterday I went to a women’s luncheon at my church and our missionary from Peru spoke (in place of his wife, who had been sick). He spent some time describing the circumstances that many Peruvian women find themselves in - abandonment, loneliness, discouragement, and utter poverty. Then he talked about how realistically, these circumstances are probably not going to change. The only hope these women will find is in God. And then, even for us American women, who have different circumstances, we can find hope nowhere else. He referenced Psalm 42-43, one of my all-time favorites, and said hope was different in biblical language - a constant expectation, not just a doubtful chance. Hope in God is a constant expectation that He is enough, that He will fulfill His promises. This reminded me of another favorite passage of mine - “For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening” (1 Peter 3:5-6). A very convicting passage for me.

It’s all related to something else God has been making even more clear in my heart lately - how important it is that I seek everything in Him. Idolatry is so evil (I just finished reading the book of Hosea) because we are seeking ultimate joy, satisfaction, and pleasure in something other than God. And we are supposed to seek every joy, satisfaction, and pleasure in God. Every reason not to put our trust in man, is a reason to put our trust in God. It is right to flee to Him as a refuge, to long to be close to Him, to pour our hearts out to Him, to be emotionally dependent on Him, to sacrifice everything possible for Him, to long for Him above all else - to come with high expectations! Let’s not be too easily pleased.

This morning in church we sang “Fly Away.” I love the verses of that song. Especially When the shadows of this life have gone, I’ll fly away / Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away and Oh how glad and happy when we meet, I’ll fly away / No more cold iron shackles on my feet, I’ll fly away. I looked around and saw people in my own congregation who will probably be “flying away” soon (although only God knows, of course). And I was thinking about the release from the prison bars and iron shackles of this earth… every impediment between Christ and me… one day all of that will be gone. Hallelujah!

Last! Writing in this journaling, stream-of-consciousness style that I don’t do very often made me think of something I wanted to say about blogging. I think there is a healthy boundary between what you share on your blog and what you keep in a journal or in conversation with people you know, etc. I’m not only talking about sharing very personal thoughts, but in general about how much of your writing and reflection is invested online, where anyone can read it. It’s harder to be completely honest with God and yourself when you know that potentially dozens of people (or more) could read what you post. I would just encourage you bloggers to make sure that you are also processing your thoughts and prayers and meditations in another venue. If you are a blogger, I’d love to hear what you think about this and how you keep a balance, or if you have thought about it.

Well, I’m off to enjoy Sunday afternoon…

“O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you.
I am like an evergreen cypress;
from Me comes your fruit.
Whoever is wise, let him understand these things;
whoever is discerning, let him know them;
for the ways of the Lord are right,
and the upright walk in them,
but transgressors stumble in them.”
(Hosea 14:8-9)