"Truly I tell you, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it." Luke 18:17
I've been chewing on this verse this week. It is especially relevant to me now because my daughter is getting to the age where we have deeper conversations about faith than just naming the animals on Noah's Ark. During the Christmas season, I started reading Matthew with her. Not every night, and we haven't gotten very far, but I've already been amazed. One night we were in chapter 6, talking about storing up treasures in Heaven. While I was explaining to her what that meant, she got very upset because she thought I was going to give all her stuff away and she was especially worried about her clothes. Clothes are very important when you're 5, apparently. Then we continue on and a few verses later it specifically says not to worry about what you will wear. It's so simple but she thought that was super cool, and it was the most special thing to see how the Bible can be living and active to a little girl just like it is to me.
I'm not sure how I got started, but I read a lot of Christian blogs. Probably because I joined Twitter and didn't know what to
do with it, so I picked a bunch of Christian authors to follow and every
time I get on there I spend 2 hours following links they post. Anyway,
that's not really the point. The point is, while most of what I read is encouraging and challenging and wonderful, it
makes my brain hurt sometimes. They use words like hermeneutics,
exegesis, egalitarianism, and dispensational pre-millenialism (okay,
that one's actually from my Revelation study). Know who
didn't use big words? Jesus. Jesus is "follow me", "love your
neighbor", "don't worry", and "once upon a time, there was a shepherd
who lost his sheep". He spoke in an accessible way, so that not just
the seminary graduate would understand his teachings, but everyone who
heard him. It makes me wonder if
we've overcomplicated faith in Jesus to a ridiculous degree. Don't get me wrong, I think studying scripture and gaining greater understanding of God are good things, but do we reach a point where we are missing the forest for the trees? As I read recently, "It is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless
the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for
having heard the truth." (A.W. Tozer)
Monday, January 20, 2014
Wednesday, January 1, 2014
Start Where You Are
Well, hello there, neglected little blog! It's been a while. I hope everyone had a great holiday season. Ours was filled with sugar and fun and a wee bit of stress as always, but it was lovely. At our kids' age I am still able to keep things pretty simple, so I'm trying to enjoy every moment of that while it lasts! Now it's time to wean the kids (and myself) off the sweets and get back to a routine. As we face the new year, I've never been much for resolutions. They seem to be a recipe for failure, at least in my world! But it's hard not to at least reflect on the year gone by and think of things to improve on in the year to come.
2013 was a year in which God worked on me in a huge way, the sometimes painful process of molding and making. He continues to chip away at my attachment to the world and material things and to stir up compassion and response to the needs around the world. Cambodia was the culmination of that in so many ways, but to be honest it has been a struggle to figure out how to continue on since returning home. (Probably why I haven't written much since then.) Turning feelings into action can be a tricky business! I'm hoping 2014 will bring more tangible opportunities for me to stay connected to the people of Cambodia and the fight against human trafficking. And still I know that God doesn't intend for me to sit around and pine for a country halfway around the world when there are needs and struggles going on in my very own community, so I must continue to pray and seek what God would have me do here.
As you might be able to tell from reading this little blog, I'm a Big Ideas person. I love to make grand plans and organize and plot and scheme. So I suppose if I have a resolution this year, that's it. To stop thinking so hard and just start where I am, following God with small faithful steps. I hope if you have been waiting for any reason to follow a call from God, you will set whatever it is aside and start where you are too.
If you should need some inspiration, here's some book recommendations for your 2014!
Unfinished by Richard Stearns - by far my favorite book I read this year. Will rock your world.
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer - I've only just started this one and already find myself highlighting every other sentence.
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge - a fun, different way to think about Jesus.
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - just makes your soul feel good to read. Get some friends and some wine and read it together.
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes - this is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but really I'd recommend reading this or anything you can get your hands on by Bonhoeffer himself. I plan to do just that in 2014!
2013 was a year in which God worked on me in a huge way, the sometimes painful process of molding and making. He continues to chip away at my attachment to the world and material things and to stir up compassion and response to the needs around the world. Cambodia was the culmination of that in so many ways, but to be honest it has been a struggle to figure out how to continue on since returning home. (Probably why I haven't written much since then.) Turning feelings into action can be a tricky business! I'm hoping 2014 will bring more tangible opportunities for me to stay connected to the people of Cambodia and the fight against human trafficking. And still I know that God doesn't intend for me to sit around and pine for a country halfway around the world when there are needs and struggles going on in my very own community, so I must continue to pray and seek what God would have me do here.
As you might be able to tell from reading this little blog, I'm a Big Ideas person. I love to make grand plans and organize and plot and scheme. So I suppose if I have a resolution this year, that's it. To stop thinking so hard and just start where I am, following God with small faithful steps. I hope if you have been waiting for any reason to follow a call from God, you will set whatever it is aside and start where you are too.
If you should need some inspiration, here's some book recommendations for your 2014!
Unfinished by Richard Stearns - by far my favorite book I read this year. Will rock your world.
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer - I've only just started this one and already find myself highlighting every other sentence.
Beautiful Outlaw by John Eldredge - a fun, different way to think about Jesus.
Bread and Wine by Shauna Niequist - just makes your soul feel good to read. Get some friends and some wine and read it together.
Bonhoeffer by Eric Metaxes - this is a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, but really I'd recommend reading this or anything you can get your hands on by Bonhoeffer himself. I plan to do just that in 2014!
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