Love This Quote

I came across these lines from a poem by Gottfried Arnold, a radical eighteenth century pietist, as I was flipping through a textbook of pietist writings tonight. And they made me smile, because they have reflected things I have often felt of late.

The power of the Cross has made me a fool.
I marvel that men do not laugh in my face.

Things that Made Me Smile Today

• Chocolate Creme Oreos.
• Sitting in the sunshine on the front steps of my house, letting the sun bake my bare feet.
• Finishing a good novel.
• Finishing a non-fiction book - I buy a lot of these, and usually read 1/3 to 2/3 of them, before they get set aside in favor of a novel or the latest non-fiction purchase.
• An invitation for Vietnamese food for dinner with my mom and brother.
• A sleep last night that was restful instead of restless.
• Pasta salad for lunch. Homemade - the only thing that would have made it better was if we had had white pasta available instead of the slightly heavier whole wheat pasta.
• The public library actually having in stock a slightly obscure book that I've heard a lot about lately.
• A couple of different sermons by Donald Miller that I downloaded from here.
• The fact that the same church has an extensive sermon series on "The Kingdom of God" which I am hoping will clarify some things that I have been thinking about lately.

There were also a couple of cartoons that made me smile when I came across them in some notebooks where I keep these kinds of things that make me smile.

The first one has two characters. The first person says to the second person, "The problem with today's world is too much freedom. We need less freedom so we Christians can put an end to all the things we don't agree with. Who asked for a free society, anyhow?" The second person replies, "The church. We wanted to worship as we please without being persecuted." The first person looks disgruntled and responds, "Oh... there's nothing like a little historical perspective to ruin a good tirade." I love this. Of course, I am a history major, with an ironic sense of humor.

The next cartoon has two characters again, a child and an adult. The child says, "The pastor told our class that if we study our Bibles, we might grow up to be a minister like him. He also told us how much he makes, how many hours he puts in, and how much he's appreciated by the congregation." The adult then asks, "So what did we learn?" and the child replies, "Never go near a Bible!" Again - the pastor's kid in me couldn't resist the humor in this kind of statement.

There have been other things, but these are the main ones that made me smile. These, and plans to relax and watch television or a movie after dinner, preferably while wrapped cozily in the best throw blanket ever - a blanket that is basically a cable-knit sweater, but not a sweater, a blanket. And then, I've got writing to do - either a piece I'm tentatively calling "Who is this Jesus?" or continued research and work on some stuff on redemption that I'm pulling together. These are the ingredients to a good evening - especially when the dinner that kicks it off is Vietnamese food.

Slightly Fevered Quiet

I have had an interesting couple of days.

I spent Monday with two friends from YWAM Calgary that I met on the trip to Mexico - my "twin" (Sara) and Miriam. (Ironically enough, while sitting in a coffee shop in Mackenzie Townes with Sara and a couple other friends, someone who knew the other three, but not me came in and asked Sara if I was her sister. We laughed pretty hard over that one! Mexico all over again. "You'd really never even met before this trip? You're sure you're not sisters?") So much fun, relaxing, doing some shopping, and sitting in a coffee shop sharing life. I am grateful for new friends in my life right now.

Yesterday was also a unique day, that I can't really say a lot about. I did something I've needed to do for a while, something that God confirmed in Mexico, but that was very scary and difficult for me. I faced a situation that is hard, and spoke my heart, and the things I felt God was speaking.

Today, I am ill. I was going to spend the evening hanging out with my mom at a movie, but wasn't feeling that well, checked my temperature at dinnertime and discovered a 101.3 degree Fahrenheit fever. Nothing brilliant, just another cold and sore throat. This is what happens when you're sick for five months. You have no immune system left and spend a lot of time catching every bug that goes around.

So I'm blaming my slightly muddled state of mind on the fever (although it probably has more to do with the emotionally, relationally, and spiritually charged nature of the last four or five days!) And here's to hoping I'll be better tomorrow - I'm writing a really great piece on redemption, and I want to work on it and put it here, as well as the very basic fact that I need to spend some time job hunting.

Last Night

Last night was a study in interesting moments.

Within minutes of the service starting, the first worship song or two, the friend sitting on my right broke down and began to weep. I'd known from the five word conversation we'd exchanged that things weren't going that well, but this was unexpected. So, for the entire service, I held her. I wrapped my arms around her, did my best to continue focusing on the service while also monitoring her needs, and whether God was speaking to me for her.

As the service drew to a close, first a few, and then a number of our friends gathered around her and began to pray. To be honest, other than a long-needed release of emotions, I'm not sure that much was accomplished. I don't feel that we were that successful in battling the things going on in the spiritual in her life - and they are many. I suspect that this will be a long and on-going battle. If you have a moment, pray for my friend. Her spirit is broken right now and she is wrestling heavily with life and with God. The greatest failures seem to come on the heels of the greatest victories, and it is hard in those moments to remember the victories and rest in them, rather than condemning yourself for the failures.

After the service, I headed out to Earls with another good friend. I could tell there was stuff going on in her life, I wasn't ready to go home yet, so I invited her to go for "coffee" which we turned into dinner for me and dessert for her. God is doing some cool things in her life, but it had been a really rough week, and she was exhausted. Plus, the new things God is doing are scaring her - because she's beginning to hear His voice, and that's weird when you come from a conservative baptist church! I was so grateful for the chance to sit with her, to hear what's genuinely going on in her life, to speak encouragement from my own experiences as I too have begun to hear God's voice, and then to walk back to my car, encourage her to climb in, and spend time praying with and for her.

It was a strange night - a series of snapshots that seem disconnected somehow. Two friends announcing that they've begun dating, dinner with my friend, holding a weeping young woman through an entire worship service, and then praying for her for at least an hour afterwards. But I think it might have been good. I came home exhausted emotionally, and have a busy day planned for today, and again for tomorrow, but I think it was good.

He is Risen

He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. Hallelujah!