Invitation to Rest

Reading about God’s invitation to rest is also an invitation to a good – healthy theology of work in this chapter from Invitations from God by Adele Ahlberg Calhoun

“He didn’t intend for work to be the way people form identities or find favor with God. Work was to be an expression of who human beings already are.
They are already loved and immeasurably important. … They spent their time w/ their Creator reveling in the satisfying rhythms of work & rest.”

“An identity based on doing is always precarious and unrestful. And it is not what God intended.”

“God invites us to trust him to manage the world for 24 hours each week without our labor. Sabbath is the day that reminds us who we are. We don’t have to justify our existence by striving and driving. We aren’t less of a contribution to the world because we honor our limits and produce less one day a week. We are God’s well-loved creatures, created in his beautiful image, no matter what we do or don’t do. We didn’t earn this identity as the beloved; it was bestowed like a kiss from God before we ever left the womb. Keeping Sabbath is one way we enter into the restfulness of who we are in God.”

Eugene Peterson Quote

My feelings tell me next to nothing about God

My feelings are important for many things. They are essential and valuable.  They keep me aware of much that is true and real. But they tell me next to nothing about God or my relation to God. My security comes from who God is, not from how I feel. Discipleship is a decision to live by what I know about God, not by what I feel about him or myself or my neighbors. ‘As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people.’ The image that announces the dependable, unchanging, safe, secure existence of God’s people comes from geology, not psychology.

from Eugene Peterson’s book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Feelings are great liars

Feelings are great liars. If Christians worshiped only when they felt like it, there would be precious little worship. Feelings are important but completely unreliable in matters of faith. Paul Scherer is laconic: “the Bible wastes very little time on the way we feel.”

We live in what one writer has called the “age of sensations.” We think that if we don’t feel something there can be no authenticity in doing it. But the wisdom of God says something different: that we can act ourselves into a new way of feeling much quicker than we can feel ourselves into a new way of acting.

Worship is an act that develops feelings for God, NOT a feeling for God that is expressed in an act of worship. When we obey the command to praise God in worship, our deep, essential need to be in relationship with God is nurtured.

short excerpt from Eugene Peterson’s book A Long Obedience in the same Direction

i wish i knew what to say

i’ve logged in a few times. but i have too many things and yet a shortage of things to say all at the same time. i want to tell you everything about what’s going on. but i’m in the middle of a very steep learning curve and it’s a little tricky. so this is my attempt at saying i wish i knew what to say right now, but i’m still figuring it all out.

i can tell you that i’m experiencing some growing pains as my fingers get pried open and my heart begins to be molded.

i read a fabulous book by Henri Nouwen today. it was just what my heart needed. Called the Spirituality of Fundraising. And most of what it talked about wasn’t fundraising but dealing with issues of the heart and asking questions like this:

“Money has something to do with that intimate place in our heart where we need security, and we do not want to reveal our need or give away our security to someone who, maybe only accidentally, might betray us.”

•  …Our relationship with money, and how we ourselves relate to money. What is the place of money in our lives?
• “We fear being dependent on others because of the idea that dependence is a threat to our security.”
• “The pressure in our culture to secure our own future and to control our lives as much as possible does not find support in the Bible. Jesus KNOWS our need for security.
•  ”The Spirit of love says, don’t be afraid to let go of your need to control your own life. Let me fulfill the true desire of your heart.”
• “How do we become people whose security base is God and God alone?”

ouch. Nouwen gets me where it hurts. the more I attack and wrestle the issue of finances the more I am aware just how much of an idol and spiritual issue it is. it’s so much more than being willing to give up 10%…there is so much more to it than dropping a check or a bill in the offering. that’s it.

If you are interested in the book…it’s a short little PDF thing that I’d love to share if you need it :) or you can get it for $12 on Amazon. Leave a comment with your email address and I’ll send it over, red rover!

Radiant Singleness

Excerpt from Sacred Singleness by Leslie Ludy:

Rather than listening to advice and messages that breed discontentment with singleness, the best way to shed the “stigma” of being single is to joyfully and willingly receive it as the gift and opportunity that it is – becoming fully yielded to God, fully trusting that He can script a love story anytime He sees fit.

Rather than being preoccupied with solving the dilemma of our singleness, God’s Word says we should be consumed with loving, knowing, serving, and worshiping Jesus Christ. It may sound impossible to become excited and fulfilled in your singleness, but I guarantee that if you submit your mind, will, emotions, and desires to Christ, He will supernaturally enable you with the joy and peace you need in order to walk this narrow road.

My amazing sister-in-law, Krissy, lived out her single years one day at a time.  When her brother Mark asked her once if she was called to singleness, her response was, “Today I am.” She didn’t worry about the next ten years; she trusted God for the grace to live joyfully and contentedly for that day alone, knowing that she would have everything she needed.

I’ve encountered many radiant single young women who are completely unconcerned with the disapproval and opinions of others.  They don’t get ruffled by the “singles support groups” all around them.  They aren’t shaken by the subtle pressure of friends and family members to hurry up and find a guy.  Why?  Because they understand that their bodies are living sacrifices to the King of all kings.  They have become the bondslaves of Christ.  They aren’t worried what other people think – their eyes are seeking only the applause of Heaven.  And, like Christ, they approach every circumstance in life with the knowledge that their Heavenly Father is handling the situation – their role is not to manipulate or control.  Their role is merely to yield themselves fully to Him.  And they have found great joy in this abandoned life – so much so that they truly embrace singleness as a gift, rather than resenting it as a stigma.

I’m not talking about an arrogant feministic “I don’t need a man in my life” kind of attitude.  And I’m not talking about losing all desire for marriage and family.  I’m simply talking about a joyful yielding to Jesus Christ, trusting in His perfect timing, and building your life and focus around Him rather than the pursuit of marriage.

-Excerpt from Sacred Singleness by Leslie Ludy
(I read this book a while back, but this quote is currently circulating on tumblr, so I wanted to share it here as well xoxo)

deep gladness

The place God calls you to is where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.

-Frederick Buechner

 

C. S. Lewis on the importance of being real

I know all about the despair of overcoming chronic temptations. It is not serious, provided self-offended petulance, annoyance at breaking records, impatience etc. don’t get the upper hand. No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home. But the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one’s temper and give it up.

It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence.

 

Thanking God for broken hearts

“We are not sanctified for ourselves.

The first thing God does is get us grounded on strong reality and truth. He does this until our cares for ourselves individually have been brought into submission to His way for the purpose of His redemption. Why shouldn’t we experience heartbreak? Through these doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?

You are not your own.”
-from My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers

That’s quite an interesting way of thinking about it, huh? What are your thoughts?

<3
lorijo

30 days – the first five

Day 01 — Your favorite song::
Saving Grace by Michelle Fragar, Hillsong United, Best Friend Album

Day 02 — Your favorite movie:: Hitch.

Day 03 — Your favorite television program::
Caprica. (Old favorite: Full House)

Day 04 — Your favorite book::
Lost Women of the Bible by Carolyn Custis James

Day 05 — Your favorite quote:: by Stormie Omartian, from Praying God’s Will for Your Life

“Worship is powerful because God’s presence comes to dwell in our midst when we praise Him, and in His presence we find healing, transformation, and direction for our lives. In fact, the more time we spend praising the Lord, the more we will see ourselves and our circumstances grow in wholeness and completeness.That’s because praise softens our hearts and makes them pliable. It also covers us protectively. The more pliability and covering are maintained, the more quickly our hearts can be molded and healed.”