Slow Me Down

Grafted

A rosebush has been dormant along the front walkway all winter. Sure, I’ve trimmed it back a time or two when it began to hang over the footpath with its daunting thorns, but overall it has gotten very little care. I have spent practically no contemplative power on this plant in the course of my residence here {It’s just a plant after all, and as I’ve been a desert dweller nearly all my life, plants don’t really hold importance in my day-to-day thinking - unless of course they’re gargantuan tumble weeds that happen to be rolling across the dusty two lane highway in front of my small commuter car – but I digress.}  Now, the roses are in bloom and to my astonishment it is a rosebush with two distinct varieties of roses growing from the same series of roots.  Upon making this discovery I began to think of the passage in Romans 11, in which Paul speaks of gentiles as having been grafted into the “olive tree” of faith in the Lord -- A faith which is now available to anyone who will make it their own by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  

 I am thankful for this beautiful metaphor of God’s love and Christ’s sacrifice which stands to greet me every time I pass through my front door.

Worry {Be Gone}

"Fretting springs from a determination to get our own way!" {Oswald Chambers}

"The strong hands of God twisted the crown of thorns into a crown of glory; and in such hands we are safe." {Charles Williams}

"Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength."{Corrie Ten Boom}

"The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith, and the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety."{George Muller}

Cousins

Painting nails,

laughing,

drinking tea,

watching Pride and Prejudice,

and cracking witty remarks about nearly everything. . .

That's what cousins are for.

Eternity {an Analogy}

I read this recently and found it thought provoking and humorous. A fun combination. :-)

We are so little reconciled to time that we are even astonished at it. “How he’s grown!” we exclaim, “How time flies!” as though the universal form of our experience were again and again a novelty. It is as strange as if a fish were repeatedly surprised at the wetness of water. And that would be strange indeed; unless of course the fish were destined to become, one day, a land animal.

                                                               -CS Lewis in Reflections on the Psalms

Upcoming

There are lots of ways I could have prepared for this weekend. I could have planned ahead more thoroughly. I could have meditated on Christ’s sacrifice more often. But despite my preparedness, Easter is upon me; it is almost the day of commemorating the Resurrection of Christ. And, for that I am thankful, in that I am rejoicing, and by that I am saved.

I have a serious case of

Wanderlust.

I want to travel the world.

Who's with me?

Processing, Processing, Processing

On a typical school day, it seems to have become routine for me to arrive home at the end with a sense of despair over the state of the world, humanity, myself, and just . . . everything! And though I know intellectually that the Lord is sovereign in every sense of the word, it is fairly difficult to grasp that with one’s whole being at all times.

The processing of life has become extremely laborious and exhausting to me in the last few months. Perhaps it is the enormity of analyzing every aspect of anything I can wrap my mind around, but there are some days when I just want to leave my brain behind for a while and take a break. {Seriously, I would love to stop thinking for maybe an hour or so and take a dreamless nap.} But alas, leaving my brain behind would mean that I physically perish, and I’m not searching for that type of solution to life’s difficulties!

Yet, as I have been grappling with some increasingly complex thoughts {and emotions, etc}, I’ve also experienced some inexplicable moments of God-induced serenity. It’s moments like these that make the pain of processing seem entirely worth it.

I know I’m being vague about what I mean about “processing” and all that it entails, but my purpose here is to encourage others to search deeply, to explore the avenues of thought that seem to challenge the notion of a Sovereign God. Each time I challenge a facet of God's character, He pretty much proves Himself to be the most awesome Deity EVER.

I recommend:



"A Mighty Fortress is our God"

Martin Luther:

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed
His truth to triumph through us.
The prince of darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure,
for lo! His doom is sure;
One little word will fell him.

          

What I've been reading lately

All about marijuana, exploitation of immigrants
and the porn industry.
Informative.
Politically charged.
Rather disturbing.



For a class: obviously. Interesting when I'm not fighting exhaustion. {Which is never.} 



Strange biological view of the development of the market.

Interesting so far. . .

This is Gross.



I'm reading this for the second time. LOVE it.





I'm not very far into this, but I'm enjoying it.
{Thought provoking.}





This is about the Rwandan genocide in '94.
Hard to read (emotionally), but I recommend it anyway.




An inside look at the conditions of the working-poor in America. {Interesting}