Happy Halloween

Everything rides on hope now …

Another new playlist addition:

Hope Now

by Addison Road

If everything comes down to love
Then just what am I afraid of
When I call out Your name
Something inside awakes in my soul
How quickly I forget I’m Yours

(PRE-CHORUS)
I’m not my own
I’ve been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

When my life is like a storm
Rising waters all I want is the shore
You say I’ll be ok and
Make it through the rain
You are my shelter from the storm

(PRE-CHORUS)
I’m not my own
I’ve been carried by You
All my life

(CHORUS)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free

(CHORUS 2)
Everything rides on hope now
Everything rides on faith somehow
When the world has broken me down
Your love sets me free
You’ve become my hearts desire
I will sing Your praises higher
Cause Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free
Your love sets me free

Details

 

I think one of the things I’m most amazed by is the way God appoints us to be certain places at certain times and appoints others to be there with us. And through those people and places, He’s there, too. It’s so beautiful. Just as I’m in love with the details of fall, I’m in love with the details God uses to shape us and teach us and love us.

A Few Thoughts

Last week, I finished reading Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren F. Winner. She’s also the author of Girl Meets God, which I wrote about in this post.

I’ve been meaning to share a few thoughts on the book, so here I am with a hot mug of apple cider and my library copy of the book. (Have I ever mentioned how much I adore libraries? That’s for another post, I suppose.)

In Girl Meets God, Lauren F. Winner talks about her conversion from Judaism to Christianity. In Mudhouse Sabbath, she writes about 11 Jewish spiritual practices and how she views them now as a Christian. I like the way the back of the book explains this: “Despite her conversion from Orthodox Judaism to Christianity, Lauren Winner finds that her life is still shaped by the spiritual essences of Judaism—rich traditions and religious practices that can transform the way we view the world, and God. Whether discussing her own prayer life, the spirituality of candle-lighting, or the differences between the Jewish Sabbath and a Sunday spent at the Mudhouse, her favorite coffee shop, Winner writes with appealing honesty and rare insight.”

If this copy didn’t belong to the library, I surely would have marked up what spoke to me. Tonight, I’m going to share from one of the sections I really liked, Hospitality:

“As church historian Amy Oden has put it, ‘God offers hospitality to all humanity … by establishing a home … for all.’ To invite people into our homes is to respond with gratitude to the God who made a home for us. In the Christian doctrine of the Trinity, we find another resource for hospitality. The Trinity shows God in relationship with Himself. Our Three-in-One God has welcomed us into Himself and invited us to participate in Divine life. And so the invitation that we as Christians extend to one another is not simply an invitation into our homes or to our tables; what we ask of other people is that they enter into our lives.”

I love that last part … that we not only invite people into our homes, but we invite them into our lives. And it can be difficult to allow ourselves to be vulnerable, to let others see us as we are.

Lauren touches on that difficulty, as it relates to her home and her life:

“But to be a hostess, I’m going to have to surrender my notions of Good Housekeeping domestic perfection. I will have to set down my pride and invite people over even if I have not dusted.” And then: “I don’t find inviting people into my life much easier than inviting them into my apartment. At its core, I think, cultivating an intimacy in which people can know and be known requires being honest—practicing that other Christian discipline of telling the truth about where we live and how we got there.”

And it is hard, but it’s worth it. My community group is navigating that truth right now, meeting each week at Panera to study, pray, know and be known. This week, we had our first potluck dinner and were welcomed into the home of one of the women. Each month, we have plans to meet at one woman’s house for food and fellowship. It’s a great way for each of us to invite the others into our homes and our lives.

 

Today is the Day

I started my morning with a trip to a local bakery for a pumpkin donut and then stopped at Starbucks for a latte.

While I was driving, the perfect song came on the radio, Today is the Day, by Lincoln Brewster.  

Today is the day You have made

I will rejoice and be glad in it

The sun was shining, and I felt truly present in the moment. I want to be present and rejoice more often, even if it’s just over a sunny morning, a pumpkin donut and my favorite Starbucks latte.

I hope your Saturday was joyful.

Change

Change has been on my mind lately.

(I guess it’s hard not to ponder change in the fall, when there’s so much change around us, when the leaves are turning colors and falling from the trees, leaving their once full branches bare.)

In the current series at church, we’re talking a lot about shedding the old, losing our old ways, so we can be filled with the new way—His way.

Because this process involves change, it can be intimidating, even though we know that it’s going to be beautiful. That’s why our community group’s prayer this week was to ask for the courage to stop settling for the old when He has the NEW waiting.

A friend of mine recently shared the following blog excerpt with me. It’s from the blog 97 Seconds with God:

“I think the truth is that when we turn ourselves over to God, He doesn’t make us into someone else. He makes us into who we have always been. He amplifies the parts of us that are true. He purifies the dreams we’ve always had or the skills we’ve always used. He doesn’t turn poets into mathematicians or scientists into painters. If anything, I think He gives artists even more colors to create with, scientists even bigger labs to experiment in … I’m a writer and when I gave my life to Christ, He didn’t ask me to stop writing. In many ways, He asked me to start writing.”

I’m a slow embracer of change most of the time. But, like I told my friend, when I get past the fear, it’s exhilarating to know that slowly but surely He’s changing me into my true self, the woman He designed me to be.

Sometimes, I wonder what that woman will look like and what He’ll change next. And I feel encouraged on the days I feel uncomfortable in my own skin because I know His work is not done. I take comfort in the truth that “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” 

And then there are those parts I already know, the parts that have always been and that He is amplifying and purifying. I thank Him for placing these on my heart, for making them part of who I am. I thank Him for my love of reading and writing, and I pray that He will use them for His glory.

Sometimes, I think about how He could use this blog if He wanted to. He can take the smallest, seemingly insignificant things and use them. So, I offer this blog to Him to use as He will. And in the meantime, I love the writing. I love the photography. I love putting my simple little entries together knowing that my heart is behind each one, the same heart He’s shaping and changing each day.

The Simple Things

  

Tonight I:

• took a Pilates class after work.
• appreciated Pastor Scotty’s blog about Psalm 12 and loneliness.
• am enjoying a mug of hot chocolate for dessert.
• am looking forward to reading a chapter of The Knowledge of the Holy and Mudhouse Sabbath.
• am planning to spend some quiet time journaling and praying.

Renewal

I just returned from Bible study. I love the way I feel after an evening of reading the Bible, talking and praying with the women in my community group. It’s calming and nourishing. After the drudgery Monday so often brings, Tuesday evenings provide a much-needed renewal.

We end each study with something to pray about for the rest of the week that relates to what we studied. This week’s prayer really spoke to all of our hearts: Ask Jesus for the courage to stop settling for the old when He has the NEW waiting for you.

It can be easy to cling to what’s familiar, but when we find courage in faith, we’re able to let go and see how incredible what’s waiting really is.

Blessings

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise.

—Matt Redman, Blessed Be Your Name

We sang Blessed Be Your Name at church today, and I so enjoyed lifting those lyrics up to the Lord.

My weekend has been full of blessings …

1. Fall weather with lots of sunshine and cool, crisp nights.
2. Being with loved ones (my mom and grandmother).
3. Food to savor and be thankful for—pasta, chocolate pie, hearty soup, pumpkin french toast … (And good food is always made even better when enjoyed with good company (see blessing #2).
4. An awesome sermon from Pastor Scotty about casting off the old and letting God do His work in us to create something NEW.
5. Sharing in worship this morning with my mom and grandmother. It meant so much to me to bring them to the church I attend, to sing and worship together, to learn together.

I’m going to leave you with a few lyrics from Jimmy Needham’s song, Hurricane. After hearing Pastor Scotty’s message today, I was reminded of the lyrics. 

I have built a city here 
Half with pride and half with fear 
Just wanted a safer place to hide 
I don’t want to be safe tonight     

I need You like a hurricane 
Thunder crashing, wind and rain 
To tear my walls down 
I’m only Yours now 
I need you like a burning flame 
A wild fire untamed 
To burn these walls down 
I’m only Yours now 
I’m only Yours now 

Hello, almost-weekend.

My mom and grandma are coming to visit tomorrow, and I’m looking forward to spending the weekend with them. We have plans to eat at yummy restaurants, go shopping and to the movies, and go to church on Sunday. It’s going to be a relaxing weekend, and I’m so thankful they’re coming for a visit.

Not much time to write tonight. I’m in the middle of cleaning.