2013 Reminisces, Part 1

It's been a while since I have blogged. A long while. My hiatus can be explained by a determination in late 2012 to spend more time in the Divine Word and less time spinning words of my own.

In the spirit of thinking about the old year disappearing and the new year coming up, I am setting some new goals for 2014. One of those is to begin blogging again, at least one post per month. So that may mean twelve posts, or perhaps more. Who knows...2014 awaits!

Looking back on 2013 over the next several days, I intend to list the adventures that we had, the pain that enlarged in our hearts, and the healing that took place.

Reading  for the Year
I read quite a few online articles coming form a wide variety of sources. I especially enjoyed some brilliant repartee in the form of a theological battle between two current Church leaders over the Charismatic movement in the US. Dr. Michal Brown waxed eloquent and pontificated a rebuttal to John MacArthur's denouncement of the movement and its contributions as a whole: Authentic Fire vs. Strange Fire: It's Not About Winning an Argument

I learned more than I ever had before about the baptism of the Holy Spirit while doing research for a Bible class. And this article by Bill Hamon further explained some things that Derek Prince's informative book did not: Why Speaking in Tongues Matters

The books I read and enjoyed mostly included books required for uni research. This summer I read Brennan Manning's The Furious Longing of God. Intense stuff right there.

And then came Trim Healthy Mama. I bought that book in February at a Nancy Campbell Above Rubies ladies retreat but didn't start reading it until July. Six hundred pages of scientific diet advice and recipes. God immediately started dealing with an area of sin that has largely been unaddressed for many years in my life: gluttony. It's been a lifechanging journey so far, and I have documented it in pictures on Facebook along the way. Since August I have lost thirty-five pounds; thank You, Jesus!

To be continued... ;-)

crazy love & mr. chan

I gave a friend a copy of Frances Chan's Crazy Love recently. Last summer, on a whim, I ordered my first audio-book and listened to Mr. C read his Crazy Love. This was tricky, since I am LARGELY a visual person and do NOT have much of an auditory modality at all. Mr. C boldly attacks several American ideologies that we hold dear, many "culturisms" that are not Scriptural and not in any way true. My "American sensibilities" were challenged as my mind reverted to some ideas that theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer had proposed during the '30-40s, ideas regarding the then current Christians' unbiblical thinking and practices. And Chan's premiss that our God is jealous over us, that He is relentless in His pursuit of us, is fascinating! Ideas that I know in my head, and I need to realize more fully in my heart.

Now said friend has asked me about my favorite part of Crazy Love.
Well, I have many favorite parts! :-D  Here are some of my fav excerpts from the first chapters.

Chapter 1:

"Our culture says anything goes; fear of God is almost iunheard of. We are slow to listen, quick to speak, and quick to become angry. The wise man comes to God without saying a word and stands in awe of Him...Romans tells us that through creation, we see His 'invisible qualities' and 'divine nature.'"

"R. C. Sproul writes, 'Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance, until they have constrasted themselves with the majesty of God.'"

"There is an epidemic of spiritual amnesia going around, and none of us is immune. No matter how many fascinating details we learn about God's creation, no matter how many pictures we see of His galaxies, and no matter how many sunsets we watch, we still forget."

"We are programmed to focus on what we don't have, bombarded multiple times throughout the daywith what we need to buy that will make us feel happier or sexier or more at peace. This disatisfaction transfers over to our thinking about God. We forget that we already have everything we need in Him."

"Isn't it a comfort to worship a God we cannot exaggerate?"

"Not being able to fully understand God is frustrating but it is ridiculous for us to think we have the right to limit God to something we are capable of comprehending. What a stunted, insignificant god that would be!"

"He knows our thoughts before we think them, our actions before we commit them, whether we are lying down or sitting or walking around. He knows who we are and what we are about. We cannot escape Him, even if we want to.When I grow weary of trying to be faithful to Him and want a break, it doesn't come as a surprise to God."

"God is the only Being who is good, and the standards are set by Him."

 "All the people of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him, 'What have you done?'" -Daniel 4:35

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Do not be anxious about anything." -Phil. 4:4, 6


Chapter 2:

"Worry implies that we don;'t quite trust that God is big enough, powerful enough, or loving enough to take care of what's happening in our lives.

Stress says that the things we are involved in are important enough to merit our impatience, our lack of grace toward others, or our tight grip of control.

Basically, these two behaviors communicate that it's okay to sin and not trust God because the stuff in my life is somehow exceptional. Both worry and stress reek of arrogance."

OUCH!!! This ^^ is like reading my bio! :-(
More to come...