I heard a great sermon last semester from the Bishop of the Methodist church in Indiana (I'm still not sure how the Bishop thing works in the Methodist church, so I'm not sure if that is his exact title...)
He spoke on the different ways we can approach our shortcomings and mistakes. In our culture, we see a lot of people approach their mistakes with remorse. Remorse allows you to live in the guilt. It is a burden that grows daily. Remorse isn't all bad, but it often allows us to live in the past. It allows us to fixate on that shortcoming or mistake. Celebrity remorse is very evident. We see the actor or the singer that drinks a little too much and acts out in public - they apologize, and they feel badly - but then they make headlines a year later for the same offense.
The Bishop then talked about repentance and what it looks like to live repented. He illustrated it as a complete 180 turn. A new direction.
If you look up the repentance in the dictionary, remorse is right in the definition. This may be bold of me to say so, but the dictionary got it wrong.
In Acts, we have this even bolder statement:
"Repent therefore, and turn again that your sins may be blotted out." Acts 3:19
Turn again. Turn around. In our faith, repentance has a different definition. Repentance means that we acknowledge our shortcomings and wrongdoings, and we live a life where we strive not to repeat them.
Romans 6 begins like this: "What shall we say then, are we to continue in sin so that grace may abound? How can we who died to sin still live in it?"
Repentance is a forward motion. Repentance is a part of our lifestyle as followers of Christ. Repentance is our willingness to accept God's grace and to continue living in that grace.
So in these season and furthermore, may we all strive to live repented.
~SP
Friday, March 7, 2014
Thursday, March 6, 2014
THURSDAY MARCH 6: Waiting
Truth: God works in the waiting.
Waiting is something that we often find agonizing and terrifying. Sitting in the waiting room at a hospital or clinic is rarely every an experience that we associate with joyful anticipation or excitement. It's not even an experience that we could say gives us peace or sets our mind at ease.
Maybe you are waiting to hear if you got the job or, in my case, the internship. You are ready to set the rest of your life into gear, but it is contingent on that one decision. Why do we have to wait? Why can't we know now!?
What does it mean to need time? We can get a lot done with just time. We can clean more of our houses, study for more of our exams. We are always wanting to fill time. We want time as a part of our plan to accomplish more.
Unlike us, God doesn't need time. God can do what God does in a second or in a lifetime. But God uses time and waiting as a part of His plan for each of us. With time, God can change your heart and your mind and He can change the hearts and minds of others. Maybe He is working on the mind of the woman right now who is reading your resume...
God changes our hearts in the waiting.
"But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
So the waiting room that we sit in becomes a space of transformation, where God speaks to our hearts. It becomes a place of growth.
God wants joy for His children. His plan for us is prosperity and an abundant life with Him. One of the greatest blessings that He gives us is time with Him.
In your season of waiting, it may be hard to find peace. I know it is for me. My prayer is that you feel God's presence in the waiting. That you learn to trust Him in the silence.
~SP
p.s. Here are some tunes for Thursday. One of my favorite bands talking about more time.
Waiting is something that we often find agonizing and terrifying. Sitting in the waiting room at a hospital or clinic is rarely every an experience that we associate with joyful anticipation or excitement. It's not even an experience that we could say gives us peace or sets our mind at ease.
Maybe you are waiting to hear if you got the job or, in my case, the internship. You are ready to set the rest of your life into gear, but it is contingent on that one decision. Why do we have to wait? Why can't we know now!?
What does it mean to need time? We can get a lot done with just time. We can clean more of our houses, study for more of our exams. We are always wanting to fill time. We want time as a part of our plan to accomplish more.
Unlike us, God doesn't need time. God can do what God does in a second or in a lifetime. But God uses time and waiting as a part of His plan for each of us. With time, God can change your heart and your mind and He can change the hearts and minds of others. Maybe He is working on the mind of the woman right now who is reading your resume...
God changes our hearts in the waiting.
"But they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint." Isaiah 40:31
So the waiting room that we sit in becomes a space of transformation, where God speaks to our hearts. It becomes a place of growth.
God wants joy for His children. His plan for us is prosperity and an abundant life with Him. One of the greatest blessings that He gives us is time with Him.
In your season of waiting, it may be hard to find peace. I know it is for me. My prayer is that you feel God's presence in the waiting. That you learn to trust Him in the silence.
~SP
p.s. Here are some tunes for Thursday. One of my favorite bands talking about more time.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
ASH WEDNESDAY: In Awe of the Daylight
Bloomington (along with many other Midwestern towns) has been in a deep freeze since the beginning of January. It is cold, and it is wet, and it is very dark. For the past two months, sunlight has made a rare appearance.
Most of us are awake before the sky is lit, and we return home from school or work in shade of sky reminiscent of that early morning velvet blue. In the past few weeks, when we've had the sporadic occurrence of a (relatively) warm day, I've been able to hear a sound in the morning that I often take for granted. The birds. Usually I am not sentimental about the sound of chirping birds - but they are a better tone to wake up to than anything my ipod alarm clock has to offer.
Birds come out with the first light of the morning. That's not a scientific fact - that's just an observation that I've made. Lately, I've realized that I can hear the birds before my alarm clock rings. And then I realize that the sun is trying to make its appearance to the world before I do.
The daylight is growing longer. It doesn't come all at once though. It is given in little gifts each day. It may only be a minute or two of time on either end. It may barely be noticeable at first. But then you realize it is there.
It is easy to notice God's grace and God's blessings when we receive them in what we quantify as "large doses." Sometimes we want to say, "forget the little things - just pile it all in at once." Would we want to approach our trials and struggles in the same way?
Just a little more daylight each day that passes. Just a few more minutes with a loved one.
We often long for it with our spouses, significant others, and the people we cherish. We want the small things that remind us that they care. God is a God of small things and big things alike. He will bestow great blessings, as well as the little reminders that tell us that He is mindful of us and He does care.
~SP
Most of us are awake before the sky is lit, and we return home from school or work in shade of sky reminiscent of that early morning velvet blue. In the past few weeks, when we've had the sporadic occurrence of a (relatively) warm day, I've been able to hear a sound in the morning that I often take for granted. The birds. Usually I am not sentimental about the sound of chirping birds - but they are a better tone to wake up to than anything my ipod alarm clock has to offer.
Birds come out with the first light of the morning. That's not a scientific fact - that's just an observation that I've made. Lately, I've realized that I can hear the birds before my alarm clock rings. And then I realize that the sun is trying to make its appearance to the world before I do.
The daylight is growing longer. It doesn't come all at once though. It is given in little gifts each day. It may only be a minute or two of time on either end. It may barely be noticeable at first. But then you realize it is there.
It is easy to notice God's grace and God's blessings when we receive them in what we quantify as "large doses." Sometimes we want to say, "forget the little things - just pile it all in at once." Would we want to approach our trials and struggles in the same way?
Just a little more daylight each day that passes. Just a few more minutes with a loved one.
We often long for it with our spouses, significant others, and the people we cherish. We want the small things that remind us that they care. God is a God of small things and big things alike. He will bestow great blessings, as well as the little reminders that tell us that He is mindful of us and He does care.
~SP
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
LENT 2014: Living in the Moments
Last Lenten season began a journey of daily writings and reflections on music inspired by God's word. Life has been so crazy that I completely forgot about giving up or adding in something for Lent until a friend reminded me at work today.
Something that I have found particularly amazing this past year is how the weeks have just flown by. I have always wished for time to keep moving. I am a goal setter. I love making countdowns. I live for the milestones. But this summer, I found myself almost breathless at one point when I realized that time was racing. During this school year I often reach the weekends and wonder where the weekdays have disappeared to. There is a dichotomy between my disdain for waiting and my yearning to slow down the racing days.
So maybe this Lenten season will be focused on slowing down. Taking life day by day. Moment by moment.
Mondays - Mondays have been really great days this year. Isn't that crazy? The day we all despise! After a long day of class and work, I get to sit down with a wonderful group of ladies at the IMU Starbucks. We sit and talk about life, God's word; things that we are joyful about, things that we are struggling with. My small group has been an incredible gift during my last year of college. So Mondays will be joyful Mondays.
Tuesdays - Tuesdays will be a day for thankfulness. Every day should be a day for Thankfulness. But we will give Tuesday that because of the consonance.
Wednesdays - Wednesdays are for WONDER or AWE. For the weekly, daily, hourly moments that are often taken for granted. But if we stop and look at them, we see how the great breath-giver can take our breath away.
Thursdays - Truth. Trust. Time. There are a lot of good T-words to go with.
Fridays - Forward. Although through Lent I want to focus on the present, the joy in the here and now, I believe as Christians, God calls us to live a forward life. When we think of faith, hope, repentance and so many other tenets of our lives in Christ, those are all things that bring us into tomorrow, into what God has in store for us.
Something that I have found particularly amazing this past year is how the weeks have just flown by. I have always wished for time to keep moving. I am a goal setter. I love making countdowns. I live for the milestones. But this summer, I found myself almost breathless at one point when I realized that time was racing. During this school year I often reach the weekends and wonder where the weekdays have disappeared to. There is a dichotomy between my disdain for waiting and my yearning to slow down the racing days.
So maybe this Lenten season will be focused on slowing down. Taking life day by day. Moment by moment.
Mondays - Mondays have been really great days this year. Isn't that crazy? The day we all despise! After a long day of class and work, I get to sit down with a wonderful group of ladies at the IMU Starbucks. We sit and talk about life, God's word; things that we are joyful about, things that we are struggling with. My small group has been an incredible gift during my last year of college. So Mondays will be joyful Mondays.
Tuesdays - Tuesdays will be a day for thankfulness. Every day should be a day for Thankfulness. But we will give Tuesday that because of the consonance.
Wednesdays - Wednesdays are for WONDER or AWE. For the weekly, daily, hourly moments that are often taken for granted. But if we stop and look at them, we see how the great breath-giver can take our breath away.
Thursdays - Truth. Trust. Time. There are a lot of good T-words to go with.
Fridays - Forward. Although through Lent I want to focus on the present, the joy in the here and now, I believe as Christians, God calls us to live a forward life. When we think of faith, hope, repentance and so many other tenets of our lives in Christ, those are all things that bring us into tomorrow, into what God has in store for us.
As we move into this season, and begin to reflect on Christ's journey to the cross,
may we turn our eyes
...to the Creator of our first and last moments
...to the Redeemer of our broken moments
...to the Healer of our painful moments
...to the one who knows all of our moments long before we do.
Amen.
~SP
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
"You and I Embrace Surrender"
If you look up surrender in the dictionary, you find this definition:
To give up, abandon or relinquish.
If you look up embrace, you'll find this:
To clasp in the arms; press to the bosom.
It seems like embrace and surrender are two opposing forces. One is telling us to release and one is telling us to cling.
Or it may be that when we are able to embrace surrender, we are then able to embrace God. When we let go of everything of ourselves, everything of this world, we have Christ to cling to. He is the anchor we hold to. He is a far more powerful foothold than any that we can design for ourselves.
"When you and I embrace surrender. When you and I choose to believe. Then you and I will see who we were meant to be."
~SP
Friday, January 17, 2014
Silence
Silence.
I love silence. I love silent walks. I love silent car rides. I love silent mornings and afternoons. I am comfortable with silence far past most people's parameters.
Silence is a starry night in the middle of Green Lake, WI. The velvet blue sky is silent. The green grass is silent. The cool lake is silent. And I am silent.
Silence is a few hours of sleep here or there. Silence is a walk home from campus.
I find silence comforting, because in the silence I don't have to have the answers. In the silence, I can listen for the words that God is speaking to my heart.
So I may be silent for a while. My writing will probably be scarce.
I need some time to ask God what he wants of me and for me. I need some time in prayer, just with Him.
I love silence. I love silent walks. I love silent car rides. I love silent mornings and afternoons. I am comfortable with silence far past most people's parameters.
Silence is a starry night in the middle of Green Lake, WI. The velvet blue sky is silent. The green grass is silent. The cool lake is silent. And I am silent.
Silence is a few hours of sleep here or there. Silence is a walk home from campus.
I find silence comforting, because in the silence I don't have to have the answers. In the silence, I can listen for the words that God is speaking to my heart.
So I may be silent for a while. My writing will probably be scarce.
I need some time to ask God what he wants of me and for me. I need some time in prayer, just with Him.
"For God alone, my soul, wait in silence. For my hope is in Him." Psalm 62:5
The big leaps that I have been afraid of for awhile are here. It is exciting and terrifying, and it is time for it to happen.
On February 15th, the internship application is out of my hands and into the hands of the internship directors. It has always been, and will continue to be in God's hands. I know that, and I have come to trust that more and more.
"Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth." Psalm 46:10
I am going to sit and wait in the silence for a while. That is ok. I know that God will speak. God will make His will known at the perfect time. With God it is an easy, and beautiful silence.
~SP
One of my favorite places to sit in silence.
Monday, January 6, 2014
Be Thou My Vision: New Years Resolutions
Be Thou my vision, O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best thought, by day or by night
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light
Be Thou my vision. God, may I see things in Your way. May I seek Your will from the time I get up in the morning, to the moment that I lay my head down to rest at night. May You be the guide of my mind and my heart; the guide of my footsteps. May You be the director of the plans for my life. May I look for You and seek You in all that I do. Be the lamp that lights my path.
Be Thou my wisdom, and Thou my true word
I ever with Thee, and Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one
God, be the captain of my heart and mind. May Your spirit rest upon me in all decisions that I make. May Your spirit guide my actions, and help me to choose my words. May I seek to have a relationship with You, all of my days. When others see me, let them see Your glory. May they know whose daughter I am. May they know Your grace.
Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance now and always
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart
High King of heaven, my treasure Thou art
God, help me to be generous in all ways. Help me to know and trust that You will provide. Remind me that there is none greater than the reward of life with You in Your kingdom. Humble me, Lord. Be first in my heart. Be the first breath I have in the morning. You are my treasure Lord. None can compare.
High King of heaven, Thy victory won
May I reach Heaven's joy, O bright heaven's son
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall
Still be my vision, O Ruler of all
You are the High King of heaven. You are great and there is none like you. Wherever I may stumble along the way. Whenever my life shall go off course. Still be my vision. You are the heart of my own heart. The holder and protector of my heart.
God, may you be my vision in the season ahead, and always.
Amen.
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