“Even when it’s not pretty or perfect, even when it’s more real than you want it to be, your story is what you have. It’s what you will always have. It’s something to own.”
Michelle Obama, Becoming
A helpful way to think about grace:
The law says, “do this,” and it is never done. Grace says, “believe in this,” and everything is already done.
– Martin Luther
Immigration and the plight of the refugee has been in the news constantly over the past week, thanks to care and confusion over President Trump’s executive order concerning extreme vetting. Admittedly, I have not done my due diligence to understand all of the ins and outs. (And really, we should all do our fact-checking.) I am still on the hunt for even-handed coverage.
But, I know this: Continue reading “Neighbors Loving Neighbors”
I’ve been thinking a lot about Galatians 5:1, which says “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by the yoke of slavery.”
I’m reading and re-reading this message I found about the passage: http://www.desiringgod.org/messages/for-freedom-christ-has-set-us-free
The key to freedom is whether we have to do the work ourselves to escape punishment, or whether our Father comes down to be with us and help us.
I’ve put together a playlist for you–for your early mornings, your commute, your bad days. Your good days. Your best days. It’s mostly gospel with a touch of hip-hop. And actually, I can’t take credit for it.
“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, creator of The Little Prince
On September 20, 1931 (85 years ago today) C. S. Lewis, J. R. R. Tolkien, and Hugo Dyson had one of those life-changing discussions amongst friends. They were 32, 39, and 35, respectively. Continue reading “Lewis/Tolkien/Dyson Friendiversary”
“For it is not mere words that nourish the soul, but God Himself, and unless and until the hearers find God in personal experience they are not the better for having heard the truth. The Bible is not an end in itself, but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, that they may enter into Him, that they may delight in His Presence, may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself in the core and center of their hearts.”
A.W. Tozer
…I don’t think God spreads our faces across a board, separating His children into categories of “suffering” and “celebrating.” Instead, He just claims us as “His,” over and over again…
Read the full devotional here: http://shereadstruth.com/2016/07/14/paul-taken-to-rome/
(It’s really good.)
Rockville Diaries 