Thoughts

1) Birdy can sing. Straight up.

2) Saw Les Miserables. Thought about crying. So good.

3) Writing the next series of blog posts. These should be good and interesting. Prieview: "The aim, or the end, of Christian living – the goal, if you will - is not to be the pastor or even a pastor."

4) Leaving for India on Monday!

5) Because I'm leaving on Monday it may be a couple weeks before the series gets posted. Maybe.

6) I have a mantel clock. It's beautiful and chimes and tick-tocks. The chimes are three hours off.

7) Kat has to know I'm leaving soon, she is getting super cuddly.

8) Taylor Swift and I should grab coffee.

9) Job hunting. If you have recommendations let me know. Por favor.

10) Thinking about changing the name of the blog anyone have any suggestions?

Friday Thoughts

1) Sorry this is the only post this week.

2) Kat farted Wednesday morning and it was loud. I was in shock. Has anyone else ever had a cat straight up fart?

3) Watched V for Vendetta on Monday. We had eggys in a basket before. #legit

4) The Election happened. Facebook told me. So did Twitter. And all the complaining Christians. Guess the world just fell off God's map there didn't it?

5) Planning international flights is stressful, thank God for help.

6) I want to meet Charles Koch. Just 'cause I think he's neat.

7) Last week I bought all 8 Harry Potter movies for half the normal selling price. Groupon.

8) The Beard is garnering a lot of compliments this year.

9) Budgeting. And sticking to it.

10) Remember all that stress I wrote about 3ish weeks ago? Well it's gone. Still doing all the same things, but something about the greatness and the goodness of God being, or supposing to be satisfying has gotten a hold of my heart. Like my 2-year-old nephew being carefree in everything should a Christian be in life. "Papa, He's got it." (Says the Community Group) I only wish I would've believed in the midst of depression that God is good even still - but He forgave me that too. 

Innocent

“I am a whore I do confess, I put you on just like a wedding dress and run down the isle. I’m a prodigal with no way home I put you on just like a ring of gold and I run down the isle to you. So could you love this bastard child, though I don’t trust you to provide?” ~Derek Webb

Yes.

Writers write of the ‘loss of innocence.’ Singers sing of it. People speak of it to their friends. But we’ve never been innocent.

If we believe Scripture to be true and foundational, there was never a time in our lives when we were pure, when we were right, when we were good (Isa 64:6; Rom 3:9-18). We’ve always been deserving of hell.

I know, this is a happy Monday post, right?

But we have hope, that tiny yet beautiful word, hope. We can be expectant of our Savior to be enough. Clinging to this hope. We hope on hope that our hope will not be put to shame.

It’s faith really, faith in the unseen. For how can we hope in what we see? How can we have faith in the things we know break or fail?

“So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Monday Notions

1) What you do with Jesus is the difference between life & death, paganism & belief.

2)How you know you're a Pharisee: when you hear truth are your first thoughts, "______ needs to hear this." or, "I wish ______ was here to hear this."? If they are, you're a white-washed tomb.

3)Does what I teach line up with my life?

4)The Gospel will always need to be applied to yourself.

5) Don't color people by their sin.

6) If He is worthy of "living for" than surely you think he's worthy of dying for (right?)

7) Monday... Monday.

Monday

It’s Monday. The week is beginning. Many of us are headed to our jobs to do our tasks. Many of us are headed to our classes to be bored by our professors while we strive to just pay attention. These things seem so small, don’t they? Jobs, school and the general hustle and bustle of life.

Often these things become our focus, our aim and our goal. To succeed in the arena of job or school becomes a higher dream than knowing God.

We are broken, this is true, we are shattered by the fall but we are not helpless. We are, as faith (singular not plural) so dictates, rescued by the Rescuer.

Jesus has redeemed us from the curse of the law so that we are now capable to seeing our jobs as fuel for his glory; our schooling is now instrumental to our callings.

So go, work your job; strive to pay attention in your classes. Because the King sits on his throne and the Redeemer of your souls has covered you with grace so your guilt and your shame are no longer you. Who you are, the real you (as a believer in the gospel), is the finished work of Jesus. You are righteous because he has made you so. You stand before the throne of God above with a strong and perfect plea and it is Jesus.