(I like the smell of bleach, almost as much as I like the smell of rain. )
Today was the first day in a long time I just got to lay in bed and read
without any interruptions.
It was cold and gloomy outside and my heart was warm and fuzzy inside.
It was glorious to curl up under a blanket when it was cold outside and fall asleep
and take a nap during the day.
I am reading Eat. Love. Pray. right now and here are a few random excerpts that caught my heart today:
OK this is a long one, but worth it, so just keep reading-----)
There's a reason we refer to "leaps of faith" because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't.
If faith were rational, it wouldn't be-by definition faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see of prove or touch.
Faith is walking face-first and full speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity, it would just be... a prudent insurance policy.
I'm not interested in the insurance industry. I'm tired of being a skeptic, I'm irritated by spiritual prudence and I feel bored and parched by empirical debate. I don't want to hear it anymore. I couldn't care less about evidence or proof and assurances.
I just want God.
I want God inside me. I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water.
- Elizabeth Gilbert.
*I couldn't agree more with her. I think as Christians we get so caught up in the politics and the black and whiteness of it all, and who did what wrong.
This is not God's heart, I believe.
I was conversing with a few friends in the last few days and both women are single and love the Lord and were trying out new churches.
*One went and the church was serving communion and the minster said, will the male head of the household please come up and receive communion for your wife and children (ouch she thought this is not where I am welcome)
*the other was trying out a new church and was trying to attend a sunday school class and she asked the person in front where it was and she told her, so she got into the room a little early and sat down. no big deal right?
Well the woman leading the class said, o honey where is your husband?
She turned red from embarrassment and said I don't have one.
and walked out.
I don't think it is Jesus's heart to have people feeling left out and not included or feel bad because they don't have this or that. I think we as people who love the Lord as missing the mark on loving those who don't know Jesus.
Because the people they know who do love Jesus ask where is your husband?
*At group this week we were watching a nooma by rob bell and in the background was this symphony who were playing this lovely melody and rob was describing how Jesus speaks to people is through a beautiful melodic song.
A song that moves you and you connect with deep down in your soul.
he commented how Jesus's heart was to love people to bring them in, when the pharisees caught a woman committing adultery and dragged her through the town and placed her in front of Jesus's feet for condemnation, ready to stone her as was the law.
Jesus (who was seriously such a radical and sweet guy) bent down and started to write in the ground with his finger, He said " If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her, "
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground, at this those who heard him began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was with with the woman still standing there.
( as being the woman at this point I would expect to get it from Jesus, the holy prophet, the one who was doing miracles)
But He responds.
I do not condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.
He nailed it and I am sure this woman walked away feeling free.
This is how we need to respond to people in our world, I wish we did more often.
That beautiful melodic song (as described in the nooma) as being moving and full of emotion and connectness is how God speaks to everyone. The song is full of I love you, you are precious, I created you to be exactly who you are, sit with me and let's talk.
Not judgement and condemnation.
Today was the first day in a long time I just got to lay in bed and read
without any interruptions.
It was cold and gloomy outside and my heart was warm and fuzzy inside.
It was glorious to curl up under a blanket when it was cold outside and fall asleep
and take a nap during the day.
I am reading Eat. Love. Pray. right now and here are a few random excerpts that caught my heart today:
OK this is a long one, but worth it, so just keep reading-----)
There's a reason we refer to "leaps of faith" because the decision to consent to any notion of divinity is a mighty jump from the rational over to the unknowable, and I don't care how diligently scholars of every religion will try to sit you down with their stacks of books and prove to you through scripture that their faith is indeed rational; it isn't.
If faith were rational, it wouldn't be-by definition faith. Faith is belief in what you cannot see of prove or touch.
Faith is walking face-first and full speed into the dark. If we truly knew all the answers in advance as to the meaning of life and the nature of God and the destiny of our souls, our belief would not be a leap of faith and it would not be a courageous act of humanity, it would just be... a prudent insurance policy.
I'm not interested in the insurance industry. I'm tired of being a skeptic, I'm irritated by spiritual prudence and I feel bored and parched by empirical debate. I don't want to hear it anymore. I couldn't care less about evidence or proof and assurances.
I just want God.
I want God inside me. I want God to play in my bloodstream the way sunlight amuses itself on water.
- Elizabeth Gilbert.
*I couldn't agree more with her. I think as Christians we get so caught up in the politics and the black and whiteness of it all, and who did what wrong.
This is not God's heart, I believe.
I was conversing with a few friends in the last few days and both women are single and love the Lord and were trying out new churches.
*One went and the church was serving communion and the minster said, will the male head of the household please come up and receive communion for your wife and children (ouch she thought this is not where I am welcome)
*the other was trying out a new church and was trying to attend a sunday school class and she asked the person in front where it was and she told her, so she got into the room a little early and sat down. no big deal right?
Well the woman leading the class said, o honey where is your husband?
She turned red from embarrassment and said I don't have one.
and walked out.
I don't think it is Jesus's heart to have people feeling left out and not included or feel bad because they don't have this or that. I think we as people who love the Lord as missing the mark on loving those who don't know Jesus.
Because the people they know who do love Jesus ask where is your husband?
*At group this week we were watching a nooma by rob bell and in the background was this symphony who were playing this lovely melody and rob was describing how Jesus speaks to people is through a beautiful melodic song.
A song that moves you and you connect with deep down in your soul.
he commented how Jesus's heart was to love people to bring them in, when the pharisees caught a woman committing adultery and dragged her through the town and placed her in front of Jesus's feet for condemnation, ready to stone her as was the law.
Jesus (who was seriously such a radical and sweet guy) bent down and started to write in the ground with his finger, He said " If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her, "
Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground, at this those who heard him began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was with with the woman still standing there.
( as being the woman at this point I would expect to get it from Jesus, the holy prophet, the one who was doing miracles)
But He responds.
I do not condemn you, go now and leave your life of sin.
He nailed it and I am sure this woman walked away feeling free.
This is how we need to respond to people in our world, I wish we did more often.
That beautiful melodic song (as described in the nooma) as being moving and full of emotion and connectness is how God speaks to everyone. The song is full of I love you, you are precious, I created you to be exactly who you are, sit with me and let's talk.
Not judgement and condemnation.
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