July 1, 2012
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Bits and Pieces
“In the mystery of love as God planned it, no one can ever figure out who is doing the giving and who the receiving. Real lovers know that giving and receiving are a splendid and hilarious paradox in which lo, the giving becomes receiving and the receiving giving until any efforts to sort it out collapse in merriment or adoration.” -Thomas Howard
That’s my favorite quote just now.
Blue-eyed little girls
tomatoes ripening in sun
family gatherings..:)
So much chicken!! And drops of yummy greasy goodness..;)
Willy bought himself an Amish hat.
creating lacy things
splashing at the pool
the simple things
“How come has the prodigal son become a paradigm of awesomeness? To me, he’s simply a reckless, immature, VERY selfish young man who chose his own way and made some pretty big mistakes that finally brought him to the end of himself. How is that great? How is that something to be lifted up as the way we should live life? Shouldn’t the focus of that parable be the redemptive forgiveness and merciful love of the Father?” -me
You know when Jesus made the point of those who have been forgiven much also loving much? He didn’t say “those who have sinned much”..and I think he made that distinction on purpose. It’s FORGIVEN. Not sinned. I think we have a very permissive view of sin and disobedience to God. Hasn’t it become almost…normal? I’ve caught myself thinking that way. “It’s a stage…everyone does it…we’ll grow out of it…” And that’s why the prodigal son is so uplifted. Because we’re human. We sin. Excuses.
It’s all true. But sometimes I think we might be missing out on something very special…a freedom from sin. A life lived without regrets. JOY. Because we’re satisfied with mediocrity. I saw this in myself this morning. Somehow, I came to this place where I’m just…content. It’s enough. I’m living for God. I know he loves me, and I love him. I’m not struggling in the grip of sin anymore. I’ve been marvelously set free from…so much. But…I think God pulled back the curtain for me a tiny bit this morning…he let me catch a glimpse of the Beauty that is still to come. If I seek it. If I seek HIM. If I refuse to Stay. I don’t want that kind of contentment. I want to GROW! I want to thrive and live and…dance. I want to keep on seeking and searching for more of him..I want my relationship with Him to constantly go deeper and wider and freer. And I want him to find me…perfect. I want to live holy and surrendered. Completely. Recklessly.
Evening Walks
the week the kittens were here…they brought so much happiness!
ninja kitty
the cuteness
“The quality of life does not consist in the great experiences we have, but in the depth of commitments we make. We find ourselves as we give ourselves away.”
flowers
hummingbird silhouette
teaching myself to make pretty (and yummy, if I do say so myself;) cupcakes
Hebrews 7:11 says that if the Law had made us perfect Jesus wouldn’t have been needed (paraphrased of course). And then verse 19 says “For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.” I think the law is good. It shows us how sinful we are. How destitute without God. It has a purpose and I’m against throwing it all out and saying everything in the Old Testament is outdated/wrong. It’s not. It’s the foundation God chose to lay before sending Jesus. Now that I’ve said that, the Bible clearly states that there’s something better. Jesus. And it’s implied that we can be perfect through him! You know how the Bible talks about God not remembering our sins? About blotting them out…about covering them with blood? The sacrifices that were made monthly (or was it weekly?) were a covering for those sins…but Jesus has more. When John the Baptist announced his coming to the crowd…he had told them he wasn’t fit to touch Jesus’ sandal strap. Then John saw Jesus. He shouted, “Behold the Lamb of God, which TAKETH AWAY THE SIN OF THE WORLD!” Our sins are no longer simply covered, or blotted out, or not remembered. They are TAKEN AWAY!! Which *I* take to mean…we don’t have to commit them in the first place. And that’s kind of my definition of perfection. That complete freedom and clarity before God. I don’t think we’ll ever get to the point where there will be no room for improvement…or that God is done perfecting us. I think that will be Heaven..:) But I do believe we can come to a place where there is complete freedom from sin! Complete openness with God where he is in every “room” in our hearts and has dealt with everything he wants to deal with (for the present)…where even our thoughts are in subjection to him. Where our lives are holy and beautiful and point people to Him…where we bring him honor and glory and serve others and live a life of praise to Him…a life so full of light, love and hope that others will be drawn to Jesus in us. That’s what I want.
green on green
little birds nestled in nest
her bringing me a flower
that smile
I think I’ve been missing out. That I’ve been living a satisfied life for the past few months…where I’ve slipped into a sort of complacent place I no longer want to be in. I want more of Jesus…always more. And less of me.
I love when he shakes me awake like this…I love how he cares about me! And how he uses my Papa to preach beautiful, inspiring sermons that change the way I think and live. Thank you, Padre..:)
her beauty
his matter-of-fact expression
my handsome man
I shall so miss hanging out with him in the next 6 weeks…
The End
Comments (5)
Ahhhh…. I LOVE reading your thoughts and ponderings!!!
And love seeing your pictures too! 
It sounds like God is busy working in your heart as well as mine… 
trying to stir us up to go deeper and deeper in Him!! 
I too, am guilty of getting complacent, especially after going through a rough time… and feeling like “Ahhh.. finally a break from the hard things”. Only the ‘break’ lasts a long time, and then its good when God speaks to our hearts again, and nudges us on…. to keep moving 
Anyway… don’t mean to take away from anything you said… just fully agreeing with your heart!! 
Love you <3
@haileyhelm - I love how you put that! It’s exactly what happened to me, I think. After all the hard times and pain one relaxes into the happiness and doesn’t want to deal with anything…simply just..rest and recuperate. But once the rest reaches a certain point, God does nudge..:) You said it perfectly. I miss you…
You blogs are a wonderful mix of wit, beauty, & wisdom. I don’t always copmment but I ALWAYS read them. Really love them.
@asteinmannpartygirl - Aaah! I love how you put that!! It encourages me greatly! I get so few comments I wonder sometimes if people read it at all..but I keep posting..mostly for the fun of it.
It makes me happy that you read and like them. 
Your photography is so very beautiful. I love to do photography as well, however, mine do not capture the kind of beauty yours do! Hope to see more soon!