So, often I write long posts about various things I'm thinking about, but in case you are interested in what has been going on in mine and Cooper's lives (with a focus on mine, since this is my blog), then this is the post for you!
Married life is definitely good. I've felt a lot more calm and stable since getting married, and I love the man God provided me with. He's exactly what I need. He's romantic, thoughtful, helpful, and is better than anyone at cheering me up, which is good, because I can have mopey tendencies. We're coming up on eight months of marriage in a couple of weeks, and time has flown. I can't believe we'll be celebrating a year of marriage in just a few short months! We don't have any grand plans for our first anniversary yet; summer plans have yet to solidify and we don't know what kind of financial situation we'll be in, but hopefully we'll do something special for the day.
Cooper and I have been living in a cute one-bedroom apartment in a nice, quiet complex on the west side of town. It's close to a lot grocery stores and to our workplaces, so it's a convenient location, definitely a good change from our middle-of-nowhere location for our first three months of marriage (even though that arrangement was a huge blessing at the time!). I like the one-bedroom set-up, and don't have any strong desire for a bigger place, even though we've had to be creative with storage and careful with the amount of "stuff" we have. Which is just as well, considering we shouldn't be spending our small budget on lots of "stuff" anyway!
Cooper is still working for the school district's after-school program part time, and spending a lot of his free time searching for a paid internship so he can finish up his degree. They are hard to come by, but he's had a few optimistic leads within the last couple of weeks, so keep praying!
Since October, I've been working on the university campus as a receptionist at the freshman advising office. It's the perfect sort of job for me right now, and I really enjoy it. In fact, I think it's the first job I've ever had that I haven't dreaded going to, which is saying something! The work I do is fairly straight-forward; lots of phone calls, handling questions and concerns, scheduling appointments, and helping out the advisors with various office duties (filing, copying, making graphs and PowerPoints, reporting and maintaining databases). The people I work with are also really nice and my supervisor is a Christian, which is awesome, especially at a ridiculous uber-liberal university. I also get paid a salary and have health insurance, which is a nice cushion of comfort for sure.
The only thing I find frustrating with my job is some of the students and parents we deal with. At least once a week, I feel like we need a sign that says "A lack of planning on your part does not constitute an emergency an our part." I'm also frustrated with how rude people can be, and wondering if any parents ever teach their kids manners anymore. Also, I think since people pay so much money for school, there is an idea that you are purchasing a degree, rather than getting educated to earn one. So we get a lot of people asking us to break the rules for them, even if they didn't do well in their classes. I don't like the entitlement mentality, I guess.
But otherwise, this job is great. And depending on how long I stay here, there is the potential to move up to an advisor position, which I think would be something I'd really enjoy. It would be a way to work in education without having to lesson plan and worry about teaching. It's one of those careers I never really thought about before.
Cooper and I continue to be involved at our church. I've started teaching children's church, which so far is fun, and Cooper is doing a lot with College Group. Most of our friends are still all at the same church, and some of our family as well, which makes the community really good and encouraging. That's the one thing that would really make me hate to leave this town. As a city, I honestly could take it or leave it. It's too anti-Christian for my liking, and the cold winter weather really gets to me. I do love the outdoor opportunities, but I feel like we could find that elsewhere. But the friends and family we have here would be very hard to leave for both of us, I think. And our church, which is a little oasis.
We had the pleasure of welcoming our very first niece a month ago, Kale'a Amariah. She is adorable and I am very excited to spoil her as every auntie should. Even Cooper is warming up to her, and he didn't freak out too much when she spit up on him last weekend. Progress! :-)
Plans for the rest of the spring for us include working, internship-searching, and lots of praying as we seek God's direction for our lives. My best friend is getting married in just over a month, so it has been really fun helping her with wedding planning and all the fun things a maid-of-honor (I am one of two in her party) gets to do (I know, I know, technically I'm a matron-of-honor but I just hate the way that sounds). We hope to make a short trip back to California in March, and I'm already dreaming of warm weather!
All in all, I've really enjoyed this whole being out of school thing. No classes to worry about, no tests, no papers, no homework, and all the reading I do is all the reading I want to do. I love my free time when I get off work in the evenings and not constantly worrying about one or more upcoming due dates. It's so freeing! I've been asked by multiple people if I'm interested in pursing a PhD. And just so you all know, the answer is NO. Not remotely. If I go back to school, it will be to some sort of Christian university and I'll either just take classes for the shear joy of learning more about Jesus or to get some sort of bachelors in Biblical study or missions or some other such thing. But I have no desire to pursue any more learning at a secular university. Haha, watch, I say that, and then God will have far different plans for me. But if I have anything to say about it (and of course, ultimately I don't), then that is my plan. But I'd also be content never returning to school again, especially if we have kids in the next 5 years or so (?). I'd be much happier being a mommy a wife and focusing on that, doing the whole June Cleaver thing (take THAT feminism!).
As far as the ways God has been working in me personally, here are some things that I'm often thinking and praying about:
1. Being convicted of pride. I think sometimes what I believe is right and good (I'm thinking of doctrine and some political issues) but I'm very snooty towards people who don't believe the same way. Sometimes I try to check that emotion at the door before I say something or act on it, and focus on listening to people before I jump to conclusions or comment on what they say, but that doesn't always work, and I know there needs to be an attitude change inside before there will be real change in my words and actions.
2. Always on a quest to figure out my anxiety issues and panic attacks and how to deal with them. I think I operate on a reactive basis rather than a proactive basis, and I think that needs to change if I'm going to make any progress. Taking medicine is out of the question though. I just don't want those side effects anymore.
3. The pro-life battle. For some reason, with government-funded abortion and the new health care laws that are being passed, this is a huge issue for me personally. Honestly, I'm often in an internal struggle between wanting to punch people in the face over it (I know, not the reaction I should have) because I feel like this issue is very black and white...innocent human beings are being killed. Why is this even a debate?, and then the realization that the reason people believe this is okay is usually rooted in the belief that sexual promiscuity/free-for-all is okay, and how that's really sad. The battle between reactive anger and sadness over people's blindness. I realize more and more that although abortion is a huge problem, it's really just a very gory symptom of a major disease of our society, and as much as I want legislation passed outlawing abortion, and as much as I know it will actually help abortion to be rare (Planned Parenthood is lying to everyone about that), I know that real change will only come with Jesus and His ability to change hearts. And I guess that's the case with any societal ill. Nevertheless, I've been thinking about how I can do more to work against this injustice, one that is so easily ignored and brushed away as if nothing is actually wrong.
4. General discipline. I need it in all areas of life. Whether it pertains to specific Bible reading, getting into a housekeeping routine, cooking, eating healthy and working out...these are things I'm constantly being convicted of and I know I need to improve. Where to start and what kind of reasonable goals to set in these areas is what I'm still trying to figure out. But I'm trying to keep a balance and not take on too much at once, you know, just being realistic about things and not being too hard on myself.
Overall, life is good. Never perfect, but good. I am richly blessed and not nearly as grateful as I should be for all that God does for us...working on that too! I look forward to heaven every day, and I know every day God is faithful to make me more like Him. It's a wild ride!
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Amazing Article
I need to not read stuff like this at work...I almost teared up! Beautiful. I need no other comment than that. Be blessed.
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17439
http://www.worldmag.com/articles/17439
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Emmanuel: God With Us
Christmas is going to be really different this year, and for the first time in many years, I'm actually really excited about it, and for the right reasons! I owe some of this to Family Life Radio, which I have been keeping on in my car as I drive around town, and their constant focus of Christ in the Christmas gives me a daily reminder that it's really not about the presents or the trees or the good food (as fun as all of that is). In fact, this Christmas more than any I am learning contentment, and I can't believe how blessed Cooper and I really are.
I find discontent creeping up on me, and it's the materialistic kind that I naively thought I was immune to. I watch married friends my age buy houses, get dogs, and generally start an "American Dream" sort of life, while my husband and I live in a nice but small apartment, can't afford a pet, even a free one (and someone at our church as been offering us a free kitty for months!), because of the ridiculous $1,000 deposit and monthly fee on top of it that our apartment complex demands, and we are barely scraping by on our combined incomes, with our parents helping us tremendously to make ends meet at this point. My temptation is to look at our life together and think, "We must be doing something wrong if, at ages 24 and 26, we are still in this spot." But then I think about it, and I wonder who says we're "doing something wrong." Do our friends say that, behind our backs? I hope not, but I also doubt it! Do our parents? No, they were in similar situations as young marrieds too. Does culture? Maybe. But since when should we listen to our culture, especially this American one that is often so anti-Biblical in so many ways? Does God think we're doing something wrong? No. And His opinion is most important. In fact, I think there's something good to being poor, and having to be creative, and not being able to drop a hat and buy the next new thing on a whim. At least for me, it's teaching me to remember what's really important, and this Christmas, it's not a pile of gifts under our adorable four foot tree.
Christmas really is my favorite holiday. I wish Easter was my favorite holiday, and maybe it would be if culture didn't screw up the resurrection of Jesus with pink fluffy bunnies and colored eggs. But I love Christmas decorations, Christmas songs, Christmas food, and the excuse to be with family. More than that, I love that the God of the Universe condescended to be born in a smelly barn and spend His first night in this world sleeping in a feeding trough (I have a mental image of some whiskered donkey munching on the hay that He was laying on...the germs involved would no doubt freak out any modern mother today). God did not come into the world in a flashy way. Quite the oppposite. Counterintuitive, to be sure, but God wasn't about to reveal Himself to flashy people anyway. He was going to meet sinners at their level, in the dirt and grime and hay. I also love the reminder that Christmas brings, and that is that Jesus is coming back, and when He does, it won't be a secret. The whole world will know, and every knee will bow. I will either see that day this side of eternity or on the other side, and I personally can't wait! Emmanuel. God with us! Awesome!
I like this song that I have heard on the radio quite a bit this month:
I find discontent creeping up on me, and it's the materialistic kind that I naively thought I was immune to. I watch married friends my age buy houses, get dogs, and generally start an "American Dream" sort of life, while my husband and I live in a nice but small apartment, can't afford a pet, even a free one (and someone at our church as been offering us a free kitty for months!), because of the ridiculous $1,000 deposit and monthly fee on top of it that our apartment complex demands, and we are barely scraping by on our combined incomes, with our parents helping us tremendously to make ends meet at this point. My temptation is to look at our life together and think, "We must be doing something wrong if, at ages 24 and 26, we are still in this spot." But then I think about it, and I wonder who says we're "doing something wrong." Do our friends say that, behind our backs? I hope not, but I also doubt it! Do our parents? No, they were in similar situations as young marrieds too. Does culture? Maybe. But since when should we listen to our culture, especially this American one that is often so anti-Biblical in so many ways? Does God think we're doing something wrong? No. And His opinion is most important. In fact, I think there's something good to being poor, and having to be creative, and not being able to drop a hat and buy the next new thing on a whim. At least for me, it's teaching me to remember what's really important, and this Christmas, it's not a pile of gifts under our adorable four foot tree.
Christmas really is my favorite holiday. I wish Easter was my favorite holiday, and maybe it would be if culture didn't screw up the resurrection of Jesus with pink fluffy bunnies and colored eggs. But I love Christmas decorations, Christmas songs, Christmas food, and the excuse to be with family. More than that, I love that the God of the Universe condescended to be born in a smelly barn and spend His first night in this world sleeping in a feeding trough (I have a mental image of some whiskered donkey munching on the hay that He was laying on...the germs involved would no doubt freak out any modern mother today). God did not come into the world in a flashy way. Quite the oppposite. Counterintuitive, to be sure, but God wasn't about to reveal Himself to flashy people anyway. He was going to meet sinners at their level, in the dirt and grime and hay. I also love the reminder that Christmas brings, and that is that Jesus is coming back, and when He does, it won't be a secret. The whole world will know, and every knee will bow. I will either see that day this side of eternity or on the other side, and I personally can't wait! Emmanuel. God with us! Awesome!
I like this song that I have heard on the radio quite a bit this month:
"What kind of King would give up His throne,
Come for His people lost and alone?
What kind of King would give everything,
Save all His own and life to them bring?
Only a King who lays down His crown.
Only a King whose love knows no bounds.
Only a King who’s willing to wear pauper’s clothes,
For He knows He’s not only a king.
What kind of King would leave all behind,
Come to a place where all He would find
Was rejection and loss, counting the cost,
Yet on His own He gave up His throne?
Only a King who lays down His crown.
Only a King whose love knows no bounds.
Only a King who’s willing to wear pauper’s clothes,
For He knows, only a King who lays down His crown.
Only a King whose love knows no bounds.
Only a King who’s willing to wear pauper’s clothes,
For He knows He’s not only a king.
Only this King.
No other king.
O, no other, no other,
No other king.
No other king."Saturday, November 6, 2010
The Double-Standard of Modern "Tolerance"
However, the museum was featuring an exhibit on race (inspired, I think, by the election of our first black president two years ago). Overall, the exhibit was very interesting, even if it was, in my opinion, a bit too politically charged to really fit in well with a science museum (I'll get into that more shortly). It talked about how the biological and genetic differences between people of two different defined races are actually minimal, and that two people within any one race can differ just as much, if not more so, than people of two separate races. Interesting. Totally true. I had heard that sort of thing before. With the advent of DNA testing, we are learning so much about what makes us people, and I think it's great that we are finding that we are much more alike, even genetically, than we are different, despite a huge diversity in physical appearance. I learned, for instance, that fingerprints, blood type and height, which have been proven to be genetically determined, have little to do with race.
However, at the end of the exhibit was a place where kids (or anybody, really), could draw a picture in reaction to the exhibit. The picture above was one in the album that I thought intriguing, and somewhat frightening.
Notice what the little girl (who happens to share my name, it seems), drew. She draws some stick figures, labels them with race names, and puts them all in a box together, supposedly friends. Now on the outside of that box is a mean looking stick figure, with the label "races" (I know she meant "racist"), and then a nice bold "Not friend" pointing to it.
Now, let me make something really really really clear, a very pointed disclaimer. Racism and prejudice are wrong. Dead wrong. I personally think one of the most beautiful things God did with the human race was give us a rainbow of colors, experiences, and cultures. I think it's stunning. I can't wait to be at the banquet table of heaven, look down the line, and see a myriad of colors around me (I share Randy Alcorn's belief that "race" will be apparent in heaven, because it is a part of who we are on earth, and I don't think God is going to erase all that makes us unique once we are in heaven). In fact, that is what I love so much about the Gospel; more than any other religion, Christianity is a faith that celebrates the beauty of God-given diversity, while uniting us in a really profound way under the lordship of Jesus. My Christian family will no doubt be in agreement with me: we can meet someone of an entirely different people group, language, and culture, but if we share a faith in Jesus, there is immediate connection and unity. It can't be described, but it's wonderful, and if you are on the outside looking in on that experience, I pray you will one day understand it. It is the kind of unity that cannot be imitated or counterfeited apart from Christ, as much as people try to do so. So when racism exists, it spits in the face of God. It spits in the face of His boundless creativity. It spits in the face of what makes us individuals, made in His image.
Nevertheless, I see something dangerous reflected in this drawing. I'm sure the little girl meant well. I have no doubt she did. But it reveals, I think, a very real, and very frightening double-standard of tolerance, defined in our modern context, that I think is being taught in public school classrooms to our children.
The double-standard is this: We tolerate everyone, except those who are not tolerant (the "racist not friend"). Now, that is not a very accurate definition of tolerance. Originally, tolerance meant that you put up with something that was unfavorable or undesirable. Now, tolerance means that everything is desirable, and you must believe and practice that, or else you are ostracized and labeled.
But do you see the problem here? Modern tolerance expects us to tolerate everyone, and yet as soon as someone does not tolerate everyone, that person is not tolerated. It's a contradiction of the value being taught, but we see it everyday. If you are a Christian, and someone has ever called you "intolerant" for believing that Jesus is the only way to God (I have), then you know what I mean. The people who are "intolerant" are not tolerated, creating a disturbing contradiction. But Christians aren't the only victims of this. Just a couple weeks ago, NPR fired Juan Williams for making a criticizing remark on Fox News about Muslims. The funny thing is, Juan Williams is in no way a conservative. In fact, he's extremely liberal. But he learned, I'm sure, that not even liberals are safe if they cross that sacred line of "tolerance" (again, not saying I agree with his remarks, I actually don't know what I think about them yet, but I mention this to illustrate my point). This sort of thinking results in the very prejudice that these so-called "tolerant" people are trying to avoid.
I think though that this is more indicative of an even deeper problem, and that is that a value system is being taught, or perhaps even indoctrinated, in public institutions of education. Despite the fact that these institutions insist on being secular and untouched by religion (which is good, if they are receiving public funding), they nevertheless are teaching a theological standpoint; even if it is one devoid of an acceptance of divine power (or an acceptance of every divine power), it a religious viewpoint nevertheless, and therefore a violation of First Amendment rights. One friend, who attended a private Christian college for her undergrad studies, and is now going to a public one for her graduate degree, put it this way: "At a Christian school, you expect to be taught values. But when I came here, I didn't expect to be taught values, because this was a non-religious school. And yet I'm being taught values." Another friend of mine once told me that statistics show that those who are more educated (aka, go to college), tend to drift towards a lack of belief in God. His point was that the more you learn about the natural world, the less a theological explanation makes sense. However, I think these statistics are more indicative of the value systems of "non-religious" institutions than of a gaining of knowledge, because that causal explanation quickly falls to pieces when confronted with the fact that there are many very intelligent people who hold PhDs and have high regard and respect within academia and who are also very religious.
So here, I believe, is Biblical tolerance. If we, as Christians, run across someone within our community who is racist, we should still love them, even if we know that what they believe is wrong, rather than ostracize them and label them "not friend." And hopefully, in loving them, we would show them their error and they would repent. Even better, if we are loving people like this, we are doing something very different from the world, and that is being truly tolerant of everyone, the way Jesus was. That did not mean that he approved of, or put up with sinful thinking and behavior. He did not. But He was patient with and loving towards sinners. If He wasn't, where would all of us be?
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Writing, Books, and Life
So, I was musing about my writing process recently. Not the school essay writing process, which is mostly driven by thought, "How do I get an A on this?" but the creative writing process. I'm thinking about it because of that bit of fiction I wrote that I posted awhile back. I have a lot of started stories like that bumming around on my hard drive. I tell myself that I will go back to them someday. Every now and then I do. Sometimes, when I'm bored or curious about the Katie-brain-of-months-ago, I go back and read through them, but rarely end up writing or adding anything to them.
Sometimes I think writing is a bit like cooking. Dash of this, experiment with this, let it boil, and see if anyone chokes on it when you feed it to them. I think I let things boil a long time. I always have multiple burners going, some with the contents charred to the bottom of the pans. I think 90% of my writing ends up like that.
This recent work of fiction I've been toying with and you were able to sample comes into my mind occasionally. Particularly when I'm thinking about what persecution is like now in the United States. Honestly, apart from occasional "you're an idiot" glares from nonbelievers, and maybe the occasional court case regarding religious freedom (usually on the news because they are fairly rare), we really don't have anything to complain about at this point. Not really. There are no thought police, we don't have to meet in secret churches, no one is going to arrest us if we are caught with our Bibles or a stack of Christian music CDs in our car. Some people in certain countries are not that privileged, and we must remember to keep them in our prayers. I think we may see persecution of the kind other people suffer within our lifetimes (I already think about how Cooper and I will raise our future children to live in a time like that, because it will likely be daily reality for them), but for right now, God has blessed this very undeserving country with freedom millions of people around the world can only dream of. But it's a curious topic for me, a personal one. I wonder how I will act under extreme persecution. Frankly, my rap sheet hasn't been terribly stellar yet, and I have not been extremely persecuted. Oh, thank God for grace.
But I digress. I guess the main thing I was thinking about is I don't often know where something is going when I sit down to write it. This is the case with this recent fiction. I have some characters, a challenging setting they must live in, and some ideas for some difficult moral dilemmas. Other than that though, I think I will be discovering right along with those characters where their lives are going. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that will make the story more authentic.
You know, I like to read Christian fiction, and there are some talented authors out there. I'm especially a fan of Randy Alcorn, Francine Rivers, and Frank Peretti. But I have a few problems with Christian fiction, and I'm wondering if God will give me some writing that will allow me to fill a niche that just isn't being filled. Here are my primary complaints:
1. A lot of Christian authors insist on writing their stories in historical time periods, particularly pioneer America. Now, I don't have problems with historical fiction in general, in fact, I enjoy it immensely. But it seems to so overwhelm the Christian fiction genre that it almost suggests, especially to those on the outside looking in, that Christianity belongs in these "simpler" time periods, not in messy 2010. And frankly, I don't blame them for thinking that. But there seem to be few novels addressing, in a serious way, Christian issues in modern times. Randy Alcorn and Frank Peretti have tried this, and I applaud them for it. So has Francine Rivers. But they are few and far between. A lot of modern Christian fiction is just chick lit with Jesus in it. I read a book like that once. Some girl is single, in her 30's, waiting for Mr. Right, does too much shopping, and, oh, maybe occasionally sticks in the fact that she's a Christian (kind of). It was so vapid. And really irrelevant.
2. A lot of Christian fiction can't stay away from being some sort of romance. And that gets annoying.
3. A lot of Christian fiction refuses to deal with "hard stuff" (the authors I mentioned deal with "hard stuff" all the time, which is one of the reasons I like them). They kind of make it out that live is rated G and easy and everyone gets into their fluffy beds at the end of the day having things figured out. But that's just not the case, with Christians or anybody. And even the books that do deal with "hard stuff" sometimes do it in a way that makes the characters seem 2D...this character represents "the atheists" and this character represents the "Christians" and there is little individuality in these characters. They are too comfortable with archetypes, so sometimes the stories are more like fables than the stories of real people. Even the authors I like fall into this sometimes.
So my goal as a writer is to try to fix some of these problems that have always bothered me about Christian fiction. I'm not sure if I'm cut out to do it, but I'd like to try. And if I get something published, great. If not, that's cool too. But maybe I can use this writing ability that God has given me to do something for Him, and maybe that's to help make those on the outside looking in a little more curious about what Jesus has to offer, knowing that they don't have to fit the "denim jumper homeschool co-op mold" to be welcomed into His kingdom.
Sometimes I think writing is a bit like cooking. Dash of this, experiment with this, let it boil, and see if anyone chokes on it when you feed it to them. I think I let things boil a long time. I always have multiple burners going, some with the contents charred to the bottom of the pans. I think 90% of my writing ends up like that.
This recent work of fiction I've been toying with and you were able to sample comes into my mind occasionally. Particularly when I'm thinking about what persecution is like now in the United States. Honestly, apart from occasional "you're an idiot" glares from nonbelievers, and maybe the occasional court case regarding religious freedom (usually on the news because they are fairly rare), we really don't have anything to complain about at this point. Not really. There are no thought police, we don't have to meet in secret churches, no one is going to arrest us if we are caught with our Bibles or a stack of Christian music CDs in our car. Some people in certain countries are not that privileged, and we must remember to keep them in our prayers. I think we may see persecution of the kind other people suffer within our lifetimes (I already think about how Cooper and I will raise our future children to live in a time like that, because it will likely be daily reality for them), but for right now, God has blessed this very undeserving country with freedom millions of people around the world can only dream of. But it's a curious topic for me, a personal one. I wonder how I will act under extreme persecution. Frankly, my rap sheet hasn't been terribly stellar yet, and I have not been extremely persecuted. Oh, thank God for grace.
But I digress. I guess the main thing I was thinking about is I don't often know where something is going when I sit down to write it. This is the case with this recent fiction. I have some characters, a challenging setting they must live in, and some ideas for some difficult moral dilemmas. Other than that though, I think I will be discovering right along with those characters where their lives are going. Maybe that's a good thing. Maybe that will make the story more authentic.
You know, I like to read Christian fiction, and there are some talented authors out there. I'm especially a fan of Randy Alcorn, Francine Rivers, and Frank Peretti. But I have a few problems with Christian fiction, and I'm wondering if God will give me some writing that will allow me to fill a niche that just isn't being filled. Here are my primary complaints:
1. A lot of Christian authors insist on writing their stories in historical time periods, particularly pioneer America. Now, I don't have problems with historical fiction in general, in fact, I enjoy it immensely. But it seems to so overwhelm the Christian fiction genre that it almost suggests, especially to those on the outside looking in, that Christianity belongs in these "simpler" time periods, not in messy 2010. And frankly, I don't blame them for thinking that. But there seem to be few novels addressing, in a serious way, Christian issues in modern times. Randy Alcorn and Frank Peretti have tried this, and I applaud them for it. So has Francine Rivers. But they are few and far between. A lot of modern Christian fiction is just chick lit with Jesus in it. I read a book like that once. Some girl is single, in her 30's, waiting for Mr. Right, does too much shopping, and, oh, maybe occasionally sticks in the fact that she's a Christian (kind of). It was so vapid. And really irrelevant.
2. A lot of Christian fiction can't stay away from being some sort of romance. And that gets annoying.
3. A lot of Christian fiction refuses to deal with "hard stuff" (the authors I mentioned deal with "hard stuff" all the time, which is one of the reasons I like them). They kind of make it out that live is rated G and easy and everyone gets into their fluffy beds at the end of the day having things figured out. But that's just not the case, with Christians or anybody. And even the books that do deal with "hard stuff" sometimes do it in a way that makes the characters seem 2D...this character represents "the atheists" and this character represents the "Christians" and there is little individuality in these characters. They are too comfortable with archetypes, so sometimes the stories are more like fables than the stories of real people. Even the authors I like fall into this sometimes.
So my goal as a writer is to try to fix some of these problems that have always bothered me about Christian fiction. I'm not sure if I'm cut out to do it, but I'd like to try. And if I get something published, great. If not, that's cool too. But maybe I can use this writing ability that God has given me to do something for Him, and maybe that's to help make those on the outside looking in a little more curious about what Jesus has to offer, knowing that they don't have to fit the "denim jumper homeschool co-op mold" to be welcomed into His kingdom.
Monday, October 4, 2010
Here I Raise My Ebenezer
Ebeneazer: (n) Stone of help. When God's faithfulness had been displayed throughout the Old Testament times, the Hebrews would build an altar to commemorate His faithfulness. A stone altar would be a little impractical now, so I write instead.
It's after 11pm and we have no bed to sleep in, seeing as how our bedding is still in the laundry. So, in order to not fall dead asleep on our crowded couch or something, I thought I'd write a blog entry detailing God's faithfulness in our lives. Mine and Cooper's, that is.
We are finally in our own apartment. Moved in September 15th. I can't begin to tell you how great that is, and how much of a burden and stress has been lifted off. I feel like we live like a married couple now, not like roommates. It's awesome! We still have quite a bit of organizing and arranging left to do, but I can finally nest like the busiest little wifey bird I have always wanted to be. I've already cooked a couple of actual meals (I have a crock-pot maiden voyage planned for tomorrow), and as soon as our place looks more like an apartment and less like a warehouse of a random assortment of junk, we will have people over. We're affording this because we have generous parents who love us so much. So Ebenezer #1: Apartment. Prayer answered!
I got a new job. I start October 18. My official title is Senior Administrative Assistant. P.C. jargon for secretary, I suppose. But it is salary, benefits, normal hours, free weekends, and no diapers to change or questionable merchandise to sell. This will help us become more or less financially stable, which may help us depend less on our parents to keep afloat, and make me less terrified of becoming pregnant with no health insurance. Ebenezer #2: Good-paying job! Prayer answered!
Now this one is a little backwards, but I was thinking about it and I think it can definitely count as Ebenezer #3. My car broke down. Pretty badly. It stalls and generally hates being a car. I took it in twice. The first time: mechanics couldn't find anything major with their $75 diagnostic tests. Awesome. Worked fine for about five days, then died on me again. Took it in today, found out that repairs will cost $700, or else I will just have a car that stalls in the middle of traffic. Soooo....it looks like we will be paying to have it fixed. Without Ebenezers #1 and #2, this would be a huge problem. But with some income coming in soon, and Cooper getting a lot of extra hours with his job (amazing, considering the job, but he has a fellow believer as a boss who also knows he's married so as soon as there are extra hours, Cooper gets dibs), we should be able to "afford" the repairs, even if that means a little trimming here and there. Ebenezer #3: Money for car repair. Prayer answered!
One of my favorite worship songs is called the Desert Song, and I close with the last verse:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow
I want to plant a flag in this season...so that when life gets really difficult, as it inevitably will, I can look back and say, God was faithful then. He will be faithful now.
I will sing praise,
I will sing praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and He is here...
It's after 11pm and we have no bed to sleep in, seeing as how our bedding is still in the laundry. So, in order to not fall dead asleep on our crowded couch or something, I thought I'd write a blog entry detailing God's faithfulness in our lives. Mine and Cooper's, that is.
We are finally in our own apartment. Moved in September 15th. I can't begin to tell you how great that is, and how much of a burden and stress has been lifted off. I feel like we live like a married couple now, not like roommates. It's awesome! We still have quite a bit of organizing and arranging left to do, but I can finally nest like the busiest little wifey bird I have always wanted to be. I've already cooked a couple of actual meals (I have a crock-pot maiden voyage planned for tomorrow), and as soon as our place looks more like an apartment and less like a warehouse of a random assortment of junk, we will have people over. We're affording this because we have generous parents who love us so much. So Ebenezer #1: Apartment. Prayer answered!
I got a new job. I start October 18. My official title is Senior Administrative Assistant. P.C. jargon for secretary, I suppose. But it is salary, benefits, normal hours, free weekends, and no diapers to change or questionable merchandise to sell. This will help us become more or less financially stable, which may help us depend less on our parents to keep afloat, and make me less terrified of becoming pregnant with no health insurance. Ebenezer #2: Good-paying job! Prayer answered!
Now this one is a little backwards, but I was thinking about it and I think it can definitely count as Ebenezer #3. My car broke down. Pretty badly. It stalls and generally hates being a car. I took it in twice. The first time: mechanics couldn't find anything major with their $75 diagnostic tests. Awesome. Worked fine for about five days, then died on me again. Took it in today, found out that repairs will cost $700, or else I will just have a car that stalls in the middle of traffic. Soooo....it looks like we will be paying to have it fixed. Without Ebenezers #1 and #2, this would be a huge problem. But with some income coming in soon, and Cooper getting a lot of extra hours with his job (amazing, considering the job, but he has a fellow believer as a boss who also knows he's married so as soon as there are extra hours, Cooper gets dibs), we should be able to "afford" the repairs, even if that means a little trimming here and there. Ebenezer #3: Money for car repair. Prayer answered!
One of my favorite worship songs is called the Desert Song, and I close with the last verse:
This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow
I want to plant a flag in this season...so that when life gets really difficult, as it inevitably will, I can look back and say, God was faithful then. He will be faithful now.
I will sing praise,
I will sing praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice, I will declare
God is my victory and He is here...
Monday, September 6, 2010
What I Can't Explain Away
A young, committed, and educated Jew has just witnessed and approved of the stoning of a member of the followers of a new religion, a blasphemous religion that claims that a man, Jesus of Nazareth, who was executed on a Roman cross is actually the Son of God. He has heard of more of these errant believers in Damascus, and, doing his duty to God, is off to that city to make sure that they and their blasphemy are silenced. Instead though, he is assaulted by an inexplicable light, and he is thrown to the ground. He hears a pleading but commanding voice, saying, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?" It is the voice of Jesus. Blinded, humbled, and shaken, Saul is lead to Damascus, and faces a life of servitude and suffering for the Son of God who loved him and saved him.
I have done nothing but summarized the account of Paul's conversion in Acts 9, and yet similar conversion experiences occur in Muslim countries daily. Muslim men and women, with absolutely no contact with external Christian witness, have dreams and visions of this Jesus of Nazareth, claiming to them personally that he is the true Son of God, and the one they should put their faith in for eternal life. Like Paul, these people have absolutely no worldly gain for believing in Jesus. They will gain no political power, no popularity. They will likely find it difficult to find fellow believers or a church that doesn't have to meet in secret. They face death at the hands of their government, and sometimes at the hands of their family for daring to have a personal relationship with Jesus. And yet they don't turn back. They don't give up. And this isn't just one or two people; statistics show that hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the Middle East are having these experiences. (Joel 2:28-32)
I can't explain that away.
Christians in the New Testament, similarly, had no worldly gain. For the first few hundred years, the Church was frought with persecution. Christians were burned at the stake and used to light Nero's garden parties. They were thrown into gladiator rings and torn apart by lions. But the likelihood of inevitable death did not stop them from worshiping the Christ who rescued them from their sins and bought them Paradise with His death on the cross. Christians are persecuted more today, however, than they ever have been in history. In many countries around the world, Christians don't just face ridicule and disrespect--they face poverty, disease, imprisonment, torture, and death, simply for their faith. (Hebrews 11) But they don't give it up. I can't explain that away.
Throughout history, contrary to all logic and intellect, God has chosen to reveal himself to the poorest, most uneducated of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). God is not a salesman. He does not cater to human wisdom or logic. He is not always palatable, or warm, or inviting to people who are only looking for a Great Vending Machine in the Sky. A God whose entire teaching throughout the Bible is that He is completely holy and we are completely dust is not soothing to our selfish, self-esteem, self-realization culture. Therefore, He is not a God we would make up. Look at all the other religions of the world, the "rub the Buddha belly," "offer a sacrifice to the idol" religions. They elevate humans and demean the divine. They make us feel good because WE did something to earn our way to heaven, or enlightenment, or whatever. But God saw our pitiful state and made a way for us, a way not based on what we can do, but on what He does for us. Former President Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." I propose that God reverses the spirit of that statement. "Ask not what you can do for God. Ask what God can do for you." What rest! "How refreshing to know He doesn't need us! How amazing to find that He wants us!" (Casting Crowns, In Me, lyrics slightly changed for grammar). And I pray your first request is for the perfect salvation and righteousness that Jesus offers via His death on a Roman cross.
I just can't explain God away. His witness is too powerful in the people who have given their lives to follow Him. Changed lives are my favorite miracle, and I have seen them on a daily basis.
I have done nothing but summarized the account of Paul's conversion in Acts 9, and yet similar conversion experiences occur in Muslim countries daily. Muslim men and women, with absolutely no contact with external Christian witness, have dreams and visions of this Jesus of Nazareth, claiming to them personally that he is the true Son of God, and the one they should put their faith in for eternal life. Like Paul, these people have absolutely no worldly gain for believing in Jesus. They will gain no political power, no popularity. They will likely find it difficult to find fellow believers or a church that doesn't have to meet in secret. They face death at the hands of their government, and sometimes at the hands of their family for daring to have a personal relationship with Jesus. And yet they don't turn back. They don't give up. And this isn't just one or two people; statistics show that hundreds of thousands of Muslims in the Middle East are having these experiences. (Joel 2:28-32)
I can't explain that away.
Christians in the New Testament, similarly, had no worldly gain. For the first few hundred years, the Church was frought with persecution. Christians were burned at the stake and used to light Nero's garden parties. They were thrown into gladiator rings and torn apart by lions. But the likelihood of inevitable death did not stop them from worshiping the Christ who rescued them from their sins and bought them Paradise with His death on the cross. Christians are persecuted more today, however, than they ever have been in history. In many countries around the world, Christians don't just face ridicule and disrespect--they face poverty, disease, imprisonment, torture, and death, simply for their faith. (Hebrews 11) But they don't give it up. I can't explain that away.
Throughout history, contrary to all logic and intellect, God has chosen to reveal himself to the poorest, most uneducated of the world (1 Corinthians 1:20-25). God is not a salesman. He does not cater to human wisdom or logic. He is not always palatable, or warm, or inviting to people who are only looking for a Great Vending Machine in the Sky. A God whose entire teaching throughout the Bible is that He is completely holy and we are completely dust is not soothing to our selfish, self-esteem, self-realization culture. Therefore, He is not a God we would make up. Look at all the other religions of the world, the "rub the Buddha belly," "offer a sacrifice to the idol" religions. They elevate humans and demean the divine. They make us feel good because WE did something to earn our way to heaven, or enlightenment, or whatever. But God saw our pitiful state and made a way for us, a way not based on what we can do, but on what He does for us. Former President Kennedy famously said, "Ask not what your country can do for you. Ask what you can do for your country." I propose that God reverses the spirit of that statement. "Ask not what you can do for God. Ask what God can do for you." What rest! "How refreshing to know He doesn't need us! How amazing to find that He wants us!" (Casting Crowns, In Me, lyrics slightly changed for grammar). And I pray your first request is for the perfect salvation and righteousness that Jesus offers via His death on a Roman cross.
I just can't explain God away. His witness is too powerful in the people who have given their lives to follow Him. Changed lives are my favorite miracle, and I have seen them on a daily basis.
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| I love this picture for a thousand reasons. But my favorite...He got off his throne... |
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