I came across a really neat verse this morning as I was reading through Amos of all books.
Amos 4:12-13 - ...prepare to meet your God, O Israel.
He who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals his thoughts to man, he who turns dawn into darkness, and treads the high places of the earth - the LORD God Almighty is his name.
Wow, what a verse. the part - and reveals his thoughts to man - just really struck me. Our God, who is so powerful and can form mountains, create the wind, and tread the high places of earth, chooses to reveal his thoughts to man. That's just so amazing.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Monday, September 18, 2006
The flip side
This morning I was thinking about my post on how other's opinions matter to us, and we (or at least I) don't want people to think badly of me or misunderstand where I was coming from. So that got me thinking about the flip side. What are my opinions of other people, and what am I critical of in others? Am I critical of things without knowing the whole story, and do I criticize just based on the outward actions, or based on the real intentions of the person? I was talking to someone the other day and made the comment - evaluate the person and the actions separately - you don't know how that person got to that place. Sure, you may decide the action is wrong, and you may even need to tell them that, but don't be overly critical and judgemental of that person, because you don't know what was going on inside of them at the time, or the circumstances. I've been feeling a real burden lately to be compassionate towards others and really trying to find out the reason behind why they do certain things. It's kind of a desire to really get to know that person and what makes them tick and what makes them do certain things (both good and bad). Someone in church a few weeks ago preached on how C.S. Lewis' book The Weight of Glory is all about being known by God and that is the weight of glory, knowing that someone knows you inside and out and still loves you intensely anyway. I've never read the book, so I don't know if that's what it's really about, but that is such a great thought, and makes me want to live my life in such a way that I get to know people and love them for who they are and not reject them or judge them for things they do. It's so hard to do sometimes (especially at work, where it seems like everyone is critical!) but I think in the end it's the right and the best thing to do.
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Other's good opinions...
I've been thinking lately how much we care about other people's opinions. It creeps in to our lives in so many ways and can have a significant impact on what we do or how we do things. I was riding my bike this afternoon along the trail, going up the fairly long hill by our house. There were people walking, and I kept thinking - I hope I can make it up this hill, or they are going to think - what a wimp, she can't make it up the hill the whole way! Why do I even care what they think or don't think? I have no clue who they are, and will probably never see them again. Yet I was trying to avoid having them think less of me. When I finally got home, I was thinking about a book I wanted to order from Amazon. So I was thinking I should read the other reviews of the book online to decide whether I really wanted to get it. Then it struck me how silly that was! Here I am, basing my decisions on what other people think, and I have no idea who they are or if they even like the same things I do! They could be 90 year old grandmas or 15 year old teens, or atheists or monks or whatever! Yet I am again basing my decisions on what other people think. Granted, this is kind of a trival example, but it will be interesting to see how many other ways people I don't even know influence me...
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Violets, violets everywhere!
I have a confession to make... I'm a violet addict! What is a violet addict, you might ask? It's when you can't help but get more violets, even though you already have... shall we say... several? A person posted an offer on Freecycle for free African violets, and this is the thought that went through my head - oh, wow, that's neat, I should see if she still has some! So...yeah. Before tonight, Joanna and I had 12 pots of violets, 13 actual African violets, if you count the pot with two plants in it. So I told the lady - I'd like 2-3 plants, if you had any pink ones, that would be great. I show up, and she's given me a box with 9 violets! I mean, it would be rude to refuse, besides, who can resist violets with names like "sparkleberry" and "rainbow's quiet riot"? After I left the lady's house, I was laughing all the way home. Let's hope Joanna can laugh too when she gets home...
Anyone up for pot shopping? :)
Anyone up for pot shopping? :)
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Trust
Trust is a hard thing. I just looked it up online, and the definition according to Merriam-Webster is:
Trust: a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed
2 a : dependence on something future or contingent
I think the hard part for me is part # 2: dependence on something future or contingent, especially when I have no control over what happens or the direction something is going. If I can't depend on the outcome or even trust that the way to get there was valid or makes sense, then I get nervous sometimes. It's been interesting the last few weeks to learn more about myself and to take some of the initially hard to swallow thoughts and comments and just chew on them awhile (there's a good old central PA-ism there for ya). I guess not being able to trust in the sense of not being able to depend on future results shows a lack of trust in the sense of #1. If I can't trust that the outcome will be okay, even though the way doesn't make sense, then I'm not having assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of God. I think my lack of trust comes sometimes from not wanting to give up control, or the semblance of control. Making decisions without all the information is extremely hard for me. I've been trained to research all the information and then make the best decision given my amount of knowledge and experience and training. And then you revise your decision if new info comes along. But people aren't like that. You can't always just go back and take back what you've said or done. So if I don't know the answers, then I have to "let go and let God". Which is kind of crazy if you think about it. People who hear other people or voices talk to them and tell them what to do are generally called crazy and put in insane asylums!
It's also interesting thinking of how God gives us a choice on many things, yet we've been taught that He knows what's best for us. And he does. Sometimes though, praying feels kind of pointless in some respects, because if he knows what's best for us, then why bother asking for something that's not the best, if he's going to give it to us anyway? And why, if he's given us intelligence and made us in his image and put his spirit in us, can't we ever know what's best for us? I'd think that at least once we'd get it right, just by statistical chance. But I guess it goes back to limited sight, and seeing through a glass darkly. If you're a kid and you have only ever tasted vanilla ice-cream, you're going to ask your dad for vanilla ice-cream. But what if he gives you chocolate chip? It's still ice cream, it's still vanilla, but oh so much more tasty! And now your horizons are expanded. Or what if he gave you mocha almond fudge or peanut butter cup or moose tracks or rocky road? wow! that would be incredible :) By the same token, sometimes if we ask for mocha almond fudge, he might only give us vanilla. Because he knows that we've had 4 shots of espresso that day and 2 cokes and 2 pieces of birthday cake! and if we ate mocha almond fudge, that would be too much and we would get sick. So what am I saying? I don't know exactly. I just want to be able to trust Him more, and not feel that last little bit of reluctance in my heart which prevents me from complete relenquishment of control....oh that I might get there soon and not be afraid. Because I'm my beloved's and he is mine...and his banner over me is love.
Trust: a : assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of someone or something b : one in which confidence is placed
2 a : dependence on something future or contingent
I think the hard part for me is part # 2: dependence on something future or contingent, especially when I have no control over what happens or the direction something is going. If I can't depend on the outcome or even trust that the way to get there was valid or makes sense, then I get nervous sometimes. It's been interesting the last few weeks to learn more about myself and to take some of the initially hard to swallow thoughts and comments and just chew on them awhile (there's a good old central PA-ism there for ya). I guess not being able to trust in the sense of not being able to depend on future results shows a lack of trust in the sense of #1. If I can't trust that the outcome will be okay, even though the way doesn't make sense, then I'm not having assured reliance on the character, ability, strength or truth of God. I think my lack of trust comes sometimes from not wanting to give up control, or the semblance of control. Making decisions without all the information is extremely hard for me. I've been trained to research all the information and then make the best decision given my amount of knowledge and experience and training. And then you revise your decision if new info comes along. But people aren't like that. You can't always just go back and take back what you've said or done. So if I don't know the answers, then I have to "let go and let God". Which is kind of crazy if you think about it. People who hear other people or voices talk to them and tell them what to do are generally called crazy and put in insane asylums!
It's also interesting thinking of how God gives us a choice on many things, yet we've been taught that He knows what's best for us. And he does. Sometimes though, praying feels kind of pointless in some respects, because if he knows what's best for us, then why bother asking for something that's not the best, if he's going to give it to us anyway? And why, if he's given us intelligence and made us in his image and put his spirit in us, can't we ever know what's best for us? I'd think that at least once we'd get it right, just by statistical chance. But I guess it goes back to limited sight, and seeing through a glass darkly. If you're a kid and you have only ever tasted vanilla ice-cream, you're going to ask your dad for vanilla ice-cream. But what if he gives you chocolate chip? It's still ice cream, it's still vanilla, but oh so much more tasty! And now your horizons are expanded. Or what if he gave you mocha almond fudge or peanut butter cup or moose tracks or rocky road? wow! that would be incredible :) By the same token, sometimes if we ask for mocha almond fudge, he might only give us vanilla. Because he knows that we've had 4 shots of espresso that day and 2 cokes and 2 pieces of birthday cake! and if we ate mocha almond fudge, that would be too much and we would get sick. So what am I saying? I don't know exactly. I just want to be able to trust Him more, and not feel that last little bit of reluctance in my heart which prevents me from complete relenquishment of control....oh that I might get there soon and not be afraid. Because I'm my beloved's and he is mine...and his banner over me is love.
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