There are a few topics swirling around in this head of mine, but none have had time to gel. So I thought I'd give a monthly update because it has already been almost a month since the last one.
What I'm Pondering:
I'm reading through the Gospel of Luke right now, and I was struck by the transition in Chapter 4. The chapter begins with Jesus being tempted in the desert. After the devil departs in verse 13, the heading before verse 14 says, "Jesus Begins His Ministry." I think I've glossed over the fact that Jesus began His ministry after a time of testing and temptation. It encourages me to take my struggles and find a way to minister to others so that my struggles can be used for His glory.
What I'm Listening To:
I'm still listening to Chris Tomlin's Burning Lights quite a bit, but I also downloaded All Sons & Daughters' new EP called The Longing. I saw a recommendation for this album on Twitter, and I'm so glad that I checked them out. The harmonies of this worship duo are absolutely beautiful.
I also downloaded the audio of Romans to help with memorizing Chapter 1. I need all the help I can get as I'm struggling with this much more than I did when I memorized Psalm 91.
What I'm Reading:
I've been reading in every spare moment lately, and I've finished most of the books that I had started last year. From those I've finished, I gleaned a lot about truth, love, and grace and the interplay between those concepts from Tim & Kathy Keller's The Real Meaning of Marriage; I learned more about being the hands and feet of Jesus from Brandon Hatmaker's book Barefoot Church; I whipped through the pages of Christine Caine's book Undaunted as she told of her upbringing and her heart's desire to rescue women from sex-trafficking; and I laughed uncontrollably through the bulk of Melanie Shankle's debut memoir Sparkly Green Earrings.
Currently, I'm slowly going through Because He Loves Me: How Christ Transforms Our Daily Life by Elyse Fitzpatrick. It's quite possible that I've never underlined this much before in a book. Fitzpatrick writes about the Gospel for Believers, and I'm trying to soak up every word. Everything she writes keeps pointing me back to my one-word resolution of "grace."
I told my mother earlier today that I wish I could just eat books. I'm such a slow reader and there are so many books that I want to read that I'd love to digest one each meal! That's probably a weird visual, but it fits.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Recharging
That changed this past week.
I saw that I didn't have anything planned for this weekend and thought it would be a good time for a mental health vacation. I left work at lunch on Thursday feeling a little bit like a truck had run over me, but it was just mountain cedar. After a three-hour nap, I was as a good as new. Make that Exhibit A of why I needed to take some time off.
I've enjoyed more than just that nap over the past three and a half days. During that time, the Lord seemed to be writing a prescription for this introvert's heart and mind to rest while simultaneously being recharged and renewed. Some of the highlights have included:
--the three-hour nap (worth mentioning again)
--no forced bedtimes
--no being awakened by an alarm clock
--leisurely lunch at The Kimbell
--a long hot bath
--a walk at TCU (would have taken a couple more, but oh the mountain cedar!)
--dinner with a friend at a new restaurant and crafts afterwards (making a t-shirt to match my pajama pants)
--sipping Barney & Sons Pomegranate Oolong hot tea or Trader Joe's Organic Hot Chocolate almost every day
Ideally, I would have loved to have spent this time at a scenic cabin or a pretty lakehouse, but the fact that I was at my house meant no packing or travel, which also has its perks. And, I was able to run some errands and get some chores done during brief spurts when I was able to pull myself away from reading.
But I admit that this wasn't a guilt-free time of relaxation. There always seems to be this twinge of guilt over taking time off for myself rather than using my time off in a more sacrificial way.
How do you balance the two? I'd love some insight. And I'd enjoy hearing what your perfect prescription for recharging is.
Sunday, February 3, 2013
Grasping and Giving Grace
It's already February, but I'm just now getting around to posting my one-word resolution for 2013. The word I've chosen this year is "grace." And, I must say that it is stretching me.
As a first-born, Type A, rule-follower, I naturally tend toward a Pharisee-type approach to life, that is everyone should follow the rules, just like I do. It wasn't a stretch when I chose a career that puts a premium on obeying the law and has very little, if any, provision for grace.
It's just been during the past few years that I've realized how little I've understood about grace. And this realization came despite having accepted Christ almost twenty-five years ago.
So as I pondered what word might capture the theme for this year, "grace" kept coming to mind. I want to grasp it, not tangibly in my hands, but to gain a deeper understanding. And then to give it to others as freely as God gives it to me.
But looking at my actions in January through the lens of grace, I failed. Not just a little. A lot. I want justice at every turn. That's my first reaction. So it's obvious that it is going to take every bit of the remaining days in 2013 to reprogram my heart and mind, with the Lord's help, to react with grace first. And to rest in that, knowing that God can hand out any justice that needs to be doled out.
Thankfully, I'm not on my own in trying to make these crucial changes. I'm grateful that His Word says, "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." Deuteronomy 30:6
How are you doing with your resolutions?
As a first-born, Type A, rule-follower, I naturally tend toward a Pharisee-type approach to life, that is everyone should follow the rules, just like I do. It wasn't a stretch when I chose a career that puts a premium on obeying the law and has very little, if any, provision for grace.
It's just been during the past few years that I've realized how little I've understood about grace. And this realization came despite having accepted Christ almost twenty-five years ago.
So as I pondered what word might capture the theme for this year, "grace" kept coming to mind. I want to grasp it, not tangibly in my hands, but to gain a deeper understanding. And then to give it to others as freely as God gives it to me.
But looking at my actions in January through the lens of grace, I failed. Not just a little. A lot. I want justice at every turn. That's my first reaction. So it's obvious that it is going to take every bit of the remaining days in 2013 to reprogram my heart and mind, with the Lord's help, to react with grace first. And to rest in that, knowing that God can hand out any justice that needs to be doled out.
Thankfully, I'm not on my own in trying to make these crucial changes. I'm grateful that His Word says, "The LORD your God will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, so that you may love Him with all your heart and with all your soul, and live." Deuteronomy 30:6
How are you doing with your resolutions?
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Storing the Word
A friend of mine says that when things are getting a bit off in her world, she asks herself whether she's been taking her vitamins and memorizing God's Word. Those two things inevitably make the biggest difference in her overall health.
For so many years, I considered memorizing Scripture as "optional"--something I would do when things settled down in my life . And interestingly, the fruit I was producing matched the amount of Scripture I had committed to memory: none.
Then, my church set out to memorize Galatians. Not just one or two verses. Not even just a chapter. THE WHOLE BOOK. And because my small group was "all in," I, as the leader, decided to be "all in." The accountability in Scripture memory paid off, just as it does when it's set up in other areas of life. I can't say that all six chapters were committed to memory, but a lot more were committed to memory than if I hadn't tried at all.
Two years ago, my family and I decided to memorize Psalm 91. The benefits of that have been innumerable. That one psalm has come to mind hundreds of times since committing it to memory, and I've been able to share portions of it with friends during times when they needed protection. Having that psalm in my memory bank to draw on when I am fearful has been so powerful.
Yet, despite how powerful that Scripture memory was, during 2012, I didn't set out to memorize any new Scripture verses. Unfortunately, the failure to set a goal meant that I settled back into status quo.
I resolved to change that this year. I set out to memorize Psalm 34, and I'm already three verses in. But I'm changing course. Ann Voskamp has challenged her readers to memorize several chapters from Romans. Initially, I thought, "That's not something I want to do; I've already chosen my single psalm to memorize, and that's what I want to do." How very mature of me. The real obstacle was that it sounded like a big chore, and I was playing the "lazy" card.
But now that a friend has jumped on board, I'm feeling peer pressure in the most positive way and have the accountability that I need. Despite the fact that I'm almost four weeks behind, I'm going to try to play catch-up and tackle this big goal. And much like the large project that I just finished up at work by doing a little every day, I need to focus on little chunks at a time and not on the fact that there are THREE CHAPTERS.
So we'll see how the next forty-eight weeks go. At the end of that time, I hope to say that I have stored more of God's Word in my heart.
For so many years, I considered memorizing Scripture as "optional"--something I would do when things settled down in my life . And interestingly, the fruit I was producing matched the amount of Scripture I had committed to memory: none.
Then, my church set out to memorize Galatians. Not just one or two verses. Not even just a chapter. THE WHOLE BOOK. And because my small group was "all in," I, as the leader, decided to be "all in." The accountability in Scripture memory paid off, just as it does when it's set up in other areas of life. I can't say that all six chapters were committed to memory, but a lot more were committed to memory than if I hadn't tried at all.
Two years ago, my family and I decided to memorize Psalm 91. The benefits of that have been innumerable. That one psalm has come to mind hundreds of times since committing it to memory, and I've been able to share portions of it with friends during times when they needed protection. Having that psalm in my memory bank to draw on when I am fearful has been so powerful.
Yet, despite how powerful that Scripture memory was, during 2012, I didn't set out to memorize any new Scripture verses. Unfortunately, the failure to set a goal meant that I settled back into status quo.
I resolved to change that this year. I set out to memorize Psalm 34, and I'm already three verses in. But I'm changing course. Ann Voskamp has challenged her readers to memorize several chapters from Romans. Initially, I thought, "That's not something I want to do; I've already chosen my single psalm to memorize, and that's what I want to do." How very mature of me. The real obstacle was that it sounded like a big chore, and I was playing the "lazy" card.
But now that a friend has jumped on board, I'm feeling peer pressure in the most positive way and have the accountability that I need. Despite the fact that I'm almost four weeks behind, I'm going to try to play catch-up and tackle this big goal. And much like the large project that I just finished up at work by doing a little every day, I need to focus on little chunks at a time and not on the fact that there are THREE CHAPTERS.
So we'll see how the next forty-eight weeks go. At the end of that time, I hope to say that I have stored more of God's Word in my heart.
Sunday, January 20, 2013
The Past & The Present
2012 came and went without a single blogpost, other than the Christmas letter that I just cut and pasted on here to make sure I remember some of the key highlights. If you were kind enough to drop in during my blog sabbatical, thank you for your loyalty and patience.
My co-worker had a baby last year, so that meant lots of writing at work and resulted in no motivation to write after hours. Most nights I didn't even turn on my computer. Some of that "offline time" was filled with studying. I enjoyed completing Beth Moore's study on James and her study on David - Seeking A Heart Like His, as well as Randy Alcorn's study on Heaven. But I wish I had made myself capture some of the "dailies" here. I will try to be better about that this year, but I can't make any promises because some new deadlines at work have already cut into my attempts to get on here earlier this year. So, I may resort to trying to capture a month at a time.
What I'm Pondering This Month:
I listened to Francis Chan's talk at Passion 2013 and was struck by what his church looks like now: 5 to 10 minutes of worship; 5 to 10 minutes of prayer; 2 hours of door-to-door ministering to those in poor neighborhoods, asking what they need and praying with them; and gathering back together to tell stories from the day. The focus is on making disciples. It has me wondering if the American idea of "church" has become a little too consumer-ish.
What I'm Listening To This Month:
My co-worker had a baby last year, so that meant lots of writing at work and resulted in no motivation to write after hours. Most nights I didn't even turn on my computer. Some of that "offline time" was filled with studying. I enjoyed completing Beth Moore's study on James and her study on David - Seeking A Heart Like His, as well as Randy Alcorn's study on Heaven. But I wish I had made myself capture some of the "dailies" here. I will try to be better about that this year, but I can't make any promises because some new deadlines at work have already cut into my attempts to get on here earlier this year. So, I may resort to trying to capture a month at a time.
What I'm Pondering This Month:
I listened to Francis Chan's talk at Passion 2013 and was struck by what his church looks like now: 5 to 10 minutes of worship; 5 to 10 minutes of prayer; 2 hours of door-to-door ministering to those in poor neighborhoods, asking what they need and praying with them; and gathering back together to tell stories from the day. The focus is on making disciples. It has me wondering if the American idea of "church" has become a little too consumer-ish.
What I'm Listening To This Month:
A friend treated me to Chris Tomlin's new cd, and it's been on repeat in my car for a while now. Every track is exceptional, but "Lay Me Down" and "Sovereign" are two songs that I keep going back to, along with "God's Great Dance Floor."
I've also found a new radio station called 88.3 The Journey, which seems to be a mix of KLTY and KCBI, two Christian radio stations in the Metroplex. The Journey is based in Keene, so it's coverage isn't the best as you head north or west of the Metroplex. But it has virtually no commercials and lots of good music, along with snipits of sermons.
What I'm Reading This Month:
I have four books started right now, which is very unlike me; I'm normally a one-book-at-a-time kind of gal. Before the college football season kicked off, I started two books--The Meaning of Marriage and How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How to Listen So Kids Will Talk (which received high praise for working on adults, just as well as kids). And then I got a great deal on Barefoot Church by Jen Hatmaker's husband and started it, along with Undaunted by Christine Caine. I'm hoping to get some good reading time in over the next few weekends if work eases up.
So, that's a short update to kick off my return to the blog. I'm not going to presume that anyone is still checking this, but if you are, what are you pondering, listening to, and reading these days? I'd love to hear.
Tuesday, December 25, 2012
Christmas Letter 2012
Christmas greetings!
As
I sat down to write this letter, unsure of how to start, a glimpse of the
spiral next to my computer with my “gift list” caught my eye. I started my “gift list” around this time two
years ago after reading Ann Voskamp’s book One
Thousand Gifts — A Dare To Live Fully Right Where You Are. Since then, I’ve listed not just 1,000 but
almost 3,000 gifts that the Lord has blessed me with. And through this process, I’ve learned to
notice the little things in each day that I know He intended just for me
because they speak to my heart. Some of
the highlights from this past year include:
·
Finding just the right person to give my
Christmas Jar to last year.
·
New friends the Lord has placed in my
path, many of whom are much younger than me (it’s such grace that they even
think I’m relevant or interesting!).
·
Getting the opportunity to host family
and friends several times over the summer because I’m still in my house.
·
Financial provision when, in a
three-week span, the air conditioner in my house was struck by lightning (which
was not covered by the warranty) and my more-than-twelve-year-old car retired.
·
Being able to attend three Longhorn
football games.
·
My mother’s retirement after 43.5 years
at Warm Springs Rehabilitation Hospital.
·
Continuing to find treasures in His Word
that encourage my heart, like this from Habakkuk 2:3:
“For still the vision awaits its
appointed time; it hastens to the end – it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely
come; it will not delay.”
·
Having Erin home for Thanksgiving for
the first time in five years.
·
Anticipating giving my Christmas Jar to someone
in need this Christmas.
Ann Voskamp writes,
“All’s grace,” and encourages readers to give thanks in all circumstances. So I’m slowly learning to identify and be
thankful for those things that are hard to be thankful for, like when the Lord
uses something to humble me or gives me circumstances that I wouldn’t have
chosen.
I hope that you and
your family have experienced abundant blessings from the Lord throughout 2012
and that you take time during the seasons of Advent and Christmas to thank Him
for all of the little ways that He has blessed you as you celebrate the
ultimate Gift, the birth of Jesus.
Merry
Christmas!
Alyssa
Sunday, September 18, 2011
Keeping the Sabbath
As I've been reading through The Chronological Bible this year, I've been struck by the emphasis on keeping the Sabbath. Over and over again throughout the Old Testament, God chastised His people for failing to keep the Sabbath. (Nehemiah 13:13-21 & Ezekiel 20:12-24)
Isaiah even mentioned that there was a blessing for keeping the Sabbath: "Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:2
And this emphasis on the Sabbath carried over to the New Testament: "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." Hebrews 4:9-10
This isn't the first time I've felt a prompting about observing the Sabbath. I read a great book on observing Sabbath rest and tried to incorporate that into my life, as I wrote about here.
But somehow, I let it slip away. I let Sunday become just another day for doing chores and running errands after church. And I didn't notice for a while that the hurried feeling I was experiencing during the week corresponded to having let my Sabbath rest slip away.
One of the key things that our pastor has preached on since starting this new church is that observing the Sabbath can be like a "snow day" (a time of rest spent with family or friends, enjoying God's creation without having places to rush to) and that we can have a "snow day" every week if we will set aside time and observe the Sabbath.
I've been reconvicted that it is important for me to NOT treat this day as just another day. It is holy and set apart. It's about trusting God with my time and about realizing that my errands and chores can wait. It's also about reconizing that the Sabbath was designed to honor God and to provide rest. Soul rest. And I know I could always use more of that.
It's been almost a month of Sundays now since I set out to observe the Sabbath, and I see a difference. I don't have strict rules because that's not what this is about. Instead, it's about being intentional with my time--giving my time as an offering--and being willing to see how He wants me to spend it. It's a "restful journey," which won't make sense until you try it. So join me next Sunday and see what you think.
Isaiah even mentioned that there was a blessing for keeping the Sabbath: "Blessed is the one who does this— the person who holds it fast, who keeps the Sabbath without desecrating it, and keeps their hands from doing any evil.” Isaiah 56:2
And this emphasis on the Sabbath carried over to the New Testament: "There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his." Hebrews 4:9-10
This isn't the first time I've felt a prompting about observing the Sabbath. I read a great book on observing Sabbath rest and tried to incorporate that into my life, as I wrote about here.
But somehow, I let it slip away. I let Sunday become just another day for doing chores and running errands after church. And I didn't notice for a while that the hurried feeling I was experiencing during the week corresponded to having let my Sabbath rest slip away.
One of the key things that our pastor has preached on since starting this new church is that observing the Sabbath can be like a "snow day" (a time of rest spent with family or friends, enjoying God's creation without having places to rush to) and that we can have a "snow day" every week if we will set aside time and observe the Sabbath.
I've been reconvicted that it is important for me to NOT treat this day as just another day. It is holy and set apart. It's about trusting God with my time and about realizing that my errands and chores can wait. It's also about reconizing that the Sabbath was designed to honor God and to provide rest. Soul rest. And I know I could always use more of that.
It's been almost a month of Sundays now since I set out to observe the Sabbath, and I see a difference. I don't have strict rules because that's not what this is about. Instead, it's about being intentional with my time--giving my time as an offering--and being willing to see how He wants me to spend it. It's a "restful journey," which won't make sense until you try it. So join me next Sunday and see what you think.
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