"Well, I'm Back"

So Rosemary and Cora Beth both demanded asked that I return to the blogosphere.

Maybe it would be fitting to write an "In 2011, I plan to..." list. Even though I deny the idea that it is 2011. I just got used to writing 2010 instead of 2009. New Year's Grinch - That's me!

So in this year, which I still call 2010, I plan to...

1. Help my neighbor in her quest to learn how to tan animal furs. She has contacts from which to get the chemicals (we looked in to doing 100% at-home DIY stuff with the corn flakes and battery acid, and that was going to be way too much work; who said wagon train women couldn't be just a little lazy?). Yes, as everyone off the 'nets asks, and I'm sure you're about to, I do mean real honest-to-goodness rabbit furs.
2. Practice making bread and maybe *gasp* become proficient at it.
3. Make myself a more valuable asset at my work.
4. Practice being humble and submissive. I tend to have a bit of a stubborn streak.
5. Finish that nasty evil wretched wonderful quilt I started for the Cowboy. Only 296 more dumb simple and easy pieces of evil strong and manly denim to cut out. *sigh* Anyone have any spare jeans? I'll need them... Has anyone mentioned that Cora hates quilting? She does. Cutting stuff up to sew into a blanket with tons of waste in seam allowances? Unthinkable! Yet here she is...

And the one that I know I will HAVE to do:
6. Learn patience. This summer will be very difficult for me unless I can learn to fully rely on the Lord. But He's been giving me reason upon reason to trust Him in this venture. I know the Cowboy and I will learn much and come out better in the end, so part of me is excited, but the other part is dreading when the Cowboy leaves.

I'm sorry for abandoning you guys. I've missed you a lot.
~Cora

My God has POWER

I just finished speaking (over facebook chat) to a Christian sister in Alaska, and the conversation stirred the fire for Christ in my soul. All I want to do right now is shout to all the world the wonder, power, and majesty of GOD! So amazing He is! I am overwhelmed... How beautiful is my LORD! My spirit, soul, and body rejoice in the hope of the glory of God!

Don't have doubt in your mind - The Lord is moving! He's doing great things, and you and I are part of it, my brothers and sisters! Stand strong in the faith and hold tight to the Solid Rock.

He will have His victory.
 
  

The Passion of the Christian

Find your purpose. Find your passion.

I hear those phrases said a LOT by unhappy, teen/twentyish Christians this last year or two.

Here's an example: I was listening to a young man who was telling me about a conversation he'd had years before with an elderly missionary. The missionary told him: "Now, you can get a good job, a great wife, and be very content and happy until you reach about 40, then you'll feel like there's something missing. Or you can do what I did and be a missionary." The young man told me, "I can see the first part coming true with me - I have that stuff... I'm afraid of eventually feeling like there's something missing."

Well, I thought on what to advise him. First I had to clear up something that struck me wrong. I asked him, "So... Being a missionary solves all your problems and makes you content?" Not that I'm against missionaries; believe me, I hold them in high respect. But if you're going to be a missionary for the wrong reason, it is WRONG. Be a missionary to spread the Word, not to be your fix-all pill.

Then the young man said the phrase that grates on me like you have no idea: "That was back when I was trying to find my passion."

No. Hold the phone.

You don't find passion. Passion finds you.

There is such an emphasis on finding your passion/purpose/whatever among Christian youngsters in my current sphere of friendship. I blame this idea on people who want to write and sell Christian self-help books, and I don't understand it. Never before in my life had I heard it before going to college, and it struck me as very backward. Same as it grates on my when people ask, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Don't be stuck on the future, people! Be stuck on NOW. NOW is when you're alive!

Let's go back to my beloved book of James. James 4:13-17:

13 Now listen, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money."
14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
15 Instead, you ought to say, "If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that."
16 As it is, you boast and brag. All such boasting is evil.
17 Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

That blunt enough for you? So what is "the good he ought to do?" How about Ecclesiastes 9:10: "Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom."

Whatever your hand finds to do. Anything your hand finds to do. Everything your hand finds to do.

Live this moment for Christ. Think this thought for Christ. Pray this prayer for Christ. Share the Word for Christ. Be the temple for Christ. If you do, your passion, contentment, and peace will find you.

An Unconventional Christianity

I believe in an unconventional Christianity when it comes to "God's will." I say unconventional, because every time I talk about my view to someone, they say, "Woah... I didn't think about it like that." Basically, it's like this:

You can't do God's will on your own. You are his vessel. The potter's clay doesn't up and make itself a pot on its own with directions from the potter. That's ridiculous! The potter forms the pot all by himself while the clay is soft and yields to his hands.

Yield. The word is more than the traffic sign in intersections. It's the motto we must live by.

But what does that have to do with the price of tea in China? Well... nothing. But it has a lot to do with discovering God's will for your life. Christians that I know spend a lot of time being anxious about discovering this "will" and then they can live the rest of their lives doing that will.

I've come to believe that you don't need to know the full plan. You don't need to spend your time worrying and losing your focus ("Maybe He wants me to do this with my life. Maybe it's this. God, tell me what You want me to do! Please? Why aren't you telling me? Are you even there? Have you abandoned me?"). You might think that's a little extreme, but I've heard many people come to the conclusion that God didn't care about them anymore. Not overnight, but over years.

So... What do we do about it? Should we just abandon faith entirely? No! Don't do that!

Take each moment by itself and keep your heart and mind yielding to the potter's hands. You don't know if you'll get zapped by lightning, hit by a meteor, or attacked by zombies in the next five minutes, so don't worry about it. Let Him worry about it. He knows all about your life, and if he cares for each sparrow, doesn't he like the masterpiece of his creation just a little bit more?

He loves you. He took all your sins and died for you.You trust Him for eternal life. You can trust Him for life in this world.

Here's your new motto: Pray, praise, and rely on HIM alone. (And remind me and all your brothers and sisters to do so, too.)