Tuesday, January 17, 2012

maybe one of the reasons why He had us end up at First Presb on Sunday



What joy, what joy for those whose hope
is in the name of the Lord
What peace, what peace
for those whose confidence is Him alone

the joy of the LORD is. our. strength.

On my bed I remember you;
I think of you through the watches of the night.
Because you are my help,
I sing in the shadow of your wings.
I cling to you;
your right hand upholds me.


One thing God has spoken,
two things have I heard:
that you, O God, are strong,
and that you, O Lord, are loving.
Surely you will reward each person
according to what he has done.



Yes, my soul, find rest in God;
my hope comes from him.
Truly he is my rock and my salvation;
he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.
My salvation and my honor depend on God;
he is my mighty rock, my refuge.
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts to him,
for God is our refuge.




I asked God to show me what it means to hope in His unfailing love. I knew that this was important, but I didn't know how and why and would He please take the scales from my eyes because reading this book of all books in the Bible has been so dry. This is important. It is a promise to hold onto for dear life in this battle of sin. In this kingdom, yours is mine, theirs is ours, one suffers, we all suffer, one rejoices, all rejoice. May God pierce you and me with the Sword if we cherish any festering scrap of sin in our heart. Help me listen harder harder harder. I want to help you do the same.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. “Do you see all these things?” he asked. “Truly I tell you, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”

architecture can aim at eternity for all it wants, but it's not going to make it. XP

-------------------------------------

i missed the first large group of the year...i should have let someone know.

B and J and i finally decided to enter the design competition last night. it's a collaboration between beyond traditional borders and the school of architecture. we have until 11:59pm on sunday to design a portable clinic for (maybe actual) use in third world countries.
it's a neat idea - more like industrial design than architecture.
what's neatest, though, is being able to work on it with B and J.
every team (and actually, the entire school of architecture) is united in spirit - the spirit of good design, of ambition, and of hard work. but I know this is the only team defined by its unity in Spirit with a capital S. the winning in itself is not our goal, and that makes the process and presentation entirely different. it's exciting!

Monday, January 9, 2012

"____" sucks is always a bad conclusion, and that definitely includes Adulthood.

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

2 Timothy 2:15

maturity: accurately handling the word of truth.

---------------------------------------------------

last night a lot of the leaders spoke and prayed about pointing every person in every circumstance to the cross.

that means that talking to my mom, apologizing to my mom, forgiving my mom, working hard for my mom, praying for my mom, encouraging my mom, confessing to my mom, confronting fears, scars, and other accumulating problems with my mom is all a chance to point her and myself to Christ.

Chip Ingram says that we are always either growing or shrinking in our walk with God. Growing or shrinking in our own relationships with God so directly determines the growing or shrinking in our relationship as frustrated mother and painfully slowly maturing daughter.

Every time I refuse to surrender anything that has to do with this relationship to God (which is usually because I'm more concerned with pleasing her, or more precisely with not angering her, than doing the really hard thing the Spirit calls me to do. or I'm just lazy and mastered by the flesh.) it only creates confusion and grief on all levels. Jesus said that he who wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Mother and daughter must completely surrender this relationship to Him, if they want to save it, and to honor Him in this aspect and any other aspect of life.


Please keep me accountable.

Thursday, January 5, 2012

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.
Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle
or they will not come to you.

Many are the woes of the wicked,
but the LORD’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts in him.


-----------------------------------------------------------

I need to grow up.