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Friday, October 26, 2007
Tuesday, October 09, 2007
Destination Unknown
Its so good to be back in the blogging world. Thanks for those of you who faithfully checked even when I didn't post for quite some time!
Fall is one of my favorite times of year especially now that the leaves are turning! I just love seeing God's amazing creativity and thoughtfulness in the transformation of creation during the seasons! I wish it were a little cooler but soon enough. An additional thing that I get to enjoy the sight of everyday when I come home are the foothills of the appalachain mts. We are hopefully going to make it up there soon to enjoy them! We are going camping the first weekend in November. It's a family tradition I look forward to every year.
I have a ton that I could blog about because Tozer's book is so rich i'm having to read it slowly(also due to the fact that its written in 1940 style english). However I like the title of this topic.
This past week Rodney talked about the aim of "Awakening" and did an amazing job. It was also quite hilarious because it paralled some of the things I had read in Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" earlier in the week. I just love it when the Lord is so clear about what He wants to tell me that He does so three and four times.
The basic principle was that "Awakening is not a destination but a journey to be lived". This thought so simple and yet so profound reminded me that my destination is Heaven and my time on the earth is the journey. So often though I get distracted by my earthly destinations and lose sight of my eternal One. It helped to reawaken me to a principle our friend Brennan Manning talks about "Being fully present in the present". I have a hard time with this on many different levels because I can space out at any moment and enter my day dreaming world and so often I live in the future that I miss the "strawberries" of the present(another Brennan analogy). I am so excited about the dreams that God has placed in my heart and I desperately want to see them come into fruition, but I also know that He wants to do things in and through me right now today exactally where I am. I am excited to live with the mindset of "destination unknown" (in an earthly sense) and focus on my heavenly one. Although being the planner and daydreamer that I am this is a hard mindset to live by it brings such freedom to say ok...wherever, whenever I'm ready(thanks Farah).
Fall is one of my favorite times of year especially now that the leaves are turning! I just love seeing God's amazing creativity and thoughtfulness in the transformation of creation during the seasons! I wish it were a little cooler but soon enough. An additional thing that I get to enjoy the sight of everyday when I come home are the foothills of the appalachain mts. We are hopefully going to make it up there soon to enjoy them! We are going camping the first weekend in November. It's a family tradition I look forward to every year.
I have a ton that I could blog about because Tozer's book is so rich i'm having to read it slowly(also due to the fact that its written in 1940 style english). However I like the title of this topic.
This past week Rodney talked about the aim of "Awakening" and did an amazing job. It was also quite hilarious because it paralled some of the things I had read in Oswald Chamber's "My Utmost for His Highest" earlier in the week. I just love it when the Lord is so clear about what He wants to tell me that He does so three and four times.
The basic principle was that "Awakening is not a destination but a journey to be lived". This thought so simple and yet so profound reminded me that my destination is Heaven and my time on the earth is the journey. So often though I get distracted by my earthly destinations and lose sight of my eternal One. It helped to reawaken me to a principle our friend Brennan Manning talks about "Being fully present in the present". I have a hard time with this on many different levels because I can space out at any moment and enter my day dreaming world and so often I live in the future that I miss the "strawberries" of the present(another Brennan analogy). I am so excited about the dreams that God has placed in my heart and I desperately want to see them come into fruition, but I also know that He wants to do things in and through me right now today exactally where I am. I am excited to live with the mindset of "destination unknown" (in an earthly sense) and focus on my heavenly one. Although being the planner and daydreamer that I am this is a hard mindset to live by it brings such freedom to say ok...wherever, whenever I'm ready(thanks Farah).
Thursday, October 04, 2007
Relentless Pursuit
I have started a book that I have had for several years and am just now reading(like many I posess). However, I think my finding it during unpacking the other day and the sudden desire to read it over others was simply because of what the Lord wanted to continue to stir in my heart along with what He had already started as a result of the Awakening series at church.
A.W. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God" is a fairly well known one and one I think every believer must read. The forward drew me in as I read Tozer's heart behind the book as well as a brief synopsis of his own personal pursuit that led to the book. I was hungry...and the first bite was so satisfying I have been chewing on it for several days.
Tozer says: "We pursue God, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit."
Although I have heard "God pursues you first you did not go to Him first" before on many different occasions, this time it melted my heart and a swell of deep love and desire washed over me as I thought about God's relentless pursuit of His people since the beginning of time. Having been a Christian since a young age sometimes the "pursuit" seems like its been my pursuing God(and usually not enough of it). The Lord just gently spoke to my heart that He relentlessly pursues me still as well as all His children. Then Shawn's story of his own personal "fresh picture" of God came to my mind as I thought about how Shawn shared that God chose us, me his adopted, sinful children over his pure, holy son. Christ asked for the cup to be passed away from Him if possible, but because of God's relenless pursuit of His people He chose to put the sin of the world and seperation from His son(for a time) so that He could have a relationship with His people and the vail could be torn. I have basked in the wonderful thought that our Holy, Magnificent, Powerful God relentlessly pursues us at all cost. His love is so deep for us and He has blessed me with a fresh picture of how deep His love is. Knowing daily that I am this deeply loved and living in light of it stirs my hunger for more of my Jesus.
A.W. Tozer's book "The Pursuit of God" is a fairly well known one and one I think every believer must read. The forward drew me in as I read Tozer's heart behind the book as well as a brief synopsis of his own personal pursuit that led to the book. I was hungry...and the first bite was so satisfying I have been chewing on it for several days.
Tozer says: "We pursue God, and only because, He has first put an urge within us that spurs us to the pursuit."
Although I have heard "God pursues you first you did not go to Him first" before on many different occasions, this time it melted my heart and a swell of deep love and desire washed over me as I thought about God's relentless pursuit of His people since the beginning of time. Having been a Christian since a young age sometimes the "pursuit" seems like its been my pursuing God(and usually not enough of it). The Lord just gently spoke to my heart that He relentlessly pursues me still as well as all His children. Then Shawn's story of his own personal "fresh picture" of God came to my mind as I thought about how Shawn shared that God chose us, me his adopted, sinful children over his pure, holy son. Christ asked for the cup to be passed away from Him if possible, but because of God's relenless pursuit of His people He chose to put the sin of the world and seperation from His son(for a time) so that He could have a relationship with His people and the vail could be torn. I have basked in the wonderful thought that our Holy, Magnificent, Powerful God relentlessly pursues us at all cost. His love is so deep for us and He has blessed me with a fresh picture of how deep His love is. Knowing daily that I am this deeply loved and living in light of it stirs my hunger for more of my Jesus.
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