Me and Olivia hanging out on a Saturday night.
She even turned down an offer to play with a neighbor girl because she wants to hang with ME!
Oh, how I cherish these times.
I injured my leg, so I am taking it easy. We ordered chinese food and Olivia walked all by herself to pick it up. She was so proud and happy to have the independence!
Right now, she is frantically scribbling down words in her "writing notebook" for homework. She is wondering how she can finish this story and also do her other homework, as it is already 7 pages long and she is going strong.
Meanwhile, I am tap tap tapping away on the keys of the computer, writing this.
We both love to write.
Last night, she was alone in a room and I wasn't sure what she was doing. i went in to see if she wanted to go to bed soon, and I found her passed out on the tiny couch with a notepad on her chest. I should have taken a photo.
The notebook was a "book of lists"
The list she had just completed was, "Things I need to do at least once"
Here are the 10 things penciled in her neat handwriting:
1 - go on the witches wheel
2 - go to six flags
3 - be a bridesmaid
4 - give my life to God
5 - move to Michigan
6 - walk the hall of fame
7 - start a movement
8 - invent a revolution
9 - improve a life
10 - Improve ME
Of course, I just looked at that list and loved it.
The way Olivia thinks is always so intriguing to me. In some ways, she is the most childish, playful, carefree person I have ever met and in other ways, she can have these deep, mature trains of thought. So fun.
That's all. Lots on my mind. Could write about a lot of things.
But, we are getting ready to watch "the muppets take manhattan"
I'm not sure why God has chosen to allow so many blessings flood my life. But, I have a heart full of gratitude. And, although my future appears to be unknown and that is a little scary, isn't it always unknown and we simply fool ourselves by believing it is somehow within our control?
Saturday, September 22, 2012
Monday, September 10, 2012
covenant
Reading the book of Acts in the bible, there is so much about the outpouring of the holy spirit and about baptism. It seems that every time someone believes, the gift of the holy spirit is just poured into them, and they immediately get baptized.
covenant.
We don't use that word in our culture.
covenant.
Yet, it means so much. It is so powerful.
Baptism was the way a person would express their vow to enter the new covenant. It was a BIG deal. It's so much more than just believing. It's a decision to make an eternal commitment to submit to Jesus as Lord, God, Ruler, King.
Do we even have words that we currently use in our culture that represent this? We say commitment. Contract. Dedication.
But nothing seems sacred. We are committed until.....something changes. Our contract is honored unless.....the terms are not met by one party. We dedicate ourselves until...something more appealing presents itself.
When we have a covenant relationship with someone, we can trust the deep, sacred promise that is not contingent on circumstances. It is simply a sacred promise. Unbreakable.
Last week at my Doctor, she asked me 4 questions. Of those 4 questions, 2 of them were about my sexual activity. Why? It is staggering to think about all of the health issues and risks surrounding sexual activity.
I have simplified many of humanities problems to this issue of sexual activity outside of marriage. God created sex as a sacred sign of a covenant relationship. It's a BIG deal. It's sacred. What happens when we reduce it to being a physically pleasurable activity? Where to begin? Emotional devastation, physical catastrophes, spiritual emptiness.
But, maybe the worst thing is that people will never know the sacred.
It is so lost.
They will never experience the fullness of the covenant God intended, complete with mutual trust, respect, love, intimacy, serving, and sexual satisfaction and enjoyment that connects not only two bodies, but two souls. Because it takes sacrifice of self to enter a covenant. And we aren't willing to do that. We want satisfaction, not sacrifice. We want the enjoyment of sex, not the mutual love that takes effort to achieve, sustain and nurture.
I really feel we have lost any understanding of covenant. So, it is not a surprise that we approach everything more like a contract.
This includes our relationship with Jesus. I agree to believe A, B and C and God agrees to let me into heaven. Sign on the dotted line....
Contract completed.
What a bummer.
To miss out on the covenant love relationship that comes from agreeing to submit to Jesus as Lord, to love him, worship him, abide in him, trust him, discover him more more daily, grow to know him better
. It's a beautiful journey. And He pours unconditional love and grace all over me. Inside, outside, smothering me with the truth about how he feels about me. Filling me with joy so deep, it goes way beyond my circumstances. Love so pure, it's blinding!
But, unlike any contract, my covenant isn't something that is just done and signed one time. It is a daily process. And it can NEVER be broken, revoked, or forgotten! It is sometimes hard and demanding and confusing and frustrating! It is my agreement to put my SELF under the authority of Jesus. Well, if you've never tried it, putting SELF anywhere but in control is a challenge. It's humbling.
Again, in my willingness to make efforts to humble myself, Jesus transforms me. He takes the parts of myself that are not meeting the mark of who I was created to be, that sinful and selfish stuff, and He transforms me.
It's a covenant with my creator.
I do nothing to earn his love.
I can do nothing to lose his love.
I have complete freedom to love Him in return.
It can never be broken.
It's sacred.
And it's a journey, not a one time contract!
This link shows some of my friends demonstrating an outward sign of the covenant they have entered with Jesus. Pretty awesome stuff.
covenant.
We don't use that word in our culture.
covenant.
Yet, it means so much. It is so powerful.
Baptism was the way a person would express their vow to enter the new covenant. It was a BIG deal. It's so much more than just believing. It's a decision to make an eternal commitment to submit to Jesus as Lord, God, Ruler, King.
Do we even have words that we currently use in our culture that represent this? We say commitment. Contract. Dedication.
But nothing seems sacred. We are committed until.....something changes. Our contract is honored unless.....the terms are not met by one party. We dedicate ourselves until...something more appealing presents itself.
When we have a covenant relationship with someone, we can trust the deep, sacred promise that is not contingent on circumstances. It is simply a sacred promise. Unbreakable.
Last week at my Doctor, she asked me 4 questions. Of those 4 questions, 2 of them were about my sexual activity. Why? It is staggering to think about all of the health issues and risks surrounding sexual activity.
I have simplified many of humanities problems to this issue of sexual activity outside of marriage. God created sex as a sacred sign of a covenant relationship. It's a BIG deal. It's sacred. What happens when we reduce it to being a physically pleasurable activity? Where to begin? Emotional devastation, physical catastrophes, spiritual emptiness.
But, maybe the worst thing is that people will never know the sacred.
It is so lost.
They will never experience the fullness of the covenant God intended, complete with mutual trust, respect, love, intimacy, serving, and sexual satisfaction and enjoyment that connects not only two bodies, but two souls. Because it takes sacrifice of self to enter a covenant. And we aren't willing to do that. We want satisfaction, not sacrifice. We want the enjoyment of sex, not the mutual love that takes effort to achieve, sustain and nurture.
I really feel we have lost any understanding of covenant. So, it is not a surprise that we approach everything more like a contract.
This includes our relationship with Jesus. I agree to believe A, B and C and God agrees to let me into heaven. Sign on the dotted line....
Contract completed.
What a bummer.
To miss out on the covenant love relationship that comes from agreeing to submit to Jesus as Lord, to love him, worship him, abide in him, trust him, discover him more more daily, grow to know him better
. It's a beautiful journey. And He pours unconditional love and grace all over me. Inside, outside, smothering me with the truth about how he feels about me. Filling me with joy so deep, it goes way beyond my circumstances. Love so pure, it's blinding!
But, unlike any contract, my covenant isn't something that is just done and signed one time. It is a daily process. And it can NEVER be broken, revoked, or forgotten! It is sometimes hard and demanding and confusing and frustrating! It is my agreement to put my SELF under the authority of Jesus. Well, if you've never tried it, putting SELF anywhere but in control is a challenge. It's humbling.
Again, in my willingness to make efforts to humble myself, Jesus transforms me. He takes the parts of myself that are not meeting the mark of who I was created to be, that sinful and selfish stuff, and He transforms me.
It's a covenant with my creator.
I do nothing to earn his love.
I can do nothing to lose his love.
I have complete freedom to love Him in return.
It can never be broken.
It's sacred.
And it's a journey, not a one time contract!
This link shows some of my friends demonstrating an outward sign of the covenant they have entered with Jesus. Pretty awesome stuff.
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