The Pursuit of Happiness

This isn't a review on that same titled movie in which Will Smith stars. In fact, I have never seen that movie.

Monday evening my family and I went over to a friend's house for a get together. There were many people there. One person in particular is an old Air Force colonel. He had been a mentor to my friends while they went to the Academy. As the get together got started, he asked us all 5 questions. Those of us who had never heard the questions had to promise to answer them once we heard them. I won't tell you all the questions, just in case you ever meet him, but one of the questions he asked which grabbed my attention was, "Who is the happiest person in the world that you know." Giving the recent circumstances of my life, I knew that I could not answer that I was the happiest person in the world. As I searched through my mind for who the happiest person I knew was, it was hard to think of someone I knew who was truly happy. What is interesting about this is that because I have been so depressed recently, it was hard to think of anyone else being in any other state. I ended up answering that Beth was the happiest person I knew.
My sister Katie answered that she should be the happiest person in the world. As the Colonel started pressuring her to answer whether she was or wasn't the happiest person, he explained to the rest of us that our answer should be that we are the happiest in the world. Since we all got the question wrong, his next question was, "what would it take to make you the happiest person in the world?"
My first reaction was that it would take perfection. It would take me to be perfect for me to be the happiest person. After thinking about it, I suddenly realized that if perfection was my aim, then I would never be happy again in this world. God calls us to be perfect, to be holy like Him, but He never tells us to wait to be happy because we are imperfect. Instead, He calls us to rejoice in His perfection, His righteousness, and the fact that He is making us like Him.
So, this week I am trying my best to be happy, to look on the bright side of things, because there is a bright side of things.
"I will greatly rejoice in the LORD; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels." Isaiah 61:10

My Christ

You all know as I do that it has been a very long time since I have posted on this blog. I beg forgiveness. In all honestly, I have not posted because I have had nothing to say.
Now I have something to say, though I'm not sure if it will even make sense.

I recently finished G.K. Chesterton's book Orthodoxy. If you have never read it, set aside some time and push it to the top of your "to read" list. It is well worth it. That is all I am going to say about that subject because I do not want to ruin the book for you if you haven't read it.

Life has been extremely difficult for me lately. As a child, I would watch my sister as she would get mad at herself for not doing something perfect and I would laugh at her. I was so glad that I never had the perfectionist streak. Since I have started to grow up, I have realized that I don't have a perfectionist streak: I am all perfectionist. As a Christian, I think a certian part of us is to desire perfection, yet we are to desire perfection from Christ. When I am constantly aware of my sinfulness and my imperfection and my complete inability to do anything right, I fall into despair. This state of despair is where I have lived for the past month. Yet I must remind myself that God looks on me and sees me as perfect because I wear a perfect robe of righteousness. Christ saw me, saw that I was not perfect and decided to die for me. Then He went up to God and said that He wanted to be His child. This is the part that I laugh at. I think it is very funny that Christ would choose me because I am such a broken vessel. Anyway, with an amazing amount of love, He saved me from my sin. Christ is going to make me perfect. He always finishes what He starts.

So, today I do not have anything special to tell ya'll, I just have simple story of a broken girl who has over and over again found forgiveness, love, and perfection in her brother, friend, and Savior.

Hymns?

I just had a conversation with a friend tonight about hymns and contemporary Christian music. I happen to be of the opinion that listening to hymns and some (emphasis on some) contemporary Christians music is fine outside of corperate worship. I would love to know your opinion on the subject. Some of the hymns of the church are beautiful expressions of love for God and theology. I have recently been listening to a cd that is new to me entitled "In Christ Alone" by Keith and Kristyn Getty. Two of the songs on it have been wonderful to draw my mind back to Christ. I have loved the hymn "In Christ Alone" for a long time. The words in it remind me of what Christ has done and the position He has put me in. I share the lyrics with you so you know what I mean:

"In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song.
This cornerstone, this solid ground; firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love! What depth of peace! When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My comforter, my all-in-all. Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone who took on flesh, Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness, scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died, the wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Christ was laid. Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay, Light of the world by darkness slain,
Then bursting forth in glorious day, up from the grave He rose again.
And as He stands in victory, sins curse has lost its grip on me.
For I am His. And He is mine. Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life; No fear in death; This is the power of Christ in me.
From life's first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man can ever pluck me from His hand
Till He returns or calls me home. Here in the power of Christ I'll stand."

Let me know what you think. :)

Beautiful, Delightful Church

"For Zion's sake I will not keep silent, and for Jerusalem's sake I will not be quiet, until her righteousness goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a burning torch. The nations shall see your righteousness, and all the kings your glory, and you shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give. You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God. You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate, but you shall be called My Delight Is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married. For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your sons marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you. " Isaiah 62:1-5

Last night I heard a sermon from Mr. Martin (Titus' dad) on this passage. He spoke of how we can believe the promises of God, and remind Him of His Word, as it says later in the passage. I read through the verses as he was reading them to us. What a blessing it is to be called beautiful by God! To know that through all our sin and dirtiness, God still looks at His Church and says we are beautiful.
So this finals weeek, I am reveling in the fact that as a small part of God's Church, His delight is in me.

Lessons from a Peasant's Dish

Pixar has been making me smile for years. November 6, 2007, their newest movie, Ratatouille came out on DVD. I just happened to be at Walmart on that day, so I bought it. A friend of mine and I just watched it this evening. And as a Pixar movie, I can watch it over and over again and get something new out of it every time. This time, I learned a simple recipe for life.
During the movie, a food critic apply named Anton Ego "The Grim Eater" snobbishly criticizes food from Gusteau's Restaurant. At the climax of the movie, however, Ego eats a simple peasant's dish, Ratatouille, and learns a lesson himself. As he walks away from this experience, he says,
"In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is more meaningful than our criticism designating it so."
I heard these words this evening and they pierced my heart. Going through college, students (myself included) tend to criticize everything we can. I don't exactly know why this is, but it ruins the more correct perspective of appreciating what we have.
Application?
Recipe for Appreciation:
-realize I am just a peasant's dish
-look on the positive side
-relish the dish placed in front of me
-Thank God for every gift of His
May God bless you this lovely evening!

The Body of Christ

I have a humanities class this semester, which is absolutely wonderful! One of the neat things we had to do in it was write a poem about something we love. Here is what I did...

In the eyes of people around me
I see a sight amazing to behold:
Brothers and sisters loving each other, praising God.
I lift my voice to sing,
I bow my head to pray.
Around me, a hundred voices join together,
And with us is Christ, our Head.

I sit alone and cry.
In walks Christ, my Savior
In the body of a weak sister.
She puts her arms around me,
Drawing my eyes upward to gaze on
What I see in her eyes –
My Risen Lamb, the Head of the Church

I see my love, Emmanuel: God with us
In the Body of Christ.

The Glories of the Trinity

This evening I read Charles Spurgeon's Morning and Evening for the day. In his evening selection, he talked about John 16:15, commenting that, "There are times when all the promises and doctrines of the Bible are of no avail, unless a gracious hand shall apply them to us....Think not that Christ hath placed His joys on heavenly shelves that we may climb up to them for ourselves, but He draws near, and sheds His peace abroad in our hearts. O Christian, if thou art tonight laboring under deep distresses, thy Father does not give thee promises and then leave thee to draw them up from the word like buckets from a well, but the promises He has written in the word He will write anew on your heart....Glorious Gospel! which provides everything for the helpless, which draws nigh to us when we cannot reach after it - brings us grace before we seek for grace! Here is as much glory in the giving as in the gift. Happy people who have the Holy Ghost to bring Jesus to them."
What a wonderful thing the Trinity is in our lives! God the Father lovingly cares for us by giving us His Word - Christ Jesus, who not only pleads on our behalf, but sends His Holy Spirit so we may know the promises of His Word. May we drink in the promises of God this evening and for the rest of our lives!