tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17302035233718036112024-03-12T20:37:59.492-05:00Made SacredElizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.comBlogger89125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-58541180702335083132013-01-11T13:30:00.000-06:002013-01-11T13:30:00.833-06:00Moving<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am living through exciting times this month.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is a new year.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Most exciting of all, we have a </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2013/01/hello-and-goodbye.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">new baby</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> in our home!!</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is also an exciting time for this blog. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am making a move. A move to my own space, rather than this one that is owned by Blogger. This has been a good place for me to begin, but I am ready to move on. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you join me?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://madesacred.com/"><span style="color: black;">madesacred.com</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> is my new address.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have the good fortune to be married to a man with good friends. Good and talented friends!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A good friend of my husband, Porter, has designed a new logo and a new space for me.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you come and take a peek?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If you like receiving my essays, will you make sure that you are receiving the ones from my new home: </span><a href="http://madesacred.com/"><span style="color: black;">madesacred.com</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">? I should have been able to move all of you that already subscribe over, but if you didn't get a post from my new space today, then you will need to subscribe again. Will you?</span></span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-16202116072829304322013-01-04T14:22:00.002-06:002013-01-04T14:22:55.340-06:00Hello and Goodbye<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome to our world!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Samantha Leena Giger</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Born January 1, 2013</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8lbs, 3oz; 21 inches</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On the same day that my Papa left our world</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Birth and death</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hello and goodbye</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Rejoicing and mourning</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the way of our world</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Until Christ returns and makes all of the sad things come untrue.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Welcome, Samantha, to our world. You are beloved by God and by us, and that makes all the difference.</span><br />
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Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-14903013880374305602012-12-28T13:30:00.000-06:002012-12-28T13:30:00.127-06:00Newness and Light<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The people walking in </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%209&version=NIV" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">darkness</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I once was walking in darkness.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I once walked in the darkness of consuming and of </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my material things.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I once walked in the darkness of busyness and self-importance.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I once walked in the darkness of anger and impatience.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">...have seen a </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%209&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">great light</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The Light has dawned and has shone all around me.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSo0wR7pVLiz_kWZfiu8qYBeEX6c3noxtsx0ogYJWKrTcUhnytPpE68YgYX_KCrV-oJUlZ3ICEZrZEkNeh3kC-8T30a_K2k5PPXvwW3LIclKt3gJEpO1LQmzAHw4xOrk7dAY08hV6fftD/s1600/IMG_5372.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFSo0wR7pVLiz_kWZfiu8qYBeEX6c3noxtsx0ogYJWKrTcUhnytPpE68YgYX_KCrV-oJUlZ3ICEZrZEkNeh3kC-8T30a_K2k5PPXvwW3LIclKt3gJEpO1LQmzAHw4xOrk7dAY08hV6fftD/s320/IMG_5372.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I now walk in the light of peace and rest.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I now walk in the light of love and mercy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I now walk in the light of forgiveness and hope.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">In the beginning</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God...In Him was life, and that life was the light of men. </span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUImOm7xr_raHVQVPLBS5thGUSx54WvBkyQaTgOZv95g1r7tdWmr4w6Wi-9aIo7u4allgwDu0_nz6Ft-sWmLRn-7GBACqYImBkHOCLN6ZPmpC8LI6_qzTyK0A2jY4vjMkFUmWOMVbbwzH/s1600/IMG_5902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvUImOm7xr_raHVQVPLBS5thGUSx54WvBkyQaTgOZv95g1r7tdWmr4w6Wi-9aIo7u4allgwDu0_nz6Ft-sWmLRn-7GBACqYImBkHOCLN6ZPmpC8LI6_qzTyK0A2jY4vjMkFUmWOMVbbwzH/s320/IMG_5902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208.1-19&version=NIV" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">I am the light</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> of the world. Whoever follows Me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New spirit.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">New creation.</span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ezekiel%2036.24-32&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">I will give you a new heart</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> and put a new spirit in you, I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh </span></span></blockquote>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">You were taught...</span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%204.22-32&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">to be made new</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. </span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Walking in the light of life.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpd4b-KCYEuk56iKn9adVaoovSiqd3_RcTcva3_daw9RdJnE3o1TY4Bf_rh_vfoCf2yoMtGoVI_3pV9lQXwOtbK6FLN_LFKRcpqZQ0o3Mojpgapehpz4w9lH6Pqc3Z8nOmV7HUPzrrvYx/s1600/IMG_3891.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOpd4b-KCYEuk56iKn9adVaoovSiqd3_RcTcva3_daw9RdJnE3o1TY4Bf_rh_vfoCf2yoMtGoVI_3pV9lQXwOtbK6FLN_LFKRcpqZQ0o3Mojpgapehpz4w9lH6Pqc3Z8nOmV7HUPzrrvYx/s320/IMG_3891.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Following Him, eyes fixed on the Light, ears attending to the Word.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was walking in darkness and have seen a great light.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I live in the land of the shadow of death but, praise be to God, a light has now dawned!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Go. Walk in Light.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaEpyQgPrNX6MIMfQpsSFrymKBT5_vD9Px2bR1md_IbnRIYJ9K6sxoiod7-rLqkB8AmFzITR0Y5qVYLyaxLfBv4SfmsFmMHrx_CVERYcg4vxPGEgxr3vtbs3siDdHXoN6zFfRofTzyvDu/s1600/IMG_5367.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLaEpyQgPrNX6MIMfQpsSFrymKBT5_vD9Px2bR1md_IbnRIYJ9K6sxoiod7-rLqkB8AmFzITR0Y5qVYLyaxLfBv4SfmsFmMHrx_CVERYcg4vxPGEgxr3vtbs3siDdHXoN6zFfRofTzyvDu/s320/IMG_5367.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-18403482658227083422012-12-21T13:30:00.000-06:002012-12-21T13:30:00.065-06:00Mary's Soul<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a stillness and a hush.</span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0ZZU7cfZC1-LM03ItkXvwZmcolxK14Oa1KoVAu1jtLOx7tKXq5Wab1A1u5Mr5rJ2u2a0n60zZlKp-p4sOJO_MGjmzeFoPVtq8PSGRVDlJwORByZAhFdY0TXevj7zGwJy1m2A6qIzPSK4/s1600/Forest+snow+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij0ZZU7cfZC1-LM03ItkXvwZmcolxK14Oa1KoVAu1jtLOx7tKXq5Wab1A1u5Mr5rJ2u2a0n60zZlKp-p4sOJO_MGjmzeFoPVtq8PSGRVDlJwORByZAhFdY0TXevj7zGwJy1m2A6qIzPSK4/s320/Forest+snow+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are words that shred her heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is after the man of light, speaking words of miracle.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is after the shepherds of dirt, speaking visions of angel army chorales.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is after the star of God, shining spotlight on her baby.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is after the scholars of heavens, laying rich treasures down.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_XcqbG1SewH-t7e5_5IQjX6IyH_BHKp6v4sdpC0G3IiB_YmhuoSB0hA-MS9GGbQpkYMr5aRorOt2WpSzBz9M-FaSjisH7sjPafGo2Vu8HE_byJ2GnpswPBRxY4bG3emB0Tp8057dvxOU/s1600/Correggio_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjw_XcqbG1SewH-t7e5_5IQjX6IyH_BHKp6v4sdpC0G3IiB_YmhuoSB0hA-MS9GGbQpkYMr5aRorOt2WpSzBz9M-FaSjisH7sjPafGo2Vu8HE_byJ2GnpswPBRxY4bG3emB0Tp8057dvxOU/s320/Correggio_004.jpg" width="228" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">There is the temple and the sacrifice and the </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202.22-35&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">consecration of a baby</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">There is a </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202.22-35&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">man</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> who raises hands and speaks words of praise to God.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">There are </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%202.22-35&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">words that shred her heart</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And a sword will pierce your own soul too.</span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a stillness and a hush.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And ever after, she lives and follows Him, trusting that God will keep His promises. She is faithful in her trust.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4oN_mAcFJjDMWxi3_hxt4hYBzwLhnRsRZTUy2bh_Lh_cQMutrcTQcC80n3jAM1XVBMtzSbCJ_RzTkpOYxJ-02-v0-AZSDJoJH0zkyJopzakBiElodj6YzKxKdGuUdNtmqNVDVqIXEAIM/s1600/Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp4oN_mAcFJjDMWxi3_hxt4hYBzwLhnRsRZTUy2bh_Lh_cQMutrcTQcC80n3jAM1XVBMtzSbCJ_RzTkpOYxJ-02-v0-AZSDJoJH0zkyJopzakBiElodj6YzKxKdGuUdNtmqNVDVqIXEAIM/s320/Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And she stands at the foot of a cross, watching her innocent child as He is brutally tortured and murdered. As He is pierced with a sword.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And her own soul is pierced as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It cannot have made any sense at all. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The murder of innocents never does. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Death itself never does.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is a cross.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji61CNWVbWgcWXdiRBfXXxf7x-6JYP1gkShzoFsha9gXNxzoxW_AaFgSXIH0OgjaVVHkxlxhmZ2rhuECOCSBqePq41bXABVs_y_LvMKapYcyHZnW5vgA83HqRL9ECPOhdZKGvhUu6y7EpJ/s1600/cross.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji61CNWVbWgcWXdiRBfXXxf7x-6JYP1gkShzoFsha9gXNxzoxW_AaFgSXIH0OgjaVVHkxlxhmZ2rhuECOCSBqePq41bXABVs_y_LvMKapYcyHZnW5vgA83HqRL9ECPOhdZKGvhUu6y7EpJ/s320/cross.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is ugliness and pain and sorrow and grief.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is beauty and rescue and hope and the promise of life for all time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is faithfulness and trust in a God Who keeps His promises. Always.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the stillness and the hush,</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5T0aFM9nfjHeCAo6g5-HKqOd814-UMALqyVt7l69UoTpAx6vmu-NwYj_Me-2kATeLofZwiRC7PLLM8aok5VkpL1IKoBdLCiFQqqV7aQEkqzvqG28Fs7iEdYDyJTDbMXqRUSVJBxUj6oQ/s1600/IMG_5917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjz5T0aFM9nfjHeCAo6g5-HKqOd814-UMALqyVt7l69UoTpAx6vmu-NwYj_Me-2kATeLofZwiRC7PLLM8aok5VkpL1IKoBdLCiFQqqV7aQEkqzvqG28Fs7iEdYDyJTDbMXqRUSVJBxUj6oQ/s320/IMG_5917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the joy of angels singing </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENkrNGF9d8xlxFiilW4jmTU8p_TOK5OUzOcD_qkv_hv_IZIFkih8svr40gQVWgvcb3-azggG6tU3BpmnHXnPOSfERUOkKZtiU9_Kcbx-k2taOQr2saWddiaXnB-sIynf0A7hSgHU0kklR/s1600/Berchem_Nicolaes_Pietersz-ZZZ-Annunciation_to_the_Shepherds.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhENkrNGF9d8xlxFiilW4jmTU8p_TOK5OUzOcD_qkv_hv_IZIFkih8svr40gQVWgvcb3-azggG6tU3BpmnHXnPOSfERUOkKZtiU9_Kcbx-k2taOQr2saWddiaXnB-sIynf0A7hSgHU0kklR/s320/Berchem_Nicolaes_Pietersz-ZZZ-Annunciation_to_the_Shepherds.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">as well as in the piercing of your own soul,</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoRuOYuR94VhYf4u8TW7lM1Z42A-oUy5ycUF3OP6t0sOlNIJJ8-JDnXPCw25h1Jw-tzjowIE3IU5sqTaIrfolJ60k-svlVvvlTfBCVEykHV7dDJNYMSJBsZEIHbshkKMTjJFUfXeB_i6x/s1600/Michelangelo's_Pieta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOoRuOYuR94VhYf4u8TW7lM1Z42A-oUy5ycUF3OP6t0sOlNIJJ8-JDnXPCw25h1Jw-tzjowIE3IU5sqTaIrfolJ60k-svlVvvlTfBCVEykHV7dDJNYMSJBsZEIHbshkKMTjJFUfXeB_i6x/s320/Michelangelo's_Pieta.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Trust in our God whose Word never fails.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I pray for a joyful Christmas for all of you, worshiping the God who makes all things beautiful in His time.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">art credits: snow photo by Kirk Sewell; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Correggio_004.jpg"><span style="color: black;">The Nativity</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Correggio; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg"><span style="color: black;">The Three Crosses</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Rembrandt; </span><a href="http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mKsyjjU/Jesus+Christ"><span style="color: black;">Cross photo</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Asta Rastauskiene; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nicolaes_Pieterszoon_Berchem"><span style="color: black;">Annunciation to the Shepherds</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Nicolaes Pieterszoon Berchem; </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Michelangelo%27s_Pieta_5450_cropncleaned_edit.jpg"><span style="color: black;">Pieta</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Michaelangelo; Advent wreath photos by Elizabeth Giger</span></span></div>
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Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-24136964441869868492012-12-14T13:30:00.000-06:002012-12-14T13:30:00.902-06:00I Am Waiting<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYCndINZ8VIC3eX4YDViryi9bsd2kN6S-TY9eJ_BmRM0q-5ruEObk-aFEew2pL0HVOw7SlzcD8QoGbUcIfvaafYxgUv6N4fJcAIyOpQAR76u77i0bmLV9vQ40zPtNOX1MuRM8EyGN2Qs2/s1600/IMG_5901.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIYCndINZ8VIC3eX4YDViryi9bsd2kN6S-TY9eJ_BmRM0q-5ruEObk-aFEew2pL0HVOw7SlzcD8QoGbUcIfvaafYxgUv6N4fJcAIyOpQAR76u77i0bmLV9vQ40zPtNOX1MuRM8EyGN2Qs2/s320/IMG_5901.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for orders to arrive so that they can be made beautiful with paper and ribbon.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for this beautiful new life within me to be born into this world.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting as my Papa fights this cancer.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiG-jtqkIvS1up9TdhKVKAOBHqbXaNO3jeeW3X5fRDJNZuAL40uZlt3VLVz6gR0GsWRJ3_q-_r-1-YMx3otRBN8_95W9tS5C0c-3Hb-dEXNwJ0jASZtNR_JvcTRUQyaj-A6gH4bOtpHok/s1600/IMG_5917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiG-jtqkIvS1up9TdhKVKAOBHqbXaNO3jeeW3X5fRDJNZuAL40uZlt3VLVz6gR0GsWRJ3_q-_r-1-YMx3otRBN8_95W9tS5C0c-3Hb-dEXNwJ0jASZtNR_JvcTRUQyaj-A6gH4bOtpHok/s320/IMG_5917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We wait each evening, eyes bright with candlelight, watching Mary wind her way around to Bethlehem.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BfXsUr6-moLXSnONkO7r5paMkPe0cOU7IO-1mPkJsdYYI4aD8LkKCXIkilgRvUx07n0WB96_rb-Im359TpE3PpElps-SeVZUuB8JIaBi6SjHA7qni1t5R23U5lVEGJ3kLxZJYqnKRL2i/s1600/IMG_5888.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7BfXsUr6-moLXSnONkO7r5paMkPe0cOU7IO-1mPkJsdYYI4aD8LkKCXIkilgRvUx07n0WB96_rb-Im359TpE3PpElps-SeVZUuB8JIaBi6SjHA7qni1t5R23U5lVEGJ3kLxZJYqnKRL2i/s320/IMG_5888.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi_-ap7tTmwngNA1Kp10M5O_QLmjQTpJCZtoJPL7MT1jS863HhnL4jzY912S8Od2ieEBxXX_mZoM3GcFvJoqGzrk_Dnd2zGEa8YvLLMY-9flMQ4pt3O4i9euiChMYLpmpePrOVCbdP9_P/s1600/IMG_5895.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbi_-ap7tTmwngNA1Kp10M5O_QLmjQTpJCZtoJPL7MT1jS863HhnL4jzY912S8Od2ieEBxXX_mZoM3GcFvJoqGzrk_Dnd2zGEa8YvLLMY-9flMQ4pt3O4i9euiChMYLpmpePrOVCbdP9_P/s320/IMG_5895.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Advent. Waiting.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I am still and wait in this Advent, I dimly grasp that all of life is waiting.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for peace on earth. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6r-ggm_D7WpOdWGw82Ib4UY8OfAAfUagyAJLXDIZhM3lkgB-de9tr2cMRxNovAesnjzt35A0pYm7VDG5fdjdGiZC13144H7lZHmoCvYqtczwhB2rANcaV7yi9hM1xN3csjWH9CBb8cozM/s1600/IMG_5896.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6r-ggm_D7WpOdWGw82Ib4UY8OfAAfUagyAJLXDIZhM3lkgB-de9tr2cMRxNovAesnjzt35A0pYm7VDG5fdjdGiZC13144H7lZHmoCvYqtczwhB2rANcaV7yi9hM1xN3csjWH9CBb8cozM/s320/IMG_5896.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for joy to fill up our world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyWLXwxHxVvqn-oaDPSAP2Qd1-6vUW0DA3BdeT_coAQVNOpLiB-pKgR4juMw-a8a0IlXZrDjBbTNr2IQtUUA_3S3ztSV4mWt9TxxrW-Kja-95iVBErg8Suob-p-AXwQ-FgePMp-wQuz4m/s1600/IMG_5907.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTyWLXwxHxVvqn-oaDPSAP2Qd1-6vUW0DA3BdeT_coAQVNOpLiB-pKgR4juMw-a8a0IlXZrDjBbTNr2IQtUUA_3S3ztSV4mWt9TxxrW-Kja-95iVBErg8Suob-p-AXwQ-FgePMp-wQuz4m/s320/IMG_5907.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting on God. </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Exodus%2014.%2013-15&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Be still</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> before the LORD and wait patiently for Him; do not fret when
men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret--it leads only to
evil.</span></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for Christ to come and for all to be made right again.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">The LORD will fight for you; you need only to </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%2037.1-8&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">be still</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span> </blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wait in Advent for Word to become flesh.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzZc18MWJuj-hxO9NGV4zdneywQ5AbLhOGvQOVAppiRfcxtyTNI9waKEqJPXEM-IQrTxkZkFgAEyKSHbKI514q5sxW2S2XbR-ASIZ5Wed-SVbw42-9p-Mn8pCfsI-47bmXiCX3KMaYzj0/s1600/IMG_5910.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEzZc18MWJuj-hxO9NGV4zdneywQ5AbLhOGvQOVAppiRfcxtyTNI9waKEqJPXEM-IQrTxkZkFgAEyKSHbKI514q5sxW2S2XbR-ASIZ5Wed-SVbw42-9p-Mn8pCfsI-47bmXiCX3KMaYzj0/s320/IMG_5910.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wait in Time for Word to return again and repair this broken world, heal my sin-broken heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for a tiny baby to come quiet in Bethlehem. For an angel to sing glory. For shepherds to rush breathless. For wise men to bow humbled.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting for Christ to come.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I wait, I find that He has, in truth, been Emmanuel, God with us, all through the full time of our waiting.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiG-jtqkIvS1up9TdhKVKAOBHqbXaNO3jeeW3X5fRDJNZuAL40uZlt3VLVz6gR0GsWRJ3_q-_r-1-YMx3otRBN8_95W9tS5C0c-3Hb-dEXNwJ0jASZtNR_JvcTRUQyaj-A6gH4bOtpHok/s1600/IMG_5917.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigiG-jtqkIvS1up9TdhKVKAOBHqbXaNO3jeeW3X5fRDJNZuAL40uZlt3VLVz6gR0GsWRJ3_q-_r-1-YMx3otRBN8_95W9tS5C0c-3Hb-dEXNwJ0jASZtNR_JvcTRUQyaj-A6gH4bOtpHok/s320/IMG_5917.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am still.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am waiting.<br /></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3VfUvCSS_IOSSSUcqkKikffvrWfJK8yllnB2-0R7RiC-k7oN9ZwyFOjrMkphbIgRrWHyRot2rcFUzybszuHcS2POr7T9upmhksQzT-yFb6XlmPiG4oYMmyOfgyMMCvitGvuXxAJfbucu/s1600/IMG_5902.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl3VfUvCSS_IOSSSUcqkKikffvrWfJK8yllnB2-0R7RiC-k7oN9ZwyFOjrMkphbIgRrWHyRot2rcFUzybszuHcS2POr7T9upmhksQzT-yFb6XlmPiG4oYMmyOfgyMMCvitGvuXxAJfbucu/s320/IMG_5902.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-59052149753665121452012-12-07T13:30:00.000-06:002012-12-07T13:30:01.462-06:00Stay<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love to travel. I love seeing new
places and I love experiencing new things.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHj8wyxSxMsx2ylt-4fM9iZ1VypIquCdu65Olif7UUH68oWaxUcuBua0j8zyKzgiHxRamKzi4CczUjc6pJpMcJbp6fQv-jmaNn8YtOYpy6Z2HN1YC-8S4JJ0HcsbAvyjSP3chxwl_Nf9aC/s1600/IMG_2052.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHj8wyxSxMsx2ylt-4fM9iZ1VypIquCdu65Olif7UUH68oWaxUcuBua0j8zyKzgiHxRamKzi4CczUjc6pJpMcJbp6fQv-jmaNn8YtOYpy6Z2HN1YC-8S4JJ0HcsbAvyjSP3chxwl_Nf9aC/s320/IMG_2052.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I grew up in the same town all of my
life until I left for college. Once I left for college, though, I
didn't stay in the same place for more than a year or two before
moving on.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpa1Rip2k9EA2t1mrsi-J5Yq2zmY_6A5dbNzZlIWHi6__G1lxINz6CV4RQWPfQi6WUGstGyeXNM20w5HlZA5EO1k5cFzmHJb7IMAjDxTnQfN3FHNgqA9jNLww8qLlU0QxDDGQjHstKgSo/s1600/Old+FriendsRoomie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSpa1Rip2k9EA2t1mrsi-J5Yq2zmY_6A5dbNzZlIWHi6__G1lxINz6CV4RQWPfQi6WUGstGyeXNM20w5HlZA5EO1k5cFzmHJb7IMAjDxTnQfN3FHNgqA9jNLww8qLlU0QxDDGQjHstKgSo/s320/Old+FriendsRoomie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have never liked the idea of settling down.
It seems boring, too safe.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The reality, though? It is not safe at all. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It
is the staying, the investing, that is dangerous.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is dangerous to stop in one place
for a long time. Relationships have more of a chance to implode.
Neighbors have a better idea of who you really are. Friends might
reject you because they have more time to see deep inside of your
heart.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'd rather keep moving on.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have tried to fool my own heart,
convincing myself that my wanderlust is due to my love of excitement,
due to my desire to not live life in safety.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That, however, is a lie. It is a lie
that I have lived with for a long time.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is because I love the safety of
shallow, the security of anonymity, that I don't remain in one place
for long.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Now? I've been in the same house for
almost five years, and in the same town for seven.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm learning. I'm learning how to be
vulnerable and how to help hold others accountable. I'm learning what
community, long term community, really looks like.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I'm learning how to stay.</span></div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-89758699767219475692012-11-30T13:30:00.000-06:002012-11-30T13:30:00.442-06:00Eating<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eating.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My girls are both mildly obsessed with eating. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We often have to make them </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">stop</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> eating rather than having to persuade them to eat.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't know what I'll do if this third child is a picky eater. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Eating.</span><br />
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Some think about it more than others. Some enjoy the act more than others. Some participate in it more than others.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all consider it to some degree and we all (at least, those of us living in these First World sorts of places) do it fairly regularly.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all do a lot more of it during this time of year than in any other season.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9K-Au8a53b3iciwM17zIBKTXtl8Ya5V1I6yK1DADlZxHZsySjbudmXtdZt4VMALusWsfzU48WequhNOFYPp1qAcWbYxKkJlJqXQgiv95XKwS66DE69J39aGevAX1yspNCX0UnS4iu5vfL/s1600/Thanksgiving+dinner+best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9K-Au8a53b3iciwM17zIBKTXtl8Ya5V1I6yK1DADlZxHZsySjbudmXtdZt4VMALusWsfzU48WequhNOFYPp1qAcWbYxKkJlJqXQgiv95XKwS66DE69J39aGevAX1yspNCX0UnS4iu5vfL/s320/Thanksgiving+dinner+best.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If all that we are, all that we do, is </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-sacred.html"><span style="color: black;">to be made sacred</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, then how does eating fit in? How can eating be a deliberately sacred event rather than being a piece of my day that has nothing to do with God?</span></span></div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. ~ I Corinthians 10.31</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is eating simply how we sustain our bodily functions...or is there more to it than that?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1TCZrTCvep4o8cucjy1iGI5Bd_oKZmjxPFqX5U_mnbEK1qaNoeusIZmDWQI9YW_Y_uUz4tE59vi4I8wVBZQHAR5COCGo6ipT5j9p31oFKaLVIgvCUjuHs-oRjX_Aj0_WiJ4lzExy7fhr/s1600/IMG_2181.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI1TCZrTCvep4o8cucjy1iGI5Bd_oKZmjxPFqX5U_mnbEK1qaNoeusIZmDWQI9YW_Y_uUz4tE59vi4I8wVBZQHAR5COCGo6ipT5j9p31oFKaLVIgvCUjuHs-oRjX_Aj0_WiJ4lzExy7fhr/s320/IMG_2181.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have noticed in the Bible lately that eating was meant to be much more. It is linked over and over again to fellowship with and enjoyment of God.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the story of the Prodigal Son, the Father celebrates the son's return with a feast.</span></blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Jesus shares His last supper with his closest friends and then tells them that He will not drink again until He does it with us in heaven.</span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The kingdom of heaven is compared to a king giving a wedding banquet to his son.</span> </blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The image of a banquet, especially a wedding feast, is used several times to illustrate our enjoyment of God when we are finally with Him in body. </span></blockquote>
</div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we eat, we often are doing more than simply nourishing our bodies. We are sharing of ourselves with our family and our friends. This is sacred.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps eating is one of the last things that our culture hasn't been able to take the sacred out of. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our world tries hard to take God out of all that we do, to make everything a matter of utility. Yet when we share a meal with our family or with our friends, there is a sacredness there that is felt even by those who do not claim to follow God.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwG9Xl9zOazgxUgYEuKOqk020qyZPvAwEqKBkS6rAzK4kPFO069oJFdSqOMIWU3ddlFTurHW9bGNoguxcS5MDTLp1ufyy11y5qTThBsCHzPvay3HNsVKnVj6NUeoIDoxyIBEG0j2-ZOVx/s1600/Dec2010+050.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwG9Xl9zOazgxUgYEuKOqk020qyZPvAwEqKBkS6rAzK4kPFO069oJFdSqOMIWU3ddlFTurHW9bGNoguxcS5MDTLp1ufyy11y5qTThBsCHzPvay3HNsVKnVj6NUeoIDoxyIBEG0j2-ZOVx/s320/Dec2010+050.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even the act of growing our food is sacred. I have learned this in the past couple of years as I began our little garden.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44eERkoaYVyhYdvyRNkp1uS061U7Sc5my2TAccFXEjsqbR4eZeVfTDUngbNXpZE0eL6NWIZoStyYft8mDtqtZuE7AFKlqgO6ipIgdVa9YnVKE9KqfCxrywjZL1graCBI0n_6m1mTa09-h/s1600/IMG_2644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi44eERkoaYVyhYdvyRNkp1uS061U7Sc5my2TAccFXEjsqbR4eZeVfTDUngbNXpZE0eL6NWIZoStyYft8mDtqtZuE7AFKlqgO6ipIgdVa9YnVKE9KqfCxrywjZL1graCBI0n_6m1mTa09-h/s320/IMG_2644.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God is a gardener. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the second chapter of Genesis, He kneels down and breathes life into the soil. He then sustains Adam by the soil and invites him to join in His work of gardening.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQQlAYZ-gV2Fc9gCXvRXlbhedTYINSqqg_i2cxjN3OYC5vkn_5ljUjiFLCfhkqxAOWYKKsTKN401Ws_10er9TBl7rpLIWT8IhKoqd2gxspHxYsjX2ll0haXz54vBDBqgHWf1Cl7uaeP2B/s1600/IMG_2724.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNQQlAYZ-gV2Fc9gCXvRXlbhedTYINSqqg_i2cxjN3OYC5vkn_5ljUjiFLCfhkqxAOWYKKsTKN401Ws_10er9TBl7rpLIWT8IhKoqd2gxspHxYsjX2ll0haXz54vBDBqgHWf1Cl7uaeP2B/s320/IMG_2724.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are invited to join in God's work when we grow our food.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are invited to join in the act of enjoyment of and fellowship with God when we eat food together.</span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As you eat with those you love, be deliberate. Be aware of the sacredness of what you share as you are eating. Be aware of the sacred work of those who grew your food. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Be aware of God filling you up with His own sacredness. </span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And enjoy.</span></div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-64912638289500193692012-11-23T13:30:00.000-06:002012-11-23T13:30:01.236-06:00Moments<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All that we live splinters into moments</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of grace</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of beauty</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of mercy</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For which we give thanks.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of grace when we deserve nothing</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sweet fat dimpled hands reaching up for a kiss</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Wrinkled shaky fingers caressing my cheek</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Strong hand holding mine all covered with prayer.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of light, of color, of beauty</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dancing lights of fireflies below with streaking lights of electricity above</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Colors of sky and sun filtering down through red and gold</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sounds of water dancing, sparkling, rushing, chasing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Moments of mercy given at just the right time</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Delighted laughter of child when sister gives a gift</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Food brought when time and energy has been spent</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A gentle whisper bringing knowledge of love from the divine</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our splintering moments rush together as one</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Grace, beauty, mercy all show us His love</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Even when in darkness I can open my eyes</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To all these and more and give thanks to our Lord.</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-82508386674421984292012-11-16T13:30:00.000-06:002012-11-16T13:30:01.677-06:00Confidence<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Music, writing, crocheting. Gardening,
canning, baking. Volleyball, reading, learning.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9igQXX9cdziGc-uX_dAdUhLgClQ_-JcN1w4K7COJK2kvDZA-qye72MpR1rfjThxIhFFjvIfisfcDXCSLAcxCzxRQMhtRUPyJpG6QwH_oZhTuasaJEfCmttMzVBOvsrvIjR2J3bHDa9voP/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9igQXX9cdziGc-uX_dAdUhLgClQ_-JcN1w4K7COJK2kvDZA-qye72MpR1rfjThxIhFFjvIfisfcDXCSLAcxCzxRQMhtRUPyJpG6QwH_oZhTuasaJEfCmttMzVBOvsrvIjR2J3bHDa9voP/s320/IMG_2786.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1KlDZB0-Ys1v6WTUGEL442zxl7UOB4A9iMNEl4S3WOEY8UzIVUByGA56M9hSLEZbRE9cTITnsm3UJRvWHgpLmp_8BlXxrouu0CCSXrFaC1HWdbF8hlNzbjfPObvuHXk-YXWWS1EyFXFi/s1600/IMG_4709.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="141" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhp1KlDZB0-Ys1v6WTUGEL442zxl7UOB4A9iMNEl4S3WOEY8UzIVUByGA56M9hSLEZbRE9cTITnsm3UJRvWHgpLmp_8BlXxrouu0CCSXrFaC1HWdbF8hlNzbjfPObvuHXk-YXWWS1EyFXFi/s320/IMG_4709.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgW_YE99yrTgBZGwyrRZuEb2GBQglcIlsXC57a2-Dyl4yfNQE3ifV8Emm9w-mJ6o_hUhVmYPQNzsIIb5ug_nsn2SYaLSMyMXSOnPjcQXb0kY3ovInkH3RwnNjr9JYUnRUeHfq5KkM-0FY/s1600/IMG_3757.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwgW_YE99yrTgBZGwyrRZuEb2GBQglcIlsXC57a2-Dyl4yfNQE3ifV8Emm9w-mJ6o_hUhVmYPQNzsIIb5ug_nsn2SYaLSMyMXSOnPjcQXb0kY3ovInkH3RwnNjr9JYUnRUeHfq5KkM-0FY/s320/IMG_3757.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There are many things I enjoy doing and
I have always done well at most everything I have attempted. I'm one
of those who is an expert at nothing but very good at many various
skills and activities. The result of this? I am a fairly confident
person.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know that with anything over which I
have control, I have a good chance at success. And there you see my
trouble: “anything over which I have control”.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For most of my life I have had control
over all that I do. Then I became a mommy.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjcUsTTF7ndhVgQo_0gioe__xr-4WyXlvW_uPn77YKb1nW7DdfTYXQVnx25m-m8_DvnpODwAoGbnw8ysFtMWoMS8Tj_sWPFgba21VJ6xP8NZm3Kxs3nOIgZ6IYi_qgYaWC7envJk6FohA/s1600/July-Sept10+023.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjcUsTTF7ndhVgQo_0gioe__xr-4WyXlvW_uPn77YKb1nW7DdfTYXQVnx25m-m8_DvnpODwAoGbnw8ysFtMWoMS8Tj_sWPFgba21VJ6xP8NZm3Kxs3nOIgZ6IYi_qgYaWC7envJk6FohA/s320/July-Sept10+023.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suddenly I discovered that even when I
read all the right books and learn all the perfect techniques, even
when I master everything perfectly, my children may or may not
respond as I was promised.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You may roll your eyes or shake your
head at my naivety, but this truly rocked my world. My confidence had vanished.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I struggled and prayed and sought
wisdom from many sources. After one particularly desperate session
of prayer, though, my confidence was beautifully restored.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As much as I may have wished, God did
not give me the perfect technique for parenting my little ones. My
confidence in myself had nothing to do with my restoration.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Instead, God gently reminded me that He
loves my girls even more than I do. Which is a lot. God wants, even more than I do,
that they should love Him and love people.
</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVcx2zDQYCjfO_Ite3MmKl8eMxYw4EFAeX8TYxlysKFPw36UeJ0_7IMOCK1RXoGNY2YUbo9i9Sj8Ja6LJmKX7dTm4a8Fv2GXbHMq1gv1bVuIAAjNHfikiuwrJyoKRNfrLEMolk9A6iqpR/s1600/IMG_5489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimVcx2zDQYCjfO_Ite3MmKl8eMxYw4EFAeX8TYxlysKFPw36UeJ0_7IMOCK1RXoGNY2YUbo9i9Sj8Ja6LJmKX7dTm4a8Fv2GXbHMq1gv1bVuIAAjNHfikiuwrJyoKRNfrLEMolk9A6iqpR/s320/IMG_5489.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And if God wants something to happen,
who can stand in His way?
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I
still have children who refuse to respond properly to my masterful
parenting techniques (which often involves stomping my foot at them),
but as long as I remember God's promises, my confidence can no longer be shaken.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">But
blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in
him. He
will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by
the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always
green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear
fruit. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2017.7-8&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Jeremiah 17.7-8</span></a></span></blockquote>
</div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-38388299740859089922012-11-09T13:30:00.000-06:002012-11-09T13:30:01.109-06:00When My Heart Is Revealed<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am flying to Dallas this week.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kHX6GSVHNCHRxmYab8MmgW86Yqz5mLEImLK7wgwlVokB2rihEB11nRsr9HXShLGnY4B-G53DLN2p8Tv967Bi1v3XaffsePfhuyVtvOwTibEWhyphenhyphen3bOo4_73YhYy6u5zkZhyphenhyphenNAxUnOMqe_/s1600/Gram+and+Papa+portrait+soft+focus+best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6kHX6GSVHNCHRxmYab8MmgW86Yqz5mLEImLK7wgwlVokB2rihEB11nRsr9HXShLGnY4B-G53DLN2p8Tv967Bi1v3XaffsePfhuyVtvOwTibEWhyphenhyphen3bOo4_73YhYy6u5zkZhyphenhyphenNAxUnOMqe_/s320/Gram+and+Papa+portrait+soft+focus+best.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No kids, no husband, only myself.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXatlcCPMz_Y7EQervkH79oElyL4TprvtlwN9hj8hpe9UlieIjwHzGhDCu25o2ewsNviSQEm0TS2VdIdWqKVXYAt7Drt0sMF92Zh7AFPyqaZUbROOeQxlX7CaVYXMMW2Clo4_b7ITkJqWd/s1600/Gram%252C+Papa%252C+Bob+and+Elizabeth.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXatlcCPMz_Y7EQervkH79oElyL4TprvtlwN9hj8hpe9UlieIjwHzGhDCu25o2ewsNviSQEm0TS2VdIdWqKVXYAt7Drt0sMF92Zh7AFPyqaZUbROOeQxlX7CaVYXMMW2Clo4_b7ITkJqWd/s320/Gram%252C+Papa%252C+Bob+and+Elizabeth.JPG" width="253" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am traveling to visit my Papa and my Gram one last time before this baby inside me places limits on how far I may travel.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbnq-NL9-tA8OFrZH8Hu9OGBRaJRXpxDqqFeAE05d5xrnlVXg_rvD45ojIWvmJPT84Wmb5wT6gjV6UhEVi8Qfbx6JIh0IRx4sQbjwOvlDAKPqU-LtQllVa6jqZ8cCIMVTXHtvp4Ft6VeFl/s1600/Papa+eyepatch.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbnq-NL9-tA8OFrZH8Hu9OGBRaJRXpxDqqFeAE05d5xrnlVXg_rvD45ojIWvmJPT84Wmb5wT6gjV6UhEVi8Qfbx6JIh0IRx4sQbjwOvlDAKPqU-LtQllVa6jqZ8cCIMVTXHtvp4Ft6VeFl/s320/Papa+eyepatch.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is very possibly the last time I will see my Papa this side of death and Jesus' return.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is a difficult journey. One that I wish I did not have to take.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I heard it said on Sunday that storms rip away the surface and the shallow and expose what is truly there.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">In both the </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/11/follow-signs.html"><span style="color: black;">storm of Kristina</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> and the </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/07/again.html"><span style="color: black;">storm of Papa</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, I find that I do not like what is revealed.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I desire comfort above character; I want my own plans to be fulfilled even though I know that God's plan is so much better; I want to avoid pain, for myself and for those that I love, at almost any cost.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Only God can change me, can fix my broken heart so that I am able to desire what He desires. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am brought back once again to the realization that God does not promise that we will have pain-free lives. He, in fact, promises the opposite.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">(Jesus speaking to His disciples) In this world you will have trouble. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2016&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">John 16.33</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet I read the entire verse and I cling to the last of His words. I cling to what God does truly promise.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have told you these things so that in Me, you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world! </span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Take heart!</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Part of me is able to recognize that those are much greater promises. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A large part of me, however, still seeks that life without heartache and pain. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52F1Sl-bWmJe3OiOY5wJ8C4Y0iaAI7FndTUXD2ZfnmSmkKpyUmb-h0Ybr5OkiviZyrAcmLpxKV2ig41NHppmK8OybwdJ0XQg-hOAaSFCX_yfGI4dI07FT-W3AQpLHnPxPa0aLxOiqJotT/s1600/Gethsemane_Carl_Bloch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi52F1Sl-bWmJe3OiOY5wJ8C4Y0iaAI7FndTUXD2ZfnmSmkKpyUmb-h0Ybr5OkiviZyrAcmLpxKV2ig41NHppmK8OybwdJ0XQg-hOAaSFCX_yfGI4dI07FT-W3AQpLHnPxPa0aLxOiqJotT/s320/Gethsemane_Carl_Bloch.jpg" width="267" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All I can do for now is to cling to Jesus' words, to the things that He has promised, as I wait for the day when my heart will be whole and undivided, the day when I truly will understand and know that it has all been worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2014&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">John 14.27</span></a></span> </blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One day, John knew, Heaven would come down and mend God's broken world and make it our true, perfect home once again... And he knew then that the ending of The Story was going to be so great, it would make all the sadness and tears and everything seem like just a shadow that is chased away by the morning sun. ~ The Jesus Storybook Bible</span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">art credit: painting is </span><span style="color: black;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Carl_Heinrich_Bloch_-_Gethsemane.jpg">Gethsemane</a> </span></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">by Carl Bloch</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-87962772758638858422012-11-02T13:30:00.000-05:002012-11-02T13:30:02.437-05:00Tolerance or Love? <a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/10/holiness-or-justice.html" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black;">Personal holiness or justice in our world?</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If we have decided that "both" is the answer we believe, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/10/holiness-or-justice.html"><span style="color: black;">if we resolve to strive for both ideals</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, what do we do with those who disagree?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What do we do, for that matter, with anyone with whom we disagree?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are exhorted by our leaders, our culture, to show tolerance to those around us. Everywhere I turn, I am pleaded with to be tolerant, to show tolerance to anyone who is different, anyone who thinks or behaves differently than I.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is this what we who are Christ followers are called to be? Tolerant? </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Is this really all that we can manage, all that we can aspire to do?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tolerance is easy. It costs me nothing. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Tolerance shrugs its shoulders and walks away, leaving you to your own devices. Tolerance doesn't care.</span><br />
</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">And the second is like it: "Love your neighbor as yourself." ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%2022.38-9&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Matthew 22.39</span></a></span></span></blockquote>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love is much harder.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love affirms the reality of the other person, culture and way of life.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love takes the trouble to get to know the other person and find out what makes them special.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICnZ4FQy6buFIrjXX67Oc9gdm3wWWAM1BiGwnD12k50kbLukLpVakUIfmfCbFts2Ku3KK9fowIER9txv5Sme2uj_y8TRN2shFWlKPe5MUrsz8yFLK2VuFWnKBSXDSSgxGY2XhlxhyZU8o/s1600/Natalie189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICnZ4FQy6buFIrjXX67Oc9gdm3wWWAM1BiGwnD12k50kbLukLpVakUIfmfCbFts2Ku3KK9fowIER9txv5Sme2uj_y8TRN2shFWlKPe5MUrsz8yFLK2VuFWnKBSXDSSgxGY2XhlxhyZU8o/s320/Natalie189.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Love wants what is best for that person or culture.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was love that brought the world to oppose an apartheid regime in South Africa, not tolerance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was love that lead Martin Luther King to pursue civil rights, not tolerance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was love that drove William Wilberforce to lead the British parliamentary campaign to abolish the slave trade, not tolerance.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It was love that sent Jesus to the cross on our behalf, not tolerance.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO1Y1N6CgZhrFuWF9v9S1wbhurhL-KiYNadiSOgrAzPPE9uGJDS9EtdW4xestY5DIAFO95ddFo4K1az3maWq9e1IrUBIO0NPNUerSPMZm6S0cYymiT80lOGUMviGvSwP4JkiwJw4xo1Rd/s1600/Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiAO1Y1N6CgZhrFuWF9v9S1wbhurhL-KiYNadiSOgrAzPPE9uGJDS9EtdW4xestY5DIAFO95ddFo4K1az3maWq9e1IrUBIO0NPNUerSPMZm6S0cYymiT80lOGUMviGvSwP4JkiwJw4xo1Rd/s320/Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Before November 6th and afterward, as I live my life in contact with people who are different than me, I will pray for strength to choose the harder way.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I am to be Jesus to those around me, if I am to make a difference for Him in this world, I must choose love, not tolerance.
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Love must confront Tolerance and insist, as it has always done, on a better way. ~ Tim Keller in </span><i><a href="http://amzn.com/1594486077">Generous Justice</a></i></span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">art credit: The </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_The_Three_Crosses_1653.jpg"><span style="color: black;">Three Crosses</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> etching by Rembrandt</span></span></div>
</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-51972001837889774972012-10-26T13:30:00.000-05:002012-10-26T13:30:01.147-05:00Holiness or Justice?<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I listen to them argue, watching as each shakes his head and smiles condescendingly while the other is speaking passionately about what he thinks is best.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Surface level respect doesn't seem to go very far. Those who support each one seem to vilify the other, speaking ugly words of disrespect and hate.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Where should we who follow Christ fit in? </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">One group is concerned with personal morality, the other is focused on social justice. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdK0gUHQ5PqGAAKBOn6A0AG4clSDb_7Ig2GSMLYMPyWi6-R0mCWs2-9S4lLa3_HwtTnyf5xihssXsepRABEM0vKMw3oSt3ipSUEK-FCJ1rEDifME0BHRM4__EC_SWMdfSdLDzAHrjKAR4Y/s1600/NortheastVacation1+002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdK0gUHQ5PqGAAKBOn6A0AG4clSDb_7Ig2GSMLYMPyWi6-R0mCWs2-9S4lLa3_HwtTnyf5xihssXsepRABEM0vKMw3oSt3ipSUEK-FCJ1rEDifME0BHRM4__EC_SWMdfSdLDzAHrjKAR4Y/s320/NortheastVacation1+002.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Are we speaking of parties or churches? Is it telling that we sometimes cannot discern a difference? </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When we bring religion into politics, can it turn people away from Christ? If I cannot agree with one set of ideas, yet that same idea set is anchored to Jesus, I may conclude that following Jesus is impossible.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Surely this breaks the heart of God.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Yet surely one passion is more important. Surely either personal morality or social justice should be our highest priority.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I have a passion for justice, personal holiness may be simply a distraction.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If I desire to cultivate personal holiness, I may yet ignore working for justice in our world.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDU0hHhc7fpIeptmx4DunTFBWOY2vKz8JLVcDZuTMtxHb7lU8Hl2HTqwpnGHbRxTXFRJx5CUZ1k8l-nKVuo1goGjcsT0txu4AyhynT2xteAzc8e6FWSRuBKr6ccLhuJ4YeohXt6dN1xxeU/s1600/IMG_3421.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDU0hHhc7fpIeptmx4DunTFBWOY2vKz8JLVcDZuTMtxHb7lU8Hl2HTqwpnGHbRxTXFRJx5CUZ1k8l-nKVuo1goGjcsT0txu4AyhynT2xteAzc8e6FWSRuBKr6ccLhuJ4YeohXt6dN1xxeU/s320/IMG_3421.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps, just perhaps, a balance is needed.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In describing what brings the wrath of God, Amos says</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">They trample on the heads of the poor as upon the dust of the ground and deny justice to the oppressed. Father and son use the same girl and so profane my holy name. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Amos%202.6-8&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Amos 2.7</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Personal holiness or justice in our world?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When describing the wickedness of Israel, Isaiah says</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">...He looked for justice, but saw bloodshed; for righteousness, but heard cries of distress. Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field till no space is left and you live alone in the land...Woe to those who rise early in the morning to run after their drinks, who stay up late at night till they are inflamed with wine. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%205.7-12&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Isaiah 5.7-8, 11</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Personal holiness or justice in our world?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Jesus, when teaching the crowds how to live, spoke of refraining from lust, adultery and divorce. He also spoke of giving to the poor, refraining from overwork and resisting the siren call of materialism. All in the same chapter of the Bible. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Matthew%206&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Matthew 6</span></a></span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Personal holiness or justice in our world?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps, just perhaps, we should not choose one to the exclusion of the other. Perhaps we should strive to attain both ideals, following all of what Jesus teaches us rather than excusing away half of His commands.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And what should we do with each other? What do we do with our brother or sister who insists that another course is highest?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps we should speak of that next week.</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-51057468778027922452012-10-19T13:30:00.000-05:002012-10-19T13:30:02.043-05:00I Don't Have Enough Time<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I tell my eldest that this is her last soccer game of the season. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A loud "Hurray!!" is flung into the air and she spins wildly, sending shin guards flying.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why so excited for the end? The answer lies in past conversations. Each time we pull out socks and shin guards, she pleads for more time to play. "Please can we go to the park instead?"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Already, at the tender age of four, she rebels against the busyness of life. She doesn't want activities and events, she simply wants to play.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">What is one of the biggest complaints from people all over the country? According to Arthur Boers, author of </span><i><a href="http://amzn.com/1587433141">Living Into Focus</a></i> <span style="color: #444444;">,it is that they are too busy, that they have no time for what really matters.</span></span></div>
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--His good, pleasing and perfect will. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012.2&version=NIV"><span style="color: black;">Romans 12.2</span></a></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How am I different from the world and culture around me? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I fill up our days with activities and chores, avoiding the stillness of unplanned time.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't take the time to craft God into our days, don't leave empty moments open for filling with His Word.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am not different. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have conformed and have not renewed. I stay busy and distracted, wondering why I feel so frantic with no time left over for those who really matter. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My family, my neighbors, Christ Himself, get left in the dust of my busy life.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I live the same sort of shriveled life that is favored by contemporary culture. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Would anyone in the world, harried and distracted and seeking peaceful stillness, look at my life and think that I am any different? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I don't pose an inviting alternative. I don't live out abundant life in a way that encourages others around me to take my Christian faith seriously. And why should they? I am living a life just as distracted and busy as everyone else.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How can I draw people to Jesus, how can I be the fragrance of Christ, if I am just as shriveled, just as focused inward as anyone else? </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">There is no beauty, no enticement, no intriguing mystery of a life that is different in the middle of this busyness.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have divinely revealed reasons and divinely promised power to live differently. Will I use my imagination and my courage to do so?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">For pushing my own self (and hopefully for you as well!) to take the time to use my imagination and courage to be transformed and stop conforming to our world, I will end with this quote from the president of Missions Resource Network, </span><a href="http://danbouchelle.blogspot.com/"><span style="color: black;">Dan Bouchelle</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">:</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Where does it come from, this endless need to be preoccupied with something? ... What is so wrong with our lives that we can’t be still and just be?</span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Yet, we find God’s grace an embarrassment because to receive it we must admit our need of it. Therefore, we keep going out on the Sabbath gathering manna which grows mold and maggots overnight. We can’t be still because we cannot bear the unblinking eye of God not knowing it is the adoring gaze of a lover rather than the suspicious glare of a taskmaster. In our anxiety to prove our worth, we obsess over our productivity, seeking to earn the respect of everyone around us, including God. ...</span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We don’t know how to be still and filled with God. We are unable to rest in the knowledge that he has declared us enough. We are loved. We are what he made us and is making us. ... But, to accept his grace means letting go of our sense of self-sufficiently and, for many of us, that is just too expensive. It would end all comparison with others and banish boasting. We can’t have that. </span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">So we now live in a world where taking Sabbath has become a sin. We cannot be still without feeling guilty. We cannot have an unproductive day unless it is filled with working hard at play or we can justify it as “well deserved” by working excessively long and hard before and after. </span></span></span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">We think our busyness more essential than God’s. After all, God rested on the Sabbath, but we don’t. </span></span></span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">God help us! Help us understand how small and non-essential we are so we can rest, truly rest, without guilt or anxiety, and just enjoy gazing upon your beauty and our blessedness as you gaze upon us with the adoration of a parent with a new baby. </span></span></span></span></blockquote>
</div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-9013977811712515382012-10-12T13:30:00.000-05:002012-10-12T13:30:02.736-05:00Searching for My Next Act of Worship<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worship is central to who we are as
disciples of Christ.</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444;">Therefore,
I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as
living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual</span><span style="background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #444444;">
</span><span style="color: #444444;">act
of worship. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%2012.1&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Romans 12.1</span></a></span></blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our entire lives are to be acts of
worship. In church and during the week, inside our homes and outside
in God’s creation, serving the homeless and cleaning my toilet, I
am to be offering myself to God in worship. No matter what the task.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizX_1rRKK301ubf1sgBhjieRzYfM5ksCFgqOqcXiypzbxv1UMfYmUIK9bBEZJ8NngrdXUZRx6m5bgcFMuWdrzF3WSBpnOp7qS7UVAg0BQS72A7ubWlU31JYE3jLMpmka28Sg8gvj0NuxHf/s1600/IMG_5611.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizX_1rRKK301ubf1sgBhjieRzYfM5ksCFgqOqcXiypzbxv1UMfYmUIK9bBEZJ8NngrdXUZRx6m5bgcFMuWdrzF3WSBpnOp7qS7UVAg0BQS72A7ubWlU31JYE3jLMpmka28Sg8gvj0NuxHf/s320/IMG_5611.JPG" width="255" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">I have </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/09/theology-in-music.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">written about worship</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> here
before. Worship is </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/07/old-question-part-two.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">part of our job as priests</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. We are to echo the
praise and adoration of all creation back to the Creator. People are
the only part of creation who are able to love God back, who are able
to give voice to the wordless praise of all creation.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSY1e3LcJDwMTczUiYOhs0cXLn55dknPd_Lz8nP41YPTcc1BV_zLFb56Fmx6T1ayqoy81CCZhDaEiOqBM1ni4tPvSHEU1jZ0owYVZMHprG3-zdcqTjDIGsnZbm0qceTideoPPpKtiFFCK/s1600/IMG_5369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSSY1e3LcJDwMTczUiYOhs0cXLn55dknPd_Lz8nP41YPTcc1BV_zLFb56Fmx6T1ayqoy81CCZhDaEiOqBM1ni4tPvSHEU1jZ0owYVZMHprG3-zdcqTjDIGsnZbm0qceTideoPPpKtiFFCK/s320/IMG_5369.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Worship. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My heart has been aching over
this for several months now. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYSaUlrx_Ag5nw8hig-UUqqHRerb0TSQXc2LTCb0ThFLsf5g8MKrkG7lOASAW93AIJmG7LWkICZJ6gqZKRMAl3lKiVLz6GtpMNWlEPIzeumZP1f5Rahcua7l5BorWKGHwtcywzkW71HyU/s1600/IMG_2786.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKYSaUlrx_Ag5nw8hig-UUqqHRerb0TSQXc2LTCb0ThFLsf5g8MKrkG7lOASAW93AIJmG7LWkICZJ6gqZKRMAl3lKiVLz6GtpMNWlEPIzeumZP1f5Rahcua7l5BorWKGHwtcywzkW71HyU/s320/IMG_2786.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A large part of who I am is a musician.
Music has been a part of my identity as long as I can remember, and a
huge part of that musical identity has, from as early as grade
school, been to participate in leading my Family in worship to our
Father.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Then I heard God ask me to give that
up.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wasn’t sure I had heard Him
correctly. Isn’t this the worship He has always asked of me? To use
the gift of music that He gave me to serve His people?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Though I balked, I truly did understand
what God was asking of me. He was asking me to stop using my music in
our church worship service in order to spend more time with my little
ones.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICnZ4FQy6buFIrjXX67Oc9gdm3wWWAM1BiGwnD12k50kbLukLpVakUIfmfCbFts2Ku3KK9fowIER9txv5Sme2uj_y8TRN2shFWlKPe5MUrsz8yFLK2VuFWnKBSXDSSgxGY2XhlxhyZU8o/s1600/Natalie189.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjICnZ4FQy6buFIrjXX67Oc9gdm3wWWAM1BiGwnD12k50kbLukLpVakUIfmfCbFts2Ku3KK9fowIER9txv5Sme2uj_y8TRN2shFWlKPe5MUrsz8yFLK2VuFWnKBSXDSSgxGY2XhlxhyZU8o/s320/Natalie189.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He was asking me to give up using my music
as my current act of worship.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This made my heart ache to its very
core. How would I worship now? In what aspect could my life still be
an act of worship?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Then I listened to a video of Sally Clarkson, from </span><a href="http://www.itakejoy.com/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">I Take Joy</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, talk about laying the foundation for your children, for your home. She spoke a truth that I should have understood, one that instantly shot peace through my core.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbH50W5V5XoG5QMNj3mT4rf4UWEdboqytSlisG8LBlS35cz-Dc2N9hagWaY2b9P-Sdvd8573JpBevg-VhKIHpfxu5Zn28BWtP2zDyVH88lnonU8JZZ5VAj2G4bd2McwglhCv9gz6Oj3z0/s1600/Elizabeth+and+Analise.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrbH50W5V5XoG5QMNj3mT4rf4UWEdboqytSlisG8LBlS35cz-Dc2N9hagWaY2b9P-Sdvd8573JpBevg-VhKIHpfxu5Zn28BWtP2zDyVH88lnonU8JZZ5VAj2G4bd2McwglhCv9gz6Oj3z0/s320/Elizabeth+and+Analise.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Raising my children is an act of worship. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My whole life is
to be an act of worship. If God is calling me to give up one
particular way of worshiping Him, then what is to take its place? </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Being with my little ones.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I breathe and think through this a little more
deeply.
</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuJWbxLIKRQmPHwfGr0u2O12i8LN7ib2RcBmx6fwsQMm-4OMQKi_du_0lQ3OdeBHJjyuXay-zxhMgaTBhvT5_mGl_J5VcqYP3zfj_IvGQPPSJSb8dDWGvfvfxPQc_pYT9J-Q_s0lqkMKa/s1600/Apic1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgLuJWbxLIKRQmPHwfGr0u2O12i8LN7ib2RcBmx6fwsQMm-4OMQKi_du_0lQ3OdeBHJjyuXay-zxhMgaTBhvT5_mGl_J5VcqYP3zfj_IvGQPPSJSb8dDWGvfvfxPQc_pYT9J-Q_s0lqkMKa/s320/Apic1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePvU-PNDhoxYm-OcRKdPUqtvFwlhtfn76-zVMtW7hWKgJSP6zZhE6rEPpJ4f0rPpe8HZFtofdzsBAiVvshYDEEKrqI_xPhbi1F_r3MdEcidI5BzN4aZusClymnqZbHZRDdL5mJ5Hgs1kB/s1600/2010+8-6+Champaign+017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiePvU-PNDhoxYm-OcRKdPUqtvFwlhtfn76-zVMtW7hWKgJSP6zZhE6rEPpJ4f0rPpe8HZFtofdzsBAiVvshYDEEKrqI_xPhbi1F_r3MdEcidI5BzN4aZusClymnqZbHZRDdL5mJ5Hgs1kB/s320/2010+8-6+Champaign+017.jpg" width="311" /></a></div>
<br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God gave me these babies. He </span><i style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">gave</i><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
me these babies and asked me to raise them into people who bear His
image.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Sons
are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Psalm%20127.3&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Psalms 127.3</span></a></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Fix
these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on
your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your
children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk
along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on
the doorframes of your houses and on your gates… ~ </span><a href="deuteronomy11.18-20http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy%2011.18-20&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Deuteronomy 11.18-20</span></a></span></blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Aha.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My children are a gift to me and my
husband, <i>primarily </i></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">to</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">me and my husband.</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Our most precious task right
now is fixing God’s Words in their hearts, setting them on the
doorframes and gates of our home.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnt9Q-22g9vrpv8bzk2xFbBgZWttQPinVgku6nV1ijBPw5F12aTUrDcm_66dzqCAazklVbdzuwjxs2aDfeglO4wFy1ETvf50Wv_IvVFKbYUfmuow8xZOp_IzhO2L3RfzB_8Ph_aeid9ZD/s1600/IMG_3669.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOnt9Q-22g9vrpv8bzk2xFbBgZWttQPinVgku6nV1ijBPw5F12aTUrDcm_66dzqCAazklVbdzuwjxs2aDfeglO4wFy1ETvf50Wv_IvVFKbYUfmuow8xZOp_IzhO2L3RfzB_8Ph_aeid9ZD/s320/IMG_3669.JPG" width="311" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Raising my little ones is my current
act of worship.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suddenly, my heart is filled with peace
and joy. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No more aching, only a sense of gratitude that God has given
me such a beautiful way to worship Him. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am filled with a sense of
the immensity and importance of this act of worship, filled with the
urgency that <i>nothing</i> should stand in the way of this worship
during this season of my life.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Suddenly, I am not filled with loss for
the act of worship I am giving up (for the present) but am filled
with contentment for the fullness of the years of worship ahead of
me.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU54khXUDb8cTX0kVfEub01yO7WBsjzfsVA66tFGZE1-RUIJ5Td-T_me5mtzaNnp5VERboU9fYzTUtvfKyE44lfDZgIM7AeX0QLg1ZI7TopjZMdjsWrqh2EO-90eaMlzq3VfQlU8fzBSJQ/s1600/Natalie504.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiU54khXUDb8cTX0kVfEub01yO7WBsjzfsVA66tFGZE1-RUIJ5Td-T_me5mtzaNnp5VERboU9fYzTUtvfKyE44lfDZgIM7AeX0QLg1ZI7TopjZMdjsWrqh2EO-90eaMlzq3VfQlU8fzBSJQ/s320/Natalie504.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">May I be intentional about building our
home on His Words. May I be purposeful about fixing God’s Words in
the hearts and minds of my little ones. May I throw all my being into
building our home on Christ Himself. May I let no other good thing
distract me from this beautiful worship, from this making our lives sacred.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGOloVdcEsCgRbXrHz_zQw0Vu6e_vUwgyqQfgmHpL9WvfC0k5Mr7l1MfuvjhyvSoBDo-b545zneKI2EinkN-R22Lgzb_LBcLNxERVG8khissh5XiA27NTA5OGNn6eDnHcPeFFzK_6RNAc/s1600/Natalie348.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqGOloVdcEsCgRbXrHz_zQw0Vu6e_vUwgyqQfgmHpL9WvfC0k5Mr7l1MfuvjhyvSoBDo-b545zneKI2EinkN-R22Lgzb_LBcLNxERVG8khissh5XiA27NTA5OGNn6eDnHcPeFFzK_6RNAc/s320/Natalie348.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This. This is my living sacrifice, my
sacrifice of praise. In this breathtaking and wondrous season of my
life, this is my spiritual act of worship.</span></div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-30654243341033839542012-10-05T13:30:00.000-05:002012-10-05T13:30:02.412-05:00Why I Want To Join<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am a logophile, a lover of words. I
love the way that different words evoke different emotions, and even
when two words have the same dictionary meaning, they can still have
very different connotations. </span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlt-HKcUreMxhVYeuBoMfuGSuRmlUQdFyk4hONJYjB-uLRQ3oVfCCbqh7DoG47MbfeRLDiqq7wFG0u_3LaTa4dbxTj6_TNAYNMJczYIFpkuSY6UIejB7AXOx2G8Q5SWC0zclfrdFPwys2/s1600/IMG_2900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHlt-HKcUreMxhVYeuBoMfuGSuRmlUQdFyk4hONJYjB-uLRQ3oVfCCbqh7DoG47MbfeRLDiqq7wFG0u_3LaTa4dbxTj6_TNAYNMJczYIFpkuSY6UIejB7AXOx2G8Q5SWC0zclfrdFPwys2/s320/IMG_2900.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I love searching for just the right
word that paints exactly the picture I want so that others can see
what is in my mind.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="http://lisajobaker.com/five-minute-friday/" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" title="Five Minute Friday"><img alt="Five Minute Friday" src="http://lisajobaker.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/5minutefriday.jpg" style="border: none;" title="Five Minute Friday" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">
</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Every Friday, </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I get a writing prompt. J</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">ust one word, to challenge me to write for five minutes without
editing. Just to practice my craft, to practice being able to find exactly the right words. A few Fridays ago, the word was
“join”.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Join.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My heart was immediately flooded with
emotion, just from that one simple word. Everything from sadness and
self-doubt in remembering times I was not asked to join, to desire
and longing to join...anything.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What is it about that word? Why does it evoke so much emotion? </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It makes me
want to belong, want to be a part of something. Not just anything,
although there is a part of me that might want to belong to anything,
but to be a part of something that really matters. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-oTVfUESE_WFqeFXWY4xHaDsVlF0EzkGEMYt2dVnnjpV4BhAEHOocJKKf2nJ2CPhyphenhyphensdlO8CtDLLJ1XZPcN9uXeL4rWtgh8lcfjzQC7BAFGPhwJ1UvSbBpqdBslr-Ab29IEJmdUfTpEeR/s1600/IMG_2706.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn-oTVfUESE_WFqeFXWY4xHaDsVlF0EzkGEMYt2dVnnjpV4BhAEHOocJKKf2nJ2CPhyphenhyphensdlO8CtDLLJ1XZPcN9uXeL4rWtgh8lcfjzQC7BAFGPhwJ1UvSbBpqdBslr-Ab29IEJmdUfTpEeR/s320/IMG_2706.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzAScDhc5D1cBYrEZXUa30vmpZ_PE8YzxRpTwnKjCeJkqVnAl6mY4rq2naV7HBxSxXX2Rx2LKecOn0FwuON5m3WJKKGUC3E_TQibuL3Ve_xldRFrzQxTq9L41Xr5tTc4w5rBS7gaQehel/s1600/IMG_3470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwzAScDhc5D1cBYrEZXUa30vmpZ_PE8YzxRpTwnKjCeJkqVnAl6mY4rq2naV7HBxSxXX2Rx2LKecOn0FwuON5m3WJKKGUC3E_TQibuL3Ve_xldRFrzQxTq9L41Xr5tTc4w5rBS7gaQehel/s320/IMG_3470.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqyLyOncQbTaRQEztI7Kw5IjjYaMZO8CrEUOrh-Jx1eOyoZXc15ugXFvasXHSZ7QlzEX20x4U1ASClBkv7b6s07kuGS1M6OP8lqIj9j7xf0kQG8SosHYG5J3DQx40vATVwaEZg1Zd0zte/s1600/IMG_5264.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRqyLyOncQbTaRQEztI7Kw5IjjYaMZO8CrEUOrh-Jx1eOyoZXc15ugXFvasXHSZ7QlzEX20x4U1ASClBkv7b6s07kuGS1M6OP8lqIj9j7xf0kQG8SosHYG5J3DQx40vATVwaEZg1Zd0zte/s320/IMG_5264.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWOgW2Ss8xofxLVatI1CQ6Le614EoBxUzh1LQ9lzlZLmjlUPmB2nGOzd5utj1MhwWIesY4pHSOSmvzlt8NZpU2jkLvl-0z1DNGQUqY7y6woAXDu6EvB43RFbqBqaMQsVOxdC2b5c0QmFl/s1600/Sunlight+through+tulips.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmWOgW2Ss8xofxLVatI1CQ6Le614EoBxUzh1LQ9lzlZLmjlUPmB2nGOzd5utj1MhwWIesY4pHSOSmvzlt8NZpU2jkLvl-0z1DNGQUqY7y6woAXDu6EvB43RFbqBqaMQsVOxdC2b5c0QmFl/s320/Sunlight+through+tulips.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to join, to be an
important part of an important group that is...I don't know, changing
the world?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It almost seems a bit ludicrous, that a such small, simple word can pull such complex feeling out of me. As I
thought a bit more about it, though, I realized that this is probably something
that God put into all of us. </span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I wonder if God has placed a strong
desire to join, to belong, to be a part of something, into each of
our hearts in order to draw us closer both to Him and to each other
and the community He has placed each of us in.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Yes, this is a difficult thing and involves risk and vulnerability on our part. Yet, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/09/why-i-offer-my-heart-to-you.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">as I wrote last week</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, it is God asking us to do what He has already done.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span></span>
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6DQbyKIKxjXpwz90uy_EkOpYjaUFuaj7ufZGHxAhb2HH11xmKKuSDDROrwhsKeqXMre_zJ_LytjUYkxSJv61C1w_Jec6JylBJ-vmE8DclF8SRejq_pbn_KMB8KhNPjFwge6T-9blmsmY/s1600/IMG_4305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6DQbyKIKxjXpwz90uy_EkOpYjaUFuaj7ufZGHxAhb2HH11xmKKuSDDROrwhsKeqXMre_zJ_LytjUYkxSJv61C1w_Jec6JylBJ-vmE8DclF8SRejq_pbn_KMB8KhNPjFwge6T-9blmsmY/s320/IMG_4305.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps, if we who follow Christ can find the courage to also follow Christ's example of opening our hearts to those around us, then God will use that desire to join, to belong, that He has placed into all of our hearts to draw those He is pursuing into His community.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I will pray for courage. I will open my eyes to discover those to whom God is asking me to open my heart. I will trust God's Spirit to do the rest.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you join me?</span></div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-67388447134528044112012-09-28T13:30:00.000-05:002012-09-28T13:30:00.851-05:00Why I Offer My Heart To You<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We are all walking wounded.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZpT1pAcIZW0YVV5FAzF7R9Zta-oVuTVZyBGoXr560zD3QgILFzU0orAffRFoUXQbj1tHwd-DBesatvhRtNN-I-DZ8sAaXQFBl1yjEb0ejzzqiXp8XhaaITqNcXvf194KhGij4APnHki2/s1600/IMG_4305.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSZpT1pAcIZW0YVV5FAzF7R9Zta-oVuTVZyBGoXr560zD3QgILFzU0orAffRFoUXQbj1tHwd-DBesatvhRtNN-I-DZ8sAaXQFBl1yjEb0ejzzqiXp8XhaaITqNcXvf194KhGij4APnHki2/s320/IMG_4305.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGa6Kejn6h_ZhdkAGX5nf2ZG_t6THwEZZL18QdnRSYTbKSQJaHQnE_mPZcTbrEmLDVCKRxWFgKF1ECmuhMv2VPWj3eDA12S6eak-tdDz9lsvYY7HuOP_APt8fSfdr3X3NFxg1G0u0b6UHt/s1600/IMG_4308.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGa6Kejn6h_ZhdkAGX5nf2ZG_t6THwEZZL18QdnRSYTbKSQJaHQnE_mPZcTbrEmLDVCKRxWFgKF1ECmuhMv2VPWj3eDA12S6eak-tdDz9lsvYY7HuOP_APt8fSfdr3X3NFxg1G0u0b6UHt/s320/IMG_4308.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We have all been hurt. We have all been
rejected. We have all offered our hearts only to have them thrust
back into our faces.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why would we continue to offer what no
one seems to want? Why would we want to keep risking when we seem to
receive so much hurt in return? </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI2CHKMc0jY-_tbHAbwaq-JZ-FzxKDFDDUMITbTkOlXJhTXL48-Wv-IDQOpUfBZ-hsKgMUqaAOgC8EZt-dKuQbO8CcTsFYVUIAaOlZDMJVhzbTy5XXtjgKnzQj5x6kHTyQHNKVyD2JkmIR/s1600/IMG_2691.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgI2CHKMc0jY-_tbHAbwaq-JZ-FzxKDFDDUMITbTkOlXJhTXL48-Wv-IDQOpUfBZ-hsKgMUqaAOgC8EZt-dKuQbO8CcTsFYVUIAaOlZDMJVhzbTy5XXtjgKnzQj5x6kHTyQHNKVyD2JkmIR/s320/IMG_2691.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why would we continue to make
ourselves vulnerable, holding out our hearts in cupped hands, when so
often the result is more bruising, more cuts, more places that will
not heal?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because this is what God did.</span></div>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Yet </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205.8&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">while we were still sinners</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, Christ
died for us.</span></span></blockquote>
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">For if, </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205.10&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">while we were God's enemies</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, we
were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son...</span></span></blockquote>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This. This is why.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God continually offers Himself to us.
He offers us His heart.
</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyF_PHHbwB85J9RJRaNxcg_yyKkyZ_-SeBNBjtgrTCuMfp8WUEz7D_e2EtJVbt83dxJxdmADEyF8kLapf0VQ4dtT8ZMTaSzpfZS-FuHGa7SEWN7VXj7u5HuqrO7vM9O2RTtK92Yv3kzLQ/s1600/IMG_5266.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGyF_PHHbwB85J9RJRaNxcg_yyKkyZ_-SeBNBjtgrTCuMfp8WUEz7D_e2EtJVbt83dxJxdmADEyF8kLapf0VQ4dtT8ZMTaSzpfZS-FuHGa7SEWN7VXj7u5HuqrO7vM9O2RTtK92Yv3kzLQ/s320/IMG_5266.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2j0OhHyJ9siWkfISIvjndGzTz2kibfZkn3xeZYapYezAe3xi243waBeaGng08w9AQsBjEsgM6zWoQm88FS5JjiMULQ8-IwRk2KF_XLbQTHDzXFUN_I4KCO6w4sVtqVojt43_AE1gspfu/s1600/IMG_5271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-2j0OhHyJ9siWkfISIvjndGzTz2kibfZkn3xeZYapYezAe3xi243waBeaGng08w9AQsBjEsgM6zWoQm88FS5JjiMULQ8-IwRk2KF_XLbQTHDzXFUN_I4KCO6w4sVtqVojt43_AE1gspfu/s320/IMG_5271.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God continues to offer what we don't
seem to want. He risks Himself and often receives hurt from us in
return. He continues to make Himself vulnerable, holding out His
heart to us while we simply thrust it back into His face.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">While we were still sinners. When we
were God's enemies.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-CYlVLh6SIbQbN5qJcBtaLYqiFTCuATi5njOGiWf0TS6RLQ5hf90ZcOVWJdQ8-itOHEKCUb-j6PrtXZzQXHMxBZThXPMGX5f7pkzkTKe6xGM9naJItg92LTtvtlNL8KhnXYW1lOe7Jyv/s1600/Cristo_crucificado.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjR-CYlVLh6SIbQbN5qJcBtaLYqiFTCuATi5njOGiWf0TS6RLQ5hf90ZcOVWJdQ8-itOHEKCUb-j6PrtXZzQXHMxBZThXPMGX5f7pkzkTKe6xGM9naJItg92LTtvtlNL8KhnXYW1lOe7Jyv/s320/Cristo_crucificado.jpg" width="215" /></a></div>
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That was when He offered up His heart
in the form of His Son.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And that is why we continue to offer
our own hearts, to make ourselves vulnerable so that we can form the
sort of community that demonstrates to the piece of world around us the immense and vulnerable way that God loves.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">art credit: painting of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_Crucified_%28Vel%C3%A1zquez%29" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Christ Crucified</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Velazquez</span></span></div>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-35385225633952866652012-09-21T13:30:00.000-05:002012-09-21T13:30:02.907-05:00Clasping Gold Instead of Gold Stars<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">It is a difficult and forever-long process, this learning </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-sacred.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">how to make everything sacred</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is also beautifully rewarding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Learning how to make all things in your life sacred </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/08/all-things-made-sacred.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">takes focus</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. It takes the sort of focus that teaches me how to be single-hearted towards God.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She is good at being very focused and single-minded, my youngest. Especially when she needs something.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The dreaded event of all mothers everywhere, her special lovey simply <i>had</i> to be washed at bedtime one night. My littlest couldn't understand why she didn't have her bunny at bedtime.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6VNmw9SJEyjMAD44j7xv8TPg4B-WRX_TIqoCMPQz7KwN1uFtrTIdQoQB03maPR5lGv16_e_xoukGn4fU_YsvciONxxZ0Orsi6YrJRMd5H7nKpVfKgXbK5QXpSRhmY0Zjw2lVRNBn7gXg/s1600/IMG_5437.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz6VNmw9SJEyjMAD44j7xv8TPg4B-WRX_TIqoCMPQz7KwN1uFtrTIdQoQB03maPR5lGv16_e_xoukGn4fU_YsvciONxxZ0Orsi6YrJRMd5H7nKpVfKgXbK5QXpSRhmY0Zjw2lVRNBn7gXg/s320/IMG_5437.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Bunny?" "Bunny is taking a bath, darling. I will bring you Bunny as soon as she is dry." "O-hay."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Can I read you a bedtime story?" "Bunny?" "Bunny is taking a bath." "Bass? Bunny?" "Yes, a bath. I'll bring you Bunny when she is done." "O-hay."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">"Let's talk about our day, shall we?" "Mommy? Bunny?"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> I sigh in frustration, yet feel a small stir in my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What if I were that focused in my pursuit of God, my pursuit of making all things in my life meaningful?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What if I, too, blocked out more of the mindless stories I read and meaningless discussions I have online in order to pursue God? What would that even look like?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%2026.3&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Isaiah 26.3</span></a></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmc9HlzbK9YEsmYIr1o2n3dF_qWjHxHL8zVub_eC7vOwwPzPZVxnY2GjPHQsE5n6l0KyNVG-_S2E9u36ZCI1pKQemiaBnUw-jzYBqBuDS14QTkZCRMhRPvK621sBHPRvb92unBg5voXJ9/s1600/havemother-final-cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmc9HlzbK9YEsmYIr1o2n3dF_qWjHxHL8zVub_eC7vOwwPzPZVxnY2GjPHQsE5n6l0KyNVG-_S2E9u36ZCI1pKQemiaBnUw-jzYBqBuDS14QTkZCRMhRPvK621sBHPRvb92unBg5voXJ9/s320/havemother-final-cover.jpg" width="212" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I read about a mother and daughter on a trip together through the world. The mother speaks of a friend who accomplishes a marvelous amount of things during a day. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What's allowed her to realize her dream where so many others fail, including me for many years, is how carefully and sanely she chooses <i>exactly</i> where to spend her time and energy...Kristin's life illustrates that it takes more than passion and a lot of work to make a dream work--it takes focus. What you think about matters, a lot. Your thoughts drive your actions.</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The mother continues to talk about the myriad of women who choose to please others, to accommodate others, rather than choosing to stand up for themselves and their families.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">She says that many of us choose to be "good girls going for gold stars, instead of clasping tight the gold of our lives by living as we truly desire."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This has the scent of truth that makes me pause. If I substitute "living as God desires", this touches something deep in my heart. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How many times have I said "yes" to an activity, to a time commitment, even to a service opportunity, simply to please someone else or to create a certain image of myself? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So many times those "yeses" have cost me and my family. They have kept me from clasping tight the gold of obeying God's desire that I should, for this season, focus most on these little disciples running around my feet.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp7XZ20A0b8foGJSY11hGKb0h5xMQOegD1Afmlq_A6BjyFquCAvXYspxtia7YobgiudfEI0F1aisTDjz12mEwg0qfIstemdNnA3B3WqJPE3zktyG0ZsKBzKNcFu8IMA_4vuaPP3bFooML/s1600/Nov-Dec10+250.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWp7XZ20A0b8foGJSY11hGKb0h5xMQOegD1Afmlq_A6BjyFquCAvXYspxtia7YobgiudfEI0F1aisTDjz12mEwg0qfIstemdNnA3B3WqJPE3zktyG0ZsKBzKNcFu8IMA_4vuaPP3bFooML/s320/Nov-Dec10+250.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want desperately to be single-hearted. I desire to chase after God, to pursue and focus on only what He has called me to do rather than to fritter away my moments on activities that attempt to please others.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What does this look like? How do you do this in your own life? How do you carefully and sanely choose exactly where to spend your time and energy? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Do you have a goal, a purpose or mission statement for your family? Do you have a lens through which you filter every request, every moment's choice? </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The mother in my book says that "change happens in the small moments, when a sliver of light finds its way through the cracks". </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To help herself to focus, she "wrote down every single thing I did in fifteen-minute increments for three entire weeks...I asked myself a thousand times a day before acting - and, miraculously, speaking - What am I creating with this choice right now?"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to see everything around me as sacred, to be single-minded in pursuing God and His desires for me. I want to choose with intention rather than feelings, excuses, or circumstances. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to please God rather than man.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I want to clasp tight the gold instead of aimlessly grasping for gold stars.</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-85269819462170240562012-09-14T13:30:00.000-05:002012-09-14T13:30:00.845-05:00Losing My Temper Again<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Her eyes begin to flood, her hands creep up to cover her open mouth, and her body caves in on itself, trying to hide from the world around her.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My eyes narrow, my hands clench into tight balls of anger, and my body tenses up as if ready for battle.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By this sixth meltdown of the day, occurring because we took a different route home from the game, my heart is weary and my patience is gone.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My voice is low but harsh as I demand that she <i>stop</i> fussing and <i>quit</i> crying, and I spit at her to <i>just be quiet</i> if she can't be happy.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Hurt radiates from her eyes as her sobs get even louder. Guilt pierces my heart as I once again realize that I lost my temper because I didn't want to deal with her. Hard truth: She was inconvenient to me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I remember that she hasn't had much sleep because her sister just moved into her bed to make room for Baby. I remember that she is struggling with a new sport and feels afraid of too many kids all crowded around the same object. I remember that she is only four and that if I sometimes have irrational meltdowns, perhaps she is allowed a few as well.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This feels like my moment-by-moment cycle: I forget, I am harsh to those I love, I remember, I am guilty. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I now speak harshly to myself, trying to will myself into perfection, into loving without fail. This always fails. I am not perfect and my will is not strong enough.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am loved by One Who is pouring more </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">than I could even imagine</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> into the lives of my husband and children.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">I and my family are loved by One Who loves us enough to </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20John%203.1&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">call us His children</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">We are loved by One Who, before the world was even made, loved each one of us and </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians%201.3-6&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">chose us in Christ</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> to be holy and without fault. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">I am loved by One Who can make up for all of my mistakes, Who tells me that </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Corinthians%2012.9&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">His power is made perfect in my weakness</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, Who reassures me that His grace is sufficient. (II Cor 12.9)</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My strength is not sufficient to calm my temper.</span>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My will is not sufficient for me to love my loved ones perfectly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My fierce desire is not sufficient to force my little ones' hearts into a state of loving God and each other.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">His grace. This is sufficient. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am struck with relief and gratitude, and so I sing. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is good when there is nothing good in me. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is love, when I am not, on display for all to see. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is my hope because He has covered all my sin. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He is true even in my wandering.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I run to His arms and allow His power to be made perfect in my weakness. I trust all of our hearts to His love.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">(song adapted from </span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMknfsWrzN8" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Forever Reign</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Hillsong)</span></span></div>
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Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-61506216832277310062012-09-07T13:30:00.000-05:002012-09-07T13:30:01.710-05:00Slinging Mashed Potatoes<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My eldest has had trouble loving her sister lately.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0Kjsl7TJFuzmkOLmOF5BtWsCYTgSZ97Vp0kzvb0d5cVBPf-g1NofMFWQVsJmP_0vBL_b3WtvCeckUZCa-bLNH_5f_HjPYfP6H9xYYxWbVIs_PGT4-MPoGK5x92nWBnaJFGRMK9MqJ4fJ/s1600/IMG_4478.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ0Kjsl7TJFuzmkOLmOF5BtWsCYTgSZ97Vp0kzvb0d5cVBPf-g1NofMFWQVsJmP_0vBL_b3WtvCeckUZCa-bLNH_5f_HjPYfP6H9xYYxWbVIs_PGT4-MPoGK5x92nWBnaJFGRMK9MqJ4fJ/s320/IMG_4478.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When she gets angry, even if it is with herself, her first instinct is to lash out and hurt Little Sister. We've been working on this, trying to teach her other ways of expressing her anger, but it is a long and difficult road. She seems to lose all common sense when her emotions run high.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Sadly, this reminds me all too much of the adults in our country this time of year.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Ah, election season.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AqWZ8XS1q2pig8g_rSsJ_Tgxw99DitUyIvBWs15yDkteTulXcWFjyERk0ilpGGHObYZyd_t4VtJREwfCcC8hMyd_BYZZ4DakOym20RtDvqQt3EFfBB1r1zSchQDSM5SIiBLJnzTs2Awa/s1600/vote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2AqWZ8XS1q2pig8g_rSsJ_Tgxw99DitUyIvBWs15yDkteTulXcWFjyERk0ilpGGHObYZyd_t4VtJREwfCcC8hMyd_BYZZ4DakOym20RtDvqQt3EFfBB1r1zSchQDSM5SIiBLJnzTs2Awa/s320/vote.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Time for everyone to lose logic and common sense and to begin slinging hateful words around like mashed potatoes in a junior high camp cafeteria.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I have been wondering how we got to this place. How did we get to the place where it seems impossible to have a compassionate discussion of ideas?</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">In my most recent </span><a href="http://www.marshillaudio.org/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Mars Hill Audio Journal</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, it was suggested that this has become part of our culture because of the direction that our public schools have taken. When we emphasize math and science to the exclusion of teaching ethics and civics and philosophy, our citizens grow up without knowing about logic, without knowing how to follow an idea through to its logical conclusion.</span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEpZ6AP-kDFagM0PG7kyr8L070_fLT2u_WJ85jpQFP7v_w3ciLweg3ixRx_vhQZ06YTbRU0gSD3S40ZDgfNe9teznYJ6PsevaD5E_xW3oTvsRWuV-oMuIOZwwnfegj2oCME35Dk1pTWIV/s1600/NTWright.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWEpZ6AP-kDFagM0PG7kyr8L070_fLT2u_WJ85jpQFP7v_w3ciLweg3ixRx_vhQZ06YTbRU0gSD3S40ZDgfNe9teznYJ6PsevaD5E_xW3oTvsRWuV-oMuIOZwwnfegj2oCME35Dk1pTWIV/s320/NTWright.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Here is a clip of one of my favorite authors, N.T. Wright, speaking about the problem that we don't even <i>have</i> the debate but rather have bits and pieces of a shouting match </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">(if you are viewing this via email/in a reader, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">click here</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> to view this video)</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">:</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/YpQHGPGejKs" width="480"></iframe> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I can see, having been a teacher myself, how cutting logic and philosophy out of schools would appeal. It is much easier to control the flow of ideas than to teach people to think for themselves. (I am not proposing that this has been a deliberate conspiracy against free thinking in our country, rather that this has been the unintended consequence of placing a higher value on sciences than humanities. It simply helps the cause that the things that are cut out are subjects that tend to make governing more difficult.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I thought about how we got to this place, though, and as I listened to respected leaders speak about this issue, I realized that this is not a new problem, this problem of not teaching young people to think for themselves, of not teaching children how to think logically about an idea and spot the fallacies contained within.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWJOvKTU61vwW345uU1puN18l40znzA9cla3TKxS49OEM9hLxEpmrC7wlqDWFKQ-rhxS_7sEGtTg2f9Y_7Tw1HxzD04vCyflQTKmix1HEyVr5ashq9rTkhkTEjqNkW3UA1HfRpNDWFB-1/s1600/Wycliffecollege_toronto_chapel1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijWJOvKTU61vwW345uU1puN18l40znzA9cla3TKxS49OEM9hLxEpmrC7wlqDWFKQ-rhxS_7sEGtTg2f9Y_7Tw1HxzD04vCyflQTKmix1HEyVr5ashq9rTkhkTEjqNkW3UA1HfRpNDWFB-1/s320/Wycliffecollege_toronto_chapel1.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">In the 14th century, </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Wycliffe" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">John Wycliffe</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> was one of the first advocates for translating the Bible from Latin, a language that only priests and rulers could read, into the common language, accessible to all. The leaders of his day violently opposed him, wanting to keep the power of ideas to themselves. Wycliffe's opponents cried out, "The jewel of the clergy has become the toy of the laity". In the end, Wycliffe was declared to be a heretic and his body was exhumed and burned, and the ashes were scattered.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As much as I would like to swell with indignation at the thought of trying to control ideas, if I am honest with myself, I can relate. It is difficult for me to trust my own children. I want to control the flow of ideas, to control what they know and understand. This would be much easier than teaching them to think critically and then dealing with the inevitable hard questions that will come. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thankfully, I know better. God has instructed me to trust. Not other people, but Him. I must trust His Spirit inside my children.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT812kkTsoQaHUmA3zEbaLCGceKrHTiX0QzCk7z5eXCTkl4H7__TsPMb1uBT8KtAFKZbRyGjJ0IxNiiQEPbaPjdVUVK871k_q8F8cA3Ckguy3A6t7k04_VuuQjjVqfvhWgDADSnAUcMj_E/s1600/IMG_3569.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT812kkTsoQaHUmA3zEbaLCGceKrHTiX0QzCk7z5eXCTkl4H7__TsPMb1uBT8KtAFKZbRyGjJ0IxNiiQEPbaPjdVUVK871k_q8F8cA3Ckguy3A6t7k04_VuuQjjVqfvhWgDADSnAUcMj_E/s320/IMG_3569.JPG" width="320" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So I will continually ask for help in relinquishing control. I will trust my girls to the care of God's Spirit and trust that He will show them what is good.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As for our country, our election season, let us be the first to use logic and common sense, to show compassion to those with whom we disagree, and trust in God's plan and His Spirit working rather than taking the easier route of slinging mashed potatoes all over their faces.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">Art Credits: </span><a href="http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/2dzzxWE/Vote" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Vote photo</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by woodsy; photos of </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NTWright071220.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">N.T. Wright</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> and </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wycliffecollege_toronto_chapel1.jpg" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Wycliffe stained glass</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> from Wikipedia images</span></span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-43335629633524297862012-08-31T13:30:00.000-05:002012-08-31T13:30:02.444-05:00I Am Angry<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am really angry.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">On Sunday, I began thinking about every wrong and ugly thing that has touched my life recently.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">My brother and his little boy, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/11/follow-signs.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">missing their wife and mommy</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> for more than a year now.</span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rNJpnFfFCmOAVOhc3SMRUcn5N6EBVNYESveT_K57c4moXZKS8jK-GWTKmN0QFsFSV149dZN2fmXU0IqE_23wZrPKWcbVUO777Tumsmxr5Zoq7cC7DIE6NG0Xtm_1lpAe1ChL-XCIJZRU/s1600/IMG_3489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0rNJpnFfFCmOAVOhc3SMRUcn5N6EBVNYESveT_K57c4moXZKS8jK-GWTKmN0QFsFSV149dZN2fmXU0IqE_23wZrPKWcbVUO777Tumsmxr5Zoq7cC7DIE6NG0Xtm_1lpAe1ChL-XCIJZRU/s320/IMG_3489.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">My Papa, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/07/again.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">getting weaker and weaker</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, and my Gram, facing life without her husband of 63 years.</span></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedIWQul6mUqXcuxj3CfBmgrFMkFsYhXoXiXs8kGR4FcJCJNVvE-cnVxpCYvQt5km0qbG-4iVhY7ERiumxiSDnANWNqU4a2MpMNjJmGyqlA4rhxY2vkwwCRCKd60J9sS6OH1RE_nqqOhIh/s1600/Gram+and+Papa+without+glasses+best.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhedIWQul6mUqXcuxj3CfBmgrFMkFsYhXoXiXs8kGR4FcJCJNVvE-cnVxpCYvQt5km0qbG-4iVhY7ERiumxiSDnANWNqU4a2MpMNjJmGyqlA4rhxY2vkwwCRCKd60J9sS6OH1RE_nqqOhIh/s320/Gram+and+Papa+without+glasses+best.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My sweet friend, who has struggled for years with disease and multiple transplants and who now has to stay at a rehab center in a town not her own, away from all she knows well.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqvQMIRtT25PwROoEazWN60aMx4ovlCMMSElsV-uq_FDMt8VtWAqclsvVOIo9T7DxLu2q8vjzfOxwPbZc-iQB69Hd8MPbg19tMxNtgPvR0h-XbpprvQvPxofuwLCmVrBUt93EKO-mj_2i/s1600/steph.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigqvQMIRtT25PwROoEazWN60aMx4ovlCMMSElsV-uq_FDMt8VtWAqclsvVOIo9T7DxLu2q8vjzfOxwPbZc-iQB69Hd8MPbg19tMxNtgPvR0h-XbpprvQvPxofuwLCmVrBUt93EKO-mj_2i/s320/steph.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A dear family from church, whose seven year old son was hit by a car and who is struggling to figure out their new normal as well as how to care for their other children (including a newly adopted daughter) while also caring for their son in long-term care in a far-away city.</span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NxR6T5qJX-o9bbz8PBpjj2MH6mDrBJV_7ocMtSQ6JqQ07WpDSkr3u9vIiCz6EyBqNa8tncX051pki99zo5t75uzYmLbDwOOBGJoBPnpr1L8rnKSccyyzMwAvQrWxIS9Kv0d29lsy-xq5/s1600/Jeremiah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3NxR6T5qJX-o9bbz8PBpjj2MH6mDrBJV_7ocMtSQ6JqQ07WpDSkr3u9vIiCz6EyBqNa8tncX051pki99zo5t75uzYmLbDwOOBGJoBPnpr1L8rnKSccyyzMwAvQrWxIS9Kv0d29lsy-xq5/s320/Jeremiah.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I know that each one of you has your own list.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Are you angry yet? </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2012/08/a-difficult-anniversary.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">This world is broken</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> and we have an enemy that takes full advantage of our brokenness. He is prowling and trying to devour all of us. He is hurting people who are dear to me, and that makes me angry.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It also makes me grateful. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am grateful for a God Who has already fought this enemy, has died in the battle, and has won the war through His resurrection. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am grateful for a God Who cares so much about bringing people to Himself, that He was willing to die. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYJcDM8IeodBsE7aE88crHY8wTjVTH8EPt_Mg-S6npjR8G1OfS3bfkkMfiiwNZXqYuP5bTgmrgHDyjXTLzgwNFiJQvHJX_zsonyNWuzlhDQlovIP0vAtyUx1AqQmD1huDoVwDp2gt1x-n/s1600/Michelangelo's_Pieta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUYJcDM8IeodBsE7aE88crHY8wTjVTH8EPt_Mg-S6npjR8G1OfS3bfkkMfiiwNZXqYuP5bTgmrgHDyjXTLzgwNFiJQvHJX_zsonyNWuzlhDQlovIP0vAtyUx1AqQmD1huDoVwDp2gt1x-n/s320/Michelangelo's_Pieta.jpg" width="305" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am grateful for a God Who loves us so much that even though we were the ones who brought death into the world, He works crazy hard to help people stop running away from Him. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But that is not what God desires; rather, He devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from Him. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Samuel%2014.14&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">II Samuel 14.14</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am grateful for a God Who cares more about molding people into the image of His Son than about protecting them from danger or pain, and so is willing to allow our enemy to continue prowling. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am grateful that our enemy's time is limited.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am angry. And I will allow my anger to drive me. I will allow my anger to motivate me to work, to show God's love to the hurting around me, to do my part in bringing God's kingdom to earth here and now. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As </span><a href="http://nocountryroadsatnight.wordpress.com/2012/08/28/the-pits/" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">my dear friend said</span></a><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">, "Give fully, believing He will fill the space."</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Why?</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Because I am grateful.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Are you angry too? As I tell my four year old (and myself, too!) when rage threatens to erupt, getting angry is not wrong. It is what you do with that anger that is right or wrong. Instead of allowing that anger to harden your heart, allow it to soften your heart towards God and send you clinging to His peace. Let it send you off to battle for those that He loves. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God has already done all the work through Jesus's death and resurrection. Now God allows me to join in the defeat of our enemy through the all-powerful love of God that moves through me.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." "Where, O Death, is your victory? Where, O Death, is your sting?" The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20Corinthians%2015.54-58&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">I Corinthians 15.54-58</span></a></span></blockquote>
Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-35087679028790669402012-08-24T13:30:00.000-05:002012-08-24T13:30:02.048-05:00All Things Made Sacred<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">I've been thinking again about the idea of God being in everything, </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/10/in-christ-all-things-hold-together.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">having bearing on everything</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, the idea that everything in our lives should </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/05/made-sacred.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">be made sacred</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. Thus far, I have come up with two different spheres of thought (although they do overlap, of course).</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a broader or grander sense, I've been wondering if you can fully study anything without believing in God. (This truly <i>is</i> a question, not an "I have a definite opinion and am just phrasing it as a question" sort of wondering!)</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Can you fully study anything without a recollection of the context in which you work? </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If, as I believe, all order, all created things, is a gift, then it seems as though if you study math or music, science or sociology, without an underlying attitude of gratitude as well as an understanding that there will always be mystery, then you are missing something. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Without that context, are you really studying anything to its fullest potential?</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnZquWmcvoU3Y7oMwS-vprJYwUf3x3P9hHtN8QrOLlRvSHfbuKBduTLXi2K7-qSI5N_j6f7xC93nLXWaBG4IZ_hzeNb_VsbdCY1CfLV0jc551Khfpqty-TVvtKK7LRmwIErbYeRf-T8jo/s1600/IMG_2975.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTnZquWmcvoU3Y7oMwS-vprJYwUf3x3P9hHtN8QrOLlRvSHfbuKBduTLXi2K7-qSI5N_j6f7xC93nLXWaBG4IZ_hzeNb_VsbdCY1CfLV0jc551Khfpqty-TVvtKK7LRmwIErbYeRf-T8jo/s320/IMG_2975.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As a side note, I love the idea that there will always be mystery in our world, our universe, for our curious minds to explore. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The idea that we are at the pinnacle of knowledge is a bit ludicrous. As Isaac Newt</span><span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">on said, </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.</span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am interested to know what others think. Is it possible to study anything outside of the context of a creator God? (Forget, for a moment, what you believe about a relational God or about Jesus Christ...simply consider the idea of a creator God.)</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a more immediate and practical sense (I am well aware that not everyone is as much a lover of learning and studying as I am!), I am discovering that in order to find God in everything, to make everything sacred, I must work to develop habits of living more fully present where I am. I must truly pay attention to who and what is surrounding me. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It is much too easy for me to just drift or skim through a day, usually focusing on what is to come rather than on what <i>is. </i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A huge part of living more fully present is completely relational. Every one of you reading this is a son or daughter, brother or sister, friend, spouse, parent, or grandchild. Finding God means developing every day habits of loving, patient, kind, selfless living in the community in which we are <i>right now</i>. It is discovering once again what family means, what neighborhood means, what community means.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It sounds, perhaps, too simple, but it is something that I can start doing and exploring right now and never reach the end. I can never get bored with this even if I work at it for the rest of my time on earth.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will you join me?</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">art credit: photo of Eagle Nebula from </span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">NASA</span></a></span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-89861923282703105702012-08-17T13:30:00.000-05:002012-08-17T13:30:01.025-05:00Never! Said I<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would never do that.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">No, never! Said I.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Horrified, confident, righteous within.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Never? He said</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with a gleam in his eye.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Perhaps, yes perhaps, and yet.</span></div>
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This little thing?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What about this small little thing?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, that? That's nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Said I with a grin.
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">That surely won't matter
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">in the vast scope of life.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So yes, I'll do that and enjoy.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Well, what about this?</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just a teensy bit larger.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And the pleasure is much larger still.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Oh, that? That's still nothing.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Said I, standing tall.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This too, doesn't matter</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">it surely won't hurt</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">those around me or go against God's
will.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Said he with the gleam</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You're so close, just look</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">at what could be savored and gained.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I turned 'round</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">and suddenly saw with despair</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">my righteousness lying in shreds.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I did it, yes did it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How could I? Said I.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">with shock and confusion within.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
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</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Your confidence blinded.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Said he with the gleam.</span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You trusted in self not in Him.</span></div>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-43884642452608281992012-08-10T13:30:00.000-05:002012-08-10T13:30:01.164-05:00Why You Should Make Mistakes With Your Kids<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Our middle daughter (can I say "middle" when the youngest is still inside my belly?) turned two years old this week.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">As I watch her and her four-year-old sister growing up so incredibly quickly, I sometimes start thinking about how much of what I do, both with them and in front of them, influences who they become.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This thought almost makes me start hyperventilating. I start feeling almost physically weighed down with the pressure to do things perfectly with my children.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was recently reminded, however, of how much God loves these girls. He loves them even more than I love them. That idea is difficult for me to wrap my mind around, considering how deep is my love for them, but it is truth. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><b>God loves my girls more than I do</b>, and He wants them to fall in love with Him even more than I want that to happen. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And if God wants something to happen, well...</span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all--how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208.31-32&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Romans 8.31-32</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is, like most issues in my life, a refusal to trust, a difficulty in letting go of my pride. I have to trust God with the hearts and lives of my children and I have to realize that <b>I am not the most important influence on them</b>. </span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">God is more than able to make up for my myriad of mistakes.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In fact, <b>I am learning that it is <i>good</i> for me to make mistakes</b>.</span><br />
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When I make mistakes with my little ones, when I mess up in front of them, I have the chance (if only I took it more consistently!) to show them <i>how</i> to make mistakes. I have the opportunity to teach them how to apologize, how to ask for forgiveness, how to ask God to change your heart and help you to do better.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">How to do this, how to wisely use this chance, is something that is indelibly imprinted in my heart: it is the image of my dad asking me (a tiny, humble kid!) for my forgiveness. His actions taught me a beautiful lesson.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By messing up in front of my girls, <b>I can show them that God loves them no matter what they do</b>. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">My eldest is already learning this lesson. Every night, as part of her four-year-old routine, she says, "Mommy? Did you know that God loves you even when you disobey?" And I respond "Yes, darling. Isn't that a beautiful thing?"</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is what I want to teach my girls. That God loves them no matter what. That we <i>can't</i> ever be good enough and that is why Jesus came to rescue us, why the Holy Spirit has to work in our hearts to heal them. I want them to rest secure in God's love, enjoying His presence and loving Him right back.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I sit in awe and praise God that in His mercy and grace, He uses my mistakes, my imperfect and messed-up self, to show my girls just that.</span>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-1046642374561023542012-08-03T13:30:00.000-05:002012-08-03T13:30:01.035-05:00A Difficult Anniversary<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He buried his wife one year ago today.</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQPScS7a2ers-PY4BZBjza0Wu53jXdO0mE7uVB83G9ROyM4FJrArwK7jCRsRUATDYc-XYSYH9JhHTeojcBA2471G-l8dJFTaMGKPH8niGMYFjc0NOI1vsdNQkdrpko18oH4aAvKo-esXT/s1600/WeddingandBeach+053.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639685060050152850" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPQPScS7a2ers-PY4BZBjza0Wu53jXdO0mE7uVB83G9ROyM4FJrArwK7jCRsRUATDYc-XYSYH9JhHTeojcBA2471G-l8dJFTaMGKPH8niGMYFjc0NOI1vsdNQkdrpko18oH4aAvKo-esXT/s400/WeddingandBeach+053.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a>I sat at the feet of this younger brother of mine as he said goodbye to his wife of four years, the mother of his one-year-old son.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLRtkaslUSxuVP-WjurXuDhQE3dTtB2bFWsgiB8eUlNKOk1B3PC5FCkOlyFAjrLVR_rKF_bZLT9-gfkGMOjQqeNHG1skgrrSfj50czA4sniImPG5It_J7s2s1iSm3AtXo8QFPhv9tcfSO/s1600/Ethan_001.jpg-"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639685073728351650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaLRtkaslUSxuVP-WjurXuDhQE3dTtB2bFWsgiB8eUlNKOk1B3PC5FCkOlyFAjrLVR_rKF_bZLT9-gfkGMOjQqeNHG1skgrrSfj50czA4sniImPG5It_J7s2s1iSm3AtXo8QFPhv9tcfSO/s400/Ethan_001.jpg-" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 267px;" /></a>Over the past year, I watched him struggle through despair, depression, doubt as he faced</span><span style="color: #444444;"> a long road of raising his son alone.<br /><br />I watched my nephew cry and cling to his daddy, looking for his mommy and feeling afraid that his daddy will leave him too.<br /><br />Through this long struggle that still is not done, through one piece of bad news after another, through the next days and months and years of memories, where is God?<br /><br />When all pleas seem to go unanswered, when even </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">let the end be peaceful</span><span style="color: #444444;"> is ignored, what are we to think? </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">What do I really believe about God in all of this? </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjog6o0nthq5-GWzucut008-EENR0p06fQuMhzLyFyvggLngKTeeZqI1zKC2YlUQupBpFbjwHM9qeIsmLnrFqA_tH6Hw3ReSmDrDqabtcE1oSNOwJ6lbgypEWi_lhDO10MPHadanpZ1o78o/s1600/IMG_2975.JPG" style="color: #444444;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639799299996404578" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjog6o0nthq5-GWzucut008-EENR0p06fQuMhzLyFyvggLngKTeeZqI1zKC2YlUQupBpFbjwHM9qeIsmLnrFqA_tH6Hw3ReSmDrDqabtcE1oSNOwJ6lbgypEWi_lhDO10MPHadanpZ1o78o/s400/IMG_2975.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">God's Words tell us clearly that there is pain, </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%2016.33&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">there is heartbreak in this world.</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> We should not be surprised. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">More often than not, God chooses </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">not </span><span style="color: #444444;">to save His people, chooses </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">not </span><span style="color: #444444;">to spare them sorrow and hardship. </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2011&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Hebrews 11</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> gives a long list of those who were killed or lost </span><span style="color: #444444;">ones they loved, Jesus' closest friends died martyr's deaths, even His earthly father </span><span style="color: #444444;">died without His intervention.<br /><br />I have pondered long and hard this question of what I believe about God in the midst </span><span style="color: #444444;">of "it wasn't supposed to be like this". Here is my conclusion.</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VMBrZsrPamoXwIH67xAU29qQZY05PLuy1TjpJtZSsxZikXKbO9jjgvWwM7fgjeSUxWCtoJCMwDp1k2TbJfIDfwmSi8cXm7BdY3RJ0pZPhcbZGE1h7jqnvqDgSCjEQw3OepfAiS-SmFNe/s1600/WeddingandBeach+073.jpg" style="color: #444444;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639799893633690178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0VMBrZsrPamoXwIH67xAU29qQZY05PLuy1TjpJtZSsxZikXKbO9jjgvWwM7fgjeSUxWCtoJCMwDp1k2TbJfIDfwmSi8cXm7BdY3RJ0pZPhcbZGE1h7jqnvqDgSCjEQw3OepfAiS-SmFNe/s400/WeddingandBeach+073.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 300px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">I know my God, His character, well enough to trust Him when I don't understand, when I cannot see in the darkness. I know, from what He has said about Himself and from what I have seen, that He is always good and always love. I know that, if we only knew the reasons, we would adore Him for what He does. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">God promises that </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=James+1:2&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">we will have trouble</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> in this world. He also promises that if we are grateful to Him </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians%204:6-7&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">He will give us peace</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. He </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">doesn't</span><span style="color: #444444;"> promise that He will take the pain away but that we will be at peace, that we will have joy. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Isn't that a much bigger promise? </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">No matter what, God is still God. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Will I only praise and thank Him when He does what </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">I</span><span style="color: #444444;"> like? Will I only accept from Him what </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">I</span><span style="color: #444444;"> deem to be good? </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">When I deeply think through the idea of declaring my circumstance to be bad, it seems incredibly arrogant. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">How can I think that I know better than God what is good? How am I more capable of naming something to be good than the One who </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">is</span><span style="color: #444444;"> good? </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Will I trust that God has a beautiful, amazing plan only when I can see the beauty of it? Either God is God, and capable of having plans and reasons that I cannot comprehend, or He isn't God, and I am silly for blaming a myth. There is not really any in-between place for the things with which I do not agree.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">...if I go to Jesus, he's not under my control either. He lets things happen that I don't understand. He doesn't do things according to my plan, or in a way that makes sense to me. But if Jesus is God, then he's got to be great enough to have some reasons to let you go through things you can't understand. His power is unbounded, but so are his wisdom and love...He can love somebody and still let bad things happen to them, because he is God--because he knows better than they do. If you have a God great enough and powerful enough to be mad at because he doesn't stop your suffering, you also have a God who's great enough and powerful enough to have reasons that you can't understand.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">~ </span><a href="http://amzn.com/0525952101" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">King's Cross</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> by Timothy Keller</span></span></blockquote>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">God is God, and since he is God, he is worthy of my worship and my service. I will find rest nowhere else but in his will, and that will is necessarily infinitely, immeasurable, unspeakable beyond my largest notions of what he is up to. ~ </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elisabeth_Elliot" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Elisabeth Elliot</span></a></span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I <i>can</i> trust God, trust in His nature.</span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br /><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639800666359257730" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdFYXaSdsBgjs9HOWrdqIc0gRlevMdaJAva0vo6HnYwKgITzXNU4kK9Yh2V6zVZs7PAZdVjjBBOm67VmVbnXrQkDmqUzU3S8IYwJtJSE63FVlpzvflqKHlLDVgE7X61rghf96RI3UdWT34/s400/lion.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 286px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Of course he's not safe. Who said anything about being safe? But he's good. He's the king. ~ Mr. Beaver in C.S. Lewis' </span><a href="http://amzn.com/0007202288" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</span></a></span></blockquote>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-KiBviNAY4l_Tay-1f5VJJ-kUDR4jub88yISWarhyFoZS027jPSOIG4OvmzeZFsblZTu2svPQ071flLLms0JfhzCEGKNfyeQukGGSuB0whdP3G69e4N2hSYh69TIFu7QxgaOOUD7TQYr/s1600/Simeon_Solomon_-_Shadrach_Meshach_Abednego.JPG" style="color: #444444;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639800551601449794" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgb-KiBviNAY4l_Tay-1f5VJJ-kUDR4jub88yISWarhyFoZS027jPSOIG4OvmzeZFsblZTu2svPQ071flLLms0JfhzCEGKNfyeQukGGSuB0whdP3G69e4N2hSYh69TIFu7QxgaOOUD7TQYr/s400/Simeon_Solomon_-_Shadrach_Meshach_Abednego.JPG" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 273px;" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">When faced with the fiery furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego told King Nebuchadnezzar that</span><blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444;">If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and He will rescue us from your hand, O king. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">But even if He does not</span><span style="color: #444444;">, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Daniel%203&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Daniel 3</span></a></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444;">When Job lost all of his children and all that he owned and was himself in great physical pain, he declared</span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;"></span><blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">Though he slay me</span><span style="color: #444444;">, yet will I hope in Him. ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Job%2013.15&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Job 13.15</span></a></blockquote>
<span style="color: #444444;">No matter what, I will praise God and offer Him my gratitude, my </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Hebrews%2013.15&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">sacrifice of praise</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">God tells us over and over in His word that He has a </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208.19-21&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">beautiful plan</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> for humanity and creation as a whole. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">And</span><span style="color: #444444;"> that he has a </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208.28&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">beautiful plan</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> for each of our lives. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Sometimes I doubt this promise, this truth. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">And then I look at Jesus, at His cross. </span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadqz23oujKTDFWehwdwFlxPS7eStmO-K544NMxZ-LU-l_irrt2iq-0UhsNIq8jS5ctSXz8ZdthEfzn6TrxcC7EtacSM2DIFlRjdA3xrHF9wFxUzLt-rsfgpRNJX6W8vIMU2x-G9jEw4Ka/s1600/cross.jpg" style="color: #444444;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639800440827351362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiadqz23oujKTDFWehwdwFlxPS7eStmO-K544NMxZ-LU-l_irrt2iq-0UhsNIq8jS5ctSXz8ZdthEfzn6TrxcC7EtacSM2DIFlRjdA3xrHF9wFxUzLt-rsfgpRNJX6W8vIMU2x-G9jEw4Ka/s400/cross.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">I've been clinging to </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%208.32&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Romans 8.32</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> through all of this:</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?</span></blockquote>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">If God ever had to prove Himself, prove His love for us, prove that He is taking care of us, He has more than proved it </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">all</span><span style="color: #444444;"> through the cross. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">I've also been thinking a lot about Hezekiah. In </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Kings%2020&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">II Kings 20</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, he pleaded with God to "change his story", to give him more life when God had told him (through Isaiah) that he was going to die. God did change His mind that time, gave him fifteen more years of life. </span><span style="color: #444444; font-style: italic;">And</span><span style="color: #444444;"> in that fifteen extra years, Hezekiah's son Manasseh was born. This son that wouldn't have been born if Hezekiah hadn't asked God to change the ending of his story ended up as king and "lead (Israel) astray, so that they did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites". ~ </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=II%20Kings%2021.9&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">II Kings 21.9</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Our desired story ending versus God's desired story ending. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">Perhaps, just perhaps, God really does know best. Perhaps He does know which story will bring about a beautiful, redeemed, transfigured people.</span><span style="color: #444444;"> </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvbTd_ljyNN1e4RxXcjNYJuO3LR-kMrA7goRr5uwVUyNvm3YRA32n8143hdwGTRTi3TZe4X5xAux3N4Oz_yh-uzxy8k-1PGSkY2u0wQvXio1gn8DlalGDuVnERWOR4QBn-a-302oK1h4D/s1600/Sunlight+through+tulips.jpg" style="color: #444444;"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5639800314097040594" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJvbTd_ljyNN1e4RxXcjNYJuO3LR-kMrA7goRr5uwVUyNvm3YRA32n8143hdwGTRTi3TZe4X5xAux3N4Oz_yh-uzxy8k-1PGSkY2u0wQvXio1gn8DlalGDuVnERWOR4QBn-a-302oK1h4D/s400/Sunlight+through+tulips.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><span style="color: #444444;">When through the deep waters I call you to go, </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">The rivers of woe shall not overflow; </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">For I will be with you, your troubles to bless, </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">And sanctify to you your deepest distress. </span><br /><br /><span style="color: #444444;">The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose, </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">I will not, I will not desert to its foes; </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake, </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">I'll never, no never, no never forsake. </span><br /><span style="color: #444444;">~ How Firm a Foundation, att. John Keith, 1787 (modernized) </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">a re-post from the archives for today, the anniversary of Kristina's death</span></span><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: #444444;">credit for images: </span><a href="http://free-photo.gatag.net/en/2010/05/25/020000.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Lion photo</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, painting by </span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simeon_Solomon" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Simeon Solomon</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, </span><a href="http://www.rgbstock.com/photo/mKsyjjU/Jesus+Christ"><span style="color: black;" target="_blank">Cross photo</span></a></span></span></div>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1730203523371803611.post-79375852003748053312012-07-27T13:30:00.000-05:002012-07-27T13:30:02.712-05:00Again<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Our family has been struck again, less than a year after </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-know-and-i-declare.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">our Kristina died</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">, and I am reminded of how much I hate cancer, of how much </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/10/i-hate-death.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">I hate death</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">To an outsider, it may not seem quite as much the tragedy as before. This is my Papa, after all, my eighty-six year old grandpa. He is not fighting for the chance to raise his children or wishing for a chance to grow old with his spouse after only a few years of marriage. He has lived a good and full life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">And yet it </span><i style="color: #444444;">is</i><span style="color: #444444;"> a tragedy. Death itself is a tragedy, and while I am tempted to rail at God against the ugliness of it all, deep inside my heart I know that it is our sin, our rebellion that </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205.17&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">let death into our world</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> in the first place and it is God's mercy that </span><a href="http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%205.17&version=NIV" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">gave us life again</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Cancer and death are tragedy, they are ugly. For our family, this cancer is as ugly as any other. Yes, there is difference between a twenty-six year old and an eighty-six year old. And yet, I am greedy. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I am greedy for more time. I want to yell at God, "NO! It is <i>not</i> enough! Thirty-four years with my Papa is not enough. I want more time! I want him to meet this baby growing inside of me. I want all of my children to know and remember him. <i>You did not give me enough time!</i>" </span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">All this while stomping my foot like the child that I am.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><span style="color: #444444;">Yet my heart has been changed through Kristina's struggle and death. I have learned a little more about </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/08/i-know-and-i-declare.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">Who God is and who I am</span></a><span style="color: #444444;"> in relation to Him. I have learned about </span><a href="http://madesacred.blogspot.com/2011/11/follow-signs.html" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;">obedience in the midst of the ugly</span></a><span style="color: #444444;">. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And I have learned that I have a choice in all of this. I can choose to blame God, letting my anger and grief drive me away from Him, or I can choose to be obedient and thank Him, clinging to Him and letting Him be all that I need.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">So at least for today (I know I still have disobedience, some yelling and foot-stomping inside of me for another day), I will choose this:</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You, Abba, for the gift of my Papa and my Gram. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You for giving me so many years with them, years of such close relationship and of so many beautiful times with them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-f6PkN7xncUAqLKU8RP2JYq3Q-2cgTvEA99dsrrMapFAwo0dTINi32_himoNyP39EgONmwgwmv9NRnJoTNuPtBqmKvYMztjtcM9A_w67GI3EasixbwMssbuRTPpYwfT84mpzGNQg7aggj/s1600/Gram+and+E+comb+hair.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-f6PkN7xncUAqLKU8RP2JYq3Q-2cgTvEA99dsrrMapFAwo0dTINi32_himoNyP39EgONmwgwmv9NRnJoTNuPtBqmKvYMztjtcM9A_w67GI3EasixbwMssbuRTPpYwfT84mpzGNQg7aggj/s320/Gram+and+E+comb+hair.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You for giving them so many talents and abilities and for giving them the desire to teach and share those skills with me.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You for their wisdom, for all that I have learned from them, for all of the wisdom that I now have stored in my own heart.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You most of all for making their hearts like Yours. Thank You for allowing me to see You in them, to see in their lives how You want me to live. Thank You for showing me through them how to live faithfully as a child of Yours, as a spouse and as a parent.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You for the beauty that is their lives. </span><br />
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<span style="color: #444444; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Thank You, Abba, for Your grace.</span></div>Elizabeth Gigerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05484063088205087579noreply@blogger.com8