Rejoice in Unsafety


“Is – is he a man?” asked Lucy.

“Aslan a man!” said Mr Beaver sternly. “Certainly not. I tell you he is the King of the wood and the son of the great Emperor-beyond-the-Sea. Don’t you know who is the King of Beasts? Aslan is a lion – the Lion, the great Lion.”

“Ooh!” said Susan. “I’d thought he was a man. Is he – quite safe? I shall feel rather nervous about meeting a lion.”

“That you will, dearie, and no mistake,” said Mrs Beaver; “if there’s anyone who can appear before Aslan without their knees knocking, they’re either braver than most or else just silly.”

“Then he isn’t safe?” said Lucy.

“Safe?” said Mr Beaver; “don’t you hear what Mrs Beaver tells you? Who said anything about safe? ‘Course he isn’t safe. But he’s good. He’s the King, I tell you.”

– “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” by C.S. Lewis (p. 146)

I love You, Jesus. Safety or not. You are worth it.

You are worth it.

Cinderella Messages

I was reading an old post tonight. And I thought it helped explain why I have no desire to get a television.

Further expanding upon the previous explanation:
Television has become so difficult to filter these days. You can’t even watch cartoons anymore without seeing something that is not “child friendly”. Sure you could easily label me as “hiding from the real world”, in fact I’ve even received a similar comment from a close friend. But at what point do we draw the line? See, some parents draw the line at rated R movies. But not all rated R movies; for example, I watched Die Hard with my dad when I was four. Some parents draw the line at sex scenes, kindly asking their child to close their eyes during such obscenities. My question would then be, are you filtering their minds or heightening their curiosity for the deleted scenes? How many of you out there did something that your parents specifically told you not to when they weren’t watching just to see if you could get away with it? Some parents filter out the violent movies, but some of those very same parents are the ones allowing their kids to watch power rangers or powder puff girls.

Where do you draw the line?

At least for now, [later it will be up to me and my husband — Lord granting–] my current solution is to chuck TV. Too often there are messages that I do not support that are flashed upon that screen and in no way do I want to encourage it or be associated with those who are apathetic to the messages that are being programmed into our heads. [All those Cinderella messages that creep in.] Tolerance is taught. And sometimes you just have to put your foot down and say, “No. Not me. Not my house.” I can find better things to do with my time.

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

– 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27

Watermark



Come check out the COOLEST band EVER!!! This band is called Watermark. I know, I know.. you (just like most of the world) have yet to hear of Watermark. But that’s ok, because people, like myself, have already heard of them and are out there in the world promoting their songs of true worship and praise.

A little background on them: Watermark is made up of a couple; Nathan and Christy Nockels. Christy’s voice is the main voice on the albums and Nathan sings background vocals and plays all the instruments in the recordings. [Yeah, he’s really that gifted from God alone.] Now, you can read all about their history and their devotion at their site, but I’d like to wet your appetite with these words from Watermark

“We have to rest in the fact that God measures the heart. Only God can measure what is pure and what is just.”

“Our dream is that God would be blessed by our work, instead of asking Him to bless our work.”

“We’re excited because we feel freedom. This doesn’t mean we have it all figured out, that is definitely not the case, but God is working in our hearts more than ever before. “

“We pray that these songs will be a daily reminder of truth to replace the lies of this world, and that they will bring peace, comfort, and most of all, worship of a holy God into their lives.”

If you do happen to go to their site, click on the “Listen” tab on the left-hand side of their webpage to get a taste of one of their AWESOME CDs, “The Purest Place”. This CD rocks my world and has really helped me focus on my Savior and lead into quiet times with my Lord.

What artists do you know that encourage your passion for our Lord? What songs encourage your verbal declaration of devotion?

Oh, and let me know if you ever want to borrow this Cd. =)

From One Parking Spot to the Next

Today after enjoying lunch with Chris and Matt at the China Cottage by Apex, I began backing out of my parking spot as usual when I heard the sound of metal striking metal. Just as I was backing out of my spot, a lady came flying into the parking lot and hit me. Being as how I was backing out guess who’s at fault? Regardless of the fault, I pulled the car forward and the lady whom I collided with pulled her car into a nearby parking spot. As I drove forward I heard something dragging. I got out of my car and sure enough, there was my bumper; it was attached to the lefthand side of my car, but the right side was dragging. There was a pile of rust and random bolts/etc on the concrete behind my car.
Oh boy. Came my thoughts.
Then I looked at the lady’s car. Her front passenger door was nicely dented in. Looks like she won’t be having any front seat passengers for a while.
Keep your cool, Monica. These things happen.
Matt pulled his car around the parking lot, preparing to leave (Chris had already left) and much to my blessing, Matt looked back. Matt pulled up alongside of me, turned his car off and got out.
“What do I do now?” I asked Matt. See, I’ve never been in an accident before, but I was smart enough to realize that insurance people needed to be contacted, so I was holding my insurance card.
Matt coached me through the affair and even went to meet the “less happy” lady with me. The woman spoke no words to me other than verifying information off of my insurance card. All other words she spoke to her friend, whom she was meeting for lunch. After exchanging info, the lady left and Matt shoved my bumper back on (or at least temporarily). Matt offered his car as a shelter from the wind while I called my Dad and the insurance company. After getting off the phone, Matt followed me home to make sure that my bumper would not fall out. I called Kelly to try to get directions for back-roads to take back to Wright State, but she didn’t pick up. So, then I phoned Andi Hill to try to find a quicker route then I knew. See, I was doing ok until Andi asked why I couldn’t drive on the highway. I choked back my tears as bravely as possible. Focus on facts, Monica. Focus on facts, not emotions. I worked myself through the potential breakdown.
I arrived safely home. Praise be to the Father alone because in all honesty, there’s no reason that my bumper should have held together. And as I drove down Zink Road, Matt told me after I pulled into the parking lot at my apartment that he was watching the right side of my bumper begin to fall out and was praying down the whole road. He shoved the bumper back in again and then offered his own car for me to drive to work tomorrow as opposed to risking it with my own car. We discussed whether insurance would cover me driving his car, etc, but couldn’t come to any solid conclusion. So, it was resided that Matt would speak to his father about the whole situation and see what would be best.
“Could I bother you for a bandaid though?” Matt said politely. And at once I remembered his bleeding finger from his initial efforts to replace my bumper. His pants were now stained with blood, but he brushed off the issue with gentleness; “I’m sure it’ll come out; but if not, they’re only pants. I can buy another pair.”
I did well, I managed to keep my cool and focus on tasks. I gave Matt a hug [Thank you again, Matt. Sincerely, thank you.] and I kept it all bottled up until I shut the door behind him. Then the tears came.

It’s just another reminder that my treasure will forever be in heaven.
[Not to allude that my car is something I treasure. But again, it’s all that I have been given.]

I don’t know how this situation is going to figure itself out between the insurance people and the repairs of my car and all, but I trust that the God that has provided for me in the past will provide for me in the future. I have to trust that fact. That’s the only thing I can cling to. Afterall, a lot can happen from one parking spot to the next.

The Right Time

I received these verses at the end of a recent email:

There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven– A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up. A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance. A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing. A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away. A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
All I could think was; how often had I tried to uproot before planting or tried to gather before first throwing stones. I was thinking about how there indeed is a time for everything and it’s so easy to use these verses to support our own lifestyle choices, but what if we choose to do some task during the wrong time? What if we choose to run after something when God is clearly saying, “It’s not time for that right now?” We run after peace, but the war is not yet over. We jump to hate when we are first called to love. We seek to sew together when God says, “the tearing apart is not yet complete.” What then? Where are we then?
Maybe we’re further from God. Cause just maybe if God’s calling us to remain in the war or the love or the state of throwing stones or the mourning or the dancing or any of these things then maybe it’s because that’s where God is. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying God is not everywhere. But I have found that sometimes when God calls you to a place it;s because He wants to reach down and be closer to you in that exact spot. It’s like when you call a friend on the phone. You both can talk just fine over the phone and you both can enjoy sharing your lives with each other, but there’s something more personal about standing in the same room as a friend. Sometimes words are not even needed or cannot be found. Maybe it’s like that. God’s standing in the place of war, the place of love, the place of dancing and saying, “come here, just come hold my hand.”
Dare we remain or go? Dare we listen? Dare we obey? Dare we?
There is a time for everything. And if we are seeking His will, there’s a right time indeed.
Patience, weary ones.
Patience.
The time will come.
And just maybe it’ll be better than you imagined.
=)

just words. so few. too fast. but So High




these are just words and are not enough to contain You
Jesus, just words could never suffice to acclaim You

Father just words,
and i have so few
i run out too fast to speak them to You
Father just words,
and i have so few
i run out too fast to speak them to You

You are indescribable, You are beyond expression
i run out of words for You,
i can’t speak that high
so hear my spirit groan in me
a painful sense of urgency
to tell You that You are to me
So High

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