Three more to add to the list; I read them this morning and they hit me pretty hard. We're talking "oof!" as the metaphorical sound, and I'm still metaphorically re-learning to breathe again. :)
Desire - It was two things, really.
1) this quote from Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge: "There are times when my soul is being blown about with winds, and I don't even understand the nature of the warfare. If I knew where the warfare was coming from, or if I knew how to defend myself, it would be a lot easier. But I'll find myself caught in a swirl of emotions and uncertainties, and I won't know what to do next. " Yep, pretty much there. Glad I'm not the only one who's been through this...
2) a picture Jake painted: "Song of Solomon 8:5 says, "Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?" That strikes me, and I'll tell you why (surprise!). In the imagery created in that verse, I see a woman holding to her beloved, just looking to him as he moves forward. She doesn't care where she's going; she completely trusts him to lead the both of them true, and she isn't trying to influence the direction. She's just loving him, captivated by him, and willing to go wherever he leads, so long as she can stay with him. " I need to be there with Jesus right now. I so know what direction I want to go about something, and I suspect He's waiting for me to get over it, so we can just move on to what's next. And I don't think He's mad about it, per se, but I imagine He's more like: *deep sigh* "YO." I don't know. Could be wrong. It's early, I'm tired, and I've been an emotional basketcase for a couple of days.
A Great Post... - the title of which speaks for itself.... :) (And you can also find it here...)
Two things (again) - leapt out at me:
1) "Reaching the next generation means change. It means that while the message never changes, the method will. In fact, it must." I believe this with all my heart. It has always been that way. And I have discovered that it is as possible to be a stick in the mud about change as it to be so about not changing... if that makes any sense...
2) "John Wesley...when told he was no longer allowed to preach in Anglican parishes because of his contemporary style, announced: "The world is my parish". He took to the open fields were crowds came to hear him in their thousands..Wesley declared: "I love the rites and ceremonies of the (Anglican) Church. But I see, well-pleased, that our great Lord can work without them.”"
"Like Wesley, there's nothing wrong with loving our particular styles and church fashions. We all have our particular preferences. But we must never forget that God can work without them. Dare I say it, sometimes and in some circumstances God can only work without them."
I think I've probably quoted this before, but one of the Briscoes (I think it was Stuart) talks about exercising what he calls "personal deference" in worship - recognizing that just because something isn't worshipful in the slightest for you during a service, doesn't mean it's that way for everyone; in fact, what's really bothering you is probably quite worshipful for someone else, so instead of being critical, you should look about, find out who it is who's encountering God in that moment, and praise Him for working in that person's life, and allowing them a moment of worship that morning that suits their personal preference. (You might even thank God for allowing you the opportunity to think about someone other than yourself.) zing.... ouch! I'm usually (I think... I hope!) able to do this fairly well when I'm just part of a congregation... but when I'm leading? That gets a little trickier, and I'm not hitting this one out of the ballpark yet. Want to, tho. (Should probably replace the spear collection with baseball bats, then...)
We Are God's Children - I won't say much about this one. It'll speak for itself. Nice, Sara. :) I think what I loved most about it is that somehow my heart just got quiet, and added a fairly... centered ... amen to it. I don't know... maybe it's because I'm about to get a bit of help with my own laundry. :)
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