All of Me

God made the world. It's all His, when He made it, He declared that it was very good. And he made it beautiful and enjoyable. He gave Adam the job to work in it and take care of it. Adam's whole life glorified and enjoyed God even when he was working or playing (I bet he did things for pleasure). Since then sin has corrupted our desires. We seek our own purposes. But Jesus's redemption covers our whole lives, therefore every part of our lives can reflect Him.

God isn't just interested in our Sunday worship service or our set apart quiet times. Those are very important, but He claims our whole lives. This means that anything we do we must do to the glory of God. Our work, our leisure, our family time are all part of our lives and therefore we do them to His glory. We can make art to the glory of God. Or pick up trash cans, or work in an office, or take care of the home. We can glorify God by acknowledging His grace in every area of our lives. Even the parts of us that we might think don't count.

Sometimes its the little things that he calls us to. In my family, one of the kids might have complained, "But I want a more important job", refering to his mundane task of picking up leaves in the yard or sweeping the floor. "Why can't I mow or paint?" Of course, as we all got older, we realized that work =work, whatever chore it is and that the more "fun" chores were usually harder. But I also learned that the little tasks are just as important as the big things. And vice versa of course :) But somebody has to get their hands dirty, so next time you are doing some thing not so fun, remember that this thing too is for the Kingdom of Heaven.

Relationships with those around us are a special part of this. In our daily living, we interact with others. And if we are working hard with a good attitude and praising God, somebody might take notice. And then we would have a reason "to share the hope that is within us"!

This is what the Christian life is all about: LIVING in Christ. He touches every area of our lives. In all we do, we give thanks to God. After all, our lives were bought by His death. Since we are not our own, we belong to Him and every area of our lives already belongs to him.

We owe it all to Him!

Longing to Belong

I don't know about you, but I think everybody wants to fit in. We have a desire to fit in, be at home somewhere. We want someone we can count on, we want to feel safe. A home to which to return when all the world seems upside down. A friend we can turn to when we are alone. A rock in the quicksand.
The sense of wanting to belong somewhere is universal to mankind. Women want someone that they can belong to, to be cared for and cherished. Men desire approval, vindication, and respect. We all want to be accepted.
I have been pondering this quite a bit lately as I move back into college life after being home for a month. Where do I belong? I love being with my family, but I can't live there forever. I love my friends and work at school, but it will be over in a couple of years. Which friends should I spend time with more? Where should I go to church? Will I ever have my own family? What should I do with my life? Where do I belong?
You see, each of us is restless at heart until we find our rest in Christ. Even then we still search for our place in this world. We do have a place in this world. But its is defined by our place in another world. Christ accepts us for who we are, us, not our sin. He chose us, his own, he predestined us from the beginning, died for us, and loves us. I am secure in the knowledge that whatever new curve life throws at me next, I am safe in God's plan, because I Belong to Him. We serve our King!
“Peace I leave with you, not as the world gives, give I unto you, Let not your heart be troubled neither let it be afraid.”~Jesus, John 14:27

Love That Will Not Let Me Go

Here is a hymn that we sing in RUF (Reformed University Fellowship), that always serves to reminds me of the way that Christ cares for us. We can cling to him and in the darkest times the gospel becomes evermore precious to us. The song was written by George Matheson, a Scottish minister whose fiance left him when he was going blind, and his family was gone to celebrate his sister,his companion's, wedding. It is through trial that we find out just how deep and satisfying the Father's love is. The music for this hymn is quite beautiful, I urge you to look it up at Indelible Grace Music .com and listen to it.

O Love That Will Not Let Me Go

1. O Love that will not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

2. O light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

3. O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

4. O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

BARTER, by Sarah Teasdale

Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.

Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like the curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.

Spend all you have for loveliness,
Spend it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ectasty
Give all you have been, or could be.

Joy in the Small Things

We have all heard the saying, “stop and smell the roses.” We know that out there somewhere in our busy hectic lives there is beauty and joy. But we can't really stop right now... If you're like me, existence has been defined more by putting one foot in front of the other just to survive. For me, pressures and concerns have been slowly sapping the joy from life as I've plodded from class to class and one late night of assignments to another. But there is a better way. It involves a child-like faith in the Creator that surviving moment by moment is ok. He is taking care of us and wants us to be completely dependent on him. Knowing this provides me with an assurance that I can take a deep breath and press through day to day tasks, not without tiring, but with a strength that comes only from the Lord. It also involves in remembering to take pleasure in one's tasks, in the small things, and in our purpose. For me, this means that as wake up for a 6:00 a.m. tennis practice, I can thank the Lord that I get to play tennis. Really!, I love tennis, what a fun game! Or when I am stuck in a drawing at midnight, needing to finish but the grueling marks just won't come out right, I can remember that I love to draw. Sure there are things I do not like, but seeing those things that make one's moments sparkle help us to survive. Every time I walk past the roses on campus, I turn my head and just look at them for a second as I walk past. They really do cheer me up. One of my favorite things to cosider when all else seems to fail is the sky; I look up and just drink in the wide expanse of blue or beautiful clouds. Remembering that I am here for a reason, also helps to keep me from despair. Even if where we are doesn't make sense the way we want it to, we can know that we have purpose as Bearers of Christ's Light to our world and as saints on the road of sanctification. I pray that the Holy Spirit would fill me with his joy and hope in my life this week.