The Gospel

A friend sent me the link to a church she had visited and as I perused the site, I found this church's definition of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  I was struck by the words they choose to depict and explain Christ...so moving and powerful, yet so relatable and refreshing.  Thought I'd share:

Perhaps ironically, ‘the gospel’ can be a challenging thing to define in concise terms. It resists our categories, it can, in a sense, mold to fit any scenario, and has timeless, inexhaustible relevance. There is no era, conflict or triumph that it won’t speak powerfully into. It is the active ingredient.


The gospel is something that enables other things, drives other things––such as hope, community, the desire to gather together and laugh, serve, pray, celebrate, and enter into heartache. The gospel cultivates humility and wisdom; it promises healing and freedom; it meets us in the depths of sorrow and loss, and is the intrinsic meaning behind those things we find most true, most beautiful, most life-giving.

The gospel is the story of God coming to earth to redeem and renew, in a manner and through a means that could not have been––then or now––more unthinkable, counter-intuitive, or radical.

The gospel (literally, the ‘good news’) is that God entered history, walked among us, suffered, died, and rose again on behalf of people who are unable to perfect or satisfy themselves; for people who don’t deserve to be died for.

And in this gospel, all who transfer the weight of lordship from off of themselves and on to Jesus are promised a new identity, new life, and a new future.

In the gospel we are empowered to venture into our own hearts and lives and see them as they really are. The gospel enables us to find wholeness and refuge in our dependence on Jesus to be the sole means of our acceptance before God, and, remarkably, before ourselves.

Imagine what life would be like if we were able to enter into friendships far less motivated by being liked. What if criticism wasn’t so crushing? What if false accusation wasn’t so threatening? What if rejection wasn’t so condemning.

What if you were less self-aware, less fearful, less defensive, slower to anger, and freer to forgive? What if you were more generous, more patient, more hopeful, and more ‘other-focused’? What if your tattered edges were less embarrassing?

The gospel is the reality that we need a God who would die and live on our behalf, and that in Jesus we have one who has––not motivated by obligation, but by love.

Through the gospel, we are freely given a new identity––an identity based not on race, social class, gender, self-performance, worldview, a particular theological system, or a catalog of rules and regulations. Instead, it’s a new identity rooted solely in trusting Jesus that redefines every aspect of our lives.

Because of the gospel, we no longer have to hide from exposure and project that we have it all together, because God knows, loves, and enjoys us as we are, not as we pretend to be.

The story of the gospel is how and why we can be certain of and rely upon the love and faithfulness of a gracious God. And it’s capable of changing anyone, anywhere, at anytime.

http://www.allsoulsseattle.org

Blink

Thanks to Nathan and Jamie Lightcap, I've been on a Malcolm Gladwell kick this year: What The Dog Saw, The Tipping Point, and I just finished Blink yesterday. (I still have to read Outliers at some point.)

Yet again, Gladwell did not dissapoint. I learn about new things while I am effortlessly entertained by his writing. He makes you think and challenges you and I love it; would love to hear him speak sometime.

Here's part of a review that sums it up better than I can:

To over-generalize, there are two types of nonfiction books worth reading: those written by an eminent specialist summarizing the current state of his or her field, often focusing on the singular idea that defines the author's career; and those written by a journalist without special knowledge about the field, tracking a particular idea, crossing the boundaries of disciplines when required by the pursuit.Malcolm Gladwell's Blink is a bravura example of the latter sort of book: he ranges through art museums, emergency rooms, police cars, and psychology laboratories following a skill he terms 'rapid cognition.'

Rapid cognition is the sort of snap decision-making performed without thinking about how one is thinking, faster and often more correctly than the logical part of the brain can manage. Gladwell sets himself three tasks: to convince the reader that these snap judgments can be as good or better than reasoned conclusions, to discover where and when rapid cognition proves a poor strategy, and to examine how the rapid cognition's results can be improved. Achieving three tasks, Gladwell marshals anecdotes, statistics, and a little bit of theory to persuasively argue his case.

http://contemporarylit.about.com/od/socialsciences/fr/blink.htm

Thankful!

I was inspired by Courtney Molony to come up with a list of 100 (she's doing 1000!) things I'm thankful for.  I've worked on it for the past week and a half or so...some are silly and some are serious.  Yet regardless, "every good and perfect gift comes from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.." James 1:17.

1. My relationship with the Lord...that He saved me and calls me daughter.
2. My dad and the way he loves me and I am so similar to him.
3. My mom and the way she loves me and I am as equally similar to her.
4. Cheez-its.
5. Flat shoes (for the days you just don't want to wear heels).
6. Having a place to sleep every night.
7. Good sheets.
8. Hand sanitizer.
9. Diet Coke.
10. Having a job.
11. Music.
12. Scripture.
13. Prayer.
14. Nalgenes.
15. Ability to walk.
16. Bodies of water, especially the ocean, creeks, etc...
17. Sudafed.
18. Aleve and pain killers.
19. Ability to read.
20. Cell phones.
21. Cameron -- in my life and especially how she keeps me accountable to daily time in the Word.
22. My HLP, Courtney.
23. Fun shoes that make me feel sassy.
24. Having dreams that I want to accomplish.
25. G-chat.
26. The sunshine (especially when it makes my skin tan).
27. Laughter.
28. Trader Joe's.
29. Dark chocolate.
30. Cookie dough.
31. Fishing.
32. Chap stick.
33. That we are able to learn from one another.
34. Clean drinking water.
35. My glasses (so I can see!).
36. Dana Martin -- sharing and living the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.
37. Wendi Aycock Combes -- sharing and living the gospel of Jesus Christ in my life.
38. Krissie -- especially how she loves me no matter what.
39. Thongs (I hate panty lines).
40. Cast iron frying pans.
41. MacBook.
42. Toni my bus driver -- always in a great mood (while I, on the other hand am often not in the mornings).
43. God's grace that abounds and abounds and abounds.
44. Blogs.
45. Memories (what if God made us so we didn't remember?!?).
46. My mom's generosity with food.
47. Living in the same town as my parents (at least for this season).
48. Books.
49. Owning a car.
50. GPS (saved me many headaches and hours of being lost).
51. Cards that my Dad gives me -- he always spends a lot of time picking out just the right Hallmark.
52. My mom surprising me with little treats.
53. $1.50 hot dog and mega drink at Sam's Club.
54. Scarves and gloves.
55. Knowing that someone enjoys the food you made them.
56. Friends that will tell you hard truth.
57. Friends that are grateful when you tell them hard truth.
58. Space heaters.
59. Push up bras.
60. The mornings I get time with the Lord in prayer and His Word.
61. Grace upon grace upon grace.
62. Cough drops.
63. Loco Pops.
64. Daily accountability with Cameron.
65. When friends encourage/push me to do something I don't think I can.
66. Pencils.
67. The feeling of being of included in something good.
68. Oyster roasts.
69. Tampons.
70. Red and black pepper.
71. Salt.
72. The Barefoot Contessa.
73. When people geniunely want to know what you think about something.
74. When a prayer is obviously answered.
75. Nathan -- he's always been the less selfish one.
76. Hair straightener.
77. Productive days.
78. Marshall Foster -- embodies wisdom, among many other wonderful qualities.
79. Being challenged in what I think/believe.
80. Cabernet.
81. Catching up with old friends.
82. Neti pot.
83. The Lightcaps.
84. Jenn -- especially her openness.
85. Proactive.
86. The Lord's ability to sustain me when I feel weak and empty.
87. Rain.
88. Patience -- a virtue a rarely exude, yet know is good.
89. Long walks.
90. When people respond quickly to something at work.
91. Grooveshark.
92. Arrested Development.
93. Having windows in my office.
94. Chirping birds.
95. Discipleship.
96. Sleep.
97. First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, SC.
98. Vintage 21.
99. That I enjoy cooking.
100. Surprising friendships.

 

Warmth!

You may remember that I am a summer-time girl.  I very much prefer the sun and warm and beaches over snow and cold and the mountains.  I'm sure it won't last and we'll have a few more cold days/weeks, the past few days have been GORGEOUS in Charleston.  Sure, we've had some rain, but once it goes away, the days have been BRIGHT and SUNNY and you can wear shorts and a t-shirt and it feel good.  So thankful for this change of weather and lifting of spirits!

I don't have a picture, but the drive home after work is splendid in the bright sunlight.  Once I get onto James Island, I am able to clearly see the downtown Charleston skyline, the bridges into Mt. Pleasant, Sullivan's Island...all at once.  It really is breath-taking.  Yesterday that drive home made me remember that I'm really glad to be in this city right now.

Malachi

Over the past several weeks, I've been reading through the book of Malachi.  It's the last book in the Old Testament, and I'd never spent much time there...so I thought I'd give it a shot.  While my heart may have been a bit hard over the past few weeks, there was a lot to be learned in this little book.  Mainly, I saw how much like the priests I am:  I doubt, I question, I try to be sneaky with the Lord.  Yet (because He is God and knows everything) I don't get away with too much.

And what would getting away with it mean anyway?  That I'd be further from my Lord -- the One that LOVES me most and KNOWS me completely.

There are only two kinds of people: those that know and love Jesus and have been saved by His grace and those that haven't.  I've done nothing to deserve His love, but He's given it to me anyway.  And since I have it, I hope I become the kind of person that knows and loves Jesus and has been saved by His grace AND walks TOWARDS Him...

Like the title of one of my new favorite songs, I got growing up to do.  

Home Remedies

My sinuses and allergies are always giving me trouble.  I usually get at least one sinus infection a year.  This year, praise the Lord, I have not.  Well based on my feelings this week, I'm pretty sure I do have one, but don't really want to go to the doctor...I feel good enough to go to work, but bad enough to not want to work...

You know the signs: stuffy head, pressure, congestion, fatigue, etc...

Yesterday I decided to do some online home remedy searching and found this:

Cayenne Snorting.

Reading the other posts I figured I'ld give it a try. My temperature was around 102 and my head and sinus areas killing me. Lots of yellow discharge. Lots of pain. I was not doing well. So, rather hastily and unscientifically I put a couple of shakes of organic Cayenne Pepper into about a Tablespoon of water in a teacup. I used a Q-tip to put it each nostril a couple times each and snorted it up. I then bent over and kept snorting. I followed with a Q-tip dipped in water to get more movement and snorted some more. My mixture may have been a bit intense. It burned alright, my eyes teared as if I was bawling like a baby and I had a few sneezing fits. I hung on for a few minutes and then blew my nose. Put some more water in there and snorted a bit more. Ten minutes later there was a definite change. My head still hurt and my nose was on fire! Then after about another 15-20 minutes most of the pressure in my head left and when I tried blowing my nose, no colored discharge! My temperature went down to 99 and I no longer had the chills. It worked! It worked! One of God's amazing wonders! Thank you everyone for sharing."

It sounded painful, yet I thought I'd give it a shot.  I added a DASH of cayenne to my neti pot (that I've been too lazy to use lately and could have potentially avoided this situation altogether) after work yesterday afternoon.  The burn!  The red face!  The inability to use the entire pot! 

However, it cleared me up for the rest of the night.  And as I'm stuffy again today, I MIGHT reconsider...

The Shred

also known to me as The Torture. 

Whilst in Raleigh last weekend, I tried Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred with one of Krissie's roommates.  It killed me.  It's supposed to be 23 minutes with warm up and cool down.  I lasted the first 15 before I collapsed on the floor.  Then I proceeded to feel sick and nauseous until I ate lunch. 

Yet, being a glutton for punishment I decided to buy my own copy.  I've decided to do The Shred every Tuesday and Thursday and walk the other days I choose to exercise. It was $9 at Wal-Mart and I got some 4 lb weights to go along with it.  $20 is so much cheaper than a gym membership! 

Tuesday, I made it about 19 of 23 minutes -- which I think is a vast improvement!  BUT I still felt sick and nauseous afterwards and had to lay down on the couch and devour 1/2 sleeve of Saltines in order to feel better.  I'm pretty sure Jillian wouldn't have been ok with this choice and I don't think one should eat before they do The Shred.  AND as it turns out my 4 lb weights are actually 2 lbs weights...thats 4 TOTAL pounds.  And they're still hard for me to use. 

I'm not trying to shred 50 pounds off my body (but I think it might do that if you used it daily), but would like to tone up.  And besides, this is what Courtney had to say about me doing this:

well i was going to tell you yest but didnt want you to fuss at me that it would be good for you to add something like that into your routine.  i think you would see differences and even if you dont you need to have some weight/resistance training. its good for your bones.

Me, fuss?!?!?!

Goal for today: make it through the entire 23 minutes and don't get sick (so I'm not eating before).