Links that make me think: Part 1

My dear one,

I must confess that I follow quite a large number of blogs (through Feedly, an RSS reader) -- everything from theology to recipes.

I thought it might be fun to begin a series of posts in which I corral or distill various articles I find along the way that resonate well with me. I often share links on Facebook, but others I keep to myself for fear of being judged by others. But since I want you to know the real me, I will be more generous in sharing them with you.

So, for today's gleanings (follow the links for the complete articles):

Sanctification is for Single People Too (Jessalyn Hutto):

When the married women and mothers in your life share the incredible ways the Lord is using their circumstances to shape their walk with the Lord, they may unintentionally leave you wondering if he can do the same for you even without a husband or children. It can be easy to forget that God promises to us all things for the good of those who love him (Rom. 8:28). And for what good does he use all things (including singleness, marriage, children, and family) in your life? He wants us to receive the ultimate good through this—being conformed into the image of his son, Jesus (Rom. 8:29).

  Hutchmoot = Communion (Sarah Clarkson):

When you choose loneliness and try to love it you can forget that community, or worse, communion is possible. You can forget even to reach for it. I just looked up the word communion: “the sharing or exchange of intimate thoughts and feelings, especially when the exchange is on a mental or spiritual level.” I have just never known quite how to find communion where I live. I’m an introvert, I travel a lot, I hold extreme ideals – all good reasons why communion is hard to create. Life is, also, just lonely at times. I hate to feel weak, so I have met that lack with an uplifted chin. “I’m fine. I’ll read another book. I’ll take another walk.” I’ve done this for years. And though I have survived, a certain chill crept into my being. I found that I hoped less for friendship. I found that I began to suspect that who I was was just too much, to odd, for understanding...

...I will not allow the fearful voice of my own heart to dictate a solitude God never intended. I realize now how much of my turn to loneliness was fear. My heart stayed in her own little house because she was afraid another would not have her. Now, I will send her abroad. I will pack her a basket of kindness and send her in search of another heart, roaming the fields in search of a last crumb of love. I would rather she ache with desire than turn to the starvation of silence again. I will send her out until she comes home with another and they sit down together to feast.

12 Simple Strategies to Create Space Each Day (Joshua Becker):

Downtime during our day provides our minds with the rest and space to better process information, improve memory function, increase attention span, integrate learning, spark creativity, and make better decisions. Yet, despite the research, our world continues to increase in speed. Because of advances in portable technology, a 24-hour news cycle, and advertisers relentlessly pursuing our attention, information enters our sphere of senses at an alarming rate. And it does not appear to be slowing down any time soon.Distractions do not remove themselves and information will not slow itself down. Therefore, it is our responsibility to intentionally and mindfully slowdown, discover downtime, and create extra space.

 More to come later.

All my love,
Me

Goodbye, October

"Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns." George Eliot


My dear one,
It hurts to spend this beautiful autumn without you. My heart just about burst at the beauty of the color outside my apartment this afternoon. I would love to sit down with some hot cider and a freshly-baked pumpkin muffin and share my thoughts with you. October has been busy (and November looks to be even more so), but I have tried hard to keep that "margin" of rest and quiet that my spirit craves. I have avoided bringing work home with me at night... I've made time for regular exercise and found some real satisfaction in recent kitchen experiments. My latest adventure was cooking a whole chicken for the first time, and making a stock to freeze for future soups.

Wishing you a blessed day, dear one, wherever you might be. Will we find each other soon? I can't wait to see your smile for the first time.

All my love,
Me

I can't get enough of this beautiful autumn color

The evening sunlight is setting ablaze the orange of the tree outside my apartment. What a lovely view to come home to.

On this chilly Saturday morning...

My dear one,
This is the kind of lazy Saturday morning I wish could be spent with you. Instead I find myself restless and melancholy, starved for meaningful conversation with someone who can see into my soul and know who I really am.

Just wanted you to know that I'm thinking of you and praying for you. May God use you in ways large and small as you go about your day today, and may He strengthen you for the challenges you face.

Waiting,
Me

Grace for every hurdle

So Spirit, come, put strength in ev’ry stride,

Give grace for ev’ry hurdle,

That we may run with faith to win the prize

Of a servant good and faithful.

As saints of old still line the way,

Retelling triumphs of His grace,

We hear their calls and hunger for the day

When, with Christ, we stand in glory.

(Keith Getty & Stuart Townend)

More autumn joy

My dear one,

Until I have you in my life to surprise me with flowers, I must content myself with buying them myself. Aren't they lovely?

And in further celebration of my favorite time of year, I am enjoying some real pumpkin spice coffee (not that awfully sweet goo from Starbucks...). Care to join me for a cup?

Psalm 69

Verses 13, 16-17...
    But as for me, my prayer is to You, O LORD.
        At an acceptable time, O God,
        in the abundance of Your steadfast love answer me in Your saving faithfulness.
    Answer me, O LORD, for Your steadfast love is good;
        according to Your abundant mercy, turn to me.
    Hide not Your face from Your servant;
        for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.

These verses call to mind my pastor's sermon from this morning, taken from the text of Deuteronomy 2:7:
For the LORD your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He knows your going through this great wilderness. These forty years the LORD your God has been with you. You have lacked nothing.
Both that sermon and my "Psalm of the day" speak of God's faithfulness and steadfast love.The context of Deuteronomy 2:7 is Moses' farewell address, in which he looks back over the past 40 years in firsthand testimony of "how all this time the Lord has blessed us."

1) Yes, the course of the Christian's life often involves great trials.

• But it is God who brings His people into those hard places. "Whatever the Lord pleases, He does" (Psalm 135:6). 
• God has good reason for bringing us into those hard places. I.e., our sanctification! (See Deut. 8:2.) His purposes are always wise and loving, though we may not fully understand. His goal is our conformity to the image of Christ. 
• Those wilderness experiences do not last forever. One day we will look at them from the perspective of a glorious eternity in God's presence.

2) The place of trial is also the place of blessing.

• God's presence with His people: He never abandons His children during "wilderness times." "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." He loved us enough to die for us, and He will keep us all the days of our life.
• God's pity for His people: sympatheitic knowledge, understanding, compassion. He is not unfeeling. Hebrews 4 tells us that our great High Priest is touched with the feeling of our weaknesses. I often remind myself that Christ knew greater loneliness than I will ever have to experience.
• God's prosperity to His people: He caused their families and flocks to increase even while in the wilderness. "You have not lacked a thing" ... even though they didn't always feel that way. Philippians 4:19 - And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. He not only blesses us along with a trial, but blesses us by and in and through a trial.

3) God's immense blessing of His people will continue forever.

• He has not failed me in the past; He will not fail me ever! 
• Moses was telling the people to look ahead in hope and confidence. 
• This expectation must produce dependence on Him and devotion to Him.

Saturday adventures

My dear one,

Today started early, as I ventured out to run a 5K race with some music colleagues. The sky was a beautiful canvas of colors when I hopped in my car...

The run was held on the beautiful campus of a nearby university, and the lake was calm except for a few black swans. I beat my goal time by 2:49! Success! Slowly getting back into this running thing...

When I got home I took a short "recovery nap," and then got to work in the kitchen preparing a meal to take to tomorrow's church supper for the college students. I made jambalaya as an homage to my alma mater and favorite team...

My heart was unusually light today, yet I found myself feeling lonely for you, my someone... It's just not quite right without you here with me to enjoy these little pleasures. I don't want to continue going through life without that companionship I crave.

Waiting,
Me

Autumn

My dear one,

I miss the vibrant hues of autumn in the north, where I spent my childhood. Alas, it was in 1999 that I enjoyed my last northern fall season. But even here, where in the south I have been "transplanted," this time of year makes my heart sing!

I often get away from work early on Fridays, and this afternoon I found myself sitting on my favorite rock down by the river. Not only my mind, but also my soul, feels clearer after this "escape."

This is my Father's world:
O let me ne'er forget
That though the wrong seems oft so strong,
God is the Ruler yet.
This is my Father's world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.

(Maltbie B. Babcock)

Psalm 70

Verses 4-5...
    May all who seek You
        rejoice and be glad in You!
    May those who love Your salvation
        say evermore, “God is great!”
    But I am poor and needy;
        hasten to me, O God!
    You are my help and my deliverer;
        O LORD, do not delay!

Spurgeon: 

Faith will boldly plead all God's gracious relationships. She will say to Him, "Art Thou not the creator? Wilt Thou forsake the work of thine own hands? Art Thou not the Redeemer, Thou hast redeemed thy servant, wilt Thou cast me away? ... Thou art a Father, and wouldst Thou chasten us [as] though thou wouldst kill? A Father, and hast Thou no sympathy and no bowels of compassion? A Father, and canst Thou deny what Thine own child asks of Thee?"

Faith, moreover, pleads the performances of God, she looks back on the past and says, "Lord, thou didst deliver me on such and such an occasion; wilt thou fail me now?" She, moreover, takes her life as a whole, and pleads thus:—

"After so much mercy past,

Wilt thou let me sink at last?"

Beauty in the unexpected

My dear one,
I have been conducting an "exercise of gratitude" -- in which I look for little things throughout my day that make me smile, sing, and thank my heavenly Father. When possible, I've been snapping a photo of these small gifts in my day. 

The other afternoon after work I was sitting on my couch, glad to be home ... when out of the corner of my eye I saw something glittering, sparkling, reflecting the afternoon sunlight. I stood up and walked to the sliding glass door that leads out to the narrow balcony. And I saw it there, up in the magnolia tree, a carefully woven spiderweb. I ran and grabbed my camera to capture the scene before the rays of sun changed their position!

Sometimes I feel like my life is as fragile as a web. And as unnoticeable. But it is a web intricately spun by the Master Designer, and when the light of His countenance shines upon it, that web will glisten bright and beautiful.

With mercy and with judgment 

My web of time He wove,
And aye, the dews of sorrow 

Were lustered with His love;
I’ll bless the hand that guided, 

I’ll bless the heart that planned
When throned where glory dwelleth 

In Immanuel’s land.

(Anne R. Cousin)

Psalm 71

Verses 5, 8, 14,17-21...
    For You, O Lord, are my hope,
        my trust, O LORD, from my youth...
    My mouth is filled with Your praise,
        and with Your glory all the day...
    But I will hope continually
        and will praise You yet more and more...
    O God, from my youth You have taught me,
        and I still proclaim Your wondrous deeds.
    So even to old age and gray hairs,
        O God, do not forsake me,
    until I proclaim Your might to another generation,
        Your power to all those to come.
    Your righteousness, O God,
        reaches the high heavens.
    You who have done great things,
        O God, who is like You?
    You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
        will revive me again;
    from the depths of the earth
        You will bring me up again.
    You will increase my greatness
        and comfort me again.

These verses are my prayer tonight! O how fitting the psalms are. I cry these words to You tonight, my Father.

Run with me

My dear one,
As I jogged along a shady path this afternoon after work, I wondered what it would be like to have you as my running partner. No doubt you would push me further than I push myself. We'd run in silence, just enjoying the sound of autumn leaves crunching beneath our feet. I fell asleep on the couch after my run, dreaming about you, my love.
Still waiting for you,
Me

Psalm 72

Verses 12, 18-19...
    He delivers the needy when he calls,
        the poor and him who has no helper...
    Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
        who alone does wondrous things.
    Blessed be His glorious name forever;
        may the whole earth be filled with His glory!
    Amen and Amen!

Time and time again, I tell myself that only by the unimaginable providence of God will you ever find me, my dear one. For now you and I are separated by an unbridgeable gulf, and fate will only see us lonely for the rest of our lives. 

But I truly believe that if we both call upon God "who alone does wondrous things," He will bring us together for His glory. Then, side by side, we will reflect the love of Christ for His people as we unite in covenant love and show the love of God to a dark world.