Links that make me think: Part 8

(Click through to the link for the entire article from which a quote is taken.)

Thinking on Today's Manna (Wendy Alsup)

On any given bad day, God did something good somewhere. Probably, He did something good directly in your life. But like the children of Israel, we see the wilderness and our longing for the promised land, and we miss the manna He provides day by day. We focus on our longing for home, but we miss that our God just PARTED THE RED SEA. We don't want to wander in the desert, so we take for granted the FIRE BURNING IN THE SKY to direct us. Most of all, we miss in our modern lives the hundreds of ways hour by hour, day by day, our Father gives us manna, our daily bread, to sustain us.

No, You're Not Falling Behind In Life (Ann Swindell)

Ultimately, we are not “behind” in life if we are where Jesus has called us to be. Next to Jesus—with Him—is the exact place we are supposed to be. If His pace with us is slower than it is with our friends, it is not our responsibility to try to catch up to them. Our responsibility is to stay next to Christ. When we compare ourselves to others, it’s easy to worry that we are missing out on the life that we see them living. The apostle Peter seemed to be headed down this path. At the end of the book of John, Peter asks Jesus about what was going to happen in John’s life. Jesus’ response? “If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!” (John 21:22).

What Do You Want to Accomplish? (Mike Burns)  

Don’t let the hours slip away without you giving your best shot at accomplishing your goals. Use your answers to these questions as a lens through which you make your decisions about how you structure your days:

• What is life all about?
• What is the most important thing you could do in your everyday life?
• What activities bring you the most joy or happiness?
• What makes you feel fulfilled?
• What is wrong with the world?
• What needs to happen so it can be fixed?
• If you could change one thing about how the world works, what would it be?
• If you had plenty of money, how would you spend your days?
• What is your dream job?
• If you could design the ideal life for yourself, what would it look like?
• Is your career something that’s important to you, personally?
• What is more important to you than your career?

And finally, a quote from Richard Sibbes that encouraged me recently: 

"It is the nature of faith to work when it sees nothing, and oftentimes best of all then, because God shows Himself more clearly in His power, wisdom, and goodness at such times; and so His glory shines most, and faith has nothing else to look upon then, whereupon it gathers all the forces of the soul together to fasten upon God."

Links that make me think: Part 7

The Valentine's Day edition...
 
Nine Lies in the Not-Yet-Married Life (John Piper)

1. I’m selfish because I’m still single, and I don’t have anyone to care for my needs and feelings.
2. I’m anxious because I’m still single, and I don’t know if God will ever bring me a spouse.
3. I’m impatient because I’m still single, and I’ve waited a long, long time to be married.
4. I can be cold and indifferent toward others because I’m still single, and I have a hard enough time dealing with my own stuff.
5. I don’t value virtue and integrity like I should because I’m still single. I’ll work on those things when I get married and have a family.
6. I’m flakey and unreliable because I’m still single, and you can’t expect single people to make or keep commitments.
7. I’m harsh with others because I’m still single, and they don’t understand how hard I have it.
8. I’m undisciplined and keep sinning because I’m still single. The freedom feels good and no one knows, cares, or is affected by my behavior.
9. I’m depressed and miserable because I’m still single, and I won’t really be happy until I get married.

Friendship and Marriage (Jay Younts)

The world wants people, including Christians, to see romance as the foundation of marriage. Christians must become transformed in their thinking, so that they see friendship is the foundation. Romance is volatile by nature. The fact that romance tends to run hot then cold, and then hot again, is one of the worldly attractions of romance. This may be a great attraction for movies and the social elite scene, but for marriage, not so much! Friendship that flows from romance will be as up and down as romance and romantic feelings tend to be...

If friendship comes first, then romance can be built on a solid, lasting foundation. With this perspective, romance can become stable and grow in warmth and excitement... Romance that flows from friendship will have a sure foundation. This may not make for exciting headlines, but it will make for love that can withstand the storms of life and our sin.

23 Things That Love Is (Paul David Tripp)

1. LOVE IS... being willing to have your life complicated by the needs and struggles of others without impatience or anger.
2. LOVE IS... actively fighting the temptation to be critical and judgmental toward another while looking for ways to encourage and praise.
3. LOVE IS... making a daily commitment to resist the needless moments of conflict that come from pointing out and responding to minor offenses.
4. LOVE IS... being lovingly honest and humbly approachable in times of misunderstanding.
5. LOVE IS... being more committed to unity and understanding than you are to winning, accusing, or being right.
6. LOVE IS... a making a daily commitment to admit your sin, weakness, and failure and to resist the temptation to offer an excuse or shift the blame.
7. LOVE IS... being willing, when confronted by another, to examine your heart rather than rising to your defense or shifting the focus.
8. LOVE IS... making a daily commitment to grow in love so that the love you offer to another is increasingly selfless, mature, and patient.
9. LOVE IS... being unwilling to do what is wrong when you have been wronged, but looking for concrete and specific ways to overcome evil with good.
10. LOVE IS... being a good student of another, looking for their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs so that in some way you can remove the burden, support them as they carry it, or encourage them along the way.
11. LOVE IS... being willing to invest the time necessary to discuss, examine, and understand the relational problems you face, staying on task until the problem is removed or you have agreed upon a strategy of response.
12. LOVE IS... being willing to always ask for forgiveness and always being committed to grant forgiveness when it is requested.
13. LOVE IS... recognizing the high value of trust in a relationship and being faithful to your promises and true to your word.
14. LOVE IS... speaking kindly and gently, even in moments of disagreement, refusing to attack the other person’s character or assault their intelligence.
15. LOVE IS... being unwilling to flatter, lie, manipulate, or deceive in any way in order to co-opt the other person into giving you what you want or doing something your way.
16. LOVE IS... being unwilling to ask another person to be the source of your identity, meaning, and purpose, or inner sense of well-being, while refusing to be the source of theirs.
17. LOVE IS... the willingness to have less free time, less sleep, and a busier schedule in order to be faithful to what God has called you to be and to do as a spouse, parent, neighbor, etc.
18. LOVE IS... a commitment to say no to selfish instincts and to do everything that is within your ability to promote real unity, functional understanding, and active love in your relationships.
19. LOVE IS... staying faithful to your commitment to treat another with appreciation, respect, and grace, even in moments when the other person doesn’t seem deserving or is unwilling to reciprocate.
20. LOVE IS... the willingness to make regular and costly sacrifices for the sake of a relationship without asking for anything in return or using your sacrifices to place the other person in your debt.
21. LOVE IS... being unwilling to make any personal decision or choice that would harm a relationship, hurt the other person, or weaken the bond of trust between you.
22. LOVE IS... refusing to be self-focused or demanding, but instead looking for specific ways to serve, support, and encourage, even when you are busy or tired.
23. LOVE IS... daily admitting to yourself, the other person, and God that you are unable to be driven by a cruciform love without God’s protecting, providing, forgiving, rescuing, and delivering grace.

Links that make me think: Part 6

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others (Joshua Becker)

I need to take this one to heart. I didn't go to my 10-year college reunion last month because I knew it would break my heart to see all those classmates and see how my "achievements" fall short. (I would have thought that certainly, ten years after having graduated, I would have a wonderful husband, happy children, etc...)

• Comparisons are always unfair. We typically compare the worst we know of ourselves to the best we presume about others.
• Comparisons rob us of precious time. We each get 86,400 seconds each day. And using even one to compare yourself or your accomplishments to another is one second too many.
• You are too unique to compare fairly. Your gifts and talents and successes and contributions and value are entirely unique to you and your purpose in this world. They can never be properly compared to anyone else.
• There is no end to the possible number of comparisons. The habit can never be overcome by attaining success. There will also be something—or someone—else to focus on.
• Comparisons often result in resentment. Resentment towards others and towards ourselves.
• Comparisons deprive us of joy. They add no value, meaning, or fulfillment to our lives. They only distract from it.

25 Ways to Communicate Respect (Jennifer Flanders)

This list technically doesn't apply to me now, but if I were married, I'd print it out for sure!

1. Choose joy
2. Honor his wishes
3. Give him your undivided attention
4. Don't interrupt
5. Emphasize his good points
6. Pray for him
7. Don't nag
8. Be thankful
9. Smile at him
10. Respond physically
11. Eyes only for him
12. Kiss him goodbye
13. Prepare his favorite foods
14. Cherish togetherness
15. Don't complain
16. Resist the urge to correct
17. Dress to please him
18. Keep the house tidy
19. Be content
20. Take his advice
21. Admire him
22. Protect his name
23. Forgive his shortcomings
24. Don't argue
25. Follow his lead

Life Won't Begin at Your Next Milestone (Cara Joyner)

If we view today as less than tomorrow, we choose to live in the imagined picture of a story that hasn’t happened, sacrificing joy and adventure that could be ours in the present. We get caught in the idea that this is just the green room, and if we plan well and press on, we’ll eventually walk out on the other side and a great narrative will unfold.

Perhaps without meaning to, we tell ourselves, the world around us and even God that this isn’t enough. It’s as if we took a look around and said, “no thanks, I’ll pass and wait to see what comes up down the road.”

We cannot be sincerely grateful for our lives if we are breathing in the anticipation that soon this will wrap up and make way for something more exciting. That doesn’t sound like thankfulness, and it looks nothing like contentment…

Elisabeth Elliot wrote, “The secret is Christ in me, not me in a different set of circumstances.” The bigger story of our life begins the moment we understand this truth. Life does not begin when you get married, land your dream job or board a plane to travel the world. It is found in the beautiful, powerful love of Christ, which changes us in the midst of all circumstances, especially the ones we find most difficult. We need only be willing.

Links that make me think: Part 5

Don't Waste Your Weaknesses in 2014 (John Piper)

This year, don’t focus too much on finding your strengths. Give attention to identify and exploit your weaknesses. God has not given them to you in vain. Identify them. Accept them. Exploit them. Magnify the power of Christ with them. Don’t waste your weaknesses.

20 Things Every Twentysomething Should Know How To Do (Tyler Huckabee)

1. Make a great breakfast
2. Argue kindly
3. Hold a conversation with someone of any age
4. Parallel park
5. Defend your media choices
6. Limit your online life
7. Approach a stranger
8. Stand up for yourself
9. Say "I was wrong"
10. Brew a great cup of coffee or tea
11. Tip generously
12. Maintain a mentor
13. Bite your tongue
14. Stay well rested
15. Respond to criticism
16. Write a cover letter
17. Be alone
18. Recommend a book, movie, or album
19. Prioritize the important over the urgent
20. Hold on to a good friend

The Fear of Being Alone (Leo Babauta)

We tend to see aloneness as bleak, depressing, scary. But it can be seen as freeing, as an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to get to know yourself.

Am I Waiting for a Guy Who Doesn't Exist? (Leslie Ludy)

Don’t ask the question, “am I compatible with this guy?” but rather, “does this guy put Jesus Christ first above all else, and does he lead me closer and closer to my true Prince?”

...Focus on your intimate love-relationship with Jesus Christ, and He will be more than faithful to bring a Christ-built man into your life in His own perfect time and way. It’s amazing how God brings like-minded men and women together when we actually step back and give Him the chance to work.

Finding Comfort During Waiting (Beverly Chao Berrus)

Above all, be comforted that all your longings will be fulfilled in God’s promises through Christ, in whom we are given an everlasting family, secured an inheritance that will never fade, built a home that cannot be destroyed, and provided eternal job security, praising our Triune God for endless days in the fullness of joy in His presence!

...We have a God who keeps all His promises in Jesus and whose timing is impeccable. We may feel abandoned and cursed, but be encouraged that though we live in a world cursed by sin, we are not waiting because we are cursed. Singleness and infertility are not curses upon us. The process of waiting can be the means by which God produces steadfastness so that we would be complete, lacking nothing (James 1:4). Our waiting, especially in trials and suffering, is our faith in action.

Links that make me think: Part 4

When My Soul is Truly At Rest (Emily Freeman):

Asking myself questions that matter are important for my own spiritual growth. But equally important is the tone I use when I ask the questions. I want to cast a hopeful vision, not weigh myself down with despair. When Jesus invited the weary to come to Him in Matthew 11, it was an invitation to wear the light burden of love, not the heavy burden of shame...

Who's Afraid of Proverbs 31? (Hannah at Sometimes a Light):

Proverbs 31 is intended as a blessing and affirmation, not of all women, but of a certain kind of woman: a wise one. Because while Proverbs 31 isn’t prescriptive, it is descriptive. It is designed to tell us the kind of woman who deserves honor and praise. In this sense, the poem is the culmination of an entire book whose main goal is to teach the difference between wisdom and foolishness. But as the beginning and end of Proverbs point out, you don’t become wise via a checklist; you become wise by fearing the Lord...

In the case of Proverbs 31, the poem shows how wisdom embodies itself in feminine form; so that in a beauty only God Himself could conceive, a book written primarily to young men doesn't climax with a description of a mature man but with a description of a mature woman... A wise woman can make a man; and a foolish one can break him...

Wisdom doesn’t come naturally to any of us. Our only hope of being this kind of noble woman comes by looking into the face of the One who is Wisdom Himself and allowing Him to conform us to His own likeness. And when we do, He will make us the fully formed image bearers we are destined to be. He will make us women of kindness and grace and sacrifice and love and joy. He will make us like Himself.

Where Do You Run When You're Empty? (Andrew Lisi):

That place of emptiness is the place where you and I will always be most vulnerable because it's the place where you often don't feel anything and you just want to feel something, even if that's feeling numb.

When you're empty, you will want to fill yourself up. In a world that promises filling only to keep you empty, run toward that which will make you full.

Links that make me think: Part 3

Afraid to Turn the Next Corner (Lisa TerKeurst):

Life twists and turns and throws loops into those places we think will be flat and smooth. Because that’s what life does. Sometimes it all just catches us off guard. And at the end of the day, I guess that’s why I don’t like to be surprised. I can’t stand to get caught off guard. It makes me feel exposed and afraid. But slowly, I’m learning it’s not all bad to be a little exposed and afraid. That vulnerable place reminds us we have needs beyond what we manage. It reminds us we need God. Desperately. Completely. And into that gap between what we can manage on our own and what we can’t, that’s right where faith steps in and has the opportunity to find deep roots. Roots that dig down and break up previously unearthed places within us. My faith doesn’t just need to grow big, it needs to grow deep.

The Greatest Secret to Productivity that No One is Talking About (Courtney Carver):

What if productivity was not about getting the most done, but by getting the most important done? What if productivity was not about doing it all, but doing the things we love and want to do? What if productivity was not about doing it fast, but doing it well? ... More [is] not the answer. There will always be more to do. Choose less and do it well. Choose less and get it done. Choose less and do what’s most important.

18 Things Everyone Should Start Making Time For Again (Brianna Wiest):

• Writing things by hand.
• Savoring time to do nothing.
• Cooking a nice meal just for the sake of doing so.
• Disconnecting from technology.
• Spending time with kids, and doing kid things with them.
• Just sitting and listening to music.
• Stopping to talk to people throughout the day.

Links that make me think: Part 2

A few more articles that grabbed my attention lately...

Take Full Possession of My Heart: A Prayer of John Wesley:

Being created by You, let me live to You;
being created for You,
let me ever act for Your glory;
being redeemed by You,
let me render to You what is Yours
and let my spirit ever cleave to You alone.

Simplify Your Life by Writing It Down  (Courtney Carver):

When you feel overwhelmed, lost in complication, or simply confused about your direction, write it down for better clarity. When you are joyful and full of gratitude, write that down too. While your words could become thank you notes, journals, blogs, books or other meaningful works, just the act of putting words on paper will clarify your thoughts, magnify your voice and simplify your life.

"Alone": A Poem by Siegfried Sasson:

Alone… The word is life endured and known.
It is the stillness where our spirits walk
And all but inmost faith is overthrown.

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