to bring us to God.

"But what is the ultimate good in the good news?  It all ends in one thing: God himself.  All the words of the gospel lead to him, or they are not the gospel.  For example, salvation is not good news if it only saves from hell and not for God.  Forgiveness is not good news if it only gives relief from guilt and doesn't open the way to God.  Justification is not good news if it only makes us legally acceptable to God but doesn't bring fellowship with God.  Redemption is not good news if it only liberates us from bondage but doesn't bring us to God.  Adoption is not good news if it only puts us in the Father's family but not in his arms."

-John Piper, Fifty Reasons Why Jesus Came to Die

heart, soul, mind, strength.

Wrote this for my home church in reflecting on Christ's life and death this week.

Many of us are familiar with the Great Commandment.  When Jesus is asked in the last week of his life which commandment is most important, he responds with, “The most important is, ‘Hear, O Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one.  And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’  The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’  There is no commandment greater than these,” (Mark 12:29-31).  In this simple and profound statement I find great encouragement.  Christ is communicating that with Him, things are changing.  In reflecting on the Old Testament and the old law, we find several commandments.  This law was meant to show us our sin, to show the depth of our depravity before the Father.  It was a law that could not be fulfilled by any person in history—until Christ came down in the flesh and lived a perfect and holy life.  And what was his gift to us?  Himself.  Above all, He is asking us to love Him with all our heart, soul, and mind.  The other commandments have not disappeared, but our motivation has changed.  When we are seeking to know and love God more, obedience flows from a heart of praise to Him.  We are not perfect, but we are being renewed to see and delight in the Lord, causing us to live lives pleasing to Him.  Thus, our religion is not based on all we must do, but what Christ has done and is doing in us.  This is a great and wonderful truth!  Meditate today on the gift of God and think on what it means to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind and strength.

hope of glory.

Aching right now for a place I've never been before.  My home church supports an orphanage in Haiti, an opportunity that has been used by the Lord as a blessing to many.  But, because of circumstantial issues surrounding the orphanage right now, I am reminded of the depth of human depravity, of the far-reaching effects of sin and brokenness in this world.  It breaks my heart.


But light does shine through darkness.  God is there in the midst of the broken.  I see it in several ways, but the most powerful to me is the image of my dad and other members of the LCF body loving these children.  My father, the man who has been by my side since I took my first breath and loved me and taught me and helped me grow, has several other children.  Beautiful Haitian children.  Because as we have received the spirit of adoption as sons (Romans 8:15), we all become family under One name. We should take great pleasure in loving and caring for brothers and sisters and widows and children in Christ.  We are told in James 1:27 that, "Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."  God cares deeply for the poor and oppressed.  He hates injustice, He hates sin and its painful out-workings in this world.  And as His children, we are called to love those who are also called His.  


The darkness has not and will not overcome.  And though suffering does exist, the Lord is still magnifying His name through the pouring out of His love on His people, to give to those in need.  Not only do we have these glimpses of light, but we also have the hope of future glory.


"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience."
Romans 8:18-25

center.

March 31, 2011

Tonite I heard a message that strikes a chord with where I’ve found myself lately.  Thinking about what it means to live a life of radical abandonment to the glory of God.  To repent of self-centeredness, to aim to make Christ the center.  To love Him and love people.

These are simple callings.  They look very different from the law of the Old Testament.  They are straightforward, unadorned.  But simple and easy are two different things.  Christ, who has freely given me grace and abundant life in His name, is asking me to love Him and to love my neighbor as myself.  And I want to.  So why do I find myself in the same place over and over again?  Proclaiming that I want to love and serve God, but living a life that is still very much my own?

Father.

Thank you that you are gracious and slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love.

I am unworthy to be called Yours.  I am unfaithful.  I am selfish.  I am lazy.  I hear what you’re asking me, but more often than not, I do not act obediently in love.

Break me.  Break me of myself.  Let me see your glory, and may it change me deeply.  Bring me to my knees.  Then mobilize me, fill my heart and mouth with praise to You.

I pray that my life would be evidence of the work YOU have done in it.  I can claim nothing good as coming from me.  All glory, honor, power is Yours.

trust.

March 15, 2011

Oh, Lord,

Why is it so hard to trust?  Trust that YOU, Creator and Sustainer of everything, are plotting my course, directing my steps?

Why do I doubt and question along the way whether I really want your will for my life?  Why can’t your will also be mine?

It’s because I’m clinging too closely to the things I know.  The things I can see.  And what I see is a whole lot of people making things happen for themselves.  I try to follow suit.  But I always come back to the place where YOU are.  Distraught.  Humbled.  Wishing I had put all of my faith in YOU all along.

Thanks, Lord, for never leaving.  Thanks for welcoming your wayward children with open arms after every time we try to walk on our own and stumble and fall.  Thanks for picking us up, dusting us off, and offering us grace upon grace to bring us back home.

Read these words today that I’ve heard countless times, but they struck me with new sweetness and promise this afternoon:

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.”

proverbs 3: 5-8

because I live.

Mach 1, 2011

Sunshine.  Warmth.

Stands in stark contrast to the wintery cold that hung in the air just days ago.  To the frost on my windshield and chill in my bones.

Now I see golden-light and feel the way the soft breeze meets my bare arms and feet, an unexpected but warmly-welcomed sensation.

Warmth.

I forget.  Forget that it’s coming.  Forget that there’s more.  Get trapped in snow and ice and heaviness.  Feel like that’s all there ever is.

And then this day comes.  This glorious day.  It catches me off guard, fills my heart with joy, reminds me that hope exists.

There is HOPE. When you’re hurting, when you’re wondering, when you’re seeking, when you’re waiting.

The Lord says in John 14: “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you…Because I live, you also will live.”  We will never stay where we are for very long.  Christ has made us His and given us life in His name.  He is always faithful and good.  So we have Him and eternity to look forward to.

Not a life of worldly pleasures that are fleeting and fade all too quickly.  Not a life of riches and power and success.  But a life spent knowing Him and making Him known.  Seeing His beauty all around us, loving and being loved.  Giving grace as we have received the greatest grace.

Because the grass withers and the flower fades, and so do we.  Our lives are a breath.  And when we shrink it down to those terms, it becomes clear that most things aren’t worth living (or dying) for.  Christ, only.

sufficiency.

February 12, 2011

Lately I’ve been confronted by my own inadequacies.  I’ve been  doing my best to juggle various activities and homework and a job and people and my relationship with the Lord, and the truth is, I don’t always do it so gracefully.  In fact, I drop a lot of balls.

I get overwhelmed, I get discouraged, and the devil creeps into my thoughts, seeking to attack every weakness (and there are several).  Lately that has looked a lot like: FAILURE.  Being convinced that I will fail.  That it’s no use trying, because ultimately I will not succeed.  And, hey, look at the people all around you, they are doing a lot better than you are.  They’ve got it together.  They’ll be okay.  But you’re not like them. You can’t do it…  It gets old very quickly.  I get weary.  And I start to become convinced of these lies that seek my destruction.

Praise the Lord, though, for His faithfulness to speak truth to me through His word!  I have encountered this blessing several times recently, the first coming through Luke 18:9-14.  Here Jesus tells the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector who go into the temple to pray.  The Pharisee looks around him and says something like, “God, thank you that I am not like them, the sinners all around me.  I have done good things for you.”  But the tax collector could not even lift his eyes to heaven.  His prayer was humble and simplistic, “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!”  And the tax collector went away justified before God.

What I see here is that the Pharisee came before the Lord boasting, because he was comparing himself to the people around him, and thought that he was doing pretty well.  But the hidden sin of his heart was PRIDE.  The tax collector, on the other hand, saw himself in relation to the Lord rather than others recognized his complete and utter depravity before a HOLY God and begged God to have mercy on him.  HE had it right.  ”For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted,” (vs. 14).

2 Corinthians 3

“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (vs. 1)  Oh, let us never commend ourselves!  For “Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God.  Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant…” (vs. 4-6).

I take great comfort in the fact that my sufficiency comes from an all-powerful God, not my feeble heart.  I don’t have to do or be anything great.  But I can ask big things of a big God who desires to work in and through me.  AND he will make me competent to do His work, to love and serve and share truth and light with the people around me.  Which is ultimately all that matters.

Lastly, encouragement in Psalm 143:11-12

“For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life!

In your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble!
And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your servant.”

i was the lion.

january 28, 2011

from The Horse and His Boy (C.S. Lewis), pgs 161-166

“ ‘I do think,’ said Shasta, ‘that I must be the most unfortunate boy that ever lived in the whole world”… And being very tired and having nothing inside him, he felt so sorry for himself that the tears rolled down his cheeks.

What put a stop to all this was a sudden fright.  Shasta discovered that someone or somebody was walking beside him.  It was pitch dark and he could see nothing.  And the Thing (or Person) was going so quietly that he could hardly hear any footfalls.  What he could hear was breathing.  His invisible companion seemed to breathe on a very large scale, and Shasta got the impression that it was a very large creature.  And he had come to notice this breathing so gradually that he had really no idea how long it had been there.  It was a horrible shock.

It darted into his mind that he had heard long ago that there were giants in these Northern countries.  He bit his lip in terror.  But now that he really had something to cry about, he stopped crying.

The Thing (unless it was a Person) went on beside him so very quietly that Shasta began to hope he had only imagined it.  But just as he was becoming quite sure of it, there suddenly came a deep, rich sigh out of the darkness beside him.  That couldn’t be imagination!  Anyway, he had felt the hot breath of that sigh on his chilly left hand.

If the horse had been any good—or if he had known how to get any good out of the horse—he would have risked everything on a breakaway and a wild gallop.  But he knew he couldn’t make that horse gallop.  So he went on at a walking pace and the unseen companion walked and breathed beside him.  At last he could bear it no longer.

‘Who are you?’ he said, scarcely above a whisper.

‘One who has waited long for you to speak,’ said the Thing.  Its voice was not loud, but very large and deep.

‘Are you—are you a giant?’ asked Shasta.

‘You might call me a giant,’ said the Large Voice.  ‘But I am not like the creature you call giants.’

‘I can’t see you at all,’ said Shasta, after staring very hard.  Then (for an even more terrible idea had come into his head) he said, almost in a scream, ‘You’re not—not something dead, are you?  Oh please—please do go away. What harm have I ever done you?  Oh, I am the unluckiest person in the whole world!’

Once more, he felt the warm breath of the thing on his hand and face.  ‘There.’ It said.  ‘That is not the breath of a ghost.  Tell me your sorrows.’

Shasta was a little reassured by the breath: so he told how he had never known his real father or mother and had been brought up sternly by the fisherman.  And then he told the story of his escape and how they were chased by lions and forced to swim for their lives; and of all of their dangers in Tashbaan and about his night among the tombs and how the beasts howled at him out of the desert.  And he told about the heat and thirst of their desert journey and how they were almost at their goal when another lion chased them and wounded Aravis.  And also, how very long it was since he had had anything to eat.

‘I do not call you unfortunate,’ said the Large Voice.

‘Don’t you think it was bad luck to meet so many lions?’ said Shasta.

‘There was only one lion,’ said the Voice.

‘What on earth do you mean? I’ve just told you there were at least two the first night, and—‘

‘There was only one: but he was swift of foot.’

‘How do you know?’

‘I was the lion.’  And as Shasta gaped with open mouth and said nothing, the voice continued.  ‘I was the lion who forced you to join with Aravis.  I was the cat who comforted you among the houses of the dead.  I was the lion who drove the jackals from you while you slept.  I was the lion who gave the Horses the new strength of fear for the last mile so that you should reach King Lune in time.  And I was the lion you do not remember who pushed the boat in which you lay, a child near death, so that it came to shore where a man sat, wakeful at midnight, to receive you.’

‘Then it was you who wounded Aravis?’

‘It was I.’

‘But what for?’

‘Child,’ said the Voice, ‘I am telling you your story, not hers.  I tell no one any story but his own.’
‘Who are you?’ asked Shasta.

‘Myself,’ said the Voice, very deep and low so that the earth shook: and again, ‘Myself,’ loud and clear and gay: and then the third time ‘Myself,’ whispered so softly you could hardly hear it, and yet it seemed to come from all round you as if the leaves rustled with it.

Shasta was no longer afraid that the voice belonged to something that would eat him, nor that it was the voice of a ghost.  But a new and different sort of trembling came over him.  Yet he felt glad too.

The mist was turning from black to gray and from gray to white.  This must have begun to happen some time ago, but while he had been talking to the thing he had not been noticing anything else.  Now the whiteness around him became a shining whiteness; his eyes began to blink.  Somewhere ahead he could hear birds singing.  He knew the night was over at last.  He could see the mane and the ears and the head of the horse quite easily now.  A golden light fell on them from the left.  He thought it was the sun.

He turned and saw, pacing beside him, taller than the horse, a Lion.  The horse did not seem to be afraid of it or could not see it.  It was from the Lion that the light came.  No one ever saw anything more terrible or more beautiful.

But after one glance at the Lion’s face he slipped out of the saddle and fell at its feet.  He couldn’t say anything but then he didn’t want to say anything, and he knew he needn’t say anything…

The High King above all kings stooped toward him…He lifted his face and their eyes met.  Then instantly the pale brightness of the mist and the fiery brightness of the Lion rolled themselves together into a swirling glory and gathered themselves up and disappeared.  He was alone with the horse on a grassy hillside under a blue sky.  And there were birds singing.”

hold fast.

January 7, 2011

Hold fast

A synonym—adhere

Note: only things of a different nature can adhere.  (I love dictionary.com)

Scripture tells us to hold fast to our confidence in the Lord, to our hope in Him (Hebrews 4:14, 10:23). When you actually consider the concept of CLINGING to the Lord, it is a pretty incredible calling.  He is holy, perfect, set apart.  We are broken, sinful, foolish.  And yet we can cling to perfection, cling to holiness.  We can hold fast to the promises of the God of the universe.  In fact, we NEED to.  My study bible describes it as a faithful, unwavering embrace.  What a beautiful picture of grace!

It’s also humbling—we are, by nature, needy.  The Lord doesn’t want us to be any other way.  He doesn’t ask for self-sufficiency.  He tells us to hold fast our confession of the hope we have IN HIM.  I’m thankful that though this world is ever-changing, though there is deception everywhere and lies disguised as truth, we have goodness and truth to cling to in the Lord, promises that are lasting.

“Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.  For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.  Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”    Hebrews 4:14-16

apathy.

January 6, 2011

“…Good intentions lie dormant
And we’re all to blame

While apathy acts like an ally
My enemy and I are one and the same”     (Brooke Fraser, Flags)

These words have been true of my life for some time now.  I’ve been dealing with a complacent heart.  I’ve been dealing with selfishness.  This tendency I have to invest in my relationship with the Lord, to love other people when it is convenient for me.  But when it might get in the way of my happiness, when I am not instantly gratified, I get frustrated.  I give up.

I’m coming to terms with the fact that following Christ is supposed to be HARD.  He asks us to TAKE UP OUR CROSSES and FOLLOW Him, to leave all else behind.  And if it’s not hard, then my heart is not right.  I’m not living as I was called to live.  My life is still too much mine, not enough His.  He asks for ALL of it.

Praise the Lord for grace!  That he can love me even when I’m living for myself, in sin.  Praise the Lord that he loves me TOO much to let me dwell there.  Because He has designed us to only be fully and eternally satisfied in Him–He knows it’s what we need most, what will bring Him the most glory.

The Lord is changing my heart.  And I’m thankful.  And excited to see what He’ll do, where He’ll lead.

nothing fancy, just what we need.

December 21, 2010

I’ve been thinking more and more about the future lately.  The vast, big question mark that is my future.  There are a lot of things I don’t know.  A LOT of things.  I don’t know what I’m going to do, or where I’m going to be, or who I’m going to be with.

But I know that I want more than “fine”.  I want to do work that I feel has purpose.  I want spend my time experiencing things instead of watching them on t.v.  I want to live freely, not constrained by what most consider “security”.  I want to not be concerned with how much money I’m making.  I want to save and spend it wisely, but I don’t care about a big house or expensive things.  Like I said, I want to DO and TRY things.  Not have a bunch of “stuff”.  Most of all, I want to learn and grow in a deeper understanding of what love is, what it means.  I want to better know and be moved by the great love of the Father.

I think that lots of people are so busy working, working, working, and accumulating STUFF, and trying and failing and trying harder and striving after all kinds of things– success, beauty, pleasure, fame, wealth, power, popularity, relief from pain and brokenness.  I see it all the time at school- SMART kids with goals anddreams.  But much of what the majority of us strive for is ultimately meaningless, and will not bring us the joy or satisfaction we think it will.

In Colorado last summer, we passed a little general store in a little town whose catch-phrase was: “nothing fancy, just what we need”.  The truth is, Christ is ALL we need.  And most other things just get in the way, cloud our view of that simple, glorious truth.

“For you were made to meet your Maker”  …  If I miss this, what has my life been for or about?

quiet. peace.

December 12, 2010

Last night Kirksville had its first real snow.  One of my favorite things to do is to go out late at night and take a walk.  There’s something about that calm, that peace that comes with nighttime and falling snow that draws me outside.

Another moment where I feel more fully alive.

I’ve thought a lot about this semester.  It’s been weird.  And hard.  But I’m learning.  The Lord is stretching me.  I’m realizing that I’m growing up.

In attempt to organize my thoughts, they look something like this:

-Hard work is good.  Putting effort into what I do, realizing the implications of what that work has on my future is important.  But it is NOT everything.

-It’s easy to allow stress to take over.  Easy for my heart and mind to become anxious. Peace is more difficult.  It doesn’t come naturally.  We have to ask for it.  But the Lord will give it.  And it’s worth it.

-Being honest with people about where you’re at is SO worth it.  Receiving prayer and encouragement is wonderful.  I have pretty great friends.

-I can (and will) have adult conversation with my parents.  I’m not the kid that lived in their house for 18 years.  I’m supposed to be becoming an adult, and I want them to see who I am here, what God’s doing in my life, where he might be leading me.  I want to learn more from them.  They are compassionate and wise and I have so much to learn.

-Adventure is NECESSARY in my life.  I need it to stay sane.  Sometimes my heart is far from this place, it craves to do things, see things, experience life more.  Yep.  Adventure is important.

-This life is not about me.  At all.  I desperately need more of Him, less of me.

-Life is hard.  Sin is ugly.  People are broken.  I have longed for heaven more this year than ever before.  But God is good, He redeems, He transforms.  There is beauty and truth to be seen here and now while I wait.

I am grateful that the Lord does not waste an opportunity to teach me more about who He is or what He’s doing.  This year has been hard, but so so good.  He’s faithful.

life isn't fair.

December 1, 2010

“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”  psalm 103: 10-12

Grateful that we don’t get what we deserve.

holy, holy, holy.

November 13, 2010

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven!  And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’  At once I was in the Spirit, and behold, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne.  And he who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and around the throne was a rainbow that had the appearance of an emerald.  Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones were twenty-four elders, clothed in white garments, with golden crowns on their heads.  From the throne came flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and before the throne were burning seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God, and before the throne there was as it were a sea of glass, like crystal. 

And around the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with the face of a man, and the fourth living creature like an eagle in flight.  And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and within, and day and night they never cease to say. ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!’

And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever.  They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, ‘Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.’”

Revelation 4

This is God.  This is what he deserves.  He is not the safe and cozy “best-friend” God that we all like to pretend he is.  Yes, he is personal.  Yes he knows my every thought, every breath.  Yes, he loves me to my core, deeper and fuller than I can imagine.  But he also sits on a throne in heaven surrounded by thunder and lightning, before it a sea of glass like crystal.  Day and night his praises never cease to be sung.  He possesses all power and beauty and holiness and glory.  And someday, I’ll be there, with him.  I can’t wait to see it.  Can’t wait to know what it means, how it feels to desire nothing else.

wonder.

November 11, 2010

My heart hurts.  I’m thinking about people I love and miss.  Sweet times of conversation about who God is, laughter, adventures, countless meals and late nights, wandering in fields and in woods, driving and imagining life’s possibilities, and always in the background, John Mayer.

Life was simpler then.  There. With them.  I saw the Lord so clearly in those times. 

The truth is, we were kids.  We were young and we were dreamers.  Beauty was always right in front of us, and we found pleasure in His glory.

Now I’m growing up.  And life is hard, and so often I feel defeated and weary.  But I’m yearning to be that kid again.  To fellowship with those friends again.  To dream big dreams, confident that God is BIGGER.

This tired, frazzled, just-hoping-to-keep-my-head-above-water girl isn’t me.  Beauty and wonder are missing.  I must get back to the place where I see things through  lenses colored with His grace and goodness.

Lord, I am your child.  I desire to just be close to You.  Just to see people and things the way You do.  To be hopeful again, to be filled with wonder.  Let this heart-sickness bring me to a place of joy and confidence that You are working here and now.  You’re beautiful.

veiled.

November 9, 2010


“I dissaprove of the usual practice of talking ‘small talk’ whenever we meet, and holding a veil over our souls.  If we are so impoverished that we have nothing to reveal but small talk, then we need to struggle for more richness of soul.”   -Frank Laubach, “Practicing His Presence”

idolaters.

November 8, 2010

“…this city breathes the plague of loving things more than their creators.”   -mumford & sons

Are we guilty of loving the gifts more than the Giver himself?

traveler.

November 6, 2010

Sometimes I have moments where I have an incredible, unquenchable longing for home.  But it’s a home I’ve never experienced before.  A place just beyond my comprehension, yet somehow I know it’s there.

It’s like an emptiness that I can’t quite fill.  And I feel it when the satisfaction I thought one thing or another might bring me seems far less significant, far less meaningful than I’d hoped.

“Home, then, is a powerful but elusive concept.  The strong feelings that surround it reveal some deep longing within us for a place that absolutely fits and suits us, where we can be, and perhaps find, our true selves.  Yet it seems that no real place or actual family satisfies these yearnings…We are all exiles, always longing for home.  We are always traveling, never arriving.”  -Timothy Keller, The Prodigal God

Always traveling, never arriving.  Seeing glimpses of glory, yearning for more.  Desperately seeeking but looking in all the wrong places.  Feels good, looks good, sounds good, but ultimately, if it’s not the Lord, I am empty.

“The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them…for they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited.”  -C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Is all of this making sense?  Maybe not.  But I find comfort in God’s word that I am not alone.  That there were other hopeful travelers before me, who were so confident of this other, new and better home that they offered up their very lives for it.

“These all died in faith, not having recieved the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they werestrangers and exiles on the earth.  For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.  If they had been thinking of the land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.  But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.  Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.”    -Hebrews 11:13-16