Once again, I find myself eager to share words from The Sacred Romance with you. In a chapter called "The Beloved," the authors Brent Curtis and John Eldredge elaborate on our role as the beloved of God, as matchless individuals whom God through the person of Jesus Christ has pursued no matter the cost.
These words, like many in the book, shook me to the core.
The gospel says that we, who are God's beloved, created a cosmic crisis. It says we, too, were stolen from our True Love and that he launched the greatest campaign in the history of the world to get it back. God created us for intimacy with him. When we turned our back on him he promised to come for us. He sent personal messengers; he used beauty and affliction to recapture our hearts. AFter all else failed, he conceived the most daring of plans. Under the cover of night, he stole into the enemy's camp incognito, the Ancient of Days disguised as a newborn. The Incarnation, as Phil Yancy reminds us, was a daring raid into enemy territory. The whole world lay under the power of the evil one and we were held in the dungeons of darkness. God risked it all to rescue us."
The authors use Helen of Troy as an example: "But whatever else she felt, as the center of an international crisis, Helen must have know beyond a shadow of a doubt that she mattered."
All of us, men and women of Earth, have been God's Helen, the beloved of Christ for whom he risked and gave everything to rescue. We matter.
10.29.2008
10.21.2008
Peru
If you're reading these words, then you could be a vital part of a mission effort in Peru this Christmas. :-)
I am part of a 10ish member team who will be going to Peru after Christmas. The trip dates are from December 27th to January 7th. We're going (to quote the website I will give you below.)
to Peru after Christmas and work with the Ashaninka people group of central Peru! Short-term student volunteers are needed to teach Bible stories to the people group. Students will travel by bus and boat to the Ashaninka villages on the Tambo River. Six days will be spent on-site, sharing Bible stories. The Tambo River area is a beautiful jungle zone in Central Peru. Conditions will be primitive and you will sleep in tents.
My first request of you is to pray for the Ashaninka people. Next, for you to pray for the team, which so far consists of our leader, 5 guys, and 3 girls. We have one more spot open--pray for the person meant to fill this space--(and of course, contact me or go to the website if you think this is you.) Pray for us as a team to be stewards of our money and for God to provide funds--airfare to Lima is staggering at the moment. Pray for safety on the trip, and for the team to be unified and purposeful. And joyful! :-)
Also, I'd ask that you pray for my family and myself--they are a little miffed that I decided to go on this trip since the 28th of December is my birthday. ;-) Haha! I'm teasing, they are all very supportive. I am going to have to start fundraising because there is no way I can afford the plane ticket at the moment, but if I am a careful steward, I will not need much. :-) Obstacles--such as my debit card being cancelled due to fraudulent purchases--have arisen, but I find myself not nearly worried about the money as I might ought to be--I know this is where I am meant to go and that God will provide. :-)
You're prayers are invaluable from this point on! :-)
Hillary
PS: For more information, visit this page: http://www.scbcm.org/article152481.htm
I am part of a 10ish member team who will be going to Peru after Christmas. The trip dates are from December 27th to January 7th. We're going (to quote the website I will give you below.)
to Peru after Christmas and work with the Ashaninka people group of central Peru! Short-term student volunteers are needed to teach Bible stories to the people group. Students will travel by bus and boat to the Ashaninka villages on the Tambo River. Six days will be spent on-site, sharing Bible stories. The Tambo River area is a beautiful jungle zone in Central Peru. Conditions will be primitive and you will sleep in tents.
My first request of you is to pray for the Ashaninka people. Next, for you to pray for the team, which so far consists of our leader, 5 guys, and 3 girls. We have one more spot open--pray for the person meant to fill this space--(and of course, contact me or go to the website if you think this is you.) Pray for us as a team to be stewards of our money and for God to provide funds--airfare to Lima is staggering at the moment. Pray for safety on the trip, and for the team to be unified and purposeful. And joyful! :-)
Also, I'd ask that you pray for my family and myself--they are a little miffed that I decided to go on this trip since the 28th of December is my birthday. ;-) Haha! I'm teasing, they are all very supportive. I am going to have to start fundraising because there is no way I can afford the plane ticket at the moment, but if I am a careful steward, I will not need much. :-) Obstacles--such as my debit card being cancelled due to fraudulent purchases--have arisen, but I find myself not nearly worried about the money as I might ought to be--I know this is where I am meant to go and that God will provide. :-)
You're prayers are invaluable from this point on! :-)
Hillary
PS: For more information, visit this page: http://www.scbcm.org/article152481.htm
10.01.2008
Self-Realization
Can I recommend The Sacred Romance in every post? This book is working wonders on my life.
In this past chapter, the writers explain that difficult experiences in our childhood sometimes cause us to make vows. Sometimes this still occurs when trials come even in adolescence or adulthood--something happens that hurts us, and we make a vow that does much more harm than good.
In the process of reading TSR and preparing for BCM small group, I realized that I had made one of these impulsive vows after being hurt. And though my experience was not traumatic in the traditional sense (death, sickness, injury, break-up), it still rocked my world and incited a vow that I renounced Monday night.
Long story short (this story is familiar to many of my friends and family)-- I applied to an Arts high school to study writing. I was sure I would get in, I planned my entire life around it, and invested my heart in this dream for most of a year. I based all my plans for the future (and I am a notorious planner) on graduating from this school. I felt my one talent in the world was being able to put words together in a nice order, and I was fine with that. It defined me, and this dream was my life.
As you could guess, I didn't get in. And when I found out, I basically lost it. I think that is the only time in my life where I could say that I "wept." I was inconsolable. Not just because I didn't get into a school, but because my entire plan for the future, my confidence, my dream, and even as far as my identity as a writer, were shattered.
On top of this, so many people close to me saw me in this state of hysterical crying that I was completely humiliated afterwards. Irrational, certainly, but true. I felt like I had completely over-reacted; despite how much I hurt, I was embarrassed.
Only in retrospect--four years later--can I make sense of it. I made a vow, at 16, never to want something with all my heart ever again. I also vowed never to let people see me cry. I trained myself to always contain my emotions, and I trained myself to keep my ambitions and desires to moderation.
Due to that experience, I find it very hard to be vulnerable with people; even those closest to me. But I'm not a bottler--I just wait until I'm alone. And I'll talk intimately with people--it just takes time for me to trust. And I don't cry. Something has to very wrong for me to cry openly. Keep that in mind. ;-)
However, the consequences of that vow aren't necessarily all bad-- I'm a calm person, and I'm always laid-back. That's not forced or fake--it's who I've become. :-) I did learn that things aren't as big as they seem to be, and that is a wonderful lesson that I've taken from that experience.
And it's not necessarily bad that I decided never to want something that much ever again. I put my dream to go to that school above my desire for God. The rejection gave me perspective that has served me well in the past four years. I am grateful to have realized at that age that I shouldn't desire anything as much as I desire to know Jesus and to follow Him. I don't think I ever asked God if it was His will back in the day. I wanted it so much, that I figured He'd give it to me.
Even if some of the better parts of my personality grew out of this experience, I prayed that Christ would help me let go of that vow. This doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to turn on the waterworks-- I am working on letting my heart desire freely and working on being vulnerable to people sooner, especially as a small group leader. I can't expect my friends to open up to me when I am holding back. :-) I've definitely made some killer progress. ;-)
God is so good. In moments when joy threatens to burst and my face is sore from smiling, God is good, and in moments with despair crushes and brings me to my knees and my face hits the floor, God is still good. He loves.
In this past chapter, the writers explain that difficult experiences in our childhood sometimes cause us to make vows. Sometimes this still occurs when trials come even in adolescence or adulthood--something happens that hurts us, and we make a vow that does much more harm than good.
In the process of reading TSR and preparing for BCM small group, I realized that I had made one of these impulsive vows after being hurt. And though my experience was not traumatic in the traditional sense (death, sickness, injury, break-up), it still rocked my world and incited a vow that I renounced Monday night.
Long story short (this story is familiar to many of my friends and family)-- I applied to an Arts high school to study writing. I was sure I would get in, I planned my entire life around it, and invested my heart in this dream for most of a year. I based all my plans for the future (and I am a notorious planner) on graduating from this school. I felt my one talent in the world was being able to put words together in a nice order, and I was fine with that. It defined me, and this dream was my life.
As you could guess, I didn't get in. And when I found out, I basically lost it. I think that is the only time in my life where I could say that I "wept." I was inconsolable. Not just because I didn't get into a school, but because my entire plan for the future, my confidence, my dream, and even as far as my identity as a writer, were shattered.
On top of this, so many people close to me saw me in this state of hysterical crying that I was completely humiliated afterwards. Irrational, certainly, but true. I felt like I had completely over-reacted; despite how much I hurt, I was embarrassed.
Only in retrospect--four years later--can I make sense of it. I made a vow, at 16, never to want something with all my heart ever again. I also vowed never to let people see me cry. I trained myself to always contain my emotions, and I trained myself to keep my ambitions and desires to moderation.
Due to that experience, I find it very hard to be vulnerable with people; even those closest to me. But I'm not a bottler--I just wait until I'm alone. And I'll talk intimately with people--it just takes time for me to trust. And I don't cry. Something has to very wrong for me to cry openly. Keep that in mind. ;-)
However, the consequences of that vow aren't necessarily all bad-- I'm a calm person, and I'm always laid-back. That's not forced or fake--it's who I've become. :-) I did learn that things aren't as big as they seem to be, and that is a wonderful lesson that I've taken from that experience.
And it's not necessarily bad that I decided never to want something that much ever again. I put my dream to go to that school above my desire for God. The rejection gave me perspective that has served me well in the past four years. I am grateful to have realized at that age that I shouldn't desire anything as much as I desire to know Jesus and to follow Him. I don't think I ever asked God if it was His will back in the day. I wanted it so much, that I figured He'd give it to me.
Even if some of the better parts of my personality grew out of this experience, I prayed that Christ would help me let go of that vow. This doesn't mean I'm suddenly going to turn on the waterworks-- I am working on letting my heart desire freely and working on being vulnerable to people sooner, especially as a small group leader. I can't expect my friends to open up to me when I am holding back. :-) I've definitely made some killer progress. ;-)
God is so good. In moments when joy threatens to burst and my face is sore from smiling, God is good, and in moments with despair crushes and brings me to my knees and my face hits the floor, God is still good. He loves.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)