Thursday, November 06, 2008

Hello friends.

My blog is moving...

http://letoldviceselapse.blogspot.com/

Sunday, August 24, 2008
Drumroll, please...

And the award for the most neglected blog goes to...(insert drumroll here)

MINE!

Hmm...that wasn't really surprising now, was it?

But have no fear! I am back (and hopefully to stay)!

...

Summer is almost over...and I must say, it wasn't really what I expected it to be, but it was really good, and I learned a lot.

So here's the thought for tonight:

I was thinking about what it says in Matthew 5 about being "salt and light". Light is something I think we all can envision quite easily: it is visible, it shines, it can not be extinguished by the darkness. But salt? I had never thought about it before, but I realized that I have no idea how it would look for me to be salt in the world.

I've found two interpretations on it:
1) Salt was used in ancient medicine as a tactic to heal wounds faster. So therefore, as a Christian, to be salt means that I am meant to rub myself deep into the wounds of humanity, as an aid to help heal the world's scars.
2) Salt was used as a preservative, so as Christians we are to preserve what is pure and right in the world.

What do you think?

Labels: Spiritual Life

Monday, May 26, 2008
Lover

Check out these lyrics from Nevertheless!


I am a lover.
I am a shame.
I am appalled by the things that I fame.


I am a lover,
but I've had my share of flirting with the darkest affairs.

And you can find me here,
with my head against the wall,
lost in my regrets
and every time I fall you catch me in your hands.

You circle me like a wedding band.


I have a lover,
faithful and true.
He cares for me in all that I do.


I have a lover,
my song He has sung with love on His lips and
grace on His tongue.


And you can find me here
with my head against the wall,
lost in my regrets
and every time I fall you catch me in your hands.


You circle me like a wedding band.


A promise from Heaven,
a promise from You,
a promise to love,
I will hold on to.


God of new beginnings,
to You I cry,
Teach me how to love;
teach me how to die.


In death there's forgiveness,
and forgiveness calls on new life.
So You can find me here with my head against the wall,
lost in my regrets
and every time I fall you catch me in your hands.
You circle me like a wedding band.
A promise from Heaven, a promise from You...

(Write love on your arm...)

Labels: Lyrics

Monday, May 05, 2008
Painting

This is a poem my friend wrote for English class...I think it is so lovely, so I decided to share it with you. I wish you could hear it read outloud, it's so much more effective, but for now, take some time and soak up the truth of the words.

Painting
I’m drowning in red.
Can no one see I’m coughing? I’m choking.
I barely breathe.

And then I draw,
I’m moved.
Slowly, cautiously at first.
Allowing the tomato coloured paste to ooze from me.
It feels good, it feels familiar
And I begin to rest in this motion,
In this colour.

Suddenly it begins again,
That violent shake I’m sure I’ve felt before.
I’m dabbed, my body is throbbed again.
I’m losing too much red.
I was fond of this color!
I liked it as it sat here on me,
I got used to the smooth flow of its texture across my limbs.

Swiftly I’m moved off the page.
I feel like I’m free falling,
And for a moment I forget my newfound self pity.
I’m plunged into water so cold that my lungs feel as though they might implode.
It hurts again.
For goodness sake,
What could this torment possibly be good for?
I catch myself asking that question over,
And over,
And over.

The water rushes through me, past me,
I’m sloshed, swished, slammed up against glass walls.
The comfortable crimson is being stripped from every gape in my body.
Every trace of that former rouge is firmly rinsed
As I pray for oxygen.

I feel the beat of my motion,
And in a fleeting moment I question the origin of this madness.
There must be a purpose.
Who is holding me firmly with my head under water like this?

Finally, I’m up out of that prison.
Rid of that uncomfortable place,
But I know this isn’t over.
I’m dipped slowly into green and brought to the page,
Again I give of this color I wear.
I add to the vague memory of my prior colour,
My former struggle with that crimson shade.
With hesitation I allow the emerald to seep deep into the page
And off of my body.

I begin to feel something beautiful.
It grips me by the throat and sings to my blood shot eyes.

This must be beauty
This must be grace
This must be forgiveness
This must be meaning and purpose.
I can hardly breathe as the artist lets me glimpse
At the life he has been creating.

It is only for a moment and the image is gone.
The illustration slowly fades from my memory..
…I don’t mind.
I am captivated by the thoughts of the Beholder,
The One creating raw life and loveliness.
This must be peace.

An astounding relief washes warm over me,
I am learning not to fear.
I will encounter cold water again and again,
And the colours still awaiting application.
I remain in anticipation of the unknown.
For now I must simply trust in my position as the tool…
and not as the Beholder.

Labels: Poetry, Spiritual Life

Monday, April 28, 2008
Choosing Gentleness

"Choose gentleness...Nothing is won by force. I choose to be gentle. If I raise my voice, may it be only in praise. If I clench my fist, may it be only in prayer. If I make a demand, may it be only of myself."
-Max Lucado

Monday, March 31, 2008
Soap Operas and Sewing Machines

I feel as if I am living in a soap opera. Seriously. My friends are all either falling in love or going crazy. It's ridiculous. Actually. I guess all I can do for now is cling to the fact that God is always faithful, no matter how many things in my world begin to change.

"Faithful"--Amanda Falk
Here we are again Lord
We've had this conversation a dozen times before
And it always comes back 'round
to the things I am always looking for: to be assured
When I can't be sure

But God, you are faithful
When my faith is gone
When I am so fragile
I know I'm not alone

Can't try to understand it
Wrap my mind around the wonder of it all
When everything is crumbling
Tumbling in my world, I start to fall
And you are near me
It's not so clear but

God, you are faithful
When my faith is gone
When I am so fragile
I know I'm not alone

God, you are faithful
When my faith is gone
When I am so fragile
I know I'm not alone

And we run to you
There's nowhere else to go
The one thing that I know

And we'll come to you
when there's nowhere else to turn
The one thing that I've learned

Oh, God, you are faithful
When my faith is gone
When I am so fragile
I know I'm not alone

God, you are faithful
When my faith is gone
When I am so fragile
I know I'm not alone

Amen.

Labels: Lyrics, Spiritual Life

Sunday, March 30, 2008
Be my Everything

I was thinking about what Rod Alm said today in church..."God wants to fill you even more than you want to be filled. Simply surrender to him". God, fill me with your spirit.

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my wathcing
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

You are everything
Jesus, Everything

Labels: Spiritual Life