following an unknown path

confessions of a newlywed who surrived "extended singleness" #2

I vow never to make fun of others as they delight in "new love."  

I really appreciated the people who encouraged me and were excited for me when we were "falling in love."  I am thankful for those who cheered on all the "foot-popping, birds singing, the world is a beautiful place" feelings associated with "new love."

And, it really irritates me when people--especially younger-than-me-couples who married in their late teens early twenties--"poo-poo" (make fun of) the idea of "new love."

It seems that they equate "new love" with "immature love" that only "young people who don't know any better" experience.   Or they even think of new love as being fake. 

I guess I can understand that if all the "ooey-gooey," star-gazing love for them happened when they were young and immature that they would assume that the "ooey-gooey," star-gazing love is also immature. 

But it's not. 

It's a necessary building block for developing a lasting love.   You have to "walk on air" before you can walk together on the solid ground of commitment.

New love is exciting.  It is delightful.  It is fun.  But, it is not immature. :)

I like the way Ed Wheat talks about it in The First Years of Forever.  He claims both new love (what he calls "belonging love") and "absolute love" "need to be at the heart of a relationship" and that the "two loves merge into one to bless [a couple's] new life together."

Wheat further gives this advice for a "sure formula for a lasting, love-filled marriage: Enjoy the feelings of love and guard them well, but live by the facts of love."  Like I said . . . we have to get to experience the excitement of new love first before we can build our lives on commitment and agape love. 

And, therefore, new love should not be made fun of or joked about in a way that puts down those that are living it.  It is great and wonderful.  In fact it is exhilarating! :)

If you have had the privilege of experiencing new love you should count yourself blessed . . . not poo-poo the idea of it.

bicultural people seem happiest when . . .

Some one gets me!! Someone totally gets me!!

I found this quote while visiting the World Missions 101 Site last night. It SO resonates with how I feel . . . I've explained it before as being a milkshake.

“We can get out and learn to live in the new culture, and, in time, we will feel as at home in it as our own, possibly even more so. Something happens to us when we adapt to a new culture, we become bicultural people. . . .

In one sense, bicultural people never fully adjust to one culture, their own or their adopted one. Within themselves they are part of both. When Americans are abroad, they dream of America, and need little rituals that reaffirm this part of themselves—a food package from home, a letter, an American visitor from whom they can learn the latest news from `home’. When in America, they dream of their adopted country, and need little rituals that reaffirm this part of themselves—a visitor from that country, a meal with its food. Bicultural people seem happiest when they are flying from one of these countries to the other.

(“Crucial Dimensions in World Evangelization”, Paul Hiebert, 1976, 4th printing, William Carey Library, Pasadenia California pg 51,52)

SO true!!!  So . . . very, very TRUE!!! :)

Any of you other "bicultural" or milkshake people out there totally identify with this passage??

an intersting paraphrase

Though I speak with the tongues of scholarship, and though I use approved methods of education, and fail to win others to Christ, or build them up in Christian character, I am become as the moan of the wind in a Syrian desert.

And though I have the best of methods and understand all mysteries of religious psychology, and though I have all biblical knowledge, and lose not myself in the task of winning others to Christ, I become as a cloud of mist in an open sea.

And though I read all Sunday School literature, and attend Sunday School conventions, institutes, and summer school, and yet am satisfied with less than winning souls to Christ and establishing others in Christian character and service, it profiteth nothing.

The soul-winning servant, the character-building servant, suffereth long and is kind, he envieth not others who are free from the servant’s task; he vaunteth not himself, is not puffed up with intellectual pride.

Such a servant doth not behave himself unseemly between Sundays, seeketh not his own comfort, is not easily provoked. Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things.

And now abideth knowledge, methods, the Message, these three: but the greatest of these is the Message.

–Joseph Clark, paraphrasing 1 Corinthians 13, quoted in Ernest Reisinger, Today’s Evangelism, and in turn quoted in Don Whitney's Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life.

someone to walk this unknown path with

This is our story of God's grace . . .

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. (Proverbs 3:5-6)

It's a simple story really.
Two people learning to trust God.
Two winding paths that God made straight.
Two straight paths that He choose to cross at just the right time. 
. . .
The Creator of romance, the Maker who arranged the first "boy meets girl" in the Garden so long ago, is still at work. [Taken from Joshua Harris' book Boy Meets Girl]

When I read those words months ago when I first started dating the man I will soon marry . . . I knew those were the words I wanted to use on my blog to announce my engagement!! :)

Needless to say a lot has happened recently.  God has been kind, very kind!!

Some of you found out that I had a boyfriend in real life, some of you found out by email, but for many of you this is coming as a total shock and surprise.  :) 

I promise I didn't just decide yesterday to marry the guy next to me on the bus.  And, I also promise that we didn't keep our relationship secret from our family and in-real-life friends.  We just choose to keep our relationship off the blog for a couple of reasons. 

And, that is really what made blogging these past few months difficult . . . I couldn't blog about what I really wanted to . . . and I was kinda busy spending time with the man of my dreams. :)
 
We are working on putting our story online, so those of you who have not been walking next to us as God brought us together and we fell in love can praise God with us now as we tell our story of His grace in our lives.

You can go to our wedding site and/or wedding blog to read more, but here are the basic details:
Lord willing, Lawrance Aaron Wu and I will be married on August 31, 2008 in Texas. 
We will have another celebration here in Taiwan at the end of the year, and we will continue to live, work, and minister in Taiwan--just together, rather than apart. :)

Yes, the Lord has done amazing things for us! What joy!  (Psalm 126:3 NLT)

This coming Monday, I will, Lord willing, leave Taiwan and go Stateside for a little over two months.  I will leave single, but return married to an awesome man who loves the Lord and has a heart that beats strongly to share the gospel with the lost.  What a blessing!!

We would appreciate your prayers for us as we make all the transitions that we will face in the coming weeks and months.  Our greatest desire is for God to be glorified, please pray that as we wrap up things here, transition to a different country for awhile, and plan for both a wedding and a life together that we can keep our focus on Christ alone.

the secret of heart-peace in the time of distress

If this world were governed by chance—no amount either of philosophy or of common sense could keep us from worrying; but we know that our Father is taking care of us! No little child in the best and most caring home, was ever carried so carefully or so safely in the love and thought and care of earthly parents—as is the least of God's little ones in the heavenly Father's heart! "So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them!" Matthew 6:31-32. The things we cannot help or change are in His hand, and belong to the "all things" which, we are assured, "work together for good, to those who love God."

In the midst of all the great rush of events and circumstances, in which we can see no order and no design—we well know that each believer in Christ, is as safe as any little child in the arms of the most loving mother!

Amid all life's trials and disappointments—our faith rests upon the character and the infinite goodness of God! We should have the faith of a little child—in a Father whose name is "Love" and whose power extends to every part of His universe! Here we find solid rock upon which to stand, and good reason for our lesson that we should never worry.

Our Father is taking care of us!

In a world like ours, there are many things which incline us to worry. There are disappointments which leave the hands empty after days and years of hope and toil. There are resistless thwartings of fondly cherished plans and purposes. There  are bereavements which seem to sweep away every earthly joy. There are perplexities through which no human wisdom can lead the feet. There are experiences in every life—whose natural effect is to disquiet the spirit and produce deep and painful anxiety.

If we are never to worry, what are we to do with these things which naturally tend to cause us worry? The answer is easy—we are to put all these disturbing and distracting things—into the hands of our Father!

"Cast all your cares upon Him, because He cares about you!" 1 Peter 5:7. God is taking care of you—not overlooking the smallest thing, and you have but to cast all your cares and anxiety upon Him—and then be at peace. It is trying to carry our own cares, which produces worry! Our duty is to cast them all upon Christ! This is the secret of heart-peace in the time of distress, from whatever cause.

(By J. R. Miller, "Don't Worry!" 1912. Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

fighting for joy and sampling infinity

It is good for our days to remind us that we are a small dot on the landscape of time, and that eternity holds the sweeping brush strokes of a masterwork of which we, at present, are only catching glimpses.

. . . God is real and wondrous, the Spirit instructs us in all knowledge and wisdom, and Christ is both present and coming, calling us further up and farther in to his kingdom. The thoughts of God are well beyond our own. All of creation declares the glory and power of its creator. And we are at present only sampling infinity.

-- Jill Carattini of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries

Yesterday morning I had to fight for joy.  I had to seek to continually remind myself that it's not about me. 

When the CD player didn't work for my listening class . . . when the room was sticky hot with humidity and an AC that didn't work . . . when a student accidently stepped on my foot bending the nail on my big toe backwards spilling blood everywhere . . . when I left my whimpering dog alone at home . . . when my office was in an upheaval of rearranging all the funiture while I needed to prepare for class . . . when I thought of home . . . when I wanted to have a pity party.  Oh, how I wanted to feel sorry for myself!

But . . . reality is: it is not about me.  I am but a "small dot on the landscape of time."  All day long I was faced with the same choice over and over again . . . to wallow in self-pity or choose joy.

It is so easy to become envious of others . . . it is so easy to see what I think I lack . . . it is so easy to be selfish . . . it is so easy to sin.  Lord Jesus Christ, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Praise God that he is merciful and gracious!  Unlike my 16th birthday where I did choose to wallow in self-pity throwing an emotional hissy-fit when I thought that the world should be revolving around me and it wasn't  . . . yesterday I fought to choose joy.  I still look at the pictures of that 16 year old with her purple braces and purple silk shirt similng at the camera holding up her purple birthday gifts and all I remember from that day is my own depravity and self-centeredness.  Oh, how selfcentered and selfish I was on my 16th birthday!

The morning of my 30th birthday wasn't easy. Tears were spilled . . . more than once.  I had to heavily rely upon the grace and goodness of our Lord to empower me to be able to keep a positive attitude.  I depended greatly on the Spirit bringing to mind scripture in order to keep my heart pure.  Cuz, oh, it sure didn't want to be on it's own.

Praise God for His unfailing love and tender mercies!!  He is so kind.

Things got a little better in the afternoon and ended on a very sweet note . . . more about that later. :)

Although, in recent days, I've felt old for the first time in my life (is that because my students are no longer in the same generation as me??), I am thankful for the reminder yesterday that I am but only "sampling infinity."

not charity, but cruelty

Charity to the souls of others, is the highest kind of charity.

The soul is the most precious thing. It is a rich diamond, set in a ring of clay. This is charity to souls—when we see others in the bondage of sin—and we labor by counsel, admonition or reproof to pull them out of their dreadful estate, as the angels did to Lot in Sodom. "Hurry! Get out of here right now, or you will be caught in the destruction of the city! When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city!" Genesis 19.

God made a law (Exodus 23:5) "If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it." On these words Chrysostom said, "We will help a beast which is fallen under its load—and shall we not extend relief to those who are fallen under a worse load of sin!"

To let others go on in sin securely—is not charity, but cruelty!

If a man's house were on fire, and another should see it and not tell him of it for fear of waking him—would not this be cruelty! And when we see the souls of others sleeping the sleep of death, and the fire of God's wrath ready to burn about their ears—and we are silent—is not this to be accessory to their death!

If men wish to go to hell—and we do not attempt to stop them—is this love to their souls?

(Thomas Watson, 1658, "A   Plea for Alms." Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

This is quite similar to a cruel mercy quote I posted awhile back.

my struggle with evangelical piety

As I was skimming through this article, Has God Called You?, by Albert Mohler, I nodded in TOTAL agreement to the bolded part below.

One key issue here is a common misunderstanding about the will of God. Some models of evangelical piety imply that God's will is something difficult for us to accept. We sometimes confuse this further by talking about "surrendering" to the will of God. As Paul makes clear in Romans 12:2, the will of God is good, worthy of eager acceptance, and perfect. Those called by God to preach will be given a desire to preach as well as the gifts of preaching. Beyond this, the God-called preacher will feel the same compulsion as the great Apostle, who said, "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!" [1 Corinthians 9:16, ESV]

Consider your calling. Do you sense that God is calling you to ministry, whether as pastor or another servant of the Church? Do you burn with a compulsion to proclaim the Word, share the Gospel, and care for God's flock? Has this call been confirmed and encouraged by those Christians who know you best?

God still calls . . . has He called you?

When I was finishing up grad school in 2002-2003, I was faced with "what next?" 

I actually considered the fact that I desired to be in Taiwan a sign that it must not be God's will for me.  I actually thought that I should have to struggle and surrender to a task that I didn't want to do in order for it to be pleasing to God. 

WHAT!?!?!  Why would I think such a thing?

So, I started looking at other countries.  Some friends in Japan had invited me to come work along side them, so I replied with interest.  I began to look at organizations that I could serve with in China. 

Then another terrible thought occurred to me . . . "what if it is not Asia?"  So, I contemplated South America and Africa. 

I cannot explain in mere words what this was doing to my heart.  I was willing to follow God anywhere He wanted to send me, but I was sure that meant I must suffer, that I couldn't be happy or joyful about it.  Why I fell prey to this evangelical piety line of thinking remains to me a mystery.

However, this reopening of looking for a place to go was making me much like those waves in the first chapter of James--driven and tossed by the wind.  I remember in at least one sermon long ago, my dad compared that Greek word used there to the agitation cycle of a washing machine.  The twist and turn, twist and turn of all that water going no where.  Yep, that what it was . . .  my heart stuck in a perpetual spin-cycle of emotion.

By God's merciful grace, a godly couple I had met on a mission trip to Hong Kong some years before were in town and wanted to meet up.  As we sat in the Chinese restaurant, and I poured out my heart, expressing my desire to follow God suffer for God. 

Oh, I will never, ever forget the looks on their faces.  I was unable to discern the falsehood of the evangelical piety lies I had fallen subject to, but they sure were able to.  They responded first in utter shock to the words spewing from my mouth and then with loving kindness spoke scripture to me. 

For the first time in months, I was able to see that when we follow God's will there IS joy.  And that is OK.  That being obedient, although not easy and not without sacrifice, is a thing that is full of joy and happiness.  Oh how everything changed that day!  Praise God for the people in our lives who speak the truth in love to us!

Please don't hear me wrong--being obedient is not easy.  But that doesn't mean it must be a dreadful, terrible thing that we will hate doing.  God is kind.  Like that second quote by Betty Scott Stam I posted two weeks ago, when we release the little trinkets we've been clinging to, He replaces them with precious treasures.  Letting go of those little trinkets might seem hard at the time, but accepting those precious treasures?  Never. 

Our God is a God who gives desires to His children who delight in him.  How neat is that!?!  Oh, what a great God He is!!

God's will is good and acceptable and perfect (Romans 12:2).  Amen!

Betty's prayer

"Lord, I give up all my own plans and purposes, all my own desires and hopes, and accept Your will for my life.  I give myself, my life, my all utterly to You to be Yours forever.  Fill me and seal me with Your Holy Spirit.  Use me as You want, send me where You want, work out Your whole will in my life at any cost, now and forever."

Written by Betty Scott Stam (raised as an MK in China, she later was a missionary to China herself who watched as Communists killed her husband before they killed her too; whole amazing story here).

Elisabeth Elliot copied this prayer into her Bible and signed it when she was ten or eleven.  After finding it in one of Elisabeth Elliot's books, I copied it into my journal and signed it when I was in high school (I did change the Thees and Thous to Yous and Yours). 

Both Betty and Elisabeth sacrificed much to serve their Lord.  I, of course, have given so little compared to them.  However, the Lord has completely changed my original desires and hopes, altered my own plans and purposes.  For this I am glad.  Betty's prayer remains my heart's cry to this day. 

"When we consecrate ourselves to God, we think we are making a great sacrifice, and doing lots for Him, when really we are only letting go some little, bitsie trinkets we have been grabbing, and when our hands are empty, He fills them full of His treasures." (Betty Scott Stam)

a woman's heart

My sister sent me this quote last week.  It was encouraging to me, so I thought I'd share it with you. 

"A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ that a man should have to seek Him first to find her."

(I searched online to see if I could find the source, it looks like it is probably from Maya Angelou.)

cruel mercy

When the sun shines--the ice melts. When the Sun of righteousness once shines with beams of grace upon the soul--then it melts in mercy and tenderness.

Mercifulness is a melting disposition whereby we lay to heart the miseries of others, and are instrumental for their good. We must chiefly be merciful to the SOULS of others. Indeed soul-mercy is the chief of mercies.

That is a cruel mercy--when we see men go on in sin, and we let them alone. And that is a merciful cruelty--when we are sharp against men's sins and will not let them go to hell quietly.

Fond sentimentality is no better than cruelty. The surgeon cuts and lances the flesh—but it is in order to a cure. They are healing wounds. So when we lance men's consciences and let out the blood of sin, we exercise spiritual surgery. This is showing mercy.

"Rescue others by snatching them from the fire!" (Jude 23). If a man had fallen into the fire, though you hurt him a little in pulling him out--he would be thankful and take it as a kindness.  Some men, when we tell them of sin say, 'O, you are unloving!'  No!  it is showing mercy.

If a man's house were on fire, and another should see it and not tell him of it, for fear of waking him--would not this be cruelty? When we see others sleeping in their sin, and the fire of God's wrath ready to burn them up--and we are silent--is not this cruelty?

(Thomas Watson, 1660, "The Beatitudes." Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

evangelism

I "share" the posts I read and think others would benefit from reading.  But sometimes, simply sharing them in my sidebar is not enough.  For example, there are parts of this clip below from Pulpit Magazine written by Jesse Johnson that I would totally highlight, underline and draw stars next too if I could mark up a computer screen!!

All believers are to be active in evangelism. In fact, all four Gospels end with Jesus commanding believers to bring salvation to the lost (Matt. 28:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47; John 20:21). Jesus’ last earthly words were another repetition of this same command, to bear witness to the gospel (Acts 1:8). It is not an overstatement to say that all Christians should be driven by a love for evangelism. After all, it is our mission in life.

But while all Christians are called to be active in evangelism, not all Christians are equally gifted at this particular calling. Acts 21:8 and Ephesians 4:11 both imply that some have the gift of evangelism and some do not. But God in His wisdom has still called all Christians to evangelize.

Thus, one of the marks of a Christian is a love for evangelism. If you are fearful, evangelism gives you the opportunity to trust God for courage. If you are timid, evangelism gives you an opportunity to trust God for confidence. Christians are slaves to Christ, soldiers in His service, and sons of God. Our master, our general, and our Father has given us our orders: to reach the lost with the hope of the gospel.

As Christians, we love what God loves, and God loves the lost. As we become more and more sanctified, we become more and more like Christ. This growth causes us to grow in our love for those who are still God’s enemies.

whatever my God ordains is right

Whatever my God ordains is right
In His love I am abiding
I will be still in all He does
And follow where He is guiding
He is my God, though dark my road
He holds me that I shall not fall
And so to Him I leave it all

Whatever my God ordains is right 
He never will deceive me
He leads me by the proper path
I know He will not leave me
I take content, what He has sent
His hand can turn my griefs away
And patiently I wait His day

. . . read the rest

This beautiful seventeenth-century hymn is on Sovereign Grace's latest CD: In a Little While, a father and son project.  I love the gentle melody and simple but powerful truth of this song! Plus it matches my path theme. ;) 

I've listened to it over and over.  What a great addition to my "Trusting God Playlist" (which started after reading about Carolyn McCulley's list)!

You can listen to a minute long clip of the song online.

To give credit where credit is due: the original was written in German by Samuel Rodigast in 1676. Catherine Winkworth translated it to English in 1863.  Then, Mark Altrogge updated the English for the CD and wrote new music for the song.

more wonderful?

"What is there more wonderful and precious than Christ? Men do not know the gold which lies in the mine of Christ or surely they would dig for it night and day. They have not yet discovered the 'pearl of great price,' or they would have sold all they had to buy the field in which it lies.

"Words of eloquence fail to describe the person of Christ--it paralyzes the artist's arm when he would try to portray him; it would overwhelm the sculptor to carve his image- even were it possible to chisel it in a massive block of diamond.

"There is nothing in nature comparable to him. In comparison to his radiance the brilliance of the sun is nothing but a dim light; yes, nothing can rival him, and heaven itself blushes at its own plainness when his 'altogether lovely' person is beheld."

(Spurgeon,  public domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

a man's god

A man's god is that which . . .
  has the greatest influence over him;
  he sets the highest value upon;
  he chiefly devotes himself and his energies.

(Henry Law, 1797-1884, public domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

the value of the Word of God

"To a man who knows the value of the Word of God, it is . . .
   nearer than his friends,
   dearer than his life,
   sweeter than his liberty,
   pleasanter than his daily comforts."

"How sweet are Your Words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103).

"They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the comb" (Psalm 19:10).

"This one book is worth more than all the other books in the world! He who reads this book with attention, humility, prayer, and self application, can never be ignorant of that which it chiefly concerns him to know. "Therein are contained the words of eternal life. It has God for its Author, salvation for its object, and truth, without mixture of error, for its matter."

(Gorham Abbott, 1833, "The Family at Home." Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)

it's all about the 'tude

My parents taught me very early about the importance of attitude.  Learning how to adjust it was a very important part of my up-bringing.

However, I first heard about the "10/90 rule" in regards to attitude and life during my teen years from Charles Swindoll.  I had the following quote posted in my closet during high school so I could be reminded of its truth daily:

“The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.  Attitude, to me, is more important than facts.  It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do.  It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company . . . a church . . . a home.  The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past . . . we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way.  We cannot change the inevitable.  The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude.  I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you . . . we are in charge of our Attitudes.” (Charles Swindoll)

This is always true, but it is especially true when dealing with living in another country.  I must carefully guard my attitude and reaction to the things around me.  Sometimes it is a self-talk discussion where I must tell myself to choose to think and, thus, feel a certain way.

Let me give you an example. 

I live among thousands of Taiwanese people in a huge apartment complex.  I don't get a lot of mail, so I check my mail box regularly but not often.  The apartment complex has security guards who are supposed to watch the comings and goings of the people and open the safety bar to allow residents to park in the basement. 

These security guys also tell me when I have mail. (This is not part of their job description.)

At first, it was only when I got a package that they would gesture making the shape of a box and shout "package" in Chinese at me when I rode in on my scooter.  Then they started telling me about every.piece.of.mail--every postcard, every bill, every advertisement.  Friday night, one of them even ran down from his basement bar-opening post, shouting my name in Chinese as I disappeared up the stairs in order that he might get to my mailbox and open it so that he could be ready to help me retrieve my electricity bill.

So, I have a choice. 

I can (A) feel annoyed that I and my mailbox are being watched so closely and/or feel annoyed that these men don't think I am adult enough to check my own mail or (B) be grateful that the security guys care about me and want to make sure I get my mail in a timely manner.

It might not seem like it, but I tell you sometimes B is a really hard choice to choose.

And this is just one example.  Here are some more:

People stare at me.  Do I (A) decide this is rude and start to harbor negative feelings towards all strangers or (B) remember that I might be the first or one of the few white people they've ever seen in person and be grateful for their interest in me?

Children and teens shout strange things to me in English.  Do I (A) ignore them and grumble inside about how bad their English is or (B) with a smile and a glance in their direction, shout a pleasant reply back because really they might be trying to be friendly?

Complete strangers ask me stupid questions. Do I (A) put them off and get offended by their nosiness or (B) try to be as friendly as I can as I once again answer the same stupid question for the umpteenth time this month, being thankful for their interest in me?  (Actually, even the fact that I am choosing to call it a "stupid question" lets you in on the fact that I am choosing to think these questions are stupid when I could choose to think of them as friendly "get to know questions" instead.)

And the list goes on . . . and on . . . and on.

And again, it might not seem like it, but I tell you sometimes it is really hard to choose B.

But, let me tell you this too . . . when I do choose B, life is OH SO MUCH better.  Sweeter.  Enjoyable.  The world is friendlier and living here is great. 

And, in reality, because I am supposed to be salt and light, choosing B makes sharing Christ's love so much easier.  Not just because "they" see a changed person, but also because my 'tude is right and I can actually feel loving towards "them."

When I start to choose As more often then Bs it time for me to spend some extra time alone with the One who excels at 'tude-adjusting.

evening reflections

"'Let not soft slumber close your eyes
Before you've recollected thrice
The train of actions through the day:
Where have my feet chose out their way?
What have I learned, wherever I've been,
From all I've heard, from all I've seen?
What know I more, that's worth the knowing?
What have I done, that's worth the doing?
What have I sought, that I should shun?
What duties have I left undone?
Or into what new follies run?
These self-inquiries are the road
That leads to virtue, peace, and God!'

"Just as it is wise to keep clear accounts of our receipts and expenses, our debts and engagements, so it is wise constantly to examine and compare our heart and conduct with the Word of God; to see what duties have devolved upon us, and whether we have discharged them, or failed in them, and what means can be adopted to promote circumspection, diligence, and fidelity in future.

"These reviews, if faithfully entered into, will often be humbling and painful, but they will be no less profitable. The more we know of ourselves—the less we shall be inclined to rely on our own merits or to trust our own strength.

"And the more earnestly we shall desire an interest in the perfect righteousness and all-sufficient atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the influences of his Holy Spirit to purify our souls and to quicken and sustain us in the paths of holiness."

. . .

"At night:

• Review the actions of the day.
• Give to God the glory of what has been good;
• Take shame to yourself for what has been evil.
• Review the dispensations of God's providences, and
• Consider their special meaning and application.
• Acknowledge the mercies of God received through the day.
• Submit to the afflictions laid upon you.
• Desire a fresh application to your conscience of the blood of sprinkling; and
• Commit yourselves afresh to the mercy and protection of God, through Jesus Christ; that you may be preserved through the slumbers of the night, and be permitted to wake in peace, whether it be in earth or heaven.

By these points let every action be examined:    

• By whose rule have I acted?    
• In whose strength have I acted?    
• In whose name have I acted?
• For whose glory have I acted?
• What faith, humility, self-denial, love to God and Christ, have there been in my actions?

(Gorham Abbott, 1833, "The Family at Home." Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems. Bolding mine.)

this made me LOL

“Americans who travel abroad for the first time are often shocked to discover that, despite all the progress that has been made in the last 30 years, many foreign people still speak in foreign languages” (Dave Barry).

Yep.  They do.  I promise!

pray like a puppy

When Martin Luther's puppy happened to be at the table, he looked for a morsel from his master, and watched with open mouth and motionless eyes.

Luther said, "Oh, if I could only pray the way this dog watches the meat! All his thoughts are concentrated on the piece of meat. Otherwise he has no thought, wish, or hope."

(story found at Grace Gems!)

the leprosy of the soul

Take heed of pride and haughtiness of spirit. Pride is the great master-scar of the soul; it will bud and blossom--it cannot be hidden. Pride is the leprosy of the soul, which breaks forth in the very forehead!

Pride is . . .
  the sum of all vileness,
  a sea of sin,
  a mother sin,
  a breeding sin--
  a sin which has all sorts of sin in its womb!
In pride, all vices are wrapped up together in a bundle!

"Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the Lord; be assured, he will not go unpunished." (Proverbs 16:5)

"I hate pride and arrogance!" (Proverbs 8:13)

God will have nothing to do with proud people.
He won't come near such loathsome lepers!

Therefore as ever you would enjoy God's presence,
  arm yourself against pride,
  watch against pride, and
  pray hard against pride!

(Thomas Brooks, 1675, "A Word in Season to Suffering Saints." Public Domain as seen on Grace Gems.)