Friday, December 14, 2012

Following

Following... following along... following behind... following, following, following... following Jesus, following my husband, following church leaders, following government leaders... Following.  

The more I say it, the more I feel it setting a rhythm for my heart, but it must be setting a rhythm and my heart must walk in step.  

But it doesn't... the rhythm goes on and my heart is sitting on the side of the road in its big fluffy pink prom dress, with its tiara, watching the rhythm pass by and its pouting a big pout. My head is telling my heart to get itself off the side of the street and fall into rhythm and join the parade but my heart just doesn't want to.  It doesn't follow well, of all the things it does well, following is not one of them....

Jesus is pretty clear on this following thing.

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies it bears much fruit.  Whoever loses his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves me, he must FOLLOW me; and where I am, there will my servant be also.  If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.  John 12:24-26

So, I ask myself, am I following.  When you see me, do you see Jesus or just Cristine.  If all you see is Cristine, then I'm not following well. Following is hard, it requires death.  It means death to myself, to my desires, to my wants and my dreams.  I can't even tell you how many hours I've spent crying because following is hard.  Christ promises great things if I FOLLOW him and the the people he's asked me to follow.  He promises that I will bear much fruit.  He promises me eternity. He promises me honor.  BUT I have to follow.  I have to get off the curb, I have to quit going the opposite direction, I have to stand up and walk with him.  His dreams must become my dreams, his desires my desires, his actions my actions.  No more Cristine... only Christ.   

Following... following... following,,, following

Friday, December 7, 2012

Beginning

Let this be true of me and my kids, that their stories would begin with my prayer

Thursday, December 6, 2012

Things I LOVE....

hot chocolate toting, backpack lugging Kids
walking the halls of the library, the place where ideas are stored and easily found.
the place where one hears people talking about things like the UN, human rights, Gingerbread Baby, colonists and communism


pulling out books, laying them out, making sense of ideas, 
writing them down, realizing that you don't know everything



wandering in the stacks hoping to find the perfect book, the one that sends shivers up your spine, 
or inspires you to make the coolest Lego contraption ever 
or finding that new story that  makes you forget the world around you
knowing that when you walk out you have become different... new ideas have become a part of you

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

full of quiet

there is a book laying next to me waiting to be read.. sufjan stevens is playing. kids are crocheting or reading.   hot cup of tea next to me. and i'm drinking in the quiet.  thinking about Sunday, what will we teach the kids about Chirst, thinking about advent, what will we teach our people about HIS coming.  
HIS coming to bring peace and joy and hope and redemption.  HIS coming to bring COMFORT

this is what christmas is supposed to be... not hurried, not rushed. 
but 
full of  JOY and PEACE
Hot Tea and Books
Sweet Music