Greatly loved

This is an excerpt from my go-to devotional year round. Even if I listed each example, you'd never believe how often I will randomly pull up that day's morning or evening entry and it speaks straight to an issue I am dealing with that day. I sat in church on Sunday morning after singing my medicine and asked my good friend, "Why? Why does He love us? How could He?" The Lord not only continually teaches me to trust in His love for me, He also asks me to step out of the trap of unbelief. Just as I'm asking "How? Why?", He shows that He loves me - loves me just where I am, questions and all - by leading me to a passage about His very nature. Unbelievable.

Evening

"...man greatly loved." - Daniel 10:11

Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Has your unbelief made you forget that you are also greatly loved? Surely you must have been greatly loved, to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? When God crushed His only Son for you, what was this but being greatly loved? You lived in sin and rioted in it; surely you were greatly loved for God to have been so patient with you.You were called by grace and led to a Savior and made a child of God and an heir of heaven. Doesn't this all prove a very great and superabounding love? Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles or smooth with mercies, it has been full of proofs that you are greatly loved. If the Lord has chastened you, it was not in anger; if He has made you poor, still in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be, the more evidence you have that nothing but unspeakable love could have led the Lord Jesus to save a soul like yours. The more disapproval you feel, the clearer is the display of God's abounding love in choosing you and calling you and making you an heir of heaven. Now, if such love exists between God and us, let us live in the influence and sweetness of it and use the privilege of our position. We should not approach our Lord as though we are strangers or as though He were unwilling to hear us - for we are greatly loved by our loving Father. "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?"* Come boldly, believer, for despite the whispers of Satan and the doubts of your own heart, you are greatly loved. Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love this evening, and then go to your bed in peace.

*Romans 8:32
(emphasis added by me)

An attempt at posting routinely again

So much has happened since I blogged for real that I'm now overwhelmed with how much I would have to say to get up-to-date. Instead, I'm just going to post some more bullets (you Type A's are already salivating) and hope that it'll catch us up in the meantime, Blogworld.

(And, in case you are pounding your desk, demanding the series on organic and natural foods that I promised two months ago, well....you're just going to have to wait!)

• Did I tell y'all that one of my sisters, Jessica, is living with me? Since last Thanksgiving. Oh my, what an adventure! Iron sharpening iron is no joke, y'all! It's been awesome (and no, I'm not being sarcastic). Follow her on Twitter, she's a hoot.
• My 3-year anniversary at my company, e-Rewards, is coming up! Yippee! April 16th (and NOT April 24th as the HR department will have you believe) marks three years...I can't believe how fast it's gone by.
• I started and quit a Biblical Counseling class at my church. It was slated for 26 weeks and and I quit around week 10 - bullet #1 was a bit unexpected so my schedule is all wacky with being Jess's unofficial chaffeur. I don't mind though! There's a season for everything.
• The Dallas Northway campus of The Village Church launched in September 2009 and I switched to it from the Highland Village campus at the same time. TVC is growing faster than we can add buildings and services, y'all! It's crazy! Like Matt says, "We love being ghetto." Bring on the cramped spaces and parking hassles if it means more of the Lord for his children!
• My cousin, Amy, got engaged just before Christmas and she asked me to be a bridesmaid. I am STOKED! Mostly because I've been praying for her a husband since we got close back in late 2007 (prayers answered are awesome!), but secretly, I'm also excited because I get to wear a green dress (click on 'Pistachio'). This girl could not be happier!
• Beth Moore's Believing God study is kicking my butt and I'm only in week one. Pray for me!
• I get to serve some ladies in just three weeks at a Christian retreat called North Texas Tres Dias. I'm thrilled at the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus, even if in just a small way for three days.
• Beautiful flowers currently bedeck my patio at home - I planted some bright red geraniums, white bacopa (amazing trailing flower, by the way), yellow Gerbera daisies, violet pansies, dusty miller plants and some cute purple alyssum. Jess got a boston fern at Kroger for $10 and our patio jungle is now complete. My grandma's miniature pink rose bush is coming along beautifully too.
• I signed up for eHarmony (ssshhhhh! Don't tell anyone!) and am sorely disappointed thus far. Whether that's the result of a pride issue or just the circumstances, I have yet to determine. Maybe it's both. Maybe it's just my disproportionate expectations. Who knows (yet)! After watching Becoming Jane on Saturday and crying my eyes out, I'm convinced I'll be single for life like Jane Austen, determined to "live by the pen" (or in my case, the computer keyboard).
• I've felt rather melodramatic lately. Is it obvious? If not, please read previous bullet.
• I'm ready for the summer season to come but I'm enjoying the 70-degree weather just fine too.
• Houston, instead of Hot Springs, may be our girls' trip destination this summer. I'm rather excited and am on the hunt for fun things to do! Give me a shout in the comments if you have any tips.
• The BFFie and I are going to the theater to see Remember Me tomorrow night. I swore I would not see this movie after seeing the trailer because it looks like just another romance and I don't think I can take it after Saturday's debacle with Becoming Jane. But - I've heard the film's not what it seems, so I'm taking a risk. If the people who convinced me to see this film are wrong, there will be payback from me in the form of salty wet tissues afterwards. I know it's gross; and they'll deserve it.

I think that's enough for now; I stayed at the office later than I needed to just to make sure I got this out for you, Blogworld. See? I'm trying to make a comeback!

Peace & peas,
Ang

Good ole' Spurgeon

I think I've talked about my favorite devotional here before; it's called Morning and Evening by Charles Haddon Spurgeon. I've read through it completely once and am working on my second time through it now; the passages are never old or redundant. Because Spurgeon was a 19th century preacher from London, his speeches/writings are not always the easiest to understand. Therefore, the version I have of the devotional uses updated language, revised by Alistair Begg (also from London, now based in Cleveland; a good modern-day preacher, as far as I know and have heard personally).

Anyhow, when I picked up the book this morning, I thought about how I would like to just re-read the morning passage from yesterday; it's my favorite in the entire book. (Crazy as it seems to me, I haven't posted on that passage specifically but have typed up others here and here.) I relented and moved forward, though, knowing that God has blessed this minuscule obedience many times by providing just the right word for me at just the right moment.

Today's passage was just what I had to hear today, especially after some stressful times yesterday and the great teaching I received last night in class. I thought I'd type it out for you today; put it out there and share it in case it brings some things to the surface for you or just reminds you of where true strength comes from. Enjoy!

Morning passage from November 4th

"For my power is made perfect in weakness." 2 Corinthians 12:9

A primary qualification for serving God with any amount of success, and for doing God's work well and triumphantly, is a sense of our own weakness. When God's warrior marches out to battle, strong in his own might, when he boasts, "I know that I will overcome - my own ability and my self-confidence will be enough for victory," defeat is staring him in the face. God will not enable the man who marches in his own strength. He who reckons on victory by such means has reckoned wrongly, for "not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts." (Zechariah 4:6) Those who go out to fight, boasting of their ability, will return with their banners trailing in the dust and their armor stained with disgrace. Those who serve God must serve Him in His own way and in His strength, or He will never accept their service. Whatever a man does, unaided by divine strength, God can never own. The mere fruits of the earth He casts away; He will only reap corn the seed of which was sown from heaven, watered by grace, and ripened by the sun of divine love. God will empty out all that you have before He will put His own into you; He will first clean out your granaries before He will fill them with the finest of wheat. The river of God is full of water; but not one drop of it flows from earthly springs. God will have no strength used in His battles but the strength that He Himself imparts. Are you mourning over your own weakness? Take courage, for there must be a consciousness of weakness before the Lord will give you victory. Your emptiness is but the preparation for your being filled, and you are being humbled to prepare you for being lifted up.

When I am weak then am I strong, grace is my shield and Christ my song.

A procrastinated project FINISHED!

Hello, my name is Angela.

Welcome Angela!

I am here tonight because...

[crickets chirping]

...I am a home-project procrastinator.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you've known me for any length of time, or visited my humble abod, you know without any confession from these lips that I am a home-project procrastinator. I can place blame but I am fully to blame. It isn't the fault of my packrat father who piles all of his work tools, materials, projects on top of an antique pool table in the entry room of my parents' house. I also can't blame my paper-archiving mother who doesn't think you should ever throw out a bill or invoice; she apparently doesn't think you need to open them either. (Plus side: if I ever need to find a bank statement from my teenage days, my mother's gift will come in quite handy.) I also can't point the finger at my six years spent as a North Texas nomad. Between three dorm rooms, two apartments and a few trips back to my parents' house for summers, my life stayed in a mix-match of hastily collected cardboard boxes for a long time.

Nope. I have to take this burden. It is mine. (Did I mention I'm feeling melodramatic today?)

To get to the point of why I'm posting at all on a Saturday, my sabbath, I'll just say this: a bookcase in my sweet little bay window/dining room/office/sun room/storage area has been a long time coming.

I found a simple, inexpensive bookcase at Target in a color called espresso. I've fought tooth and nail in every store I've scoured to find a bookcase that is oak colored, not too cheap and flimsy, and a reasonable price. I don't know what came over me last Saturday but I up and bought this one for $25. It was priced $32 (in-store and online) but it magically rang up for $25 at the register (thanks Lord!). I spent about two hours putting it together Monday night and finally got around to pulling out all of my boxes of books Thursday night.

I set out to finish my project when I failed to roll over and go back to sleep at 10am this morning (Hey! Don't judge me! I haven't slept in for ages. Or maybe just two weeks. Who are you? The sleep police?!)

Here are some pictures of my achievement. Before and after books. And because I'm trying to recover from being a home-project procrastinator, I think confession and transparency are crucial. I included a picture of the bookcase's cardboard box, still sitting in my living room floor. From Monday. Don't judge me. ;-)

Before: (sorry for the blurriness)

After:

So sad....

20 books to read in your 20's

Hey friends!

I happened upon this really interesting list by Justin Buzzard at Buzzard Blog. It combines three things that I enjoy and love VERY much: lists, books, and Jesus!

Check it out! And don't be discouraged if you are no longer in your twenties (or have yet to reach them, for that matter). I am sure that these books are quite valuable when read at any age!

Peace & chicken grease,
Ang


(HT: B2W)

Eustace = Me

Though I have yet to read The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, #5 in the Chronicles of Narnia, I have heard things about it from other bloggers and writers. The first person to enlighten my curiousity was the Executive Pastor at my church; Josh said that Dawn Treader is his favorite of the series. The second person to spark my enthusiasm for this book was Jenny Schroedel. She is an occasional writer for Boundless, a webzine for college kids and twenty-somethings. Check out the article she wrote about "becoming undragoned." Here is my favorite excerpt from the book:

Then the lion said — but I don't know if it spoke — "You will have to let me undress you." I was afraid of his claws, but I can tell you, I was pretty nearly desperate now. So I just lay flat down on my back to let him do it.... That very first tear he made was so deep that I thought it had gone right into my heart. And when he began pulling the skin off, it hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt. The only thing that made me able to bear it was just the pleasure of feeling the stuff peel off.

Books to read, part deux

This will be a short post on my part because one of my favorite bloggers, Justin Taylor, created the list for me! I have excitedly awaited the release of all of three of these books. I'm going to have to wait just awhile before I can buy them for myself (gotta stick to the budget!). You might recognize two of the three because I've mentioned them before, but more than anything, I thought it was cool that someone plugged all three in one post!

Check Justin's post out here!

(HT: JT)

One book down, many more to go

Okay, I admit it. I have neglected my blog for the last two weeks. Purposely.

*wince*

*eye peep*

What? No, retribution? Oh blogworld, how I love your forgiving spirit! (Wait. Is it possible for the collective group of blog readers, i.e. "blogworld", to have spirit? Hmmmm...something to ponder at a later date....hahaha! RANDOM!)

Really, I have had a ton on my plate and blogging, as much as I love it, has to be sacrificed when more important activities come along. Namely, finding a fiction book that I really enjoy and devouring it.

I occasionally forget how much I love to read an entertaining fiction piece here and there. My most recent conquest is none other than THE ROAD by Cormac McCarthy. This book is actually first on my list of books to read soon. I've added a few books to the list since that blog post (The Grapes of Wrath, The Awakening, Blindness, Pride and Prejudice) but I'm confident this will not derail me too severely. Plus, Death By Love and Spectacular Sins have not been released yet, so I'm free to stick to my fiction fancy at this time.

You must read THE ROAD. It's a quick 241 pages with a unique format. The book has no defined chapters, only breaks that are only separated by random dots (..........). It was a page-turner for me, not because it was thrilling or mysterious, but because of the enduring story line. What is going to happen to the Man and the Boy next? What caused the world to change? Will it ever go back to what we consider "normal"? Will the Man and Boy survive?

Warning: the story is dark. If you are prone to put limits on the depth of depravity, be warned that this story has some really dark moments. I don't want to suggest you reading it and then find out you stayed up at all hours of the night because of the images in your head. It is fiction. Period.

Okay, moving on. There is not much more I can say without giving away too much. Read the book.

Next up on my list is undecided. The same co-worker who brought up THE ROAD said I would enjoy Blindness since I liked his first recommendation. I started to read Blindness and I'm not sure I'm into it yet. I'll give it another 20 pages or so. If it doesn't work out, I'm moving on to The Grapes of Wrath. I've read this classic before but not when I had the same world view. We'll see how it works out. If anything, I can move onto Pride and Prejudice, a book I know that I will enjoy.

Well, I guess that's all for now, blogworld. Asta minana!

OH!!! ALSO - DON'T MISS THE COWBOYS TONIGHT!!!

Today's devotion

Morning & Evening (Aug. 26th morning) - C.H. Spurgeon

He has commanded His covenant forever - Psalm 111:9

The Lord's people delight in the covenant itself. It is an unfailing source of comfort to them as often as the Holy Spirit leads them into the banqueting house and waves the banner of love.They delight to contemplate the antiquity of that covenant, remembering that before the daystar knew its place or planets ran their course, the interests of the saints were made secure in Christ Jesus. It is peculiarly pleasing to them to remember the certainty of the covenant while meditating upon God's "steadfast, sure love David." They delight to celebrate it as signed, sealed, and delivered! Their hearts often overflow with joy to think of the immutability, as a covenant that neither time nor eternity, life nor death will ever be able to break - a covenant as old as eternity and as everlasting as the Rock of Ages. They rejoice also to dine upon the fullness of this covenant, for in it they see all things provided for them. God is their portion, Christ their companion, the Spirit their Comforter, earth their lodge, and heaven their home. They see in it an inheritance that is reserved for every soul possessing an interest in its ancient and eternal gift. Their eyes sparkled when they saw it as a treasure-trove in the Bible; but how their souls were gladdened when they saw in the last will and testament of their Christ that it was bequeathed to them! More especially it is the pleasure of God's people to contemplate the graciousness of this covenant. They see that the law was made void because it was a covenant of works and depended upon merit, but they perceive this to be enduring because grace is the basic, grace the condition, grace the bulwark, grace the foundation, grace the capstone. The covenant is a treasury of wealth, a granary of food, a fountain of life, a storehouse of salvation, a charter of peace, and a haven of joy.

Books to read

This is not necessarily a list of recommendatins for you but a list of books that I really, really want to read. Maybe I should seek out a library card.....

Putting to death my selfish desires (and my B-A-D spending habits)

I could almost completely justify my purchase of this very special Book. I mean, it is a long-awaited version of the best selling Book in history. It has study notes that rival all other versions. Many people that I respect openly express excitement for its arrival.

And yet, I hear the HS say, "You said you were going to use that money for savings. Do you really want to be out of financial slavery?"

Yuck. I don't always like it when I have to be a responsible adult. I actually have to use my money to pay bills, buy groceries, support myself - all by myself - while putting aside my own desire to buy a very fancy Book.

Did I mention that I already have 5 versions of the same Book? And I'm honestly very attached to my current version that I paid $65 for just a few short years ago.

So, do I really need it? No. Do I still want it? Yes and no. I am confident that the notes, exegesis, cross references, etc will be stunning; more than what I have available to me now. However, I cannot humbly justify spending $65 for this Book when I already have 5 in my possession. I need to build my savings back up and be debt-free! I have a responsibility to my church as we continue to "give until it hurts" for our new building. There's also this dryness that builds up inside of me when my focus is on possessions. This new Book is the Bible, so there has to be some inherent good in having the new version (right?!). But the bad (the envy, the pride of owning it, the exhilaration of getting something new, etc) is far heavier in my mind and heart right now.

I will say, though, that even at my humblest moment, I would not decline such an awesome GIFT if it came my way for - oh, I don't know - my impending birthday!

*wink, wink*

Today's devotion - well timed, Lord....

Job 10:2 - I will say to God, Do not condemn me; let me know why you contend against me.

"Perhaps, weary soul, the Lord is doing this to develop your graces. There are some of your graces that would never be discovered if it were not for your trials. Do you not know that your faith never looks as good in summer as it does in winter? Love is too often like a glowworm, showing but little light unless it is surrounded by darkness. Hope itself is like a star-not to be seen in the sunshine of prosperity, and only to be discovered in the night of adversity. Afflictions are often the black foils in which God sets the jewels of His children's graces, to make them shine brighter. It was only a little while ago that on your knees you were saying, "Lord, I fear I have no faith. Let me know that I have faith." Were you not really, though perhaps unconsciously, praying for trials? For how can you know that you have faith until your faith is exercised? Depend upon it-God often sends us trials so that our graces may be discovered and that we may be convinced of their existence. Besides, it is not merely discovery; real growth in grace is the result of sanctified trials. God often takes away our comforts and our privileges in order to make us better Christians. He trains His soldiers not in tents of ease and luxury, but by turning them out and subjecting them to forced marches and hard service. He makes them ford through streams, and swim through rivers, and climb mountains, and walk many long miles with heavy backpacks of sorrow. Well, Christian, may this not account for the troubles through which you are passing? Is the Lord bringing out your graces and making them grow? Is it for this reason He contends with you?"

"Trials make the promise sweet;

Trials give new life to prayer;

Trials bring me to His feet,

Lay my low, and keep me there."

Wow. I cannot express how deeply my heart resonates with EVERY BIT of this devotion....