Happily Made to Rest

“Beloved, come to Me and rest in My sufficiency. Stop trying to fix yourself by focusing on your failures. Remember that the world you inhabit is fallen, and you are part of that brokenness. You can no more practice My presence perfectly than you can save yourself from your sins. In a fallen world, all your default settings are attained by sin. Nonetheless, you are being transformed and renewed by My Spirit within you.
Collaborate with Me as I work to set you free from hurtful ways. View each moment as a fresh opportunity to draw near Me. I welcome you with open arms.”

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. - Matthew 11:28

Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxious thoughts; and see if there be any hurtful way in me, and lead me in the everlasting way. - Psalm 139:23-24

Also…

“Do not feel guilty about taking time to be still in My Presence. You are simply responding to the tugs of divinity within you. I made you in My image, and I hid Heaven in your heart.”

Suffering to Bless

“Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing. For “He who would love life and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking deceit. Let him turn away from evil, and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their prayers; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.” And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake you are blessed. “And do not be afraid of their threats, nor be troubled.” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is within you, with meekness and fear;” ~ 1 Peter 3:8-15

Its easier to think God loves us more on our wedding day than on the day we get divorced, more on the day we have our first child than the day we have to bury it earlier than expected, more when we get the job than when we are let go, more when we are winning than we are losing. The way we think He loves us on our wedding days and winning days is the way He loves us in every moment of our lives.

The suffering that we think we have been dragged through was far worse for Christ who suffered for us. He was beaten, hated, criticized, all of those in a way that no human could understand. I believe finally being killed was probably the least of all the sufferings Christ went through during the 33 year span of His life on earth. How dare we be angry at Him for our rainy days…

Sometimes the righteous suffer because of their righteousness, and then the enemy wins when they spend all their energy fighting it instead of utilizing it for the Kingdom. Our suffering could be the ultimate blessing to our lives and the lives we touch. We are called to blessing, regardless of circumstances.

“The disciple is dragged out of his relative security into a life of absolute insecurity, from a life which is observable and calculable into a life where everything is unobservable and fortuitous, out of the realm of finite into the realm of infinite possibilities.”

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Seahorsey

It astonishes me sometimes when I get to thinking about the power and majesty of God. Then, to add on to that unfathomable quality, how the greatest, most fierce being in history could have a miraculous grace and mercy towards the world. Yet another unfathomable, unmeasurable quality that he has. It kind of mystifies me, blows my mind far beyond its limits, and captivates me. Today’s one of those days you just sit in awe of Him…

As some people know, I get really amazed by the simple everyday things that God does that people never think to be stunned by. In my Rubio’s kids meal last night (yes, that is correct. Ate it before I saw The Expendables with Noel, Krista, and Wes, I did!) I read a fact that sea horses can flap their fins just as fast as a hummingbird’s. Kind of boggles my mind, and then I had to wonder if - with water’s thick resistance compared to air’s significantly less air resistance - if sea horses can actually flap their fins faster! That would boggle my mind even more than it is already, but I’ll probably never know. Just to think about it, God thought up everything about the sea horse- the shape of its fins all the way down to each muscle that makes the fins move so quickly, and that’s only two of the components in its fin!

Ah just thinking about how much He cares about sea horses makes me try and figure out how He could put so much workmanship and love into us, and then how He relentlessly pursues us and is captivated by us… He made everything about us and all He wants is for us to give it over to Him. For some reason, it’s so easy to hand over parts of ourselves but not everything. I wish that it wasn’t that way…

The “Back to the Roots” Tour last night was awesome! The set was probably the best one they’ve ever done, and every song they played brought back some kind of memory for me. So I don’t remember much because I was rummaging through all my emotions and yet I remember all of it at the same time. Pretty insane, actually. Having something attached to you like that is something special in itself, and then seeing the original artist play it live in front of you... so good. Can't wait to see them again!

Although I do remember Dylan and Matthew getting the mosh pit started :) it was awesome.

I’ll miss everyone so much when I go back to Flag. Our days are numbered… :(

“… What if the clouds are fragments of mistakes Fabricated by the factors of our foolishness? We’re composing our funeral songs note, note by note…”

Big Salty Road Block

I was meandering along the beach today because I was lost (not important to this story), and the significance of the beach really hit me. I think since I’ve lived in San Diego for so long, or for some other obscure reason, that I don’t ever think about the beach, and the fact that when you’re at the beach, you are looking at the end of your continent… It’s pretty stinkin cool when you really think about it. How many people get to go to the beach, and know that if they look one way they’re facing the world they’ve always been comfortable in, and then they look the other way and find they’re facing a world they’ve never known.
The more I thought about it, the more gripping it became. Just to think… across that water is something completely foreign to us. In this case it was probably Japan or southern China or something. And while I’m staring at the horizon, there’s someone just chilling there on the beach (depending on the time change in “Japan or southern China or something”) right across the way. And then, what if that person is the closest person to me in that direction and they don’t know Truth? The chances that they haven’t even heard about Jesus are so ridiculously high and they are right across that water…

Kinda sad that it doesn’t sound nearly as incredible reading it on a computer screen.

Yay Post Secret!

Redefining Hospitality

“Hospitality refers to an attitude that prevails in a person’s lifestyle, an attitude of extending grace to people, including the stranger, the person that is different. It certainly includes inviting people into your home, but if that is the extent of it, we have missed the core meaning. Hospitality is extending love to those we don’t know and who may be of a different ethnic or cultural history. It is the idea of being gracious to all people, welcoming them into your presence and making them feel valued. A true servant is characterized by hospitality - one who welcomes and embraces those who are unlike us - Jesus embraced us across our radical differences… As we welcome people just as they are and invite them to join us just as we are, it becomes a sacred event reflecting what Jesus did for us - providing us with a healing relationship.” - Duane Elmer

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So I just typed out that whole passage from the book I’m reading because I thought it was super cool! I came across the word hospitality and realized that, when I think of the traits of God, hospitality has never come to my mind before. It makes so much sense though doesn’t it? I love how Elmer says first that the character of the servant is characterized by this, and then that Jesus did this. He made this comparison twice! If we want to become more like Christ, we need to become more like the hospitable servant.

Tumblr

I made this Blog last December and just found it!

The blog that I'll probably update more often is at [ http://spaceystacy.tumblr.com/ ] but I want to use this too so I can keep up with everyone else's blogging :)

But I'll still try to post the same things on here.. if I don't forget about it again..