"Why is God landing in this enemy-occupied world in disguise and starting a sort of "secret society" to undermine the devil? Why is He not landing in force, invading it? Is it that He is not strong enough? 

 Well, Christians think He is going to land in force; we do not know when. But we can guess why He is delaying, He wants to give US (you, me, all of His people) a chance of joining His side freely. I do not suppose you and I would have thought much of a Frenchman who waited till the Allies were marching into Germany and then announced he was on our side. God will invade. But I wonder whether people who ask God to interfere openly and directly in our world quite realize what it will be like when He does. When that happens, it is the end of the world. When the author walks on to the stage the play is over. God is going to invade, all right: but what is the good of saying you are on His side then, when you see the whole natural universe melting away like a dream and something else-something it never entered your head to conceive- comes crashing in; something so beautiful to some of us and so terrible to others that none of us will have any choice left? For this time it will be God without disguise; something so overwhelming that it will strike either irressistable love or irresistible horror into every creature. It will be too late then to choose your side. There is no use saying you choose to lie down when it has become impossible to stand up. That will not be the time for choosing. When He comes back it will be he time we discover which side we really have chosen whether we realized it before or not. Now, today, this moment, is our chance to choose the right side. God is holding back to give us that chance. It will not last forever. We must take it or leave it."

 

Linds, Andie and me on the beach in Santa Cruz :)

C.S. Lewis is brilliant. I had a rather long car ride this weekend to get lost in him for awhile (Mere Christianity should be mandatory reading). This whole being old thing and being able to decide to take last minute trips to far away states really throws me off - but being spontaneous is fun, and northern California is beautiful (I may have judged it a little to harshly prior to this weekend).  The beaches there in January are about the same temperature as New England beaches in June. 

Yes, as adults we still enjoy merry-go-rounds

New Things I Enjoy: -being wrong about things especially as it pertains to people and places and especially when it means I'm pleasantly surprised :)

New Years Resolution

Charity 

• suffereth long
• and is kind
• charity envieth not
• charity vaunteth not itself
• is not puffed up
• doth not behave itself unseemly
• seeketh not her own
• is not easily provoked
• thinketh no evil
• Rejoiceth not in iniquity
• but rejoiceth in the truth
• beareth all things
• believeth all things
• hopeth all things
• endureth all things

 Charity never faileth
 
 
Corinthians 13:4-8 

A Whole New World - 2011

Being home was wonderful - too short as winter breaks always are, but wonderful nonetheless. There is something about living with people who love you that makes life so comfortable, warm, and happy. Some other things that being home made me think about:

UNDERSTANDING: So much of the resentment, judgment, confusion, and ill will in this world do not come from differences, but rather form misunderstanding,  perceived differences. To truly understand is probably to admit that you don't understand, that you can't understand, because in the end, we're not God and we do not know everything.

CARING: People express how they care is such different ways - at school I live with wonderful girls who sometimes treat me the way I would treat someone if I really didn't like them. I've come to learn the lack of hugs and expressed emotion doesn't mean they don't care - its the little things they do, the things they put up with, and the quiet support they give that show they care. Something else a friend helped me learn over break on the subject - caring about someone (this kind of goes along with understanding) is having the humility to realize that you do not know everything about them, you will never know them 100% - and so, caring is taking the moment to pause and consider what that unknown might be: might that comment bother them? might that object mean more to them than you think? might you be wrong?

SIN: It's a terrible thing. It ruins individuals, relationships, friendships, and families. But - everyone does it. and - everyone can repent. Sin is never good, but the things people can learn from it may in the long run be good. Part of loving people is accepting that - loving the sinner in spite of the sin, because in reality we are all the worst of sinners.

MOTIVATION: My family motivates me more than almost anything else. To live up to their expectations, to be examples for them, to honor them, to be happy with them, to live with them forever.


TRADITIONS: I love traditions. I love making traditions. I love keeping traditions. There is a power in traditions that gives me comfort and stability. Part of why I love the holidays is that they are filled with traditions. December starts of with nightly "Christmas Tree Snacks" where the children act out the story of Christ's birth with the figurines from the nativity while Father recites the story from Luke 2 (of course while sitting on the Christmas tree quilt and followed by cookies - the one time we're allowed to eat outside the kitchen in my house). Then there's the family Christmas party (that I missed because I was in finals) where we cook and clean for a week and a half and then entertain upwards of 200 people for an evening full of Christmas spirit. There's Christmas eve and our live nativity. There's santa's gift and then breakfast and then presents under the tree. There's burning slips of paper on new years eve and the beach on new years day. I love traditions :)

Now I'm back to school - with 14 hours of class, 12 hours of dance, and 20 hours of work a week - I"m not quite sure how I'll have time for anything else (let alone all of that). But it is great to be back.