Follower of Christ; resting in His grace. Experiencing fullness of Joy in the presence of my Savior. Lover of life and all things crafty.
I graduated in May 2010 with my B.A. in Linguistics, intent on teaching ESL. However, God saw fit to redirect my path to a job in Corporate America, and I now see how He uniquely fitted me for where I am today. Though my heart is oriented toward home, I am joyfully pursuing Christ in the path He has established for me. I do not know what my future holds, but I know the One who holds my future.
I received a book of poetry for Christmas; a book which I have enjoyed browsing through. The poet is George Herbert (an Anglican priest). His theology is clearly - and sometimes not so clearly - revealed through his poems. This jumped out at me as I was reading the other day.
The Holdfast
I threatened to observe the strict decree of my dear God with all my power and might. But I was told by one, it could not be; Yet I might trust in God to be my light. Then will I trust, said I, in him alone. Nay, ev'n to trust in him, was also his: We must confess, that nothing is our own. Then I confess that he my succor is: But to have nought is ours, not to confess That we have nought. I stood amaz'd at this, Much troubled, till I heard a friend express, That all things were more ours by being his. What Adam had, and forfeited for all, Christ keepeth now, who cannot fail or fall.
I've so enjoyed listening to non-traditional Christmas music in recent weeks...particularly Keith and Kristyn Getty's New Irish Hymns album. The tunes are lovely and the lyrics are sound. Here are the words to two of my favorites for you to enjoy as you celebrate the grace of God in humbling Himself and coming to earth.
BORN WHERE THE SHADOWS LIE
Born where the shadows lie To answer every cry of man This child who formed all life Now breathes our breath Born where the Father loved Born helpless to a mother's arms She smoothed the tears upon The face of God
Born with a road ahead Alone these blameless feet would tread The path God chose to walk Before all time Born holding life and death Born bearing heaven's wealth of peace That fills where none can fill Our living stream
Born now with man to dwell Our Lord Immanuel Come see the King the Christ Child born to us Born now with man to dwell Our Lord Immanuel My soul can finally know the God of Heaven
Fullness of Grace in man's human frailty This is the wonder of Jesus Laying aside His power and glory Humbly He entered our world Chose the path of meanest worth Scandal of a virgin birth Born in a stable cold and rejected Here lies the hope of the world
Fullness of Grace the love of the Father Shown in the face of Jesus Stooping to bear the weight of humanity Walking the Calvary road Christ the holy Innocent Took our sin and punishment Fullness of God despised and rejected Crushed for the sins of the world
Fullness of hope in Christ we had longed for Promise of God in Jesus Through His obedience we are forgiven Opening the floodgates of heaven All our hopes and dreams we bring Gladly as an offering Fullness of life and joy unspeakable God's gift in love to the world
I don’t have anything against people who use Facebook. I personally choose not to have one, and I have often been asked why. When I answer, the asking individual often seems to feel the need to apologize for their own Facebook account. Why? I was asked—and gave—my own personal reasons for not joining. I was not condemning the other individual for their decision.
However, I do have some concerns about the site in general…so, even though you did not ask, I would like to give you my reasons for NOT joining Facebook.
1. It’s a waste of time—How many hours can someone spend in the virtual realm? I have enough trouble not wasting time as it is…why add another distraction.
2. I don’t have time—Work starts for me at 7:00 a.m. and I’m up by 4:15 to make sure I get there on time. After work, I also have evening classes—which by-the-way don’t end until 10:00 p.m. I’m usually not in bed ‘til between 11:15 and 11:30 p.m.
3. It’s a faux relationship builder. What happened to spending time with the family and friends that are flesh-and-blood living beings? I covet the nights I don’t have class, and I can sit down to dinner with my family. Sometimes I still feel like an international student living in my own home. I just found out someone was pregnant with twins—and I didn’t even know she’d been married for several years already. Talk about being out of the loop!
a. Virtual “friendships” (even with those you already know in real life) are shallow. If you are willing to friend me on Facebook, yet you never even talk to me in person/real life, I don’t consider you a real friend. A true friend who wants to build into the relationship will be willing—and desirous—to spend time: on the phone, to sit and write a letter/email, to go for coffee—even if it only works out once or twice a year.
4. It breaks down the barriers of discretion—How many intimate details of daily living are people willing to share over the internet, that they would be mortified (or even just slightly embarrassed) to speak or elude to in the presence of another person. The internet has made it easy for people to create a persona for themselves that isn’t necessarily accurate. As the country song goes: “I’m so much cooler online Yeah, I'm cooler online.” Do I really need to know what color bra you are wearing (yes, that was a real status update phenomenon on Facebook last year)? Or what celebrity you think you look most like? Or that you got “stoned” on your homemade skittles vodka (with pics of course)???? Really people?! Is there no shame anymore?!
5. It’s ridiculous! Imagine what life would be like if Facebook went live. If we LIVED Facebook!!! How absurd would life be?!!!
