Liturgical Living: Lent

I have a bit of a confession.  I love liturgy and the liturgical calendar.  Why is this shocking?  I’m technically not “liturgical,” meaning I worship at a church/tradition that doesn’t observe the liturgical year formally.  I don’t adhere to the liturgical calendar strictly, but I do believe that there are a few things that non-liturgicals can gain from it. 

The purpose of the liturgical calendar is to draw us closer to Jesus by observing the year against the backdrop of His life.  Since we tend to divvy up our year with special days and holidays anyway, we might as well do it through the lens of Jesus and Scripture, right?  So, instead of “Sweetest Day” (that’s an actual thing), you might celebrate Epiphany.

Right now, we are entering the season of Lent.  This marks 40 days (not counting Sundays) before Resurrection Day, or Easter, and begins on Ash Wednesday.  In traditional Ash Wednesday services, you would “receive the ashes” in the form of a cross on your forehead to symbolize inner repentance of sins.

Because that is what Lent is all about.  Many tend to focus on the “giving up” part of Lent without truly understanding the real purpose of it.  The three main focuses of Lent are repentance, prayer, and almsgiving.  You can fast from whatever you may chose during Lent, but if that is all you do, then you are missing some of the biggest blessings of this liturgical observance.

To read the rest of this post, head over to Mama Revival Series. Make sure to check out her entire series on Lent!

How Being a Christian is like Living in an Alternate Reality

Recently, NGD and I have been watching Fringe.  We have a soft spot for great Sci Fi TV shows (Doctor Who is still #1!).  One of the main ideas of the show (Spoilers if, like us, you haven’t watched this show in the last 2 years since it was canceled), was the premise of an alternate universe.  It was concurrent with ours with some minor and major changes, like zeppelins (because all sci fi alternate realities have zeppelins), a higher rate of scientific discovery, and Eric Stolz as Marty McFly.  At first, I didn’t really like this story (and I still have a few reservations).   

We’ve also begun a new church.  This past Wednesday night, we had an introductory lesson from our pastor.  In it, he gave a mission statement stating that our purpose was for the edification of the church to learn to think Biblically.  He spent a great deal of time teaching about the need to learn to think biblically and putting off the old man while putting on the new (Eph. 4:22-24).

As I began to think on this, thinking biblically and putting off the old man and putting on the new, it occurred to me that being a Christian is kind of like living in an alternate reality.  As we move through this world as Christians, we should view everything through the lens of Jesus and His word.  Everything is still the same, but it’s different, too.  We’re the same, but we’re also different.

It’s true that at the time of salvation, we are changed, an inward change, and that we are sealed.  However, we continue that process of sanctification and learning to think biblically as we continue to mature as Christians.  We continue to grow into this alternate, or contrary, world of becoming Christ-like.  We begin to see the upside down Kingdom that Jesus himself established during His time on earth.

Sometimes, it may seem like we are the only ones that are living or behaving this way.  Sometimes, it feels like we are so far out of sync with the world in which we live that we really are in an alternate universe.  This is one of the many reasons that having a community of believers is so important.

We also need to remember that we’re never alone.  And that our sanctified selves and the alternate reality in which we live, that is what is true.  That is what is right.  This earthly place in which we live isn’t our home.  It isn’t where we are to be comfortable.  Just as the earlier passage from Ephesians said, “and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,” (Eph. 4:23), we have to think on Romans 12:2:  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

We have to renew our minds and continue in sanctification and thinking biblically.  That is where we will gain the needed perspective to see what is true and what is of this world.

This Life

I wish that I could say that it is no secret that I have been struggling lately.  And to some, maybe it has been.  However, my absence on blogging and social media point straight to my current plight.  I’ve leaned on a few friends and asked for a lot of prayer.

It’s been hard.  I can’t deny that.  I’m sure it is some form of pride that has caused me to shrink and not admit it.  But there it is.  There’s no way around it.  Life is hard.  No matter how much you have or how little you have.  It doesn’t matter if you are single, married, or dating, if you have no children, one child, or an entire herd.  Life is messy and complicated and difficult.

Now, to be sure, there are times when we bring the mess on ourselves and there are times when it is just out of our control.  So, what then?  If life is hard, then what do we do about it? 

I’m not sure I’m qualified to answer and I don’t know that there is a one size fits all answer.  Each mess is different.  No, I think that the key in any situation, in any mess, is your perspective.  Since we know that there will be messes and that life is hard, we just have to worry about how we are going to look at the mess.

For my recent situation, I have let the mess consume me.  I have treated the mess as if it was in control instead of realizing who actually was in control (answer: God).  I have wallowed in the mess, which is easy to do.  I lost sight of the fact that I live in a big world with lots of messes and lots of lives.  I spent almost one whole day on the couch crying about my mess (how selfish is that?).

Honestly, my mess is pretty bad.  It is easy to let it take over.  But that’s not what I’m called to do.  I’m not called to wallow.  Paul Tripp once said, “Sin reduces the size of your life, to the size of your life.” (What Did You Expect?) And, boy, did I let myself get there.  There was nothing outside of me.  I spent most of my day thinking about my situation, my mess, my problems.

Then  there was that day, the one spent on the couch crying.  I felt a little tug to text a friend.  In my despair, I almost dismissed it.  But I didn’t.  I texted her and let her know that I was thinking of her and that I missed her the previous night at church.  That reminded me that another friend wasn’t at church so I texted her.  Before long, I was in text conversations with both women.  One was committing to pray for me and what I was going through.  The other was sharing that she was going through a mess of her own.

It wasn’t long before I was no longer crying but praying for my friend and her mess and praising for the friend who had offered to share my burden (even though she didn’t really even know what it was).  That perspective shift was what I needed at that moment to remind me that I wasn’t the only one in a mess and that I wasn’t alone to take care of my mess.

When we are dealing with these complicated issue of life (and they are!), we have to be attentive, too.  We can’t allow the mess to close us off and isolate ourselves.  There are those out there that are willing to share your burden and there are those who may need you to share theirs.  Even if you are in a mess, you can still pray for those around you.

Prayer and perspective.  They kind of go hand in hand at times, don’t they?  We can’t stop praying.  And when the time seems hopeless, we have to remember to pray for that perspective.  For God to show us that He is sovereign and no matter how messy our situation might be, He is good and He’s got this.

Status Report: October

Well, it has been a good while since I reported anything about the house.  I have to say that it is a little intentional.  It’s been a hard summer.  Chas and I spent the majority of it with family and friends, while Nathan worked on the house.

He got a lot done, of course, without, uh, distractions (ie, me & Chas).  However, we’ve been back together for a while and as you would expect, progress has slowed.  Life keeps getting in the way, the yard needs mowed, the camper (where we are currently staying) needs to be worked on, friends invite us over, the yard needs mowed again!

That isn’t to say that nothing is getting done.  I’m happy to report that we are almost done with deconstruction.  It seems like I’ve been saying that for a few weeks now, but it’s really true.  All the drywall has been removed and now Nathan just has to clear out the living room and rip up the floor.

Then the good part begins:  CONSTRUCTION! (after a visit from the Orkin man – my personal hero)

I’ve been assured by many that this part will go much quicker.  I hope so because deconstruction has almost broken me.  I knew this was going to be a LONG term project.  It is a marathon and not a sprint, but considering I have trouble with a 5K, I’m a bit impatient. 

Every time we push back a deadline or something gets in the way, I want to scream and stomp and throw a tantrum that would make your threenager look like an angel straight from heaven.  I have to stop myself and realize that this is just a season.  Each time I am convinced that we will live in a 30-ft camper for the rest of our lives and I have to renew my mind.

Right now, we are hoping to winter over in the camper.  The roof will hopefully be done by winter and we will actually move into our house in spring.  If all goes to plan, we may actually be done by our projected date of 31 Dec 2016.  This is our plan, our hope, and our prayer.

As for right now, I’m trying to lean into the discomfort.  I am trying to realize that things could be worse.  I’m trying to remember that the suffering makes the joy that much sweeter.  And above all, I’m trying to do all of it to His glory, since that is what it’s all about anyway.

August Books?

Anyone who has followed be for very long, knows my love of books.  And lists.  So it totally makes sense for me to make a list of books that I want to read for the year, right?  So I did.  And I did really well, for a few months.  But I am so sad to say that I have pretty much abandoned my list.

I've still been reading some, but I haven't followed much of my list for several months.  I've actually had several books cross my path that I had to read, such as For The Love by Jen Hatmaker.  But I've also had a couple cross my path that I just needed to read, like Kevin Yancey's What's so Amazing About Grace?  Both were amazing and I would highly recommend them.

Last month I came across The Hole in Our Holiness by Kevin DeYoung.  I started it immediately.  I am just beginning it (and haven't made enough time for it), but I love it.  I think I am on quite a personal journey exploring righteousness, holiness, and grace and the inner-working of all those things together.

Even with my major deviation from my list, I'm not chucking it out just yet.  Perhaps I'll return to it at some point this year.  I'm not ready to call it a failure, just yet.  I have to remember that the point of my list is to keep me reading.  My goal was 24 books this year.  This doesn't seem overly ambitious to me.  I have friends that will read double that by year end.  I just want to make sure that I am continuing to feed my mind and being challenged.

So, what are you reading?  What has caught your eye this year?

Deconstruction is hard...

As I sit comfortably in a nice, cool living room in a beautiful, fully finished home, I do feel a little guilty.  As I posted just a little while ago, we are in the midst of restoring our very own little farmhouse (with lots of 'potential').  Right now we are smack in the middle of the deconstruction phase.  And let me tell you there is a lot to demo.

Yet, as I sit here in comfort and blessedly using the wifi, the Hubs is currently 'roughing it' by living in the house while tearing it apart.  He's got his tent and a little kitchen area set up in the living room (we won't get into the bathroom situation, but he does have a solar shower).  He doesn't mind at all.  He even kind of enjoys it.  That helps mitigate my guilt (I'm house-sitting for friends while he roughs it and Chas is at Singing School).

Today, I went out to visit and help where I could.  As I looked around, I was terrified (and not just because of the bugs buzzing around outside).  I couldn't help but think of all that the Hubs was tearing up and how awful it all looked.  I knew that this was going to be a lot of work and that gutting a house was never pretty.  But this looked worse that I had imagined.

This is the kitchen.

I knew there was a lot of work to be done and a lot that had to be torn away (eventually, the entire kitchen is going to be completely removed from the house and redone).  Knowing was one thing, seeing it in progress was something completely different.

The is room was formerly known as the bathroom.

So, I had my freakout moment and the Hubs sat me down and began talking to me.  I wasn't hysterical, but I was kind of having a meltdown like a 2-year old.  He asked why I was upset.  I told him that it just seemed like house was in a horrible state and that it was never going to get done.  Things were so much worse than we had thought and planned.  We'd never get done and never be in budget (told ya I had a flair for the dramatic).

Random detritus in current bedroom #2 (eventually to become pantry & utility room)

As I unloaded, the Hubs just smiled and told me that this wasn't near as bad as it looked.  Yes, there was a large mess (the dumpster was just unloaded, so we can get this cleaned up a bit!), and things looked worse, but that was just one step of the process.  And it is a very hard step.  You see, since the entire house isn't a lost cause, we have to strategically remove the rotten and damaged parts, not just destroy the entire structure.  But once that is done, we'll rebuild and repair the damaged areas and building always goes faster than deconstructing.

I have reflected on that this afternoon.  It makes a lot of sense and I understand why it's the case.  But does this just work for houses?  Isn't it hard for us to strategically cut out the rotten or diseased portions of our life?  Doesn't it look messy and seem like nothing good will ever come from it?  But how wonderful is the rebuilding stage!  It's amazing how once the damaged parts are removed and we allow God's Holy Spirit to come in and fill those spots and begin that work of remaking us, things begin to take shape again.

I know that we have a long road ahead of us.  It may not be pleasant and it will be hard.  However, I have to remember not to just focus on the mess that's before me, but to look at the entire picture.  I think I need to do this in all areas of my life, as well.  It's easy to focus on what's being removed and not focus on what is being built  That's why we must keep our eye on the prize that is set before us and encourage one another so that when one is struggling, there are others there to help carry the burden.

Monday's Sitrep...

Well, I have to say that things are not going well.  To be more precise, "not going well," is an astronomical understatement.

To date, I have failed to go to the fitness center even once, go to any fitness class, pick up my "January" books, or well, much of anything that was on my list on Friday.  Yes, as I said, I'm on fire.  Also, the new and improved schedule?  Well, lets just say, getting a meal ready at a certain time is not my strong point.  Neither is getting to bed or getting up at the designated time.  Nor is getting started with Chas' school on time.  Yes, so basically EVERYTHING on the schedule.  Sigh.

Yet.  I have had one minor success.  The book that I'm reading all year?  The Making of an Ordinary Saint by Nathan Foster.  Well, I did start that.  This month's discipline is: Submission.  I don't know if you have ever discussed this in a group before, but it can get very interesting very quickly.  I've heard everything from a call to change the word (not the idea, just the word) to the ideas of blind submission.

To be perfectly honest, I don't have much of a problem with this.  I understand the Biblical concept and I like it.  I'm so a "liberty within bounds" kind of girl.  Give me complete freedom and I feel oppressed (As was  evidenced recently on a trip to the Goodwill with a close friend.  So.  Many.  Clothes.)  I just can't handle it.  Give me parameters and I can thrive.  Now, this is a sweeping generalization, but for the most part it fits.

I didn't think too much about studying submission this month and didn't think too much of the fact that I was starting so late into the month.  I didn't wrestle with submission and I was good at it (for the most part).  I erred at times, but I wasn't expecting any earth shattering revelations either.

I was wrong.  In reading Mr. Foster's chapter on submission, I was shocked to realize that what I had described in my word for the year as peace, was more akin to submission (Peace is still my word and I'm still working on cultivating that).  When I found peace in the situations I described, it was because I had submitted myself to God.  Instead of worrying and trying to figure things out in advance, I had stopped and submitted my will to His.  It created a peace in me that has inspired me to seek it more and more.

This is significant.  Especially in a week where I already feel like such a failure (why, yes, it is 11:44pm and I'm not in bed yet).  I needed that encouragement.  I needed to know that even though I am failing, I'm not a failure.  I am still learning and progressing, even if it is at a glacial pace.

I have learned that in order to continue to pursue Peace, I must practice submission, not just in the ways that I'm used to.  No, I must seek out ways to submit.  I must foster a heart that is willing to submit even when it is hard and even when I don't want to.  This is what I'm called to in obedience to Jesus, the Prince of Peace.

All Power is God's Power

A dear brother was once preaching about... well, to be honest, I can't remember the topic of the sermon.  Or the text.  Or the theme.  I remember the preacher.  And the church.  And one particular statement:  All Power is GOD's Power!

I got a little stuck on this idea.  I called the Hubs (I was out of town) and talked about this idea.  "Is all power really God's power?" I asked.  "Well, yes," he replied.  "God is the creator and sustainor of our universe.  All power is His."

This was revolutionary to me.  All power is God's power.  As I was running late to drop Chas off at school (before homeschooling) and didn't have time to stop for gas because the next tardy meant detention and I really didn't want him to pay for my mistake.  Then I remembered.  All power is God's power.  It is't the gas that is making this car go.  It is God.  Yes, most of the time God works through the blessing of gas in an internal combustion engine, but he certainly doesn't have to.

When I was trying to drive my husband's old '76 Chevy that had a STANDARD!  It was UGLY, people.  But I continued to tell myself, it isn't this clutch and fly wheel that is making this car go (or in my case, stutter, stall, and not go), it is God.  All power is His power and He can make this pickup go.

These sound silly and far-fetched (and oddly all automobile related), I know.  Most people don't think this way.  God is needed for the "Big Stuff."  Healings of diseases and for salvation of the lost.  For protection around soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines in harm's way.  To comfort the families of those who have lost loved ones or are struggling.  This is God's "job" right?  This is where and when we pray; for the Big Stuff.

No.  We are to pray always, for everything.  Not because God needs a constant rundown of what is going on in our minds or our lives, but because of what that constant communication does.  As we look to God (creator and sustainor) for all things, from what are we going to make for dinner that night, to what to wear to a friend's for dinner, to how on earth to teach aesthetics to my freshman son, something truly miraculous happens.  We get closer to God.  We develop a deep and sincere relationship with Him.

Imagine for a minute, if you are married (if not, imagine your best friend), that you only talked to your spouse about big things.  You only discussed bill payments and vacations and house repairs.  What kind of relationship would you have?  It wouldn't be very close.  It would be pretty shallow.  Most people that are on the outside looking in would wonder if there was even love there at all.

This is why God wants us to come to Him with the mundane, the ordinary, the lackluster.  This is where most of us live daily.  If we only wait on the Big Stuff, then we miss out on a daily closeness and growing relationship with Him.  If we fail to acknowledge God's power in the small day-to-day things, then we fail to acknowledge just how GREAT a God He truly is.  

Don't miss out.  Don't fail to look for the tiny miracles that make up every day.  Don't fail to keep your eyes open for opportunities to share all the little moments with God.  Because one day, when you turn around  and look back, all those little moments will add up to one great big life full of our Lord.  Each tiny moment will blend into the next until all you have is a life lived with Him at the center and a deep abiding love to show for it.