love

"The beginning of love is to let those we love be perfectly themselves, and not to twist them to fit our own image. Otherwise we love only the reflection of ourselves we find in them." -Thomas Merton

presently

"Solitude is not something you must hope for in the future. Rather, it is a deepening of the present, and unless you look for it in the present you will never find it." -Thomas Merton

ordinary

"It is in the ordinary duties and labors of life that the Christian can and should develop his spiritual union with God." -Thomas Merton

rule

"One mustn't make the Christian life into a punctilious system of law, like the Jewish [for] two reason: (1) It raises scruples when we don't keep the routine; and (2) It raises presumption when we do. Nothing gives one a more spuriously good conscience than keeping rules, even if there has been a total absence of all real charity and faith." -C.S. Lewis

the great work of sunrise

"the great work of sunrise again today. the awful solemnity of it. the sacredness. unbearable without prayer and worship. I mean unbearable if you really put everything else aside and see what is happening! Many, no doubt, are vaguely aware that it is dawn, but they are protected from the solemnity of it by the neutrilizing worship of their own society, their own world, in which the sun no longer rises and sets." -Thomas Merton

"discovered"

well, today I became the (proud) owner of a 1999 Land Rover Discovery (thanks, in no small part, to the generosity of the Lord, a little help from my dad and a big brother with a car to sell) ...if you know me, then you can see me smiling...

(do know that Gregor Samsa will be missed, but he won't be far away... and I have yet to realize the name of my new ...car)

give up

"No amount of falls will really undo us if we keep on picking ourselves up each time. We shall of course be very muddy and tattered children by the time we reach home, but the bathrooms are all ready, the towels put out, and the clean clothes in the airing cupboard. The only fatal thing is to lose one's temper and give it up. It is when we notice the dirt that God is most present in us: it is the very sign of His presence." -C.S. Lewis

Truth

"One of the great difficulties is to keep before the audience's mind the question of Truth. They always think you are recommending Christianity not because it is true but because it is good...You have to keep forcing them back, and again back, to the real point." -C.S. Lewis

relating

"I cannot think of any human relationship that isn't going to fail us from time to time... it's an inevitable fact of human nature that we will disappoint and be disappointed. But good relationships are not maintained by always being in each other's good graces and fulfilling all expectations. Relationships are maintained by being committed to staying together through all kinds of weather. A lasting relationship has to be able to tolerate a number of mistakes and disappointments." -John Fischer

sad times

"If you are going through a time of isolation, seemingly all alone, read John 17 . It will explain exactly why you are where you are— because Jesus has prayed that you 'may be one' with the Father as He is. Are you helping God to answer that prayer, or do you have some other goal for your life? Since you became a disciple, you cannot be as independent as you used to be. God reveals in John 17 that His purpose is not just to answer our prayers, but that through prayer we might come to discern His mind. Yet there is one prayer which God must answer, and that is the prayer of Jesus— '. . . that they may be one just as We are one . . .' (John 17:22 ). Are we as close to Jesus Christ as that? God is not concerned about our plans; He doesn’t ask, 'Do you want to go through this loss of a loved one, this difficulty, or this defeat?' No, He allows these things for His own purpose. The things we are going through are either making us sweeter, better, and nobler men and women, or they are making us more critical and fault-finding, and more insistent on our own way. The things that happen either make us evil, or they make us more saintly, depending entirely on our relationship with God and its level of intimacy. If we will pray, regarding our own lives, 'Your will be done' ( Matthew 26:42 ), then we will be encouraged and comforted by John 17, knowing that our Father is working according to His own wisdom, accomplishing what is best. When we understand God’s purpose, we will not become small-minded and cynical. Jesus prayed nothing less for us than absolute oneness with Himself, just as He was one with the Father. Some of us are far from this oneness; yet God will not leave us alone until we are one with Him— because Jesus prayed, '. . . that they all may be one . . . .'"-Oswald Chambers

love

"Jesus is free to love us because he is not dependent on our love." -Henri J.M. Nouwen

death

"The world, knowing how all our real investments are beyond the grave, might expect us to be less concerned than other people who go in for what is called Higher thought and tell us that 'death doesn't matter'; but we 'are not high-minded', and we follow One who stood and wept at the grave of Lazarus - not, surely, because He was grieved that Mary and Martha wept, and sorrowed for their lack of faith (though some thus interpret) but because death, the punishment of sin, is even more horrible in His eyes than in ours. The nature which He had created as God, the nature which He had assumed as Man, lay there before Him in its ignominy; a foul smell, food for worms. Though He was to revive it a moment later, He wept at the shame.... of all men, we hope most of death; yet nothing will reconcile us to - well, its unnaturalness. We know that we were not made for it; we know how it crept into our destiny as an intruder; and we know that on one level it is an enemy already disarmed; but because we know that the natural level also is God's creation we cannot cease to fight against the death which mars it, as against all other blemishes upon it, against pain and poverty, barbarism and ignorance. Because we love something else more than this world we love even this world better than those who know no other." -C.S. Lewis

final critic

"Some day an absolutely correct verdict - if you life, a perfect critique - will be passed on what weach of us is." -C.S. Lewis

the answer

"I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice?" -C.S. Lewis

give it away

we've been studying "giving" for the last month at church and in the hometeam and if there's one thing that I believe it is that the "reward", the "return" from all that is given, from the blessings I share, from what God has given, are stored up in heaven. we give out of obedience, not because we've seen the product or expected result. that's how a business man might do it, but we are believers and called to obedience

and of course it sucks because we want to see, we want to know, we struggle with that and we can't let go of something without assurance

but we trust and obey

trust that the Lord is using these finances to the glory of His kingdom

and that's our blessed reward, here, on earth

anything else is... icing

partakers

"We are made 'partakers of the divine nature,' receiving and sharing God’s own nature through His promises. Then we have to work that divine nature into our human nature by developing godly habits. The first habit to develop is the habit of recognizing God’s provision for us. We say, however, 'Oh, I can’t afford it.' One of the worst lies is wrapped up in that statement. We talk as if our heavenly Father has cut us off without a penny! We think it is a sign of true humility to say at the end of the day, 'Well, I just barely got by today, but it was a severe struggle.' And yet all of Almighty God is ours in the Lord Jesus! And He will reach to the last grain of sand and the remotest star to bless us if we will only obey Him. Does it really matter that our circumstances are difficult? Why shouldn’t they be! If we give way to self-pity and indulge in the luxury of misery, we remove God’s riches from our lives and hinder others from entering into His provision. No sin is worse than the sin of self-pity, because it removes God from the throne of our lives, replacing Him with our own self-interests. It causes us to open our mouths only to complain, and we simply become spiritual sponges— always absorbing, never giving, and never being satisfied. And there is nothing lovely or generous about our lives. Before God becomes satisfied with us, He will take everything of our so-called wealth, until we learn that He is our Source; as the psalmist said, 'All my springs are in You' (Psalm 87:7 ). If the majesty, grace, and power of God are not being exhibited in us, God holds us responsible. 'God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you . . . may have an abundance . . .' ( 2 Corinthians 9:8 )— then learn to lavish the grace of God on others, generously giving of yourself. Be marked and identified with God’s nature, and His blessing will flow through you all the time." -Oswald Chambers

"man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord" Deuteronomy 8:3

no matter

"No matter how difficult something may be, I must say, 'Lord, I am delighted to obey You in this.'" -Oswald Chambers

author unknown

"do not let the fruit of action be your motive and do not be attached to non-action"

lion's words

"'You come of the Lord Adam and the Lady Eve,' said Aslan. 'And that is both honour enough to erect the head of the poorest beggar, and shame enough to bow the shoulders of the greatest emperor in earth. Be content.'" -C.S. Lewis

dark

"my own judgment is darkness in the sight of God." -Thomas Merton

anonymous

"stop asking the Lord to bless what you are doing, rather do what the Lord is blessing"

"don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure." 2 Corinthians 9:7

Screwtape & the possessive

"And all the time the joke is that the word 'Mine' in its fully possessive sense cannot be uttered by a human being about anything. In the long run either Our Father or the Enemy will say Mine of each thing that exists, and specially of each man. They will find out in the end, never fear, to whom their time, their souls, and their bodies really belong certainly not to them, whatever happens." -C.S. Lewis

in or of?

"....this whole state of affairs was actually prompted by a $4.2 billion industry created to serve the needs of a conservative Christian clientele. In my opinion, the enterprise is somewhat misguided. It's the motivation that is in question. I seem to remember Jesus sending his followers out into the world - even warning them about how dangerous it was going to be - instead of trying to insulate them from it. He certainly was in the world when he was here and paid a very high price for it, I might add.

In the beginning, most of this Christian presence in the media was admirably motivated by an attempt to get the message out, but it has increasingly become a means of keeping the world out and the message in. To be sure, it would be very nice to be able to access nothing but safe, wholesome entertainment all the time, but I believe it's going to be impossible to keep the world from leaking in. And anyway, what would be the point?" -John Fischer

perseverance

"perseverance means more than endurance— more than simply holding on until the end. A saint’s life is in the hands of God like a bow and arrow in the hands of an archer. God is aiming at something the saint cannot see, but our Lord continues to stretch and strain, and every once in a while the saint says, 'I can’t take any more.' Yet God pays no attention; He goes on stretching until His purpose is in sight, and then He lets the arrow fly. Entrust yourself to God’s hands. Is there something in your life for which you need perseverance right now? Maintain your intimate relationship with Jesus Christ through the perseverance of faith. Proclaim as Job did, 'Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him'" -Oswald Chambers

the world

"What are we here for? Are we here to have the nicest, safest life possible, or are we here to follow Jesus into the danger zone of the world around us in order to demonstrate his love? It's my understanding that Jesus wants Christians in the world and not so out of it. He never said it would be safe. He even prayed for the protection of his followers because he knew it wouldn't be." -John Fischer

a paradox

"the great paradox of life is that those who lose their lives will gain them. This paradox becomes visible in very ordinary situations. If we cling to our friends, we may lose them, but if we are nonpossesive in our relationships, we will make many friends. If fame is what we seek and desire, it often vanishes as soon as we acquire it, but if we have no need to be known, we might be remembered long after our deaths. When we want to be in the center, we easily end up on the margins, but when we are free enough to be wherever we must be, we often find ourselves in the center. Giving away our lives for others is the greatest of all human acts. This will gain us our lives." -Henri J.M. Nouwen

confession

"as long as I am by myself when I confess my sins, everything remains in the dark; but when I come face to face with another Christian, the sin has to be brought to light. But because the sin must come to light some time, it is better that it happens today between me and another believer, rather than on the last day in the bright light of the final judgment. It is grace that we can confess our sins to one another. Such grace spares us the terrors of the last judgment. The other Christian has been given to me so that I may be assured even here and now of the reality of God in judgment and grace. As the acknowledgment of my sins to another believer frees me from the self-deception, so, too, the promise of forgiveness becomes fully certain to me only when it is spoken by another believer as God's command and in God's name. Confession before one another is given to us by God so that we may be assured of divine forgiveness." -Dietrich Bonhoeffer

need

"need is so near greed and we are so greedy already that it seems a strange grace." -C.S. Lewis

with Thee

"Precious Lord Jesus, let me in very deed know the blessedness which dwells in abiding, unbroken fellowship with Thee. I am a poor worthless one, whose cheek Thou hast deigned to kiss! O let me kiss Thee in return with the kisses of my lips." -C.H. Spurgeon