"Love comes when manipulation stops; when you think more about the other person than about his or her reactions to you. When you dare to reveal yourself fully. When you dare to be vulnerable." CS Lewis
_____________________________
"The unseen world is the important one. Pull pack the trap door and let the light shine in on those dusty places. Watch the insects scatter. Walk into those places with Christ at your side. Let him hold you. Let his righteous anger and burning love change you. Then tell about it. Tell that story.
And when you tell it, watch the faces of the broken and exhausted. Watch the faces of the confused and bitter. Watch the faces of the lost. They will soften. The defiant, clenched jaw will slacken. The creases in their foreheads will smooth out. Their eyes will tear up. They will hear the mighty Word of God in a way that they haven’t before. They will wet the feet of Christ with their tears. They will long to hear the gospel again, and again. Because to them, it is truly good news.
In the writing of my book, I learned something about God. I learned that there is no story without conflict....You are in the middle of your own story, and the Author is leading you somewhere. There will be much to be afraid of in your future. You will find yourself angry at times, shaking your fist at the sky. You will find yourself weary and worn thin. Remember that the writer of your story is leading you to a good land." Andrew Peterson
__________
"The last line of that poem says, “Practice resurrection.” That phrase has been with me a lot these past days and next week when I drive away from everything that makes me comfortable, it’ll be with me then. I’ve had plenty of practice in the past. I wish I could say I was getting better, or that it was getting easier, but each time I’ve flung myself down those steps it’s been a brief moment of flight followed by a bone-snapping crash. It hurts to die but each time I’m raised again and I’m something new, something I don’t recognize, something I never expected. I’ve gotten no better at avoiding the pain, but maybe, just maybe I’m getting better at trusting in the coming resurrection.
When I get where I’m going, I look forward to laying out that sailboat again. I learned a lot the first time through. I’ve honed my skills and I have my tools. I trust in the blueprints and I understand them better this time around. Though she’ll be the same, she’ll be cut from new wood. She’ll be finer than she was before and built by surer hands. There will be new problems to overcome, more blistered hands and cut fingers but one day, when I’ve bled for her enough, she’ll sail." Pete Peterson________
" A best friend told me a few days ago that she laughs every time we sing 'Refiners Fire' because when we're actually in the fire we're squirming to get out. Instead of relishing in the weight of the trials we try to jump out of it, because it burns--- it hurts! If there's one thing I've learned in this season in the fire, (on a minimal scale considering others' "fires") it's that yeah, the fire really works. I feel like I've learned more about myself and about God through this time than I ever thought I could. It took fires to point out pride, self-reliance, and disbelief to *begin* to teach me about God's character and his call to dependence. My perspective isn't always perfect, but God's starting to show me, in hindsight, of course, how my time in the crucible could actually be valuable, in addition to just painful." Lauren R
No comments:
Post a Comment