i. cold, blustery days when the sun pours through dense cloud banks like melted butter and the fields are coming alive with tender shoots of winter wheat.
ii. tools like Penzu and Week Plan.
I love being organized. There is nothing like checking things off my to-do list!
iii. tiny droplets of color in a world turning gray.
iv. my home in the fall.
I missed it last year.
v. awesome people like Teresa of the Meadowbrook Farm blog, who gave her time and breathtaking talent to do engagement pictures for me and Sam this weekend.
(Obviously I did not take any of the below pictures… they’re all Teresa’s. Go see some more. You’ll be hooked!)
vi. music:
Favorite line: “I’ve never felt more found than when I’m lost in You.”
vii. words:
“I realized that the deepest spiritual lessons are not learned by His letting us have our way in the end, but by His making us wait, bearing with us in love and patience until we are able to honestly pray what He taught His disciples to pray: Thy will be done.”
-Elisabeth Elliot
viii. Bible:
I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:12-13
The latter verse is one of the most-quoted in the Bible—a favorite motto among every set of Christians. Who doesn’t like some supernatural strength? But as I was reading this passage in my Bible, a deep theological truth occurred to me: Philippians 4:13 comes immediately after Philippians 4:12.
Elementary? Perhaps. But fundamental? Absolutely.
This passage doesn’t give us license to say “I can jump off the edge of the Grand Canyon and promptly sprout wings because Christ strengthens me.” Or even, “I can become a world-famous photographer within the next two years because Christ strengthens me.” Both of those put the focus on me—what I can achieve, what I can accomplish, how I can get the esteem of others and the satisfaction of my temporal desires.
The real message of the passage is this: “I can joyfully accept whatever life circumstances God chooses for me, because I know that my life is not about me—it’s about Jesus.”
The secret of contentment is Christ.
Yes indeed (said in weird voice) :)
ReplyDeleteI love it that you always include a Bible verse and a quote from an inspiring Christian in these posts. It makes me want to do the same in mine.