What are the words of the Lord like?

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver purified in a crucible, like gold refined seven times. 

--Psalm 12:6

Don't Be Surprised

"Grace is Change, and Change is Pain."

- paraphrase, Flannery O'Connor

The Most Romantic 'Man' in the World

Jesus Riding on a White Horse (Revelation 19)

1 You have searched me, LORD,
   and you know me.
² You know when I sit and when I rise;
   you perceive my thoughts from afar.
³ You discern my going out and my lying down;
   you are familiar with all my ways.
⁴ Before a word is on my tongue
   you, LORD, know it completely.
⁵ You hem me in behind and before,
   and you lay your hand upon me.
⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
   too lofty for me to attain. 

- Psalm 139: 1-6

Wow. Today is a big day for me for several reasons, and a particularly hard one for me this year. But God is good and shows me that he loves me even when I couldn’t be less thrilled with where He has me for right now. He is the most romantic man in the world, and He knows me and makes me feel special and beloved, and he knows the romantic, sensitive heart he put in my body.

About a year ago, I bought a pretty cross necklace. It was a providential find….from the fine jewelry department at Macy’s but on super clearance for $15. Amazing. About eight months ago, I lost the necklace.

I looked and looked for it everywhere I could think of. All of my drawers, behind my door, under the bed, under the rug in my room. Everywhere. I couldn’t figure out what had happened to that necklace.

Well, I came home during my lunchbreak at work. As I was hanging up a few items of clothing, my necklace appeared on the rug in the middle of my room. I have moved and vacuumed this same rug many times since I lost the necklace.

Thinking on it, I noted God’s goodness, sweetness, and providence in restoring this sweet and precious symbol to me. This necklace has a lot of meaning to me and I am so glad to have it back. The fact that I found it today, of all days, is especially poignant. Thank you God, I love you!

"Well, That Was Creepy"

I taught Sunday school this week, and forgot to bring my laptop for the music. I was able to ask one of the kind worship leaders to come downstairs and play a song for the kids, but after he went back upstairs, my partner wanted to sing one more. That meant that he and I had to sing a capella a song that the kids like and know. We did, it was frightening but it went okay.

After we finished, one of the boys, probably nine years old said, "Well, that was creepy!"

...And Back to World Events

Since the 1950s, these things have changed, according to the book I read today:

1. Government Theism has increased in reaction to athiestic communism of the USSR
2. Military Supremacy replaced a norm of immediate demobilization days after wars' end
3. State Supported Capitalism as a primary foreign policy goal and platform.

This is very interesting. I had not realized that these were such start changes in foreign policy matters since the inception of the Cold War. 

One Example of True Love

The following is a song by Tenth Avenue North. I hope to fall in love someday with someone as understanding as the speaker in this song. The grace for the sinner/shamed/fearful/scared is truly incredible. He is covering her and extending grace, loving her as himself, and not holding her sins/fears against her. 

OH MY DEAR by Tenth Avenue North

I called you up, you were in bed, could barely make out the words that you said
But you wanted to see me instead, so I got dressed
So I stepped out into the snow, and walked for a mile or so
Felt the rush of blood come from the cold, within my chest

Well, you finally came to the door, and we talked for an hour or more
Until I asked if you would stay up until four, and you said that's fine
But you said "theres something I have to say, and I can't because I am just so afraid"
And so I held you as you started to shake, that night.

Oh, my dear, I'll wait for you
Grace tonight will pull us through
Until the tears have left your eyes
Until the fear can sleep at night
Until the demons that you're scared of
Disappear inside
Until the guilt begins to crack
And this weight falls from your back
Oh, my dear, ill keep you in my arms tonight

You slowly lifted your head from your hands
You said "I just don't think you'll understand
You'll never look at me that way again
If you knew what I did"

And so your tears fell and melted the snow
You told me secrets nobody had known
But I never loved you more, even though
Now I know what you did

Oh, my dear, ill wait for you
Grace tonight will pull us through
Oh, my dear, ill wait for you
Grace tonight will pull us through
Until the tears have left your eyes
Until the fear can sleep at night
Until the demons that you're scared of
Disappear inside
Until the guilt begins to crack
And this weight falls from your back
Oh, my dear, ill keep you in my arms tonight

Thanksgiving Preview

Dear Ones,

It is only early September, but I feel deeply in my soul that Thanksgiving is right here, right now. The cool, rainy, and overcast weather has swept the dusty last days of summer away. I lament the end of the glorious sunny season, but somehow I always end up warming to the heart of the autumn season. While spring is the season of growth, and summer is the season of ripening and glorying in bounty, fall has its own unique charm: for me, fall represents the moment at which– the nanosecond at which—the almonds are perfectly roasted to bring out the fullness of the flavor, the muffin tops are perfectly browned, and the trail of fragrance from the baking spiced cake wafts to your nose and fills the house with a warm, autumn aura.

Autumn is a perfect moment, and it feels to me like a celestial hug. It is the feeling of pulling your down comforter over your face and snuggling into the warmth of your blankets, a delightful contrast to the chilled and fresh air on the other side of the covers. Warm autumn memories, sights, sounds, and smells are a constant delight.

I am so thankful to have these blessed associations to hearken back to when it is hard to be thankful. On the simplest level of weather, atmosphere, and basic provisions needed for warmth, dryness, and sustenance, our God is at work to show us His Goodness. And I am grateful. May I never forget it!

For this, and for all the more meaningful blessings of family, faith, hope, and love, I am eternally grateful. Happy Thanksgiving!

Love,

Juliet

Thanksgiving For When It's Hard

I find it difficult to praise and thank
You Lord when a grin is not a reflex
response; when Your Will brings regret and vex

Yet you want me true, in word and deed, frank.

So I tell you this Thanksgiving that I 

Am grateful that you weep when I am hurt;

Consoling me through pain you don’t avert
You can—but don’t—“let this cup pass me by.”

Therefore I trust your greater high purpose
You work all things—ALL THINGS—for Good for those
Like me, who in faith, want just what You chose
I say and mean it; help my heart feel this. 

Thank you, my God, that my pain’s not the end,

I fell in love when you made me your friend!

--JTG

The Way of A Pilgrim

How to pray without ceasing: excerpted from "The Way of a Pilgrim," translated by R.M. French

The prayer that doesn't stop is the prayer of Jesus, the uninterrupted calling upon the name of Jesus with the lips, in the spirit and in the heart, while forming a picture of his presence and imploring his grace during every occupation--at all times, in all places, even during sleep. The appeal is couched in these terms: "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me"-- a Western mantra if I ever heard one. One who accustoms himself to this appeal experiences a result so deep a consolation and so great a need to offer the prayer always that he can no longer live without it and will begin to voice itself within him of its own accord. Sit down alone and in silence. Lower your head. Shut your eyes. Try to put all other thoughts aside. Be calm. Be patient. For the first two days, the pilgrim is told to repeat the prayer 3,000 times, 6,000 times for the next two days, then 12,000 times, and then without limit. 

As I read more of how this worked out in the ancient pilgrim's life, I will update my blog! Until then, keep repeating, "Lord Jesus Christ have mercy on me, a sinner."