Talk Thursday // Life, Love, and Other Mysteries

Sometimes we ask questions that have no answers. 

"Why is the sky blue?" 

"Why are there mosquitos?"

"Which came first - the chicken or the egg?"

Those questions aren't terribly pressing for most of us. But this one... this one is.

"Why does God let bad things happen to good people?" 

You know, Job asked this same question. Well, maybe not Job himself, but the author of the book of Job. He wondered this very thing. 

And God didn't answer it. He confronted Job and said, "I made everything. I made the rain fall and the grass grow and the eagle fly. Have you seen those mountains? I AM bigger than those mountains. I AM bigger than your mind can comprehend. I AM GOD."

But He goes on remind us, "I AM GOD. And I love you. I loved you so much and wanted  a relationship with you so much that I sent My Son to die for you. So we could be together. That's how much you mean to Me."

In the midst of that, He doesn't explicitly answer the question of justice, of right or wrong, good or bad. 

But He said He loves us. He loves you. He loves me. 

And in the end, He going to make it alright. Justice will prevail. This life sucks. But the future... that's going to be one kick-ass party. 

My question has never been "Why do bad things happen to good people?" 

Until now. 

So what's your question? What weighs on your mind as you contemplate life, love, and other mysteries?

And check out this blog; it just happened to come at the right time. 

The Problem With Seminary Is...

...that I am learning so much and have so much I feel the Lord calling me to, but have no outlet to carry it out. It just stays in my head until it gets forgotten and dust-covered like so many other things.  

Talk Thursday // Pet-Peeves

Grammar, spelling and punctuation errors. 

For some reason, when I see those things, I automatically assume people are 87% dumber than they probably are. This is a personal flaw; Jesus and I are working on it. 

Therefore I ask: what's your biggest pet-peeve? Do you have any? Do you have several? When they occur, do you have the irresistible urge to punch someone in the face? Slam your head against the wall? Scream violently for several minutes? Or are you much calmer and less prone to dramatic responses?

Being, Not Doing

"...mission is not primarily about going. Nor is mission primarily about doing anything. Mission is aboutbeing. It is about being a distinctive kind of people, a countercultural, multinational community among the nations. It is modeling before a skeptical world what the living God of the BIble is really like. Whether we remain all our lives in the towns of our birth or travel to the slums of Calcutta or the wastelands of Madison Avenue, we are all called to mission. For mission is to put our lives on the cutting edge where God is at work. And we have seen in this passage that God is at work challenging the false gods of culture, religion, and the marketplace; God is at work seeking justice for the widow, the orphan and the alien; and God is at work freeing men and women, giving them new identities that transcend those of class and tribe and nation. What was true to Israel's calling is also true for our calling as the church of Jesus Christ: "They are to be a people set apart, different from all other people by what they are and what they are becoming - a display people, a show-case to the world of how being in covenant with Yahweh changes a people."'

- The Message of Mission, by Howard Peskett and Vinoth Ramachandra

Birthday Week!!

**Monday of Birthday Week, Update**

Awesome things that happened today:

- I found a frozen custard place in Vancouver. So happy birthday to me with an Oreo concrete!

- I got to catch up with my girl, Jenny. 

- An old friend sent me an iTunes gift card! So now I'm jammin' to some Lady Antebellum. (Thanks, Kim!)

- I got to wear flip-flops. 

- It was in the 80's today in Portland. Praise You, Jesus!

- Nicky made me pizza for dinner. Rock on. =)

- I made a new friend. 

I love birthday week!

********************************************

I don't know if you know this, but I love my birthday. I LOVE IT! And since I have to be at a conference all. day. long. on Saturday (April 25th), this week here at Hephzibah will be Sarah's Birthday Week. And I am so ok with that. ;)


Therefore, if you want to say kind words, please feel free. If you want to send Dr. Pepper or cheesecake, please.... feel free. If you want to hook me up with a major hottie who will buy me a hamburger, PLEASE.... feel free. =)


How's your week shaping up?


In other news, the 2,500 word paper is done. Only three more papers to go and about 10 assignments. Woot. Woot .

Talk Thursday // Deal-Breakers

Some people have those things that just aren't ok in a relationship, things that would be an automatic "no" from Day 1.

Do you have those things? If you're married, did your spouse have them? What are those things that you are just unwilling to bend on for a relationship? (Other than the whole "unequally yoked" thing... =) )

Mmmmmm.... So Good....

Dr. Pepper and I were reunited this morning. At 12.02 am. And let me just say it was glorious....

DURING Febarple...

REALLY excited for the first drink... 

Not being able to stop drinking....

This is me now...

Oh sweet elixir from heaven... how I have missed you. Welcome home. =)

You may want to take the kids out of the room first...

You thought robots were harmless.

You thought wrong.

And on Easter too.

Don't say I didn't warn you...

This is what happens when you want to procrastinate a history paper....

Christ Is Risen...

I know you know the tag line...

C'mon... say it all together now....

=)

Today is Easter. Christians around the world celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. But today isn't the only day to celebrate this. EVERY day we should celebrate Easter. Early Christians began meeting on Sundays as a way to remember the resurrection - Jesus rose on a Sunday morning, therefore corporate Christian worship was to be on Sunday morning. Easter is not the only Resurrection Sunday. Every Sunday, every DAY is Resurrection Day. Because Jesus is forever resurrected. And every day we need to celebrate that awesome truth. 

"But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb bringing spices which they had prepared. And they found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, then men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? He is not here, but He has risen." (Luke 24.1-6a)

I know I don't celebrate or remember the resurrection of Jesus everyday. But everyday I need to. In the words of Bill and Gloria (oh yes, I went there...): "Because He lives, I can face tomorrow. Because He lives, all fear is gone. Because I know Who holds the future. And life is worth the living just because He lives." That's why we celebrate today, this Easter Sunday. And hopefully tomorrow I will wake up remembering what the resurrection means again. 

Happy Easter, friends. 

Talk Thursday // Top Five

So this will sound like a Facebook quiz note, but I'm curious...

What's the Top 5 Most Played songs on your music player? We all have such eclectic tastes, so let's share... it is Talk Thursday, after all. =)

Whatcha listenin' to?

PS: This is a Happy Birthday shout-out to my sis who turns 17 today! (See Midge, I DO talk about you on my blog....) Happy Birthday!

Where The Blacktop Ends

The longer I live here, the more I realize JUST how much my heart longs to be in the South.

I've never lived there, you know. My parents are born-and-raised Tennesseans. Us girls are all West Coast primadonnas. Our whole family (minus a couple) are still in that general area.

Sweet tea, "yes sir, yes ma'am", barbeque, college football, cicadas and crickets, hot muggy nights, fireflies, "All ya'll!"

Likely it's not as picturesque as I dream it to be. I have many friends who are longing to get out of the South or have already done it. They know the good, the bad and the ugly.

I think I may need to know it for myself.

So... Tennessee - I think you and I will have a date sometime in the future. Hope that's cool with you.



Are you living where you want to? If God said "GO!" and you got to pick, where would you head? Let's chat. =)

Scrambling

Apparently, I do not do well under pressure.

"Why?" you ask.

Yesterday was our (2nd) Annual Easter Egg Scramble at Veritas. Last year we had a great turnout. This year, the attendance was triplicated. Awesome!, right? Go God!, right?

Right.

Except that I couldn't make all the people happy there. Parents were yelling at me and telling me their child had been in line for an hour and people were pushing... I can't help it people!

Yeah, I'm known as being a loquacious. But I got overwhelmed... I had to pass my megaphone to someone else.

Me and 1,500 people do not mix. Just so's everyone knows.

Dear Jesus,

i know You know everything. and i appreciate that about Your character. i also know that You have good plans for Your children. i hate to be a bother and i know there are much bigger things going on in the world, but i do have one small request...

is there any way You could make it warmer in the Evergreen State? i mean, seriously, it's April 3rd and it just snowed. This is just a little rickdiculous. i promise not to use the sun as an excuse to parade around in skimpy outfits. it would just be really nice to wear flip-flops. 

ok, God, thanks for listening. You're great. and if You don't want it to be sunny/warm/springtime here in the Pacific Northwest, i'll still love You and give You glory.

i'd just really like to glorify You in 80 degree weather. 

In Jesus' Name, 

Amen

Talk Thursday // Kneeslappers

In honor of April Fool's Day, my favorite joke:

What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on him?

...Nothing. He just gave out a little w(h)ine. 

I giggle every time!

Regale us. What's your favorite joke?